And Another Thing...

Ahhh... Organization!

2011-02-01T07:19:00.000-08:00

So I store most of my fabric in these fabulous Ikea drawers.

It's worked out well, but I have to admit it's gotten a wee bit out of control. I don't have any kind of folding system, I just stuff the drawers to overflowing.
One drawer for green, one for blue, etc, etc...
So when I couldn't find the PERFECT fabric that I have for the binding on Sweet Baboo's guitar quilt, I started pulling out the drawers and dumping them. THEN I had the brilliant idea to try and fold the fabric and put it back in neatly.
Well, neat-ish. I started with my two drawers of novelty fabric, since they were the ones that I couldn't shove back in. Next up was the blue drawer.
Yikes.
So here's the before,and after!Look how much nicer!
Tomorrow it looks like I'll need to sort the reds. One drawer per day, and I'll have the whole thing done in two weeks!
I still haven't found that binding fabric though!
And what's this pile?I started pulling some fabrics for a new baby quilt, since my pseudo - daughter is having a baby!
I already have last week's quilt in case it's a girl, now to make a boy version.
Or two.
Or ten.
That's going to be one cozy baby.

The Best Mail Ever!

2011-01-29T07:00:00.000-08:00

The new phone books are here!

I received two, TWO quilts back from my fabulous long armer this week!Here they are spilling out of the box. How does she get them in there? Once I pull them out they seem to expand, and they're never going back in.
You might recognize the Sweet Baboo's Guitar Hero quilt!It's beautiful, and soft and drapey.
She quilted it with this star pattern, because he's such a SUPERSTAR!I might like the back even more than the front... I'll have better pictures after I get the bindings on.
And here's Atreyu, the never ending quilt!I think I'll change her name to Cherry Pie, because she's quilted with an adorable cherry pattern. I worried that the cherry pattern wasn't going to be as cute as I pictured in my head.
I have buyer's remorse over most decisions in my life. We'll talk about my commitment phobia at another time.
But I love it!
I just love it!
I do wish I hadn't cheaped out on the backing, because it's a polka dot flannel but it feels really stiff.
Oh well, live and learn.
It'll look fantastic hanging on my wall for Valentine's Day!
What's next?

What to do... What to do...

2011-01-27T07:00:00.000-08:00

January was Krista's month in our quilting bee. She sent out an eclectic group of fabrics and requested wonky liberated log cabins.

This is what I'm sending her! It's not as easy as you might think to do random, wonky piecing. I tend to over- think things. My OCD comes back in spades.
She's going to be cutting them up into quarters, bento box style, like this: That should make for a very colorful quilt!
So that means that we have February, which is Skye's month, and then MINE!!!
My month is March!
Woo hoo!
I'm having the hardest time deciding what to have my hivemates make for me.
Again, I might be over-thinking it.
I'm definitely thinking about making a Day of the Dead quilt.
Why?
Because I have a plan to have quilts for every holiday, but I hate Halloween.
That makes sense, right?
So you see, I'd never make a Halloween quilt on my own, in fact I don't even really want to own a Halloween quilt. But a Day of the Dead quilt?
That's a different kettle of fish.
So I can get D of the D fabric easily enough, but what pattern?
There's the pickle.
I might be hungry, I'm talking a lot of food suddenly.
I could go with a liberated star...Or maybe a string quilt?I have less than a month to decide!
Any advice?

Zippers Are a Gateway Drug

2011-01-25T08:04:00.000-08:00

Is this how it starts?

I've called myself a quilter for so long, and whenever someone says "Oh! You sew?" with that gleam in their eye that tells you that they're about to ask you for the most complicated dress/shirt/pants, I'm quick to correct them.
No! I don't SEW. I sew straight lines, putting straight pieces of fabric together.
I'm a quilter.
But my friend asked me for some pillow cases to match what she already had, so I made her some pillow cases.
WITH ZIPPERS!
And I was hooked.
Then my daughter-in-law got a Nook for Christmas, and needed a case for it.
So what's a girl to do?
I made her a case.
With, are you sitting down? With a ZIPPER!
Thaaaat's right.
Then I became OBSESSED with zippers.
Everything must have zippers!
I made a case with a zipper that went around the corner.
Yeah, it wasn't good.
Then I started with the bags.My friend Lisa and I bought this fabric to make totes and bags and coin purses and such.And damned if that leftover pillow fabric didn't match perfectly!
So yeah, it's a strange size, and it definitely isn't my best work, but check out those box corners! Yeah, Baby.
That's sexy!

Some Sewing Got Done!

2011-01-23T14:35:00.000-08:00

So I've had this template for, like, EVER.

Never used it, but I saw it on someone's blog the other day, and that prompted me to bust it out and give it a try.I'm not going to say it's the easiest thing in the world, but I made this little baby quilt in ONE AFTERNOON.
So I guess it works ok!
Now, if you're afraid of bias edges, this might not be for you, but I ain't skerred of no biases, so I just starched the ever loving heck out of it and cut away. How starched is it? It can stand up on it's own.
See?That's a lot of starch.
Now, I know, this Hunky Dory fabric isn't the best choice. Something with more contrast would work better, but I had this charm pack and had never done anything with it, and I just wanted to play, so...
It's about 30" by 26. It shrinks up a lot in the cutting and resewing.Now I just need someone to have a baby girl, and I'm all set!

At Least I've Never Attacked a Rabbit With an Oar...

2010-11-06T15:40:00.000-07:00

My name is Janice, and I have lusted in my heart.

I have wanted this fabric, "Flower Sugar" for over a year. When the Fat Quarter Shop sent me that email that it had finally arrived, I bought every single speck of it that very day. Love.

Love, love, love.It came out a while back, and I loved it then, but it had a weird stripe, and a multi-colored polka dot that I wasn't crazy about. Then they re-released it without the very prints that I didn't like!They read my mind.
So I have it all, and I can't wait to turn it into the most beautiful quilt ever. Something a little old fashioned, but still jaw dropping.
Isn't it gorgeous?
It's 40's fabulous. I'm thinking it might need a touch of black in there, to cut the sweetness.
We'll see.
And the following will only make sense if your name is Lisa.
See Lisa?How cool is that?
We're on our way, Sista!

And Another Thing...

2010-10-26T11:59:00.000-07:00

What's new? It's been a while, here's what I've been up to.

I made some pillows, that match a quilt made with "Fandango" that a friend made.

I made some Bee blocks, here's September, based on "Map of the States" by Oh Fransson.

I love the screen printed bird fabric that Lauree sent!

And here's a house block that Heather requested.

Houses are hard!

I have been humbled by the house block. They are definitely harder than they look. This is about my sixth attempt. There were a lot of remodels before the final result.

She wanted bright, and I would absolutely live in a hot pink house. With a flower petal roof. And a pink flamingo in the yard.

Who wouldn't?

What else? I saw Kathy Griffin.

She's a tiny little pocket person, and never took a breath the whole time she was on stage.

Fabulous.

And I went to the Pacific International Quilt Festival with my dear, dear friend.

I fell in love with this one, by Carol Taylor.

I seem to remember falling in love with another of her quilts last year at the show. I think I might be in love with Carol Taylor. I just Googled her and found out that she's going to be teaching locally in January. I need to take me some classes! I don't think it's stalking if you pay to see someone, right?

I didn't catch who made this quilt, but it's awe inspiring.

I can't begin to imagine how someone made it.

My brain doesn't work that way.

And what else?

I finished the binding on the Sultry quilt.

And I started a triangle quilt out of Origins.

I love me some Origins. It looks really yellow in this picture, but it is a yellow background, so maybe it's closer than I think.

I used the very scientific "SIAH" process to pick the background of Bella Butter fabric; Stuff I Already Had. I think it works.

You'd think I'd have more things to share, it's been so long, but I don't. I'm a pretty boring person at heart. I watch a lot of TV, I try to make my dog snuggle with me, I work full time. Today IS the Sweet Baboo's birthday though, THAT'S exciting! We're meeting friends at a Fondue restaurant tonight. Should be tons of fun.

I'll let you know.

Hellllllllo August!

2010-08-01T15:39:00.000-07:00

Where did July go?

I swear, I'm going to blink and be 95. I have no idea how the time gets away from me so easily.

July was filled with working and vacationing, and searching for the perfect fish tacos, and camping and napping and panic attacks and a small bit of sewing and cleaning and movie watching and lunching on the wharf and more work.

This is one of the only pictures I took while camping in Pismo Beach, showing just how cold it was the whole time we were there.

And this is a Christmas quilt I'm making for my sister-in-law (I don't think she reads my blog...) from the Old Red Barn Co quilt along.

I'm not in love with it yet. It's made with "At Home for the Holidays" fabric, which I think will suit my SIL just fine. I deliberately don't have any red pieces on the outside edges so that I can add on a red border and then maybe a piano key border of all the leftover fabrics. I'm not sure though, it's pretty big already. I'd like to find a nice flannel for the back, without spending a fortune. Don't you hate when you get to the backing and it costs more than the whole top? Or maybe it just because we don't buy a giant four yard piece all at once. It's easier to ignore the cost if only see it in small bites.

"$2 for a fat quarter? I'll take five! $10 a yard? Ridiculous!"

The fabrics are nice though.

I added in a couple others just because.

I had to order one more yard for the border, and also a border for this quilt...

I've got it all pieced together now, and I'm waiting (searching? pining?) for inspiration for a border. I don't want to just slap a plain piece of fabric on it, but it should be something that reflects what's going on in the quilt. You know? You know? I know you know. This woman ruined me. I LOVED her quilt as it was, and then she went and added on the most amazing border!

Dang it! Always someone upping the ante!

Any ideas?

SewFun2

2010-07-05T10:38:00.000-07:00

Man, talk about addictive!

Chelsea requested wonky quarter log cabin blocks for her July pick in our quilting bee.

I could make these things for DAYS!

I might have to start my own quilt with them!

I was so impressed when I got her fabric, because I don't think I could have put these fabrics together in a million years, but it works!

I definitely need to push myself in my color choices. Get away from the precuts and fabric bundles. Mix it up!

My first two blocks looked too much alike for me, (it's the angles and placement of the dark brown) so I had to squeak out the third block.

I hope she likes it!

Just so you know...

2010-07-03T16:51:00.000-07:00

Fabric.com is having a sale. I just got 18 half yard cuts of Anna Marie Horner's Good Folks line, with a little Tina Givens thrown in for $28. Free shipping on orders over $35, PLUS 20-25% off the sale prices!

Get in there and get you some!

(photo stolen from Anna Marie Horner's blog)

Chickens and Lizards and Bindings OH MY!

2010-06-30T19:57:00.000-07:00

Soooooo... ummm...

Remember when I said I did all my bindings on the sewing machine? Remember how I said I would never, but NEVER attempt a binding BY HAND?

Remember when I was so smug about those who would attempt it, and how I rolled my eyes and quietly called them freaks under my breath?

Ok, I might have done that last one in private.

But now I'm rolling my eyes at myself, which is just very hard to do and will give you a migraine, because here I am, me, smug bastard that I am, DOING A BINDING BY HAND!

What has the world come to?

And what's more?

I LIKE IT!

So here's the Kitchen Chicken quilt. I took pictures of it and shared it with you.

And in looking at the pictures, I was struck by the yellow chickens.

They looked a little lost.

A little disjointed.

And there's nothing sadder than a disjointed, lost chicken.

I had to give them somewhere to roost.

So when putting the binding on, I included a little flange of yellow chicken fabric.

Like piping, without the pipe.

I tried to cut all the red out of the fabric, because the Metro Market fabric with the yellow background has red and black chickens.

I missed one tiny spot, this little guy looking out from the corner.

How cute is that? Completely spontaneous, I didn't try to land him there.

But I love him.

So because I did the fancy pipeless-piping on the front, I didn't want to ruin the look by machine stitching the binding.

So there I was.

Quilt across my lap.

HAND SEWING the binding to the back.

Who woulda thunk it?

And the more I sewed, the more I loved the look.

I have no idea if I did it correctly, and it may all come out with the first tug, but I did it.

And it's cute on the back too.

And every time I took a stitch and hooked the thread with my middle finger to pull it through, it was as if my Mother was in the room, looking over my shoulder.

She would have been AMAZED.

She always commented on how she tried and tried to teach me to sew as a child, and I always resisted.

It amused her so much to be able to say:

"My daughter - the quilter!"

I think she'd be proud. I'm proud of myself!

On another note, the Sweet Baboo has been doing a lot of yard work, and scared up this little fella.

Looks like he lost his tail at some point, and grew a new one.

I think there's a lesson there about not letting things stop you.

Just get over it and keep going.

Thanks Lizard!

Message received.

Like the Mona Lisa in Fabric...

2010-06-14T18:01:00.000-07:00

Drum roll please!

Boy, I am on such a roll with the blogging these days.

What WILL I talk about tomorrow?

So this is the Sultry Braid Quilt.

It started as a kit, but then expanded and expanded into the beautiful quilt it is today.

Its big, pretty much bed sized.

Look at the amazing job my quilter did.

Look at those feathers!

Look at the 'ribbon candy' in that pink border!

I can't stand it.

She said while she was quilting the borders, (amazing!) she kept thinking "big floppy bunny ears... big floppy bunny ears..." because we didn't want, as she put it, the "quilted to death" look.

I love it.

Absolutely love it.

I have a stripe fabric for the binding, but now I really want a dark brown binding.

A frame.

For a work of art.

'Cause that's what it is.

I'm so in love.

There's a Chicken in the Kitchen!

2010-06-13T11:56:00.000-07:00

Sometimes they just name themselves, you know?

If it was up to me, this would have a much cooler name, but it wants to be known as the Kitchen Chicken Quilt.

Who am I to argue?

It's back from my fabulous long arm quilter, and it's a-MAZ-ing! (sing song voice)

Check out the quilting!

I figured with all the triangles, it needed something circular to offset them.

Thus the "Double Bubble" pattern.

I love those chickens.

And the beaters! Man, I love this fabric line.

It's not bound yet. I keep waffling on the perfect binding.

Ok, truthfully I just don't have any more of any of the fabrics. If I have to go out and buy some, it has to be the right one. If I had enough of any of them, I'd just bind it and be done.

Yeah, I'm just that lazy.

It's got thin cotton batting. It's not terribly big, so I figured it would spend more time on a wall than on a lap.

If it's just going to be pretty, I'll go with thin cotton. If it's going to be used, and I mean USED, I like puffy batting, and not very dense quilting.

There you go.

Think what you will.

What's that? You'd like to see the back?

Happy to oblige.

Did I mention I love those chickens?

Here's a shot of the back where you can really see the quilting.

Dang, those apples are pretty freakin' cute too.

Next I'll hit you with the exciting climax on our returning quilt tour:

The Sultry Braid quilt, that she did with custom, CUSTOM quilting!

She's an artiste. With an e on the end. And an accent mark. And possibly an umlaut. Ok no, I just wanted to say Umlaut.

Umlaut.

I need more caffeine.

The New Phone Book's Here!

2010-06-12T11:45:00.000-07:00

THE NEW PHONE BOOK'S HERE!

Do you remember that movie? No? Just me?

Fine.

It must have made an impression, because whenever something arrives that I've been anticipating, I squeal like a school girl and scream "It's here! It's here! The new phone book's here!"

Like when my quilts came back from my fabulous long arm quilter!

EEE!!!

I can't say enough about this wonderful woman and her wonderful talent. Wait 'til you see.

Let's start with the first one. The first of three, yes THREE that came back. Two more went out on their journey to her. I'm calling it the Hammock Quilt.

It all started when I saw this fabric.

(picture stolen from Red Pepper Quilts)

Fresh as a Daisy by Robert Kaufman.

Now, it's true, this fabric isn't actually IN the Hammock Quilt.

Funny, right?

But when I saw it, I was immediately transported back to my childhood.

Hot summer afternoons as a California girl in the 70's.

I would lie on my bed and bake in the sun that came in my bedroom window at an angle in the late afternoons, lying on my stomach and reading books. By the way, I just had to look up the difference between 'laying' and 'lying' to make sure I used it correctly. I hadn't. But I am now. Good to know. God bless the internet.

The reason it struck me so strongly, was because of the sheets that I sported back in the day.

You've seen it. If you're over 35 you've probably had it.

Green grass with yellow and orange butterflies, flitting among little white blossoms.

Like the centers of these rectangles.

I requested a pattern that would reflect the feeling I had back in those carefree days.

Something big and flowy and curvy and cloud-like.

I think I got it.

Doesn't that feel like a hot summer afternoon?

It's made from that same sheet from my youth, with vintage sheets purchased from this incredible seller.

The back is just a solid piece of the same sheet. The binding too.

I washed it and dried it with a fabric softener sheet so it would smell like it looks.

Does that make sense?

I can already tell this is going to be the go-to quilt when anyone is sick, or needing comfort.

It's so soft, and fluffy and very light.

Just like the perfect afternoon.

Here it is fresh from the drier.

Ahhh... I just GOTTA get me a hammock.

Coming up:

The Kitchen Chicken quilt!

My "What If?" Book

2010-06-06T18:40:00.000-07:00

So there's a lot of talk on the quilt blogs these days.

A couple of things caught my eye.

One, was a call for quilters to try harder, and work at making "art" instead of churning out simple patterns.

The second is a pledge to blog more about the process of making something, as opposed to just posting a pretty picture and saying "Look what I made!"

I'm of two minds.

On the first; I've written before about the life changing revelation that not everything has to be a masterpiece. This is something I struggle with. As a perfectionist, with some anxiety problems, if I start thinking about each quilt being "ART" in capital letters with quotation marks around it, I'll become paralyzed and never complete anything! Sometimes it's enough to make something because you found some pretty fabric. Or because you just felt like sewing something. Or because someone is having a baby.

On the other topic, I agree that I always like blog posts more when it shows some behind the scenes work.

So towards that end, today I share my process!

Here's my inspiration book.

I made the cover in my "covered notebook" phase.

No pastels for me!

(sorry for the crappy picture quality)

It started out as just a place to put quilt patterns that I thought I might like to make, but became instead a place to work out color combinations.

Sometime just putting the colors together in this book is enough to get it out of my system.

Other times they go on to become quilts!

Like this one.

My friend loves pink and brown together. So I found some pictures, (most on Flickr, apologies for not having credit for these pics!) that highlighted some pink and brown combos that I found appealing. And on the right is little Olivia's quilt!

Here's an idea that's been rolling around in my head; four seasons quilts.

Winter

Spring

Summer

Fall

This is where I worked out that instead of just orange and brown, what about some grey?

This idea of blue and green, with a dash of orange became my "Ninja Star" quilt.

And this combo...

teal and yellow, rolled around in my head for a while.

And then, during a particularly boring meeting at work, I started wondering if my Nicey Jane fabric would play well with my Verna fabric. And what if some Darla came to the party?

It turns out that yes, yes they all play very nicely together!

It's a little more complex pattern than usual, so maybe I HAVE been influenced by that "art" talk.

The Sweet Baboo doesn't approve of the darker green crosses.

They're actually a dark teal crossweave fabric. One thread is blue, and the other is green.

I think that they are very necessary, to keep the whole thing from become a mish-mash.

Masterpiece? Maybe not.

Or maybe the masterpiece is just in the creation.

Maybe everything is a masterpiece.

Sew Fun 2

2010-06-05T19:52:00.001-07:00

Dude!

I forgot to tell you my exciting news!

I joined a quilting bee!

Sew Fun 2, and here's the first block, for Alice.

She sent this group of fabrics, and instructions for wonkiness and no triangles.

I love that bird fabric!

I tried to frame it out, and then I used every single scrap of fabric that I had.

I can't wait for the next month!

My month is March of next year, I hope I have an idea by then. Right now I'm thinking, (and understand it's a year away. My mind changes every fifteen minutes) that I'll do a Halloween quilt. Because I hate Halloween, but I have a goal to make a quilt for every holiday. So that would take care of that goal, without me having to go all Halloween! Clever, no?

We'll see.

I have some quilts (three!) coming back from my fabulous long arm quilter this week, and I'm so excited to see them. Oh yeah, and bind them too, but whatever. I'm not focusing on that part.

I'll show you some pictures when they come!

AND ANOTHER THING!

2010-05-11T16:56:00.000-07:00

Ok, Let me climb up on my soap box for a second here.

All right. Everyone here? Can you hear me in the back?

(tapping on mike)

Ok.

I'm not sure about the niceties, or legalities of bitching on a blog, so let me change the names to protect the not so innocent.

To keep the blog interesting, and my blood pressure low, here's some pictures of Princess Petunia.

I had joined a site. A fabric - buying site.

It rhymes with Slab-Slanatic.

Let me tell you, I was so excited about this site. They billed themselves as a "Costco" for fabric. You would place an order, and once they had enough orders they would buy a bolt, and divvy it up amongst the people who had ordered, passing the savings on to you!

Fabulous.

Sign me up.

I ordered some fabric, it came, life was good.

I joined the "Stashbuilders" club, where they would automatically send me eight half yard pieces each month.

Terrific!

I was in heaven. I made a quilt out of the fabric they had sent.

Then one day, I accidentally ordered a big bundle of fabric. I say accidentally because I was never all that comfortable with their website, and one day was checking out what was available, and put some in my "cart". I clicked

to the next page, thinking I would find a summary, or an "Are you sure" page, but no. I had just ordered $52 of fabric.

Now yes, it was Dolce, which I loved, but $52 is a lot of money for something I wasn't sure I wanted.

Don't you go through the sites and pile things up in your cart, only to cancel it all out at the end?

I do.

So fine, I had accidentally ordered a big chunk of Dolce, but at least it was fabric that I loved, so no harm, no foul.

I'm rambling, I know. Bear with me.

So I had ordered this fabric in FEBRUARY.

That's right,

FEBRUARY.

And it never came.

I emailed, politely requesting an update, and didn't get a response.

I emailed again, and again,

and finally got an email that said "Will send it right out."

But no fabric came.

Now, in the meantime, my April auto-delivery came, money was taken out of my account for it, but no fabric showed up.

I emailed.

And emailed.

AND EMAILED.

Now, I am a patient woman.

I really am.

If they had just answered my emails, I would happily wait forever.

But with no answers, I started thinking scam, and shadiness, and bad thoughts.

AND RIGHTLY SO!

Because I never did get that fabric, and I never did get my April shipment, and I never did get an answer to my emails!

I disputed it through PayPal, and they got me the money for the April shipment returned, but told me that since it had been longer than 45 days, I was out of luck with that $52.

Hmm.

Well THAT would have been a good thing to know up front.

So for my patience, I was rewarded with losing $52 and never seeing that fabric that I had ordered, and I now have an unfair hatred of Dolce, (which is totally wrong, because it wasn't the fabric's fault, and it really is a beautiful, beautiful fabric line), and a mistrust of ordering things online.

A couple of weeks ago I was sick with the stomach flu. The night before. I had been drinking a lovely Riesling.

Then I barfed.

Last night I tried to drink that same lovely Riesling, and the smell took me immediately back to the bathroom.

That's how I feel about buying fabric now.

Thank you, Slab-slanatic.

Thanks a lot.

So here is my public service announcement.

You may now resume your regularly scheduled life.

Has it really been so long?

2010-05-10T19:51:00.000-07:00

How come every time I vow to be a better blogger, I blink and it's a month later?

I feel like I have so much to tell you, but now that I'm at the computer... I can't think of anything. Does that happen to you? Or if you run into someone that you haven't seen in years, and they ask what you've been up to... and you can't come up with a single thing? No? Just me?

Fine.

So I've done some sewing, I cut out these triangles and played with them. This is an idea that's been rolling around in my head for a while. The gradation isn't quite there yet, I'll need to shop for a couple more fabrics.

Oh darn!

I like the greys at the bottom, it's the yellows I'm doubting. So much so that I'm missing a row of yellow, second from the bottom.

So there's that. What else?

A friend and I went to Big Sur last weekend. If you're not familiar, Big Sur is where we keep all the beauty in California. Beach and rocks and trees and geese just walking down the road.

We went to the restaurant that restores both our souls.

Nepenthe.

Even the sound of it is magical.

Good, good food, good wine or beer, sun and breeze and views to die for, and bluejays that try to steal your french fries. It's amazing. One part of the outdoor dining area has benches cut into the hillside, with cushions and pillows. you could just hang out there all day.

You know what else makes Nepenthe a life-changing pilgrimage?

It's owned by the Fassetts.

Lolly and Bill Fassett.

What's that? Who's their son?

Oh that's right.

KAFFE FASSETT Y'ALL!!

So I had to take this picture. I can turn anything into something quilty!

The ladies room in the restaurant is painted in a beautiful mural. I didn't get a picture of the mural, because I was trying to time my shot perfectly in between "visitors" so that I didn't look like a crazy person taking pictures in the bathroom.

So there's the top of my head in the mirror, and Kaffe's signature below.

They also have a fabulous gift shop, where I bought Kaffe's latest book, and a tote bag SIGNED BY KAFFE, or, you know, someone else who can write his name with a Sharpie. But I choose to believe it's really his.

Annnnnd... I've made some progress on THIS quilt. It's a Jacob's ladder pattern, done up in some Simple Abundance, Mill House Inn, Aster Manor, and a dash of Patisserie.

Yes, that's my air purifier, that apparently needs to be in every photo. It's also the thing that causes my blocks to blow around the room at night, no matter how many pins I might stick in them.

These colors are closer.

I used different white on white fabrics for the background.

You know I pride myself on being a modern quilter, a lover of all things wonky and graphic and colorful, but I LOVE this quilt! I think it is just so darn pretty! Can't wait to see it finished, see what sort of border it wants to have.

Please don't make me turn in my Modern Badge.

Potpourri for $200 Alex...

2010-04-15T18:27:00.000-07:00

Well, I had hoped to have a finished top to show you here, but if I wait until I'm done it'll be another month! I'm such a procrastinator. I should join a support group. Eh, maybe tomorrow.

I was on a roll, but then was sidelined with the need for this.

It hit me so suddenly; I felt perfectly fine right up until I didn't anymore.

But I'm feeling much better now, and have been slaving away on the batik quilt, like one of the Seven Dwarves, picking for gold. Were they looking for gold? They were miners, but what were they mining for? Hot babes to clean up their hovel, apparently.

But I digress.

So close!!

That white stripe through the center is where the two halves haven't been sewn together yet. I could go take better pictures, really, but once I got there I'd be distracted by bright and shiny things, and The Office IS on right now, I'm sure I'd sit down "just for one minute!" and then I'd never make me way back, and you'd still be sitting on the edge of your seat wondering about this quilt top.

I can't do that to you.

If you've been playing along at home, you'll notice that I had to add a couple new fabrics. A couple bright greens, and a beautiful orange print.

It needed some ZING!

But not too much. We can't be Liza Minelli all the time. Even she takes off her make up and puts on some PJs occasionally.

So here's the fabric I chose for the setting triangles.

It's a light purpley flowerish batik. Yes, I DID want that thread there.

Sigh.

I took my gorgeous Goddaughter to the fabric store with me, where we laid out a stack of blocks in the middle of the floor and auditioned various choices.

I didn't think it wanted to be purple, but once we got there, it very clearly did.

I've got a choice between a bright green and a purple stripe for the first small border, and a very dark speckled fabric for an outer border.

Wait until you see it.

This is how I made the first part of the block. I didn't want to deal with little 1 1/2 inch strips, so I sewed two three inch pieces together on both sides, then hacked them in half.

Presto!

I'm just lazy like that.

And I haven't shown you the pillowcase that I made for the Million Pillowcase March.

Ok, it's not a march. But that sounds better. Hmph.

My friend and I agreed to make pillowcases together, but this one came out wonky, so I'm keeping it. And her house(s) have been in and out of escrow, so she's a little behind too. But what's a deadline if you can't move it? They'll get made soon.

I do like my fabric choices though.

And then because this is a rather random post, here's me in a pink Lincoln.

'Cause that's how I roll.

Bollywood

2010-03-22T21:07:00.000-07:00

I love Laurie Shifrin's books.

I especially love this pattern, out of this book.

Mmmmm... love it.

So a couple of Bali Pops later, and...

Howyalikemenow?

It's not laid out in it's final order yet. I have to make some more blocks.

But what do you think?

Ok, now I have to tell you that I was hunting for the Bali Pops, and I was calling them Bali, pronounced like "Balley" Pops. I never questioned why they were called that.

Then I went to a quilt shop and asked if they had them, and the very nice woman said, "Oh, the Bolly Pops?" and it dawned on me like a brick to the head.

Oh! BOLLY Pop!

Like LOLLY POP!

Now it makes sense!

We laughed, and I laughed some more at myself for never even questioning what I was calling them.

This is my favorite block.

It looks like a Chinese character in the middle to me.

I thought I wanted the "Green Tea" assortment, but when I saw them in person, I realized that I actually wanted the "Mocha Mint" and the "Cappuccino".

It's a little dark though, maybe I did want that Green Tea after all.

I was making it for a friend of mine, who then said to me, "Don't even give me anything unless it's blue!"

Hmph!

How rude!

Fine. With that attitude, I'll just give it to someone who will appreciate it!

MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!

Spring's Busting Out All Over!

2010-03-15T18:48:00.000-07:00

Sunshine!

I couldn't believe we actually had a sunny day, so I made the Sweet Baboo hang up this Fabfanatic homage for pictures.

Why did it look so huge in the sewing cave?

It's not that big. It's probably...75" x 56".

Hmm.

How strange.

Apparently it shrunk in the dark.

If you're wondering why it looks like it's hanging weird, it's because it is. I hung it on it's side to keep it out of the dirt.

This is what it really looked like.

If you're wondering why I didn't iron it, it's because I'm just that lazy.

Fresh.

Springy.

And I finished with this baby quilt too.

And the back...

And I used my fancy tags!

Sure, some people, when ordering custom tags, would have ordered something beige. Or taupe. Something that would go with everything.

I ordered black, with hot pink writing.

You know, goes with everything.

I made a little ensemble, with a matching bib and two burp cloths, but I didn't get pictures before wrapping them up pretty.

You'll have to take my word for them.

Or you could ask Princess Petunia.

She shed a few hairs on them.

She wouldn't pose for pictures either.

Diva.

I Say Happy - You Say Birthday! Happy! ---

2010-03-01T20:02:00.000-08:00

Nah nah nah nah nah nah na na...

You say it's my birthday!

Nah nah nah nah nah nah na na...

It's my birthday too, yeah!

I had such a wonderful birthday weekend!

Good food, good friends, tonight is kinda special. Or something like that.

Look what the Sweet Baboo got me!

Ohhhhhhh yeaaaaaaah...

It's new, it's clean, it's not burned, or shredded, and it's BIG!

My old one was soooo beyond help.

It's been my main workspace for like, seriously, 15 years. I love it, it works perfectly for me.

But after that long, it was showing it's age.

(Thank goodness I'M not!)

The pressing side was burned, and disintegrating. I had covered it with a piece of fabric that I had pinned all around. But I could have probably lived with that, but lately the cutting mat side had given up on me.

It was so worn, when I tried to cut - the blade would just push the fabric into the grooves and not cut through.

I loved my old one!

But THIS baby... THIS!

This is HUGE!

My old one was 12" by 18".

This new one is 17" by 23"!

Have I mentioned that I love it?

So I spent a lot of time this weekend reorganizing my whole sewing cave to accommodate it, and then finished sewing this together.

Yes, it is hanging sideways on the wall. It's just that big. I'll take better pictures when I have light.

So... yeah! Yesterday was my birthday. I had a really good time. I'm spoiled. And old.

Have I left anything out?

Lazing on a Sunday Afternoon...

2010-02-21T14:31:00.000-08:00

Here's that baby quilt I told you about.

With the "Wheels" fabric? By Riley Blake?

'member?

So this is what I decided on.

Yes, those two oranges in the middle of the third row irritate me. Not enough to rip them out, but enough to make me twitch a little.

Just a little.

Here's the back.

If I sound "meh" about it, it's because I am. Not the back. I like the back. But the front is just sort of... sort of... meh.

I auditioned borders, and sashing, in all sorts of colors and sizes.

Nothing worked, so I've decided no border. No sashing.

I hope the baby likes it more than I do.

But then I started something that I like much better!

Remember me telling you about "FabFanatic"?

I love them, I really do. So I thought I'd mix all the fabrics they've sent me into one quilt to celebrate.

I picked the "Posh" pattern from Moda fabrics.

Just something that would showcase large pieces. And after that red and white beast, something quick and easy sounded good too.

The design wall (flannel backed Christmas tablecloth, bought on clearance and stapled to the wall next to my bed) isn't big enough to hold the whole thing, so I'll have to put it up in sections.

But I'm out of white fabric now, so I think it's time for a movie and some popcorn.

It's a good way to spend a rainy Sunday afternoon.

The Pup agrees.

Atreyuuuuu!! Atreyuuuu!!

2010-02-16T19:36:00.000-08:00

DONE!!

Well, sort of.

I gritted my teeth, closed my eyes and powered through.

Two rows became four, and four rows became eight,

and before I knew it, (almost three weeks late) the whole top was done.

Ahhhhhhhh...

I've named it Atreyu, from the Neverending Story. It's the never ending quilt.

It still needs that border row, and then I have to think about borders, and backings, and binding, and bourbon.

But I'm calling it done for now.

I've gone to such extremes on this quilt.

I loved it, I hated it, I was indifferent to it.

I started out trying to pick fabrics that would look really nice next to each other, then graduated to not caring what went where. Then came the actively clashing stage. Maroon fabric? Clearly it wants to live next to the orangey one! And they both have apartments next to the pinky ones!

Mwahaahaahaa!

That's where the bourbon came in.

My dear friend asked what one does with a thing like this. Do you give it to charity? Or lock it in a closet for ten years, until you can look at it again?

I suggested wearing it as a dress, every single day.

It was a hard won victory.

This is my favorite block. No fussy cutting at all, this flower just ended up centered in there.

Dang, I didn't notice those two polka dots so close together... Maybe I should rip it out?

Nah. It looks perfect to me.

Here comes da bride...

2010-02-11T17:56:00.000-08:00

WHAAAAT?!? A Non-Quilting post?

It could happen.

And I suppose it should every now and then.

So my friend and I went to the Bridal Expo a week or two ago, and I tried out my new camera! It's no secret that I hated my old camera. HATED IT! With an active sort of hatred that really should be reserved for nazis or people who park in handicapped spots, but no. I hate my camera just that much.

But no longer!

I now have a Canon PowerShot and it is da bom. Or, would be, if kids still said that. Which they don't. But it is. Really.

Check out these pics!

Don't you love this background? I so want to do this. Not for any particular occasion. Just for, you know, like a Tuesday.

It was at the Cocoanut Grove in Santa Cruz. Notice the glass ceiling please. When it gets hot, they can open it up.

I love the Cocoanut Grove.

Do you like your roses with a little bling?

But check out the handle! (Handle? Stems?)

GLAM, BABY!

Karyn? Here's your wedding cake! Isn't it gorgeous?

Here's the thing I fell in love with. In love. I thought it was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen.

Love. It.

Loved it so much that I took it home with me. The florist was a friend of my friend's, and we loitered until closing so that she would give it to us. Then my friend gave it to me, because she's a totally awesome, generous person, but also because I was licking it and petting it and wouldn't let go of the leaves.

I'm subtle like that.

The same florist made this woodsy beauty. I fell so much in love with the succulents in the arrangements that I went out and bought a couple and potted them. They're on my window sill at work.

This one too! EEE!!! (swoon!) Really, that's the one I'd have for my wedding.

I really liked this one too. You think I might have something for bright colors? Hmm.

These glowing 'coffee tables'??

Yeah, I could make those. Those are awesome.

And this chair? What does this chair have to do with anything?

Nothing.

It was in the bathroom.

I just loved it.

Thanks for coming along! I wish you could have tasted the cakes too!

Yum!

2010-02-08T19:04:00.000-08:00

I'm still here!

And I'm still working on the Red and White Snowball quilt.

I have not quit, I WILL not quit! I will finish this thing if it kills me.

I was feeling so proud of myself, I had thirty blocks left. Then eighteen blocks left! An end was in site!

I could do this! I could finish!

Then I realized that I still have the little half, or rather; third blocks left for around the outside.

Ok, no problem, I can do this.

So it's only...

40 more blocks. five pieces each, that's only...

Eight thousand, three hundred and fifty pieces.

OH MY GOD!!

It's the never ending quilt!!

But I will prevail, I have been cutting and sewing and cutting... and sewing...

Sigh.

So did I tell you about this FabFanatic site?

It's like a Costco for fabric. You place orders for fabric lines, and when they have enough orders to fill a bolt, they order it, cut it, and send it to you! No overhead; so cheaper prices!

I signed up for the "Stash Builder's Club", and here's my first shipment!

A little Nicey Jane, a little Park Slope, a little Good Folks...

Love it!

I should make something just out of these fabrics, to commemorate.

I can't wait for my next shipment. February's fabrics are Amy Butler! Can't go wrong there!

And when I just couldn't look at red and white for one more minute, I started making a baby quilt with this "Riley Blake - Wheels" fabric.

Cute, right? It's boy, without being BOY.

I like that.

And then, just because I was high on making straight squares, I started this quilt, for a friend.

It's from a pattern from Laurie Shiffrin's "Batik Beauties".

Me likee...

Now back to those (sob!) triangles...

We all have our demons...

2010-01-18T20:06:00.000-08:00

So when my older brother was little, he loved hippos.

I don't know where it came from, maybe he had a book about a hippopotamus or saw one on TV, I don't know.

But he loooooved him some hippo.

Hippos, hippos, hippos, all about the hippos.

He would tell anyone who would listen,

"ME LOVE HIPPOPOTAMUS!"

So the circus came to town, and low and behold, they had ACTUAL HIPPOS there!

I can only imagine his excitement.

So plans were made, and tickets were bought, and he was going to see an actual, honest-to-God, live and in person hippo.

Eeeee! Can you feel the excitement?!

So the day finally arrives, and off they go.

There's clowns, and there's lions, and there's... I don't know, dancing poodles or something. I wasn't there. I'm MUCH younger. HA!

But the only thing my brother cared about was the hippo.

When it finally made it's appearance, my father took him down to the front to see the beast up close and personal.

I'm sure my brother wanted to wet himself from the thrill!

So down they go, and there they were, right in front of it...

And it opened it's huge maw and showed it's gigantic teeth.

My brother looked into that cavernous mouth and loudly proclaimed:

"ME NO LIKE HIPPOPOTAMUS."

Why do I bring this up, you ask?

Because I find myself saying very often these days:

"ME NO LIKE HALF SQUARE TRIANGLES."

This is what my work space looks like these days.

Other people's are neat and organized, mine have taken over the whole sewing cave. I have no idea how many of what I still have to make. I know I made way too many of the center strips, both red and white. I have triangles EVERYWHERE, squares EVERYWHERE, all sorts of the different components, in all stages of construction.

And every time I think, "Well, THAT was a lot of sewing! I must have made a HUGE dent!" I put them up and it doesn't look any different.

I am in AWE of the people who have finished!

Well done, ladies! Well done indeed!

I know why I took on this challenge. I thought it would be good for me to do something really structured. To have a project that I have to follow through on, instead of making five blocks and then getting bored and stuffing it away.

But come on!

I'm seeing half square triangles in my sleep!

And if you visit me in the cave, you can hear my muttered refrain:

"Me no like half square triangles."

And by the way, my brother?

Yeah, we still torture him about his hippo experience.

Cards, toys, "Me no like hippopotamus" whenever someone finds out they don't like something.

I think I'll email him this picture...

My Guitar Hero

2010-01-02T18:13:00.000-08:00

So I finished the t-shirt quilt, and was all set to make the baby quilt for my co-worker.

All set.

But I couldn't find any fabric in my stash that I liked, and I couldn't decide on a pattern that I liked, and then things just snowballed and nothing was right, and nothing would ever be right again!

Auugghh!!

So what do you do in this situation? Do you ever HAVE these situations?

Is it just me?

It might just be me...

So what I did was pull out the guitar fabrics that I've collected for years and start hacking it up.

Let me explain.

If you had to buy a novelty fabric to signify me, you'd pick flamingos. If you were making something for The Princess, you'd pick dogs. Ok, not really. You'd pick dogs for me, but if you really wanted the Poodle's eyes to light up, you'd pick up something with pork chops on it.

Yum.

But if you met the Sweet Baboo, you'd nod and shrug and say

"Guitars. Of course."

So I've been collecting guitar fabrics forever, with no clear idea of what to do with it. Then the other day I was looking through Flickr, trying to get motivated for the baby quilt, and he commented, "Why are the zig-zags always going horizontally? Why don't people make vertical zig-zags?"

Good question!

Why don't they? And by "they" I mean "I". I've been thinking about working in series on things, doing the same pattern over and over until I really can say I'd mastered it, so why not start with the zig-zag?

So here it is.

The Sweet Baboo's guitar quilt.

This missing corner is where I ran out of orange fabric. Trip to Judy's is on the agenda for tomorrow.

Maybe some fret boards as a border?

He seems to like it.

And he deserves it.

He's a good guitar player, and an even better man.

Happy New Year Baby.

So Toasty And Warm...

2009-12-30T19:09:00.000-08:00

I know, I know... It's been a while.

There were some holidays in there, and lots of work days, and some random laying on the couch in a semi-coma.

You know, the usual.

But I'm on vacation this week, so I've become reacquainted with the lovely Mr Pfaffey. He's so forgiving. Just takes me right back, no questions asked.

So what have I been working on?

Well, I got the kid's quilt back from the fabulous quilter...

It's gorgeous, right? They seemed to like it. They ooo'ed and ahh'ed appropriately.

Here's the back...

And some close ups of the quilting..

So that was good. We drove over and gave it to them on Christmas Eve and had a really, really nice time. I love those kids.

And then lately, I've been working on a t-shirt quilt for a friend.

Ok, it's for the Sweet Baboo's ex-wife, but people seem to think that's in the "strange" column, so I was trying to soften it for you.

She's a delightful woman, and we all go camping with shared friends each summer.

I think it's healthy.

So anyhoo, her mother passed away a month or two ago, and I said I would make her a memorial quilt. So I got that finished today.

Sort of finished. Are they ever really finished?

I haven't decided on a border or not yet.

Border of the same print? then the nine - patches seem to float.

That could be nice.

Little skinny black border, followed by the same print?

inch and a half black followed by the print?

Ahh... no. Ruled THAT one out.

What do you think? Any opinions? Maybe no border at all?

Next up is a baby quilt for a co-worker who's having a boy. I'm thinking zig-zag.

Well I hope you all have a wonderful New Year's! We've got a party to go to, but there's been a lot of this lately...

And this...

Soooooooo... we'll see if I can get dressed and out of the house.

Anything could happen.

I Am Grateful For Half Square Triangles. Really.

2009-11-26T09:43:00.001-08:00

Nine!

I tell ya, it's so much more motivating when you can actually see some concrete progress, instead of just a never ending pile of triangles.

So there they are, in all their blurry glory.

Or rather... like this. Imagine their opposites in the spaces. White "snowballs" with red corners.

And I do so love little surprises.

You know what else I love?

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheesecake.

Yes, yes I DO think it deserves the capital letters.

Chocolate. Peanut Butter. Cheesecake.

Booyah.

That's what I'LL be bringing for Thanksgiving dinner.

Hope you have a great one too!

Happy Turkey Day!

One

2009-11-21T20:00:00.000-08:00

ONE!

Woo hoo!

Thaaaaat's right, one block finished.

Isn't she a beaut?

I know, some people have all their triangles finished, some have their whole top done! And congratulations, and good job! They are all turning out beautifully!

I don't want to point any fingers as to why I'm not further along, but if I did point, I'd be pointing down to about two feet off the ground.

The Princess and I had a deal.

I go to work and make money to keep her in dog toys and expensive vegetarian dog food, and she stays home and makes half square triangles.

All I can say is... one of us is not holding up her end of the bargain.

(Rolling eyes towards da pup)

As you can see, I decided to go with the red. A nod to my Mother; her two favorite colors were red and blue. When I first told her I would make her a quilt, and asked what color she'd like, she said blue. Or red. Or blue. Whichever. So I made her a blue quilt, but always had that red one in the back of my mind.

But honestly, what was I thinking?

Four hundred and eighty half square triangles.

480!

Good grief.

And because I'm cheap and lazy, and wanted to get the most out of my fabulous swap fabric, (thanks ladies!) I decided to try the technique that Nicole suggested, using 2 1/2 inch strips and the Easy Angle Ruler.

Easy Peesey.

Except......

Yeah, back to that cheap and lazy part, I don't actually HAVE the Easy Angle Ruler.

But I'm not going to let a little thing like THAT slow me down, right? So I used my Kalideo Ruler. It has a blunted off corner, it should be the same, right?

Yeah, not so much.

I ended up throwing away quite a few squares because they were too small.

I think if I use a very small seam allowance I should be able to salvage the rest of them. Which I'll have to do, since I've already chopped everything into 2 1/2 inch strips and don't want to buy more fabric.

Dang it!

But I persevere.

I think it's going to be a beautiful quilt in the end, and I'm sure I'll love it that much more for all the hard work. Right? And it's comforting to think that while I'm slaving in my sewing cave, there are forty-odd other women who might be triangling at the same time.

How do you feel about a red, cream and green quilt?

Very Christmasy.

Red, cream and blue?

Fourth of July?

We'll see. Just red is good too.

But you know what makes 480 half square triangles feel like a breeze?

More half square triangles!

Ha ha! I'm noodling with another quilt, using these fabrics.

Just call me a glutton for punishment.

Snowballs in California

2009-10-30T19:50:00.000-07:00

So I thought I'd be one of those people. What are they called? Oh yeah, organized.

HA!

So I made a list.

A list of all the quilts I have, in various stages of completion.

Everything from ones that only need a backing, (Sultry quilt) to ones that only exist in my head (Dog quilt).

My last count was pushing 30.

30!!

That's obscene.

I need to whittle that down, finish some things.

So naturally, as one of those, what are they called?

Organized people.

Oh yes, as one of them, I decided... to start another quilt!!

I've joined this challenge

Cause THAT'S what I needed!

But, yes, I think it's exactly what I needed.

Isn't it pretty?

I'm debating what colors to use. I'm in the swap, so one of the colors will have to be cream/white. But red? Green sounds pretty. ORANGE sounds nice! But maybe it'll be red after all.

It's all up to the quilt. Whatever it wants to be.

It's an interesting pattern to me, because while it IS scrappy, there's not a lot of value changes. All the reds are pretty much the same value. Can I find a gazillon of the same type of red?

I guess we'll find out!

Gnome Sweet Gnome...

2009-10-21T19:27:00.001-07:00

I am not a joiner.

Never have been.

I think it's part of that "Not belonging to any club that would have me as a member" thing.

So why has my sewing cave been infested with these Gnomes?

I am not a joiner.

I like Heather Ross as much as the next person, but I haven't collected every scrap she's ever made.

Like some people.

You know who you are.

But I did have a religious experience when I walked past my first bolt of Heather Ross Goldfish.

Ask my friend Jennifer. She can tell you.

The first thing I noticed was how incredibly soft it was. My hand brushed against it and I stopped in my tracks.

Then I saw the goldfish.

Come on.

THE GOLDFISH!!

You know what I'm talking about.

That has to be the cutest fabric ever made.

The names! Oh the names of the fish.

Swimmy.

Spooky.

Splashy.

BJORN?

I was in love.

But that hideous creature raised it's head.

"What would you DO with it?"

Do with it?

What WOULD I do with it?

So I didn't buy it.

Didn't buy yards and yards of it when I had the chance.

When it was sitting right in front of me.

I bought one fat quarter.

ONE!

One small square of the cutest fabric ever.

You can still find if it you want.

This one sells for $39 a yard.

Hey, I'm not knocking it.

I might give in and buy it someday.

But what I DID buy, was some little Gnomies from this lovely seller.

And I think I'll be back for some others.

So little Gnomies,

surrounded by a ring of white, and then a ring of sumpin else.

Then more white, and more sumpin else.

It's not original. Not particularly complex. But hopefully it's cute!

I have to tell you, it was so much fun picking out fabric for this! I've sort of become lazy and relied on the pre-cuts. It's a no-brainer when the whole fabric line is laid out in front of you.

But it was a kick picking out all random fabrics for these little guys.

I wanted green and red, those are the obvious choices, but then it screams CHRISTMAS!

Hmm... I like Christmas, but I didn't want it to be a Christmas quilt.

Per se.

Ok, I just wanted to say "Per se".

So what to do? Add some blue from his little shirt, and some black for ZING! from his little boots.

I think the black is going to make the quilt.

By the way, does this drive anyone else insane?

When you've only got a half yard, or less, it gives me such a tick in my eye when it's this far off grain.

THAT'S ALL! That's all I gotta say about that.

Now back to those Gnomes.

The Dog Lady Returns! (Dum da da dum...)

2009-10-20T19:31:00.000-07:00

Remember the Dog Lady?

I hope so.

It was yesterday.

You might want to up your Ginko Biloba if you don't remember.

Well apparently in all her spare time, she thought she'd make some other quilts too.

In all her spare time.

HAHAHAHahahehecoughcoughglbrx...

The spare time when she wasn't quilting every single AKC breed of dog.

Like ya do.

So look at this!

It's a big ol' African animal quilt.

"Africa - The Lion Lurks"

Huge.

Gorge.

Fab.

Marv.

I can't even complete whole words.

Toooo beautiful. Just too, too beautiful.

I didn't get a picture, but there are fantastic lions quilted into the corners.

But wait!

Act now and receive...

YET ANOTHER INCREDIBLE WORK BY LINDA HIBBERT!!

"Studio Safari"

I know what you're thinking. And yes, yes I DO love that flamingo!

Loooove him! (singsong voice)

But I also love that giraffe! Look at the movement in his skinny little legs!

And don't get me started on the hippos.

Every time we walked past I said "I love those hippos!"

The quilting is just phenomenal. Such movement.

So that's it for the "Dog Lady".

The "Dog/Lion/Zebra/Giraffe/Flamingo/Hippo Lady"

I guess that wouldn't fit on her name tag.

There's lots more pictures from the quilt show, but maybe tomorrow I'll sprinkle in some pics of things that I'm working on, and you won't notice the difference and think they're from the show too.

My own private quilt show!

I bet I'm gonna win a ribbon!

The DOG Lady! (I thought I was the dog lady?)

2009-10-19T19:02:00.000-07:00

Ok now. Everyone got a cup of coffee? Tea? Everybody cozy and comfortable?

Here we go.

Her name is Linda Hibbert.

(Better pictures on her website)

I think she made half the quilts in the show.

The sign attached to her "Best In Show" quilt reads:

This quilt is about 40 feet long.

All dogs.

Have we met?

Do you know me?

I love dogs.

I mean...

I LOVE dogs.

More than most people.

Mmm... puppies...

Let's start with the Terriers, shall we?

I had to sing the song from "Best in Show" when I saw this one.

Too cute. Let's move on to the Non Sporting pups

Eee! Look at this little face!

They have little sparkly gemstones for eyes. It really makes them feel alive.

Herders!

Puppypuppypuppypuppypuppy...

Yeah, I had pretty much lost it by now. I wanted to rip them down and roll in them. I wanted to go home and hug Miss Pep.

I wanted to adopt every dog in every shelter.

I know some people don't care for Chinese Crested dogs, but they would if they saw this guy! And look at that Chihuahua!

Did I forget to take close ups for these lil' guys?

Dang it.

Look at that Boxer! And that Mastiff at the bottom!

I swear, you could just feel his jowls.

Sorry, I was a little shaky by now. Ha! Just kidding, it was my crappy camera.

The SPORTING GROUP!

Look at this little girl! And she's black, like the Princess!

Awww... Isn't that amazing? Where does she find the time? How does she make the patterns? How long does it take her to pick out the fabric? And can I be her apprentice?

What? You're tired of dogs?

Impossible.

But ok, how about a turtle? A Sea Turtle.

A stunning Sea Turtle.

A "Hawaiian Green Sea Turtle"

by Cheryl Spalding of Portland Oregon.

It says "This quilt was designed from an original underwater photo using a reverse applique technique. The background fabric is hand dyed and it was free motion quilted on a long arm machine. It took over three years to complete."

Ooooooo...

Ahhhhh!!!

Incredible. Just incredible.

I have no words.

PIQF, Ya'll!!

2009-10-18T09:29:00.000-07:00

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh Poodles.

I had SUCH A WONDERFUL DAY YESTERDAY!!

My friend Ceci and I went to the Pacific International Quilt Festival!

I don't even know where to start.

Where can I start?

Should I tell you about how many GORGEOUS quilts we saw? (over 400) Should I tell you about all the fabulous fabric I bought? (Oh yes)

Should I tell you how exciting it was? How NICE everyone was? How sweet it was to be there with Ceci, who now has the makings of her very first quilt?

I know!

I'll start with my celebrity encounter.
Is it still an "encounter" if you stalk the person?

Dudes, I met... Julie, from Jaybird Quilts!!!!!

OMG, OMG, OMG!!

I geeked out like a 13 year old at a Twilight premiere. Or like some 40 year olds I know at a Twilight premiere.

And let me tell you...

She is the sweetest, kindest, most adorable person on the planet.

She's just cuter than crap, with a sexy Kathleen Turner voice. (Well you never know what bloggers sound like, do you?) We chatted for a few, and compared camera issues, (which you'll notice in all my blurry pictures) and she graciously posed with me for a picture. She was all fresh and beautiful, and I was sweating like a horse.

Love her blog, love her quilts, and love, love, love her!

Thank you Julie!

So on with the quilts!

I don't even know where to start, so I'll start with the ones that made me squeal.

This first one is "Into the Woods" by Ann E Rauen.

And she's from Santa Cruz! Oowah! Oowah! Local girl made good!

Oh Lord, I hate my camera.

So she's made a calendar crazy quilt. I'm telling you, the detail is unbelievable.

We spent a very long time in front of this quilt, and were still seeing new things.

My pictures just so do not do it justice. It's all embroidery, and ribbon embroidery, and the details!

THE DETAILS!

So gorgeous.

I wish a had another word for "unbelievable".

Look at the bears! LOOK AT THE BEES!!

THE TINY, TINY BEES!!

This must have been silk ribbons, because the sheen was just sooo beautiful.

And these were just the center pieces. The work on the surrounding "crazy" area was intense. We spent a while hunting for the spider webs in her work. They're good luck, you know.

There's puhlenty more, but I did mention something about fabric, didn't I?

Every year we go camping in Pismo Beach, and every year I try to go the 50 miles more to visit The Creation Station.

It never works out.

So when I saw them at the show, I lost my mind and started scooping up fabric the way people scoop up shrimp at a buffet.

Ahhhh... fabric. Now I have to take this inspiration and get to work in the sewing cave.

Up tomorrow: The Dog Lady!

SEW and Tell

2009-09-27T12:27:00.000-07:00

Well THAT'S better. Not perfect, it could probably stand to have a couple more brown pieces near the bottom, but you know what? I'm ok with this. I am! I AM! Sorry, that wasn't directed at you, it was directed at the voice in my head that's telling me exactly where the next brown piece should go. I'm done. That's the problem with random, it's never really all that random, is it? We say we'll leave it to chance, but if we pull out two of the same thing, we put one back, don't we? That's the fun of quilting, I think.

So there's that. Isn't it pretty fabric?

When I first showed it to the Sweet Baboo, he really liked the colors, and wanted it to be our summer quilt.

Not that we'd need one today, it's somewhere in the neighborhood of fifteen gazillion degrees. Celsius. How hot is the sun? I just Googled it and got ten different answers, so I'm going to say that the surface of the sun is whatever the temperature is today in Boulder Creek. Which Google also tells me is 91, so clearly Google is broken. Someone should look into that.

Back to Neptune! No, not the planet. That sounds like a bad movie starring Tim Allen. Back to Neptune! (cue action music)

I meant Neptune the quilt. More of a Poseidon kind of thing, although did you know that the planet Neptune was named that because of it's blue color? And some giant storm spots. And the old man with a long beard and a huge Trident that they could see with their telescope.

True story.

Ish.

It's not very big yet. I think it's going to need some more rows. And columns. They're 10" blocks, so it's roughly 40" X 60", give or take a seam allowance. I don't think you can really see the circles that the pattern makes quite yet, but I didn't want the blocks to be too small, because, and you might not know this, because I love Neptune fabric so much. I didn't want to chop it up too small.

Because I love it so.

And while we're playing Show and Tell, here's the signature quilt that I'm making for my ex-boss.

If you've been following along at home, you might notice that it's much, MUCH smaller than 192 blocks. It's not that he doesn't have 192 friends, I'm sure he does. It's just that I have the attention span of a fruit fly. A fruit fly with ADD. Although I'm going to try to fight it and add on a couple more rounds. His party is, oh, let's see... SATURDAY!

So I really should get a move on. Nothing like a deadline to get the juices flowing! Or, you know, to push you into paralysis, so that all you can do is stuff Xanax into your tube of cookie dough as you lie on the couch watching Law and Order marathons. It could go either way.

Here's my Sweet Baboo, he's so helpful. Not only is he my official hanger, he also went to Kmart early this morning to get me a new memory card for my camera. a 4GB memory card! And a Mountain Dew.

I'm so spoiled.

Neptune Love

2009-09-21T19:55:00.000-07:00

I love Neptune!

I just wanted to get that out. It's so pretty, and I love how Tula Pink hides cute little sea motifs in the prints.

So clever.

I've been so busy lately; weddings, funerals, parties, work stuff.

It was nice to finally get in there and cut up my Neptune stash.

It's so hard to cut into that stuff that you love, isn't it?

I may have mentioned... I LOVE Neptune. I've been obsessed with it for quite a while, but I'm also obsessed with fining things on sale. So when Fabric Depot had 14 prints 40% off, I jumped!

Then I waited, and petted it, and arranged it in different configurations...

I went through a bazillion pattern choices before deciding on the "Kaleidoscope" block.

Mmm... nice pile of cut pieces.

Sew them into pairs,

sew the pairs into halves, sew the halves into a block.

Oww! Check out those points!

I can brag now, because the points when I sewed the blocks together aren't that hot.

C'est la vie.

So many bigger things to be upset over. I can't waste my energy crying over wonky points.

That doesn't mean I'll be showing you them any time soon though.

A girl knows how to hide her flaws!

Yes! No? Meh... maybe...

2009-09-13T11:12:00.000-07:00

Ok then! I'm done. Done, finished, completed.

Or am I?

Does anyone else see it? Is it giving anyone else a twitch in their eye? Is it just me? Because it might just be me. I am sometimes annoyed by things that annoy no one else.

Do you see it?

I think I got sick of the dark brown strips before I got to the end.

It's looking a little unbalanced to me.

And it doesn't help that it's the dark brown, which A) stands out and B) carries more visual weight, so I feel like if it's going to be unbalanced, there should be more of the brown towards the bottom. If at all. But ideally, it should have a nice mix of everything all over, and my eye shouldn't be drawn to the big, bare patch at the bottom.

Dang.

I wonder how much it's going to bother me?

Am I going to have to rip something out and stick in some brown?

Maybe applique some brown over another piece?

Maybe keep it folded so I never have to see the whole thing at once?

Sigh.

And I was so proud of my borders.

Still am.

See, I KNEW going in that the borders had the potential to give me serious eye twitches. Because it's such a big print, with a lot of negative space, it was going to be unbalanced if I just slapped on some borders. So (with the Sweet Baboo's help) I picked some strips that were similar, then pieced them together so that either side would have a big bunch of flowers in the middle.

See?

I like that.

That looks good.

Now about that brown...

I'm giving you a Sultry look...

2009-09-08T18:10:00.000-07:00

September already? How did that happen?

No one asked me about this.

But hey, September is National Sewing Month, so it can't be all bad! Here's MY contribution. You know I love to celebrate things.

So remember the Sultry quilt?

I decided to hack the edges off and sew the braids together after all, because I wanted to finish this before I turned NINETY!

So hack, hack, hack... sew, sew, sew... Ok!

It's done.

Lovely.

Gorgeous.

Hmm.

How did it end up so short? You can't really tell from this picture, but somehow it ended up wider than it is long.

What?

Ok, so it said to trim the braids to something like 7 1/2 inches wide, and I trimmed them to 8 inches.

So yeah, that's really... half an inch over seven braids... carry the two... I before E... three and a half inches wider than it called for.

But come on!! Three and a half inches!

That should not have equaled the difference that I got here.

Good thing I had ordered that extra jelly roll, so I ripped the bottoms apart, ripped out the parts that were already trimmed, and started sewing some more strips.

And sewed.

AND SEWED.

And ended up with a nice rectangle. Like God intended. Going the right way. Just one more border and we'll cross this one off and send it winging to the long arm quilter.

It's the obstacles that make the journey interesting, no?

Pass On the Sewing Love...

2009-08-30T18:05:00.000-07:00

Have you heard about this? Act fast, because you have to have your package in the mail by September 7th, but it seems really cool. Check it out!

IBOL

(Insert clever title here)

2009-08-13T20:00:00.000-07:00

Ohhhhhhhh my bloggy friends!

My bliends!

My... ...frogs?

Where has the time gone?

I have nothing to share.

Nothing.

Nothing?

No, nothing.

Surely something.

No, nothing.

Not a thing?

Not a single thing.

Hmm.

Our computer has been eggy lately. Do other people say eggy? It means sort of crabby, I guess. When someone is acting sensitive, you just look at them and say

"eGGgggggggyyyyy"

In a very "Duuuuude" kind of way.

Maybe it's a California thing.

But it's eggy. The monitor will go through these spasms, off, on, off, on...

I can't even check my farm on Facebook.

Dude.

And we have some fires going on near us. Bonny Doon is on fire.

Again.

Yes, there were fires last year, and yes, this will probably not be the last, but it's still rather disconcerting.

It makes us all nervous.

We live in a forest, after all. We don't like to look out a window and see the sky turn orange. We don't like to see the enormous billows of smoke, so thick that you can convince yourself that it's just a fog bank, until you notice the brown tinge. And smell the smoke. You can smell the smoke for miles. See the ash for miles.

And at this point in time it's zero percent contained.

Zero.

None.

Nil.

Nada.

So we're nervous.

Twitchy.

On edge.

Eggy.

So what's been going on?

I've started a signature quilt for my ex-boss. Just a sort of half snowball with signatures from everyone.

I only need 192 to make a passable size.

192.

Ah Jeez.

What have I done?

I don't even KNOW 192 people!

So everything else has been put on a back burner until this is done. His going-away party will be at the beginning of October, so that's plenty of time.

Isn't it?

Oh, it's not.

Not much time at all.

Oy.

I think I need a spa day.

Or something.

I'm feeling... drained.

Not replenished.

Empty.

I'm snappy.

Crabby.

Eggy.

I need to refill my soul.

Does anyone know where I can find a replacement soul?

Cheap?

Birthday - July 26, 2009

2009-07-26T16:54:00.000-07:00

So the binding is done, and the Hawaiian quilt is officially a quilt.

Yea!

Here's a look at how I do my binding.

I do it all by machine. I am a child of the new millennium, and have no desire to hand sew a binding ever in my life.

I'm quite sure there are many people who disagree with me, (I read your blogs!) but I'm ok with that.

Just tuck and roll, tuck and roll.

I tuck the quilt back into the binding, and roll the binding over to the back. Then sew it down.

If there are any stray threads, I just tuck them in before sewing it down.

By the way, the neon yellow is the "Post-It" trick. It's amazing! The idea is that you put a post-it in front of the... is it the throat plate? Is that what it's called? Or am I confusing it with a carburetor? Anyhoo, it keeps the bottom seam from catching and flipping the wrong way. It really works.

Back to the binding.

If I'm making a baby quilt, or something as a gift for someone, I like to hide a note in the binding. Just some good wishes, or a blessing or two.

Sometimes I write it on a tiny strip of fabric with a permanent Sharpie type pen, sometimes I write it directly on the binding.

Clip off the corners...

And when I come to a corner I just fold it up and try to land right where the two sides meet. This is not a very good picture, but can you see it?

Then pivot and keep going.

Tuck and roll, tuck and... well, you get the idea.

And this is what you get.

Like that.

Done! Here he is on my unmade bed...

And here he is on the stairs...

And here he is posing on the hood of the car, pin-up style. See? he's doing the sexy "Look over your shoulder" pose.

What a lovely quilt!

Humuhumunukunukuapua'a Y'all!

2009-07-22T18:20:00.000-07:00

It's back! It's back! My Hawaiian quilt is back from the long arm quilter!

And it's beeeauuuutiful!

Don't you love it?

Someday I'm going to HAVE to figure out the white balance on my @$%#*! camera.

It's not so blue like the picture suggests.

It's just dusk.

This is the back...

Green orchids.

My Dad raised orchids. All kinds of orchids, but the stranger the better. He loved him some green orchids. For the 4th of July we would sometimes go to the Orchid Society Potluck and Bingo. Now, understand that I am the youngest of four kids. And the only girl. I am not, how shall we say, a good sport.

I do not lose gracefully.

There were a lot of game boards thrown across our living room back in the day. I'm not proud of it, I'm just saying.

I never won anything.

EXCEPT BINGO!

I LOVED bingo! It's a game of chance! I could actually WIN! I had HOPE!

So everyone would bring a potluck dish, and an orchid or two as prizes for the bingo game. When you won, (BINGO!!) you got to go up to the table and pick out an orchid.

Now, my brother and I always wanted the biggest ones!

Of course!

Big, full, green, luscious orchid plants!

But the big orchids were always the dime-a-dozen, nothing sort of orchids. Cattleyas and Phalaenopsis and Cymbidiums.

70's corsage orchids.
EVERYONE had those. Those were AMATEUR orchids! (eye roll)

Before the game even started, my father would give us our orders. In case of an actual win, see that tiny one at the back? The sad, scraggly one with two leaves and the roots hanging out? That scrub on the side that DIDN'T EVEN HAVE A POT?

Yeah, grab THAT one.

Daaaaaad! We'd whine.

We want the BIG ones!!

But no, like the dutiful offspring we were, we would stump up to the table, all thrill of winning gone, and reluctantly pick up the pathetic weeds with just our forefinger and thumb, and stagger, sighing heavily, back to our seat. Sigh. Stupid little orchid. Ruining EVERYTHING!

One year he made me pick out an Epidendrum cuchibambe. I practiced and practiced until I could say the name flawlessly. I came to love my tiny little plant.

Until I learned that it blooms ONCE EVERY FIVE YEARS!!!

THAT'S exciting for a 10 year old girl!

But I digress.

Can you see the quilting? It's beautiful.

I hesitate to tell you where I sent it, because you'll want some beautiful quilting of your own, and then you'll clog up my fabulous quilter with all your requests, but she's just too good not to share.

I sent it to Karen, from Karen's Quilted Creations

Doesn't she do good work?

Isn't she amazing?

I'll be sending her many more quilts, I can promise you that. She is sweet and professional and an excellent communicator, which is important because she's in Michigan and I'm in California.

I'm so glad to have it home!

Now just the binding to go, and you know I love binding, and then I'll have a new quilt for the pup to snuggle under.

Oh! And me too.

If You Think I'm Sultry...

2009-07-21T20:58:00.000-07:00

Whaaa? Three posts in three days?!?

I know. I'm as surprised as you.

Remember the Sultry quilt?

So I've been chugging along on it.

Chug, chug, chug...

So I have this idea. The instructions for the pattern call for cutting off the sides of the "braid" so they're straight and smooth. Easy to piece together.

But I have this idea.

I know, why do I always have to have ideas?

I have the idea to piece the jagged edges together. Like the far left side in this picture. Wouldn't that be cool?

That green and brown and pink section? At the top?

In theory, it should be simple. Sew one little 2 1/2 inch edge to the side of the bar next to it.

Pivot, repeat.

Simple, right?

Yeah, not so much. It's taken me a VERY LONG TIME to sew about 10 inches. Then I tried doing it by hand, and THAT wasn't any easier. The trick is that you have to land your needle exactly 1/4 of an inch from the edge of the next piece, then line up the next piece exactly 1/4 of an inch from that. Did that make sense?

Yeah, maybe that's the problem. It doesn't make sense to me either.

This is one of my favorite fabrics. I want a whole wardrobe out of it.

And before starting, I treated myself to a nice, new, sharp blade for the rotary cutter. Oh! It makes such a world of difference! It cuts like buttah!

Cuts without effort!

Even my hand! Without even trying!

(I'm fine.)

And then, as I'm reveling in my new found wicked sharpness...

I ran over a pin.

DOH!!!

Now everything I cut is so NOT like buttah. Every cut I make is accompanied with a swear word or two. At the very least a growl.

Now everything must be cut twice.

TWICE!

Grrrrr...

SWOON!! (Does anyone else swoon over fabric?)

2009-07-20T17:55:00.000-07:00

So I bought this cute, cute, cute fabric from this wonderful Etsy seller.

Isn't it adorable?

A kitten in a teacup! Is she a nurse?

It's called Animals in Cars, from Ikea.

A COW in a SUGARBOWL!! (swoon!)

I think this might be my favorite, a MOUSE! In a CUPCAKE WRAPPER!! WITH A LAMP!!

A giraffe? In a STRAWBERRY! I wish I had something stronger than capital letters! LOOK. AT. HIS. KNEES!!!

As you can see, I'm thinking of a small ring of black and white fabric, then maybe something more colorful.

Or maybe the other way around. We'll see.

Did I mention the tiger? THE TIGER IN A SPORTS CAR?!?!?

(faint)

I love it. I just LOVE IT!!!

Betcha Can't Sew Just One!

2009-07-19T08:56:00.001-07:00

Do you like string quilts? I love string quilts. Like this one. And this one. Aaaand this one. And it doesn't have to be squares. Making them is like eating potato chips. Just one more block. Just ONE more block! Ok, now I have 1100 blocks. And I only needed 48 for this one! If you're not familiar, you cut some paper into the size you want, lay down strips or "strings" of fabric and sew and flip. The paper keeps you in the right shape, and stabilizes things while you're working.

So here is my blue and green string quilt. With, as my friend pointed out, Ninja stars.

I'm not sure about the stars now. What do you think? My theory was that it would break up all the green and blue, but now I think I find them kind of distracting. I do love blue and orange together though.

Yes, that's a chili pepper. And a dinosaur, and some bananas dancing in grass skirts. And a manatee.

I like to have surprises for people who get close. It's entirely from my stash. I thought I needed to whittle it down a bit, although I can't say it's made much of a dent. I love string quilts so much I'm thinking of a series of season string quilts. Greys and pastels for Winter. Bright yellow, orange and green for summer. Maybe mix it up with different patterns. Triangles? Rectangles? Have I mentioned that I love string quilts?

And from the back it looks like stained glass!

On someone's blog recently, (sorry! I don't remember who) I left a comment about paper piecing and how it was NO BIG DEAL to rip the paper out of the back at the end. HA! I said that, having not ripped any paper in a while.

I confess. It's a bitch. But it didn't take too long, and I just reminded myself of how much easier it made it to put it together.

Aww, da pup is snoring in her bed right now. It's the sweetest noise! Such a sweet, sweet girl.

Now to clean up the sewing cave and get on to the next one!

Happy Campers

2009-07-13T09:52:00.000-07:00

Happy Monday!

I've been on vacation, and had to sneak in just one more day.

You know how vacations need to be just the right length, right? Too short and you don't want to go back, too long and you NEVER want to go back?

Well I'm sure that tomorrow morning I will leap out of bed, happy to get back to work.

I'm just sure of it.

We just got back from "camping" at Pismo Beach.

I say "camping", because I'm not exactly a woodsy outdoorsy kind of gal, so I camp in a hotel.

With soft water! I couldn't rinse the shampoo out of my hair for anything! That's roughing it as far as I'm concerned. Oh the trauma.

This was a fun year, (we try to go every year, with the Sweet Baboo's family) because we took Princess Fluffernutter with us! We've always boarded her, or had a friend take care of her. This year she came with us!

Here she is, having commandeered the bedspread for her own.

She was SUCH A GOOD DOG! I admit, I was a little nervous about taking her. She isn't the most socialized pup in the world.

But I underestimated her.

She was the belle of the ball, with several people commenting on how well behaved she is. Let me tell you, she slept well when we got home! That was a lot of activity for a little couch potato. Lots of new smells, people to greet, walks, walks, walks. I couldn't have asked for anything better.

She does this strange thing, Anyone else have a dog who doesn't speak dog?

We were walking through the campgrounds, and over to one side there was a yellow lab who saw Pepper and went IN...SANE. Barking and barking and snarling and frothing. Insane!

And there walks little Miss Pep; completely oblivious to him. Ooo! Look at this leaf! Whoa, is that a napkin I need to investigate? La la la...

It's not the first time, it wasn't even the only time this trip! One of our friends had her little weinerdog with her, and she was howling and yipping to get at Pepper, but Pepper didn't seem to notice. I don't think she speaks dog. I think she thinks she's a tiny, furry human, and these barks and howls don't even register with her. Maybe that explains why other dogs seem to hate her so much. Hmm.

You'd think I'd have a ton of pictures, but no. I have literally, three. These three. Two blurry pup photos, and one of this eucalyptus tree that fascinated me.

Don't you see a quilt in there? I don't know if it was the colors or the pattern, but I thought it was beautiful.

So today is just unpacking and cleaning and organizing, but I might find a few minutes to reacquaint myself with my friend Pfaffey. He's hungry for some fabric!

Like a Cool Breeze on a Summer's Day...

2009-07-07T19:43:00.000-07:00

Ohhhhhhhhhh sigh.

I'm so tired. I was working in the sewing cave, minding my own business, putting needle to cloth, when I suddenly decided that I needed to clean and organize EVERYTHING. Do you ever have those moments? Where in an instant it all comes crashing down on you how incredibly disorganized you are? And how if you were just one of those a-place-for-everything kind of people then there would be no floods, no famine, no Michael Jackson memorial?

Me too.

So I cleaned.

I wish I was one of those people. I REALLY do! My problem is that it's not a question of putting things back where they belong, because nothing has a home. My sewing table is always stacked high with all my unfinished projects, so in order to work, I need to clean it off.

Every. Time.

And it's been a strange few days, where I kept running out of everything.

I put together the Sultry braid, but even though I separated all the different fabrics, and tried to keep an even mix all the way through, I somehow ended up short, so that the last few feet would be pretty much just one fabric.

Not cute.

When I found myself HATING this particular fabric, I decided to throw in the towel and buy an additional Jelly Roll.

Whatyagonnado?

It's what the quilt needed.

And I also ran out of Oh Cherry Oh fabric for the sure Cherry quilt. What the?

AND I ran out of thread. No kidding.

Sigh.

But I did manage to put some borders on the Metro Market quilt.

So cute, doncha think?

I love those chickens. And the beaters. Love! Now I just have to fix up a backing, and we're in the home stretch.

Do you have a friend? I mean, a FRIEND?

One of those "Don't know what I'd do without you" friends?

I do.

And look what she made me.

My crappy picture doesn't do it justice. It's soooooo adorable! It's such a creamsickle, summer day, flip flops and coconut oil picture!

She's got talent, this one.

You should go check her out. Tell her you'd buy one of these signs if she sold them in her Etsy store.

I would!

Your Opinion is Appreciated...

2009-06-29T18:48:00.000-07:00

So here's my quandry.

You see people selling quilt patterns that are nothing much more than a bunch of squares or triangles, or circles even. You see it all the time. And it can be a really cute quilt! So my question is; if I can look at that pattern and figure out how it's done, am I morally bound to still purchase the pattern?

I'm all for supporting people's efforts, and actually just this last week bought two very cute patterns. But some of these people act like they invented the square! You did not invent the square, lady! It was here way before you, and will be here long after you're gone.

But the quandry remains.

At what point am I ethically obligated to purchase the pattern? Or acknowledge the original? What if I wanted to sell it? What if I wanted to make MY version of a simple patchwork pattern?

Where is the line?

So anywhoo.

Quandry.

I got stuff in the mail!

I love getting stuff in the mail. Just love it.

So I bought this quilt kit for a braid quilt, made with Sultry fabric from Basic Grey. See? I could have figured it out. It's not complex. But I bought the kit.

(Ok, mostly for the fabric, and it was half off, but still)

And I was almost out of my most favoritest, go-to fabric from Kaffe Fasset, so imagine how thrilled I was to find it half off? (It's gone now, sorry!)

And again in a different colorway. In case you don't need the clashy brightness.

It's prettier than my picture is showing. Very soft.

And a quick update on the Princess, she's getting around SO MUCH BETTER than a week ago! Up and down stairs, up on the couch by herself, although you can the wheels turning as she works it out in her head. But she gets up there! She's such a trooper. Such a good dog. My sweet lil' baby.

So let me know what you think.

Until then, I'll be in the sewing cave.

Inventing a shape.

PS. What do you think of the background? My friend is highly POLKA DOT resistant, and there are just sooooo many POLKA DOTS out in the world! This is actually a fabric that I actually have. Actually.

PPS. I LOVE POLKA DOTS!!

PPPS. Nothing. I just wanted to use PPPS.

Hidden Blessings

2009-06-23T19:31:00.000-07:00

Isn't life funny?

I had a half day off last Friday. I had plans to lock myself away in my sewing cave and not come out.

Right up until the point that my beautiful Princess Baby Dog was hit by a car.

She's ok, at least she will be eventually. Let me assure you of that before we go any further.

She's bruised and sore, but nothing's broken or ruptured.

Not even her spirit.

I'll spare you the details of the trip to the vet. The worry, the tension, the crying.

She was such a good dog. The best. She just looked in my eyes the whole time we were there. We just stared at each other as I murmured reassurances to her that everything would be ok.

And it was.

The hard part has been leaving her alone since she's come home. You can tell she's in pain. She's slow to get up, slow to lie down. Sweet Baboo has built ramps for her so she can get out to do her bizness with dignity. What a man. I know there are people who believe that their dog is just a sort of outdoor decoration. Tie her to a tree and throw some food at her occasionally. My heart is overflowed with gratitude that my Sweet Baboo isn't one of them. Right now I'm typing this standing up, balancing the keyboard on the back of a chair because she's lying in my way and I don't have the heart to move her. I just want to pick her up and squeeze her. Rub her all over. Hug her and not let go.

That's the hard part.

We went from gazing lovingly into each other's eyes to not being able to snuggle like usual.

My poor sweet baby.

She's such a trooper.

I'm sure this blog will be littered with lessons learned from Miss Pep in her hour of tribulation from now on. But my leg is cramping up from the strange position I'm in, so let me just share what I did while she was sleeping through her narcotics.

I couldn't leave her alone, so I did some hand work.

I have these hexagons.

There are tons of websites dedicated to people who are addicted to hexagons.

I don't think I'll be joining them any time soon.

For one thing, I've had these hexagons for years. YEARS! And this is as far as I've ever gotten.

First, my schwanky carrying case...

Oh yeah, you're impressed now, aren't you?

I'm guessing that I meant for it to be all batiks.

So I don't know what that polka dot is doing there. (and for my polka dot resistant friend: I'm sorry. I tried to crop it out.)

Now I'm wondering if I should put them all butted up against each other, or have a spacer of black in between each "flower".

This is the template I'm using. Or rather, set of templates. They're really easy. If you're interested in starting a hexagon project to last the rest of your life, I highly recommend them.

It goes a little sumpin like this.

If you're into that sort of thing.

Maybe now that Princess Petunia is starting to get around better, I can someday get back to the sewing cave for some real work.

No rush, Pup.

No rush.

You take all the time in the world.

The Most Beautiful Girl in the World

2009-06-16T19:06:00.000-07:00

Something happened today that made me realize that it's been a while since we've seen Da Pup.

The Princess.

Miss Fluffy Butt.

So I grabbed my camera and tried for a photo shoot.

Oh dear.

She is a lot of things. She is beautiful, and sweet, and loving. She is funny, and brave, and fearless.

The things she is NOT, is cooperative, and maybe photogenic.

She's a black dog! It's very hard to get a good picture of her!

And it doesn't help that she has to investigate anything I might have in my hands.

That's why most of the pictures I have of her are when she's sleeping.

Or at the vet.

Look at that smile!

She's a happy girl.

We got her when she was 9 months old. She was hyperactive and had some serious issues. She was a biter! If you got anywhere near her food, she'd bite you.

If you made a move that could be interpreted as going for her food, she'd bite you.

If you gave her a sideways glance while in the same room as her food, oh yes, she'd bite you.

We had some significant injuries in our early years. People told us she would never change, and that we should get rid of her.

Perhaps permanently. And they would give us a "look".

But I was in love.

This was my first dog! I had signed on for the long haul.

We worked with her every day. I researched everything I could find about rehabilitating dogs with food issues. I would sit on the kitchen floor with her bowl in my lap and hand feed her pieces of food. We started making her sit and wait before we'd put her bowl down. Once she started letting us near her, I would add pieces of chicken or beef into her bowl, to let her see that it wasn't always a bad thing to have people near her bowl. Then we graduated to picking up her bowl, and adding yummy things.

Today, nine years later, I scooped up her food and took it to her bowl. She spun around in excitement, (a self taught trick that I encourage: "SPIN!") and then sat down patiently as I poured the (vegetarian) food

into her bowl. We made eye contact.

She waited.

And waited.

I went back and put the scoop back in the bag. Poured myself a beverage.

Came back, to find her still sitting, patiently waiting.

"GO AHEAD!"

And she tucked in.

I scratched her back, petted her head.

She didn't even twitch.

Good dog.

New Lovers...

2009-06-15T19:38:00.000-07:00

Did you have a good weekend?

I had a good weekend.

At least, it started out good.

I figured I would make the back for the Terry Pratchett quilt. Has to be done, right?

Has to be easier than the front, right?

Oh. My. Lord.

I laid out fabrics. I cut and sewed. Then I ripped, because I had sewn the wrong sides together.

No problem.

Sewed again.

AND RIPPED AGAIN!!!

I swear, that quilt and I were NOT in sync.

After a while, when I found myself swearing uncontrollably, I finally went to the adjoining room to watch TV. But I could feel him staring at me. Feel his accusing glare as he lay across the bed. I gave him sideways glances, trying to not make eye contact. Trying to play it cool. But he just laid there, in his passive aggressive way, mocking me with his 3/4 finished back.

But it was not to be.

I finally folded him up and put him away.

We're having a trial separation.

So I thought I'd take advantage of this time to see other people.

I chopped up my Oh Cherry Oh! fabrics

Aren't those the cutest?

Ignore the loose threads.

Like a fresh breath of spring. Or summer. Whichever.

Like a 40's housewife putting on her apron.

I had thought to applique some cherries in the white square, but now I'm not sure. It might look kind of busy.

I'm sure Terry's back and I will make up soon. He's got to get to the longarm quilter. The Hawaiian quilt will be headed that way tomorrow.

I just have to be in the right frame of mind.

When I first started quilting, I read a lot about the traditions and superstitions. One of them, I think a Hawaiian tradition, said that you should never work on a quilt angry or upset, because you would transfer those feelings to the quilt.

I don't want him to be angry.

I'll buy him some nice new threads and maybe get some flowers. Put on some happy music.

I hope he'll take me back.

What time is it??

2009-06-11T19:22:00.000-07:00

Where has the time gone?

It gets away from you so fast, doesn't it? Sometimes the only way I know I'm falling behind is by looking at the trees or flowers. They don't seem to get caught up in their schedules. They don't care how many plans they have, how many parties they are invited to, or how many projects are on the back burner. They just grow. They grow with you or without you. They grow whether you're watching or not. They just do it. So since I don't have any pictures of new projects to show you, I thought I'd share some pictures of my friend's garden. Not MY garden, oh no. You don't want to see MY garden. Trust me.

But THIS garden, now THIS garden is something to behold. It is quite simply: Beautiful.

This is the front yard.

Really! It is! Isn't that amazing?

Let's go into the back, shall we?

I love this. The trailing silvery leaves embracing the Buddha.

And a little whimsy.

These guys are easily five feet tall.

The Koi pond.

Of course there's a Koi pond!

Didn't you expect a Koi pond?

I just thought this was gorgeous.

And while I was driving the other day, I looked down to see this.

I should play the lottery!

Hope you enjoyed the tour!

Imagine yourself there.

Peace.

Vacation - Day ???

2009-05-28T11:16:00.000-07:00

Remember these?

My poor little vintage bed sheet orphan blocks? Well, they got organized, started singing songs about tomorrow being sunny, and next thing I knew, POW! They sewed themselves into a quilt top.

Right now it's 58" wide, and about 75" long. A twin size is 54" by 90", so I may put another row at the bottom. Or maybe the bottom and the side. I want it to be big. Big enough to cover you while you're lying (laying?) in a hammock. Doesn't it look like it needs a hammock? I don't have a hammock, but maybe if I make a hammock quilt, a hammock will arrive.

If you build it...

VACATION - Day One

2009-05-26T09:32:00.000-07:00

Ok, that was actually yesterday, unless you count yesterday as a holiday, which I do, which makes today technically the first day of vacation.

Woo hoo for me!

So last week I went into my friendly neighborhood quilt store, Judy's, just to see if they had anything that I needed, NEEDED for my vacation. I picked up a jelly roll, then put it down. Petted the batiks, but nooo...

then I saw it.

Almost walked right past, but I heard it call my name, softly, sweetly...

A fat quarter bundle of Metro Market by Robert Kaufman in blues, greens and brown. Our eyes met, I picked it up, we held hands and spun around in a circle on the beach.

Oh yes, you shall be mine.

The price was right, and I loved every single print in it. You know how sometimes you see a package of something, but there's one or two that you just don't like?You buy an album, but don't like all the songs? Yeah, that didn't happen here.

Love it. Love it all. I picked it up and there was no possibility that it was not coming home with me.

I got up to the register, and someone laughed. Apparently they had just set it out within the hour. Score!

So yesterday I cut and cut and cut, and sewed and sewed and sewed, and this is what I ended up with.

Triangles! Lot's of triangles. I love it!

Those beaters! Be still my heart!

The apples! The "love beads"!!

That chicken!

Ohhhhhh, so cute. Such nice prints. It needs a border, maybe in that chicken print, and that's that. Forgive the first two shots, they were taken at dusk last night. The close ups show truer color. Truer? Is that a word? Is now.

So that's Day One.

I had a lightening bolt moment, you know the kind.

I think I've been approaching quilting as something that I

A) needed an occasion for (Lisa's having a baby! Need to make a quilt) and also

B) needed to make something phenomenal, that would last through the ages.

The lightening bolt hit me, and I realized that no! No I don't! I can make things just because! Just because I feel like it. Just because I want to. It doesn't have to be heirloom quality. It doesn't have to be dripping with meaning.

It can just be pretty!

It's like that story of the art class where one half was graded on quantity and the other half judged on quality. You know that story?

So the first half threw pot after pot.

Did I mention it was a pottery class? I think it was a pottery class. Pot after pot after pot. Not caring how they came out, just do it and move on to the next.

And the second half, I did say it was a pottery class, right? Well, they researched, and drew out diagrams, and planned the perfect pot. Only going to the wheel once they had the perfect design.

And then at the end of the class, the pottery class, it was a pottery class after all,

it turned out that the people who threw a bazillion pots had a higher quality than the people who just threw one!

That's how I remember the story anyway.

So the moral of the story is that I'm off to the sewing cave again.

Let's throw some pots.

Queen For A Day! (Princess for a Lifetime)

2009-05-14T17:30:00.000-07:00

Thank you, thank you... hold your applause please!

My dear, sweet, beloved friend over at A Fishes Beach Wishes has given me this AWESOME award, because yes, it's true, I am awesome.

I'm sure you all agree, and need no further details. "We KNOW that, Janice!" I can hear you all saying, with accompanying eyerolls.

But maybe there's one or two new people here who don't realize my awesomeness. "What makes you so awesome?"

Well, let me tell you.

REAONS THAT I AM AWESOME

(in no particular order)

1) I have a beautiful singing voice.

It's true. Birds say "You sing like a Janice". And what I lack in tone and actual note-hitting-ability, I make up for in sheer enthusiasm. I sing longer and louder than anyone else in the room. I do my best singing in the car. If you ever pass me on the road, look over and admire my tonsils.

2) I never panic.

Not ever. Never, never. I don't scream on roller coasters, I don't run around during earthquakes. I was once driving a truck on the freeway, (and in California that means 90 miles an hour) and had the tire blow out and I calmly steered it over to the shoulder. Later my Sweet Babboo commented on how cool I stayed. I am good to have around in an emergency.

3) I love dogs.

I mean, I LOVE dogs. I love dogs the way other people love babies, or - I don't know - Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. Or the Pope. I can tell you what breed your dog is on sight, and if he or she is or mixed heritage, I can tell you what the parents were. I can tell you right now that if I met your dog, I would love it. Like LOVE it. Like baby talk, and butt scratching, and cooing and ear rubbing. And forever more, I would ask about your dog's health and well-being.

4) I do a WICKED Ethel Merman impression. It's truly something to behold. It should be in that book. I used to have a job as a dispatcher that involved talking over a two-way radio, and I would entertain the boys with my Ethel. They all appreciated it tremendously. Who wouldn't?

5) I can do anything.

I don't mean that in a Superman-leap-over-tall-buildings kind of way, I mean that my parents raised me to believe that I could do anything I wanted. Excel at anything I tried. For a suburban housewife, my Mother was pretty progressive. She supported me in any hair brained scheme I could dream up. For a girl with three older brothers and no sisters, there was rarely any "But you're a girl!" talk. I played drums in the high school band, I worked at an auto parts store and can change my own oil, brakes, tires, timing belts... just about anything. Because of their support, I approach things as a problem to be solved, not as an obstacle.

6) I can cook.

Not that I do it all that often, (it cuts into quilting time!) but I went to culinary school back in the day, and can still whip up a mean meal when I have to. My Chicken Cordon Bleu, my Curried Chicken Walnut Squares, my Lemon Bars will make you weep. From simple pasta dishes to complex desserts from scratch, you'll be coming back for more. I guarantee it.

What else? Number seven, number seven... how to choose? There are soooo many reasons I deserve this award, how can I choose just seven? It's not fair to you, the reader. But if I have to pick, I guess I'll go with...

7) I have AWESOME friends!

Every last one of them! I don't know what I did to deserve them, but I'm not going to question it. They keep me going, help me when I'm stuck, encourage me when I'm lost, and bring me back down to earth when my ego gets inflated!

Thanks everyone! I love you all!

Act Now! Huge Bonus!

2009-05-09T15:04:00.000-07:00

Ok, I got some better pictures. Sure, I could have just edited that last post, but come on. I'm lazy. So let's see how this works...

Of course, I started writing this before I saw the pictures, so if they're just as bad as the first, I will give you a... a bonus pelican.

Promise.

I snuck in some flamingos...

All right. I guess they're not much better than before. Sorry! But never let it be said that would renege on a promise, so here's your pelican.

Just chilling.

Hanging. Just hanging on the beach. Eating some fish.

That's right. Pelicans. You might have your Cardinals, and your - I don't know, Woodpeckers. But we got pelicans.

We're lousy with pelicans around here. Knee deep in them. Can't throw a stick without having a pelican catch it in his enormous flappy gullet thing and swallow it. Which is why we don't throw sticks. Not ever. It's a California law.

Dogs hate that law.

Poor dogs.

No more RockStar for me.