"Holland Memories" is finished!

 My "gridified art quilt" made during an online class with Ricky Tims is ready for show and tell (virtually) on Saturday!

I knuckled down yesterday and sandwiched and quilted it.  Today I made a facing and sewed it to the back by hand.  I only have to finishing stitching the hanging sleeve, and it will be hung in the front hall as a memento of our wonderful cruise through the Netherlands and a bit of Belgium during tulip time in 2019.

I have always wanted to make a landscape using traditional quilt blocks.  Ricky's instructions and mentoring were great, and I do hope to make another some day.  It took me most of a month to do, though, so my next one won't be done any time soon!  I have a few UFOs to catch up on.

And hooray for quilting! This project was a perfect diversion from worry for me right now with Paul still in the hospital.   He has an infection around his heart valve replacement, so is now on a course of antibiotics.   I hope he can be moved to rehab closer to home as soon as treatment stabilizes.

Memories of Keukenhof

        We finally managed to get outside to take some photos of the quilt I finished over the weekend.  It is based on the Jen Kingwell pattern, The Avenue, and designed by Louise Papas.  She said she was inspired by a trip to Paris and its many trees lining boulevards.   Her quilt was scrappy, just as mine is, but when I had it all together, the motifs looked like tulips to me.  So I quilted leaves into the blocks, using my walking foot.  I tried free motion quilting with this, but just wasn't satisfied with the result.   It measures just under 60" x 60" so will make a nice throw.

        I really enjoyed making the blocks, using the scrappy backgrounds and favorite colors from my stash.  I did have to buy a few more black and white fabrics, but I used scraps for everything else, including the binding.  The curved pieces were easy to do with my 1/4" piecing foot, and I'm so glad I took that "Quick Curve Ruler" class last summer, even though I used the Kingwell templates to cut the pieces.  I just felt more confident sewing the Drunkard's Path-like shapes together.

        And why Keukenhof?  That's the wonderful garden in the Netherlands which we visited last spring when every type of bulb imaginable was blooming.   A lifelong dream of mine was fulfilled!

Home!

We had a wonderful vacation!  The cruise was luxurious, interesting, relaxing, fun, and busy.  We stayed a few days longer to visit family, and that was excellent, too.  I have been pecking away at all the things one does after two weeks away from home, but my body clock is still not on Eastern Standard Time.   Hope it will regulate itself over this weekend.  Above is a view in Amsterdam and below a few more photos of the Netherlands.

  The bulb fields near Enkhuisen

  One of 19 windmills at Kinderdijk

Resting after a walk around old Amersfoort