Tuesday 6 August 2013

Where the wind and the rain blows

There are two phenomenon of nature that makes me dance - snowy nights and hot, pouring summer rain. You see, my favourite saying “Life isn’t waiting for the storm to pass by, it’s about learning to dance in the rain” (quilts here and here) isn’t only a metaphor, it’s actually something you can do.

Friday was the hottest and windiest day of the year and you could feel the thunderstorm approaching from early morning. I was telling grandson about how we used to dance in the summer rain, and when the rain finally hit in the evening, I ran outside. The expression on his face was priceless as he watched me happily dance around, getting soaking wet while grinning like mad, but then he came outside too. It was awesome, he couldn’t stop laughing. I’m sure he won’t forget that day any time soon, and neither will I.

We spent the rest of the weekend going with the wind and the rain, which was great. This summer has reset a switch in my brain, turning the hyperactive mode off, which is quite nice. I don’t worry, it will get kicked back on again, and I suspect the upcoming Birmingham trip this week will do the trick.

It was also quite windy on the day I took these pictures of what I believed to be the finished quilt for my niece Ida (previous posts here and here).
 
I like the way the reds of the funky borders and fleece edges are balancing out the sweetness of the 30-ies pinks.
 
See where it went wrong? Yup, I did not catch the edges all the way around and there are 3 seams to unpick before I can fix it. You'll find my tutorial on how to make fleece edges (proper ones) here.

Isn't it just awesome what you can do with a few scraps and some old pieces from your stash!

Making quilts for others can be tricky; what you love might not be their cup of tea, but you’ll just have to try and do your best. And of course, in case the match doesn’t work out, you get to keep it for yourself.

Only 24 hours to go and I will be on my merry way to Birmingham with 6 of my best quilting buddies. If you are there, it would be fun to meet you, so do come up and say hi if you spot me somewhere in the crowd! I’ll respond to most versions of my name, but if you are feeling particularly adventurous and would like to have a go at the Norwegian pronunciation, you’ll find it at the bottom of this old post.

See the rest of you next week!

10 comments:

  1. That's fantastic, Nina Lise! Beautiful colours and great design! x Teje

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  2. Your quilt turned out fabulous! The pink is definitely softened by the other colors and it really looks sharp.:) When we were kids we always ran outside in the summertime if it was raining--that hot summer rain was irresistible!

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  3. That is a fabulous quilt!!! Love your rain dance story.

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  4. Love this quilt, love it's happy reds and colorful inserts. Dancing in the rain, I remember loving big mud puddles as a kid when the drains on our street wouldn't take one more drop of water and we would march through stomping in those muddy pools and running around in a summer rain just for the fun of it. Grandson probably thinks you are the coolest Grandma around. xox Enjoy Festival of Quilts.

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  5. Love your quilt. I know it's hard to make quilts for grandkids - I'm quite removed from them in space and time, so it's hard to find out what they like. I asked their favorite colors, and made most of them a snowball quilt of those colors. They seemed to like them. The I Spy that I made for the youngest (at the time 5 years old) was given with a game to play with the quilt and fabric, if a quilt would be made from it. (He was, at the time, making quilts of paper and fabric. One was hung as special artwork in his Kindergarten class.) At five, he liked it. At 11 I saw it folded up in the dog bed. I guess he needs a new quilt. Maybe the snowball like his sisters have.
    Have fun in Birmingham!
    Hugs

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  6. Det er et kjempefint teppe. Fine farger.
    Ha en fin kveld Frederika

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  7. The quilt is so great!! I haven't danced in the rain for years: it's too cold in Vancouver to do that. Growing up in central Canada, we would get hot afternoon thunderstorms and my sister and I would put on our bathing suits and rush out to the driveway to wash our hair in the rainwater. I feel like maybe I've told you this story already!

    Have a marvelous time in the UK with your friends!!!

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  8. That show is on my bucket list!!! Take lots of pictures and share!!!!

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  9. The red and pink quilt is Beautifull! I love it!!

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  10. I would be overjoyed to get a quilt like this. The colors are so vibrant and wonderful....she is lucky even if you have a few mistakes....no one notices them but you!

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