mmmm - quilt sandwich

It is almost a quilt -the layers are sandwiched, the ends are hand basted, and the spots for tying are pinned...

Tonight is binding night -then I need to find a house with a/c so I can sit there and tie this thing without dying of heat.

Mythconception? Or not?

From a friend - who is Pegasus:

You Are a Centaur

In general, you are a very cautious and reserved person. However, you are also warm hearted, and you enjoy helping others in practical ways. You are a great teacher, and you are really good at helping people get their lives in order. You are very intuitive, and you go with your gut. You make good decisions easily.

What Mythological Creature Are You?

Boy - Oh - Boy

Little Paul is now home - so now I know which quilt moves up a level in the work pile. The graduation quilt HAS to be finished before Saturday, June 23 - so that one will stay on top until it is done.

I was at the fabric store again yesterday to find backing, border and binding for the "Orange Brick Road" - Plan A fell through, as the brown/gold was only in FQ. Plan B was a gorgeous tan/brown with chocolate brown vines and leaves - but I choked at the price, even with a coupon. Plan C was a peachy orange with tiny cream stars scattered throughout, and a burnt orange "tapestry" print fabric for the binding. It actually ends up lighter and more playful than Plan A would have - and the price was much much much easier to swallow.

Unfortunately - other than the fabric getting washed last night - no progress was made on any of the quilts. The munchkin had other plans for my time - and then I was just out of energy.

Tonight perhaps - because tomorrow is SCRAPBOOKING NIGHT!! Woo Hoo!!

Sneekers

Just had to share this picture - the munchkin and I were out back in his first experience with soap bubbles, and my first experience trying to blow bubbles, take pictures, and keep him safely in the yard, all at the same time.

He pulled me down to sit on the grass, then climbed in my lap to look at the photos we had taken so far. I am not sure if I pressed the shutter, or if he did - but I really like this picture for some reason.

I guess you had to be there...

Brick City

Last night was a productive one, and even though I had a few fat quarters that were a bit skinny, and one that had a flaw right down the middle, I managed to put together the 35 blocks needed for the lap quilt.

This is the rough layout on the living room floor, after some help from my husband in rearranging a few of the blocks. I have them stacked and ready to assemble - which will be tonight's project.

I am still not sure which fabric I want for the border, but have decided that the binding - and probably the backing - will be the chocolate brown with the gold (second row from bottom, middle block). I am putting one layer of soft flannel in the center (my batting of preference) and will tie this one for lack of time (and in deference to the limping walking foot on my machine).

I hope to know more on baby neighbor today - they should be coming home thisafternoon.

Another Brick in the Wall....

When you work at a college that is "affectionately" known as the Brick City - where ALL the buildings are made out of brick - and you have a relative graduating from High School who is coming here for college that you need a graduation present for...

...can you see where this is leading?

Yes - another "brick road" - this one is orange and brown (school colors - looks better than it sounds). Boy is this pattern ever paying for itself! I managed to hit the fabric store on a fat-quarter sale and have been chain piecing turtles and borders and bricks. I have even managed NOT to mix up the colors -but my ironing board is this wonderful rainbow of green and blue and pink and orange.

Still no word on the identity of baby neighbor -but I think s/he has arrived, because there has been no one at home.

So work on the blocks progresses - I will have one 5x5 round "Turtle Crossing" for the baby, one 5x6 "Trouble with Turtles" for the Matriarchal Sister, and one 5x7 "Orange Brick Road" for the "husband's-father's-cousin's-daughter"

Stay tuned...

The Fine Print

Since I think the Matriarchal (Matroniacal?) Sister missed the fine print in the last post...

the 2nd quilt is for my Quilt Teacher (who just happens to be my sister - my OLDEST sister)...

Got it now??? That is where you come in, sis!

(and YOUR quilt may or may not have pink in it - only the neighbor knows)

Show a Little Leg...

...otherwise known as teasing your sister unmercifully!

OK - so now we know that this is a quilting project...

...and the beauty of this pattern adaptation is that it gave me enough blocks to do not ONE, but TWO quilts!!! One for the new baby (the car has been gone since early early this morning - so perhaps we have baby?), and the other for my quilting teacher. They will be similar - but a bit different - and the baby will decide who gets which one, once I know if we have a buddy for Nathan or our very own "girl next door."

At a Turtle's Pace

So now I have the Matriarchal Sister intrigued - she who has developed a love of turtles recently in life, after a close encounter in Hawaii that I have yet to get all the details on...

...but alas, I am not yet at liberty to share. The project is moving at a turtle's pace - actually at a "household with toddler's pace" - a bit slowly - but actually not that far from a shareable stage.

I will throw out a hint... think "Turtle Crossing the Yellow Brick Road"...

And that grinding sound you hear from somewhere near Augusta, GA is the Matriarchal Sister grinding her teeth in impatient frustration!!!

Tee Hee!!!

(oh - and no neighbor baby yet)

Squishy Turtle and Friends

This is about a craft project in progress - but one with a story behind it.

I am quite sure I know when I started collecting turtles - I was living in Japan as an exchange student and had gone on a school trip. We were staying along the coast near a lighthouse one night, and the gift shop had these teeny tiny carved turtles made out of shell. White and purple, and no bigger than the tip of my pinky. I bought two - one to keep, and one that I gave to a friend.

Soon after I returned home, my mother found a wooden carved turtle - nearly identical in style to my tiny one - and about the size of the palm of my hand. And so the turtle collection began. When I returned to Japan, I added a soapstone one from Hong Kong, a jade one from a friend's visit to China, a bamboo one from another trip in Japan (that one comes apart and is all tiny spinning tops), ceramic ones, an incense burner - my rule was that they all had to be different and from that area (hence why I don't have an Austrian Crystal one yet - I have never been to Austria!).

When my son was born, on our first trip with him, we visited my brother and his family, and my sister-in-law and I made our annual trek to Filene's Basement and Marshalls (leaving the baby at home with the boys!). Squishy Turtle and Friends came home with us that day -and ended up being a favorite book for both baby and mommy.

Fast forward two years - and my neighbor is expecting her first child (tomorrow is her due date!) - so I decided to find a copy of Squishy Turtle and Friends for our neighbor-to-be. An over-the-back-fence-chat later, and come to find out my neighbor is a fan of turtles as well.

stay tuned for part 2 of the turtle saga - in which the Matriarchal Sister gets involved - and a peek at what all this turtle talk inspired me to create...

Tending the Garden

I have not been productive lately. The sewing machine sits unplugged (with a stack of projects unfinished next to it), the scrapbook is closed, waiting on the next spurt of pages, and my stamps sit unused.

I have not been idle, though. For at this time of year, when the weather warms, the sun stays up just a little big longer, and everything turns green - I attack my spring cleaning - of the outside! Weeds get pulled, plants get trimmed and moved, new plants are added - and a beautiful layer of mulch is spread over it all.

I am physically exhausted - lots of lifting and pulling and kneeling and twisting has moved muscles I forgot I had - but when I look out on my tulips, or see my little munchkin helping spread mulch - it is all worth it.

Random Road in Springtime

So I finished the quilt - 3:30 PM on the day before my father-in-law was going in for surgery - the munchkin was cooperative and took a nice long nap while I was hand-sewing the binding. I do have pictures - but the camera is at home and I am not. I will update with a photo as soon as I have camera and computer in the same room.

Why "Random Road in Springtime"??? - one word - potholes! Needless to say the mis-cutting at the beginning was not the only "pothole" in this project. A limping walking foot, some mis-measuring, and a rotary cutter run amok are among a few of the bumps along this road. But I really like the way it turned out in the end. I just need to make a tag for it - when it comes back home from the hospital.

-FIL's surgery went well - now for the recovery!!!

Read the Directions TWICE, Sew Once...

or at least that is the way it is SUPPOSED to work...

I am working on a great quilt pattern called "Yellow Brick Road" - made from 12 fat quarters for a lap size quilt. I read the directions, cut out all my fabrics, and then put them aside for a few days. When I returned to begin sewing - I 'should' have reread the instructions -but I jumped right in, confident that I knew what I was doing.

Oops - I sewed too many strips together, and did not realize it until I had further cut them down into the next size component. A phone call to my quilting sister Sue later, I was re-designing the "Yellow Brick Road" and turning it into the "Random Road" - I managed to eek out enough of my redesigned blocks to get the number I needed.

So now I have the 7 rows of blocks sewn together - and am ready to begin the next step - once I get this head cold under control and can focus on matching up my points and seams and keeping it all together. Pictures to follow SOON!

The quilt is a "get well" gift for my father-in-law, who will have knee replacement surgery on the 20th - so I have 10 more days to get my act together and finish it up. At least there is no more cutting involved....

Fighting the Mid-Winter Slump

I am here - and I am working on projects - albeit very very slowly. My sister now calls them WISPS - "works in slow progress" - but I have actually accomplished a few things, like hemming my drapery panels for the dining room (and hanging them right side up!!!), making new cushion covers for my sofa, and starting a quilt. But I will leave that to another post.

But the allure of the sofa, curled up under a warm blanket, is strong on a dark and chilly mid-winter evening! Maybe it is time to finally take up knitting and crochet so I can curl up in comfort and still create. uh oh - not that I need MORE wisps!!!

A Whole Lot o'Cooking Going On

Yesterday for some strange reason I was feeling domestically inclined - AND had the energy to capitalize on it. Starting after breakfast, and finishing around 9:00 PM, I accomplished a batch of chili (split in 2 and in the freezer), a batch of lazy lasagna (split in 2 and in the freezer), a loaf of bread, a batch of cookies, servings of veggies for my toddler (in the freezer), a meatloaf (in the fridge for planned leftovers), plus lunch and dinner for the munchkin and I.

This does not happen often - in fact I cannot ever remember it happening before - but we are stocked up for some dinners now, so I guess that big snowstorm can come and snow us in now - we won't go hungry!

A New Year and UFO's

There have been several news stories lately about UFO's sighted at an airport, or mysterious objects falling from the sky into houses - but in my house the UFO's are "unfinished objects" - and this holiday season saw several around our house. A few tote bags and purses that did not quite make it to the finished pile, some panel curtains that need to be hemmed top and bottom (they are hanging with clips so they are up - just unfinished) and the slipcovers that need to be sewn for my sofa cushions (have had the fabric since mid-October -oops!)

This happens every year - or almost - I bite off more than I can chew in doing handmade projects. Part of it is too many ideas, and too many things that I like to try - that I am always adding projects into the mix up until the last minute. Another is procrastination - but I will address that at a later date (LOL!).

As I get started into 2007 I hope to be better about planning out my projects, using up some of the materials and stash I have had for some time, and donating items that I just really don't have an interest in using anymore. We will see how much that cuts down on the UFO problem - and hopefully my pile of FO (finished objects) will grow more quickly than usual.

Happy New Year!

Almost craft show time...

New booth courtesy of freecycle and DH's construction abilities- check
Inventory and price tags/signage - check
Seed money for cash box - check

Projects that did not make it from the cutting table to the inventory box - check

Seems like there are always some of those- the UFO's (unfinished objects) that get a good start with the best of intentions and somehow just never get to the finish. There are 2 nights left before Saturday morning dawns early - but I am not going to fry myself trying to get them done. When I do my quality suffers -and so do my nerves - and it is not worth it.

They will be waiting when the show is over - and will make nice gifts for someone, or a start on next year's inventory.

Then it is on to finishing the Christmas UFO's - 20 - no 19 - no 18 more days!!! Wow - December is moving a little too fast for me!

The problem with Christmas shopping/crafting all year long...

...is that you need to remember where you have hidden/stashed/stored everything you have done. I usually am good about keeping a written list but not this year. And it is getting near the time to ship everything south to my folks to get there in time. Oh well - if all else fails, at least I have some pictures of things I have made - I can always send those and then find the real items later!!

The best of intentions...

The best of intentions - often get waylaid by my toddler! A day of crafting, of prepping for the craft show, was running fine until nap time - or should I say "lack of nap" time. He just did not want to sleep - until I brought him back downstairs next to where I had the sewing machine, and he promptly fell asleep on the sofa, putting a damper on my sewing for the next several hours, and actually the rest of the day.

I did get 14 items completed - out of my stack of about 30 items I had cut out and prepped, so it was not all bad. Evenings over the next week should finish them up - and the craft show is on the 9th.

Will need to get photos of the booth that DH has constructed out of a pair of old bifold doors. It is so handy to be married to someone who is so handy!!

HodgePodge

That is what life feels like of late - a HodgePodge. One day I am designing and printing a matched set of invitations and reply cards for a Sports Banquet, and the next I am teaching the nicest woman how to make beaded barrettes and hair combs in a continuing education class. My preparation for the craft show is progressing slowly - too many ideas and not enough time so I am having to focus down to a key few items. That is tough. My current motivation is to make jewelery, but there were too many people registering before me selling it, so I am confining my "beads and glitz" to some beaded Christmas ornaments, along with some origami ornaments, some mini-tote bags, and some stationery holders to go with my cards...I think ...

That is today's plan anyway!