- The Quilter -

Wordless Wednesday - 26 Dinner Napkins

2012-02-01T14:01:00.003-07:00

Design Wall Monday - January 30, 2012

2012-01-30T19:24:00.000-07:00

Well, it is still Monday and here is the portion of the design wall that has changed. I have been re-organizing the sewing room this last week and half. All the fabric came off the existing shelves in the fabric closet and more shelves were installed. Then all the fabric went back in plus the stuff that was stashed everywhere else. Yay! it is all in one spot now. What you see up here that is new are the two fish fabrics plus that purple to the right and the dupioni silk in the center. I plan to use the silk as the top of a quilt and the backing will be the fish fabrics, the purple and an orange or possibly a yellow.

Here is the fabric closet with all the fabrics and ufos. The pressing surface is there to the right with a bag that needs repairing sitting on top. The orange plastic bag hanging down from another shelf holds selvages. I love to use them to tie up cords and things.

Here's the opposite corner of the room. I moved out an antique cherrywood bookcase with glass doors that used to hold the FQ. I moved in the hand quilting frame. You can actually see a lot of quilts in this photo. There are two tops draped over the back rail of the frame. In the rocking chair is one completed quilt draped over the back and in the seat is a basted quilt waiting to be quilting. On the wall you can see the fabric for two, count 'em, two more quilts. I need to get busy.

For more design walls visit Judy L at Patchwork Times.

Design Wall Monday 01-23-2012

2012-01-23T05:52:00.000-07:00

Lots of things are happening at Casa del Quilter! The fabric storage in the sewing room is getting reorganized -- inspiration by Mrs. Goodneedle. No photos of the reorg, sorry. But. Progress is being made on the AAQI Priority Quilts. The Road Knight quilt is spray basted, layered and ready to quilt. Plus, I dug out an old orphan block and made it into another Priority Quilt. When I was rummaging around in the box, I found another little block (the Lemoyne star) that I'll make into another AAQI quilt. And then buried at the bottom of the box were 4 unused pieced borders. Using the black fabric to the left and those pieced borders, another Quilt of Valor quilt top will be pieced in 6 inch wide pieces. The two black/yellow/white sunflower fabrics will be another strip quilt. All this discovered while cleaning out the fabric closet.

I plan on covering the outside baseball cap with sequins for an upcoming quilt retreat whose theme is "Get Your Bling On!".

For more design walls, visit Judy at Patchwork Times.

First Quilt Finish of 2012

2012-01-20T05:00:00.000-07:00

Back on December 12, 2011, I posted a design wall update on the progress of this quilt. It's done! Yay! I realized that I had a duplicate of one of the shirts and found an Alexander Henry fabric of just Cameros that fit right in. Since the request was for a certain size, I did not put borders on it. I know how hard the recipient of this is on quilts so instead of quilting it, I tied it with wool yarn. The wool will felt in the first hot wash and form little balls on the top that will not come loose. The recipient is very pleased and so am I to have this done.

Wordless Wednesday - Leaves

2012-01-18T08:05:00.003-07:00

Design Wall Monday - 01/16/2012

2012-01-16T08:50:00.003-07:00

The design wall is empty! It has even been rollered with the tape roller.

What you see here is the first block ready to applique for the Baltimore Christmas quilt. See how many pins are in the cords at the top of the photo? That is how many each piece will end up having. I am a firm believer in lots and lots of pins. After using glue in the last applique quilt, Hugs and Kisses, which, incidentally is still just a flimsy top, I realized that I do not like using glue. I am back to my standard way of hand applique which is a combination of totally prepared applique pieces and needle turn.

The background fabric is the Etchings line by 3 Sisters for Moda. I am using the other right side of the fabric since it is the better color for my purposes. So what if you can't read it, you are supposed to be looking at the applique! The rest of the fabrics are from my stash.

By Friday this week, these pieces will be appliqued on.

For more design wall inspiration, visit JudyL at PatchworkTimes.

With and Without Flash

2012-01-11T07:10:00.000-07:00

Old Textiles

2012-01-10T13:09:00.000-07:00

The only quilt shown at the lecture was made from layers and layers
of old saris using reverse applique and a big stitch quilting.
The batting is assumed to be more saris.

I attended a wonderful lecture last evening. It was the January program of The Rocky Mountain Creative Quilters. Linda Carlson, Curator of the Avenir Museum at CSU's University Center for the Arts discussed and showed special items from their collection that illustrated the rich history of textiles as it pertains to quilting and creating with fabric. There was yardage and garments and other special items that included laces and molas, ikat and mudcloth . I learned tidbits of information like the style of a Japanese kimono probably relates to traditional Mongol clothing. And the early tie dyes that were shown and discussed were astounding!

Laying on top of various embroidered saris,
this Pre-Columbian textile was astonishing in it's complexity.
The weaver spun the cotton using only her fingers and thigh.

If you ever get the chance to attend something like this and you are really into textiles, and what quilter isn't into textiles, I urge you to go!

Design Wall Monday - January 9, 2012

2012-01-09T06:03:00.000-07:00

There are subtle changes on the design wall. The biggest one is the quilt top is put together awaiting borders. There was a left over block from the t-shirt quilt that I am considering quilting up for a Priority Quilt for AAQI.

What you can't see is the actual t-shirt quilt because it is in another room on the basting table and the light is very poor for photos. I am about 3/4 the way through tying it. I know how hard the recipient is on quilts and decided that tying it with wool yarn was the way to go. Why wool yarn? Because when it is washed, the ties will felt and then will be permanent.I had to stop tying it for the day, though, because those screened designs on the shirts are really tough to get a needle through and my fingers are really, really sore.

From this location, if you were to glance to your right, you would see the envelopes of applique pieces and the background for the first block of the Baltimore Christmas.

For more inspiration and to see other design walls visit JudyL's blog, Patchwork Times,

Update

2012-01-08T07:29:00.005-07:00

Calmer heads have prevailed and I am listening to them. The quilt top in the previous post has been gently folded up and put away. Now, back to my knitting. I've been hired to do a bit of knitting of hats and fingerless mitts so I've been knitting and knitting and knitting ...

Is this a crazy idea?

2012-01-07T07:06:00.000-07:00

Recently this vintage quilt top was gifted to me. It has it's problems.

The squares were hand stitched in black thread with a scant 1/8" seam. See those deep red/burgundy squares? There are other colors that are falling apart at the seams like these.

Am I nuts to even consider this? Think of the work involved.

Wordless Wednesday - Bonus Triangles

2012-01-04T06:19:00.000-07:00

Design Wall Monday - January 2, 2012

2012-01-02T15:35:00.000-07:00

I spent the day on December 31 participating in a one day Mystery Quilt class. I was not able to get the blocks finished in the class but DID get them finished and on the design wall today. I figured I couldn't go wrong with a red, white, and blue combo since it was only three fabric. This just sparkles, doesn't it? There are still two more borders to add.

And, there. In the chair. Do you see them? Over the back of the chair is the LAST mystery quilt sandwiched and ready to quilt. In the seat of the chair is the t-shirt quilt that is ready to sandwich and tie; this one will be quick once I can get to it.

To see other design walls, visit JudyL's blog, Patchwork Times, for more inspiration.

Autumn Coat

2012-01-01T06:00:00.000-07:00

Happy New Year!

When I took these photos it was still Autumn and there was a lot of snow on the ground. The weather has since warmed up and the Chinook wind (the snow eater wind) has melted all the snow. It is warm enough to wear this knitted coat instead of a parka.

I purchased this yarn at a garage sale. It is Lamb's Pride Superwash Bulky and there was barely enough to finish this sweater. I had a strand of about 18" left after sewing up the seams. No buttons or button holes because I plan on using a shawl pin as a closure. It is as warm and cozy as it looks. The color is a royal purple that shimmers in the light.

The pattern is Autumn Coat by Oat Couture.

Design Wall Monday - 12/26/11

2011-12-26T19:04:00.000-07:00

It's the last Design Wall Monday of 2011. I am working diligently on the t-shirt quilt so nothing has changed on the wall except the addition of thread to the quilt.

On another knitting note, one of the gals who purchased some knitted items for Christmas gifts called me today and ordered more!

Paula, the knitting factory, at your disposal.

Merry Christmas

2011-12-24T17:00:00.000-07:00

Calendar Cover

2011-12-23T07:08:00.000-07:00

The 2012 calendar cover is made, finally. I carry a calendar every week day because of work and I decided many years ago that it did not have to look utilitarian. This one is the Quilt Art 2012 calendar published by American Quilting Society. Small projects like this are a wonderful place to use up cheap fabric. Want to make one for yourself? Search for notepad/portfolio/journal cover tutorials.

Wordless Wednesday - Snowy Bench

2011-12-21T07:05:00.001-07:00

Design Wall Monday - 12/19/2011

2011-12-19T14:34:00.000-07:00

The design wall hasn't changed at all, so I am showing you what is on the needles.

I had 8 pairs of socks knitted just hanging out in inventory. I took them to work and sold 6 pairs. Imagine! Of course, after I figured out the cost per hour to knit them, I realized there was no profit margin in hand knit socks, but then I kinda knew that in the back of my mind already. By taking the cost of the yarn and doubling it, I basically paid myself less then a dollar an hour to knit socks. Ugh.

But these little loveys are another thing entirely. I use the bits and bobs and the odd ball of yarn to knit these up. I was playing with the pattern for this pair as the original called for a finer yarn (like sock yarn) and this yarn is a worsted weight variegation. Someone saw me working on these and wanted to buy them. Sold! She also purchased a hat and two more pairs of mitts. Then the word spread like a wild fire. I took orders for seven more pair all in black. The only catch was that I had no black yarn, so on Saturday I had to go shopping. Be still my heart. I ended up purchasing a nice washable merino wool in the correct weight for the original pattern AND and super soft 100% baby llama in this worsted weight. Now to get knitting.

For other (actual) design walls, please visit Judy at Patchwork Times.

Baby Surprise Jackets

2011-12-16T06:00:00.000-07:00

I've been knitting Baby Surprise Jackets, so named because the jacket is knit in all one piece and then Surprise! folded like origami to form a jacket. I used some sock yarn that made very ugly wide stripes when knit up into socks; I think it looks better paired with a solid yarn and knit into these jackets! I modified the pattern a bit to use the buttons I had on hand. Now to figure out what to do with them.

Wordless Wednesday - Favorite Shoes

2011-12-14T07:12:00.000-07:00

Design Wall Monday - 12/12/11

2011-12-12T05:00:00.000-07:00

Remember last week when I mentioned I was cutting tshirts for a quilt? Here is what I have accomplished. The shirt for that empty space is in the laundry.

I didn't notice that I have two shirts the same before I took this photo, so I guess I'll have to find another shirt. The Alexander Henry yardage on the left will be the sashing. Once again the camera caught something that my eye didn't see. Look at that repeat! I measured, and it is a 12" repeat; the blocks will finish at 15". I will have to shift the sashing a bit so it doesn't repeat. The shirts in this are car related and the oldest is from 1996.

Don't forget to visit JudyL at Patchwork Times, to see more design walls and what others are creating.

Wordless Wednesday - Shadows

2011-12-07T14:51:00.001-07:00

How to make a ribbon scarf

2011-12-06T06:00:00.000-07:00

I was asked if I would explain how I made the ribbon scarf. It is really very simple. Start with Sulky Solvy which is a water soluble stabilizer. Mine was old and and some was missing due to being used so I do not know how long it was, but I'd guess about 36" by the width of the stabilizer.

Since I am out of the stabilizer, I'll show the next step using waxed paper. Open the stabilizer flat and if you want to, spray it lightly with a bit of washable spray adhesive as this will keep the fibers from shifting. Lay the fibers on half of the stabilizer lengthwise, leaving tails at each end. Fold the other half of the stabilizer over the fiber-covered half. Pin the edges and transport it carefully to your sewing machine.

Put a walking foot on your sewing machine and stitch across the fibers every inch or so and then do a large 'x' to further stabilize the fibers.

Now comes the tedious part. Carefully remove the stabilizer from the stitching lines. You do not have to get it all out from under the stitches. Once you have the larger pieces of the stabilizer removed , dunk the scarf in a bowl or basin of warm water and swish around. I let it sit in the water for about 2-3 minutes. Remove from the bowl and roll the scarf into a terry towel to squeeze out the remaining water. Block or dry flat.

That's all there is to it! Here's a photo of the finished product again.

Design Wall - 12/5/11

2011-12-05T05:00:00.000-07:00

Remember the two applique blocks on the design wall? I machine appliqued them to see if that is really the technique I want to do with the Baltimore Christmas blocks. I have made my decision on how I am going to applique the BC: freezer paper, starch and hand applique will be the preferred method. I am just not happy with the curves on these two pieces.

Major Fail

As a recap, the red block called Icho (design and kit by Grannie 'G' Applique) was prepared using a glue stick, freezer paper and machine applique. Really not happy with this at all. To me, this technique was a sticky mess and I couldn't get smooth curves.

Minor Fail

Noshi (design and kit by Grannie 'G' Applique) was prepared using starch, freezer paper and machine applique. This one is much better but I am still not super happy with the curl.

These are the types of experiments that end up with me having a lot of orphan blocks.

On another note, I started cutting t-shirts apart for a family member's quilt. Stay tuned.

For glimpses to other design walls visit JulyL at Patchwork Times.

The Ribbon Scarf

2011-12-04T06:00:00.000-07:00

Here is a closer look at that ribbon scarf on Monday's design wall. This ribbon was so slippery that when I tried to wind it on the yarn ball winder and I removed my hand from the top of the ball the ribbon just exploded into a mushroom. Once I got it contained in a zip lock baggie I tried to knit it up into a scarf. O my. Once again this yarn was a PITA and twisted and knotted. So this was a really good solution because I could cut this silly stuff if needed and I ended up doing so several times. I added bits and pieces of other yarns and fibers to add a bit of texture and interest. The scarf turned out very soft and drapey. It may become a Christmas present for someone.

Vote for your favorite entries - Christmas Quilt Show

2011-12-03T06:24:00.001-07:00

It is time to vote for your favorite entries in the Christmas Quilt Show. I am number 49.
You make a comment on the post in the blog I linked to above. You can vote for one Christmas quilt (#49) and one Winter quilt in the comments section of the post. (#49). The voting closes on Sunday, tomorrow, and winners will be announced next week. Remember, I'm #49! Thanks!

Reindeer Portrait

2011-11-29T05:00:00.000-07:00

Here is an oldie that was finished in 1989! It is machine pieced, hand appliqued, and machine quilted; 100% cotton; size is 30 x 36.

The tan/brown for the reindeer was gradation dyed. The original color is on Rudolf. The inner ears and the eyes are painted. The eyes were then stitched on with just a bit more stuffing to make them stand out with each reindeer having a different expression. All the noses were also stuffed a bit fuller. Echo quilting defines each reindeer while a continuous-line quilted holly leaf edges the border. Each reindeer's name is quilted just on the inside edge of the green border.

This quilted wallhanging was entered into Creative Quilting Magazine's Winter/Holiday Quilt Contest December 1990 and was one of 25 semifinalists in America. It went to the Houston Quilt Show in a special exhibit in October 1990 and at Christmas was displayed in a book store on 5th Avenue in New York City.

Every year, this little quilt gets hung up on my wall as part of my Christmas decorations.

I am entering this quilt in the 2011 Christmas Quilt Show. Please visit SewCalGal to view more quilts.

Design Wall Monday 11-28-11

2011-11-28T07:00:00.000-07:00

Small changes are on the wall this week.

The blue batik on the right is there to remind me to fix a nasty on one of my winter coats.
Next to it is a scarf made with some very slippery nylon ribbon yarn that refused to knit up nicely. I sandwiched it between two sheets of water-soluble Solvy and made a ribbon scarf.
To the left of the scarf are two applique blocks that I prepped on Sunday. I am testing different applique techniques so I can make a decision on which to use for the Baltimore Christmas. Have I mentioned this upcoming quilt? The top block (in red) was prepped using a glue stick and the bottom block was prepped using starch. My stress level on the starched block was so much lower than when I did the top block that it really is a no-brainer what technique I am going to use.

To you and yours

2011-11-24T05:00:00.000-07:00

Wordless Wednesday - Oops!

2011-11-23T07:13:00.000-07:00

Design Wall Monday

2011-11-21T07:10:00.001-07:00

Yes, I know. This is not a very exciting photo. No Photoshopping has occurred on this other than to make it web-friendly. I thought I'd play along on the Design Wall Monday. It is a good exercise to keep track of progress or lack of progress.

What do you see here? Starting from lower left:

A section of fabric that I've had for 20+ years. I am contemplating how to use it.
Shortly after Auntie died in July, MagicLady was in the Yukon and this hand batiked piece talked to her as Auntie, telling her everything was all right. She HAD to bring it back to me. Auntie is in the wind.
The circle piece is a screen print I did in 1985!!, and is an inspiration piece for a future AAQI Priority Quilt.
Some graphics I printed out, also as inspirations.
The Ultrasuede eagle will make it's way into an Quilt of Valor.
I am prepping for another applique quilt so you see the freezer paper templates and the central block overlay.
The WOW square is the background for a different applique block that is not part of the other quilt.

Savor the Flavor of Red

2011-11-18T05:00:00.000-07:00

Another barter quilt has been started and finished. The recipient is an ardent (rabid?) University of Alabama alumni. Using EQ7, I worked up the design using information from Mary's post on some quilts she and her Mom have been making. Most of the information I was able to gather on the University of Alabama showed red & white. But occasionally, I saw an elephant, so the gray represents that elephant.

The words are machine appliqued using the back basting method; as much as I would have liked to do liberated letters, I know the recipient would not like them so I have chosen to do a nice clean font. The quilt size is roughly 55x75.

The center 'A' is quilted in a cross hatch and the rest of the quilting is loopy meandering. There is a little bit of the gray used in a flange in the center block.

Drive The Cold Winter Away

2011-11-14T05:00:00.000-07:00

This quilt top is the result of participation in the LQS October Mystery Quilt class. Not too bad, eh? The fabrics are all from stash and feature a lot of snowflakes, hence the name of this post. I plan on donating this quilt somewhere, but haven't decided where yet. Over the weekend, I not only finished the top but pieced a heavyweight flannel that been in the stash for years into the backing and also made the binding. It is ready to sandwich and quilt.

This Old Tree

2011-11-11T06:00:00.000-07:00

Recent storms have caused major tree damage locally. It was too early for those heavy wet snows as the trees were still in leaf. This old tree is on a street near my workplace. You can see all the woodpecker holes plus there are lots of squirrels who like to nest in this old tree.Do you know what that means? The heart of the tree is weak or destroyed.

Here is what happened to the other branch of this tree. This old tree is/was about 100 years old and below this shot, the trunk is about 5 feet across. It is sad, but the whole tree will probably have to come down.

Wordless Wednesday - Sit Down

2011-11-09T05:00:00.000-07:00

Here's another giveaway

2011-11-05T06:08:00.002-06:00

Karen of KaHolly is having a giveaway, and a wonderful giveaway it is! The pattern for the quilt above is included. I hate to mention it here because I am being selfish and want it all for myself, but I am doing the right thing by telling you all. Go. Now. And comment.

My Memories

2011-11-04T06:35:00.000-06:00

Did you know that Saturday, November 5 (tomorrow!!) is International Digital Scrapbooking Day? In honor of that I am having a giveaway of My Memories Suite software. You all know that I like to take photographs (especially of my quilts) and who doesn't like to take them. But then what do you do with them? I have actually done paper scrapbooking in the past but that is very messy and time consuming. The perfect solution is digital scrapbooking!

Everything about this digital scrapbooking software was created to help you create albums and individual pages. You simply start by placing a background on your page, then move to the photos tab and move to the embellishments tab. They are all lined up on the right. For each thing you add, there are quick and easy to understand options like mats, shadows and shapes. Just remember, this is not photo editing software.

Here are a couple of pages that I made using the elements available in the software (except for that reedy looking flourish on the first page). Click for bigger.

Remember these quilts? Both of these were traded to the same person. The applique quilt was traded for a bronze dragon and the other one was traded for five cords of firewood.

I started my album by choosing a ready made page template and then chose a textured background of burlap. I then added a bit of color and my own personal embellishment. From there it was easy to just pop in the photos and add a bit of text.

This page uses the same background but different embellishments. I used some supplied elements of stitching and a button, perfect for a quilter.

Now I can hear you asking "But then what do I do with it?" Well you could do nothing at all with it or print it out at home or, this is my favorite, send it to a book publisher like shutterfly or blurb and have a real honest to goodness book printed. Or how about a greeting card?

So I have one easy rule for entering this giveaway:
Go to the My Memories site, browse around and then come back and leave me a comment on which kit you like. The giveaway ends on Sunday, November 6. The winner will be given a code to use in downloading the software. Good luck!

Update: The drawing is closed and keryn is the winner!

Alycia Needs Quilts!

2011-11-03T16:42:00.001-06:00

I recently went to a Mystery Quilt class at my local quilt shop. The quilt is currently on the design wall and just needs to be sewn together and then quilted. I was not sure what to do with this quilt once it was done but then I read Alycia's call for help. This quilt, which will finish at 55x82, falls within the guidelines of the Quilts of Valor requirements. It is a win-win solution for both my Mystery Quilt, which I will show when it is done, and for Alycia.

You know about the Quilts of Valor program, right? Do you read Alycia's blog? Alycia supports the Warriors in Transition Battalion at Fort Carson Mountain Post in Colorado. This unit houses 775 wounded soldiers and there are always soldiers in transition. Alycia's quilt pantry is OUT OF QUILTS! Say it ain't so!

So here is my request; please go to Alycia's blog and learn about the program and consider making a quilt. Alycia has a quilt pattern that she has designed and Mary Johnson has several on her site that work well for QOV quilts. If you do make and send a quilt to Alycia before December 31, go to JudyL's blog and leave a comment to be included in the drawing for the incentives. Judy will be giving away one of her quilts plus a $50.00 gift certificate to the Fat Quarter Shop. Vicki Welsh has also generously donated 2 yards of her fabulous hand dyed fabric.

There are certain guidelines and requirements for a Quilt of Valor:

Minimum size of 55x65 and a Maximum size of 72x90
100% cotton materials and flannel is okay to use
Must be long arm quilted or domestic machine quilted; no tied quilts
Must have a pillowcase/presentation case (Alycia currently has a lot of these but check with her)
Quilt should be washed in cold water with unscented detergents and unscented dryer sheets.

Wordless Wednesday - Snow Day

2011-11-02T14:40:00.002-06:00

I Never Met An Antique Quilt I Did Not Like

2011-10-28T05:00:00.000-06:00

An antique quilt was recently gifted to me. After several long soaks in the bathtub with cool water and Biz, it finally was clean enough to handle. It is quite lovely in the simplicity of the blocks used. This quilt is totally hand pieced and hand quilted. Scattered here and there throughout the quilt are poverty blocks, those blocks where pieced fabric was used to finish out the block, similar to our modern day crumb block.

As you can see from the hour glass block, which are in the four corners, some of the fabrics are from the 1880s; those black and white mourning prints and that double blue give it away. OTOH, the backing does not fit in and looks more like it is from the 1930s feed sack era.

Before you see the whole quilt, you need to see how much it has deteriorated. You can click for a larger photo. See those little tufts of red? That is what is left of a certain red fabric. You can also see where someone has tried to stabilize the center portion of the block by stitching it down with black thread.

Here is the whole quilt. Isn't it a fun graphic quilt? Each block is approximately 4.5" and the setting is 14 blocks by 14 blocks. The over all quilt size is roughly 63" x 63". It is by no means a perfect quilt and has seen better days, but it is surprising how well it has held up for how old I believe this quilt to be. The quilting stitches are not very consistent but cover four blocks in an off-center log cabin design.

I am glad that I was able to "rescue" this quilt from possibly being a cutter quilt in the future. I have received permission from the GF who gave it to me, to pass it along to another GF. The second GF saves old quilts like this and just refolds them for display on an old trunk. This will be a welcome addition to her collection.

Wordless Wednesday - Pumpkins!

2011-10-26T05:00:00.001-06:00

Brought to you by the number 6

2011-10-23T16:38:00.000-06:00

It was brought to my attention that today is my sixth blogiversary. Wow, six years! When I first started posting, I was not sure why I was doing this. But now the blog has settled into a knitting and quilting blog and I like it that way. I have made many good friends along this journey. Even though we have not met face to face, I consider you my friends, Yay friends, you are what keeps this blog going.

Wordless Wednesday - 5 Inch Hexagons

2011-10-19T10:35:00.000-06:00

I'm Seeing Red

2011-10-17T14:21:00.000-06:00

Work on the Alabama quilt has progressed nicely. Oops! I guess I forgot to say anything about this one didn't I? It's another barter quilt. Yes, I know I said I was not going to do this again but really now, what better way to get a nice bronze sculpture than to barter? Anyway, if you stand on your head while looking at this photo you can see the nice cursive letter 'A' that is so familiar to the University of Alabama fans. This is the back side of the quilt. I am using red thread exclusively on the back and for the majority of the front. But this section on the front needed white thread and it is showing up on the backing as white dots. Once the quilting is finished, I will take a red pigma pen and touch each one of those white dots and POOF! they will disappear.

Are you counting the barter quilt/sculptures? This one make #4.

Quilt Show 2011

2011-10-09T14:31:00.001-06:00

Recently I attended the annual Quilt-a-Fair sponsored by Colorado Quilt Council. This is a combination quilt show and very large vendor mall. This year the quilts, which are hung very high, seemed to be ho-hum, kind of predictable. In fact, there was one quilt that was an exact replica of the quilt on the cover of the Yellow Brick Road pattern by Atkinson Designs. How sad is that?

But there were several of the quilts that caught my attention. First up is this quilt and I know it was the fabrics that caught my eye because it is a very straight forward log cabin type of block that is set on point. But don't you love the fussy cutting for the center?

"Cinnamon and Ginger" by Marti Oetzel

Or this one, which looks to be a self design. What I really like about this quilt is it's simplicity of design using only three fabrics. Because two of those fabrics are stripes, the design looks complicated.

"Tightly Woven" by Lea McComas

This next quilt is also by Lea McComas. Unfortunately, the program had a typo and the name for the quilt is unknown. But look at the possibilities in this design of strings, glorious strings!

Unknown quilt by Lea McComas

How about triangles? Do you like them? This next quilt's title is so true.

"There Is No Such Thing As An Ugly Fabric" by Leslie Frisbee

I am such a sucker for a red, white and blue quilt and when it combines with a kaleidoscopic stack-'n-whack I'll get reeled in every time. Isn't this a fun quilt?

Unknown title by Delma Oberbeck

Cutting Fabric

2011-10-02T18:33:00.000-06:00

Normally, I do not like to cut into fabric. Strange thing for a quilter to say, isn't it? It's always been this way. Way back when I used to do a lot of garment sewing, I would procrastinate on cutting out the pieces. Cutting out quilt pieces, I have found, is no different. So when I DO get into a mood to cut I cut out a lot of fabric.

So can you guess what I've been doing? Yes, cutting fabric. It started with a Mystery Quilt at the LQS. I finally decided on the fabrics and then cut the pieces according to the first clue. Now need to wait until the end of the month for the 'class'. But cutting those quilt pieces got me in the mood to cut more. So I did.

I now have all of this cut and waiting to sew:

Quilt of Valor - Flag of Valor
Quilt of Valor - American Glory
Purple Safari
Tulips at Midnight
Double 4 Patch
Buckeye Beauty
Mystery Quilt
an apron
a new bathrobe

That's enough to keep a girl out of trouble for a while. You'll know where to find me!

Wordless Wednesday - Cheddar

2011-09-28T06:00:00.000-06:00

Lifeline

2011-09-20T18:53:00.000-06:00

The first clue was the statement that yes, you will have enough yarn if you do this and this, otherwise you will need to frog stitch back to a certain row. By the time the point is reached to determine if there will be frogging, the piece is already a quarter of the way done. Normally, I knit a gauge swatch, but this, after all, is just garter stitch with buttonholes. I did not swatch. And I started knitting. As I neared a certain row, I decided that maybe, just maybe, I should cover my behind because my knitting which is usually right on gauge, could be off. So I threaded a piece of dental floss through the row so that in the off chance I had to rip it all the way back, then the lifeline would salvage a bit of the knitting.

I shouldn't have doubted myself. Everything was perfect. BTW, isn't that just luscious yarn? It's a silk/merino blend. More on this later.

The Power of Words

2011-09-13T13:10:00.002-06:00

This video illustrates a powerful point of how much our words can influence; a subject that Mrs Goodneedle and I had a private conversation on not too long ago. You've probably seen this video before, but watch it again.

Timing is Everything

2011-09-08T18:00:00.001-06:00

or in the right place at the right time.

A GF and I signed up for a one-day Mystery Quilt at a LQS. Normally, I do not do mystery quilts, but we needed a bit of girl-friend time. We were handed our first clue which included the amount of fabric and wonder-of-wonders the requirements were in values.

Inspired by a color choice I saw on a blog, I started pulling fabric. I was able to pull the light, medium and medium-dark yardage from the stash but not the dark fabric.

So I cruised into the LQS where we will be taking this class to look for a suitable dark fabric. Nothing jumped into my arms. But, and here is where the timing comes in, a fabric rep was in the store. I talked with one of the owners and the fabric that I had in mind is now on order and I will get my 4 yards in time for the class.

Grampa's Chair

2011-09-06T18:05:00.001-06:00

Grampa's rocking chair resides in my living room once again.

For a while, it was relegated to the sewing room awaiting a new cushion cover. Two layers of 3" foam (one of them high density) covered with a felted wool bat (we won't discuss how that felting occurred will we?) awaited a cover. Over this past weekend I drew up a pattern and made the cover. In fact, I made a cushion for the back too. I'm not sure I like that thickness of cushion to sit upon, but time will tell. I can always redo it.

Here it is before the re-do.

TaDa!

Catching Up

2011-09-04T18:57:00.001-06:00

Ever since Auntie's passing, I have been busy catching up on the things left undone around here. The garage sale is over and all leftovers delivered to Habitat ReStore.

Weeding and yarden work has commenced. The vegetable garden got hailed on twice at the beginning of summer and then totally neglected. As I was pulling the knee-high weeds and grass out I found about 6 lonely little basil plants.They are now drying on the top of the fridge. I spread a thick layer of newspaper on the garden. This has a two-fold advantage: it keeps the neighborhood cats out and will break down over the winter and help build the soil.

Today was spent in the kitchen. I was so totally together and organized there today! What did I do? Well, I thawed a turkey breast in the sink. While that was thawing, I made green chili in the crock pot and set it on the deck to cook just to tease the neighborhood. Well, really, I like to use the crock pot outside because it doesn't heat the kitchen and I could use the counter space today. Then I baked up three loaves of zucchini bread. As the bread was baking I made the filling for krautburgers and then refrigerated it. Once the bread was done, I turned off the oven and added a pie pan of water to the lower oven shelf. In went the bread dough to raise. The end result was 14 krautburgers wrapped in foil and popped into the fridge. Then it was on to supper: burritos covered in green chili.

I promise to have some kind of sewing related content soon. Right now it is off to sit and knit on a sock while I watch Ice Road Truckers.

Creativity

2011-08-26T05:00:00.002-06:00

Are you creative? Do you have creative blocks? I have been going through a stultifying time that has been on-going for several months now. That is, until my niece loaned me a book.

What book, you ask?

"Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life" by Anne Lamott.

I am, in fact, still reading this book as the information in it needs to percolate in my brain. She is a very funny lady and this is really a good read. Yes, it is geared to writing, but it can also apply to any sort of creative endeavor, including quilts.

"Out of the Box: Unleash Your Creativity Through Quilts"
by Mary Lou Weidman.

Then I started reading a totally different book. What can I say about this book? Before I was even half way though, I was sketching ideas into my sketch book! I don't know what it was about this book, but it opened up the floodgates and I have two good ideas for story quilts. Yesss!

So if, like me, you have been blocked in your quilt making, turn to something else for awhile. You never know what will unleash the creativity.

Wordless Wednesday - Sofa For Sale

2011-08-24T12:33:00.000-06:00

Sock Knitting

2011-08-19T18:29:00.000-06:00

Even the summer heat can't stop an intrepid sock knitter! In an effort to knit down the sock yarn stash, I have been concentrating on socks. Papa bear socks, mama bear socks and soon to come off the needles some baby bear socks. Here are the latest pairs.

This pair puddled atrociously. I finally figured out in an "aha" moment that I needed to make larger socks and that yarn would start behaving. The next pair was knit after I realized that thought.

I Blame Everything On Murphy

2011-08-12T18:36:00.000-06:00

Murphy's Laws

If anything can go wrong, it will.

Nothing is as easy as it looks.

Everything takes longer than you think.

I have been working on a quilt top and Murphy has been hanging over my shoulder the whole way.

Why Quilts Matter

2011-08-05T18:27:00.001-06:00

I don't know if I can wait! I may have to buy the DVD.

Why Quilts Matter: History, Art & Politics

This nine-part documentary series focuses on why quilts are bigger than you think, seen through the lenses of history, art, and politics. For the quilter, collector or even casual observer, each episode takes the viewer behind the scenes and into new territory, exploring the centrality of the quilt in American culture and revealing the unsuspected size, breadth and depth of the current quilt phenomenon.

Premiering this September on PBS stations, Why Quilts Matter: History, Art & Politics is also available for purchase at www.whyquiltsmatter.org.

Lucky

2011-08-01T20:54:00.001-06:00

No body was hurt when the front wall of this boarded up building fell outward across the sidewalk. About 3:00pm today while still at work I heard a boom and then saw a lot of dust. Then all kinds of rescue, EMTs, police, and fire people showed up. The street was cordoned off and news people and cameramen were swarming. Free entertainment for all the street people and kids while the clean up commenced.

This is across the street and about 3 doors down from where I work. WOW!

The 3 cars parked in front of the building sustained minor damage.

Organizing a yard sale

2011-07-30T19:00:00.003-06:00

Let's face it, I am not a yard sale person. I have been know to occasionally go into a thrift store but not on a regular basis. I just don't want more STUFF. I'm overstuffed. And to that effect, I am holding a yard sale next month. O my, what a lot of work in 90 + degree heat this is. I have two staging areas: the garage for the larger items and the guest room for the clothes and breakables. Some things are too valuable for a yard sale so I will possibly put them up for bid on eBay. Has anyone done this? How were your results?

I'm telling you this so you know what is occupying my time at the moment. There is so much stuff now in my house that any creativity is squelched because of the chaos. I cannot work or create in chaos or clutter.

If you come to visit you will need to find some other place to lay your head since the guest room is occupied.

Thank you

2011-07-24T18:10:00.000-06:00

Thank you to all my friends who have left messages of condolences. It is very much appreciated.

Eulogy

2011-07-21T06:00:00.000-06:00

Pauline Hermetet

December 1915 - July 2011

The quote on the little brown, removable book: I have flown because you gave me wings.

Inside the little brown booklet is a letter: Dear Aunt Pauline, I wanted you to know of my admiration of you. As a child, you encouraged me to read, just as you, yourself, read as a child. As a young woman, you taught me through example how grace and creativity blend to a whole. Unfortunately for me, the elegance part hasn't stuck. This small book lightly traces your life from childhood, through high school and college, and the war years at Boeing. I have tried to portray your love of music and fiber in a fashion that you would appreciate -- that of one needlewoman to another. Than you for being a profound influence in my life. Your loving niece, Paula

Pauline was the oldest daughter of three and grew up in Colorado among a loving family. She was a third generation pioneer descendent.

She loved music and had a beautiful soprano singing voice and accompanied herself on the piano. One day in her later years, she stopped singing and never sang another note. Even she didn't know why.

As part of the Greatest Generation, Pauline worked at Boeing as a drafts person during World War II. After the war, she returned to Colorado where she grew up as a child.

Her love of books encouraged creativity and dreaming. She taught school in a one room school house in Moffet, Colorado, and later went on to teach and be a school secretary in the Denver School District.

She graduated High School during the Great Depression in the 1930s. In her spare time, she embroidered flower quilt blocks printed in the local paper. She said it was to keep her hands busy and to stay out of trouble.

She was an extraordinary needlewoman who designed her own patterns and she specialized in embroidery and needlepoint.

Elegance is an Attitude. This describes Pauline perfectly. She was soft spoken and never had a bad word to say about anyone.

She loved tulips and so the book ends with a flower to echo the flower that has now faded away.

Notes on techniques in the book:
The white bow in the corner echoes the white bow in her hair.
The music 'box' is actual printed sheet music. The applique was inspired by a photo of Auntie taken in the 1940's.
The hole in the page lines up with the eye on the next page. Gears are CitraSolv transfer, the faint plane is stenciled and the rest is stamped.
Pockets support the fabric tags with their Dymo label printed words
Graduation picture transferred onto fabric. Word embossed onto velvet.

May D&F Tower transferred onto fabric, silk ribbon embroidery, sequin and bead embellished, embroidery on crazy quilt block.

Rubber stamping in fabric background, words printed directly onto fabric background and college photo transferred onto silk then fused onto background, 3D flower petals.
This tulip is thread painted. A small inkjet transfer of a recent photo is nestled into a postage stamp frame on the last page of the book.

Summer Knitting

2011-07-16T06:00:00.002-06:00

I have been doing a bit of Summer Knitting in an effort to bust the sock yarn stash. I pulled all the self-striping yarn and put it in a basket near my spot in the living room. With self-striping yarn, one doesn't need to get fancy, just let the yarn do the work. The first pair of socks were knit with an afterthought heel from Melody Johnson @ Fibermania. It does give a different look to the sock, doesn't it?

I am not happy with the second pair of socks at all. No sir-ee. I changed NOTHING from one sock to the other and look at what the pink does on each sock.I wonder if the colors were a bit longer on one of the skeins. But done is done so I am not ripping it out.

And then there is this lovely! I used sock yarn to knit up this smoke ring/cowl scarf in a feather and fan pattern. These scarves are so wonderful to wear as they stay on like a necklace.

Bye Bye Skunk

2011-07-15T06:58:00.000-06:00

Gone!

We are not sure which idea worked because we did it in this order:

1. Filled in one of two of the entrances to the den.
2. Lightly scattered moth balls* around the filled in entrance and side of the garden shed
3. Lightly scattered moth balls* around two other sides of the garden shed leaving only the open den entrance free.
4. Lots of movement, noise and lights around the shed.

Yesterday at dusk, I scattered flour around the den entrance to see if a critter came or went. This morning there were NO tracks at all. Yipee! And most importantly, no smell. So today, we will fill in the entrance, scatter some more moth balls* and put down some chicken wire.

And then I get to do damage control in the garden (what garden?) thanks to 8 days of daily torrential downpours that included hail.

* Remember a little bit of moth balls goes a long, long way.

Obnoxious neighbors

2011-07-13T07:18:00.001-06:00

I did not take this photo I found it on a free photo site, but the little critters are cute, right? That is until a family of four moves in under your garden shed. *sigh*

I have done some research on how to evict them and the one I like the best, and which I think will WORK the best, will have to wait until dry weather. You see, Colorado is right in the midst of it's yearly monsoonal flow: heavy thunderstorms and rain almost daily. The technique for encouraging those critters to move on? Well, sprinkle some flour outside the entrances to the den and then after dark check for footprints leaving the hole(s). Once the skunks have departed for the night (they are nocturnal animals) fill the holes. I want to not only fill the holes back up but then wrap the foundation and out about one foot with chicken wire.

Wish us luck!

Remodel

2011-07-08T16:46:00.003-06:00

Several weeks ago, I checked out when some of my accounts expire. Specifically, my photo storage accounts. And while I was doing that I also checked on the capacity I had. Hmmm....

I have three different online photo storage accounts: one is free and I pay for two. One of the paid accounts is close to capacity while the other has unlimited. To get more storage on the first one I would, of course, have to pay more and that is not going to happen. In a penny pinching effort, I have decided to cancel the one account, but I need to move the (blog) photos from it into the other two accounts. So while I am doing that, I am going to do a bit of file management: all the knitted, quilting and Wordless Wednesday photos will go into the flickr account. The other photos will be in Picassa (blogger).

If you read archive posts like I do, please be patient. The photos are being shuffled around and will return eventually. It is a slow process because I have to do it post by post. In the meantime, all the photos in new posts will be where they should be.

Wordless Wednesday - Road

2011-07-06T09:18:00.001-06:00

Happy Independence Day!

2011-07-04T14:14:00.003-06:00

We flew the flag when camping in the Medicine Bow National Forest this past holiday weekend. The weather was horrible on Thursday: wind and rain, rain, rain. The only saving grace on Thursday was that the wind blew the mosquitoes away. Friday, Saturday and Sunday were absolutely gorgeous even with the mosquitoes. We camp with four other couples and we share meals which resulted in me gaining 2.6 pounds over 4 days even with the daily walks at 9,000 foot altitude! I need to get back on track with the diet. Hope you all have had a wonderful weekend.

700 and counting

2011-06-28T16:39:00.000-06:00

Here is how I've been spending my sewing time: basting little rectangles of fabric onto little rectangles of card stock. Do you remember the post about the quilt Faithful Circle? For a bit of a refresher, I will need 2,094 of these. Onward!

Hugs and Kisses

2011-06-19T18:28:00.000-06:00

. . . is a completed top!

It is on the design wall because I soaked it to remove the glue, plus I thought it would be a good time to block it so it is 'square'.

Whaddya think? Pretty, no?

Wordless Wednesday - Marina

2011-06-15T11:51:00.003-06:00

Knitting Mistake

2011-06-13T06:58:00.000-06:00

I just returned from a 3.5 day camping trip up in the mountains. I had a wonderful time, thank you for asking. My handwork of choice for this trip was sock knitting. I was trying a new-to-me technique of an afterthought heel where you knit two row of stitches on the sole side of the sock using waste yarn and then keep knitting like it is a tube sock. I didn't think of how the stitches for the toe would need to be moved and just started to knit the toe. Well....

the sock looked like it was knit for a person whose toes were twisted 90 degrees from her heel. Not good. Not good at all. I put the knitting away and once home I had to fix it. First I used dental floss to weave through a row of stitches for the lifeline. Then I removed the stitches from the needles and ripped the sock back to the lifeline. (The lifeline stops the stitches from unraveling any further.) I then picked up the live stitches moved them around the needles so the toe was where it should be and started to knit the toe again.

Just a bit of a bump in the road, but all fixed now.

Get Out and VOTE on Friday

2011-06-07T20:31:00.012-06:00

I've entered a postcard in the Weekly Themed Contest on the Quilting Gallery. Voting starts on Friday. You can vote by clicking the button:

If nothing else, I got the scale correct for the size of the quilt.

Please vote for me.

Is There Enough Thread?

2011-06-05T12:54:00.000-06:00

See the spool of thread in the corner? As of this photo, there were still six more groups of three leaves. Will there be enough thread?

Tree of Life

2011-06-04T13:57:00.000-06:00

Want to buy this quilt? You can! Click on the photo and it will take you to the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative. The Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative (www.AlzQuilts.org) is a national, grassroots charity whose mission is to raise awareness and fund research. The AAQI auctions and sells donated quilts, and sponsors a national touring exhibit of quilts about Alzheimer's. The AAQI has raised more than $552,000 since January 2006.

Materials/techniques.:
• Vintage "Tree of Life" Jacobean wool crewel work on linen
• Polyester felt for batting
• clear nylon thread
• nylon tulle
• 100% cotton slub muslin
• 100% cotton candlewick thread

This piece of needlework was originally done by my Aunt back in the resurgence of crewel work in the late 1960s to early 1970s. Even though the linen is disintegrating it was never thrown away but moved from her sewing room into mine until it found new life in this Alzheimer's Priority Quilt. Alzheimer's disease causes gaps and holes in our memories and minds, eating away at the very fabric of our lives, not unlike the ravages of time upon this piece of linen.

The Tree of Life was a favorite motif of the Jacobean era and also during the resurgence in the last century. The clear nylon thread was used to machine free motion stitch around the motifs to anchor them on the quilt. Other than that, this little 9"x10" Priority Quilt is done totally by hand.

Small finishes.

2011-05-30T16:43:00.001-06:00

I've gotten little stuff finished. Yes, finishes!

No pictures of the two knitted items because they still need to be blocked. But I have the Autumn Coat done and the Feather & Fan Smoke Ring. The weather is fore-casted to get HOT so I wanted to get the wool items done so they aren't laying across my lap as I work on them.

Carol @ Brown Quilts is collecting patriotic pillowcases for her friend. Have you read the story yet? My pillowcases are done and will be in the mail this week.

I also made a couple of the Snappy Bags from this tutorial. The first one I made wasn't deep enough to hold all my cosmetics so I made another that is just a bit deeper. It is a good idea, but I think I like the smaller bags like this that have a zipper closing. This snappy bag OTOH is great for those times that you do not have two hands to open the bag.

C.O.W.

2011-05-21T07:47:00.012-06:00

This block is in the hands of the USPS and is on it's way to Nancy, Near Philadelphia. I originally drew the cow many years ago for a scrapbook page and thought it would work well for this. Hope you like it Nancy!

Carter Lake, Colorado

2011-05-16T13:01:00.005-06:00

I have unintentionally taken a blog break. Between a family member's life issues, spring, and camping not a whole lot of quilting has been happening. The first photo was taken on Friday, May 13 while camping at Carter Lake, Colorado. Blue skies, blue mountains and blue water.

The next photo was shot yesterday, Sunday, May 15 on the same camping trip to Carter Lake and is approximately the same view. If you look closely at both shots you will see the same buoy.

It pays to be prepared in Colorado.

A Whole Bunch of Knittin’ Goin’ On

2011-05-07T18:44:00.002-06:00

The pointy sticks have been flying here at Casa del Quilter.
Let’s start with a pair of socks for an adult, shall we?

How about another pair? This time for a child.

Followed by an alpaca prayer shawl.
There are no idle hands here.

A Story and a Request

2011-05-04T20:41:00.001-06:00

I just finished reading Carol's blog post with a story and a request.

Can you sew? Have you made pillowcases? If you can help out, please do.

Applique

2011-05-01T18:38:00.001-06:00

Did you ever have one of THOSE days? I've had several. I didn't realize it at the time I was working on all of those flowers for the Hugs and Kisses quilt, but I did the wrong flower for the sashing cornerstones. I made the small flower instead of the larger one.

But wait! It gets worse!

Forging ahead, I made the larger flower for the border, thinking it would work. I also used the wrong fabric since the border flowers should be dark blue. Ha! look at this photo. I think it looks a bit like staring eyes or boobs, or boobs staring at you. I don't want a whole quilt of this mistake staring at me *smile*. But I also don't want to remove the cornerstone flowers and put the larger ones on and THEN remake the ones for the border.

It's design decision time. What is inherently bothering me about this is the close proximity of the same shape repeated over and over. After playing with several different elements and fabrics, I have decided to add three teardrop shaped leaves (two big one small) that are used elsewhere in the quilt in the bright green fabric. It removes the boob looking thing and also changes the color.

The next time you see this quilt, it will be a completed top ready for quilting. Now the quilting is a whole 'nother thing.

Camping

2011-04-26T19:40:00.000-06:00

I was going to post this tomorrow for wordless Wednesday but changed my mind. *shrug* It's from this past weekend. We went camping in the mountains for our 'shakedown' trip. If we go when it is cold then we can test to see if things are working, what needs to be fixed, etc. We figured out that we really, really need a new mattress in the trailer. Other than that, some hot chocolate would have been nice. Who forgets hot chocolate? Me, apparently. The elk are only part of a very large herd. We were by a lake and the wildlife was quite abundant.

On the quilting front, I am still working slowly on Hugs and Kisses. Hopefully, after this coming weekend, the top will be pieced and the border applique started. I will have a rush of renewed enthusiasm since a friend and I are going to the Denver National Quilt Festival on Saturday. There always seems to be that burst of quilt mojo after a show.

I do not have a lot of spare time to work on quilts as Auntie is doing poorly and I'm running back and forth to Denver a lot. At a minimum, at least once a week. Handwork has been my lifeline. Even the Priority Quilt I recently finished was done totally by hand. I'll post more on that later.

Emergence

2011-04-17T05:00:00.001-06:00

Remember the Double 4-patch barter quilt? Here's what I got in trade: a lovely solid bronze statue.

It's a beauty, isn't it?

Goodies in the Mail

2011-04-14T05:00:00.002-06:00

The lovely Finn of Pieces from my Scrapbag, sent me these wonderful vintage 30/40s fabrics. When I opened the box they just sproiged out! She included some beautiful yardage too, see it there on the bottom? I found several MAM blocks and a Dresden plate -- I was in heaven. Thank you, Finn, I ♥ this gift!

No Time

2011-04-11T20:40:00.005-06:00

No time, no time, no time, no time

I got got got got no time

No no no no no no no time

I got got got got no time

-- The Guess Who, 1969

I never realized how many songs there were with the title of "No Time" until Googling. Who would of thunk it? I really do not have a lot of time lately. I've been back and forth to Denver a lot. If you know anything about me, then you know it has to do with Auntie. I am so unfocused right now I can not concentrate enough to sew. Yes, you read that right, no time to sew, at least by machine. It has been several weeks since I've sat down in front of the sewing machine. Hand work, OTOH, is a good thing.

I've finished up an alpaca shawl and I can not decide if I want to over dye or leave as is. It is spread out on the guest bed awaiting my decision.
And a new pair of socks have been cast onto the needles for a very portable project.
I've started another AAQI Priority Quilt using a piece of vintage textile that has been floating around the sewing studio for years. More on this later.
The flowers have all been appliqued onto the sashing cornerstones of the Hugs & Kisses quilt. I have now started assembling the flowers for the border. The border will be sewn on and THEN appliqued rather than the other way around. See me thumb my nose at the quilt police?

I’ll post when I’m able.

Church Bells

2011-04-07T17:00:00.001-06:00

I work downtown right next door to an historic church. Every day at precisely 12:00 noon the church rings it's bell and then plays a hymn. Originally, the bell was a bronze bell, but it has gone digital. I have gotten in the habit of eating my lunch when I hear the bell. Kind of like Pavlov's dog.

There's a Forest Fire Goin' On

2011-04-03T18:18:00.001-06:00

If you know this part of Colorado, then you will know where Redstone Canyon is located and how rough the terrain is. This fire, known as the Crystal Fire, started on Friday at 25 acres and now is up to 4500 acres. My heart aches for the evacuated home owners, the fire fighters and the forest. We did have a cold front move through this afternoon that put about 1/2 inch of snow down, but this fire is only 5% contained.

Messenger Bag

2011-04-01T09:00:00.000-06:00

Here is a quick post of a recent completion. This is the large Messenger Bag mentioned in the last post. It all started with a kit purchased at the last Denver Quilt Festival from Sew Batik. Since this was for me, I customized the pockets. Right behind the flap is a row of pockets that hold a pen or two, my calendar and either a paperback book or my e-reader. On the inside of the front is a single pocket for my flash/thumb drives. Yes, I have more than one. The inside back has made-to-fit pockets for a cell phone and my wallet. The rest of the bag carries whatever: laptop, knitting, lunch, water bottle. I love the way this rides on my hip.

The kit included the outer batik, the inner batik (lining), the backing for the quilting and the pattern. I had to add the batting to be able to quilt the outer batik to the white backing before cutting and then constructing the bag.

On another note, the sewing machine is safely ensconced in it's cabinet and machine stitching can now commence.

A Saturday Work Day

2011-03-26T14:31:00.002-06:00

Several hours were spent this morning backing up the desktop computer, the external hard drive and the laptop. Hours. I should not have left it so long. I also copied all the PDF documents and PDF books onto the laptop so I can read them. What a concept. I tried reading them on the Kindle but it was so frustrating because I had to enlarge the font and then scroll to the right to finish the sentence and then back to the left and down for the next sentence was downright maddening.
I was running low on laundry detergent so I made up a batch of this homemade version per Elaine's recommendation. You can't beat the price. I had an empty 5 gallon paint bucket that is now for laundry soap, it is a bit of overkill is you make a single batch, but if you make a double batch, believe me, you will need one.
With the new, deeper mattress I have some cotton sheets that no longer fit and I am considering using them for the backs of quilts. Has anyone done this?
Speaking of bedding, the quilt pictured at the top of this post is one I made Auntie in 1988. When she went into assisted living I regained ownership. This was the first queen sized quilt that I made and I made a sampler quilt because I wanted to try all these different blocks. I kept running out of reds and in the 1980's, 100% cotton was not readily available so this quilt has a lot of blends. It is interesting to note that the 100% cottons that ARE there have faded a lot. Each over-sized block (finished at 16.5") was separately lap-quilted ala Georgia Bonesteel. This is the first time I realized the value of a striped fabric: it makes it look pieced when it really isn't. The hand quilting has hearts and cables through a polyester batt.
This weekend's sewing is to put together a Messenger Bag. I bought a kit for this at the Denver Quilt Festival last year from Sew Batik and I thought it was time to make it. Everything but the bag fastenings are in the kit, I just need to do it.

Wordless Wednesday - Red

2011-03-23T06:13:00.000-06:00

Randomness

2011-03-21T19:11:00.002-06:00

1. 04-jan, 2. 02-feb, 3. 03-mar,
4. 04-apr, 5. 05-may, 6. 06-jun,
7. 07-jul, 8. 08-aug, 9. 09-sep,
10. 10-oct, 11. 11-Nov, 12. 12-dec

Now that Joey's quilt (Double 4-Patch Emergence) is done, I've been working once again on this quilt. What you see here are the completed 12 blocks. All the prep work completed for the rest of the applique pieces. Progress reports will be forthcoming. It has been good to get back to the handwork.

On the knitting front, what I thought was going to be a sweater turns out to be a coat!!! The clue was in the name of the pattern: Autumn Coat by Oat Couture. Some yarn, Superwash Bulky by Brown Sheep in a colorway called Purple Haze, picked up at a fiber related garage sale several years ago is turning this pattern into a warm coat. For you knitters out there, this is a no-twist yarn and is a dream to work with.

Dealing with governmental agencies has tied my stomach into knots.

Spring is springing 'cause the flickers are back. Photo is lifted from the American Birding Association site. These birds have cost us a lot of money by drilling holes in two different sides of the garage. On one side, they got into the wall and pulled out the insulation. There were pink tufts of insulation all over the yard. Let me tell you how hard that was to pick up. The problem was solved by installing fiber cement siding. Bet their beaks got bent at the first rat-a-tat-tat. But now they have started on the house. Ugh.

Fabric Purchases

2011-03-18T06:00:00.002-06:00

Do you remember this post about the three gift certificates I had? Well, two of them have been used. Yes, indeedy, I went shopping. Wanna know what I got? Well, fabric of course!

My friend, MagicLady, and I went on a Saturday afternoon to two different shops in two different towns. The first shop was a new one and I ran amuck. These fabrics came home with me.

Isn't that yummy? The top two are batiks. All but $6.00 of the gift card was used up. At the second shop, I found two portions of a panel by Moda (Red, White & Bold by Sandy Gervais) on the clearance table. I thought they would make good pillowcases/presentation cases for QOV.

These portions were actually the top and bottom sections of a panel like this one:

I need to double check on the required size of the cases. It would be nice if 2 cases could be made from these but if not, then there will be one really nice one with scraps. I did not have a gift card for these. *shrug*.

The next stop was online at Connecting Threads. By adding some money to the gift coupon this kit jumped into the virtual shopping cart.

I significantly added to the stash in the last several weeks. There is still one more certificate to go and that will get used next week when the shop is having their anniversary sale.

Wordless Wednesday - Stanley's Eyebrows

2011-03-16T07:41:00.001-06:00

2011 Wool-Aid Knitting

2011-03-11T17:15:00.001-07:00

I have been doing things, knitting things. I am de-stashing the yarn by knitting for Wool-Aid. Items are being blocked as I type and will soon be boxed up and shipped out.

Wordless Wednesday - Tulips

2011-03-09T15:41:00.001-07:00

First Finish of 2011

2011-03-07T18:18:00.001-07:00

"I'm so pumped thank you thank you!!" "Its totally awesome!!!!!" These are the two text messages I received from the recipient of this quilt. Isn't it nice to have a quilt really appreciated?

This is a double 4-patch and I have called the quilt "Emergence". Why Emergence? Because the secondary design created by the color emerges when you take a second look. The quilt measures 90x108" and made totally from scrap, including the batting. This was quilted on my domestic sewing machine in sections and then joined. The backing was the last of a bolt of fabric purchased at a church rummage sale.

Wordless Wednesday - Chaos

2011-03-02T06:28:00.003-07:00

Ugly Duckling

2011-02-25T06:00:00.004-07:00

Just because it is hand painted yarn does not make it pretty. I tried a lot of different things to the swatches that I knitted trying to get something pleasing out of this yarn, but it was not going to happen. I did not want to discard this yarn because it is 100% alpaca and is just so, so soft. What to do?

Enter a beautiful color. By adding a beautiful color to the ugly color it spread out the ugly which ended up in a pleasing blend.

This happens in scrap quilts too. Use those "what was I thinking" and ugly fabrics in your quilt tops. This owl fabric is a good example. Taken individually, it stands up and shouts "look at me!".

But look what happens when you add it to a lot of other fabrics.

Those unfortunate fabrics will work, I promise.

Wordless Wednesday - Frost

2011-02-23T05:00:00.002-07:00

Use What You Have

2011-02-20T06:03:00.005-07:00

I love flannel sheets in the winter time! Unfortunately, one of my sheets developed a very large hole, it just plain wore out. I also love my Swiffer Sweeper. What I don't like about my Sweeper is the fact that the fiber cloths are disposable and pricey.

So I cut up the usable portions of the flannel sheet into 9x12" rectangles. I layered two and serged the edges and then big stitched them together.

That is one big honkin' needle. But you need a big needle to pull the doubled crochet cotton through the two layers of flannel. I stitched from corner to corner diagonally in both directions and then stitched straight across both horizontally and vertically.

I ended up with a stack of these cleaning pads that not only fit on my Sweeper, but can also be used as plain ole dust rags. Best of all, they are totally green and I used what I have on hand.