Ten hours of daylight

Ah, the earth is tilting and we now have ten hours of daylight. I love reaching milestones like this one. The waxing crescent moon has been lovely in the evening sky and the temperatures have been warmer than usual for the end of January. I've walked outside several times this week and noticed tiny buds starting to form on the trees. It is too early but I enjoy seeing them and feeling the sun on my face.

I took a few hours away from working the to-do list and dug out the first quilt top I made using a pattern. I have always liked the spring feel to this top, but never finished it. One of the local Guilds is sponsoring a project to provide quilts for each bed in the local women's and children's shelter. Some other groups have painted the walls and done some other things to brighten this transitional shelter. I wanted to participate but felt I could not meet the spring deadline in the midst of my show preparations. Then I remembered this sweet top and found it quickly. It wasn't quite twin bed size but I had matching fabric packed with it. I added two more borders that brought it to a good bed size. It feels good to participate in this project. A guild member will long-arm all the quilts and hopefully someone will be able to bind this.

Today I looked at the list and picked a project that I have been postponing. No excuses now - got to do it. This quilt has always been a favorite of mine. It's titled Earth, Sea and Sky and was made using Karen Eckmeier's layered wave technique. I used some gold and silver metallic threads for the quilting and left the threads hanging on the front. It has an organic feel to me.

The reason it was on the to-do list is that I did not like the way it hung on the wall. I had originally used plastic rings on the back to hold the branch in place, but those rings were too bulky and caused the quilt to hang awkwardly. A friend recommended using Velcro instead. What I thought would be a quick job wasn't - Velcro is a buzzard to stitch by hand, especially so that it looks more than decent. Finally, I got it sewn down and hung it. The work was worth it - it is flatter on the wall and just looks even nicer. (Thank you Penny.) Here are some photos of the 'after' with Velcro.

Tomorrow, Abigail, my almost 15-year-old granddaughter, is coming to help with postcards and labels and some basic organization. I hope to work on the labels needed for a number of quilts and will enjoy her company.

Do you notice the lengthening daylight? How do you respond to it?

Karen