Second WISP Complete

This head cold finally released me enough to sit up and enjoy some sewing. Had to finish this WISP before tomorrow!

I backed it with cotton flannel, no batting, machine tacked at the intersections. Warmth without weight. I'd say it's the most elegant car blanket I own.

Room With a View

Many locals like to wear cotton and flip flops all year round. I think this week they may be at a loss. This was the view from my living room window yesterday.

Meetings at work that'd been planned and scheduled for weeks suddenly went begging for attendees and employees couldn't get 'down from the grade' due to road closures. We're only talking 4-6 inches, but when motorists don't know how to drive in it, it makes for nastiness on the road.

This is our lone redwood in the front yard. I thought it looked especially dressy that morning. :D

What's That Up Ahead?

Last time I drove east to attend the monthly quilt guild meeting I have to admit I was a tad *rushed*. I was barrelling along the country highway that winds through the Lake County hills, it was raining a bit, the roads were wet... and here comes some animal crossing into my lane from the left.

The distance was short. Do I brake and risk fishtailing? Do I hit the animal?! *shudder* In that nano second of indecision I saw it was a River Otter. What?!

I veered right as he looked up, paused and bumbled along back the way he came. *whew*

I've never seen a river otter on the roads. Opposums I don't care about, but killing one of those little guys? Perish the thought!

First Finish of 2008

Once I focused on this little baby quilt it only took me three short evenings of machine quilting and an evening to bind.

I realized it fell off the radar because I was stuck on a design decision, what to put in the lattice. Once that was decided... easy peasy!

This is for my nephew's son Calvin, born August 2007, so he's only four months old, not 11 like I thought. WooHoo! It feels so good to finish.

2007 Tally

During the year I put all my quilt related receipts in one place. Then I total them in January to see how much my quilt habit is costing me. It's also something of a reflection for me. The year I worked at a fabric store you'd think the total would've been sky high when in fact it was half what the year before had been. I guess having the whole quilt department to touch and admire kept me from having to own it.

This is not my stash

Total for 2006: $236.50. I think most of that was fabric for Big Blue.
2007: $147.18. I mostly bought thread, rotary blades, and fabrics to finish WIPs

Yesterday I made my first purchase of 2008, and with the 40% off one item coupon I got out of there for $23.54.
I have tubs and tubs of fabric, been collecting quilting cotton for 22 years. I don't need much and I figure - You can't take a U-Haul to heaven. :D

Aloha 2008

Pictures from the NYE party Frank and I attended. The weather was 28 outside but we all pretended we were island side. I'm second from the right in this picture.

Aren't theme parties great?!

We were home and in bed by 11 pm, but it was fun to get out for a bit. Then the neighbors woke us up with Roman candles, fireworks and firecrackers. That was only slightly better than the chainsaws and shotguns of last year! At first I woke up thinking - what in the world?! Then I remembered, rolled over and went back to sleep.

Here's to a safe and sane new year!

Accepting the Challenge

May Britt has proposed a WISP (work in slow progress) challenge for January and I'm gonna pony-up. Let's see if I can stay focused and finish these two Flimseys by January 31st.

This wool bricks car quilt was started September '05. I blogged about it in March '07 and *still* didn't work on it last year.

And this little kid quilt became a flimsey in March. I started machine quilting it for a grand-nephew last fall until it fell of the radar. Better get it finished before his first birthday, huh?

Finishing these two UFO's would be a *great* start to 2008!

Why So Similar?

I just looked at my last two posts via Bloglines. It's fun to try and view your own stuff objectively.

Yes the Dbl Nine and the String Along quilt look remarkably similar. I noticed that when I was making the string blocks. That's because both of them were born out of the same 1 and 1/2" strip bins I was trying to make a dent in. Halfway through the string blocks I realized - 'this quilt doesn't feel any different than the last one!'

Time to freshen the strip bins... I know I'll never see the bottom of those. :D

String Along sets

The living room has been de-decorated and the boxes stored until next year. That cleared the deck for some block play. With 36 string along blocks finished I tried to decide on a layout.

I wasn't looking forward to removing all that tissue paper from the blocks, considered leaving in fact; then thought better of it.

So I spritzed each block to soften the paper and ran a latex gloved finger down the channel of each row. Zip! Man, it was fast. When I sewed the borders on there was a little distortion to the top, but nothing ordinary borders couldn't settle out.

Photo taken December 31, 2007

Another Flimsey Finished

The Double Nine has been finished for awhile as well as the pieced back. It was a couple of weeks before Christmas but then I got caught up in the holiday swirl and I didn't get photos until yesterday.

It's an unusual 74" x 100". I think maybe another row in the width would've been good. *shrug* I seem to rarely make quilts for beds.

Click to enlarge

So simple but I just love it...

Fits Like a Glove

It's been a wonderful quiet, restive week sitting in the recliner by the fire looking out at the cold and damp. I've been reading and hand quilting and knitting. My first pair of socks are done! Just in time for the cold weather we're having.

I love how they feel, so soft and squishy. And they fit so well! No bumps along the little toe like ready made socks. Jo, now I'm among the initiated, I understand. =c)

Many Trips Around the World

Recently one of the ladies in blogland asked if we'd ever made a Trip Around the World quilt. I raised my hand! That was the very first quilt I ever made, the year was 1983.

I still remember wandering around the fabric department stacking and restacking bolts of blue cotton, trying to find the total number I needed. The clerks gave each other knowing looks, must be a quilter. I didn't really know what I was doing! When I ran out of solids to choose from I jumped to a calico.

It was made from hand traced, scissor-cut 5 inch squares. I hand quilted it and at the time it seemed like a lot of quilting. Then I made binding out of kettle cloth (gak!) and used a machine embroidery stitch to sew it down. I had a lot to learn. We still use it on our bed, it's just down a few quilts from the top.

Silent Auction quilt

That year I must've made four or more TATW quilts. Each one got alittle I better I think. The pastel silent auction quilt was a bust; it's hard to get much contrast out of baby pink and blue! I apologize for the poor photo quality but I think these were taken in 1983 and 84 with a 110 instamatic.

Bridal Shower gift

This one was king size as a wedding gift for my brother. I used Blanche Young's notched method and machine quilted it. The two quilt holders are standing on kitchen chairs. I knew I wanted a good picture of this before I mailed it away.

This one I made for DS2 when he was two. Machine quilted and machine washed almost every week for awhile. Man, over the next twelve years he loved that thing to *shreds*.

This was for my Mom for Christmas. Handquilted. It hangs in the guest room at her summer home in New Hampshire.

This was a Baby Shower gift. Ooo look! A two color theme. :D I must've felt adventursome.

These were class samples. The center of these two quilts is the same, only the borders are different; always amazes the Beginning Quilt class.

In 1988 I did a variation called Navajo on commission. My first and *last* commissioned quilt. She asked for a red and pink quilt and to enhance the layout I added cream and tan prints. Once it was all done she asked why I'd put *tan* in it? I explained tan was a neutral and didn't change the color scheme, but she said she didn't like it and reluctantly paid the balance due.

There was also a pink, orange and red (!) pillow when the boys were little, but it got used up and thrown away. Thank heavens!

All these quilts were made before rotary cutting, that's pretty amazing. But I think I was learning about color and contrast.

I haven't made a TATW quilt in almost 18 years so I thought my love affair was over. Then about five years ago I saw this 1930's reproduction by RJR.

Wow! I think there's one more in my future. And I can use my rotary cutting tools and skills. ;)

Merry Christmas!

It's Beginning to Look Alot Like Christmas

This post's for my DS2. He said Christmas 'snuck up' on him this year. He's got his shopping done, he knows it's a week away, but it still seems a long way away. DH and I decorated the house last Saturday and that perked me up. So here are postcards from home!

Lila in her chosen spot by the fire. She's not stretching, she's sleeping in that pose. We call it "Cat on recreational drugs: heat!"

As Bing Crosby sings, "And the prettiest site you'll see, is the holly that will be... on your own front door."

More String Along Blocks

I'm having the best time making these little blocks; easy sewing, plenty of color play and visiting with lots and lots of fabric friends. I've pieced 30 blocks out of an intended 36.

These are the bins after I've made all these blocks. *yeesh* Not a dent!
Since they're like Log Cabin blocks I've been playing with different layouts.

EQ's great for some things, but there's nothing like laying out the real blocks.

But I can't decide, so I just keep makin' em. :D

Let the Season Begin

The weather has finally turned cold and rainy, making sitting by the woodstove a cozy delight.

But yesterday I received a call from a friend who offered us two free tickets to the Ukiah Symphony's performance of Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker. That was worth going out for.

It's been *such* a long time since I've been to the symphony. I enjoyed sitting in the theatre listening with eyes closed to the familar passages. It was nice to *listen* and not be distracted by dance as well. I could enjoy each instrument as it added its' voice during the performance. Just let the mind go...

What a wonderful way to ring in the season. Bring it on!