National Corduroy Day!

It is finally here! 

The excitement has been building on for months! 

I think Nifty did a great job being the ringleader of this celebration. Wouldn't you agree?

I decided to make a small quilt and use up an old unfinished project. 

I am so glad I did!

Now the question is, how is it going to be used?

It is only 12 inches wide
 and
 a mile long!

 You would think as a table runner?

It is true to my style.

It is hand quilted with Perle cotton thread. My favorite! 

It is wonky!

It lays flat but it's 'organic' and 'fluid' just the way I like it!

I had so much fun taking pictures of this quilt.
K suggested I should take on a job of a window displayer ( is that a word?) 

In the hallway, with pillows from India!
K came home from school and asked, "Mom, are we getting a bit carried away? Who in the world lays pillows around in the hallway?"
She is right! I don't have those laying around on the floor.
Just today, for the pictures.

After few tries on where and how to use this long quilt, I found a perfect corner in the house!
Looks pretty artsy to me. It shows of it's curved binding very well.

This quilt got it's own special hanger.
It is made from a copper pipe wrapped with cotton rope. I tied extra rope at the end to make it look like a scroll.
All it look were two tiny holes at each end of the pipe to insert the hanger made of garden wire.
Pretty cool,  right?

And, since I have taken so many pictures, I might as well share them with you!

 I was not sure if there were any rules for this challenge so I took the liberty of using linen and used cotton dress for the zigzag. 

 I like to cut my binding 2 1/4" wide and for curvy edges I prefer bias binding. 

 Love how it snugs the edges. 

 Deb also talked about cutting up some long corduroyee food.. 

That gave me an idea!

If those project runway people can design cloths out of almost anything,  

Why can't I?

So here it is.

A quilt made out of corduroy food!

Few strips of zucchini, carrots and celery on my cutting board,

and it was delicious!

 Are you inspired?

What's in the name?

The story. Of course!

This quilt began little over two years ago when I had temporarily moved back to Seattle for a year. 

I called it 'Goodwill Shirts Quilt'.

Because, that's what it was!

I had bought some shirts from the Goodwill store to make a quilt. As I started cutting up the shirts in larger chunks of fabrics, I decided to use up all the skinny and long strips into this quilt. It went fast. 

At the moment my life was sort of like a driftwood, lacking a sense of belonging.

If you ever have moved after being in one place for a long time, you know what I am talking about.

This past week, I had the chance to go on a retreat with my new friends Kelly, Cheryl, Terry and Jane to Christine's house in Maryland. Together we cooked, laughed and sewed. Went on walks and of course worked on our projects. 

Christine's husband took us on the boat ride in the evening. On the way back I saw a little piece of driftwood on the beach..

Remember this?

 

Time I spent with my mom back in 2007 is one of the most memorable time of my life. We were visiting Deception Pass State Park on Whidbey Island and were surrounded by driftwood. 

At the retreat, I worked on my quilt and hand quilted away while sharing the stories of my early experiences in this country. 

I think for the first time in past three and a half years I was as comfortable as I look in the picture with my mom.

I honestly feel as if my emotions have finally stopped drifting and my mind has found a 'home' on the beach (here) full of new possibilities. 

My new friends have made me feel at home.

I will forever be grateful for that. 

Now this quilt hangs over my fireplace in the family room. 

It stands for lot more than curved piecing and hand quilting with Perle cotton thread.. 

It is the constant reminder of the good times I had with my friends but even more the fact that no matter how stormy life gets, there is always a peaceful outcome in the end. 

New beginnings are tough but sometimes all one has to do is to keep afloat.

'Driftwood' is what I call this quilt. 

For it's life which began somewhere else, had a wonderful younger years like a lush tree full of life and went through rough storms and survived, became sharper and smoother with every wave that hit.

  Do you name your quilts? 

Do you wonder what's in the name?

I say there is always a story.

I like to call it  'The Root Connection'

Tasty leftovers

Flower Pot quilted and bound! 

I used an old Alexander Henry fabric for the flower motif. Yes, that is not appliqued!

The pot was a leftover patch from the Ferris Wheel Quilt.

Patched the background with Kona Black to 'match' the flower print.

Binding was made from the leftover scraps of

 

Magic Carpet

 

The Kite Festival

and

 

Crater Lake

Aren't the leftovers yummy?