I'm still here

Tis the season to be very busy at work! Sending cards and gifts to associates of my full time employer, decorating the office, trimming the tree, and getting ready for the new year keep me pretty busy from Thanksgiving into January, but I have not been idle in the quilting and sewing departments when I have time.

My daughter's best friend moved to snowy Tennessee, and I made her a quilt to snuggle up in. I used some leftovers from my daughter's black and white quilt, so they can be extra connected! Here is what I mailed off to Samantha on Saturday. She should have it Wednesday. Will she wait til Christmas to open it? I can't say. It is quilted with a swirly design in a silvery gray. I like it a lot. The pattern in Plan C from the Schnibbles Times Two book by Carrie Nelson. 88 inches square. I think I will make some pillow cases from the leftover fabrics and send them too. Or pillow shams. I did win a book from Heather Mulder Peterson's blog Trend and Traditions this year and haven't tried any of the patterns yet!

This weekend I whipped up a little tote for my grandson to take lunch in when he goes to daycare. Poor baby still doesn't like going to a sitter, but this should cheer him up a little. He seems to really like it.

The pattern is a free tote download on All People Quilt's site. It was in one of my American Patchwork and Quilting magazines, but I don't remember which one, so finding the free download was great. The animal print is a Michael Miller zoology print that I bought from Hawthorne Threads. The link is to this print in brown. I guess they sold out of the black. If you want great quality fabric and super fast shipping, buy from Hawthorne Threads. They have good sales and giveaways all the time.

I hope you are enjoying the final days leading up to Christmas. I am so not ready! Not done shopping. Hardly decorated at all. Didn't send one card. Oh well. It's the thought that counts, right?

Hokey Pokey

So, here it is almost Thanksgiving and I am sooooo not in the holiday spirit! I don't want it to be Christmas for at least 3 more months. Not that I am Scrooge or anything. Just not excited about it at all.


I am excited about finally having the Hokey Pokey figured out. I have about a third of the blocks made. The batiks are beautiful and I am glad I pre-washed them after getting advice from some fellow bloggers because these deep dark greens and browns would have made a big mess later in the wash.  This pic is just a small portion of the blocks for the California King size quilt it will become!

That palest green really is reading too light, I think. Almost white. I may have to look into painting those blocks with a fabric dye. Any advice? I have never done that before, but it seems like fun. Definitely better than taking those blocks apart.

Anyone else making this? Anyone else out there not in the holiday spirit yet?

Plan C from Schnibbles Times Two

Here's what I have been working on. This has gone together really quickly. Big blocks are such fun to make because of that. And instead of becoming paralyzed by agonizing over fabric choices, I just dove in with my scraps, made a few purchases to add to the mix, and VOILA! this is almost done! It is the large version of Plan C which is 77 1/2 inches square and will be a Christmas gift. The recipient said she likes black, white and red, so that was the starting point.

The first border is supposed to be the same as the background fabric, but my daughter, who swears she has no interest in sewing or making quilts, said "why don't you put gray there instead?" and I just happened to have a yard of gray. I have had it since she was little, so it is approximately 20 years old. I think it is perfect. I doesn't look different or odd. There will be two strip sets, which you see at the top of the picture. They will be cut in half lengthwise when I get to 34 strips and that will make up the second border.

If you don't have the book Schnibbles Times Two, you should get one. Such beautiful quilts, and you don't have to have layer cakes to make them. Just use your yardage or your scraps and have fun!

Musings before Halloween

Well, no pics today, just thoughts.

I am supposed to be making the Hokey Pokey quilt in the 2 color variation, but the directions are confusing or incomplete in my eyes. The website is "under construction" and no one answers the phone. Still waiting for a call back on the voicemail I left. Anyone out there have this pattern figured out? I don't mind if you tell me I'm a moron. With my hormones lately, I may become angry and cry, but I'll know you are probably right.

Halloween weekend is the annual local craft fair, which I will not be a part of because they now require you to have a sales tax license. No thanks. That is all I need is more paperwork and more government. I wouldn't know what to do if someone tried to pay with a personal check anyway. Who is going to come in there with $600 cash for a quilt I made? Nobody.

Thanksgiving. Could it be any more complicated with divorced parents and people who aren't speaking to each other? Add to that my ex, who is moving all the way across the continent to look for a job and LIVE here, so that means more holiday juggling from now on. Please send me a winning lotto ticket so my hubby and I can go on a cruise ship (or other vacation) for the holidays from now on.

Holiday fattening treats. They are everywhere and they all look so good, don't they? I really want a candy coated apple from the Rocky Mountain Candy Company, but the closest one is 60 miles away. Making one at home would be equally costly and time-consuming. And messier. Maybe I'll run off on Saturday? Hey, there is a PF Chang's in Destin too. Hmmmm....

I have been working on teaching myself applique. Not too bad, if I do say so myself. There is a whole other realm of quiltmaking opening for me.  I did fall leaves on one set and pumpkins with vines on another. Neither has become anything more than practice squares, but could be wall hangings or table runners if I put my mind to it.

Last Friday I had a bad round of anger and depression (which you probably don't want to know) and I swore I was going to sell ALL my quilt stuff. I am frustrated by inability to sell anything, not wanting to sign up for a state sales tax license and the ensuing paperwork that would bring, not being able to join the quilt guild because I am the babysitter every Monday night for the foreseeable future, and they meet on Monday nights. Of course money and no girlfriends was in there too.

Anyway, I got over it. For now. What can you do except shrug your shoulders and carry on? Or plot revenge from beyond the grave.

Bryan's Birthday Quilt

So I salvaged the Old Tobacco Road quilt fiasco.  * Get it? Salvaged? Photo of quilt on rustic old truck? Ha ha! *  It is quilted and bound now and was presented on October 6th, my honey's birthday! I first blogged about the fiasco here. At least I learned a lot more about the fragility of bias cuts. I started this quilt in early 2008 or late 2007. Not sure exactly. Got it back out in January 2009 and had my very pregnant daughter helping me with the layout on the design wall. It went together pretty quickly after that, but the baby came in March and it was on hold on the design wall. That's when the drooping, stretched bias occurred and I banished it to a box again until a few months ago.

It is hard to cut up a quilt you really like, but knowing there was no other solution made it a little easier. Now that it is all done, it is just fine.It is a long, narrow quilt - perfect for my tall, narrow husband. And it is flannel backed, just the way he likes them.

One thing I really like about this quilt is how I used up a lot of single piece scraps that I got in a charm square swap. Some of them were REALLY not beautiful, if you know what I mean. But now that they are little bitty squares in a scrappy quilt, I really like them! Go figure.

Its funny that knowing it was the one and only scrap I ever had of a particular fabric makes it like a treasure hidden in the design of the quilt.

If you like this, check it out at http://quiltville.com/oldtobaccoroadintro.shtml  It is challenging and you'll really put a dent in your scraps!

Fall is Coming!

If you noticed my sidebar picture has changed, then this pic is redundant, isn't it? But I love this quilt. It is king sized and the photo doesn't really do it justice. I put it on the bed this past week and also got out the wreath I made a few years ago.  The biggest compliment I have gotten on this quilt was from my daughter. She wants me to give it to her in my will. That's a long time from now, but so sweet. Normally our tastes are polar opposites.

I love leaves and sunflowers this time of year. This wreath is a very easy project I made for under $50. Michael's craft store sells garlands of silk leaves, wire based sunflowers and butterflies and craft wire. You can make a wreath like this in an afternoon. No glue required. and there is usually a big sale on around this time every year.

This week is the Fall-Oween blog hop. Are you participating? Should be great fun with beautiful fall pictures and a free pattern each day. Today is Day One with Gudrun at GE Designs http://www.gudrun.typepad.com/ with a candy corn table mat to make.  Sandy Gervais' blog entry for today is my favorite out of all of them. She and I must be kindred spirits with our love of new crayons and paint boxes. How cool would it be to design your own fabrics? Take a look at the tour of blogs and comment on each to win a prize. I'd like to know - Which was your favorite?

Also in preparation or celebration of fall, I made Cowboy Cookies this weekend. They are a favorite of ours since I discovered the recipe when I was teaching preschoolers and made these with my class during letter C week. I substitute chopped pecans for the walnuts and refrigerate the dough overnight. They are fabulous with dark chocolate chunks! I am looking forward to teaching Tyler to bake when he is older. Just a few more years! We will be making these for sure.

Although we won't have the glorious display of tree colors changing here in the South, I am hoping for a weekend getaway to see some in person this year. We say it every year and never make it out of the gate. Cross your fingers for us!

Last of all, Fall means I will soon I'll be slow-cooking, making soups, roasts, and the thing that makes my husband's knees weak: Lasagna. Piled high and wide in a turkey roasting pan. He really can't wait!

Quilt History in Florida

Hello again! There are lots of quilty things going on in this area. I'd probably know these things a lot sooner if I made it to the local quilt guild meetings, but something always comes up at the last minute.

First off is the Pensacola Museum of Art, which has a new exhibit, "Quilt Art:International Expressions" that I plan to go to this Saturday. Can you believe I have lived here 6 years, and I haven't made it to any one of the local museums? Not once. And I LOVE art! It is supposed to rain all weekend, so a museum trip will be perfectly in order.

Secondly, there is going to be an exhibit starting the end of October in Tallahassee at the Museum of Florida History.  The 29th Annual Capital City Quilt Show: The Garden Party goes through January. There will be over 100 quilts on display. You can see some of the quilts from the book I am reading if you go to that page linked above.

To prepare for that trip (and to keep me busy while my machines are in the shop) I have been re-reading the book Florida Quilts, which covers the history of our state from the 1500s! and the women who lived here as pioneers, through the Civil War hardships, and the quilts they made. Quilts up to the 1980s are included too. The information on the early days of quilt-making here makes me feel like such a slacker. I cannot ever imagine living here in summer without air conditioning, but they did it, and in layers of petticoats and long skirts! They grew gardens year round to feed themselves and made their own quilting supplies. That includes the batting and cloth, people. When you read the stories and see their handiwork, you'll be in awe. This is a 1992 book, so libraries should have it.

I am a pioneer of sorts. The first I know of in my family to make quilts, so I don't know what it is like to learn from a grandmother, be part of a quilting bee, or hand piece or applique like they used to. Those are some of the most fascinating things about books like this. The pictures of women gathered around a quilting frame that is typically stored on the living room ceiling. Quilt that are so detailed - all made completely by hand. The stories of freed slaves who used only what was on hand to make and fill their quilts to keep warm in winter...this was not just a hobby to them. Yes, it was a creative outlet, but it was very necessary and they took the time to make beauty in the necessity.

I count myself very lucky to have not only piles of fabrics to chose from, but all the notions and comforts that make modern quilt-making a breeze.