Bar Harbor, Maine

I love Maine.  I have visited Maine at least once (and usually many more times) a summer for my whole adult life.

-

Last week we went to Bar Harbor.  The photo above shows the 'bar' at low tide.  It is a tide road and leads over to an island.  Our timing on our first day visiting was perfect to go across the bar.

Here's Tess in the water.

It is a huge wide area that opens up at low tide. 

This is in town.  The last time we went to Bar Harbor it was earlier in the season and not nearly as busy.  Last week it was full of people everywhere. There was also a cruise ship in port so that added to the crowd.

This is a penny squisher machine to make souvenir pennies.  We make them wherever we see a machine and have quite a little collection.

-

This penny machine was near a restaurant where we ate called Geddy's - Yum!

Acadia National Park in Bar Harbor is a gorgeous park that I would recommend to anyone visiting the area.  It is so scenic!  This is the view from the top of Cadillac Mountain which you can drive to the summit of.  I wouldn't officially declare myself as scared of heights, but I definitely don't like them.  I was a little nervous as we drove up the mountain. It wasn't anywhere near the fear I felt when we drove up Mount Washington a couple of summers ago (I think that should be on everyone's bucket list), but I was a bit on edge.

At a beach in the park.  The kids would have stayed for days I think.

So, I guess I'm back blogging again.  I finished the I Spy Planet Hexy Quilt and will post it tomorrow.

-

Thanks for stopping by!

-

Posted by Riel Nason on The Q and the U

Summer Fair Quilt Show: My Entry - Vitali-T Quilt

 I'm dropping in early for a second from my summer blogging break so that I can participate in the Summer Fair Quilt Show being hosted by Gen X Quilters.  For my fair entry I wanted to show my Vitali-T Quilt.

-

I made this quilt when I first started quilting last year.  It is my own design.  The Ts are for my daughter Tess.

 Each square is different.  I made all the squares first and then arranged them after.  It is an unusual colour scheme but I just love how it worked out in the end (I had my moments of doubt).  There are a few squares I would move around if I had the chance to try again, but overall I think it is cool.

It is called Vitali-T because the colours reflect my daughters vitality (high energy/adventurous/fearless/mischievous personality). 

-

So the Summer Fair was a nice chance to show this quilt.  I think when I first posted it last year I probably had a grand total of ten visitors to my blog, so it's nice to have a reason to repost it now that I actually have a few more online friends.  :-)  To see the other fabulous entries in the show, just click here.

-

Thanks for stopping by!  See you next week.

-

Posted by Riel Nason on The Q and the U

I'll Be Back ...

...after a little summer blogging break.  See you on August 2nd.

-

I'm leaving the selvage mummy in charge of guarding the blog.

-

Posted by Riel Nason on The Q and the U

Seasonally Inappropriate: Christmas Quilt WIP

 So I've got my Halloween selvage mummy in progress and now I've added a Christmas project.  The squares making up this little lap quilt were already cut and just sitting around so I sewed them together.

 It also gave me a chance to use the Denyse Schmidt Jo-Ann's fabric as sashing.  I think it looks fabulous and so Christmasy -- just like Christmas candy.  Cathy of Blueberry Patch picked it up for me a while back and I have been waiting for the perfect use for it. 

 The squares are from the Sherri Berry line The Twelve Joys of Christmas.

These are the fabrics I have for borders.  This little quilt will be easy to get done and will be someone's Christmas gift I think.

-

Since it's Wednesday, I'm linking up with WIP Wednesday.

-

Thanks for stopping by.  Posted by Riel Nason on The Q and the U.

I Spy Quilt Pillow

 Per my idea to sew some smaller things this summer, I made this little I Spy pillow to go with the recent monster-sized I Spy quilt I made.  The pillow is made up of 25 squares of 4 inches each.

 Even though it's quite small, there is lots of I Spy potential I think because I really tried to go for a good variety of fabrics.

 This little beaver is the kids' favourite.  I guarantee that "the beaver" is the correct guess if either of them are spying something brown.

-

Also in this photo, you can see the herringbone/baseball stitch I used to quilt it with.  I really like how it turned out and I think it added some interest to this little pillow.

 Here's the back. 

 It's bird, it's a plane, it's Super Pillow!

I am thinking this would make a perfect Christmas gift -- it is handmade, can be personalised by choosing very specific squares for each child, and doesn't take near the time a quilt does.  If I made it again I would try a slightly bigger pillow form, so I could use 36 squares.  With 36 squares I think there would be tons of I Spy fun packed into it. 

-

Thanks for stopping by.  Since it's Tuesday, I'm hanging with some other fabric-lovin' friends over at Fabric Tuesday.

-

Posted by Riel Nason on The Q and the U

Feature: The Name Game

Cindy at Live a Colorful Life has a really cool blog feature called The Name Game.  Today she is asking me how I came up with the The Q and the U.  Click here to surf on over if you're curious ...

A Quick Road Trip With Some Fabric Pit Stops

 Last Sunday and Monday we took a quick trip to Halifax so that I could do a little presentation about my upcoming novel The Town That Drowned at a bookseller conference.  (It went well.  Everyone was super friendly and great)  It is only a four hour drive so en route we made some fun stops. 

-

First up was Sackville, NB, which is very near the Nova Scotia border.  The swan above is a resident of a pond at the Mount Allison University campus.

 Here he (or she) is posing.

 There are actually two swans in the pond and they are friendlier than my kids would have liked.  One got out of the pond and walked over to us.  Tess took off running. 

 The true reason for our stop in Sackville was to visit the Sackville Waterfowl park.  It is a great spot with boardwalks over the water so you can see the birds.  We saw these ducklings.  Tess (age 4) called them "duck fawns".  I love how her logic works -- you see, she didn't know the word "ducklings", but she knew that baby deer are called "fawns", so baby ducks must be "duck fawns." 

 Next stop was my turn.  We drove right by the Value Village on the way in to Halifax so I bought some vintage sheets.

 Here is the Giant I-Spy quilt on the bed in the hotel. It will be travelling with us this summer.

 On Monday, before we came home we stopped at Atlantic Fabrics in Dartmouth.

 Big surprise, I bought Halloween fabric.

 Then we stopped at Dayle's in Amherst.  It is a huge old department store with a little Dry Goods department!

 And guess what?  They had a bit of Halloween fabric out at 50% off.  I should also say that a friend and I are putting together a raffle basket for our guild's show in the fall and our theme is Halloween fabric.  I will be cutting a FQ off each of these pieces to put them in the basket.

And a little more, all just small pieces.

-

Happy Weekend!

-

Posted by Riel Nason on The Q and the U

Mummy Loves Selvages

 I love selvage quilting.  I love Halloween.  It doesn't matter that it's July, right?  We'll just call it an early start.

 I am having a lot of fun free-piecing this guy.  (My sewing machine is still getting fixed, but thankfully I have a loaner.  Thanks Tina!)  This mummy just makes me smile.  He is turning out just how I imagined him in my head.  Everything it still rough and needs shaping and more selvages added, but you can get the idea.

 Figuring out how to free-piece this hand definitely took some thinking.

-

I am planning to keep this mummy to a large wall hanging size, and I am declaring this, in writing, on this blog, so he doesn't end up life-size (like the crazy Selvage Snowman).  If I start posting mummy legs on here, somebody please send me an email and tell me to Step. Away. From. The. Selvages.

 Per usual, this project will eat through quite a few selvages.  Thank you so, so much to everyone who keeps me stocked in selvages!!!

I bought this dotted fabric as a possible border.  I kind of like it, we'll see ...

-

And now, for some linky fun, I'm hanging out with some other crafty types over at Fabric Tuesday and WIP Wednesday!

-

Thanks for stopping by.  And thanks so so much for the wonderful response to my previous post about my debut novel.  I sincerely appreciate all the kind words and support!

-

Posted by Riel Nason on The Q and the U.

My Debut Novel

Since my sewing machine is in for repair and there will be no sewing at my house for a while, I thought this was the perfect opportunity to show another project I have been waiting to share -- something I am very proud of.  My debut novel The Town That Drowned will be released on October 7, 2011.  It's been a very busy and exciting time for me lately working with the publisher to start to put promo in place for the fall.  And now that the book can be preordered, it is as good a time as any to show it here.  Yay! 

-

So, about the book (from the publisher) ...
-

Living with a weird little brother in a small town can be tough enough. Having a spectacular fall through the ice at a skating party and nearly drowning are grounds for embarrassment. But having a vision and narrating it to the assembled crowd solidifies your status as an outcast.

What Ruby Carson saw during that fateful day was her entire town — buildings and people — floating underwater. Then an orange-tipped surveyor stake turns up in a farmer's field. Another is found in the cemetery. A man with surveying equipment is spotted eating lunch near Pokiok Falls. The residents of Haventon soon discover that a massive dam is being constructed and that most of their homes will be swallowed by the rising water. Suspicions mount, tempers flare, and secrets are revealed. As the town prepares for its own demise, 14-year-old Ruby Carson sees it all from a front-row seat.

Set in the 1960s, The Town That Drowned evokes the awkwardness of childhood, the thrill of first love, and the importance of having a place to call home. Deftly written in a deceptively unassuming style, Nason's keen insights into human nature and the depth of human attachment to place make this novel ripple in an amber tension of light and shadow.

Riel Nason writes about antiques and collectibles for the daily Telegraph-Journal. Her short stories have appeared in The Malahat Review, The Antigonish Review, Grain, and The Dalhousie Review. The Town That Drowned is her sensational debut novel.

-

It can be preordered at Amazon.com, Amazon.ca, Chapters Indigo, and Barnes & Noble.  It will be in independent bookstores on October 7.  I'll have to post a little more about it as the release date moves closer.  I'm going to be going on a book tour and to some literary festivals, so eventually I will need some suggestions of quilt stores to stop in along the way.

-

Thanks for stopping by! 

-

Posted by Riel Nason on The Q and the U

My Son Needed a Vintage Sheet Pillow Too

 I mean it's only fair that my son has a cute cuddly vintage sheet pillow too since my daughter has one ... or at least that seemed like a good enough rationale for me to have some sewing fun making one yesterday.

-

I am super pleased with how his turned out.  The fussy cut center is from an old Bambi pillowcase.  My kids don't have an awareness of Bambi as a character, but they both love deer.  We see deer in our neighbourhood all the time.  Just the other day we saw a mother with a spotted fawn. 

 Here's the pair.

 All the fabric in the pillow is from vintage (1970s era) poly/cotton sheets.  I quilted the pillow with simple wavy lines.  It is 20 inches square.

And of course the deep pocket in the back makes a nice bear bed.

-

Happy Quilting!

-

Posted by Riel Nason on The Q and the U

Vintage Sheet Quilt #2 with a Bonus Pillow!

 So here's my latest quilt, once again made from vintage sheets, and since I mentioned a few posts ago that I wanted to make some smaller things this summer, I also made a small(ish) matching pillow.

-

The bear in the middle of the pillow is fussy cut from a vintage pillowcase.  The way the colours of the bear match with the other sheets is kind of, you know, perfect.  I'm sure you quilters have had that little moment of delight when you realise your chosen fabrics just click.  I may or may not have insistently called my husband to come check it out immediately (!)  I mean I had to show him that the extra stop at the thrift store where I bought the pillowcase had indeed been necessary after all -- I now had irrefutable proof.

 The quilt is made of 6 inch squares set on point.  The focal fabric is a striped sheet.  The other fabrics in the blocks are all florals.

 The quilt is about 42 by 56 -- just a nice cosy size for my four-year-old daughter.  I quilted it with a wavy line stitch just off to one side of the seams.

 I quilted the pillow too.  The pillow is 20 inches square.  I had bought several unopened Ikea pillow forms at a neighbour's yard sale for 50 cents each.  I think I probably would have preferred more fully stuffed forms if I was buying them at the store, but my daughter likes how squishy the pillow is -- meaning it is good for hugging.

 You can see the quilt backing in this photo.  It is a pretty pink floral.  The binding is a pale yellow.  All fabric is cut from vintage poly-cotton sheets.

 The batting is cotton bamboo.  The quilt is nice and light and soft.

My daughter discovered that the back of the pillow and the deep pocket I made is a perfect miniature cosy bed.

-

I'm hanging out with other crafty sorts at {Sew} Modern Monday and Manic Monday.  Happy 4th of July to my friends in the USA!

-

Posted by Riel Nason on The Q and the U