Diamond Distraction

Does anything like this ever happen to you? I  saw a quilt that was shown in our guild's biennial show last weekend and I became obsessed with the pattern. I quickly contacted Quiltkeemosabe to see if she knew the name of the pattern; or, better yet, if she had the pattern. She didn't but she casually said: "if we had some 60 degree graph paper I guess we could figure it out". Okay, I took that as a personal challenge, I knew I couldn't rest until this block was constructed. Not knowing exactly how to proceed after I had drawn it up, I quickly discovered my "Sidekick"* ruler, otherwise unused up until now. Score! Not having any particular size in mind I decided to make the star center scrappy, cutting 2.5" diamonds easily and efficiently with my new-found favorite tool! I also had a bin of 2.5" precut strips. Score again!! This same ruler also allowed the background setting diamonds to be cut from 4.5" inch strips.

A friend once told me that whenever she made up any "trial" block she did them in the same color palette so that, eventually, she would have a collection of sampler blocks that would all go together. My red and white block bin is already burgeoning, but that's another post for another time.  

Half a block done! This was fun and went together perfectly. Oh, I forgot to mention that the quilt that inspired this obsession did win a ribbon at the show for "Best Piecing"; I wasn't going to settle for anything less than perfect points and intersections in my version either. 

Whew! Done. I couldn't be happier. This completed block measures 19" from west to east points, unfinished. Yes! I can rest now. I am adding this quilt to my "must do" list somewhere down the line. Don't forget: I already have all those precut strips! I'm thinking about a scrappy, multicolor quilt with a neutral background batik (one more thing just patiently waiting on the shelf to be used). But, for today, this block is joining all the other red and white additions to my someday sampler in its designated block box. If you are like me, and become distracted and/or obsessed by one thing that requires dropping all else until you can figure it out, I highly recommend succumbing to the challenge, you'll sleep better. Now, to get back on track!

Life is Good!

* For the record: Quiltkeemosabe told me that I needed that Sidekick ruler a few years ago, 

she always knows exactly what I need before I do. I am so glad that, this time, I listened!

Waging War!

So, you'll remember from a couple of days ago, I mentioned the Papa Bluebird who constantly flies into his own reflection in our windows, thinking himself to be a predator. The patience supply I have   for this situation is almost completely depleted, the annoyance level escalating from bad to worse. Mr. Goodneedle hung strips of fabric (luckily that, like patience, is not in short supply) outside the windows in the sewing room. That worked; for one day. We believed that if the strips were moving that, maybe, he would be spooked off. So, today, we took fans outside and pointed them directly at the windows, causing the strips to wave and flutter. That worked; for about 15 seconds. Have a look at the video, you'll see what I am dealing with. It's almost enough to drive me out of the sewing room! Almost.

However, on the things that work front: I placed this Bluebird "decoy" that I had on the patio handrail outside the kitchen; thinking that maybe he would attack it instead of the windows here. He hasn't gone near the decoy-- or the back of the house since I set it there! Give him time. But, for right now, I am celebrating this one victory, albeit small. It's the little things.

  I wonder if I have another one (or twelve!) of those fake Bluebirds somewhere?

Life is Good!

Let Them Eat Cake!

Think of this as an extension on the theme from my last post. Do you need a good cupcake recipe? Do you have a celebratory event coming up that requires a FUN dessert, one that you would be proud to serve? Well, look no further! I have a great recipe for you, tried and true. We have a church picnic coming up and I was wondering what I could take for a dessert. I tried out this recipe that I found on Pinterest a while back. It's a winner, enjoy!

Life is Good...

and even more fun with sprinkles on top! 

Forty One-derful Years!

From this day forward... 

Forty one years later and we're still eating cake.

I don't mean to brag, but this is the truth: my veil still fits exactly as it did in 1975!

Life is Good!

Blue, Blue and Blue(bird)

The quilting is done, this quilt's been a long time in the making. I suppose the label should reflect the fact that this one was begun in 1997 and took nineteen years to complete! I've decided to name this one "Out of the Blue"; not because it is anything that came about suddenly, far from it! But, rather, because this already vintage quilt came out of a blue storage bin and into the light of day; and, ultimately, onto the longarm! The darker blue ombre backing fabric is just the same age as the top, purchased when I began the piecing; medium blue sashing and quilting thread help carry through with the theme.

"Out of the Blue" ~ 115" X 79.5" ~ Jessie's Swirls pantograph

Thanks to everyone who helped my decision making process for the sashing choice between The Quilt Block Bible blocks-- blue it is!

And lastly. the bluebird (not of happiness, at least for me) who has a wife and five eggs in the nesting box just outside the sewing room window has taken to attacking the omnipresent predator (his own reflection) in the windows of our house! This goes on constantly; the windows and sills are disgusting with droppings, we can hardly keep things cleaned up. Hopefully, when the babies fledge, this will be done and they will move on. I don't know how much more we (or Hannes!) can take. I certainly hope this weird character trait of the father isn't passed down to his babies.

Life is Good!

One More Time

This photo represents some randomly chosen The Quilt Block Bible blocks laid out on two different background fabrics as possible sashing choices. I am coming to you one more time. Thoughts? I promise you, this won't go on forever. I would love your opinion on this but I believe I'm closing in on a favorite. What say YOU?

Life is Good!

Corralling the Cutter Clutter

Baking and decorating cookies takes time and practice, I'm okay with that. I am completely dedicated to the learning curve and all that entails. Naturally, a new hobby includes lots of new tools; collecting them is the fun part: cookie cutters, specialty gel colors for the icing, icing bags, bag ties, tips, couplers, flooding bottles, sanding sugars, rolling pin spacers, spatulas and the list goes on.  I dedicated a kitchen drawer to the ever-growing collection and quickly learned that organizing all of the tools was going to be the bane of my excitement, each time I opened the drawer for "cookie day" I sighed-- and wrestled out what I needed before quickly closing the drawer again; the tools and equipment were all piled on top of each other in one huge mess. I felt defeated before I began. Well, enough was enough! I knew what I needed, dividers in the drawer! The space seemed sufficient, the drawer is big: 19.5" square and 7.5" deep, the problem was, as I saw it: no way to confine certain tools to their own area-- every time I opened the drawer the motion itself contributed to creating a disheveled heap. I mentioned this to Mr. Goodneedle after I took everything out of the drawer and laid it out on the counter top so that he could see what I was dealing with. He perused the "pile" and suggested "laying out the drawer space" as I envisioned it with dividers. The real problem was the cookie cutters; they refused to comply with space restraints. "Oh, wait" I thought; "I have some storage bins that might just work". (Actually, one of them was holding a UFO that needed to be released into the light of day so that I could work on it. But then, that's another story for another day!) As fate would have it, those two bins, stacked, fit perfectly in the front of the drawer and held all of my cutters nicely! Who knew? In no time at all the cutter clutter had been corralled. Mr. Goodneedle suggested I live with this drawer arrangement for a little while and if it made sense after using it a time or two then he would, indeed, install custom dividers to the space. That makes sense to me. What doesn't is the fact that I put up with this messy, disorganized drawer for months. What seemed to be a HUGE problem for me was easily and rapidly managed. Hmmmm.... what other mountains are looming that can be reduced to mole hills this efficiently? I know I won't have to look far. In the meantime, I am enjoying the happy solution to my formerly "overwhelming" cutter clutter problem!

Life is Good!

Sweet Alliteration

Butterflies, Blossoms and Berries~

Life is Good!

The Auditions Continue

Last week I posted photos with 121 blocks up on the design wall from Rosemary Youngs' The Quilt Block Bible. I auditioned indigo as well as red sashing strips between some of the blocks to try and decide how I will set this quilt; I asked for your opinions, you offered them and I am grateful. Among one suggestion was a soft gold color. The above photo shows twenty five blocks sitting on top of a yarn-dyed linen fabric, the color is called "leather"; I absolutely love this piece of fabric, but it it right for the sashing between these blocks?  I am coming to you again for your opinions.

In all honesty, the fabric pictured in the top photo isn't entirely different from the color of my design wall; which means, that the overall effect would look much like this when it's all said and done. Thoughts? I've mocked up a section with the soft gold sashing and indigo cornerstones as one more option; yay or nay? Weigh in and let me know what you think.

Life is Good!

DeRailed

"DeRailed" was a departure quilt for me; something completely out of my comfort zone. I picked up a stack of fat quarters that I had been hoarding for a while and copy of the book Cultural Fusion Quilts by Sujata Shah after seeing a quilt using this construction method on Quiltdivajulie's's blog: Me and My Quilts, Exploring the Possibilities. I knew right away that I wanted to give this pattern a try, this blogging buddy of mine always has the best ideas. At that time I had been stalled, creatively, and needed to give my piecing a jump start. This did the trick, it got me back on track! I chose to use the Rail Fence pattern from the book, there are lots of others too that employ the very liberating technique of free-cutting gentle curves with the rotary cutter and stitching the curves together into unique, distinctive units. My blocks ended up 16"; the quilt, a generous 64" X 80" overall.

A close up of the vibrant colors and quilting: "Splashing" panotgraph by Beany Girl Quilts.

And the back side: precious rabbits, paired up two by two, in that distinctive green color; this fabric is what I used for the binding too. It was a beautiful day for snapshots today on the patio.

And one more thing-- this plant. It is also a distinctive green, I love it; it's pretty to look at and wonderfully scented too!  It was labeled a "mosquito plant" at the nursery, it is citronella. It should repel insects when we're sitting outside in the evenings, let's hope it works.

Life is Good!

Growth!

Do you remember those geraniums I was wintering over? Well, let's say it's been a huge success; the growth that they have put forth has been phenomenal. There are oodles of flower buds set and it won't be long before they're blooming for real. Speaking of growth-- this picture was taken just two short years ago.
Same girl, same flower pots, same porch.  Yes; with nurturing care and time, growth will happen. We simply need to take a deep breath and be prepared. As mothers, and grandmothers, we understand that whatever you do: don't blink!

Happy Mother's Day!

Life is Good!

Now, That's Better!

121 blocks made from Rosemary Youngs':  The Quilt Block Bible

So, as you might imagine, it was a lot of work just putting all of these blocks up on the wall! My intention in getting them all up there was exactly as you might imagine: to view them all together. The effort paid off, there's reward in simply looking at them. That's when I noticed it-- there, smack dab in the center of the layout, the block named "Twin Sisters" just wasn't doing it for me, the contrast was too low. Can you find it? I remade it and replaced it in the arrangement. Now, that's better! It was time to start thinking about sashing, as I indicated last week. You all made marvelous suggestions and I am carefully considering my options. The photo below shows the layout with a dark indigo sashing mock-up as well as a red. Thoughts?

I'm going to leave the blocks up a while longer while I mull over the decision. Who knows, I may just remake another block or two before these are returned to their rightful places (for now) in the burgeoning binders! After all, I still have eighty-one more blocks to make. I need a larger wall!

Life is Good!

Long Time, L-O-N-G Quilt

I posted about this quilt a while ago. Already nineteen years old, this top was brought to the flimsy stage and loaded onto Snowbird yesterday. I chose to complete this one as a long twin, it measures 115" X 79.5". Loaded lengthwise onto the rails it is the longest quilt I have quilted-- ever!  I was getting the quilt ready when a glance out the window provided an unexpected, surprise treat.

Look who's back!

I have chosen to use a pantograph on this one: "Jessie's Swirls" with Hawaiian Blue thread. I like it. 

All of the precut colorful triangles are used up now, but look what remains yet: a boxful of background triangles! What to do? Will this project ever be done or simply continue to bear offspring?

Yesterday I sat down and chain pieced a bunch of them into pairs. It was a good chance to give my newest notion a workout. I bought Gypsy Quilter's "Cutting Gizmo" a couple of months ago with the thought that I could talk Mr. Goodneedle into counter-sinking the base into a larger block of wood for stability. He looked it over and was impressed by the weight of the base and the design that allows easy replacement of the upper blade with a standard single edge razor blade. He suggested I use it first and decide if it needed further stabilization. I did and it doesn't. It's proven itself to be a handy assistant; it makes super-quick work of separating miles of chain piecing with no effort whatsoever!

And so... what will become of all those chain pieced triangles? More pinwheels of course. This time they will combine into a low volume, sash-less version and ultimately become a table topper for our kitchen. I can almost guarantee that this will be completed in less than nineteen years; hold me accountable!

Life is Good!