Quilter's World: Poinsettia Centrepiece

 Sometimes life circles back on itself...

When I started designing quilts professionally, my first submission (back in...cough...1989) was to Quick & Easy Quilting magazine. The pattern was for a set of placemats using Seminole piecing.  Then editor Sandra Hatch accepted the design for publication and contacted me again to ask would I be interested in doing a regular column on that technique? Writing that column (pre-internet, and on my typewriter with hand-drawn piecing diagrams) spanned the next 12 years, and was a wonderful, wonderful learning experience. Eventually, three sister publications merged into a new and revised format, called Quilter's World. One of my designs appeared in the very first issue of Quilter's World, and made the cover for the second issue of the magazine, in Feb 2003.  

I went on to design for Quilter's World for a couple of years (issues shown below) ...leaving only to work on my first book.  And then my second.  And so on, and so on.  

Over Christmas last year, deciding that some of my Christmas linens needed updating, I sketched out a design for a somewhat modern table centrepiece.  It may not be a traditional representation of a poinsettia, but to my eye it's like looking down into the centre of one, with red leaves and a touch of green swirling around.

I knew those reds needed to be vibrant Island Batik, and they graciously sent me lots of these beauties to work with. Thank you, Island Batik. ♥♥♥ These are all from their Basics and Foundations, which are always available. 

With foundation piecing, it went together quickly.

"Birthing" the centrepiece  means there is no binding to deal with, making the finishing super quick.

They are quilted simply, with a leaf outline and pebbling in the centre.

The size makes it usable as a table centrepiece...

...or as placemats. As you can see, I've made several of these now, and they take no time!

I am delighted that Quilter's World still welcomes my designs, and have showcased this one in a newly released special edition called "Merry Quilted Christmas".  

The issue is filled with lots of full sized quilts, as well as smaller gifty projects you can work up in time for the holidays. The magazine is on newstands now (locally I've seen it at Pharmasave and Walmart) or you can purchase it online from Annie's.

Hurricane Fiona

Hurricane Fiona made a whirlwind visit to the Maritimes on the weekend, and has certainly left an impression wherever she visited.  Here in Amherst, N.S. we got off rather lucky, our area of town in particular.  

We lost power during the night as the storm raged; the winds were wicked.  Before stepping outside to assess damage in the morning, we were greeted with this odd view from a kitchen window.  There were leaves covering everything!

 Even the house was plastered!

There were several large trees down on our street, including this one which fell across the road.

We spent the day getting the new invertor generator connected to the essentials in the house.  I am happy to say it worked wonderfully, and by the end of the day - miraculously! - Nova Scotia Power had our electricity restored. Yay! It took another day to get internet but we are far from complaining, as most of our town and province are still without power, and will be for several days yet.

Yesterday we took a drive along the Parrsboro shore, all the way to Truro.  The damage is widespread, with many trees on power lines, roof shingles and siding missing, and some sheds overturned.  This scene in Great Village, of the former United Church, is particularly sad.

This huge picturesque church stands at the centre of the village.  We understand that crews are working now to safely remove the steeple.

The closer we got to Truro, the more pronounced the damage.  Many streets were blocked by trees. (This is Smith Avenue).

Arlington Place

If you look closely at the below Victoria Street scene, you can just make out a car buried under this tree.

Roosevelt Avenue

Back in Amherst, the damage to large, older trees is significant.

We understand power crews from New Brunswick, Quebec, Ontario, and Maine are helping with the restoration of power to our province.  Warming stations have opened up in most communities to offer hot tea and a place to charge devices.  We witnessed long, long line-ups at the few gas stations that are open. This picture was taken this morning.

We feel so very blessed to have not suffered any damage from the storm, and our fingers are crossed that "normal" will be restored quickly.