Christmas Charm Exchange

This entry harkens back to December so if you don't want to think about Christmas quilts in January, stop reading now.

During the first week of December Finn, of Pieces From My Scrapbag , was working with her Christmas prints. It got me thinking about the Christmas Charm square quilt I've been adding to alittle each year.

Fifteen years ago I received a pack of 5" Christmas charms from a quilty friend and began sewing them into rows with a green-white-red diagonal pattern. The prints were from the 1980's and 90's and had the country charm of that era. Over the years I've added a few rows now and again, usually working on it during the Christmas holiday, as new charm squares came to me.

Finn and I had a great time e-mailing back and forth about my Christmas charm top and we exchanged 30 squares. They're great! Out of thirty I think there are only three that I already have. Pretty good trick! And they're from the same era, country charm.

I think I might be able to finish this top now.

Thanks Finn!

Baby Cardi

In among the machine piecing, hand quilting and machine quilting these days, I cast on for a baby cardigan this weekend. I got the urge to knit last week and couldn't *rest* until I had yarn between my fingers. I found this cute pattern at Free Pattern Friday.

Changed the colors of course, I don't seem to leave anything alone.

The pattern is worked from the top down, which is a first for me.

Do I really know what I'm doing? No, but I'm having a great time!

Baby Snoopy Baby Quilt

Just a quick quilt for a niece and her baby-to-be. But the print is sooo cute, Snoopy in his puppy-hood. Click to enlarge.

The Whole Nine Yards

Three down and one to go... I think there's about eight yards so far. I love they way they look.

Designing Quilts on a Computer?

I've offered to teach a series of Electric Quilt 6 classes to quilters from my guild and the surrounding area. Intial interest was really high, among those that know what EQ6 is. But trying to promote the classes has been a challenge. I guess quilting and computer drafting don't readily go together in most quilter's mind.

For the last few weeks I've been building the class content. This is the outline for the first class entitle: Introduction to EQ Easy Draw:

Easy draw: Setting up the drawing canvas: block ratios, graphing, snap to point, snap to node
Draw tools: Select, Edit, Line, Arc, Grid
Additional tools: cloning, rotating, symmetry; partition, stagger
Draw a traditional block.
Edit a block from the block library to create your own
The Sketchbook: Saving to Sketchbook, Viewing Sketchbook, Editing
Why don't all the lines in my block show when I click on the color canvas?
Problem solving 'broken' blocks
Coloring the block, using airbrush to compare colorways
Quilt layout
View yardage
Print options
Creating paperpiecing patterns

Practice: Draw Dove in the Window. What dimensions would you use, what graph and snap to point ratio? Draw the block using diamonds, use clone and rotate. Draw the same block with half square triangles. How is the drawing canvas set up for each?

And that's class one! Class two walks you through Patch Draw and three through Applique' Draw. I hope the participants have as much fun with the class as I've had preparing the content. I'm learning the program to a deeper level, it's cool.

To teach is to learn twice!

2008 Tally

Fabric and quilt related purchases in 2008: $181.53
Gift cards: $39.00
Total spent: $142.53

Hey, that's $4.65 less than 2007. Good Deal!

Just Do It

I've been on Christmas vacation for almost 11 days, you'd think I'd have that pieced border done by now. But I've been doing the procrastination dance with myself, draggin' my feet because I hadn't done the math for the QST's yet. I know there's a formula... I have the handouts that tell me what to measure, and where to add and multiply... but I always put this sort of thing off until my free time is almost over.

I won't tell you how many false starts I made before I got it right. It's embarassing to admit that I measured and cut and measured and cut over and over trying to get it right. In the end, when I thought I had it right, I cut the strips from the yardage too narrow and I HAD to use that background, it was the one that was intended. I shouldn't sweat myself so much.

So putting that all behind me I just sewed... then it got better.

The procrastination is done, the road block has been removed. Now it's just assembly.

Can you tell I'm pleased with the way it's turning out? All these pictures! Unfortunately vacation's over, *drat*

Winter Walk

We've been in the house for dayz. It was time to get out and do something.

My son's always taking pictures through the windshield while on trips, so I took one. It was about 37 degrees yesterday, but the sun was shining so we put the top down on the Miata.

Then we walked at the lake. Did I say we need rain? This is the *lowest* I've seen it in the 15 years we've lived here; and this is our water rez too.

The wind was cold. Okay, enough fresh air and sunshine. We went home and sat by the fire.