25 Years

Quilts have a long tradition of being made to commemorate important events. Births, weddings, graduations, and even deaths have been marked with lovingly stitched pieces. This is as true today as ever, and encompasses quilts of modern design as much as those of traditional design.

Earlier this month I completed a "modern" quilt to celebrate a 25th anniversary. I won't discuss how late the presentation was relative to the actual event, except to say that I found it a tad daunting to design a modern quilt for a couple in which the husband is an architect who specializes in modern, and exquisitely crafted, homes, and the wife is a former advertising executive with a great sense of style.

I discarded several ideas before settling on this simple graphic design of twenty five blocks as a subtle reference to the couple's years together.

Funny thing about this design is that, unknown to me, or at least not remembered by me, a number of years ago the wife stitched a needlepoint pillow cover with the same design! And they both share the same orangey red.

I pieced the quilt by machine and quilted it entirely by hand, echoing the shape of each triangle. Viewed up close the texture really stands out.

Viewed from a distance the bold design is more apparent.

I pieced the back from two other solid colors, pale enough not to show through the cream on the front.

In the end, it was worth taking the time to get the design right.

Summer Greens

I knit this wrap for my sweet cousin and actually had it delivered to her in time for her birthday earlier this month, one of the few times I have finished a project well before the event it was meant to celebrate.

But I got an early start, having fallen for the Raven Ridge yarn at Knit on Pearl in Jackson, Wyoming, last summer. The luxurious silk and merino blend yarn made working on this such a great pleasure that I picked it up at every opportunity and finished quickly.

As I noted the first time I knit the Calza wrap pattern, it is completely reversible, thanks to garter stitch for the body of the work and a knit one/purl one ribbed cable edging.

Raven Ridge yarns are hand dyed in Montana with colors inspired by Montana landscapes. This particular yarn color, called Wolf Lichen, is a light, variegated green that really does look like wolf lichen, which you can see growing on conifers in the western states.

Since the yarn is very much a product of the west, I'll finish this post with a few pictures from Jackson Hole, one of the west's iconic locations. The John Moulton Barn, one of the remaining structures from old homesteads along Mormon Row, is a popular spot for watching the sun rise on the high peaks.

Other Mormon Row structures may be less dramatic, but have their own charm.

The area is, of course, most famous for its natural beauty. In early summer the valley is bright with wildflowers,

 while up high the lakes may still be frozen over.

Ice and reflections on Goodwin Lake

Dramatic skies are as important to the scenery as what is on the ground. Summer storm clouds roll in from the west, usually in the afternoon.

Clouds over the Tetons, seen from the top of Snow King Mountain

Morning clouds, like these seen at Schwabacher's Landing, may portend a mostly rainy, but still beautiful, day.

May all our rainy days be filled with beauty!