a good run
What do you do during the four days of the coldest Easter for forty years? Well, if you're me you manage to convince yourself that the long weekend was custom-made for hand-quilting a quilt.
So when I say Easter turned out to be a good run, I don't mean the sporty kind. I mean that I was able to spend hours and hours doing running stitch up and down the edges of the green and red diamonds of what is to be my Amaryllis Quilt.
I took up residence on a comfy settee and stitched and stitched and stitched. I had my red thread, red thimble and red tea mug which was replenished at regular intervals, plus plenty of good company.
We watched rugby (I predicted 'man of the match' correctly twice - something of which I'm very proud considering I wasn't actually watching, only listening), Pride and Prejudice (the very pretty but insubstantial recent version with lovely linen dresses), our favourite scenes from The Pajama Game (I realised that my Hot Summer quilt was remarkably similar to the clothes worn in the picnic scene) and Ocean's Eleven (why does Brad Pitt's character never stop eating?). And I received offerings of chocolate and wine and daffodils picked from the garden.
By the end of the holiday I had quilted the entire thing. I think it took about eighteen hours in all, but it was one of the most restful marathon quilting runs I've ever had.
I just love your photos and writing!
I'm and artist/quilter too. Your blog is inspiring!
Posted by: lila | March 25, 2008 at 02:31 PM
The quilt is gorgeous. :)
We've had the same kind of weekend in North-West Germany. And today it's been snowing with the occassional bright rays of sun. Marathon knitting/quilting/reading/watching tv sessions weather definitely!
Posted by: Kai | March 25, 2008 at 03:01 PM
Gorgeous pics...I love red...when it's cold outside it warms your soul.
Posted by: raina | March 25, 2008 at 03:11 PM
Love all that red! Beautiful! And what a great way to spend four days - sounds relaxing. As for Ocean's 11 trivia....heard that the actors didn't have much time to eat, so Brad Pitt ate during the filming. Makes sense to me!
Posted by: Kristy | March 25, 2008 at 03:19 PM
Sounds like a lovely Easter. I read your blog all of the time, but this may have been my first comment...
I think the reason Brad Pitt's character never stops eating is that it is so lovely to watch... :)
Posted by: Courtney | March 25, 2008 at 03:19 PM
That sounds like a very peaceful weekend!
Beautiful quilt and I agree with your verdict on Keira's P&P..
Posted by: Suzi | March 25, 2008 at 03:26 PM
Ohhh a new quilt lucious. I was trying to resurect one of mine over the weekend too.
I was unimpressed by Pride and Prejudice. I think Macfaden was miscast, which is a shame because I normally quite like him.
Posted by: Gemma | March 25, 2008 at 03:28 PM
What a lovely quilt! I love you works and the way you take photos. I think we had colder here in Finland at Easter. So we (I, my husband and three children) went out to get fresh air and sunshine. You hardly manage without sunglasses here, the snow is so bright.
Posted by: Christina | March 25, 2008 at 03:30 PM
One of my secret loves is that insubstantial Pride and Prejudice movies you mentioned ... its such a feast for my eyes that my mind's pleas for sustenance get completely ignored.
Posted by: sarah | March 25, 2008 at 03:32 PM
Wow! The fabric in the quilt is gorgeous!
Love the daffodils too. They don't grow here and I do so miss them each spring.
Posted by: Dee | March 25, 2008 at 03:32 PM
One of my secret loves is that insubstantial Pride and Prejudice movies you mentioned ... its such a feast for my eyes that my mind's pleas for sustenance get completely ignored.
Posted by: sarah | March 25, 2008 at 03:40 PM
Sounds like a perfect holiday weekend!
Fabulous pictures! I love the red and the floral theme in each!
Posted by: Neuroknitter | March 25, 2008 at 04:06 PM
Such beautiful colors. That quilt just sings!
And I love the daffodils against that red wall. You have such a great eye for color.
Posted by: Sarah R | March 25, 2008 at 04:11 PM
What a great holiday project. I love the fabrics you feature in your photo, I'm guessing the complete results were beautiful.
Lovely blog, got here via Hannah's. I'm going to add you to my blogroll too. Stop in for a visit when you can.
Huggs, G :<)
Posted by: Geraldine | March 25, 2008 at 04:21 PM
Any chance of showing us more quilt?
Posted by: Mrs. Mordecai | March 25, 2008 at 04:28 PM
those colors are wonderful, Jane. I was shocked to see snow on the rooftops here when I woke up...something I would have expected back home (where they had 10 inches last week) but not here!
cold, but beautiful.
take care.
Posted by: eireann | March 25, 2008 at 04:50 PM
What a beautiful quilt! You're obviously much more dedicated than I :)
Posted by: Vicki | March 25, 2008 at 04:53 PM
I spent the unseasonably cold weekend sewing too! I love the floral red and green theme of the quilt.
Posted by: Nancy | March 25, 2008 at 04:57 PM
Beautiful. Looks like time well spent!
Posted by: Ruth | March 25, 2008 at 06:14 PM
Super photos, and the red is a wonderful antidote to all the grey weather - thanks for sharing!
Posted by: Joy | March 25, 2008 at 07:18 PM
YOUR quilt is absolutley gorgeous !!! it is just beautiful. I really like the way you put your colors together. It is unique and it reminds me of your diamond quilt unless of course it is the same quilt? ANYWAY ,IT IS LOVELY,CONGRATULATIONS ON A WELL HAND QUILTED PIECE.IMR
Posted by: IMR | March 25, 2008 at 07:48 PM
I love the red, so rich and vibrant. Sounds like a blissful long weekend.
Posted by: alison | March 25, 2008 at 08:12 PM
The little glimpse of your quilt is just scrumptious - can't wait to see the whole thing!
And I envy you that red and white mug - so pretty!
I spent most of my Easter indoors too, with quilting of the more noisy kind - by machine. I think that red colour on the wall in your last picture is the same red I've got on one of the walls in my sewing room, by the way!
Posted by: mathea | March 25, 2008 at 10:12 PM
Tantalising - will we get to see the big picture? Sounds like a perfect Easter long weekend.
Posted by: catherine | March 25, 2008 at 10:27 PM
May I take a moment to compliment you on another striking quilt and also on your taste in movies? Pajama Game is on my short list of all-time favorites. The songs, the dancing, the costumes -- all great and the whole thing has held up so very well. Other musicals from the 50s, not so much. Have you tried to watch "Damn Yankees" recently?
I think the current iteration of "Pride and Prejudice" is a generational thing. My 17-year-old thinks it beats the socks off the Jennifer Ehle/Colin Firth version and let's not even mention Lawrence Olivier and Greer Garson. To my taste Matthew MacFadyen didn't manage to look either proud or stern as Mr. Darcy He looked like a man with a bad case of indigestion.
Posted by: Kathy DiGi | March 26, 2008 at 03:43 AM