Quilt Crossing

Ruffling my feathers

2012-02-15T22:10:00.000-05:00

I was looking for a quick take-along project to work on while visiting my Dad in rehab and I thought a scarf might be just the thing. I came across this pattern modelled by the lovely and talented Vanna White:

The pattern is actually pretty neat in that it is created with just 5 long rows from side to side rather than from top to bottom.

A quick look at the yarn selection offered at my local craft store and I found this pretty jewel tone variagated yarn:

I started the project on a Monday

and found myself crocheting madly at every opportunity.

Before I knew it, I had completed the scarf and couldn't wait to see how it looked with my purple coat.

But.....

When I put the scarf around my neck, I felt more like this:

I guess if you're a queen, or a celebrated game show hostess you can rock the ruffled scarf. But for me, I'm just not feeling it.

February 14th already?

2012-02-14T12:11:00.000-05:00

I can't believe it's Valentine's Day already! It seems like New Year's was just last week.

A quick recap of what I've been up to since my last post:

We had some work done on the house in the time leading up to the holidays, and I had to pack up my sewing room for a bit.

Christmas came and went with all the flurry of celebration and preparation. We played host for our family gathering this year, and had a grand time.

In January, my father took a fall and fractured a rib and 4 vertebrae, so much of my time lately has been spent in hospital rooms and then at the rehab hospital. Fortunately, Dad is on the mend and will be back home soon.

One crafty project that I finished is a crocheted doily that I had been working on for a while.

The pattern was a freebie called "pinwheel doily" that I found here. Although it called for white crochet cotton, but the pinwheel center reminded me of a poinsettia so I decided to make it in red and use it for Christmas. Of course, being red, it doubles as a Valentine's decoration too.

I don't actually decorate too much for Valentine's day because I like to keep around some of the Christmas decor even after Christmas. For example, this pitcher and flowers and the little snowman are still on my mantle:

This looks like "winter" to me, not just "Christmas" and I like to think the red can cover for Valentine's Day too.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Seasons change and so do I

2011-11-11T11:58:00.001-05:00

When I was a kid, there were two seasons of cleaning: Spring Cleaning and Fall Cleaning. Now, don't ask me if I still adhere to such fanciful thinking, but I have been doing a little more than just dusting and vacuuming in the sewing room this past week. You see, we are having the windows replaced in that room, and all my sewing stuff is right up against the window.

In order to have access to the window, we have to move my sewing cabinet and all the lovely things I had stashed behind it, (and under it) ...bags of scraps, bits of batting, leftover items from my garment sewing days, cross-stitch patterns, embroidery floss, and a few linens given to me for safe keeping when my parents downsized.

Of course, a good cleaning means sorting and cleaning out everything else in the room, right? So this week I have been going through the heaps of fabrics that needed to be put away, the books and magazines that needed filing, the gizmos and gadgets that cluttered up my cutting area and the assorted stuff that ends up in the sewing room.

Also being cleaned up and sorted was the tree that fell outside our house during the storm last week. We had to have a crew come with a crane to take down what was left of the tree. It's not often you look out your second story window and see this:

Of course, Toby wanted to see what was going on too:

But Shorty couldn't get up high enough to get a good view.

Not to worry! There's always an alternative:

We are nothing if not resourceful around here.

Mother Nature's Trick or Treat

2011-11-03T17:52:00.000-04:00

I had this cute photo of Toby in his pumpkin costume all set to display on my blog on Halloween, and then Mother Nature sent a freakish snowstorm our way and knocked out my access to the computer. So here he is, better late than never...

Trick or Treat!

We were very fortunate that we did not lose electricity like so many did in our town and the neighboring towns. However, we did lose a large tree which fell down next to our house and took along our Internet, cable and telephone service wire with it. No fun to look up and see this:

At least the sky was blue! In fact, the day after the storm was a gorgeous clear sunny day. Looking around at the snow on the foliage was odd, but also quite pretty.

We went to church on Sunday and learned that they had lost their electricity. We had Mass just the same in the cold, dim church lit only by candles and whatever light came in through the stained glass windows. With the sun and the snow outside, the colors in the windows were practically glowing. I snapped this pic quickly with my cell phone as we were leaving just to remember how lovely the stained glass was. It's quite overexposed, but it gives you an idea.

We also found that the grocery store had no electricity. We stopped in to get a few things and were surprised it was still open. A store clerk told us that they had generators for the most important things: the lighting, the refrigeration, the cash registers and .... the time clock! No sneaking out in the dark for those employees!

Speaking of employees, I'm very grateful to all the state, city and utility workers who put in so many hours to help get the power restored. The majority of things are back to normal, except for the sound of chainsaws as people all over clean up after the storm. Lots of wood for the fireplace!

The Good, the Bad and the Snuggly

2011-10-25T15:17:00.000-04:00

I finished knitting the afghan I started!

Just 2 and a half months ago, this project looked like this:

If anyone had told me that I would finish knitting an afghan by the end of October, I would have laughed. (This was supposed to be my longterm project.) But somehow, I found myself picking up the needles at every opportunity and before I knew it, I had seven knitted strips.

Instead of sewing the strips together, I crocheted them together. Here is the reverse side showing a row of crochet:

I really like the stability the crochet added, and it was a real timesaver too.

As I went along, I tried to keep continuity in each strip so that the stripes would line up when sewn together. When I laid the strips side by side, it looked like I was doing an okay job. I expected that there would be some variation, but not quite this much:

I kind of wish I had paid less attention to trying to match the stripes. In that case, I might have something that looked casually unmatched on purpose.

I think the problem was that I used skeins of yarns from different dye lots. I thought that since there was such a range of color in the yarn, that if there were a subtle change in the dyes from skein to skein that it would be okay. What I didn't consider was that different dye lots apparently had differences in the lengths of the bands of color.

However the stripes may fall, I love this afghan! The yarn is very soft, and the weight has a nice drape to it. It fills in any drafts around your legs. Don't tell my quilts I'm admitting this, but I just might prefer the afghan to put over my lap on a cold night.
(Did I really just type that?)

I still have quite a bit of work ahead of me to tie in all the loose yarn:

The nice thing is that the afghan does double duty as a legwarmer while I'm working on it.

Now what will I do for my longterm project?

Fall colors

2011-10-24T12:53:00.001-04:00

Just a few pics of some of the glorious Fall colors we had before the rains came.

I finished knitting all the strips for my afghan, and am almost done putting it together. More about that tomorrow in a post that can only be titled
"The Good, The Bad and The Snuggly".

Quilty weekend

2011-10-17T17:46:00.003-04:00

It was a busy weekend for quilting in my neck of the woods.
There were 3 quilt shows, including my guild's show, and also a seminar on quilts and textiles of the 1930's that I was fortunate enough to attend.

I don't have photographs from any of it to share, so I thought I'd share this little black cat quilt.

I did not make it, but I've had this little quilt for years now. I think I won it as a door prize at my guild. My favorite thing about it is that the cat's neckerchief is a 3 dimensional prairie point.

Home, Home on the Plains...

2011-10-14T12:42:00.001-04:00

I love a good quilt history book, and this one is no exception:

It's a fascinating look at the lives (and quilts!) of women pioneers in late 19th century Nebraska, written by 2 quilt historians, Kathy Moore and Stephanie Grace Whitson.

The book is illustrated with many photos of Nebraska families and their sod houses. The sepia tone photo on the book's cover gives you an idea of the kind of photography you'll find inside.

One of the featured quilters is Grace McCance Snyder:

You may have heard of her well known Flower Basket Petit Point quilt. Grace made her first quilt out on the plains while herding her father's cattle. Details of her life are recounted in the book, but you can spend 3 short minutes to learn more about her online here.

Another highlighted quilter from the book is Luna Sanford Kellie. What a hearty soul she was!

She and her husband, JT, had 13 children, and Luna worked the farm right up to each birth. Let me share this quote from a 9 months pregnant Luna that left me awestruck:

"... started in to help JT cut the broom corn, but we only worked 2 or 3 days when I got sick in the night. JT made a hurried run a mile east for a neighbor woman who hurried back and about daylight Friday we had another lovely little boy .... I got dinner on Monday and then being so worried about the broom corn went out and helped cut some ... Tuesday morning I wrapped the new baby in a quilt and took it to the field and worked all day ..."

Yikes! Those pioneer women were made of strong stuff!

The book includes patterns for some of the quilts highlighted in the book. One of the patterns is for a signature quilt called "Wedge and Circle"

Another is called by the whimsical name "Laws O Massey".

I imagine that "Laws o Massie" was a local version of "Lord 'a Mercy!"

All in all, a very enjoyable and interesting read.

I love this book!

Now she knits, too!

2011-10-12T17:22:00.001-04:00

My longtime quilter friend, Rosemary, has been hosting a monthly get-together at her home for a few quilter friends. The funny thing is, instead of quilting, we are all knitting!

We have not given up our quilting by any means, but the portablility of a knitting project has won us over. Come in, sit down and start knitting. No sewing machines to unload from the car.

I haven't done any knitting since the obligatory baby sweater when my children were born. (What? That's not a requirement?) , but my mother and sister are avid knitters and always have a project going. My sister Joanne practically never leaves the house without taking her knitting with her. She brings it out and knits a few rows at every opportunity.

I decided that an afghan would be a nice longterm project that would keep my fingers occupied at our monthly get-togethers but that I would be in no rush to finish. First and foremost, I am a quilter, and I have lots of quilts to keep me warm, so it almost felt like a betrayal to start knitting an afghan.

I found a free pattern that I really liked, and shopped around for a sale on yarn. Afterall, I am a quilter, and I don't want to spend a lot of fabric money on yarn.

I found a lovely, soft, variegated yarn at my local craft shop. There was plenty of it, it was on sale, and it passed my sister Joanne's softness test. (Joanne's softness test: Hold the skein of yarn against your neck and determine if you could wear a scarf made from it without itching.)

The colors in the yarn I picked vary from cranberry to rose to jade to moss to beige. It didn't make me think of Christmas until I saw the name the yarn company had given it which was "Holiday". Undaunted, I bought it anyway and decided that it didn't scream Christmas too much.

The pattern I'm using can be found here. The afghan is made in strips and then sewn together. I decided to make it bigger than the pattern calls for. This was going to be my longterm, no-rush, keep-my-hands-busy, take-along project. Afterall, I am a quilter.

I started knitting in August.

Fast forward just 2 months later. I have completed 6 of the 7 strips needed, and am halfway done with number 7. After that, I just have to sew them all together.

I think this afghan might be done within a couple more weeks, and when that happens, I will be in need of another longterm project. Longterm? It reminds me of a quote from one of my favorite movies, The Princess Bride:

"I don't think that word means what you think it means"!

Autumn Twister

2011-09-30T23:59:00.000-04:00

We're just on the eve of foliage season around my area. It put me in the mood to play with my orange and gold fabrics.

I chose a pattern called "Primitive Pinwheels".

It came with a small tool/ruler called the "L'il Twister".

To start, you sew squares of fabric together into a simple quilt top. Then you align the crosshair markings on the ruler with the seams on your quilt top and re-cut to make pinwheels.

I wish I had stopped to take pictures of my progress along the way, but I was too anxious to keep going and see what my finished quilt was going to look like. If you want to see how it is done, here is just one of many tutorials you can find on the web which show you more detail.

Here is the quilt top I ended up with:

The finished size of the little pinwheel blocks is one and three quarter inches. (They don't call it "l'il" for nothing! ) The resulting quilt measures about 19" x 15".

Here is a detail shot:

And here it is quilted, and just in need of the binding to be sewn down:

I thought that I had enough contrast just by using lights and darks, but I think that if I made another Lil Twister quilt, I would include a little more contrast in the colors as well.

Can't wait to get the binding finished and start enjoying this little bit of autumn indoors.

Two years of Toby

2011-06-26T14:15:00.022-04:00

Hard to believe that 2 whole years have passed since we first laid eyes on this little guy:

We had been looking for a dog for a couple of months but as soon as we saw him that day at the shelter we knew right away that he was the dog for us. The staff told us that they thought he was part Lab and part Bassett Hound. We were hoping for a small to medium sized dog, and both of those breeds can grow to be pretty big, but we had already fallen in love with him so he came home with us.

Toby is my first dog. I didn’t know what to expect. But I have become totally smitten with this tennis ball loving,

comfort-loving,

ear flapping,

happy-go-lucky,

slipper stealing,

frog sittin’

comically large pawed,

snow plowin’,

cone-wearing,

tongue wagging,

tennis ball retrieving,

energetic,

tolerant,

thoughtful,

curious,

smile inducing,

bundle of furry cuteness:

Happy Anniversary, Toby! You're all those things and more!

Saved by the batik....

2011-04-22T16:33:00.002-04:00

You know that feeling of satisfaction you get as you sew the last seam of the last border on a quilt? Imagine how quickly it fades when you start to iron that last border and you see this:

Yes, loyal readers, that was the front side of the quilt!

The tedious task of removing the entire border and sewing it back on again with the correct side facing up seemed to by my only option.

But then, I realized I had another option afterall.

I removed just the offending part of the border from the rest of the quilt.

Rrrripped out the seam in the border where the two fabrics were joined:

And re-sewed the seam with the seam allowances on the other side this time.

Then I just re-attached the border to the quilt and no one will be the wiser. (except of course for you, dear readers, but you won't snitch, right?)

Of course, this trick only worked because the border was a batik fabric.

I'll post a photo of the full quilt top when I can spread it out and get a good shot. Until then, I just needed to share this experience with people who I know would appreciate it.

And now for something completely different

2011-03-22T17:33:00.000-04:00

I picked up a charm pack of Moda's Fresh Flowers and decided to make a small project while I waited for inspiration to strike on the borders for my Kaleidoscope. After working with the cool jewel tones of my last project, I was ready to dive into a new color palette. Aren't these just yummy?

I chose a 3 inch paper pieced heart pattern from Carol Doak's book "Show me How to Paper Piece" and cut up a few charm squares into 1 1/2" strips:

Before I knew it, I had made several of these:

I chose a garden print for the border, and a yellow fat quarter was just the right size for the backing. By the next day, I had the top finished, basted and machine quilted with a little stitch in the ditch. Binding was done that night while watching "Les Mis" on PBS.

Here's the little cutie all finished.

I can't tell you how satisfying it was to see a project get finished! I hopped in the car and brought it down to the quilt shop to show Maryann.

After leaving the shop, I went across the street to the nearest home goods store, and this display is what greeted me as soon as I walked in:

I wanted to buy them all and bring them home just to display along with my quilt!

Progress...

2011-03-20T16:15:00.000-04:00

After a week of concentrated effort, I got my Kaleidoscope center finished and then let it ripen a bit on the design wall while I figured out just what to do for a border. It seems that everyone in the family had a different opinion. I even brought it to the quilt shop and got divided opinions there, too.

Finally, I decided on the first border, a black background with neon green and turquoise pattern.

That added a nice separator between the center and the outer border, but then what?

In the book there are a couple of examples of borders where the quilter took the leftover bits from cutting the wedges and created a crazy patch border. I spent a fun evening playing with the scraps and created the beginnings of a crazy patch border:

Making the crazy patches was fun after all the precise piecing of the center, but to me, it detracted from the orderly symmetry of the center. So next, I tried a straight piano key border:

I like this one better, but I took it one step further, and added a black square to the corners:

Now I'm happy with the border idea, and the next step is to make it happen.

Here are a few notes I have made to myself while making this quilt:

Accuracy really is everything.
Use a dry iron. Steam and bias edges don’t mix.
This is the time to use “fine” pins. They pierce the fabric with much less effort so that there is less chance of stretching the bias when pinning.
I used a new, Microtex sharp needle #80 in my machine. I didn’t do an actual test, but I think the sharper needle helped avoid pieces being pushed down into the feed dogs when sewing, especially at the start and the end of a seam.
Take the time to examine each of the 12 wedges after you have them sewn, but before you start to piece them all together. Ricky Tims has you iron (?!) an unused wedge template onto the finished wedge to verify it’s size. (see photo page 29), but I did not think that was a good idea. Freezer paper adheres slightly to fabric, and I think it would put unnecessary stress on the bias edges when you removed the paper. I just used a ruler to check that the edges were all straight. A few times there was an unexpected “bump out” in what should have been a straight edge. In that case, I very judiciously trimmed a little bit here and there to make each wedge as accurate as possible.
Don’t rush. It’s exciting to see each pair, and each wedge come together, but it’s not worth having to rip out a seam later.

Still thinking....

2011-03-09T16:08:00.000-05:00

I'm having a hard time deciding which way to go on the border for my Kaleidoscope quilt. Ricky Tims' book shows so many options that it is hard to choose.

Check out the progress of these other quilt bloggers who have also been making this quilt:

    Carol at quiltfever is using a delicious looking citrus color palette.
    Patty at piecedgoods has been industrious and made 3 different snowflake looks for her quilt.
     Lynda at quiltsbylynda has a fresh-as-spring kaleidoscope and is working on choosing her borders too.
     Kris at thequiltinggarden is just getting started on hers. I can't wait to see what it will look like.

     Since I don't have any new quilt photos to share, I thought I'd share a photo of this:

It looks like a simple compact for face powder, but it holds a secret. Look inside:

Pins! And mighty sharp ones at that. I opened a new package of "fine" pins for this project so that I could reduce the wear and tear on the bias edges of the fabric when pinning them together. The pins came in a teeny tiny plastic box:

I felt clumsy every time I had to reach in and get just one pin at a time. (and those pins really are sharp!)

The other morning, I dropped the compact on the floor, and what was left of the powder inside cracked and fell out. I had one of those "A-ha!" moments and decided it would make a good alternative pin box.

I like to keep the label with the pins for future reference, so I just taped it inside the lid. A great recycled pin box, and it makes a satisfying *tink* sound when I drop the pins back in.

Houston, we have a kaleidoscope....

2011-03-08T13:43:00.030-05:00

The center of the Kaleidoscope is finished!

There are still 2 borders to be added to finish the quilt top, but the most difficult piecing is done.

Last night, I had the four quarter pieces all sewn, but I decided to wait until this morning before attempting the sewing of all four quadrants. The mystery of how those 12 points were going to meet in the middle would have to be solved by the light of day.

This morning, I got the first half sewn together. I managed to make the front look pretty:

But the back side was scary.

Not scary enough to keep me from making the second half, though. After that side was done, there was twice as many seam allowances to deal with. I folded them back as much as possible, and held the seam allowances out of the way with a few strategically placed pins:

The directions suggest starting from the center and sewing toward the edge. In the photo above I started sewing right at the intersection of the seams, and toward the lower edge. It was quite a stack to fit under the pressure foot, and in fact, it did not. You can see in the next photo that the presser foot was not making contact with the throat plate.

A little "manual sewing" with the hand wheel and I got the first few stitches sewn. After just a couple of stitches to secure the center, the rest of the seam was business as usual:

After the first half of the last seam was done, I pushed aside all the seam allowances in the other direction, held them with pins and sewed from the center toward the top edge.

The suspense was killing me on that last seam. I had to control myself from zooming along the rest of the seam just so I could finish and open it out to look.

At last, I could peek. Here was the result:

Can you believe it? I can't! All along this process I have had a back-up plan to applique a hexagon over the center of the kaleidoscope to hide what I was sure would be a disasterous center.
Of course, we can't even begin to talk about what the back looks like now, but I'll show you anyway:

Before pressing with the iron, that center lump of seam allowances stood about a half inch tall! After ironing, it flattened out a bit, but will still need some quilting to keep it looking flat.

Now I just have to decide what kind of border treatment this little baby will get.

It's all in the details...

2011-03-05T00:13:00.003-05:00

I started piecing the first wedges of my Kaleidoscope quilt today. It seemed like it would be very straight forward. Let's review, shall we?

I began with the outermost wedge pieces:

Looked easy enough. Just 2 straight seams. Put them right sides together and...

Wait! What's this little piece sticking out from the bottom?

Can that be right? And what about this dog-ear at the top? How big should that be?

I did my best to make the intersection where the edges of the two fabrics meet happen at exactly the 1/4" seam allowance. Because these are all bias edges, any shifting, fudging or easing is not a good idea. Luck was on my side, because here is the outcome:

Whew! Dodged that bullet! On to the next seam. Surely it must be easier than the last....

Oh no! It appears that one piece is much longer than the other! Put them right sides together and see what I've got.

This looked complicated, but I gave it a try.

I managed to get my 1/4" seam to come out exactly where the edges of the two pieces intersect. A gentle pressing with a dry iron, and Voila!

Okay, now I'm getting the hang of this! I finished piecing the wedge, and moved on to the corner piece of background fabric. Just lined them up and...

Oh great! Look at the top left..

and another one on the top right...

At least this time, the two sides were mirror images of each other. All I had to do was center the background piece onto the wedge. Here is what it looked like from the other side:

The alternate wedge pieces had their own little odd shape:

At last, I had the first 3 sections ready to sew together:

And this is what I have now:

I only have to do this 3 more times, and then I'll have a great big 4 patch to put together. I think I have a good idea of how to deal with all these crazy angles to piece, but I am concerned about this:

That's just 3 of the 12 points that will eventually come together in the center.

I'm just as curious as anyone else as to how that will turn out. Stay tuned....

Choosing the background

2011-03-03T12:42:00.000-05:00

I brought one wedge of the Kaleidoscope with me to the quilt shop to pick a background fabric. I found a beautiful blue that co-ordinated nicely with all the colors.

After I draped the piece behind the not-yet-sewn wedges I wasn't sure if it set off the kaleidoscope enough. I photoshopped the picture to replace the blue with a darker color and got this, which I like much better:

So, I'm going to use a black batik fabric for the background.

No more excuses now.... I have to actually attempt sewing these wedges together!

I found another blogger who is also working on the Kaleidoscope quilt. Her name is Lynda and you can see her progress here.

Back in the Blue

2011-03-01T11:41:00.000-05:00

Here is the Kaleidoscope so far:

What looked like a mostly green quilt in yesterday's post looks more like a purple/blue quilt again. It's amazing how much adding one more wedge to the puzzle can change the overall look.

I now have to decide what fabric to use for the background. It will probably involve a trip to the quilt shop since all my fabrics in this color range have been cut into strips. ;-)

Kaleidoscope progress

2011-02-28T09:45:00.001-05:00

Had some fun playing with this kaleidoscope pattern this weekend.

I left the templates in the picture so you can see that this quilt is actually designed in wedges. In the end, there will be 12 (!) wedges that need to be sewn together to create the quilt. We'll see how much hair I have left after that step.

It only has 3 of the outermost units on the design wall because I am using fat quarters rather than the full width of fabric to make my strip sets. I'll need to make a second strip set to cut the other three units.

I thought I was making a mostly blue/purple quilt, and I was surprised at how much the green stands out. This quilt is full of surprises. You don't really know what you will end up with, until you cut the units and put them up.

I have been fortunate enough to find two other quilt bloggers who are currently working on this quilt. You can see Patty's progress here and Carol's progress here. Both are gorgeous.

Now back to the sewing machine.....

Sunday Silly

2011-02-27T13:34:00.000-05:00

We call this pose "Tyrannosaurus Toby".

Do you see the resemblance?

Kaleidoscope Krazy

2011-02-25T14:17:00.000-05:00

I saw that Ricky Tims has a new book out:

The technique calls for making complicated looking Kaleidoscope quilts from straight strips of fabrics. Intrigued, I thought I would give it a try, and maybe offer it as a class at the quilt shop. Already, I am having second thoughts.....

I started out with a bundle of my favorite colors, the jewel tones:

Most of these are fat quarters, and the large floral piece on the left is enough for a backing. As I looked at Ricky's suggestions for fabrics, I realized that he suggests using the full width of the fabric, rather than fat quarters. Oops!

I was already in love with this color palette, so I decided to downsize the overall quilt and hopefully get by with fat quarters. (Risky, I know.)

I drew up the design on freezer paper, following Ricky's directions, and assembled the first set of strips:

From these, I cut out the innermost point of the kaleidoscope (Ricky calls this the "nose") and laid them out to see what direction I was heading in:

I haven't sewn any of these wedges together yet, but I can see that with this quilt, accuracy is EVERYTHING. This is not a quilt where you can rush, and I didn't. I really took my time when sewing the strips but it was still a challenge.

I'm a bit nervous about how this will turn out, and wondering if I will be able to show someone else how to do it. At the quilt shop, you have to try and offer classes for a wide range of abilities. This would definitely be considered "advanced".
Stay tuned....

On point, the easy way

2011-02-19T21:49:00.001-05:00

With St. Patrick's Day coming up, I wanted to play around with some green fabrics. I chose a batik, a stripe and 2 tone-on-tones to make a pattern called Cross Ties by Straight to the Point.

The first step was to make a simple Rail Fence pattern with alternating stripes:

Next step was to make diagonal cuts across the quilt in the plain green squares:

Then it was time to re-arrange the pieces to make a square quilt with the blocks set on the diagonal:

Add a couple of borders, and this was the result:

The pattern would make a really good baby quilt. It's a good size, and it worked up pretty fast.

Happy Valentine's Day

2011-02-14T09:42:00.001-05:00

Happy Valentine's Day!

I want to dedicate this Valentine blog post to my parents who went out on their first date on Valentine's Day and have been celebrating it together for 67 years now.

Here is a little heart quilt I made once upon a time. My first attempt at paper piecing. The pattern came from Carol Doak's book Show me How to Paper Piece. The whole thing measures only about 18" square. I remember having fun sorting through the tiniest scraps to find the colors for each heart. This little quilt is probably to blame for my difficulty in getting rid of any scraps, no matter how small.

Bursting With Charm....revisited

2011-02-01T20:59:00.001-05:00

I got a very nice email from Riek who saw my quilt called "Bursting With Charm" in the Show and Tell section over at Quilt Qua. She asked me some questions about how I made it and I thought I would answer them here, rather than in an email.

I wrote about this quilt a long while ago, so some of my readers may have seen it before, but here goes....

This quilt started when I purchased a rotary cutting mat and wanted to try it out. I started with the nearest pile of scraps, and started cutting out 2 1/2" squares.

Because I enjoyed the process, I dove into my non-scrap fabrics and starting cutting 2 1/2" squares from them. Before you know it, I had this stack, which I sorted by color:

As my collection grew, I separated the one big stack into piles by color.

I tried to roughly arrange the colors by their neighbors on the color wheel,

and then I started sewing them together into 4 patches.

I laid out the 4 patches on a design wall, and just kept playing around with them until I had an arrangement I liked. I tried to put the lighter colors toward the center and the darker colors toward the edges to give the overall quilt a sort of focal point.
I used my camera to take lots of pictures of the 4 patches so that I could remember where I had positioned them, and then started sewing them together.

In the end, I had a quilt top with a total of about 400 squares. I decided to quilt it with a large circular swirl to accentuate the "bursting" effect.

What had started out as just an experiement with a new toy, ended up being a fun excercise in color play, and an interesting quilt was the result. I entered it into my guild's annual show and got a first place Viewer's Choice ribbon. Hope this inspires you, Riek! Thanks again for your email.

And they lived happily ever after

2011-01-14T11:10:00.010-05:00

Thank you so much for the positive comments on my last post. I’m happy to say that I brought the finished top to the quilt shop and showed it to my “boss'” and she also agreed that the "alternate" borders actually looked better.

Here’s a photo of the quilt top hanging in the shop:

The photo does not do the fabrics justice. Here’s a closer look at them:

I figure that I will point out the two different borders to the class, and let them decide which way they want to place them.

And now a bit of commentary:
The 17 “twister” stars are each made up of 4 units. In the quilt construction you end up with the 68 units you need for the stars, plus 68 mirror images that you use in the border. Clever, right?

However, there is a small price to pay for all this cleverness. You have 136 units that need to be trimmed to size before you can start assembling.

That’s 136 of these:

that need to look like these:

and eventually leave you with this:

That’s a lot of trimming! Faced with the pile of untrimmed blocks, I questioned the benefit of creating “oversized blocks that need to be trimmed”
versus “just cutting the correct size pieces in the first place and sewing carefully”.

I did not want to tackle all that trimming in one session, so I broke it up into several smaller ones. I would trim about 12-15 at a time, in between doing other steps.

I also broke down into smaller steps all the blocks that needed to have a diagonal sewing line drawn on the back. There were 136 of those, too.

That mix and match sort of technique (cut a few, sew a few, iron a few, trim a few, draw a few lines) is what kept me sane during making of this quilt, but it could also be a little confusing and likely contributed to my eventual error in the border. (Also, I don’t recommend making a quilt with a deadline. )

HOWEVER…..
When it came time to actually sew all the blocks together into a quilt top, the sewing was a breeze,
I tell ya, a BREEZE! All the pieces fit beautifully together because all the trimming had made them a uniform size.
So I got off my high horse of thinking that piecing accurately in the first place is the better way, and decided that both methods have merit. My high horse will still be there waiting for the next time I feel like acting superior.

To fix or not to fix…

2011-01-10T08:22:00.008-05:00

I’m working on making a sample for the quilt shop. It’s an awesome pattern called “Twister” by Debbie Tucker, and I will be teaching it as a class when I am done. I’ve been rushing a bit because of a deadline, which means I’ve been piecing past my bedtime, which inevitably leads to mistakes.

Here is an EQ6 rendering of what the quilt is supposed to look like:

Awesome, right?

And here is what mine looks like:

Look carefully. The mistake is in the pieced borders on the right and left side. I should have rotated the blocks another 90 degrees before I sewed them together. Gah!

Here is a side-by-side comparison.

I don’t have the time to rip out all those stitches and re-do them, so I’m going to have to go ahead and display it as it is. In the one on the right, the two long pieced borders merge into the solid navy outer border. Do you think the overall design suffers too much from my error?

Twenty Eleven

2011-01-01T01:37:00.005-05:00

We will open the book. Its pages are blank.

We are going to put words on them ourselves.

The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is

New Year's Day.

-Edith Lovejoy Pierce

2010-12-29T21:33:00.000-05:00

I wanted to see if I could upload a video to my blog. Of course, my best and cutest model is Toby. Here he is playing Fetch in the snow.

The snow was deeper than Toby's legs are tall, but that didn't stop this little guy from chasing after the ball. He reminds me of a rabbit hopping across the snow. He was exhausted afterward, of course!

My dog really did eat my homework….

2010-12-12T09:33:00.004-05:00

I met with Maryann, (who doesn’t like to be called “Boss” but is technically my boss), and we talked about the schedule for the upcoming year at the quilt shop. I came home with a new pattern to make, and a tidy, detailed list of things I needed to get done. I put down my bag on a kitchen chair when I got in, and forgot that it was there. A short time later I went into the family room and found this:

Thankfully, he left the quilt top alone and concentrated on the paper items.

I should have known better than to leave a quilted bag unprotected and within reach of this little guy:

Who me?

I couldn’t resist calling Maryann and telling her that

“the dog just ate my homework!”

Lefty Lament

2010-12-03T11:42:00.000-05:00

I'm a left handed person. There. Now you know.

Actually, I write with my left hand which makes me a lefty, but I actually do a lot of other things with my right hand. For example, I knit like a right-handed person because my right handed mother taught me that way. I also throw a ball with my right hand, and bowl with my right hand.

This either-handedness (is that a word?) comes in handy when I'm rotary cutting. I can cut with either hand. That annoying first cut to straighten the edge before cutting a strip to size is not a problem.

So, where IS the problem?

Well, I've started writing some instructions for a quilt class and I realize that my left-handedness might be an issue. For example, take a look at this photo:

In my lefty world, that is how I would draw a line...ruler in the right hand, pencil in the left. But I realize that would be backward to most people.

This photo is part of a step by step guide I wrote for mitering corners, and until I looked at this photo, I didn't realize that the whole way that I miter corners is probably backward to a right hander. So, do I retake the series of photos to show the process all in the opposite direction, or do I just assume my students will make the adjustment on their own?

I'll have to think on this a bit, but I would really welcome your input.

Wheels keep turning

2010-11-17T11:10:00.001-05:00

I mentioned a while back that a friend of mine was opening a quilt shop. I knew she was quilt savvy, and I expected she could do it, and she really, really did! What I did not expect was how much her shop opening would affect my life, but it really, really has!

My lovely friend, who's name is Maryann, has asked me to teach at her shop, and also to help her write some patterns. Of course I said "yes"!

The past few months have been busy, busy, busy with making samples for upcoming classes, testing, writing and illustrating patterns for printing, and actually starting to teach. I'm also the official shop photographer and newsletter writer.

As part of the shop staff, I got to attend a local fabric expo where fabric distributors were showing all their latest fabrics, fresh from the Houston quilt market. Oh how my hands were itching to fondle every single line of fabric!

It has been a great experience to be a part of this growing quilt shop. However, it has required me to re-think my priorities on where I spend my time. I have half a dozen blog entries written in my head, and no time to write them. I may get back to frequent blogging at some time in the future, but for now things will have to remain pretty quiet around here.

Thank you to all who have read and written comments on my blog. I will miss that interaction, but I will continue to stop by and read what you have been up to on your blogs.

Cheers!
-Auntie Em

Just in time for Halloween

2010-10-27T15:26:00.003-04:00

Here is a little project I just finished last night:

It's a pattern from The Wooden Bear called "October Scare". My local quilt shop had one as a sample and I couldn't resist giving it a try. I had never done fusible applique before, so a small sample like this one was a good place to start.

I layered the fused pumpkin pieces with the batting and backing and did the blanket stitch through all three layers so that the quilting was done at the same time as the stitching. The whole piece measures just 12 inches square.

It was fun to start and finish something all in the same week, and the whole thing was made from scraps. I went back to the quilt shop and purchased a snowman pattern called "All Bundled Up" that I will be working on next.

Isn't he cute? I love the little stand-alone quilt stand that allows you to change out the wallhanging to suit the season. (sold separately, of course!)

I think there will be more of these in my future.

October weekend

2010-10-04T07:00:00.000-04:00

A busy weekend here in my neck of the woods. My husband and I travelled 500 miles round trip to visit with family. A lot of driving for one day, but the beautiful colors of Fall have started making their appearance and made the drive very enjoyable. It’s not peak foliage yet, but it’s still pretty.

Today I took Toby for a walk, and then we stopped and chatted with a few neighbors. While we were standing there, a car pulled up with a man and 3 kids. He said that they were on a scavenger hunt for their church and one of the things they had to find was a person walking their dog. He asked if they could take a photo with Toby. Of course, Toby was delighted to oblige, so they all got out of the car and we got the picture. The whole thing took about one minute and then they were gone on their way looking for the next thing on the list.

Black and Brights

2010-09-27T14:51:00.001-04:00

Recipe for a Black and Bright Lap quilt, sure to bring cheer to anyone who gets to use it:

Take a gloriously bright jelly roll:

Add a few more brights from the stash:

Combine with a mysteriously mottled black batik:

Sew like a crazy person until you can put together a few blocks and see how it will all turn out:

Satisfied that you won’t go blind when looking at the finished quilt, continue sewing until you end up with this:

The pattern came from this book:

Jelly Roll Quilts by Pam and Nicky Lintott

My Sewing Buddy

2010-09-25T08:00:00.001-04:00

When our family adopted Toby as a puppy last year, I had visions of him being my companion in the sewing room, blissfully sleeping at my feet while I sat at my machine, like so many other dogs in so many other bloggers quilting rooms that I had seen.

I am happy to report that now that Toby has been with us for a little over a year, the concept of sewing companion is ever-so-slowly starting to take place.

After a vigorous game of “fetch”, followed by a long refreshing drink of water, followed by a good gnawing session on a rawhide, I finally got Toby to settle down on an old comforter that I placed under my sewing table.

He settled in contentedly for about ... 20 minutes.

Then I looked down, and saw this:

Maybe it was the electric cords, or the contents of the storage bins on the shelf, or just wanderlust, but Toby had inched his way off the comforter and towards trouble. My sewing session was over at that point, but at least I had experienced a little taste of what it’s like to have a sewing buddy.

Although, a true sewing buddy would probably not have done this to my favorite thimble:

Does this face say “Guilty” to you?

Yeah, I thought so too.

I guess that “Toby the sewing buddy” is still a work in progress. I just hope he doesn’t become another UFO.

One Flower Wednesday

2010-08-11T09:41:00.002-04:00

Another Wednesday has rolled around, and I have some progress to report. (Afterall, that's what the motivation behind "One Flower Wednesday" is all about, right?)

The green ones are made from the basted hexagons I showed in my last post, and the blue one is new from scratch. I forgot how much fun it was to make the flowers with fussy cut hexagons. Here are a few fussy cut hexies that I have already completed:

One Flower Wednesday

2010-07-28T10:25:00.001-04:00

I have one new flower to show this week. Pretty in pink with little dog bones.

The pink one is the only flower I have finished this week, but I also got several new sets of hexagons basted and ready to sew:

(I really need to get some more yellow centers ready)

For now, I have them stacked neatly in an eyeglass case.

The “One Flower Wednesday” group has really helped get me re-motivated to work on this project. My original goal was a table runner that needed 29 flowers to complete. I’ve made 30 flowers now, and want to keep going. I need to find a bigger table…..

Neither Rain, Nor Sleet....

2010-07-17T10:20:00.010-04:00

Nothing can keep this devoted dog from his tennis ball!

Thanks for the encouraging comments regarding Toby's injury.
After a rocky start, he has adjusted pretty well to wearing the cone. The little rascal has even managed to get access to the toenail that he is supposed to be keeping away from, but only just barely. I don't know what else can be done, so we are just keeping our fingers crossed.

The pup has figured out eating, playing and the usual canine mischief while wearing the cone. He's even pretty good about taking his antibiotics. (Wrap up anything in a piece of bread and Toby will happily eat it.). The only thing he cannot do while wearing it is fit into his crate. Since the crate is his bed, it meant coming up with a new sleeping arrangement. We ended up taking the cushion out of the crate, putting it into Toby's normal sleeping corner and blocking him in with furniture and a baby gate. I hope he adjusts back to sleeping in the crate when this is all over with.

Normally, Toby is a happy camper when he's in his crate.

This past weekend, when we were traveling, we took the crate with us for him to travel in, and also as a familiar place to sleep. My parents-in-law, who had him as a houseguest while we stayed in a hotel, said he was quite content all night.

Only 5 more days until the cone comes off. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that my furniture, the doorways and my shins will survive.

Too much excitement

2010-07-15T17:09:00.000-04:00

This poor little guy broke one of his nails pretty badly during a rousing game of Fetch and had to go to the vet. They don't want him to keep licking at it, so it's "Toby the Spacedog" for the next week.

Toby absolutely hates it of course. He tried his best to pull it off, but eventually gave in. His spatial perception must be all off because he's just kind of playing statue for now.

Please tell me that your dog has been through this and everything will be all right.

Summer pleasures

2010-07-14T12:42:00.001-04:00

This weekend we took a road trip to visit my husband’s family.

My father-in-law has a large garden, and the raspberries were ripe for the picking.

There were so many raspberries that we had 3 baskets full in no time at all.

My father-in-law also grows grapes, although they were not yet ripe.

He has a lovely perennial flower garden too. When I saw these little beauties:

I couldn’t help but think of Grandmother’s Flower Garden:

Now I’m off to check out the cookbooks for a good recipe for raspberry pie….

Memories of Nana

2010-07-09T00:45:00.003-04:00

Today I wish to remember my Nana who passed away 3 years ago at the age of 101. Nana was my father’s mother, and today would have been her birthday.

Nana was a wonderful grandmother and great grandmother. We were very fortunate as kids to live in the same city, so we saw her often. The memory I associate most with Nana was her cooking. It was spectacular. She could make all the traditional Italian recipes, but she could also make the most wonderful one-pot meals from almost anything she had in the refrigerator.

Every Wednesday she would cook up a big pot of pasta with either vegetables, beans, or meat, and drop it off at our house for our supper. All she asked in return is that we bring the empty dish back to her so she could fill up it again for us the next week.

When I was young, Nana would sometimes babysit for my siblings and me on a Saturday night and she would keep us entertained by making homemade pasta. I remember being amazed as she made a little well of flour right on the kitchen table and then cracked an egg into the center of it to start the dough. She would roll it out by hand using a big wooden rolling pin that my grandfather had made for her.

After rolling it out nice and flat, she would start at one end and roll it up like a long jellyroll and then cut it into strips for fettuccini. Our job was to unroll the strips of pasta and then hang them over the backs of the kitchen chairs to dry overnight. (She would cover the chair backs with cotton dishtowels first.) The dried pasta would be used for Sunday dinner the next day. Oh! I can still taste how yummy it was!

Nana was always quick to lend a hand when needed. Up until the last 10 years of her life she was still helping others. She once had a job as an aide to an elderly couple, doing some cooking and light housekeeping. Nana was older than both of them at the time.

In addition to her cooking skills, Nana was an avid crocheter. She loved to use crochet cotton and the smallest of crochet hooks to make doilies and table cloths. The Pineapple pattern was her favorite. She gave me a beautiful crocheted table cloth in the Pineapple pattern as a wedding gift.

I asked Nana if she had ever made a quilt. She told me that she had made one once, but that one day it was stolen off her clothesline in the backyard. I was disappointed to think that not only had Nana lost her handiwork, but that I would have loved to have seen it. Her response was, “Whoever took it probably needed it more than I did.” That one line sums up Nana’s philosophy on sharing. More than once I heard her say that there was always room for one more at the table.

Nana was a big part of our lives, and barely a day goes by that someone doesn’t mention her name.

Thank you, Nana. Happy Birthday!

Enjoy the Fourth

2010-07-04T00:00:00.002-04:00

Happy Birthday, America!

Whether you celebrate it or not, hope you have a great day!

Today I am thankful for:

The men and women in the armed forces who so unselfishly serve their country.

New life for an old stitchery

2010-07-03T11:14:00.007-04:00

My mom is an accomplished knitter, but she did try her hand at stamped cross-stitch once. She made a pillow from a kit. The cross-stitching was done with yarn, which may be why it appealed to her.

The pillow was finished back in the 1970’s sometime, and was part of our family room decor for years. Naturally, a certain amount of wear and tear was endured until my mom finally put the pillow away.

When my folks were downsizing their belongings in preparation for their move, we found the pillow. Years in the attic had not done anything to improve its appearance. It looked tired. Mom was reluctant to part with her handwork, but she knew the old pillow had served its purpose and that there was no place for it in their new home.

My fast-thinking sister took a pair of scissors, cut away the cross-stitched portion of the pillow top, and quickly stuck it in her bag without my Mom seeing it. She brought it home and gently hand washed it. The colors were renewed, and the background fabric shed it’s coat of dust.

My sister gave me the stitchery to see what I could do with it. This is what it looked like when I got it:

And here is what it looks like now:

I found an apple green fabric in the home dec department that really gave a fresh look to the colors. Then I sashed it like a quilt block, popped in a brand new pillow form, and gave it a fresh start.

We are going to give it to Mom at her upcoming birthday. I can’t wait to see what she thinks.

Today I am grateful for:
A quick thinking sister who saw the possibilities in my Mom’s handwork.

Positive Posting

2010-07-02T12:25:00.000-04:00

My blogger friend Shirley at Bits and Pieces has come up with an inspiring idea for the month of July. She has asked her fellow bloggers to try and post at least one positive thing each day during July.

A while back, I started a "Gratitude Journal" where each day I posted at least 5 things I was thankful for.   The obvious things, like family, friends, health etc were listed on the first page. After that, I tried to add new things each day. Things that I might not normally have stopped and appreciated. I kept a mental list of the things I was grateful for so that I could write them down at night,

After only a few days, I noticed that my outlook on life had become more postive overall.   Just reviewing the list in my head during the day so that I wouldn't forget any of them by bedtime forced me to take time out to remember that there is a lot of good in my life, even during times of struggle.

I'm going to join Shirley and try to post something positive here each day in July. Since I already missed July 1st, today I'm going to post 2 things.

First, my finger injury is healing nicely. I can still blog, I just use less fingers. And, I haven't had to cook dinner all week!

Second, I had a very nice visit with my parent's at their new home yesterday. They are settiling in nicely.

There! I'm feeling more upbeat already!  Care to join me?

Ouch!

2010-06-27T23:26:00.006-04:00

Was rotary cutting some fabric this afternoon, and managed to cut my finger. I'll spare you all the details, but it involved a trip to the ER. I'd like to point out that in 15 years of quilting, this is my first injury, but since it was my pointer finger that was injured, I won't be doing any pointing right now.

Weekend drive

2010-06-27T10:55:00.010-04:00

We have one of those “living museum” historic homesteads about an hour’s drive from where we live, and yesterday was such nice weather that my husband and I decided to go and visit.

One of the buildings was this old farmhouse:

It dates back to about 1840 and was fully furnished with everything you’d expect to find and some things you wouldn’t. For example there was a beautiful front parlor with floral upholstered furniture, a finely detailed writing desk, and wallpaper with scenes on it that reminded me of toile.

To preserve the antiques from further fading, the windows in the parlor have the shades drawn which creates a feeling that the “olden days” were dark and lifeless. It's like everything in the house has been painted with a patina of "old".

As I walked through the house, I tried to imagine what it was like to live back then, when everything was new. Instead of faded, yellowed wallpaper, the colors would have been crisp and new. Instead of dark, creaking floorboards, the floors would have been freshly hewn. Perhaps you could still smell the sawdust, rather than the musty smell that now hangs in the air.

One of the upstairs rooms was devoted to the lady of the house, and had some of her belongings on display. I almost gasped when I saw that they had a framed piece of fabric on the wall which was a portion of a paisley shawl. I'm sure it was very similiar to the type of work that my great, great grandfather, the weaver, would have done. This was such a delightful discovery when you consider that only a few months ago I knew nothing at all about my great grandfather who was a weaver from Paisley, Scotland.

Life on the farm must have been very busy with all the chores to do, the animals to care for, the lack of modern conveniences, no indoor plumbing and no antibiotics.

1840. A great place to visit, but I wouldn’t want to live there.

(Who am I kidding? I wouldn't even survive there!)

New project

2010-06-23T13:29:00.003-04:00

I have a quilting friend who is opening her own quilt store and she has asked me to make up some store samples of a pattern she designed. I can’t show you the quilt top, but it involves some of these:

and a lot of these:

Since this is “One Flower Wednesday”, I thought I’d keep with the theme of blue and yellow and show you the blue flowers I have finished:

Back to the sewing machine….

Happy Day

2010-06-20T09:19:00.001-04:00

First things first. Happy Father’s Day to all the fathers out there. I have been blessed with a wonderful father, a charming father-in-law and a husband who has truly been an outstanding example of what fatherhood is all about. I couldn’t ask for anything more.

Today also marks one year since this little guy joined our family:

He was 5 months old when we adopted him.

When we first met, he looked like this:

Here is a photo taken of him yesterday:

It’s been a sometimes hectic, sometimes crazy, but always fun year having Toby. Even at his most mischievous, I still find myself laughing at him.

He’s a full grown dog now, but I think he’s still hoping for those front paws to grow:

Don’t worry, Toby! We love you just the way you are. Happy Anniversary!

Another trip down Ancestry Lane

2010-06-16T12:01:00.002-04:00

As you probably have figured out from many of my posts this year, I have been researching and documenting my family tree. When I started, I thought the only tree that I would find would be a small sapling compared to most. My four grandparents were all the offspring of immigrant families to the United States, and I did not expect to be able to trace back much farther than the 1900’s. It turns out that I was wrong.

With so much information on the Internet these days, I was able to trace back one branch of the tree to the early settlers of Nova Scotia, Canada, in the mid 1600’s. At that time, France was looking to populate it’s new property in the New World, and sent ships with soldiers and families to protect and to populate the area. Many of those families are well documented, and once I found my connection in the early 1800’s, the rest fell into place.

Another branch of the family came from Scotland to the United States in 1842. It turned out that my “immigrant” great grandfather was actually a native born American.

More than knowing where they came from, I was fascinated to learn what kind of occupations they had and how many of them related to textiles in some way. My father’s grandmother and aunt both listed “seamstress” as their occupation in 1920. Another pair of aunts worked in the knitting mill. There was also a weaver, a shoemaker and a tailor.

It was my great,great grandfather who was the weaver. He was born in Scotland and came from a town called Paisley. It turns out that the weavers in Paisley became well known for their woven scarves, and the Paisley pattern that we know today was named after their town.

So there you have it…my 15 minutes of fame. I descend from a family that brought you Paisley. ;-)

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

2010-06-09T23:49:00.002-04:00

What a treat it was yesterday to see this rainbow appear just after a sun shower, and for once, I had my camera handy.

I went to my quilt guild’s annual banquet, and it turned out to be a lucky night for me. I won a door prize of this Moda honeybun called “Spring Fever”.

I also got to take home the centerpiece at the table, which was a bouquet of fresh greens and flowers.

Everyone at the banquet got this cute lapel pin:

The food was served family style, and everyone agreed that the first course of chicken soup was really delicious. We joked about wanting to take home the leftovers. Then, one of the ladies at our table actually went out to her car and came back with an empty tupperware container and poured the rest of the soup into it to take home. Needless to say, she was the object of many good natured jokes for the rest of the night. But, I bet she was smiling today when she sat down to a meal with her delicious soup.

Toby’s new love

2010-05-27T22:50:00.005-04:00

There once was a pup named Toby who loved his tennis ball more than anything else in the world.

The tennis ball was Toby’s best friend.

They shared lots of good times.

But as much as he loved his tennis ball, Toby knew that it was a one-sided relationship. Sometimes he wished he could have a real friend to play with.

Then one day, someone new moved into the neighborhood.

Toby wasted no time running to meet her.

They exchanged pleasantries.

Toby ran a few circles around her in order to impress.

Then he resorted to playing Mr. Cool.

After a while, he won her over, and even introduced her to his friend the tennis ball.

Then, being a true gentleman, Toby saw her safely home.

The End

Toby’s new friend was recently adopted by a neighbor of ours. Her name is ‘Arizona”, and she is a 6 month old collie/basset hound mix. Toby is also part basset hound, and they both have the bassett’s long body and short legs. They are pretty close in age, so they share a similar energy level. I hope Toby and Arizona get to be friends for a long time.

The Garden is Growing

2010-05-26T11:05:00.003-04:00

At last, my stack of hexagon flowers has a new bloom.

Here is the latest addition:

This is the same green fabric that I showed in last weeks photo:

I had forgotton that when I cut the fabric I had made sure that each one had a small red flower centered in the middle. It was a very unexpected surprise as I began basting them to see the fussy cut flowers being revealed. (That's when I realized just how long it has been since I started this project.)

I am very glad that Karen decided to start One Flower Wednesday. It was just the motivation I needed to get back to making these fun flowers. If you visit her blog, you'll find links to lots of other bloggers who are also working on hexagon flower projects.

One Flower Wednesday

2010-05-19T11:04:00.001-04:00

I didn't get as much done on my hexagon flowers this week as I had hoped, but I thought I'd show you my latest finish.

Hopefully, the purple and the green flowers-in-progress will be finished flowers by next Wednesday.

Last month, Lori Holt at Bee in my Bonnet posted a two part tutorial on how she makes her hexagons. I thought it was interesting the way she uses a paper clip to hold the fabric to the hex template while she bastes.

Hexagon Garden Party

2010-05-14T21:07:00.000-04:00

Over a year ago, I started a Grandmother's Flower Garden table runner, made up of English paper pieced hexagons. I blogged about it here and here. At some point, the project got put aside for other things, mostly because I did most of my stitching in front of the TV at night, and suddenly I found myself with a sleeping puppy in my lap instead of a needle and thread in my hands.

I have wanted to get back to the project and have found the perfect motivation....One Flower Wednesdays. Karen at Journey of a Quilter came up with the idea of a weekly goal to make at least one hexagon flower per week, and to post your progress on Wednesdays. She's calling it a Garden Party and has invited anyone working on a hexagon project to join in. You can find a link to her post about the project in my sidebar if you'd like to join the party.

The Farmer Takes a Wife

2010-05-13T11:59:00.005-04:00

I got an unexpected gift for Mother’s Day. My lovely friend Gwen, sent me a copy of the book, The Farmer’s Wife Sampler Quilt by Laurie Aaron Hird. It’s a collection of letters from farm wives of the 1920’s who entered a contest where they had to answer the question: “Would you want your daughter to marry a farmer?”
More than 50 of the women’s letters are transcribed in the book, and each is paired with 2 quit blocks which were inspired by their words.

Gwen had wrapped the book in a country blue fat quarter which suits the book perfectly. It was such an unexpected and wonderful gift to receive!

Gwen had also included the perfect-for-me card with a hilarious dog photo that reminded me of Toby:

On the inside of the card it says:

i was just…uh…

getting you

something to drink

for mother’s day.

yeah…that’s it…

I know that Gwen pops in and reads my blog, so “Thanks, Gwen”! I’m looking forward to reading the book and am already thinking about making some blocks.

Oddly enough, there was another farm related quilt book that I heard about recently. It’s from Eleanor Burns and it is called Quilt Blocks on American Barns . Eleanor’s sister Patricia visited our quilt guild and did a presentation of quilts from the book. You can see Patricia’s version of her quilt here. All I can say is that once again I was absolutely floored by the clever people at Quilt in a Day. They come up with the most creative shortcuts for easy piecing.

Looks like this city girl might be heading to the country for a future quilt. I never know where this quilting journey will take me next.

Needle cozy

2010-05-04T14:34:00.001-04:00

What can you do with a bit of fabric, a snippet of ribbon and a couple of expired gift cards?

Well, the lovely and talented Karen of Sew Many Ways came up with a great idea. She designed a nifty needle keeper, and she generously shares her instructions here. Her directions are easy to follow and it’s a quick and easy project. Here is what the needle keeper looks like when closed:

And this is what it looks like when opened:

When my mother gave me her sewing machine, she also passed down all of the sewing notions that were stored in the drawers of the sewing cabinet. I realized that even if she doesn’t sew on the machine any more, she still needs a few sewing items in case she needs to sew on a button or make a small repair. I decided to take the vintage sewing box that she also gave me and re-fit it with some new sewing items. Then I’m going to give it back to my Mom for Mother’s Day.

I found a tin with a vintage dressmaker print on it to hold her pins. Was that good Karma or what?

I think Mom will get a kick out it.

The Blues (and the Yellows)

2010-04-29T16:02:00.006-04:00

One of my favorite color combinations is blue and yellow. I went to a quilt store recently to make a specific purchase for sashings and borders for a quilt that is not blue and not yellow and yet this pack of 10 inch blue and yellow squares managed to get purchased as well.

I don’t have a plan for them right now, but they followed me home like a stray puppy follows a little boy.

A favorite project that I did once with blue and yellow was this String quilt:

If you’ve never made a string quilt, consider trying one. They are quick and easy (some might even call them “mindless”) to create. They are great for using up long “strings” of fabrics and the sky is the limit. In my blue and yellow quilt pictured above, I just made sure that the center string was blue.

Pictured below is another string quilt I made using every color of scrap I had and just arranging them by Lights and Darks.

There are many websites with detailed instructions for going about making a string quilt. Here is one by Bonnie Hunter of Quiltville. Here is another. And here is a third one.

String quilts make great group quilts because the blocks are trimmed to size after they are made. Many individuals can contribute blocks and they all fit together nicely into one quilt.

There is a wonderful group of quilters on the Internet who make Heartstring quilts and donate them to charities. They have a donation system designed so that quilters can donate blocks, tops or fabrics for backings. There is a photo gallery filled with inspiration, and a yahoo group for discussion and help.

Think “String”!

The long and winding road to sewing

2010-04-26T11:05:00.012-04:00

I was a late bloomer when it came to sewing. In fact, when I was a kid I ~~hated~~ was not fond of sewing at all. The only instruction I had ever had was in Home Economics classes which were taught by starchy old ladies using ancient, public school sewing machines. No wonder I didn't like it! In fact, I actually told my friends who liked to sew that they were crazy. (Linda, If you are reading this, I apologize....again!)

It was during my first few years of married life when the domestic side of me suddenly appeared and I decided to take a sewing class. Well, to be honest, a friend and I decided to take a photography class at Community Education but the class was full, so we signed up for the sewing class instead. (It was her suggestion). What a difference it made to be taking a sewing class because I wanted to, not because I had to!

Fast forward to today. Now that my parents have downsized to a smaller home, my Mom passed down her sewing machine to me. I told my husband "I now own the machine I learned to hate sewing on!" Of course, I don't feel that way anymore. In fact, I'm quite sentimental about it.

So shiny and pretty with it's mint green color. It's been waiting patiently for me to come around, I can just tell.

Look! It's welcoming me with open arms.

It's actually a pretty nice machine for it's time. It was made in 1969, which was way before computerized machines of course, and yet it could do several decorative stitches. It uses a mechancial cam system. For each different stitch, you place a cam into the top of the machine and it guides the needle to making the stitch.

There are enough cams to make 24 different stitches.

It also has this niftly needle threader gizmo that I never even took out of the box as a kid, but is sure to be one of the most useful items now. Ahem.

It will need a good cleaning and oiling since Mom hasn't used it in a while, but I'm looking forward to taking it for a test drive. I'm sure it will come in handy if my daily machine has to go in the shop. Besides, the closed sewing cabinet is a great place to stack fabric!

Sewing Box facelift

2010-04-24T10:55:00.004-04:00

In my last post I showed you this sewing box and the vintage buttons it contained:

After the buttons and notions were removed, I found that the satin lining of the box had ripped away from the bottom in a few places.

You can see that behind the satin lining is actual wood which is something you don’t see in a modern sewing box.

I didn’t think I could repair the existing satin, so I went to my local JoAnn’s and bought some co-ordinating ribbon and fabric:

With a lot of patience, a challenge to my dexterity and some ribbon and glue, I managed to connect the sides of the satin lining to the bottom. Then I created a new bottom by covering some cardboard with lightweight batting and the fabric. Voila!

My Great Aunt Florence's vintage sewing box lives on to carry the sewing notions of a new generation. Granted, I will be very careful not to overload it with buttons this time around.

The Sewing Box

2010-04-21T13:22:00.004-04:00

I’m happy to say that my parent’s move is over and that they are now settling into their new home. The downsizing that we had to do was a fairly huge task, but we managed to have some fun along the way.

One of the things that turned up was this vintage sewing box:

It belonged to my great aunt who passed away over 30 years ago. When I opened it up, I found lots of fun old buttons. There was a collection of metallics:

and an assortment of cloth covered ones:

There was an entire set of 6 large and 6 small silver buttons that were probably intended for a jacket. These babies were surprisingly heavy for buttons.

There were little fancies:

And lots of buttons that were obviously cut from previous garments. Great Aunt Florence was way ahead of the game with recycling. ;-)

Don’t these pink plastic buttons just scream 1960’s?

Of course, there were the usual bits and bobs that find themselves in the button collection:

There were also a few travel sewing kits. We’ve all seen the ones that hotels give out to guests, right? It’s good advertising.

But, I can’t imagine what the connection was between this advertiser and sewing:

If you’ve had a little Seagram’s VO, I suggest you step away from sharp objects.

The box also had a few complimentary tape measures from various sources:

Oddly enough, the red one with the tape wrapped around and held with an elastic because it no longer would retract had this slogan:

In case you can’t see it, it says “proven reliability”. Ummmmm, no.

Last but not least were some wooden spools of thread. Apparently it was very important for thread to be “boil fast” back in the day. That’s what it says on the top of each spool.

I had to admire my aunt’s frugality. The brown and purple spools had less than a yard of thread left on them. barely even enough to sew on a button.

I plan on keeping the spools in a glass container somewhere in my sewing room where I can see them, but the buttons are going to be joining up with all the other buttons I already have in my own collection. I imagine that one day my own descendents can look at them and decide what to do with them.

Checking in with the blog world

2010-03-15T12:07:00.002-04:00

I have been properly scolded by my sister for neglecting my blog. Although I see her in person on a regular basis, she just doesn't seem to get tired of me. (Love you, sis!)

In the past month or so, I have been totally involved in researching my family tree and in helping my parents get ready for their big move. This is a serendipitous collision of events because while we are packing things we have a chance to talk about the history of some of the items and I sometimes make connections to something I have recently learned about the family from my research.

The very best discovery of all came about just last night. My mom showed me a leatherbound copy of Byron's poetry that belonged to her grandmother Louise. I knew the book existed, but I hadn't seen it since I was a teenager. The book was given to Louise sometime in the late 1800's, and she used it as a scrapbook of sorts, writing little notes in the margin, and adding a few mementos in between the pages. There was a lock of hair, a few letters and calling cards, and a little card she had received for "good conduct" from a favorite teacher that was dated 1877.

One particular letter of interest was from a gentleman who mentioned something about returning a ring, and about how a certain "Miss Fraser" had seen the ring on his keychain but he pretended not to notice. Unfortunately, he didn't sign his name! Wouldn't we love to know the details behind that!

Another letter that we found was from Louise's father who was back in Canada, telling her that her brother had died. At the bottom of the letter was a shaky "X" and the notation that her brother had written it with his dying hand. How sad! It must have been an awful piece of news to recieve. Louise had another brother, Peter, who had died just the year before. I can't imagine.

My mother has kept the book in her nightstand for about 30 years, right next to her family Bible. Inside the Bible, my mom keeps copies of any family obituaries that have occurred over the years. In reading through them, I was able to discover the maiden name of my great, great grandmother. That was quite an unexpected treat! I had hit a brick wall while researching that part of the family because I didn't know her maiden name.

I left my parents house last night armed with some new facts to pursue, and some fresh memories to keep.

I've been on a treasure hunt.

2010-02-14T22:07:00.003-05:00

As I mentioned in a previous post, I've become interested in tracing the family tree. I got a 2-week free trial on a genealogy search website, and I've been gaining as much information as I can into these last 2 weeks. What a fascinating experience it has been!

I searched my own family tree back about 3 generations before I got stuck. Then I started on my husband's family. (That's his grandparents pictured on the left.) I was plugging along at a snail's pace and then I came across an entry that tied my husband's family tree into another. They were long lost relatives about 10 times removed of course, and I don't know who did the research, but with their help I was able to trace his family tree back several generations in Canada and then a couple more into France. There were names and dates from the 1600's! What an unbelievable treat!

This weekend I talked to my inlaws and shared what I had found. I was able to show my mother-in-law a copy of her birth and baptismal record as well as her mother's and her father's. She was thrilled, and told me it gave her goosebumps.

The only problem I have right now is figuring out how to document all that I have found. Once you get beyond a couple of generations there are so many names to keep straight and organized. What a fun problem to have, though.

Looking back....

2010-02-04T20:55:00.000-05:00

The old photos that I came acroos at my parents house have really got me interested in documenting the family tree. All of a sudden, I'm am totally addicted to genealogy!. I joined a popular online site where you can search the census and other vital statistic records and I have been slowly putting together the pieces of family history like a great big puzzle.

Here are a couple more photos from my family's photo stash.

This is my dad at about age 12, singing in a local talent showcase.

And this is my dad again, at his First Communion, alongside his little sister.

We also found my Mom's First Communion photo.

Both of my parent's kept scrapbooks through their childhood years, and I can't wait until we have time to sit and look at them together. Right now it's mostly boxing things up and getting ready to move.

Quilting has been on the back burner for a while, but I am going to teach my guild this month how to make Tiny Totes for Valentine's day.

Wonder if he's dreaming about Puppy Love

Pretty as a picture

2010-01-18T20:45:00.000-05:00

Still no quilting going on in my neck of the woods, but I do have a few more old photos to share.

A while back, I wrote this post, describing my grandmother. Here are a few photos of her that we found while packing up my parents house as they prepare for their move.

This is an undated photo of my grandmother and her sister. We're guessing it was about 1912 when this was taken. Their style of dress would have fit into the movie "Titanic", don't you think?

The date on this photo says "1918", which would make my grandmother a young lady of 20 years old.

This is a photo of my grandmother's sister with her 2 friends. I love the hats and the round eyeglasses. Ready for a day at the beach, ladies?

Old photos

2010-01-11T15:39:00.000-05:00

One reason that I haven't been quilting/blogging lately is that I have been spending time helping my parents downsize their home. They are preparing to move into a retirement community, and their new living space is smaller than what they have now, so there are lots of decisions to be made about what to keep and what not to keep.

In going through their items that were in storage, we came across some old photos. We put them aside until the end of the day when we could sit together and look at them, trying to place names with the faces.

One picture surfaced that I was really pleased to find. It shows my mom, her grandmother and a little cousin sitting together on a QUILT! I never knew that their was anyone else in my family that had quilted before me, and now I see that there was at least one. I was so happy to find the photo, and yet the questions it raised about who made it were perplexing. How I would love to know more about it. I can't even really make out a pattern.

I'm going to have to frame this little photo, and put it in my sewing room. What a fun piece of a puzzle that won't likely every be solved.

When does a puppy become a dog?

2010-01-04T10:23:00.003-05:00

According to the best estimates, Toby was born on New Year’s Day 2009, so the new year meant that he’s now a year old. (Don’t tell Toby, but we let him think that the fireworks and celebrations that we watched on TV were all for him. )

Although there is lots of snow on the ground, it doesn’t stop Toby from enjoying a good game of Fetch. In fact, it means there’s an added bonus of digging in the snow for the ball.

Doesn’t this photo make you think that Toby might be part Siberian Husky?

Hey Toby! How would you like to race across the snow as part of a team of sled dogs?

No, I didn’t think so.

Post Christmas wrap-up, no gift wrap required.

2009-12-27T10:54:00.000-05:00

We had a joyful Christmas celebration with the family. It was Toby's first Christmas and by the end of the night,he was totally wiped out!

He found this spot himself.

I was finally able to give the Rings Around quilt to it's intended recipient. I wish I had taken a picture, but I can tell you he really seemed to appreciate it.

Our family decided a few years ago to exchange a small gift with each branch of the family. This year, our gift was "soup in a jar". We started out with these ingredients:

Then measured and layered them in the jars, until we had these:

Which eventually looked like this:

All you have to do is add water, and it makes a wonderful pot of "Pasta e Fagioli", aka "pasta with beans". One of the layers is sun dried tomatoes, which really infuses it with flavor. How do I know? I made a test batch the week before Christmas, and it was really good, so one of the jars managed to stay home with us.

The reason for the season

2009-12-25T17:10:00.002-05:00

Merry Christmas!

Preparing for puppy's first Christmas

2009-12-21T21:44:00.004-05:00

Over the years, I have collected a few of the Village houses that are sold at JoAnn's. For a while, I would get a new one every year, usually in the after Christmas markdown sale. I tried to buy houses that reflected something going on in our lives. Of course, this is the one that started it all:

Look! The door is open. Wouldn't you like to go inside?

The next year, I got the little Stone Church. I love how it has a little manger scene out on the front of the building.

At some point, they issued a second Quilt Shop, so, of course I chose that one to add.

I love the little quilts draped over the porch railings. Wouldn't you like to live in this village that has TWO quilt shops?

I haven't added any new houses in the past couple of years, because I ran out of room on the table to display them. But, this year, I just HAD to add one more. Can you guess which one? Here it is:

This was my nod to the new addition in our family this past year.

Toby is actually being pretty good about leaving the trees alone, now that he has grown accustomed to them. When we first put up the big tree, I started by laying down the tree skirt, and in 2 seconds flat, Toby had settled right in on it.

Notice the ever present tennis ball!

We made a few changes, like putting the Nativity scene up on the mantel rather than on a low table, but so far it's been easier than I thought. We'll see how he handles all the paper and bows on Christmas morning!

Be careful what you Don't wish for....

2009-12-20T09:45:00.002-05:00

Every year our quilting guild has a Christmas party for the December meeting. The planners always arrange to have the tables set up with centerpieces that are usually quilt-themed, and alway festive. In the past, I have hoped to be the lucky winner of the centerpiece, but I hadn't been lucky enough.

This year, each table had a beatiful Poinsettia plant as the centerpiece. Knowing that poinsettia's are potentially dangerous if ingested by dogs, I did not want to be the one to take it home, so when it was announced that the person with the blue painters tape stuck to the bottom of their chair was the lucky winner, I didn't rush to get up to look.

One by one, my tablemates stood up and flipped over their chair to look for a patch of blue tape, but nobody found it. Eventually, I flipped over my chair, and, of course, I was the lucky one.

So, the plant came home with me, but I'm giving it to my parents who do not own an almost-grown puppy.

In this household, even Santa isn't safe......

A banner day

2009-12-18T08:23:00.012-05:00

Some of you may have noticed a sign on my sidebar asking for prayers for Benson and Claire. They are a brother and sister who both share a congenital defect which affects their livers and kidneys. Sweet litttle Claire has been on dialysis since she was 3 months old, and has been on a waiting list for a transplant for months now.

Well, today is the day! She is getting a kidney transplant that will change her life! If you are a prayerful person, please say a little prayer for her, and also for the family of the donor who have just lost their little one.

You can read more about this darling girl, and her inspirational story here.

Need a quick pick-me-up?

2009-12-05T09:42:00.008-05:00

This video of a darling kitten makes me smile every single time.

Click here to see it.

Vintage “Glee”

2009-12-03T22:30:00.028-05:00

I have been watching the show “Glee” on the Fox network since it debuted this Fall. It’s brought back a lot of memories about my days in Glee Club when I was in Junior High School, and although some things remain the same, other things are TOTALLY different.

Our Glee Club director was the Music teacher at the school.   She was very strict with us.   It was rumored that she had spent many years in the Army because of the way she ruled with an iron fist. I'm not sure if that rumor was ever verified, but sometimes Glee Club felt like Boot Camp!

Each year, all the girls had to try out, and if you made it into the club, you received the following letter on a mimeographed sheet of paper. (Remember mimeograph paper? It had a distinctive smell, and the print came out colored purple.)

CONGRATULATIONS! You have been accepted as a member of the Girls’ Glee Club for this year. Rehearsals are held on Thursdays from 11:10 to 12:00 in Room 28, with an occasional rehearsal after school.    You are expected to attend all rehearsals.   It is your responsibility to find out whether or not there is a rehearsal scheduled.     Attendance is taken at rehearsals, and no one is excused from rehearsal if they are in school. Too many girls will be waiting to be placed in Glee Club, if you skip rehearsal to do homework, study for a test, etc.

You are expected to keep all music in a folder, which may be purchased in any stationery or drug store for 12-15 cents. I prefer the folders with 3 metal rings attached, and the color to be medium blue. If you forget your folder, you DON’T report to rehearsal. Take a zero.

The rule for dress at assemblies is as follows:
- a long, black maxi-skirt (which our girls usually make themselves)
- a white blouse (long or short sleeves – ruffles, etc. something feminine looking. I’m sure you have such a blouse in your wardrobe at home.)
-dark shoes – no sneakers!!!
-various colored scarves- orange, brown, gold, yellow for Thanksgiving, red or green for Christmas, red or blue for Memorial Day (These scarves are worn at the neck of the blouse to add a little color to the season.)


We have some exceptionally fine singers this year. It is a very large club, and as I said previously, many girls are on the waiting list. Don’t make it necessary for me to ask you to leave rehearsal because of whispering, chewing gum, poor attendance, forgetting music and other silly reasons. I don’t want to replace you, unless you leave me no other alternative.
Let’s have a successful year!
                                                        Mrs. Baker

I think you can get a feel from reading this letter just how "no nonsense" Mrs. Baker was. Kind of funny to lay out all these rules and then end with a cheery "Let's have a successful year!"

I love how it is implied that every girl had the ability to make herself a skirt! Of course, back then sewing was still taught in Home Ec classes. I also love how Mrs. Baker was so sure that we each had at least one white, feminine blouse in our wardrobes, along with an array of colorful scarves.

Other than the dress code, what strikes me as the biggest difference between Glee Club then and now is that it was considered a privilege to be a part of Glee Club, rather than the way the TV show depicts Glee Club as only for outcasts and losers. Maybe it had a lot to do with the way Mrs. Baker treated it. (Quite frankly, I'm not sure there ever really was a waiting list of hopefuls just waiting for one of us to snap our gum too often, or forget our music enough times to get kicked out so that they could take our places in the Club.)

The other big difference is that the boys had their own separate Glee Club. No Co-Ed singing back then!!! Oddly enough, I remember being part of a singing group in grade school that included both boys and girls. I guess they figured that the younger kids still looked upon the opposite sex as something they could catch "cooties" from, but by Jr. High those "cooties" were darned magnetic.

Here’s a grainy photo of some of us onstage, in our “maxi-skirts” and "feminine" blouses:

Instead of the colorful scarves, Mrs. Baker had us wear pastel colored blouses for this particular Spring concert. Don't we all look like Marcia Brady?

This is Mrs. Baker receiving a bouquet of roses after a performance. (She's the one in the floral skirt.) There were so many girls in the Glee Club, that we couldn't all fit on the stage. Some of the girls had to stand on the stairs leading up to it. You can see them to the left of the flag.

The funny thing is, nowadays I’m a member of a community chorus and what do we wear for concert attire? White blouses and long black skirts!

The really funny thing is that back then, when most of the girls' skirts were homesewn, mine was store bought due to lack of sewing skills, but now, when most of the women in my chorus buy their skirts, mine is homesewn!

Double Duty

2009-12-01T09:49:00.000-05:00

Karen, over at Sew Many Ways posts every week with a "Tool Time Tuesday" idea where she shows interesting new uses for ordinary objects. It made me think of a couple of items I have on my cutting table that have been re-purposed from the stationary aisle. One is a pencil holder, and the other is a letter holder:

Together, they make great holders for rotary cutting tools.

I put a few pieces of batting on the bottom of the letter holder to protect the edges of the rulers, and I covered a cardboard circle with batting and fabric to give some cushioning to the points of the scissors.

Very handy to have on my cutting table, and the bottom of the pencil holder doubled as a template for a circle when I needed one:

Power of Prayer

2009-11-30T10:50:00.005-05:00

My mom's church has a Prayer Shawl Ministry where knitters come together and make prayer shawls, which are then blessed and given away to someone who needs a little extra comfort in times of illness, loss or anxiety. You can learn more about the Ministry and how it got started by going here, which is the website of Janet Bristow and Victoria Galo who are founders of the Prayer Shawl Ministry.

As a strong believer in the power of prayer, I was truly touched, as well as suprised, when my Mom gave me one of the shawls.

There are times when that little extra bit of comfort, wrapped around my shoulders like a hug from Mom can make a big difference in bringing a sense of peace to my life.

If you visit the website, you will see that the shawls are made not only for times of trouble, but also for times of celebration. Included with the shawl, was the following prayer:

May God's grace be upon this shawl,
warming, comforting, enfolding and embracing.

May this mantle be a safe haven... a sacred place of security and well-being...

sustaining and embracing in good times as well as difficult ones.

May the one who receives this shawl be cradled in hope, kept in joy, graced with peace,

and wrapped in love.

Blessed Be!

Thanks, Mom! I truly do feel blessed!

Happy Thanksgiving

2009-11-26T08:44:00.000-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving

By hook or by crook

2009-11-20T10:38:00.012-05:00

Like so many quilter/crafters, I like to have something to do while watching TV with the family. In the past that has been either a hand quilting project, or a crochet project.

Imagine the following scene: the family gathered together, dishes done, the aroma of a sweetly scented candle, a handwork project to do while settled into a cozy recliner chair and ...
(*screech of brakes*) Toby?! No way! It just hasn't worked out for me to be able to do any handwork with him around.

Last night, I realized that he has finally gotten to the point where he settles down in one spot, mostly on somebody's lap, but sometimes on the floor. Last night was one of the "floor" nights, so I stealthily got out the crochet thread and hook and started working on making a snowflake. I had about an hour to get something done before he woke up from his dozing state and decided Mom's lap would be so much more comfy than the floor, and I gave in to his puppy eyes and let him up. Yeah, he's spoiled, but at least I had a little something to show in the way of progress by the end of the night, and those velvety soft ears are hard to resist, even if they do come attached to a 30 pound dog.

Shown in the photo are snowflakes I made last year.

All Hanky No Panky

2009-11-17T10:56:00.001-05:00

I finished the last few hankie blocks:

Now I have to figure out how to set them together. I'm thinking that attic window frames would be a nice way to set them off. A trip to the fabric store is in order, but don't know when that will happen.

Toby vs. the ball

2009-11-16T12:18:00.006-05:00

Toby is just crazy about tennis balls. He loves retrieving them so much, that he purposely pushes them under the chairs just so he can have the challenge of getting them back out again. I don't know what he's thinking about, but I imagine it goes something like this:

I'm sure I saw a tennis ball disappear under this chair.

Yup. There it is!

I can see it!

I can smell it!

But I can't quite reach it! Darn these little short legs!

Please come out little ball! Don't make me get on my knees and beg.

Well, okay.

Mom won't like this move, but I'm getting desperate! *

Okay, one last attempt. Legs. Almost. There.

Toby wins! Until next time.....

* No chairs were harmed during the taking of these pictures.

Progress report.

2009-11-15T11:17:00.002-05:00

Thank you so much for the nice comments that were left on my last post about the quilt I'm making with handkerchief fabrics. I've really been enjoying pairing up the fabrics for each block to bring out the colors in the hankies. I've got 6 blocks finished, and the fabrics cut and chosen for the last 3. Here's a peek at what I've got so far:

The only hard part about using the handkerchief print fabric, is that not all the hankies were printed symmetrically, which means that not all the corners are exactly the same, so I'm fudging it a bit. The real test will come when I put the blocks all together.

I'm not at all sure how I want to put these together in terms of sashing color, and what the border fabric should be. I'm still sorting that out, but it's a fun "problem" to have. ;-)

I wanted to add a few comments about my grandfather, since he is also in the picture in yesterday's post. He was very reserved and a man of few words. He was content to sit back and let my grandmother be the lively one. He was never late for anything. He would rather arrive early and wait in the car than be late.

He had a lots of thick hair on his head that never thinned as he aged, although eventually it became pure white. He worked for years in a paper cutting factory, which is where he met my grandmother. We were never at a loss for scrap paper in my house because Grandpa had always been able to bring home bundles of it that were leftover from paper cutting projects. He never cooked a day in his life, until my grandmother became ill in her later years and then he learned to cook while she sat in the kitchen chair and coached him along.

When I was old enough to learn to ride a two wheeled bike, Grandpa took the best parts from 3 bikes that had belonged to my mother and aunts and turned them into a "new" bike for me. I wish I could say I knew him very well, but he wasn't much of a talker. He was just always there, providing a solid base for the rest of the family to branch out from.

Grandmother's Hankies

2009-11-13T11:21:00.008-05:00

My mother's mother was born in 1898. That's her in the picture, sitting on the hay bale looking rather cross.   It's seems unusual to see her looking cranky. I remember her as always having a smile on her face.  Perhaps the big hat that her sister was wearing was poking her in the face, or her button-hook shoes were too tight.

Grandma married rather late for a woman of her era, and she also broke with traditon by marrying a younger man.  She gave birth to my mother, and then 6 years later, had twin girls, not knowing she was carrying twins until the day they were born.

My grandmother always dressed up, complete with stockings, heels and jewelry, (and gloves if she was going into the city). She often came by our house to babysit if  my mom needed to run an errand, and she would don an apron over her dress and do all the ironing while Mom was out. She might stay long enough to have some lunch, but then she would head back home to watch her "stories" on TV.

Every Christmas, she gave my sister and I a new pair of patent leather shoes and we loved getting them. She was kind and generous, and paid for a year of ballet lessons for me when I was little. She was always so interested in everything her grandchildren did, and would attend any school play or recital and applaud heartily. She was caring and approachable, but she liked to sign her greeting cards with "Grandmere", even though we called her "Grandma".

One of the things I'll always remember about my grandmother is that she always had a pretty handkerchief in her purse. She would spray a little perfume on it so that it was both pretty to look at and pretty to smell. Once in a while, she would let me play dress up with it, and I would imagine myself to be a most beautiful and elegant lady with my fancy hankie with the spritz of perfume.

Whenever I see a beautiful ladies hankie, I think of my grandmother, and I wish that I had some of those hankies to keep. For the longest time, I have had an idea that I wanted to make a hankie quilt and over the years I have collected a few fabric panels that had hankies printed on them. There were these two

and this one:

Such pretty panels, that I hated to cut into them. But this week, I decided it was time to do something with them. I pulled out a set of charms squares that I have been wanting to use, along with some fabrics from the stash:

And I'm going to make a wall hanging of Ohio Star blocks like this:

Giving back

2009-11-11T09:57:00.002-05:00

One of the nice things about being part of my quilt guild is to be able to participate in charity projects. We have an ongoing relationship with the Walter Reed Veteran's Hospital where we send lap quilts in red/white/blue to be given to returning soldiers.

Today being Veteran's Day, it seemed an appropriate time to post this. But our guild has also done other charitable projects as workshops during our meetings. This past month we created heart shaped pillows, made from fat quarters, that will be donated to a local hospital to be given to cardiac patients. After surgery, it is more comfortable for the patients to hug a pillow to their chest if they need to cough, and these pillows are just the right size for that.

Another workshop we've had was to make stuffed teddy bear pillows that we donate to the local fire department and amubulance services to have on hand to give to any child in need of comfort during an emergency. The pattern is a simple gingerbread type of bear shape, just traced, sewn and stuffed. Here's the table full of teddies we had by the end of the night:

I told my brother about my recent post about the pillow I made from his ties, and that I wished I had taken a good picture of it. He was kind enough to take this picture and send it to me via email. Here is his pillow made from his ties:

That 70's Show: the fashion episode

2009-11-09T10:36:00.013-05:00

I'm at a crossroads right now with my quilting. I can't decide what I want to work on next. There are so many possibilities, I can't seem to get started on anything. I've been flipping through the books on my shelf and I came across an old pattern book that someone (who shall literally remain nameless) gave me when she heard that I had taken up crochet. It's the Woman's Day "Crochet Showcase", from 1979.

With the word "showcase" in the title, one expects some cutting edge fashions, and this book did not disappoint.

A gladiator inspired vest with capped sleeves that resemble battle attire.

Katrina thought this funky vest was great fun, until she tried to put her coat on over it.

A stylin' bikini with cute matching ruffled bonnet to show that a girl can be sexy and innocent at the same time.

Louise wondered why all of a sudden all the boys wanted to take her swimming.

I've always wondered what you were supposed to wear underneath these lacy camisole tops.

I'm so rich and sophisticated that no one dares to tell me that my top has lots of little holes in it.

A little jumper that only Rainbow Brite would want to wear.

Even at 3 years old, Bonnie knew that all the kids were going to make fun of her when she wore this to preschool.

The crocheted wedding gown was a lovely idea, and the finished product might have been beautiful in the right surroundings, but who paired it with the alien headdress?

Sweet Sara was so very touched by her Nana's grand gesture, but when it came time to wear it with the headpiece Nana picked to go with it, she couldn't bring herself to make eye contact with anyone in the wedding party.

Had to include this one, not because the fashion was funny but because I think this is an early example of supermodel Beverly Johnson's work. Isn't that her? Shows what talent she has that she can make patchwork pockets look chic. I actually think this design has merit,(Hello! hand warmers!) but maybe that's just the quilter in me talking.

Family Ties

2009-11-03T10:32:00.007-05:00

When I first saw a quilt made with men’s ties featured in a quilt magazine, I loved the idea. I didn’t have any ties to work with, so I put out the word to the men in my family to never give their ties away, but to pass them on to me instead. Fortunately, my brother Scott has to wear a tie to work every day so he has lots of ties, and he passes his older ones on to me. I saw him this weekend, and he gave me this new batch:

I have made Grandmother’s Fan blocks from some of the silk tie fabrics. Here are a few that I have currently completed:

Of course, since we quilters can not bring ourselves to throw away anything that might possibly be useful, ever, even if it might not be for years and years, even if it’s the next generation that has to figure out what to use them for, I also have these:

I’m open to suggestions as to what to do with these labels if you have any….

As a “Thank You” to my brother for his supply of ties, I made him a pillow from some of them. The picture is grainy, but you can get the idea:

Since I can’t end this blog post with such a poor quality photo, I’m going to throw in this picture of Toby at no extra charge. This is the face that greets me in the morning:

Don’t be afraid….

2009-10-31T15:12:00.013-04:00

Every year our quilt guild has a challenge where any member may participate in making a quilt to meet specific guidelines, and then enter the quilt for judging at our annual show. One year, we did what was called a “Crayon Challenge”. Each quilter had to reach into a brown paper bag and pull out one crayon. Whatever color crayon you chose, you had to use that color as the predominate color in your quilt. I decided to give it a try. The crayon color I chose was “red orange”.

I was unsure as to what pattern to use, when I saw this photo in a quilt magazine:

It seemed to fit the bill. A pretty flower done in predominantly red orange. But, here is what the pattern looked like:

There were over 100 pieces! I must have been crazy. This paper pieced pattern was well beyond anything I had ever done, but this was supposed to be a challenge, right? I didn’t have a single red orange fabric in my stash, so of course, a trip to the fabric store was a must. At least that part was fun.

I took my time, and I eventually got the central flower satisfactorily pieced:

Now the question was what to do with it. It turns out that the paper piecing was easy compared to figuring out how to set off this central flower to it’s best advantage, keeping to mostly a red orange color scheme. I added a pieced border, and then attempted an applique border. Here is what I eventually came up with:

I think the overall design was a failure. I didn’t like it at all. The bright orange triangular border detracts from the center. The appliqued vines are too wide for this small piece, and I wish I had, well, I wish I had done a lot of things differently.

The height of frustration came when I was quilting. I had done some very small stipple quilting using monofilament thread all around the flower. When I was almost finished, I turned the quilt over and saw this:

What a project THAT was, to rip out those tiny monofilament threads enough to release the piece of green fabric that had manage to hitchhike it’s way onto the back.

So, what does one do with an orange and black quilt? Well, take it out every Halloween of course, so here it is. This quilt continues to be a challenge to me. Every year, it’s a challenge to look at it and not think of all the things I wish I had done differently. BUT.... entering the challenge was a great experience and it forced me to stretch my quilting self in ways I would not have done otherwise.
I actually sat down and made a list of the things I did on this quilt that I had never done before.

complicated paper piecing
working in a limited color palette
designing my own applique
use of monofilament thread for quilting
free motion stippling

Successful or not, these were all steps on my quilting journey that I might not have taken otherwise. So don't be afraid, and

Happy Halloween!!

It's pumpkin time...

2009-10-30T13:10:00.002-04:00

Here's a seasonal cross stitch scene I did quite a few years ago that suits the Fall season.

There's a pumpkin sale going on under the gazebo:

The houses with their straight sides were fun to do, but I still remember that those trees with all the branches and scattered leaves were a bear to do.

My favorite part was the church, complete with the pastor greeting someone out front. I added a little stained glass window.

Copy that, Good Buddy!

2009-10-28T11:06:00.001-04:00

Ever heard of a Buddy Quilt? Neither had I, until a local class was being offered. The concept of a buddy quilt is that two quilters work together to make different components of the same quilt. You make twice as many of your units, and your buddy makes twice as many as hers, and then you swap your extras. Now you each have all the units you need for a completed quilt. My longtime friend and quilter buddy Linda asked me if I would be interested in taking the class with her. I was intrigued by the idea, so we both signed up.

Linda and I have been to many quilt shows and lectures together and we both seem to gravitate toward the same jewel tone colors. In fact we have dubbed ourselves the "Jewel Tone Gals", so I knew that we could agree on what fabrics to use for our Buddy quilts.

We picked this bright Gingko leaf fabric for our focus fabric, along with a coordinating green and blue.

The buddy quilt pattern was basically a Card Trick block, set on point, and surrounded with a Garden Maze sashing. The class was a lot of laughs as we each created our units and then swapped them when we were done. No one actually got their whole top assembled by the end of the day, but Linda went home and finished working on hers. Here is her completed quilt:

And here is mine:

Guess I've got some catching up to do.

Linda used her leftover fabrics from the Buddy quilt to make a tote that she calls her "Buddy Tote".

I could learn a lot from Linda. Everybody should have a quilt buddy like her.

25 cents

2009-10-25T21:13:00.029-04:00

There was a quilter's yard sale at the quilt show I attended yesterday. I purchased several magazines and a few patterns for 25 cents each, and 3 pieces of fabric, including a Hoffman print, for 50 cents each. My favorite find, however, has to be this book:

It's an undated book of crocheted doilies, but judging from the cover model's Toni Tennille haircut, I'm guessing it's from the late 70's. I know styles change, so I'll forgive the hair and the goofy harem pant jumpsuit, but there are a few photos in this book that I really have to ponder.

First, there is this 2 page spread:

Simply gorgeous doily in the foreground, but, what photo stylist thought that a rifle with ammo and the recently dead pheasant would ever, EVER be allowed to sit on top of it?

How about this one?

What would dear, departed Great Aunt Madge think, if she knew that little Suzy was not only sitting this close to her lovingly handmade tablecloth with open paints in her hand, but that she even has the container for the brushes and her other art supplies right on the table?

Here is our cover girl again, on an inside page this time:

Didn't ANYBODY notice that there was a dog walking across the table in the background? Model? Photographer? Editor? Anybody?

And then there was this head scratcher:

Nothing says "elegance" to me quite like a beautiful handmade doily, some fancy cookies served on a cut glass plate and....a pink VW Bug? What? You don't have one?

I already got my 25 cents worth from this crochet book, even if I never follow any of the patterns.

A finish

2009-10-25T10:38:00.002-04:00

After a very intense quilt marathon, I finished my "Rings Around" quilt just in time to have it displayed in our guild quilt show. It was hard to get a straight on view, but here it is:

I made this quilt top in four separate sections, quilted each one separately, and then joined them together. It was a bit of a struggle getting those last two large sections together, and a little quilt surgery was required to get it right, but in the end, a finished quilt was born. I guess that makes the "surgery" a C-section?

So here's the thing...

2009-10-20T14:48:00.004-04:00

I've got some new photo processing software on my computer now, but it is so far forward from my old software that it's going to take some time to learn. If I'm lucky, I will upload a picture of my latest fnished quilt and it will appear below:

It worked! This is the quilt I just finished, called "Coral Reef". I had the center portion finished for last Christmas, and I gave it to my husband to let him decide if he wanted it as a wall-hanging or as a lap quilt. He decided on lap quilt, so I expanded it in length and finally got it turned into a quilt.

Machine quilting is probably my least favorite part of quilting, but it has to be done in order to finsh a quilt, so I've had to find a way to make it work. I quilted a diagonal line of straight stitching across all the squares and into the borders, but I skipped over the fish scenes. Later, I went back with some variegated thread and did a wavy stitch across the fish to try and suggest some motion of the water. Hopefully you can see the curved stitching in the photo below.

It's so nice to have this lap quilt all finished and ready to use. Less than a year has gone by since I gave it to my husband, so I'm not officially late yet, right? Isn't there some kind of extended "statute of giving" for quilters? No? Well, we should start one.

Bad news, Good news?

2009-10-18T12:18:00.001-04:00

There are dust bunnies in the corners.

The laundry is piling up.

The refrigerator is bare.

I really need a haircut.

But......

My quilt is finished!!

What is it that they say?....The only place where housework comes before quilting is in the dictionary!!

(I'm currently unable to post pictures. I am in the process of upgrading my antique computer and my equally antique photo software is not compatible with the new operating system. )

How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?

2009-10-16T10:11:00.006-04:00

I'm really at a loss for something new and quilt related to blog about because I'm STILL machine quilting. So here is a little challenge that I was tagged to do on Facebook, and I thought I'd share it here.

Pick your favorite recording artist. Using only song names from that ONE artist, cleverly answer the following questions:

1. Are you a male or female? I Enjoy Being a Girl
2. Describe yourself: A Cock-Eyed Optimist
3. How do you feel: I Whistle a Happy Tune
4. Your family: My Favorite Things
5. If you could go anywhere, where would you go?: In My Own Little Corner, (or Bali Ha’i, if it they ever discover it.)
6. Your favorite form of transportation: The Surrey With the Fringe on Top
7. Your best friend: Maria
8. Your favorite color is: Impossible
9. What's the weather like: June is Bustin’ Out All Over.
10. Favorite day: Some Enchanted Evening
11. If your life was a TV show, what would it be called?: Climb Ev’ry Mountain
12. What is life to you? A Puzzlement
13. Your current relationship: I’m in Love With a Wonderful Guy
14. Looking for: All or Nuthin’
15. Wouldn't mind: A Hundred Million Miracles
16. Your fear: I Cain’t Say “No”
17. What is the best advice you have to give: Shall We Dance?
18. If you could change your name, you would change it to: Edelweiss
19. Thought for the Day: Something Wonderful
20. How I would like to die: So Long, Farewell
21. Your pet: You've Got to be Carefully Taught
22. Your motto: I am Going to Like it Here

Anyone else like to give it a go? I'm going to tag Shirley and Lane because they are both doing Blogtoberfest and need to come up with something new to post everyday in October, but feel free to give it a try. If 22 questions is too many, pick just a few. There are lots of artists out there with lots of songs to choose from. How about Elvis? or Madonna? Garth Brooks? How about Andrew Lloyd Webber? Please leave a comment in the comment section if you do, so I'll be sure to stop by your blog and read your version.

Hello, my name is...

2009-10-14T23:58:00.001-04:00

I am still in the middle of machine quilting and have nothing yet to show, so I thought I'd share a little story of something else that happened this week.

First, some background. When I was born, my parents had not yet picked out a girl's name. While in the hospital, my mom was reading a LOOK magazine and came across an article with a picture of a little girl that she thought was cute, and she liked her name. She suggested the name to my dad and he liked it too, so they decided that would be my name also. My mom cut out the article and pasted it into my baby's book. Of course it's quite yellowed by now, but you can still read it.

Last week, I came across the baby book and the clipping, and I decided to see if I could find the little girl who inspired my name. A quick search on Facebook came up with just one person with that name. I took a chance and sent her a message asking if she was the little girl from the magazine and it turned out that she was!
She told me that her uncle was a photographer for LOOK, and that he occasionally used her photo and that of her siblings for stories in the magazine. Of course, she was quite surprised to hear my story, but she was glad I had contacted her. After all these years, I was finally able to tell her that she was the inspiration for my name.

I told her that I couldn't wait to tell my mom, and she said she couldn't wait to tell her mom too. I've often thought how it was kind of weird that there was someone out there who I was named after, and she didn't know it. Now she does. It kind of feels like a mystery has been solved.