settled in

We are really settled in here at Nancy's house, we pretty much have everything at our fingertips or very nearly. The dining area is where our 3 machines are embedded and the large kitchen island is perfect for our cutting area. The living room with TV and comfy seating is right next to us, so we can keep up on what's happening in the world or in our favorite shows. Nancy has a fully loaded kitchen, fridge, pantry, freezer and wine cooler, so we are good to go! Last night we cooked up 2 big pans of roasted root vegies seasoned with olive oil and herbs, accompanied by a brown rice mixture. Yummo! And some summer peaches were brought out of the freezer and turned into a great peach crisp using a gluten-free yellow cake mix, butter and cinnamon. The perfect ending!

We gained one more in our numbers last night, my daughter, Brita, drove up from Minneapolis for an overnight. She is now 33 weeks pregnant--oh my!--and we think it's wonderful that she could join us. She curled up on the couch with some yarn and crochet hook to make a little baby blanket. We both talked awhile with Dan as he was sitting on the Pacific coastline watching the sunset. He was camping somewhere in the Big Sur area, I think. His biking is going well, he is in good physical condition and is learning the ways of the long distance road trip. He sounds very happy and the pictures on his website certainly look happy, too.

Some more reports on our sewing time--

I finished making and attaching the 4 border sections to my previously mentioned hap quilt. That feels like a major accomplishment for me, and I love the way it looks. I am toying with the idea of making it a little larger by adding a border all around, but I might just be happy calling it done.

I completed a little baby quilt, for a girl this time, from the Vintage Baby Quilt pattern by Yoyomama.

I used a pale yellow for the background and used a bunch of girlie colors. It is quilted as you top stitch the squares, raw edges exposed. Put on a nice striped binding, wash it up, and voila! (Pattern available at Bear Patch)

Here's a fun and easy project for you:

These are coasters and trivets are easy and quick and doable with random fabrics. The pattern is Amazingly Simple Coasters & Hot Pads by Tiger Lily Press (also available at Bear Patch). I can't find a website for Tiger Lily, but the designer's name is Nicole Chambers-Kaya. Her instructions use several layers of heavyweight fusible interfacing and batting to get a stiff material. I cheated a little and used just plain fusible Timtex instead, with nearly the same results and a lot less messing around! There are 3 sizes in the pattern, what you see above are the small and medium.

For the last feature this morning, I am sharing a group accomplishment. Leisl has taken on the completion of this quilt for a dear friend and she doesn't know about it. She is in a nursing home in Chicago recovering from heart surgery and I am pretty sure that she is not following the great literary work on this blog. In my quilt group, the Ham Lake Piecemakers, we celebrate decade birthdays (30-40-50-etc.) by asking everyone to make a block that the birthday girl can put together into a quilt. This was the one we worked on for Dianne, so each block has the maker's name on it. Dianne put them all together and put the floral vine border all around.

Then, since she wanted to hand quilt it, she marked a cross-hatch grid over the whole works. And then her life changed, she moved to her daughter's in Chicago area, and the quilting took a back seat to other things. Leisl managed to sneak this quilt away and was determined to get it done. Some of the pencil marks had gone astray, and we used Sew Clean by Bear Thread Designs to successfully remove some lines and then mark new lines. I mounted it on my quilt frame and basted it with the batting and backing. Leisl started the hand quilting, and then I took it to my mom and she got the quilting finished. I took it back to Leisl and she put on the binding. The areas that had been sprayed with the Sew Clean had yellowed, so it was soaked in Vintage Soak and turned out nice and white. Now it is just a matter of getting it back to Dianne, I wish I could see her face when she receives it! It has been fun to see it all come together, and even more fun to imagine Dianne's surprise.

Not sure what today's projects will be, but I will keep you posted!

checking off the list

I have enjoyed getting some sewing time lately, and havebeen able to finish up some things languishing on the "To Do" pile. I haven't been watching eagles nesting all day long! I started this one in January on my escape to Door Co.

I was able to get the majority of the blocks constructed there, but it has taken me quite awhile to get the setting triangles sewn into the rows and the rows sewn into a whole top. It's pretty big, this only shows part of it because my display apparatus (aka Bob) was pushed to his limit even while standing on a chair. This is a good example of a quilt that has gone through several levels on my like-o-meter. I picked out fabrics from the Kinkame shelves at Bear Patch, I have lusted after these soft Asian-inspired fabrics for quite awhile so I was happy to have decided on a class project that would make good use of them. Looking at my pile of fabric was a good feeling. Then came all the cutting and sewing of the blocks, which was medium on the scale. Then I had to sew all the triangles in-between, and I was not sure it was going to turn out at all like I had hoped, it just seemed too mixed up and disjointed. But then the rows started coming together, and finally the outer border pulled it all into shape and now I like it again! Whew! I have the backing ready and will start quilting it today probably.

I finished quilting Nancy's rustic applique quilt, it was fun to work on all the little sections. The little chocolate bunny was looking good enough to eat! But what is with those weird veggies? Are those supposed to be artichokes or something? They look like they came from another planet! I get the carrots and turnips, but I think Nancy was smoking something when she put those other ones on!

I have no pictures to show of the 2 little baby quilts that went off in the mail yesterday. Two more members of the Hansen family were born in March--Jaxson Motley in Phoenix, AZ, and Bode Bulfer in Northfield, MN. Welcome to the world, little guys! I hope they get much enjoyment from them.

I finished quilting this last night--

I never tire of batiks, they are a delight to work with. This is a customer's quilt, and the pattern is Popsicle Sticks by Atkinson Designs.

So that's what I have been up to, what about you?

We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are. --Anais Nin

the march lamb

Do you believe in the old saying that if March comes in like a lion it goes out like a lamb? And is the opposite also true? Here on the frozen tundra it has seemed pretty lambish for these first days of March, cold but no storms. That does not bode well for the end of the month! Our March weather is typically snowy inshort periods, often coinciding with high school tournament time and snarling up plans for people traveling from all over the state to St. Paul for the final rounds of hockey, wrestling and basketball games. The good thing about any snow we get now isknowing that it won't be around for long, as compared to the snows of Nov/Dec that you know will remain as icebergs for months to come. It's all a mind game at this point!

I am loving my morning at home today, it's quiet, I have noplace to go so I can keep my jammies and robe on for a bit longer, and the fire in the woodstove is keeping me toasty. I've been taking some pictures to share with you---

This is a nice little woolen penny rug that I handstitched not too long ago. The little circles were all cut out for quite awhile, patiently waiting for my attention. If I remember correctly, this started out in Wisconsin when I was on a retreat at Beaver Lake Landing. We walked across the frozen lake to visit the home workshop of a wool dyer, and ended up with assorted woolens that someone (maybe Marilee?) started cutting into little pieces so we could exchange and get a better variety. I might have the facts wrong on that, but I doknow that it was a cooperative project, which always makes it more special.

I finally finished the binding on this baby quilt:

I really got some sore fingers from this one because I made the binding just a titch too small, or the seam allowance just a titch too big, because it really needed some pushing and pulling to turn around the edges neatly. I showed you this here before when I was blocking the yardage to get it squared up. These are not individual little pieces that I sewed together, they are just designs printed on fabric. I quilted them as blocks with a coordinated blue backing that has words about babies all over it. It finished up about 36" square and will be heading off to Arizona soon for a new baby boy in Laura and Rommel's family.

Still doing some winter-type knitting, making an "infinity scarf", which is basically just a big loop to be worn around the neck. The colder it gets, the more it encircles the neck!

Nice bulky washable wool yarn, pattern free here.

I spent part of my morning yesterday making up kits for quilts to be made and donated to Quilts For Kids.

My club, guild, gang, whatever you want to call it, officially the Ham Lake Piecemakers, is having a sewing fest next Friday and Saturday to see how many donation quilts we can generate. So I am getting some prep work done for that, using fabric from my own accumulation and a little support for key pieces from the quilt shop. I think these will bring lots of comfort to some little ones.

Putting my new design wall to good use as I construct these rows. The top row has been sewn together with triangles, but I am not loving this fabric. I might have to have a do-over on that one. I have 4 other rows done and this one just doesn't go with the flow.

Three more rows to go!

And the sorting, reorganizing and purging of my sewing stuff is winding down (alleluhia!). I have prepared a bundle of patterns that I am ready to part with.

These will go to the Piecemakers for a little fund-raiser that we usually do at our retreats. If you are part of a quilt group you might want to try this, it has been a success in adding to our treasury and helping us buy batting for our charity quilts. Here's the deal:

members are encouraged to donate a few items that are likely desirable, not junky. These can be fabric bundles, a basket of notions, a bag of thread, a group of patterns, etc. The coordinator places a few of them on a display table with a little basket next to each item. During the next few hours, group members can put their name into the baskets that they are interested in. $0.25 per name! You can put your name in as many times as you want, but it costs each time. At a pre-determined time, one name is drawn from each basket and that person is the new owner of that treasure. And we start it all over again, until we run out of items! It's fun to see what is in demand, and how many quarters some women are willing to part with!

Time to get on with the day and I will leave you with this parting thought:

"Nothing makes a woman more beautiful than the belief that she is beautiful." Sophia Loren

finishes

A few more finishes to note:

Two matching Christmas quilts for a customer are done and ready to be delivered:

I used a new pantogram design for these called Poinsettia by Patricia Ritter. This design looked to me like it needed to be stitched in vertical rows on the quilt instead of the usual horizontal. That simply meant that I needed to mount the quilt "sideways" on the frame, which normally is fine and something I often do. But this backing fabric was directional with cardinals perched on branches, so they needed to go "sideways", too. And that meant the seam in the backing was also "sideways", meaning parallel to the rollers, and centering it in the middle of the quilt top was a new thing for me. It took several extra steps, but it got done!

When I was gone in January on my little quilting journey, I sewedup 4 little quilts to be donated to Quilts For Kids.

First thing I did when I got home was quilt them up, now the bindings are cut and ready. It is fun to be able to do those. The 2 on the bottom of the stack are just simple panels of fabric and small enough for a little baby. The other 2 are a bit bigger and made with a 4-patch pattern from the QFK website. I just put a large all-over meander on them and call it good.

Now here's a chocolate cake that I did not personally finish, but I can vouch for its yumminess! It was served yesterday at a baby shower I attended at Brita's house, she and Molly put together a fun celebration for Sara's upcoming first baby. Thanks for inviting me, girls!

back in the saddle again

Cheers to new cameras and birthday money! My recent camera loss coincided with my birthday, so I was able to use my birthday gift money to fill the gap. So I shopped around, and found that I was pretty lucky to have had the little Canon that my kids picked out for me 2 years ago, and to make life simpler I decided to stick with that brand and just get an updated model. Plus I found a good one for a good price on clearance at OfficeMax when I was buying paper. So I am back in business this morning! New pictures for you!

This was a fabric souvenir from Fabrications in Healdsburg, CA.

Just a nice little whimsical print from Japan.

And this was my yarn souvenir from Balls & Skeins in Sebastopol.

A couple quilts have made it onto and off the quilt frame during my photo-impaired time period. One of them was lots of red and black and white flannel with a center like this:

This quilt belongs to Greg, son of my friend, Leisl. Greg is leaving in a few days to start at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. Their team name is the Utes, taken from the Native American Ute tribe. I did a little readingabout the school, since the only Utah school I had known was BrighamYoung. Looks like a good place for Greg, I hope he is happy there. Interestingly, this is a campus that bans alcohol but allows guns!

On my quilt frame (to be finished today):

Your basic log cabin quilt, which never goes out of style. I'm stitching this spiral square pantogram, a repetitive pattern that I really like because it has a nice rhythm to it. Also on the schedule for today, work on cleaning out a closet full of lots of knitting and craft stuff. My goal is to empty it out, repaint (sorry Brita, the glitter and grafitti of HS has to go), and install proper shelving. Ideally, this would be done in the next 3 days so I can accomodate a special guest for the weekend. But unless a crew shows up on my doorstep in the next hour or so, that won't be happening! Oh well, we'll make the best of it!

Let your fabric do the talking

One of the steps in the process of quilting is deciding what to stitch on the quilt. This step can sometimes be a stumbling block for me, especially if the customer doesn't have any specific wishes. Some customers might tell me that they want a particular type of quilting, or motif to work into the design, or price point to achieve. Others will simply say "Do whatever you like". So then I have more decision-making to do, which has a good side and a bad, depending on the day and my mood! The quilt I am working on right now is destined for a baby on the way in Debbie's family. The mother-to-be had a hand in picking out the fabrics and colors. It has lots of dots. As I was looking at the quilt, I knew I was going to put my little clamshell-like-thingies in the center portion, but thought it would be fun to give the borders a little different treatment. I doodled around a little in my head and then realized that the graphic layout of the dots was a perfect setup. I guess you could call it connect the dots! And when I started laying on the stitching lines curving in and out between the circles, it created a really fun design.

The little narrow border has little stripes which became my guide for stitching at intervals along those lines. Didn't have to measure or mark a thing! I think this quilt will look good in baby drool!

Puppies on parade

I've been working on a new little quilt design because I have always liked the look of the 16-patch block but never used it before. So I found this irresistible puppy dog fabric at Bear Patch and with some input from Kristina, gathered up 16 more fabrics to make the blocks. It's just a baby quilt size so pretty reasonable to put together if you have a special fabric that you want to use and some bits and pieces to go with it.

This is a close-up of the puppies, although for some reason they appear to be on a beige background instead of the blue that is shown above. They really are cute, even to someone like me who is not what I would call a "dog person"! We have had several cats as pets, but never a dog, except when I was a kid at home on the farm and dogs were a part of the landscape there.

I think these little pups are as close as I will come to having a pet dog!

Quilt Fun

Something new and lovely spent some time on my quilt frame over the weekend, it looks so pretty and fresh! Debbie made this from a new group of fabric at the store for our upcoming display of baby quilts. The fabric group is Blush from Basic Grey by Moda. The pattern is LoLo by Blue Underground Studios. My quilting is pretty subtle, a few loops and feathers, to make a sweet little baby quilt that is useful and practical. We have other fun things in mind for display in a month or so, stay tuned.....