Success!

Remember that block that had me going yesterday? The "wonky" compass block. Bless those of you who encouraged me with your comments to carry on. I did just that last night. I was home alone and it was quiet enough to give my brain some time to think. As mentioned in my last post, this block was pulled from the back of the fabric closet with high hopes. But I was working with no instructions as to how I was supposed to proceed with the corners- I had already pieced the four large squares and remembered something from the class (way back when) about lining up the round compass, marking, pinning, cutting. The actual steps?? Beats me. So being a smart, competent quilter -I just cut and pinned and hoped for the best. I wasn't getting it- or so I thought. Once I reverse appliqued the background, removed the horrid exam table paper the teacher swore by (never again- everyone else loved it, I had the worse time, it was too thin for my liking) and gave the piece a good pressing- well, goodness gracious! Not as bad as I thought it would be, and it actually laid flat! But alas. The RR center was to be 18" (finished) and I was only at 17". No fear- somewhere in the back of the closet was the baggie of left over fabrics- in no way was I going to make more than 1 of these puppies! My original intent was to border the compass with the darker fabric and bring it up to size. Simple...nice. But there in the bag was a stripe from a past Louis and Clark collection with a lovely border as well. It was creamy, pretty and I bet myself that if I used just the border I could do something spiffy! Rule of thumb...don't get overly excited before measuring how many inches you need and how many you have. I knew right off there wasn't enough to miter the corners. That was fine- I'd just make straight cuts. Attached top and bottom and loved it. Cut the other border off and oops...not enough! I was about 6 " shy. Now what- I had my heart set on doing this. Why of course...when in doubt, use corner stones. Every quilter's best friend in a pinch. With the new border, the dark corner stones to match the large compass points and a huge smile on my face- the RR center block is done! It is of course now 2" bigger than the requirements, but I think all will deal. How does it look?




I also am churning out friendship stars for a swap. We were given a focus fabric and let loose to make scrappy stars! Funny how we all put the focus in the center of our blocks so far....like minds I guess. My block is the gold star- the others are arriving day by day. I think this is going to look awesome when it is all put together.

And last but not least, I have been making my "Sylvia's Bridal Sampler" blocks. It was going to be a personal challenge between a quilting buddy and myself, but her life took on more stress than it should lately. I don't have the heart to add more, so I decided I'd just follow along and do the Block a Week Challenge set up at the sampler site. Those who are doing it are up to week 5. I'm just getting started, but got 4 of the 5 blocks done this afternoon. I've only gotten to take a photo of this week's block- H-8: Pinwheel. There are 140 something 6" blocks in the sampler based on the quilt in the book The Master Quilter. Everything for this one will come from my stash. I had fun opening my shaker cabinet and looking for large cuts of backgrounds- three to be exact. From there it was off to the dresser for Fat Quarters and Half-Yard cuts. I'm using the colorway from the original, but in my own personal taste...repros- what else! The suggested color for the pinwheel is red. Pink is the red family so....

Goodness it has been a productive day. I did have to stop momentarily for the frantic, I've lost a hermit crab long- distance phone call! Yes, Herm (or was it Herb?) one of my youngest DD's latest acquisitions was boldly exploring the large living space in the student house; she "turned her back for just one second" and he was gone! I tried to be very supportive, suppressing the urge to giggle more than I was giggling already. At least she is alone now, so no doctors or technicians to run in the door and stomp on poor Herm (or is it Herb?). He was discovered seconds later in a hole in the room's computer table. So as she ran to get a "utensil" from the kitchen to aide in getting crabby out of the hole I hung up the phone shaking my head and by the return call all was well. Never a dull moment here is there? I shutter to think what might happen when they all - DD, Herm and "brother" crab Herb arrive home from Kentucky the end of April. Mr. Goober Beagle may find himself a tasty treat or two.

My muse has gone into hiding!

I spent the day trying to make this compass block work. I think it might be getting there, but I'm really not sure. I shouldn't be too harsh until the reverse applique is done, but I had higher hopes for it, I think. Maybe it should just be sent back to "the vault". I hate to waste the hours spent trying to save it. My intent was to save it from a life of darkness in the back of the project closet and use it as the medallion for a round robin I am doing with a small group of quilt friends. The third round instructions tell us to place the block "on point", so I didn't want to make anything that could be construed as a one-way design. Thus the compass block. Decisions, decisions!! If I decide I really do hate this block I have to get my brain and my machine in top form tomorrow and get a new design knocked out! Just when I need all my brain cells, they have decided to take a vacation.
I'll let you all know the final outcome when I know it myself. Tonight will tell, I guess.
Ever have those days where your muse goes into hiding???

Things That Make Me Happy

Isn't this lovely?? There are days in my life when the goodness of friends just blows me away. I am touched, and feel almost unworthy of the kindness. This lovely collage of old sewing items and quilted piece was a belated Christmas gift from my dear friend Barb Nichols. Barb is a spry 70+ woman that I'd like to grown up to be just like. She has a quick wit, a loving heart and is so full of fun she makes spending the day with her outrageously funny. Yesterday was just such an occasion. Actually, it was guild meeting day. It is the one day each month when several of us get together to catch up on the month's doings. We giggle lots, eat a great lunch and most times there is a Bloody Mary or two involved! Long leisurely lunches...a good thing! I missed last month's get together due to my trip to Kentucky- so this month was particularly fun. Barb was pleased as punch to finally give me (as well as another quilting friend) our "over due" gifts. I was beyond shocked and love it dearly! Originally I thought I'd hang it in my sewing room to admire, but then thought that with the way things are going lately, I'd never see it! Besides, why should every one else in the house be deprived of such a lovely sight? With that in mind, I moved a small old platter I picked up at either an antique mart or a flea market years back and hung my precious collage above the old christening dress from my husband's family. It needs a new nail to bring it up off the peg rack, but I think it is well suited for its new home!


Lucky girl I am! Now all I need to do is find an old ( much better suited) hanger for the dress, and move that pottery basket! It doesn't belong anymore. It will get a new home. Perhaps even though it is whiter and not as old, I should hang my children's christening dress there as well. My own christening dress is in a shadow box in my bedroom- I had to hang it there as my daughter the museum educator said it reminded her of the "dead baby" dresses in historical museums, and it was creepy. Hardly the kind of response I was going for. Wonder how she'll feel about this display!?

On the sewing front, my "big" sewing machine had to go to the "doctor" on Friday, so I pulled out Fiona, my featherweight today. What a joy it is to sew on her. She is such a little work horse. One of the other girls that works with me at the shop came up with a bit of a fun challenge Friday. Feeling in a bit of a silly mood I took the bait! Do I have your curiosity going?? Think pink. Think black. Think palm trees! Now I know you'll all think I've gone off the deep end. Perhaps it is the continuing cold here, maybe we're all looking for a spot of warmth. She set our reveal day for Tuesday. I won't be back home til Friday, so by then I should be able to show you a photo. If I get a chance tomorrow am (before heading off to spend the week at my mom's) I can give you a sneak peek of the batiks...yes, batiks!..involved. I'm out of my comfort zone for a little bit! Should be fun.

Just a few minutes to spare

Seems as if it has been more than the few days since my last post. All is back to normal here, with the usual running around doing. Yesterday it was back to work at the shop with two sessions of my beginner quilting class. Got to love those beginners. I have two mother-daughter teams in my evening class, now that is fun! On the home front, my sister insisted I go and look at a suit she saw at Macy's. Beautiful champagne color with the most beautiful fabric scrolling on the long jacket. She tried it on, but it didn't work for her, and she thought that since it was so "elegant" I should go look at it and give it a try, being the mom of the groom and all. After two phone calls about "the suit", I decided I had best go try it on and see what all the fuss was about. I had Monday off, so it was a good day to get out early and not have to face a crowded mall. I don't know about most of you, but I'd rather go to the dentist and have a tooth pulled than go to a big crowded mall! Long story short, the suit was all it was told to be, it fit beautifully, and I loved it! But it gets better!! The suit orginally retailed for $320, but was on sale for $159. I could handle that with careful budgeting. But wait! Since I never use my store charge anymore, it went inactive and the sales rep. told me if I wanted to reinstate it "today" I could take advantage of an extra 15% off the sale price. Hum....what to do! Oh, I know...go for it and save myself some more money! Won't be using the reinstated card anyway- unless it is to get appropriate shoes. That is another story...urgh...fancy shoes are sooo uncomfortable! Have you seen some of the toes out there....pointer than pointy. Not going to happen. Nor will the stelletos! Can't create a spectacle by falling face first in the middle of the church isle and messing up my nice new suit,now can we?? I have plenty of time for shoes. The wedding isn't until October, but I don't have all the time in the world to execute the perfect Wedding Quilt! So one block done, half of block two is finished and I have to set myself a real stick-to-it schedule to try to finish on time! Below is the first finished block of Vintage Valentine the chosen design!

I am so excited to have finished this block and move along on the others. I think what I have decided to do is get all the large hearts appliqued down and then worry about all those flower petals. Won't seem so daunting a project that way- at least that is what I hope. This afternoon I need to power sew. I have 2 of the same table runner patterns cut and poised to sew. I'm teaching this complicated looking runner that is actually a breeze to do, and being the over-achiever am making two versions. One is a gorgeous large print that I can keep for my house and the other is more whimsical- done in very cute cat fabric that appeared while I was away! The cat renderings are in blue, a color some of you know i don't work in, but it was very sweet and I decided it could be a perfect gift for one of my enabler quilt buddies. Not only does she love blue, but I'm going to start calling her the "cat lady" as there are 5 (or is that 6?) cats at her house now that her daughter has moved back home to save money while finishing up her college degree. She sure does love those felines! Can you think of a better gift! I couldn't.

And with that being said, this girl is off to the sewing room to get a move on. Just wanted to take a few minutes to muse while taking a "lunch break"

Back To Reality

Well, it's back to reality for this girl. Even in the "dead of winter" Lexington, Kentucky is beautiful. If only the horses were out when I snapped this shot of the rolling hills- now that would have been absolutely perfect. One other shot I missed - it was pouring rain at that moment- was a crazy huge castle. An actual castle...stone, 1 stone tower at each corner of the tall stone wall...but the stone castle rose above all that like I was living in Medieval times. I was waiting for a call to the joust, and wondering if there was an actual moat to discourage visitors. The sign near the front gate announced "The Castle Farm of...." of whom we couldn't read. Never did get a chance to find that castle again during the few days I was in the area.

The time in Kentucky was spent getting my youngest daughter set at Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital (www.roodandriddle.com) for the semester's internship. It was a bit overwhelming the first day, but we've heard from her each of the subsequent days and she is very excited by the learning experiences. The past two days have been in the colic barn. Who knows what experiences next week will bring.

Little sewing has been done. But today is another "rest day" and I intend to do just that! I ventured up into the icy cold attic last night to salvage some blocks from a Jan Patek project. Found the finished blocks, but it was just too dark and too cold to look for the other patterns (I'm really close to being done, so they best surface!) and the fabrics I stashed with them. I have vowed that 2007 will be the year to finish some of my favorite UFO's that are near completion and not start anything new until I do. OK...so I commited to a RR back in 2006 (oh doesn't that sound so long ago, now?!) so that will be "new", but nothing else, mark my words.
If you think I can stick to that vow, you are better readers than I...I get so excited about new projects, but I am also trying to be very realistic this year. Let's see if I can hold on to that resolve!
While in the Lexington area, I had hoped to visit with 2 friends, but only got to see one. Sharon lives in the little town of Paris and we had a fun day together, "talking quilting" as her husband Jackie put it when he stopped by the house near lunchtime. I laughed about that - we did a lot of talking about alot of things, but just then we were going through the cedar chest doing just that- "talking quilting". Sharon has some lovely family quilts. Something I envy. Growing up in a family that didn't quilt- well, didn't do much by way of "craft work" there are no heirlooms to speak of. Being in an urban east coast enviroment also means you pay top dollar for someone else's heirlooms as well, so I have never been in the position to own an old quilt of any kind. Maybe one day. There is Ebay after all *smile*.
On my way back from Kentucky I chose to fly through Chicago. We had driven down, so flying back was a must, and Chicago was high on the list of lay-overs so I could visit with my friend Dawn (www.dquilts.blogspot.com). We had the most wonderful morning- breakfast and lots of chatter! How I wish I could have stayed longer, but I had a flight to catch and she a lunch to attend. I have to make a point to head west again...we'd love to sew together, and do some shop hopping...now wouldn't that be great fun.
For now, I will have to settle into my sewing room and start playing catch up on the samples that need finishing, and work on the "for me" project at hand. That will be the center block for the RR I signed up to participate in. I'll have to make a decision soon about what it is to be...I'm leaning towards one of three ideas- a mariner's compass, a new york beauty, or a feathered star. But who knows what may strike me as I sit and contemplate the quilting universe in my applique chair! But for now....well, it is just nice to be home.

What's A Girl To Do - Part 2

Continuing on with the tour of the new improved digs, you are now looking at my Shaker Cabinet. It houses all those "big" yardage pieces- you all know - the ones that would make a "good border" or a "perfect backing". Why is it we buy lots of something we supposedly love and then when the time comes to use it, we love it so much that we can't cut into it?? Am I the only one who feels this way?? Something tells me I'm not. I just hate to admit how much of a fabric junkie I am. Some of the pieces in this cabinet were purchased at the barn sale at the Quilt Barn in KY years ago!! Now there is a goal for 2007-start using what I have! I bet I could if I really tried.

This is my applique chair. It is comfy and I can sit and stitch away the evening, or a Sunday afternoon. Would anyone like to come and join me? The top on the arm of the chair is getting wool appliqued flowers, but they will be done on the machine. The stained glass sunflower (one of my favorite flowers) was a gift from a very talented friend who lives in Texas.

And here we have the one part of the room that didn't get moved! This is my four legged quilting buddy, Miss Izzie! She is a guinea pig with attitude! I asked if she'd like to pose for posterity, but she was too busy attacking her water bottle! Below her is an extra bin of fat quarters, most of which I have been collecting for years...I want to do a blue scrap quilt in civil war reproduction fabrics.
My other quilting buddy wanted his picture taken too...how could I resist that face!

Lastly, I had to share a Christmas gift from my sister. What a beautiful basket! The inside is furnished with two bins to hold my supplies, and she had tucked in this handmade shaker style pin cushion. The top of the basket is the most gorgeously finished piece of wood and hinged so I can open just one side. I think now that things are clean, looking somewhat new and organized I can settle back and get to sewing. Only question is, what is today's project...those wool flowers? A block of the wedding quilt??? Decisions, decisions! Which reminds me. I promised myself I'd make a list of the top 5 projects to pull from the UFOs and work on for 2007. If I work through those I may actually get something finished this year-really finished! Now wouldn't that be just fine!!

What's A Girl To Do?

What's a girl to do when she buys a new cutting station that is almost too big for her sewing room? After careful consideration, and sticking to tradition (you know, new year- clean up the old mess!) she decides that if she was to flip-flop the entire room around it would fit beautifully. Thus you now get to see squeeky clean photos of my little slice of peace !

This first photo is the entry shot into the room. I love having this room because of the bay windows. They are the most perfect place to sew. In the summer it overlooks the gardens in the back as well as the small pond we put in.

Here is my sewing table and peek at the media corner. Need either my NPR or PBS to keep me company on weekends. If there is nothing of interest, well all I have to do is pick a few cd's and pop them in. I also have a personal dvd player thanks to my son, but hummm...which child borrowed it? I'll have to settle for the tv cooking, antique, educational programing for now!

This is the new "Quilter's Station" that started the entire reorganization plan. I love the room it affords me for cutting, planning, and storing. I just didn't think it was "that big"! It was a bit of an impulse buy just before Christmas (merry xmas to me) which my DH slipped me money for in my actual gift. Now that is what I call a sweetie! On each side I was able to tuck my rolling bins that hold my threads, wools, and doll making supplies. My light box is safe and sound, finally as well! You can perhaps get a glimpse of one of the blocks from Vintage Valentine- also know in these parts as "The Wedding Quilt". At the rate I'm moving it may become the 10th Anniversary Quilt! The horse block was a gift to my DD#2 from a quilting friend of mine who knows about our love of all things horses. We (DD and I) are still thinking about how we want to use it. I have a quilt in mind, but not right now. First things first....

The bookshelf was able to stay in place thanks to bins that roll. Since it is somewhat hidden now, I don't have to constantly look at how many "to do" projects I've accumulated! Kind of a mixed blessing, don't you think.

I was able to "steal" this old dresser when my son moved into his own home. It used to be his younger sister's, but he lived with it while he was back home saving for the house he bought with his fiancee. It now houses my fat quarters and half -yard cuts of fabric. It also gives me a place to display a couple of my favorite pieces- my amish doll with her quilt and basket, my collection of Jennifer C. quilting novels and a painted muslin prairie cap. I have also tucked a small Jo Morton piece into one of my favorite reed baskets. On the wall are photos of DD#2 during show season- both blue ribbon moments. I have more to show you...but I've yet to figure out how to do a long continuous piece without losing what I've already mused over! I guess my Saturday activities will have to come in 2 parts. Not a bad idea I think....