Updates on two projects. Happy Canada Day!

Today is the day for updates on two QALs.  First up is the Gwennie QAL.  I decided to add a childhood memory of ice cream cones as my border.  Often in the summer we would pack into the car and drive out to Peter Ice Cream on Spanish Banks in Vancouver.  My pick would be black licorice.  I free cut my triangle cones and used a cream on cream with a script similar but not the same as my charcoal grey background that was used for my tulip basket medallion.

 Next up was my first more Gwen inspired baskets with a checkerboard border.  I used to love playing checkers with a childhood friend often outside under the fruit trees in her back yard.

Then for my second Gwen basket I did another set of ice cream borders in a different colour way.  Again both the checkerboard border and the ice cream triangles were freehand cut. I have not trimmed these down to size but cropped them to give the illusion of having done so.

My friend Ethel's medallion that I shared last month has gone in another direction so I won't be sharing it with you this month.  I am linking up with Cynthia of Wab-sabi Quilts who chose the childhood theme for this month/   Then I'm off to Cathy at Big Lake Quilter to see what the next inspiration will be!

Addendum, Ethel just e-mailed me and said to add hers into the mix.  She is calling it Sandcastles now and thought it had departed a bit from the theme; but after seeing some of the other blocks she decided to let me share it.

 A cropped version so you can see it a bit better.

 My second update is on the 366 project.  I'm caught up on this project this month despite having not stitched any circles while away at my Mary Lou Weidman retreat earlier in the month.

 A closer look at a couple of the squares. One of the swaps we've done in the past with Mary Lou was a sand pail swap so I fussy cut one for this month along with some other Mary Lou inspired images.

 We also did a watering can swap.  Mary Lou and I both love polka dots as do many of her students.

 Cherries are a favourite of hers and riding in the car on family vacations was a common summer family activity for us and that print is one of her designs.

 Peacocks, flamingos and bicycles are favourites of mine.  Although I've not ridden a bike for some time.

 Tangled threads are part of sewing with all the trimmings and hand sewing.  The pink and green abstract print was used in a border of a round robin I did and is similar to my Ruth B. McDowell inspired hollyhock centre I designed.

Here are all my blocks for the past three months.

And here are all the blocks for my first three months.  I've been packing them away quarterly.  That means I'm half way through the year.

Im linking up to Quilty Folk July 365 Linkup Party today.

Happy Canada Day to you all.