Adopting leaves...

A whole week went by without posting...I knew it had been crazy but that crazy!I have been working on my leftover quilt...adding these orphan leaves and a border and calling it a day...maybe!
As I cut the first quilt I sort the leftover bits into several bags. First I cut the remaining strips into either 2-1/2 or 3 inch squares.Remaining pieces larger than 1 inch square go into the bag for random scrap piecing...and the pieces that are truely "scraps" are used to stuff pillows for the pets. As Macbeth gets older he needs more comfy places to nap...
Goldie just takes over the chairs in the Dining Room (sometimes sewing room since it gets such great light!) So I guess it is safe to say that the scrap bag is sort of like the sourdough bin on my counter...take out some then add a bit and it just seems to keep on growing!
Also finished up a small Amish influenced wall hanging. I have some thin perle cotton that I am going to use to hand quilt it...I need a low vision haul around project....behind the "amish" quilt is the batik scrappy bargello I am making for a local soldier (he likes purple and Hawaiian shirts!)

A lot of time was spent working on a mystery quilt...not a real mystery quilt...just one I can't post on the internet for a few more weeks...

Little Leftover Quilt...

Playing in the leftovers was fun...a bit addictive even. Last night I sewed the strips together and told myself to "back away from the scrap pile!"
This is what I finally finished (for now) using the scraps. Not quite big enough for a baby quilt...too big for a table topper...hummm, maybe just aadd few borders or use it as a medallion to anchor some orphan blocks....
On the pet front...Macbeth is doing better. I think having Graybeard the cat around is helping. Mac checks the windows four or five times a day to keep an eye on his nemesis...the activity is good for him.(Who knows what that cat could have done while Mac was taking his bath!)
Even if it wears him out sometimes....

Left-overs

My most recent quilt top has left an avalanche of left-over bits all over my cutting table/dining-room table. Lots of 1-3/4 inch strips, 3 inch strips, 3 inch (unfinished) four-patches and HST's....hummmmm...it looks like fun!
First, I used a lot of fabrics. Some of the scraps didn't even make it into the blocks! My "process" for the original blocks was to focus on each one separately and not to worry if it would "go" with the rest. When cutting the fabrics I would often cut two components (like a couple of 4-3/4 inch squares to use in the large HST and a couple of 1-3/4 inch strips to use for the four patches.) It helps on folding and putting away time but does create more left-overs. And since these aren't sizes that I use in my scrap "system" I figured I better do something with them now...These are the layouts I have been playing with....

a. basic four-patch alternating with a scrappy patch on point....
b. put the little four patches together and make a larger 4-patch out of the 3 inch squaresc. or maybe a scrappy sashing with the 3-inch squares
d. or make a alternate block and sort of make a chain (saw something like this in blogdom today but can't remember where...my apologies! Also after taking these photos I spent a bit more time at the ironing board!)
On the pet front...Mac is doing ok. He and Graybeard haven't come to an understanding yet but in a way it is helping Mac...keeps him on his toes! Graybeard on the other hand is looking so much better than when he showed up in our yard all skinny and beaten up. He even purrs now when I pet him. On the sad side, neighbors tell me occasionally he still goes to his old home and cries by the front door...

Cat and quilt guilt...

My cat Brownie was gone but is back again... but all of that made the last 24 hours a bit tense.
Urggggg....she slipped out which isn't all that unusual but when she didn't come back within the next hour - then couple of hours- then the next morning. Needless to say I didn't sleep much. I got up this morning searched the neighborhood (again) then printed out "lost cat" posters using the photo on the top.

About noon I got a phone call from a really nice painter who spoke almost no english however my high school Spanish kicked in enough for me to figure out he had my cat and my cat was sick. Long story short they are working on a empty house a few doors up the street and she got into the garage without the workmen knowing. Luckily today he was back this afternoon to check on paint job. The heat was over 100 and she was really dehydrated and scared. So today I am staying close to home to keep an eye on her.
To make matters worse I was feeling really guilty for having yelled at her just before she went missing. I was laying the quilt out on the floor and she was "stealing" blocks and hiding them. (which by the way is why I made 21 blocks instead of 20 and have a stack of 2-1/2 inch squares for corner-stones...she likes little squares!) On top of that she and Goldie were block surfing (run really fast then jump on a block and surf across the rug...) So I guess she will be spoiled the next few days as much to heal my conscience as to make her better...
Besides recreating the vintage block we have also finished the top for our guild's donation quilt. (Blackbird Designs: Simply Vintage) Lots of folks worked on this but as the quilt-mom I felt very nervous about getting it done in time! Now to just get the darn thing quilted (have a volunteer to bind it...insert happy dance her since I dislike binding so much!)

All it took...

With my DH away on a golfing outing this weekend I had lots of time to work of the sewing room...but did I? Ten minutes into the digout I found a vintage block that had fallen off my inspiration board. That is all it took...
It was time for a break anyways right? And drafting the block is as good as Suduko for exercising the "little brain cells." (I do my blocks the old fashioned way with graph paper, a ruler, pencil and an eraser...)

And well then I need to make up a test block to check my math....
Maybe I will change up the fabrics a bit...
OK, so now it is Monday and all I have done in my "organize the sewing room closet quest' is pick up this one block. But I now have a dozen of these blocks that hopefully will be made into a quilt and not just fodder for the UFO pile....

I did do a few other things...appliqued a few more leaves on my guild's donation quilt (which is so close to being done!)...made a big pot of corn chowder using lots of fresh corn from the farmer's market which I served to some fellow quilters on Saturday with melon salad and cherry coffee cake (I'm living off of leftovers still which means I have more stitching time....)

This morning I have to go to the Y but after my "balance" class I promise to empty that closet...unless of course I find another block....

ps...the pincushion and luggage tag in the photo on the top of this post are gifts from a quilting buddy's Mom. Aren't they cute! And things I can sure use!

Goals and such...

It has been hot...hot...hot here in sunny, humid, sticky Georgia so I've been spending lots of time fussin' around the quilt room but not getting a whole lot done. I have however spent a lot of time thinking and planning....
On the quilting front I played with some orphan blocks left over from my Moda phase. (Do you find you go through "phases" where you use a lot of one line or type of fabric then move on...I made three or four quilts from these pink, brown, green and red Modas. I must still love them since I can't seem to part with the scraps!)
I've had this little scottie dog figure on my shelf for years and had the brainstorm of adding a little wool pincushion to his basket...a perfect place for my needle while I am working. Can't tell you how many needles I've "lost" in the regular pincushions....
I'm gradually pulling out the projects from the sewing room and making a list of what I need/want to finish, boxing up ones that I "may do," and putting the "what was I thinking" projects into bags for our next guild sale.

Now a little non-quilt musings...for the past few months I have been going to a really good physical therapist. Besides the fact he looks a lot like a young Robert Conrad (think Wild Wild West original TV Series...) with a Ukrainian accent...he is also very philosophical in his approach to PT.

A few weeks ago he asked me why I fight having MS. It struck me as a really dumb comment and I must have given him one of "those" looks. "You Americans want everything to be perfect and if not you fight it or ignore it...why don't you just accept and work with it." Coming from a man with a 24 inch waist who didn't come to work one day because he has a pimple on his nose this was pretty funny...but it did get me thinking.

My initial approach to MS was an all out battle...I was determined not to change my behavior at all. And how did that work out for me? Not good. I had repeated episodes and my life was pretty much in chaos since day to day my physical capabilities were all over the place.

So change to "I accept I have MS and I am going to fix it!" So I went in search of the magic formula of medications, meditations, nutrients and exercise. Think of Type A personality in search of the Holy Grail, Fountain of Youth or the perfect little back dress....I'm not sure who I drove crazy first: my doctor, my husband, or me. (They both claim the honors.)

What I did not change however was my image of what success would be...this is where that Type A thing becomes a problem. I'm not going to ever be the athlete I was while in the military, nor wear a size 6 (or even an 8!) and I'm certainly not going to stitch another Baltimore Album Quilt but in the past f my MS cure didn't get me to those goals I was moving on to the next "cure."

And when I looked over my turning 50 goals there all those perfect things were just waiting to be abandoned....So I am revamping my list to being more experience vs end result. For instance I am changing my "be able to walk two miles in under 24 minutes" to "participate in PT or modified cardio-aerobics 3 times a week." Instead of "win a ribbon at the next guild show" it is "sign up to do quilt appraisals at the quilt show."

Being less competitive and participative...my new matra...if I only could say it three times quickly....

Pre-clean and sorta flat

I know I am not the only one who cleans the house before the maid-service comes over....in that same vein I am now de-cluttering my sewing room a bit before having some help come in to work on a better plan for the closet.
So as I de=cluttered I also found some projects that weren't quite UFO's...more like DFI (delayed for inspiration....)First was my take on V's (Bumblebeans) waverunner project. This was a lot of fun but as it grew it started taking on a life of it's own. I swear if I even looked at this it stretched out of shape. Ya, I know it is supposed to be liberated but I just wanted it to be sort of flat...that isn't asking too much is it?

Yesterday I did a bit of work...trimming here, inserting a bit there, using an entire bottle of Mary Ellen's Best Press and lo and behold - I pretty sure if I get is basted quickly I can "quilt out" any fullness. (That is my definition of "sorta flat...")
I confess however to being a border person and so kept looking at it this morning and thinking what if? So instead of cleaning like I planned...I put on this Gwen inspired border. I used 5 different grays...I didn't even know I had 5 grays! (BTW...the borders are on the bottom and left sides of the quilt...cannot get this to load correctly and I have run out of time and patience!)The photo above is another "unearthed" project...I was trying to use up some of the batiks that have been "aging" in the stash. This is one of Bonnie Hunter's patterns...Scrappy Trip Around the World.And then there was this...one of the antique/vintage liberated type blocks that were hiding in the muslin.....I remember putting this block on my design board when I challenged myself to be "free-er" in my use of stripes. It helped!

Not so nice...

I know there are a lot of Gwen Marston fans out there so I thought I would pass one bit I learned while at Knoxville.
A year or so ago Gwen self published this book. It is also available from Amazon but what you get isn't really the same book. What, you ask? The book you get from Gwen is on beautiful, heavy glossy paper which allows you to appreciate the photos right down to the quilting stitches. The book from Amazon is on a lighter, duller paper which distorts to colors and makes most of the quilting disappear. Since this is primarily an quilting inspirational book the Amazon copy is a washout.

I am posting a review on Amazon today but thought it was best to let ya'll know. Generally I am a big Amazon fan. On this one however they really dropped the ball....take the time to opt for the original....

Donation quilt deadlines...

Where is the time going? In only one week it will be August and that my friends is the deadline for having my guild's 2011 donation quilt top finished! Whoops....
So after spending way too much time in the doctor's office yesterday to get more and better drugs for my eyes I came home and got the courage up to lay the donation quilt blocks out on the bed...Now I love applique but the scariest moment in quilting has to be squaring up the blocks...eakkkkkk. Just think of it - hours and hours of work goes into each of these blocks and for the next couple of moments all that work will be at the mercy of my rotary cutter.
I have only ever made a "squaring-up-error" once...but that "error" was on a Baltimore Album block (which became 1 inch too thin) and has stayed with me for a long time. The "measure twice cut once" mantra has become "measure twice...get more coffee...measure and mark again...take a deep breath...get another pair of glasses...check the measurements...then cut...say a prayer...check to see if the block is the right size...if so, do a happy dance"...then repeat the entire sequence (with perhaps a glass of wine somewhere in the middle of the project....)
Each block was made by a different quilter in the guild and I am happy to say only one leaf and one bud needed to be moved. Phew. One quilter ran into some health problems with only a couple of stars left to put on so this morning that block will be handed off to another volunteer. If I don't have it together by the first of August the first week of August is a definite possibility....
This quilt design is from Simply Vintage by Alma Allen and Cherie Ralston of Blackbird Designs and used for the charity project with their approval. It is a good design for a group project since some blocks are very involved but other very accessible for new appliquers. Most of the fabric came from various members stashes and leftovers from a donation quilt made a few years ago. (We have found that applique quilts tend to raise more money than our pieced ones...just a local observation!) The donations go to Camp Rainbow, a summer camp run by the Medical Center of Georgia for children with critical illnesses.

Now off to try a new recipe for an upside down fig cake! A guild member brought a huge basket of figs from her tree to bee...Years ago I had a great cake somewhere in the Med (think it was Malta?) and am trying to recreate it...wish me luck!

Unpacking from Knoxville....

I ended my last post on the Knoxville show with a teaser - the vendors at the show were really good and yes, I contributed to the economic stimulus....

My general rule at shows is to limit my spending to items that I can't get locally. Somehow that didn't limit much at this show.Have you noticed how things seems to go in cycles at shows. A few years ago you would find lots of bead and embellishment vendors. Now not so much. This show had a good mix of vendors. There were however a lot of thread...lots of different threads in every color you could imagine. And I was impressed at how much the vendors knew about thread...there is a lot more to it than does that thread color match my fabric! So I brought home several different types to try out...all an adventure!
I was good about limiting my fabric purchases but could not resist the bags of Cherrywood fabric shown in the photo above there were on sale along with some already made blocks! How cool are these...I played with them for a bit the past couple of days and may have a plan...think these blocks with the additional fabric as influenced by the day long class I had with Gwen Marston....(whoops...another teaser...and to think I hated writing those as a TV news producer! Now - I can't help myself!!!)I also bought some hangers for little quilts...I have a little coffee cup quilt-lete that will be perfect on the coffee hanger. The witches hat was just too fun to leave...I'll have to figure out something for it!
I've had some eye problems the past few days...luckily it hit after the show! But it has put sewing on the sideline for a few more days. This is how far I got with the liberated class project.
I will pick it up later this week and get the top done...

Back from the Knoxville Show....

Where to start - roadtrip with a quilting buddy through the Carolina Countryside, the contemporary solids class with Gwen Marston, the quilts in the show, quilting designs with Alex Anderson, the vendors....all so good it is hard to pick!
Since there are so many liberated quilting fans out there I will start with the Gwen's class. As expected it was wonderful. It was a small group and we had all day to pick Gwen's brain and to get up close to all the wonderful quilts she brought for the trunk show.Permission to play was the phrase I heard most often from the other students in class.Most of the morning we went through the trunk show and got some "theory" then Gwen did several demos on some of the techniques she used. After lunch we were free to try out the techniques ourselves with Gwen wandering the room to help out as needed. (We stitched on the new Janome provided by the local dealer...they are really nice. The bright light and the thread cutter make them really tempting....) My only complaint is the day went too fast and it was 4:00 long before I was ready to pack up my stuff and leave. I came away with lots of inspiration and confidence to try to get out of my comfort zone more.The photo above is me with Alex Anderson, Eleanor Burns, and my friend Paula. One of the great things about going to the larger shows is getting to meet quilt instructors from all over the country. Isnt' it great when you meet an author or "celebrity and they are even nicer than you expected! That was the case with Alex, Eleanor and Gwen. (I just reread that and realize I sound a bit like a quilt groupie...ah, well....)

Unfortunately I cannot post photos of the quilts in the show but a few of my own personal observations (above and beyond there were lots of wonderful quilts...)

1. It is amazing how far machine quilting has come in the past few years. Ten years ago when I tried machine quilting the thread recommended was so heavy when I was finished it looked like a crayon had been dragged across the top of the quilt. I quickly gave up and went back to hand-stitching or "quilt by checkbook." As much as my machine may intimidate me looking at the amazing workmanship on some of the quilts in the show gives me the kick to sit back down with some of the new wonderfully thin and strong threads I bought at the show and give it another try....

2. Bling-bling...as anyone who has watched and episode of "Jersey Girls" or "What not to Wear" knows there is a time and place for accessories and bling. There sure was a lot of it at the show and I'm talking on the quilts not the quilters! Now don't misunderstand me - I like sparkly stuff as much as the next gal but.....I don't wear everything in my jewelery box with every outfit or at the same time. (I think that is a rule most of us can live by....) There were some quilts that the glittery stuff really added to the quilt (for example one that used crystals to make the windows of the buildings glitter like a night scene) but there were others that the shiny stuff made me think of old-time used car salesman's hair gel.

3. Kudos to the city of Knoxville and the convention center folks. What a great venue for a show! Beautiful building, friendly people, great transportation around town....it isn't often I spend so much time looking at the public art as I did at the convention center.
This photo shows an artpiece in the hallway near the eating area...the "quilts" are made from metal or found objects. Below is a close-up. The artist is David Arms from Tenneseee. They are building a new convention center here in Augusta and I hope they go to Knoxville and check this one out.
More on the show later...Macbeth (my scottie dog) is demanding attention. Tomorrow I will write about Alex's class and the vendors!

ps. The grey cat we have adopted (or adopted us?) is still here and now is named Greybeard. He was the first to great me at the door when I got home...

Southern Slow...

Yikes...just look at how long it has been since my last post. I could blame it on the heat (going to be over 100 again today) or my computer going into a summer slowdown (I just hate having to admit I can't fix it and have to call in some kid barely out of high school....) but in reality I think I am just a bit overwhelmed with too many things to do right now!I have been trying to clear out our library which is/was overflowing (all I will show is part of the steeple chase quilt that hangs on one wall)...so naturally I went to an estate sale. (to make up for it I did later bring three boxes of books and stuff to the library sale...)

Anyway, at the sale I didn't find any quilts but there were lots of embroidered linens like this blue and red one....and some towel applique kits from several makers. This one is from Paragon. The design is printed on the unbound towel and the applique pieces are printed on the fabrics.There were lots of boxes of fabric and I am happy to say I only brought home one piece - it was 4 yards and only marked $1! I think it will make some nice bags...
On the pet front we seem to have inherited a new cat. His family moved away about 2 years ago and left him behind. Occasionally I had caught glimpses of him and he seemed ok but very shy. Last month he showed up and was in terrible shape...very, very skinny and weak from the heat. So we started feeding him and now he is looking pretty good (even allows us to pet him a bit!) Today I put some flea and tick medicine on him. Our plan is to get him to a vet in then next couple of weeks and have him checked out. If he is healthy we will have him neutered (his rather distinctive bowed legs marks him as the local "Daddy" to several litters...) Any advice on taming a feral cat would be appreciated....

Now off to pack for my trip to the AQS Show at Knoxville! I'm taking a class with Gwen Marston and a lecture with Alex Anderson. Very excited about it all! Naturally I have all my stuff packed for the class (now I have an idea of just how many solids I have stashed around the house!) and no clothes packed yet...same as my trip to Paducah!