Black and White

As I mentioned yesterday I started a project from the book Black and White Quilts By Design by Kay M. Capps Cross. It is paper piecing, something I swear I will never do again after completing the one I am working on.

But this project was so appealing I had to give it a go.

It calls for 20 8 inch blocks. And I had enough of a variety of blacks and whites in my stash that I didn't have to buy any. These are my blocks so far.

This is why I always say I will not do paper piecing! See that 'problem' at the end of the polkadot piece? Aargh! I find myself doing this quite frequently. And of course it is never one of the last pieces sewn so it would be easily corrected!

So far I have had 4 blocks with this problem! Does anyone else do this? I think I must zone out, lost in thought just cruising along listening to music or an audio book. The author suggests using Sulky Soft 'n Sheer rather than paper for the foundation. I am not familiar with this product but apparently it is a permanent, lightweight, nylon stabilizer that you don't (can't) remove. Less bother with paper pieces and worry over distorted stitches. Now that's appealing. I plan on finishing the top today so completed pictures tomorrow. And be sure to check out The Black and White Quilt Challenge Project to see lots more Black and White projects.

Adventures In Cardioland!

I should have known better. I mean I was in the midst of a Bad-Things-Come-In-Threes karma, times two. First my bad fall right before Christmas, a trip I was looking forward to was canceled, a good friend died,a family pet died, and our house was broken into. Someone really needed to take me aside and tell me now was not the best time to schedule a physical. Well, lacking such a prescient person in my life, I scheduled. So, I don't know why I was so surprised when the doctor wanted me to have a stress test done. Eek!

No food 4 hours prior and (the worst part) no caffeine 12 hours prior. In view of the raging caffeine-withdrawal headache I had come appointment time (3:00 pm), I regretted not getting up at 2:30 am and having a cup! I was super nervous remembering all the stories I'd heard of people having a heart attack while being tested. I decided to ask and get some reassurance. Hah! The nurse said "oh, yes, it doesn't happen often but it does happen". Yikes! "But," she continued, "this is a great place to have one!!! We're all certified in ACLS and the doctors are nearby". Great. Well, I made it through but my EKG at rest and exercising showed "abnormal changes". Double yikes! I had to go back for a Nuclear Stress Test which is essentially like the regular stress test on the treadmill but at the end they inject you with a radioactive dye and take pictures of your heart. Then because I had the test done on a Friday, I had to wait until Monday for the results and all is fine!!! Apparently I am just someone who shows a quirky EKG, a not uncommon problem in women.

In between all my tests I found this book at the library. I highly recommend it. I did one of the projects, more about that and pictures next time.
Thanks for stopping by.

Vintage Quilt Top

I thought I'd share an old quilt top I bought off eBay. I don't know much about dating fabrics but I think it's from the 1940s or 50s.

It's in great shape except for a very slight musty smell. I still can't believe I paid so little for it.

Can't you just see it spread on the grass out in the country with a wicker picnic basket sitting on top?

That cute little black and white check appears in the center of all the blocks.



This is my Jelly Roll from Saturday's Jelly Roll Jubilee class at a LQS. The fabric is Oh-Cherry-Oh by Moda.

The class sample was made up in the Friendship Braid pattern from the Jelly Roll Quilts book. It was modifies to include a small inner border and that is what the yellow fabric is for; red for the outer border. It's such a sweet cheery fabric line. Thanks for stopping by!

New Addition

Meet my new sewing machine! I have wanted a truly portable machine for quite awhile and finally started looking about a week before my computer was stolen. I first looked at the Baby Lock Natalie (love the name!) but thought the machine was rather cheaply made and the fact that the 1/4 inch foot was $53 was a big turnoff. Who in their right mind would pay that when the machine itself was only $199? I love what I got! It has so many features, needle up/down, alterable needle drop position, and a start/stop button so you can sew without a foot pedal! And it weighs only 12 pounds.

This is a quilt made from the Jelly Roll Quilts book. It's called Bars of Gold in the book. It looks deceptively easy, and it is except for sewing the columns of bars together. I found I had to pin at every bar after carefully matching the seams to the prior column. I resolved to make all my quilt kits in 2009 and that is where this fabric came from.

When I opened the kit, the directions were missing. Either I never received the directions (bought off eBay) or they were lost. I made mine following the photo in the book rather than the directions. The difference being the width of the sashings. The directions have the sashings cut the same width as the borders but I did not have enough solid blue for that.

And for some strange reason the strips were cut lengthwise so the directional ones run kind of funny.

Don't you just love the chicks? There were quite a number of Aunt Grace fabrics I hadn't seen before.

Lastly, my house block for the March Block-of-the-Month from Forever Green Quilts completed yesterday. Wish I'd used a different green for the door. The block directions are posted on the 15th of each month and are available for 2 months.

Celebrate!

Happy National Quilting Day! I spent the morning at one of my LQSs browsing all the new fabric and sitting in on a lecture of a class, The Strip Club. It seems a lot of quilt shops are sponsoring classes utilizing Jelly Rolls as they are very popular right now. The shop I went to this morning uses the book, Jelly Roll Quilts by Pam and Nicky Lintott, a mother and daughter design team out of the UK.

I bought this book when it first came out and highly recommend it. There are 16 quilts featured, all using Jelly Rolls plus additional fabric. The directions are clear and the quilts varied and generally easy to make. I had a question with the directions with one of the quilts and emailed Pam Lintott. She answered very quickly and cordially! So far I have made two of the quilts (pictures next time) and am ready to start a third.
Did you know that National Quilting Day has been recognized for 18 years? That and lots more info over at the National Quilting Association.
Well, I am off to my sewing room and hope everyone got a chance to do some sewing today! Thanks for stopping by.

Mr. Lucky

Friday, February 20 started out like any other day. I was particularly lazy that day and violated my routine of grocery shopping in the morning and didn't leave until just after noon. I also didn't take my MacBook Pro computer off the Family Room sofa like I usually do. I was only gone for a little shy of 1 1/2 hours. It was after I had carried all the groceries in that I noticed our sliding glass doors looked "funny". A quick glance to the sofa revealed no computer nor charger. I think this was when I began to shake. I will add what I did next only because fellow quilters will relate so well. I ran to my sewing room, which is just behind the Family Room, to make sure my Bernina was still there! The police had quite the chuckle over this detail so I tend to leave it out when my listeners are non quilters. The police "dusted" for fingerprints and it seems our crook knew to wear latex gloves. I had a borrowed PC but I'm a Mac girl and well, it just wasn't the same. Nothing was backed up, so I lost pictures and bookmarks and personal information. The sense of violation I felt afterward shocked me. After much investigation by the police, I have come to accept that it"s gone and I have a new computer now. It is different enough that some new learning needs to occur but that is good. And it has Time Machine, a built in system for backing up my computer information.
I've done quite a bit of sewing and managed to do two classes since I last posted. I will post pictures next time. Thanks for stopping by.