A Quilt For Summer

It's finally summer and I brought out the Great Lakes Summer Quilt for display at our lake shore home in Michigan. I designed this quilt during the summer of 2001 and it became the signature quilt for the last Quilt Camp that we did at the Old Winsor Gallery (now Harjo's Ben Franklin) in downtown Pigeon. The Quilt Campers enjoyed customizing the central lighthouse block and learning how easy it is to do fusible applique with zigzag stitched finishes.

Now, when I get this quilt out for the summer I have a funky rule at the lake house -- I don't use blue in the public rooms of this house. No blue glassware, no blue linens, no blue quilts. BUT, this quilt is the grand exception. It has clear blues that contrast with reds and golds. With a lighthouse in the center, geraniums, a sunflower, stars, and flags this quilt feels so "summer-coastal-patriotic" to me.

My favorite block is the geranium. It uses fused applique with petals and leaves and pot and stems. The pencil sketch for this block was done in the summer of 2000. Surrounded by flowers and porch pots, I sketched this calm, summer block.

And where did the Canadian flag come from? We camped on the shore of Lake Superior at Lake Superior Provincial Park north of Sault Ste Marie, Ontario for two summers. Canada's flag reminds me of the those wonderful June days at Agawa Bay in the Grand North.

Happy Summer (at last)!

Wanda

The 97 Blazer

Graywood Designs has its own car! Well, I guess that you'd call my 1997 Blazer a SUV. Technically it is an S10 pickup body made by Chevy for quite a few years. The 1997 Blazer (we just call it "The Blazer") has been to Houston for Quilt Markets and Festivals almost every year since its first trip in 1997. It has been to other Quilt Markets, too, and this is also the vehicle that has been Canada camping and done lots of Michigan to Wisconsin trips.


As of today the Blazer has over 240,000 miles on its odometer. So, you see, it has been to the moon (figure earth to moon distance at 125,000 miles) and is on its way back. Wow! That's quite a feat!

You can see how proud I am of this car by my picture of the Blazer-Trailer rig that we run to Houston. The Blazer was retired from long trips in February of 2007. I replaced it with the BNB -- Big New Buick -- that can also pull the trailer. The BNB's license plate is "GW04." Those of you who order our patterns regularly know that GW04 is the item number for Graywood's "Double Four Patch Runner" design. We're on our way to selling 25,000 of this pattern. Hence, the license plate -- a vanity plate that commemorates a bestselling quilting pattern!

Happy Quilting,

Wanda