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!