Hand Towel

We went to Oregon last weekend for a short visit with family to celebrate my in-laws 70th wedding anniversary. (!) I needed a portable knitting project, so I cast on for this cotton hand towel.

The pattern said it was 'as easy as pie' and I have to agree. And I had a vintage button in my button box that was just right. Don't cha just love it when stuff pulls together the way you want?

Spring Visitor

As I dashed outside to get more wood for the wood stove, dodging rain drops as I went, I was stopped in my tracks by this sight.

Ceanothus Silk moth

He was clinging to the front door jam, pale and shuttering. The edges of his wings were kind of ragged and he stayed there all day. I know because I kept checking. In the late afternoon a strong wind came up and he was swept away. So ephemeral. I realized almost the same thing had happened two years ago about this time.

Easter 2013

I need to remember to grab the camera and take pictures of DH!

Backyard Birds

California Bluebird.

House Finch.

Junco.

Yellow Finch. Pictures by Frank Roberts.

Happy Easter!

Basket Weave BOM

In pastels, perfect for April.

In My Yard

Spunky's in the cedar tree - about nine feet above the ground.

It seems like I plant daffodil bulbs every two years. This time when I planted I lined the hole with wire mesh to slow down the gophers. Ones and twos have bloomed again this year. I see this site up and down the road in my neighborhood. Maybe one day it'll be in my yard. I just keep trying.

Radiant Nine Patch Layout

Once I finished piecing the nine patch blocks I moved to the floor to lay it out. What I had on the design wall was short and fat, I needed to shift the light center in and down.

I tried to build out and around, but I got to my width sooner than the deep-dark blocks, so I changed the layout again, trying to make it longer.

The nine patches are 'X' and 'O' blocks with the seams pressed out and in respectively. As I laid out the blocks I had to alternate X and O in addition to color placement. I spent time positioning and repositioning the blocks. And being the multi-fabric quilter that I am... I don't like too many of the same fabrics close together; resulting in more positioning and repositioning...

It quickly became clear to me that the deep reds weren't going to work, too much *pop*. So I eliminated all but a few for sparkle. It might not look like it, but the final layout took four hours.

I stacked it sequentially in rows preparing to 'web the top' when I sewed it together. When I carried the board with all the stacks on it into the sewing room, I bumped the corner of the sewing table and the whole thing fell... I closed the door on it until tomorrow.

That was last week. I have laid it out again and it took another four hours, but I'm happy with it and look forward to sewing it together. For now, the cat is not allowed in the sewing room. I don't want to invite another disaster.

Stuffed Owl

Just a quick little project sewn in between all the nine patches for my son's quilt. I followed these instructions. This one is made from upcycled wool from an old Pendleton shirt that became too small for anyone in this house to wear. My husband has taken a liking to it and named him Arthur. He said, "I like it in wool. He looks very dignified." :D

Radiant Nine Patch Redux

I've been working on a Radiant Nine Patch quilt for my son. It's not often that I make the same quilt twice, but this was his favorite childhood quilt.

Twenty years ago... interestingly enough, I still have many of the fabrics used in the original. I'm using my favorite speed piecing method to create the nine patch blocks; with a slight variation. For this quilt I need 'x' and 'o' blocks. I pair the A-B-A and the B-A-B units right sides together and cut apart in strips. Three cuts make one 'x' and one 'o' block each.

Some of the fabrics are remnants that need to be traditionally pieced because there isn't enough for the speed piecing method. I still want these fabrics in the quilt though.
 

This quilt gets its visual movement from the over-all layout. It's best to make low contrast nine patch blocks, something that looks odd at the block stage but not on the design wall.

January 20

January 30

February 5

February 12

I'm still making nine patches but I've run out of design wall. I need 306, I have 275. I completed the dark-darks yesterday and will start on the deep-darks next. I love the way it sparkles.

When I made this quilt the first time I didn't have a very big fabric collection. Now I have so much to choose from; I'm having fun mixing in new fabrics with the original fabrics. And I wasn't as seasoned a quilter then as I am now. It seemed like an *amazing* amount of sewing! When it was done I announced I would never make another one. So when I offered to redux my son's quilt he gently reminded me of what I'd said. Well... he's over six feet tall, he needs a bigger quilt. I'm happy to gift him in this way. And I'm having a blast (from the past) spending time with these fabrics. Quilt love...

Flying Geese Methods

I got a new ruler that claims to take the math out of making Flying Geese. I decided to do a test sew using it and the Eleanor Burns Quilt in a Day method, to see which one I liked best.

This method was very intuitive. I could find the size I wanted on the ruler and there wasn't a lot of thinking involved; it's true, no math! Trimming up was easy left or right handed and there was practically no waste. ~ On to the other method. Sorry there are fewer pictures, I had to concentrate more and forgot.

This method was totally non-intuitive for me. Which square is going to become the background, which one the geese? The steps are not as familiar and trimming up was really tricky left handed. No instructions were given for left handed trimming, though that's not uncommon; and there was a lot more waste in the trimming. The instructions give you one size. There's a Quilt in a Day ruler for this method but it only includes two sizes. Both methods produce four Flying Geese. I suppose with practice the second method would become easier and therefore go faster, but I really liked the No Math Ruler method. It's created by Lazy Girl Design. Love the name!
In the past I've usually just made half-square triangles and sewn them together to make a Flying Geese (goose?) but now I have an easier way!