Divide and Conquer

  It was last year when I purchased several pre-printed panels.   I made a small wall hanging as a daily reminder to me to have a grateful heart.    It resides on the pantry door and I see it often during the day.









  A couple of months later I put together another small wall hanging to use as a gift.   I used an accent color to frame the main part,  and added butterflies for an accent.
  That left a larger section to divide up or use together.  I knew I wanted to add a narrow frame around the next batch and blend with the 2'' squares of floral fabrics.








    The larger section got cut up after all.  I wanted to frame the two main portions for an added pop of color.  I had just a small bit of this purple for the 1'' border.    I love how it makes the purple in the printed sections stand out.
   I played around with  very irregular/asymmetrical blended sections.  I tried to keep the darkest to the corners so as not to detract from the center.   It worked to create the depth I was hoping for to give a more artsy feel.
  Garden of Praise is a wall hanging that is 33'' by 36''.



Today all were finished!  With the sun out  and no rain drops to spoil the photo taking process, we ventured out to the deck.    I wanted to have a photo comparison of the finished projects.

   
    Those large pre-printed panels can be intimidating.  They have inherently uneven blocks or sections, or the printing may be crooked.  You need coordinating fabrics to blend with the printed sections, and so on.   
   So this series for me became a Divide and Conquer idea.  Even though I used the same watercolor technique to enlarge each portion I cut out---the divide part--I conquered the designs by altering the type of layout.



   The two on the left are symmetrical  with the blended portion moving around the top one, and in the lower one just accented in opposing corners. 

  The two on the right are the ones just finished.  The larger one I discussed all ready.  The small one...is just that a small left over that just didn't fit into the other ones.  I couldn't let it go to waste, so using the leftover bits from the larger one, I made a small table top mat as a Blessing! 

      I still have the insanity during the pandemic quilt to quilt.  My hands and wrists need a few days to rest and recover before I tackle that.

   And one last look at the 4 in the series of divide and conquer.
  Happy stitching. 

Catching up

  Time to catch up.....I know it has been a month since I posted and several emails from readers reminded me to wake up. 
 
  We had a very nice Spring and Sir Old man worked tirelessly in the yard completing projects from my list for him.  We had 2 truck loads of mulch spread over the beds to give them a refresh.  the crew also planted a couple of new trees we got for Earth Day from the power company and Clemson. 
  Sir Old Man finally added the birdhouse he built for the Bluebirds.  And can you believe it is already occupied!  It has been fun to watch them darting in and out or sunning on the roof.  he is inspired now to build another one for the front yard. 
   We spent one Saturday morning adding some edging plants to the back bed.  It was one trip/venture I made away from home....to the garden center nearby to select some herbs and ground covers for the back.  And yea, we ran into a quilting buddy.  Waving to Yvonne!

 
 
   I was working on the insanity during the pandemic quilt last time  I posted.  It is assembled and ready to quilt.  Thanks to Sir Old Man learning to pin a quilt!  Without his help I would not have gotten both of these ready to quilt. 
  The top one is  another wall hanging build around some more pre-printed panel parts.   Small sections  of watercolor florals frame the parts I put together.  Fusing onto interfacing and simple stitching, I can handle right now. 
  Note to self....you are now out of both batting and interfacing.  Need to order both.

 Both of these are smaller so I am hoping I can manage the quilting. 

  We have had over 7 inches of rain in the last week.....stormy days and such.  All add to the aches in the hands and wrists.  So for simple stitching time.....personal therapy session.... I have been doing some scrap  and crumb piecing. 

   I have a small basket of bits and pieces by the machine.  It is easy to grab a pair and build a section like the center part here.  I needed a leader/ender project while stitching the fused floral units for the wall hanging. 
  I decided to use the light print with and rosy vine on it for a constant thru out.  I have quite a bit of the light, which I am sure I was saving for something that will never happen, and this seemed a good time to use it!
   Beyond freely stitching and a light press for now, there is no real plan.  I have about a dozen together , so many more to grow.    I will square them up to a common size on a less painful day. 

    Our world is beginning to open up a bit.  Sir Old Man has been doing all the shopping, and keeping me home.  I am allowed to ride along when he gets gas or goes to the dairy.  There are times you need to see that the world still exists.  I went to the podiatrist last week but had to wait in the car until they could slip me into a room and then right back out.  I was notified that another of my doctors retired......I am assigned to a new one for next month.  Oh, joy....lol. 


   So while I chose to not blame anyone for what has happened, I do recognize the take aways  during this time. 
   Never forget how much freedom means. 
   Never freely give up your rights to be free. 
  Forever and always be thankful that we are free, and live in a wonderful country that lets us be free.     Free to love others, free to be ourselves, free to walk among the world.
   And today we remember those who died for our right to be free.   And once again I share a favorite wall hanging entitled Remembrance. 
  Happy Memorial Day.
  Happy stitching.