Finished: Star Sampler

Finished: Star Sampler
Finished: Star Sampler

I actually finished this piece last week (or, maybe, the week before), but it is so huge and the weather has been so wet that I wasn’t able to take a photo until Maureen and Nancy held it up for me at the CQFA Meeting last weekend. Thanks, Pals!

It was also the first time I had seen it all completely finished. I wrestled it in my lap to bind it, but didn’t even get DH to hold it up, because we were really busy last week and I was afraid it would have defeated him as well.

I am so pleased with how this quilt turned out. Not only is the finished pieced lovely, but it brings back good memories, despite some complaining, about working on a  project with TFQ. She still has to finish hers, but perhaps seeing mind finished will spur her along.

I really like the different sized blocks. They really create a lot of movement in the quilt.

I want to make another one. Crazy, I know.

EPP Stars Go Together

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EPP Stars (back)

I have been working on my Half Hexie English Paper Pieced Stars since August of 2012. I really wanted to see if I could actually take out the paper templates and use them again. I sewed four stars together and went from there.

I would have felt a lot better if TFQ were sitting with me supporting me (egging me on). She wasn’t and I needed a stiff upper lip.

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EPP Stars with Papers

I did it. I took out the papers and the piece is fine. I was kind of shocked at how easy it was and how well it worked. It is tempting to take them all out, but I know I can only take out those that are surrounded on all sides by another piece.

I should have been, but I was a little surprised by how well the ‘free’ pieces kept their shape.

I don’t know how many stars I have completed, but I may pull out the box in which I keep them and start sewing them together. I would at least get an idea of how many more I need. I could also start putting a border on, once I decide what fabric to use for a border.
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Orphan Block Lanyard

Orphan Block Lanyard
Orphan Block Lanyard

Back in December, I put a post up on the Bay Area Modern blog about making lanyards, which was a personal challenge that the president put out to the guild. I wanted to do it, but I haven’t done it for myself yet. It is on the list.

It took me some time to get around to making any kind of lanyard, but I finally did in response to the Orphan Block Challenge also put out by BAMQG. This one will be given in to a pool of small gifts and then I will get something back. I kind of like this lanyard, but am ok giving it away, too.The best part is that now I have a better idea about how to do it.

Supplies

  • 2 orphan blocks, at least 10″x10″
  • Atkinson Designs Swivel Hook & D Ring Set
    Atkinson Designs Swivel Hook & D Ring Set

    1 swivel hook and d ring set (See Atkinson Designs sample) OR a swivel hook and a ring. You can use any size that you have on hand as long as it is larger than 5/8″

  • 1 ring (yes, another one)
  • Sewing machine
  • thread
  • Rotary cutter, mat and ruler
  • pins or WonderClips

First I took a look at the Two Peas in a Pod tutorial. There are several tutorials listed. I picked this one, because it was the first one I looked at and I could follow it easily. Frankly, I already had an idea of how I was going to make the lanyard, but I needed to see how someone else did a few of the parts.

Then, I squared up the blocks a little bit to make sure the blocks to make them easier to cut into strips.

Since this was an orphan block challenge, next, I cut the blocks into 2.5″ strips. The blocks were 9″ or 10″ blocks (I don’t know -I didn’t measure) and I got about 3 strips from each one with skinnier bits leftover. It doesn’t matter what size they are as you can use regular fabric or a Jelly Roll strip and discard the leftovers.

After cutting, I sewed the strips together until I had a piece that was long enough to go from my belly button, around my neck to right below my collarbone (about an inch below or so).

Sew another strip that is long enough to go from your collarbone to your belly button.

Take both strips, fold them in half and press. Open them up and fold the raw edges to the center and press.

Sew D Ring Here
Sew D Ring Here

Then I wanted to add a loop at the shoulder so my nametag would be at eye level or I could use it to keep track of my glasses. Cut this piece about 4″.

I took one of the leftover skinny strips (from the block above), folded it in quarters, top stitched both sides, slid the fabric piece through a ring and sewed that piece to the right side of a strip that had not yet been sewed. Once you slide the strip of fabric through the ring, you will have a U if you hold both of the raw edges, one in each hand. The ring will be dangling from the bottom of the U.

Collarbone Loop
Collarbone Loop

Nota bene: In the picture, the strip to which you have to sew is upside down. Make sure you sew the the loop with the ring in the bottom to the right side of the strip. Nota bene due: In a subsequent step, you will fold the whole piece in quarters and top stitch. You may want to measure and sew this loop to avoid the folds that will take place later.

Collarbone Loop
Collarbone Loop

After you have your extra loop added, you should sew the strip to the other strips and keep adding strips until the piece is long enough. You will need a bit of extra length to fold up to accommodate the Swivel hook and other loop, so don’t cut it off too short.

Now you have a long strip about 37″ long. This measurement is from the Two Peas in a Pod tutorial. I cut mine a little shorter to accommodate my height and torso length.

Fold your long strip in half and press. Yes, the glasses loop will be a pain. I haven’t figured out how not to make it a pain. If you know of a way to make it easier, let me know.

Open your piece and fold the raw edges towards the crease in the center. Once you have completed this the raw edges will be encased in the center.

Top stitch very close to the edges on both sides. If you want to be fancy, you can do a double line of stitching or a decorative stitch. Depending on the size of the ring holder, you may have to skip the area where the ring holder is, or go around it.

Now hang the strip around your neck. Trim the ends if you think they are too long.

Take the loop and thread one end of your strip through it. Pin in place. WonderClips work well, too.

Thread Strip End Through
Thread Strip End Through

Take the other end of the strip and thread the swivel hook through it. Pin in place or use WonderClips.

Now you are ready to finish off the ends. The different tutorials tell you to do it in different ways. I went with the the way the Two Peas in a Pod tutorial suggested. I hadn’t really thought about dual hardware on the bottom, but it works.

Staggered
Staggered

I staggered the placement of my loop and swivel hook so they wouldn’t clank together as I (or the user) walked around. This means that I had to adjust the placement of the two pieces. It took a little bit of trial and error, but, ultimately, I am happy with the placement. As an added bonus, I had fewer layers to sew over as I finished the lanyard. That step is optional.

Think about what you might hook on to your loop and swivel hook before you decide on placement.

Place the lanyard carefully around your neck. Make sure to smooth out the twists, if any, so the lanyard lays flat around the back of your neck and on your chest.

Reinforcing Thread Box
Reinforcing Thread Box

Once you are sure everything is smooth, pin (or WonderClip) the two ends together and sew. I made “thread boxes” (the same technique you use to reinforce areas of stress when making a bag) out of my sewing line in order to keep the lanyard together and looking nice.

Change your needle so you are using a new and very sharp needle. Sew two reinforcing boxes, the top one going through all layers. Move the swivel hook out of the way to sew the bottom box to finish the lanyard.

Collarbone ring in use
Collarbone ring in use

Pain and Suffering

There are a couple of places that will be difficult. Using orphan blocks or mosaic piecing means that there will be extra seam allowances. With these comes the possibility of really thick seams [See above where I refer to the glasses loop]. To mostly avoid these thick seams, use 3 unpieced lengths of fabric for the neck and loop pieces. 1 Jelly Roll strip (2.5″ wide strip) will work.

Lanyard in use
Lanyard in use
Swivel hook in use
Swivel hook in use

 

Le Challenge

I am linking up to the Le Challenge #14-Small on the Le Challenge blog

 

Weekend Sewing

The weekend felt short and I think part of that was because I had to work on Friday. Granted I only worked half a day, but it still cut into my free time. I shouldn’t complain since most people have to work all day every Friday. Since I don’t normally work that schedule, I feel I can indulge in a little complaining once in awhile.

Saturday, as I will talk about in another post, was the CQFA meeting. It was packed and busy. A few of us stayed for sewing afterwards. Stay tuned for more on that.

I came home, having declined to join DH for some more Political Wifery, and worked on the blog and some tasks related to the upcoming CQFA show. In general, though, I felt out of sorts. It translated into me not sleeping very well and the monkeys that sometimes chatter in my mind being quite active and irritating.

I woke up late, still feeling a little out of sorts, so didn’t get as early a start to my sewing as I would have liked, but I can’t beat myself up all the time, so I ate breakfast and just got to it.

Four Patches
Four Patches

First, I made some Four Patches for a friend who is doing a Lovey for someone going through a hard time. I will put those in the mail today.

I used the fabrics that I used for the Flower Sugar Hexagon quilt, because they are bright and cheerful and I don’t plan, right now, to use them for anything else.  I show some pictures of the finished project when I get them.

Fish postcard
Fish postcard

After those, I decided to put the finishing touches on the Fish Postcard and send that along as a little thank you gift for all the work my friend is gong through to get the quilt out. I only had to zig zag around the edges, so that didn’t take very long. I’ll, maybe, do a blog post on the post card later.

Next, I realized that the BAMQG meeting is next week and I promised to do an orphan block project. I decided to make a lanyard. I used the Two Peas in a Pod tutorial with some modifications. I’ll probably write another post about what I did to change the lanyard pattern above.

Orphan Block Lanyard
Orphan Block Lanyard

Following the lanyard, I felt like I had completed all of my obligations and could get on with some of my projects, but wasn’t sure on which project to work.

Eventually I decided to quilt on See to try and get that done. I quilted away for about 4 hours on and off and got another quarter of the quilting done. I am within shouting distance of having this project done, though I do need to face it and put a sleeve and label on it. After mostly not working on it since 2003, the progress I have made recently feels phenomenal.

I had a little bit of a weird food weekend as well. I bought a Milka Hazelnut chocolate bar a few weeks ago and went on a little binge. I just finally dedicated the calories to eating the whole thing over the course of a couple of days.

Done:

  • Scissor Sheath
  • Fish Postcard
  • Orphan Block Lanyard
  • Machine quilting on See

 

There is a lot of flux in my life right now, so I think that is part of why I feel so out of sorts. Good thing quiltmaking keeps me grounded!

 

ATCs for July CQFA Meeting

July 2014 ATC Start
July 2014 ATC Start

I thought ahead for once and made these last weekend, except for the finishing. I didn’t really have an idea, so I grabbed some scraps from the City Sampler blocks and started sewing them together. I sewed until it was long enough to cover a piece I had cut for the backs.

I stopped partway through to actually make the backs. I added stabilizer for stiffener. Once the pieced scrap piece was big enough, I sewed it to the backing and stabilizer, cut the piece in 2.5″x3.5″ rectangles and zigzagged around the outside.

Boring.

I like them. They are mostly soothing colors, but they aren’t very arty or edgy. I planned to embellish them with beads, but really wasn’t excited about it, because I often do beading and just wasn’t in the mood. I also didn’t really have the time. It seemed like too much work in an already full week.

As I was tidying the workroom, I saw my alphabet stamps. PERFECT!!! I decided to stamp words on them. YAY! That I was excited about. I ended up not using the alphabet stamps this time, but using some Chinese character stamps I picked up somewhere.

July ATCs, Finished
July ATCs, Finished

Mine didn’t end up being that popular this time around, but the others were fantastic. Mine are calm (which I seem to be seeking lately), but the stamp wasn’t large enough to stand out and show the detail. I need to step up my game. I am not done with the stamps yet, now that I have found them again.

I am not depressed, because I know not everything can be fantastic and these small pieces are for play.

Stay tuned for more.

FOTY 2013 Progress

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This is probably the basic layout of Fabric of the Year 2013. It needs some tweaks in terms of where specific fabrics are placed, but I feel like I have a basic layout. I have found that taking photos and looking at them helps me figure out the placement. I am not sure why I didn’t do that more for the previous quilts in the series. It could be that I am taking more time with this one. Others have been put together in, essentially, one weekend.

It also occurred to me that I could also use the green and red films that come with the Ultimate 3-in-1 Color Tool by Joen Wolfrom. I am going to try that next.

One issue I have found troublesome in the past is not seeing the individual fabrics for the predominant color. I am really trying to make the transitions smooth this year. It is hard to see which colors predominate in a fabric with multiple colors, but I know it is a process. I have to work at it.

Creative Prompt #266: Apartment

Dwelling

Using single-threaded apartments (the apartment model process) offers a message-based paradigm for dealing with multiple objects running concurrently.

Bachelor Apartment is a 1931 RKO comedy/romance film directed by and starring Lowell Sherman

Apartment” is a song by American alternative rock band Young the Giant from their 2010 self-titled debut album.

Apartment therapy

apartment for rent

The Campbell Apartment is a public bar and cocktail lounge located in a corner of Grand Central Terminal in New York City. It faces Vanderbilt Avenue.

Dining at Apartment 2g is an invitation to the Chefs’ apartment.

Apartment allows Rack applications to deal with database multitenancy through ActiveRecord.

Martin Wattenberg: Apartment is a series of closely related works, created in collaboration with Marek Walczak and with help from Jonathan Feinberg.

APARTMENT FINANCE TODAY magazine

Definition: “An apartment (in American English) or a flat (in British English) is a self-contained housing unit (a type of residential real estate) that occupies only part of a building. Such a building may be called an apartment building, apartment house (in American English), block of flats, tower block, high-rise or, occasionally mansion block (in British English), especially if it consists of many apartments for rent. In Scotland it is often called a tenement, which has a pejorative connotation elsewhere. Apartments may be owned by an owner/occupier by leasehold tenure or rented by tenants (two types of housing tenure).

The term apartment is favored in North America (although flat is used in the case of a unit which is part of a house containing two or three units, typically one to a floor) and also is the preferred term in Ireland. The term flat is commonly, but not exclusively, used in the United Kingdom, Singapore, Hong Kong and most Commonwealth nations.

In Malaysian English, flat often denotes a housing block of lesser quality meant for lower-income groups, while apartment is more generic and may also include luxury condominiums. This usage has also been appearing in British English where apartment is used to denote expensive ‘flats’ in exclusive and expensive residential areas in, for example, parts of London such as Belgravia and Hampstead.

In Australian English, the term flat was traditionally used, but the term apartment is also frequently used, as is “unit,” short for “home unit”.

Tenement law refers to the feudal basis of permanent property such as land or rents. It may be found combined as in “Messuage or Tenement” to encompass all the land, buildings and other assets of a property. (Wikipedia)

In the United States, some apartment-dwellers own their own apartments, either as co-ops, in which the residents own shares of a corporation that owns the building or development; or in condominiums, whose residents own their apartments and share ownership of the public spaces. Most apartments are in buildings designed for the purpose, but large older houses are sometimes divided into apartments. The word apartment denotes a residential unit or section in a building. In some locations, particularly the United States, the word connotes a rental unit owned by the building owner, and is not typically used for a condominium.

In the UK, some flat owners own shares in the company that owns the freehold of the building as well as holding the flat under a lease. This is commonly known as a “share of freehold” flat. The freehold company has the right to collect annual ground rents from each of the flat owners in the building. The freeholder can also develop or sell the building, subject to the usual planning and restrictions that might apply.

In some countries the word unit is a more general term referring to both apartments and rental business suites. The word is generally used only in the context of a specific building; e.g., “This building has three units” or “I’m going to rent a unit in this building”, but not “I’m going to rent a unit somewhere.” In Australia, a unit refers to flats, apartments or even semi-detached houses. Some buildings can be characterized as mixed use buildings, meaning part of the building is for commercial, business, or office use, usually on the first floor or first couple of floors, and there are one or more apartments in the rest of the building, usually on the upper floors.

Post the direct URL (link) where your drawing, doodle, artwork is posted (e.g. your blog, Flickr) in the comments area of this post. I would really like to keep all the artwork together and provide a way for others to see your work and/or your blog.

We are also talking about this on Twitter. Use the hashtag #CPP

The Creative Prompt Project, also, has a Flickr group, which you can join to  post your responses. I created this spot so those of you without blogs and websites would have a place to post your responses.

APARTMENT POETRY QUARTERLY.

Apartment building recycling initiative (NYC)

Luxury apartment

Apartment 3-G: A serial comic strip about three single female roommates as they juggle their careers, friendship, men and life in the big city.

Apartment Toolbox creates a centralized location for communication and documents requiring regular updates, common in a multifamily environment.

The Apartment (1960 movie)

apartment house

apartment block

California Apartment Association

Freshome covers a wide range of smart decorating ideas for apartments with a twist.

Apartment Life

Apartment Zero

Apartment One’s creativity in reimagining our brand identity was transformational.

studio apartment

At Apartment List, we’re building extraordinary products and services that redefine the rental experience– making it seamless, transparent, and fun.

apartment complex

 

Black & Grey Donation Blocks

Black/Grey Donation Blocks
Black/Grey Donation Blocks

I think I am back in the saddle with the Black & Grey donation blocks. I haven’t really worked on the piece since February 8 of this year. I feel bad about that, but I can only do what I can do. I figure that doing something slowly is better than doing nothing.

I have about 15 blocks now and am still thinking of making a teenaged boy donation quilt. It feels dauntingly large, though and I don’t know if I can make all of those blocks. Again, I have run out of a lot of choices of different fabrics, which I know won’t matter in 6 months, but now feels constraining.

I’ll just keep plugging away as best I can and see how it comes out. Kelly offered to help and I am hoping she has made some blocks to add to mine to spice up what I have made.

Finished: NSGW Pillows

RAL's NSGW Pillows
RAL’s NSGW Pillows

You might remember that I mentioned that I made my BIL give up his winning pillow at Grand Parlor with the promise that I would make him one. The pillow forms were clogging up my fabric closet (and creating or encouraging Fabri-lanches), so I finally got busy with them last week.

Right after Grand Parlor, my SIL sent me the embroideries. She made about five (I still have some generic versions). She did an exceptional job personalizing the two larger embroideries to reflect BIL’s office. I am really pleased with how the logo pillow came out.

First, I had  to get the forms. I went to Joann with a coupon and bought 16″ pillow forms, which BIL favors. I also mentioned the project to my mom and she came over with a travel size pillow form. Suddenly the project went from 1 to 3 pillows!

Next, when I had a few minutes, I cut the batting and pinned the embroideries to the batting. Some of the batting scraps I was using were too small, which required some Frankenbatting. I bought some of the batting tape from the Fat Quarter Shop recently and tried it out. It worked like a charm. Yes, it is another notion and I could have zigzagged the two pieces of batting together, but I this method worked out very well and there is no lump, which I can’t seem to avoid when I zigzag.

Later in the week I started sewing. Pretty much I used scraps from my scrap bin for the strips, which was great. Some of the strips were pieced together to make them long enough, but I had some longish strips from the previous pillows, so there is some continuity.

Again, I used the Pointillist Palette fabric for the back (Mrs. K to the rescue again!).

I hope BIL likes them. I guess I have to go work on quilts now.

Tile Designs

Restroom floor, California Adventure
Restroom floor, California Adventure

One of the fortunate things about living where I do is that a lot of the stoops have intricate tile patterns. Bathroom floors often have great tile designs as well.

The green and white floor (right) would be an interesting quilt. I wouldn’t do it in these colors, but would keep the light as a resting space for the eyes, then put some scrappy fabrics where the greens are. I would see if I needed to maintain the varying degrees of darks and lights. I don’t think the piecing would be boring since there is quite a bit of variation.

It is easy to walk by and never notice the patterns. This is why it is important to look, an action of which I have to remind myself quite often.

Gabilan Street, Salinas stoop
Gabilan Street, Salinas stoop

These tile patterns are awesome for quilt design inspiration.

The unusual part of this porch or stoop is the pink. I don’t remember seeing so much pink in tile in this type of location before. I also was interested in the heart shaped motifs in the outer border. Given the pink and the hearts, I want to believe that a woman had a hand in picking out the colors and designs.

These types of designs are great inspiration for round robin quilts.

Restroom, California Adventure
Restroom, California Adventure

Finally, the piece de resistance, another restroom floor. I love the curved outer border and, especially that circle in the corner. When taking photos of tile motifs that you might want to translate into quiltmaking, it is really important to take photos of the corners, otherwise it can be difficult to figure out later.

I am not fond of the colors, but also like the combination of hexagons and curves.

July To Do List

To Do List:

  1. Sew white on black wavy line 8 pointed star
  2. Layer, baste Christmas table runner
  3. Quilt Christmas table runner
  4. Quilt/stitch fish postcard
  5. Wash fabric AKA The Great Unwashed (I am guessing this will never be off the list, but a girl can dream) ;-) – I washed and pressed a load of grey fabric. It made more of a difference than I expected and I had some fun doing it. As I said last time, I still have a lot to do.
  6. Make stiff bucket or box for TP in main bath
  7. Make stiff bucket or box for TP in second bath
  8. Dragon Box (gift)
  9. Anna Maria Horner Multi-tasker tote (gift-due Holiday 2013- oops) – found the pattern, which is a good start.
  10. Make 3 notepad covers (gifts)
  11. Day in the Park backpack variation
  12. Petrillo bag #2
  13. Bright apron as a gift
  14. Paris apron as a gift
  15. Finish tote for Mom‘s auction (new 6/2014)

To see the 26 Projects Lists, which list quilt WIPS, visit the June Current Projects update. Last month’s to Do List is about the same.

Completed small items since November 4, 2013 (prior to this month’s list)

  • Sew on sleeve for Original Bullseye
  • Kelly’s Brown Round Robin
  • Pillow from cake tea towel
  • Try plain square for center of Russian Rubix blocks
  • Hand sew bottom opening in Shopping bag for BAMQG
  • Finish binding on T-Shirt quilt
  • Secret Santa gift for BAMQG
  • Kathleen’s Round Robin
  • Make sleeve for Original Bullseye
  • Finish sewing triangles for Scrapitude
  • Take apart Ribbon Star and resew
  • Color Group donation quilt
  • Binding for Color Group donation quilt
  • Make shopping bag for BAMQG
  • Sew coffee patch to red bag
  • Sew coffee patch to bathrobe
  • Sew green and red striped 8 pointed star (probably should include an item called “find background template for 8 pointed star!)
  • Scrap Lab backpack
  • Make binding for Disappearing Pinwheel

BAMQG Sew Day

Christmas Table Runner - basted
Christmas Table Runner – basted

I don’t get to the Sew Days very often, but I am glad I went to the July Sew Day yesterday. I was a basting fiend (for me). I basted two projects that have been hanging around for a long time. This feels like a major step towards quilting and finishing them. Hooray.

I don’t even remember when I bought this Christmas panel, but I remember buying and it thinking that it would make good practice for free motion quilting. Aside from that, I like it. It is cheerful and the colors are a little off of the traditional Christmas colors.

It has been hanging over my door ever since I bought it. When Kelly mentioned last week that I could baste at the Sew Day, I immediately remembered this project in addition to my Wonky Nine Patch.

Wonky 9 Patch - basted
Wonky 9 Patch – basted

Since I was planning on working in my workroom yesterday anyway, I thought I might as well baste and cut out projects with my pals rather than alone. Also, the tables at our meeting place are pretty big and it is much easier to baste using large tables than crawling around the floor of my laundry room. Much better on my knees as well.

First, I basted the Wonky 9 Patch. My thinking was that I would suffer through the large project, then zip through the small project. Basting just sucks, but it is a necessary evil. I took my time and put in plenty of pins so that I didn’t have the droopy problem I had with Calm. I think I spent about 2 hours total basting, then I moved on to ripping.

As you might remember, I started a Jane Market Tote for something (BAMQG officer gifts??) and my 9K stopped working in the middle of the last decorative stitch. Recently, Mom asked for something for her church auction and I thought of this bag. It was, after all, almost done and meant I didn’t have to start a new project. Perfect. Photos when I finish it!

Kelly's Swap Star
Kelly’s Swap Star

I had barely started to rip when Kelly, who was working on the binding of a small swap wall hanging, offered to rip for me, in exchange for sewing on her binding. She doesn’t like hand sewing much and I was planning to be sitting there anyway, so we swapped projects. I hand sewed her binding and sleeve onto her swap project while she ripped out the decorative stitching on my bag. It was pleasant sitting there stitching and a good break from standing.

We both finished at about the same time, though I finished a little bit after Kelly because I offered to sew on the sleeve as well. I think Kelly was pleased and I was pleased not to have to rip out that line of stitching.

[Update: 7/7/2014] Kelly is heading off to the Fat Quarterly Retreat and will take a quilt she got from the South Bay Modern Quilt Guild to donate to Siblings Together (a UK charity that keeps siblings together in foster care). After Kelly finished machine quilting it, Lynette took it to trim and bind it, so it’s truly a collaborative effort. BAM’s charity committee has also donated another quilt for this cause! We’ll be well represented next week!!

Lynette, as mentioned, was there, too. She brought me Fresh Fruit and the Whole Cloth Quilt back from the county fair. They had been having a vacation at her house. I thought about them while I was at Disneyland, but completely forgot about them once I got home. Friday afternoon, I remembered that I wanted to hang Fresh Fruit in my office and I put all of the pieces together. I contacted Lynette and fortunately she was coming to Sew Day. I am glad I remembered and she was able to bring them.

Lynette's Mystery Quilt
Lynette’s Mystery Quilt

Lynette worked on her Retreat mystery quilt and it looks really great. She added an original block to the eight blocks we made as part of the mystery pattern, so she had a large 9 Patch. I think she will also put some borders on it. She said that she had already cut the batting and backing. I look forward to seeing it finished.

Seeing Lynette’s made me think of mine. UGH. I am pretending it doesn’t exist, but I have to do something with it.

Amanda came and was working on her word quilt. It is a gift for friends who have been married for 25 years. All the words have to do with love and marriage. She has been working on it for a long time, yet she finished the last word block yesterday, so I think she is nearing the home stretch. Amanda is super nice making so much effort for a gift. Definitely someone to model myself after.

She didn’t bring Cat Bed kits, but gave me an already-made Cat Bed to fill up. Good thing because my my schnibble bag overfloweth. I feel bad that I haven’t made any recently, but at least a kitty will be comfy on my schnibbles.

Geri was there making everyone laugh and working on a feather quilt. I am not sure if it was the Anna Maria Horner pattern or another.

Rhonda and Peggy were also there. Rhonda has a new haircut. It is a blunt cut and it looks really great. She gave me a huge hug when I arrived which made me feel great. Rhonda was working on her whole cloth quilt, which is a kind of sampler of free motion quilt stitches that she started for the BAMQG Whole Cloth Challenge. She has the middle all done and was working on quilting the outside of the design, which I would describe as the between sections of the rays of the sun.

Charity Kites
Charity Kites

Peggy, the Energizer Bunny of BAMQG, finished a charity top and back, then worked on another top of her own design that was a big hit. She took some blocks leftover (squares and rectangles from strips) from another charity project and cut them in half. She thought they looked like kites and voila’.

I really enjoyed myself and was pleased that it was a small group. I got a lot done and wasn’t as intimidated as I have been at other Sew Days. I tend to take cutting and other non-sewing projects and it feels like I don’t get as much done, but I gave myself a stern talking to about process and how not all of the parts of the project involve sewing.

Finished: Flower Sugar Hexagon

Flower Sugar Hexagon
Flower Sugar Hexagon

Well, the Flower Sugar Hexagon quilt (AKA Attack of the Hexies) is finally finished. I am still waiting to see Sandy’s piece, but mine is complete.

I was an idiot to make the bottom corners weirdly shaped. Sewing the binding down was a big PITA and my efforts don’t look that great.

I am pleased with the distribution of color and fabrics. The quilt is cheerful.

I am thinking of giving it to one of my mom’s cousins who was so helpful and supportive when Super G was sick and after she died. We’ll see.

Flower Sugar Hexagon back
Flower Sugar Hexagon back

Shockingly the back went together really easily. I had some big pieces and that helped.

My quilt holders were a little lazy this time.

Creative Prompt #265: Sparkler

Post the direct URL (link) where your drawing, doodle, artwork is posted (e.g. your blog, Flickr) in the comments area of this post. I would really like to keep all the artwork together and provide a way for others to see your work and/or your blog.

We are also talking about this on Twitter. Use the hashtag #CPP

The Creative Prompt Project, also, has a Flickr group, which you can join to  post your responses. I created this spot so those of you without blogs and websites would have a place to post your responses.

Definition: “A sparkler is a type of hand-held firework that burns slowly while emitting colored flames, sparks, and other effects.

In the United Kingdom, a sparkler is often used by children at bonfire and fireworks displays on Guy Fawkes Night, the fifth of November, and in the United States on Independence Day (United States). It is called as Phool Jhadi in India and is popular during Diwali festival.” (Wikipedia)

1997 movie

Sparkler Monthly

type of fireworks

peach sparkler

Java development

Sonoma Sparkler Natural Raspberry is a blend of natural apple juice, natural raspberry puree, and natural raspberry flavor.

Diamond Sparkler is the sole remaining operating sparkler manufacturing facility in the United States.

Tiffany ‘sparklers’

The Sparkler 5k was created in memory of Felisa Barnes who passed away in October of 2009 in a car accident.

Monrovia’s Sparkler Sedge

Sparklers create a visual effect over the head of your character, visible for all players in a district.(Guildwars)

Original Lip Smacker products

Carex phyllocephala, ‘Sparkler‘ is generally considered to be winter hardy to USDA Zone 7.

An Art group monochrom were planning to light 10,000 bound sparklers as they described as “symbolic liberation” to reflect that sparklers are generally used in monotheistic traditions.[5] A large group from Toronto, Ontario, Canada also held an event displaying 10,000 sparklers to symbolize brightness, intensity, warmth and creativity.[6] In 1999 the two artists Tobias Kipp and Timo Pitkämö developed a technique of drawing portraits with burning sparklers on paper, which they called pyrografie. Since then the two artists have drawn more than 20,000 pyroportraits.[7] (Wikipedia)

Malibu rum sparkler

Homosexual vampire, produces odd light when in contact with the sun. Have you seen “Twilight”. Yeah that Edward is a complete sparkler. (Urban Dictionary)

My Little Pony, Sparkler.

And Happy Fourth of July to all of you in the U.S. and who celebrate!

Various & Sundry #6 – July 2014

What I Read

I couldn’t help myself from sharing these non-quilt books with you. If you don’t read fiction, I am sorry. Go ahead and skip this part, because I am going wax rhapsodic about some fiction for a minute.

I have read the three best books recently. I can’t say they are the best books ever, but all three blew me away. You have to buy them RIGHT NOW (after you finish reading my blog), stop what you are doing (ahem-after you finish reading my blog) and go read them.

  • Delicious! by Ruth Reichl – this is about transformation and love. It is about grief as well and how grief can stunt transformation. The characters were realistic and there was a lot of kindness and caring in this book. Read review.
  • Attachments by Rainbow Rowell – This is another book there there is a lot of kindness and caring (hhhmmm…I wonder if this is a theme I need to investigate in my own life). The characters seem really real. They are not perfect and they don’t always know what to do.
  • The Fortune Hunter by Daisy Goodwin – it was all I could do not to sit on my bed and read this book cover to cover. Some of the writing is so clever. The story is so great and I love the characters. I wanted to throttle some of them (Augusta for sure), but this is a book I will definitely read again and I might even read the American Heiress again. Daisy Goodwin cannot write fast enough for me. I do wish she had spelled Elizabeth the Austrian way, Elisabeth.

If you don’t like the above reading suggestions, you might want to take a look at the STC Craft suggestions. I am kind of interested in the Natalie Goldberg color book and wonder if they have it at the library?

Patterns, Tutorials and Sew-Alongs

Moda Bakeshop is having a Trifle Dish Sew Along. The first row is a spool type pattern, which I can’t figure out how it relates to Trifle, but is an interesting block nonetheless. Not all of the patterns have been posted, so you’ll have to keep checking back.

Amy has a power cord wrangling tutorial on her blog that I thought was handy. She is trying to get her blog up and running again, so go leave a comment. Life intervenes for all of us, so show her some blog love.

Are we fortunate to have so many people putting up so many tutorials? It is nice to have a lot of resources on different ways of how to do things. Kati has a put up a tutorial on attaching borders without a measuring tape.

Need to thinking about gifts? How about a nail file cover? The J&O Fabric Store has a tutorial. I can’t vouch for the tutorial as I h.aven’t made one yet, but they might make good stocking stuffers or shower favors or be handy for travel

Products, Tools, Thread and Fabric

Lori has a great review up on her blog about Flatter.

Have you seen the second issue of Moda Piece? No, me neither. It is on the Issuu platform which has an Android app as well. I was able to look at the whole issue (124 pages) on my phone so I guess it is free. Don’t quote me.

Look how beautiful this Aurifil display looks! I also love the name of the shop, Crimson Tate. Thanks to Alex Veronelli!

I wasn’t sure whether to put this tidbit in products or media. Judy Martin has designed a game called Quilt Show. After 5 years in design and production phases the game was recently released at Origins Game Fair in Columbus, Ohio. Steve (Judy Martin’s husband) and Judy were on hand as the first box was opened up. They spent two days demoing Quilt Show to throngs of eager gamers.

The price of the game is $34.95, which is a steal for a game with this many components of this quality. The game weighs 2-3/4 pounds! That’s a whole lotta game! The box and the tiles have a linen finish. The cards are sturdy. Judy thought there was a chance it would hit $50!

Because of the weight of the game and the fact that she can’t ship it by the very cheap Media Mail, she’ll have to charge $10 to ship a game in the United States. 🙁 Judy won’t be able to ship it outside the United States. There will be distribution in Europe, and I’m sure there are retailers who will ship anywhere.

I see games being played at quilt shows, like Quilt-O, which is played at the Pacific International Quilt Show in Santa Clara. I know it is pricey, but support Judy and her small business by buying a copy. I never would have thought that quilting would make it into a game. I wonder how this fits into that study of improving memory, which was reported on NPR and other media outlets.

Gretchen recently posted a review of the Perfect Angles product. Apparently, this tool prevents the quiltmaker from having to draw lines for half square triangles and such. Go read her review and become an expert. Gretchen is also making progress on her BOMs, which she shows.

Jackie gives some ideas on organizing bobbins, including discussing various products available. One of her commenters, Rebecca, chimed in saying she had done a post on bobbins as well. It is always fun to check out a new blog.

Continuing with our hacking theme, Barbara hacks her sewing machine and answers the age old question of “why does the machine need a handwheel?” Fascinating intersection between sewist/sewer and engineer.

Media

Marginally quilt related, and only because many of you Tweet, are Gail Carriger’s blog post about Twitter etiquette. I am not saying she is the guru, but her points are good and I agree with them. If you haven’t read any of her books, try Etiquette & Espionage. I believe Pam talked about this book on her podcast and I wrote a short review. This is an entertaining book by which to sew.

Abby Glassenberg of While She Naps and stuffed birds fame started a series of blog posts about patterns that changed people’s lives. The first one is about Sara of Sweetness. She, if you don’t know from studying this blog intently 😉  , is the authoress of the Petrillo Bag, which I have discussed endlessly and will, no doubt, discuss more in the future. I look forward to reading more of Abby’s interviews.

As an aside, I reviewed her book, Stuffed Animals: From Concept to Construction, back in February. Did you buy it?

Here’s an interview Judy Martin did for Fave Quilts back in early May. The book giveaway is no longer current, but you might find the rest of it interesting.

Also relating to the Martin Family, check out the Accuquilt blog for the winner and photos of their block contest!

Take a look at the SAQA donation quilts! There is one from Miss Lottie, the hostess of the Slightly Mad Quilt Lady podcast and also one from fellow CQFA-er, Jennifer Landau! Great work, ladies!

Other Artists

Reene over at Nellie’s Niceties blog posted some NY Beauty pillows she made. I showed my mom as we were together and we had a discussion about color wheels as a result. She said that the color scheme of these pillows worked because they are compliments on the Munsell Color System. She swears by Munsell. She wrote a few blog posts, which you can read on her blog, Mary’s Art Musings. She also posted about these pillows as well.

Travel

I went down south to visit Disneyland with some of DH’s family. We had a great time, but that part of the trip is not quilt related (Disney no longer sells fabric in the parks), so you’ll just have to wonder about our trip. 😉 The quilt highlight was meeting up with Susan of History Quilter fame and spend some time with her and her family. I got the grand tour of the remodel, which was great, because it looked like the photos, but was oriented differently in m mind. I saw where the podcast magic happens! I also got to meet her family and talk some quilting. I loved one quilt where she is doing different textures. I actually really liked all of her quilts (got to see her UFOs), especially the free way in which Susan puts patterned fabrics together. Because I am very bossy, I gave her some advice (ideas, hopefully) on how to continue with her UFOs. Now that the remodel is done and school is out, she can get back to her quilting. I look forward to seeing her progress.