Patty Murphy

Italy Day 8

The Sunday we were in Rome had free entry to museums. Which is great! Except the lines were a mile long. We decided that we’d rather see things instead of wait in line. Would I have liked to have gone into the Coliseum or St. Peter’s Basilica? Absolutely, but we decided to soak up what we could in the short time we had there. Rome was a bonus destination. Tuscany was the main event.

Our day started with motorcycles in the street. Hundreds of them! I started the video late – this easily went on for 5 minutes. I’m not sure what they were doing/protesting/organizing but I thought it was really interesting.

Motorcycles for days

Lots of ruins, cool things to see.

The Pantheon.

The Italian Stock Market, Trevi Fountain, Cobblestones and more ruins.

We were tired of Italian food by day 8 and decided to get some sushi. Our sashimi came out with some dry ice for flair!

Sushi on Dry Ice

Aprés dinner gelato. This place was gorgeous and the gelato was excellent! I had a scoop of peach (with fresh peaches in it!) and a scoop of cookies and cream.

Italy Day 7

Day 7. Rome.

I woke up at 5 am the day we were leaving Tuscany. It’s already dawn there and I glimpsed out the window to see the mist covering the hills.

We had to return the rental car to the airport then we proceeded to take the worlds scariest cab ride ever. That’s where I learned that in Rome, it’s every person for themselves and, even amid the chaos, there’s apparently some system I don’t understand. Cars, people and motorcycles are everywhere!

We got to our hotel mid-day and spent the afternoon getting a feel for the city. The day before was Republic Day (akin the the 4th of July) and the city was packed with people!

I love how some drivers park like this!

And our hotel had the coolest hallway on the way to our room.

Italy Day 6

Day 6. Arezzo.

Arezzo dates back to Etruscan times and is home to the Saracen joust of Arezzo that dates back to the Middle Ages. In fact, they still hold this annual tournament in the square.

Arezzo has a beautiful, central park

Vistas for days

All. The. Food. Some ambiance and a goofy kid.

Arezzo has a beautiful cemetery.

Dinner with sister and brother in law that night. Food shots. All the food shots.

Italy Day 5

Day 5. Lucignano.

A small group of us went to Lucignano, an elliptical medieval village. We were there the last day of the Maggiolata Festival. Sadly, the festival was an evening event but we enjoyed how the village was decorated. You can read more about the festival here.

Lunch with a view.

And the food. Seriously, y’all. The food.

That evening we had a wine and truffle tasting in the cellar of the Villa. I’ve had truffles before but it’s usually a sprinkle since they are so expensive. Truffles are easy to find in Italy and they were so, so good! The image on the right shows some truffles pretty much right out of the ground.

They don’t make wine at the Villa any longer because it is too expensive to replace the wooden casks.

A little more roaming around the grounds.

Forced family photos. I think there’s a holiday card photo in here.

Italy Day 4

Day 4. Montalcino

The boys and I visited Montalcino. It’s a charming town that has likely been around since Etruscan times, with it first being noted in historical documents in 814 AD.

The fortress is in the middle of some renovations.

Spectacular views. Smiling family.

And always, the food.

Hidden gems all over the city.

Up Close and Personal with Aether

I’ve had a few requests to get close up looks at the fabrics I use in Aether, so I added this gallery. With the exception of the image at the bottom, because I forgot to take a photo of that square (gah!), the blocks are in order.

You can see how I appliquéd the orange peels. I used stitch #6 on my Bernina – it’s a double stitch (I think that’s the name?) – it’s basically two straight stitched lines next to each other. I wanted more depth to the stitches than a single straight stitch and I didn’t want to use a decorative stitch so this was the winner. You can also see how I changed my thread color along some of the orange peels so the thread would blend into each orange peel. I wanted everything to blend as seamlessly as possible. It was extra work but absolutely worth it, I think!

I’m embarrassed that I am still quilting the orange peels (shakes fist) but I’ll get them finished eventually. I’ve got some secret sewing happening right now and it’s been my priority. More on that later!

Most of the fabrics are from the Kaffe Fassett collective. There are also fabrics from Sally Kelly, Anna Maria Horner, Moda, Martha Negly, Tula Pink and more. Some of the designs are still current, others are not, but this should help guide you when you pull fabrics from your stash.

Have you made an Aether quilt? I’d love to see some photos! Tag me online or send me an email.

Happy Piecing!

Italy Day 3

Day 3. Pienza

Day 3 took everyone to Pienza. It is home to Pope Pius II and a UNESCO World Heritage site. Pretty cool. Everything in Italy is so old, and was a privilege it was to be able to see any of it. Truly.

There was a man singing opera just to the right of the duomo. The video isn’t great but the sound is good!

Aether Time Lapse

Good Morning, friends! I’ve made a lot of new sewing friends lately and want to share a time lapse video of when Aether was coming together. 37 seconds of happiness. If you are new to my blog, welcome. I’m happy to meet you and I’m glad you are here. If you’ve been here a while, thanks for sticking around. To everyone, I appreciate your support!

I love this video because I think you get a good sense of the color and how it flows from orange peel to orange peel and block to block. There was a lot of fiddling with this quilt to get the color to work. In fact, I cut out a lot of orange peels that I didn’t use. Remember, it’s okay to play! Cut up the fabric. If you don’t use it, you can put it on the back, make a pillow or hold onto it for another day, like I’m doing. I *think* I have a plan for those coming together.

I want to share one tip about putting this quilt together: when you pick/cut your background squares, pick a hue slightly lighter than you think you need. When I was designing the quilt I originally matched the background squares to the orange peels. When I stood back, really dark squares in the blue, green, and burgundy families screamed at me and I could immediately tell I needed to choose a slightly lighter color.

Have you made an Aether Quilt? I’d love to see it!

Have questions? Please ask! I’m happy to help.