Sumardagurinn Fyrsti

The third Thursday in April is a public holiday in Iceland, it's Sumardagurinn fyrsti, The first Summer Day. An old tradition dating from the 8 - 9 hundreds when the Icelanders made their own calendar. It was based on the Old Norse calendar that only had two seasons, summer and winter. It was a mass day until 1744, when the Danish church found out Icelanders were going to church for mass on a (normal) Thursday and banned it. (We were one of the Danish colonies at that time).

Iceland is the only nation that celebrates this event. We also celebrate the First Day of Winter which is always a Saturday, usually the third in October, but we don't celebrate it as actively and it's no longer a public holiday. In reality the first Summer Day is actually the start of spring.

Anyway, on the first Summer Day I allowed myself to play a little and start a new project that I know will go on the back burner, but that's okay, I've wanted to start this for two years and am so happy I finally made it happen. It's a quilt (no surprise there) and is called Basket Weave and there are no real blocks, but it's put together with inserted seams which I love doing. Yeah, I know, I'm weird. I just love making it all come together and FIT together. 

I took this idea from http://scrapsandthreadtales.blogspot.com/ a wonderful blog that has been a great inspiration to me. If you go to 2012 and then to April you will see Siobahn's wonderful top and how she made it. (Don't know how to link to individual posts) She chose black for the squares and triangles and reds as the constant coloured strip. I didn't want to be a total copycat so I'm using dark grey shirt fabric for the squares (black/grey shirt fabric for the triangles) and greens for the constant strip. The lights are shirt fabrics and the rest of the strips are what I had in the 1 1/2" strip box.

The biggest reason this will go on the back burner is the quilt I'm making for DD1 who is getting married in June (28). She chose the colours for Bonnie Hunter Celtic Solstice mystery and it's taking me awfully long making it. Something or other always intervenes (mostly the dratted fibromyalgia) But I've finished the Star blocks. DD said this reminded her of Christmas.

Now I'm stuck making the Chevrons for the alternate blocks, I have all the grey triangles done and have started on the neutrals. It's so utterly BORING. But it will be fun finishing making the Chevrons.

I love making these units and do one now and then  in between the Chevrons to keep the irritation at low level.

Same with the Pin Wheel units.

This is how the alternate block looks like.

My design wall (fleece throw pinned to the wall) is not looking good on these photos with all the threads littering it. But I wont let it bother me. Now I better get some sewing done.

                  Sunna.