My Day on the Orange You Glad Blog Hop

Posted byCarol AndrewsPosted inBlog Hops, Quilting, What’s Going OnTags:, , , ,

The fabulous Carla from Creatin’ in the Sticks is hosting this month’s Blog Hop. I am thrilled to be participating again. I’m not sure if you know it, but several of the bloggers offer prizes on their posts. I’ve been lucky enough to win twice on Carla’s site and just placed my order using the 2 gift certificates I won last year. I’ll post a photo of all my treasures when the parcel arrives 😉

The Challenge:
Create something inspired by the color orange.Think orange, think citrus, think orange peel, or maybe the joke about “orange you glad we didn’t say banana!” Anything orange.

When I signed up for this hop, I had some ideas of what I would like to make. Then as has been “normal” this past year and a half, life threw us another curveball. We experienced the worst heat dome with insanely high temperatures (52c in the shade on the deck) and then fire season started early with the Town of Lytton burning to the ground with only 15 minutes notice to evacuate and then fires broke out everywhere. On the worst day there were over 300 fires burning in our Province. We had 2 fires start during an electrical storm within 10 miles of my home. It came within 2 miles and we were placed on evacuation alert.

My heart was heavy thinking of the people who lost everything so I started making quilt tops, hoping that I will be able to get to the studio soon to finish them and get them to the organizers for the Quilts for Lytton Drive.

At the same time that I was doing these scrappy quilts, I was tossing around ideas for my Hop Project.

I had to run to my favourite LQS which is one and a half hours drive from home to pick up some machine needles and I came across these beautiful batiks:

It solidified the idea that had been stewing in my mind with the theme being orange.

All I can think of when I think of orange is wildfire and this was my night time view in July. 😢

A few months ago I had made this quilt for a friend that was being released from hospital after contracting Covid;

Click on the photo to read about this special quilt.

I pulled out my eagle pattern by Cheryl Phillips of Phillips Fiber Arts, did some calculating, modified the pattern pieces to suit my needs and then started cutting and sewing.

Can you figure out where I’m heading with this project?

“The phoenix is a long-lived, immortal bird associated with Greek mythology(with analogs in many cultures) that cyclically regenerates or is otherwise born again. Associated with the sun, a phoenix obtains new life by arising from the ashes of its predecessor. Some legends say it dies in a show of flames and combustion, others that it simply dies and decomposes before being born again.[1]”. Quoted from Wikipedia

So I sewed and went outside to watch the helicopters and came back in and sewed some more or did some trimming.

Once again I enjoyed this pattern and was satisfied with my slight modifications. So here is my finished quilt top:

Every year here in British Columbia we do have a fire season. They are getting worse every year, but we are resilient. We rebuild and replant and eventually the senses of humour re-assert and we find some good and even happy memories, e.g. the wonderful, brave firefighters we are lucky enough to meet, a funny story of something that got “missed” by the fire, being able to create something for those who have lost so much. I think that is why quilters are so generous to the ones who lost everything to a wildfire. It’s a way of giving back quilty hugs to our communities.

So I created these quilt tops so far:

Quilts for Lytton Wildfire Drive

As this is being posted I am no longer on Evacuation Alert, the wildfires are close to being contained and I am at the studio to truly get this quilt and as many of my UFO’s finished as I can on the longarm.

These are the bloggers I am sharing my day with. Be sure to pop over to their blogs to see their amazing creations. You’ll be truly inspired. I was!

Thursday, August 19th

Please don’t forget to make a comment on the blog posts you visit. Showing your appreciation for the designers efforts to inspire you does make them happy. If you enjoy their posts, take some time to read some of their other posts and follow them if you like what you see and are inspired by their posts.

Thank you for spending some of your time to read my post. I enjoy reading and responding to your comments 😉. Carol

Linking with:

Frederique @ Quilting Patchwork Applique

Published by Carol Andrews

I have been fondling fabric and creating things with fabric and fiber for as long as I can remember. My children had homemade clothes, blankets, canning and quilts most of their lives. Now I create goodies to share! Hope you enjoy viewing them as much as I enjoy making them! When I am not creating with fiber or fabric I keep busy with Dear Heart, kids, grandkids, great grandkids.

46 thoughts on “My Day on the Orange You Glad Blog Hop”

  3. The Phoenix quilt is stunning! I admire all the work you have done on other quilt tops. Thank you for that work, especially under such stressful conditions. I’m glad you are no longer under an evacuation order. Blessings for the future!

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  4. wow your phoenix turned out lovely. i love the different fabrics you used to give him dimension and movement. your other quilts are lovely also and for such a worthy cause. thanks for sharing and inspiring.

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  5. A very interesting read for me this morning. So sorry your beautiful province with its beautiful forests has been suffering with these fires. Evacuation is not a nice word!! That is a gorgeous quilt top you made and you are also generous to be donating to the Lytton Wildfire Drive. Kudos!

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    1. Thank you Jocelyn. I’m glad you found it interesting, but your Province is suffering, too. Just please keep sharing your lovely photos. They help keep me calm and happy when I’m checking blog posts 😉

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  6. Hi Carol! Talk about a fabulous representation of orange and the Phoenix. Seeing the picture and reading your prose actually gave me the chills (and NOT because of a/c!!). WOWEE! What a beautiful quilt, Carol. I know you are safe and sound and in the studio, hopefully your heart out. You are just such a gem of a person – I love reading your posts and I’m so glad our paths have crossed albeit virtually. Great job! {{Hugs}} a bunch. ~smile~ Roseanne

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  7. Your phoenix is amazing! The fabrics you chose are so perfect for the quilt top. Bless you, for all your quilty love for the wildfire victims. I can’t imagine the devastation those fires cause. Thank you for sharing your story and your orange creation.

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  8. What a fitting project you selected. Your phoenix is stunning and such a wonderful way to remember that from the ashes, there is resilience, rebuilding, and new growth. I am humbled by how much you got done during this difficult time. Congratulations on a stunning project, and the side projects you have been working on for those in need!

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    1. Hi Kathleen. Thank you so much for your wonderful comment. The Phoenix just seemed right for the state of our world right now with weather catastrophes everywhere….a reminder that we can adjust and build again if we can get climate change under control. 😊

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  10. Your Phoenix is gorgeous! What a treasured gift that is, I’m sure. I’m so sorry you’ve had all those fires around you and it is devastating to see all the loss of property and life. Your beautiful quilt tops will definitely be appreciated by those who receive them. Thank you for sharing your sweet orange projects!

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    1. Thank you Gail. I’m in Oyama for another day or two. It’s pretty weird with Glenrosa (Westbank) having been on alert and seeing the scorched ground between Vernon and Oyama. It’s definitely gut wrenching. 😢

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  12. What a lovely Phoenix quilt; it is gorgeous. I agree that orange reminds me of fire. The devastation of wildfires is nearly more than I can imagine. So glad you are no longer in the evacuation zone. Take care.

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  14. You sure know how capture the resilience of your community. We have also had our share of wild fires and they are just so devastating. Your compassion shows in every quilt you have made for those who lost so much. Thank you for everything you are doing. You are the Phoenix to so many!

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    1. Hi Joan. Thank you so much for your wonderful comment. The wildfires, floods, earthquakes and tornados are devastating so many communities in our world, but we all do what we can to send hugs to those who are hurting. Right? 😊

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  18. Oh my that quilt is fabulous. Being in Southern Michigan, no threats of wildfires like those in the west, but where I buried my husband in Northern California there has been a forest fire go through the area every year for the past 3 years…the closest was within 1/4 mile. This year included. Downside to burying someone in a historical family cemetery in the mountains. You have made some gorgeous quilts for the firefighter and victim support.

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    1. Thank you Colette. I do hope your husband’s gravesite remains unscathed by the fires. It’s just heartbreaking to see how many are losing homes. Hopefully your part of the world doesn’t suffer any weird catastrophic weather. We even had a tornado a few weeks back. That never happens in BC. I did experience some in Alberta though. Stay well and have fun if you can for the rest of your summer 😁

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  20. A wonderful quilt and use of the Phoenix. Your contributions to Lytton are amazing, too. I’m glad you and your friend with your longarm are safe.

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  21. At first when you said you were using the eagle pattern again (love that quilt) I was thinking okay, the eagle will be soaring, resilient, but then when you said you starting cutting from orange, I just KNEW – a phoenix! Excellent. What a memorable quilt of a rough summer that ha isn’t out of the woods yet. Not to be flippant.

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  22. This post is joyful and sorrowful at the same time. The fires are beyond heartbreaking but yours and other quilters generosity are truly amazing. And your challenge quilt. Words of praise do it little justice. It’s truly beyond. Sorry, can’t stop gushing. Yeah you.

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    1. Thank you Joyce. Can you see me blushing from there? I did enjoy making each and every one of these quilts and even managed to deliver 4 finished quilts to the Wildfire Drive this morning when I left the studio. The best part of coming home? Almost 3 of the 5 hours drive was through torrential rain. 😉

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