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Monday, August 14, 2023

Summer Vibes

Paul: Let's go get ice cream.
Me: Sugar is not my friend.
Paul: Of course not. It is your side piece.
Me: Side piece?
Paul: The guy who texts "you up?"
Me: Like booty call?
Paul: Yes, booty call.
Me: It does go to my booty. 
Paul: So you are coming?
Me: I won't say no to a booty call.

Ice cream with Paul - Sweet!



Summer time equates with vacation time for many of us.  Although I cannot take a vacation at this time, I can squeeze in small getaways and get-together with friends.  last week, I got together with Bonnie.
Had we coordinated better, I would have worn Barbie colors too :-D



We ate Mexican food and chatted about thread, quilting patterns and English vocabulary, since Bonnie is a retired teacher and I am fascinated with the English language. 




When I think of summer, I think yellow and orange - the colors of sherbet, lemonade and popsicles. 
But in America, it is certainly the combination of red, white and blue that is quintessentially summer. 

So here is a very summery finish - Captain Hotpants.  The quilt has a rather long and winding story. 

Picnic Quilt?


I have a dear friend, Joyce. She is a mentor, a mother figure, and a confidante.

I met her in 2007, and we became fast friends shortly thereafter. I made her this quilt, which is proudly displayed in her guest bedroom. In 2016, I messed up, and we had a falling out. 
I apologized, Joyce forgave me, and we renewed our friendship in 2022. 

But in the six years that we were apart, many things happened. Nathan, Ryan and Andy (Joyce's nephews) got married. Between the three of them, they added five babies (four boys and one girl) to the family.
So when Joyce visited me last month (after 6+ years), I sent her home with five quilts, one each for the five kids.

Cinderella (for the girl)
Jade (for Eli)
 
Two days later, I got a message from Joyce, saying she loves Jade and would want to keep it for herself, offering to pay for it.  
Her exact words are "The more I look at it, the greedier I become and don't want to part with it."

It warmed the cockles of my heart. I suggested that she keep it as an early birthday present from me.
But I also chided her (laughingly) for stealing Eli's quilt.

Eli needed a quilt. It would be extremely unfair if he was the only cousin without a quilt.

Although I do have "quilts on tap" (according to Paul), I was ready to make one.  I was sitting on a pile of improv blocks made for last year's Rainbow Scrap challenge and this was a perfect opportunity to play with some of those improv pieced blocks. 

Turquoise Blocks


Red Blocks


Blue Blocks


I gathered some of the red, blue and turquoise blocks and started playing.

Thank goodness for the Design Wall


Some additions, subtractions and adjustments later, we had a flimsy!!!

Flimsy!!!


And that is how we got Captain Hotpants. Here are some finished pictures.

Finished!!!


Captain Hotpants finished at about 43" by 45". The backing is cute dinosaurs and the binding is red/white check. 

Red and White Binding :-)



Named after the astronaut!

Here are a few close-ups

Scrappy


I love improv!


Yummy


Labelled



I delivered the quilt to Joyce last week and she will deliver it to Eli later this month.

Happy Joyce



Joyce, the model


The colors of summer!

And here is Eli with his quilt. I am told that he and Captain Hotpants have become good friends!

Happy Recipient :-)


I will be sharing with all my favorite linky parties including Angela's. See full list on the side bar.


Oh, there is one more thing. While I was face-timing with Connie, a fellow IB ambassador, she expressed pleasant surprise at the blooming crape myrtle trees here in Northern Virginia. So I took some more pictures for her. But in doing so I discovered some interesting things myself!

Such intense color!!!


Red color blooms in a white tree


Three shades of pink in a single tree!!!



Such a gorgeous pink!


Love Lavender 


I counted five different colors in one yard



August is Island Batik Ambassador's Choice month. So we get to make whatever we want. 
I may have made a quilt or two, with a new pattern release! That blogpost is next.  

As always I am eager to hear from you. Your comments add color to all my seasons :-)







31 comments:

  1. I'm glad you were able to meet with Bonnie, it looks like the two of you enjoyed each other's company (and the food looks good)! I'm so glad that you and Joyce have renewed your friendship, and I'm not surprised that Joyce went home with a bunch of Preeti's quilts! You have such a kind heart! Love the photo of you by the crepe myrtle tree - it's vibrant, just like you!

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  2. Aren't crape myrtles fabulous? They're all over Sacramento, and I miss them. Their colors would make a great quilt color scheme-it screams summer to me!

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  3. you are so generous! glad you and Bonnie got a chance to meet up I just read about it on her blog. Love all your plants and quilts.

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  4. Ice cream, Mexican food, quilts, and friends - always a fun combination! Your Captain Hotpants quilt is a cute one and I especially love the backing. Beautiful crape myrtle, too! I've never seen those before, but enjoyed your photos!

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  5. Yummy ice cream time ;) Your friendship with Joyce is beautiful, and I'm happy that you were able to be friends again. It says "a friend is like a four-leaf clover: hard to find, and a joy to keep". Lovely new quilt for Eli!

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  6. Capt. Hot Pants is such a great quilt--just love all those colors...nice work!!
    "I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream!" Yay;))))
    hugs, Julierose

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  7. Just love those blossoms!

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  8. Wonderful story about the Jade/Hotpants quilts, thanks for sharing! And those spectacular flower colours!

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  9. You and Paul are just too cute, Preeti! Love your banter...keeps life interesting! Beautiful story with your friend Joyce. Love how you turned the improv blocks into a quilt for Eli! I hope you and Bonnie had some great Mexican food. That's my favorite! I love crepe myrtles. I've also noticed here that a few have multicolored blooms on them! That is definitely a beautiful anomaly! Have a great week, my friend!

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  10. Good to hear you & Joyce could renew your friendship. Those cousins sure got lucky with that too. Yummmm! I love Mexican food and you & Bonnie picked the perfect food to eat. I'd say your post is all about quilts & friendships! Glad you couldn't resist the booty call either. *wink*

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  11. How fun to get to meet up with Bonnie!
    and Capt. Hotpants... that is amazing!!! how sweet to love on all the cousins!!!!

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  12. I'm so glad that you and Joyce were able to renew your friendship. It can be so hard to say (and accept) an apology. I love the plaid binding on Captain Hotpants!

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  13. I so enjoyed your blog today and your story about friendship. It always makes me extra happy when someone wants one of my quilts. My sister-in-law commented on how much she like the charm quilt I was making with diamond shapes. I finished it up and gave it to her. I would have liked to make her a more complex quilt but this was the one she liked. It's been years since I gave her the quilt but she contacted me recently with a picture of the quilt and more thank- you's. I'm glad that both your friend and my SIL got the quilt they wanted.

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  14. Those crepe myrtles are lovely. They aren't hardy this far north. Oh, and the quilts and Paul are cute, too.
    Pat

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  15. Friendships are really important so I am happy to hear you and your friend were able to reconnect. Love the quilts Preeti!!

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  16. We have 3 crepe myrtle trees - 2 a vibrant red called "Dynamite" and one in a gorgeous white. Our neighbor has a tree with 2 different colors, now that I know these trees can do that I'll be watching for more. LOVE the quilt you made for Eli - a little boy will adore both sides of that quilt! How wonderful that your friend is keeping the other quilt & that you've renewed your friendship. I always love the commentary between you and your husband - so cute! Deb E

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  17. Such an interesting post, wonderful to be able to catch up with friends. And your 'captain underpants' quilt is great, handy having a pile of blocks all ready with lots of bright colour, just needing a reason to be stitched together!

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  18. Love the colors and the name of Captain Hotpants. Really cute. The crepe myrtles are beautiful. They don't grow well here, but we had them in Texas and they were always lovely. How fun you got to hang out with Connie.

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  19. Love the quilt and the story. Sad that you were apart for so long but oh so glad you are back together. Thanks for sharing with my weekly show and tell, Wednesday Wait Loss.

    https://www.inquiringquilter.com/questions/2023/08/16/wednesday-wait-loss-341

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  20. Enjoyed your conversation with Paul, your meeting with Bonnie and the story of a friendship renewed, a stolen quilt and a new quilt! I was sitting under crape myrtles at my brother's and was enjoying them. I don't know if they do well in Maine, I will need to look it up.

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  21. Yes, your conversations with Paul are always delightful to read; overhearing them would be better although you’d know I was evesdropping when I can’t help laughing.
    All the quilts are wonderful but I’m really envious of Captain Hotpants. I’ve tried improv checkerboards but mine never work out well. I’ll look at yours frequently and see if I can figure a plan.
    Ann at FretNotYourself

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  22. Love the name Captain underpants!

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  23. I can’t decide which Preeti-ism is my favorite from this post: “ice cream is my side piece” or naming that quilt (and that astronaut fabric) “Captain Hot Pants.” Wonderful quilt and I love that where a friendship took a wrong turn, you found your way back together again. Life is too short for burned-out bridges to separate kindred spirits.

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  24. Preeti, what a beautiful story of reconciliation! I’m glad you restored your friendship and then followed up with a generous gift of quilts. The crepe myrtle trees amaze me and I wish we had them in Minnesota!

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  25. I’ve never seen a crepe myrtle tree. They are gorgeous! I absolutely adore the Captain Underpants quilt! Have you done a tutorial on how to get started on that one? Now, I’m off to go back in your post and check out the links to the quilts the cousins received! I just love looking at your creations!

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  26. The reference to you and Joyce relinquishing and rekindling a friendship is so inspirational. So is the fact that you managed to "instantly" provide quilts for her niece and nephews, then add a bonus quilt to the bunch. Your layout of the bonus quilt is unexpected and perfect.

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  27. ooooh, I am having such an ice cream problem this year (well: frozen custard, actually, which upsets my system far less than real ice cream, and is therefore upsetting my diet far more). Love your tale of quilty redemption and love Eli's improv-y Americana quilt too!

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  28. I come for the quilts but stay for the stories. They never disappoint. Also, the colors! And I still think you have better scraps than anyone else.

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  29. Love the binding and all the scrappy goodness of your extra quilt, Preeti! Such a warm and happy story of a friendship rekindled.

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  30. Captain Hot Pants. . .the title made me laugh! Those improv blocks went together well. . .you are a fast sewist!! What a great story about this quilt and getting back together with a friend!---TerryK@OnGoingProjects

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