Finished! Kissy Fish

Kissy Fish framed
Kissy Fish framed

I got this back from the framer last Tuesday and am thrilled with the way it turned out.DH and I decided where to hang it and hung it up on Christmas Eve so it would be nice looking on Christmas when my parental units were over.

Now I can add another finished project to my list! My quilting best for a year used to be 9 quilts. With this quilt, I have completed 10 this year. YAY! A new JayeWorld Record!

Various & Sundry #24

Well, 24 Various & Sundries (sp??) for the year. WOW! Who knew I had that much miscellaneous nonsense to share? Here is the last one.

Projects

I didn’t do a ‘Hey! Make these Projects for Christmas post’ because my theory is that if you haven’t already started by December, it isn’t going to happen. That is the way it works for me. And I actually was invited to parties this year, so I didn’t have much time to sew on the weekends, which is when I get the majority of my sewing done.

As a result, you can start on your gifts for next year. Sue Astroth has a cool chess board posted on her blog. The spray painting makes it a bit too much work for me, but I like the idea.

Quiltin’ Jenny took up the gift bag banner this year. I was a slacker and didn’t harangue about that pet project. Did you make gift bags? Let’s see them!

Quilt World News

The Pantone Color Institute has come out with their signature color for 2012: Tangerine Tango. Read the story on the Always Quilting (Australia) blog.

FunQuilts is becoming Modern Quilt Studio. They have a post about their upcoming schedule on a recent Craft Nectar post. Their new studio will again be in the basement of their home and Weeks has been keeping a diary of the renovations.

Do you know Pinterest? It is a great way to wile away the hours. There is also a great trick to find out who has pinned what pictures from your site. Adrianne over at Little Bluebell posted the tip last week. Check out who has pinned pictures from Artquiltmaker.com/blog!

My Boxing Day Sew-in post was featured on Creating the Hive. I don’t know why, but it is a thrill when they feature one of my posts. I guess I feel like my writing is validated in some way. Not that I need it to be validated, of course.

Quiltin’ Jenny has joined the SeamedUp team. Check out the announcement.

Fabric and Supplies

The week before Christmas felt like hell at work. All the vendors wanted everything done by the end of the year. Management wanted everything done by the end of the year and I wanted to bury my head in the sand. I tried very hard to buy fabric and somehow just couldn’t achieve it. Camille Roskelley kindly posted a picture of her new fabric line. I asked her to send me some…

Wouldn’t these 1920s designs make great fabric for bags and pillowcases?

Do you stock up on thread per pound when you find it? Do you use mystery fiber thread with your 100% cotton LQS quality fabric? I really liked this thread snob essay. Now, don’t get shirty about the word ‘snob.’ It is a perfectly good word in certain cases. Read the essay, tell me what you think.

There is also a review of Aurifil thread on the KikiSews blog. I liked the way she talked about what needle she used and other such details.

I heard about Quilting by Celia from the Katie’s Quilting Corner podcast. I was tempted to go and take a look because of the promise that she had investigated several methods of making half square triangles. Nice blog. She does lots of blocks, which you know I love. I am also amazed at the people doing the Orca Bay mystery challenge. The steps seem daunting – ‘make 350 HSTs’. Yikes! I would read that and run away screaming.

Design

Weeks Ringle posted about negative space on her blog recently. This post probably relates to their new Transparency book (which nobody has seen fit to send me yet. 🙁  ) While negative space isn’t, as of yet, officially part of the design series I am doing with Sandy, it is an important concept and I will at least mention this post in the Design Resources section.

Not Quilt Related

I liked this list of things to stop doing. They were all reasonable and doable to me.

Block-a-Long #36: Stacks & Line

Stacks & Line #36
Stacks & Line #36

I find it fascinating how many blocks can be designed using squares and rectangles. This is another block that uses squares and rectangles and five great fabrics.

The Stacks & Line #36 rotary cutting directions are straightforward.

If you have made blocks or a quilt from these patterns, please post a link in the comments section of the relevant block or on the AQ Block-a-Long Flickr group. I would love to see what you have made.

Boxing Day Sew In (BDSI)

BDSI Button
BDSI Button

Welcome BDSIers!

Just so you know: I am not writing this at 3am. I am sleeping, but I scheduled this to post at 3am for you crazy people 😉 who live in different timezones and are already up and sewing.

Other organizers and participants:

Sandy of Quilting…for the Rest of Us. Sandy has a post or two up about #BDSI already. She is the main gal, so head over to her site for all of the instructions and excitement!

Pam of Hip to Be a Square Podcast. If you don’t listen to her podcast, you should. If nobody can make you sew, Pam can.

Tanesha of Crafty Garden Mom. Love her podcast, especially the book reviews.

Sandy of Quilt Cabana Corner. Sandy has a book out. Have you seen it?

Katie of Katie’s Quilting Corner. Katie has made the most amazing progress in her short career as a quiltmaker. If you look “all in” up in the dictionary, you will see Katie’s picture next to the definition.

There will be prizes.

Giveaway #1
Giveaway #1

Sandy and Pam are organizing all that and I am just contributing. I want people to have fun, but I don’t want to do too much work. Mostly I am lazy. After racing around for 3 weeks with holiday preparations, houseguests, having a cold and not sleeping, with a sprinkle of major baking on top, I am tired.

Here is some info about when #BDSI starts at which locations. This chart/information is completely cribbed from Sandy’s post. She did such a good job, I only had to edit it a bit. 😉 Thanks, Sandy.

BDSI Giveaway #2
BDSI Giveaway #2

To help you with the time zone math–starting at midnight at Sandy’s house means that BDSI starts at:

7:00 p.m. Dec. 25 in Honolulu (PST)
9:00 p.m. Dec. 25 in San Francisco (PST)
5:00 a.m. Dec 26 in London
6:00 a.m. Dec 26 in Berlin
2:00 p.m. Dec 26 in Tokyo
4:00 p.m. Dec 26 in Sydney
And, Sandy says, “24 hours is 24 hours no matter where on the globe you’re standing. So, for some of you, BDSI will be ending on December 27th. And that’s OK with me.” We on the West Coast will get an extra 3 or 5 hours, though fat lot of good it will do those of us visiting the rellies or sleeping.

Boxing Day Sew-In will officially end again at midnight EST–as soon as December 26 ends at Sandy’s house (frigid North) –24 hours of fun! Giveaway winners will be announced on December 27th.

Sandy writes “(Thanks to The World Clock time zone converter at www.timeanddate.com, ’cause I sure can’t do that math myself!)” I added San Francisco and Honolulu, because SF is a very important city and who doesn’t love Hawaii?

Follow along on Twitter using the hashtag #BDSI. Even if you do not have a Twitter account, you can go to Tweetchat, enter the #BDSI hashtag and follow the tweets. People have already been tweeting.

____________________________________________

Now to the fun stuff:

I think I am going to continue to work on the Stepping Stones. I have boatloads of Half Square Triangles (HSTs) to make. I have been using the Triangle Technique, but would like to try Katie’s fish technique again. I have done it before, but it has been awhile. The site where she found the Fish ‘template’ does not have a template for the size of HSTs I need and I don’t want to take the time to make one. Perhaps for another project.

I also received some pizza fabric with which I want to make some pillow cases for the Young Man. My mom made him a Food Quilt (yes, he will end up with two eventually) with a pizza border, so I thought some pizza fabric pillowcases would be a nice addition. We’ll see if I get to that. Perhaps in between HSTs.

I also have the G block for the A-B-C Challenge to make

I could do anything on the 26 Projects list and make progress, so the ‘future is wide open’ as that song says.

I have pillowcases planned for the nieces as well.

Never a dull quiltmaking moment around here!

Hope you enjoy BDSI! Look for the Block-a-Long block tomorrow.

Inspiration Saturday

Church St Flowers
Church St Flowers

I was walking the wrong way down Church Street trying to find a shop I had never visited. I happened upon this little flower shop and was charmed. The display is wonderful!

Church Street Cabbages
Church Street Cabbages

I am pretty sure (not being a plant person and all) that these are cabbages. They look like roses and I love them.

Creative Prompt #136: Holly

Heigh Ho, The Holly
Blow, blow, thou winter wind,
Thou art not so unkind
As man’s ingratitude;
Thy tooth is not so keen,
Because thou art not seen,
Although thy breath be rude.
Heigh ho, sing heigh ho, unto the green holly;
most friendship is feigning, most loving mere folly:
Then, heigh ho, the holly!
This life is most jolly.

Freeze, freeze, thou bitter sky,
That dost not bite so nigh
As benefits forgot:
Though thou the waters warp,
Thy sting is not so sharp
As friend remember’d not.
Heigh ho, sing heigh ho, unto the green holly:
most friendship is feigning, most loving mere folly:
Then, heigh ho, the holly!
This life is most jolly.
~William Shakespeare

Holly Golightly

holly tree

European holly

Holly Springs (place in Jan Karon’s Mitford series)

holly berries

Holly Hobbie

Buddy Holly

Mt. Holly

Definition: Ilex is a genus belonging to the family of the Aquifoliaceae, native of Afro-Eurasia, Australia and the Americas, established by Carl Linnaeus. It has over 300 species in the subtropical regions of both hemispheres. The genus includes species of trees, shrubs, and climbers, with evergreen or deciduous foliage and inconspicuous flowers. The genus was more extended in the tertiary and many species have adapted to laurel forest habitat. Ilex is adapted from sea level to more than 2000 meters with high mountain species. Ilex are dioecious and have smooth, glabrous, or pubescent branchlets. The plants are generally slow-growing but over time can reach more than 10 m. The genus name is derived from the Latin (Acer = acute & folium = leaf). Many are evergreen tree with some species growing to 25 m tall. Type species is mediterranean Ilex aquifolium described by Linnaeus

Originally the name of “ilex” was that of the european species (Ilex aquifolium ), many representatives of the genus Ilex were also called by the common name Holly because of the obvious resemblance. In Roman times, the Roman people in Latin language originally designated as Ilex the evergreen oak, named today scientifically (Quercus ilex). The leaves of the Holly actually recall those of the oak.

Have a Holly Jolly Christmas!

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, and how your work relates to the other responses.

The Creative Prompt Project, also, has a Flickr group, which you can join to post your responses. Are you already a member? I created that spot so those of you without blogs and websites would have a place to post your responses. Please join and look at all of the great artwork that people have posted.

Stepping Stones Revised

Stepping Stones Revised
Stepping Stones Revised

The only quiltmaking I have gotten done in the past few days is in my head and on EQ. I decided I would rather have a self border on Stepping Stones. I thought the border they had looked nice, but a bit unfinished. This is the current border I am planning on making.

TFQ pointed out that the green in the border looks good in the border, because I have more green in the center blocks in the EQ drawing. I have to make sure that I have enough green in the actual quilt.

I am at the difficult point in this quilt where I am over it, so I need to make some progress so i don’t have to add it to the 26 Projects list. I hope to make some progress, even a miniscule amount today or tomorrow so I feel like I am actually sewing. There is a possibility since all of my houseguests are gone until Christmas Eve and it is some kind of rule that I can’t sew on Christmas, so it is ok that they will be here. They may not even sleep in my guest/workroom since they hate walking up the 3 flights of stairs. Perhaps I’ll pretend I am doing last minute wrapping and go sew. 😉

Spiderweb Revisited

Spiderweb
Spiderweb

One thing I have learned (or hope I have learned)is that projects get stale for me. This means that I need to focus on them, get them done and move on. Have I said this before? I think so. I am reiterating it here.

I have a stack of various sized strips I have been saving for this project. The longer they sit around, the easier it is for me to forget why I am saving them and the other day I thought I would just send them off to Katie. Then, I remembered why I am saving them and the big problem with finishing this quilt.

1. I have too many blocks. What do I do? Make a giant quilt that comfortably seats 12?
or
make a normal sized quilt and put the extra blocks in the Children’s Quilt Project bin at EBHQ?

2. The border. I want to use the self bordering technique, but I need to sit down and figure out how that will work with this pattern and paper piecing. I just have to do it. I never seem to do it.

I really want this quilt off my mind, so…

Soon, I promise.

Block-a-Long #35: Floorplan

Floorplan #35
Floorplan #35

I couldn’t think of a good name for this, but Floorplan came to mind and it kind of fits. This has more pieces, but is still pretty straightforward and I am providing the Floorplan rotary cutting directions.

This block would look good with five fabrics, but you could also use four.

If you have made blocks or a quilt from these patterns, please post a link in the comments section of the relevant block or on the AQ Block-a-Long Flickr group. I would love to see what you have made.

Stepping Stones

I have really not turned on my sewing machine in two weeks. A little here and there, but nothing major since Thanksgiving. I am scraping the bottom of the barrel for blog posts as a result. I am planning to ignore the world (possibly in my pajamas) all day today and work on this project.

Stepping Stones
Stepping Stones

As I mentioned before, I got this pattern from a Pam and Nicki Lintott book. One thing that is very confusing is that they have written the pattern for one line of fabric. I am not using that line, so I had to translate and that proved difficult for me. I don’t like the directions very much. I don’t think they are bad, but they don’t really work for the way I work.

So, earlier this week, I sat down with EQ7 and made a rendition of the quilt. This helped me wrap my head around the project a little more. This exercise coupled with the math that TFQ did for me when she was here  made me less frustrated and excited about this project again. I organized a bit last night while the boys were out, so I am ready to sew like crazy.

Creative Prompt #135: Clouds

cumulous

rain clouds

cloudy day

Cloud Appreciation Society

Definition: A cloud is a visible mass of liquid droplets or frozen crystals made of water and/or various chemicals suspended in the atmosphere above the surface of a planetary body. They are also known as aerosols. Clouds in Earth’s atmosphere are studied in the nephology or cloud physics branch of meteorology. Two processes, possibly acting together, can lead to air’s becoming saturated: cooling the air or adding water vapor to the air. In general, precipitation will fall to the surface; an exception is virga, which evaporates before reaching the surface.

in the cloud

save to the cloud

big fluffy clouds

cirrus

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

iCloud

cloud formation

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, and how your work relates to the other responses.

The Creative Prompt Project, also, has a Flickr group, which you can join to post your responses. Are you already a member? I created that spot so those of you without blogs and websites would have a place to post your responses. Please join and look at all of the great artwork that people have posted.