Lizquiltz - Scrap Basket

Buses By the Bridge Road Trip - pt. 2

2012-01-26T22:17:00.001-08:00

Death Valley -- Wow! Since this was my first trip to this part of the country, I really had no idea what to expect. All I can say now is that I never expected it to be as beautiful as it was. Starting with the road heading into Death Valley.

These Joshua trees were everywhere. I was fascinated with them. At first you would just see one here or there. Then there were hillsides dotted with them.

The view of Panamint Valley from a scenic overlook. We had to go through this and over the "hills" on the other side to get to Death Valley. Every twist and turn of the road brought yet a different view. On our way down we saw a fighter jet from NAS China Lake zooming around the hills and up the valley.

The lowest point that we reached while crossing Death Valley. Pretty cool to see the negative elevation.

Heading east out of Death Valley. I tried to capture all the subtle colors of the mountains but these pictures really don't do them justice. Winter is such a grat time to visit Deat Valley. The temps were around 60 and the light was soft, not the harsh light of summer.

More Death Valley -- heading east.

The Vegas strip -- we had to give the Spotted one something to bark at....

Lake Mead at sunset.

This is the pedestrian portion of the newly opened bridge carrying traffic from Nevada to Arizona. Prior to 9/11 all traffic crossed over the two lane Hoover Dam. After 9/11 trucks were no longer allowed. The bridge is an amazing feat of engineering. No, I did NOT stroll out on the pedestrian walkway.

The Bearded One however had no problem walking out to the middle and taking pictures. Here you see the Hoover Dam. Yes, the new bridge is considerably higher....

The new bridge as we are preparing to do the tourist thing and cross over the dam. You must go through an inspection before being allowed to cross the dam.

At last, Arizona! Next up, Buses by the Bridge and Tucson.

LizA.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Buses By The Bridge Road Trip - pt. 1

2012-01-23T12:51:00.001-08:00

Whew! We've had an exhausting few weeks. I thought vacations were supposed to be relaxing? Back on the afternoon of Jan. 6th we packed up the bus, hitched up Woodstock, our teardrop cargo trailer and left the Seattle area for a two week road trip in our VW bus.

The eventual destination was to be Lake Havasu City for a very large annual VW bus gathering. But, we did some sightseeing along the way. First stop was just south of Portland. From there we headed south to Grants Pass where we took the scenic route over to Crescent City, California -- right along the coast. Our timing was perfect -- sunset. We decided to push on a little farther and stayed in Eureka. The next day we took the incredibly scenic Avenue of the Giants which parallels Hwy. 101. Since it was fairly early on a Sunday morning in January, we basically had the road to ourselves.

They really were giants. I loved how the road was literally right next to the trees. If you've never seen the redwoods you really must put this on your bucket list.

We stopped at the obligatory Chandelier tree but sadly we were too tall to drive through it. What an impressive tree it is.

From here we took the scenic route around Clear Lake and on to Sacramento to spend the night with the Bearded One's brother. Along the way I spotted this lovely "Christmas Cactus".

The following morning saw us heading east towards Tahoe. The weather was a beautiful 53. Sadly, up until just last week they had not seen any snow and golfing was the hot sport instead of the usual skiing at this time of year. This is about as close to Tahoe as we got. We then took yet another scenic route that is usually closed this time of year.

Yet even at this altitude we didn't see any snow. The creeks were iced over but that's about it. Somewhere on the descent from 8200+ feet we heard a loud pop. Nothing seemed amiss with the bus but we were concerned nonetheless. It wasn't until the next morning that we discovered the source of the noise. When we opened up the cupboard to get out the coffee supplies we discovered the previously unopened bag of potato chips had exploded inside the cupboard. While relating this story sitting around the campfire several days later we found we were not alone in having had this somewhat scary occurrence.

The east side of Mt. Whitney taken from Lone Pine, California.

Next stop -- Death Valley.

LizA.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-24T13:52:00.001-08:00

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Truckin' Along

2011-12-19T13:19:00.000-08:00

Well, it's Monday. That means it's "link-up" day for Bonnie's Orca Bay Mystery. I'm afraid I don't have a whole lot to show for the latest part. I admit, I've been a bit distracted with trying to finish up some Christmas projects. WHY do I always wait till the last minute for these?!?

Anyway, here's where I'm at:

The top portion is all the half square triangles awaiting the addition of the black triangles. The bottom pile is the ones that are partially completed. They still need a second triangle attached.

Here's my box of completed steps. You can see just a few completed units from this last step in the upper right corner. I have a LONG way to go and I seriously doubt much sewing will get done in the next few weeks....

On another note, we finally had a nice day that coincided with my having a quilt holder available to get a picture of the new Christmas quilt with free pieced words in the border. Do you have any idea how difficult it is to take pictures of a 96" square quilt when your house is really small and you live in the Pacific Northwest where it rains 2/3 of the year?!?

I also attempted to get some Christmas pictures of a certain Spotted One. This time without help. Note to self, don't hold the cheese in the same hand with the camera!

I did finally manage to get a good one for use on our annual Christmas card and it's not this one -- yeah, I know, nothing like putting things off till the last minute......

Ah well...maybe next year I might start thinking about these things sooner. But then again, knowing me, I doubt it. But now I must go make some cookies for the Quilting Broads Christmas party and challenge reveal tomorrow.....

Please Vote for me!

2011-12-18T08:48:00.000-08:00

I need your help! The voting for the tiny tote contest is getting hot and heavy. I've slipped to 2nd place. Please help me out and vote for my red & white pineapple tote.

Come on, you KNOW you like this one the best and you KNOW it deserves to win. Afterall, it's got 37 pieces in that 3" pineapple alone and there is another pineapple on the back side.

Just two more weeks of voting--please help me out.

Thank you,

Red!

2011-12-13T15:02:00.000-08:00

Part 4 of Bonnie Hunter's Orca Bay mystery has finally brought us some red. Unfortunately, it's red strings. So, even though I have an extensive selection of red fabrics in my stash, none of them were in the form of strings. I was finally able to start cutting some strings Sunday and finished cutting them Monday. So, today at quilting I finally started on part 4. Here's my progress so far--just need 98 more!

In other news, thank you for your votes--keep 'em coming. Right now I'm in first place. Thank you for supporting my entry--I'm getting really excited but it's going to be a long few weeks... VOTE here. Here's another picture of my entry just in case you don't remember which one is mine. It really is so stinkin' cute--but sheesh, those 3" pineapples have 37 pieces each!

And now I'm going back to my red strings.........

Woo Hoo!!!

2011-12-12T13:07:00.000-08:00

I'm a finalist! In the Bernina sponsored tiny totes contest on AllPeopleQuilt. The voting has now commenced. If you are reading this and you are so inclined, please vote for my bag. I'm quite proud of it, but then, I'm just a BIT biased.

Here's my entry. That pineapple block is also on the back side and it measures 3". Yeah, I know, I must be nuts to make a 3" block with so many pieces, let alone make it twice since it's also on the other side of the bag.

So, here's the link to vote. Just remember, you need to vote EVERY day! I need all the votes I can get.

Thank you,

Joined the Party

2011-12-05T19:53:00.001-08:00

I caved--I joined Bonnie's Orca Bay mystery. I didn't really NEED another new project but I love Bonnie Hunter's quilts and I didn't do last year's mystery but wished I had. Besides, I always seem to actually get things done quicker when I'm doings mystery. It must be the anticipation of awaiting the next step or something....

So, despite joining the party a little late, I managed to get everything done. I finished step two on Wednesday which actually gave me time to start a baby quilt that needs to be completed before April.

Despite having to make 350 units in step three, I completed it by Saturday afternoon. Here are all my pieces for the three steps so far.

I can't wait to see what we will do with the red. I'm hoping the next step uses red.

And now I'm going back to working on that baby quilt.

LizA .

A Little bit of This & That

2011-11-08T22:27:00.001-08:00

On the quilting front, I've been busy--yup, another new project. This one i can even share here. A new Christmas quilt is in the works. There was an unfortunate laundry adventure with the Christmas quilt that was completed last year. subsequent efforts to fixture problem only made it worse. Lesson learned, NEVER, EVER use a solid red flannel for backing fabric. No matter how many times it is washed, won't be enough.

So, here's the new quilt, orat least the center. Forgive the bad lighting but my quilt holder was not available. I'm currently working on the next border, free pieced words. Here are a few of the completed ones.

There are several more words that haven't been photographed yet---I'll save those for the final reveal.

We snuck in one last camping trip, and despite the drizzle on Saturday, it was a great weekend. The weather on Sunday was beyond spectacular, as in an unexpected gloriously sunny autumn day. When you get days like this in November in the Pacific Northwest, you savor every last morsel of them because they are few and far between. Seeing much of the sun after Labor Day is a rare occurrence.

And then there was this while we were attempting to pack.

What you don't see in this picture is the 11" of folded up mattress toppers he is perched on? He was most indignant that we had filled HIS spot up with stuff. Never mind the fact that his crate with a nice soft cushion was sitting on the floor of the bus.

While I've Been Gone

2011-10-24T22:27:00.000-07:00

Wow! Where has the time gone? It can't possibly have been almost 2 months since I've posted. Lots has been going on.

First off, there's been a LOT of this:

From the Washington coast to Walla Walla, Boise, eastern Oregon and Leavenworth. The weather actually cooperated on all accounts, something most unusual for these parts.

At the biggest campout of the season this quilt was presented to some very special friends. If you click the picture, you can see all the VW buses.

I've also been working on these blocks in between The Farmer's Wife blocks and finishing up my QB Christmas Challenge.

Yes folks, the challenge has been done for a couple weeks now. More specifically, since the middle of October, more than 2 months before it's due. Hooray for me. Unfortunately for all of you reading this, you will have to wait until the Tuesday before Christmas to see it --sorry. But, as a consolation I can show you the lovely pack of fat quarters I won from Quiltmaker's Quilty Pleasures blog.

It's Super from Red Rooster by Gudrun Erla. I'm waiting for inspiration to hit me as to what to do with them.

Oh yeah, in between all this my 81 y.o. Dad had a minor heart attack. The long and the short of it is that he now has a new doctor that we actually like and I'm hoping will be more responsive. His previous doctor told him to continue taking tylenol and to call back in two days when he would be back in the office if Dad was still feeling bad......Don't EVEN get me started, arrrgghh. You can see why Dad now has a new doctor along with a cardiologist. It's been a long month.

Birthday Round Robin Reveal

2011-08-31T09:12:00.001-07:00

First up, Happy Birthday Janet! I can finally show a couple projects I've been working on. Last year for Janet's birthday I sent her a center square and a piece of fabric I decided was sufficiently aged and it's time had come. I challenged her to add a round and to create her own center and send them both back to me for my birthday which just so happens to be six months and six days after hers.

Here is Janet's Round Robin. (Note: I neglected to take a picture of just her center square, or if I did, it's probably on the laptop and I'm too lazy to turn it on and hunt for it.)

Her main fabric was a companion floral to the fabric I used in the corner squares. I used a floral stripe from the line to make the four patch posey squares. I worked on this shortly after receiving it in March and then put it away while pondering what to do with mine.

This is mine. I sent Janet the center square, out to the green. She added the flying geese. After a lot of wavering, I happened on a link to some really cool foundation pieced blocks. Sorry, I don't have the link handy right now.

After procrastinating way longer than I should have , and a few false starts due to not having enough fabric for my first few attempts, I finally ended up with this.

So, when I pulled Janet's back out to send off to her, I didn't like it. I think it needs something more, maybe some appliqué or something. But, time was against me so I sent it off anyway. When it comes back to me in March I will probably add some appliqué to those big gold areas.

Meanwhile, I have some serious catching up to do on the Farmer's Wife. Unfortunately it isn't going to be happening anytime soon. I've been doing some non-fun sewing in prep for our big, upcoming camping trip. Things like window screens for the bus. Door screen for the slider, porta-potty cover and an insulated cooler cover. I'd much rather have been quilting.

Happy Birthday Janet.

- LizA.
Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Farmer's Wife Update

2011-07-22T21:11:00.001-07:00

I'm way overdue for an update on The Farmer's Wife Quilt Along. In all honesty, I haven't been working on it. But, here are the last 8 blocks I did before I moved on to more pressing items, like a certain Birthday Round Robin.....

I won't bore you with individual pictures but if you are so inclined you can find them on Flickr if you search for lizquiltz.

Meanwhile, I really do need to get back to that Birthday Round Robin...Ms. J's birthday is approaching much swifter than I realized....

And, just because it's been a whole month since I posted a picture of the Spotted One, here ya' go.

- LizA.
Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Some Camping Time Pt. 2

2011-07-13T22:05:00.000-07:00

This was what we drove thru as we went around the east side of Mt. Rainier heading to Ohanapecosh campground. At one point we hit 4711 feet in elevation and there was a LOT of snow. Both Sunrise and Paradise are still covered in snow. I was told that Sunrise had over 900" this past winter.

Luckily the campground is at a lower elevation. Ohanapecosh is located on the southeast side of Mt. Rainier National Park and is filled with old growth trees. Along with all the wonderful old trees, there is the river and several mountain streams. It really is quite beautiful and quite a contrast from eastern Oregon where we were last week.

This tree was 670 years old when it was cut down. The tags note significant events in history that occurred throughout it's lifetime.

The river, wild and rushing from all the snow melt higher up the mountain.

Wild columbine.

Vanilla leaf and bunchberry.

Another mountain stream.

Four wonderful, relaxing days in this paradise made for one of our better campouts. Even better was all the wonderful food. Our friend and camphost is a most excellent dutch oven cook and we feasted all weekend. As Mrs. G. would say, "Life is Good".

Some Camping Time pt. 1

2011-07-12T22:57:00.000-07:00

We have made the most of the ever so brief dry season in the Pacific Northwest and did two extended weekend campouts back to back.

July 4th weekend saw us traveling to the tiny town of Fossil, Oregon for the Wheeler County Bluegrass Festival with about 20 other VW's from the WetWesties. This was the first time I've been to this part of Oregon and the scenery was fascinating. Lots of rolling hills with just a tint of green, canyons, wheat fields and windmill farms.

This is the view approaching the Columbia. After living on the "green" side of the mountains, this scenery always fascinates me by it's starkness.

We met up with friends at a camping area along the river and then had a 5 bus caravan through a fabulous canyon road, eventually ending up at Fossil.

Central Washington and Oregon, especially the areas along the Columbia have exploded with windmill farms in the last several years. They have an almost "War of the Worlds" feel as you travel along and see these huge blades peeking over the hill tops.

Then, amid all the dry, arid hills, you see something like this surprise river and little oasis of green.

Did I mention that this side of the mountains gets hot? It hit 87 which for those of us on the "wimpy" side of the state is down right cooking. I don't think we've even hit 80 yet this year. Unfortunately the wind was also blowing a lot of dust and there was something that definitely bothered The Bearded One's allergies. We were told it was probably the juniper trees. Whatever it was, it was bad enough that we left a day early so that he would be able to recover in time for our next camping trip to Mt. Rainier in a few days.

Oh yeah, the music was great. Besides stuff going on in town all day long, the entire camping area was filled with lots of people doing impromptu jam sessions. The music literally surrounded us. Saturday there was a great car show which had all the guys drooling. And, true to our tradition, there was a great potluck. VW folks sure know how to eat.

Stay tuned for pt. 2 -- Mt. Rainier.

1st Day of Summer...

2011-06-21T15:34:00.001-07:00

...And the Pacific Northwest is actually dishing up some sun! Considering the LONG, drearier than normal spring we've had, this is really a big deal for us.

As you can see, The Spotted One is celebrating by snoozing in the sun, on MY pillows. He NEVER snoozes on my pillows, he always prefers The Bearded One's pillows.

On to FWQAL (Farmer's Wife Quilt Along). I have six more blocks completed, bringing my total to12.

Block #7 - Birds in the Air
This block contains 40 pieces! Whew! Those little half square triangle units finish at 1".

Block #8 - Bouquet

Block #9 - Box

Block #10 - Bowtie

Block #11 - Broken Dishes

Block #12 - Broken Sugar Bowl

I know it looks like I've been super productive but I have to admit, the last five shown here were all precut and assembled at my weekly Tuesday quilting group.

- LizA.
Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Caught Up

2011-06-16T10:14:00.001-07:00

I couldn't stop yesterday, I had to make two more blocks for the Farmer's Wife QAL.

Block #5 - Bat Wing

Block #6 - Double Dipper

As I was sewing Block #6 I realized I had made a dumb mistake cutting out the pieces. I was not paying enough attention to the fact that these were NOT half-square triangles but were quarter square triangles. Unfortunately all my sides edges are not on the straight of grain. Thankfully, because I've started using non-aerosol Niagra starch on all my quilting fabrics before cutting them out, the bias edges behaved themselves. Note to self -- pay attention to straight of grain. I'm blaming this faux pas on the fact that game seven of the Stanley Cup Playoffs was about to begin. That's my story and I'm stickin' to it!

Now I need to drag myself away from the sewing machine and go paint the new trim for the downstairs hallway.....

- LizA.
Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

I Couldn't Help Myself

2011-06-15T13:47:00.001-07:00

Heavy sigh.....I've started yet another project. For over a year I've been adding to my stash of 30's prints to use them in making The Farmer's Wife sampler quilt.

Fast forward to a couple weeks ago when I started seeing mention of a Farmer's Wife Quilt Along on Flickr. I decided this might be just the push I needed to work on this project. Just two blocks a week isn't too time consuming. It will allow me more than enough time to work on other projects while actually making some progress on this one.

So, once I got the templates sorted out, I'll save that story for next time, I managed to get the first four blocks completed in no time at all. Two more blocks and I will be caught up with the QAL.

Block #1 - Attic Windows

Block #2 - Autumn Tints

Block #3 - Basket

Block #4 - Basket Weave

- LizA.
Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

He Thinks He's Helping....

2011-06-01T12:05:00.000-07:00

The last 4 days were spent on the couch doing nothing more strenuous than blowing my nose and working on hexagons while listening to an audio book and the sounds of The Bearded One working on a home improvement project. Great time to get sick, huh? I think I timed that one just right. Anyway, I decided it was time to lay out these hexie flowers and try to figure out how to start squaring up this project which is currently hexagon shaped. A certain Spotted One felt it was his duty to "help". After convincing him, rather reluctantly to move, this was his compromise:

I know when I'm beat so I gave up and went back to making more flowers.

On another note, the mail brought a nice surprise.

Victoria of Bumble Beans had a drawing for Heather Peterson's new book and I won! There are some great ideas in here and I can't wait to try some of them.

Some of this & Some of that

2011-05-09T09:01:00.001-07:00

Last weekend we were able to do some of this:

We travelled to Walla Walla searching for some dry weather and the company of our VW group, the WetWesties. We had a great time. The Spotted One was thoroughly fixated on these little darlings:

I managed to find a couple quilt shops along the way....and people think that little trailer is just for camping gear!

I was able to spend the traveling hours working on a new hexagon project.

It's actually a lot further along than what is shown here--guess I should take an updated picture.

I've also managed to do some quilting the last month or so. I have a "hobby" exchange going on with an old friend. She's painting me a view of the Hudson River from Trophy Point at West Point and I'm making her a quilt. I can report that her quilt is completed.

I used Bonnie Hunter's Star Struck pattern. I LOVE how this came out. Its going to be difficult to send it to NY to it's new home. I think I will have to make another one for myself.

I quilted this with the Daisy Swirl pantograph which fits perfectly with the floral border. Check out the great backing I found:

There are some other stealth projects in the works which will eventually be able to be shown here. But for now, I will leave you with a picture of The Spotted One and how he spent a good portion of his camping weekend.

Fessing Up

2011-03-14T14:38:00.000-07:00

I have a problem, I love making bags. Tote bags, hand bags, you name it. So, here's my latest:

And the back

The fabrics were some fat quarters that I had picked up last fall, thinking I was going to make some placemats for Christmas gifts. Naturally, that didn't happen.

I made this new bag for just one purpose, to hold this:

Oh yes! We've been discussing getting something to use when we travel and camp so I put my Christmas and birthday money towards it. I love it! It's so easy to use and for just checking emails and reading blogs, it's definitely easier than the laptop. And, of course, I can't forget about those Angry Birds, completely addictive!

The bag is a pattern I picked up at Sew Expo last week. It's called Midpad Case. It was a pretty easy pattern, but the fun part was using Texture Magic in the center panel. I love the way the flowers all "popped".

My oh My!

2011-02-14T15:24:00.000-08:00

One day, while browsing Pinterest, I found these lovelies. Then I read this blog post. All of that reading led to these:

I took the recipe from the first link but used Guittard chips and tried refrigerating the dough for 24 hours first. Refrigerating the dough seems to lead to plumper cookies instead of my usual flat ones. The Guittard chips are definitely WAY better than good ol' Nestles toll house chips. So, next up will be the NY Times version to try. But, I have to say, the brown butter adds a very unique flavor to these. The bacon flavor, surprisingly is very subtle. All in all, yum yum.

There has been no sewing going on due to my extended back problems. But, 2 weeks away from sewing of any kind is enough....if I don't get downstairs and play with some fabric I think I'm going to start going nuts. Let's hope my back will cooperate.

Meanwhile, I'll leave you with a picture of my Spotted Valentine doing what he does best, being a slug.

Easily Distracted

2011-01-28T21:23:00.000-08:00

I admit it, I'm too easily distracted. I know I've mentioned this before....but I can't tell you how many times I walk into my sewing room with a plan in mind and then I run across a project that had been started and put aside. Before I know it, I'm working on that instead of the intended project. So, this week, I really was planning on working on one of the secret projects but in the process of moving things around I ran across about a dozen of these rw&b 9-patches.

Before I knew it, I had more than 30. I figure 48 blocks set with sashing and a border will make a nice size for a QOV. In the same pile with the 9-patches were 2 of these lovelies, improved 9-patches.

They now number about 30 also, although only the top 6 you see here are actually connected. But another 12 or so have the melons attached.

Then I had lunch with a friend the other day and learned that their first grandbaby is finally coming west for a visit. Well that reminded me of the box of I-Spy patches I had run across earlier in the week. Since I had made quilts for both the baby's Mommy and Auntie I felt it only right that little Rowan should have one too.

By dinnertime the center was complete and I pulled the borders from my stash today and got them attached. Tomorrow it will go on the HandiQuilter to be quilted -- that is if I'm not distracted once again.

In the meantime, while starting to write this post I happened to read a most apropos post by Nancy. Yup, there's no doubt, I got it, BAD. In honor of my ADQD I made a little badge. I'm still trying to figure out how to share the code with y'all....if you know how, please let me know.

Some Quilting

2011-01-20T10:20:00.000-08:00

Finally, I have something I can show here.....it's not that I haven't been doing any quilting lately. It's just that most of what quilting has been done cannot be shown here. First up, but not to be seen is the annual High School Senior Quilt project. The quilts that we design and make for the graduating high school seniors at church. Sorry, but I cannot show you that one.

Next up is another stealth project. I can show you a sneak peak of it.....

Mmmmm, pretty bright, huh? And this is just a small peek carefully editing out the important parts that would give away the project. Sorry, but you'll have to wait on this one.

Along with this, I pulled out an old UFO, my confetti quilt. I'm working on that as Leaders and Enders with the above project and yet another project not ready for show.

See those colored squares? They finish at 1". Yup, I'm crazy. The little four patch centers are 2" square. I'm not sure how large this quilt is going to be. I'll just work on it until I'm tired of it. I saw a similar quilt somewhere in blog land, only it was done with larger pieces. For some reason I decided to make it smaller....

I'm also working on a some free pieced letters for Tonya's latest UnRuly challenge. They're not quite ready for show here so you'll just have to wait on that one too.

I'll leave you with a certain Spotted One trying to rescue his favorite blinky ball from the clutches of the Holee Roller which he received for Christmas. For some reason, he doesn't seem to get as much pleasure out of his new toy as we do. The entertainment factor for us is quite high. What can I say, we're easily amused these days......

Merry Christmas

2010-12-24T08:37:00.000-08:00

Christmas Challenge Revealed

2010-12-22T10:18:00.000-08:00

This year's challenge was to find 3 paint chips whose name started with your initials and then to make something with it. You could add up to 2 additional fabrics. So, as I've already mentioned in a previous post, I struggled with this one. After multiple false starts, I finally hit on something.

My paint chips -- pardon the blurry photo:

Reading all the blogs with the countdown to Tonya's book release inspired me. Lynne's journey with this quilt was my light bulb moment. I borrowed her idea of playing with fonts first and then trying to copy them.

I really wanted to include all the serifs in Antique Ruby, but quickly discovered that wasn't going to happen. You can see from my "A" that it didn't come off too well. Overall, I'm pretty happy with how this turned out, considering it's only my 3rd attempt at doing letters freestyle like this. Altho, I'm not so sure this is considered completely freestyle since I was trying to copy the feel of the fonts.

I decided to use this as a good practice for doing feathers so the top and bottom are quilted with feathers. I can actually say I think they turned out ok.

All I can say is, I'm sure glad this one is done. Next year's should be a bit easier since I've got it all figured out already. More on that at a later date.

No. 5, No. 5, No. 5

2010-12-03T13:43:00.000-08:00

....feels like a Revolution*, or should that be resolution? I'm just thankful that it's Number 5 and not Number 9. It's THAT time of year again....you know, the time when all good QB's are scrambling to finish their Christmas Challenge because, well, you know, TIC TOC -- 18 days!

So, this year it's the paint chip challenge. Sounds easy, doesn't it? Find 3 paint chips whose paint colors start with your initials and make something. Yeah, right. After starting and abandoning attempts Number 1 - 3 I finally realized I wasn't "feeling the love" with one of my colors. Back to the big envelope of paint chips I had accumulated. Find another one that will work with the 2 colors I already have AND whose name starts with the appropriate initial, then off to find fabric in said paint chip color. Attempt Number 4 -- abandoned. I guess it would help if I had started with an actual plan.....

So here I am today, working on Number 5. And you know what, I LIKE IT! Yes folks, she really does like it! Hopefully that means that she might actually finish this one. She better, since TIC TOC, time is running out....18 days left to the QB Christmas party/challenge reveal. Stay tuned, eventually Number 5 will actually be revealed here, and maybe even Numbers 1 - 4 if I can find them.

* Credit must be given to the proper source who supplied the references to the bits & pieces of the Beatles song that was rattling around in my brain this morning. Thanx PJ -- as always, your music trivia amazes me!

It's a Christmas Quilt!

2010-11-22T14:26:00.000-08:00

Another UFO bites the dust. This Christmas quilt was started two years ago (blogged about here). Since I seem to be in "finishing" mode, I decided it was time to bring this one back out and finish up. This makes finish #2 in the last month or so -- I know, where's finish #1 you say. You'll just have to wait till after Christmas to see a picture of the completed project. There have been some sneak peaks posted here awhile ago.....

Check out the pillowcases that match the border of the quilt! I used the leftover border fabric for them. As usual, I backed this with nice, cozy flannel and used wool batting -- my favorite combination for a quilt. It's nice and cozy and just in time -- we're having unusually cold, and snowy weather here in the Pacific Northwest.

I quilted it with an allover meander with loops and holly leaves.

And here's what it looks like outside! A certain Spotted One isn't too crazy about the cold weather and has spent an awful lot of time just staring out the patio door.....have I mentioned that he's a weather wussy?

The Spotted One Says....

2010-11-12T08:07:00.000-08:00

....Vote for me!

Quilting Gallery is having their weekly contest. This week it's pets. The Spotted One, Arlo, all wrapped up in his quilt is asking for your votes. He says "don't let those silly cats beat out a handsome, smart, dog like me. Please vote for me." Perhaps the suggestion of treats from the magic cookie jar might or might not have had something to do with this......

Practice What You Preach

2010-10-21T13:47:00.000-07:00

Among my weekly quilting friends, the QB's, I'm kinda known for always being the one to preach at anybody who puts down an open rotary cutter or does something stupid like cutting towards themself rather than always cutting AWAY from yourself.

Well, I'm sure you can guess where this post is going....uh huh, I did it. I was trimming up something and cut towards myself. Only my finger happened to be in the way. It is now a skinnier finger than before. I never realized just how much a finger can bleed -- WAY more than a head wound, at least in this case. But, I suppose that when you slice off a chunk of skin about 1/2" x 1/4" from the side of your finger tip there will be some blood involved. No blood ended up on the fabric but the bathroom, well, that's another story....

The Spotted One thinks it is his duty to try to lick the bandage off my finger.....thanks Arlo.

Acer palmatum 'Dissectum Viridis'

2010-10-03T20:22:00.000-07:00

So, we have this corner of the yard that we've been working hard to clean up. For the first 16 or so years that we've lived here, this corner was inhabited by 4 very large pine trees. 2 of them came down in a large rain and wind storm about 4 years ago. We lost another tree in yet another wind storm the following year. We're down to the one last tree.

Last year I tried to keep the weeds out by filling the bank with pumpkins. This year, since we had so little summer weather, the weeds won. As you can see, we've finally managed to get the area cleared. So now that means it's time to plant something other than weeds. Along with the viburnum, I've also put in a rose of sharon, a forsythia and a couple other ornamental shrubs. But, the latest addition this weekend is this beauty:

It was love at first sight when I saw this tree. We had originally gone out in search of a red Japanese Maple but, when I saw the color of this Green Cutleaf Japanese Maple it was all over. For the past two weekends a local, wholesale only nursery has been open to the public. They have an incredible variety of stock.

Of course the Spotted One had to help. He thinks he's the official inspector.

And to all my quilting friends, yes, I realize that the main color of this tree is ORANGE. Please, you don't have to point it out to me -- it has already been duly noted. The Bearded One thought it was quite amusing that the one tree I liked the most had ORANGE foliage.....

Yes, She Really Does Quilt!

2010-09-28T17:29:00.000-07:00

In which I prove that I really am doing some quilting:

This is a UFO that's been around for a couple years. I was recently challenged to "get 'er done". The challenger is holding hostage some recently purchased fabric. That was pretty good motivation for me to finish piecing the top. Now it's sat for over a month and I am FINALLY getting around to getting it quilted...........See, I really DO quilt, sometimes.

And yes, it will be a Christmas present so I don't know how much more of this you will get to see. But, since I KNOW the recipient doesn't read my blog and is probably too young to even know what a blog is, maybe you will get to see when it's done....

Is it just me...

2010-09-17T10:20:00.000-07:00

WARNING: Rant to follow

....is it just me, or does this make you angry too?

A couple years ago I joined FaceBook. I did so mainly to connect with some old friends from back east. I admit, in the last couple years I've gotten caught up in playing some of the inane time-waster games. But, the cool thing has been staying in touch with friends and family.

I've set my privacy settings pretty high because I'm that sorta person. (I guess that's a little bit of my mother's internet paranoia coming through.)

Anyway, this morning I received an unsolicited personal message from somebody that I don't know. This person was sending out private messages to quilters to promote her business. How did she get my name?

Maybe it's just me, but I find this a huge violation of my privacy. I think it's as bad as the idiots who come ringing my doorbell trying to sell me something, blatantly disregarding my "No Soliciting" sign. That's the only time I truly enjoy having a dog that goes totally bonkers when the doorbell rings.....go get 'em Spotted One! (Only kidding, sorta.)

So, what are your thoughts? Am I the only one that finds this offensive? Would you do business with a company that you heard about in this manner?

VW Wanderings

2010-09-15T10:07:00.000-07:00

We spent 8 lovely days wandering eastern Washington, eastern Oregon and the western edge of Idaho. We saw some amazing scenery, visited with good friends and celebrated our 20th anniversary. All in all, an absolutely wonderful week.

Our week started out in Shelton at a farewell party for Peter, our nephew who is off to spend a year studying in Japan. From there we made it to the last nite of the Star Gazing Party outside of Goldendale. I think I would have enjoyed it more if it hadn't been SO COLD. The stars were absolutely amazing and the members of the Seattle Astronomical society were so eager to share their knowledge. The good news, all the hard work on installing the new furnace in the bus paid off. Not only did it work, it cooked me out! I have never asked The Bearded One if I could turn DOWN the heat before. Only the Spotted One didn't think it was too warm.

After Goldendale our wanderings took us to Pendleton to visit with an old friend who was not able to attend the Catherine Creek ReUnion campout. It was a good visit -- amazing to see how quickly Margaret's kids are growing up.

The following morning after a few detours to a quilt shop and the Pendleton store, we were on our way again.

A slight detour on our way to Lewiston took us to Palouse Falls.

After spending our Anniversary at Hells Gate State Park, we took a scenic route south through Idaho. Our original intention had been to do Hell's Canyon Scenic Bypass. Unfortunately, due to some serious washouts, the road is closed in a couple places. So, we did 95 south, through some of the most scenic country I've ever seen. The route had everything from recently cut wheat fields, to beautiful, rolling "hills", farm land and beautiful canyons following the Salmon River. Despite the rain, it was a beautiful drive, accompanied by a captivating audio book.

Our journey ended at Catherine Creek State Park in Union, Oregon. After setting up camp in the rain, well, showers, we settled in for 3+ days of relaxation and visiting. By Saturday we had about 34 VW buses.

Between the friends, food and wonderful bluegrass music, it was another successful gathering. The folks at the Oregon Parks and Recreation Blue Mountain District go out of their way to help us make this such a great event. Hats off to them!

Here's what a certain Spotted One spent most of his time doing:

Hoping and wishing that he had thumbs so that he could open the magic cupboard in which the cookies were imprisoned.

So Many Colors....

2010-09-03T15:00:00.000-07:00

At long last, all the work from the last month has been completed -- well, almost. Now I want to replace the front door. The painters have packed up their ladders this afternoon and the Spotted One has finally realized there is nobody outside for him to bark at anymore. The painters dubbed him "el perro loco -- muy loco."

So, several weeks ago there was an interesting discussion in our house on color. After spending more hours than I can count using Sherwin Williams online paint chooser and looking at other houses in the neighborhood, I had the new house color narrowed down to 5 colors. Off I went to the paint store I went to get little quart samples. Each was painted on the house with a corresponding number.

Me: So, what do you think?
Him: Looks like paint.
Me: Do you like any of them?
Him: Well, I don't like number 4.
Me: Ok, how about number 1?
Him: Anything but number 1 or number 4.
Me: How about number 3?
Him: Anything but number 1, 3 or 4.
and so on and so on.....

Needless to say, we finally came to an agreement, more or less. Number 2 won -- Perfect Griege. Ladies, take my word for it, DO NOT try to explain subtle things like shades, tints and tones to your husband.

Then it started all over again with the trim. Do you have ANY IDEA how many different shades of white there are??? And forget even asking the Bearded One which one he likes. So, I did the next best thing, took my sample of house color and the chips to some of my quilting friends. On the way home, I happened to notice a house that was very close to our main body choice. It had trim just a couple shades darker. It looked wonderful. So, back to the paint store I went. Because, naturally, the next shade darker on my paint strip was way too dark, it was almost charcoal. Eventually I found the right shade, hammered silver. We tested both colors on the house and actually agreed.

So, here's what it looked like yesterday, once they started on the trim. I don't have a picture of it completed yet. I will do that after the door gets replaced. The new door will be painted a burgundy/wine red.

Meanwhile, we are off for a much needed campout, ending up at the annual Catherine Creek ReUnion campout with the rest of our VW group.

Yard Art & More

2010-08-05T11:41:00.000-07:00

Yesterday this lovely new piece of yard art was delivered.

Shortly after that, scaffolding was erected around all four sides of the house. This morning the crew showed up around 7:30 (I'm usually still asleep at that hour!) By 9:30 the front of the house looked like this:

Yes, we are having new siding and windows put on the house. After peeling off the old siding it was discovered that they "cheated" when the house was built some 31 years ago -- you will note there is no sheeting or anything under the attic portion of the house. The original siding was just attached to the studs!

As you can imagine, it's been quite a stressful morning for the Spotted One. But, the "happy pill" has finally taken effect and hopefully he will sleep through the rest of the day. He's not quite sure why he's staggering around like a drunk but I'm sure thankful that the incessant barking and howling has ceased.

I have finally managed to get out of the quilting slump I've been in. Back in June Crazy Mom Quilts started a Quilt-Along. I resisted for a couple weeks but finally caved after deciding that the pack of Bali Pops that I've had for over a year would be perfect for the project. Naturally, I chose to make the quilt queen sized instead of twin. Once I got started I didn't stop to wait for each week's new step. I'm too impatient, besides, I was on a roll.

I quilted this with Plumage pantograph by Jodi Beamish. The backing is flannel and I used Quilter's Dream Orient for the batting. This is WONDERFUL batting. It is a blend of bamboo, silk, tencel and cotton. It is super soft, lots of drape, no fuzz, warm yet breathable. I will definitely be using this batting again.

Oh yeah, while working on piecing this quilt, I also started another quilt, using the leftover Happy Camper fabric from the bus curtains from last year. Sorry, no pictures yet. I've also pulled out a UFO from a couple years ago that I was challenged to finish.....it's coming along but I need to find something to use for the setting triangles since I ran out of fabric and cannot find a match. Everything is close, but not quite.

Now I must get back to playing with paint schemes for the house.......

It's Not My Fault!

2010-06-29T20:37:00.000-07:00

Greetings -- I haven't been very motivated to do much quilting lately -- the job hunt is still going on. The stress from the last 6 months of uncertainty has definitely taken it's toll and I've been in a major quilting slump. I've been doing more virtual quilting than anything else. But, I did start another new project. But it's not my fault, really. I saw this and fell in love. I didn't want to start another English paper pieced hexagon project. I already have one that's been hanging around for longer than I care to admit. I've been following Cathi's blog for over a year now. She uses Inklingo for all her quilts AND hand pieces them.

It was Cathi's blog that inspired me to hand piece my nosegay blocks for my Fruit Ladies Christmas challenge last year. I discovered that I really enjoy hand piecing. So, I took the plunge and tried Inklingo. Naturally it meant that I HAD to upgrade my ancient ink jet printer to a newer one that didn't jam like my ancient one liked to do. In case you can't tell, these little hexies are .5"! Yes, I am crazy. And no, it's not going to be a full sized quilt.

I can finally show pictures of the graduation quilts. This one is for my niece in Colorado. It's Moda's Spring Magic jellyrolls.I had a hard time giving this one away.

Next up are the quilts for the high school seniors at church. We had 5 this year. The other quilters were not too happy with me....there were a LOT of half square triangles in these babies. Here they are hanging over Sally's railing.

Here's the one I did. My senior was a runner so the border fabric has running shoes. I quilted this with daisies (her favorite flower) and running shoes.

Keep your fingers crossed for us that the RIGHT job will come along -- SOON!

This & That

2010-05-25T09:43:00.000-07:00

I know, I've been MIA lately -- but, well, life hasn't been worth writing about lately. Not a whole lot of quilting has been happening, or much that I can show here yet (graduation gifts).

First up, as you can see by the picture above, Red & White Snowballs are DONE! Quilted, on the bed and doggie approved. Doesn't The Spotted One look cute? Reality is he would much rather prefer to be UNDER it than on top of it.

Last year Janet gifted me with some spotty dog fabrics to make a quilt for Arlo. Well, I finally got around to it.

The border fabric, red & black were from Janet, "thank you Janet". All the rest came from my stash and we won't talk about the embarrassing amount of doggie themed fabric still awaiting use.......

Do ya' think he KNOWS it's his quilt?!?!?

If you're reading this, send some good thoughts our way....we certainly need them.

784

2010-03-28T22:15:00.000-07:00

Number of blocks = 169

Number of partial blocks in the border = 52

Total number of half square triangles = 784

Finished size = 96' x 96"

Yup, that my friends is my completed (flimsy) red & white snowball quilt. Quilting will have to wait as there are some other priorities ahead of this one. What a nice feeling to have the piecing completed on that one. It was a good, mindless project to work on while keeping me from obsessing about the rest of our life the last couple months.

On the job front, the Bearded One has been offered a position back at Boeing with one of the contractors. Even though this is probably not the ideal job, going back to work at Boeing, he has accepted the offer. Meanwhile, he's started some heavy duty studying for some certifications which will help in the ongoing job search.

It's been an interesting, stressful few months. But it's also been a good time to reflect on where we are and what we really want. We've done some serious research about other areas of the country where we might want to live. We've come to realize that there are some other areas of the country that are high on our list where the cost of living is much more reasonable than here in the Seattle area. So, here we are, about to start down a new path. A path for which we don't know what direction it will eventually lead us.....

As far as this one is cares, as long as the dog treats and kibble keep appearing, he's not too concerned.....

Spring.....

2010-02-20T15:42:00.000-08:00

........a time for rebirth....

...A time of growth, renewal, of new life.....

and also "the term is also used more generally as a metaphor for the start of better times"....

All I can say is "I certainly hope so." Yesterday we were dealt a tough blow. After 19.5 years with Boeing the Bearded One, along with 1023 other fellow employees were given their 60 day layoff notices. At least 500 of these IT people are all from the Puget Sound area. A lot of these people have many more years with the company than the Bearded One has....some close to 30 years. Others just a couple years from retirement.

And, on a quilty note, I have actually finished something.

As you can see from the VW bus, actually a Syncro (AWD), this is for a fellow VW friend who is facing some tough times health wise. All of the fabrics came from my stash. And, even tho, 3 years ago, I swore that I would NEVER, EVER quilt another quilt with meandering pine boughs, I just had to for this quilt. A lot of the green fabrics are pine bough prints (this IS the evergreen state afterall.)

The pattern is from Mary Johnson's website, Double 4-Patch.

The Bearded One had some very specific input on this quilt. He said it must contain the VW bus and it needed to be climbing some rocks or a hill. He also was quite adamant that the block was NOT centered. He specifically wanted it off center and down towards the bottom. Whew! All that presented a few challenges to my stressed brain as the Double 4-Patch blocks are 8" and the bus block was 12". Easy, right, getting the correct placement of the partial lit and dark 4-patches was more than my stressed out brain could handle.....but, the 3rd time seemed to be the charm.

So, let's hope that this truly is the start of better times, and hopefully SOONER rather than later.

Missed the Deadline

2010-02-02T09:28:00.000-08:00

Back in October I joined the red & white snowball challenge.Unfortunately life got in the way. After I'd made just a few blocks I decided that I wanted to make my quilt large enough for the bed, that means queen size. Or, as it translates to this quilt: 169 blocks or 784 red and white half square triangles (includes all the partial blocks around outer edge.)

I also decided I'd put an outer border on this. You can see a red & cream floral in the centers of some of the red blocks. This will be the outer border.

Due to juggling several other things at the same time and being down and out with the crud for 3 weeks, I didn't even try to make this deadline. Instead I'm using this project as my leaders and enders in between other projects. First up is the high school senior quilt for church and those blasted "bitches britches" (doggie panties) for Mary-Lynn.

Years ago, back when we had an unspayed, female, show dog I bought her a pair of panties for when she was in season. Since my house is all carpeted it was either that or she lived in a crate for 3 weeks. After she promptly chewed a hole through that first pair we came to an understanding. She tolerated wearing them so she could be free in the house and only ever chewed one other pair. But, because she destroyed the first panties, I was forced to make my own. I redesigned them to fit better and the rest is history.....

in the mid 90's Disney released 101 Dalmatians with real dogs, not the cartoon version. this was soon followed by the sequel 102 Dalmatians. This created a Dalmatian craze and Dalmatians were in high demand. Due to this, the number of Dals in need of rescue skyrocketed. So, I spent several years making panties which we sold at Dalmatian Specialty shows. I donated all my time and materials so that 100% of the profits could go to Dalmatian Rescue. Now, 15+ years later I'm still called upon from time to time by breeder and show friends to re-supply their "bitches britches". By my guess I've probably made well over 100 pair. Have I mentioned that I HATE making them? They are tedious and not at all fun to make. Consequently I put off the task as long as I can....Yes M-L, I really AM working on them....albeit rather slowly......

Fruit Ladies Recap

2010-01-10T23:06:00.000-08:00

Remember these whacky fruit ladies? Well, we finally had the big reveal just before Christmas and despite all the grumbling the QB's rocked this challenge. I have to admit, I had a LOT of FUN with this. Sometime last year the Mistress of LeeHaven was making some very pretty nosegay blocks. Nosegay blocks have always been a favorite and I've had them on my bucket list for years. A little research, a little EQ time and I was ready to roll.

After a lot of creative cutting I had enough for pieces cut out for 24 of these lovely ladies. After attempting to machine piece the first 2 blocks and frogging more seams than I put in, I realized it was time to tackle hand piecing. Between waiting for coats of varnish to dry on a certain teardrop trailer, the nosegays came to life and I discovered that I really enjoy hand piecing. Then they spent way too much time on the design wall while the teardrop was being finished and I tried to figure out where to go from there. Yup, I had no plan beyond the nosegays. I figured the fruit ladies would speak to me and tell me where to go from there.....they didn't -- speak to me, that is.

The ribbon border was another item on my bucket list. Note to self: next time have odd number of blocks AND rows -- even blocks by odd rows don't let you work the corners nicely.

And just because I want to, here are a few close up shots of the quilting.

The rest of the challenge projects can be found here.

Seasons Greetings!

2009-12-24T11:11:00.000-08:00

Christmas 2009

Greetings all!

My folks decided to let me do the yearly letter again this year. I guess I did pretty good last time, so I get to do it again. Good thing I got the bark translator upgraded!

So, I have to say, nice as they are, I think my folks are a bit whacky. They spent all summer building this thing they call a teardrop cargo trailer. Frankly, I'm not sure what all the fuss is about, some pieces of wood glued together, some aluminiuminuminum… metal… on the outside, and a couple wheels on the bottom. Big deal. Woof (can’t translate that word). If they'd leave the door to the garage open, I could drag a few blankets into it and use it as a nice cave, but they won't let me do that. Too close to the BIG box of dog cookies or something... anyway, they seem really happy with it, and it even follows us when we go camping. I'm not sure how it knew where we were going, but there it was. It certainly gave me more room in the camper, so I'm not going to complain.

Normal daily activities are pretty much the same as always. Dad still does network stuff at Boeing. He keeps talking about things like headcount and stuff I don't understand, but he keeps going to work and I still get dog cookies, so things must be ok for now. Mom keeps busy with all kinds of things: she works on the computers at the church, runs their web site and several things associated with it, and makes quilts for all kinds of programs including quilts for wounded soldiers. One quilt she was really happy with was for a good friend they camp with, a lady in her mid '70's who still goes camping whenever she can. The few times I’ve seen her, I bark at her as much as I can, but she never comes over to say hello; I guess she needs a bark translator too. It was a really neat quilt, although they wouldn't let me sleep on it. I can't help it if I'm covered with fur; I'm a dog! Woof! See?

Ok, so the last item I know you all want to know about, the evil appliance report. Well, that thing they call a toaster is STILL on the counter and they still use it! Unbelievable! So, being the smart dog I am, I figured out that before they use the evil toaster appliance, they almost always get something out of a noisy, crinkly thing called a plastic bag. So now, rather than waiting for them to use the evil appliance, I just hide downstairs whenever I hear a plastic bag. It is MUCH better. One day I'll get the nerve to destroy the evil appliance, but for now, I guess I'm still a little frightened of it. I even get nervous when they stand in that part of the kitchen! What an evil device; why would anyone want one?

Well, I guess I'd better go check on the kitchen again, make sure they haven't dropped any more food for me. Every now and then I find a treat in one of my food bowls; how does that happen?

Arlo the Dalmatian

(for Stephen & Liz)

Pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/lizquiltz

The Ultimate Price

2009-12-08T16:39:00.000-08:00

In memoriam for Lakewood, Washington

Officers

Ronald Owens | Mark Renninger | Tina Griswold | Gregory Richards

And for all of those who put their life on the line everyday to keep us safe --

Thank you.

Vertigo, Not the Movie

2009-11-26T15:04:00.000-08:00

Our Thanksgiving holiday started quite normally, loading up the bus with Dad and the Spotted One and heading over the mountains to Chelan to spend the holiday with my brother since he has to work on Friday. This morning we're waiting for Dad to come downstairs for breakfast -- no Dad. He can't sit up because he's extremely dizzy. He started wondering if he was having a stroke or heart attack. A call to the local clinic ends up with a trip to the E.R. via ambulance.

Now, keep in mind that my dear brother lives at the end of a 3/4 mile gravel road. The Bearded One had to go out to the main road with the bus so the ambulance could find the place! The poor Spotted One was relegated to his crate in the bathroom, much to his dismay. The medics were followed a few minutes later by the firemen. (I know, missed photo op with the Spotted One and a real, honest to goodness firetruck!)

Two hours later, after ct scan and blood work all came back normal, we have a diagnosis of vertigo. Home to release the Spotted One from doggy jail and to start work on the bird of the day. I'll leave you with a picture of the south end of Lake Chelan from the hospital grounds.

I must be Nuts.....

2009-11-24T15:37:00.000-08:00

I've been rather busy lately working on several projects. I wish I could share with you my latest. Alas, it is the QB Christmas Challenge and until the big reveal on December 22nd, it must remain a secret. I can say this, it involves this fabric, the challenge fabric for which I've taken a LOT of GRIEF. Sheesh, you'd think a bunch of ladies who call themselves the Quilting Broads would see the humor in working with the Fruit Ladies for a challenge!

I can say this, I started this project without a specific plan and, for awhile. I was worried that it wasn't going to come together but WOW -- I'm really, really pleased with it. With Janet's help, I overcame my block and worked it all out -- even the quilting worked out.

Besides everything else I'm doing, I've also embarked on two online quilt-alongs -- the Red & White Snowball Challenge is the first one. Naturally I'm going to do it "My Way". Since I like to make actual bed sized quilts, mine will be queen sized. For that I will need 196 - 6" blocks. In those 196 blocks I will need 784 r&w half square triangle blocks! What was I thinking?!?!? It's a good thing I have a large selection of reds, whites & creams. Here's my start:

The fabric in the center of the first block on the left will also be the border fabric. I'm randomly scattering it throughout the centers of some of the red blocks.

Joseph's Coat is the other quilt-along. This is a portable project and as long as I can stay on top of the prep work for each block, it will be my "watching tv" project. I'm doing my petals a little differently than the method shown in the quilt along and they probably take a little more time my way, but I like the final look better. After Thanksgiving I'll try to take some pictures of my prep method. Meanwhile, here are 3 blocks in various stages -- 1 is complete, 1 is partially complete and one is just pinned.

The actual colors are a little more vibrant than they look in this picture. I'm using mainly purple fabrics with a little bit of pink and blue for sparkle and interest. So far it's still fun. I wonder what I'll think of it after 49 blocks?!?!

I will leave you with a picture of the Spotted One looking oh so cute sprawled on the Christmas Lights Mystery quilt. His eyes are such a beautiful amber color, but they are terrible to photograph as they always turn bright yellow.At least they match the gold in the quilt!

On a Roll....

2009-11-09T22:19:00.000-08:00

This was a productive weekend. I managed to load and fully quilt the Moda Bistro (coffee theme) quilt which is to be a Christmas gift. Wooo hoo!

And here's a close up of some of the quilting:

I was aiming for a masculine look since this is for my nephew and I think I managed to achieve it. I didn't want to distract from the border so it got quilted with just a simple piano key. The rest of the quilt is just swirls. I probably could have been more creative in the quilting but a) it's for a 20 year old college kid and b) it's for a guy -- I seriously doubt he will notice the quilting.

I also realize that I neglected to post a picture of the finished Christmas Lights mystery. So, without further ado, here it is:

I know, you really can't see the quilt well laid out on the bed but it will have to do. I simply don't have a good place to hang quilts to take decent pics of them. Hhhhmmm, I think we need to work on that.

Meanwhile, here's a pic of The Spotted One using The Bearded One's knee as a pillow:

We've been having some wild weather and he's not too crazy about it. Downpours, hail and even his favorite, thunder & lightening. The poor boy rings his bell to go out but when he sticks his nose out and sees a downpour he kicks it into reverse faster than you could believe and is standing in the middle of the living room looking all innocent. Does this look like an innocent face to you?

Next up, that darn QB Christmas Challenge. But, I even made some progress on that this weekend so I'm close to finishing that top. And THEN I can start on my red & white snowball challenge. Yes, I caved. I can't believe it. Another new project is the LAST thing I need....Hear that Ms. Shel -- no, no, no! Absolutely NO Jacob's Coat!!! So stop tempting me...I.Have.NO.Willpower. Must not start, must not start, must not....

When a Plan Comes Together

2009-11-01T22:09:00.000-08:00

This afternoon was a baby shower for a young couple at church. They are confessed "nerds" -- she is a math teacher and he is an engineer. 3 of the QB's decided to make a group quilt for our shower gift. So, the hunt was on for nerdy, teacher/math oriented fabric. It took some searching, but I soon found the perfect fabric.

Here's a sneak peak at the completed quilt. The quilting was even numbers. I used a Dave Hudson pantograph which was perfect for a math teacher. The fabric has been ordered online and arrived on Friday. I passed out the color dots from the selvage to Claudia and Sally. Claudia left on Monday for the QB retreat (I was not going -- long story but it involves a certain Spotted One among other things.) Sally returned from out of town and picked up my two rows and the borders -- inner border all pieced and headed to the retreat first thing Wednesday.

Claudia & Sally complete their rows and assemble the top. Friday afternoon they delivered the top to me for quilting. I loaded it on Bessie (my trusty HQ16) and proceeded to quilt, and quilt, and quilt some more. Then it was time for the binding. Saturday evening was spent binding accompanied by some Halloween movies. Nothing like Night of the Living Dead to accompany some hand sewing.

And here's the happy Mom-to-Be with the completed baby quilt -- 1 week start to finish.

Some Catching Up

2009-10-24T10:39:00.000-07:00

I realize I have been very delinquent about posting lately. I'm putting it down to wasting far too much time on FaceBook -- in particular, Farm Town, Farmville, Farm Pals and Cafe World. These games are very addicting, especially when you also have friends playing them. I admit, I'm a bit competitive and keep trying to best a certain friend -- you know who you are!

Anyway, last weekend I drove across the state to Spokane. It's been 16 years since I've even been on that side of the state. And, I have to admit, I've only ever just driven through Spokane, never had the time to stop and explore. Spokane is a lovely city filled with turn of the century homes. I stayed in an absolutely beautiful bed & breakfast which was designed by Janet's great grandfather. It looks out on a beautiful park which was lined with trees showing off their fall colors.

This also happened to be the weekend of the big Washington State Quilters - Spokane Chapter quilt show. And what a show it was -- 600 quilts and 50+ vendors! Wheeeeee..........

On the quilting front, I've actually accomplished a couple things.

I picked up this wall hanging pattern at the show. She's all ready to be quilted. Since I've got my Christmas Lights mystery quilt loaded on Bessie (HQ16) I'll probably just quilt this on my Pfaff.

Here's a little sneak peek at the quilting. I'm doing a meandering holly leaf all over pattern. I'll probably go back over the meandering loops & line portion and make it a ribbon.

It's good to actually see some progress on a couple projects. Now to finish that QB challenge!

Finally! Some Quilting

2009-10-12T13:10:00.000-07:00

At long last, some quilting has finally been accomplished. The last few months have been incredibly busy and it's been quite a dry spell as far as quilting is concerned. However, now that that damn has been broken, I'm hoping it takes awhile to contain the "flood". There are several projects that have been "in the works" for far too long. I'd like to see some of the completed.

So, without further ado, here's the first of what I hope will be a long line of completions:

This spring when Quiltmaker came out with Bonnie Hunter's Christmas Lights Mystery quilt the QB's decided we would all make it. I was finally able to do some serious catch up sewing this weekend and here it is.

I also realized that I have yet to post a picture of our little teardrop actually camping. Since The Bearded One wasn't crazy about calling it Honey Bee, Ms. BackPorch Quilter suggested Woodstock -- it fits. So, here's Woodstock actually camping:

Why I quilt

2009-09-13T20:42:00.000-07:00

A very special quilt for a very special lady -- We love you BEV!

The Cool Factor

2009-08-26T21:29:00.000-07:00

At long last.....our little "Honey Bee" trailer is more or less completed and, more importantly, it is inspected and licensed. There is still a list of several little things that need to be completed, like lining the inside, giving it the water test, making hatch props and those darned round fenders.

But, today we took it on it's maiden voyage down to Shelton, 1-1/2 hours away for the inspection by State Patrol. (It was Shelton today or closer by sometime in the middle of September.) We also wanted to stop and get Dad's advise/help on how to install/mount the new fenders. That issue is still being pondered.

Meanwhile, on the way south a commercial van passed us. As they passed, they honked and waved. The passenger also stuck her head out the window and gave us a big thumbs up and a huge grin!

Yup, THAT'S why I wanted a cool trailer. Or, as somebody on our WetWesties list said, something that doesn't look like a Rubbermaid container from Walmart. It's all about the "Cool Factor."

Crunch Time

2009-08-20T08:21:00.000-07:00

So, last Friday afternoon, while picking up the new fenders for the trailer I learned from the salesman that I would probably have a long wait with State Patrol to have our trailer inspected. Great, this was NOT in the plan.

Monday morning found me making multiple calls to several of the inspection stations. You can NOT speak to a living, breathing human. You only get a recording and each different location gives you different information. I left countless messages and then sat back to wait and wait and wait some more.

Tuesday afternoon I finally got some return calls. The closest station had no appointments until the week AFTER we need the trailer. We are planning to leave on September 10th for the big WetWestie campout in eastern Oregon. Another somewhat close location could offer me September 8th. I took it, but it's a BAD day for The Bearded One to take off to get this inspected. (The first day back to work after a long weekend is always crazy with too many fires to put out.)

The 3rd closest location, 1-1/2 hours away offered me next Wednesday -- August 26th. I took it too. So now the big crunch to get this trailer finished by Wednesday so that it can be 1) inspected 2)certified weight & 3) licensed.

Here's what we have to show for 5 hours of labor yesterday:

The hatch is FINALLY skinned. What a pain! On Tuesday evening we realized our measurements were a bit off and we had to trim 3/4" off the length. With help from our wonderful friend Charles, that job was made much less painless than anticipated.

The Bearded One has off today and tomorrow as we are heading out camping for the weekend. Hopefully, today, things will go smoother than they have been and the rest of this thing can get skinned. Then it's just lights, latches and the rest of the trim. Why is it that everything takes at least 3 times longer than you had planned on?

Wish us luck!

Not Much To Show

2009-08-15T09:55:00.000-07:00

Well, after almost 1-1/2 months, I have FINALLY managed to finish the curtains for the bus! Had to, we're going camping next weekend!

I think they look pretty darn cute. And, there's enough fabric leftover for me to make yet another quilt for the bus. Here's a closeup of the fabric -- note the yellow bus AND the teardrop trailer.

Other than the curtains, the only thing I've been working on is the trailer. It's coming along, slowly. We seem to take two steps forward and one backward. After getting the main portion of the trailer skinned with the masonite and everything worked just perfectly, we thought we were on a role. Skinned the hatch, using about a bazillion clamps. Let it dry for about 22 hours, like the trailer, then unclamped everything. We even took all the clamps back across the street to the neighbor! Came back to find that half the hatch had sprung!

We're hoping that because the weather was cooler and damp, it didn't let the glue dry completely. We will see when we unclamp it again later today.

Meanwhile, we discovered that the trailer will have to be inspected by the Washington State Patrol prior to being able to license it. We've also been told that it could take up to 6 weeks for an appointment. Grrrrrrrr! That is NOT GOOD. We've been working all summer to get this trailer done so we can take it on our 4 day campout to eastern Oregon, the biggest WetWestie campout of the year! I'll know more on Monday when I can actually talk to an inspection officer. They only work Mon-Thurs.

If you are really interested in viewing more pictures of the teardrop build, they can be found here: Teardrop Build Pictures.

Grrrrr!

2009-08-08T12:49:00.001-07:00

See my nice, clean refrigerator! It needed cleaning but I really didn't want to spend $250 in the process. However, when the defrost timer & thermostat fail you get to spend $250 to get it fixed. What kills me is that the parts were only about $60. The rest is labor and two trips to the house -- one to diagnose and one to fix once he got the parts. On the plus side, the repairman was here within a few hours of my call to him, late Friday afternoon. And he was back by 10:30 Saturday morning with the new parts.

Meanwhile, I'm hoping that the food I was able to stuff into coolers and the bus refrigerator will still be good. According to the repairman this probably failed several months ago. It just took this long for the thing to get so full of ice that it completely stopped circulating air into the refrigerator portion. That might explain why we've noticed our milk going sour after only a couple days.

Anybody want some sour milk?

Global Warming

2009-07-29T14:40:00.000-07:00

Please, if you're one of those people (like my brother) who don't believe in Global Warming, come to Seattle, RIGHT NOW!

Here's what we're used to:

Seattle Weather Almanac

Average High: 77°

Average Low: 56°

Drink Bar

2009-07-28T15:08:00.000-07:00

Whoa, Mom, my bowl is dribbling and I didn't do it! Really, I didn't. This thing is defective, there's water flowing down the side. Hey, that's prety cool. I can lick it -- too bad you're not fast enough with the camera!

Sheesh, can't a dog take a drink without a camera always in his face?!?

Arlo

Steamin' In Seattle

2009-07-27T21:47:00.000-07:00

"Nuff said!

Zig Zag Stars & More

2009-07-23T21:35:00.000-07:00

The Zig Zag Star quilt top is done. I think this had to be the easiest and fastest top I've ever made. Unfortunately the quilting of it will not be nearly as quick as it must wait it's turn. I'm sure it will be a well behaved quilt top and patiently await it's turn.

Meanwhile, see these adorable little munchkins?

Aren't they cute wrapped up in their quilts. This picture was from two years ago and these are the quilts I made each of them when they were born. They were visiting along with their parents this past weekend and they each had their quilts in the car with them. Jonathan, the older one told me that he really liked his quilt "because it has a cool side and a fuzzy side." This is why I make quilts. This is what I love to see. People not afraid to use and love their quilts. And almost 6 years later they are much loved and used every day. That just makes me smile. I told both boys that when they outgrew these quilts I would make them bigger quilts. I know that those quilts will also be used and loved. I'm guessing they probably won't accompany them on long car trips though.......

Some things are just genetic....

There's something about summer and dry, scratchy grass. The Spotted One has taken to laying out in the dry grass and has even, on occasion, been caught rolling around on his back. Sneakers, his grandmother used to do the same thing in the exact same spot on the grass. Arlo has only just acquired this habit. Ditto, our first Dal would never think of doing it. He much preferred the shade. But both Sneakers and Arlo have always preferred to be excessively warm, whether that means sunbathing or snuggling under a quilt. Yup, it's genetic.

Some (almost) Instant Gratification

2009-07-22T21:24:00.000-07:00

It's been a busy couple weeks. I spent the better part of last week and some of this week working on a non-quilting project. I've had a wicker loveseat sitting, buried under fabric, in my sewing room for over a year. It's needed upholstery on the seat back and new cushions along with some repair of the seat bottom. My brother eventually will be taking it over to Chelan since he has a lovely sunroom the loveseat and matching rocker will look good in. With much prodding, he finally picked out some fabric. I just wasn't motivated to work on it since he wouldn't be driving his truck until bad weather.

Well, a friend needs to borrow the set for the sunporch at her Dad's house that they are trying to sell. Their real estate agent feels a little "staging" would help things along. Thus, I got the motivation I needed to work on this project. Naturally it turned out to be more work than I had remembered. But, I can now cross this project off the list. And I can say that this project was MOST DEFINITELY not instant gratification! The Bearded One is also happy this project is complete because it means the rocker will no longer reside in the garage.

Because I had to literally unbury the loveseat from the piles of fabric that were on top of it, that meant I had to do something with the piles. I currently have 2 large shelving units from Ikea that stand floor to ceiling and each have 18 cubicles. Each cubicle is stuffed to overflowing with fabric. Literally to the point that fabric is falling out onto the floor. Let's face it, it's far easier to just stuff the fabric back into the appropriate color cubicle after using. Yeah, I'm lazy. But hey, do fI get any points for admiting this deep, dar, secret to the whole internet? Anyway, After getting some motivation from Bonnie Hunter's lecture a couple months ago, I'm SLOWLY working on refolding these cubicles. (Notice, it's been several months since I went to that lecture.) I've discovered that if I fold the fabric as Bonnie suggested, I can get two stacks, side by side in each cubicle.

Here's the first cubicle completed -- See the pretty pinks, all neatly folded & stacked? Can I boast that I have two whole other cubicles completed? That's 3 down, 33 to go! (GROAN) It's a torturously slow process that really bothers my back. So it will get done a little bit at a time. Did I mention that there's also another shelving unit with 6 shelves that are also filled with fabric? You will notice I'm not showing pictures of all this mess. Nor will you see pictures of the piles of fabric that had been residing on the wicker loveseat.

So, now for the instant gratification. All quilters need some every now and then, especially since progress on the Storm at Sea is so tediously slow. I decided I needed SOMETHING to show for all my time downstairs besides burning through two audio books and a Quilt of Valor was a good diversion. It doesn't help that this morning I stumbled upon a Zig-Zag Quilt Along. That seemed to fit the bill (like I really need another project.)

Naturally I had to do things my way instead of the Quilt Along way. I prefer making my half square triangles using the Easy Angle method. And then there was the problem that I wanted to do this NOW, not week by week, as the instructions were doled out. And, after playing around in EQ6, I decided I wanted to do my squares 6". Ok, so I'm not really doing a quilt-along. But, here's what I got done this afternoon/evening.

This is half the quilt already and this was after I had sorted and folded 1+ cubicles of fabric. Of course I'm paying for it now by having to sit here with the heating pad on my back in the middle of a very hot summer.

There's been some progress on the trailer, but since I've babbled long enough already, I'll save that for another post. This is supposed to be a quilting blog afterall. Sorry KD, no pics of the Spotted One today.

It's Beginning to Look Like a Trailer!

2009-07-09T17:23:00.001-07:00

So, after way more coats of varnish than I can count and then treating the inside and the floor to CPES (Clear Penetrating Epoxy Sealer), we did a "test fit" today. Actually this was a test fit of the brace that will be used to help hold the sides straight while we put the bracing ribs in. You can see the brace here:

We've located the yellow aluminum that we are going to cover the top in. Only problem, the aluminum is $75 and shipping is $65!!! However, the supplier specializes in homebuilt airplane supplies and they will be at Oshkosh. As it happens, The Bearded One will be heading to Oshkosh with his father in a few weeks. The supplier, Wicks has said that we could pick up the aluminum directly from them at the show. I'm guessing that this is what will happen.

So, next up, the ribs will be installed and construction on the hatch will also start. Thanks to the generousity of our very handy and knowledgeable neighbor, the vertical ribs for the hatch and the doublers for the side walls, just inside the hatch have all been cut.

As for sewing....sigh. Not much has been done. I think I have Storm at Sea burnout. But I am NOT going to put it back away to mellow for another few years. I am committing to working on it along with other projects. Everytime I get a chance to sew, I will make at least one SAS block before I work on something else. That should help the burnout factor.

And, since some people say I don't post nearly enough pictures of The Spotted One, here's one from a few months ago.

I really do need to make the boy his own quilt. During our last campout, we were sititing in the front seats of the bus playing cards and this crazy Spotted Dog was curled up on the bed with the edge of this quilt in his mouth, trying to cover himself with it. I SO wish I'd had the video camera.

Thanks Janet!

2009-07-02T22:55:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I just can't see the forest for the trees. In this case, I couldn't get past my original background fabric. Once it was suggested that I simply surround the compass with blocks using the same, lighter fabric and then use the orignal, darker background blocks it all fell into place. Doh!

It's a little hard to see here in this picture, but in real life there is a more obvious difference. For some reason, last night, I kept wanting to keep all the original background blocks in the center, surrounding the compass. But once my dear friend Ms. Janet suggested keeping all the light in the center, working out to the darker background it all fell into place. Or was it after I gave myself a big dope slap?!

Either way, I much prefer the way the blocks with the lighter background blend into the blocks with the darker, original background. The background of the compass now fits too. And the solution was so simple. So, I'll get some more of the lighter batik that I used in the background of the compass and make at least 1 but probably 2 or 3 rounds around the compass with those blocks and then finish off with the original blocks.

Anybody want to take bets on how long it takes me to get really tired of this project and put it back into that box I pulled it out of last week?!?!?

Quilt A.D.D.

2009-07-02T09:59:00.000-07:00

I don't have Quilt A.D.D. -- really, I don't. Well, ok, maybe just a little.....all right, more than a little. With all the talk on various quilting blogs about finishing UFO's I decided to revisit some of mine.

Here's what I pulled out from one box. I don't remember just when I started this Storm at Sea, probably about 5-6 years ago I'm guessing, maybe longer....The reason I put it away, these are all paper foundation pieced and I realized that I detest peeling off the paper.

But, I figured I'd rather see this done than sit in a box for another 5+ years. So, this is what I've managed to get done the last couple days.

Now, here's the problem, if you click on the picture, you will see that the background I used behind the compass is not the same cloud background fabric that I used with the blocks. I have a limited amount of the cloud fabric which I bought way back when. I'm hoping that there's enough to add an equal amount of units top and bottom to this to make this square. After that I will have to switch to something else. So, do I get more of the light batik I used in the compass and finish off several rows with blocks made from that? It is much lighter than the cloud fabric. I had hoped it would be a closer match when I bought it, but naturally I didn't have any of the cloud fabric with me at the time. I can get more of the compass background since I just bought that.

My thought was that if I continue the blocks with the current background and make enough to make this square, then switch to the compass batik and make several rounds with that it would tie in with the compass background. What do you think? Should I do that or should I look for another cloud fabric that might be closer to what I'm currently using?

Meanwhile, you might think that this is just a sweet picture of the Spotted One hugging the Bearded One. Wrong! This is Arlo's oh so subtle method of looking out the window since we have all the doggy eye level windows blocked off so he can't stand there barking at everything he sees that walks by.

Oh yeah, check out the spots on his shoulder, they form a capital "A". He was going to be Arlo even before we got him but the "A" really sealed it.

Have a safe and happy 4th. We will be tranquilizing the neurotic Spotted One and trying our best to block out all the sounds from the outside. Unfortunately they still have not banned fireworks in our city so it gets pretty noisey around here on the 4th.

More Productivity

2009-06-28T20:55:00.000-07:00

At last -- the varnishing of the sides of the trailer are complete. 8 coats + countless little white Dalmatian hairs later and it is darn pretty if I do say so myself. The floor has been cut. The braces underneath have been glued & screwed in place. Once the glue is dry, the bottom will get at least two coats of roofing asphalt to protect it from water and road gunk. Then we can get on to more of the structural aspects of building this trailer.

Meanwhile I've been busy at the sewing machine.

I fell in love with the Moda Bistro line. Since it is a coffee based theme, it is rather appropriate for me since I freely admit I'm a coffee snob. My siblings also have the same addiction. This will be one of two Christmas gifts for them. I have the companion border print for an outer border.

Meanwhile, since I ran out of polka dot fabric that's been cut, I spent some time on my other "leaders & enders" project, my Confetti quilt. Don't get me wrong, I have NOT run out of polka dot fabric. There's still a rather tall stack that is awaiting cutting. I just wasn't in the mood to cut.

All the squares in this quilt finish at 1". Yeah, I know, I'm nuts! What can I say. I played around with this block with bigger starting squares, 2" but decided I liked the smaller size better. I haven't decided how large this quilt will be.

I also finally got tired of looking at the Blooming 9-Patch quilt top so I pieced the backing and loaded the top. Unfortunately I can't start quilting on it till the thread that I ordered arrives.

Today was one of those absolutely picture perfect days in the Pacific Northwest. The temp was a pleasant 68° with crystal clear, blue skies. From my deck, I can see the top of Mt. Rainier. It's not the prettiest of views since it's behind one house and a light pole blocks part of the view, but it is still an awesome mountain and I just love it when it's this visible. Most of the year you can't see it at all. Sometimes it just looks like a painted backdrop for a stage setting. Today, as we say here in the PNW, "the mountain is out" -- in all it's majestic glory.

So, that's what's new in my world.

Too Many Projects

2009-06-26T10:07:00.000-07:00

First off, the trailer....final varnish coats have been put on hold the past few days due to weather. It's tough to varnish when it's rainy or windy. We're hoping to finish up the varnish this weekend and move on to the floor construction.

Meanwhile, another bus project is the curtains. Here's what I'm doing to the curtains. You can see the old, loose weave curtains on the right. I'm using those as a base and covering the inside bus portion with this cute Happy Camper fabric from Clothworks. Look, it has a VW bus AND a teardrop trailer! How cute is that. My neighbor says I need to make yet another quilt for the bus with this fabric.....hhhmmmmm.

Also in the works is Bonnie Hunter's latest mystery, Christmas Lights. This is a 3-part mystery being published in Quiltmaker magazine. Most of the QB's are joining in on this mystery. Here is the first part, all complete. I had the paisley in my stash so that will be my border. I then pulled a brown from it to use instead of Bonnie's suggested black print.

See the brown in this closeup. I'm sticking with Bonnie's scrappiness, but not using strictly all Christmas fabrics. At least that's the plan right now. Naturally that is subject to change if I decide the quilt is calling to me to use more Christmas fabrics. They do that you know, call to you as you're working on them, or when you've put them aside for awhile. Only a quilter can hear the call of fabrics though. Ain't that right Quilters?

Also in the ongoing projects pile are these polka dot 9-patches. Crazy Mom Quilts has a One a Day quilt-along. I joined figuring it would give me the motivation to move these little guys along. Yes, they are little -- they will finish at 3".

I'm using setting blocks instead of sashing. As you can see, even the setting blocks are polka dot! Unfortunately this project is stalled until I get more of my polka dot fabric cut. I have quite a stack still waiting to be cut for this other polka dot project that's been lingering for quite awhile.

And then there are the couple Christmas gifts I thought I would get an early start on. But, I can't show them here. There is also the request from a fellow Dalmatian owner to make her some more doggie panties, a.k.a. Bitches Britches. Years ago, when we had a female show dog I made panties for her to wear when she was in season. They became quite a hit among the Dalmatain crowd and I made countless pairs to sell to help support rescue.

So many projects, so little time.....Have a great weekend, and for those of you in the hot parts of the country, stay cool.

Didja' Know...

2009-06-18T16:57:00.001-07:00

....that when you own a Dalmatian, you CAN NOT get away from those little white hairs! They end up EVERYWHERE. And I do mean EVERYWHERE.

Case in point, we have started an interesting home build it project. We are building a miniature Teardrop Cargo Trailer. I know, what do you mean a "miniature" Teardrop. A Teardrop Trailer is already tiny! Well, we have taken the basic Teardrop trailer and shrunk it. A typical Teardrop is built on a frame roughly 5'x8' or 5'x10'. We have shrunk ours down to fit on a 3.4'x4' trailer frame.
See, isn't it gonna be cute? If all goes as planned, it will have pretty birch sides with a bright yellow aluminum skin for the top. For several years we have talked about wanting a small trailer that we could pull with the bus. Since the bus simply doesn't have much space for storage and we tend to bring a LOT OF STUFF when we camp, a small trailer just makes sense. But, we wanted a trailer that had some character and class, hence a Teardrop trailer.

Now, back to those little white hairs......As you can see, we have been working on this project in the garage. Arlo is not helping with this project. He doesn't get to come out to the garage when the door is open. Here The Bearded One is applying coat number 3 of the varnish on one of the sides. What the picture doesn't show are all the little white Dalmatian hairs that I keep picking out of the sticky varnish. You just can't get away from them, ever. I guess if this trailer is ever stolen, I can put "lots of little white Dalmatian hairs embedded in the varnish on the sides" as part of the description.

And here are "The Boys" relaxing. I think one's done too much varnishing and the other has been busy barking at all the kids outside walking on "his" sidewalk.

A New Appreciation

2009-06-10T22:32:00.000-07:00

....for a color that I have never been fond of. It's rather well known among my quilting friends that I have a strong dislike of the color orange. It's true, I've been rather vocal about it. Orange just isn't a color that appeals to me. I've taken a lot of grief about this from some people -- you know who you are. So, it was with much surprise that I recently found myself admiring some beautiful orange batiks. I put it down to going to a quilt show immediately after spending a weekend camping. I must not have been in my normal frame of mind.

So, here's the result of what those batiks (plus a requisite trip to the LQS for even more) turned into. I have to say, I actually like it. As difficult as it was for me to work in a color I'm not fond of, I am really, really pleased with the outcome. I hope the recipient of this bag likes it as much as I do.

Not only did I make this in orange, but you will note that there is also a good bit of pink in several of the fabrics, including the inside. That pocket fabric is pink with tiny orange polka dots. I still cannot believe that I a) made something with all orange fabrics b) even added pink with the orange -- holy batshit, what was I thinking?!?!? c) like how it turned out. It MUST be the Sudafed I've been taking for this congestion in my sinus/ears....
Last week more friends from California were in town for the day on another cruise. We basically did a repeat of Steve & Ray's day minus the 10:00 a.m. cocktails. The flowers in the market are all iris, peonies, poppies and sweet peas. Check out the really dark plum colored sweet peas in these bouquets. I've never seen sweet peas that color before. Aren't they just gorgeous?

Productive Weekend

2009-05-25T21:30:00.000-07:00

For the last month or so I've been working on a project that has been rather challenging for me.

It's been challenging because I've been using a bunch of orphan blocks, leftovers and lots of pictures to make a quilt for a special friend. I've borrowed a phrase from Finn that seems to fit this quilt "Everything But the Kitchen Sink". Here it is before the borders.

My freestyle letters didn't come out as nicely this time as they did the first time around. However, the first time around, I had set them with black and decided that the black background was just too much. So, I redid them with the blue background. I'm not as happy with them.

The Bearded One surprised me and made the suggestion of the split border with the light and dark blue. He also rejected the only blues I had in my stash that there was enough of. Oh darn, I had to go to the LQS. I really have to try to get a better picture of this. I got pictures from several of Bev's friends and tried to incorporate all of them. We call Bev the matriarch of our WetWesties camping group. It is a privilege to be able to boast an "I know Bev" bumper sticker on your Westfalia.

Considering the mish-mash of leftovers that I started with, I really didn't think this was all going to come together but yet, somehow, it did. I'm happier with the way this turned out than I thought I would be.

After just two years, my little patch of columbine has spread considerably. This year I've also added some new, red ones but I've put them up in the garden on the left, just below the shed. I love the patch of forget-me-nots in the background. They're spreading like crazy and I just can't bring myself to pull them, even when they're in a place I don't want them to be. I only wish the Magic Garden Elves would come visit and get rid of all the weeds!

And, in case you haven't figured out by now, I like to take weird pictures of a certain spotted one. How's this one KD?

Because...

2009-05-21T19:23:00.000-07:00

....a girl can never have too many tote bags.

And because I decided that it needed a little "bling", I added some hot fix crystals. The picture doesn't do them justice. They really do sparkle quite nicely.

After being knocked out flat with the crud last week, I finally managed to get the Go in Peace banner quilted. It has been delivered to the church and will be hung shortly, I hope. Once it's hung I'll take a picture.

Meanwhile, my lilacs are blooming and my patch of columbine has doubled. Spring has most definitely sprung.

I'm hoping to get some serious quilting time this weekend. We won't be going anywhere and the Bearded One is now suffering with the crud so I KNOW he won't be doing anything. For once the weather in the PNW is actually cooperating too. Which most likely means that NEXT weekend, when we are supposed to go camping, it will probably rain. Such is life in the PNW.

Free Style Letters

2009-05-10T18:36:00.000-07:00

I said I would make a banner/wallhanging for our church. The balcony extends over the end of the church and is about 4 feet high and is a big blank off-white space. This will hang up there, so that it's visible as you leave church.

This was my first real attempt at Tonya's free style lettering. I had trouble with being "free". I'm afraid I'm just a little too anal. I had pieced all the letters into words and discovered that they were all very nicely lined up with the bottoms of all the letters nice and even. I had done this without even realizing it. So, rip them all apart and make sure that they did not line up. That was very difficult for me.

Then came the stained glass blocks. Tedious is an understatement! If you look closely, you can see that the side rows of blocks have a little bit of black leading -- they were just that much too short for the ends. I figure that once this is quilted and bound those bits of black will be covered up wtih binding -- black of course.

This was a real stretch for me, but, all in all, I'm pretty pleased with how it came out. I'll get it quilted this week and maybe it might get hung before next Sunday....well, that is if the cold that I'm currently fighting cooperates.

Playing Tourist

2009-05-07T20:39:00.000-07:00

It's not often that I get to play tourist in my own hometown. But, when I do, it's always a lot of fun. Even more so when two friends from California are in town on what was supposed to have been a Mexican cruise. Due to the swine flu, their cruise was rescheduled to make stops in San Francisco, Victoria and Seattle. So, first thing this morning their ship arrived in Seattle. They grabbed a cab and headed to Pike Place Market. I told Steve that he and Ray should find the big brass pig and I would meet them there. They found the pig. They also found the bar on the way. At 10:00 a.m. they felt I needed a cocktail -- apparently this is what you do when you are on vacation.

The market was chock full of scenes like this, all sorts of fresh fruits and vegetables and of course, the infamous flying fish stands. These buckets of tulips reminded me of the bolts of color in a quilt store. And yes, I did drag the guys into the quilt shop. I had to get a fq for the QB birthday/potluck on Monday. After strolling through the market we hiked uphill to catch the monorail over to yet another Seattle landmark.

We took the glass elevator up to the restaurant at the top (just under the observation deck.) There we had a leisurely lunch while the restaurant slowly revolved displaying the panoramic 360 views of Seattle. The only thing missing was Mt. Rainier. Sadly the mountain was "not out" as we say here in the pacific northwest.

But, the lack of mountain view was more than made up for in the wonderful desserts. This was my tiramisu. Ray's chocolate mousse was another beautiful work of art.

Here's a pic of their ship taken from the Space Needle during lunch. Their ship is the big one with the red & blue stacks. And using the binoculars from the observation platform, they made sure I saw the 7 story water slide on the deck.

Just in case you thought playing tourist can be boring, let me assure you, when you are with someone like Steve, it most definitely isn't!

Thank you Steve & Ray for a fun-filled day. I had a GREAT time.

Finishes & More

2009-05-03T22:12:00.001-07:00

Finishes: The quilting on two high school senior quilts for church. Each June we present the graduating high school seniors with quilts. This year it's five. Each quilt is personalized for the senior with the main fabric representing one of their main interests or hobbies. Some years this can be quite a challenge. I lucked out this year, one girl ended her questionnaire with "I drive a VW beetle." Well, I just so happened to have the perfect fabric in my stash. I quilted this with lime green thread and Daisies Galore pantograph by Timeless. I'm very happy with how this came out.

The next quilt was pieced by Claudia, a fellow QB and then I quilted it using my double spiral board. Don't know if I will be using that again in the near future. What a pain in the neck it was lining it up for each of the 48 blocks. Then, once that was completed I needed to quilt the empty spaces between the spirals and the borders. Thankfully that part went quickly. I still need to get a picture of the whole quilt. This quilt is for the one guy in this year's group. The border is planes and helicopters which is why I felt the spirals sorta fit.

More: The next picture is a work in progress. I've been trying out Tonya's free style lettering. This is to be hung from the balcony at church so it will be viewed as you leave. I'm toying with putting stained glass crazy patch blocks around the words but I need to try it out first. For the record, I wasn't standing square in front of this when I snapped the photo.

On of these days I'll sit down long enough to figure out why blogger doesn't want to display my photo in my header........grrrrr!!!!!!!

And, because somebody has said I don't post enough pictures of a certain spotted beast, this one's for you K.D.

Food, Friends & the Great Outdoors

2009-04-21T12:14:00.000-07:00

We went on our first camping trip of the year and it was a great weekend. It rained all the way down to Fishermen's Bend (just east of Salem, Oregon). But, by dinnertime the rain had decided to quit and the weather for the rest of the trip was glorious. We decided to take secondary roads for part of the trip instead of boring ol' I-5. The scenery going through the Willamette Valley was well worth it. Rolling hills, vineyards, Christmas tree farms and quaint little towns. So much better than the interstate.

Fishermen's Bend campground is beautiful as you can see by the pictures here. Lots of moss and ferns all next to the scenic Santiam River.

There were all the usual Wet Westie goings on, music, old friends and new friends, campfires and, of course, the traditional Saturday nite potluck.

On Saturday Janet & Shelly kidnapped me and we went to a couple quilt shops. They are in the middle of a week long quilt shop tour of Oregon. I think they are going to fill up the car long before the week ends Saturday was just the second day of their journey and the trunk was already full!

Pre-Wash Cycle

2009-04-08T19:33:00.000-07:00

Warning: If you're not a dog lover, this post might gross you out.

Every evening this is the game that is played between Arlo & The Bearded One. Arlo really thinks that he needs to pre-wash all the dishes that are being loaded in the dishwasher. The Bearded One thinks otherwise. He will chase Arlo out of the kitchen but Arlo simply loops around the island and comes back in behind his back. When he's really emboldened he actually climbs into the dishwasher. The Bearded One will turn back to the dishwasher and chase Arlo out. And so the game goes, every night.

On the quilting front, I'm actually getting something accomplished. This is one of the quilts for a graduating high school senior at church. I'm trying out a double spiral board -- first time I've used it. The spirals are very cool but it takes me longer to position everything than it does to actually quilt it. I've completed 7. There are 35 blocks in the quilt!

And, for those of you still awaiting spring, here's a little bit for your enjoyment. This is my little flowering plum tree. The 74 degree weather last weekend has encouraged everything to burst into bloom. As much as I love spring, it doesn't like me. My allergies have gone haywire.

Finishes

2009-04-02T18:58:00.001-07:00

Despite the fact that I feel like I've been spinning my wheels lately and not really accomplishing anything, I did manage to get a couple things finished (in between starting yet another new project.)

This is a close up of the quilting on Hip 2B Green. I used Suzanne Earley's Meandering Magic and did my own version of "funky ferns" or palm like meandering. It's a little hard to see because of the busy-ness of the fabrics. Here's a shot of the backside that gives a slightly better idea. I'll be working on the bindng tonite while watching the final "ER".

Next up are two pillowcases. I purchased them as kits at the QA show in Monroe a couple weeks ago. The fabric is a new line with hollyhocks. I would have bought the kit for a wallhanging but Janet snagged the last one! That'll teach me. Next time I'm out with Janet I really need to be on my toes and quicker to grab something that appeals to me. She also managed to beat me to a lovely pink & brown piece in another booth when we were looking for fabrics for the Urban Hobo Bag.

Weekend Project

2009-03-29T23:22:00.000-07:00

So, when I wasn't busy sewing my finger, this is what I did this weekend.

This is a new pattern by Laura Denison. I've made several of her other bags and totes and just love them all. I have some ideas for doing this one again in the near future.

Did You Know...

2009-03-27T16:24:00.000-07:00

.....that a Pfaff sewing machine has the ability to sew right through your finger, nail and all?!?

I came running upstairs to find The Bearded one with this sticking through my fingertip. He couldn't see it at first because of the blood I was dripping.....

See, from this side you can hardly even tell where it was......

But, from this side.......

Now that it's all said and done, I'm medicating myself with some Crown Royal. Typing isn't easy when you have a big 'ol bandaid wrapped around your middle finger.....luckily no blood was shed on the project I was working on. And no, I have NO IDEA how I managed to do this. I do know that i pulled another piece of the needle out of the top half of my finger before running upstairs for help with the tip.....

Thanks Terry!

2009-03-27T13:38:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks ago Terry, over at Atkinson Designs was cleaning her studio and giving away leftovers from her beach quilt. Being a March baby and a Pisces, these leftovers were colors that really appealed to me. And guess what, I was the lucky winner! Aren't they just yummy!

I lover Terry's choice of colors and I almost have enough to make my own quilt. I might have to add just a few more. Besides Terry's wonderful choice of pallette for her beach quilt she is a talented quilt designer with a great line of patterns and books. I have made many of her patterns and we won't even talk about how many YBR's I've made over the years!

The Best Things in Life are Quilted!

2009-03-21T19:42:00.001-07:00

Friday evening I had the opportunity to go to Bonnie Hunter's trunk show and talk. What an an amazing artist she is! She is the most talented, funny, inspiring and giving quilter I've ever made. She shares her ideas and quilts on her amazing website: www.quiltville.com . If you're new to quilting or haven't yet discovered Bonnie's website, I urge you to take the time to go check it out. Just don't blame me if you're there for quite awhile.

I only wish I had been able to take one of her workshops. Unfortunately they were sold out before I even knew she would be in the area. This was the first time she's been on the west coast so despite the fact it was an hour away, I jumped at the chance to go.

Thank you Bonnie for a great evening and for being so willing to share your passion with the rest of us. The Best Things in Life really are Quilted!

Having Fun!

2009-03-11T22:46:00.000-07:00

I happened to catch one of the Saturday quilting programs that demo'd a kaleidoscope kreator program. I had totally forgotten about it until this morning when I read Pat Sloan's blog where she linked to yet another blog with these really cool design your own Keds. They were just too cool. So, I downloaded the kaleidoscope program and started having some fun -- way too much fun.

KD -- forgive me for playing with your picture -- if you thought your nosegays were pretty to begin with, check these out! I think you'll agree with me.

The program comes with a variety of shapes and then there's an add on program with even more shapes which I immediately went back and purchased also.

And of course I had to play with a picture of a certain little spotted guy.

I also played with some floral closeups.

The possibilities of combinations and shapes are amazing. You can flip and turn and resize the orignal photo. Tomorrow I'm going to print some of these on some fabric that's been treated with Bubble Jet Set. I have a few ideas.....

No You Can't Have Your Own FaceBook Page!

2009-03-08T21:21:00.000-07:00

All right, all right -- I'll play the video for your again. Just don't get nose prints on my screen!

So, I was showing The Bearded One a video Pam posted of her two labs in the snow. One of them loves to do snow angels. As you can see, The Bearded One was not the only one watching the video.

Another Year

2009-03-06T19:56:00.001-08:00

Well, another year has passed. At least this year wasn't as bad as last. Last year was a significant birthday -- you know, one of the ones ending in zero. Hate those. Last year I had decided that if I didn't celebrate, then I certainly couldn't be that old. It was also the first birthday since my mother had died. Well, nobody would just "let it pass". My wonderful quilting friends, the QB's moved up my birthday party because they really thought I wouldn't show up. They then proceeded to wrap all my FQ's in orange. And how could I possibly forget the foam rubber cake, iced and everything. Did you know that you can't easily cut a foam rubber cake? Anyway, this year was quite tame, rather quiet. I spent part of the day at Pat's with her spinning friends. Did you know that you can die wool in a crockpot with Wilton's icing dye?

The Bearded One isn't a good shopper. Over the years I've gotten used to doing my own shopping for him. This year I had told him I wanted a yarn swift. He said "a what"? It wasn't worth trying to explain so I saved him a trip to the yarn store and did his shopping for him last week. He left it sitting in the office, taunting me and wouldn't let me use it. This afternoon I decided enough was enough and it was time to put it to use. When I openend the it what do I find in the box? A crowbar! Nice guy! Luckily he decided not to try too hard to hide it. He claims he fully expected me to try to use it before now. (Shhh, we won't tell him that I did, obviously just before he swapped it out for the crowbar.)

Hey Janet -- no ORANGE this year -- yippee!

That Plaid

2009-03-03T18:56:00.000-08:00

Remember how I mentioned that The Bearded One actually liked Hip 2B Green? Remember how I mentioned he said it would look really good in a green VW bay window bus? Remember how I said "no way". Well, just in case you were thnking I was being mean or something, I'll let you see why I feel that way.

See this plaid upholstery? This is just one of the reasons why you will never see one of these buses in my driveway. What are the other reasons, hhhmmm, let me count the why nots. Comfort, lack of heat, tacky, tacky upholstery, comfort -- I could go on and on but I think you get the picture. Besides, he's about to spend lots of $$$ to give his current bus a transplant.

Enough ranting, I think it's time to go do some quilting.

Hip 2B Green

2009-03-01T20:48:00.000-08:00

Remember that kit that was just "calling my name" the other day at Sew Expo? Well, here it is! And, surprise, surprise -- the Bearded One actually likes it! He says it would look just dandy inside a lime green bay window VW bus! Humph! That's what HE thinks. Ain't no way one of those buses with that hideous green plaid will find it's way to our driveway.

The QB's that were with me Thursday will be surprised it's done -- or maybe not. And I didn't even work on it at all yesterday, Saturday. Instead I accompanied Ann down to Olympia to "look at" an HQ16. Yup, she bought one! She's pretty excited. I know she's gonna love it. I've had mine for almost 3 years now and don't regret the decision to purchase it.

So, now I guess I'd better finish Sally's QOV so I can load this one up and quilt it. I even purchased some lime green King Tut thread for it. I suppose I should see what's in the stash for the backing. Unfortunately there really isn't anything that would work with it. The Bearded One was once again trying to be helpful and suggested a nice ORANGE -- not!

Doing My Part

2009-02-26T19:12:00.001-08:00

Yup, I spent the day doing my part to boost the economy. Today was the start of Sew Expo. Four days of vendors and seminars and yet more vendors. Naturally, we awoke to this:
Some of you in other parts of the country are probably laughing at this paltry amount of snow. However, it was enough to delay most schools and close a good number of them. Western Washington is totally incapable of dealing with snow, especially when it's usually accompanied by ice. But, lucky for us, the temp was rising and the sun was predicted to make an appearance by afternoon. So three QB's set off to do our part for the economy. I can say that I did my part!

The neutrals on the left were purchased within my first 10 minutes at the show! 5 - 1 yard pieces plus one fat quarter. I have a couple quilts in mind that will be using those. The middle coffee stripe is going to be borders for a coffee themed quilt I'm planning as a gift. Then there are some more polka dots for a project I've been doing as a leaders & enders - photo below. Then there's this neat padded laptop case. Last but certainly not least, the Hip to be Square kit. Check out the wild fabrics in this one!

I don't know WHY this one kept calling my name. I tried to resisit it, but, as you can see, resistance was futile. Lime green is usually not one of "my colors" but I think it's been growing on me after working with so much green in my high school senior quilt.

Below is the beginning of my polka dot quilt leaders & enders quilt. What I'm not showing you is the huge stack of polka dot fabrics yet to be cut. I knew I should have stuck with that quilt the other day instead of going back to those pink log cabin blocks. Turns out I managed to put three strips on all 30 of the blocks going in the wrong direction. Instead of working counter clockwise around the center, the last three strips were all put on clockwise! I spent some quality time working on un-sewing while watching Lost.

Meanwhile, I hear the drying buzzing, that means my greens are dry! Guess what I'm going to start?!?

An Evening Out

2009-02-24T19:58:00.000-08:00

Last Friday evening 3 of us from my weekly quilting group, the QB's went to see this wonderful play. It was held in a small, intimate theater, the Taproot Theatre. The play was wonderful. A very moving, thought provoking story which documents a difficult period in our history. If Gee's Bend comes to your town, GO SEE IT! The acting was wonderful, just a four member cast, all with wonderful voices. I often forget how many wonderful gospel based hymns are part of my very traditional, middle class, christian background.

Progress

2009-02-20T14:48:00.000-08:00

I've finally made some progress in the sewing department. The top for the High School senior is completed. Once I get the backing, I'll get it loaded up and quilted. This is a yearly project that I've been coordinating for about 7 years now. Back in 2000 our church decided that it would be a cool idea to make quilts for the graduating high school seniors. So every June, they are wrapped in quilted love and sent on to the next part of their lives. After the first year, it was decided to give the kids a questionnaire to fill out so we can personalize the quilts to each student. This year was a major struggle as 4 of the 5 kids (all girls) said their favorite activity was "hanging out with friends" and a few other things that just can't be represented in fabric. When I received the questionnaire for my girl I was starting to despair -- until I got to the last item she had noted "I drive a VW bug". Ah ha! Yippee, major Happy Dance! My stash just so happens to have all sorts of VW fabric. So I happily pulled out the bright VW bugs. Her favorite colors were green and black -- which explains why this quilt is so darn green!

Now I guess it's back to pink log cabin blocks......

Early Birthday Loot

2009-02-17T09:26:00.001-08:00

Yesterday was an early birthday celebration at quilting (QB's). Due to schedules, we had a joint birthday celebration and Janis and I ended up with some good birthday loot -- fat quarters and good food! We always have a potluck lunch and the birthday girls get to decide what they are collecting in the way of fq's. This year I chose jewel tones, purples, blues and greens. Here's what I ended up with: They are really much richer and warmer than they appear to be in the picture. My plan is to use them in the Nearly Insane quilt. My goal is to try to do at least one block a week. At that rate it should take me 2 years. Yikes! Well, I suppose since I have several UFO's older than that, 2 years would actually be a realatively short amount of time.

I have managed to get a start on the Nearly Insane quilt. And now I know why it was named. It certainly will be a challenge. Here's Block #1. It took two tries to get the center measurement correct. This block measures 6.5" unfinished. I learned just how important that scant 1/4" really is when piecing things on such a small scale. I had this pieced out to the rectangles surrounding the center square in a square before I realized it was too big. Being off by just 1/8" or less adds up quickly when you're working in a small scale. I think this project will be a good learning experience. If nothing else, it will help hone my precision piecing skills.

Meanwhile, the pink heart log cabins are taking a well deserved rest while I work on the High School Senior quilt top and some test ideas for the QB Christmas Challenge which I cannot show here -- at least not until December. But I can spend the year teasing you.

More Happy Blocks

2009-02-08T22:11:00.001-08:00

The second set of Happy Blocks are completed. Here they are all up on the design wall. They really do make a fun quilt. This is such a neat project the Heartstrings group is doing. All the quilts are just so darn, well, Happy! Take a look at their blog and see what I mean: Heartstrings blog.

Meanwhile the bin of pink strips keeps staring at me. It's a darn good thing they can't talk! I've got a good start on the rest of the log cabin blocks needed to finish the log cabin heart quilt. But, I think I'll put them aside for a short while and go back to working on the high school senior quilt. Now I just need to stop drooling over the Nearly Insane quilt...

Hearts

2009-02-04T21:59:00.000-08:00

Finally, some sewing and something to show for it. Besides finishing all the log cabin hearts I also managed to get 2 of teh 32 regular log cabin blocks completed. After more than a week of no sewing it felt good to get something accomplished. Now I just need to prioritize all of my many ongoing projects. I really do think I have ADD. I am so easily distracted. Am I the only one who goes from project to project without completing the first one before starting a second, and third and even fourth? So many quilts.

While browsing quilting blogs the other day I found several references to being easily distracted. At least I know I'm not alone and that I'm in good company.

I also found a Quilting Bucket List -- a list of quilts the quilter wanted to do before she died. I liked that idea. There are SO MANY quilts I want to do. But I wonder, if I actually put them down in writing, more or less in the order of importance, I wonder how many there would be? Would it count if they get started but not completed? Do you see a recurring theme here? I definitely need more discipline.

Big Sigh of Relief

2009-01-29T21:41:00.000-08:00

That blast of air you felt was probably us breathing a big, huge sigh of relief. We've dodged the layoff bullet. And, the news from Sis in Denver is also good. My heart goes out to those families that are facing layoffs. These are some incredible times. And now, back to your regularly scheduled program.......

Fingers are Crossed

2009-01-28T22:17:00.001-08:00

Our fingers are crossed that we make it through the next two days without any bad news. On Friday Boeing will be passing out layoff notices. This could potentially affect our family. Both The Bearded One and my Dear Sis work for the big "B".

Meanwhile, the cold is still hanging on and I simply have zero energy or desire to quilt. I did go downstairs and look at my partially completed heart blocks. I thought maybe they'd start calling my name, make me feel guilty for leaving them half assembled. Alas, if they did call out to me, I couldn't hear it because my ears are too clogged. Oh well, I'll be like Scarlett and think about it tomorrow.

Enough Already!

2009-01-27T12:07:00.001-08:00

Day 4 of this stinkin' cold! I'm tired of blowing my nose. My butt & back are tired of the recliner/couch. I'm tired of "Sudafed Head". And, I'm tired of having to fight for my share of the quilt! Ok, my whining is over, for now!

P.S. Oh yeah, apparently I can't even take a decent, non-blurry photo in this state. This was 1 of 2 that weren't blurry -- that's out of about 6 that I took!

Sharing

2009-01-25T11:09:00.001-08:00

They say marriage is all about sharing. But really, did he HAVE to share his cold?!? The Bearded One has been a couch potato for the last 4 days. Yesterday I felt it coming on. I did managed to get the first half of the heart log cabin blocks done before I joined the "boys" on the couch. Don't think I'm going to get any quilting done today. Sudafed head is no fun.

Stay healthy, keep on quilting coz I'm certainly not.

Then There were 4

2009-01-22T14:20:00.000-08:00

I'd forgotten how tedious working with log cabin blocks can be. Working on these yesterday for 2 hours, this is all I have to show for myself. The pink background is from playing around in PhotoShop Elements in an effort to learn more about the program.

This is the actual quilt I'm making. It's from Evelyn Sloppy's book "Log Cabin Fever". It's a wonderful book with several variations of log cabin blocks. Evelyn has several other books out which are also part of my huge library of quilting books. Several of which contain quilts on my "must make" list. How come my list of "must make" quilts grows faster than my completed list? I know I certainly can't be the only quilter with this problem.

Ok, back to my PhotoShop Elements tutorials.......

A New Era

2009-01-20T21:52:00.000-08:00

Happy & Pink

2009-01-18T16:52:00.001-08:00

It's nice to be able to post some progress for once. One set of Happy Blocks are completed and the top is ready to send off to Mary. I've got another set of center squares all cut out ready for framing...

Meanwhile, I was a little distracted this weekend. While Lynda was busy quilting a couple quilts on my HQ I spent today cutting pink strips. Lots and lots of 1.5" pink strips. I'll be seeing pink for quite awhile. A certain little niece likes pink. Pink rollerblades, pink ipod, pink backpack etc. Eventually these pink strips will be become two different blocks, here's the first:

I'll be seeing pink for quite awhile. I need 17 of these log cabin hearts and even more of the straight log cabin blocks. In between pink log cabins there is also the Sr. High double four-patch quilt. I guess I'd better get busy.

Fog

2009-01-16T13:45:00.001-08:00

What is it about fog that I find so eerily bewitching? The last couple days have been pretty foggy, but today it is really heavy. I grabbed the camera on my way out to get dog food. Every road I turned down was just so mystical and ethereal.

Meanwhile, no quilting has been done. But, I'm ever so slowly getting closer to getting the old desktop ready to be flattened and rebuilt.....

Tonite we're off to an organ concert.

P.S. I'm still rebuilding my blog links.....

Pardon my mess

2009-01-10T21:53:00.000-08:00

...I'm playing around with a new format so things may look "unfinished" for awhile. I'm hoping I can find the "look" I want soon....meanwhile, not much quilting is going on. Too busy trying to figure out what I need to install on the new laptop. I'm also trying to get instructions written for the high school senior quilts....I need to learn to manage my time better.

The Big Soak

2009-01-07T21:46:00.001-08:00

Every so often the Seattle area gets something called "The Pineapple Express" -- lots and lots of warm, moist air coming from literally, Hawaii or thereabouts. Well, we're in the middle of one. It's been stalled over the area for the past 30 hours or so. It has brought records amounts of rain, but, even worse, rain and warmer temps to the mountains. This means that all the rivers in Western Washington are flooding. Flooding at record levels. The news said one river was breaking a record set in 1917! And it's official, the only way out of this area right now is to fly! All three mountain passes are closed due to avalanches and landslides. And now, to top it off a major section of I-5, south of Olympia is closed. This is the same stretch that was closed due to floods last year. I've also heard that another stretch of I-5, north of Tacoma is also closed.

Oh yeah, remember that pesky mole, well, he's BACK! But he's so totally undermined the back yard that it's beyond soggy. It's in swamp territory now. Maybe he will get flooded out and head uphill and out of my yard!

Not much sewing is going on but lots of playing with the new laptop. Really must get those Happy Blocks done -- I'll think about them tomorrow.

2008 in Pictures

2009-01-06T22:50:00.000-08:00

While browsing through blogs the past couple days I've seen a lot of recaps of 2008 in pictures. What you see here is a collage of my 2008 projects. I'm sure I've missed a couple due to the fact that my pictures are still a bit scattered on my computer. But, I'm working on that -- I don't have much choice, this computer is telling me "things are not well."

A nice shiny new laptop is due to arrive tomorrow. Once it gets here, I'll start backing things up to the external hard drive, moving other things to the laptop and then, I'll have no choice, I'll have bite that bullet and wipe this poor beast clean and start over. I HATE that job. But, such is the nature of Windows based computers.........At least with a backup computer, I can take my time and switch off with some quilting. I really want to get the Heartstrings Happy Blocks finished.