Thursday, May 31, 2012

The Constant Blogger

Today is the final day of participation in the Blogathon 2012---I did a post a day for the month of May.  I not really sure my goals were met (increase readership [I did gain a follower then lost one] get over my self-consciousness with regard to writing, write better, and stop being so damn lazy already) but it has been interesting.  At times it felt like an unpaid job, and at other times it was a piece of cake, at times I whined I had nothing to say (thanks for listening, Natalie) but amazingly did say something, at other times I woke up and actually looked forward to posting.  All told, I don't believe I'll be joining Bloggers Anonymous anytime soon!

I've learned a few things about myself along the way.  Writing doesn't come easy to me, it's hard work.  I'm still trying to decide if I like it.  I take myself way too seriously and coupled with my perfectionist ways, are not a good mix.  Many times I avoid posting because I am lazy or, get this, I cannot come up with a post title!  There is much I need to work on. And I think posting two to three times a week is what I should aim for.  That's it. 

Thanks for visiting ~talk to you soon~








Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Sewing

Here's the latest Sow-A-Long block that Randy posted this past Sunday.  I think I'm cheating with that brown dotted fabric lumping it with the Civil War reproductions but I couldn't resist using it.
I pressed all the seams open and that helped immensely getting the block to lay flat.  The blocks are all six-inches finished.
Because the HSTs are small, two-inches unsewn, I've been making them a bit larger and then trimming them down to size.  I originally used a small square ruler but it kept slipping until I tried my very large fifteen-inch square ruler.  It looks silly but is really stable!
Next up, more work on my Ugly Fabric Challenge---the green batik being the ugly one.
This is the collection of uglies I received.
And part of a block I made.  I am having a difficult time working in my favorite, the vegetable print on the lower right.  I have until October to figure something out. 
Lastly, a picture of some baby heirloom tomatoes.  I've been seeing these recently at Fresh Market and thought I'd try them.  My understanding is they are not hybrids and are from historical seeds, the way tomatoes used to look before big agriculture got involved.
Talk to you later~

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Wordle Day

It's Wordle Day at Blogathon 2012.  Wordle is a service that generates a word cloud using the text most frequently found in the analyzed text.  Make your own here.
Thanks for stopping by~

Monday, May 28, 2012

Memorial Day

Remembering those who have died in military service for our country so that we might be free, thank you~

Sunday, May 27, 2012

Out Of The Bag

I started work in earnest today for the In The Bag ~ Ugly Fabric Quilt Challenge.  I kept some of the fabric that went along with my uglies that I  originally pulled, a 'first draft' if you will, but mostly changed direction for the project.  Here's the first draft fabrics
I found 2.5 yards of this wonderful floral in my 'deep stash' and fell in love all over again with it. It's from 2004 and it so vivid in person.  I think I might use it as a border.  I sure hope it works as I have never been able to successfully pick border fabric at the very beginning of pulling fabrics for the quilt.  I've learned to wait under the majority of the top is through.  It's amazing to me to run into quilters who can pick everything right down to the binding and backing for their quilt and have it all work out.  I suppose that it what the intent of the layer cakes, jelly rolls, and charm packs is sold alongside the matching yardage~no thinking necessary!  What I've chosen is all from my stash.  I had a hard time coming up with that turquoise~it's not a color I use very often.
Here's a sneak peak at my first block before sewing. 
I am bending the rules a bit:  I am substituting that upper purple for the lower one even though the lower one is an 'official ugly'.  Its quality was, well, not up to par with the others.  It's too bad because I really liked it. 
Thanks for stopping by~ 


Saturday, May 26, 2012

Caught Up

I am caught up with the Sow-A-Long.  This is Road To Fortune.  I ended up making two blocks as I made HSTs by mistake and decided to make a basket block with some of them.
Here's that one. 
Then I needed to sew the last block in the 2011 Designer Mystery BOM from the FQS.  I emailed Kimberly Jolly this morning and asked where the finished quilt was and she pointed me in the right direction.  I think I'll probably come up with something on my own as I am not nuts about what's offered.  I also modified the last block, something I have been doing throughout the year long series.  I just wasn't crazy about those tiny pieces in the middle and on the outer edge.  It looked like a variation on the Memory block so I went with that.
I bought a pamphlet back when I first started making quilts that has 171 different blocks with directions in 12-inch and 9-inch sizes.  It has come in so handy through the years I marvel that I only paid $7.50 for it. 
Talk to you later~


Friday, May 25, 2012

Friday

Not much sewing today---I only made two of three six-inch blocks for the Sow-A-Long.  This one is Yankee Puzzle which reminds me of a swastika.  I'm hoping it will just blend in with the other blocks once I get the top sewn together.
And this one's Aunt Sukey's Choice.  I pretty much stayed with the colors Randy used for hers. 
I had more to do but my daughter dragged me to the movies to see 'Chernobyl Diaries'.  The movie was so-so---a bit creepy and a little suspenseful but not much---we never get to truly see the scary creatures, just glimpses.   
Talk to you later~


Thursday, May 24, 2012

I Sewed!

Once I got into the sewing room today I remembered I had started making what Rosemary Youngs calls Quilt Blankets for a charity project she's started in Africa.  More info here.  I sent her a big box of culled fabric from my stash last month and ran across some orphan blocks that I just knew I'd never make into a quilt.
Following Rosemary's directions, there's no batting, the backing is flannel, sewn right-sides-together and then turned right-side out eliminating the work of a binding.  The edge is ironed flat, then topstitched on all four sides. I used a variety of the original Aunt Grace fabrics from the 90s.   This one's about 30 by 40 inches.
These blocks aren't too old but I lost interest in continuing to work with them.  I had a stack of fat quarters of the whole line that I had been hoarding since I bought them in 1999.  I made a couple of tops with them but they're just so darn stiff and thin!  That stiffness just doesn't improve with washing either.  It is really remarkable the evolution cotton fabric has taken in the last 10 to 15 years.  Anyway, I got both finished today and will mail them off tomorrow.  I am hoping to get to make some more Sow-A-Long blocks from over at Randy's.
Thanks for stopping by~

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Call Me Naive

This is so disappointing.  I signed up for the Fat Quarter Shop's 2011 Designer Mystery Block of the Month a year ago and have been avidly awaiting their arrival in my mailbox each month.  I did not buy the finishing kit as I wanted to know what the finished quilt would look like before I committed.  Apparently I was naive.  I figured there would be a 'reveal' of sorts on the FQS site or their blog of the finished quilt.
::sigh::

 This picture is from the FQS but it's not very helpful.  It's odd as the 2012 Designer Mystery BOM program is much more forthcoming as this picture reveals,
::sigh::
 I guess I am destined to troll Flickr and quilting blogs in the next few months to catch a glimpse of what Joanna Figueroa designed for the finish. 
If any reader's can direct me to a picture, I'd be most appreciative!
Happy sewing~ 


Tuesday, May 22, 2012

I Miss Sewing

I was hoping to get to sew today but no luck.  I haven't sewn in eight days and am getting antsy!  I had a few errands to do, and collect my key from the pet-sitter, which was almost a total disaster.   It was the very first time we used Janice to watch the cat and my daughter's parakeets.  I gave instructions in person and also left typed instructions which apparently Janice ignored.  In a nutshell, the birds had no seed for two to three days!  Thank God they survived, but the poor little things! But I digress, back to sewing...
This quilt was the Strip Or Be Square for March at my local quilt shop.  This class meets once a month with the fabric revealed but not the pattern.  The book used for the class is More Layer Cakes, Jelly Roll and Charm Square Quilts by the Lintotts.  
Sorry I cannot remember what fabric was used, one of the French General lines?  Love the soft, mushy look of it.  With luck, I will get back in the sewing room tomorrow.
Talk to you later~


Monday, May 21, 2012

Haiku For You

eye of the quilter
drawn to color and texture
must create vision

             

cotton obsession
shopping fulfills eagerness
sewing satisfies
 

                               pistachio glimpse                             
long tail and legs hurry by
genus Anolis


          
ode to a lizard
ancient body wrought tiny
connoisseur of bugs
 
Today is Haiku Day for Blogathon 2012 that I have been participating in this month.
Thanks for stopping by~

Sunday, May 20, 2012

Latin Honors

We returned late last night and I spent most of the day getting the laundry done and the house sorted out before sneaking out to a movie and dinner.  Can't say I recommend the movie but I did enjoy Rachel Weisz's acting.
The weather was picture perfect in St. Louis---more pictures tomorrow.  Here's a pic of the summa cum laude graduate out to dinner on The Hill.  I can't believe my daughter graduated with Latin Honors!  It's a weird thing to realize your child is better educated than you are---quite humbling.  It's so good to have her home again.
Talk to you tomorrow~






Saturday, May 19, 2012

Rail Fence Top

Here's another rendition using my Civil War Reproduction fabrics.  I was on automatic sewing these tops up while streaming the Orlando Trial (I can't bring myself to attach a name to the trial in view of its outcome) last June. 
A closeup look at the top.
I think this was one of the last tops I made so the Civil War fabrics were running low so I added some fabric from my stash.  This is my last scheduled post---hope to be back blogging tomorrow from home.  Keeping my fingers crossed Blogger does what I've told it to.  Thanks for looking.
Talk to you later~

Friday, May 18, 2012

Another Top

Continuing on from yesterday, I'm not nuts about this one, but it sure did use up some fabric.

Here's a closer look.
Thanks for stopping by~

Thursday, May 17, 2012

Continued

This is quilt two from the Reproduction fabric marathon I talked about yesterday.

And a close-up.  I apologize for the wrinkles.  No time to press them out.  These tops are large!  I really need to resolve to get them quilted.  More tomorrow.
Later~

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Pomp and Circumstance

I'm on my way to St. Louis for my DD's college graduation, yay!  For the next few days I've scheduled some pictures of quilts I made during  June 2011 but never shown.  It was during that famous six-week trial in Orlando, Florida.  I think you know who I mean.  I think of them in my mind as The Trial Quilts.  I had a large basket of Civil War Reproduction fabrics and decided to sew until I ran out.  I made almost a top a week! No patterns used but they're all simple and went together fairly quickly.  And no, I never did get to the bottom of the basket but did make a huge dent.  Stay tuned.
Talk to you later~

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Day Fifteen

The movie theater we went to yesterday is located in an old historic district of my town.  The area was built in the mid 1920s and contains one-story masonry bungalows, stucco-finished in the Mediterranean Revival Style. 
They aren't very large--maybe 30 feet across.

This one's for sale.  I think it used to be a cafe that went out of business.  They painted it a bright yellow in hopes of selling it but it's been on the market awhile.
This one is a beautiful shade of periwinkle which did not come out in the picture.  All in all, an enjoyable walk from the public parking lot to the art theater.
The movie was wonderful.  It's in French with English sub-titles--about an immigrant teacher from Algiers and his relationship with his class of twelve year olds---funny and heartwarming and it will have you wanting to learn French by the time the movie's over!
Back to quilt-related things tomorrow~