Just-a-mere

Kona Challenge Reveal - Las Vegas Modern Quilt Guild

2011-07-31T21:27:00.000-07:00

This is a guest post that I wrote for the Robert Kaufman blog - Swatch and Stitch.

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Hi! I'm Jan and I am the Vice President of the Las Vegas Modern Quilt Guild. We began forming our group in January of this year and we were very excited to participate in the Kona Solid Challenge.

We selected the Classic Palette charm pack and distributed them to members at our April meeting. The 'rules' were to use at least a bit of all the colors in the charm pack, adding as much yardage as desired of two additional solid colors. Of course, we knew that rules are meant to be broken, so our judging categories were: Best Large Quilt, Best Small Quilt and Best Rule Breaker.

Although, some of the challenge participants were unable to be at our July meeting, nine members 'revealed' their projects.

All members in attendance voted for the winners in the three categories.

Back left: Patty won in the category of Best Large Quilt. Next to Patty, Tracie holds her winning entry in the Best Small Quilt category. Carolina is kneeling with her winning Rule Breaker Quilt. (Carolina traded the 'warm' colors in her charm pack with another member for more 'cool' charms.)

You can see all the entries here.

The Kona Solid Challenge was a great experience and we appreciate Robert Kaufman Fabrics for sponsoring the event!

The monthly installment...

2011-07-06T20:43:00.000-07:00

...or so it seems, these days!

I would love to show you some photos of the beautiful setting for the wedding in Mexico. But I don't have very many.

I took this one upon arrival at the resort. This was the view a few yards off our little 'porch'. And the ocean was that color!

That is about the last photo I took that was worth saving. It seems that my camera is a desert camera. In the tropics it fogs up just like my glasses did, every time I went outside! The glasses cleared up after a few minutes outside. The camera did not, so the photos turned out foggy and out of focus.

Everyone that took little point and shoot cameras got some great photos. Ms A took about 700 on her iphone. I have been promised copies of all the photos that everyone else took, but lives have to return to routine before all the photos can be compiled and shared.

In other news:

I have been working on my Kona Solids Challenge quilt for the unveil at the July meeting of the Las Vegas Modern Quilt Guild. I have had a couple of false starts, but I think I have something underway.

And, it is officially summer but we had a rainy weekend over the holiday that gave us a respite from the 113 degree days.

Its all good.

Just a catch up -

2011-06-12T10:49:00.000-07:00

My camera is on vacation without me, so just a note to fill in the latest gap.

June has been quite the whirlwind! After enjoying the family reunion/birthday celebration for my Dear Aunt, The Mister and I headed down the road with Ms A to Kansas City. Ms A and I visited with her Grandmother and her dad and the three of us ate our way around the area, visiting our favorite restaurants.

After Ms A left to return to her life in the big apple, The Mister and I headed North for the Great Lakes Navel Training Center. Number one Granddaughter was on track to graduate from Basic Training there, the following week. (Her graduation was postponed, after she developed shin splints from over training.) The original date would have allowed me to attend, but as it was pushed back, I had to return to my life in the desert.

The Mister hung out on the shores of Lake Michigan for a few days in Illinois and I was home alone! I took my sewing machine with me on vacation to finish the gift for Dear Aunt, so I found myself with a weekend to sew with no machine. And, I have a project that I need to take on my next vacation - the wedding in Mexico, which is now 6 days away. (I leave in four days - the hectic continues!)

I am making a camera bag insert for my purse. I was coveting one of these, but I decided to try to make one myself, after seeing some great bags at Nordstrom's Rack on screaming deal clearance. I searched for a tutorial and came up with this one but I made it smaller to accommodate my purse dimensions. I don't have extra lenses or other camera stuff, so the smaller one will work for my camera, I think.

I looked on Craigslist to see if I could find a used sewing machine, but I didn't find any that I thought were worth fooling with, so I ended up buying an old used Singer that had been a trade in at a sewing machine shop. It is not as old as my other old Singers. This one is vintage 1975, and I have added zigzag to my stitch capabilities! It may go to charity after the featherweight returns, but, if I can find a corner to store it in, I may hold onto it. You just never know when you might need to zigzag...

I am almost finished with the main part of the camera insert, I just have to make the adjustable dividers which won't take long.

Since the Las Vegas Modern Quilt Guild meeting will be the week after I return, I also want to get my 'inspiration block' for our bee finished this weekend. I was hoping to follow Cola's inspiration to make a swell passport sleeve (she used this tutorial). I am thinking that will have to be given up on in the interest of time.

The Mister is on his way home - he stopped in Henderson (Nebraska, dang it!) last night, so I still have two days of leaving my sewing things strewn about the place without being in anyone's way.

We will only have a couple of days to catch up with each other before I leave again. I hope July holds a bit less activity!

Finished before deadline!

2011-05-28T20:14:00.000-07:00

As usual, May has shaped up to be one of the busiest months of the year! I hope everyone is having a good spring!

This is a project that I started way later than I should have, but I didn't have a fully formed idea in advance, so I couldn't have really started earlier than I did...

Embroidered birthday message using Sublime Stitching's "Epic Alphabet" transfer pattern.

We are celebrating my Dear Aunt's 90th birthday this weekend. Her true birthday was a couple of weeks ago, but in the same fashion as Queen Elizabeth, we are celebrating on a different day to accommodate the masses (or at least the cousins!)

I was trying for weeeks to think of a gift idea, something that she would remember after we left (the reliability of memory is not something we take for granted, these days).

I decided on a pillow that could serve as something celebratory and useful. I stamped the letters on Sunday evening and madly stitched in the evenings, and through lunch hours and a quilt guild meeting, but I still had a letter or two unfinished when it was time to leave. So, I packed up my sewing machine and supplies and finished the pillow on the road.

I used Kona Bahama (I think) for the inner border and a very fun dotted fabric that I picked up after the guild meeting for the outer border. The letters were stamped on a remnant that I picked up at Joann's.

The back is Kona Snow and I quilted it in a grid pattern with 2" squares. I brought some Pigma pens so that everyone attending the party can write a message or an autograph on the back of the pillow.

This is the first pillow that I have made and it was a very fun project, except for the looming deadline. I enjoyed experimenting with color combinations and stitches on the letters and it was a good small project learning experience of quilting and constructing the pillow cover.

Since a lot of my 'hand crafted' gifts seem to wind up being 'belated', I am proud that I finished this one in advance, even though it came down to the wire.

Maybe for her next 'milestone' birthday, I will be more organized. Maybe.

Finishes! Finally!

2011-05-01T22:50:00.000-07:00

This weekend, I checked some things off my list!

I revisited the Quilt of Frustration and now it is the Quilt of Snugly Goodness:

Before washing:

After washing:

I am really pleased at how it turned out. My goal was to practice machine quilting with the walking foot. I did get some practice using the foot, but didn't really practice quilting patterns. I have another idea that will allow me to practice on another project.

I also finished a pin cushion project that I started a few weeks ago. The one that I had been using was about 30 or 35 years old and quite dirty. My mom stitched it up from some scrap wool and stuffed it with hair clippings collected for her by the beauty shop. It had a halo of hair sticking out all around it and was pretty tacky. I didn't really notice how tacky it was, until I took it with me to a quilt guild meeting and saw it in another 'setting'.

So, I decided to make one from some wool that I picked up at an estate sale. One of these days I am going to do an embroidered wool quilt, so I thought I would try my hand with a small project.

I decided on kind of a sampler design, but I didn't think my usual method of hot iron transfer would net a good result, so I basted in some guide stitches and kind of went free hand, but with a guide.

You can see the light tan basting stitches in this photo.

I outlined a square in pencil, then made marks outside those lines at intervals and ran basting thread all around and connected the intermediate lines.

This was my pattern guide.

After I finished the embroidery, I quilted it with some batting and a lining for stability and stitched it up. I stuffed it with batting and fabric scraps, but it just didn't have the same 'grab' that I was used to, so I opened it back up and pulled the stuffing out and replaced it with some wool roving. The roving was just the ticket and now I have a new favorite pin cushion!

Plus, I learned a new stitch, the Colonial Knot. I don't think I will ever need to do another French Knot, again!

I also finished a Christmas gift - unfortunately, it was a 2010 gift, that is now horribly late, but better late than never, I think! And, I finished up a couple of pillow case dresses that I hope are the right size for two little girls that live near the mountains.

All that, just so I could get started on the blocks for a challenge that we kicked off at the last meeting of the Las Vegas Modern Quilt Guild. We handed out charm packs at the meeting (generously provided by the Robert Kaufman Fabric Company) with the challenge to use every color in the pack (41 different ones) and only add two additional solid colors in whatever quantity required.

I have been searching for some inspiration for the last few weeks and finally decided on a design. I Sketched it out on some graph paper and made four blocks today. I was pleased and a little surprised that they turned out pretty much as I envisioned them. I am going to set a goal to get at least eight blocks done each weekend in order to stay on track for our July 'reveal'.

I feel good about wrapping up some loose ends today! Not as good as the President probably feels about finding Osama Bin Laden, but pretty good, just the same....

Default to stitching...

2011-04-24T21:35:00.000-07:00

April has been a busy month! I have a list of projects in my notebook and more in my head that beg for attention, but I am struggling to actually produce a 'finish' before starting something new! I did get one or two things finished up this weekend, but not as much as I had planned - no surprise!

One the quilting front:

Earlier this month, I started a rag quilt as kind of a skill builder for machine quilting.

I found the fabrics in the remnant bin at Joann, but they were all one yard cuts, as if someone had gathered the fabrics for a project and then changed their mind before check out. And, since they were on 'regular' sale plus the remnant discount, they practically paid me to take them away!

I got pink, yellow, violet, green and blue gingham check and small dot flannels and I added a couple of solids from the stash.

Without much invested in the fabric (I used remnant batting, too) I decided to use a pattern for a 'crazy rag quilt' that I picked up on sale, just for professional guidance.

Which was a giant mistake.

I cut everything as directed, sliced up the 'crazy' squares, mixed them up and started sewing them back together, but they weren't big enough to trim to the required dimensions. Since consistent seam width seems to be an ongoing challenge for me, I measured and measured again and pressed and repressed, and finally decided to just make my seams a bit more 'scant' so the blocks would be closer to the correct size.

When I got them all sewn and trimmed, it was pretty late and I should have gone to bed, but I was pretty pleased with myself. I wanted to stack a few together and maybe lay a few in a row and see what they looked like. But, when I started reading about stacking the little sandwiches together, the pattern went all crazy on me. It said to put the 'flannel' square in the middle of the sandwich, despite the fact that earlier it told me to cut batting 1/2" larger than the flannel that was now mentioned ( I know that you can use flannel or batting in rag quilts, but I expected consistency within the pattern) and the 'crazy blocks' were described as a half inch smaller than the pattern earlier had referenced, as well.

The pattern had a website listed which turned out to be a quilt shop in Texas. The same pattern was for sale, but the dimensions listed were a bit smaller. No doubt someone, at some point discovered the error and adjustments were made.I emailed the designer and asked if she had the updated instructions in a pdf that she could send me. I know that I can figure it out without the instructions, but I was so irritated that I would have to re-trim the blocks and the batting! I just wanted to tell someone how frustrated I was at wasting so much time and the amount of 're-do' ahead!

The designer answered my email and said she would 'look into it', but I haven't heard back from her. I have gotten as far as re-trimming all the blocks and I re-cut the batting blocks to the right size. But it has been sitting in a bag for the past couple of weeks.

Anyway, after that frustration, I decided that I needed a project that didn't require so much thinking and figuring out!

I had stamped these onsies in February, with the thought that they might be a travel project for my trip at the first of March.

Blue Swallow

Space ship alien.

Coral Kitty

They are intended for a small girl in Utah. I hope they have just a few more weeks of 'long sleeves' weather so she might have use for them.

The designs are from Jenny Hart's "Sublime Stitching", one of my favorite resources for embroidery patterns. First, because she has so many cute patterns, but also because she is one of the few sources for transfers. Not that I'm lazy, you understand. I just want to be able to decide on a pattern, iron it on and stitch away.

Or at least stitch away after two months or so...

Taking the Tiny Car on the Road

2011-04-03T20:54:00.000-07:00

This past weekend the 31st Annual "Southwest Unique Little Car Show" was hosted in Upland, California. The Mister and I loaded up the tiny car on Friday and headed out of town.

So shiny with a fresh wax and polish!

We stayed at the 'event headquarters', and there was lots to see in the parking lot!

This is a Zundapp Janus - it looks the same coming and going, with a door that opens in the front and in the back. The yellow car behind it is a Nash Metropolitan.

On Friday night, after check-in, about 80 participants "cruised" about 2 miles to the home of the couple that organized the event. I was not comfortable driving in Friday rush hour traffic on a busy street, so we drove the pick up and I took some photos as folks were arriving.

The driver of this tiny little Peel Trident had no reservations about driving in So Cal traffic. I guess he was sure that other drivers would see the smoke from his engine and get out of his way!

Doesn't it look like George Jetson's car? Only not flying through the air...

This was the scene on the street in front of the hosts' house on Friday night! (Please ignore the shadow of the photog!)

The flowers on this Subaru van looked like they had been on it since the 70's!

At the show on Saturday, there were about 125 micro cars and mini-cars. The 'rule' is that the engine must be less than 1000cc to enter. And most were from the 50's and 60's, but there were some interesting ones that were newer. No Smart-4-2's this year, though.

One marque that I had not seen before was this Singer! I will have to do a bit of research to see if it is related to my featherweight!

Here we are, parked at one of the main entrances to the show, so we had a lot of folks stop and look. I am not sure what model the blue and white car is. It was in 'survivor' condition and was missing all of the badges.

It was nice that the show was in a commercial setting. There were lots of shops and places to eat. I visited a few antique shops but my souvenirs came from the Upland Sewing and Vacuum Store:

I have been reading about 'that quilt' for a few years. I am not sure I will try to do the whole thing, but if I do, it will be red and white. I am guessing it will take me a long time to finish and red and white never looks old fashioned (well, not to me, anyway...)

We left before the awards ceremony, since it was getting late and we wanted to head home early today. I am pretty sure that we didn't win any trophies, this year. There were about 7 or 8 other Isettas there. Since it was not participant judging, I am pretty sure that others with more original restorations would carry the day.

The weather was nice and we had a great time, though. People who like funny little cars are an interesting bunch!

Stars of Valor Blocks

2011-03-27T19:52:00.000-07:00

I am taking these blocks to the Las Vegas Modern Quilt Guild meeting on Thursday to be sent with other blocks to Moda Fabrics as part of their "Just One Star" project. You can read more about it and how to join in here.

They are shown hanging from my sock 'chandelier'. A laundry day 'must have' for small spaces and wool socks!

I am not sure why, but I am having difficulty taking sharp photos these days, so you can't tell that one of the reds is a tiny stripe and the other is a tiny dot pattern. The blue has little swirls and tiny gold dots that kind of remind me of a starry night. (Kind of a star in a star thing.)

It was a good exercise for me to follow the instructions for cutting and piecing. I think that I finally have gotten the hang of a consistent seam allowance, as all three blocks turned out the same size. The star points are not all perfect, but there is really no overt wonky-ness!

I didn't have very much cream 'tone on tone', just a couple of small pieces from a scrap bag that I got at the lqs. I supplemented with Kona 'bone' for the large triangles.

I also finished up my name tag for the meeting this week. I am not thrilled at the result. It looks a bit like a coaster on a string, since I made it to hang around my neck. It is essentially a very tiny quilt and pretty stiff since I got carried away with the quilting. Another good learning experience, though. I think I will make another and use the first one for a luggage tag on my sewing machine case.

I am looking forward to the guild meeting this week. It is so inspiring to see what everyone else is working on!

National Quilting Day & Disappearing Nine Patch

2011-03-16T21:58:00.000-07:00

This weekend marks the beginning of Spring, as well as National Quilting Day.

The first day of Spring was not very exciting, as we are having cloudy cool days, but with lots of pollen. So all of the parts that we do not like and not any of the perks, so far.

National Quilting Day was Saturday, and I did take the opportunity to work on a project that I began a week or so ago. I was going to post 'in progress', but I was frustrated by the computer file organization in our new Mac Mini. I was successful loading the photos today, so you will see several days of progress condensed herein:

Hideaway Charm squares sewn into six 9-patches. (on my 'design bed') I supplemented with a charm pack of solids and some other hideaway scraps that I had from another project.

I had picked up several charm packs from the lqs some weeks back with a 30% off coupon. I have said before that the price per yard of the pre-cuts of off-putting to me, but with the discount, somehow it made more sense. I was at a bit of a loss as to what to do with them, though, when I came across a tutorial to put them together as a 'disappearing nine-patch'.

The sub-cut blocks laid out on the bed.

After the 5" charms are sewn together into a nine patch, the resulting 14" blocks are cut down the middle vertically and horizontally, which results in four, 7" blocks. At this point, it would be a very small quilt, about 28"x 42", even though I added the extra fabric to make more 9 patches.

These are the first blocks that I have stitched on my Featherweight and I am still finding my way to a "scant 1/4" seam". When I started cutting the 9 patches, I realized that my blocks had quite a bit of variance in size. So, I added borders...

With chartreuse borders.

Adding borders allowed me to cut them down to a consistent size, however, I did come to realize that my choice of chartreuse, was maybe not the best. In my defense, I did take the blocks with me to the store to choose a color and it looked fine in the artificial lighting of the fabric store and the dim lighting of my sewing area....

In the light of day, I am thinking something else may have been a better choice. So often, I default to a light neutral and I was trying to stretch my color sense...

I am going to add a couple of borders to see if it softens it a bit. I don't think it will be an heirloom quilt, but it has been a useful learning project. I sewed up another charm pack and I think I did much better at gauging the seam allowance with the second group.

This will be my first attempt at machine quilting. At least I don't have to worry about ruining a beautiful quilt with amateurish quilting!

Convergence of Interests

2011-03-08T04:00:00.000-08:00

A micro car at a flower show! The planets have aligned to combined two of my favorites -tiny cars and spring flowers!

An NSU Prinz surrounded by spring blooms at the Philadelphia International Flower Show.

What a great day!

Las Vegas Modern Quilt Guild

2011-03-03T03:51:00.000-08:00

At the second meeting at the Las Vegas Modern Quilt Guild, we had a mug rug swap. (I showed off mine here) Everyone who made one drew a number out of a cup. I drew number two, so I picked second.

And, this is what I picked!

No surprise, the red and white one called my name! This one was made by a very experienced quilter, so all the points point to where they were intended to point.

We had a great time and in my enthusiasm, I volunteered to be an officer of the club. Vice President, I think, but maybe still to be determined, as there were a couple of positions 'open'.

Maybe now that I have an 'official capacity' I can convince The Mister that I need use my vacations to travel around the country visiting other chapters of The Modern Quilt Guild. You know, as a mission of good will...

It's all about the accessories...

2011-03-01T04:01:00.000-08:00

So, I am headed off to a photo opportunity extravaganza at the Philadelphia International Flower Show in four days! Last year, we made fun of Dsis's attempts at artsy f@rtsy photo taking, but secretly I was jealous that she knows how to use other settings than 'automatic'. I know one other setting - "no flash"- but that rarely turns out a good photo.

I decided that if I can't take professional photos, maybe I could look good taking them...

While I really want one of these stylish bags, I decided that it would be more prudent to go for a bit less flash and save the cash! (at least until my birthday...)

Next best - a new camera strap cover!

I picked up these fabrics from the remnant bin at Joann's. Not prints that I normally am drawn too, but they are some of the higher quality cottons that Joann's carries. The combination of their lovely hand and lovelier price made them 'must haves' and I think they were just right for this project.

The tutorial was a kind of a mish-mash of several that I found on Tipnut, but mostly from this one.

It was one of those projects that would be much easier the second try, but who really needs two camera strap covers?

Maybe I will make one to match my outfit for the summer wedding that required an updated passport!

Conflicts of Interests

2011-02-27T22:03:00.000-08:00

Last March, I attended the local quilt guild show and my goal was to enter a small quilt in the show this year. Another annual event has claimed priority on my calendar, though. I am headed East on Friday, for a visit with Ms A. She and I are meeting in Pennsylvania for the Philadelphia Flower Show. Our hostess will be niece K, who originally turned us on to this wonderment of floral excess several years ago.

I am sorry that I will miss the quilt show. But, since the formation of the Las Vegas Modern Quilt Guild, (of which I am proud to say I am a 'founding member'), I have more opportunity to see fabulous quilts during our 'show and tell'. And there is the added advantage of having the quilt maker in the room to tell more about it than just reading a show tag.

I have so many ideas and projects on my list! This weekend, I really had to have a talk with myself and commit to some finishes before starting anything else. And by 'starting', I mean actually cutting fabric. I have already been playing around with some patterns using a couple of charm packs that found their way into my stash!

Dearest Sister says she is about to finish up the quilt collaboration for Grandbebe T. She will be needing these blocks that I started last summer along with the other nine. I am glad to report that I finally finished them today!

This is Mother on her Goose. I have stitched this motif several times and I think it has lots of charm!

At first I was a bit puzzled as to why Tom is wearing a skirt, but then I figured out that if his dad is a piper, he is probably a Scotsman, so the skirt is really a kilt.

I hope the red knots will not show as much in the finished project. These flour sacks are not as thick as others that I have used, but the rest of my 'sack stash' is many miles away, so I used what I have.

And this is Mary and her Lamb on the way to school.

The rest are in my Flikr stream here. You can see the fabrics Dsis will putting with these blocks here.

Since we are having another wedding in the family, this year, I am thinking that we may have need for the makings of another baby quilt before too long. I am debating whether to try something we haven't done before, or re-using some motifs from an earlier quilt (in different colors and fabrics, of course).

I may just stamp up some squares for a travel project to take with me next weekend. I will have to commit to a color, if I do.

I am thinking that you can never go wrong with redwork!

Cutting and Sewing...

2011-02-19T21:25:00.000-08:00

...was my plan for today. I have been collecting fabric with the idea in mind to make a "Paintbox Quilt" inspired by this one. I have been faithfully watching and taking advantage of the sales on Kona Solids (and using my fabric store coupons). At this point, I have collected over 40 different colors. And I have pretty much memorized what colors are available at which store...

These are the solids paired with a corresponding print.

The matching up of pairs is still a work in progress and I have about 6 or 7 solids that I haven't put with a print, so there may still be some mixing and matching.

Because I am not working from pre-cut strips, I worked out what sizes I needed in what length and set about cutting the fabric for the first few blocks. After I had cut the fabric for the first two coordinating blocks, I realized that it would be more forgiving if I cut the strip pieces a little bit long and trimmed them after sewing them together. So, the subsequent strips were left the width of fabric.

After I cut the fabric for four pairs of blocks, I decided to sew them together before cutting more fabric, just to stay a bit more organized. After about an hour, I had one block complete. Not even on pair. Just one block.

I think I picked out every seam at least once on the first block. And re-cut the strips. It did not register when I was reading the instructions, that the solid pieces were to be more narrow than the prints. At least cutting them too wide is easier to fix than cutting them too narrow!

I finally finished the first block, but even after measuring the seams after I sewed each one, and re-doing the ones that were too wide, the block turned out a bit shy of the 6.5 inches that it should have been.

I am going to start fresh tomorrow and try leaving the strips for the outer pieces of each block a little wider, then cut them down to proper size.

Tomorrow is the Daytona 500. The Mister has been looking forward to the start of racing season for weeks. And 500 miles gives me a lot of time to sew!

Finally, a Quilty Finish!

2011-02-13T20:39:00.000-08:00

Some weeks ago, I saw a flyer advertising an organizing meeting of the Las Vegas Modern Quilt Guild. Although I am a girl that loves vintage fabric and traditional quilts, it seems to me that the modern quilt designs are not quite as exacting as the traditional quilts. And more suited to my skill level at this time.

I went to the meeting at the lqs and there was a very cool mix of women of diverse backgrounds, ages and experience. We talked a little about the business of starting a local 'chapter' of the Modern Quilt Guild, and got to know a bit about each other.

One of our group volunteered to do a demo at our next meeting of a wonky block and we decided to do a Mug Rug Swap.

When I heard 'mug rug', I immediately had a flashback to 1985 and some coasters made of plastic canvas and polyester yarn in dusty pink, that outlasted their charm by many years due to the fact that they were made by a lost sister. Today's mug rugs are different, it seems.

Big enough to hold a beverage and a snack, they are more of a small placemat, than a coaster. Six inches by nine inches was the recommendation and mine is just a bit larger by half an inch.

The yellow and green are Kona solids and the embroidery designs are from "Sublime Stitching", Jenny Hart's first book. (I put the initials "LVMQG" on the tea bag tag, but the quilting made it a bit hard to see.)

This is the back, a fussy-cut piece from a fat quarter from the same stack that most of the other fabrics came from. It's a Moda design called Hideaway.

This is the first quilted project that I have finished completely. First machine quilting and first binding.

The quilting went very smoothly, although I assumed symmetry in the new walking foot that I was trying for the first time. I stitched from the top down, then from the bottom up and notice after a few rows that the distance between rows was not the same. So, (and this is what I love about modern quilting!) I just varied the distance between the rows some more, so they were not a consistent 'thick and thin'. And of course, there are other inconsistencies, but overall, I think it turned out well.

I did a pieced binding, mainly because I had cut a bunch of small pieces that I didn't use and didn't want to waste. Also, I thought that a pieced binding would camouflage my errors a bit. A wider binding would have allowed me to stitch it down with the machine. I ended up finishing it by hand, which took no time, since it was such a small project.

Our next meeting is more than a week away, so I am also giving myself 'points' for not waiting until the last minute!

I suppose it was only a matter of time until I took over the 'livingdiningofficegymfamily' room for sewing. Oh - and the kitchen for ironing. I don't feel too badly, though. The Mister finally has a shop where he can work on cars. It is a storage place about a mile away, so not as convenient as in the back yard, but it is bigger that the garage we used to have, so he is able to spread out and see what he has and where.

We are both back to our favorite hobbies! (and trying to keep the other in the dark about how much we spend on 'parts'!)

A new day, a New Year and - finally - a new post!

2011-01-03T21:53:00.001-08:00

I have been away from this blog so long that it is hard to know where to start! The fourth quarter of 2010 really rocked our world! But, we are getting settled in and now the holidays are behind us. I think we are even becoming comfortable in our 'new normal'!

I really struggled to get into the spirit of the holidays, this year. Not having much space to work in, or to make a mess in, seemed really limiting. And, even a 45 minute commute (round trip) eats up more of a day than you would expect. I finally got some inspiration to do some handwork, although not in time to finish before the holiday. I am nearly done, though, so I feel good about that.

Since 1/1/11 was on the weekend, this year, I have a holiday 'in the bank'. I am thinking that I will spend it on a day this week, or next, to finish up and ship all the un-gifted presents and to attend a class on machine quilting at the local quilt shop. If I don't, I am afraid January will get away from me, it will be spring before I know it, and the gifts will still be works in progress!

I am not one to make resolutions, but I have decided to make a plan for the coming months. I am going to walk 4 days a week (minimum) in an effort to lose 8 pounds. Why eight? It just sounds do-able. Living in a small environment means that everything is at hand. Once I get home and get out of my work clothes, I do not get much activity. I have begun to notice the slightest bit of weight creep. Well, before the holiday, it was slight, now I would have to consider it major... I am determined to turn the momentum, before it gets out of hand!

And, we are planning a trip to a South of the border destination wedding in June. If I am going to buy new clothes, I wouldn't mind buying a smaller size!

I sat down intending to at least make a start on a post and think about adding photos tomorrow, but I think I will hit the 'publish' button and see if I can get some mojo running.

Maybe you will hear from me again before the seasons change!

Location, Location, Location

2010-10-18T21:32:00.000-07:00

This is what I see in the morning before I go to work.

Just beyond the end of our street is a fabulous view of the Vegas Valley (its really an alluvial plane, but that's not so catchy...). The lights really sparkle at night - this photo was about a half hour after sun-up. Sometimes it is cloudy where we are, but at the same time, we can see the sun reflecting off the tall shiny buildings on the strip in the distance.

The valley is like a saucer and our neighborhood is up on the rim of the saucer, so we can see all the way across the metro area.

I call our new neighborhood the Shady Rest. There are real trees instead of palm trees and much more interaction amongst the neighbors, since everyone is kind of 'cheek by jowl', (although, I think we have more yard than some of the new construction going up, these days).

It is a very modest neighborhood, but friendly. There is quite a list of rules, but not all of them seem to be enforced.

One that is enforced, quite vigorously, however, is 'no working on cars'. Apparently some time back, the EPA paid a visit and found that not everyone was careful about disposing of fluids, so the ban was put in place to avoid 'chronic infraction' status. That is a deep disappointment to The Mister, as he was looking forward to puttering with the Falcon, since it has been out of the paint shop for a very short time. We are researching alternatives for him, since there is not so much to keep him busy with our small space.

One of the rules that seems to be less important is 'no clutter in the yard' and 'only lawn furniture on the patio'.

This is a neighbor across the street:

You can't see in the photo that the 'destination' sign on the motor home says "Twilight Zone". It is kind of a hippie bus with ALL kinds of things in the yard. You can just see the refrigerator to the left of the bus. I don't want to be rude and stare, but if there was a roof over it all, I think it could be on "Hoarders"!

Most of the other neighbors are very tidy, although there are quite a few that have gone a bit overboard with plastic flowers as landscaping.

Since clutter is not against the law, we enjoy the eccentricity aspect.

At least there is no HOA!

Settling in

2010-10-11T20:51:00.000-07:00

Well, we are in and it is feeling like home. A small home, but not so bad.

I have learned to judge the traffic and make the call as to whether the highway or surface streets are the most efficient for the commute. The kitties are getting used to the sounds around us, no longer startling at the wind or the barking dogs in the trailerhood.

And, I have my iris in the ground!

I wasn't going to fool with them.

I had dug the special ones and taken them to safe haven at Dsis's house in CO. The only ones left were multiples of nameless clumps that were dry and ignored. It was the last trip to the house to pick up the kitties in their carriers and mop the entryway on my way out the door. I looked at the beds and grabbed a plastic dish pan and a grocery store plastic bag out of the back seat. I dug the plants with my bare hands and took them with me, thinking that I would get some big flower pots and put a couple in each.

The next day when I got home from work, I was thrilled to see that The Mister had fetched the planter boxes and had them installed and ready for planting!

I think that it is likely that I will have some bloom in the spring, since we have a couple more months of warm growing season ahead. We don't have irrigation here, so I will water them with the hose, but they are next to the sidewalk and I will pass them everyday, and that will remind me to give them a drink.

And by spring, maybe my hands and fingernails will have recovered from being used as garden implements!

The time has come! (and public yarning!)

2010-09-23T20:35:00.000-07:00

We are moving!

This weekend we will be out of the house and implementing step one of the 'exit strategy' - moving into the RV! Much of the summer has been taken up with the preparations and the work is not over yet.

There is still much washing of floors and woodwork in preparation of turning the house over to the management company who will (we hope) find us a renter who needs to live in Las Vegas for, oh, 10 years, or so. Or, at least until the housing market makes enough recovery that we can unload the albatross that will no longer be our home.

Finding a place for all the things that are still with us will be a mighty task, as well! I have winnowed my wardrobe down in stages. I still think I have too much for the small RV closet. I am thinking I might have to store my off season clothes under my desk, at work! Not really, but maybe one or two pair of shoes would fit in my bottom desk drawer...

A couple of weeks ago, we picked up the current car project from the paint shop where it has lived most of the year (that is another saga!) We were pulling out of the automotive industrial center after picking it up and saw this bit of yarn graffiti:

I asked The Mister to pull over and took a few snaps to share.

Right in the middle of all that is automotive and manly-ish was this desert tree, decked out in crochet swatches!

Not that desert trees need sweaters to keep them warm, especially in August, but this one didn't seem to mind!

And it gave me a little bit of hope that irony and whimsy can survive in this dry heat!

Not So Fussy Cutting

2010-08-24T03:20:00.000-07:00

Like any interest, I suppose, the more I know about something, the more refined my taste becomes as to what appeals to me.

When I travel, I love finding vintage quilts in flea markets or antique malls. My budget does not allow for the $500 or $600 mint condition treasure, so I look for beautiful things that may have a flaw that makes them within my budget.

On a trip to Ohio a few years ago, I found this quilt top in an antique mall.

I love the bold orange and green combination!

I always had a thought that someday, I would learn how to quilt, practice on 'lesser' projects and finish this top into an heirloom worthy project! I knew that I would have to learn how to deal with scalloped borders first, though!

I decided, after coming across it while sorting, to take a closer look. To admire the vintage fabrics and color combinations.

After looking at it with a more 'schooled' eye, I decided that I will never make a quilt from this top.

Why?

After taking a series of classes and reading lots of books and magazines, I have come away with the fundamental rule that quilts should be flat.

This one is not.

Notice the white crosses with the orange squares in the center? Notice how they look like graceful foothills surrounding the round 'plate'? No amount of pressing will render this quilt top flat!

After a futile turn with a steam iron, an alternate plan began to form. I could take it apart and remake it!

As I began to look closely at the individual fabrics, I noticed something odd.

Deer legs!

And some other parts, as well!

There are three blocks made with this fabric, and I am guessing not a bit went to waste. Maybe the original quilter was focused more on the color than the print. I wish we could see a bit more of the faces of the herd, though!

(so cute!)
The entire top is hand pieced and the fabrics are in really nice condition. I think I will wait awhile to decide exactly how to use it. My skills are still very basic, and I want to be sure they are up to the project that would do these fabrics justice!

It is kind of freeing, though, knowing that I don't have to live up to a priceless work of stitching!

Vintage Redwork Stuff

2010-08-16T22:07:00.002-07:00

After several weeks of avoiding the Great Chaos Behind The Door, I have begun sorting and packing my studio to go to storage.
These are a few things that I have come across in the process:

An orphan pillow case.

The case feels like a contemporary fabric and it is a bit bigger than vintage ones usually are, so I am guessing this was done in the last 20 years. I don't crochet, so I have no idea if the pattern is as complex as it appears. I think it is lovely, though.

This is a very cute dresser scarf, edged in red cotton, and the design is made by stitching red braid into a graceful vining pattern with pink thread. It is very precisely done!

There is some wear on the corners of the solid fabric, but it doesn't have any of the stains that are so common in vintage dresser scarves. I think the white fabric is linen. Maybe it was used as a table runner, or on the dresser of a very careful person.

This is one of the more intriguing embroidery projects that I have come across. The overall size is about the size of the usable part of a flour sack, after trimming the stitch hole margins. It also has the same fabric slubs that I find in a lot of flour sacks.

The motif is huge, more than life size, as you can see by my model...

I am not sure if it was intended as a dishcloth, or table topper or maybe a cover for a baby carriage. Or maybe it was meant to drape across the foot of a twin bed.

I have always liked red. When we were small, Dearest Sister always went for purple and I went for red. If it was candy, she took grape and I went for cherry.

She finally put her purple luggage from 1973 in the last garage sale. But I still have my red and white teddy bear!

Maybe that explains why redwork sparks such an interest for me!

Catching Up and Stitching Up

2010-08-09T04:09:00.000-07:00

This has been one crazy summer! It has been a month since I have posted and only 5 posts since Memorial Day! I am not even sure I can account for my whereabouts, in the last few weeks. If I didn't have an outlook calendar, I am not sure if I could come up with an alibi to save my life!

I have been crazy busy at work. We have added over 100 new positions at our location, and that means that I have interviewed over 300 folks in the last 8 or 9 weeks. Unfortunately, the growth is mostly the result of another location closing, so our delight at being able to offer folks a job is tempered.

But it has kept me busy and has changed our summer travel plans a couple of times.

The Mister went to Washington by himself to visit his middle daughter and her kids. I had planned to go with him, but the timing did not work out, so I kept things humming at home while he was gone.

He wasn't back a week before he headed out again with his brother, to Virginia, for a nephew's wedding. I flew out, just for the weekend, and joined him and had a quick visit with Ms A and K, Dsis's eldest. Our original plan was for me to take two weeks vacation and make a long road trip across country. (That plan was scrapped early on, when the hiring schedule became known.) The upside of The Mister traveling with his brother is a new appreciation (on his part) for traveling with me. And my navigational skills...

Since I flew six hours each way, I did get some good headway on the current quilt block embroidery project:

It is more Rhymeland Mother Goose...

...bluework, this time.

And different motifs than the ones I used for the last bebe quilt.

In the past, Dsis and I have tried to use gender neutral colors for the quilts that we have collaborated on for her grandbebes. We do not yet know the gender of number four, but I decided to do blue work in delft blue with red lettering. If it is a boy, then blue will be fine. If it is a girl, she will have a quilt the color of her mother's eyes!

Hope you are having a good summer!

Vintage Ephemera Surprise

2010-07-08T04:40:00.000-07:00

The thing that I enjoy most about estate sales, other than great bargains on cool stuff, is that sometimes it offers a little peek into a time capsule. Sometimes mid-century, sometimes retro 70's and sometimes just miscellaneous stuff from another age and time.

At the estate sale that I attended last month, there was a basket of sewing notions that were priced by a person who did not think much of sewing notions. Most of the things were bagged together randomly for 50 cents or a dollar. I picked up several baggies of various assorted goodies and one of them had this cute nautical ribbon...

...and about 10 yards of very old lace, wrapped up in a big brownish wad. I unwrapped the lace and found this:

A business card advertising a livery stable situated about a half mile from where the famous 18th and Vine Jazz District and Negro Leagues Museum are now. (And Arthur Bryant's Barbecue - the original one) All those things came much later, though. I am thinking that the livery business must have been from the 20's or 30's.

A quick look at Google Earth, shows that the city bus company office is there, now. Still a transportation business, but no need for Scientific Horseshoeing!

The ribbon is in the Etsy shop. I am not sure what to do with the business card. I might just stick it in with some sewing notions and let someone find it at another estate sale - hopefully many years from now!

Feedsack Fabric Souvenirs!

2010-07-06T04:44:00.000-07:00

Last month, when we were in Kansas City, one of the things that was on my list to do was to visit one of the Kansas City Star stores and buy a book on feedsacks that I had seen on their website, Pickledishstore.com.

Another item on the list was a quilt display at the National Archives that Barbara Brackman had mentioned in a blog post about summer quilt exhibitions in and around Kansas City.

One afternoon, during our visit, we had a few hours unscheduled, so I mentioned to The Mister that I would like to go to the National Archives to see some quilts. I told him that there was a quilt exhibition there and his eyes began to glaze over a bit. He was envisioning something similar to the quilt show that he spent an hour at, last March (before I took him home and went back to really look!) I assured him that there would not be hundreds of quilts, just 12 that are of historical significance. Reluctantly, he agreed to go, even though I just had a vague idea that the Archives were 'close to Union Station'.

Well, we drove straight there (it seems the Archives are somewhat of a tourist destination, so there was good directional signage from the interstate) and parked by the front door and things were going swimmingly, until I walked up to the information desk and saw a poster about the quilt exhibition - that would start in two weeks! As we turned to go, the lady tried to interest us in the current exhibition about what it was like to be a prisoner at Leavenworth from the 1890's through the 1930's. Probably interesting, but not really a substitute for quilts, in my mind.

But! I saw another sign that indicated they also had a KC Star store, albeit a smallish one, so all was not lost!

The store did not have the feedsack book, but I did get a fabric souvenir!

Actually, two!

I had seen this 'Quilt in a Jar' in the online store, but had forgotten about it, since it seemed a bit pricey at $25. As a souvenir, though, I had no such thrifty thoughts! Because - no shipping!

These jars each had 36, six inch squares of feedsack fabric, all different, (although the assortment in each jar was the same with a couple of exceptions). The jar advertises that the fabric is equivalent to a 100 pound feedsack although I think most 100# sacks are a bit longer than 36". Still, 36 different prints is worth a premium, I suppose.

A couple of the prints are ones that I have, but there were also some very lovely florals and some geometrics that were very fun. A couple of them were the looser weave which are a bit less useful and one or two seemed like they may have been salvaged from a former project, but I was pleased with them, overall.

And The Mister and I can use the jars to drink iced tea when we sit on our front porch at the RV park!

Hodge Podge and Happy Independence Day!

2010-07-04T19:35:00.000-07:00

Hello....hello...still there?

I wouldn't blame you for giving up on me! Posting only six times in May and twice in June makes me almost embarrassed to show my face around here!

I have been busy and distracted this past month, but things are coming together and I am starting to feel more like we have a 'new normal'. So, I will not promise to post regularly, but that is my intent!

I thought I would try to catch up a bit, but first, a patriotic nod to the holiday, by way of vintage textiles:

This is one of several vintage fabrics that I have listed in Atomic Sisters etsy shop. I have trouble coming up with 'non-drapery' ideas for large motif fabrics, so I am de-stashing a bit. I just cannot envision using these, so I decided to pass them on to someone else.

In other news:

This past week, The Mister and I took a road trip to the central coast of California. I had some business there and we decided to make a tiny holiday out of the maiden voyage of our new(er) camper. My work was in Santa Maria, so that was the base, but we spent most of Friday exploring some of the country side.

We started with a trip to Solvang for lunch, then explored the wine country around Santa Barbara. We really were not interested in wine, though, just the scenery.

We stopped at the Fess Parker winery, but passed on the coon skin hat wine bottle toppers!

This lavender farm was tucked in amongst the vineyards. I saw it on the map and with a minimum of wrong turns, we found it!

It was so beautiful and just alive with bees and butterflies. We stopped at the little shop and rang the bell, so someone could come out from the house to sell us wonderful soap.

Originally, we thought about spending the long weekend in California, but decided to drive back Saturday and have a weekend at home. The kitties were very glad to see us when we returned. They are a little nervous about all the packing, etc. that has been going on!

Wait until they find out that we are all going to live in the camper...

Catching up...

2010-06-20T20:12:00.001-07:00

It has been almost two weeks since I have posted, and I am not sure that I have anything to say today, but I am going to try to get back into the routine.

This past week, The Mister and I drove East to take some of our stuff to storage for the 'duration'. (30 months to retirement. Have I mentioned that, already?) Along the way, we visited with family and enjoyed the rainy weather. Most everyone there was tired of the rain, but we enjoyed the change from the heat.

We celebrated my birthday, midweek, with a morning of fun garage sales. I had lunch with Sister G at our favorite special occasion (or any excuse for an occasion) lunch spot.

I went to a church sale in the afternoon. The '$3 to get in preview' started at 4 and I got there about a half hour early. I had never been one of the early birds at a church sale. It was totally worth the wait and the $3! I haven't gotten organized enough to take any photos of my treasures, but suffice to say that my overloaded carrying capacity only cost me $20 - until I bought a sewing machine - a Singer 403 Slant-o-matic! The Mister thought I was kidding when I told him I bought the machine - until he saw the cabinet that came with it in the back of the pick up... I bought it with someone else in mind, though. It will not be added to the stable!

That evening, we planned to go to dinner at our favorite fried chicken restaurant and The Mister surprised me by inviting eight of our nearest and dearest to join us.

So, all in all, it was a very fun birthday and a very successful trip!

And, I found out there will be a new baby in the family, before next spring! I guess that answers the question of 'what project shall I start next?'

My Life in Boxes - Finding Forgotten Treasures

2010-06-06T20:31:00.000-07:00

Well, we are 'underway' with the plan. Stuff is in boxes, and boxes are everywhere. Five more work days until I have a week's vacation, so we have loaded the car trailer with the first wave of boxes making the Eastward Migration. We will probably have two more loads, since the trailer was made to carry the weight of a car, which is apparently a lot less that the weight of all the stuff I have accumulated over the years.

We had the trailer about two-thirds full yesterday, when The Mister decided to take it to the truck stop and put it on the scale, just to be sure we weren't getting over the capacity. When he came home, he announced that all the weight that we could carry, was already loaded. So, we had to reorganize the load to fill up the floor space so that stuff could not shift in transit. And we also had to take out some, so that there would be a margin for me and our luggage, cooler, etc. (The Mister was in the truck when it was weighed, so he was already accounted for)

I have to tell you that loading boxes is something that I am really good at. It was a skill that has served me well in my career, and I have sharpened it over the years. I had that trailer locked in from side to side and front to back. It just about killed me to dis-assemble it into a less efficient load! But, I also don't want to be one of the unfortunates along the side of the road with a blown tire on an overloaded trailer. We closed it up as it sat, since it was 110 degrees and went back at it this morning at 6am, when it was only 85 degrees! We unloaded 9 boxes of books and spread everything else out into one layer on the floor in the back half.

And now that it is loaded, I can slow down and be more deliberate in packing, since the next trip will not be until the end of July.

I planned to pack up my sewing things last, but this afternoon I started pulling stuff out of the closet and I came across this little embroidered quilt.

It is an estate sale treasure that shows some use, but is in really excellent shape.

It is the story of the Kitty Mother who lived in a shoe.

In this version, they may have all gotten broth without bread for supper...

...but I don't think any of them were spanked soundly.

They all look like they sure love their mama's broth!

I think that it was stamped with the colors, but some of the clothing is applique.

I don't remember if I have tried to soak out the age darkening, or not.

Perhaps I will do that when we get back from our trip. Or, maybe I will put that on the list of things to do in 2013...

Vintage Embroidery Transfers and Living Small...

2010-05-24T20:32:00.000-07:00

Thank you all, so much for your encouragement! The Mister and I spent the last week doing our further 'looking into' and have come up with a plan! It does involve moving into the camper, but not until the end of this year. At that point, we will have 24 months left!

Yes, we have set a date for retirement! We did the math, (twenty different ways) consulted professionals, and I told my boss. So it is settled.

Of course, I may wind up with a 'second career' at some point, but that is a plan for another day...

In the meanwhile, we are going to spend the summer and fall downsizing, and moving things to storage at our retirement destination in Kansas.

Thinking about what things I will need in a very small space for 24 months (I know it is two years, but 24 months, sounds shorter!) is an interesting exercise. I will need clothes, but if I find myself without some necessity, there are all kinds of places to purchase whatever I might need. I will need some cotton yarn because travel knitting is almost always dishcloths. Again, not scarce, so if I underestimate, there are sources for more. Same with embroidery floss.

One area that will require much thought is books. I have a lot of books. Since I have some time, though, I am going through some of my quilting and craft books and scanning some projects so I can have them with me electronically.

It is hard to imagine, though, that if I had a hankering to start something, that I wouldn't be able to find a pattern or idea on line that would fill the bill!

And, in that vein, I have started scanning my vintage transfers, so that they will be available to me - and to you!

These bunnies apparently have stumbled across a nest of eggs. I wonder if one of them is the Easter Bunny, or if they are hoodlum bunnies that are plundering a chicken coop!

I love the yell-leader bunny! I can't quite figure out what he is wearing, though. Is it a tail coat that is flapping behind him? It doesn't look like he is wearing a coat, so maybe it is a scarf of some sort tucked into the waistband of his pants...

This little donkey cart reminds me of a plaster one that adorned our neighbors front yard when I was little! I think theirs usually had artificial flowers, though.

This one is another mystery. Is the bird decorating the hat, or has the kitty captured it? It kind of looks like he is licking his lips...

These are more of the Betty Burton group. (Since they are iron on transfers, they are meant to be reversed.) My scanner was covered in little flecks of the iron-on ink after I scanned them. I am glad that I have this incentive to do it, though. Some of them are kind of fragile.

I will upload them to my Flikr album and I plan to add more over the next few weeks. Or at least until my craft things get packed away!

Chickens...and stuff

2010-05-18T21:55:00.000-07:00

My mind has be all a-clutter for the past few days. The Mister and I have been weighing strategies for wrapping up the next few years in the desert and moving away from this Crazy Town in the Desert. We are anxious to move from here! It is not a very good fit for us, although my job here is great. Much better than the job situation before I was transferred.

I think I have mentioned that we bought our house the very last month of the housing 'exuberance'. The very next month the prices began to fall. And they have fallen very, very far. In order to leave here, we need to get rid of this house. We will never be able to sell it for what we owe. Not even close. So, we are thinking of alternatives.

One option that we are considering, is to downsize and live in a yurt with no running water and an outhouse.

Not really.

But we are thinking of reducing our housing expenses by living in our camper for awhile. Then we could save up enough to pay someone to take the house off our hands. Maybe a slightly bigger camper than the one we currently have, but not much bigger. Probably a total of 350 square feet of living space.

People in big cities around the world live in smaller places, so I think we can too. But it will take some adjustments.

For instance, I will have to stop buying things, because there will be no room to put anything extra. So no need to clip the coupon for Jo-Ann that comes in the Sunday paper. No shopping for yarn or fabric, and no craft books from the thrift store. Everything except the essentials would be stored for the duration.

And we will have to only buy food that we intend to eat within a few days.

I would have room for my little featherweight, and maybe a small box of fat quarters and another one of solid color fabrics. I am thinking that I could transfer embroidery designs to a few dozen squares of flour sack fabric and keep busy with embroidery.

And then we decide that it does not make sense, financially, to do it.

Then, one of us will say, "something else we could think about..." and off we go again, planning and trying to foresee the future.

It has been one of those things that crowds out any creative impulses, so I haven't had anything to share, lately. And, we still have more 'looking into' ahead, so it might be awhile.

So, here is a little chicken family that we saw at a car show in California.

Just something to get off the topic!

Just Mom, Dad, and the kids, enjoying a day in the park!

Teaching the kids which bugs are tasty!

And taking turns at keeping watch.

Maybe we could have chickens if we lived in the yurt...

On this day in history...

2010-05-17T03:42:00.000-07:00

...Dearest Sister was born!

(Here she is pointing the way for me to follow, as usual!)

Last year, we enjoyed celebrating her birthday together, along with all her girlies. They schemed to surprise her by showing up unannounced, and were quite successful!

(Here they are, looking angelic, as usual!)

I wish I could be there, today!

Happy Birthday, DSis!

Weekend in California

2010-05-09T20:43:00.000-07:00

This weekend, The Mister and I went to California. A car club that we are affiliated with, "So-Cal Galaxies", hosts a car show on Saturday before Mother's Day every year. It is an "All Ford" show and it benefits the Anaheim Police Department.

(Where else would you see so many Edsels in a row?)

We entered our Fairlane and won second in our class ("Fairlane and Torino - all years"). It was participant voting, so nothing scientific, but it is fun to get an award!

It was a long day at the show, but we were 'helpers' so I didn't get any stitching done.

We arrived in California early in the afternoon on Friday, so I convinced The Mister that we should go to IKEA. I wanted to show him some bookcases that I am forming a plan around, but my ulterior motive was to buy 'souvenir' fabric!

I bought one yard of the white with birds and a half of the grey with leaves. Both are quilt weight cotton. No plan for them yet, but lots of potential!

Then, I got a yard of this one:

It is a huge print in heavy home decorator weight. I really don't have any idea of what I will use it for, but it was just so fun, I had to have some! On the drive home, I decided that perhaps a little back pack or a tote bag might be just the ticket!

When it was all said and done, we both brought home something fun from the trip. The Mister got another plaque to add to the 'wall of fame' and I got fabric!

Redwork Color 'n Say Quilt

2010-05-05T22:11:00.000-07:00

I finished piecing the Color 'n Say quilt and I am pleased with it!

I am also pleased at how much more 'exact' my piecing was on this project. I am always wondering if my seams are staying consistent enough for the corners to match. There is one row that is a bit off, but not enough for me to worry about. Years down the road, I may look back and wonder at my low standards, but for now, I am making progress, so I am not going to worry about 'perfection'.
The top two rows...

This quilt measures 30" x 38", so I think that is big enough for a baby quilt and I think red is a good color for an 'in reserve' baby quilt.

The bottom two rows...

I will post the images to my Flikr pool and add a link in the next day or so. I originally used a copy machine and reduced the images to 40%. I have lost track of some of them from carrying them around while I was working on it, so I will post the rest of the images when I find them. Or, I will copy them again!

Vintage Embroidery Transfers - 'For the Birds'

2010-05-02T19:23:00.000-07:00

A fun thing happened in my 'blog-world' a couple of weeks ago.

Patty at Pip Stitch linked to the vintage embroidery transfers that I posted here and here in February. A couple of days later, an Israeli blog named Friendstitch, (written in French) linked to them, as well. Over the next few days, people from all over the world were visiting those posts!

I am a believer in the 'paying it forward' school of thought, and I have benefited greatly from the generosity of other bloggers from the very beginning of this journey. (Dearest Sister, particularly!)

I had no idea that so many people would be interested in the designs, but I realized that if I added the transfers to my

Flikr album, it would be easier for others to download and enjoy them. I added them to my photo stream and to the Hoop Love vintage embroidery pool.

One of the members of the Hoop Love group commented, and identified them as Betty Burton designs. I went through the group of transfers again, and I found this envelope and additional pages!

(After a little research, I found more information about Betty Burton transfers, here. )

The additional pages connected some of the dots regarding the motifs. There were more nursery rhymes to go with the Jack and Jill, and other themes, such as animals, 'baby' and 'His and Hers', etc.

Today, I am sharing some of the bird designs:

I love the cute tam on this ducklings head!

This little chick must have something to crow about!

I think this birdie is the quintessential symbol of spring!

I think this one is my favorite! It makes me think of a elementary school art project with pipe cleaner legs glued to a board and maybe a Styrofoam head with paper beak and 'dunce cap'(?)

I haven't added these to the Flikr pool, yet. I need to upgrade my account to be able to add more photos. I hope to get that done in the next day or two, though, so I can share these and the others, as I get them scanned.

It was really fun to have so many people from around the globe visit my blog, but the best part was being able to share something unique. The thought that those transfers were sitting in a box or on a shelf for so many decades (my grandmother died in the late 1940's)and now they are enjoyed by people around the world makes me really happy!

Redwork Color 'n Say

2010-04-29T22:52:00.000-07:00

Speaking of colors, RED is my favorite, when it comes to embroidery. I began stitching these little squares as a 'car show' project a couple of weeks ago.

The designs are from a vintage coloring book, "Color 'n Say" published by Whitman in 1970. I reduced the images to 25% of the originals, and eliminated the name of each item (the 'say' part)

The white ground is flour sack fabric and measures 3.5" square.

I used one or two strands of DMC #815 red, which is a bit darker than what I usually think of for redwork. I picked the color to go with a vintage print from the stash, but when I pulled it out, I decided that it might not be 100% cotton. I went with this reproduction print, instead, and some 'rich red' Kona (still from the stash, though!)

All week, I have been thinking about how I wanted to put them together. I wanted to make this quilt a bit bigger, more of a baby quilt than a doll quilt. I still have four stitcheries to finish up, but I couldn't wait to see how it might look. I laid them out on the Kona and I think that I like the combination!

On Saturday, we will going to another car show and The Mister wants to be there by 6:30 am to get a good spot. So, I will be spending all day in the lawn chair. I should have plenty of time to finish stitching up the rest of the blocks.

In fact, I think I better round up another project to take. I wouldn't want to run out of 'fancy work' to keep me occupied!

Cook's Paint Almanac - 1950

2010-04-25T10:37:00.000-07:00

Color style fascinates me. There are people who can look ahead and see what colors will be fashionable and there are other people who are determining what colors are 'hot' each season. It is as much a science as an art. Part of the reason that I love vintage fabrics is that they do not change from in style to out of style. They remain vintage style!

This is a booklet about color, that floated to the surface, some time ago.

It is an advertising piece printed by the Cook's Paints (for farm and home). It is a calendar/almanac that begins in April 1950 and ends in March, 1951.

According to the almanac, April is the beginning of the "Spring Decorating Period". It is the month for "brightening up your rooms to match the wake-up spirit of spring". Some of the special days in April of that year are 'Pan-American Day' ( the 14th) and 'Southern Memorial Day' (the 26th).

The almanac suggests 'dramatic colors for the walls, pastel tints for ceilings and sparkling enamel for woodwork'. I love dramatic colors for walls. When we moved to the desert, the house we left had dramatic colors. The realtor chosen by the relocation company to tell us what our house was worth, said that the colors of the carpets and walls reduced the value of the house by many thousands of dollars. We disagreed...

I have been looking through some quilting books that I picked up at various auctions/estate sales/thrift stores, etc. The illustrations in the books from the 80's and 90's have examples of the projects made up in colors that look very dated. I remember when they were 'current', though, and that makes me hesitate to buy the newest fabrics that are in the quilt stores.

I guess that is why it is easier for me to stick with the vintage reproductions or the fabric lines that have a 'vintage feel'.

I wonder how old something has to be before we call it vintage, rather than just outdated!

Desert Doxies

2010-04-22T21:30:00.000-07:00

One of the errands last weekend, took The Mister and I to downtown Henderson. As it happened, it was Heritage Days in Henderson, complete with parade!

Although it is the third largest city in Nevada, not too long ago, Henderson was the 'country cousin' to Las Vegas. It was often referred to, disparagingly, as 'Hooterville' or 'Hendertucky' and it still retains some of that small town flavor (which The Mister and I love!)

The parade had elementary, middle and high school bands, politicians riding in open convertibles, floats pulled by pick-up trucks and my favorite: The Desert Doxies!

Led by this young man with two dogs in a shopping cart, the Doxie contingent was one of the largest groups in the parade and the only one with dogs!

This one had the best ride, though! Cause nothin' says fun like a wiener dog in a wiener-mobile!

Storybook Trims Doll Quilt - Ta Da!

2010-04-19T03:26:00.000-07:00

My Storybook Trims doll quilt top is finished!

It measures 16" x 19", at this point.

Here is a closer view of the top half, that has been finished for a couple of weeks...

And this is the bottom that I finished this past weekend!.

The last stitchery was the bee with the flower. The transfer design was not particularly sharp, so I needed to stitch it with natural light and rested eyes. I ended up doing it a bit free hand, just following the picture. The face is not as 'charming' as the one I did on a baby shirt, but I think the quilt is charming enough, without re-doing it.

I am going to dive right into quilting it, as soon as I find my hand quilting thread, (or give up and buy another spool.) I am following Martha's technique of using flannel as the batting, and I am backing it with more of the flour sack that I used for the borders and the stitcheries.

I have been reading up on different ways to quilt beyond 'in the ditch' and I think that I have settled on something that won't be beyond my skill set.

I think that I should have settled on the design before I basted it into a 'sandwich', though. I may decide that outlining or 'in the ditch' is just the thing!

My Favorite Peeps

2010-04-18T09:50:00.000-07:00

I am finally catching up on some 'keep as unread' blogs. When I am sneaking a peek through 'Reader' at work, I don't click over on links, due to security rules, so I defer them until I have time at home to take a look. (I suppose there is something wrong with having more free time at work, than at home...)

You may have already seen the results of this year's "Peeps Diorama Contest", but I just saw them today! I am amazed at the creativity and translation of current events into such clever vignettes. My favorites are the re-enactment of the famous wedding entrance dance that was such a huge You Tube fave and the "Triple Self Peep-trait by Norman RockPeep". Take a look, if you haven't!

Peak Bloom

2010-04-15T22:39:00.000-07:00

I think that peak bloom in my little iris garden may be this week. Our highs are in the mid-80's and that really makes the blooms pop!

This year, all the plants are doing well. There is a palm tree between the planters and the sidewalk which gives a little shade, so even though it is a very small garden, there are micro climates, within.

Look at these party girls. I have not been able to track down the name of this one, but it has the most open blooms at once. Of course, that means it will be finished blooming earlier, but I am loving it while it lasts!

This is little 'Hell Cat'. It is the first one to bloom, and it is finished, already. It is one of my all time faves!

This is 'Spirit World'. This one does not always bloom. It is a little finicky, so I always appreciate it when I do get a bloom out of it. I probably shouldn't give it space, since it is so stingy, but it is so pretty!

This is another whose name escapes me. I know the face, I just can't put a name with it!

There are a few that still have no open blooms, so I should be able to enjoy them through next week, at least. Our spring is 'compressed' in the desert, so most people probably don't think it is worth the water that it takes all year, just for a couple of weeks of bloom. For me, though, it just wouldn't be spring without some iris!

Unique Little Cars in Arizona

2010-04-12T21:32:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, The Mister and I attended the Southwest Unique Little Car Show, in Phoenix, Arizona. It was the 30th anniversary of the show, which alternates mostly between Arizona and California each year. The show does not have strict rules about what qualifies, but generally they hope to attract cars with smaller than 750cc engines, that are, well, unique. They don't have to be vintage. Modern cars that are unique are welcome and there are usually some modern Mini's or Smart cars.

It was a lovely setting! We were in a courtyard of an Embassy Suites, on the grass with lots of big shade trees, just next to the gigantic swimming pool.

My cutie-wootie little car was between a bug-eyed Sprite and a Velorex, across from a Goggomobil!

This is a Goggomobil Dart. About 700 Darts were built in Australia in '59 and '60. It looks like a cartoon car and has a cartoon name!

This is the front of the Goggo. What a goofy face!

This is a Czech car called a Velorex. It has a tubular steel frame, with canvas stretched over it. (No side curtain air bags...) This car is in mid-restoration. It is from 1971, I believe.

This is the interior. (No cup holders, either...)

This is not a vintage car. It is a future car - "The George Jetson Astro Cruiser", or Bug-E. It was built in 2009 and is all electric, built from a kit. Looks fun, don't you think?

This is an unrestored 1956 Fiat. It was so original, you wonder if it has the original air in the tires! Amazing that a car can look that good after 54 years!

We were in a class with about eight other BMW's, seven other Isettas and a BMW 600. The 600 is larger than the Isetta , with a back seat and a side door. (It's referred to as 'the limousine'.)We took third place in the class, much to our delight and surprise!

Surprise, because there are many micro-car enthusiasts who are purists, when it comes to paint colors and interiors. It was participant voting, though, so apparently, lots of folks prefer pure fun, over pure restoration!

It was a lovely day to sit outside and I made progress on some stitcheries.

Flora and Fauna in the Desert

2010-04-07T22:13:00.000-07:00

We have had a very 'wet' winter in the desert this year. It is hard to say whether we will have a banner year for desert wildflowers, though. For really good bloom, you need a bit of rain in the fall, too.

I took some photos of the flora and fauna that we observed last weekend at Cottonwood Cove.

These are DYC's (darn yellow compositae). I don't know their real name, but I think that everywhere you go in the world has some version of DYC!

These pretty little white flowers were so bright and cheerful. Not much to look at in the way of foliage, but lovely flowers!

The desert prickly pears were in peak bloom in some elevations. I think the pink ones look like peonies - if you ignore the prickly part!

The fauna we came across were not really hardy desert species!

Begging carp at the dock. The water was so clear we could see the 40 or 50 fish come running (well, swimming) when they saw someone that they thought might have food to throw for them! They were sadly disappointed...

This little goat was picnicking with a family on the beach - along with the family horse and six dogs. Also, not native species, but fun to watch, playing with the dogs!

Easter Bunnies and Chicks - Sort of...

2010-04-04T22:26:00.001-07:00

I hope everyone had a lovely Easter!

The Mister and I went 'away' for the weekend. Not very far away, just camping at Lake Mohave, about 90 minutes from home. We went to Cottonwood Cove, which is about 30 miles below Hoover Dam. We had a very nice time, although The Mister didn't get to fish, as they do not allow fishing in the cove and it was too windy to hike out to the point.

So, we did a little exploring, played some dominoes and just hung out.

And I stitched up some of my favorite characters from the 1948 Simplicity "Storybook Trims"!

Thank you again, Martha! I have really enjoyed these designs!)

This time, I followed the photo as a guide to the colors, and I am loving the blue flower! I put a penny in the photo for scale.

I had not done this motif, before, due to the color changes. Since I was not putting this on a onesie, I decided that multiple knots would not be an issue.

I finished six designs, with six more still to complete. I couldn't wait until all the embroidery was complete to see how they would look in a little quilt.

I went back and forth, trying to decide what fabric to use. I finally settled on this piece of blue and white. I only had a 'fat eighth', so I wasn't sure that would be enough, but I even have a 2" x 9" strip left over!

I think the finished size of the quilt will be about 12" x 15". I plan to use white for the backing, probably a flour sack, since that is what I used for the stitcheries. I hope I can find something perfect for the binding, but I have some time, since I think that I will hand quilt this little project. Since it is small, I think it will be manageable, and certainly a portable project. I can't wait to see how it turns out!

Border Wars

2010-03-31T22:02:00.000-07:00

Back before the 'time of great cleaning', last month, I was working on a quilt.

This quilt.

I had the blocks sewn together and one border cut and pieced together when things were packed up and put away in the name of de-cluttering.

And so, remembering my resolve to finish the current project before the next one is begun, today I got it down from the shelf in the closet and put the border on. Then, I remembered that I had intended to have an inner border... So, I took the first border off. After cutting the inner border, I remembered from my class that if more than one border is to be mitred, they should be sewn together and mitred at the same time.

So that was the plan. Except with the inner border added, the outer border was just a bit short of long enough to mitre. Which I didn't figure out until I was mid-mitre.

Well, then. I would not mitre the corners. Un-doing and re-doing was much harder than you would think. Or that I would think. And it is a pretty big quilt top, so there was much wrestling of fabric. I had to stop after three corners. And to illustrate how taxing to my brain, the whole 'figuring out' process was, I thought I had stopped after two corners!

I finished it up this evening after my yoga class restored my mind/body connection.

This is what it looks like with the borders. (After taking down the ugly valance and re-arranging the furniture, my 'design wall' is not quite as effective as it was...)

I am not sure I am completely in love with the effect. I think that maybe the inner border should have been narrower. Or maybe it needs another border - maybe a yellow one - added to the outside. Or maybe binding it with the yellow is just what it needs.

I don't think I have it in me to take off the borders and try something different. I might change my mind after a day (or ten) away from the project, I suppose. At this point, I think I will leave it as is and use the yellow for the binding.

But, if anyone has any suggestions, I am open...

Embroidered Hands & Feet

2010-03-28T20:48:00.000-07:00

Last fall, my dear niece (and sometime guest blogger) K, attended the wedding of her good friend and former coworker. The bride (K's friend) and the groom are both Indian with many ties to that country and culture so the wedding was very different than any that I have ever been to.

K's description of the event (which occurred over several days) and the many photos she took, opened a tiny window into some very fascinating and beautiful traditions.

One custom that has never been a part of any of the weddings that I have attended, was the henna. I am not sure what part the henna designs play in the big picture. Maybe it is similar to the bride and her attendants all getting their nails and hair done, or maybe the process and designs are mystical or religious. Perhaps someday K will share the back story with us, but for now, I will share a few photos:

These are the bride's forearms...

(Doesn't it remind you of a fabulous piece of embroidery work?)

And this is the bride's ankle.

K also had henna on her hands.

This is after it is first applied...

This is what it looks like later, after washing, I am assuming.

On one of the pre-wedding trips to India, K's friend had some outfits custom tailored, so that K and her Manfriend, would not feel out of place at the festivities. She brought back several outfits for K to wear to the various events and Mf wore a traditional outfit with the most fabulous shoes, highly decorated with square toes that kind of turned up.

When we were visiting K last month, we got to see her outfits 'in person'. They were all highly embellished with fabulous beading and embroidery and just gorgeous! She mentioned that she had been looking for something to protect them from dust and I offered to make her some muslin garment bags.

This weekend, I decided that I had better make good on my promise!

This will go out in the mail to her tomorrow. I used the henna design from the palm of her hand as inspiration for a bit of embroidered trim.

I enlarged it from the photo, which compromised the quality quite a bit, so the detail is pretty vague, but I was pleased at how the stem stitch and outline stitch mimic the henna as it was first applied. I used a combination of two browns to get closer to the henna shade.

In some of the photos, I could see some patterns that the henna 'technician' used. I am thinking I might have to try to find some of those patterns...

More Learning!

2010-03-24T04:04:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, after the quilt show, I stopped by the lqs to take advantage of the 'show specials'. They were offering a free spool of thread with a $5 purchase. How could I pass up free thread?

I also signed up for a paper piecing class! Tuesday evening, I took my big bag 'o quilting supplies and spent a couple of hours learning the art of paper piecing.

These are the two blocks that I made. (The fabric came in a kit as part of the class fees.) We made one block with regular paper and the other with vellum.

The block is not a very complex one, so easy to learn. I am not sure it will be a favorite, but a good technique to have in the bag of tricks, I suppose.

Since the fabrics are quite different, I will have to think of something to use these blocks individually, I suppose.

Maybe everyone will get hot pan holders for Christmas this year!

Tiny Inspirations!

2010-03-21T21:27:00.000-07:00

This weekend, I attended the Desert Quilters of Nevada 20th Quilt Show. The show was called "New Beginnings" and there were over 250 gorgeous quilts entered.

There were all variety of quilts for walls, beds, dolls and for wearing, but the ones that charmed me were the miniatures.

There were many small quilts entered and 24 mini quilts were auctioned. These are some of the auction entries:

Christmas Stitches by Marjorie Stanbridge

This small Christmas quilt was entered in the show, but the quilter who made it, made another for the auction. It measures 9" x 10".

Neon Showers by Georgi Shalhoob

This one was a bit bigger, about 10" x 12", I believe. It has over 900 beads sewn into the green spots.

Cottage Fans by Karen Bristow

This one was so charming, I almost bought the pattern from one of the vendors. But then I remembered all the charming patterns I already own, and refrained... I think this one was about 12" x 14".

Victorian Bluework by Karen Bristow

This one was saved for the end of the auction. I didn't stay to see how much it went for, because I didn't have a sweater and I was getting really cold. But there was a lot of buzz about it during the preview, so I know that it probably went pretty high. It was really lovely, bigger than the others at about 12" x 14". The embroidery was exquisite, the detail was perfect, as most of it was stitched with one strand of blue floss.

I was really inspired by seeing all of the wonderful quilts. Not all of them were to my taste, color wise, but all were interesting.

I joined the guild at the show and I think I might try to join one of the circles. All but one of the fourteen circles meet during the day, on week days, so I am guessing that many are probably retired ladies, but one circle meets in the evening and it is not too far from me, so I think that I will see what they do.

Who knows, maybe next year I will have finished a quilt that I can enter!

Vintage Fabric - Fresh off the bolt!

2010-03-19T03:10:00.000-07:00

One of the destinations on our recent trip to New York City, was the Brooklyn General Store. Dear Sis found reference to it somewhere and did the research and it turned out that it was not too far (or too many subway stops, at least) from where we were staying, so that was on the agenda for day one.

Luckily, because day two was kind of washed out due to a combination of colds, fatigue and parking challenges.

Brooklyn General is a very old storefront, with old fashioned fixtures and furnishings, but also very modern selections of all things yarn-ery, embroidery and fabric. They also have some lovely (but VERY high-end) wool blankets - nothing that I would dream of cutting up to make a coat! They also had some wonderful wool socks, that came in different sizes (because feet are not all one size!)

DS carried her camera that day, so I didn't take mine. She has posted a photo

here, of us with Mary, a 'previously unmet' friend from Snitnknit, who took some photos of the inside of the store (and posted them here

In my opinion, Brooklyn General Store provided the ultimate souvenir of New York City!

Fat quarter bundles of 'new old stock' vintage fabric.

I had a terrible dilemma! Should I buy the fat quarter assortments (five fq's for $20) or yardage straight off the bolt!?!

Yes, they had bolts of vintage fabric!

Really beautiful vintage cotton!

They were originally from a store on Long Island. The original price was less than 25 cents a yard, if I recall. These days, the price is $20 a yard. At first, I thought that I would buy three or four half yard cuts of a few of my favorites, but I couldn't narrow it down to just three or four...

This was one of the faves, though. It is not a large print, the photo is a section about 8" across. I didn't even notice the people and the houses until I took the photos!

This was another favorite. The photo shows about 6" of the print.

I love the combination of grey with the other colors.

So then I noticed the blue and grey fabric and the grey 'animal print' spots with the yellow flowers and I decided to get an assortment of fq bundles. The price 'per yard' was a bit less with the bundles, anyway, and you know how I am about a bargain!

I bought three bundles and two pair of the fabulous wool knee high socks.

Between the three bundles, I ended up with multiples of the prints in the top row of the photo and just one each of the others.

Even though $16 a yard is not a crazy price for vintage fabric, calling it a souvenir made it a lot easier to splurge.

But now, I am thinking that I might ask Ms A if she planned to be in that neighborhood again, any time soon...

Fugitives

2010-03-16T03:05:00.000-07:00

This is another of my graduation quilts that I came across during the recent 'time of great cleaning'. I was actually making room in a cedar chest to put some things away, when I came across it and decided to take a closer look.

It is a very bright 'cheddar' and red with jadeite green and dark teal stars.

(Miss Ruth E Kruse)

I had never noticed that this quilt is dated and 'signed' by my Aunt Ruth!

(December 7, 1923 - Aunt Ruth was 26 years old)

I have not inspected all of them, but I believe that this is the only quilt that I have, with a date.

I love the colors in this quilt - at least the ones that still remain...

I know that fabric dyes have not always been stable. And I know that light is not good for quilts. (And all my cedar chests are lined in foil to prevent wood acids from damaging the linens.) But it fascinates me how the dyes in this quilt have such varied amounts of color remaining!

In this block, the dark fabric in the star points is pretty well still dark.

In this one, the dark fabric is pretty much all... not dark any longer.

And in this one, they are pretty evenly split between badly faded and not so much.

And this photo shows that the border piece on one side is faded, although the half star block conjoining it (right side in the photo) looks as if there is no dye loss!

I would expect to see fading where it was exposed to the light, but there doesn't seem to be any rhyme nor reason to the distribution of fading in this quilt.

But, the red and the bright orange seem as bright as they were when they were new!

I think that I need to go through the rest of my cedar chests to see if there are any other treasures that I have forgotten!

Wedding Bits

2010-03-14T03:58:00.000-07:00

A few highlights from the wedding event held here, two weeks ago.

First, Dearest Sister's Grandbebe girl proved, once again, that simple toys hold the most fascination.

Here she is playing with a gallon jug. She loved screwing the cap on and off, and the handle was the perfect size for her to hold. It has about 8 oz. of water in it, which was just enough to give it the appropriate 'heft'. I was proud I could offer her such a delightful toy...

This is the wedding cake.

A whimsical conglomeration of Hostess snack cakes, dipped in white chocolate, and garnished with grated dark chocolate. It was created by a sister of the bride and was a quick, easy and fun take on the traditional. It did have the benefit of several toothpicks, as architectural support. Some people called them cake bones...

The wedding was at the Shalimar Chapel.

At the Shalimar, the bride and groom stand about 10 feet in front of the officiant, for the benefit of the video camera, which was above the mirrored heart picture. (Loved ones who were not in attendance could watch it live over the internet.) It was a very nice ceremony. Very brief, but nice. We all headed back to my house afterwards for supper and more visiting. Not everyone from the two sides of the 'new' family had met, so it was nice to have the opportunity.

Even though the wedding was a bit of a surprise, without a lot of notice, it turned out that lots of family could come. I don't think the Shalimar chapel usually has a capacity crowd, but we filled it up.

It was really nice to have an unexpected occasion for a family reunion!

Progress

2010-03-11T20:58:00.000-08:00

I think I have turned the corner on feeling punk. I have managed to stay up later than 7:30, this evening, so that is great progress! Sleep is very restorative, but it takes up a lot of time when you do it 12 hours a day!

I have still not unpacked my carry on, or taken the photos out of the camera, but I am looking forward to doing it, so that is progress, too. Our weekend plans for a short road trip were cancelled at the last minute, so I hope to have time (and energy) this weekend to do a bit more than eat and sleep. Maybe even check some things off the list. (There is always a list...)

I brought home way too many bulbs from the Philadelphia Flower Show. I had to leave a sweater and a pair of shoes behind with our hostess to make room for them in my bag. (They were winter shoes and my heaviest sweater and we are past that point in our desert winter, so I needed the bulbs more than the clothes.) I have two different amaryllis, three hyacinths and about a dozen paper whites for growing in the kitchen. It is a good thing I don't use that counter space for cooking!

Spring is bursting out, here. Some of the flowering trees are done with the flowering and are on with the leafing out. My iris are looking like they are just a couple of weeks away from blooming and daylight savings time is almost upon us.

Spending a week in the Eastern time zone, plus my recovery sleeping habits this week may turn out to be just the thing for easing into the time change. I hope so, because I am really looking forward to some longer evenings. Living on the far Eastern edge of the time zone, means early sunrise, but early sunset. Even on the longest days in the summer, the sun is down by 8:30.

Next week, I hope to have the sunlight and the energy to walk the 'long way' home from work! Here I go, dreaming big!

Home again...

2010-03-07T09:45:00.000-08:00

...but under the weather.

The wedding was nice and the reception party a success.

We had smooth travel to Philadelphia and New York and a great time seeing the 'sights'.

I think I took a few photos of interesting things, but I haven't gotten them out of the camera, yet.

I am having VERY lazy day, so that I can store up enough energy to get me through a back to work day, tomorrow.

I will try not to be such a slacker for very long!

The Jumping Off Point!

2010-03-01T04:07:00.000-08:00

After a very busy weekend of family and festivities, most of the guests have gone home, the rest will leave tomorrow. And so will I!

After the last big meal of the weekend at my house, we finally got a few folks together to take some photos at 'the sign'. We were experimenting with artsy effects and this was our 'jumping' attempt. We were all pretty tired and silly...

In a few hours, we will be getting up to go to the airport to begin the next phase of vacation!

Climate Crisis!

2010-02-25T03:20:00.000-08:00

When I came home for lunch, today, I noticed some changes in the yard. I thought it would be a good opportunity for some photo-practice, so I grabbed the camera. It turns out that I need guidance, as well as practice, because most of my shots were 'delete worthy'. I did get this shot of the North end of a Southbound bee, though...

He was hard at work pollinating the blooms on the plum tree.

The best thing about living in the desert is spring in February!

But!

When I returned to work, I had an email from Dearest Sister , warning me that our girls from the East might not be able to join the party as planned! Apparently a snow storm is bearing down on them and the airport has already put them on notice that their flight might not happen!

On Sunday, I caught a snippet of a radio program on NPR while I was running errands. It was an interview with some sort of expert onword usage. The discussion was on the evolution of the terms for the wild weather that seems to be getting more common.

He discussed the transition from 'global warming' (not accurate, as some places are having record cold) to 'climate change' (too benign - 'change can be good for us') and now, apparently to 'climate crisis' (more of an alarm!).

My world is having a climate crisis.

As in 'what good is beautiful weather, if the people can't get here to enjoy it!'

Dsis, and I plan to travel East with the girls and Man Friend on Monday to enjoy the rest of the week in their world. I guess I should take a coat...

Different Priorities

2010-02-23T03:48:00.000-08:00

The Mister and I prepare for guests with emphasis in different areas. I try to make sure the linens are all ready and the bathrooms are clean. He paints the garage floor and re-finishes the coffee table.

He also shampoos the carpet and dusts the furniture and knick-knacks (of which we would have zero, if he were in charge of knick-knackery!) I am very grateful, since dusting is one of those chores that I would put off forever. Of course, it is more satisfying when the dust has built up to a rich, thick layer! Unfortunately, in the desert, that takes about a week.

Now that we are on the home stretch of getting preparations complete, I am really getting excited about seeing everyone! We haven't had this many of us get together in a very long time...

Chores!

2010-02-21T22:41:00.000-08:00

I kept thinking that I would finish my weekend chores (the big shebang is now 6 days away, and company begins to arrive in 4!) and be able to do something interesting to tell you about. If I had stuck to the list, it probably would have turned out that way. But, I got carried away.

We were on track, but then I decided that I was sick to death of the 1991 mauve and pink valances in the living room and dining room. So, The Mister took them down, while I ran to Tuesday Morning to find something to replace them with. And, instead of just steam cleaning the grout around the floor tile, I decided to steam the kitchen tile (counter tops) and bathroom tile.

Then, we decided to re-arrange the living room furniture for better 'flow'.

I am going to bed shortly, with the books from the bookcase stacked on the floor, the dining room table covered in miscellany, a ladder in the living room.

I also got eight quarts of strawberries cut up and ready to freeze. They weren't on the list, but they were on sale!

Fun Facts and New Skills

2010-02-19T03:59:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, I learned a couple of things.

First, over my morning coffee and feeding the kitties, I was reading the comics in the newspaper (we used to call them 'the funnies' - one of those terms that just looks strange when you write it...) Two different comic strips used a word that I did not know, and that I couldn't figure out by the context.

Lycanthropy.

You probably knew it. It means werewolf. I know it now, after I looked it up.

Usually, the only words in the newspaper that I don't know are in the the New York Times crossword. I can usually do the puzzle up through Wednesday and sometimes Thursday. But Saturday? I am lucky to get one or two! ( I quickly scanned the rest of the funnies to see if it was lycanthropy day and I just hadn't gotten the memo!)

The other thing that that I learned was that speed skater Shani Davis was the inspiration for the design of Frozone, in Disney's "The Incredibles!" I love that movie! Holly Hunter has been one of my favorite actresses, ever since I first saw her in "Raising Arizona". And I never miss an opportunity to listen to Sarah Vowell. Now, when I look at Shani on TV, I see Frozone!

And I am furthering my rudimentary knitting skills!

I found this skein of Brown Sheep Company wool in a bag of assorted yarn at the thrift store. Black is a bit challenging, when trying to correct mistakes, but I have only had to take out two rows, so, not too bad! I think I have another skein of cream colored Brown Sheep wool, that I may use for the accent color.

I lightened up the photos a bit to show the progress a little better. After I master the art of increasing and decreasing (where the pattern calls for it, and not just 'hey, I have more/less stitches than I started with') I may do a more complex garment next! The book has patterns for a full wardrobe!

The Time Has Come...

2010-02-17T04:19:00.000-08:00

...to end the dishcloth marathon! I have decided that I must expand my repertoire to include... something else. I don't wear hats (since I come from the planet Bignoggin) and I don't need mittens. I don't have enough nice yarn for a shawl that I would use, and socks... well, I don't think I am ready for socks.

I have narrowed it down to traditional slippers, made by knitting two pieces that are sewn together.

Not that I don't already have a lovely pair of felted slippers. No, my goal is to learn how to read a pattern and follow directions.

And to have a small project that I can easily tuck away, since all my other 'stuff' has been put away until after the shebang that is less than two weeks away!

I could continue with dishcloths, but I have been inspired by watching the Olympics, to try something new, to take a risk. After all, it's not like I am hurtling down a mountain at 80 miles an hour. If I screw up, I will just go back to dishcloths!

Romper Room Stories - Illustrated!

2010-02-15T03:59:00.000-08:00

I am pleased to report that I accomplished the shebang preparations that were on the list for this past weekend. A good thing, since I only have two weekend days left to prepare.

While I was tidying and cleaning, I came across a paperback book, titled "Read-Aloud Romper Room Stories". I am thinking that it came to me through one of the usual avenues - estate auction, garage sale, etc and it is not in great shape. Many of the pages are loose, but that made it easier to share some of the illustrations! The title page was missing, so I do not know if the illustrator was credited, but the pictures are very charming.

I think that there are many stitching projects amongst them!

I love these trees! From 'The Evergreens', a fable of why the evergreens get to keep their needles through the winter.

This little bug is from "The Green Grass" (grew all around). It was just a tiny illustration at the bottom of the page.

This is Froggy Gone A'courting.

This is from The Brave Little Steam Shovel. Love the fins on the cars!

This illustrated "A Funny Story".

I scanned about thirty of the illustrations. I will add them to my Flikr stream in the next day or two as I get them cleaned up. There are some cuties!

Goose Bumps and Patriotism

2010-02-13T03:51:00.000-08:00

Don't you just love Canada?

What great people and what a great neighbor!

I always get goose bumps, watching the opening ceremony of the Olympic games. But as impressive as the Chinese were last summer, there was just a small thought that kept intruding that if any of the players 'screwed up' their life might be 'changed' forever!

With Canada, you just know that no one was harmed in the making of this spectacle!

I hope they win the hockey gold!

(Don't tell The Mister I said that...)

Homeland Security

2010-02-11T03:30:00.000-08:00

I am embarrassed to admit that we have the last 'unsecured' wireless network in the neighborhood. It seems that some of our neighbors, who do not have a network at all, are using ours. Maybe they don't even know that it is ours. Maybe they have guests who are logging onto the internet, assuming that they are using their host's services. At any rate, at times, it has become nearly unusable, it is so slow.

So, we have decided that action is necessary.

Today, The Mister spent over an hour on the phone with 'Sheila' in Bombay trying to learn how to secure our network. Between poor hearing and not having an ear for accents, he did not get very far.

I know a lot of computer technicians, since I am the HR manager in a technical call center (helpdesk).

Fortunately, it is not in Bombay...

I do my (non-technical) work amongst about 300 computer geeks, gamers and techno-heads every day. I am not a technical person, although I try to 'cover' when I am interviewing people for the job. (Thankfully, that is usually a tag-team event with one of the technical department managers). And, I have picked up a few tips (mostly just the lingo, though. "Please hold for one to two minutes, while I access my resources" and "Is the device plugged into the power source?")

I am pretty sure that I could find someone with the know-how to assist us.

But. If I were to ask one of them, they would have questions. For instance,

helper geek:"what kind of router do you have?"

me: "a computer one"

helper geek, "does it have a (something or another that I have no idea about)"

me: "maybe..."

And, I feel awkward asking. If feels like I am using company resources for personal use. Something that I have been told not to do for over 22 years (23 years, one week from today!)

So, besides everything else on the to-do list this weekend, I will try to reach Sheila, or one of her coworkers, and try to educate myself on securing wireless routers.

Or, maybe I will wait and see if any of our house guests (coming in just 4 weekend days!) will take pity on us and help us figure it out!

I am guessng they will, if they want to use our network!

Vintage Embroidery Patterns - Part II

2010-02-09T03:18:00.000-08:00

This is the rest of the patterns from the vintage sheet. I must confess an error, though. When I went back to the pattern sheet, I realized it is marked Serial No. 1944. I suppose it could be from that year, but I think it could be earlier. The only other marks are "made in U.S.A.". The motifs are not all related, but there are a couple of themes. Curiously, one motif seems to be Jack and Jill, but that is the only nursery rhyme one, unless the rest are from some of those 'lesser known' rhymes...

Is there a rhyme about a monkey pushing a drunk clown in a cart?

I apologize for the shoddy work on cleaning these up. But, I have other 'cleaning' obligations, currently!

Edited to add: These designs can be found in my Flikr set here.

Vintage Embroidery Patterns

2010-02-07T21:12:00.001-08:00

This weekend, I have been concentrating on getting the house ready for guests and a party in three weeks. I only have four weekend days left, before the event, so I have a list of things that I want to get done by the end of each weekend.

This weekend, the goal was to get the guest rooms ready. The main guest room doesn't usually take much to get ready for visitors. We don't use it for anything else, so just clean linens was all it needed.

The upstairs guest room is a different story! During my vacation a couple of weeks ago, A and I went through a lot of the boxes, so there is more room, but there were dregs of all that sorting that needed to be taken care of.

The third guest room will be my studio -which tends to be the place that things go, when I don't know where else to put them. So, lots of organizing, condensing, sorting, etc will be necessary before I can offer it to anyone as accommodation. On the one hand, I enjoy the opportunity to re-acquaint myself with the contents of various boxes and storage totes. But about six dozen ideas for projects came to mind while I was going through things!

It was quite a chore to keep focus on the task at hand!

MUST. NOT. START. ANYTHING!

So, I decided to share some embroidery patterns with you. These were on a sheet that came from my grandmother's sewing things. It is marked 1944, but I don't know who issued it. It is a transfer, so they are made to be reversed.

I hope you had more fun that I did, this weekend!

(These designs can be found in my Flikr set here.)

Vintage Mags

2010-02-05T03:17:00.000-08:00

I was browsing through a box of Ms A's vintage needlework mags and this photo caught my eye!

Hey! I know that pattern! Set a bit differently here, it has a completely different look!

This photo is from the 1979 Better Homes and Gardens Needlework and Craft magazine. Star quilt patterns are hardly unusual, but I thought it was a coincidence that this particular pattern swam through my consciousness twice in the same week!

I also came across a 'new' embroidery motif. (New as in, "one I haven't seen a dozen times at antique malls or estate sales!")

This is a pattern from a 1947-48 "McCall Needlework" magazine, listed under "towels in tune with the times". Two years after the formation of the United Nations, these patterns suggest 'vegetable delegates' to assist at your dish-drying conference.

I think the 'Chinese Cabbage' is kind of cute, but I don't think these patterns really caught on.

Maybe politics and embroidery, don't mix!

The Power of Wool

2010-02-03T03:41:00.000-08:00

I love wool. Some people don't. The Mister, for instance cannot sleep under wool (which I discovered after I found the most wonderful, like new, king sized, Hudson Bay blanket at an estate sale for $60...) I can rarely pass by a wool blanket in a thrift store, even the ones that are not perfect. And generally, they are priced pretty low, especially here, in the desert!

Lately, I have been finding commemorative wool throws.

Like this one...

...from the Anaheim Memorial Hospital.

It appears to be pretty new (certainly 'like new') and I haven't found any moth damage. I have a similar red one that commemorates a contractor's association meeting in the early '90s, also a mustard colored one that celebrates a factory safety milestone at Proctor and Gamble. And and many, many plaid ones.

Of course, since wool blankets are pretty sturdy, and don't really get 'used up, I have an abundance.

Lately, I have had a synergy of thought regarding felted wool. Dearest Sister sent me lovely felted wool slippers that I have been wearing everyday. And some weeks ago, Paula -The Quilter - posted here about re-cycling felted sweaters into mittens. I was mulling around trying my hand at felting a blanket and stitching up some slippers. I have a couple of blankets that were already felted from washing improperly when I got them, so I was thinking that I could use one of those for trial and error.

Yesterday, I came across this pattern in a 1979 Better Homes and Garden Needlework magazine:

It is made from an army blanket (not felted), which are bigger than my throws, but I think I could combine a couple of throws to make it work. The instructions were in the back of the magazine, including a pattern on a grid to enlarge.

I won't be starting any new projects for awhile - too many things on the calendar that require my attention, just now. But, now I won't have to feel guilty the next time I can't pass up a bargain wool blanket. Cause, you know, I'm going to make stuff with them...

Two Beautiful Bargains

2010-02-01T03:01:00.000-08:00

As we have been sorting through things over the past several weeks, I came across this quilt that I found on a trip to Prescott, AZ a couple of years ago. It was in one of the many antique stores off the historic and quaint town square. I think if I had to choose a place in the southwest to live, it would be Prescott. It is just high enough in elevation to have four seasons and a really lovely town.

When we got home, this quilt was put away and I really hadn't thought much about it, until we started sorting through things in the past couple of weeks. It is a good sized quilt, shown here on a queen sized bed, and it is hand pieced and hand quilted.

And it was sold to me for $50, as a 'cutter' quilt!

I love the color combinations in the blocks and the color pattern in the block placement. (The jade greens look grey in the photo, but in person, they are lovely!)

The reds are very bright! I love red and white in quilts!

I think that I have some reproduction fabric that is almost identical to the star point fabric in this block.

The back is a bright green and may have been a sheet. It has that wonderful smoothness of vintage cotton sheets. The bright red binding is also in good condition.

What makes it a cutter?

This block. This red print has not held up over time.

And in this pink block, the fabric of the star, is very faded.

Admittedly, the lightest colors in the center are not as bright as the rest of the quilt, but truly, these are the only two blocks that are not in what I consider good condition. I am thinking that I might try to repair the red block, at least. I have lots of red and white fabric, so I think I can find a good 'fit'. I am not sure about the pink one.

This quilt may not be an heirloom quilt, but it has lots of mileage still in it!

On another topic -

This is my Harry and David, after Christmas clearance, amaryllis!

Also, a beautiful bargain!

Excuses, excuses...

2010-01-30T20:24:00.000-08:00

This week, I have not been able to make any progress in dealing with the 'aftermath'. I have had several projects at work that were unforeseen until a few weeks ago, and are not really stressful, but time consuming, so I have not been home from work before seven, all week, (except on Wednesday -because I go to my yoga class on Wednesday and I had skipped the last three classes for one reason or another - see, excuses...)

So all week long, I walked past the boxes for charity stacked by the front door, the various half full storage containers in the living room that need to be consolidated and put....somewhere, and the dining table with vintage glassware etc.

And, we have some excitement brewing in our family. A niece is coming to Las Vegas to get married, late in February. Not really 'running off' to get married, just taking advantage of the 'we have something for everyone' marriage industry in this town - and mild Februarys.

So, little by little, other members of the family (especially those from the frozen parts) are thinking that they will try to come for the occasion.

The Mister and I are very excited that everyone will be in town, and that many will be staying with us. We have decided to throw a little reception/party at our house for the newlyweds after the ceremony.

Three weekends (and a half, if you count tomorrow) to get everything in order, and guest accommodations prepared (we are even getting the camper out of storage for a kind of 'mobile guest suite')

And, 36 hours after the party, I am going to Pennsylvania to go to the Philadelphia Flower Show with Dearest Sister, her eldest and Ms A, with a side trip to NYC to see A's new place.

A lot of excitement for a February that didn't have any plans just a couple of weeks ago!

Looking forward to Ground Hog Day...

2010-01-28T03:28:00.000-08:00

This has been a hard week for Dearest Sister. She had to say good-bye to her kitty on Saturday, and she has not been on top of her game for a few days. I was going to bag on her about not keeping up her part of the rhythm, but then I got a package in the mail!

I forgot all about any perceived shortfalls of steadfastness!

Of course you have probably seen the slippers of frustration. They are mine, now, and fit just right!

These prove my theory that if you whine and beg long enough, the average sock knitting sister will eventually shut you up by sending you a pair!

Do you think the stripes make my feet look fat?

Left To Deal With The Aftermath

2010-01-26T03:14:00.000-08:00

Well, it was back to work for me, on Monday. But not back to the routine.

I have aftermath...

In the sorting, we went through much of the booty from estates sales of yore. Some good memories were in those boxes... And Melmac. And Casseroles. And Couroc serving trays. And figural planters.

And really, there is not a lot of room for mid-century collectible housewares in small NYC apartments, or small Cleveland apartments, before that.

So, A has become selective in what she needs to keep. We sorted into 'charity', 'can go, but may have vintage appeal' 'keep, but not New York', 'bring to New York' and 'take back in carry-on'. And trash.

We also sorted record albums.

The people who packed us up from Kansas really didn't distinguish between my record albums from back in the day, The Mister's record albums from back in the day, A's record albums that were her dad's from back in the day. And the 500 or so albums, that A brought home when the school library gave away their entire catalog of vinyl and said whoever wants any, can take them.

We had lots of sorting to do....

We kept some of the library cast offs. But not "The Six Day War - Recorded Live!", or "Supreme Court Cases from the '60's" We found a Jacques Brel album that was in better shape than the one that we had and several vintage jazz albums went in the keep pile. But the rest, well they will go back into 'public domain' - at the Goodwill store.

One good thing about the ex-libre records is that they are protected by very sturdy vinyl covers, the record in one side and the album cover in the other. That means that when folks are flipping through them at the goodwill store, the records won't slice through the cover and become a loose sandwich. I just hate it when vintage things turn into trash because they are too fragile for the wear and tear of bargain shoppers.

I can't help it. I am way too concerned about the continued preservation of things I don't want to keep. I have heard enough breakage at the thrift stores to realize, that the odds of anyone who might appreciate vintage parfait glasses actually finding them intact, are pretty long!

I think next weekend, I will try to find someone at the antique mall that might trade it all for a couple of hankies or a feedsack!

Wrapping up the loose ends...

2010-01-24T03:47:00.000-08:00

...of a week of sorting through many, many boxes and storage bins was the project for Saturday morning.

The plan was to photograph and document the set numbers of the Lego's, then take them apart and put them in the proper boxes for storage. I think the 'newest' set was from 1994 or 1995. That would make it about 15 years since they were last 'played with'.

At first, The Mister thought we were sorting, etc., to sell them on eBay (where there certainly is a thriving re-sale market), but he soon possessed a better understanding of their significance!

This is a 'before' photo of the box of 'people, animals, weapons, accessories, boats and greenery'.

The pirate ship with the assorted 'hearties' aboard!

This poor guy just came with a raft and a shark. And two days growth of Lego beard.

Some of the pirates apparently had adventures in the south seas.

This set has two attractions for A - a wizard in the tower and a flying dragon!

I am guessing this smaller set is the wizard's summer palace?

The ghost is an add-on... along with the 'wolf man'. (stocking stuffer size, you know!)

Harry Potter and the Sorting Hat went back to NY in the carry on -

along with the Quiddich Pitch.

My favorites, though, are Lego's answer to 'How can we get girls to like Lego's?'

The answer: The Paradisa! Collection

It's Pink!

It has horses!

And tiny dishes and pans!

The Sea Side Cafe

The Rolling Acres (or something like that...) Stables.

And the beach side cabana (with the ice cream man pushing the cart with little Lego ice-cream treats in it! They think of everything!)

Their strategy worked on me! I was just glad that A liked them too!

The last handmade Christmas gift...

2010-01-21T21:50:00.000-08:00

Shortly after Ms A shared the news that she and her guy had the opportunity to move to the Big Apple, I saw this home decor fabric at the quilt shop.

It reminded me so much of what I imagine their decor sensibilities to be, that I purchased a yard without really knowing what I would use it for (as is my custom...) They enjoy mid-century modern furniture and style and I thought this might go with their vintage chrome legged furniture.

Since they might be doing their food shopping close to home, I thought they would need a stylish grocery bag to carry home the supper. (I always see people in the movies walking home with grocery bags. I am not sure it that is really the way it is, or just 'Hollywood-New York'...)

I found a couple of patterns and ideas on line, but essentially used a mix of all the various bags that I have to determine how tall it should be. I did french seams, but then lined it to give it a bit more substance.

The sides and the center are held with gripper snaps. I had never used them before, so that was a new technique! Sister G was visiting while I was working on it and suggested snaps. I went to the studio and found the grippers in the 'fastener drawer', which luckily had the instructions on the card (which was marked 10 cents!).

The Mister was a little startled when I borrowed a hammer to finish the bag...

It wasn't ready to go in the package with the xmas gifts, so I thought I would save it for her visit and make it a housewarming present. Now that she has seen it, I can show it to you!

Staying up too late...

2010-01-20T03:29:00.000-08:00

In the last two days, Ms A and I have spent about 15 hours sorting Legos and putting sets together. Many of those hours were spent long after we should have been in bed!

She has always enjoyed Legos and there were some fun sets in the 90's. One series called "Paradise" is all pink and gray and white with people vacationing at a beach resort, riding horses and surfing.

Pirate ships was another fun theme. What's not to love about tiny Lego 'pieces of eight' and peg leg Lego pirates with parrots?!

We also have some Harry Potter sets, undersea sets, and some generic sets.

At one time, they were all separated, but they got co-mingled at some point. So, we are putting them together so we can then take them apart and store them more efficiently.

Another wonderful thing about the Internet - you can find the instructions to put together Lego sets from 1979 (and maybe before, but the oldest set we have is from '79. A space station set that was originally passed down from older nephews.

The living room looks like a tornado with sorted piles for charity donation, trash and 'things to keep, but we haven't decided where'.

Since today is the halfway mark of my vacation, I suppose we had better make some progress on restoring order. I don't wan't to have to do it all myself after she leaves!

On Vacation!

2010-01-18T03:15:00.000-08:00

Today is the official start of my vacation! Up to today, it was just weekend (and I worked a few hours on both Saturday and Sunday), so it doesn't count. Ms A and I have a lot of boxes of her things to sort through (and hopefully, reduce the amount that needs to stay...)

And we have places to go and things to do.

Yesterday, we went to the zoo. (I forgot the camera, so no photos.) It is officially the Southern Nevada Zoological-Botanical Park. It is very small, just three acres, but it enjoys a good reputation in zoo circles and has several animals from the San Diego zoo, on loan. We saw lots of birds, three big cats - a lioness, a lynx and a puma, one chimpanzee, some wallabies and a half dozen or so other mammals that I had not heard of. Also, a pair of sea otters, two alligators and assorted other reptiles.

The weather here is kind of like very early spring in other parts of the Northern Hemisphere, and the peacock boys were in full parade! The girls did not seem to be impressed, but all the humans were. Peacocks feathers are soooo gorgeous. They have such amazing iridescence!

Other things on our list to do:
Go to the shopping mall at the new city center and admire the public art
Find China town and see what it has to offer.
Eat at In 'n Out.
Pick out a new paint color for the Rangoon Red, (for now) Falcon.
And, hopefull, take a bunch of stuff to Goodwill!

The call was for pairs...

2010-01-15T23:34:00.000-08:00

...of ginormous vintage buttons.

The smallest are 7/8".

I wonder what she needs them for? ;)

I will send them right away, so we will see!

My Design Wall...

2010-01-14T03:47:00.000-08:00

Okay, I don't have much else to talk about, because all I have been doing is going to work, eating, sleeping and working on this quilt top.

Since I don't have a 'design wall', I have been using the downstairs guest bed to lay out the blocks. But, in two days (or so), Ms A is coming for a visit! And she will need a bed with functional blankets and quilts.

After I decided how I was going to put them together, I hung them from the living room valance, to keep them in order. I still need to press the seams joining the blocks, but this is what they look like all trimmed and sewn into strips.

This is one of the 'wonkier' style blocks. There are four rounds of logs around the center piece.

The last four, were more like this. Only three rounds of logs, and they are not trimmed as sharply. I was trying not to cut more strips for the last four blocks, since I had plenty left over. I didn't have all colors in all widths, though, so I probably compromised a bit of interest. But, not all blocks can be superstars!

I hope to get them pressed and the strips sewn together tomorrow. Then I might have to put it away for a bit.

Because Ms A is coming for a visit!

And I will be on vacation!

And we will have things to do and places to go!

Too Much Momentum...

2010-01-12T03:42:00.000-08:00

I have been sewing away on my Wonky Log Cabin quilt. Sunday, I sewed all afternoon and got all the blocks put together. I decided that I needed twenty blocks to make a quilt for the guest bed and I stayed up way past my bedtime to finish up the last one.

Upon a re-count, I discovered that I had made twenty-one blocks!

Oh well! I still need to trim the blocks, (in a wonky fashion), which will make them a bit smaller afterwards. I might make a pillow from the extra, or I might make four more blocks and make the quilt bigger.

I am really excited to see how it will look!

The Mister took this photo today. Even though we are enjoying mild temperature (especially compared with some areas!) the kitties still like to sleep with a 'heater cat'!

Quilting as Exercise

2010-01-10T03:30:00.000-08:00

Since the beginning of the new year, I have read lots of resolutions, and many of them have to do with accomplishing particular projects of one type or another. A lot have to do with finishing WIP's (works in progress). I have my own share of wips, (and w's not yet 'ip'), but mostly they are embroidery projects. Just things I have started to have a variety of projects to work on.

But the quilting thing is trying to suck me in to starting another project before the first one is done! (Technically, I have already done that, I suppose, since my small class project top is still waiting to be finished, but I am giving myself an exemption, since I haven't learned that part, yet!)

I have been reading my quilt books and magazines and thinking about the next quilt that I want to start, even though I am only about half way through my 'wonky log cabin' top! I fear it is a slippery slope that I have stepped onto! I have decided that I probably need to be a bit strict about finishing one quilt (at least the top!) before I start the next, though. I know myself! It could get out of control, if I don't practice restraint!

So for now, at least, the 'rule' will be that I cannot start another project before the current one is complete (unless it is a gift with a deadline...)

Yesterday, we had a busy morning with errands. When we got home and lunch was over, and laundry underway, I started working on my wonky log cabin top. It takes me quite a while to do a block, mainly because I have a very inefficient set up for the process.

My sewing machine is practically at the front door of the house, my cutting area is in the dining room and the iron is in the kitchen.

The thing about the wonky LC is that not all the blocks have the same amount of 'logs', but they all have at least 13. So, twelve times from the cutting table (selecting the next piece), to the sewing machine to add it to the block, to the kitchen to press and then back to the cutting table for the next one.

I could re-arrange so that I would have less steps, but I am trying to increase my activity this year, so I figure that it makes quilting almost a cardiovascular workout!

So see? All my goals are aligning! Learn to quilt, use the stash and lose weight!

PS. I found out my efforts to eat better and exercise more are getting results! My cholesterol is down 51 points (from definitely high to under the top 'normal' threshold) WOO HOO!!

Club Doings

2010-01-08T03:38:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, I received an email from a woman who was trying to research a photo of ladies around a dining table, marked "Just-a-Mere Club, Arkansas City, KS 3-31-1930-something". She had come across this post that was spurred by an article in the New Yorker Magazine.

The email got me thinking, again, about the ladies clubs in the last century, and these books:

I found these in the family flotsam and jetsam.

They are the Secretary's books from the D.M.C. Club of Greensburg, Kansas. Another one of the many 'ladies clubs' of that era.

They are the official minutes of the meetings, beginning with December 29, 1921 (not the beginning of the club, just the first entry in the oldest book) and ending with December 8, 1950. Not the end of the club, either. Just the last entry in these books.

My Great Aunt Ruth was a member of the club (beginning 12/19/1945, according to the minutes). No idea how they ended up in our family archives, because I don't see in the records where Aunt Ruth was ever the club secretary.

Mostly, the secretary was Myrtle Linegar...

...pictured here on a Christmas card with her twin sister. (Can't tell you which is Myrtle and which is her sister...)

The pages in one book are very fragile (1925 through 1929) and some of the entries are very brief. Often with just the day and date of the meeting, the Hostess name and roll call topic, (current events was a popular one, as well as gardening tips. One was Irish jokes...) and a mention of the activity of the day. Often it was, "An enjoyable afternoon was spent with fancy work and conversation". It seems that taking pictures was another popular activity during the 1920's, sometimes described as 'kodaking'.

During the war years of the '40's, making items for hospitalized soldiers was a focus, but mostly the activities were social. And always food. From 'delightful luncheons' to cook-outs of 'weenie sandwiches', there was always food!

Often, meetings would be cancelled during the 'busy times of harvest' in June and July, or due to 'bad roads' in the winter.

The club membership was about 8 or 10 in the '20's and rose to almost 30 in 1950. I think it kept growing, because I remember going to holiday meetings when I was a child in the early '60's that were held at the VFW hall due to the size of the group.

My original thought was to transcribe the minutes. I got through 1922, but some of the pencil writing is very tiring to decipher, so I stopped transcribing and just read. Many of the member names are familiar to me as friends of Aunt Ruth, although some of the secretaries referred to members by first name, and others used a more formal "Mrs. R.A. Linegar" which is harder for me to keep sorted out. Some even used 'Mesdames Linegar and Gregory'.

I am going to try again this weekend. My eyes just work better during the day with natural light. Some of the pages seem like they could crumble to dust at any minute, so I don't want to wait too long.

Maybe I will check into voice recognition software. Then I could read the minutes aloud and then just edit.

I am sure Myrtle would have appreciated that kind of technology!

Disaster!

2010-01-06T04:01:00.000-08:00

...goal-wise, anyway...

Just four days ago, I set a goal to quit 'growing my stash', until I started using some of it. I was well underway, using about 20 fat quarters, plus a couple of yards of sashing fabric.

But, I didn't have enough of the yellow sashing. It is Kona cotton, banana yellow, and I bought the end of a bolt at Jo-Ann's before Christmas. There was a bit more than a couple of yards on the bolt and the person at the cutting table said that Kona had been on sale the week before, so I assumed that was why the stocks were low. There would be more.

My 'design bed'...

A few days later, I was in the 'way up North' part of town with some time to kill before an appointment, so I stopped at the other, larger, Jo-Ann, but they were out of banana, too.

The next week, I looked at my regular Jo-Ann, but still we have no bananas!

I called the smaller store in the "way up North the other way" land and none there, either.

I checked the Jo-Ann web site and no banana amongst the 35 colors listed.

Corn.

And Buttercup.

No banana.

I decided it can't be a case of 'discontinued favorites'. I just became aware of Kona banana a couple of weeks ago!

I called Dearest Sister and asked her to check at her Jo-Ann, but none there, either, or in the neighboring town, where the grandbebes live.

It was too late at night to call on resources further East, so I went to the web.

When I found it on-line, on sale at 20% off, I bought five yards. I will probably use a couple more yards in the quilt I am working on. And I will have about 22 of the Moda fat quarters left over. I like the yellow with the prints, so I am sure that it will be perfect in whatever other project I decide for them.

The banana hasn't arrived, yet. I guess I have a few days to stitch up something to 'make room' in the stash for five yards.

But now, I am in the hole!

And - I found an ad for 3 bolts (15 yards) of Moda classic white for $100 on Craigslist. It seems like a deal too good to pass up!

What do you think?

Do I have the discipline to say no?

Is it too late for a 're-do' on my goals?

Maybe that is the solution! I will change the goal to: Refrain from increasing the stash by more than 100 yards a month...

When New is Better Than Vintage...

2010-01-04T03:12:00.000-08:00

I love vintage things, especially quilts. We all know that about me, by now.

And, over the years, I have collected fabric, tools, patterns and books about quilts, and have just recently begun accumulating the knowledge of how to actually make a quilt.

This is one of "Aunt Martha's" booklets of patterns. I use the word booklet, loosely. It is barely more than a pamphlet. It has the patterns for 14 quilts, in 15 pages.

The 'Trip Around the World' quilt (the middle one on the cover) has always intrigued me and I thought that it might not be too complicated, since it only has one pattern piece. So, last year (way last year...) I decided that perhaps I could figure it out.

I was mistaken.

I suppose that Aunt Martha could assume a certain level of experience back in the day when home sewing was a given. There is no mention of skill level for any of the patterns.

This page is the extent of the instructions.

I read it, and re-read it. And read it again.

From the way the directions were written, I could not see anyway to put it together without every piece having two set in seams. I was thinking that there should be a way to put the pieces together in rows. I could see rows! I just couldn't see how to get the pieces into rows without getting the color pattern all mixed up.

Finally, I just put it away.

Over the weekend, I picked up a quilt book at Jo-ann and found this pattern that has kind of the same feel:

The book is "American Jane's Quilts for all Season's ...and Some For No Reason" by Sandy Klop. The pattern is called "Fiesta Ware". And, there are FIVE PAGES of instructions!! That I can figure out!!

The book says that it requires about 9 yards of fabric for the top. If I can use fabric from the stash (I might have to purchase the 3 yards of black...) that will make room for 6 yards of new fabric!

So this addresses two goals for the new year! Quilt making and stash usage! A win-win!

I probably should have started working on the goal of organizing my studio, first though. I wonder if The Mister would mind if I just take over the dining room...

The New Year - Listing Goals (but not resolutions!)

2010-01-02T03:49:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year, to all!

Yesterday, Dearest Sister announced her two year! Blogaversary!

I remember the day she opened the blog world door for me - we were talking on the phone and she directed me to log into her Ravelry page. I was all 'huh?' Why would people take photos of yarn...?

Then, she directed me to her blog - and her blogroll. I spent the better part of the next couple of months discovering bloggers and reading their archives like a crazy cat woman lurker.

DS has always been a writer of her thoughts. A journal keeper, a list maker and a goal setter.

I am none of those things, but I aspire to be a bit of each. In the past, I started journaling a couple of times. Never seriously, or for any length of time, though. She is also a much more careful writer than I am. I just pound out my thoughts, edit for clarity and brevity and publish. She blogs about what she thinks and has learned (her eldest teases her about her 'hippie talk'). I am more about 'look what I made'!

She sets goals to master new skills - and generally achieves them - and more. I am more about trying something new now and again, usually sticking to the bunny slopes.

Through the process of blogging, I have made progress toward those goals, though. Mainly because I have been inspired by so many others and found so many things that I would like to do. And so many things broken down into baby steps to make them approachable!

So, as this is the beginning of a new year, AND a new decade, I have decided to make a list of goals.

I am going to continue my journey to become a healthier weight with better eating and regular exercise (I haven't made any 'forward progress' in a couple of months, but I didn't go backwards during the holidays, so I am counting that as progress)
I am going to stop increasing my fabric stash. Not to stop buying fabric, just to start using it up at least as fast I bring it home!
Ditto for yarn, which is easier, since I am only really tempted by cotton yarn for dishcloths...
I want to make a quilt. This is a carryover, but still a work in progress, so I am listing it. And I want to make more quilts!
I am going to create a better organization system in my 'studio' so that I will have room to really see he potential in the materials that I have.

Maybe next year, I will add 'knit a garment', but for now, I think this list will suffice.

Even if blogging has not made me a 'writer', it has at least been a documentation process. And, I hope it will help to hold me accountable for accomplishing some things. (We will see how well that works this time next year!)

Be sure and pop over to congratulate DS! She is giving away a gift certificate to Atomic Sisters Etsy Shop!

Eventually, I finish things...

2009-12-30T03:06:00.000-08:00

Sometimes it takes me a while to 'circle back' to a project. Sometimes, it is a long while...

This is one of those projects!

These tea towels were part of my Christmas gift to Dearest Sister. When she and her guy first got together, she moved into his house, which was heavily influenced, decor-wise, by the mountainy outdoors. After combining their things, it was less of a focus, but still predominates, as they are both mountainy outdoorsy people.

A few years ago, I was preparing needlework projects for travel and decided to stamp a few tea towels to throw in the bag. I had picked up the Aunt Martha's "Northwoods" transfer set with them in mind and had a few tea towels in the stash, so I picked out my favorite three of the seven days-of -the-week designs (because who really needs seven tea towels?) and stamped the towels. They are not complex designs (although I did consult a bird book for ideas on the colors of the geese) but I started and finished several, well...many, things before I finished up all three.

Sometimes I get frustrated with my scatter approach to projects. And, when it is to be a gift, that sometimes means I have to keep the secret a loooooong time! But it feels good to finish and send it of to the intended giftee.

(And she might have just been flattering me, but DS said her guy thought they were nice, too!)

Going With The Flow

2009-12-28T03:28:00.000-08:00

We have had a quiet weekend.

Since our Christmas guest did not arrive as originally scheduled, we were a bit at loose ends. Well, truth be told, I was at loose ends. The Mister watched football on tee-vee, as was his plan.

I decided to start a quilt!

Over the last few weeks I had gathered the material to make a quilt that had caught my eye on display at the lqs. It is a Moda pattern called 'Sweet' (you can see it here). It appealed to me because it was kind of vintage-y and the colors were very bright.

After studying the pattern, though, I decided that perhaps it was a bit beyond my current skill set. So, I decided to do something different with the fabric.

I started a 'Wonky Log Cabin' quilt.

These are the first four blocks.

I used a tutorial that Quilt Dad had posted in September.

Quilt Dad works in graphic design, or some sort of artistic endeavor, and even though he is relatively new to needle work, he has the advantage of an artistic eye.

Although I did not intend to follow the usual log cabin tradition of lights on one side and darks on the other, I was trying to be aware of the different color values and print scales, but it was pretty much an experiment in progress.

The blocks will be trimmed down to 15.5 inches. The tutorial suggested making 15 blocks - five across and five down.

I cut a bunch of strips and I it really doesn't seem like I have made much of a dent. I might have enough for six across and seven long!

I think the hardest part, so far, is cutting into the fabric. I didn't have a problem with cutting up the fabric in the kit for my class, because it was purchased with a particular goal in mind. But, just cutting into fabric that I have already changed my mind about once, was hard.

I started out washing and pressing all the fq's, and then I washed some other fabric, just to fill up a load in the washer doncha' know... Then, I thought I should look through some other fabric and see if I had any others that coordinated (even though I had forty coordinating prints already!)

Finally, I just told myself to get started and I stacked up six fq's and started cutting! After that, it was easier.

Maybe I should just buy kits!

Christmas Redwork

2009-12-26T03:25:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone had a great holiday! The weather prevented one of our guests from arriving. She will get here late Sunday, if all goes as 're-planned', so we will have a bit more Christmas to celebrate with her.

Now that the hand made gifts have been opened (except the one that was finished too late to send...)I can share the redwork project that I worked on a couple of weeks ago.
I showed a sneak peek here, but now I can reveal!

This motif is from the Sublime Stitching Craft Pad. It is meant to be a occupational representation of K - Dearest Sister's first girl. I am not really sure what she does at her work, but it is scientific in nature, so I thought this would be appropriate. (I am sure she will be too kind to tell me if I am entirely off base, which is quite likely!)

This one is for V, the second of three. The design is from the Sublime Stitching 'Vital Organs' collection. V is a nurse and works on a floor that has neurological patients. I don't really think that she stabs needles in their brains. Again, it is a representation.

For B, the third girl, I chose these little sister fairy girls. (The design is from Annie Oak Leaves.) B's main occupation is mother to two little sweetie pie girls. She does other work, but her main job is mama.

I stitched the designs on these totes that I got on sale (of course!) a couple of years ago. They have been waiting on the shelf for inspiration to strike and this was the year.

I really have entirely too many 'gift blanks' in the closet - items bought with embroidery projects in mind.

I think that I better get started on next Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-24T04:08:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone has a happy holiday, full of peace and joy!

Image from "Christmas Magic - The Art of Making Decorations and Ornaments" by Margaret Perry (no relation)

Holiday Flowers

2009-12-22T03:11:00.000-08:00

On Monday, Sister G and I visited the Bellagio Conservatory to see the holiday floral display. It was gorgeous, as usual. There are five displays a year, spring, summer, fall, Christmas and Chinese New Year. This is the fourth Christmas version that I have seen and each one is different, spectacular and amazing. Sometimes elements are 're-purposed' and sometimes there are entirely new elements.

The constant...

...the tree. About four stories high, from Mount Shasta.

New this year...

... the polar bears. Made of 36,000 carnations that have to be changed out once a week!

Mama Bear takes 12,000 carnations, Papa Bear needs 16,000. Baby Bear (not pictured) uses 8,000. They are surrounded by white poinsettia 'snow'.

The rocking horse is back...

...but this year, it really rocks!

There are always crowds of tourists in the conservatory, most of them taking photos of each other. I thought a Monday afternoon might be less crowded, but no, it was just as busy!

After we watched the fountain show, I took her to another 'can't miss' place. For Christmas, or anytime - In 'n Out Burger!

Christmas - part one

2009-12-20T03:14:00.000-08:00

I am passed the Christmas rush! I took a vacation day from work on Friday to finish up all the loose ends and get the out-of-town packages shipped. It was kind of a frantic day of looking for gifts that were purchased early and then misplaced, (I still haven't found one of them!) and getting everything wrapped and packaged for shipment. The post office web site was down for purchasing on the internet, so I had to go and stand in line, instead of just printing the postage at home and dropping the parcels in the bin. It wasn't too bad when I got there, though the line was twice as long when I left. Timing is everything!

Saturday evening, we had a Christmas gathering with part of the family. Sister G is visiting the desert, staying with L the doctor neice, through Wednesday. She and I hung out most of Saturday, though, and had a good visit.

We have plans to get together on Monday to go see the Bellagio holiday display. We might also go see the new City Center that has opened in stages over the past couple of weeks. It is a shiny new complex of everything you can think of that rich people might want to see and do. There is quite a lot of public art at the shopping mall that I would like to see, though. (The mall is made up of shops from Rodeo drive, but the LV versions are bigger than the LA versions...)

Donald Trump publicly dissed the whole project and called it 'a catastrophy'. The head of MGM, which owns the City Center (in partnership with Dubai), said he 'couldn't imagine an opinion that would matter less'. I take that to mean that he would value my opinion over The Donald's! I must go see it and put my two cents in!

Featured Fabric

2009-12-18T03:56:00.000-08:00

Part of the fun of collecting something is finding others who enjoy the same thing. I feel that way about feedsacks. I love them for what they are, but I like to share the joy!
On Wednesday, one of my feedsack fabrics -

was featured here! This is the second time one of my fabrics has been selected as a representation of the 'Daily Swatch' theme. Its not an award, or a reinforcement of my great taste in textiles. (I self 'nominated' by tagging the photo and adding it to the Flikr pool.) It is fun, though, to open up a blog and see my little piece of fabric heritage!

This piece of fabric is a good example of how color can 'date' something. Even though green is a very current color, these greens just say 'vintage'. Maybe it is the combination with the brown, but I just get a 40's feeling from these colors.

My favorite modern quilt fabrics are the reproductions because they have a classic vintage look. The new designers make beautiful things, but you don't have to look very far into the blogosphere to find examples of things that were beautiful when they were introduced, but sadly 'tired', 10, 20 - or more - years later.

I am working with a very modern fabric in my most current project. I will post a photo in a few, (read: seven) days! ;)

Self Indulgence, pure and simple!

2009-12-16T03:58:00.000-08:00

Okay, two posts in a row is a bit much for the same project, but - oh well!

I am really pleased with my quilt project!

Last night, since I already had my blocks sewn together, I was ahead of the rest of the class, who had stuck to the script. The first border went on quickly and the instructor showed me how to do a mitered corner for the outer border (which is a very neat trick!)

When I finished up the borders, I decided to look at fabric, with a goal of picking a backing fabric. I had a coupon for 25% off, as well as the refund of my $20 deposit for the class that was burning a hole in my pocket.

Once again, when faced with buying fabric for a particular project, it was too much choice! I just couldn't pick! So, I bought a fat quarter stack and a yard of decorator fabric for a potential project that I will tell you about, later (after I see if it turns out okay!)

I am thinking of making a few more blocks and using them to make a stripe across the reverse and piece the rest of the backing. Maybe with a solid color from one of the prints, or white.

The winter class schedule comes out in a week. I hope I can get in a quilting class pretty soon! I am really anxious to go to the next stage of the process!

Holiday Spirit

2009-12-14T04:01:00.000-08:00

This weekend, I intended to accomplish some holiday gift goals - and I did! Not my original goals, I had to scale back my plans a bit when I realized there was no way I was going to get everything done, unless I adjusted. So, I adjusted.

I can't show you the finished effort, yet, though. I don't want to spoil anyone's surprise. Here is a peek, though...

I love redwork and these look really cute !

I had to finish them all today, though. My fingers are going to be too sore tomorrow to do any more stitching, for awhile!

The fabric is heavy, so lots of pulling on the needle to get it through the fabric. On the upside, though, I didn't have to use a hoop!

I also finished piecing the blocks for my quilt! For class tomorrow, we were to have 25 blocks ready to put together. The instructor said, "if you want to sew it together, go right ahead". So, I did.

I ended up adding an extra row. Since my seams run to the narrow side, I ended up with it a bit longer than the pattern intended, anyway. I figured I would have to adjust the measurements for borders, etc either way. I checked to be sure that I would not run short of border fabric, but there is plenty. Now, it can be a baby quilt, or a lap quilt, instead of just a 'project'.

It is such a good feeling to start the week with some things checked off the list. Now, I can start looking forward to Christmas!

Good thing, since it is right around the corner!

Seven Day Time Warp

2009-12-12T04:08:00.000-08:00

This last seven days have been something! This time last week, we were just getting home from a two hour trip to go 'over the hump to Pahrump' to get our car trailer from the storage lot so we could drive 9 hours to look at (and buy) a car that we do not have room for!

We have run out of space, after parking the two campers (one is for sale, but it is the off season, even in the desert!), two classic cars (the tiny one has to share the garage slot with the workbench), two daily drivers and two car trailers.

We have been storing the big car trailer in Pahrump for a couple of months. Pahrump (which I can never say, without adding 'pa-pum-pum' in my head) is in Nye county, about an hour away, over the mountains. It is in one of the huge Nevada counties that has very low population. And low storage fees.

Low population allows them to have legal prostitution, so there are lots of 'ranches' in Pahrump. With names like the chicken ranch, or the bunny ranch, or mustang ranch, etc.

There is also The China Date Ranch, which grows date palms. I understand that it is not uncommon for them to get a lot of confused customers late at night...

Anyway, after our whirlwind trip to buy the car, and bring it home, it has been a very busy week! It seems all the evenings were spent outside of the usual routine, so any idea that I had to catch up on holiday preparations was out the window.

We decided early in the week that we would look at paint colors for the Falcon on Saturday, since the shop is across town. Luckily, they are open a few hours on Saturday mornings. I made a list of all the other things that I want to accomplish this weekend, too. My plan is to really make an all out effort to get some gifts done (well, started first and then done!)

This evening, The Mister shared his idea of the important things to get done this weekend. Surprisingly (not!), our lists do not intersect, other than at the paint shop... His list involves shuffling of cars and trucks and sorting of parts, etc.

I think I might try to convince him that we should just leave the car in the trailer and think about all that in January! I am guessing that I will not have any luck...

My New Ride

2009-12-10T03:40:00.000-08:00

Just a quick show and tell!

This is my new ride. Actually, it is a 'potential' ride, since it does not have a drive train, or interior, yet. It looks fast, though, don't you think?

When The Mister and I were married a short time, I realized that he gets a hankering to buy a car about every 12 to 18 months. Early on, it was new cars, but that is very hard for me, since I love not having a car payment.

Later, it became vintage cars, which are much less expensive at the outset, at least... (the expense is accumulated gradually, as packages of car-booty treasure are delivered by the UPS truck, and sometimes, the purple one)

Last year, it wasn't even a car, it was a Go-Go Scooter mobility thingy.

This year, it is a 1963 (and a half) Ford Falcon. Ostensibly, it will be 'my' car. You know, when I retire and want to look good tooling down to the grocery store...

It is more of a 'real' car than the Isetta, which I may never be brave enough to drive anywhere, other than around the block.

I don't think I like the Rangoon Red paint. Since it is about a twenty foot paint job (it looks fine if you are 20' away), we will probably have it re-painted. I can't decide what color, though. I do like red cars, but this color is a bit to tomato-y, I think. The Rangoon Red and Burgundy are the only two 'reds' in the 1963 Ford colors. It doesn't really need to be a stock color for me, though. I just want it to look good, I am not a purist!

We will go look at paint colors on Saturday. Maybe we will go with something completely different.

The 1969 Ford color chart has "Thanks Vermilion", "Freudian Gilt" and "Anti-establish Mint". An effort to inject a bit of cool-groove, I guess. In 1970 they went a little farther with "Bring 'em Back Olive", "Last Stand Custard", "Young Turquoise", "There She Blue", "Good Clean Fawn".

In '71, it was back to "Medium Green", "Dark Green", and "Bright Red".

So much for Ford hip!

I might have to pick one of those colors, just for the name!

A '3-G' Cutter Quilt

2009-12-08T04:00:00.000-08:00

One Christmas, when I was a teenager, my mother cut up a quilt and made this coat for me.

It was a quilt that she made with wool that she got as a wedding gift, I believe, or maybe a graduation gift. It was not a pieced quilt, it was two pieces of fabric with carded wool sandwiched in between, and hand quilted. I am not sure what the fabric content was, but it was shiny and slick and never stayed on a bed (It is kind of a heavy-ish taffeta). But, it was very warm! And beautiful! One side was burgundy and the other was royal purple.

It was not really practical as a bed cover and it had some damage that was inflicted by a small wiener dog pet (who made the most unfortunate choices of things to chew on).

I was so surprised on Christmas morning! I couldn’t believe she had cut it up!

For me!

It kept me warm on the coldest days!I wore it for several years, but it was not a good coat to wear shopping or running errands. Since it wrapped around and tied in the back, it really couldn’t be worn ‘open. ’

It really was too warm unless you were going to be outside for awhile in below freezing temps. So I put it away for ‘safe-keeping’.

The scraps were saved in a brown grocery bag that found its way to my basement and when Ms A was small, I thought that it would be perfect backing for a Christmas stocking. I kind of followed a pattern that was in a needle-craft magazine, but also just sort of winged it as far as embellishments.

I lined it with fabric from an old sheet, so it is very soft, inside. The embroidered ‘label’ was back in my days of stamped cross-stitching. I didn’t know any ‘real’ embroidery stitches, so it is pretty wonky.

The fabric in the coat has some breaks and it is too small for me now, (and I live in the desert ...) so I would like to think of some project that would use the quilt/coat for something that would not suffer the wear and tear of a garment.

Any ideas?

We take a break...

2009-12-06T04:34:00.000-08:00

...from our regularly scheduled programming...

...to visit V and the little bean.

...And to pick up a new project for The Mister. A Ford Falcon, in Rangoon Red, with no engine, but everything else (in the trunk and in assorted boxes!) It looks like it will keep him busy for quite awhile.

(I didn't drive 450 miles to the snowy North just to make Dearest Sister jealous, but....)

Opposite Day!

2009-12-04T03:45:00.000-08:00

A few weeks back, I shared my unfortunate experience with Estelle, who advertised a 'mother lode' of quilting supplies that she thought were worth waaaaay more than I thought they were worth.

Well, yesterday was 'opposite day'!

I met Sharon, who had a sewing machine for sale that I thought was worth more than what she was asking!

So, I bought it!

Meet the new girl!

She is a 1950's model (atomic, don't cha know!) Singer 221. A Featherweight!

In my quilting class, some people bring their own machines, but if you don't bring your own, you get to use the fancy schmancy Berninas. Which are very impressive! The one I used threaded the needle by itself! (It came unthreaded about five times in 3 hours, but that was probably due to operator error...)

As we were packing up, the store worker came into the class and there was conversation about the machines, and prices etc. (And oh my, the prices! Most cost more that what my car is worth!) While there was certainly appeal in having a machine that winds the bobbin automatically (and fast!), and threads its own needle, etc, I just kept thinking that I would rather use the machine that I have and spend the money on fabric! (If I were going to spend that kind of money, which I am not going to do!)

But, this is Las Vegas and a common phenomenon here, is that people sell their belongings, for various reasons, at a fraction of what they cost new. So, just for fun, I thought I would look at Craigslist to see if anyone bought a fancy machine and, would now rather have whatever it would bring on the open market.

And that is how I met Sharon. She was not in desperate straights, just downsizing to move in with her daughter and son-in-law. She has another machine, but this one was extra. Sharon said she always thought that she would do more sewing when she got old, but found that she just couldn't sit still to do it.

I was so pleased that it looked even better than in listing photos! And for $150!

Then, I asked if she had any fabric for sale. It turns out that she does, but it is in a storage 'pod' in the back yard. She said that it was all cottons because her mother was a quilter and she has some vintage quilt tops as well!

I left my name and number and asked her to call me when she was able to get into the storage unit!

I told her I might be interested ...

(Dearest Sister has claimed dibs on sharing, if a transaction comes to pass. I told her that I am going to need some wool socks this winter...)

Quilt Progress

2009-12-02T04:08:00.000-08:00

Last night was session number two of my quilt class. To be accurate, my piecing class. I completed seven blocks during the class and I finished eight more this evening. I need to have one more done before the next class.

I am having a lot of fun making the cute little 6 ½” blocks! The first one that we did in class was ‘rail fence’. I cut the three strips and sewed them together, but my seams were a bit generous, so I had to take them apart and re-do. Not a great beginning, but it certainly made me more careful with the rest of my seams.

We also did 9-patch and 9-patch with a variation and one framed square block. It seems that the kit was designed with lots of room for error, so I might have enough extra to add a row of blocks to make the finished quilt a bit bigger than the plan.

Next week, we will do log cabin, flying geese and friendship star. The final class will be the following week and that is when we will put the blocks together.

The next class schedule is due out at the first of the year. I hope I can enroll in the next session of ‘Beginning Quilting’. Most of the classes are during the day, though, and that doesn’t work for me. After the quilting class, I will need to enroll in the ‘Borders and Binding’ class. So, it will be quite awhile before I have a finished project.

Dear Sis shared some of her tiny pieced ornaments here. Maybe I will try something like that if a quilting class is not available right away. (I will have to try to talk her out of that book....)

"20 Pages of Nostalgia"

2009-11-30T04:02:00.000-08:00

Putting up the Christmas Tree during the Thanksgiving Weekend has been a tradition at our house, since The Mister and I were married. Previously, Ms A and I might get it put up that weekend, or the next, but the Mister is always anxious to put up the tree. He loves everything about Christmas!

Since we were having guests the week of Thanksgiving, we put up the tree before the holiday, this year.

As I have mentioned, I have begun thinking a bit 'down the road' and have been going through some of the boxes of 'stuff' that accompanied us to the desert. On Sunday, I decided to go through a box that I had come across in the storage shed, while I was getting out the Christmas things. It was a box of craft magazines that Ms A had collected at various estate sales over the years.

Look what I pulled out!

McCall's Needlework and Crafts from '69-'70.

With 20 pages of 'Nostalgia'.

Martha at Q is for Quilter was nostalgic about this project a few weeks ago! (The Victorian house, not the dog...) You can see her original 1970's version here.

This is the 'un-creased' photo from the inside pages. (You can find the instructions here.)

The 'Nostalgia' mentioned on the cover referred to a section of projects taken from earlier McCall's publications, from the '20's through the '50's.

I have book-marked a few pages - some pin cushions, quilt patterns and some crewel designs that I think might translate well to embroidery.

One down and 20 or 30 more magazines to go!

Bloggery Love!

2009-11-29T07:36:00.000-08:00

Last week, Kate, at High Altitude Gardening honored Dearest Sister and I with a Blog award!

I know that many of you have received blog awards for various aspects of blogging or crafting, or designing and so forth. You may be jaded and used to the honor. But not me! I am thrilled! Thanks, Kate!

Dearest Sister gardens in high altitudes - the high desert, as opposed to the low desert, where I am... She found Kate's blog long before I even 'knew' about blogs. Last summer when babies were being born right and left, in our family, DS and I were in Salt Lake City to meet the newest and we met up with Kate and another blog friend, Wunx.

We had a delightful 3 hour breakfast, talking non-stop! They are both really fun and funny women and we really enjoyed the meet-up!

Since Kate honored the pair of us, DS and I decided that we would pass along the award love, jointly, as well! The award 'rules' say that we should pass it along to 15 other blogs that we have recently discovered, but we usually make up our own rules, so these are the blogs and bloggers that we would like to honor: (in no particular order...)

Miss V at Our Growing Family - because we want to encourage neophyte bloggers with content that is precious to us.

Tish at Big Well Girl - 'cause we go waaaay back to singing together in church in the '60's!

Martha at Q is for Quilter - Martha's projects are the ones I would do, if I had 20 years of quilting experience! Honestly, I think she and I have the same taste in just about everything fiber related!

Allie at Allie-oops Sweet Happy Life - Allie's posts and projects are inspiring, creative and beautiful!

Lynne at “New” Jersey Girl - She has wonderful photography and photography subjects! Dogs and Kitties and Bears, oh my!

Liz at Lizzzknits - a knitter extraordinaire!

ChaCha at Noodleroux - Turns out she lives in the old stomping grounds (that we are anxious to stomp again, in a few years!)

Mary at Snit’nKnit - a knitter blogger from The. Big. City!

C & V at Stick Horse Cowgirls - Friend/Sisters who blog together and are in the middle of mid-life adventure!

If you would like to 'play along', grab the award and nominate 15 (!) of your recent blog discoveries (or however many you want). Please don't feel compelled to participate. We just wanted pass along the love and to say that we consider you all some of the best!

And, thanks again, Kate!

(I am posting this on DS's 'scheduled' day, because if I wait until tomorrow, it would be old news! )

Taking Care of Old Friends (& New!)

2009-11-28T04:02:00.000-08:00

The smalls and their mom have been here for a few day's visit over the Thanksgiving holiday. L always travels with her best friend:

This is 'Meowy'.

Meowy has been her companion for seven and a half of her eight years. He started out as a 'Boyd's Bear' kitty - I don't know his original name, but it was probably something elegant. These days, he only answers to Meowy.

Meowy needed some TLC when he got here. His feet were in shocking condition! His bead stuffing was showing through and was only contained by a thin layer of plastic... something.

And, his chest was almost worn through as well.

L and I went to the stash and picked a couple of fabrics for repair.

We used blue chenille for the feet and wool felt for the chest.

Of course, when there are two smalls, both must feel the love equally, so I was pressed to add 'something to something' for H.

We came up with a McDonald's beanie baby wolf and added a car to his belly. H drew the car pattern. Thankfully, a simple one!

I think tomorrow, we may need to stitch up a jacket and pants for Meowy. I think he needs a bit of protection from the daily wear and tear, if he is to survive the elementary years.

At that point, he will probably be put on a shelf or tucked in a drawer. Still loved, I imagine, but no longer needed to be close at hand...

Thanksgiving 'Non-traditions'

2009-11-26T04:05:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone is enjoying their Thanksgiving traditions with loved ones all around!

We do a pretty traditional t-day, turkey and all the trimmings, with whatever family that is in town. Sometimes that is more than a dozen, sometimes closer to a half dozen, but always enjoyed.

Dearest Sister used to be the traditional hostess. We only lived a few hours apart and employment obligations did not allow her family to travel on the holidays. So we traveled to her. She related a story here, of a 'tradition' that arose in that place and time that cracked us all up, every time we did it!

When she left that place, she left two of her girls behind. One to start college and the other to finish her senior year of high school. So the first year of her Colorado residency, two of her girls joined Ms A and me for the holiday!

I asked them what they wanted to have for Thanksgiving and Miss V said, "I'm sure! What else would we have but turkey?" and I, always one to take the challenge said, "We don't have to! We can have crab legs if we want to!" And so crab legs it was!

It was a lovely evening, so after our seafood supper, we went to see the drama of the Country Club Plaza Lighting Ceremony.

This photo shows the plaza from across Brush Creek. The blue light in the background is the 'light steeple' from the Community Christina Church. The church building was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. He designed the 'steeple' before the technology was developed for the light. The lights were added in 1994, 52 years after the building was dedicated. (The Luxor Casino in Las Vegas uses the same light technology...)

When Thanksgiving comes with cold weather, the crowd at the lighting ceremony might be 50 or 60 thousand. When the weather is mild, (above 40 degrees), it can be 80 to 100 thousand, and when it is warm (above 60), there are people as far as you can see in every direction.

So, it is necessary to get there early!

Which we did - about two hours early. We parked up Main street and walked several blocks and took up our space near the stage at a light pole. We had a good time talking and laughing and the time passed pretty amiably.

Then the 'ceremony' began. There was a little singing, a little 'pumping up' of the crowd by a radio personality and then the countdown began! Ten, nine, eight...well, you all know how a countdown goes... three, two, one! The switch was flipped and millions of lights came on at once!

I immediately said, "Okay, we are out of here, come on!" And we headed to the car.

They followed me, a bit confused. Did we just wait over two hours to see something for less than 10 seconds? Yes, we did, because the key to enjoying the plaza lights is to not get tied up in traffic! And also, because I knew that our parking space up the hill would give us a better view! It's all part of the 'strategy' - be in the midst of the excitement, then head up the hill for a panorama!

The next day, we did Black Friday shopping. And I posed as their mother so V could get a new piercing in her ear. (I had forgotten that part until V reminded me this summer!)

We all had a great time, and having them with us, made an easier transition of not having 'everyone' together.

I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday!

Jan