pattern info

Some missing pattern info--

"Up the Spout Again" is a free download from the RJR website.

The big red star is a Country Threads pattern.

Done!

This took awhile, but it was a good experience, I got to use a couple new things that I learned about at my classes at Machine Quilters Showcase 2 weeks ago.  These borders are definitely the best job of feathers that I have done so far.  I also put feathers into each of the "spiderweb" blocks.  I am seeing Leisl tonight so I can take it with me, I hope she likes it as much as I do!!!

things done and undone

So here's what's been in the works around here the last few days...

3 new Flour Power aprons (my own pattern) for Brita, Molly and her sister

quilting for Leisl, showing the pretty feathers in the border which surrounds what I call the spiderweb blocks.  I think this was a pattern from the fabric maker of these 30's prints, I will have to find out and let you know.

knitting a hat for Brita, per her request, from yarn purchased in June Lake, CA, at Sierra Cottons and Wools, from a pattern I pretty much made up, I hope this is what she wants!

scarf for myself, same as I made for Brita last winter except different yarn, this time it is Boku from Plymouth yarns.  Pattern on the web at Brooklyn Tweed, it's called Noro scarf

purse--Mini Miranda by Lazy Girl, this one was a great pattern, a good size, and I will make it again.  Now on display at Bear Patch.

and finally, my hand applique block (16") from Cherrywood fabrics and pattern from The Quilt Show 2008 BOM.  Tomorrow night I am meeting Nancy, Leisl, and Maggie for dinner and our block exchange.  We each pass off the block we have made (of our own choosing) to another person.  That person will add a border of some kind (of their own choosing) and at a pre-determined date we will pass the blocks on to another member of the little circle.  This continues until each of us have worked on each other person's block, which hopefully will end up to be about Christmastime, at which time we will get our own block back as a completed quilt top!

Whew!

I have had the pleasure of doing some quilting for Stacy West, designer of Buttermilk Basin patterns.  She took all her newest patterns and samples to the International Quilt Market in Pittsburgh, PA, about a week ago.  This is a trade show attended by quilt shop owners to view/buy/order the latest fabrics, patterns, gadgets, etc.  I have attended Market before, and love the experience.  Unfortunately, it was not in the cards for me to attend this time, so I was very curious about how my quilting looked on display.  Stacy forwarded a couple links from other blogsites showing her booth and display:  

Minnick and Simpson

Sweet Home Quilt Co.

Doesn't Stacy do a great job with her designs and display?  It was fun to have a little part of it--the red and white quilt in the foreground was one I quilted, it is redwork embroidery on all those blocks.  Then on the right wall there are 2 more that I can see that I quilted, they combine applique and embroidery.  Then in the Sweet Home picture, there is a corner of a quilt on the left side of the picture that I also quilted.  There were a few other items that I did that aren't shown here, too.  I haven't found out yet from Stacy how her patterns were received, if the show was a success for her or not.  I know that the economic situation has changed what our customers at the quilt shop are buying, so that in turn changes what the shop buys, which trickles down to the pattern designers.  We are ready for that quilting bailout anytime now!

Regarding my last post, I think that the big red star pattern was from Calico Carriage--Nancy if you are reading this will you comment?

just stuff

Just some miscellaneous stuff to share with you--

finished up quilting the big red star for Nancy.  She made it from dark rusty red flannels and homespuns surrounded by white flannel--it turned out great but I am a little leery of how it will look after its first laundering!  I'm afraid it will have a pink background!  Oh well, it will still be warm and comfy because it has a soft "minky" backing.  I had not quilted this type of fabric before but it was relatively problem-free.  And the quilting takes on a very sculpted look.

The lilacs and our 2 apple trees have been blooming--

I'm spending 4 days home with my quilting and sewing, Bob is gone fishin' with his buddy, so I am living it up at home!  That means I can eat, sleep and sew at will!

Friday was an important day for our family--Dan turned 26!!  He is far from home, but always close to my heart.  He was such a loveable little guy, a real cutie as he was growing up.  Always ready with a hug and a laugh.  I love this little old picture of him, working on eating a cookie that was bigger than his head!  No limits for that guy!

The robins on the front porch have left the nest.  This year I stayed clear of the nest, after scaring the little babies out of the nest last year before they were really ready.  Left that up to mama robin this time!

I heart my kids!

What wonderful, thoughtful, brilliant kids I have!  Thank you, Dan, Brita and Ben!  I opened up the box that Bob had kept hidden away and as soon as I saw the big M's on the label I knew this was gonna' be good!  And then I got a close look, and I was laughing and crying like a fool!  Teeny tiny faces and words looking up at me--combining the best things in life (family and chocolate) makes an amazing treat!   Thank you, thank you, thank you!

I am writing this from my hotel room in Overland Park, KS, suburb of Kansas City, and will be leaving shortly to go to the convention center for the start of 3 1/2 days of classes covering topics related to long-arm quilting.  Some of them are hands-on experiences, some are lectures.  All will be very enlightening, I'm sure, since they are taught by some of the well-known experts in the quilting world.  This is my first experience with this type of conference, so I am eager to get in and learn it all, then get home and quilt!  My drive yesterday was problem-free, had the good fortune to stop at Mom and Dad's for lunch and also got to see Mary, Jarry and Spencer.  Then back on the road, finishing up one CD book and most of the way through the second.  Got into some rain in Missouri, but got to my hotel by 7:30, which gave me time to scout the neighborhood before dark and see where I need to go this morning and where the good restaurants are!  Now time for a little breakfast---

My girls

Dedicating this post to my 2 best friends who posed with me for this picture!  That must be Nancy on the left, she would be the one to wear a dead animal and go shopping in WalMart!  Leisl must be the one in the center, because she is such a good little housewife.  And that's me on the right, all business all the time!  Funny how we never age!

We have leaves

It is bright and sunny out this morning, very refreshing 48 degrees as I sat on the back step eating my granola and OJ breakfast.  This is the week of bursting leaves and pretty soon I won't be able to see the neighboring houses.  Bob had the first wood tick so we are officially over winter!  I finally got out yesterday and trimmed off the dead blossoms and stems from the hydrangea bushes and dug around in the dirt for awhile.  In the background of the picture you can see the dirt patch that has been our garden for quite a few years.  Bob has decided to move it this year, so he is in the process of that.  Also got these socks done--

and since they were knit simultaneously I can be confident that they are they are matching.  In size, that is, not in stripes!  I think there might be some sock knitters who would have preferred to engineer a matching stripe pattern, but I'm not one of them!  It's not so hard to do because the stripe pattern repeats itself, so you just have to pull yarn from one skein to get to the matching point of the other skein.  But honestly, who cares?!  I think if I am wearing lime green/red/blue striped socks, the issue of matching stripe rows is low priority!  BTW, these are knit from Paton's Kroy Socks and are a wool blend, so won't get much summertime wear!  It's a yarn that is fairly inexpensive and accessible to me, so now that I know this pattern and technique work I will be able to cast on with confidence using the Noro Silk Garden Sock yarn that is a little more special.  Part of its specialness is the fact that I purchased it on vacation at Sierra Cottons and Wools in June Lake, CA.  Some people might collect tshirts for souvenirs, I collect yarn and fabric!

Gotta' leave in a minute to get some patterns printed to restock at Bear Patch, and get to work and hopefully have an interesting day there since the governor will be in White Bear Lake today and tomorrow for the fishing opener.  If you are not familiar with this event, you have to know that the opening day of the fishing season is a big deal, and yes, it's always on Mother's Day weekend!  Each year the governor (and entourage) pick a lake and then the hoopla begins.  There is a full schedule of events taking place with food, music, speeches, raffles, and of course, a little fishing!  Bear Patch is a block or 2 away from the festivities and about 3 blocks away from the lake, so depending on the turnout, I better be early to get a parking space.

WooHoo!

Many good things today!  First, and most importantly, Bob and I are the proud parents of The Nurse of the Year on Brita's unit at Stanford University Medical Center!!  We have known how special she is for 29+ years, so we are glad that her co-workers agree!  Forgive me, Brita, for this blatant braggadocio, but it is overdue.  We know how hard she works, and how much she cares, and how brilliant she is!  Thank you for being an excellent nurse for your patients, and a leader among your peers!

Secondly, I received my new SewEzi table, ordered at Paducah, and now at home in my sewing room.  It is lovely and ergonomically correct, to boot!

Last Friday, I had the opportunity to be the "guest designer" at Bear Patch during our Twin Cities Shop Hop, and enjoyed the chance to wear another hat (even though I still got to make the coffee!) to talk with people who have not previously known of my patterns.  I am happy to say that Emmaline Design now has 12 wonderful patterns in print!  Each one is a process, going from idea to paper, and I have learned so much.  More will be coming, I am gearing up with some ideas for August and the statewide shop hop with patterns featuring the fabric designed especially for that event.  Stay tuned...

And lastly, I have 2 new little bags that I can't stay away from!  They both have a sort of "snappy" closure, which appeals to my senses, and makes it hard to resist snapping them.  I find myself wanting to involve others in the snappiness--is that weird?  The larger bag is from a pattern Snap Happy from Stitchin' Sisters, and it closes with a snap from a carpenter's measuring tape, which gives me a secret pleasure in explaining that fact to the uninitiated!  The little bag is made from a tutorial from the British website from which I ordered the frame, U-Handbag.  I always wanted to see if I could make a bag using these nice metal frames, and now I know it works!  This little one is just too cute to resist!  Now I just have to find a more reasonable source for the frames and not pay for shipping across the big pond.

So that is an update from here, tomorrow is quilting--Yay!

Clarification

In the interest of full disclosure, I have to admit that my previous post about my applique and knitting on wheels did not include the information that I was drugged in order to accomplish this!  Yes, I have long detested the fact that I am a weakling when it comes to motion sickness, and had to admit that it was not going to be cured by mind over matter.  This is why God created people able to make pharmaceuticals!  Bonine to the rescue!  There is no way I would have been able to tolerate riding in the back of the bus, let alone try to sew, knit or read, without chemical help.  Even though we were on a terrifically comfortable bus that floated down the highway, there was no lack of bumps and sway, especially in the back end.  I have always, for as long as I remember, had problems with motion sickness, so have learned to seek out the front seat if I am not driving.  With my mature years, I am happy to say that I can now at least do some knitting or stitching if the road is relatively straight.  Reading, even maps, while moving is still an invitation for trouble for me.  

The exception to my rule of only-riding-in-the-front-seat-or-get-the-barf-bag-ready memories goes way back to grade school days.  Living on a farm meant riding the bus every day, there was no other notion of getting to school otherwise.  I have vivid memories of the kids on the bus that circled our area finding our seats way to the back and urging Pat, our driver for many years, to make a good speedy run for the railroad crossing so we could see how high we would fly off the seats when we hit the rails!  It was kind of a game, and sometimes Pat would go along with us, even though he was legally required to stop at the tracks.  I suppose he could have been fired for doing that, and totally endangered our lives, but he was our favorite driver!