My Three Sons

A Birthday Quilt Parade!

2012-02-15T16:07:00.000-06:00

It's my birthday today - so I thought I should celebrate by finally posting pictures of three more quilts I finished up late last fall.

(and I just noticed that I miss-typed 'Churn' when I loaded them into flickr - hate that)

This is the Modern Churn Dash from Amy, over at Diary of a Quilter. I was interested in her method that used the fabrics so efficiently and her pattern is great!

I have been really interested in the effect of reversing the conventional negative space. I love Amy's alternating of the negative space with these blocks.

I was in the midst of my first fabric diet/quilt challenge with Leigh, so I was running low on neutral solids. Using gray on the back turned out so well!

This next one was simply a collection of many of my favorite blues and greens. When you look at my fabric stash, they are leaning towers, way higher than anything else!

(don't tell them, but I've really started to love the pink/orange/yellow combination)

Finally, red and blue in fun 'There's a Square in There' improvish blocks. This was just a plain ol' fun quilt to make!

Now, off to ruin my healthy eating/exercise plan a little more. I bought myself a small chocolate ganache cake at Trader Joe's today. We aren't having my official birthday party until Saturday with my Mom and Dad. So I had to get a treat for today :)

Thank you for both the comments of support and also disagreement to my last post. I enjoyed the email conversations with both sides.

Unacceptable

2012-02-12T19:28:00.001-06:00

What do you believe in - at your core?

Besides free fabric for all (because that would just be awesome).

Unacceptable

"We pray, no longer silently but as a great number.

We enlighten each other.

We carry each other along.

We depend on our faith in Jesus."

--Pope John Paul II

Have you heard? Perhaps you have, and either heartily agree with the HHS mandate or are neutral. You can not afford to be. What are your core beliefs? And can you trust that you will be permitted to hold onto them?

Most of you aren't one of my FB friends that has been flooded with blog links and comments the last 3 weeks. So here's an entertaining summary of this crazy, just as it was starting.
An Open Letter to President Barack Obama Concerning Recent Tyranny (With Pictures!)

The Obama administration has just told the Catholics of the United States, “To Hell with you!” Bishop David Zubik of the Diocese of Pittsburgh.

The media would like to make this into a Women's Health issue - and pit it against a bunch of old, out of touch Catholic bishops.

It is not.

This is about a central teaching of the Catholic church and Obama's demand that we figure out how to violate our consciences within the next year.

"Our country is unique in the world because it was established on the basis of an idea: that we are all endowed by our creator with certain unalienable rights -- in other words, rights that are conferred not by a king or a president or a Congress, but by the Creator himself. The state protects these rights, but it doesn't grant them," McConnell said.

"Our founders believed so strongly that the government should neither establish a religion nor prevent its free exercise that they listed it as the very first item in the Bill of Rights,"

A slightly similar scenario? There are so many homeless in America, and Obama has decided that it is a right that they are housed inside every night. Each public building and church must be open to area homeless each night for shelter. The Catholic church does this in our area, so that seems good to me. But the Mormon leaders protest that they must be excluded - their big, beautiful temples are sacred to them. OK - says Obama - we'll make a slight change. Don't worry about opening your temple doors, we will post an official at each and open the doors for you. You don't have to be around, see - all good. Not exactly the same, but just as nuts! It's the idea of the government saying your religious beliefs are null, suck it up we really don't care.

Because I'm a bit obsessive and read everything, I happened to find The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, and their report on Laos in 2011. It recommends that the US "Initiate technical assistance and human rights programs that support the goals of protecting and promoting religious freedom."

Among other issues, USCIRF is upset that Laos authorities have used threats to force people to 'abandon beliefs and practices the authorities consider “backward.” '

Perhaps we must turn the USCIRF on our current administration. Because this is exactly what they are trying to do to the Catholic Church and any other person whose beliefs are contrary to their mandate.

Let's just admit that it's economically wrong as well: The Wall Street Journal (full article):

Critics are missing the main point. There are good reasons that your car-insurance company doesn't add $100 to your premium and then cover oil changes.

Perhaps you don't buy in to the Catholic view on birth control. Honestly, a bunch of those who consider themselves Catholic don't either - Humanae Vitae can be hard to understand and without a doubt is contrary to the whims of society. Regardless, we are to follow the Magisterium and work to understand it even when it is hard. But here's a secular view from the Business Insider (full article):

Here's the thing, though: the Catholic Church is the world's biggest and oldest organization. It has buried all of the greatest empires known to man, from the Romans to the Soviets. It has establishments literally all over the world, touching every area of human endeavor. It's given us some of the world's greatest thinkers, from Saint Augustine on down to René Girard. When it does things, it usually has a good reason. Everyone has a right to disagree, but it's not that they're a bunch of crazy old white dudes who are stuck in the Middle Ages.

There isn't a single thing they can say to make me think this is truly about Women's Health. (This one is pretty funny and on target. The only thing they missed was how many copays women and men are going to cough up when the free pills (condoms are expensive dude! go for the free stuff) have left them vulnerable to the rampant STDs currently out there.) In their first release, The White House actually quoted a study:

The National Business Group on Health estimated that it would cost employers 15 to 17 percent more not to provide contraceptive coverage than to provide such coverage, after accounting for both the direct medical costs of potentially unintended and unhealthy pregnancy and indirect costs such as employee absence and reduced productivity.

Perhaps employers should not hire women at all? Evidently they are costly and irresponsible ones that want a family will have a reduced productivity.

For those that are interested, a detailed outline of the Bishops' firm commitment to rescind the HHS mandate after the insulting 'accommodation' on Friday.

We are raging mad. There comes a time when you have to stand up and own what you believe. And not be afraid to put it out there.

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Watery Zoo : Finished quilt

2012-01-12T11:07:00.000-06:00

I loved working with all these deeper colors.

I was forced into them a bit when Leigh and I were working on getting 5 quilts done without buying any fabric. I was getting really low on same-lot whites, so I had to pull out other plans and neutrals to get quilts done.

So glad I did!

The solid pluses are made with hand dyed fabrics from Cherrywood Fabrics. They have a great depth, and I thought they looked a bit like the sea, hence the Watery part of the Zoo.

I was super happy after laying out that back - one of those where you pull out the bits leftover and add in a couple other pieces to make it all fit together.

This was an attempt to hang a quilt on the wall in the basement to photograph straight on. Not the best lighting! Upstairs the problem is that all my walls are either windows or occupied by furniture. Maybe I just need to clear a room out specifically for quilt photos. The oldest could be off to college in 3.5yrs - maybe that's a good plan for his room. It gets fabulous light all afternoon. Ha!

I actually made friends with sashing on this quilt, if you recall back here. I did all kinds of stuff I normally don't do with this one - sashing, dark neutral, straight line quilting (still not a fan in-process but love the finished look here).

A fun little quilt. I listed it in my shop.

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i spy......

2012-01-09T20:38:00.000-06:00

I have a fun little giveaway planned and want to try out Rafflecopter.

It seems to easy and cute - and they have an adorable little helicopter mascot that needs naming right now. There's a link below to enter to give him a name - a free Kindle Fire if they pick it! Seemed like a fun thing to do this evening.

I have a couple more bits to gather before I do my giveaway. But it goes along with a WHOLE bunch of modern i-spy fabric I've been pulling from my stash.

(HELP Leigh........ I already bought more fabric this month!)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

It's Beautiful

2012-01-06T17:18:00.001-06:00

I checked the date - it's JANUARY 6. We are outside with just light jackets.

We live in Chicago. Very very strange, but I'll take it.

Then Becket ran for the camera.

He took about 40 pictures. It just kept getting better.

It's beautiful Mom!

State of the Stash : 2012

2012-01-03T15:23:00.000-06:00

The past two years I have been both tracking and trying to use my stash. I feel like I have a lifetime's worth of fabric, but there is always that NEW line that you're sure you NEED.

Tracking both amounts in and amount used for every project has been a fabulous exercise.

In 2010 I added nearly 117 yards, and actually used MORE - at 120 yards. Hurray for me.

Last year I added 107 yards, using about 94 yards - for a balance of 13 xtra yards which will be carried into 2012. I'll chalk that up to last year's Christmas fun at the Fabric Shack when I bought 30 yards. I completed more quilts this year, but a bunch of them were actually started in 2010.

I'm still working on getting them all blogged, as I finished a whole bunch up at once. Leigh and I had a 5-quilt-finished pact that was a HUGE help in both finishing lingering WIPs as well as not buying new fabric.

For 2012, I started it once again with a Christmas outing to The Fabric Shack. Honestly, it is a must when your in-laws live only 20 minutes from the shop. But I was much more controlled this year - after two years of tracking everything in and out, you seriously think about every thing In and decided if it is truly needed.

I plan on continuing using my stash. It's a fabulous feeling when you make a quilt without pushing some buttons or running to the LQS.

One big lesson learned from the quilt exercise with Leigh is that I use way more whites/neutrals than I would guess. It was challenging to finish fronts and piece backs without going out to buy more white! I expect that most stash additions this year will be background fabrics. Anything outside of that will be added mindfully. I'm really getting a better feel for the kinds of fabrics I search my stash for every time I start a new quilt.

Here's the accounting of the first fabric additions for 2012:

I literally spend hours searching The Fabric Shack for treasures. My first stop is their scrap cart - and lucky me they had TWO overflowing when I visited the day before Christmas. Anything on the cart is $3.98/yard - you buy the whole piece. I pull pretty much every Kona solid I find, and came up with white, blue and pick this year. The pink and blue pieces on the left really caught my eye, and then I think I squealed a little bit when I found 1.25yd of those letters! I bought a FQ last year and had been carefully using every last bit of it.

The next place I park myself is at their FQs - any that are already cut are only $1.95 each. I found five favorites.

There is also a little drawer of fat eighths and I couldn't pass up these. I think I pulled/returned them three of four times before finally deciding to keep them.

Anybody have a good use for a fat eighth?! The prints in this line are so awesome together that I think I would like to use them as a group.

Finally, a small group of FQs that I had them cut from yardage. You should have seen these bolts on the shelf - there is no way you could pass them up!

That's it for a while I hope. Now off to sew!

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Finished Greek Cross and a confused Gnome

2011-12-29T12:56:00.001-06:00

Wait, what month is it? Mr. Gnome isn't one to complain but he's a little disoriented - what with January nearly upon us and no winter in sight.

I am super happy about this weirdly mild weather - my numerous friends with ice rinks filling their back yards, no so much. So, I can't shout my excitement too loudly.

Modern Quilt Blogger dream weather is what I will label this weirdness. I have a boat load of finished quilts that are screaming for their photo shoots - and lucky enough to have my personal ~~slaves~~ children home to help hold quilts up.

Greek Cross in Red, Blue, and Goldfish

This is one of my mom's favorites, and I agree. I pulled a bunch of fabulous reds, gathered my clear blues, and tossed in a few of Heather Ross's adorable swimming fish.

The Greek Cross is a fun one to make - it goes together so nicely, then the fun quartered squares show up in between when you line them all up.

Most of my quilts have a pieced back of some sort, but this time I went with a solid piece of pretty, blue linen. Combined with the stipple it gives the quilt a wonderful drape. I also made friends with my spray basting issues and things went perfectly with the wiggly linen here.

I had a comment left when I was lamenting the stiff issues of spray basting and was given the image of spraying a light coat of Pam on a pan. I also noticed that it seems to kind of set up after just a bit. So if you stick down your quilt top and wait just a bit, it's stickier then peeling it up right away.

Thank you to the sunny weather, I have listed this quilt in my etsy shop.

I did it!

2011-12-17T13:25:00.000-06:00

I have been wanting to open an etsy shop for more than a year. I finally did it and stuck a link over there on the right!

I used the Holiday Bazaar as a hard deadline for getting a bunch of stuff done at once, planning on listing things that didn't sell. A major reason I've been putting off the shop is that I didn't want to open it with just a couple of things.

Then I had to actually FILL and OPEN the shop.

Wise words from my friend Stephanie - There's a lot to learn, just jump right in and learn along the way.

So I did last night. And woke to find my first sale! May be my only one, but it's very exciting.

I'll be photographing, listing, and more making this weekend. And some Christmas fun along the way!

Another good quilty friend mentioned a Flickr app to get photos from my phone uploaded. It was super easy - I don't know how I had missed knowing about that app. So I was able to upload the Crate and Barrel tree I mentioned in my last post. It was super cute at the Bazaar with all the zipper pouches hanging like ornaments.

Have a very Merry Christmas!

I'll be off for the next week or so, then back with a year end stash report. Even though I haven't been reporting weekly as I did last year, I have been tracking just as carefully.

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I love Scraps

2011-12-14T14:51:00.000-06:00

Becket caught eye of the scraps next to my cutting table and HAD to start stifing through them. He wanted to make sure I wouldn't toss them out before he got home from school.

He grabbed a couple and ran up to put them in his room, "I love Scraps!". Can't blame him, the little pile tried to lure me in as well, but I stepped away as I really don't need any more scraps :)

The Holiday Bazaar went really well. It was a fast and fun couple of hours. It started right after mass at 10 and ended about noon.

I sold 3 of the 6 covered notebooks from the last post, several crayon wallets, and a whole BUNCH of earbud pouches. I had noticed that they were also the perfect size for a rosary - tucked one in and that's what went over so well with the moms at our school. I was excited that they thought they are as fun as I do for holding a rosary.

I would show you the cute Crate and Barrel tree I found to display the pouches at the Bazaar, but my phone is not being helpful and refuses to send the photo. Any easy way to get photos off your phone and onto the computer for use besides email?! It's driving me up the wall.

So, that's what is on my cutting table right now.

Covered Composition Notebooks

2011-12-07T14:04:00.000-06:00

The Holiday show, that I'm going to have a table at, is tomorrow. Eeeek!

I've been stitching like crazy trying to get ready. I have six quilts to bring. I know, quilts never sell at shows.

But my main goal has been to have a chance to show my stuff to others, and then put it out there in an etsy shop. The shop keeps getting put off for other things. When the call for vendors went out at the Home and School Holiday Brunch and Bazaar I jumped on it as a good deadline for myself.

Figuring I should bring along something that has a possibility of selling, I've made a bunch of fun crafty things to go along with the quilts. I make as many as I feel like and what strikes me as fun for the day.

This is a set of six covered composition notebooks. Very fun to make.

The worst part is the anxiety that I'll be showing all these school moms my stuff - I'll see them again after tomorrow and what if they think it's all lame! The teen-years-horror!

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Tree Block

2011-11-30T13:14:00.000-06:00

Lee is going to make an awesome quilt of trees - and she asked our bee to make blocks for it.

I knew exactly what I wanted to do, then totally changed my mind when I pulled out her fabrics. I'm in the middle of planning a Ninja Training party for Becket's birthday party this weekend - so I ended up making a kind of paper pieced Bonsai tree.

Or maybe it's a tall rain forest canopy tree - perhaps Dr. Seuss. Not sure. But it was fun!

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Lemon Lime - Quilt parade...

2011-11-28T09:17:00.000-06:00

Float one in the quilt parade.

I have a ton of finished quilts that just haven't had the chance to be photographed and blogged. Lemon Lime gets to kick off the parade.

One huge shoo fly - it's about 40" square. Not sure what it is about the shoo fly, but it's a favorite block of mine.

I went with a yellow binding and am quite happy with it.

There was much debate in my head for how to quilt this one. I've wanted to do more pebbles for a while, but they take so much thread and time that I wanted a smaller space. The lemons seemed like the perfect spot for them. So then the middle got a square spiral and I just did parallel lines along each corner. Overall, so much time with pebbles and lines, but I love the way it turned out.

Finished off with some fun, random stripes in green - hence the lime half of Lemon Lime!

Go visit all the other fun completed over Thanksgiving!

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Even MORE WIPs.....

2011-11-23T08:55:00.000-06:00

It's getting a little NUTS. I have so many things going....but that's the benefit of having a hard deadline sometimes.

Stuff I've been wanting to do as well as lingering WIPs make their way to the finish line.

I have a couple quilts nearing the end of their binding.

And I was able to quilt up two more yesterday - ready to hand stitch tomorrow as we watch football and eat all day.

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday I think.

I also have a stack of covered notebooks nearing completion and a bunch of lanyards ready to stitch.

It will all have to sit for a bit as I cook and clean today! Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

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Two Quilt Tops Done

2011-11-21T12:29:00.000-06:00

A ton has been getting done around here.

Including this red and blue Greek Cross baby quilt top.

And the Churn Dash I started just a bit ago.

Quick photos of the two tops, as this is the kind of help I usually get around here.

Off to make backs and quilt these up! Hopefully I can get that done before Thursday. Busy hands stitching binding can't eat TOO many yummy appetizers.

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Four Pillows Plumping.....

2011-11-18T06:53:00.000-06:00

Finished up my four Christmas Tree Pillows.

I was really happy with how my zippers turned out.

And then stuffed with down pillow forms from Crate and Barrel. At only $12 for the 20" inserts, they're a great deal - and very nice!

I try to stay out of the Crate and Barrel Outlet so close to my house. I can't always resist the treasures one can find there.

Amazingly, I didn't buy one thing off that wall of Marimekko. But I know where I'm going to my next quilt back!

W.I.P. Big Time!

2011-11-16T09:57:00.000-06:00

I'm actually going to link up - first time.

Because I have a TON of W.I.P.s going right now. Getting ready for a little craft fair.

Making Coloring Wallets - fabulous pattern by JCasa.

And ran out to Target today to find some hair bands and came across this huge Ball-o-Bands.

Almost too pretty to unwind!

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I Knew I was Doing the Right Thing!

2011-11-14T09:07:00.001-06:00

At mass yesterday my ears perked up during the first reading.

It said that a wife should buy yarn and fabric and sew lots of awesome stuff! I knew it - and I already have a ton of yarn!

My husband wasn't so sure my understanding was correct....and even if I insisted in taking only small snippets here and there of the passage, that the 'finding' refers specifically to FREE yarn and fabric you happen to find.

A good wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels.
She seeks wool and flax, and works with willing hands.
Her children rise up and call her blessed;
her husband also, and he praises her.
Give her of the fruit of her hands, and let her works praise her in the gates.

Proverbs 31:10, 13, 28, 31

Pebbles

2011-11-11T07:54:00.000-06:00

I love pebble quilting's texture.

And I have a project that is small enough that I won't need 17 bobbins of thread to complete.

But, I may need to revisit the spray baste thing. After much testing I never did find any differences between the Dritz and the 505.

But I'm not so sure I like it as well as I had hoped. The basting part is MUCH more pleasant. And nary a wrinkle or pucker is to be found.

But the quilting - with a spray basted quilt - is not that great. And I LOVE the quilting part. The problem is that the basting makes the quilt a little stiff. And am finding that the quilting process is much more difficult without any drape to your quilt. I have to wrestle it and stop to pull/move as much as if I was stopping to undo a pin.

Maybe I'll try spraying on the back and pinning the front?

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Sew to Swap : Blog Hop Book Tour

2011-11-10T05:37:00.001-06:00

What a ton of fun! I am so thankful that Chrissie invited me to join this group of quilting rock stars as we helped her create Sew to Swap.

Hey, that's my hexie on the front!

I couldn't believe she assigned me purple - I was not a fan. But I think this was the start of my appreciation of it. I actually enjoy using purple every so often, now. One of those great swap benefits.

Chrissie planned and wrote the book - we helped by being actual swap partners and also offering some personal thoughts on everything from favorite quilting tools to your mid-sewing munchies.

This is one of my favorites, from Melanie.

Chrissie gives all kinds of awesome info about swaps - what to make, how to do them, guideline suggestions. Then there are a bunch of fun projects, from small pillows to large quilts, to make yourself or use for a group swap.

But here's what totally makes this book for me. She tells REALLY how to do it.

For the Curvy Block Swap she tells you exactly how to do it from start to end - suggesting instructions for your bee mates when it's your month down to how she decided to finish off the quilt once the blocks made it back to her.

Best Part!!! The Curvy Block Swap Kit.

And she has one of these for each of the projects. A list of exactly what to send out to everybody. Isn't that the hardest thing to figure out when it's your month?!

Look, it's me! I was excited that they chose to feature this specific quote. Because it is a big part of why I like to participate in bees and swaps. The fun friends you make while doing it and the awesome sense of
accomplishment you get after tackling a super tricky request from those new quilty friends.

I wrote a step-by-step tutorial for the Ringed Double Circle block that I made for Chrissie - both how to draft your ringed pattern, as well as tips on assembly.

The publisher has offered a discount during the blog hop:

Get Sew to Swap now for just $14.99 ($10 off the retail price!). Visit the Martha Pullen Online Store and use promo code SEW2SWAP to get your exclusive discount.
{Offer expires Nov 30, 2011 at 11:59pm EST. Special Price in US Dollars, for items that are “in stock” only. Martha Pullen Company reserves the right to correct pricing errors.}

Ok, can you tell I had fun?

Here's the list of all the cool people I got to hang out with while making the book. Check them out!

November 7 Lovely Little Handmades

November 8 Stitches & Scissors

November 9 Cluck Cluck Sew

November 10 My Three Sons

November 11 Twin Fibers

November 12 Stitchy Quilt Stuff

November 13 The Creative Juices of Ariel

November 14 Texas Freckles

November 15 Quilt Dad

November 16 Artsy-Craftsy Babe

November 17 Little Miss Shabby

November 18 A Cuppa and a Catch Up

November 19 A Quilt is Nice

November 20 A Little Sweetness

November 21 House of A La Mode

November 22 I’m Just a Guy Who Quilts

November 23 Little Bit Funky

November 27 In His Grace

Two Done : now the super scary part!

2011-11-09T09:28:00.001-06:00

Two are done!

I usually prefer to hand stitch the back of the binding down, but I machine stitch on pillows. It just seems like they need to be stronger - with fluffing and lounging pulling on the edges so much.

I stitch from the back side, with white or whatever matches in the bobbin. This is what the front ends up looking like. A line - but nice and neat.

I'm going to give them all a light soak before stuffing and gifting. See all that red?! Hopefully you don't hear screaming when they get dunked. I'm using for-darks Woolite, cold water, and a color catcher in a big bowl.

Wish me luck!

edit: Hurray!! Thank you Kona, you're awesome! Not a drip of red came off that huge red back - the water was clear and the color catcher totally white. That Kona red held up perfectly!

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Quilt Math Gone Wrong

2011-11-08T09:25:00.000-06:00

I was so happy.

The Christmas Tree pillows are nearly done. Just the binding for each. And as I cut the fabric strips, I was so pleased that they would only need one cut WOF for each pillow.

How nice it was to not be joining long strips of binding. No extra seams along the way. I was even going to post about how awesome pillows are to make, as they only need one little strip of binding.

I seriously sat down and stitched to the first corner, turned, and was confused as to why my tail was so short.

Doh! A 20" pillow will not be covered by 42" of binding. I CAN NOT believe I got that far before realizing my ridiculous math error. And math is my Thing!!

Don't you hate it when you're so sure of the plan, and then it's completely wrong!

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Churn Start

2011-11-03T10:17:00.000-05:00

Amy's new pattern is wonderful.

Half way done with the top already.

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Sashing Love?!

2011-10-28T10:24:00.000-05:00

So I attacked the sashing on Tuesday and even though it was only 4 little strips I was so glad to finally get it done.

And amazingly, by the time I did the last two I didn't hate them. I actually kind of liked my crazy idea of making and cutting the sashing in bulk. What was really nice about it was that the sashing strips were nice, clean, fresh-cut edges all along their length. I think that made a big difference in their attaching enjoyment. And I even had to smile at doing the easing.

Several of the cornerstone blocks ended up looking like this. Nice and square. I may actually do a bit more sashing now!

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Choices, Choices

2011-10-24T16:58:00.001-05:00

My mom really liked the Christmas Tree pillows I made as gifts for Becket's teachers last year. So she asked if I could make one for her.

Kati's tutorial is great, and they're so fun to make, I figured I would give my mom a choice. So I made as many as I had large paper for at the moment. The tree production really is kind of addictive pulling treasured bits of green and red from the scrap bins. Love hanging them up on my magnetic inspiration board.

Now I have a little pillow production line going for the four trees - four tiny 3" finished stars that will top them off. Such fun!

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Time flies even when you're Not having fun

2011-10-21T11:52:00.002-05:00

Whoa - it was way back almost exactly two months ago that I started this sashing?! I can't believe I made it sit and wait for so long. Benefits of a blog I guess, you know how long LONG actually is.

Part of the two month ignore has to do with my little experiment not working, though.

When I sew things end-to-end like a long line of sashing and cornerstones, I tend to drift. So the finished product wouldn't line up with the edge of a long ruler, it would drift off at like a 15deg angle. No matter how hard I try. Not sure what the deal is there. So I thought I could perhaps make a big block of 8"wide grey/3"wide pattern/8"wide grey.....then just cut my 3" wide strips from the big final piece.

But, I drifted. And even though I made them longer to account for such drift, it was still off enough at each end that I had to resew a couple to get enough sashing strips! Bah. And then I had to ease them all in anyway because I was a tad off between the sashing and the rows of blocks.

So I continue my hate of sashing and borders. For sure my least favorite part of quilting.

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Pretty Definitive Copyright Answers re:Patterns

2011-10-19T18:15:00.000-05:00

First, I wanted to share my response to some of the great conversations I've had about Copyright. Personally, I would be very flattered if I published a pattern and somebody actually liked it enough to put time and money into making it and feeling like they in turn could make money from their creation. That pretty much sums up how I feel about knit/sewing/quilting patterns and copyright.

And now I babble on and on about it because I research stuff - I always just have to know. I found a bunch and I'll share it here if you're interested. But you'll be glad to know that after this, I am researched and blog posted-out on the topic!

Just for my own information, I googled copyright-sewing-selling, something like that, and of course came up with a boatload of links. One of the top few was to Amy Butler's page. For good or bad, her name does come up a bit when you mention Copyright so I clicked over to see what she had to say.

Besides the standard, she links to a McCall's email conversation that seems to say one may not use their patterns for anything other than personal use. Amy Butler kindly links to the US Copyright office, so I had to follow.....and I found all kinds of stuff.

One of my pet peeves in general is when people quote sources that are not THE source. Like when somebody presents a fact to support their argument, only to find that support is also just an opinion without factual backing. That's how misinformation and misunderstandings seem to become Truth.

So in this little research project I've made for myself, I've only gathered my information directly from the US Copyright and also Patent Office official web sites and publications. I've added direct links to places I remembered to grab.

"A copyright protects the form of expression rather than the subject matter of the writing. For example, a description of a machine could be copyrighted, but this would only prevent others from copying the description; it would not prevent others from writing a description of their own or from producing their own machine."

I thought that was pretty interesting, as it seems to be very similar to the concept of a published pattern. So then I came across a series of PDFs, and this one had another good example as I tried to figure out what the rules really are.

*****
Circular 40 from the United States Copyright Office : Copyright Registration for Works of the Visual Arts

Copyright in a work that portrays a useful article extends
only to the artistic expression of the author of the pictorial,
graphic, or sculptural work. It does not extend to the design
of the article that is portrayed. For example, a drawing or
photograph of an automobile or a dress design may be copyrighted,
but that does not give the artist or photographer the
exclusive right to make automobiles or dresses of the same
design.

[my empahsis]
*****

The back of my McCall's pattern bought last years says in part: individual home use only....not for commercial...Honestly, I'm not sure what those statements are because they are not a part of Copyright law.

I found a link to a lawsuit between video game companies - one was mad that the other made something that was used with the first company's product. Their lawsuit was denied and in part the judgement said: a party who distributes a copyrighted work cannot dictate how that work is to be enjoyed.

*****
Circular 31 from the United States Copyright Office : Ideas, Methods or Systems

Section 102 of the Copyright Act (title 17 of the U.S. Code) clearly expresses
this principle: “In no case does copyright protection for an original work of
authorship extend to any idea, procedure, process, system, method of operation,
concept, principle, or discovery, regardless of the form in which it is described,
explained, illustrated, or embodied in such work.”
Inventions are subject matter for patents, not copyrights.

What Is Protected by Copyright
Copyright protection extends to a description, explanation, or illustration of
an idea or system, assuming that the requirements of copyright law are met.
Copyright in such a case protects the particular literary or pictorial expression
chosen by the author. But it gives the copyright owner no exclusive rights in the
idea, method, or system involved.
Suppose, for example, that an author writes a book explaining a new system
for food processing. The copyright in the book, which comes into effect at the
moment the work is fixed in a tangible form, prevents others from copying or
distributing the text and illustrations describing the author’s system. But it will
not give the author any right to prevent others from adapting the system itself
for commercial [my emphasis] or other purposes or from using any procedures, processes, or
methods described in the book.

*****
I was surprised when I found that one. Seems pretty clear-cut.

Another similar example - recipes. There is no copyright violation in using either a mix or published recipe to prepare and sell at a bake sale....in your restaurant...You just can NOT photocopy the page and hand it out to everybody. The copyright office goes as far as telling people they probably DO NOT want to copyright a recipe with a secret ingrediant, as all copyright documents are public and there is nothing that would prevent others from finding and using their ingredent list and methods.

After reading Circular 40, I clicked around the Patent law area for a bit, as it seemed like if you wanted to control the use of objects people made from the thing you have just published directions for you may actually need a Patent instead of a Copyright.

I happened across an online chat they had at their web site:

....Monica 2: Is it possible to patent the design of an article of clothing? I am referring to the sewing pattern, not any graphic pattern on the cloth itself.

Expert 50: Yes, it is possible to obtain a patent for the sewing pattern for an article of clothing as long it is meets the standards of being new, useful and nonobvious.

Didn't bother to look into what all that would entail to be nonobvious - but did see that Patents cost big money and it seems like a waste of time and funds relative to what we're dealing with. But from the same area of the web I found this interesting answer:

Copyright vs. Patent

Copyright vs. Patent If one develops an unusual book format /structure with the intent to display a specific kind of information (e.g. the structure makes learning celestial navigation easier), does one protect that using copyright (as 3-dimensional art) or as a patent (as a useful item)?
The answer to your question depends on how you want to protect your invention. If you want to protect unauthorized publication of your book, then a copyright may be sufficient, http://www.copyright.gov/ If you want to protect the ornamental features of the product, then a design patent may be the best choice. Lastly, if you want to protect the use or the products utility, then a utility patent would give you the best coverage. For example, if your product is an educational device, then your product may be eligible for a utility patent. Often, more than one type of intellectual property protection (i.e. a combination of copyright, trademarks and/or patents) may yield the best coverage for your product. You should seek legal advice to see which intellectual property protection is most appropriate for your invention.

I often read about people making the claim that there is some kind of licensing that goes along with copyright allowing them to say yes/no to selling a product made from a pattern, and it appears there is not, unless you're talking about music and there's a new, crazy complicated mess!

I found Licensing is linked with Patents - what is normally claimed for Copyright and sewing patterns is found here with Patents.

Patent: re Licensing
Infringement of a patent consists of the unauthorized making, using, offering for sale, or selling any patented invention within the United States or U.S. Territories, or importing into the United States of any patented invention during the term of the patent.

The owner of a patent may grant licenses to others. Since the patentee has the right to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, or selling or importing the invention, no one else may do any of these things without his/her permission.

A patent license agreement is in essence nothing more than a promise by the licensor not to sue the licensee. No particular form of license is required; a license is a contract and may include whatever provisions the parties agree upon, including the payment of royalties, etc.

The drawing up of a license agreement (as well as assignments) is within the field of an attorney at law. Such attorney should be familiar with patent matters as well. A few States have prescribed certain formalities to be observed in connection with the sale of patent rights.

Clicking away, I came across official court summaries by judges in some copyright cases. Even a couple quilt related ones - but all that I found dealt with somebody copying a quilt or other item exactly and without any connection to a published pattern. And interestingly, those cases didn't side with plaintiffs much, if at all.

The last point that seems a bit vague and a tad confusing is "derivative works". Some people claim that sewing an item from a pattern is creating a derivative work and in essence violating copyright law. But I found that for something to be a derivative work it in itself must be copyrightable.

While the US Copyright office gives a nice list of derivative work examples, there isn't anything on the list that is equivalent to using a purchased pattern to make and sell stuff. For now my inference is that it is NOT an infringement or derivative in any way because of their examples in Circulars 40 and 31, a rough similarity to recipes, and finally because I didn't find one instance of case law ruling on use of a pattern. Not that absolutely none exist, but of ALL the millions of patterns and users over time, certainly there would have been at least ONE I could find if it was in fact a valid infringement. Because really, people seem to sue over just about anything.

Holy Cow - did I write enough?! If anybody finds something from the US Copyright office or case law that is different than what I have here, please share.

As a commenter mentioned, a huge thing about all the brouhaha that crops up about copyright in the craft world may just be the not knowing, misunderstanding, misinformation. Because if one goes into it knowing that a published pattern = possibility of items made from said pattern could be produced and sold by another, perhaps the author would prefer not to publish and sell the finished objects themselves. Or, like I said, the author can go into it knowing that if somebody DOES choose to create and sell from their pattern, they can feel the pride of knowing their ideas are loved and benefit from selling to those who are eager to make use of them.


me! In my first real life published book - it just arrived today and I can hardly stand it!

2011-10-17T12:04:00.000-05:00

I've been really enjoying all your Copyright comments.

But Katie's gnome just popped out of his forest to say Hi.

Had a great time making him for the her {Sew} Beautiful Bee month.

.

The Copyright can o' worms

2011-10-14T16:44:00.000-05:00

Worms (and some recent bee blocks if you're not fond of worms)

Not just that it can get controversial and contentious, but it truly is all crazy and interwoven with creativity/generosity/respect on so many levels. And sometimes it helps just to hear what everybody is thinking.

Come, sit in my parlor for a lively discussion.

My first level response is that there is not much of a legal ground for people to stand on if they want to tell others what they can do with items sewn/knit/crafted based on their published patterns. I know people go round and round with this and I have read a good bit of the copyright laws for myself (I'm obsessive like that - read the whole New Testament one day beginning to end as I looked for a quote for my lecture). Based on that, my view is if you publish a pattern - the person who purchases and uses that pattern to then make something is able to do whatever they like with their creation, be it keep/gift/sell.

People may NOT may photocopies/digital files/etc of the actual pattern to sell or even give away. It isn't theirs to give. But the thing they have crafted with their hands, based on the pattern, IS.

I believe the more reasonable request is similar to what Keyka Lou asks - just that you credit her with the design when you sell things made from her patterns. No special permissions needed. Because legally, they can sell them anyway.

Now all crafters would be super grumpy if say Target picked up their published pattern and decided to mass produce it without any compensation. That's quite different in my mind. But where is the line between these two?

What if I had a crafty family and my 7 sisters (and even a brother) were set to task creating 30 of those same items from a published pattern for an etsy shop. Getting kind of fuzzy.....and I think that is just one small aspect of the copyright conundrum!

I love this comment from my last post: Techniques belong to us all....the rest is complicated.

That actually ties in with the question I asked about what books or patterns you purchase. Because as I mentioned, with some paper and a pencil I'm able to reverse engineer lots of stuff. That's just how my brain works.

For myself, I generally pay for a pattern if: a) I truly have no idea how to make said item b) I believe the instructions included will have a unique technique or construction method that could save time or improve end result c) Greatly admire the author's work and just want to support their efforts even though I could reverse engineer the pattern.

So a couple examples from stuff I've bought. I think Allison from Cluck Cluck Sew is awesome! She has shared so many great tutorials, I especially liked using her double hourglass block instructions. Be sure to give that one a try if you haven't already. I totally relate to her mind keeping her up - knowing that there HAD to be a better way to make those things!

When she showed her fun Chain Reaction quilt and pattern, it was quickly added to my to-make list. With graph paper I could draft a plan myself without buying her pattern. But I DID buy her pattern - because I had already used many of her great tutorials and felt like it was a small way for me to support another crafty mom.

At the same time she had an Irish chain pattern that I don't see now - a very old block that you can find online or make easily without formal instructions. But after using Allison's tutorials and reading her Chain Reaction pattern, I also bought the Irish Chain pattern knowing that she would have some key tips inside making it way more easy to assemble than traditionally.

That's enough for now. I would love to here what you think.

.

Boo!

2011-10-12T14:16:00.000-05:00

The Bubble and Brew is serving up Pumpkin Lattes if you are craving one.

One more bit of handwork I've had going. It's one of Crabapple Hill's very fun embroidery patterns. I love so many of their creations!

I also just found this - starts October 24th!

I have a good amount of the creepy family with a plan to make a Halloween quilt for myself. Can't wait to see what everybody else comes up with for them!

Now a topic that is a bit frightening and goes with the Boo! Or perhaps it's just me that is a bit frightening as I rant for a moment.

Copyright

dun - dun - DUUUUUUUNNNNNNNN

For sure a contentious topic among any crafting community. But what brings on my rant is a book that the UPS guy just thunked onto my stoop a half hour ago. Always eager to look at MORE quit inspiration (hence the mile long Google Reader subscription list) I dove into the pages as soon as I could depackage the book.

cute - cute - oooh, cool - seen it - seen it - cool - just a square, huh - cathedral windows (did my own bake shop tutorial on that one) - whoa, amazing curved piecing - oops, the editor missed that mislabel - that would make an amazing quilt all on it's own

At first annoyed by stuff that I have seen a ton of times before, then thinking how not everybody surfs quilt blogs and flicker with their morning oatmeal, I was ok with finding super simple squares and even the wonderfully old cathedral window pattern looking new and modern. It may be the first time a new, modern quilter has seen some of them.

Then the title page caught my eye opposite the index (which I LOVE by the way - little pictures by every entry). And what does the copyright statement say? Your standard crafter's : "These designs may be used to make items only for personal use or donation to nonprofit groups for sale or for display only at events, provided the following credit is included on a conspicuous label:....." I could see applying this rule very literally to several wonderfully unique items in this book, and not remotely in any context to others.

In no way to I have a suggested solution to the whole creative property issue. But I just had to rant a little bit about it today. Thoughts?

Gotta run. I'm off to DQ really quickly to use a free Blizzard coupon before the kids get home. Ha!

Well Done Steve

2011-10-05T20:10:00.000-05:00

“Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life... Don't let the noise of other's opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”

- Steve Jobs

Handwork

2011-10-03T17:59:00.000-05:00

I have some bee blocks that were caught up on today. But most of September was filled with small bits of time in which I could do some handwork.

I'm finally joining all those hexagons I made over the summer last year.

It's like visiting fun old friends.

Some of which are super tricky - not sure I would recommend making hexagons with double gauze.

I was at least wise enough to keep all of them off the edges. I think that would have made things too difficult when I sash up the blocks.

Gee - it totally seemed like I had more than four done!

.

Found Again

2011-09-13T16:40:00.000-05:00

How ironic that my last post was titled 'Found'. This one should be, also.

But first a funny conversation....

Me: So Caleb, do you know what you missed on the test so that you understand it for later?
Caleb: Yeah, on one I made it negative instead of positive.
Becket: Did you use a pen?
Caleb: What? No, I used a pencil
Becket: Well then you should have erased it and wrote the right thing.

Good thing we have Becket around to help Caleb!

It was horrible when I thought he was gone forever....

I had set a timer for myself to make sure I didn't get distracted and miss Becket's school bus arrival. Head out the door at 3:30 for his arrival time at about 3:45. The bus pulls up at 3:40 and I'm glad I was out early. The driver opens the door and motions me onto the bus. I ask where Becket is and she says...

I ALREADY LET HIM OFF

WHAT?!?!

She said she couldn't take me to him as it was - over there (hands waving) - and he already walked away. I ran off the bus, called my 7th grader to leave the house and start searching. Called 911, who can hardly understand what I'm saying between sobs and can't pinpoint my location since I'm on a cell phone.

A couple blocks later and around a turn I see him. Crumpled on the sidewalk wailing. He was so far from our house and had been alone for about 10 minutes at least.

After many a meeting, they never got a Why from the bus driver regarding letting him off alone. The policy is that a kindergartner is not let off the bus without a parent there for him. And it sounds like she didn't really understand why I was so upset. She has been suspended for a couple days but will return to the route. They have moved the bus stop to the end of my street, instead of one street over. But I don't trust her, so I'll be picking Becket up myself I think.

I've pretty much been dealing with the bus people and just sitting around being happy Becket is alive, alternated with panic over all the horrible that could have been. Becket has recovered quite well so far, I'm the one that's traumatized! So glad we were able to enjoy his first soccer game and get some cute pictures this weekend. It was a very nice day.

Found!

2011-08-24T21:32:00.000-05:00

Caleb was cut off from the computer and his iPod for the night, so in his desperate boredom he wandered around my sewing room, looking at stuff.

And he found my camera! There was much rejoicing! For some weird reason I had set it down on a high shelf that I don't use much. Huzzah! (see, much rejoicing)

And with it I have the pictures of the Gratitude Wrap I made last week for my friend's birthday. I followed the tutorial by the wonderful Amanda Soule. It's a fabulous little pattern - went together in an afternoon/evening even including a run to the store for some bias tape and three tries at using said tape!

Original Joel Dewberry Aviary in Pink (oh how I love his fabrics) for my friend who loves Pink.

Cute plum gnomes inside!

I had fun filling it with envelope stickers, 4x6 patterned scrapbook cardstock for notes, and a stack of hand made note cards. My friend is always quick with a cute hand written note, so I thought she would enjoy the variety of stuff.

The bias binding - oh my. The whole thing has rounded corners to make binding a little easier.....for those who can do it I suppose. I am not one of those people. I had all kinds of trouble.

First I actually made my own double fold bias binding out of a pink stripe that I thought was going to be awesome. Oh, when you cut bias binding strips from a sequenced stripe that has a specific direction, you have half of the pieces flowing the wrong way when you cut it while folded. ahem. Once it was finally done and ready to attach though, I hated it with the Aviary. So I ran out to the store to see if I could find a good pre-made match and was happy to get this solid pink.

Happy as a clam I attach the tape as Amanda instructs and after one corner find I've missed catching a bunch. Rip it out - pull out my binding clips - rig up the whole perimeter and try again very slowly. Well I caught it all, but I stood there looking at it and hated it. Seriously NOT GOOD at machine binding, it was wobbly and I could just hear Heidi Klum saying, "It looks Home Sewn." Rip it all out again. Measure and am relieved that I actually have enough left to try again without having to use the piece with lots of holes up and down the edge.

This time I opened up the double fold tape all the way, and kind of stitched in the ditch of the fold on the inside - trying to ease around the corners. Yeah, not very good at the whole easing thing, either. But at least I didn't hate it after once around.

Then I folded it around to the front as if I was finishing off a quilt, and hand stitched that front edge with the ladder stitch. It is much easier to ease around those corners with hand work. But I was kind of wishing they were just simple miters. I know how to do those! Once I placed the final stitch I sat back and was very happy. This was how I wanted it to look! A final pass over both the front and back with the steam iron settled it all into place very nicely.

I finished the whole thing off with some cards made with stitched on scraps. Very relaxing after the binding saga.

So glad Caleb found the camera so I could share the gift with you. I had such a good time making and giving it.

.

My B-Becket!

2011-08-23T11:02:00.000-05:00

On the bus for the first time to Kindergarten! He's cute in the little uniform and so small....so a bunch of pictures to document the event.

Dad is going to take too many pictures...

Backpacks are fun

I'll scrunch down like you, Dad.....

...which gives his dress shoes the proper first scuffs!

Running to the bus corner.

Playing some Simon Says to pass the time.

Waiting.....

"We've been here like 20 minutes Mom" Um, sorry. Caleb's bus pulls away at least 10 minutes ahead of schedule every day. I didn't want to miss it!

There is a LOT of waiting during 20 minutes.

It's here!

The nice bus driver lets me snap a quick picture. Becket looks happy!

I quickly hopped into the car and drove over to the church - only beat the bus there by a few minutes. I hid and watched him get off - he looked happy and spoingy. Then the bus driver pulled up and said they did great!

I hope he has lots of fun.

.

Starts

2011-08-22T16:22:00.000-05:00

My camera went missing sometime Wednesday after I took pictures of the cute Gratitude Wrap I made my friend for her birthday. I have just about tore the whole house up looking for it. I fear that it somehow ended up in the garbage - Thursday morning is garbage day. Ugh! It had a super nice SDcard in it for movies, too.

I fished the older camera out of one of the boys' rooms and am grudgingly using it now. I'm refusing one of the many SLRs Mark has gathered up in his hobby.

It's my month again in do. Good Stitches and asked for blue/green greek crosses. They were fun to make!

And I have most of them in already. What a great quilt our group is making - I love all the different fabrics.

I just had to start one myself - so there is a stack of red/blue crosses waiting to be joined together.

And on the cutting table I have some strips cut for a cornerstone/sashing experiment. I always have trouble with them being nice and straight from end to end - so I thought why not piece a big stack and cut the whole row at once. We'll see if the accuracy is better or worse!

.

Sunny Spots

2011-08-17T14:27:00.001-05:00

For my month as quilter in do. Good Stitches {a Charity Bee} I thought it would be fun to have everybody try out pieced applique shapes. I asked them each to send just the finished CD-sized circle, not sewn down, in sunny yellow/orange/green.

They only had to send two, but many sent MANY! So fun. A collection hang out on the back - they're wild and crazy, unlike the evenly spaced rows on the front.

Since all the circles had finished edges, it was easy to attach them to the whole cloth front. Oh, I almost forgot how pleased I was figuring out how to get them all perfectly spaced. With 5 rows and 5 columns I evenly folded the top and creased it both horizontally and vertically for each row. Then I just pinched the circles to find the middle and placed it right on each cross made by my folds. A quick zigzag makes sure nothing pops open for the child.

Some of my very favorite green made a cute binding. I'm hoarding that print in about three colorways. I love it so.

Hopefully these Sunny Spots will bring a sunny smile to a child. It was great fun making it! Thanks Comfort team.

Now just a tad of required 1st day of school talk.....Caleb is off to High School. First time he hasn't been a walker.

The bus was supposed to be there at 6:46(am! so early!) With the first day adrenalin we were out the door just a touch early, luckily. The bus pulled away from the curb at 6:40 - a few of his neighbor friends had to run a bit to catch it.

Thank goodness for the staggered start times for our morning sanity, Kenton doesn't really have to get his day started until Caleb is out the door. So as the bus was pulling out, Kenton was just starting his morning run. (He does it every day! On his own!) Anyway, as he turned the corner for his jog, the bus thought he was running to catch it and stopped. I yelled for him to turn around and run the block clockwise today. A good morning laugh.

He's off to 7th grade.

Becket doesn't start until next Monday - we've chosen to send him to a private K-8 school. With a Different. Schedule. This will be a true test to my organizational skills this year. I'm aiming for no missed/forgotten days of school those 28 times when they're days off don't line up.

Gotta grab the browines, they're done. Yummy 1st day treat!

.

OP {Docksiders} Acid wash?!

2011-08-15T10:59:00.000-05:00

It must be all the family reunion stuff I did a week ago. As I was falling asleep OP popped into my head last night.

Super old - very Cute playground

OP - Docksiders - Izod

{Had to have it all}

Everything else was Like Grody, Gag me with a Spoon. Fer Sure, early 80's in south Florida, Wellington. We were seriously it, at the pool - tennis club - polo field.

Totally.....right!

Kenton went all the way to the top! It is WAY high. Ski jump in Iron Mountain.

Late 80's - moved north to Chicagoland.

Benetton sweaters huge. Acid Wash jeans high waisted and tiny tapers.

Choose from Tiffany or Poison.

Gram and Great Aunty LouLou

I googled OP for the fun of it and find that it is exclusively now at WalMart(!) and I think I'm thankful that not too many photos are around of those late 80's high school years.

I did finish a little stack of toddler sized quilts.

More to share as school finally starts up again!

(Only about 45 hours away. Not like I'm counting down or anything)

Argument of the Day

2011-08-07T19:57:00.000-05:00

The Sun is a Star.

So does it follow that any star is a sun?

I am so glad we're home now and can banish the boys to three separate floors for a while. Because even once you find the answer online they can argue the finer points and semantics for a Very. Long. Time.

The Iron Mountain A&W is the best!

.

Ya Hey Der

2011-08-05T08:07:00.000-05:00

We're having lots of U.P. fun

I'll be back next week!

With a belly stuffed by the pasty tour we're completing.

Spray Baste It Baby!

2011-07-28T14:58:00.000-05:00

First, thank you for all the kind words for Portia. She certainly wasn't running around the house and barking, but the house is strangely quite now that she is gone.

That's saying something, as there are still three boys in the house that are getting to the end of summer vacation and will argue about ANYTHING. Which muscle is the strongest (tongue or heart), if you put dry ice on your arm would it freeze your skin from the outside or burn you from the inside, and would you classify Black Jack as a type of poker or is it a game unto itself. All earth shattering topics - debated endlessly - with no resolution even with internet found facts. I think that dry ice thing has been going on for at least a week and a half now.

We did have some fun Tuesday watching Becket try out the high dive, though. And finish up swim lessons.

I have a couple quilts ready for binding as we travel, and I was super excited with trying all kinds of new stuff on them. For the batting I actually used up some scraps by joining two pieces. It worked so well!

And I think I have ditched the pins forever. All the cool kids are using spray baste, I had some stashed away that was bought with a JoAnn's coupon, and finally decided to give it a try.

LOVED it. Not a single pucker, which was my biggest worry. And it didn't seem too messy.

I hate the whole basting process, which is probably why I have so many tops just waiting to be quilted. This took so much less time and I loved not having to unpin while stippling. I also ordered some 505 that just arrived. I'll try it next and compare!

Sweet Portia

2011-07-26T10:40:00.000-05:00

She chose us when Kenton was only 8 months old. She nibbled on Caleb's and Mark's ears.

She has been the sweetest girl. So sad to say goodbye.

Blue nails for the blue mood.

Great Way to Use Pinterest for Travel

2011-07-25T13:28:00.000-05:00

I'm sure others do the same thing, but I was quite pleased with myself for this idea.

Source: book.bestwestern.com via Angela on Pinterest

As I mentioned, we are going to the U.P. and well.....we plan. A Lot. Feel free to laugh heartily, but it often involves spread sheets, schedules, and clothing plans.

Source: exploremunising.com via Angela on Pinterest

Anyway, the whole process also involves lots of web page printing for places we plan to eat, stuff to see, stuff to do. I showed Mark how to use the little Pin It button and now he's hooked, too :)

Source: thedishcafetc.com via Angela on Pinterest

I thought that we could make a board for each stop on the trip and pin these things we usually note or print out. Then with the netbook in the hotel or my iphone and the free app on the road, we can access all the information we want! So not only a nice, visual collection of where we are going to be visiting, but SUPER functional as well.

Source: wpbo.org via Angela on Pinterest

And look how cute the baby owls are at the bird observatory, their picture is just fun to have. If you're planning on visiting the U.P., hop over and see what fun stuff we've found to do!

I Drank the Kool-Aid

2011-07-23T13:55:00.000-05:00

Joined last night....

Been pinning ever since.

Source: designer-daily.com via Angela on Pinterest

And just bought a stitch/quilt pattern.

Source: crabapplehillstudio.com via Angela on Pinterest

But I WILL NOT buy more fabric.

Leigh and I made a pact!

I will not buy, I will not buy, I will not buy......

2011-07-22T09:39:00.000-05:00

I have to keep saying that to myself.

There is crazy temptation every day. I was lucky to get a spot in....


Rainbow Swap

I'm going to send of two yards worth of green - 56 charms each of two colors. And get back 112 in a rainbow selection. We're all assigned a color, which is an awesome plan. So that way the colors will be nice and balanced.

The trouble comes in watching the flickr group as more charms are added.

I seriously need a yard of each of these! It is very hard to keep from pushing little buttons each night.

So I'm thinking of either a Lynn-Bob-Square-Pants quilt like Kati's. Or maybe a set of placemats like Lee's. I love making bowtie blocks....and not so much HSTs.

Any Suggestions for a rainbow pile of 112 charms?

(I think I've posted every day this week....can you tell we're inside, hiding from the heat!)

Keurig Iced Tea and Iced Coffee

2011-07-21T11:57:00.001-05:00

Desert Diva left a comment about the Iced Coffee with my Keurig and I couldn't reply to her. So I thought I would just do a quick post about my Iced Tea and Coffee on the machine.

Keurig recently started making KCups for Iced Tea and Iced Coffee, which sounded like an awesome idea. But you can use ANY of the KCups and not just the special ones. In fact, the most fabulous Iced Tea is made using the English Black Breakfast Tea. We're big sun tea drinkers, and both my mom and I agree that this is some of the best iced tea ever. Plus you can get a huge box of that KCup from Costco - shipped to your door free no less. Bonus!

For iced coffee, I've tried a bunch of different flavors. One of my favorites is the Green Mountain french vanilla. (although not as good as my last post's recipe)

Fill a LARGE cup to the top with ice. I'm talking at least a 20oz size, or else you may have an overflow. Then run a large into the ice cup and stir well. A good amount of the ice will melt with some remaining. Ready to drink right away!

If I have the machine on in the morning and know I'll want something in the afternoon, sometimes I'll run my tea or coffee into a cup without the ice and just put it into the fridge. Then it's a bit stronger when you drink it later since you won't have as much melting ice. I like my coffee and tea fairly strong, and the strength is just fine for me either way.

Oh, and my most favorite creamer is Coffee Mate's Italian Sweet Cream. I don't use any sugar, and this has just the right amount of sweetness. I can find the large size containers at Target - I need it since those 63 servings only last me a little more than a week :) I like my creamer.

Heaven in 100deg Chicago Heat

2011-07-21T10:03:00.005-05:00

Thanks Crystal for making me do it.

So glad I'm a good listener.

I actually have a Keurig that makes awesome iced coffee in 30 seconds - this is about 1 million times tastier. Just the smell when you go to pour off the coffee from the grounds the next morning is worth it!

Seriously, go do it.

Pulling out my Tops

2011-07-20T12:16:00.001-05:00

I have a surprising number of quilt tops waiting for their turn to be quilted. Seriously, I wouldn't have thought I had as many as I do. I grabbed a few of the smaller sized quilts and they cheered to be let out of their storage box.

I'm going to be riding along for many hours to the final lacrosse tournament of the season near the Michigan U.P. (and then I'll continue through and down Wisconsin the following weekend) I should have some hand binding to take along with me!

The Modern 4x5 Quilt Bee : Q3

2011-07-19T16:12:00.000-05:00

I was lucky to get in on the awesome new 4x5 Modern Quilt Bee

Sometimes I feel like I need another swap or quilt along like I need more fabric :) Good thing I didn't dawdle too long deciding to do this one, as it filled up fast with quite a waiting list!

I'm in a group with five other fabulous quilters....we each make the five others a block of our choosing, with a modern flair, in the colors of their choosing.

I am having fun making mini fabric galleries with twenty 1" pieced squares framed by a large outside print. A couple are done.

Lauree asked for blues, oranges, greys, and natural linen. Had to add that little spotty hedgehog! I usually press all my seams open, but alternating left/right for the tiny squares is really helping the corners meet just right.

Jill wanted robin egg blue, apple green, with touches of red and white. The colors in that photo are a tad off - too yellow. But I could not get the camera and photoshop to work together today. These are my favorite colors, so I had a hard time trying to pick just one block's worth of scraps for Jill's!

Off to find more treasures in my scrap bins for the others. What a fun hunt!

Becket just cuts to It

2011-07-18T19:24:00.000-05:00

During dinner, the conversation happened to end up at species differentiation.

Caleb, the 14 year old, went into a big demonstration of the importance of opposable thumbs. And then he said:

Caleb: "So thumbs are one of the most important parts of the body."

Becket: "No they aren't. The soul is."

That pretty much ended it.

Trader Joe's love

2011-07-18T12:51:00.000-05:00

I just found this in the new product section at Trader Joe's.

Seriously, how could my life not be better with this! One ice cream, in coffee, on buttered toast like cinnamon sugar....

Not to mention that I love their typeface.

It must be awesome to work for Trader Joe's packaging design and product development.

2011-07-16T20:41:00.000-05:00

I worked on the last of my July bee blocks last night and made this pretty AMH block for Megan.

During the tiny amount of time I seem to be home this summer, I've been wanting to finish up some projects that have been hanging around since last fall. Mostly I just have time to get a couple bee blocks done lately.

I basted and had this ready for quilting last NovemberI think. It has been folded up and patiently waiting...or not. I think it was protesting a bit!

So many wrinkles - they don't look as bad in this picture as they did in real life - I pulled out the iron and did a quick touch up between pins before quilting.

Blissful Blocks

2011-07-07T12:46:00.000-05:00

For do. Good Stitches in July we're making red, pink, and aqua string blocks.

Bliss was perfect!

What books do you buy?

2011-07-06T15:00:00.000-05:00

And patterns for that matter?

Being fairly crafty, as well as a math-loving engineer, there aren't many patterns I NEED to buy. I can figure out just about anything with a bit of time and a pencil.

But I still buy books and patterns. Not all, but some. And for various reasons.

I'm interested in exploring my and your book/pattern buying reasons. Just one of those random things I wonder about sometimes!

Right now I have a book that just arrived. You've certainly seen it on the blog tour over the last couple of weeks.

It was the review on Kathy's blog that sent me clicking my shopping cart at Amazon. She said that "It’s an excellent method to teach modern quilting techniques. Each month features a description of the bee member’s selected block, construction tips and design considerations. The result is the block being interpreted 12 different ways by each member in the group. The reader can see each unique take and how choices in color, layout, and fabric make the block different."

Just 15 pages into the book has sent me running to tell you all about it, too!

In talking about her bee month, Alissa gives the kind of information that everybody who is new or not so new to bees always wants to know:

Alissa asked each bee member to make 2 blocks between 14" x 14" and 17" x 17". Alissa planned to later frame the blocks to make them 19" x 19" when finished. She cut 8 yards of different solid and print fabrics into 6" x 22" strips and also added some scraps of coordinating fabrics from her stash. She sent a varied selection of 10 fabric strips to each member. This was more than enough fabric for the bee members to make 2 blocks each.

Right!? Exactly the kind of stuff you want to know. And it looks like there are 12 fabulous creative quilts, each with this info. But I'm only on page 15 and couldn't wait to share.

Are you interested in talking about what motivates us to buy a book or pattern?

The quilt shop Bee Block

2011-06-27T10:27:00.000-05:00

I had so much fun making this block! In our bee, Cara wanted to make a house block quilt for a family with a baby in NICU as a hope for 'Home'. Click over there to see the other awesome house blocks.

I was inspired by the picture of Becket standing in front of a painted barn at the Quilt N Go shop in Michigan. Started with the sketch Saturday night and finished first thing Sunday morning!

I pulled out some blank newsprint, cut it to 12" square as my usable area, and created a sort of paper pieced pattern for myself.

Cara's request for 'no applique' was taken as a challenge. I figured out how to make myself a semi-fluffy cloud. It was the only part of the block that was actually paper pieced. The rest of it was more for scale guidance.

At the painted barn, one of the quilts was made to look like the wind blew up a corner as they hung on a line. I wanted to add that detail, too.

I initially planned to piece a little section of half square triangles, but realized it would break the pattern of the quilt front. So I braved it - did a mock up test - and actually inset the HST flip. Quilt Karma smiled on me for trying something new and tricky - I was pleased to see how nicely the wood grain matched all on it's own! I have a little pucker at the corner, but I decided it was a feature, making the wind rumpled fabric look realistic :)

It was so nice out, I rode my bike over and parked in under the overhang. Picked some wild flowers and fresh strawberries on the way.

That blue fabric Cara sent was perfect for a mini quilt!

I'm glad to think of a family loving this quilt, as I can hardly stand to send this block away. Would love to hang it in my sewing space!

House plans

2011-06-25T19:08:00.000-05:00

The quilt shop has inspired a paper pieced house block....and I'm so excited to see if it works!

Planning......

Vacation fun

2011-06-22T14:55:00.001-05:00

We found a fabulous shop in michigan!

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Pieced Backs

2011-06-12T07:32:00.000-05:00

Pieced Backs are so much fun. Sometimes I think I like them better than the front - perhaps the fact that it's the back makes me feel more free to just do whatever. And going with the flow can be when cool, creative stuff happens.

Rebecca at Chasing Cottons is having a quilt back link party and it motivated me to gather a bunch of my backs in one place!

The Green one - sew and cut until done :)

Fibonacci sized stripes, some pieced, in Figgy Pudding

A paper pieced Harry Potter back

I used up a bunch of ends from the front for a simple strip of color

I wanted to feature the charm squares and I loved the result!

My first try at applique circles - fun to do new stuff on the back!

OMG It's me......

2011-06-10T08:50:00.000-05:00

My purple hexagons peeking from the bottom corner. And more inside!

The traditional quilt swap is being reinvented by Modern Quilters. Chrissie Grace and her contributors explore the different types of swaps with 10 different quilt projects. Each project is stepped out with clear, concise illustrated instructions on making the quilt as well as setting up a swap for that particular quilt. Each project features a photographed skills tutorial that will help the reader in making the quilt project, and will increase their skill set for use in future projects. The community aspect of quilting is brought to the book by the incorporation of popular swappers and bloggers insights into this exciting realm of shared art.

I'm so excited that Chrissie invited me to be part of her book and can't wait to share the whole thing with you. I had an awesome time making quilts with the group she gathered.

The book is available for pre-order on Amazon!

Green : Finished

2011-06-07T07:44:00.001-05:00

'Green'

59" square

For Christmas I gave both of Becket's teachers and the preschool director fun, quilted tree pillows. They all enjoyed them so much - and both of his teachers STILL have them out. Even though it's long past Christmas. (That's one of the reasons I knew I HAD to make them quilts. The director already has one of my quilts)

Random sew and slash stripes on the back - love them!

One of his teachers especially loved the pillow because of the lime greens I used, she said that was her living room color - and green is her favorite color. It's also the favorite color of Becket and myself, so an Ode to Green was the perfect plan for her quilt!

Becket gasped when I pulled out that green wood grain and exclaimed he NEEDED some for his own. Likewise, any trimmings disappeared from my sewing area. The scraps of greens, along with the prints from my Symmetry quilt, are stashed in a little box in his room. Fabric disease is obviously genetic.

These modern log cabins were inspired by Susan Beal's cover quilt. And over Christmas I had just bought a stack of fun neutral prints - so they were the ones I ended up pulling for the plus signs. I chose the letters on the top left because she's a big fan of nice penmanship.

There have been so many cool quilts with just solids lately, I've been wanting to give them a try. Although not all solids, I liked the thought of a green mosaic background and pulled five different Kona greens from my stash. I used them at random as I made the individual log cabins.

The neutral logs around that center are the same natural linen and cotton/linen blend I used in the other quilt. Two more Kona greens were pulled for the right (cactus) and bottom (green tea).

As I was making it, I knew I wanted to quilt straight lines in the linen blocks and stipple the outside edges. But I had planned on just a 1/4" in/out of each center plus. I didn't want to disturb the mosaic green background. But after I did all the neutrals, I was worried that I didn't have enough quilting to hold it well through the wash.

After much hemming and hawing, I decided to stipple the green center with a variegated green thread. I was quite happy with how it turned out, and also really liked that contrast with the unquilted centers of the pluses.

We love green!

Symmetry in Completion

2011-06-03T09:56:00.000-05:00

'Symmetry'

59" square

The first of two quilts I made as gifts for Becket's preschool teachers.

I LOVE this shoo fly block. And it's even more fun making large and small ones. Each of the big blocks are about 32" square.

All prints are the lovely, new DS Quilts, with one KJR tossed in. I needed a solidish blue to balance my small set of four.

The neutral areas are linen. The darker is a heavy, natural linen. The lighter is a cotton/linen blend. Although easier to work with the blend for quilting, I actually preferred the heavy, 100% linen after it was washed up.

These are some of Becket's favorite prints, and it was hard to get him to let me use them! Once I told him they were for his teacher, he was happy about that (didn't tell him too early, as I don't trust his secret-keeping skills).

Although, as I would cut large sections for the big blocks, he would look over what was left to make sure I didn't use TOO much. You should have seen him when we were at the store buying it in the first place. He kept telling the lady that we had to buy the WHOLE bolt. I didn't, but talk about an enabler!

That blue and red print on the back is his very favorite. His teacher guessed it right - it's because it reminds him of Hawaii.

I used some of the wonderful pearl bracelet for my label. Such a fun way to label.

Deciding on the quilting took me a long time. I thought about it, stared at it. I felt the quilt needed just a little more contrast between the prints and the linen sections, so didn't want to all-over stipple. I considered straight lines around the inside of the shoo fly shapes, but decided that would be too much quilt turning. NOT a fan of quilt turning. As it was, I did end up pushing it through my machine WAY more times than was fun. But it turned out so worth the effort.

I love stipple quilting and it's just about my favorite part of the process. I feel like it's meditative with a little thrill tossed in! Straight line quilting - not so much. But it looks so good - especially against other organic shapes.

I stippled the prints, straight lines in all the linen. Becket loved what he called the 'pyramid' quilting.

He's known for his love or symmetry and creating with it in detail....a couple pictures his teachers took:

and from the top

Symmetry

Goodbye Hobson - Quilts complete

2011-05-27T22:18:00.000-05:00

We love Hobson.

Sadly, the school year is over and it was time to say goodbye. Becket had to have a picture in front of the new sign they put up for summer camp - with the gift box he decorated for our Director.

The box actually had two fun banners in it. Patrice had won my auction quilt last year, so I wanted to make her something that could be enjoyed AT Hobson. Can't believe I didn't take pictures of them!

Now, his two teachers - Hobson has the BEST teachers - each got their own quilt. I loved making the quilts for them.

I want to share details of each quilt in their own post, so for now, you can get a large view of each. Styled and photographed by my resident director - Becket. This one is called "Symmetry".

And this one is simply "Green". Becket, his teacher, and I all LOVE green.

Um, Becket, the pictures don't work well when the camera is half upside down. Give it back now, please.

"I just need to take one of me first, Mom."

Becket with his teachers in his favorite spot - by the building stuff on the Blue Rug

Thank you Hobson, for letting Becket explore and be little.

How lucky we are to have had you.

Number two is out.....

2011-05-25T15:38:00.000-05:00

Washed - crinkled - and ready for pictures.....

Don't you just love pulling a new quilt out of the drier for the first time!

One Down....

2011-05-25T08:26:00.000-05:00

I can't wait to be able to show the whole thing. Becket and I love this one! He's an awesome 5yr old quilting helper.

It's hard to get stuff done sometimes....

2011-05-23T11:11:00.001-05:00

I think I'll probably just clear out my unread Reader blogs in the next few days. So if I haven't stopped by, forgive me. I'll come by later after I zero it out.

It has been a tad weird the last little bit.

I'm on Facebook and generally use it to stalk my family and a couple friends. Every so often trying to find an old classmate or two. A few weeks ago (all I can call it is obsessed I suppose) I was strangely determined to find an old High School boyfriend. Wasn't sure why I was looking and I just HAD to search, but it was REALLY hard to locate him and it took the better part of a day with no real luck. Possibly found his home nearby, but not sure.... The other day he popped back into my mind again for no obvious reason, while I was sitting at the computer, so in his name and city went into goggle.

The first three returns were his obituary.

Having died suddenly, a little more than a week before.

It has all kind of freaked me out on a couple levels. First off, I'm none too pleased with the turning 40 thing and getting old, but we are not old enough to have our peers die yet!

But even more so, why was I suddenly urged to track him down about a week before he died? Was I supposed to call him.....Yikes, it's been over 20 years since I last saw him. Hi, remember me from a lifetime ago? Just calling for no apparent reason. How's it going.

His mom and dad still live in the same house and now I really want to talk to them. Calling THEM would be super strange. A condolence card I suppose? They did a nice job with the obituary though - really made me want to hear more about what he has been up to the last 20 years. There are 24 pictures posted with it, too. The boy in the senior picture is the one I remember (I gave him that crazy pleather-shouldered sweater for Christmas. Late 80's, what can I say. We dated jr and sr year of high school.)

Yep, weird. I hate weird. And people I know dieing (knock on wood, I'm lucky that I've only ever lost a couple people). And it's hard to do other stuff when your brain is trying to make sense of it. In this age of instant and 24/7, never is seriously weird.

Rapture would have been easier.

11:11 Drew

Ugh

2011-05-22T19:01:00.002-05:00

Quilting WAS going well. Until I caught this edge. Time to pick some stitches - booooo.

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Symmetry

2011-05-20T07:30:00.001-05:00

A top completed in DS and linen. I am on a big linen kick right now - I love it!

HUGE shoo flies (about 32" each) and four smaller ones. I love that block.

{Oh, and from a comment on the last post - for the no-reply - Mark took those pictures with his digital camera. It's a Sony A700 with some kind of big white lens on the end. I can get more details if you like.

And I love that the Badger people stopped by. How cool - thanks!}

Making Gifts!

2011-05-18T14:32:00.000-05:00

May is insane with the end of school and the start of summer...with spring lacrosse tossed in! I stand around in the cold wind watching boys pummel each other most days.

I'm working on a couple of big quilts, but had a chance to make a quick, fun gift last week. This would be a perfect teacher gift, too! I called it a "Summer Gardener's Aid".

Using the tutorial on Sew, Mama, Sew! I made a rice heat therapy sack and a reusable cold pack. A nice, heavy linen makes these super cozy.

For the cold pack I found buckwheat groats and a yummy essential oil at Whole Foods. The buckwheat groats were only $2.99 a pound and well worth the special trip. The bag feels so nice with them inside. I used a sweet orange oil as in the tutorial - I stood at the huge rack-o-oils at whole foods for quite some time sniffing everything. A few made me gag, and I always went back to the orange, so that was it.

The rice in the heat bag was from the regular grocery store - no need for special jasmine rice inside the bag!

I tied it all up with some muslin and a couple badger balm tins (one for rough hands, another for after sun exposure). Overall, a fun use for some favorite fabric scraps.

I'll end with a few lacrosse pictures, since that's a majority of my life right now!

From Blue to Green

2011-05-06T18:18:00.000-05:00

I hope to get this quilt sandwiched tonight, but with the rainiest March in decades followed by the cloudiest April in 150(!) years, I had to jump out in the sun for a couple shots today. Seriously, it's supposed to rain tomorrow afternoon and all next week. I am SO ready for 80's and sun - DONE with spring.

The wood grain should really be on the left, but it was windy and we were crazy busy today with Kenton going off on another weekend away for lacrosse, so I wasn't going to have Mark flip the quilt top around.

See, it's the plus shaped log cabins inside one BIG log cabin. The cream round of logs are two different linens. LOVE linen in a quilt.

I like the back as much as the front! Loosely following Kati's fun tutorial, I only sliced vertically, and was able to use up a bunch of the solids left over from the top. And I was feeling kind of twitchy without any white in a quilt, so two big strips ended up on the back.

I can't wait to quilt this - I'm going to change up my standard all-over stipple a bit!

May Bee for Me

2011-05-02T18:36:00.000-05:00

It's my month at the {Sew} Beautiful Bee and I finally made a block decision. I'm going to let my bee mates decide! Mean, I know....hopefully they all have fun doing it, and don't hate me or feel too stressed about that.

Long ago I favorited one of AmandaJean's bee quilts, a wonderful one all in reds. I liked both the monochromatic color plan as well as having a real piece of each bee member with their own block creation.

So I sent out packets of blue solids and prints to my bee buddies today, asking them to make a block they love - that is Them. I can't wait to see what comes back!

Color inspiration

2011-04-29T14:53:00.002-05:00

My favorite clear blue and lime green

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

(ok, looking at this on my computer at home, the iPhone resolution is seriously lacking - or I'm doing it wrong.....comments?)

Happy Arbor Day

2011-04-29T13:29:00.002-05:00

...and playing with my new toy

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Modern Log Crosses

2011-04-13T12:02:00.000-05:00

This will be the off-centered center of one really big log cabin block. It's about 37" square right now.

I love all the greens!

Downtown Chicago Inspiration

2011-04-11T09:49:00.000-05:00

A couple weeks ago, on a non-preschool day, Becket and I met my mom downtown Chicago for a day at the Flower and Garden Show. I found some cool quilty inspiration on the trip. But first I have to add some cute Becket pictures.

We parked at the local Metra station and took the train in. We sat in the top row seats. Becket was a bit excited.

Once we got downtown, we had to wait a bit for my mom's train to arrive from the north suburbs. So a snack was in order. It was fun to sit on the old benches in the huge, marble station.

The Flower and Garden show is at Navy Pier - and one of the permanent exhibits at the Pier is the Smith Museum of Stained Glass Windows. It's a fabulous collection, and of course great quilt inspiration.

My mom and Becket peeked at me through this one :)

Surprisingly, I didn't find much quilty at the flower show. They fill the big exhibition hall at the end of the pier with a bunch of mocked-up yards, ponds, flower beds. A fabulous thing in the last of the Chicago winter! But the theme this year was sports, so not as quilt-inspiring as the Alice in Wonderland displays last year.

But on the way back to our train station, I had to jump out into the road for two last photos. It was so cool to see the cobblestones partially exposed from pot holes in the pavement.

Kid side note - so we're here watching Becket's favorite cartoon, Max and Ruby. Do you wonder how old Ruby is? There's never a parent around except for when the grandma comes to visit. I hate it when I'm watching these things and am saying in my head how unrealistic it is to have no parents around, or traveling the world as like a 6yr old. I have to remind myself that it's a CARTOON of talking rabbits - not realistic in the least.

Ripped in 30 - Day 1

2011-04-09T20:00:00.000-05:00

Jillian is trying to kill me.

In 30 days I'll be ripped or dead.

Imagine : Hobson Quilt II

2011-04-06T05:26:00.003-05:00

First, thank you for all the nice comments here and at the Moda Bake Shop. It's hard to know, when you're writing it, if your tutorial is going to make sense to anybody other than yourself!

If you recall, this was the sunny block I made on my birthday. I created it specifically for a live auction item at our preschool. Every year you have a chance to win a story time visit from the school's director, so exciting for the kids! The child will have this quilt as a keepsake of her visit.

I chose some of my favorite story-like prints. My mom especially liked the row of chairs, as if the kids can sit for story time in them.

A few bees, flowers, and an inchworm.

I loved the green and yellow stripes on the back. On my label I named the quilt "Imagine" because that's a gift Hobson gives to the children.

The dotty green binding was just the perfect frame.

I wish Becket was still holding this one!

Cathedral Windows Tutorial : Wing It OCD

2011-04-04T05:08:00.003-05:00

Finally, my Cathedral Windows tutorial is live - I've been patiently waiting my turn!

I made a fun pair of pillows.

I was tempted to name my project: Just Wing It {NOT!}

I got to use the fabulous new MoMo line Just Wing It, but as is most of my quilting, the cathedral windows border on OCD - the furthest possible thing from winging it.

Optimized result with an efficient process, that's from the engineer in me. I've included all the little tricks I use to keep things square, flat, and pointy. Exactly how I like my windows!

Here's a little bonus project. Use one of your first folding attempts or the most wonky, extra window and two charm squares to make a cute pincushion.

Jump over to the bake shop and say hi!

Stash Update : week 14

2011-04-03T11:22:00.000-05:00

I just clicked on my Stash 2011 tag - I haven't posted about it since the first one of the year!

Well, I've been good and using my stash, so not much to report. I've used/sent away 21 yards in the last couple months. Making pillows, the Hobson quilts, and donating 2" strips to the Quilts for Quake Survivors.

(Shipping note - that's called a Regional Rate box A. It's a new postage class and lands in between the tiny priority small and the most costly medium. You may want to look into it if you send lots of fabric. I fit over 8.5 yards of strips in that box and it wasn't yet full.)

But now I must update the Fabric IN, as the mail man has dropped quite a bit at my door this week. These lovely pieces arrived from Sew Fresh fabrics.

And some prints from Fabric Shack.

Along with solids I HAD TO HAVE. See, I bought a pattern because I loved the colors on the front. Then I needed the colors.....so a little over 13.5 yards in this week.

I also popped in the resale shop downtown and was super lucky. I never find vintage sheets, and I hit a jackpot. Those don't count...I can't be bothered to add vintage sheet yardage up, so when I use them they don't go in either column. The summary:

Busted: 21.036

Purchased: 13.63 yards

Net YTD: (20.594)

In between, I spent a significant amount of time on a little project. The fabric was sent to me and it didn't get recorded In or Out. We'll finally get to see it tomorrow!

Eeeeek!

2011-03-31T16:28:00.000-05:00

Two creature issues - one cute....

Becket wandered by my sewing area and saw the pile of trimmings on the floor. He yelled "ah - green!" (his favorite color) and scooped up a pile of the scraps to hoard in his room. On the way to his room, he also found Caleb's ipod touch, left on the steps when he was picked up for lacrosse practice. Becket scooped that up too.

Not so cute. SOMETHING chewed into or out of my front door jamb around noon today. I heard it.

I do not like having a hole from the inside to the outside of my house! It's stuffed with steel wool for the day, until our door guy can come out tomorrow morning.

A Green Start

2011-03-30T14:47:00.000-05:00

I love sketching out a plan, doing some quilty math, and pulling a stack of fabrics.

Inspired by the cover photo of Modern Log Cabin Quilting - I'm eager to look through the whole book.

Super Cool

2011-03-29T10:27:00.000-05:00

Thank you Heather!

Pink Lemonade is over at Modern Day Quilts today!

Blog Helper Outtakes

2011-03-27T22:15:00.000-05:00

It had been horribly gloomy, wet and cold here - it's finally sunny (huzzah!) but at 35deg and flurries, not exactly prime spring break weather.

The last couple weeks trying to get good pictures of my finished Hobson quilts was tricky so I hoped to catch as much light as I could inside our sunroom.

Unfortunately I had to deal with both a zombie and giant invasion (the lego dudes without heads are zombies, playmobile dudes without hair are giants). The strange result of a 5yr old hanging out with the teen brothers.

You can see I was permitted only that little back corner.

I left the quilt and camera for a bit to find another good spot and quilt holder. Becket decided to take things into his own hands and take the pictures himself. Probably to get my stuff out of his area.

But first a few guys moved in to hide. And he seems to be working on his toes-in-the-picture blog photos.

Pink Lemonade Finish

2011-03-25T14:08:00.001-05:00

Thank you for all the great thimble tips!

I ended up getting one at my LQS, but haven't had the chance to try it out. I'll take its picture and give a little report once I use it.

Our Hobson preschool auction has been keeping me busy, but it was a big success last weekend and I had fun giving away the two quilts I made for them.

This bowtie pattern is such a fun and satisfying block to piece.

Today's Hobson feature is "Pink Lemonade" a 64inch square picnic quilt.

I named it Pink Lemonade because there's nothing more fun when you're kid than a picnic with pink lemonade. And the most fun for a kid at preschool can be found at Hobson! It really is the best preschool ever - it's a play based curriculum, parent run co-op.

Did the home dec weight back again, as I really expect it to be used on the ground all summer. It helps just a bit more with the damp or rough ground.

Awesome colors and pattern on the back - perfect for the cathedral windows kick I had been on.

And see my 'label' on the bottom right? I wrote directly on one of the white circles and I loved the look. Can't be any easier, either!! I used a sewline pencil first, then fine tip sharpie over the top.

This quilt was in the silent auction part, all on it's own. I was kind of nervous/excited to find out where it would end up. Just as the auction started, a couple I didn't know came up and said they had bid on it right away and how pretty it was...a nice thing to hear.

Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to see what would happen from there. The auction people decided to try something new this year and made some of the packages with a 'buy it now' option in addition to the silent bidding option. A set price was at the bottom, and if you filled in your bid number before the bidding reached that price, then you immediately won the package. Two problems with how they did it I think (since a lot of people felt a need to complain to me about it during the actual auction) they set the buy it now price at 80% of retail, and you were able to choose to buy it now after others had already bid. For example, on ebay you must choose to 'buy it now' before any other bids are entered. So what happened on some of the popular packages, the bidding went along until it got near the set price, and then stopped as it was then scooped up. There was confusion and a few grumpy people with those packages.

If I set it up, I would have removed the buy it now option as soon as one bid was entered. And/or made the set price double retail or so.

Now I must admit I took advantage of this once I realized it was going on, and scooped up a fun package that I would have paid more for, had the bidding continued - without the bidding stress. Also, the evening was FABULOUS from start to finish in every other way.

But of course I'm mentioning it because my quilt happened to be one of the items that had the option of a set price. I was kind of bummed missing out on seeing where the price would go, but am super happy about who did get it. One of the moms in Becket's class lost out on my quilt last year. This year her husband noticed the set price option and bought the quilt for her, she was so happy and I gave her a big hug!

I've been wishing she would come out the winner - I knew my quilt would be well loved with her. So, it was a good end to the story.

Binding

2011-03-07T20:52:00.001-06:00

Stitching 250" along a home dec weight back.

I poked a hole into my finger with the back of my needle.

Ugh.

I don't have a thimble so I improvised. To avoid the bulk, I cut just the fabric, sticky part of a bandage off and stuck it over the poking part of my finger.

So do you have a thimble-type thing you like?

Ice cream Treat

2011-03-02T16:38:00.000-06:00

I found this little guy hiding with his ice cream when I was pinning blocks.

Keeping Track

2011-03-01T17:47:00.000-06:00

How do you keep track of where your blocks go in the quilt?

I tried numbers and stacks, but the quick digital camera print is my best bet for stitching things up exactly as planned.

Chem 101

2011-02-28T11:27:00.000-06:00

"One of the first rules of chemistry - always make sure liquid is in the vessel before turning on the heat source." ~ My Dad

Here is the practical lab showing why you don't want to test that lesson.

Kids, do not try this at home.

I was making noodles to go with dinner, wondering why my water was taking so long to boil. Lift the lid and find that I had forgotten to fill the pot with said water. So it has been on the hot burner, dry, for about 10 minutes.

I take the pot off the stove and in about a half second think: Is this a good idea? Pot's metal, not glass.... all the rest of dinner is ready and I don't even have the water in the pot yet....at least turn the water on Hot instead of Cold.....

I hold the very hot pot under the running water and EXPLODE instantly boiling water out the top. Then there's a strange hissing noise in the sink, and find I have blown the layered bottom completely OFF the pan! By some miracle, and with the help of our large, deep sink, I wasn't splashed a bit. My dad said that was a good example of a very violent expansion and contraction.

Enough chemistry for the day I think!

Start of the Second

2011-02-18T14:22:00.000-06:00

I love the start of a quilt.

Isn't that a pretty stack, Ann?

Pulling the fabrics, cutting them up.

And sometimes doing a chain or two.

2011-02-16T11:42:00.000-06:00

Happy Birthday to me - yesterday I spent the day sewing!

It was great and I made this fun, sunny block.

I love it so much I formatted it as x-large!

It's about 22" square, and is based on Aneela's quilt in the first Fresh Start issue.

I'm making two auction quilts for the preschool Gala next month. This one will be a 40" child sized quilt to go with the auction of a personal night story time visit from our awesome director - that's always a very popular live auction item. Thought the fairytale themed center would be the perfect match!

And this little guy may have won some brownie points as favorite child. He ASKED for a sweater last week, looked for one I had hand knit, then WORE IT the WHOLE DAY. Then asked to have it washed to wear again the next. Finally, a child that will wear my knit sweaters without screaming, "The Fiber! The Fiber!" and tossing it down after 5 minutes. I may have to pull out my knitting needles again!

Florida Cathedral Window Gift

2011-02-10T07:31:00.001-06:00

Another Catherdal Window pillow as a gift for my friend's birthday. I'm definitely on a roll with these.

She was in nice, warm Florida during her birthday, so I was thinking of that as I chose the colors for her pillow. I liked how happy the blue and yellow ended up.

I love it when my corners come together so nice and symmetrical. It's so satisfying - like checking stuff off a list.

I added a fun little VW guy I thought she would like.

And you can see in the center bottom, I folded under the raw edges on every inset piece. That was a bit of a project, but didn't know if she would like raw edges. It did make for a very neat finish.

Becket was funny and started directing the photo shoot. He dragged over another quilt and arranged it on the couch, then posed himself next to the pillow.

Oh, and I have to link up for the fun pillow party!

So - I was working on my tutorial for you. But then it got changed just a bit.

I started baking it......you won't have to wait too long!

The Snow ate my Days

2011-02-07T11:50:00.000-06:00

Snowpocalypsepaloozageddonicane pounded Chicagoland and dumped 20" last week. Lines of cars were abandoned mid commute on Lake Shore Drive.

The hurricane part of the blizzard left 4' drifts against the house. We had to dig out before using the snow blower. And the boys had two snow days last week.

We were cheering for the Steelers last night.

Appropriate for all the Cathedral Windows I'm working on!

I finished up a large pillow for my Mom's birthday - but I only took this one picture! Pillows are so hard to wrap. So I left the insert out of the package. I'll have to get some good photos next time I visit them.

Confined to the house, I also finished up my February blocks quickly. This one I paper pieced for a Project Linus scrap quilt put together by Sew Fresh Fabric.

And one last block for the Vintage Sheet Bee.

These are going to make a fun vintage rose garden!

snow

2011-02-01T10:34:00.000-06:00

Doom.

We have been warned by the weather service.

... DANGEROUS MULTIFACETED AND POTENTIALLY LIFE THREATENING WINTER STORM TUESDAY NIGHT INTO WEDNESDAY...
... FINAL PREPARATIONS PRIOR TO THE STORM SHOULD BE COMPLETED THIS MORNING...

Good thing my preparations are complete for staying inside!

A Snow Gnome Pillow Gift

2011-01-21T12:46:00.000-06:00

One week and my eyes feel great! Just a little dry in the evening, but that seems to improve each day. I'm glad I did the Lasik!

And the doctor gave my healing the thumbs up today, so now I can actually get back to my semi-dusty sewing and quilting.

But first I need to share this pillow from early December - made for a friend's birthday gift.

I saw the fabulous pillow by FlossyBlossy last year and pretty much went beyond inspiration to copied. Both her design and colors were perfect, and my favorite color combo no less.

You can see that I added a little paper pieced gnome on the bottom left.

Both of us love little gnomes, so he was a perfect fit. I've used this paper pieced pattern a few times, he's so cute. I always like to use some linen for his face.

I decided he was a snow gnome, and felt he needed a nice, snowy home. A little pebble quilting was just right!

I wasn't so sure how well it was going to work, in and out of all those points. I did a little mocked up test run and found I could control the circle size well enough to manuver around those stars. It turned out great!

One last blogging picture.

Mark caught me trying to get a good close up.

I can See!

2011-01-14T10:55:00.000-06:00

I did it without freaking out - no fainting, no hypovetilating.

It's about 9 hours post-procedure and I can see at least as well as with my glasses. Appointment tomorrow 9:20am to get checked out officially.

I'm so happy!

{I went to that appointment this morning, and I'm officially 20/20 at this point and eyes looking healthy! Hopefully my prescription doesn't slip over the new few weeks and I continue to heal well.

Thank you so much for all your well wishes and encouragement!}

Here's a cathedral window finished a couple of days ago - testing out methods. I think it will become a pin cushion once a week has passed and I can be around dusty things again.

Under Construction

2011-01-11T20:10:00.000-06:00

Not just cathedral window blocks and tutorials....

but me, actually.

Pretty much a total surprise decision - I'm scheduled for Lasik Thursday morning. I've said for years that I was too creeped out by it to do it. I went to a consultation on Thursday, just considering it, and left having picked THE DAY for the 13th. These cathedral window instructions are going to have to wait a bit.

I can think about it without feeling like I'm going to throw up or faint, so I guess I'll go through with the procedure. So many people I know have already done it - recently and 10+ years ago, all very happy. I'm still pretty freaked out, but ready.

To get ready, I've cleaned most of the house. You're not supposed to be in dusty environments for a week or so for the cut to get a good start on healing. Thought cleaning would be better than booking a hotel for a week. Besides, if I go blind or die, and people have to come to my house to help, they can't see it dirty, right?! I'm thinking quilting is going to be in the category of 'dusty'. With all the trimming and stitching, there's always fuzz around my machine area, so I'll try to avoid my projects for 7 days, if I can.

I'm also making a spreadsheet to keep track of the million eye drops. I'll have four different solutions, with something going into my eyes every half hour while awake for a full week, then every hour for a month. Spreadsheets are a good stress reducer.

The need for order is obviously genetic. The pin fairy (Becket) visited my area, arranging my owl just-so. He amazingly found a way to make it all very symmetric!

See you all next week. Hopefully! (yep,a bit nervous)

Stash 2011 : the damage edition

2011-01-09T06:13:00.001-06:00

Thirty-one yards - my birthday and Christmas combined. And a serious start to the stash year.

In case you don't want to be tempted by all my fabric photos, I'll put the week's stash report here at the top (and I'm including this shopping trip in my first week report)

Cathedral window blocks EAT fabric, so that's good for the stash report!

Busted: 1.919

Purchased: 31 yards

Net YTD: (28.081)

All I wanted for Christmas was a trip to the Fabric Shack - by myself. It's only about 25 minutes from my in-laws. I got my wish, and it was fabulous!

First stop in the store were two carts that they pile high with bolt ends and small strips. They do a high volume of internet sales, which are cut each evening and morning before the store opens. Lucky me - they had just added a whole bunch that morning. A true treasure hunt when all that fabric is only $2.98 a yard!

I found some fun Kona solids.

These two were favorite treasures. I think it was a little over 9 yards total in 'scraps', between a quarter and full yards, most of the pieces are in my color piles below. But there were a few true scraps that I snatched up for making QAYG blocks.

I think I spent a full hour just going through those piles. It was heaven.

Next stop were the FQ bins. They will cut a FQ for you in the shop if you ask, and the other half goes into their bins. Instead of the original yardage price, FQs from the bin are only $1.98 each!

That's 28 FQs of treasure I found.

Including this adorable holiday version of 2D zoo. LOVE the anteater and rhino!

The lady behind the counter was kind enough to pass over the bin of the previous day's cuts that had not yet made it to their color-grouped FQ bins. Since they were stacked as cut, it was fun to picture the women who had been in that day. One bought herself a FQ set of MoMo's Hoot, probably spending Christmas money. And another bought a full set of Soul Blossoms. These were my favorite from that line.

All the remaining stacks here are grouped by color, as I store them in my cabinets.

Julie and Audrie would be proud of my purple piece!

Reds, Yellows, Oranges

Blues

Greens - my favorite.

I really liked that mostly white print!

A bit of grey.

This was the most dissapointing. I was really loooking for some fun grey prints, but didn't find much.

What was funny, I had pre-ordered that top left spot before leaving Illinois. It was in their online only clearance section, then I just asked that they hold it until I arrived. (They'll do that all the time, for those who live close and want to shop at night in their jammies!) When I arrived, the end of bolt piece was on the pile - so I grabbed the last yard at only 2.98.

Besides the grey, I was also specifically looking for some good neutrals. I want to use them for QAYG and have also been interested to try them out a bit. I just kept pulling bolts and had half or quarter yards cut.

My birthday isn't until February, but my mom gave me birthday cash early - knowing I was going to the fabric shack soon. So there wasn't much restraint shown in my fabric gathering!

A closer look at the creams, with a touch of blue.

And finally, a few fun black and whites.

I ended my outing about 3 1/2 hours later with a quiet lunch out.

By myself.

With my book.

I loved every second of it.

Process Optimization : cathedral windows

2011-01-06T16:31:00.000-06:00

I'm working away at getting the perfect process for making my white cathedral window bases. Test squares like this one will probably end up as a pincushion, I'm using my favorite fabric bits.

My starting how-to point has been this fabulous tutorial. Bookmarked at least a year ago, as I'm sure SO many have, the only think I've eliminated all together is her batting step - and the hand sewing of course.

I prefer my points to meet square and non-lumpy. Much work is going into that end. I'll be sure to share my optimized process once I reach it. Tacking down those center tips, before turning the edges, seems to help.

The physical making of those fabric origami squares isn't my favorite thing. I timed it - a sure sign of my hate for it - at 8 minutes per square. Included in that 8 minutes is quite a bit of steam-burning myself. So I've changed the corners at the first step and added the Sewline glue pen to my process, things are going better. It's like an extra set of fingers, that don't hurt if they get steam blasted.

New

2011-01-04T12:32:00.000-06:00

I get some of the most enjoyment out of learning something new.

I'm teaching myself this.

Last Bee Blocks of 2010

2011-01-03T13:59:00.001-06:00

I still have my Vintage Bee and a new Bee starting up this month, but two of my bees ended in December.

These are the last of those blocks.

Stephanie asked for squares, filled with other squares - however we wanted to do that. I LOVE this block. Wasn't too sure what it was going to become as I started it, and got more excited about it as it grew. Kind of cool - she's going to piece our signature block on the back with a variety of fabric strips that were sent out. I had fun signing my name to this one, can you see the letters in the bubbles at the right?

Amy was looking for a couple different sizes of Drunk Love inspired blocks.

In Bee Beautiful, we had decided to do signature blocks for each other every month. Stephanie sent that extra piece of fabric, and Amy asked that we sign one of our blocks wherever we wanted. I liked adding my name around a leaf at the top left.

Finally, Nettie sent some of the most fabulous scraps you could ever find, and asked for bright, log cabin houses. Lots of visitors have stopped by the cat's house - bears, birds, and a friend in a VW. It looked like the cat was pulling on his riding boots, so I filled the house with more horse riding gear.

That really was two fabulous groups of quilters! I enjoyed all the blocks both to and from my bees last year.

Use my stash year : 2010

2011-01-01T11:37:00.000-06:00

Use my stash year was a great success.

I certainly bought a good amount of fabric.....I was surprised to look back over my spreadsheet and find that I bought 117 yards this past year.

It started with 38 yards at the Fabric Shack last January. Two big 13-17yd months of impulse and hawaii souviner fabric. Then the rest in dribs and drabs.

But, just like any fast, you crave things less when you haven't had any in a while. So even though I filled MANY a virtual shopping cart, I learned not to push the BUY button.

Since week 32 I have only bought fabric twice, for a total of four yards.

Hurray!

I really want to USE my fabric before I no longer love it.

Made all from stash fabric

With the 5.75yds used in the last couple weeks to make four tree pillows (one more for Caleb's religious Ed teacher) the grand total used this year was a tad over 120 yards.

I used 3 more yards than I bought in 2010

My fabric cabinet is in no way empty, so I have lots more to use in 2011. I'm going to continue logging for the new year. I started the year out with another trip to the Fabric Shack one again. I'll share the results of that fun once I get it all organized.

Here's to using all our fun fabric in 2011!

Teacher Gifts

2010-12-30T16:57:00.001-06:00

Kati, over at from the blue chair, made the most wonderful Christmas Tree pillow. And then she so kindly gave all the dimensions so that others could make one, too.

I thought it was fabulous, and had three teacher gifts to make....so it was a tree factory here for a weekend before school let out.

It was great fun chopping up a bunch of greens and red from my stash. I just made big piles of each.

I think only one or two would officially be called Christmas fabrics.

When it was time to quilt the tops, I stitched just an 1/8th inside each green shape.

Same for the wonky, golden stars on top.

The white was stippled.

I wanted to try out the little, loopy swirls that Kati used - I thought it looked like swirling snow - but I haven't done it before and didn't want to take the time to practice. Due to poor time management on my part, it was about 10pm, the night before gifting, that I sat to stipple and bind.

Luckily, I had already made the zippered backs for all three earlier in the weekend. I followed this tutorial again.

I named them "A Hobson Tree" after the preschool that Becket attends. The ciriculum is play based and fabulous. If you're a parent of small people and haven't seen a play based preschool yet, GO-RUN look for one in your area. One part of Hobson is the crafts, available to the children each day. They may choose to do it or not, and it is ALWAYS open ended. They may have construction gingerbread men out to make....the brown cookie shape is cut and a whole slew of things to glue on and decroate with are avaialable. Then they just go at it. The best way to encourage their creativity, in my opinion. What fun is there in a long row of identically pasted button crafts? So, since I had fun just making the trees however I wanted each time, they had to be called "Hobson Trees".

One final note - IKEA has the most fabulous feather pillow inserts. Available at 20" square and only $6.99 each. They made wonderfully fluffy pillows!