Busting My Buttons!

I had to be pushed and shoved into starting the whole blog thing. I really didn't feel that comfortable opening up to the virtual world. My sons encouraged me...they let me know that the vast majority of folks on the web aren't out to get you. I've found that to be true and more. There are many kind and talented folks who are more than willing to share, teach, and inspire. This blog was supposed to be all about fabric and quilts and sewing etc, but, you know, my 3 guys are the most important thing in my life, so they just tend to creep in.
As you can see, both my guys are musicians. They play, (more instruments that I can count) compose, perform and in general live, eat and breathe music. My oldest son called today with the best news. He was almost giddy on the phone. His band is going on tour this summer as the front band for a popular local band. Quite a schedule with shows in Kansas City, St. Louis, Columbia, Cleveland, Chicago and DesMoines. I guess you could call it the midwest tour! He's just 18 and in his first year studying audio engineering, but he REALLY wants to be a rock star. I just want him to have health insurance. (Which he actually has in his day job!) Could a mom be so proud. I remember the day when his godmother bought him that playschool drum. Who knew it would lead to this!

Yippee! I Found It!!!

Sometimes the weather guys just don't tell you to STAY HOME! I was out running errands and went into the grocery store (cold and windy). Came out of the grocery store (blizzard conditions!) Now the weather guy said there might be a "dusting" of snow today. Driving the regular 10 minutes home took 40 minutes. Lots of folks stuck on hills and spinning out all over. Does anyone else go crazy that folks drive in this kind of weather without their lights on!!!! Couldn't see but a few feet in front of the car. Enough said.


I stopped by Half Price Books this morning (before the snow incident). I love this store. You just never know what you might find. Well, I found a quilt book (Quilt Style Cool and Cozy Coverlets by Tammy Tadd) with a pattern called Hanky Panky which uses vintage hankies in a quilt. I have this collection that I have always wanted to incorporate into a quilt, but I didn't know how to do it. I think this is something I could accomplish and I love how it looks. Only problem is...having to cut into those hankies. Now that is going to be tough to do. This project definitely goes on the things to make list.

Quilt-A-Long Update

The weather today is the definition of "RAW", gray skies with 20 mph wind and 20 degrees. Quite a change from the 60 degrees of a couple of days ago. Kinda makes me grumpy. Fudge and I cut our morning walk ridiculously short and retreated inside to get warm. On the glass half full side, what a good excuse to cuddle up with a quilt and get that hand quilting done!
Other good news!!! I'm up to date! All 11 blocks done for the quilt-a-long on Crazy Mom Quilts. Finished 9, 10, and 11 yesterday. I only have one that may need to be redone. It is about a 1/4 inch bigger than all the other blocks. Who knows what I might have done on that one. I really like how it has all come together and I have learned so much. One more block to go, putting it together and finishing it up. I've been thinking about how I might want to set these blocks...something different maybe? Something to think about! Amanda Jean will be starting another quilt-a-long in the next couple of weeks...stars this time. She warned that it will include many triangles. EEK! I do need to challenge myself to learn more, so I'm in!

Playing With Value

Ok, I admit it, I'm supposed to be hand quilting that wedding quilt...but I found myself playing with this instead. I've been wanting to do something for a good friend of mine who just loves brown. I thought maybe I could play around with value instead of color. I'm not really too good with the whole value concept...I get so distracted by color. It's a log cabin block...I improvised of course, but the plan was to let the solid form a bold graphic design with the other values moving the eye through the block. Not sure it was very successful. I might do a couple more and see if I like it any better.

Simply Fabulous!

My hubby and I have been trying to "get away" for about the last 6 months, but with teens and busy jobs which require lots of travel we just couldn't seem to get it done. Soooo, the plan was to fly to Chicago Saturday morning, enjoy the city, see the show, grab a fab dinner and be home by 10. No fuss, no muss, not too many arrangements and cheap tickets using our miles to boot! Sounds like a plan, right? Friday night I happened to ask the better half if the show was at 2 or 2:30. He came into the room looking sheepish and said, you're never going to believe what I did. Our tickets were for 8pm. Only one small problem...we would need to be on our way to the airport to fly home right after the curtain went up. This is so just like us.
Bottom line, ended up staying the night in the windy city...saw the show (6th row center)...had a fab dinner, walked around the city etc, etc. Made some tasty lemonade out of a lemony situation. January in Chicago seems like a crazy time to go, but it's beautiful if you know how to bundle up. No crowds and there are abundant hotel deals. Can't say enough about the show and the theater, but the best part was some uninterrupted time with my hubby. Now that's simply fabulous!

Cravings...Food and Fabric

Oooooh....cravings. Burger and fries with all the trimmings. Can't say that it wouldn't be delicious, but, the picture will just have to do. I'm on a new workout routine. And when I say new I really mean NEW.
A friend and I split the cost of four sessions with a personal trainer so that we could have a workout plan that would really make a difference. My hour long "workout" was for pansies...after what I did today. Same hour, but oooh what a difference. This woman really knows her stuff and how to make me WORK. Resisted the burger, but I didn't do so well on the fabric front. Just finished an online order. Found a sale of flea market fancy fabric and just couldn't resist. I've never made anything from Denyse Schmidt fabric and so I just can't wait for it to arrive. Not many posts this week since I've been working on only one thing...hand quilting the Big Day wedding quilt. My finger tips are tender, but getting tougher. I just have the borders left to quilt and then on to the binding. I really want to get this finished so that I can satisfy my other craving...to get on to other projects. I spent a few hours (more than I meant to) looking a photos of quilts on flickr. So many beautiful pieces that folks have made. I put a bunch of fabric sets on the design wall today (during a quilting break) and I'm itching to do some cutting. Just have to wait until next week. I'm heading to Chicago tomorrow to see Wicked. Have a great weekend.

Let There Be Light - Help!

You would think it wouldn't be that difficult to light a room that is only 12' by 9' and has one west facing window. Last weekend my husband and I took out the ceiling fan and replaced it with a light fixture with three halogen bulbs that I can adjust. That has definitely made a difference, but I still feel the room is dim and it's hard to see when I sew.
Any ideas fellow quilters? What works for you?

The Big Day is Coming Along

Whew! 1/2 inch of red fabric left over...I thought for sure I would run out and be up a creek without a paddle. (Can't remember where I got the red...) I read one smart quilter's blog and she labels her fabrics with where and when purchased. I, however, was not that forward thinking. I think this might be a good thing to start doing.
I had to redo one block which ended up too short. Uhg! It was fun arranging the blocks...a turn here and there and the quilt looked totally different. I just have to piece the back, baste and I'll be ready to go. The wedding is February 9th...what was I thinking? My goal was to be ready to start hand quilting on Monday. If all goes smoothly (and when does it really?), I might make it. I read and read on how to do borders so that the whole quilt would lay flat. I measured and measured and pinned and pinned. I think I finally understand how the border thing works. Back to the grind...

The Power of a Quilt

I was just reading about passage quilts on Sherri Wood's website courtesy of a post by Dioramarama. The process of making a passage quilt seems to mimic the grieving process. What a wonderful way to honor a loved one and to move toward healing after a loss. I looked at the examples she has posted on her flickr page. Take a minute to check them out. The power of a quilt...

Baby It's Cold Outside

We've had snow again and now it's definitely January in Kansas City...single digit temperatures make it a great time to be inside sewing. Cleaning house or doing the mound of laundry would probably keep me warmer, but this is soooo much more fun. Started a new quilt yesterday. My nephew is getting married in February and I've been toying around with a quilt for them and I've been playing with this idea. I don't know much about their (her) style, but they've asked for a red kitchenaid mixer in their registry, so I jumped on the red thing and came up with this. The print is a 30's reproduction, Grandma's Garden (something old), the design is contemporary, (something new), The center square will be the only blue center (something blue)....you get the picture. I think it's fun. Have to finish it up because the date is approaching fast. I want to hand quilt it (I hand quilt everything), so it's going to be a challenge to finish. I hope to finish up all the blocks today. I have all the centers done for the nine blocks. Here are the first four.

It's Finished!

I'm so excited and proud....the first project of 2008 that is completely finished. Square Motion is wallhanging size and at this point I have no idea what I'm going to do with it. This was my first attempt at doing something improvisationally. I'm especially pleased with the hand quilting. Ok...enough already! On to the the other WIPs.

Fudge looks pleased too, don't you think!

Quilt-A-Long Progress

This has been more like speed quilting than a quilt-a-long for me. That's what I get for jumping in 2 months after the start. I am pleased with what I've done so far. I decided to use my red stash. (I love red and white quilts.) Thanks to Amanda Jean...I have already learned so much and discovered that triangles aren't as bad as I anticipated. In fact, block 3 is my favorite. I hope to be up to date by the end of next weekend. That means I have block 5 to finish and 6-9 to do by Sunday. I had the most trouble with block 4. I'm not sure if I'll keep it or trash it and make another one. Here they are:
Blocks 1 through 5

Quilt-A-Long

I decided to participate in Amanda Jean's quilt-a-long. It's already on week 8, but I decided to start anyway and see if I can catch up. She's posted instructions for one block each week on her blog, Crazy Mom Quilts (it started way back in November). I think this might be a great way for me to practice and MAYBE get better at this. I started tonight and I've finished block one, and I've got block 2 and 3 cut out. Not a bad start. Block 3 has triangles..YIKES! Could be a mess! I'll post pictures as the blocks are completed. These blocks are supposed to measure 12.5 inches. Mine are about .25 inches shorter. I wonder if my quarter inch seam isn't accurate?

A Productive Week

My seam ripper got lots of use and my fingers are sore from all the hand quilting, but I'm pleased with the progress I've made this week. This flag is my finished project (that I didn't even know I had). My parents came for dinner and my mom brought this flag quilt top that she found in her sewing room. In 2001, after 9/11 I made flag quilts for lots of folks that Christmas. I remember wanting one for myself. I pieced this..didn't have enough fabric left and wasn't satisfied with the top, so I gave up. When it showed up again this week, I thought it was an opportunity to sharpen some skills. I hand quilted it and then bound it. I realized I'd forgotten how to bind a quilt. I had to read and then give it a try. Heather has a great tutorial on binding a quilt. I highly recommend it! Thanks Heather!!! I pieced the binding from some scraps that were bundled with the top. It was a good learning experience. It's not my best work, but I'm glad it's finished. I think I'm going to send it to a friend whose son is a soldier. I think she would appreciate it.

This is the top of the baby quilt for Krista's baby. I like how it came together except for the bottom right corner. I must have been drinking when I was cutting...how could I have been so off? I don't know if I should try to fix it or not. I wish I had noticed it earlier.
I also finished hand quilting the Denyse Schmidt inspired wall hanging. I'm working on binding that now. I've also finished the top of the hop, skip and a jump quilt and have pin basted that...it's ready to start quilting. It's been sitting for a week because I can't decide how to quilt it.

Hop, Skip and a Jump Progress

I've made a little more progress on the Hop, Skip and a Jump quilt. All 6 of the blocks are completed. Hopefully I can get it put together and ready for hand quilting. I have pink Minky for the backing. I'm nervous about that. I've never worked with Minky and from the reading I've been doing, it sounds like it can be tricky.

Quilting Goals for 2008

Since dusting off the sewing machine I've been thinking about what I want to accomplish this year. Here it is:
1. Finish the quilts I start.
2. Make at least one bed sized quilt.
3. Improve my hand quilting stitches per inch.
4. Donate a quilt to charity.
5. Make a quilt from recycled fabrics.
It'll be interesting over the year to check back in and see if I'm on track.

Another Baby Coming

Another good friend has a baby due in May. There must be something in the water around here. I looked through my stash for some inspiration for another baby quilt. I have some funky monkey fabric left....love those sock monkeys!!!! I do love to work simultaneously on multiple projects. Not sure what that says about my ability to focus or finish projects.

Hop, Skip and a Jump Baby Quilt

These are the first four blocks of my Hop, Skip and a Jump quilt. This is a Denyse Schmidt pattern, but I have to admit that I just couldn't make myself cut out all those templates, so I'm working the pattern improvisationally. This is going to be a baby gift for a friend. I plan to back it with pink Minky dot.

Practice Makes Perfect

This is a closeup of the hand quilting I've started on this quilt. I'm wondering if I should continue with the other diagonal and complete the grid. I haven't hand quilted in many years. I hope with practice my stitches will get smaller and straighter. Practice makes perfect. Would love any suggestions!

Improvisational Piecing (Denyse Schmidt Inspired)

Happy new year from the tallgrass prairie!

The work in the studio is in full swing for the new year. I'm expecting a delivery of Alexander Henry fabrics in the next few days. I'll see what inspires me when it arrives. Meanwhile, I have two projects underway. I am in the process of hand quilting my first improvisationally pieced quilt, Denyse Schmidt inspired! I couldn't decide for the longest time what pattern to use for the quilting. I'm not sure if I like what I've started, but I'm going to keep going and see what happens.