All Decked Out

Guilty Pleasures

2012-01-22T13:13:00.000-05:00

There are certain "reality" shows I'm addicted to. Don't get me wrong, I like Downton Abbey, American Masters, and all of those shows that improve my mind. They allow me to pretend that TV really isn't a vast wasteland, and converse intellectually with my friends. There is a special appeal, however, to shows like Swamp Loggers and Hillbilly Handfishing.

I find many of these shows perfect to watch while I sew. Some shows, however, make me really uncomfortable, and are such a train wreck that I can't watch them. Those would be Toddlers and Tiaras, Dance Moms, Bridezilla, and any of the Housewives. Sorry, but the women on those shows should be put in padded rooms somewhere and made to watch reruns of those shows over and over.

The shows I really like involve some sort of contest: Top Chef (and Top Chef Masters), Chopped, HGTV Design Stars, All American Handyman, and Project Runway. LOVE Project Runway, especially the current spin-off Project Runway All Stars (I want to take Mondo home). On a lesser tier are the ones that try to determine America's Best anything: Hairdresser, Dog Groomer, or Accessorizer. Then there are the ones with happy endings, like House Hunters, Say Yes to the Dress, and Holmes on Holmes. I like those too. And the all-time train wreck that I could not stop watching, My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding.

Come on, fess up. What are YOUR guilty TV pleasures.

Snow and Soup

2012-01-21T19:38:00.001-05:00

We had our first real snow here in the northwestern suburbs of Philadelphia. It wasn't much of a snow, but it still made all of the snow reflexes kick in: fill the car's gas tank and park it in the driveway facing out towards the street; get enough food and supplies for an army; bring in firewood to keep it dry; make soup. And after some shoveling, hubby was sure ready for that soup.

I have a couple of go-to soup recipes that are ideal for days like today. Both are based recipes that the lovely owners of our quilting retreat bed and breakfast were kind enough to share. White Oak, the bed and breakfast, is in Lancaster County, PA, in the heart of Amish country; these soups are made for guests by the proprietors' Amish neighbor, Annie.

The soup I made today is Turkey Barley, a rich tomato based soup that uses ground turkey and lots of veggies. As with any good soup, it's nice the first day, but ever so much better the second. One of the great things about this soup is that you can have it ready to serve in just over an hour.

I had a ball of bread dough left in the fridge, along with the caramelized onions I made earlier in the week, so I added some shredded cheese and made a cheese and onion stromboli-like concoction. It was the perfect to a big bowl of soup on a snowy night.

I never make just a single batch of soup; today I quadrupled the recipe. I'll take a big container to daughter Kate and her family tomorrow, pack some up in lunch-sized containers to take to work, make another container for hubby to eat for dinner through the week, and freeze the rest. I do the same thing when I make chili or pasta sauce. To me, having those containers of in the freezer is like having money in the bank.

Here is the recipe for Pat's version of White Oak Turkey Barley Soup.

Getting My Chop On Without the Tears

2012-01-16T08:51:00.002-05:00

My quilting friends have me pegged as a gadget lady. Guilty as charged! Anything to make a process easier or faster, has my name written all over it. This gadgeticy extends to the kitchen s well.

DD Kate had these on her Christmas list. Both of us adore onions. Along with garlic, they are one of our major food groups. Unfortunately, we also suffer from an extreme sensitivity to onion fumes. making it difficult to cut onions, in even the smallest amount, without having to keep wet rags at hand to wipe and sooth our eyes after every slice.

I found the goggles on Amazon at a great price (free shipping with Amazon Prime, heh heh), and ordered 3 pair -- one for Kate, one for my sister Sue, and one por moi. Seriously folks, these have changed my life. I made caramelized onions yesterday, cutting up roughly 8 lbs of onions, and shed nary a tear. Sis used them yesterday as well, even sending me a phone picture of her looking really really silly wearing them, but attesting to their life altering qualities.

If you get a pair, you can look silly too, and then make this recipe for caramelized onions. I LOVE caramelized onions. So good on top of any meat, on burgers or on pizza (my fave)! This recipe would well for cooking the onions to make a dynomite onion soup, too.

Slow Cooker Caremelized Onions

Lots and lots of onions. I use Texas Sweet or Vidalia, but yellow would work just fine.
1 stick of butter (1/4 lb), cut into 8 pieces

Put on your goggles! Slice your onions whichever way you like & dump them in the slow cooker. You can fill it to the top, and pack it tight -- the onions will cook down to less than a third of the original volume. Scatter the butter pieces on the top. Cook on low for about 16 hours. I have a cooker that can be set for 8 or 10 hours on low, so I started it in the early afternoon on 8 hours, then reset it before I went to bed.

How easy is that? We are having pizza tonight, so I'll just make one little pie for me with a schmear of EVOO (extra virgin olive oil), a load of the caramelized onions, some mozzarella & parmesan cheese, and a sprinkling of italian spices. And that little pie will be mine, all mine.

Posse Presents (and some Kaffe)

2012-01-13T18:53:00.001-05:00

I saw some pictures of very small pin cushions on Etsy, and decided they would make good gifts for my quilting friends, those wonderful ladies that form our local Quilting Posse.

Many of those friends meet once a month for an evening of hand stitching. These little pin cushions are designed to be worn like a brooch, and to provide a place for a needle and a few pins; they are about 2.25" - 2.5" across, with those buttons less than the size of a dime. Each one has a pinback sewn on the bottom.

If one is afraid of unwittingly stabbing "the girls" with that needle and/or pins, the pinback can be removed so that the pin cushion sits flat, just looking cute as the dickens. Yep, I kept one for myself too.

I am making progress on the Kaffe wedding quilt. Here are 16 of the 32 square-in-a-square 9 patches that form the center of the quilt.

They will be sashed with a solid yellowish lime green and random colored cornerstones. I'll probably finish the rest the blocks this weekend, along with the sashing, then move on to the courthouse steps border. What a joy to work with all of these lush, saturated colors! It will be a wild quilt when it is done, and very much out of my usual comfort zone. Hopefully my SIL's cousin and his bride will like it.

Impediments to sewing

2012-01-09T06:00:00.001-05:00

Have you seen my foot pedal?

I know it was under my machine just a minute ago.

It's a Mystery

2012-01-08T09:56:00.001-05:00

A few months ago, I got a subscription offer from McCall's Quilting. If I renewed my subscription, I could gift another to a friend for free. I thought of my buddy Marsha, sent off the subscription, and then forgot about it. When the first magazine arrived, Marsha promtly noticed that it contained the first part of a 3-part mystery quilt -- "new & easy", it said, and "only 4 fabrics". Little did I know that doing a mystery quilt was on Marsha's bucket list of quilting things to do. Would I do it with her? Please?

The quilters addiction enablement alarm bell went off in my head; too many project coming up, not sure about the commitment. yada yada yada. But this was Marsha asking. I love Marsha, and I am weak. So very weak.

I also happen to enjoy doing mystery quilts. Although they are not everyone's cup of tea, an occasional mystery is a challenge for me -- an entertaining break, and a chance to do something out of my comfort zone, and now a chance to share the experience with a friend.

The folks at McCalls set everything up quite nicely, especially for a beginner. The hardest part of doing a mystery is choosing the fabrics. How the heck to you pick fabrics when you have no idea where they will be going? This mystery uses only 4 fabrics and there are very clear directions about what values to pick:

Fabric A is a multi-color fabric that will be the focus fabric;
Fabric B is a non-directional tone-on-tone, and is the opposite value of Fabric C (for instance, if you choose light for B, the C will be dark, and vice-versa);
Fabric C is a non-directional small-to-medium scale print that is the opposite value of B;
Fabric D is another fabric that plays well with the others, it can be light or dark, directional or not.

Not only did they give these clues for choosing fabrics, they provided 4 sets of exacmples that their editors had chosen -- this extra step, which I have not seen in other mysteries, made choosing the fabrics ever so much easier.

Here are the fabrics I chose, and my start on the first part of the mystery. I need to do 40 of those hour glass blocks, and 20 of the other block. They are 6" unfinished, and will finish at 5.5".

I think Marsha has hers done already, but I'm not racing -- I'm just enjoying the ride!

By the way, don't let any of my granddaughters see this post. I have a feeling the finished quilt is destined for one of them.

I Need This Like I Need a Hole In The Head

2011-12-23T08:10:00.003-05:00

Random Craft Tutorial. Talk about a time suck -- bet you can't stop at just one, though! Don't say I didn't warn you (evil chuckle).

Geez, thanks Vicki!

A flurry of activity

2011-12-13T23:14:00.001-05:00

I saw a small-ish quilt on the cover of a magazine & decided I really wanted to make it. It was a Christmas quilt without screaming CHRISTMAS -- more of a refreshing winter number. It used Kate Spain's Flurry line of fabric.

The flimsy is off to the long-armer tomorrow in the hopes that I will be able to get it back and bound in time for December 25th. Not sure at this point who will be getting it, but I'm leaning toward my lovely daughter-in-law.

I had a ton of scraps left over, so inspired by Mrs. Goodneedle's post, I got myself some Insul-Bright and hunkered down in the sewing room for a potholder fest. Here are the first two. They were gifted to a dear friend this weekend. Another pair was given to someone at work today, and I've got seven more sets in the works.

Nancy's addicted to making them too! Who knows where all of this potting will lead? Thanks, Mrs. G.!!

A BIG Helping of Cuteness

2011-12-08T20:06:00.003-05:00

I guess some people might think that grandmoms can be annoying, what with all the bragging and picture sharing and such. I don't care. I'm gonna brag and I'm gonna share.

My daughter-in-law's wonderful friends gave her a gift certificate for a professional photo session for baby Owen. The photographer, who is located in Lancaster, PA, is incredibly gifted, even making all of her own props -- the teeny tiny hats, wraps, and such. You can check out the results by going to her web site, then clicking on "client proofs" as the bottom of the page and entering Owen as the password. Talk about tough choices!

I checked out her blog too. Holy talent, Batman!

Quilt Labels

2011-12-02T18:22:00.001-05:00

A few of you commented on my last post, asking what I used to make my quilt labels. The label on Owen's flannel quilt was printed on EQ Printables printable fabric. Packs of the printable fabric are available at many quilt stores, and on-line from the Electric Quilt website or from Amazon. I'm sure there are scads of other on-line vendors as well. It is the best printable fabric that I have found in a pre-packaged format, but it has limitations:

It can be expensive because the tendency is to print one label per sheet. You can actually fit several labels on a sheet, but that takes some planning -- something that my ADQD brain has a hard time with.
It is not as soft as it looks. In order to hold the ink well, it's a very tight weave and somewhat stiff -- although not as stiff as other printable fabrics I've used. I used to hand-sew the labels on, but the fabric is very though to get a needle through, so now I am machine stitching.

I use MS Word to create the label, adding graphics and color just as I would for something I'd be printing on paper. I do several test print-outs on paper just to make sure everything is to my liking; once I am satisfied, I print on the fabric sheet. The printable sheets are the same size as the paper you would normaly use in your printer, and feed through the same way; they have a plastic backing that allows them to keep their shape during the printing process.

The ink on your label needs to dry for 15 minutes after it's been printed. I usually let mine dry overnight. Then the fabric sheet gets soaked in cool water for 10-15 minutes and allowed to dry. Once that's done, I iron the fabric, cut the label out with a rotary cutter, turn the edges under and iron with spray starch or Best Press. All you need to do after that is position it on the back of the quilt and sew it down.

I think I will try something different for my next label. I am told that you can iron freezer paper onto the back of good quality white fabric and run it through your printer in the same manner as the EQ Printables. My white background fabric of choice, and something that I usually buy in quantity, is Southern Belle Premium Muslin, made by Springs Creative. It's used a lot by doll crafters for doll faces and is recommended for quality photo printing on fabric. I get white, but I believe it is available in natural and cream. The reason that it works so well is that it's not dyed and it is 200 thread count (higher thread count means that the ink won't bleed into the fibers). I first fell in love with Southern Belle when I started making quilts for the grandkids and wanted a white background and backing fabric that had a soft hand and crinkled up to a nice, soft antique quilt look. I like it ever so much better than Kona. You can get it by the yard from Joann's and from Nancy's Notions, or here. I'm almost out, and may have to see if I can find a bolt at a good price.

Here are a few of the labels that I've made this way. Suzie Q's Garden label was hand-colored and printed with fabric pencil & a micron pen.

Baby Things

2011-12-01T20:27:00.001-05:00

I make a special flannel quilt for each of my grandchildren. They are meant to be used, loved, put on the floor as a play surface, wrapped around strollered babies, dragged around as a favorite blanky, and washed over and over. Here is Maddie's, and here is Alma's. I'm not sure where the pictures are for Annabelle's and Ians (sorry).

Here is the lastest one, for baby Owen.

I love Valori Wells Flannel. Modern, colorful, and very high quality. If you are looking for a good source for quality flannels (and other fabrics!), try QuiltHome. I have purchased quite a bit of fabric from them and can't say enough positive things; great service, fast shipping, and just awesome communication.

I also made a dozen burp clothes, or "burpsters". They are meant for heavy use & will stand up to lots and lots of washing. The plain ones are flannel on both sides, sandwiched with a layer of thin (Joann's) flannel & lightly quilted. The super soft ones (the ones my daughter loves) are flannel on one side, and a fleecy fabric (from Joann's) on the other, sandwiched with thin flannel and lightly quilted. They are super soft and just so cozy for baby to put his face on when he's being held over your shoulder.

Owen's Burpsters

Super (fuzzy) Burpster

Plain Burpster

Kate likes the burpsters so much she asked me to make 2 sets of 4 each for up-coming baby showers. Now I need to get busy on those crib sheets: two cotton/one flannel for Owen, and two flannel for Alma. I'll post pix when they are finished.

Owen Thomas Deck

2011-11-27T16:24:00.001-05:00

I finally got some good pictures of the little peanut. He looks like a clone of his big brother, Ian. My DIL Jamie says he is the most calm and most laid back baby of her entire brood. And dollars to doughnuts, Mrs. Goodneedle, and Nancy, he's going to be a redhead too.

Rainy Day

2011-11-22T13:29:00.000-05:00

Chilly, rainy, day off from work. Just the right kind of day for doing laundry and having a cup of soup and a sammie made with my special tuna salad. And binding baby Owen's flannel quilt. And watching the DVD series, Why Quilts Matter. Excellent binding-on-a-rainy-day-after-eating-a tuna-sammie entertainment!

A Racey Post

2011-11-20T09:59:00.004-05:00

Jelly Roll Races, that is! Actually, there was no racing involved, since everything was done in the quiet of my own sewing room, and the stop watch stayed in the drawer.

I'm sure you have read about the idea of a Jelly Roll Race, or Jelly Roll 1600 quilt top. I've been intrigued with the concept for a while, but wasn't juiced enough to try it until I saw this post on Jackie's blog. The race part wasn't what did it, it was the no-brainer simplicity.

Take a jelly roll, or the cut-from-your-stash strip equivalent, sew the strips together, end-to-end as you would for binding, then fold the whole darned 1600" length in half to stitch along one edge, cut along one side & repeat the fold/stitch/cut routine until you have a quilt top. You don't have any control over where the strips will land in the finished top, so there is no point in trying to plan the strip sewing order. Ridiculously easy.

Some of the finished tops in Jackie's post, just did not speak to me -- they looked a bit choppy. They were still nice tops, but not what I was looking to make. The ones I did like, however, were the batik tops, and one that was done with all black and white prints. I think the trick is to not use so much glaring color contrasts, and to use fabrics with good texture.

So how did mine turn out? The first one was great. It is intended for my nephew and his fiance. Their living room needs some color --it's your basic beige, with a brown sofa and one picture with some teal in it on the wall. I picked a Bali Pop that had blues, teals and some browns. I liked the way it turned out. When it's folded and draped on the back of the sofa, it will bring a lot of color to the room.

Flush with success, I tried another, this time featuring a Bali Pop that had purples in it, for my purple-loving niece. It did not turn out well. Similar colors were lumped together, and a number of the diagonal joins ended up in stacked in rows instead of scattered over the surface. I think that may have been because I strayed from the magic formula & stuck in one or two additional strips. Then it struck me. Why not cut it in sections and re-piece it so that the flaws were not so obvious? It worked.

OK, so those diagonal joins are still there on the bottom right, but it looks a whole lot better than it did.

Would I do another one? Less than 3 hours for a good sized top? Yep, I would. I'm wondering what cutting some of the strips in half or into differing sizes would do to the finished layout. I'm also wondering what a whole bunch of Kaffe Fassett fabrics would look like, especially if I stayed with one color family. Seriosly folks, it's questions like these that keep me up at night.

Here are some random Jelly Roll Race links: here, here, here (where they do a variation by putting a 2.5" square between each strip), and here.

Yowzer! Happiness Abounds!

2011-11-19T11:08:00.001-05:00

First, let me introduce you to Owen Thomas Deck, the newset Deckette.

He was expected somewhere around Decemeber 4th, but decided Wednesday, Novemeber 16th, was more to his liking. Weighing in at a not-to-shabby 6 lbs, 6 oz, he measured a very looong 21". Master Owen joins Mommy and Daddy Deck (Jamie and Andy), and siblings Annabelle (almost 6), Ian (not quite 5), and Maddie (19 months).

And, on another very happy note, my niece Jessie Lynne Grasso became engaged to to Jordan Grater on Thursday.

They are two absolutely wonderful people, as perfect a couple as they look in their picture. No wedding date yet for JG2, but my sister is going to have a very very busy time ahead. Step-son Jesse Michael is getting married in May, and son JJ's wedding is in October.

So, what do you think I will be doing in the upcoming months???

ABin5

2011-11-13T17:28:00.000-05:00

That's Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day. If you are a fan of fresh, home-made bread, you have to try it. It's nothing short of a revolution in bread making.

Basically, you take all of 5 minutes to dump your water, yeast, salt/sugar and flour into a large plastic container (a dough bucket). You mix it up with a big ol' wooden spoon until everything is incorporated, then you let it sit at room temp for about 90 minutes. You can then cut off a hunk right then and there to bake, or you can just put that bucket of dough in the fridge for up to 2 weeks, cutting off a hunk whenever the mood strikes, and bake a nice little loaf. No kneeding. No double-rising. Wish I could say No calories, but that ain't happenin'.

The only special equipment you need is a big plastic container, a pizza/baking stone (I just leave mine in the oven all the time), and a pizza/bread peel. You can substitute a rimless cookie sheet, or even a cookie sheet turned over for the peel.

Yeast, bread flour and a little cornmeal (to put on the peel under your ball of dough to make it slide off easily) are the basic ingredients.

I have all three of the books, and to say they are the best thing since sliced bread is an understatement. The newest book, Artisan Pizza and Flatbread in Five Minutes a Day, has a method for making pizza dough that keeps in the fridge, and has you making your pizza in 10 minutes. OK, that doesn't include the time to heat the oven.

Now I've also got all kinds of specialty flours, like wheat, rye and pumpernickle, as well as a number of nifty things to make my bread even more yummy and healthy. My favorite place to get all of these if King Arthur Flour. My local supermarket carries a number of the King Arthur Flours, but not the really cool stuff like vital wheat gluten, wheat berries, deli rye flavor, or Artisan Bread Topping.

Check out the blog and check out the videos. Winter's coming -- there's nothing like a big pot of soup and some home made bread to warm you up!

Hallelujah!!

2011-11-12T17:29:00.000-05:00

My friend Jan send this like to me in an email. Done like you've never seen before! This video from the small Yupiq Eskimo Village of Quinhagak, Alaska , was a school computer project intended for the other Yupiq villages in the area. To the surprise of the villagers, over a half million people have viewed it! Enjoy!

In Flanders Field

2011-11-11T17:21:00.000-05:00

In Flanders Fields

By: Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD (1872-1918)

Canadian Army

In Flanders Fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses row on row,

That mark our place; and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved and were loved, and now we lie

In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw

The torch; be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

In Flanders fields

McCrae's "In Flanders Fields" remains to this day one of the most memorable war poems ever written. It is a lasting legacy of the terrible battle in the Ypres salient in the spring of 1915. Hostilities in that "War To End All Wars" did not cease until the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918.

We set aside this day to remember all who have served, and all who continue to serve, to preserve our freedom. Originally called Armistice Day, the day is now commemorated here in the United States as Veterans Day, and in Britain and Canada as Rememberance Day. The poppy, which bloomed in blood red profusion across the fields of Flanders, has come to symbolize the sacrifice of those who gave their lives.

When Bad Fabric Choices Happen to Good Quilters

2011-10-23T13:38:00.000-04:00

Maybe a better title would be "Second Guessing: A Quilter's Guide to Monday Morning Quarterbacking".

Mystery quilts are always a challenge. Usually the author of the mystery will give you clues up front, such as which fabric is your focus fabric, and which is your background. Those clues get you started, but you still need to really understand fabric values as well since the rest of the fabric requirements are things like ".5 yards of a medium light; 1.0 yards of a medium dark". If you are a newer quilter, this can be very challenging, and the results aren't always what you might have hoped for.

I did a mystery quilt a number of years ago, back before I had developed a network of experienced quilting friends and before I had a good understanding of fabric choices. Yes, I knew what a batik was, and I could see that Amy Butler and Kaffe Fasset fabrics were different than traditional fabrics, but I couldn't tell a Civil War repro from a 30's repro.

I picked my focus fabric based on some colors I liked, ones that would look good in my Family room.

Then I picked fabrics that would pull some of those colors. Unfortunately, I wasn't very good at picking the right values, and unwittingly picked a bunch of CW repros that didn't exactly match the feel of the focus fabric.

That darker paisley just doesn't contrast enough with the dark green, and my white-on-white backgroud was nice, but not for this quilt. It probably should have been an off-white to blend with the focus fabric better.

I'd gotten the quilt backing on sale, and whereas it picked up the colors, it was a whole n'other genre.

I finished the top, and liked the overall pattern, but had a mixed vibe about the whole package. In the mean time, my friend Nancy had turned me on to Civil War repros, so now the idea of those repro fabrics next to the other fabrics didn't sit well. I guess I was afraid the Quilt Police would come knocking at my door.

So the flimsey and the backing sat on a shelf. I found them a few weeks ago and decided to take them to my local longarmer along with some other UFOs -- what the heck, I'd put all that time into it. Maybe she would wave her magic bobbin and make (as my mother was fond of saying) a silk purse out of a sow's ear. At the very least, it would be something to throw on the floor for the grandbabies to crawl on.

As it turns out, the darned thing isn't bad. Is it my most favoritest quilt in the world? No, but damned if my hubby doesn't LOVE it.

When I hinted that I might be giving it away, he got quite the hurt look on his face and started rambling about how much he loved the colors, the deep, rich tones, and crispness of the pattern. It was then that I realized that I am my own worst critic -- we quilters are our own worst critics. Who cares if the fabric genres clash? Who cares if that background is a little too white? Why do we kill ourselves with Monday morning quarterbacking when we should just let go and bask in the warmth of someone else's appreciation?

I don't have a name for this quilt (any suggestions??), but I do have a home for it. It's folded on the back of Hubby's favorite rocking chair in the family room, and I wouldn't be surprised if he and the cat wrap up in it tonight while they read. It may not be my cup o' tea, but if it makes him happy, that's alright by me!

Mystery UFO

2011-10-17T07:20:00.000-04:00

I met Kimberly, author of the Jelly Roll Quilt Magic giveaway book, a number of years ago at the Lancaster. PA quilt show. I'd signed up to take her Mystery Quilt class called Pinweels and Flying Geese. The quilt from that class became Pinwheels for Ian, a gift for that red-headed young man over there on the right side of the screen. I was new to quilting, and that was only the third quilt I had ever made. The class was the start of a friendship as well as a love an interest in doing mystery quilts.

Every once in a while, Kimberly would do a mystery quilt on her web site, with the fabric requirements being published on week #1, then various "clues" each week thereafter. For one of the mysteries, I threw caution to the wind and decided to try batiks on black. It was fun, I finished all but the outside borders in short order, then my ADQD took over & I flitted to another project. That UFO took its place on the shelf with all too many other UFOs, staying there until earlier this month.

Then came September's Philly Modern Quilt Guild meeting. They announced that the project for the October meeting was to complete a UFO, bring it to the meeting, and share. Out came that old mystery quilt, on went the borders, zip zip went the pieced back, and off to the local long-armer it flew. I picked it up on Friday and completed binding this weekend. It finished at about 60" x 60". When you take that leap of faith, throwing caution to the wind and picking fabrics for a mystery quilt, you just never know how it's going to turn out. For that reason, I called this one "Who knew?".

DH really likes it, I think because he's very attracted to Amish quilts, and it has that bright-color-on-black look. It will hang in the family room for a while.

Please don't let anyone from my guild know -- it's supposed to be a surprise. Denise and Bobbi, your lips are sealed, right?

Engaging

2011-10-16T07:00:00.012-04:00

My sister, Sue, is 9 years younger than I. My kids are both married and raising families, but my darling sister is just starting out on the wedding journeys. Her son, JJ became engaged to a wonderful girl named Jamie in September. Aren't they cute?

Sue is hosting an engagement party in a few weeks so that Jamie's family, who are from New Jersey and New York, can meet our family here in Pennsylvania. It should be lots of fun.

I'm never sure what the gift protocol is for an engagement party. There will be a shower closer to the wedding most certainly, and of course the wedding itself next October. Their wedding quilt is already planned and the fabric purchased, but what to do for the engagement party?

I decided to make a couple of table runners. My idea is that I will get them started on a collection of seasonal table runners to kick start their holiday decorating. For the engagement party, I'll give them a this Fall runner,

and this one to grace their table at Christmas.

I'll continue that theme for the wedding shower and make runners for other occassions, like Valentine's day, St. Patrick's Day (Miss Jamie is Irish!!), Spring and Summer. Someone else can bring the crockpot and blender.

Let's Give it up for the Giveaway!!

2011-10-14T19:56:00.031-04:00

Aren’t giveaways fun? We all enjoy a contest and the thrill of winning, but there’s a lot to be said for giving as well.

There were 100 comments posted on my giveaway blog. Some were from old friends, but the vast majority were from people I didn’t know.

Some of you are from my home state of Pennsylvania, but you're also from Florida, Maine, North and South Carolina, Alabama, Colorado, Texas, Idaho, California, Oregon, and Wisconsin, to name a few. Many of you live in far-away places: Canada, British Columbia, France, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Sri Lanka.

You are a mix of young and seasoned, grand/great grandparents, parents, workers, retirees, singles, marrieds, knitters, scrapbookers, gardeners, ranch hands, avid readers, city dwellers, country folk, and denizens of the beach. You have dogs, cats, chickens, cows and horses.

We even had our requisite male quilter (hi, Gene!). Some of you have been quilting for years and years; others for just a few months.

Many of you have blogs of your own, and I visited every single one. Wow, what a talented group you are! Such great ideas and such beautiful quilts! You are funny, you are thoughtful, you are sharing, but most of all you love to quilt. It has been a pleasure peeking into your corner of the universe!

I printed out all of your comments.

I sliced across the pages until I had 100 slips of paper, each with a separate comment. I made extra slips for those of you who also posted about my giveaway on your blog.

While I was waiting for my painfully slow computer to download and install Windows Updates, I folded each and every one of those slips of paper into eighths.

Then I put them in a big old plastic dough bucket and shook it like crazy.

I’m not a hat person, so I took the hood from my winter coat & dumped the slips in there. Why the hood? Since Junior was doing the picking, I thought he might appreciate a something that looked like it was trimmed in squirrel (or maybe even groundhog).

Anyway, I put a piece of sticky tape on Junior’s paw, he put his paw in the hat, and came up with……………

Michele!!!! Michele is from Florida. She's a stay at home mom, with 2 boys, and has a blog called IslandLife Quilts. Her comment said:

Winning a copy of this book would be great! You ordering two copies was a happy accident for visitors to your blog :-) Using Jelly Rolls saves lots of time and cutting....I don't like cutting...and they are just nice to look at before you take them apart!! I have a few in a basket in my dining room :-)

I'll be sending Michele an email to get her mailing address; the book and rulers should be on their way to her next week.

Thanks so much to ALL of you for stopping by! I've enjoyed meeting you, and will continue to pop in on your blogs. I sure hope you'll pop in on mine every once in a while.

Happy Anniversary!

2011-10-12T12:54:00.000-04:00

Happy Cottage Quilter just posted about Singer's 160th anniversary website. There's lots of historical information about Singer, (and a plug for their new machine, of course), but the real purpose of the site is to allow Singer owners to share their stories. As of the last count, there were over 1,200! The other thing that the website allows you to do is register you pre-1970 Singer machine by typing in the serial number and your name. Once you do that, you will be able to download a PDF certificate that shows the year your machine was "born". Here is the link: My Singer Story

My story is not nearly as compelling as many of the others that are posted. I don't come from a family of women who sewed. I don't have my grandmother's machine. I started sewing in college because I needed to make some clothes that were presentable for student teaching, but I never got into it much until my children were little. Again, it was mostly necessity that got me making clothes for the kids. I didn't start quilting until 6 years ago when my daughter decided she wanted Vera Bradley type bags for her bridesmaids, and I became PattiCakes, the Crazy Bag Lady.

One thing led to another. I bought a new Bernina, took some quilting classes at the store where I purchased it, and Pat, the ADQD* quilter was born. I kept hearing ladies in those classes talking about Featherweights. How great they were for traveling. What a nice stitch they made. How every serious quilter HAD to have one. DH, who is addicted to flea markets and antiques, got interested in them too. Here I thought he was just letting my ramblings about quilting and machines go in one ear and out the other. Au contraire!

The morning of our 32nd wedding anniversary, I came stumbling downstairs, looking for a cup of coffee, only to find Baby. She was sitting on top of an antique sewing stand and was sporting a big blue bow. I don't know what touched my heart more, the fact that I had been given this wonderful present or the fact that DH had actually LISTENED to my ramblings and gone out of his way to find this very very special present. My Bernina mostly lives in the sewing room, but it's Baby who goes to classes, retreats, quilt days with our quilting posse, to my kids' homes when I babysit, and on vacation. I even bought her a folding table so she can help me sit in front of the fireplace in the winter and sew. She was born in 1951, Singer's 100th anniversary, and is what's called a "centennial". Machines made during that year sported a special, blue-rimmed oval seal on the front to commemorate the milestone.

Now, of course, DH fancies himself somewhat of a FW guru, and is always on the look out for them when he's out prowling the markets. And I've turned into somewhat of an Evangelical Featherweighter, spreading the word of what great little machines they are.

Do you have an older Singer? What's YOUR story? Go check out the website and download your certificate. Thanks again to Happy Cottage Quilter for speading the word!

* ADQD: Attention Deficit Quilting Disorder

The Angst of the No Reply Blogger

2011-10-11T20:28:00.001-04:00

Junior, my #1 Quilting Inspector, is very unhappy. I woke him up out of a sound sleep, with my agitated grumbling. OK, my loud swearing. It seems that a number of you are "no reply bloggers"!

What, might you ask, is a no reply blogger? Well...........

All comments made on my blog are automatically emailed to me, and if you have the correct settings in your Blogger profile, your email address comes with it, allowing me to reply directly to you via email. If your settings aren't correct, you are a no reply blogger. Instead of a real return email address, I get an address that says noreply-comment@blogger.com.

Not thecatatemyfabric@yahoo.com, not rumplequiltkin@comcast.net, but noreply-comment@blogger.com.

What the heck??

I enjoy replying to the comments made on my blog. I can't always reply to them all, but I'm trying to spend a little time every few days replying to comments. So if you haven't received a reply to your comments on my blog -- especially on my giveaway post -- that probably means you're a no-reply blogger. Here's how to fix it, if you're so inclined:

In blogger.com, click on Dashboard.

Select Edit Profile.
Check the box for "Show my Email Address."
Save changes.

Easy peasy. Now go fix your settings and make Junior happy. Having a ticked off cat in my sewing room is not my idea of a good time. And you won't like it either if you win the giveaway drawing and I can't contact you! Yikes!

Finding Homes

2011-10-10T08:00:00.001-04:00

I love when quilts finally find their homes. Two little ones did just that on Saturday. We went to visit my son and his wife in Sinking Spring, PA, taking along a couple of small quilts that began this summer.

The first is a Schnibble pattern, and will go on the wall in my granddaughter Maddie's room. Maddie is 19 months old, very much her own person, and loves bright colors. I name all of my quilts, so this one is "Maddie's Picnic". I'm sorry that part of the quilt is washed out in the bright sun, but this is where my official quilt holders wanted to stand.

That's Annabelle (she'll be 6 in February), and Ian (he'll be 5 in March),
showing off their baby little sister's quilt.

The second is a flag I made using Civil War repro fabrics. The blocks are little tumblers cut with the Accuquilt Go! cutter. I thought son Andy would put it in his office, but he decided it's going above the fireplace in his family room. It's called "O'er the Land of the Free" in honor of the fact that Andy is pursuing the American dream by starting his own company.

And here is Miss Madeline herself, kissing her daddy. There is no quilt in the picture, but it was too darned cute not to post.

The next project is a flannel baby quilt and a bunch of burpers for #4 -- a baby brother, due December 4th. My daughter-in-law is a saint!

More Jelly

2011-10-09T09:13:00.000-04:00

I'm not shy about admitting that I have ADQD (Attention Deficit Quilting Disorder), and those darned jelly rolls make it sooooo easy to start a new project at the flick of a rotary cutter. Here's the latest little project that called to me from the cover of the November-December issue of McCall's Quilting. One jelly roll, plus the extra yardage for the background, sashing and border, would make two tops. I betcha you could make the quilt more of a table-topper size by just doing away with that wide outside border. Looks like a couple of quick holiday presents to me!

Thanks so much to all of you who put your name in the hat for my Jellyroll Quilt Magic giveaway. I'm not having much luck training the cat, but have made great progress teaching my hubby. He's been practicing & will be ready to pull a name on Thursday night : )

FREE BEER!

2011-10-06T19:13:00.002-04:00

OK, it's not free beer, but it is a giveaway! Lots of the bloggers I follow have hosted giveaways, but this is my very first. I’m giving up my giveaway virginity!!

In my last post, I told you about my friend Kimberly, who has written her second jelly roll book. Her first, Jelly Roll Quilts and More, was wonderful; I’ve made many quilts from her patterns, all of which went together easily, finished beautifully, and were quite satisfying to do. Her new book, Jelly Roll Quilt Magic, continues where the first book left off – and it is a doozie. It takes jelly roll creativity to a whole ‘nother level. The patterns are more challenging, but oh the quilts you can create!

Just to let you know how good this book is, thinking about it kept me up most of last night. Yep, I was tossing and turning because all kinds of ideas for fabric combinations kept running through my head. First there was the Amish-ish Lone Star quilt using solid brights on black to go over the fire place in my son’s new house. Then there was the Autumn Leaves quilt in batiks, and that really pretty Christmas quilt.......

I have a copy of Kimbery’s book to give away!! As it turns out, I was sooooo anxious to get it, I pre-ordered it twice from Amazon. My mistake is your good fortune! I am making the deal even sweeter by including two companion rulers created by Kimberly. They make using jelly rolls and pre-cuts so much easier: the Easy Star and Geese Ruler, and the Simpli-EZ Jelly Roll Ruler.

So what do you have to do to be eligible for this fabulous jelly package? Just post a comment on my blog telling me why you like working with jelly rolls, or why you would like to try working with them. If you want an extra chance at winning, post about my giveaway on your blog and include that info in your comment to me. How easy can it get? You have until Thursday night, October 13th, to enter. I will be spending the rest of the week training my cat to pull a name out of a hat.

DISCLAIMER: For those who might be wondering, although Kimberly is a friend, she is not in any way sponsoring this giveaway. This is strictly my deal. When I run across something I like and think will make life easier for my fellow quilters, I am not shy about promoting it.

Magic!!!

2011-09-30T20:50:00.002-04:00

My friend Kimberly is a gifted teacher, a talented quilter, a very funny lady and one of the sweetest people I know. She's also the author of a new book, Jellyroll Quilt Magic. I've made quite a few quilts from her other book focusing on precuts -- Jellyroll Quilts and More -- and have been looking forward to this new baby for quite a while.

Go check out Kimberly's website, learn a little more about her book, and sign up for a chance to win your very own copy of Jellyroll Quilt Magic.

While you are there, watch her video on the Easy Stars Wall Hanging. It's a super easy project & makes a very fast holiday table topper gift when done up in Christmas prints.

Runnerish

2011-09-11T13:10:00.002-04:00

Phillies fans certainly remember Whitey Ashburn's term for when a baserunner looked he was going to steal a base -- he's turn to Harry Kalas and say: "Harry, he looks runnerish."

Well, I've been runnerish lately myself. Not because I'm stealing bases, but because I've been making table runners. They are a nice diversion because give me the satisfaction of seeing a finished product quickly and can be quilted on my Bernina easily. In addition, they sit right out there on the table, ready to be admired, 24/7.

The first runner was the one I made while I was on vacation. You can see it here. The second was a much smaller one that I forgot to photgraph (duh, bang head on table & groan), but which was lots of fun. It used a tool called Lil' Twister. Jackie, at Canton Village Quilt Works, has a very nice tutorial here. It was constructed with a charm pack of Awesome (Sandy Gervais, Moda). Very Fall-ish, and it now graces my DIL's dining room table. Maybe she will take a picture of it for me.

Last of the current runner crop is a version of one that I've made a number of times, each time in Christmas fabrics. It's not a super easy pattern, rather it requires some focus and attention, but the results are worth it. I used a pattern by Terry Atkinsion called Hollywood Boulevard. Atkinson Designs produces a whole bunch of great patterns, with excellent instructions. You might remember the famous Zippy Strippy bags -- those are from one of her patterns as well. Anyway, here is the pattern:

And here is my latest version:

I'm not usually one for fabrics with metalic accents, but really like them for these Christmas table runners. This particular runner is for my daughter, who was bemoaning the fact that "Mom, everyone has one but me"; hers is the 4th I've done so far. I have one more to make, a present for my nephew's up-coming engagement party. Betcha that one won't be the last, though.

Thundernation!

2011-08-18T20:52:00.000-04:00

The weather here in Eastern PA has been very strange all week -- heavy rain, no rain, big booming thunder, sunshine, humidity you could cut with a knife, and cool, pleasant breezes.

We've got a real boomer going on outside right now, great flashes of lightening, and loud, growling thunder. Maggie the Wonder Dog (heart of gold, brain of dust) is terrified of thunder. I swear she can hear it when it's thundering in Maine. Before she got arthritic, she used to jump into the bed with us and try to get under the covers. Right now she is squeezed under the computer desk, wedged between my legs and attempting to burrow into my skin. I gave up trying to sew because she sat on my feet (and the foot pedal) and stuck so close to my legs that she kept tripping me when I got up to iron. Poor Maggie Mae.

Summer Pasta

2011-07-30T19:56:00.004-04:00

Boing! Boing! You can almost hear those 'maters popping on the vine. We seem to have a very good crop this year of Bountiful 100's (cherry tomatoes), Italian plum tomatoes, Better Girls, and whatever else Mr. Green Jeans decided to plant. They are coming in all at once, and hubby is trying to pick them before the birdies peck too many holes in them!

My dad used to make a Summer pasta sauce that was quick, easy, required no cooking, and made good use of all of those yummy 'maters. Soory, but the "recipe" has no specific quantities. My dad was an eyeball cook, usually dumping things in a bowl until it looked right; I cook the same way.

You'll need:

• Tomatoes. Lots of tomatoes.

• Green onions, chopped, with both white and green parts

• Garlic, minced

• Fresh basil, minced

• EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)

• Balsamic vinegar

• Red Wine vinegar

• any other seasoning you like. I use fresh ground pepper, a little sea salt, Mrs. Dash Lemon pepper, and some of Penzey's Tuscan Sunset. If you've got fresh oregano (or dry), that works too.

• pasta. We are currently on a whole wheat kick, but any pasta will do.

Cut up the tomatoes. I cut the cherries into halves or quarters, depending on the size, and the other tomatoes into a large dice. I don't peel them. Throw in the onions, basil and garlic to taste. How much garlic do I use? Let's just say that there will never be a vampire in my neighborhood. If you have a surplus of zucchini or yellow squash, cut those into a small dice, or into very thin slices, and add those too.

Add EVOO, a splash of balsamic, and a little more of the red wine vinegar. You don't want the vinegar to scream at you, but you do want to taste the bite in the background. You want enough liquid in with the tomatoes to enrobe the pasta nicely later on. Add other spices to taste. Mix well, cover, and let sit at room temp for at least 3 hours. You want all of those flavors to become very very good friends. Yes, you can refrigerate overnight, but bring it back to room temp before you use it.

Cook your pasta. Don't overcook -- it should be al dente. Drain, put the quantity you want into a bowl & mix in ladlefuls of the room temperature tomato mixture. Top with freshly grated parmesan (or other sharp Italian cheese), and fresh pepper. My hubby likes to add those dried hot pepper flakes.

That's it! A super easy, make-ahead meal that has all of the wonderful flavors of summer. You can add a grilled protein (chicken, shrimp, or left over thinly sliced steak), but that's not necessary. Tonight I'll probably add a handful of the chickpeas I cooked up earlier in the week -- they will add some interesting texture. A loaf of crusty bread and a nice Chianti make the meal. Hubby can take me out for a Rita's after!

Hurray for the Red White and Blue

2011-07-26T13:00:00.010-04:00

My friend Kathy's son, Sam, is in the military. Kathy loves everything that's red, white and blue, and is a true, flag-waving quilt momma. When I first met her, she was piecing a gajillion HSTs to go into a magnificent flag-themed quilt for her son. I admired that quilt (heck, I coveted that quilt), so she knew I was attracted to patriotic themes as well. She sent me a picture of a flag made with tumbler blocks. I loved it. I thought, wouldn't this be a great thing to make with my Accuquilt Go! Cutter?

So when Kathy's church hosted a Quilt Day on Saturday, I thought it was the perfect project to try. Here's the result:

I used Civil War repro fabrics, but you could use any combo of R,W & B. As a matter of fact, my hubby is not fond of these reds ("too brown", he says) and is pushing me to make another flag with brighter reds and brighter blues. The other revision that I would make would be to increase the size of the field of blue by expanding it by one row to the right and one row down.

The finished flag measures approximately 35.5" x 26". Once it's quilted, I plan to bind it in a muted goldish print, keeping the wavy edges rather than cutting them straight.

The tumblers are cut using the 3.5" tumbler die for the Go!/Baby Go! cutter. For the revised flag, you will need:

15 dark blue tumblers

15 medium blue tumblers

57 assorted red tumblers

50 assorted white/cream with red tumblers

When you lay out the blocks, pay attention to putting lighter blocks next to darker ones to give the flag an undulating effect.

I am so pleased with the result, that I think I will send it to the Accuquilt folks.

ADDENDUM: I went on the Accuquilt forum and someone else had a flag picture posted. It wasn't nearly as nice (she said shamelessly), being made with a solid white and a solid red, and 2 different blues, but it was there none the less. Y'all (sorry, in Philly we say "Youz") are welcome to make your very own variation too!

When I finished the flag at Quilt Day, all of the other quilters broke out into a rousing rendition of God Bless America, complete with harmony and salutes. Indeed!

Spray it!

2011-07-25T17:00:00.007-04:00

I'm addicted to spray starch. I just love using it on my quilt blocks, and love spraying away as I put a quilt top together. Yep, I use steam too, but spray starch is my real best friend.

My very favorite is Mary Ellen's Best Press, in the linen or lavender scents, but it can be pricey. Amazon has the best price that I could find. I have Amazon Prime, and shipping is free, so the cost is the net cost. It's $11.84 for a 16 oz spray bottle ($ .74/oz); $14.95 for a 32 oz bottle ($ .46/oz); and a gallon (120 oz) jug for $38.63 ($ .32/oz). It's probably cheaper at your LQS or craft store, but it's still not inexpensive.

On the other hand, good old Niagra Spray Starch is $2.29 for a 22 oz bottle, or $ .10/oz. I buy it when I see it on sale, and usually three bottles at a time -- one for my sewing room ironing, one for my laundry room ironing, and one as a back up.

I have a good friend who recommends spray sizing instead of the starch. She is in the habit of washing, ironing & starching her fabrics before adding them to her stash. Her hubby was in the military, so she's packed up and moved that stash more times than she could count. Well, starch is cornstarch-based, corn starch attracts little buggies, and my friend learned the hard way that spray sizing was the ticket, not spray starch. I could only find the sizing in an aerosol can, but prefer to stick to non-aerosol if it's available.

I don't usually pre-wash, so I'm OK with starch, but if you are a washer/ironer/storer, you might want to stick with the sizing. Are you a starch-oholic?

Hot Schnibbles

2011-07-24T18:17:00.001-04:00

We are roasting here in the North East, but I've been doing a lot of sewing. More for selfish reasons than anything else since my sewing room is one of only two rooms in our house with air conditioning!

Anyway, I've got one completed Schnibble, and one flimsy Schnibble to show for it. The first is based on the Dulcinea pattern, but with a few extra blocks added to make it a rectangle instead of a square. I'm not sure if I will hang it on my office wall at work or if it will be a table runner here at home. I had fun practicing my free-motion machine quilting on it.

The fabric is mostly Tweet Tweet, by Kieko for Moda, but there are some interlopers as well. Lesson: if you are going to commit to using one line of fabric charm packs for a pattern, get an extra pack. By the time you almost finished, and figure out you are short a few pieces, the charm pack will be out of circulation and you will be up quilters' creek without a seam ripper.

The second is a flimsy that will probably be going to my friendly, local long-armer with a few other small pieces. It's the Picnic pattern, and is made with fabric from Me and My Sister for Moda. I just love the colors, and could work with stuff from those two sisters all day long. Happy Happy fabric. I have a crisp turquoise and white plaid for the binding. It's a wall hanging, destined for Miss Maddie's room, which is in shades of ocean blues.

If you want something interesting to watch while you are sewing, and have HBO OnDemand, you might want to check out The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency. Bobbi (used to be no blog but might be succumbing to bloggification) recommended it. Loved the first (pilot) episode, and can't wait to watch more!

Under Pressure

2011-07-17T14:04:00.001-04:00

When I was growing up, pressure cookers were objects of fear. All those tales of PCs blowing up, dontcha know. I've even got a friend who still bears the scars from a nasty accident she had while she was stationed in Germany with her husband and tried using a pressure cooker to do canning. Well, it's a new era for pressure cookers, and boy can they be mamma's little helper!

Actually, cooks here in the US just don't seem to use pressure cookers much, although they are a great energy-saving essential in many countries. A single pressure cooker, using a small, single heat source, can cook an amazing, multi-course meal. They are a staple in many Indian kitchens, for instance. I still have some residual fear of the old stove-top kind, but when I saw this on QVC a number of years ago, I took the plunge. It's electric, and about the same size as a 6 quart slow cooker.

I just love this thing. For some recipes, like those for stews and pot roasts, it produces a much tastier result than a slow-cooker. My non-scientific brain attributes this to the pressure pushing all those flavors into the meat (picture tiny men, with hammers, pounding the flavor in). You CAN'T turn it on in the morning and come back 8-10 hours later to a pot full of whatever like you can with a slow cooker, but if you prep your ingredients ahead of time, you CAN have a very tasty, used-to-take-forever meal in about 1/3 the time it would take on the stove top. And because it's electric, your kitchen isn't 500 degrees hotter. Beef stew in the PC, is outstanding, as is pot roast and sauerbraten.

This morning I made black beans, ranchero style. From scratch. Dry beans are cheap, cheap, cheap, and are wonderfully versatile. This bag o' beans cost anywhere from $ .99 to $1.29 where I live.

Since I restrict the salt in my diet, making beans from scratch eliminates all that nasty sodium you get from the canned kind. And you don't have that suspicious, gooey sludge that the beans are packed in. The menu today called for black beans, but I've done pinto beans for chili, kidney beans for red beans & rice, great northern beans for fantabulous picnic baked beans, and garbanzo beans (a.k.a. chick peas) for hummus. Do you know how good home-made hummus is? And beans, combined with certain other foods (like rice) make a complete protein. It would do us all good to eat less meat, no?

Here's my recipe for black beans, ranchero style.

Patti's Pressure Cooker Black Beans

1 bag of black beans
water
a container of fresh salsa (I use mild, from the refrigerated section of my grocery store. If you are brave, you can use medium, hot, or even chipotle)
cooked bacon, drained and crumbled
liquid* -- enough to not quite cover the beans

Dump the beans into a pot & add enough water to cover them by about 3". Bring to a boil, remove from heat & cover. Let them soak for 45 minutes, then drain.

Put the beans in the pressure cooker, along with the salsa, the bacon, and enough liquid to not quite cover them. You just want some of those bean heads poking through the surface. What kind of liquid can you use? I usually use a mix of water and chicken stock (home made, or low sodium), and sometimes add a touch of beer if I'm feeling frisky. Beef or veggie stock might be good too, or a little V8.

Put the cover on the cooker and set on high for 15-17 minutes. Bigger beans (pinto, kidney, calico, lima) take a little longer, but I usually don't set it for more than 20 minutes. Hit "Start", then go do something else, like chain piece or cut fabric. The 15-17 minutes is actually the time it takes to cook once the appliance has achieved the necessary pressure; it translates to about 25-30 minutes elapsed cooking time. Let the cooker cool down, release the pressure & open it up. Yum.

The variations are endless. You can leave out the bacon & the salsa, and just use liquid. You can add left-over ham. You can saute a little onion and green/red pepper to add. You can add a can of fire-roasted tomatoes, or some chopped tomatoes from your garden. Chopped cilantro is awesome. How about some corn stirred in at the end?

For more recipes and ideas on cooking under pressure, you can go to Miss Vickie's web site, or search for "pressure cooker" on your favorite recipe site. I'm fond of http://www.allrecipes.com/ and http://www.foodnetwork.com/.

Summer Gardens

2011-07-10T15:26:00.001-04:00

Just finished de-leafing a ton of green and purple basil in preparation for pesto making. DH should have picked this crop a week ago; 7 days made the difference between nice, full leaves, and a lot of semi-chewed leaves. It all gets ground up anyway, but it isn't nearly as satisfying to do the same amount of leaf stripping & only net half as much. We'll pick earlier on the second crop!

Now if you really want to be green with envy, take a look at the garden in my SIL's father's house; he's recreated a Mexican courtyard right here, in eastern Pennsylvania.

This is only a small part of the garden. What you can't really see in the picture, is the large koi pond buried in the middle of it. And it's just one of 3 ponds! The garden is lit in various places as well. See that tin star hanging in the very back? At night it is lit from within, and creates a lovely, twinkling highlight. What a lush and delightful place!

Calling All Techies!

2011-07-07T18:50:00.001-04:00

Robert Kaufman Fabrics has helped developed a set of 8 very handy quilting calculators that are available for iPhones and iPads through the iTunes AppStore. The set, called The Quilter's Little Helper is also available for smart phones with the Android operating system. The app is FREE! I tried to poke around the RK site to see if the calculators were available just via the web, but I didn't have much success.

Here is a link to a full description of the app. And here is what it does:

Fabric Measurement Conversion: Converts between inches, yards in decimal form and yards in fractional form.
Backing and Batting Calculator: Determines how much yardage from a bolt of fabric is needed to make the backing for a quilt.
Piece Count Calculator: Shows the number of fixed-sized pieces of fabric that may be cut from a larger piece.
Pieces to Yardage Area Calculator: Indicates how much fabric is needed in order to cut a given number of fixed sized pieces.
Binding Calculator: Tells you the amount of fabric required to bind your quilt based on the quilt’s dimensions and the binding strip width.
Border Calculator: Shows the amount of fabric required to create borders, based on a quilt’s dimensions and the width of the borders.
Square in a Square Calculator: Works out all the key dimensions of a square in a square block.
Set-in and Corner Triangle Calculator: Determines the size of the square piece you’ll need to cut in order to create both unfinished set-in triangles and unfinished corner triangles.

RK also has a nifty little blog and a newsletter you can subscribe to. Just what we need -- more temptations!

Guild-ty Pleasures

2011-07-04T09:28:00.006-04:00

I've joined a guild. I've wanted to join a guild for a while, but most have meetings that are not very inconvenient for my schedule. I work in Center City Philadelphia, commuting on the train, & not arriving home until 6:00 PM; that makes getting to a meeting difficult, especially if the meeting is some distance away.

The Philadeplphia Modern Quilt Guild meets about 15 minutes away, and at a time that is doable. Bobbi no blog asked Nancy, Near Philadelphia and I if we wanted to go to the June Meeting, where Jay McCarroll, a former Project Runway winner, was speaking. You betcha! I am addicted to PR, and this was the perfect excuse to dip my toes in the guild pool. Nancy already belongs to another guild, but Bobbi and I both ended up joining PMQG. We are now both card-carrying guilders!

Jay has a new fabric line, Habitat. Were we game for a challenge? The resulting quilt would benefit Quilts for Japan. If we chose to participate in the challenge, we were given a paper bag with cuts from one of the colorways from his line, and charged with making a block for a group quilt. I finished mine yesterday. It was my first challenge ever, and used fabric that just didn't speak to me, but here's what I came up with.

Yep, I used my Go! to cut those drunkards path blocks. I'm not wild about the block, but I have to tell you that the pieces were a cinch to cut and went together easy peasy.

One more item from my quilting-things-I've-never-tried-before checked off the list! And Jay McCarroll? He's about the nicest, sweetest guy you'd ever want to meet. AND he's from Pennsylvania!!!

Sister Suzie's Runner

2011-07-03T21:09:00.000-04:00

My golfer sister had a birthday in May. She asked for a summer table runner for her breakfast room table, in "modern fabrics". My sister is an incredibly talented, wonderful woman, and a gifted athlete, but her knowledge of fabric is about as great as my knowledge of golf. "Modern fabrics"? What exactly did she mean? Hmmmm.

This is what I came up with. 4-patches, set on point, with solid center squares.

Many fabrics are from Sandi Henderson's Meadow Sweet line for Michael Miller. Looks "modern" to me, and very summery. I'm wishing those "eyes" didn't bunch together at the one end, though. That's what I get for being in a hurry. I'll just tell her it's my way of keeping an eye on her.

I did most of it while we were using her beach house in North Carolina. The binding was completed yesterday -- just in the nick of time for a progressive dinner party with her golf buddies tonight. I snuck (sneaked?) into her house when she wasn't home and put it on her table. Wonder if she's noticed.....

Life's a Beach

2011-06-26T09:34:00.000-04:00

My sister has a lovely vacation home on Ocean Isle Beach, NC. She rents it out during the summer, but makes it available to family members in the off-season. She gifted a week to my daughter and son-in-law in early June; they, in turn, asked if hubby and I would like to join them.

I’m not a beach person, I have issues with my skin and the sun, so frying on the sand isn’t a good thing for me. The opportunity to spend all day, every day with Kate, Paul and beautiful baby Alma, however, could not be missed, so off to NC we went. I took “Baby” (my featherweight), and a bunch of project packs to keep me busy while everyone else went to the beach. It turns out that Alma just loves to chill in her swing while her GG (Gorgeous Grandmom) sews. We had a lot of meaningful conversations, we sang “Sew, sew sew your quilt, merrily at the beach” for hours on end, and Alma kept GG from muttering those bad words when it was time to unsew. Again. Am I smitten? You bet!

A pea in her pod

I was amazed by how wonderful it is to be totally wrapped up in a little person. Not quite 4 month old Alma is at a very interactive stage: she pulls you to her with her eyes; she has “conversations”; she's discovered her feet; she reaches for things and grabs them; she watches everything. She especially loved the water and the beach.

Wish they had these Bumbos
when my kids were little!

One of her favorite activities was to sit in her Bumbo on the kitchen counter or on the dining room table so that she was smack in the middle of all the household action. I was also blown away by what wonderful parents Kate and Paul are. It is obvious that they are equal partners in raising this beautiful child. Spending the week with them was such a lovely gift -- we are all so blessed!

Where the heck have I been???

2011-06-25T15:28:00.000-04:00

Answer: in a state of confusion, on planet neglectful.

Actually, I’ve just been lazy. Call it the summer doldrums if you will, the fact of the matter is that I succumbed to the “read & lurk, but don’t post” syndrome. I’ll try to do better.

So, what’s been happening? I went to North Carolina for a week, I had a wonderful Saturday sew-in with some dear quilting friends, I attended my first guild meeting, I joined a guild for the first time, and I found out that I am expecting my 5th grandchild in mid December.

All of those events will be chronicled shortly, but right now I need some help identifying fabric.

It’s from a charm pack I purchased over a year ago, and which I promptly cut up into a Schnibbles project pack, throwing away any identifying paperwork. I’m short some fabric to finish the project, and would love to find a match. Of course I can’t find a match if I don’t know the name of the fabric line, the designer or even the manufacturer. Do any of you recognize it?

Next post: Life’s a Beach

Getting it off my (ample) chest

2011-06-25T10:26:00.002-04:00

I have so many friends with divergent political opinions that I try to remain neutral as far as politics are concerned. Their friendships are far dearer to me than voting history or who grazes on what side of the political fence. The brouhaha over Sarah Palin's supposed Paul Revere gaffe bothered me though, especially when juxtaposed to the news that same week of other politicians behaving lewdly and immorally. Can you spell "media frenzy"?

I'm not a fan of Ms. Palin as a candidate for national office, but for the media to be so quick to ridicule when they don't necessarily have their facts straight is of great concern. The iconic poem, on which their "facts" were based, is a work of embellished history itself. It was never intended to be historically accurate, but rather to raise patriotic spirit and lift an American hero to loftier heights.

Many news sources corrected the error quietly, however those sources could be considered by some to be lightening rods for liberals or conservatives, depending on which side you personally favor. Perhaps NPR's interview will be the most acceptable to all in setting the record straight.

Was Ms. Palin correct because of her in-depth knowledge of history , was she just lucky, or both? Who knows. But if we are going to make a cause celebre about a specific issue, let's make sure we are on firm factual ground. To do otherwise is to undermine the value of our legitimate issues, no matter what side we're on.

My chest is no smaller, but I feel better. Back to quilty things in the next post!

Building Cathedrals

2011-05-10T19:00:00.002-04:00

I am not overly fond of schmaltzy chain emails, however well-intentioned. I got one the other day, however, from no-blog, non-quilting Jan, that touched me. It was in honor of Mothers' Day, and the request was to pass it along to other mothers, especially those just starting out on the journey of raising a family. Rather than annoy my friends with unwanted fram (friendly spam), I'm posting the text here. Read it if you like, pass it along if you like. It gave me pause for thought.

It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the way one of the kids will walk into the room while I'm on the phone and ask to be taken to the store. Inside I'm thinking, 'Can't you see I'm on the phone?'. Obviously not.

No one can see if I'm on the phone, or cooking, or sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no one can see me at all. I'm invisible. The Invisible Mom.

Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more: Can you fix this? Can you tie this? & Can you open this? Some days I'm not a pair of hands; I'm not even a human being. I'm a clock to ask, 'What time is it?' I'm a satellite guide to answer, 'What number is the Disney Channel?' I'm a car to order, 'Right around 5:30 , please.’

I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyes that studied history and the mind that graduated summa cum laude - but now they had disappeared into the peanut butter, never to be seen again. She's going; she's going; she is gone!

One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a friend from England. Janice had just gotten back from a fabulous trip, and she was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in. I was sitting there, looking around at the others all put together so well. It was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself.

I was feeling pretty pathetic, when Janice turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package, and said, 'I brought you this.’ It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe. I wasn't exactly sure why she'd given it to me until I read her inscription: 'To Charlotte, with admiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees.'

In the days ahead I would read - no, devour - the book. And I would discover what would become for me, four life-changing truths, after which I could pattern my work:

• No one can say who built the great cathedrals - we have no record of their names;

• These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished;

• They made great sacrifices and expected no credit;

• The passion of their building was fueled by their faith that the eyes of God saw everything.

A legendary story in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built; he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, 'Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by the roof? No one will ever see it.' And the workman replied, 'Because God sees.’

I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place. It was almost as if I heard God whispering to me, 'I see you, Charlotte. I see the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around you does. No act of kindness you've done, no sequin you've sewn on, no cupcake you've baked, is too small for me to notice and smile over. You are building a great cathedral, but you can't see right now what it will become.’

At times, my invisibility feels like an affliction. But it is not a disease that is erasing my life. It is the cure for the disease of my own self-centeredness. It is the antidote to my strong, stubborn pride. I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder. As one of the people who show up at a job that they will never see finished, to work on something that their name will never be on.

The writer of the book went so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever be built in our lifetime because there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree. When I really think about it, though, I don't want my son to tell the friend he's bringing home from college for Thanksgiving, 'My Mom gets up at 4 in the morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand bastes a turkey for three hours and presses all the linens for the table.' That would mean I'd built a shrine or a monument to myself. I just want him to want to come home. And then, if there is anything more to say to his friend, to add, 'you're gonna love it there.'

As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be seen if we're doing it right. And one day, it is very possible that the world will marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible women.

Great Job, MOM! Share this with all the Invisible Moms you know...I just did. Hope this encourages you when the going gets tough as it sometimes does. We never know what our finished products will turn out to be because of our perseverance.

Read this book!

2011-05-05T19:04:00.000-04:00

Well, at least think about reading this book. It's beautifully written, and provides a peek into a culture most of know nothing about. It will give you a deeper understanging of what it is like to be a stranger in a strange land, clinging to a culture that has been all but destroyed. I was mesmerized by the writing, the story and the journey.

A quote from the author:

"I dream that one day soon my book will be published, and it will show the world one more way into words. I dream that this book will have the power to give value to all the dreams I’ve collected along the way, not just my own, but those that were planted inside of me by my grandmother, my people, and the hard lives we’ve had all along history’s forsaken trails. I dream the writing dream: to live in language forever, to unravel the human story and grant it the power to change human life.”

This would be a wonderful book for a book group to read and discuss, or for a young adult.

Here's the link on Amazon. The book is available in paperback and in a Kindle edition.

Willy Wonka

2011-05-02T19:50:00.003-04:00

Boy are these wonky stars fun to piece!

They are from the Bonnie Hunter workshop that Nancy's church sponsored on Saturday, with proceeds going to a New Orleans mission trip planned for this summer. You can read about the workshop on Nancy's Blog here and here, then catch Bonnie's take on it here.

After spending months on the Civil War albatross, it was so liberating to sit and pull bright, colorful scraps and create something crazily unstructured. The workshop covered wonky stars, crumb blocks, string piecing and funky letters. I was so entranced with the stars & crumbs that I never moved on to the strings and letters. I think it was a very liberating experience for some quilters who are used to a very structured way of piecing.

The crumb blocks are just random scraps from old projects; the stars are mostly Kaffe Fassett scraps backed with squares cut from a fat eighth I found in my stash. I liked the effect so much that I panicked when I realized I had no clue what that black fabric was. How could I make more wonky stars???? TGFG (thank God for Google). I did a search for "black fabric with bright stars and squiggles" -- no lie, I really really did -- and found some on eBay. It's gonna be one bright and happy wall hanging. I might try the funky lettering to spell out "Wish upon a star".

Buh-bye CW.

The Royal Wedding

2011-04-28T23:40:00.001-04:00

I'll admit that many here on the this side of the pond have gone batty over The Royal Wedding. My sister is actually going to a neighborhood party to watch the DVR'd version; tiaras and gloves are de rigueur.

With Andrew and Kate's nuptials in mind, Nancy (from NJ, not Nancy, Near Philadelphia) posted the following on FB today, and we've been having a wicked good time with it.

In honor of the big wedding on Friday, find your royal wedding guest name. Start with either Lord or Lady. Your first name is one of your grandparents' names. Your surname is the name of your first pet, double-barreled with the name of the street you grew up on. Let's do this! Post yours here. Then cut & paste it into your status.

Well, this isn't Facebook, so you're not going to cut & paste it into your status, but you can join the fun by proclaiming your royal name. In the mean time, I've got to go practice my royal wave.

Cordially,

Lady Beatrice Anthony-Chelten

Admit it!

2011-04-11T19:32:00.000-04:00

Don't you wish you could wear a shirt shirt like this to work on Mondays?

A C.O.W. Moment

2011-04-07T10:56:00.000-04:00

I need a sanity check. I'm having a C.O.W. moment. Nancy introduced me to the C.O.W. concept quite some time ago, and I really identified. Nothing of global importance today, but here's what's got me in a cranky-pants mood.

I order a lot of fabric on line. A lot. I have a few favorite sources, am open to ordering from etsy shops, and love giving my business to home-grown businesses. I'll admit I'm spoiled by the fast service most of those sources provide: Fatquarter Shop has my fabric in my hands 3-4 days after I've ordered it, as does Fabricworm, The Old Country Store, Canton Village Quiltworks, Z and S Fabrics, Missouri Star Quilt Co. and a whole slew of others.

I ordered a half yard of fabric on Monday from a new-to-me on line store. I needed enough of one of the CW Tribute fabrics to fix some blocks that finished too small. The fabric is hard to find, however a search let me to a very nice on-line store that had it in stock. While I was prowling around the site, I also found a book about the history, care and feeding of the iconic Singer Featherweight 221. I ordered that as well. While I was in shopping mode, I also placed an order with Missouri Star.

Today I checked on both orders. The one from MS is being delivered tomorrow; the one from the other source isn't even shipping out until tomorrow. Ugh. I was hoping to get those blocks fixed this weekend. The economy is tough. Don't you think great customer service would entice a customer to do repeat business with you, and the opposite would drive that customer away? If you want repeat business, why does it take you 5 days to get a small order out the door?

Am I off base, or is this a legit mooo? When you order quilting supplies on line, what's your expectation?

Moving Right Along

2011-04-05T18:39:00.003-04:00

I celebrated a rather significant birthday a few weeks ago, and a dear friend gave me this wonderful Jim Shore angel. She's a quilting angel, no less. I am torn between finding a place for her in the family room and making her home in my sewing room. I think the sewing room. She will remind me of all of the quilting angels in my life and provide calm amidst the Civil War quilt storm. And she has all the colors I love! Thanks, Jan. I'm blessed to have you as a friend!

The center medallion of the CWT quilt is done. It's rather large, at 36", so that gives you some sense of what the size of the finished quilt will be.

Here is the center, up on the design wall, with some of the surrounding blocks. I discovered that the blocks with all of the teeny tiny HSTs are a mite short, so I need to put a very thin border around them to size them up -- maybe you can see the two on the top row where I did just that. For someone who was never really into CW fabrics until a year ago, I'm certainly knee-deep now. Thanks, Nance!

I'm going to give this quilt a rest for a few days and work on some burp cloths for baby Alma. Momma Kate's birthday is on Friday, and that's what she says she wants. Guess I'll dig into my happiest girlie fabrics and get to work. We want baby Alma to be pretty, not spitty.

Marching Along

2011-04-02T09:51:00.006-04:00

There is light at the end of the tunnel. I'm almost ready to tackle the block for Month #11 of the Civil War Tribute quilt, and it hasn't been easy going. After Month #7 (Vicksburg), which was the set of 8 blocks containing 468 HSTs, Month #8 was more or less a piece of cake. This one commemorates the Battle of Gettysburg, and is a variation of a Hearth & Home block. The requirement was four 12" (finished) blocks.

The blocks for months 9 & 10 were the blocks that caused a personal meltdown at our March retreat. I was frustrated, to put it mildly. The wonderful woman who lead our BOM class, Gina Gempesaw, was kind enough to send me a couple of tutorials that made all the difference. The blocks were still buggers to make. Although I am not an expert, I can now handle Y seams, partial seaming and a center, set-in square. Phew!

Month #9, commemorating the Chickamauga Campaign, and based on a Forget Me Not block. There's a 12" (finished) block & one that finishes at 18"

And in remembrance of the Battle of the Wilderness, Month #10, with one 12" and one 18" block based on the Whirligig pattern.

It looks as though I am homeward bound on this quilt. I still need to do the large center medallion (month 11) and the border (month 12). I haven't counted the HSTs needed for both of those, but have a feeling that they make the Vicksburg block look like child's play. The $20 I spent on this Triangle Magic program is one of the best investments I've made. If you do a lot of repetitive HSTs, you might want to check it out.

Back to battles!

Cluck Cluck Sprocket

2011-03-28T11:35:00.002-04:00

I saw these in a post from Cluck Cluck Sew, and had to share. What a fun and easy way to use up scraps AND bring a bright little change to your tired winter decorating.

Ms. CCS has a free tutorial and free templates for 3 sizes of these nifty pillers.

Check it out here!

Survey Says!

2011-03-20T16:33:00.001-04:00

Sandi (Piecemeal Quilter) has an interesting survey on her blog. Take it and you will: (1) find out something about your quilting preferences; and (2) have a chance to win a prize. And while you are there, take a trip through her blog. Sandi is one of the most sharing bloggers I know, and has some amazing tutorials and patterns. Make sure you check out her basket blocks!

DVDs

2011-03-20T12:40:00.000-04:00

I am addicted to watching DVDs while I sew. I have the tiny TV my daughter used to have in her college bedroom, & a DVD player, set up next to the sewing machine. And now I am addicted to getting my DVDs from Netflix. Currently on my baby TV: the BBC's House of Elliott

If you like Masterpiece Theater & BBC type series, here are a few you might enjoy. All are available on Netflix, and may also be available through your local library.

House of Elliott
Brides of Christ
The Midsomer Murder Series

(singing) Oh Happy Day!

2011-03-19T13:00:00.003-04:00

We had a marvelous time at our semi-annual retreat last weekend, in Strasburg, PA (near Lancaster). Every time I arrive, my heart is full with the joy of being with my quilting sisters again, and everytime I leave my heart is even more full with what we've shared. Lest you think that this is some sort of religious experience, let me set you straight. It is not. We just have a great time, blow off a considerable amount of irreverent steam, and sew a lot. Nancy describes it better than I ever could here.

My big project for the weekend (other than fabric shopping) was working on The Surrender of Pat, a.k.a. the Civil War Tribute quilt with blocks named after various battles. This time the quilt won, and I was reduced to a twisted mass of I-can't-do-anything-right. Pardon my French, but the directions for those blocks suck like a Hoover. I've since had a block intervention & am back on track. More on that later.

Fortunately, I brought the quilt that was spawned from the 9 patch project, and spent time hand-sewing the binding. It will live on the sofa in my family room.

I am calling the quilt "Just Say Nein", as a reminder that I really don't need to jump on every little project that sounds like a good idea at the time but will surely turn into something I never bargained for.

Nancy also posted a picture of her cat, Bodacious, in something we have dubbed The Croissant Position (related to The Meatloaf Position). It's part of Introductory Feline Yoga, and if done in tandem with another cat, qualifies a Synchonized Sleeping (thanks, Marsha!). Here is my cat, Junior, demonstrating the Inverted Meatloaf and the Jack Knife positions. These are from his Advanced Feline Yoga class.

Un-Civil War

2011-03-07T20:17:00.001-05:00

Last February, I posted that I was embarking on a journey into the unknown: a BOM. It was the Civil War Tribute quilt. I thought it was somewhat ambitious for my skill level, but jumped in anyway. Later that month, I posted about the Fort Sumpter Block I'd completed. I felt purdy darned proud of myself. Piece o' cake!

I kept up with the monthly blocks for a while, but somewhere along about July my interest waned. As Forrest Gump says: "stuff happens". I continued to pick up the monthly blocks, and even went to a few meetings, but all those monthly packages just got put on the back burner.

Now it's a new year. It dawned on me that I had quite a bit on money invested in those monthly packages. Besides, there was another, new and improved Civil War BOM out there that I wanted to do, and I could not -- COULD NOT -- justify starting that one until I'd at least made a honest attempt to finish this one. So here I am, picking things up at Month 7, the block commemorating the Siege of Vicksburg*.

"Siege" is a fairly approppriate term for this block. It's a 12"" (finshed) block, with 46 not-quite 1 1/4" HSTs. Oh, and there are 8 of these blocks needed for the quilt. That's 368 little HSTs. Holy Mississippi!

It's a very nifty block, actually called Barrister's Block. And the niftiness keeps me going. My goal is to get all 8 finished before I go on my quilting retreat this weekend, when I'll be moving on to months 8 & 9, the Battle of Gettyburg and the Chickamauga Campaign. Hopefully Month 10 will not be The Surrender of Pat.

* How is this for a coincidence: my friend Nancy just finished her latest creation, using CW fabrics. She named it Vicksburg, and it is quite lovely.

Dog Day Afternoon

2011-03-06T11:42:00.006-05:00

For those of you of a certain age, do you remember Paul Anka crooning
"and they call it puppy lah-ah-ove?"

Big sister Lily and baby Alma

A piece of my soul

2011-02-26T13:14:00.000-05:00

Alma Eleanora Ojeda, born Saturday February 26th, at 8:26am to parents Kate and Paul Ojeda. 8lbs, 6oz, and 21" long, with a full head of dark hair.

Mother and Baby doing very well; grandparents ecstatic.

Alma, means "soul" in Spanish, and Eleanora honors Kate's maternal grandmother Eleanor. Truly a beautiful name for a new little soul.

Wouldn't it be great....

2011-02-23T18:23:00.001-05:00

...if first babies came with those pop-up timers that let you know exactly when they were done? Apparently Baby O, who was due today, just isn't ready to come out of that nice, warm, cozy baby oven yet. Sigh.

Mom-to-be Kate is uncomfortable (and a bit crabby), Daddy Paul is anxious, and everyone else is going crazy calling and texting: "Did Kate have her baby yet?"

As anxious as we all are, Baby O will appear when he/she is darned good and ready. Stubborn little critter! I can't begin to imagine where Baby O gets that particular trait (grin).

What's in a name?

2011-02-16T19:29:00.002-05:00

Ian is my almost-4-year-old grandson. He's a pistol. Sandwiched betweeen two practically perfect sisters, he is all boy, and tends to march to his own drum. Lets just say that, with respect to his dad (my son Andy), the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

Ian came home from pre-school on Monday a little out of sorts. While the family was sitting around the table having a snack, he said huffily: "The teacher doesn't know my name! She calls me Urfa Ian!" Say what? "She calls me Urfa Ian. My name is IAN!"

Jamie, my wonderful DIL, has her master's degree in early childhood education, so she started probing in a way only a gentle pro would probe. After a lot of prodding about the times when the teacher made this terrible mistake, it finally became clear. Ian does not always listen when directions are given, and is often the last to acknowledge that the rest of the class has put their crayons away, or gone back to their seats after story time. This prompts the teacher to try to get his attention by saying --- are you ready? -- "Earth to Ian! Earth to Ian! " .

Urfa Ian. Yep, that apple sure didn't fall far from the tree.

Go! for it!

2011-02-14T12:06:00.001-05:00

I'll admit that I am a gadget person. And last Fall, when the blogisphere was filled with chat about the AccuQuilt Go!, I succumbed to temptation and purchased one. Then I let it sit. I don't know why -- maybe I was a little intimidated, maybe I was afraid that if I tried it I would find out that it wasn't worth it. For whatever reason, it's been sitting in my sewing room, nagging at me for months.

My semi-annual quilting retreat is coming up, so I thought I'd throw the idea out there to my quilting sisters that we could test this baby out together in March. All agreed that it would be fun, but warned of what might happen if we consumed our usual quantity of wine then played with it. Maybe it would be a good idea to test it out first?

Here's my first effort, a little doll quilt for my granddaughter's Bitty Baby, Abby. I used the small tumbler die, which makes 3.5" (finished) tumbler blocks. Holy cow, is this thing cool!!

The little blocks were cut in the blink of an eye. I could easily cut enough for a twin or full-sized top in less than half an hour. Because of the notched corners, they go together perfectly. I am already planning a larger quilt using alternating white and random bright prints, with a border strip of tumblers.

IMHO many of the dies are not worth purchasing, though. Unless you have real physical problems managing a rotary cutter, a regular ruler or one of those June Taylor Shape Cut devices are just as effective, and much cheaper. The same thing goes for squares. But the odd-shaped blocks, especially this tumbler and the curved drunkard's path? No question that the Go! is a huge time/effort saver. And if you are into applique, they keep coming out with more and more nifty shapes that would otherwise be a real PIA to cut by hand. The big tumbler die, which makes a 7" finished block, would allow you to pop out a bed-sized quilt in a weekend. You'd need to think about the scale of that block, however, in relation to the size of your quilt-- that big tumber, or the big drunkard's path, could look overwhelming on a smaller top.

I'd like to see Accuquilt come out with some even smaller dies, like a 2" tumbler, perhaps. Stay tuned in March for the results of the Great Go! experiment at our retreat.

By the way, if any of you are interested, Alex Anderson has a video turorial for her Bountiful Baskets.

Her die for the Go! is based on her pattern for the popular postage stamp basket quilt. The tutorial was done 'way before the die came out for the Go!, so it shows her cutting the pieces out with a rotary cutter. The part that you want to pay attenton to is the part about the handle of the basket. The handle has given other bloggers fits, but the tutorial makes it ever so much easier.

Countdown

2011-02-13T15:23:00.004-05:00

Eleven (11!!) days, and counting. Of course with a first baby you just never know. I think Momma Kate looks pretty darned good. The nursery is done, she's wrapping up loose ends at work, her bag is packed. and big "sister", Lily the Great Dane, has been briefed on what's expected of her. She's even got some meals stashed in the freezer. I should be so organized!

Here are some pictures of the nursery. Kate wanted non-gender specific fabrics, with modern design. No pastel duckies or primary colors for her. She picked Kate Spain's Fandango line of fabrics because she fell in love with the colors and because the designs resonated a bit with her husband's Mexican heritage. The only thing that's left to do is the crib skirt.

The bumpers are made from 6 different color strips and bound in a coral.

We made 3 sets of sheets that coordinate with the bumpers

The quilt was made with big HSTs from the entire fabric line.

I just love the colors and the clean, crisp look. The back of the quilt is made with very broad cross-wise strips of various fabrics, something Kate asked for specifically. You can catch a glimpse of it in the top picture.

This week's project will be the crib skirt!

Rough Udders?

2011-02-09T11:02:00.000-05:00

Do your udders need smoothing? Actually, my udders are fine, but my hands sure could use help. My daughter bought me some of this stuff at the dollar store. I'd seen it in various other stores (CVS, WalMart, Walgreen's), but just never gave it a second thought. BIG MISTAKE. I'm a convert.

Seriously, it's the best hand cream I've ever used. It's rather thick, not thin and watery at all, but it does not leave your hands feeling greasy. I will be buying multiple tubes so that I can have one in every key location: purse, desk at work, kitchen sink, and (most importantly) in my sewing room. And you better believe that I'm bringing some for all of my quilting retreat buddies in March.

Here's a link to the Udderly SMOOth website. Go smooth those udders!

Question

2011-02-01T12:49:00.001-05:00

What would you suggest as the very best fabric for a design wall? Flannel? Some sort of batting? I am fortunate to have a big ol' wall onto which I can fasten it directly.

My initial thought is to get a piece of the 108" wide flannel now available for quilt backs. On the other hand, some of those poly battings have the grab-ablity factor needed to keep blocks in place.

Working on a SLAGI

2011-01-30T09:39:00.008-05:00

When it's doing this again:

It's time to retreat to the sewing room and pull out a SLAGI. You know, something that Seemed Like A Good Idea way back when you started it. The weekend, my SLAGI was a 9 patch project I started last summer when The 9 Patch Project was all over blogland.

The idea was to make a 9 patch a day for almost 3 months, a rather painless way to accumulate 80+ patches that could then be assembled into something magnificent. I found a jelly roll and a charm pack of something by Kansas Troubles and I was off to the races. Of course no one actually makes one 9 patch each and every day for 3 months, so I made them in batches & obediently crossed off the days on my calendar. I even got complimentary Kansas Troubles fabric for the alternating blocks and borders. This was going to be only the 2nd quilt I planned to keep for myself, and would have a home in my family room. Along about mid-July, I stopped, distracted by something else (a symptom of my ADQD).

When all of the snow started, I pulled The box with the 9ers, and started back to work. I needed to get creative with some of the blocks and pull from my stash, but eventually all were done. Last week I laid everything out and made the row-by-row sewing piles. Yesterday I started sewing them together.

I love the way blocks look set on point, but holy cow are those corner-to-corner strips a chore. Today I'll probably start at the other corner and work towards the middle because I just need a break from those long, long rows. Hopefully I'll get everything done in time to snuggle by the fireplace when next winter's storms hit!

Looks like the snow dance worked!

2011-01-27T12:50:00.019-05:00

BBQ anyone?

I did the snow dance last night. I performed the snow incantation ritual, and even put my jammies on inside out. No, I don't work in a school, but a lot of my friends do and I just wanted them to have the day off. No need to thank me, guys -- just send wine.

I poked my head out the front door to see if should really try to make it in to work. Geez, tough decision. Compare this shot to yesterday's. Lots more white stuff on the bushes!

Just to give you an idea of scale, that bottom vehicle in the driveway is a Ford F150 truck.

I love this shot. It's looking through the birch tree on the side of the house. About 2 hours later, that hill was filled with every kid in the neighborhood and their sleds.

Poor Maggie Mae! She couldn't even find a place to do her business!

This is looking out our back door, towards the old golf course on the other side of the fence.

And just in case I decide to do a little sewing.......

That's really an old treadle machine frame my hubby found at a flea market. He put a piece of slate on top to turn it into a nice patio side table.

Well it's time for me to do a little 9 patch snow therapy. For more fun on a snow day, check out Nancy's blog. Don't you love her buns?

Almost Wordless Wednesday

2011-01-26T18:12:00.003-05:00

From the front steps at 7:30 this morning, on the way to work. Home from work by 6:30 PM, & it's pouring sleet & rain. Starting at midnight, they are predicting another 10" dump of snow. This is so not right.

WARNING!!!

2011-01-26T11:34:00.002-05:00

Do not, under any circumstances, visit this link. And if you do, don't look at this page. You will be seized by an overwheming urge to buy fabric. Beautiful, bright, lux fabric. And whatever you do, DO NOT sign up for their newsletter, which will tempt you every so often with fabric offering you are unable to resist.

It's Nancy's fault.

Top Chef, Baby Edition

2011-01-21T09:52:00.002-05:00

My son just sent me this picture on my cell phone. Yep, that's sweet Miss Madeline Rose, also pictured on the right sidebar in a much more lady-like pose. 9 months old and lovin' life. And feeding herself. Yeah, I'd kiss her anyway. Time to get a clean-up dog.

Bless Be the Tie That Binds

2011-01-17T10:31:00.011-05:00

I enjoy the process of hand-sewing the binding on a quilt. Usually I look for the easier, faster, better, gadgety-er way to get the job done. But binding? That’s a whole ‘nother thing.

It’s when everything comes together. It’s the last station on the long train ride. You’d think I’d want to get it done as fast as possible, but not so. I’m not fond of attaching the binding by machine to the quilt’s edges, mind you, but once that’s out of the way, it’s time to savor the experience.

Bind: to fasten or wrap by encircling.

I tend to meditate on that while I’m stitching. Last night, for instance, I began stitching down the binding on a very special quilt. It is for my daughter Kate’s first baby. The TV was on in the background, but it wasn’t long before my mind started to wander.

I remembered when Kate was born, when we brought her home. Her smile, her stubbornness, her creative talents, her gift for teaching. I see her dancing, kicking a soccer ball, graduating, walking down the isle with her dad to join her best friend and love of her life. I see things that I regret too, things that I could have done better as a parent and wish I could take back. Most of all, though, I see a woman who will be a wonderful mother.

Then my thoughts turn to the baby who will be wrapped in this quilt. Will he/she have brown eyes or blue? Will baby “O” be tall? Have brown hair or blonde? Will he/she laugh at my very bad jokes? Will he/she be artistic, creative, strong, loving, kind? I try to form a picture in my mind, but all I can conjure up is an overwhelming feeling of love.

I am binding this quilt, but I am also binding myself to this new little person, this new life and newest member of our family. My daughter’s child.

As Mrs. Goodneedle would say: Life is good!

Zippity Do Dah!

2011-01-13T21:13:00.003-05:00

Remember this post? It was inspired by Nicole's post and her subsequent Astounding Zipper Tutorial.

Well, I am a convert. A veritable disciple. All of my girly relatives got very cute zippered cosmetic cases as gifts for Christmas, none of which I remembered to photograph. Even Annabelle got her own screamingly pink and purple number, adorned with heart-shaped pink buttons. I made Kate one too, in her baby nursery fabrics. She claims that the smaller one is exactly the right size to disguise that supply of, uh, monthly feminine products (like I'd remember).

Here's a picture ofthe latest batch, which will probably be used as prizes at Kate's baby shower:

Tres chic, no? It's so very satisfying to whip up a complete project in an hour or so, especially when you know how to zippity do!

Miss Bobbi, do you see the one that's all Kaffed out?

M.I.A.?

2011-01-12T22:43:00.020-05:00

I know. I've been M.I.A. quilting-wise. It's been a very busy few months!

First, my husband and I were fortunate enought to be able to take a 12 day trip to Germany at the beginning of December. We started in Munich, traveled to Garmisch-Partenkirchen (with a side trip through the Alps to Innsbruck), then met our ship in Basel for a cruise along the Rhine to visit ChristKindl-Markts (Christmas Markets) in Strasburg, Koblenz and Rudesheim. We ended our trip in Frankfurt. More on our adventures, including pictures, at a later date! That's me in Munich, after several cups of gluhwein (sorry, but I can't figure out how to get an umlaut over the "u").

Then came Christmas, with all of the holiday craziness. And now the focus is on my darling daughter Kate, who is pregnant with her first baby. You think I'd be an old hand at being a GG (Gorgeous Grandmom) with my son's 3 little ones, but this is different. Kate's my baby! She's due February 23rd, & we're comin' down to the wire, folks.

Kate wanted me to outfit her nursery. She's not at all traditional in her tastes -- "modern" is what she is. No pastel bunnies, Noah's ark or duckies for her. And the sex of her baby will be a surprise to one and all. Geez.

After much combing through the Hancock's catalog, and many hours on line, she settled on Kate Spain's Fandango fabrics. Since my Kate's father-in-law is originally from Mexico, the Mexican influence in the Fandango fabric line made it even more appropriate.

Last weekend Kate's wonderful mother-in-law Lori hosted a shower attended by their relatives, friends, church ladies and neighbors.

Almost 8 month's pregnant & she's still wearing heels!

Great gift! A box with a baby bib for every season and holiday.

It was touch-and-go, but I managed to finish a set of bumper pads for the crib and a set of 3 coordinating fitted sheets. You'll have to wait to see everything in the crib itself, but here are some pictures taken on my cutting table (I know you won't mind the mess).

My shower, for all of our relatives, friends, and Kate's friends, is next Sunday. I'll post pictures of her Fandango-tabulous quilt afterwards (I don't want to take a chance on spoiling the surprise). Now I've got to get to work on the crib skirt. A GG's work is never done!

Time to stock up

2011-01-06T10:09:00.001-05:00

I hate dull rotary cutting blades. Hate 'em, hate 'em, hate 'em. I can never have enough replacements on hand because I don't want to be stuck having to cut some juicy fabric with a quirky old blade.

If you feel the same way, now is the time to stock up! Jo-ann's is having a 40% off sale on all of their rotary cutting supplies, including cutters, blades and mats. What's even better is that now through Friday 1/7, if you use the promotional code below at checkout, you will get free shipping on any order of $50 or more.

So, save those old blades for cutting paper and get yourself a stash of new ones. Maybe some of your fellow quilters would be willing to join you to help reach that $50 minimum.

Here's the code: EVDCX7

Now that my DH has discovered that rotary cutters are really cool tools for picture framing, I ordered a new cutter for me & am gifting him with my old one (plus a container of those annoying used blades). And a bunch of new blades por moi.

Oh, and while you are at it, check out Mrs. Goodneedle's post about a cutie-patootie new cutting gadget. Yep, Joann's has that baby on sale too. You know me and gadgets!

Green Fairy New Year Give-Away

2010-12-31T17:05:00.000-05:00

She's beyond talented, she has adorable kids, and she's giving stuff away! Who am I talking about? Why, The Green Fairy (a.k.a. Judi Madsen), of course! Don't dilly dally -- go see what she's up to!

Go check out Nancy's Blog

2010-12-31T10:09:00.000-05:00

Seriously, this is nuts. I'm not sure how Nancy tumbled on to this one, other than the fact that she manages to tumble on to a lot of great things (she's amazing).

Make sure you watch the whole thing so you won't get your knickers in a bunch about the bias edges.

Click here for Blogging, Near Philadelphia. Talk about an instant quilt!!

Zip it!!!

2010-11-23T11:25:00.003-05:00

My name is Pat, and I am zipper phobic. Ask me to make a block with a hundred 1" HSTs, or sew cowhide together, or maybe quilt a car, but don't ask me to install a zipper.

My sewing horizons have been narrowed by this gap in my skill set. I love those cute little zippy pouch patterns that look like swell, last-minute gifts, and I long to make a purse with something other than a button-an-loop closure. Now I can!

Thanks to Nicole, at Sister's Choice Quilts, we have a fabulous, fool-proof, zipper-installation-for-dummies tutorial. Nicole wrote a post about a very cute, very simple cosmetic case pattern that she was using to crank out gifts by the dozen. Loved it! Then I lamented that I would love to try it, but alas, I had major problems with zippers.

Nicole came to the rescue and created this ASTOUNDING TUTORIAL. Go read it, print it out and bookmark it. It will unzip all kinds of possibilities.

Senior Wedding

2010-10-25T14:34:00.001-04:00

Every once in a while, someone sends me something that just tickles my funny bone. I got this today & it is too cute not to share.

Jacob, age 92, and Rebecca, age 89, living in Miami , are all excited about their decision to get married. They go for a stroll to discuss the wedding, and on the way they pass a drugstore.. Jacob suggests they go in.

Jacob addresses the man behind the counter:

"Are you the owner?"

The pharmacist answers, "Yes."

Jacob: "We're about to get married. Do you sell heart medication?"

Pharmacist: "Of course, we do."

Jacob: "How about medicine for circulation?"

Pharmacist: "All kinds."

Jacob: "Medicine for rheumatism?"

Pharmacist: "Definitely."

Jacob: "How about suppositories?"

Pharmacist: "You bet!"

Jacob: "Medicine for memory problems, arthritis and Alzheimer's?"

Pharmacist: "Yes, a large variety. The works."

Jacob: "What about vitamins, sleeping pills, Geritol, antidotes for Parkinson's disease?"

Pharmacist: "Absolutely."

Jacob: "Everything for heartburn and indigestion?"

Pharmacist: "We sure do."

Jacob: "You sell wheelchairs and walkers and canes?"

Pharmacist: "All speeds and sizes."

Jacob: "Adult diapers?"

Pharmacist: "Sure."

Jacob: "We'd like to use this store as our Bridal Registry."

A Blessing on your House

2010-10-15T14:08:00.004-04:00

Fiddler on the Roof is one of my all-time favorite musicals. I thought of the lyrics to one of the songs this week; it's from Tevya's Dream. "A blessing on your house, Mazel Tov, Mazel Tov!"

For those of you who may not be familiar with the Yiddish expression, "mazel tov", it is used as a response when someone has had particularly good fortune, or has celebrated a significant milestone in their life. Someone tells you they just had a baby? "Mazel tov!" To the new bride & groom? "Mazel tov!" Just got a promotion at work? "Mazel tov!" Although it translates literally to "good luck", it's really used to say "Way to go!" or "Congratulations!". It's always said with great joy and exuberance.

Well, one of my friends, Ms. M. has come through a particularly rough patch. She is in the process of reshaping her life and moving forward on new paths. Part of her journey involved selling her home of many years and moving to a different house. The journey has not been easy, and the journey is by no means complete, but this Saturday marks a significant milestone for her.

Ms. M. is having a House Blessing. I'd never heard of a House Blessing before, but what a terrific idea. She has invited family and friends to her new home to participate in a House Blessing service conducted by her church's pastor. What could be more meaningful than inviting God to come into your home and be a part of it? And what a wonderful thing to share with your friends. The house will be blessed, we will rejoice with her in having achieved this milestone, and we will reaffirm our support of her on her journey.

Way to go, Ms. M.!

"A blessing on your house, Mazel tov! Mazel Tov!"

Count Your Blessings

2010-09-25T08:32:00.000-04:00

I've admired Judi Madsen (the Green Fairy) for quite some time. She is a young wife and mother who has been blessed with a tremendous gift for quilting. I drool over the pictures she posts of quilts she's long-armed for customers (and herself), I smile at the pictures of her youngsters, and I am in awe of her endless enthusiasm. Today I cried.

Judi and her husband Clint are involved with charity work for Romanian children. Last year they traveled to Romania, visiting an orphanage, and this year Clint and his dad made the trip, visiting various families living in very difficult circumstances. Their main purpose is to distribute donated quilts to children, but this year (through generous donations), they were able to deliver food and school supplies as well.

If you think those scraps in your stash don't really amount to much, take a look at what an impact those scaps would make when put into a quilt. Then pass it along!

Green Fairy's 2010 Trip to Romania.

MOOOVING RIGHT ALONG.........

2010-09-14T09:03:00.003-04:00

It's not going well, and I am starting to wonder how I ever got myself into this. Sample cow hide scraps in hand, I went to a BOM class at my LQS on Saturday & asked advice from some expert quilters for advice. Then I visited the store where I had purchased my Bernina, and asked their advice. The suggestions ran the gamut from butting the edges, using a strip of fabric backing, and feather stitching the seams, to sewing on top of a full fabric backing.

Leather needles and jeans-weight thread in hand, I tested 5" samples and was pleased. What works best is overlapping the edges, then doing two parallel rows of stitching, just like the stitching on a pair of jeans. Worked like a charm on the scraps, but not on the big pieces.

The pieces that I need to stitch together are roughly 18" x 24". Very very tough to hold them together so that they stay aligned while I stitch. And they are heavy, so they don't want to feed as nicely as I'd like through the machine. And they have fur that switches direction, so I'm sewing with the nap for 5 inches, then against it for the next 5. And the fur flies all over the place when you cut it, less so when you are stitching. Sheesh.

The current solution to the holding together problem is basting glue. I tried it for one pair of rectangles, but applied the glue too late in the evening for it to be set enough to work on. It was dry this morning, so I'll try again tonight when my bovine outlook is a little better. I will also experiment with my walking foot.

If that doesn't work, I might just staple the darned things together and throw some cow pies.

The last of the summer baby quilts

2010-09-12T13:13:00.002-04:00

WHOOOOOO!

Whoooo could this be for?

This is MOST special of all of the summer 2010 baby quilts because it is for my daughter and son-in-law's very first child!

Baby Ojeda is due to make his (or her) grand entrance at the end of February. This will be our 4th grand child, but will be the very first on the Ojeda side of the family -- as you might imagine, joy abounds.

Kate and Paul want the sex of their baby to be a surprise, so I chose a non gender-specific flannel by Valori Wells for Baby O's first comforter. I think it's smashing, with colors that are sure to grab any baby's attention.

Next up on the agenda? The nursery suite! I told Kate that one of my gifts would be a fabric ensemble for the baby's room: dust skirt for the crib, bumpers, changing table pad, crib sheets, curtains, and anything else that suits out expectant fancy. Her tastes run to the more modern and "organic" (her description), definately not pale baby colors or even cute children's prints. And of course it can't scream "boy" or "girl". And it needs to compliment the fabulous crib they found on Craig's List. Oy.

What did she pick? Thanks to a layer cake of fabric I had in my sewing room, she found just the thing: Fandango, by Kate Spain. We'll neutralize the girlier aspects and combine colors to make an ensemble that's both baby appropriate and mommy stylish. I took advantage of a huge pattern sale at Joann's last week, bought a very nice Vogue pattern for a box-pleated dust skirt, and got the bumper innards. I'll write out my yardage requirements this week in anticipation of a trip to The Hayloft or The Old Country Store next Saturday. This is gonna be a major fabric buy.

Stay tuned in future posts for progress reports.

More of "what I did this summer"

2010-09-11T09:29:00.000-04:00

I know, it sounds like one of those compositions you wrote on the 1st day back to school in September.

I made 2 baby quilts this summer. One was for the Jenn, the daughter-in-law of dear friends. When my husband and I were dating (back before there was fire, paper and cell phones), Jenn's husband Chris was the very first baby any of our friends had. After seeing what our friends Jan and Denny went through with Chris, it's a wonder we ever had kids ourselves. Chris turned out to be an exemplary young man, and married an even more exemplary young woman, Jenn.

Jenn and Chris are expecting their very own little bundle of joy in a week. Baby Duerr's gender will be a surprise, and Jenn wanted bright bright primary colors for her quilt. "Duerrpalooza" is made from Moda's Animal Alphabet, plus some additions from my stash. The pattern is another from my friend Kimberly's book, Jelly Roll Quilts and More.

I used a new long-arm quilter, who made some great suggestions for the over-all pattern and the thread. It was her idea to use the variagated thread in primary colors to compliment the colors in the quilt. It was a great idea!

Here are some pictures of the back and the label.

The other baby quilt was for one of my daughter's friends, Liz. She is expecting a little girl, so I used many of the same fabrics I used for Amazing Grace. (Side note: Amazing Grace was made for Chris's sister Kate last year) Liz's last name is Rookstool, so I called the quilt "Rookie Star".

One again, the quilter made a great pattern suggestion that picked up on the movement in some of the fabrics.

Today is Month 8 of my Civil War Tribute BOM class. I have to tell you, this quilt is not easy, and the Homestead Hearth directions leave a lot to be desired. HST's measured to the 16th of an inch???? I'm told that their next Civil War quilt has much better directions, but I probably won't be checking them out after this experience.

I'll also be visiting the LQS where I bought my Bernina so that I can seek advice on the cow hide situation.

Holy Cow*

2010-09-09T12:06:00.002-04:00

*with props to Nancy for the title.

Here's the problem.

My beloved son-in-law, Paul, brought back several cow hides from Mexico. He thinks it would be a truely wonderful thing to create a manly cowhide wall hanging from these hides.

To that end, he cut big squares from them thinking that his talented MIL could create a bovine quilt. Of course he made me feel like a sewing goddess, so how could I refuse? The boy is no fool. Truth be told, Paul would really love to keep this creation for himself, but my daughter Katie refuses to have dead cows hanging on her wall.

Oh, and did I mention that he would like me to teach him to sew at the same time? And that both he and my husband think it would be a WONDERFUL idea if I used the cow scraps to make him a cow tie?

Now that I've bared my soul, or at least exposed my hide, does anyone have any suggestions for sewing these suckers together? They are not super thick, and are somewhat supple, not unlike the suede on a jacket. Using my wonderous Bernina, I'm thinking a #16 jeans needle and quilting thread? Overlapping the edges of each piece & either zig-zagging or maybe double stitching to give it a jeans look?

BTW, these hides have fur on them and my dog has formed an amorous bond with one of them. If you can't give me advice, at least send wine.

The Wedding Quilt

2010-09-06T09:25:00.000-04:00

The daughter of our Best Man was married a few weeks ago. What a great excuse to make a quilt! I posted the flimsy a while ago, but thought youz guys (y'all? yins?) might like to see the finished quilt. She's a generous queen size, made by up-sizing a pattern from my friend Kimberly's book, Jelly Roll Quilts and More. Since the newlyweds are using brown, turquoise and aqua for their bedroom color scheme, the jelly rolls of Cherish Nature seemed perfect.

To Paraphrase Mark Twain......

2010-09-05T11:10:00.003-04:00

"The rumors of my blog's death have been greatly exaggerated".

Laziness. That's all it's been. Sheer laziness. I've been lurking and commenting on other blogs, but have just not done a posting myself. So if I haven't been posting, what the heck have I been doing?

For one, I've been working through some Schnibble kits that I put together at the beginning of the summer. I spent most of one weekend picking patterns, matching them up with the appropriate set of charm packs (or so it seemed at the time), cutting the various components, packing them in little baggies, then putting each set together in a larger baggie along with the pattern.

This one is State Fair, using Moda's Breath of Avignon.

The whole megillah went into one of my ArtBin organizers and became my Schibbles Schtash -- ready to raid any time I needed just a little project. It went with me on a retreat, and came out again at a church Quilt Day. I've played with the stuff in that bin all summer.

There a couple of things I found during this process:

1. The charm packs that I thought would be great for a certain pattern in April ain't necessarily the charm packs that look best when I get around to working on that Schnibble in August. Here's an example. It's Roundabout, done in Moda's Happy Daisy. Is it terrible? No, but it's just not what I thought it was going to look like, and I'm not quite sure what I'm going to do with it.

For some patterns, I might have been better off mixing charm packs or supplementing from my stash rather than just using the squares form one one fabic line alone.

2. I AM addicted to charm packs, even though some of the squares contained therein are dogs and really don't play well when Schnibble-ized. My over-all stash now contains a sub-stash (stashette?) of charms. I tend to buy 3 at a time to allow for the dogs and for my personal design latitude (la-de-dah!). Some of those charm packs would also lend themselves nicely to co-mingling with other charm packs, although that sounds vaguely smarmy.

3. White or beige can get very very boring as backgrounds, although they seem to work best with these little quilts. I need to create a stash of interestingly textured neutrals, or even force myself to try something more adventurous.

4. The concept of having ready-made kits is an awesome one. There is nothing like being able to pull out a project and having everything pre-cut. Nothing.

And you don't need to limit yourself to Schnibbles. Any smaller project will do. I even took a Civil War repro kit that I bought at my LQS on sale and put together this kit. What the heck, you could even do this for bigger projects. Once the cutting is done, the rest is a piece o' cake. Or at least a slice of eclaire.

Stay tuned for the next few posts which will contain pictures of the big girl quilts I finished this summer, as well as a happy announcement.

Eat your hearts out, boys!

2010-08-06T22:20:00.000-04:00

Miss Madeline

Big Sale at Joann's

2010-08-06T10:49:00.001-04:00

I'm not usually a fan of the fabric at Joann's, but I do love their Snuggle Flannel. This is the stuff I use for my quicky baby quilts. The quilts use a yard each of two complimentary flannels for a small quilt, or a yard and a half each for a large quilt. You also need batting and additional yardage to make 3" wide strips to fold in half for binding (I make them generously wide for this project).

Although Joann's doen not carry it yet, I've been trying Hobbs Heirloom fusible batting & really like it. Makes this project super fast. Once I have the quilt sandwich together, I strap on my walking foot and grid quilt on the dialgonal. Trim, add the binding & you've got a very nice present in a very short amount of time.

Joann's is having a super sale (on line and in their stores) now through August 14th on a ton of stuff, including that Snuggle Flannel. The flannel is an astounding $2.79/yard. In addition, shipping is a flat $5 shipping rate now through Sunday 8/8 if you use the promotional code EQW220 in your online shopping cart. That's $5 for your whole shipment (!), no matter how big. Now might also be the time to stock up on notions or even some of those Art Bin organizers I like.

Wouldn't that flannel make some very snuggly pillow cases too?

Wide Quilt Backs

2010-07-15T09:42:00.002-04:00

I have ordered from this place before & they have some really good stuff. Right now they are having a great sale on wide quilt backs. Might be worth you time to check them out! They are also having a sale on pick & choose FQs (cottons, flannels & batiks). Although there is a big selection, some of the quantities on the quilt backs are very limited.

Thousands of Bolts, only one NUT

I REALLY want one of these

2010-07-14T14:11:00.001-04:00

I am shameless when it comes to coveting gadgets, and the AccuQuilt Go! Cutter is my most recent obsession. If you join me in checking out Spun Sugar Quilts, you might have a chance to win one (if I don't win it first, he he). Seriously, my wrists would be really grateful if this baby showed up on my doorstep.

Prints Charming, to the 9's

2010-06-29T20:49:00.005-04:00

As some of you may recall, I've discovered charm packs. Truth be told, I've been infected with the Charm Pack Virus. It's not my fault. I was surfing the quilty web one day when I happened upon Sisters Choice Quilts, where I was told I needed to join the Between Charming Friends Quilt-along. And having no will power what-so-ever, I did just that. I even blogged about it here.

For those of you who have taken The Process Pledge: we picked out fabric, then we cut out fabric, then we started to sew. Then along came my darling daughter's wedding anniversary & the need to fill a very large, blank space on her kitchen wall. Wouldn't you know, that little quiltlette I was charming along with was exactly the right size to fill the Katie's kitchen wall void. Instead of waiting for instructions, I barged ahead, put it all together, quilted the darned thing, bound and labeled it. How serendipitous. Turned out pretty well, and she LOVES it. Of course she loves everything I do (grin). Well, almost everything......

Ta Da!! Finished size: 27.5" x 33".

Not having enough to do, I also joined the 9 Patch Project which started on Karen's blog. I found a jelly roll of Kansas Winter, by Kansas Troubles hiding in a trunk, and started patching. The tan, green, burgungy, black and dark gold patch combination will make a perfect cold weather throw for our family room. The idea is to make a patch a day from June 1st through mid-August, netting about 76 patches; I've got 39 done. Here is my progress so far:

I'm always looking for ways to make my sewing space less helter-skelter. Those plastic take-out entree containers make really good storage trays for pre-cut strips; I have them sorted by color. They stack up on each other very nicely & fit quite well into my Art Bin storage box. Take 'em out to work; pack 'em up when I've had enough.

The Charm Pack Virus continues to rage. I've been making myself project packs for Schnibbles quilts. I'm taking a Schnibbles pattern, doing all of the sub cuts from a couple of charmers, and packing everything up in pastic bags to create ready-to-go project kits. The Schnibbles work up so quickly they make a great diversion from weighter efforts, and I can manage quilting them myself on Bernie. With any luck, they will work in happily between other stuff and make great Christmas presents.

Oh, and Patchwork Penguin, a.k.a. Nancy, got me started reading Earlene Fowler's Benni Harper mystery books. Funny, light summer fare -- just the ticket to sooth a schnibbled brain -- the books have a quiltish theme without the (sometimes) cloying sweeness of a few of the Elm Creek books. My favorite quote in the 1st book, Fool's Puzzle is from one of Benni's old friends. She and Benni are trying to figure out what they ever saw in a particular boy 'way back in high school: "I don't know where my mind was. He kissed like a vacuum cleaner set on thick plush." I laughed out loud, eliciting stares on the commuter train this morning. I'll go back to the "good for me" books in the winter.

True Beauty

2010-06-29T09:47:00.010-04:00

We've all had bad hair days, but this beauty queen lives with no hair days. This is great story about an amazing young woman.

You can read about Kayla Martell's story here and discover how her beauty comes from the inside out. It took her five tries to make it to the top spot in the Miss Delaware Pagent, but she perservered. She will move on to represent her state in the Miss America Pagent, held in January of 2011. Can you imagine what this means to the self esteem of a child with alopecia? Here is someone who is truely making a difference. Wonder if she quilts too?

Kayla, you go, girl!!!