All Decked Out: flying geese

Yikes! Where has the summer gone??

Wow, the summer has really gotten away from me! I've been plugging away at Annabelle's flying geese quilt, but it's been s-l-o-w going. Just haven't felt like locking myself in the sewing room. I've finished five 4-block rows, however I think I need one more. Don't you hate when that happens? You think you're almost done, but you're not. It's the Quilter's Curse.

I need to apologize for not being a very good blogger. I've been playing around with the template to make it a little easier/cleaner to post. Haven't found anything that rings my chimes yet. Any suggestions? And of course indecision leads to procrastination, so I guess it's yet another UFO.......

I've also discovered that someone mentioned my blog in my college alumnae quarterly. If any Wilson College grads are checking in, glad to have you aboard! Please leave a comment or send me an email. I'd love to hear from you.

The list of favorite blogs over there on the right is growing. Go check some of them out! I particularly like the ones from Australia; such bright & happy fabrics! Check out those foodie blogs as well. If you are into food porn (obscenely enticing pictures of food) and general folksiness, visit Fat Johnny's Front Porch. He's a retired chef whose Cajun/BBQ-centric blog makes me drool. Oh, and that slow cooker blog is wonderful as well! Get up early on Saturday or Sunday, put stuff in your slow cooker, turn it on & retire to your sewing room for the day. 8-10 hours later, you'll have a lot of quilting done, and a fabulous meal waiting for you when you finally poke your head out the door!

Stay tuned for one of my next postings about the taping I attended for a new internet show called Quilt Out Loud! I just don't want to post any pictures until I get their blessing -- I'm kind of old-fashioned that way. The taping was held at my favorite Babylock/Bernina/Brother dealer, Byrne Sewing Connection, in Doylestown, PA. The hosts, Jodie Davis and Mark Lipinski, are just the bee's knees, and so is their new show! You will need to join QNNTV (pay an annual fee to watch videos), but it is well worth it.

Love and Pieces, Pat

Crossing My Geese

Sunday, June 28, 2009 Posted In Baby , featherweight , flying geese , Lancaster 4 Comments »

June 29, 2009

My Bernina is at the sewing machine spa getting her annual spiffing up. Last week she sent me a message via her computer screen telling me that she had been used enough and needed some TLC. I've learned that it's really worth my while to get her tuned regularly, so now she's on vacation for a few weeks and "Baby" is substituting.

Baby is a fine little featherweigh. My DH surprised me with her for our anniversary last year. He dabbles in antiques and collectibles. When I started quilting, he began to take an interest in older machines. After some research

and some prowling around flea markets and auctions, he happened upon this little gem. She's a 1951 centennial model, with all of her attachments and her original carrying case. He had her tuned, set her atop a little sewing stand he also found, put a big blue bow on her head and waited for me to come downstairs. Wow. To say that he knocked my socks off is an understatement! I am so blessed to have a husband who understands my quilting addiction!

When I went to the Lancaster Quilter's Heritage Celebration this Spring, I took her with me to most of the classes & couldn't have been more pleased. That was quite a leap of faith for someone so attached to a computerized Bernina! Kind of made me feel good, though, when I walked into John Flynn's class and saw him sewing on an old black Singer as well.

While I was at the show, I found a gentleman who made the table you see in the picture. He calls it a "retreat table"; it's light weight, with legs that fold up to make it portable. Now I can even bring my Baby down to the family room in the winter, set her up in front of the fire and sew away. For now, however, she's in my sewing room filling in for her big sister Bernie.

I decided it was time to pick up one of my UFOs, a project that I started at Lancaster. It's a pattern from one of Kimberly Einmo's classes, called Flying Geese Crossing. Her flying geese ruler (mentioned in an earlier post) makes those geese a breeze to cut and sew.

Once the quilt is finished, it will go on Annabelle's big-girl bed. She requested Pinks and purples, even helping her GG (gorgeous grandmom) pick out some of the fabrics.

Can you tell that pinks and purples are her favorite colors?

I hope that all of those cute pinks going one way, and purples going the other, will allow visions of sugar plums to dance in her head! Miss Annabellarina, as you can see, is quite a dancer herself!

I'll be sure to post pictures of the progress. I have a feeling that this will be my summer "thang".

Piece and love, Pat

No More Jelly Roll Blues

Monday, June 15, 2009 Posted In flying geese , Jelly Roll Ruler , Mystery Quilts , pinwheels , stars 1 Comment »

June 28, 2009

My friend Kimberly has come up with a new ruler. It's called the Simpli-EZ Jelly Roll Ruler. No, it's not going to change your life, or even make your quilts assemble themselves. What it is going to do, is make cutting/sub-cutting those pre-cuts like jelly rolls and charm squares so much easier. I just got mine in the mail on Saturday and have been playing around with it every since. For those of you who think you don't need another darned ruler, think again.

Here is Kimberly's own description of what the ruler does:

· It works perfectly with Jelly Rolls, Honey Buns, Charm Squares, Layer Cakes and Turnovers.
· It allows you to make cuts fast and accurately. It's designs so you can cut basic units such as squares, rectangles and triangles from 1½” and 2½” strips, and 5” and 10” squares!
· The ruler has two-colors which makes the markings easy-to-see and easy-to-use. The mint green “highlight” lines denote the most commonly used sizes from pre-cut fabric strips and squares.
· There are no 1/8” lines on the ruler; only ¼”, ½” and whole inch markings make viewing clear and uncluttered.
· It’s just plain fun to use!

If you want to read more about it, check out Kimberly's blog entry, A New Ruler. Unfortunately, the giveaway described in the blog has expired.

You should also check out the Easy Stars & Geese Ruler on her web site, http://www.kimberlyeinmo.com/. This ruler makes doing stars and geese so very easy, eliminating virtually all fabric waste when cutting the triangles from strips.

As a matter of fact, I used it to make "Pinwheels for Ian" for my 2 year old grandson.

The pattern is based on Kimberly's Pinwheels and Flying Geese, and was started during one of her classes at the 2008 Quilters' Heritage Celebration in Lancaster PA. How easy is the ruler to use? Don't tell anyone, but that was only my 4th quilt - ever!

This one's from Kimberly's pattern called Bermuda Triangles. It was started during one of her 2008 QHC classes as well, but the pattern also comes packaged with the Easy Stars & Geese ruler. This version is done with batiks; it looks beautiful in a more traditional colorway too. I called it "All Decked Out" because it was for my son and daughter-in-law's wedding anniversary.

Don't you just love a good mystery?

Do yourself a favor and take a trip to Kimberly's web site. In addition to her blog, she has started a nifty little thing called "Do U Do KMQ's?". A KMQ is a Kimberly Mystery Quilt. So far she has done two free MQ's on her web site. I've done both -- one of them twice, in different fabrics! The first "clue" contains the fabric requirements, along with the first set of cuts. Each Friday for the next successive weeks, you'll be able to access another clue to push you further along towards completing the mystery project. You will be among numerous international quilters who have tried her MQ's. So far she has done one in Japan, and currently has another being published in segments in Irish Quilting Magazine. Why not give it a try?!

Piece and Love, Pat