Yogus Interruptus

Yoga is one of the great pleasures in my life, something I expect to do and enjoy doing into old age and beyond. I've never trained my animals to be still during my practice, they just seem to know, and usually one or more cats and all three dogs will get up on the couch on their red blanket and lie quietly when they see the yoga mat come out.

I've been working through a new to me yoga DVD, Yoga Therapy Prescriptions with Laura Hawes. The DVD is divided into a good number of practices focused on a various health issues, the one I was trying today was for Anxiety. It is a good thing I was relaxed already...and happened to have my camera close. Otherwise they would have been banished from the room. Here is what happened.

Namaste Xavier and Xing-xing, you bless my days with your presence.

My little lost dogs that someone threw away in the forest...

along with about two dozen others from their puppy mill.

Sunday Thankies Fresh Grapes Oranges Bananas Digital cameras The world and it's infinite variety

Procrastination, Thy Name Is Sharyn

Two long seams to go and I can put paid to the Kudzu Baskets quilt top. So far I've found a number of reasons to procrastinate. For instance: Say good by to basket bits no longer needed. Stop to make a free wheeling star because it was cute on someone else's blog. (Jo's fault entirely, over at Pieceful Afternoon. That is my story and I'm stickin' to it)

Take note that in my frenzy to finish (or not finish) my sewing area in the quilt room is most Un-FlyLadyish. Plus the little lost dogs needed some sock-play time. Clean same...and still those two seams wait. Crazy.
OK, I've run out of things to do. Well, I could check my blog sidebar and see if my compardres have posted new interesting stuff...

Edited later in the day: Kudzu Basket top completed... can be seen on my "projects in progress" blog Devoted To The Cloth I love it! (scroll down at that link, I've added posts since).

Friday Thankies
That it's Friday, I thought it was Saturday
Daffodils are peeking out of the ground
Little dogs in training had an A+ day yesterday

Paper Embroidery Anyone?

I told Loz at Bizarre Quilter a few days ago that I was the worst, bar none, embroiderer in the world. I got to thinking about it because I abhor negativity and realized I can say I do paper embroidery very well. Heaves big sigh...saved from the negative boogerman again.

I was in a 12 person card exchange for two years while I took hiatus from quilting. But you can't keep a stitcher away from thread! The first paper embroidery I did was a blue willow scene. It only took me 11 hours to complete the first one. By the time I finished 14 of them I had it down to a swift 7 hours per card. You can see the first blue willow effort in my quilt journals entry...I co-opted it into a journal cover because I had a big mistake on it. Not being sure what I was doing yet, the 3rd gentleman crossing the bridge looks like he is taking a leak rather than lifting his leg to the next step. Oops...I left the men off the rest of them. I have done many many cards and bookmarks since then, here are a couple of samples.

I just googled paper embroidery and I see there are a few free samples to download now so do that if you want to try it. I order all my patterns from the U.K., a lovely company called Creative Expressions. The first set I had snail-mailed, but the rest I have downloaded to PDF and printed out myself. Very easy transaction and instant buyers gratification!

Here are a couple of the Christmas cards I did then laid them in the bottom of a box and sprayed lightly with aerosol glue and sprinkled artificial snow on them. They were very cool looking.

The tools needed are pretty simple.

A sheet of thick fun foam (I think it is 1/2") to do the punching on.

Low tack tape to hold the pattern in place on the card stock.

card stock.

Fine needle like a size 11 appliqué. You don't want big holes in the card stock.

I talked a gentleman who makes tools for lace makers into making me a lovely punch, but for just trying it, stick a cork in the top of your needle so you have something to hang onto and start punching.

I covered my punch patterns with clear contact because I always made 14 copies. 3 layers of card stock at a time is about all your hand will want to punch, so using my pattern 4 times in a row I found covering it made it hold up well.

For natural scenes like the lighthouse I used 60 weight Mettler embroidery spool thread, but for patterns like the ones above I used my Mettler metallics...yum yum. Great carry along project if you have a stack punched, everything fits in a sandwich baggie.

This whole post is revenge on Jo over at Pieceful Afternoon for sidetracking me from Kudzu baskets and test driving free wheeling star blocks. So there Jo, bet you can't do just one paper embroidery...

Wednesday Thankies
Kudzu baskets top should be finished today
Fun blogs to visit
SUNSHINE!

Rooster Journals Anyone?

I did a post on my quilt journals awhile back, but not everyone enjoys wordsmithing like I do. This is the perfect time of the year to start a different type of journal, and a lot easier...Put a fresh calendar by your sewing machine. It can even be an old one...long as it has at least 360 days.

Those neat daily boxes will hold all sorts of information that you may find astounding when added up. Depending on your projects and interests you can keep track of:

• Hours (or minutes, they really add up) spent machine or hand stitching


• What day you started a project


• What day you completed on


• How much new fabric you bring in


• How much stash you use


• New tools and their cost


• Books added to your library


• Machine needle changes


• Machine services


• Charity projects


• Shows attended


• Guild speakers


• Completed blocks and milestones on special projects like the Dear Jane quilt

Try it, You'll like it!

Monday Thankies
Delicious Mexican lunch
Theresa's funny and practical Dr. Dan
Drinkable water

High Points Low Points

I have my pedal to the metal, working hard to finish assembling the Kudzu Baskets quilt and I'm very very close. As I've sat sewing today I've been thinking about what sort of things slow down or stop progress on my quilt projects. And the other side of the token, what makes me commit to a new quilt.

Things I dislike

• Ripping. I do it but with gritted teeth. I just bring to mind a childhood needlework teacher who said "ripping out is one of the most important parts of the learning process because it shows you what you should have done." Mostly should have done was pay more attention. Thank you Gramma Bessie, for the lesson and the memories.


• Clipping seams. You can see in the attached photo where I am requiring myself to do this, because it makes a great deal of difference in how the points meet. I think this quilt is worth the effort and I'll be really glad I did it, both during the quilting process, and enjoying it on the bed. But it sure slows down the piecing.


• Putting the big sections together. At that point the quilt top is very close to finished but that is lots and lots of intersections to meet. One nice thing I don't have to pin because my 1/4" seams are dead on so there is that saving grace as I Herk the sections around.


• Finding I don't have enough components made. I really frown when I have to go back and make more sashing or corner blocks or whatever. Which is foolish, I nearly always have some extra fabric cut. My contrary nature I guess.


• Standing on a stool to reach the top sections on my working wall. I would love to be 5'8" tall in my quilt room. The rest of the time my feet touch the floor when I walk and that seems to be sufficient to my needs.

Things I like

• The smell of clean prewashed fabric as I press it
• when something I experiment with works early on
• The incredible resources at our fingers today; books, quilt shops, on-line blogs and websites, the generosity of bloggers who do tutorials, DVDs and TV quilt shows, guilds, magazines. When I began quilting in 1970 there was basically nothing unless you had a granny or auntie who could get you started. And it was all template then...each and every piece in a quilt had to be traced around and cut with scissors. Think about that next time you admire an intricate 1800's quilt! The only tools readily available in stores were the Aunt Martha's patterns and wooden quilt hoops.
• The sheer variety of prints and patterns in our fabric availability. Walking through a fabric shop is like a free art gallery tour.
• Rotary cutter, rulers, mats. What a difference in how quick and easy it is to make a quilt. Or get one started. Probably also the chief reason there are so many UFO's. We didn't cut up much fabric to start new quilts when all the pattern pieces had to be traced one by one by hand.
• Quilt shows. Wow. From small local shows to regional to national to international. Talk about eye candy and inspiration. You can see in a few hours that your work is indeed better than some-worse than some, and you can see the quality and time commitment required in becoming a top show winner.
• Binding. I love cutting it, sewing it on and getting my corners perfect, and stitching it down by hand. That last 8 hours is when I get to really snuggle under what is basically a finished quilt for the first time. To run my hands over the blocks as I go along...being surprised at fabric combinations, seams matchings, the quilting stitches, the joy of a project well done...and DONE.

Sunday Thankies
Yoga Bolsters
Bookends
Cell Phones

Small Space Quilting ~ Cutting

My older posts about carving out quilting space in our 35' 5th wheel trailer can be found here. Scroll down the new page that opens to see the progress.

I have a kitchen cutting board that fits perfectly into one side of the double sink. With a rotary mat on top it is a good cutting solution for smaller projects. If I needed or wanted to make longer cuts I can move the sink cover cutting board to the left side of the sink to hold the folded fabric, and put a larger mat on the counter to the left.

Or another solution I've considered is making a board that covers the sink area completely. A definite possibility if we ever decide to full time RV.

I'm preparing our home to go on the market in the next month or two. When (please please) it sells I will most certainly be living full time in the RV at our farm until a house is built and it doesn't give me a moments worth of stress. I know I can quilt there with no problems with the solutions I've put in place. Ironing and tools of the trade will be posted before long~

Tuesday Thankies
The RV washer and dryer work like a dream
A day inside to work in the Big quilt room at home
Red Rose Tea and my new china leopard print mug

No Thanks, I'm Driving

No resolutions that is. I was just a pup still when I realized how defeatist oriented making solemn resolutions on the 1st of January was. I'm just human...sometimes this means the strength of Hercules, and sometimes it means the backbone of Popeye's friend J. Wellington Wimpy. I yam what I yam.

I do try to make genuine effort each new day to end it with both myself and the world a better place than I found it upon arising. Some days I actually accomplish it. Most days, having made the effort is the best I can achieve.

I do each year try to add some new skill or knowledge. Some have been utter failures, some have been like finding a gold mine, and have been incorporated in to my on-going life seamlessly. This year's goal is going to be especially difficult. I'm going to take a year and not re-invent the wheel. That won't mean much to you, but I expect it to be a profound change for me and the way I tackle things.

This will be really visible in my quilting. I seldom begin with someone else's pattern or directions, and when I do, I'm almost immediately off on a tangent of changes. Often changes for the sake of changes; I'm uncomfortable being or making a clone. But I have a lot of stunning, exciting, interesting, fun patterns languishing on the shelf...I think this is the year I will make some of them. As instructed. It will no doubt be really good for my character. And probably increase my output exponentially.

Welcome 2009.

Saturday Blessings
Stan the man, the computer fixer will be here tomorrow!
Stan takes partial payment in fresh cookies and divine coffee!
My husband and all my 4 footed family are gathered together safe and warm.
I LOVE my napkins!!

Napkins!

I have been having a blast making napkins out of stash crumbs! They are so easy a beginning sewist could do them, although I will admit they take time. Time well spent and a product you can enjoy every day...considering most of us have thousands of dollars worth of fabric and how often do we really get to physically enjoy and use it? Click on the photo to see a larger view.

• I cut my squares at 11" which finishes as a 10" napkin.
• Press, starch, then cut your square or oblong. Starch because it will make the hem stitching go a thousand times better, giving the finished edge a professional touch you'll appreciate every time you use them.
• On the back side of the square use your rotary ruler and a pencil to mark a 1/2 inch line. (lightest fabric on right)
• Trim off just a smidgen more than 1/2 of the boxed penciled corner (like the lightest fabric shown in the photo.
• Press over the edge to the back, to the pencil line.
• Next, I lay a straight pin across the pencil line corner junction, making a kitty-corner fold then fold in a perfect mitered corner and pin (like the sage fabric on the right edge). This encourages the next step/fold.
• Press the long edges over on itself, giving you a double fold 1/4 inch hem.
• Then flip it over and press from the right side too so the creases are nice and sharp.
• For the hem itself I experimented with a straight stitch, fine but dull..
• Experimented with several of my machine's embroidery stitches
• And fell in love with the mode 2 stitch 66 on my Janome 6600P sewing machine, left at the default width and length. With my F2 foot that 1/4 folded seam rides between the edges of the open toe foot perfectly, which is why I can sew from the top.

Friday Thankies
Our record snow accumulation is starting to melt
My 2 little lost doggies continued progress, 4 A+ days in a row
An abundance of fresh chicken eggs to share with the neighbors

Odd Tools 101

My eyes are bad, my patience is short, my coordination is iffy. If you are coordinated, have 20-20 vision and the patience of Job feel free to move along, otherwise come closer and listen. This little mirror was a bank give-away back in the 70's, it came in a little rubbery green sleeve and yes banks used to give us awards for banking with them rather than give us the Bronx cheer for being gullible enough to keep our money there. A really big deposit would sometimes garner you something as great as the little-old-lady fold away rain hats.

I've never had a sewing machine I could re-needle by feel so I put this little mirror under the foot and change out needles in a few seconds. Something else I do is keep a sticky note on top of the machine with the date needle was changed, what needle went in, and because I'm an info junkie, the project that needed the new needle. It is really surprising how time flies when sewing. Experts say depending on the fabric 4-8 hours is optimum needle life. How many years has it been since you've changed yours?

Today I'm hemming napkins made from quilt fabric culled from the recent reorganization of my stash. In the big bin of scraps (post below) I garnered 31 pieces of fabric big enough for an 11 inch square napkin. I can hardly wait to start using them, it seems nearly all my fabric holds memories...this quilt or that S.tash E.nhancement X.cursion or shared from a friends stash or a gift from a friend...a little fabric lagniappe I wasn't expecting when I started the project.

Tuesday Thankies

Sweaters

Sweatshirts

Car chains

Lazy Sunday

I've had no forward progress on any projects which makes me feel a little unfinished. I am a firm believer that even 15 minutes a day adds up to completed items in a surprisingly short time. I do have a thin excuse. I spent about 2 weeks incorporating inherited stash into my own, prewashing, refolding both theirs and mine, reorganizing, and reshelfing. Now, I don't consider my own stash large at all for someone who has been a passionate quilter since 1970 and in addition to that I've been on the fabric buying wagon since October 2001, or maybe it was 2000, anyway for a long time. This is my current stash, before. I am very fortunate to have two double door closets in my quilt room, my stash took up part of one door.
Here is the beginning progress with the additional stash. Eventually I had piles everywhere and it sort of made my stomach hurt, felt like the chaos I lived in pre-FlyLady.
When it came to reshelving I got a little bogged down. I've used those plastic bins for 20 years, knew where everything was, knew what was in them I've been through them so many times since going no-buy... But they just did not work with the additional influx. In the end I only reused two of them, one for the light neutrals, and one for my 1800's reproduction fabrics. I'm happy with the finished task, one because it is finished, and two because it looks so darn nice. I'm not sure how much work it will be to keep it nice...at least the bins sort of contained my disorder. Here is the finished view, now two doors wide:
Common sense tells me that anytime we have to move something to get to something we do not have efficiency. But because we live in an A-frame my shelves are narrow at the top and get exceeding deep the further down I go. Double stacking only makes sense. So I had a brain fart...takes awhile for the other shoe to drop some days...and made a map showing what was in each stack and section. Eureka, I have efficient and beautiful. And a lot of fabric to put to use.

Note; the bottom right hand side is pre-cut blocks in about 10 different sizes from the last time I had a big re-sort/pare-down frenzy. I use these for interesting backings. Which brings us to the last stage, photo 4.
Orphan fabric. Too small to reshelve, or I've used it in several quilts and have no interest in adding it to others except as pieced backing. So I now have a overflowing bin of bits. My first project today will be to pull out anything that will work and be enjoyed as a 10"ish napkin and make lots and lots of those. I love cloth napkins and with a big stack there would be no excuse whatsoever to not be green in that area. The rest I will add to my under-the-cutting-board strips bin, and my pre-cut blocks. I also donated 5 grocery sacks of nice but not my taste fabric. Merry Christmas to me, tackling and finishing this big project was my end of the year gift to myself.

Sunday Thankies
Ruth
Irons
Washing Machines

Where Have I Been??? Not RAKing...

There is quite a move afoot this year for a special type of RAK or Random Act of Kindness. I'm a great believer in RAK's and love to do them because they are always anomonyous and they will always bring a smile to someone somewhere.

My friend over at EveryThingQuilts did a post today on RAKing small ornaments. I don't know or care who started it, only that it is such a fun idea. Which got me to thinking about a post I did awhile back on all my wooden spools. Because I have such a crummy memory I made a quick unadorned project to remind me next November or early December to get a bunch of these made. I have a box of little Christmas picks with holly and tiny bells etc which would add a lot of charm and variety to the simple idea of ribbon through spool and a list for Santa. And we certainly can use plastic spools too...finally a way to repurpose those!

This idea doesn't have to be specific to Christmas either, Halloween ones, Easter ones, etc. would be super fun to hang on knobs and leave on benches around town!

Don't forget that instant Heirloom Quilt gift... still time to make one of those~

Thursday Thankies

Sunshine

Stash

Sewing Machine

Gingerbread Yogi's?

Dear Santa,

I have been a reasonably good girl in 2008.

May I please have a set of these yoga pose cookie cutters?

Or better yet, a consistant supply of my neighbors gingerbread cookies, made like this? All the best to you, Mrs. Claus, the elves, and the reindeer; will have Rob's favorite sugar cookies and milk for you, and grain with a pinch of molasses for the reindeer upon your arrival. Please don't scare the goats.

Love,

Sharyn

Wednesday Thankies
A good snow shovel
Good boots
good gloves

Has Anyone Noticed

Blogger's wiggly word you need to type in to prove you are semi-human when guest posting to other blogs is now easier? The randomly generated letters are never a word, but can be read as a word and quickly typed in instead of so easily mistyped. Small blessing and it may be in my head, but I like to leave comments about other blogger's posts. And I'm for anything common-sense that makes life easier. Including the new option in Settings so people don't get a popup when commenting.

Monday Thankies
Colder than a witches toe but no deep snow
authors and publishers
National flags waving in the breeze

Avoiding the Real World

I turn to my blog and the imaginary world where it would be much more comforting to live. Imagine how small your money needs would be in the perfect 24 inch by 48 inch comfort nest.

I got written permission from Sarajane to show this quilt shop, a group project of some very talented polymer clay enthusiasts. I hope you'll follow the link and see the progress, the creativity is knock yer socks off wonderful.

PS: re: my post below about the 5th Wheel working wall. Rob stopped by yesterday and he said all my blocks were laying on the floor. Back to the drawing board.

Friday Thankies

Invited as a guest for dinner and a play tonight

It is starting to look like snow tomorrow

Everyone's opinions count

Selvage Edges Anyone?

Meet my 2008 Christmas Cards; fun to make and easy as falling off a pile of fabric.

I layered 4 inch lengths of Warm and Natural cotton batting onto 4 inch strips of holiday fabric. On the reverse side I stitched down strips of selvage on the diagonal, diagonal just for added interest.

Once the long strips were made I trimmed the edges with a wavy edge rotary cutter, and then cut the individual ornament/cards according to the size of the image used. I tucked the twine behind the card image and stitched around that.

This idea could be easily translated to magnets and even glued to card stock for a more traditional feeling card. Since the holiday images are recycled from last year's cards and the batting and fabric all came from leftover bits I'm not sure these wouldn't take the prize for being the new catchword, Green.

If I were to do it over, I'd cut a little wider strip from the selvage edge, the sewing would go faster and would show all the different holiday fabrics to better advantage. I alternated sides when sewing down the images, couldn't decide which type was cuter.

Please visit the Selvage Blog in my Tidbits Drawer on the left...that's where I got the inspiration~ Amazing creations there.

Wednesday Thankies
Nice neighbors
Archaeologists and historians
Pampas Grass

Undefinable Unclassifiable O.D.D.B.A.L.L.S.

What do you do with your unorganizable fabric stash? I don't buy fabric like this anymore, it is certainly eye-candy on the bolt, but I've yet to find a way to incorporate into my stash or my quilts.

I bring up the question because I'm integrating inherited stash into re-folded re-stacked re-examined stash of my own. I'm also organizing with an eye to showing the house which will be up for sale soon...so the fabric cupboards need to look spacious and inviting to whatever type of stash the new owners will have. No matter what stack I lay these against they don't fit. Small matter, but inquiring minds would like to know.

I took some before photos and I have a few in-progress photos, but I'm not sure the after photos will be much different than the before photos :-)

Tuesday Thankie
Delicious Leftovers
I don't own any automaker stock
I'm not the incoming President

Small Space Quilting ~ Working Wall

Quilting well and happily in confined space can be a problem. As I promised earlier, this is what I've come up with for the working wall in my 5th wheel RV. The only plain wall-space available is the door that slides closed between the bed/bath and kitchen/living area. It had a long mirror on it which I promptly removed, leaving me a space about 24" X 72".

My original intention was to do just what I did for my home working wall, glue acoustical tile down for pinnability, followed with a topping of flannel for stickability. Trouble is I couldn't find acoustical tile at any of the do-it-yourself type stores! Apparently this type of ceiling material is out of favor.

Quilters are a resourceful group and someone is always thinking up a new gadget to make our lives easier. While browsing Fabric Depot in Portland Oregon (DO NOT miss if you are ever in the area...Valhalla for quilters, I kid you not) I discovered a product called BlockButler. It looks like very thin batting that is sticky on both sides, and the inventor believes enough in her project to offers a full refund if need be. She is also wise enough to enclose a small sample in each package so you can see if the BlockButler will work in your chosen application.

In picture #2 you can see BlockButler stuck to the slider door with one side of the protective plastic still in place. One package gave me enough material to cover as high as I can reach, 2 would have covered the whole door. When I get some pennies saved up I'll buy some more to finish the slider door, and I'm thinking it might possibly work on the wall behind the slider to double my space. I'll have to try that out, see if the door will slide with blocks and sticky fabric behind. If not, at least I have a workable solution for playing with designs and thinking out loud creatively, when I'm at the farm in our RV.

The blocks on working wall currently are the very first of my One Block Wonder quilt made from my beautiful Hydrangea fabric.

Edited one month later: All the blocks were on the floor a week later. :-( I've removed the block butler and am working on a new plan...stay tuned. I do think the Block Butler would be a good solution on a closet door. It is possible that the lower temperature the 5th wheel maintains when we are not there might be the problem.

Sunday Thankies
Good humored Goats
Homemade Stew
Neatly stacked stash

Small Space Quilting ~ Sewing Central

You know that stuff you hang on to, it's too good to use, it might get ruined? So it sits and gathers dust and no one loves it and what kind of life is that, even if it is just 'stuff'? Well I have a Featherweight table, it has been gathering dust for about four years. I have a spot in my RV that needed a sewing table. I decided the twain must meet so I, the sewing space, and the table could have a joyous union.

I had a brain fart a few weeks ago and asked a woodworking friend if he would remodel my Featherweight table to accommodate my Janome 9000MC, in return for pet-sitting in January. Eureka!!! Kalama, we have lift off!!

This table is so perfect for the space and I'm so glad I got brave enough to cut into the table. Now it can continue to be useful and loved for many years to come. My Pomeranian Pembroke is modeling the latest in easy chair wear on the left...

Last night and this morning I stitched happily on my one block wonder... next post will be on how I've incorporated a working wall into RV living. It will never match up to the working wall in the quilt room but it sure serves its purpose in small space quilting.

Thursday Thankies

Frosty morning, sunny afternoon, my favorite weather
Frail friend survived a new pacemaker/defibrillator and the flu in the same week
Stephen King's endless imagination

Draped in Buttons

I love buttons a lot. In a way I consider them a sort of Totem like good luck socks, or invisible shield, and often wear button jewelry for just that reason. Probably the only thing I could say falls in the superstition category for me. I can jump up and down on cracks all day, when my nose itches I just blow it, ladders and black cats...bring 'em on. But buttons are special.

The grey and brown ones are crochet, and the blue and green ones are just stitched offset, the necklace on side view is like brickwork.

One of these days I'll photograph the vest that always gets comments at quilt shows and other places where stitchers hang out.

Wednesday Thankies
Several A+ days for unsocialized dogs in training
Les Schwab and free tire repairs
Friends who help when called upon

Ahhh, December!

We are really low key in regards to the Christmas season, we stopped the gift buying binge many years ago which gives us opportunity to savor the fun of the season, and think about the reason for the season.

As a quilter one of the joys for me is getting out December's quilt and putting it on the bed for the month. This was another one of my 'designing by the seat of my pants' quilts, I never know how they'll come out until they are bound and finished.

The baskets are adapted from a picture I saw in an Australian magazine. It was only after I'd used it for a few years and then put it in a local show that I realized I'd not put the vine in top border! Proof I'll never be perfect.

I used 1800's reproductions in reds and greens, they are subdued and don't shout ho-ho-ho but rather peace and serenity. Always a good thing this time of year. I hand lettered my favorite carols between the basket blocks, and 'Twas the night before Christmas is written in the bottom white border. Seasons best to you and yours, thanks for stopping by!

Monday Thankies
All the wonderful variety of fabrics we have today
All the great blogs out there
Employment for Rob

Whatzit?

I need to think of something clever to do with my dozens and dozens of vintage ladies handkerchiefs. My mind is blank other than quilts, been there done that. Small projects that will fit in an envelope or small box. I've been scouring the web and don't see anything that rings my bells. 'Kerchief in the vase idea was a bust :-)

Saturday Thankies
That I even have a nice hanky collection
That I recognize I don't need a hanky collection
That eventually the web will turn up something wonderful

Sayonara OPS

I've been at it since 5 AM this morning but look at the progress I've made! My incentive is knowing what a beautiful yoga studio this space will make when other people's stuff is gone, gone, gone. (see post below)

Funny how things work out, I asked my little sister if she wanted any of my stuff to speak up and it turns out she needs a double bed for her son and is going by here this weekend. She Never gets down this way, serendipity. We've been hanging on to a beautiful antique frame that we used to have in the guest bedroom. Beings its family I don't care if Nick paints it orange and purple, I'm just pleased to give it.

There were some funny/interesting late 1800's books my brother will enjoy, and took the opportunity to share out 4 boxes of books to any of the family that might enjoy them, prewashed and dried about 200 yards of fabric (be-u-tee-ful fabric!) that one of the owners said I could have, so that will be transfered to the quilt room. Not technically a fling, but better purposed than laying in here on shelves. I feel good that everything in this floor pile will be donated or given by late tomorrow. Ye-haw!

Friday Thankies
Serendipity
Strong back
Clean spots

Of Stuff and Millstones

For seven wonderful years I made about half my income selling on Ebay as kalamaquilts. I cleaned my own home out and then began parting out personal estates for others. It was a special responsibility that I took seriously, taking possession of the collections of people who had died. Sorting, photographing, shelving, pricing, packaging, and sending with a wing and a prayer on to the stewardship of the next owner.

Sadly rising Ebay fees and bizarre policies have put that business out of business, but I still have 2 four shelf units with OPS (Other People's Stuff) in my office. We are getting ready to put this home on the market and I need to shift these last remnants back to the families or donate them.

There really is no point to this post except to say that I hope I treated OPS in the same manner I would like to see my own stuff treated when I'm gone. And that I'm feeling kind of melancholy because I'm going to be shifting some of my own well loved things to family and friends if they want them. I left the need for having a lot of things around me or collecting anything behind me some years ago, but some of that stuff still sticks to me like butter to the hips. Or like a millstone... Just thought I'd come here and talk about it for a little while.

Wednesday Thankies

Gorgeous fall day

Haircut day!! Double Thankies for ViVi

I love my bookcases

Simple Child That I Am

It doesn't take much to please me. How about a fresh cover for my ironing board, with cheerful Yoga Monkey fabric?

I've been busy away from my quilt room for awhile, this afternoon it's back to the working wall and the Kudzu quilt .

Thursday Thankies
dunker donuts
Friendship
Paid in Full stamps

Cooking Without Looking?

I think I owned about 3 cookbooks in the first 15 years of my cooking life.

~A 1940's Betty Crocker handed down from my mum, splattered and stained, lots of her notations.

~A community cookbook my dad got me for Christmas one year,with a handwritten inscription. The recipes aren't that great, but I grew up around the knees of lots of the women who submitted the recipes so it is a very special book.

~A slim soft cover that was a wedding shower gift from Grama Pearl, along with her own gravy ladle. She indicated that if I would learn to make good gravy Rob would never stray. I never make gravy and he is still here, my talents must lie in other directions.

Then in the early 80's I quit smoking and suddenly food tasted wonderful..imagine the concept! So I took more interest in cooking and started picking up cookbooks, both new and used. I generally had one or two cookbooks for my bedside reading, so many are fun to just thumb through. I've been working toward downsizing for a number of years now so just have a short shelf of specials left rather than an entire bookcase full. The following are a few of my favorites, some just for reading, some for really using.

Anita Stewart's Country Inn Cookbook - Truly Authentic Canadian Recipes. I purchased this book on a trip to Victoria, BC and it's a favorite for several reasons. #1, if I were to write a cookbook this is the format I would like to see the publisher use. On the right of the recipe ingredients are the US weights and measures, in the center are the ingredients and on the left are the metric measurements. Very clean and easy to read. #2, the recipes all come from the Innkeepers at Bed and Breakfasts. This is a fairly common concept now, but Anita did a great job of creating clear and interesting visual images of the Inns and their owners. And the recipes are good too!

Another Canadian entry and favorite is one Rob picked up when working in Canada, Vicki Gabereau's Cooking Without Looking. This has become the key description of my cooking, usually followed by the words, "well, if it's smokin' it's cooking, if it's black it's done".

A fun read is The White House Family Cookbook by White House Executive Chef Henry Haller. Chef Haller served at the White House through the administration of 5 presidents, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, and Reagan. Could there be 5 more different families in the world? Lots of photos and each presidency is written in 5 parts, the first 4 are actual family meal recipes and the 5th part consists of Meals of State.

A beautiful little book and reflection of my love of tea pots and all things tea is Having Tea, by Catherine Calvert. The photos are exquisite and the recipes are well written; using this book always makes me feel like I'm being good to myself. A well used recipe is Mrs. Foley's Shortbread Squares, although I mess with the recipe and add vanilla and almond.

A cookbook that contains my favorite cornbread recipe is A Thousand Ways To Please A Husband with Bettina's Best Recipes, by Weaver and LeCron. This is a 1932 book and follows the courtship and marriage of Bettina and Bob...absolutely charming period piece.

Some other carefully read favorites are from the 1800's. An American Family Cook Book by "a Boston Housekeeper" published 1865 gives this recipe:

Fried Toasts--cut the crumb of a twopenny loaf into round or oblong pieces, nearly one inch thick, and soak them for four or five hours in a pint of cream, mixed with three well-beaten eggs, half a pint of white wine, a little grated nutmeg, and sweetened with pounded loaf sugar. Fry them in butter, till of a light brown color, and serve with wine and sugar sauce. Now doesn't that sound better than boring old French Toast? Antique cookbooks often exhort us to 'build a strong fire'; and 'boil the carrots for four hours until tender'.

Gratefulness

Scanners and printers

White cats with big blue eyes

zippers and elastic

Baggy Eyes Eye Bags

Feel like sewing but don't want to tackle the current big project? These are fun to make and hardly take any time at all...as always choosing the fabric is the problem!

I have one I use for yoga practice, one I keep in the car for a client who is plagued by headaches and one by my bed. Plus a couple for our RV.

They are falling off a log easy I promise, by hand or by machine. I cut two pieces of fabric 5 inchs by 9 inches, put right sides together and stitch with a fairly short stitch. Start 1/2 way down a short side, continue all the way around the 4th corner until you are about 2 inches from where you started. Lock stitch start and stop points. Turn bag right side out and use a knitting needle or pencil to poke out the corners nicely.

For fill I use flax and clean sand, about 1/2 and 1/2 and include dried lavender or tiny rose buds from my yard. You could add dried mint, crushed cinnamon sticks, bee balm, any essential oil you favor...doesn't take much. A funnel helps keep the filling mess tidier, but plan on a quick vacuum job when you are finished. Stitch opening closed and...

Lie down, apply bag, relax, breathe slowly and deeply. Life is good.

Weekend Thankies
Birthday Parties and getting to see friends from out of town
Crisp Apples and fresh applesauce
Stunning sunrise

Turning Collars

Anyone remember that? My mother always turned my dad's work-shirt collars, and sometimes even his good shirt collar...note the singular. It is a frugal skill and not to be scoffed at considering a nice shirt is $20-40.00 dollars these days. My husband loves the 8.5 ounce flannel shirts that Carhartt puts out, real quality, and a small is a small and a medium is a medium. I'm not sure there is any kind of sizing guideline anymore anywhere.

Anyway, my point, and I do have one is this old denim jacket. It's raggedy enough to probably be worth several hundred dollars in some countries, but I'm unimpressed. Every time he wears it I always say "enjoy your coat, it won't be here tomorrow" or some such threat...of course it's his coat and not my place to get rid of it. But it's fun to pull his chain.

Saturday was his 60th birthday and he was kind of under the weather and we are watching our pennies with magnifying glass as he has been out of work more or less since September. So I looked at his coat, and his pitiful little face there in bed and thought "I can do something to bring a smile, surely I can".

So I sewed a great patch on the front, then worked on the collar for awhile. Rather than turn the collar in this case I carefully separated the threads and laid Steam-A-Seam in the worn fold, smoothed the threads down, pressed well, and then with a pale blue thread zig-zagged over the threadbare collar fold. It came out so soft and nice! Then to top it off I restitched the underarm seams. It should last another 10-20 years, then I'll see what's required. Who said romance is dead? There are so many ways to say I love you...

Tuesday Blessings
Yoga night!
Jessie, Ike, Conway
Pembroke, Xing-xing, Xavier
Indiana, Trinity, Freckles, all my four footed companions

Manly Man with Womanly Twist

Saw this great idea for storing all those tiny bits that we need so often but are such little boogers to store in a practical way. Every man I know with a workshop uses this 'lid nailed or screwed to a wood shelf' idea for their nuts and bolts and little nails, we should have glommed onto this idea a long time ago. They would also be beautiful for a smaller button collection, thimbles, and so much more.

Because we live in an A-frame house my walls are angled and create all kinds of storage conundrums. To the left is part of my button collection. All the jars on the double row right and back row on the left are half-gallon, the others are quarts. That's a lot of buttons! Plus I have 3 more half-gallons on the table below this image for coat buttons, real collectibles, and belt buckles. What we did for exposed shelving in the quilt room was take the ready-made wire racks found at do-it-yourself stores and install them upside down. Works beautifully...where there is a will (and a need) there is a way.

My quilt room is the upper extension to the right in the photo below.

Monday Blessings:
The weekend wind blew most of the leaves into the garden, great mulch, no raking
Interesting rocks and fossils
Extra work this week for extra $$$'s

Washington Anyone?

I think each state of our union is uniquely beautiful, but Washington tops them all, not that I am prejudiced but whatever climate you prefer, you can get here! Take a stroll though Webshots Washington album and get yourself some gorgeous wallpaper.

This is a peek of our place during a winter snow storm a few years ago. Perfect stay-in and quilt day.

Sunday blessings:
Hot showers
Hot coffee
central heating

Yellow Books

Who knows why, I woke up in the night thinking about that standby on the bottom shelf of a lot of bookcases, National Geographic. I think it is one of the few magazines in the world that folk save and save. My little brother would usually have a stack about knee high by his bed and probably learned most of what he knows about the world from his 'yellowbooks' or as he would say when he was really little, lallow books.

I have about 15 issues from the 20's, 30's and 40's, they are a fascinating visual look at the times. We had a wonderful piece of furniture my mother referred to as the Map Case. About the size of a night stand, it had sliding doors on the front and was stuffed with National Geographic maps..I'd love to have that case today, it had beautiful inlaid veneer and soft curved lines. I wonder what it's original purpose was? I don't think Mother would have bought a nice piece of furniture to hold maps, we lived much too close to the bone for that.

There were also two newspapers in the Map Case.. I don't remember anything about them except they were old and had 4 full pages of comics. Several times a year my big brother and I would get them out and reread them with great pleasure. Television, computers, and video games being unheard of we took our entertainment where we could find it.

Midweek gratitudes
National Geographic, still inspiring people to care about the planet
Odd memories that bubble to the top
Veterinarians

One Block Wonder, Apply Brakes Now

What I've discovered that doesn't seem to be covered in the encore!/book two edition.

Trim the selvages off the fabric before you start cutting sections. Selvage is a tighter weave than most quilter's cottons; if it is left on, the two selvage ends of the cut strips have a tendency to curve or cup which can throw off the alignment of the 6 stacked strips.

What every book tells us and I forgot: Remove the aligning straight pins before rotary cutting that spot. Duh. Five blades @ $30.00, you'd think it would be paramount in my mind.

The encore!/book two edition doesn't give any indication about cutting sections after you've gotten your first set of 6 cut. Does the author expect sewists to continue to cut more sets of 6? She doesn't say. Does author expect sewists to use a different registration mark so our next sets of stacked 6's form a different hexagon?

Author could have been a little clearer about what size of top you get from how much yardage, she has obviously used everything from 3" to 24" drop fabrics. The pieces for the hexagons are all cut 3-3/4" so regardless of what drop your fabric has, X number of hexes will equal Y times Z square footage. I will add that info here when I get a section made. There is a chart on page 9 but it isn't very clear to me.

So far I know that my hydrangea fabric has a 12" drop, I cut my strips at 11-3/4" and from that made three 3-3/4" strips from which I cut my triangles. Six original 12" strips is 2 yards of fabric. I'll stop there or this will be as confusing as the book

Because we make this whole quilt out of triangles, 2 sides of every triangle will be on the bias. The book doesn't say but you'll save yourself a lot of grief of you stick a pin in the top/straight of grain side of every stack. Yes you can pull the triangle on 3 sides and you'd know what is top...but do we really want to pull on the bias to find that information?

I am having fun cutting out this quilt. Normally cutting is my least favorite part and probably why I 'only' have 14 UFOs...

See why I usually make up my own patterns? Can't gripe about anything but my own actions then. But really...Any book author who takes pride in their work should have their basic instruction beta tested by a beginning quilter to see if it makes sense and where they might have additional questions. Thus endeth the sermon for the day, I now return you to your regular programming.

November Gratitudes
An interesting invitation
Christmas parties to look forward to
3 goats who love pumpkin harvest time

Quilting Hydrangea's

This is the gorgeous fabric I'm using for my foray into One-Block Wonderdom, a gift from my Rob a couple of years ago. He thinks I'm too tough on myself as far as being on the fabric wagon for the last 6-7 years. What he doesn't realize is how much creative juice goes into working strictly from stash which makes for lot more interesting quilts. But bless his heart for this fabric because there are patterns that require a lot of yardage, something I've never bought even when I was buying like there wasn't going to be any fabric tomorrow.

The book says no more than three colors makes the most striking end product. I read this as yellow pink green so hope I don't end up with a broken up mess. the selvage shows 17 color dots :-). This is Lakehouse LH03007 'Hydrangeas and Raspberries w/scroll', the background is overprinted with delicate gilt scroll effects, really lovely. Going by their website, all their designs are outstanding!

One reason I chose this rather than the 1 Fabric Quilts option is because upon reading her directions closely I realized, and I say this without apology, her directions stink. I can only guess by her images you need to do the basic stack and whack procedure but I can find no where to indicate this or if you cut all your yardage out piece by piece. I'm not cutting up my lovely Beyer border fabrics and get in a muddle.

So that's where I am today, standing at the cutting table fondling this stunning fabric. This evening I'll get back to appliquéing baskets for Kudzu. Because now I'm really going to want that working wall cleaned off!

Sunday Appreciations
Elena Brower and Element, my at home DVD yoga teacher
Mrs. Ollie E. Camp, my 1st grade teacher
Mrs. Alice Bingham, my high school journalism teacher

Halloweenie Quilting

Humm, where have I been? Not quilt blogging apparently, probably because there has been no forward movement to show on either the candlewicking blocks or the Kudzu quilt. I haven't found the perfect thread for the outer border leaves in the candlewick project but I do have about 14 blocks finished except for that so 1/2 way along! I'm really enjoying the change of pace and think I must have gotten really lucky to find the block kit on Ebay, I've not seen a single one since. I have about 5 more blocks to appliqué before I can finish the borders on Kudzu so that one is getting really close to calling finished.

I have narrowed down what I intend to make for the reverse side of Kudzu though. I inherited a LOT of Jinny Beyer stripe fabrics, and my husband bought me some stunning hydrangea yardage a few years ago so I think either one of these books would have something different yet quick which is always what I'm looking for as a change of pace after a complicated top is finished. This will also be my first full size quilt to be machine quilted on my home machine but I know my Janome 6600P will be up to the job. My back...I'm not so sure. But I am woman hear me roar, right?

Another oddball project that I both dread and relish is related to something I see on many blogs, an official UFO list. They are usually on a side bar, some make me so tired just to look at and others, even though the blogger is a perfect stranger I give a cheer because they are marking their progress and making head way. Good for them and more power to those quilters!! I always thought I only had 3 projects in progress at any one time, but we got new carpet in the quilt room year before last so in the process of moving everything in and out I organized my UFO's. Ouch. There were 14 quilts in progress. We can make ourselves believe anything can't we?

Anyway, I have another blog set up, unused as of yet, that I'm going to use as my yardstick of progress. I'm going to photograph every single project and date it, and then I can add photos of my progress. I doubt I make it a public blog, but it will be a nice journal. There were also a couple that I dumped, like the blooming 9 patch I started for my nephew, cute kids fabrics all around...and he graduates this year. Blush. Anyway, that's all the news that's fit to print as they say.

Halloween memories~
The medic I met at Halloween horror movies in 1967 who later died in 'Nam.
The year we were much too old to trick or treat and went with pillowcases anyway.
My former neighbor Betty who loved to costume up for the evening and got more pleasure from the trick or treaters than most people get from Christmas, now gone too but not forgotten.

Seen Any Good Faery's Lately?

Trust me, I'm not a fairy and angel person, all that sugar pretty much gives me a toothache in the brain. But I'm entranced with the idea of Fairy Doors. This is a little naturescape on the dresser top by my office computer that seems to have a life of it's own. See the wings just slipping out of sight? (click on the image to see a larger view) Do you have a fairy door? I think perhaps these Fae are a lot more interesting and a lot less sticky sweet...

Sunday Thanksmas:
Home made pizza
Carpet cleaner
Our boys and girls in service, doing the jobs of men and women around the world. Bring 'em home please

Antique machines

A few days ago I was blog hopping and found some great ones sharing vintage sewing images, do you think I can remember where I was? So many great blogs so little time. This is a pretty one I just saw on my own computer when I was downloading images of our new little Doxie companions.

I have a New Home Treadle in my front entry, I keep saying on a snow day (everything stops here when we get snow, people freak out) I'll clean it up and sew with it. In the 19 years since I bought it that hasn't happened, but I'm not dead yet so there is always the anticipation to look forward to.

My Grandma Ruth had a treadle in the corner window of her big dining room. I can't remember ever seeing her sewing on it but when I'd get bored I'd go over and see how fast I could get the foot dealie going. I don't remember getting in trouble for it so it must not hurt the machine? But then that Grandma had 13 children plus an endless (sad) parade of foster children so one grandchild being quiet in the corner was probably beneath her radar.

Mid-week Beatitudes:
Autumn color
The sun on my face as I run with my dogs
The laughter on my dogs faces as they run with me