FLORIBUNDA QUILTS

Give-away #3 Winner!

2012-01-29T09:43:00.000-08:00

The random number generator has spoken and the winner of the Darlene Zimmerman book is Jay!

Jay, I'll send you an email, but I already have your address. (Jay is one of the participants in the Cotton Robin this spring)

Give-away #2 Winner!

2012-01-27T14:31:00.001-08:00

The random number picker for the baby quilts book picked Patty this time! I've already sent an email...

Thanks for playing!

Give-away #3!

2012-01-26T09:45:00.000-08:00

I totally forgot to post the give-away for the third book! It is called "Fresh From the Clothesline" by Darlene Zimmermann. The quilts are all shown in pastels and 30's prints, but the designs are nice and she has helpful information about quilts with scalloped or wavy edges.

If you'd like a chance at this book, please post a comment here. I'll pick a winner on Saturday.

Give-away #1 winner!

2012-01-26T09:39:00.000-08:00

I totally spaced out picking a winner yesterday afternoon, so here it is:

Joe Tulips has won my copy of Carefree Quilts! I'll send you an email today...

Congratulations!

still knitting

2012-01-23T20:22:00.000-08:00

I credit Dianne for getting me into knitting lace -- somehow we started meeting up at a local teashop that's right next door to a yarn shop when she was in town on one of her fairly-frequent visits from Oz... and every time she had a wonderful lace shawl to show off!

I started out small -- a garter stitch scarf with a ripple of lace around the border.

Then a shawlette knit-along.

And now a full-blown shawl that measures about 65" across! I even bought a set of blocking wires, 'cause I know there will be more of this in my future...

It's the Stacy Shawl, from Wendy Knits Lace by Wendy Johnston. Made of Malabrigo Rios in the Pearl Ten color. Wendy writes terrific patterns, and her instructions are always impeccable...

give-away #2!

2012-01-22T09:16:00.000-08:00

First of all, let me remind you that you need to give me some way to contact you if you comment for the give-aways! If you are a "no-reply" commenter, you must include an email address in your comment (or change your blogger profile -- there are tutorials here and here)

Onnie and Marge -- that means you!

On to today's book! It is "Quilt a Gift For Little Ones" by Barri Sue Gaudet.

This is completely different from yesterday's book! I didn't spend a lot of time reading it because it's not my "thing" -- but the projects are definitely cute. They all involve machine applique, with the main motifs being felted wool. Think bunnies, bears, flowers -- and all sorts of projects for babies.

I should also mention that all of the give-away books were provided by F&W Media, which is the parent of Krause Publications and David & Charles.

If you'd like a chance to win this book, please leave a comment on this post!
Thanks,

Carefree Quilts, and a give-away

2012-01-21T16:29:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago I received an email from a publisher’s rep in the UK, asking if I’d like to review a book called “Carefree Quilts” by Joy-Lily. I have to admit that after an initial reaction of “how cool is that!” I had to stifle the impulse to ask “why me?” – after all, I don’t have the following of the bloggers who you usually see doing reviews. I also didn’t ask how they found me…

In the interest of full disclosure, I should mention that I serve on a non-profit board with someone who, when he found out I was a quilter, told me that he had a friend named Joy-Lily who was also a quilter, and asked if I had met her. He sent me a link to her website, but that’s as close as we’ve ever gotten.

On to the book: the premise is that Perfection is Optional. Joy-Lily says that if you have to stress too much to make everything match perfectly, quilting won’t be fun for you. So she’s presenting techniques that allow for a little flexibility, in the form of a primer for newer quilters or a relaxing break for more experienced quilters.

A side note here: I admire the absolute perfectionism of quilters like Sally Collins and Judy Martin, although I don’t personally want to expend the effort to get there. (I’d rather make my HSTs a tad big and trim them than fuss with getting them exactly right without wasting 1/8” of fabric.) On the other hand, I always feel like it takes more energy for me to do “liberated” quilting than traditional. So, I was curious to see how Carefree Quilting would approach the subject and whether I could get on board.

I liked the illustrations a lot! There’s a combination of photos of fabric and quilts, and jazzy drawings of techniques and details. The first chapter deals with some basics of tools, color choices, and quilting rules – sort of the usual stuff, but presented in a fresh and engaging way.

The projects start out simple, but even the first stitch & flip flower is pretty cute. Joy-Lily’s use of bright fabrics, including lots of batiks, keeps things lively. There are a variety of projects besides just quilts: a table-runner, tote bag, apron, pillows and placemats. In addition, all of her blocks finish at 12”, so it’s easy to substitute one for another or to create a sampler.

The book continues on to different sorts strips and “stack-slash-rearrange” blocks, including some with curves. Along the way, the author provides lots of tips about sewing and techniques, and ideas about how to use the blocks in different ways.

I, of course, decided to jump in to the final “combination of everything” project that Joy-Lily calls her Leaf Cover Quilt. I’m a stickler for good and accurate instructions so I figured my review had to include some hands-on investigation! Here's Joy-Lily's original,

and my version:

If you follow the instructions from the beginning of the book, or have some sewing experience, then the instructions towards the end of the book will make perfect sense. If you're a brand-new quilter, then the last couple of projects probably shouldn't be the first ones you try, unless you have a sewing mentor or an appetite for adventure!

Overall, I think the book is well-written and a lot of fun, and would be a great starting point for those younger generations that we're always trying to lure into the quilting fold -- not to mention those of us who have been "coloring within the lines" for a while and want to take a break!

Did I say give-away? What a concept!

The publishers were kind enough to send me several of their recent books and I'm going to give them away -- but it's probably easier to do it one at a time. It makes sense that Carefree Quilts would be first. If you'd like a chance to win this, please leave me a comment; feel free to share the give-away on your blog, but each person just gets one entry. It's Saturday afternoon now, and I'll do the random-number thing on Wednesday afternoon, January 25.

deep thoughts

2012-01-16T13:32:00.000-08:00

In the midst of all my fussing with the scrap bins, I came across a recent post from Wanda at Exuberant Color -- she says, "I have been thinking about the current obsessive trend that we have to use up all of our scraps. I think I'm leaning toward cutting into my yardage so I can use the good, favorite stuff in my lifetime. "

Wow -- that's me! I have a ton of batiks, for instance, that I really want to use for a couple of specific quilts, but I keep thinking that I need to clean up the scraps first. Now that I put it in writing, it seems crazy... I think I'll stick with my two easy rainbow ideas (previous post) just to keep things under control, but mostly move on to some newer things that I've been putting off for too long.

big scraps, little scraps

2012-01-15T17:12:00.000-08:00

It's the rainbow scrap challenge again this year, and this month's color is RED. Even though I used a lot of red scraps last year, the bin has filled up again so I'm going to do my best...

I started out with little scraps, copying an idea from Kathy -- but my block is 18" to her 12" one, so that I could use a bunch of 2" squares. This is Knot My Block by Tina Curran from the 3rd Quiltmaker block collection, and I'm thinking I can do them in different colors and end up with a rainbow quilt at the end of the year.

Then I thought back to this quilt I made for my nephew last spring, and remembered that I had planned to make a single large block using 6" squares instead of 2" squares. This finishes at 36" square, which is a nice size for a newborn. It could have an extra row of blocks at top and bottom, too.

I decided to go for the red and aqua combination that's so popular right now. Once you get the fabric cut, it only takes about an hour to put the whole top together. I may try to make a bunch of these in different colors, too, since it's a way to use some bigger scraps.

Coming soon: book review and give-away!

FOUND! Do you recognize this fabric?

2012-01-09T22:36:00.000-08:00

Wonderful Nicole recognized the fabric right off the bat, and I've found a piece at one online shop! Thanks, Nicole!

I'd really like some more of it, but I don't have a selvedge edge with the manufacturer's name on it... that's a small pair of scissors in the picture; each little "ditsy" is about 1/4-3/8". It's a little more muslin colored than yellow.

first finish

2012-01-04T20:06:00.000-08:00

When I was rummaging around a few days ago finding things to give away

(which by the way have all been claimed and put in the mail this morning, thank you so much!)

I also found a little baggie full of black and red drunkard's path blocks from a few years ago. I was going to include them in the give-away, but then I started playing with them on the table and ended up with this:

It's only about 14" x 16". I quilted it on my friend Catherine's sit-down Handiquilter, which I'm now in love with... if I had any extra room I'd be out looking for a used one about now.

I also mailed off these three hats to the nephews and one niece up north today -- now I'm back knitting for myself again!

UFO challenge

2012-01-02T14:41:00.000-08:00

for the last couple of years I've participated in the UFO challenge on Patchwork Penguin's blog, but I haven't seen her post about it for 2012, so I'm migrating to Judy's list.

Here is my official roster for 2012, as shown in the sidebar:

2012 UFO Challenge

12) black & purple diamonds - assemble
11) black & batik - assemble
10) tic tac toe #2 - quilt
9) leaf RR blocks - assemble
8) stocking blocks - assemble and quilt
7) color blocks - assemble and quilt
6) junior executive - quilt
5) mola quilt - quilt
4) Friday block party #1 - assemble
3) black/multi birthday blocks - assemble
2) black/white/orange top - quilt
1) village quilt - quilt

The pick for January is #5, and it's already basted and ready to go...

Three little items from my closet

2011-12-31T13:22:00.000-08:00

I spent some time this morning rooting around in the sewing cupboard and trying to put things away and reorganize. In the process, I found three little project-starts that I probably won't ever take further -- so I'm offering them up to you, my faithful readers, in case something strikes your fancy!

First up is some scrappy strip-piecing on 2" adding machine tape. (spoken for!)

Next is a set of 12 blocks from an "almost Amish" swap. They measure 9.5", mostly, and are made from black fabrics with bright tone-on-tone. (spoken for!)

Finally, a little applique project from a "Piece 'O Cake" pattern called Cornucopia. This set includes the pattern, and the pieces I traced but didn't cut yet. I'll make sure there's enough of the fabrics I used to cut all the pieces. (spoken for!)

If you're interested in any of these goodies, just let me know! If there's a barrage of requests, I'll pick a number. I'd prefer to mail just within the U.S., though...

UFOs past and future

2011-12-30T16:19:00.000-08:00

Yeah, yeah, it's time to show off what I finished in 2011 and confess to the ridiculous number of unfinished objects that remain. All of the photos below are quilts that I finished except the "red squares" which I donated to Blankies for Grownups as a flimsy for someone else to quilt. Three quilts were sold, two were gifted, and two were swapped.

My plan for 2012 is to do something with all the sets of blocks I've accumulated over the last few years, due to my addiction to the Block Lotto and random swaps and BOM projects. Here's my list:
- batik leaf blocks (2011)
- plaid/yellow BOM blocks (birthday swap 2011)
- checkerboard lotto blocks (2011)
- Friday block party -- at least 3 quilts' worth, maybe 4 (2010)
- black/multicolor blocks (birthday swap maybe 2009?)
- signature swap blocks (2009 or 2010)
- black & purple diamonds (2010 or 2011)
- Japanese sampler blocks
- log cabin block party blocks (2010)
- color blocks (swap in 2009 or 2010)
- stocking blocks (swap in 2011)
- maple leaf lotto blocks (2009?)
- black & batik swap blocks (old...)
- house blocks (birthday swap 2009?)

Wow -- that looks insane when I see it on the screen! I might have to rethink this... maybe a virtual garage sale?

all things in moderation

2011-12-28T19:15:00.000-08:00

Since many of my comments these days seem to be spam, I'm moving to moderated comments for a while... the essay vendors have expanded into cruises to places I don't want to go and pharmaceuticals I don't need and it's just too annoying! Blogger, of course, is no help.

Thanks for your patience.

sewn objects

2011-12-28T19:09:00.000-08:00

This doesn't count as stuff actually quilted, but I have done quite a bit of sewing lately...

First up is a top I'm calling "Junior Executive". It's a disappearing 4-patch made from a couple of charm packs of an older Moda line called "City Traditions" -- looks like shirts and ties to me, and will make a great boy-baby quilt one of these days.

And then there's this set of blocks of the month from a Yahoo group I've been with for several years -- I picked the plaid out of my stash last January and used a different yellow each month. I have a plan to set these with a sort of Attic Windows sashing.

Next up is the "Oh My Stars" block of the month from planetpatchwork.com -- this was sort of a pain because the instructions were often late and had mistakes. I didn't really like my version until I got the second border on this afternoon; now it all ties together for me. This will be a gift one of these days for an uber-nerdy, eagle scout nephew!

And last but not least -- here is Dorothy Young's Xmas mystery for this year. I made the "baby" size, which is about 40" x 40" and the pattern was terrific to do!

I was going to add one more picture, but blogger is acting up for a change and deletes my photos as soon as I upload them... too bad it can't be as diligent about deleting all the spam comments I get!

delayed gratification

2011-12-27T17:38:00.000-08:00

Heavens, it's been forever since I posted. I wish I could say it's because I was so busy with the holidays, but really I was busy mostly avoiding them!

I told my youngest brother, who has 4 kids, that I was celebrating Twelfth Night this time instead of Christmas, since I just couldn't get myself together to shop/make/mail anything on time. Pathetic. Once I told him, the weight lifted and I've been super productive, though.

There are two hats done, a scarf, 6 flannel pillowcases, and one of a set of fingerless mitts. What's left is one hat, one mitt, and a duvet-cover for my niece's heavy quilt. (by the way, she's slept under it every night for 2 years now...) Photos are one mitt, and a Candy Corn hat, which I've been wanting to make for years.

I also made my annual batch of marshmallows -- yum! And I'll have some quilting to show you shortly.

You can see that there's going to be some straight-line quilting in my future; I asked Al for a new roll of masking tape and this is what he came up with! One of each size... what a champ!

finished objects

2011-12-09T21:32:00.000-08:00

I am determined to quilt up at least one more UFO before the end of the year, since I'm doing pretty well so far with the "challenge". Here's the latest:

It's from a Dorothy Young mystery at the end of 2009, and I call it "Monkey Town". I think it includes what is the last of my Funky Monkey fabric, which showed up in several quilts! I am a big fan of Dorothy's mysteries, as I may have mentioned before. They're very well written and not usually too intense. Unfortunately she's only been doing one a year for the last couple of years. If you're interested, there will be this year's starting around Christmas -- you can get the details by joining her Yahoo group called "A Pocket Full of Mysteries"

And, I finished my never-ending brown wool scarf, so I can move onto something more colorful. I bought this one skein of wool in a small Wisconsin town; it was spun from the shop-owner's own sheep (hmm -- that doesn't sound right) and I made up the pattern myself. It looks pretty masculine too me, and since DH won't wear a scarf I think it will have to be gifted to one of my brothers!

Last call for robineers!

2011-12-09T21:05:00.000-08:00

I'm getting all the ducks (robins?) in a row for the round robin that will start in January, so if you're interested you need to sign up quick! Head over to the robin blog, check out the guidelines, and get in touch.

Round Robin -- come on down!

2011-12-03T15:57:00.000-08:00

I've set up a new blog for the round robin, at Cotton Robin. Come over and check out the guidelines...

Those of you who have already written to me -- I'll be contacting you this weekend, except for those whose email preferences are set to "no reply". This includes:
Janet H in AZ
Laurina

Please make sure that when you contact me you include an email address, even if it's in the body of your message!

finally...

2011-11-23T21:14:00.000-08:00

Yippee! My box finally arrived! You can see, though, that it looks like someone poked their fingers in there to see whether the contents were interesting enough to walk away with -- perhaps that was what was happening during the extra sojourn in Jersey City? Apparently my taste in fabrics didn't meet with their approval...

And here's a plug for this month's Block Lotto -- it is Bonnie Hunter's "Scrappy Trip" blocks -- so much fun to make! Check out the website for a very colorful set of entries.

Monday Miscellany

2011-11-21T22:34:00.000-08:00

First things first --I received my quilt from ALQS6 today, and I am totally thrilled -- this was made from scraps of old Japanese kimonos, and the colors and texture and depth of it are superb! It was made by Sandra Champion in Tasmania -- who happens to be a friend of my sister there. What a crazy world this is... apparently Sandra didn't know about the connection until she casually mentioned that she had sent a quilt to Oakland and my sister said that that was her hometown. Too funny...

Here's a close-up of one part of the quilt with some of the hand-stitching.

My quilt for the swap was this one, which went to Jay in Texas. I call it "Lucky Sixes" and I'm planning to make a "cousin" of it for myself one of these days.

(Interlude: Blogger is making me absolutely insane tonight trying to get my photos and words where I want them. And then it tries to turn all my text into hyperlinks. Why can't those geniuses make it work better?)

Okay, I feel better now. This month's scrappy rainbow color is brown, and this is as far as I've gotten -- there's going to be a Kona Snow background,and probably a few more darker brown strips, and maybe a splash of something else to liven it up.

And speaking of rainbows and strips, I finished "Think Green Thoughts" tonight. It is seriously wonky (no, it's not just my crooked photography skills) but I really like it and I think it will live in the trunk of my car for impromptu picnics and other emergencies.

Raptured in Jersey City... or Going Postal

2011-11-21T11:17:00.000-08:00

Remember my story last week about how my Priority mail package spent two days sitting in Pennsylvania and then went 400 miles away to Jersey City on the way from Ohio to California?

Well, then it sat in Jersey City for almost 4-1/2 days. I decided that my fabric choices were so stellar that the package had been Raptured! But then to my surprise the Post Office finally found the box sitting in a corner somewhere this morning and shunted it off 7 miles to Kearny. At least it's moving west now...

Note that the tracking page still shows an expected delivery date of last Thursday.

Fibrous content

2011-11-20T11:24:00.000-08:00

Don't these look beautiful? It's a totally improbable concept: baked kale chips -- I read about them on Smitten Kitchen and tried them out with half a bunch of kale yesterday afternoon. They are wonderful! They use just a tiny amount of olive oil and some seasalt, and they're full of all that cruciferous goodness and fiber, but they taste decadent. They will be one of the snacks I serve on Thursday while everyone waits for the turkey to be done...

In other news, I finished a vest I'd been knitting for a while. It stalled out for a month or two because it is a bit funky -- the variegated yarn may have been a mistake -- but I muddled through and added some crochet edging and I think I might actually wear it.

It's made from a cotton & linen blend yarn called Berroco Linsey that turned out to be a little floppier than I expected.

Quilty things coming up soon -- I have several projects that are almost done (especially if I can get the Brother to stop breaking my thread!)

priority what?

2011-11-17T11:06:00.000-08:00

If this is priority mail, why did it take two days to get from New Jersey to Pennsylvania? Aren't those two states right next to each other? In fact, it's a 400 mile drive, which is about a one-hour flight...

And if it was in new Jersey at 2 am this morning, is it really going to be delivered to me on the west coast today?

Me... skeptical?

round robin update

2011-11-11T15:52:00.000-08:00

A couple of weeks ago (here) I threw out the idea of a bloggers' round robin project. So far there are eight people interested and a few more who's arms could be twisted, I think...

Since the holiday madness is quickly approaching, let's plan on a January start for this. Here is some preliminary information to get you thinking about it, though:

You will make a starting block that will eventually come back to you with a finished quilt around it. This block should be no larger than 8" square, but it doesn't have to be square. It should reflect the colors /style / genre of the quilt you'd like to receive.

I would like for everyone involved in this swap to have had some previous swapping experience and to not be a complete beginner. So far, I know (virtually, anyway) all except one of the people who have asked to join in. Please feel free to spread the information around to others you've successfully swapped with in the past -- the more the merrier!

google madness?

2011-11-06T13:23:00.000-08:00

I decided to spend a little time online this afternoon to catch up on a big backlog of blog posts that I had on Google Reader... wasn't I surprised to find that Google had wiped my slate clean! My list is still there, but probably 200 posts have been marked as "read" without any input from me.

If you wrote a post that you thought I should have commented on, and I didn't -- that's why!

new socks!

2011-11-03T21:06:00.000-07:00

I recently bought a few socks' worth of yarn from a blog-friend who was doing some de-stashing... not that I didn't already have quite a few socks' worth of yarn in the cupboard! Anyway, this Limerick green yarn pretty much leapt onto the needles -- it is my absolute favorite green and seems to be very hard to find in yarn. The socks are just plain stockinette, with a few odd rows of purls thrown in for no good reason. The weather has turned a bit chilly this evening: perfect timing!

Things are a bit crazy in my town these days, what with a near-constant "Occupation" going on, intermittent marches around the downtown area, random bands of idiots breaking windows and spray-painting buildings. As a registered, Berkeley-raised, bleeding heart liberal, I absolutely agree that the 1% should pay more taxes and the 99% should have more support -- but damn -- how does disrupting commerce for all the struggling businesses in town help that cause?

blogger's quilt festival

2011-10-28T10:15:00.000-07:00

It's time for the semiannual virtual quilt festival, sponsored by Amy!

This time, I'm showing a little quilt that was a mini-group project a while back; we all started with the orange & green mottled batik and swapped around a variety of other fabric strips -- I think three of us made quilts and as always, they all look quite different!

I can't wait to take a tour and see what else is on display!

a few more robins to entice you...

2011-10-25T20:58:00.000-07:00

I just thought I'd throw out a few Robin photos to get the juices flowing... this first one is a project that I quilted and bound and then sent off to its final owner

the next one was done by an online group I used to be in -- I made the center block

this was one of the Spring Fling Round Robin projects from a few years ago

and this is another. I made the center block on this one...

Here's another project from an online group I'm in

and last but not least, this was made by one of my local mini-groups -- they were not at all happy with my center block, but I just had to do it!

Tell me I'm crazy

2011-10-25T11:44:00.000-07:00

Kate was reminiscing this morning about the Spring Fling Round Robin projects that Margaret used to host -- and despite the fact that I know there are always some "issues" with round robins, I'm thinking about starting one up for bloggers with a little bit of swapping history the ability to commit.

The best thing about the Spring Fling was that you got back a finished quilt. I blogged about one of them here, and I'll post photos of the others later this evening.

They would be small quilts -- maybe 20" by 20" at the most, with a center, 3 rounds, and then quilted & bound. That's 5 people involved in each one. So -- are you interested? Are your friends interested? Let me know either by comment or email.

PIQF Favorites

2011-10-24T22:00:00.000-07:00

It's always so difficult to whittle down my PIQF photos to a few favorites, and my list of favorites changes each time I look at them!

That said, here's a little gallery, with captions underneath:

Color Values by Beth Nufur and Shelley Knapp

a detail of Color Values

Synchromesh by Mary Kay Price

The Squirrel's Speech by Barbara McKie

A detail of one of the squirrels -- these are photos she took, and they're beautifully embellished with thread painting.

Fighting Dragons by Jan Soules

View From My Window by Gisha Wogier

Jump! by Lyn Banks

Fern Pool by Gloria Loughman -- she taught classes at PIQF this year and I hope she comes back next year...

Papaver by Janice Gunner

There are a few more photos at my flickr site here. Hope you enjoyed the show!

stop it -- just stop it!

2011-10-24T11:58:00.000-07:00

For some reason, in the last couple of months I've been plagued with spam comments from essay writing, dissertation writing, web promotion and other fly-by-night services around the world (lots in Russia and Ukraine, for some reason). The comments aren't overtly objectionable, just totally irrelevant to anything I post on the blog.

Am I the only one with this problem? I went back to having word verification, but that hasn't stopped the flow...

I have no idea why these people would think that spamming my tiny little blog is going to bring them business -- to the best of my knowledge, none of my readers are looking for dissertations-for-sale. I know I'm not!

I've Been Orange

2011-10-22T23:07:00.000-07:00

It's been a long time since I posted -- I've done some sewing in the last couple of days, though. It's Orange month in the scrappy challenge, as I mentioned before, and I managed to use up almost all my small pile of scraps on this cute table-runner. I found it while googling "pumpkin quilt pattern" and it's here at The Plaid Scottie and it's 12" x 60". I'm planning some quick meandering quilting and orange binding. The background is something I hadn't used before, called chambray. I like the linen look of it, but it's quite floppy, and almost feels like sewing with rayon. I might go back for some in a brighter color for a shirt, but probably not for another quilt project.

I have a ton of photos from PIQF last week that I finally downloaded, and I'm hoping to post a few favorites tomorrow in between some more sewing and power-washing the brick patio before the moss takes over completely!

intermittent autumn

2011-10-10T21:50:00.000-07:00

It rained at home last week while the weather was fabulous in Madison -- today it's raining again but the report has it heating back up to 80 later in the week. How confusing!

I bought a beautiful pumpkin on Saturday and we put it next to the front door on the porch -- tonight I came home from work and found this:

I've never had that happen before! Squirrels, maybe? It's not messy enough for raccoons. Looks like they were trying to carve a nose in it for me...

This is orange month for the rainbow scrap challenge. I have only a pathetic little collection of orange scraps so I am thinking about a crazy-pieced pumpkin like this one I made for a swap a couple of years ago:

any other ideas? I skipped the last two months so I feel like it's time to jump back in.

Early fall in Madison...

2011-10-05T09:37:00.000-07:00

1 7/8

2011-09-28T22:29:00.000-07:00

Tonight I finished up Yello Kitty, and I think it's pretty stinkin' cute...

And I allllllmost finished a UFO from a couple of years ago -- it just needs the binding, which I haven't dug out of the stash yet. It's a pattern called "Mosaic Tile" and it was a Dorothy Young mystery from her Yahoo list which has been quiet for a while. Any suggestions for a new name for this one?

I did more quilting than usual on both of these, although it's hard to see in the photos. My free-motion stitches are getting more even and I'm less jerky -- but I still need to perfect the tension on the back. Practice, shmactice, right?

Friday I'm off to the wilds of Madison, Wisconsin for a visit to the in-laws and (I'm hoping!) some walleye.

A clean desk is...

2011-09-27T12:03:00.001-07:00

This is what my neighbor's desk looks like when she goes home at night:

and this is what my desk looks like:

what does this mean?

moderation in all things

2011-09-27T11:49:00.000-07:00

I'm going to go back to having word verification on my comments for a while, because I've suddenly been deluged with spam from "thesis writers" and other bogus outfits... it was okay when Blogger filtered them out, but that doesn't seem to be happening anymore.

Sorry for the inconvenience!

down on the farm

2011-09-24T11:48:00.000-07:00

I have some odd little collections of fabric, one of which is fruits and vegetables. (a subset of this is cherries, but that's another story...) Over the years I've made several "edible" quilts and tops, and now here's another one.

This used up a variety of little leftovers, and since it includes various farm animals I'm calling it "down on the farm". It's based on a pattern called "Cake Mix" and since I didn't really plan it out, it ended up larger than I expected.

Piggies -- one of my favorites!

I've got several smaller quilts pinned for quilting so I'm hoping to have some finished objects to brag about soon.

In the meantime, here's a lovely little rose from my neighbor's yard -- looks like it's trying to peek over the top of the house to see what's going on at the front!

Has anyone tried the "updated blogger interface" ? I just noticed the link at the top of the screen

It's the weekend...

2011-09-17T19:35:00.000-07:00

Lots of odds and ends here, and a tiny rant to top it all off!

Last night we went to an interesting venue... it's called The Great Wall of Oakland, and it's a big, mostly blank wall on a building that's probably 8 stories tall. Apparently once a month they close the street (it's right downtown) and show movies or videos on the wall, and people bring chairs or blankets and sit in the street to watch.

The was a special performance by a group called "Bandaloop", who hung from the top of the building on ropes and danced a sort of modern ballet on the side of the building 4-5-6 stories up. There was live music go with the dancing. It was fascinating! I was taking photos with the iphone, which didn't really do it justice... the shadows they cast were really interesting, and you had the feeling you were watching a ballet from overhead. If you have a chance to see them perform somewhere, do it!

I finished up my Caterpillar socks this morning -- just in time for the weather to warm up again. I have the next sock project picked out and ready to start.

Today, for some reason, I decided I needed a little retail therapy. I hadn't actually been in a fabric shop for ages and my excuse was I needed some easy-threading needles since the brand I had (Dritz -- don't buy them!) kept shredding my thread. I wanted John James or Fons & Porter, which had been highly recommended...

I did eventually find the needles, but I also found a little fabric, including this:

Have I mentioned my small obsession with rhinos? Can't explain it, really. If you run across interesting rhino fabric, let me know!

But that brings me to my little rant. Part of the fabric I bought was to make myself a shirt. I haven't actually made clothes for a while but I have a stack of recent patterns from one of the Joanns' sales and so I started pinning when I got home. Here's the question: why on earth do they still give yardage and layout instructions for "45 inch fabric" when no one has made 45 inch fabric for years? Everything was fine until I got to the sleeves, which would lay out fine on 45" fabric but not on the 42" that my fabric actually measures! (yeah I know, I can open up the fabric and cut them separately, slightly staggered, blah blah blah -- but that's not the point!)

Tomorrow: more sewing. Yay!

lots o' tops

2011-09-11T19:56:00.000-07:00

It's been a good weekend for finishing up some flimsies! Three, as a matter of fact -- or maybe 2.9, since one needs a simple border added.

First up is top #2 from the tic-tac-toe blocks I won last year (I think) on the block lotto. The first quilt has been done for a while and I blogged it here.

Next up is my finished top for a swap coming up soon -- although I'm liking this a lot and it might be hard to give up... It measures about 24" square.

Last but not least is the "Oh My Stars" top (minus the last border) from Planet Patchwork's block of the month this year. It's been a frustrating project because the blocks are being posted later and later each month, with no explanation, and there are numerous errors that don't get corrected even when they're pointed out... I finally decided to draft the last few months' blocks in EQ and finish it up on my own. Have to admit I'm not thrilled with it now it's put together, but I'm hoping to like it better once it's quilted and gifted to one of my nephews!

Cherry Pie

2011-09-05T13:12:00.000-07:00

I have a ton of sets of blocks that have accumulated over the years (notice how I put that in the passive voice...) from swaps, block of the month projects, the lotto, and heaven knows where else -- and they're making me a little bit crazy!

I'm in a tiny Yahoo group that's been doing a BOM for the last couple of years and after I finished up this year's blocks for August and September I decided to dig through the drawer and revisit last year's set.

Somehow I got a bee in my bonnet about them, and the result is "Cherry Pie".

I'm a bit tired of the "rectangular-sampler-with-sashing" layout, but it is a quick and effective way to deal with this sort of collection. I did the one below a few years ago with a more exotic layout (and it was much more of a PITA, I might add) so I guess I need to find the happy medium...

On to the next stack!

bits and pieces

2011-09-03T10:45:00.000-07:00

It's been pretty quiet here on the ol' blog, but a few things have been going on behind the scenes...

I made up nine blocks for the September block lotto -- love these curvy batik rails!

And I finished a sock, and immediately started the second one! It's a modified version of the Caterpillar Sock, from Misty Alpaca yarn.

Finally: watch this space! This is the beginning of a sort-of-secret small quilt project that needs to get finished soon. Everyone's been doing those 36-patch quilts (my favorite so far is here) so I decided to play along but in a half-sized version. This is a 6-inch block, with more to follow.

Early Morning

2011-08-24T15:43:00.001-07:00

We don't often have a sky like this -- when I came out of the house this morning I thought perhaps I'd been transported to a different state!

Sent from my iPhone (just discovered that when I post a photo from the iphone, my words don't show up -- just the photo! Do any of you techies know how to solve this??)

edited to add: did a little research and figured it out... a little cumbersome but not too bad!

more miscellany

2011-08-16T21:10:00.000-07:00

Somehow I've been out of a quilting mood lately -- maybe it's my obsession with Angry Birds or something. So here's a few random (mostly non-quilty) things to share...

First up is a Marching Alpacas hat that I made for my sister, who lives in Tasmania and raises alpacas along with a number of other beasts. I actually made two of these, because the first came out too small for an adult head -- it will be gifted to my youngest niece for the holidays. (pattern free from Ravelry) Now she tells me that the next hat should have pigs on it!

Next is true confessions of a pathetic baker: honestly, I DID grease and flour these cake pans but the layers just refused to let go! It's a banana cake I made when my oldest nephew and his new wife came to dinner last weekend. It turned out pretty yummy anyway, and the messed up parts were hidden by blueberry jam between the layers.

I gave the newlyweds the quilt I made (shown here) and got the strangest response -- usually when you give someone a quilt they immediately open it up and look at it. Not these two. It was folded up, and she sort of gingerly opened one corner and folded it back, and another corner... and admired the batiks... but never looked at the whole thing! I know she appreciates quilts because she told a story about a quilt her grandmother had made her years ago, so I don't feel bad about the gift but I still feel funny about it. I guess I just don't know her very well.

And one more California Towhee picture -- whenever we sit out on the patio they hang around keeping an eye on us and cheeping. This one looks like he's trying to be a vulture!

chirpy weekend

2011-08-06T22:08:00.000-07:00

In the room where I sew (otherwise known as the back bedroom) there's a futon-sofa in front of a large window that looks out at a hedge of camellia and bamboo and then the neighbor's yard. Bucky spends a lot of time sleeping on top of the back of the futon

and a pair of annoying towhees spend a lot of time hopping around the camellia bushes and cheeping incessantly. I love birds, I really do -- but these guys have one note and one note only, and it gets pretty tiresome!

Of course it would also be more interesting if they were something more than plain brown... although they do have a tiny patch of orange under the tail, and maybe under the chin.

They have some beautiful cousins that are brilliant with orange breasts and black wings with white spots, but I haven't caught one with the camera yet; the spotted towhees are much more reclusive.

In quilty news... the scrap challenge Posts and Rails quilt is done:

and I have two more quilts pinned and ready for quilting!

a few of my favorite quilts

2011-07-31T21:18:00.000-07:00

(forgot to mention that these are favorites from the Long beach International Quilt Festival)

I'll start out with my most favorite! This is a big quilt -- probably 80 x 80. It's "My Double Wedding Ring" by Keiko Goke of Japan. I love that it's both traditional and modern, and the quilting is wonderful!

Here's a close-up of one bit -- she used a whole bunch of different fillers and doodles, and then added some feather-stitch for an extra treat.

Next up is "Concentricity" by Cheryl Lynch of Pennsylvania. Really interesting fabrics and graphics.

Here's a detail:

This one is "Roses - Sun and Shadow" by B. Lynn Tubbe of California. It is stunning in real life!

Here is "A Parliament of Owls" by Carol Goddu of Canada. I think she might have used something like Julie Hirota's "Art Glass Quilts" technique, but I'm not sure...

One more -- blogger is making me crazy again! This was one of the Hoffman Challenge quilts -- it's Asian Jade" by Kay Pennington of California. I love that she used the challenge fabric as bokchoy leaves -- they're perfect!

I wanted to add a few more, but blogger has decided not to let me, for some reason... hope you enjoyed the show!

small rant, What a Girl Wants and scrappy Sunday

2011-07-24T21:37:00.000-07:00

The new Blogger editing process is still making me nuts... my signature just sits there at the top of the page and won't move over to let me type. It seems to take me twice as long to write a new post as it used to because I have to keep manhandling the photos and signature block. Please tell me it's not just me! (and why did my margin just change?)

The first photo is a little UFO I just finished. It's called "What a Girl Wants". The strip blocks are from a swap a couple of years ago, and several of the others are from a much older swap.

Is anyone out there going to Long Beach next weekend? Every year I say I'm not going to go the next year, but then I do -- want to meet up for a coffee?

It's still red-white-blue month in the rainbow scrap challenge, and I got this little top put together today. It still needs a border, which I haven't rummaged for yet.

something done

2011-07-20T22:22:00.000-07:00

Finally -- I feel like I've been working on this puppy for a long time! It just needs to be washed (with about 5 color catchers, just in case) and then it's a wedding gift for my oldest nephew -- only a couple months after the wedding.

The pattern is "Boxed In" from Jaybird Quilts, but I first saw it on Kate's blog, and she saw it on Scraphappy's blog... aren't blogs the best?

weekend notes

2011-07-10T17:52:00.000-07:00

This month's scrappy rainbow colors are red, white & blue. I was wandering around Judy Martin's website the other day and came across her "block of the moment" call Posts and Rails, and decided it would work well for these patriotic colors. And then I rummaged in the scrap bins a bit and found enough strips for 12 blocks. Here are the first 3 -- they're quite quick to do! (the blue strips in the photo aren't showing up as blue as they should be...)

And, as promised -- here are my first to Farmer's Wife blocks, #45 and 49

The next two out of my manual-random-number-generator are 71 and 83.

Robin flies home

2011-07-08T14:28:00.000-07:00

Several months ago I started a Row Robin with a little Yahoo group I've been with for years... I think I showed my first row of maple leaves on the blog. Well, all of my rows arrived home a couple of days ago (actually, they're individual blocks rather than rows) and I'm just so pleased with them!

I just slapped them all up on the wall, so they'll probably be rearranged a few times before I decide on a layout.

I'm sort of tired of regular sashing and cornerstones (I keep saying that and then I do it again) so I'm open to any suggestions for how to spice this up a little, layout-wise! They're 9" blocks, so right now it's 45" x 54".

Meet Pressiippora!

2011-07-03T22:00:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite places to play, quilt-wise, is Paper Panache. Linda publishes paper-piecing patterns, and several times a year there is a free mystery pattern. They range from sophisticated to silly, and this month is something special. You answer a few questions, and the result is a "customized" pattern for your own Fairy Quilt Godmother!

Well, everyone needs one of those, so here's mine: Pressiippora

The piecing is a bit fiddly -- after all, it only measures about 12" x 14" altogether. If you need a little magical assistance from time to time, be sure to check out Paper Panache for your own Godmother while the patterns are still free!

Surrender Dorothy

2011-07-03T15:14:00.000-07:00

I've been trying to resist, but it was ultimately futile. "It" is the Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt that everyone and her sister seems to be doing. I'm a sucker for sampler quilts. You would think that after doing Nearly Insane, I would be cured of quilts with 111 6-inch blocks, but you'd obviously be mistaken.

So, I wandered into Joann's yesterday to replace my very old and pitted cutting mat, and look! They had the Farmer's Wife book front & center and 40% off.

I couldn't decide whether to do the blocks in numerical order (blah) or in the order they appear in the book (predictable!) so I got my geek on and made an excel spreadsheet with numbers 1-111 and cut them out and put them in this container that was sitting around empty -- so when I want to make a block I can just pick a number, and then mark it off in the computer when it's done.

I picked two to start -- #45 and #49. Of course the real question is fabric -- what am I going to make this out of? I had fun cleaning out a closet a couple of days ago and decided it was time to dig through the box of dressmaking fabrics * and found this beautiful paisley:

I think it might be Liberty, but it's been there for a long time! It's a lovely soft cotton, only 36" wide. Does anyone recognize it? Anyway, I decided to build the sampler around it. Stay tuned for the first blocks.

If anyone wants a copy of my spreadsheet to use for your own quilt, let me know.

* I opened up an Etsy shop and listed some fabrics for sale; most are rayon, and they'd be great for blouses, flowy dresses, harem pants... take a look if you're like to make clothing!

Yello Kitty

2011-06-25T10:47:00.000-07:00

Here it is -- the finished Yello Kitty top, along with my own yellow kitty:

And here it is without the embellishment:

and one of my favorite details:

I had so much fun with this, partly because it includes the tail ends of some of the first quilt fabrics I ever bought, and a few pieces (like that cat in the detail) left from quilts I made for special people years ago.

a little birdie told me...

2011-06-24T22:25:00.000-07:00

That I needed to show off this cute little sparrow -- there were tons of them on the walks that we did in the morning, but this one let me get about 5 feet away and snap a few photos.

And these are some of my favorite California natives from the Coast Botanical Garden near Fort Bragg -- they're called Matilija Poppies and they'll get about 5 feet tall -- they have wonderful texture and translucence!

The gardens are terrific, by the way. If you ever go to Mendocino, you must take the tiny detour north to visit them.

Diversion in yellow

2011-06-23T17:38:00.001-07:00

Well, the kitty top is done (but you'll have to wait until scrappy Saturday for the reveal!) -- and I STILL have more yellow scraps.

So, I started on this little goody -- maybe a pillow cover? And there is still a pile of little bits. Is anyone interested in small scraps -- defined as something I can't cut a 2.5 inch square from but bigger than 1 inch? Let me know 'cause I'd be happy to ship them off!
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Moo

2011-06-22T14:58:00.001-07:00

Just one more from the beach -- a very large driftwood cow! Wouldn't Georgia O'Keefe have loved this?
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

A day at the beach

2011-06-22T14:56:00.001-07:00

I'm working away at the kitty, but took some time for a beach excursion this morning before the fog rolled in... The sand was littered with kelp in various stages of decay, but this was a very fresh one -- looked like a sea-snake to me!

My no-blog friend Ma Smalls has an interesting collection of kelp people and I was tempted to bring this as a souvenir... but tought better of it.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

My favorite tree

2011-06-21T19:20:00.000-07:00

I was so happy to see that this crazy tree still exists, even though I haven't driven through Manchester, CA for probably ten years.
(There are still white geese behind the wooden fence in Mendocino, too -- I first photographed them about 40 years ago!)
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Yellow kitty -- round 2

2011-06-20T21:49:00.000-07:00

Had a wonderful lazy day today (after a 4-mile walk this morning) with nothing but reading, sewing, and food! Capped it off with whale sightings from the local fishing pier... A first for me.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Yellow Kitty

2011-06-19T18:22:00.000-07:00

Here's part 1 of the yellow scraps project -- and I have a lot more yellow! Hoping to work on this a little each day while I'm on vacation this week on the Mendocino coast. Stay tuned!
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

testing testing

2011-06-13T21:09:00.000-07:00

I'm just trying out the new blog editor to see if I like it any better than I did the last time I tried it. My signature works better, for one thing! And it seems to use the font I want instead of reverting to "times new roman" every time.

Now I remember -- I could never get the photos to show up properly. Seems like blogger says you can load them one at a time and they'll show up where your cursor is instead of all loading at the top of the page, but that doesn't happen.

This leaf showed up the first time at the top of the page, and the second time before the second paragraph instead of after it. However it does let you drag them around more easily now.

Must be time for a glass of wine...

technical question

2011-06-13T13:46:00.001-07:00

When I do a blog post from my laptop, my signature works fine. However, when I do a post from my desktop at home, the signature doesn't work.

Since I'm starting from the same dashboard/same template in both cases, does anyone have a clue why this would be happening?

a zombie ate my yarn

2011-06-11T09:09:00.000-07:00

Isn't this a lovely sock? I bought the yarn from a local dyer at the fiber festival a year or two ago -- it's called "Zombie Apocalypse". Only trouble is... I wound the skein into two balls, and now that I've finished the first sock the second ball has completely disappeared! Aaaargh -- I've looked everywhere. I even asked Al if he had seen it . (He was kind enough to NOT say a word about my overgrown yarn, fabric, etc. stash and no wonder I couldn't find it, but then don't get me started about the condition of the basement and garage!)

I figure someday 20 years from now when we move into assisted living, the extra ball will turn up...

I have two nephews turning 4 this year, and that seems like the perfect age for a super-hero cape! One of them got mailed off already, but here's the second -- all done ahead of time for a July birthday:

Both of the boys have names starting with "G" so I got enough practice with that letter. The inside of this cape has fabric that's actually supposed to be sunflower leaves, but I thought it looked sort of mysterious-magical!

I found the pattern online at the Longthread site-- lots of cool ideas there.

the winner is...

2011-06-08T10:22:00.001-07:00

#6 is LC -- one of several Canadians who left comments! Please send me your address and I will package up your book! Thanks to all of you who visited.

my poor, sad zinnias

2011-06-07T11:48:00.000-07:00

Can you count the snails in this picture?

I planted a 6-pack of orange zinnias about 10 days ago... just when they started to settle in, the marauding hordes arrived, and now there are just stems. The snails had been leaving the (old) pansies alone but since the zinnia supply is gone they're taking out the pansies, too. I can't tell you how many snails I've pitched into the street already! Wicked, I know...

Don't forget the "Happy Villages" giveaway -- leave a comment if you'd like to be entered in the drawing tomorrow.

Next up: super-heroes!

400th post giveaway!

2011-06-05T19:48:00.000-07:00

But before I get to the giveaway -- it's YELLOW month at the scrappy rainbow challenge. While digging around for yellow scraps, I found this "what was she thinking" bit of applique (along with more yellow scraps than I expected) so I'm planning a sort of medallion quilt around the patchwork kitty. More to follow...
For my 400th post, I'm giving away a copy of Karen Eckmeier's Happy Villages book.
I took a class with her at Long Beach a couple of years ago and STILL haven't finished quilting my village because I can't figure out what thread I started it with and everything else I've tried looks funny. It's on my list of projects to absolutely get done this year, though.

Aside from my thread issues, though, it's a very fun process and everyone's village is unique. I think it would be great for a mini-group or a retreat -- just leave me a comment if you'd like a chance at the book. I'll draw a winner on Wednesday morning, June 8. Thanks for reading!

3 finishes (and a cat)

2011-06-04T15:03:00.000-07:00

Looks like the cat comes first! Bucky seems to spend a good deal of his awake time (which is about an hour per day) peering around corners. The remaining time is spent wrestling with every small rug in the house...

I finished the mystery shawlette a couple of days ago -- it's perfect for the cold rainy weather we've been having. We're calling it "June-uary". It's back to wearing sweaters in the house!

Here's a detail -- I think I'm hooked on lace now.Quilty stuff, too! Here is the teal strip quilt, needing to be washed and fluffed up a bit.
And my UFO challenge project from March. This was a stay-at-home round robin I started several years ago. I'm not sure what ever happened to the rest of the project -- maybe I just "lost" the website where it was hosted.

Now I'm off to the kitchen to make soup to go with the weather. I think this is my 399th post, for what for a celebratory give-away coming soon for #400!

a little pink finish

2011-05-29T22:39:00.001-07:00

I'm still thinking about the borders for the purple/black & white diamonds so I decided to work on a couple of other quilting jobs. The first up -- smallest first -- was my Pink quilt for the rainbow scrap challenge. I did some wonky feathers in the braids and straight lines in the sashing. Then I decided to try a two-color binding technique that a friend had described:

Basically, you sew two different widths of long strips of binding together, fold in half, and apply to the back of the quilt like regular binding. When you flip it around to the front -- voila! -- you have a narrow flange of a contrast color. You stitch in the seam between the two colors. Very easy, and I know I'll be using this technique again.

I had instructions in a commercial pattern from Barbs Elegant Designs, but I also found a tutorial here.

Sorry for the lousy photo quality -- I can't seem to get the lightest pink to not wash out without making everything else muddy.

Tomorrow -- a much needed cut & color, and hoping to get the teal strippy quilt quilted. It might end up with a two-color binding too...

this, or this, or this?

2011-05-28T16:16:00.000-07:00

I'm playing around with various fabrics to use for setting triangles around the diamonds.

This doesn't show up well, but it's a pale purple batik with little marks
This is gray with white dots
This is a black floral on white

I was looking for something that would fade into the background a bit and blend with a few of the other fabrics... opinions?

Design Wall Thursday

2011-05-26T21:34:00.000-07:00

Why do design walls always have to be on Monday? And why has Blogger started loading photos in random order? It always used to be that the last one you entered would be on top of the page, but it seems to be scrambling them now. Must have been the last "upgrade"...

Anyway, back to the wall. I think I have all the blocks done for this one, and now that I look at the picture I can see at least one area where I have some of them turned the wrong way. One of my errands this weekend will be to find something to use for the setting triangles -- I think it will be something black & white to sort of fade into the background, but I'm not sure yet.
After I took the photo this morning I looked out the window and saw this:which is just the shimmery effect I want in my quilt!

On the yarn front, WendyKnits is having a summer mystery knit-along for a small shawl. I always love a mystery and I've never really knit lace before, so I decided to join in. I had a rocky time with the first dozen rows and ended up starting over. Now I'm using stitch markers (I was too cool to use them the first time) and things are going much better.

The pattern starts at the wide end of the triangle and gets smaller as you go along, which is a very nice way to work. I've kept up so far, but there's quite a bit to do before the final instruction sheet is posted next Thursday. It's not too late to jump in... and there's a group on Ravelry with lots of chatter and photos.

Irons, again

2011-05-22T12:03:00.000-07:00

Thanks to everyone for the feedback and advice on the subject of irons. Nearly everyone said they had to replace them often and disliked many of them.

Special thanks to Wanda, who explained the mystery of the pleats to me!

I know that quilters use their irons more than the average person, and we tend to leave them on longer, too. But really -- this planned obsolescence thing is jut going too far! We should have to expect to buy a new iron every year...

I returned the B&D Classic yesterday but there was nothing else interesting at Target or at Orchard Supply nearby. Since some friends are coming over for a sewing day today, I ran out to the local Ace Hardware this morning to see what I could find. I ended up with another B&D:It's a "Digital Advantage" with a little extra wattage. I think this is similar to the one I had before, which lasted a couple of years. I plugged it in and gave it a whirl...

For quilting, I think it will be good. It heats up fast, irons smoothly, and puts out a lot of steam. But. There is no way to control the steam other than by turning down the temperature. The higher the temp, the more steam you get. My older version didn't work that way, and why would they think that was a good thing to change? I guess I could always just pour out the water if I want to iron dry, right?

And, try as I might, I couldn't get the sprayer to work at all. (it said to pump it a few times the first time you used it, but still nothing). Sigh. Back to the spray bottle.

re-kindling an old relationship -- help!

2011-05-20T20:18:00.000-07:00

I know that I'm not the only quilter who practices serial monogamy with respect to irons... it's just so hard to find one that isn't a drip, doesn't crack under pressure, won't break the bank, and has a little sex appeal, too!

Well, I'm about to stop messing around with losers and just go back to a very old, stodgy friend.

The last iron I sort of liked was a mid-priced Black & Decker that lasted about 2 or 3 years -- long term! -- and then something went wrong and it started spewing rusty water on my fabric.

Before that was a somewhat pricier Rowenta that cracked after a few years and just stopped working.

When the B&D failed, I bought a cheap Proctor Silex at CVS with a 25% off coupon... it's a steam iron, but it doesn't seem to put out any steam on its own -- only when you press the button. And the "cotton" setting feels more like "rayon" to me. A piece of junk, but of course I tossed the box and the receipt before I figured it out. Can you say "freecycle"?

Then last weekend I was trolling in Target and picked up this Black & Decker "Classic". How could I resist the retro look and the hefty weight of it?
It definitely steams, and it gets REALLY hot. But this is what else it does:
I have never had an iron do this before, and this one does it over and over. I don't know if it's something about the finish on the soleplate -- not very shiny -- or if it's something about the shape. But I know I can't live with it, so it's going back tomorrow morning.

And what I'm left with now is this trusty 20+ year old guy from up in the cupboard. I put him away when I started quilting 10 years ago and decided I needed an upgrade. He still gets hot and puts out steam and doesn't pleat my fabric!But, there's no automatic shut-off (I know some people hate that feature, but I don't) and worse is that the plug gets quite hot, so it makes me a little nervous to use it at all, let alone leave it plugged in any longer than I need to.

PLEASE could someone tell me about an iron that they love, that's lasted more than a year or two, and that I might love, too?

thinking pink

2011-05-15T11:41:00.000-07:00

It's pink month at the scrappy rainbow challenge. I hardly had any pink scraps, so I ended up with just a little (16" square or so) doll quilt:
I love braided quilts -- in fact one of the very first quilts I made was a braided one. (long pause while I look for a photo, realize I don't have a photo, go take a photo and upload it...)
I took a class to learn how to do this; everything about this early quilt is a little wonky -- especially the quilting -- and I'm not thrilled with the pink fabric in the sashing, but I still like the overall effect.

I know there are a couple of books out on braided quilt techniques -- have you tried any of them?

each of these is not like the others

2011-05-14T18:46:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite things about quilting with a little group is how we can start out trying the same technique and come up with completely different results. Case in point: the 1600-inch strip quilts that seem to be the current rage.

We decided to do a project with 20 shared black & white fabrics and 20 "other fabrics" that would make each quilt individual.

This is Kuniyo's quilt -- it's about 3/4 black & white and the rest red. Love it!Enelda had a cold and wasn't sewing as fast, so she plans to finish at home -- love the colors! She was using a set of batik strips.
This one is mine -- my signature jewel tones. I'm not thrilled with the light colors I used; I think I should have stuck with medium/dark ones.
Kathy used a wide variety of strips for her top. She didn't like it but the rest of us did.
Finally, Susan's -- I think the purples and blues blend really well with the black & white. She was expecting to not like the result, but ended up pleased with it!
If you're going to try this, here are a couple of hints:
- if you're using batiks or other fabrics that look very similar on both sides, be careful not to flip your strips when you're doing the first step of sewing them end to end.
- take a couple of minutes to fold the 1600" strip in accordion pleats across your lap before sewing the first long seam. It will help prevent everything becoming a twisted mess.
- several of us tried putting all the black & white strips first, and then our other strips -- this helped distribute the colors more evenly, but wasn't perfect! (I mixed my lightest colors in with the black & white and then finished with all the darker colors, and this didn't work so well)

Coming next: scrappy pink stuff.

Bloggers' Quilt Festival

2011-05-13T13:53:00.001-07:00

I know I just posted the finish of this quilt recently, but I like it a lot and it's my entry in the current round of Bloggers' Quilt Festival!

I like patterns that are based on blocks but allow a lot of opportunity to play with the arrangement of color. Since I've been in a monochromatic mood lately I also really liked playing with such a variety of greens -- and using up some odd bits in the process.

Be sure to visit the Festival page for links to all the other participants.

Lucky Break

2011-05-13T10:37:00.001-07:00

This is Al's truck after someone plowed into him on the freeway a few days ago. The cost of repairs is VERY close to the blue book value of the truck, but the insurer decided to fix it rather than calling it a total.

You can see how lucky he was that the hit came just behind the driver's seat... He came out of it a bit(!) startled but otherwise unscathed.

There's a crazy stretch of freeway here called "the maze" where two roads come together and then diverge again, with lots of folks criss-crossing -- two vehicles in the next lane collided and one lost control and veered into Al. Phew!

I posted this yesterday but noticed this morning that it had completely disappeared... strange things happening on Blogger!

Today in Vancouver

2011-05-01T14:45:00.001-07:00

Another beautiful day! I walked by the Vancouver Art Gallery on my way to catch the SeaBus to have breakfast with my brother. Outside the gallery were these cool planting devices made from painted, perforated PVC pipe -- the pipes were filled with dirt and there were vegetable seedling planted in each hole.

Breakfast was tasty, chaotic, and way too filling! (Raglans near Lonsdale Wharf). Hours later I'm just beginning to feel like I'll be able to eat again someday...

(edited to add: the photo was turned the right way on my phone, but showed up sideways -- sorry!)

Knitting in Vancouver

2011-04-30T22:17:00.000-07:00

My sister in law has been wanting her daughter to learn to knit, and so she signed them both up for a year of drop-in classes at pretty much THE most amazing yarn store I've ever been to -- the Stitch & Knit Shoppe in West Vancouver. Incredible selection of yarn and the friendliest staff! While they sat and had their first lesson, I finished up these socks that I've been knitting on the bus for a while now. They're made with a Crazy Zauberball, which has sort of random color changes so you end up with socks that are complementary but not matched.

(My 8 year old niece is now a knitter!)
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earth week

2011-04-28T11:08:00.000-07:00

I noticed this vignette at the bus stop this morning, and had to snap a quick photo -- just a little more on my "green" theme.

Saturday morning bright and early I'm heading up to Vancouver BC for some business meetings and a chance to spend a little time with my youngest brother and SIL and their brood of 4. Their 8-year-old daughter is a big crafting nut, and I always wish she lived closer! I'm hoping to have a few spare minutes to check out the local yarn scene...

midweek miscellany

2011-04-27T19:51:00.000-07:00

I haven't done well with all the stuff I planned this month, but I did finish a UFO --This was the one I made from Judy Laquidara's "Peaches & Dreams" pattern; I started out calling it Green Peaches, but I think it's actually Green Goddess. It was nicely quilted by Margaret with a leafy design all over, and these sweet vines in the borders:
I'm quite pleased with it. And for more green, I added a couple more rows to Think Green Thoughts from last month's rainbow scrap challenge. For some reason it came out quite skewed -- possibly from sewing all the strips together in one direction, or maybe all my scraps weren't quite straight-of-grain? After it's quilted I shall have to dampen it and wrestle it into shape!
The jewelry and quilt show last weekend went pretty well -- I actually sold 4 quilts. Three were wall hangings that I had made to try out various things and was ready to part with. The fourth was -- the teal strippy top from my last post! My buyer loved it (and now I have to get it quilted up so I can deliver it)

And a cat story: Bucky has reached a new level of impending feline senility. For a while now he's been eating less than I'd like him to, and he's lost some weight. We've played around with different brands/styles/flavors of canned food, but he loses interest. We've spent a little money on blood tests and having some dental work done, but it didn't help with the eating.

What I started noticing recently, though, is that he was very nervous about eating -- constantly stopping to look around at (invisible) intruders. After moving his dish a couple of times I discovered he was most comfortable in a corner of the kitchen where there would be nothing distracting. And, he keeps eating the longest if I sit in a chair next to him while he eats! I've decided it's my twice-daily moment of zen... just sitting in the chair thinking for a few minutes. Thanks, Bucky!

fiber-related content!

2011-04-21T20:31:00.001-07:00

Are you sick of listening to me whine? Good news, then -- I've stopped!

A couple of weeks ago I ran across THIS quilt idea for using a jelly roll or other 2-1/2" strips. Basically you sew all 40 strips together end to end, then fold the 1600" strip in half and stitch to the end and clip the end; then you fold the 800" strip in half and stitch, and so on. I forwarded the idea on to my mini-groups, and Catherine almost immediately sat down and made two tops:I think the second one put her over the edge, because the photo is kind of fuzzy... Mo likes it, though!And then I got a wild notion (is it "hare" or "hair"?) and put this together last night:
Honestly, I'm pretty ambivalent about it. I love monochromatic, but I'd rather have more control over the values and contrast. When you're putting this together it's hard to figure out in advance how the fabrics are going to line up...

My other mini group is planning to do this as a group project in a couple of weeks. We're going to each make a quilt using half shared black & white fabrics and half other fabrics of our own choosing. I'm thinking of heading in a bumblebee direction, but I haven't actually cut any strips yet.

And there's yarn action, too! When I started knitting socks a few years ago I heard about Cat Bordhi from Amy, who was in the process of trying out all of her patterns. They seemed very cool, so I bought the book but was too intimidated to do anything with it. Just recently, Suzanne knit a pair of Cat's socks and we chatted (virtually) and decided to maybe do a knit-along this summer of one of the patterns. But first I decided I had to dive in and make sure I understood the thought process...
This is my first Cat Bordhi sock -- it's the basic "Riverbed" architecture, which is a toe-up sock that has increases running up the sole rather than on the instep. The socks fit perfectly but they look very odd when they're not on a foot. I had never done a short-row heel before but after ripping it out once because I forgot the side increases, it worked perfectly. I don't like the yarn -- it's DK weight rather than fingering, and that makes a sock that's too heavy for my taste. The reinforced heels are insanely think and I'm not sure they'll fit in a shoe! But I'm glad I did it, and I definitely feel more confident about moving on to other patterns from her book.

up and running

2011-04-20T14:32:00.000-07:00

The nightmare appears to be over! Of course I didn't get the very first ATT appointment on Monday as promised... in fact the guy didn't show up until almost 1:30 and after a couple more hours of me trying not to lose it on the phone. We finally had the phones working at about 3:00.

Somewhere along the line our Tuesday appointment for installation of the internet service got changed to Wednesday -- no one asked, of course! But the guy showed up within his allotted time-frame today and we now have this little blinking gadget on the counter and all is well.
This is the only other part of the office worth showing off at the moment -- I've actually kept this plant alive and (mostly) happy for 3 years now.
I've been working on some purple quilting (is that like purple prose?) for the scrap challenge and a little IBOL project, and getting things tidied up for a jewelry and quilt show at my house this weekend. A former neighbor makes wonderful bead and wire jewelry and is hoping to sell some; I have a few quilts I wouldn't mind selling but mostly I think it will be everyone asking "how long does it take you to make a quilt?"... and the other usual stuff.

ATT SUCKS BIG TIME

2011-04-15T17:56:00.000-07:00

major rant follows...

When we last spoke, ATT was going to send the phone tech to transfer our office phone from one floor to another, between 8-12 today, and they were going to send a different tech to transfer the internet service between 9-11 today.

At 11, I called to ask about the internet guys. After half an hour on hold, I was told that the order had been canceled, but they couldn't tell me who canceled it or why. They wanted to reschedule it for Tuesday and I said no -- it had to be Monday because no one was in the office on Tuesdays, and the matter was "escalated" to a manager who would call me back. Of course this never happened and as far as I can tell we're still scheduled for Tuesday.

At the same time, I asked about the status of the phone guys, and after further time on hold, I was told we were "next" on the schedule.

At 2 I called again. The rep refused to talk to me at all because I didn't have the 3-digit code from my phone bill, and I couldn't tell her the exact amount of my last bill. Even though all I wanted to know was the update on the tech visit! (of course they had turned off our existing phone and internet service first thing this morning, and all the papers were in boxes). I asked for a supervisor, and she said she would "escalate" it and someone would call me back. Of course this never happened.

When I got off the phone I accessed my bill-pay on the Blackberry and got the 3-digit code and the amount of my last bill and called back and spent another hour on hold getting to the wrong department, who transferred me to someone in Ohio, who transferred me to someone in California, who assure me we were "next" on the schedule and that she would talk to the dispatcher again to get a better idea of timing and call me back. Of course this never happened.

Then starting at about 4 I called again and spent an hour and a half, mostly on hold, being transferred around (because the number you're supposed to call for business service does not ever get you to the right department no matter what you yell into their automated system) and reached a very sympathetic woman who said a) they had no idea what happened to the tech and they were worried that he had gotten into an accident and b) finally got the dispatcher to promise that I would have the very first appointment on Monday and that they would waive all installation charges that might otherwise apply.

What no one was able to tell me was:
- why the business phone line didn't ever get you to the business phone people
- why no one bothered to contact me about the cancellation and delays
- why no one ever called back when they said they would

The highlight of the day was the end of the first call, where after telling me that they had fucked up my internet service, could they sell me on buying cellphone service from them instead of wherever I currently had it? Then the 2 pm call rep started to ask the same question... she got an earful!

I was very good. I managed not to cry. And I didn't swear at them, which was REALLY hard to do. Altogether, I logged at least 3 hours on my cellphone with them.

But after all this, I know that it's not over. The tech is going to show up late on Monday, and he'll decide there's some problem he can't deal with. It turns out that one of my colleagues will be there on Tuesday and she will have the pleasure of dealing with the internet guy (it turns out that they couldn't install the U-Verse service if the phone line wasn't already in, so it's just as well that got screwed up -- but why didn't they know that when they set up the appointments the first time?)

And if anyone asks, will you tell them that I gave excellent service? As if...

*photo from http://media.photobucket.com/image/onions/JennMann1/onions.jpg?o=33

Squee!

2011-04-11T18:26:00.000-07:00

Every year I watch Vicki's bird photos, and Sue's bird photos, and I'm so envious... but now I have a photo of my own to share:We have a huge clump of ornamental grass up on the retaining wall behind our house, and usually it gets cut back to a foot tall in the winter -- but this year it didn't, due to rainy weekends, schedule conflicts, and general laziness. I was just getting to the point of nagging Al to trim it last week when I noticed that one of the song sparrows was spending a lot of time rustling around inside the clump instead of just sitting on one spike of grass singing as usual.

We decided to do a little reconnaissance mission, and discovered the nest! So cute... the parents hung out and scolded us while we worked in the yard for an hour or so, but they did go back to the nest after that so all appears to be well. I'll probably take another peek when I hear some cheeping noises.

(I hope to have some quilty stuff to show soon!)

off topic

2011-04-08T15:08:00.000-07:00

I'm just sitting here amusing myself while on the phone with ATT. We're moving our office 2 floors up next week, and just transferring two phone lines and the internet service is a 45-minute process -- not counting the time I'm going to spend next Friday waiting for technicians to show up!

Apparently our current internet service is no longer available, so we need a new modem and a separate technician. And a separate account number and separate bills each month! But for some reason they're showing service already installed in the new suite (which has been vacant for several months) but referenced to a different suite number on a different floor, so the whole thing is gummed up, to put it nicely. We don't function well without internet...

The thing about ATT is that they always sound SO competent on the phone but then some part of the process always goes horribly wrong in execution. I think it took at least 10 calls to get everything set up correctly when we moved in here 3 years ago. One can only hope!

It's Thursday...

2011-04-07T19:47:00.001-07:00

Which means only one more office day -- I feel like a kid in school waiting for summer vacation sometimes (okay most of the time) but in my case it's more like "please, please is it time to retire yet?" Lately it seems like I have to pep-talk myself an awful lot, even though I basically do like what I do and I have a lot of flexibility at work. Someone was telling me recently about the employees at a local utility who all have that "I'm just waiting for retirement" mentality and I'm afraid I've become one of them... right now my mantra is "3 more years, 3 more years."

Okay, well THAT'S depressing, so here's something cheery:

I've been wanting to learn how to do colorwork knitting, so I made a tiny Fair Isle sweater! It's from a holiday ornament kit that KnitPicks put out last year. I bought it because they had a pattern for a knitted garland of popcorn and cranberries... but after I figured out that each piece of popcorn would take about 45 minutes I kind of lost interest. If you know anyone who can fit into a 5" sweater, let me know!

And here's a finished quilt to look at -- it's "S is for Spumoni". I sent it to Margaret to quilt when she was having her easy-quilting special a few weeks ago, and she did a quick, neat job of it with some ripples and swirls.

Here's a close-up:I'll have another finish to show you pretty soon, because I figured as long as I was sending one quilt cross-country, I might as well send two. So, I see binding in my future...

Spring?

2011-03-31T12:44:00.000-07:00

I think summer has arrived instead of spring -- it's about 80 degrees in downtown San Francisco today!

Here's a little scene I found on the sidewalk today...
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Sunday stuff

2011-03-27T18:23:00.000-07:00

It's been a productive weekend -- I guess the rainy weather is good for something! I didn't actually FINISH anything quilty, but two tops are done and the green scraps have been beaten into submission...

Do you remember the elephants? This was a Friday Block Party block that I used for a birthday exchange this year -- and it's one of the completed tops. I adore these guys!

And, a brief knitty interlude to show off the Switcheroo socks that finally got done. They don't look like they're the same size, but really they are -- I just couldn't locate the second sock-blocker. Maybe this means it's time to clean the closet? This is the first time I've made stripy socks that actually came out looking like a matched set. It's Shibui sock yarn.
And, keep thinking those green thoughts -- the leftover top is all put together, I think. It might need just one or two more strips, though: does it seem just a bit too narrow?
Finally, a head start on Monday's design wall -- there are "disappearing 4-patch" blocks made mostly from a couple of sets of "City Traditions" charm squares that have been in my stash for years. I have a few more to make.The weather is warming up this week, at last -- we're going to be up in the 70's! I think that means more gardening and less quilting for a bit.

think green thoughts...

2011-03-19T10:21:00.000-07:00

It's one of those scrappy green days again, and here's what's on my wall:It's pretty much everything green that was left over from something else, just sewn together in strips. I have more to go, and then some re-arranging to do.

The Green Peaches top got done, and has actually been sent away for quilting! I decided not to use the HSTs for a border because they just didn't fit with all the rectangles -- so they're showing up on the "use everything" project above. The border of the quilt is a piece of fabric that had all four shades of green, separated by a line of black, and I had just enough.
We're having a late blast of winter here this weekend, with rain, hail, thunder & lightning, and cold (for us, anyway!) temperatures. Just in time for spring...

ABC Meme

2011-03-18T12:37:00.000-07:00

I've been lazy about posting recently, and since I saw this on Jeanne's blog I thought I'd give it a try. I haven't done a meme for a long time!

A. Age: 59
B. Bed size: queen
C. Chore you dislike: anything to do with the vacuum
D. Dogs: lots when I was growing up, but none as an adult... I'm a cat person!
E. Essential start to your day: the cat pawing at me to get out of bed and feed him
F. Favorite color: changes day to day, but always jewel tones
G. Gold or silver: silver
H. Height: 5’ 2″
I. Instruments you play(ed): piano, flute, recorder, and a little bit of bassoon
J. Job title: risk management consultant
K. Kids: nope
L. Live: San Francisco Bay Area, California
M. Mom’s name: Geneva
N. Nicknames: Jules or Wally (from my last name)
O. Overnight hospital stays: tonsils (age 6) and bunion surgery (age 29)
P. Pet peeves: people who lack common courtesy or common sense
Q. Quote: "Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend; inside of a dog, it's too dark to read" --Groucho Marx
R. Righty or lefty: lefty! but I can do lots of stuff right-handed
S. Siblings: one older sister and two younger brothers
T. Time you wake up: usually 6:30 for work; in a perfect life, 8:30
U. Underwear: yes, and what's the question?
V. Vegetables you don’t like: eggplant and okra
W. What makes you run late: getting distracted by one more thing I "need" to do... but I'm almost always on time
X. X-rays you’ve had: teeth, hip, chest, breasts, foot
Y. Yummy food you make: prize-winning chili
Z. Zoo animal favorites: rhinoceros and sloth

buyer beware (no quilty content...)

2011-03-08T12:16:00.001-08:00

I started thinking a few days ago about refining the house. We hadn't done this for about 8 years and, yeah -- I should have done it LAST year, but oh well...

So, I went online and plugged in some basic information at Lending Tree because I'm a sheep and I see their commercials and it should save me time, right?

Not to brag, but DH and I have excellent credit scores. I know that lenders are under pressure to make loans and must be totally jazzed when someone shows up who pays their bills on time... but GIVE ME A BREAK!

I got six "bids" which were all pretty much the same. I actually talked to two people. But I have gotten DOZENS of phone calls and emails from these 6 companies in the last three days. One guy (First Liberty, you know who you are) has called and emailed 6 times after I told him I had chosen to work with someone else. I recognize all their phone numbers now and don't answer...

They are making me insane. After all that, I decided to call a local guy that one of my colleagues had used, and he's locked in the same rate and similar fees. And he's not calling me every five minutes.

two -- count 'em -- two!

2011-03-05T16:10:00.000-08:00

I am just determined to get a bunch of stuff done this year, in between starting all the new projects I want to do. Hence, the UFO challenge in the sidebar. I'm happy to say that my January and February assignments are now complete, although in reverse order...

February's Tic Tac Toe quilt was actually finished in February. The blocks were part of my winnings from the Block Lotto sometime last year. (I have another set of them left to play with, in cooler colors)My husband calls this "tic tac toe on acid" -- wonder how he knows?

And January's quilt is the one I put together for Al last year when he did the sailboat race to Hawaii. I think it's called "Sail Away" or maybe "Bandicoot Goes to Kauai" (Bandicoot is the name of his boat, and I stitched it on the little turquoise boat in the bottom row)
The quilting is all over the place, design-wise -- I did something different in each block. Here's a better look, in the sunlight.
All of these blocks came from a birthday block swap in two little Yahoo groups, with my theme of "wind and water".

green day

2011-03-05T15:57:00.000-08:00

You've seen part of this before... I started working on the blocks a few months ago, but since it's GREEN month for the rainbow scrap challenge I thought I might as well dig it out of the stack and at least finish the top. Right now it's kind of long and skinny, so I'm going to add one more column of blocks on the side, and then I have some random green/cream HSTs that have been languishing from an abandoned project for a couple of years. Finally, I think there will be that 4-colors-of-green-in-one-piece fabric for an outer border. I hope to have the top done in time for St. Paddy's Day!

(edited to add: this quilt is based on Judy Laquidara's free pattern "Peaches and Dreams" -- but my peaches aren't ripe yet...)

random acts of red

2011-02-26T14:29:00.000-08:00

It's red month at the rainbow scrap challenge, and I've waited until pretty much the last minute to get something done -- or at least done to "flimsy" status. I started out by arbitrarily cutting 3-1/2" squares out of all the red scraps that were big enough. Then I started randomly sewing them together until a bigger plan took shape...
And this is how it came out:
The gray sashing is Quilters' Linen, which was in my stash but I hadn't ever used it before. And the outer border was a long strip left over from making a shirt, I think. I think it will get some simple meandering in the 16-patch blocks and some doodles in the sashing and border... one of these days. Ready for the next color now!

By the way -- my new header photo is my starting row for a row robin group project. I hope to have a leafy autumn quilt by the end of the summer.

ALQS5

2011-02-26T13:30:00.000-08:00

The swap is done -- "Another Little Quilt Swap 5" -- and I'm so thrilled! The challenge was to make a very small quilt, about the size of a sheet of copy paper. This was my entry. It's my second version of a mosaic quilt, with straighter seams and a few beads added:
Kate posted photos of all the entries, and then we each sent a list of the ones we liked best and she had the onerous job of sorting things out so that everyone would receive a quilt that they wanted. This was on my list, and was actually my favorite out of all of them:

It was made by Wil Opio Oguta in the Netherlands -- I'd been in an ATC swap with her before and always loved what she came up with. I'm so happy to have it on my wall now!

There will be another swap coming up when Kate catches her breath. If you're interested, watch the ALQS blog for updates.

Mixtape Saturday

2011-02-19T22:58:00.000-08:00

I can't remember if I mentioned that I had won a forest of wonky trees on the December block lott0 -- in any case they've all arrived and today I added a couple of little cabins to fill out the picture. I'm hoping to get these all sewn together on Monday so that I can reclaim the design wall for something else...
This is the February installment of the "Oh My Stars" BOM on Planet Patchwork. Why are blues so difficult to photograph? These look pretty washed out.

Finally, a little knitting -- I made this Fillipi Scarf on the plane on my recent trip to London -- very fast and just one skein of bulky yarn. The pattern tells you to keep going until you have 25 feet of yarn left for the final ruffle and bind-off. Yikes... I ended up finishing with only about 2 inches of yarn leftover to weave in!

I've been slacking off on the UFO and Rainbow Scrap challenges so far this month -- of course there's been that travel time eating up my sewing time... I need to pull out the red scrap bin and see if I can make some progress with it before the end of the month.

Home again

2011-02-12T15:32:00.000-08:00

I had the opportunity to spend a day with Kate in London last Sunday at the Victoria & Albert Museum -- one of my very favorite places. We were surprised to find both the fashion exhibit and the textiles rooms closed -- one for refurbishing and the other for mysterious and undisclosed reasons. The upside of this, for me, was the chance to spend time in two areas I'd missed in the past.

The glass area is a little tricky to find; there's only one staircase in one corner of the museum that goes up to the 5th floor. It's worth the climb, though! Here is a very quilty piece for inspiration:
There's a little mezzanine in the glass room that has this beautiful glass railing --
Here's a closer look. It's made of stacks of glass blocks about an inch thick, threaded on a brass dowel.
And some cute little decorative pieces:
Once you've found the glass, it's only a short staircase up to the ceramics; this area has been remodeled recently. My favorite was this display of small bowls and cups.
After lunch in the museum's cafe, we took a walk through Hyde Park and found a few signs of approaching spring, including sprouting daffodils and this pretty blooming witch hazel bush.
Now for more laundry, and maybe some sewing -- it's been more than a week and I'm suffering from withdrawal!

Where am I?

2011-02-07T06:03:00.000-08:00

Lost in the throes of jet-lag insomnia in London! More to follow when I wake up...
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