Looky looky looky what I got!

 Oh, my!  I am such a geek!  I got this Kindle Fire for my birthday and it just arrived yesterday ... and already I love it!  We sat and watched an old British 1-hour drama last night.  The picture is absolutely beautiful.  And I'm able to get my e-mail on this ... and I'm able to watch all those quilting you-tubes that are so instructive!  And ... wait for it ... I'm actually able to read all the Icelandic murder mysteries that I love!  I didn't think I would use all those other 'things' other than reading a book, but let me tell you, this is great!  And yes, I will play a game of Angry Birds every now and then!  Love this Fire!

So it's back to work today.  I've missed a couple of days of quilting because life just works that way sometimes.  I took an applique class and really liked it (there's another UFO to add to my stack!).  It's been a very busy week with a lot of running around.  So it's back to Max and getting the quilts that are waiting to be Christmas presents out the door.

So Your Wife is a Quilter ...

It's been a busy week ... I'll be posting pictures soon.  

Anyway, to keep you laughing, I found this on the forum and thought I'd share (I've kept it as it was posted, giving credit to Patrick, husband of Valorie).  I read it to my husband and we both cracked up ... especially the part about expensive trips to faraway quilt shows ... think Houston International Quilt Show, 2009.  Yikes!  I don't think he's recovered yet from that trip ... So read and enjoy ...

There Will Be Pins: How to be a Quilter's Husband
Submitted by Patrick Cook, the husband of Valorie Cook from Grand Rapids, MI

So your wife is a quilter. That doesn't seem so bad, does it? It's a nice quiet hobby, conjuring up images of our sturdy pioneer mothers, keeping their families warm and creating beauty out of old shirts and printed feedbags. You think of plump grannies in rocking chairs, piecing a Log Cabin block by firelight, cat asleep at her feet. An idyllic picture, right?

You're living in a dream world, buddy. They buy their fabric whole now, in yardage and "fat quarters" (whatever they are). They cut this perfectly good cloth into smaller pieces, and then painstakingly, by hand, sew them back together. This process calls into question all the advances of the industrial revolution.

Quilting generates a blizzard of debris. Fabric scraps and batting clog and burn out your vacuum cleaner. (Hint: don't go barefoot. Your feet were never meant to be pincushions). The cat frequently swallows a length of discarded thread. Soon, one of two things will happen; you won't like either of them.

This is not the end of your problems. There are frequent expensive trips to the fabric store, and even more expensive quilt shows in faraway cities. There are bees, which are little groups of quilters who get together occasionally to complain about their husbands and children. These bees may meet in church basements, but occasionally they come to your house and take over the dining room table. Your presence in the next room won't intimidate them.

Quilting also tends to take up more and more of the house. Sure, your wife might decide at some point that she has enough fabric. I've never seen this myself, but it could happen. More likely, your home will become a candidate for that TV show where some poor fellow's dead body is found under a collapsed pile of old newspapers. In your case, it will be a tower of yardage and color-matched prints.

As far as I know, there is no twelve-step program for quilters, but you may avoid codependency by following these tips:

1.. Set up a space outside the living area for the quilting equipment and fabric storage. I have refinished the basement, and we are moving everything down there. Other husbands have constructed pole barns, rented industrial space, or moved to another city under an assumed name.

2.. Have your wife make a small business out of her hobby. Internet sales can be lucrative. They might even partially make up for the enormous sums she spends. Very important: Do not participate in the business yourself. First thing you know, you'll be maintaining complicated machinery, acting as an errand boy, and dealing with the post office. You have better things to do.

3.. Don't be tempted to accompany your wife to quilt shows, thinking that time together will add spark to your relationship. You won't see her all day. You'll wander around aimlessly among the booths, finding nothing remotely interesting. Sure, you could meet other lost husbands, and find camaraderie in the nearest bar. Usually, though, a woman in a quilted vest will mistake you for a fabric vendor. She will try to hustle you for free samples.

4.. Don't try to distract your wife with other activities, such as gardening, cooking or housework. Though she may have done these things in the past, that's all over now. Quilting is her life. Accept your fate. Learn to cook and run the vacuum. Get a hobby of your own. You could join a softball team-slow-pitch, preferably-or learn simple carpentry skills. Then build a pole barn and move into it yourself.

Finally, remember you are not alone. There are plenty of other quilt-widowers out there.

Doncha' just love you some Bali Pops?? and other odd items ...

 First of all, check out the INFO SITE AND YOU-TUBE FAVORITES over at the right ... over there ... I have the best you-tube of all time there, the "You Can Quilt that Out" song.  I LOVE that song!  When I'm in a tough place, I just play it and sing along ... always helps with the attitude!  Check out the other items ... you never know what you'll find.

I have been drooling over the new Bali Pops that came out last month, and decided to treat myself one Pop at a time ... so for the last month I've been picking up one here, one there ... and now I have three delicious Pops all for me! (OK, thought I had 4 of these beauties but one has wandered off somewhere ... and if you saw my studio right now you wouldn't ask why...)  What will I do with them, you ask?  Hmmmm ... do I have to DO ANYTHING with them?  LOL!  If you are a fabri-holic like me, that is such a silly question!

I covered up Max today because I needed to spend some time tidying up the studio before I really get into another big project.  I almost resent having to stay away from quilting, but I realized that I would be a candidate for the Hoarders show if I didn't spend some quality time organizing all this stuff.   Isn't is a sad picture?  Poor Max ...  btw, that's an old bed ruffle that I discarded last month, but decided to keep it as a Max cover.  Aren't I the clever girl?

Quilts Delivered

Patsy Ruth came to visit today and I gave her Michael's quilt (Hunker Down, Dawgs!) and her Batik Squares quilt.  Michaels quilt was one of the 1600 inch quilts and it turned out awesome.  I did the good ol' Swirls on it and that design just softens up a very structured quilt like these 1600 inch quilts.  He is going to love it!  

Her Batik Squares quilt came out great.  Some of the batik squares have dragonflies on them, so I decided to go with a dragonfly pantograph.  I think I was able to get a picture of the dragonfly on the front and on the back.  I love Patsy's choice of colors for this quilt.  She has a real eye for color.  Way to go, Patsy Ruth!

It's a Great Day {wide grin ...}

I'm posting two quilts that I finished this week.  

This one is what I call Pam's Wonky Triangle Quilt and it is just way too cute!  The colors are so bright and the triangles are so off-plum ... love the whole quilt.  I did an Edge-2-Edge on this because it is so fun.  And I used a Magna-Glide thread which added some sheen and shine.

 

And the next quilt is my friend Patsy Ruth's quilt for her son Michael, who is ... wait for it ... a GEORGIA fan!  Can you tell?  Patsy did the 1600 inch jelly roll quilt for him and it looks wonderful!  And I love how that Circle Lord swirls design just softens up the quilt.  And she added a paisley binding which is so cool!  And as Patsy says, "Hunker down, hairy Dawgs!"  Good job, Patsy!  On the last pic, I pulled the back over to the front to show that GA Bulldog backing!  Woo Woo!

A Pep-Talk in Every Wrapper

I'm a little old lady.  Really.  You know what I mean ... I have such a fear of getting a coughing attack in church that I don't leave the house on Sunday mornings without a bunch of cough-drops in my hand.  Ok, so they also are my early breakfast ... anyway, I sit in church and have a cough-drop or two or three.  And I've noticed that they are wrapped in these neat Pep-Talk wrappers.  I opened one this morning and this wrapper is what I unwrapped.  Isn't it neat?  There are times, even in quilting, where I just don't have that loving feeling, where I feel like I just need to power through and just get 'er done!  So reading "Nothing you can't handle", "Power Through", "Push On", and "Be Unstoppable" really hit home.      Funny story ... one Sunday morning someone nearby coughed and 3 of us leaned over to offer her a cough-drop!  So I'm not the only one ...  harrumph ... old lady indeed ...

That Beautiful 1600 +++ Quilt!

Several months ago i taught my church quilting group how to 'do' the 1600 inch jelly roll quilt.  We had a great time!  The first week we spent cutting up 2 1/2" strips - I man-handled my Studio cutter (named Phil Collins for Stu-Stu-Studio) to the church and I must have spent 4 hours cutting lots and lots of fabrics.  The next week we all came and sat and stitched these wild and crazy quilts.  It is just so much fun with us all working, laughing, chatting.  The ladies have made some fabulous 1600 quilts and I have some of them here that I'll be quilting in the near future.  Anyway, my daughter Emily recently told me of a friend of hers who was a student at SCAD and discovered that she has some sort of cancer of her kidney.  She had to move back to Florida to be with family and deal with chemo treatment.  And she is only 19 years old.  Emily asked if I could make her a quilt, and my 1600 inch unfinished top came to mind.  So I've spent the last 4 days finishing it up for her.  And it's now off of Max and ready to finish the binding - I actually sew the binding down to the front as I'm quilting, so all that needs to be done is the hand-sewing to the back.  These pictures are of the quilt draped over Max ... big big big quilt!  I used the Circle Lord Swirls on this beauty.  And the strips run north/south.  I think I used more than 1600"!!!  And the back is pieced with fabric I had on hand.  I'm really liking a pieced backing!    

I actually used all my own 2 1/2" strips from my strip box.  When I finish a project, I automatically cut 3 1/2", 2 1/2", and 1 1/2" strips from the remnants and throw them into my strip boxes.  I just pulled out what I thought would look good (mostly florals and pastels) and started sewing.  And I know I used a great deal more than 1600" of fabric.  I just kept sewing until I thought I had enough for a good size quilt.  Sometimes I'll be piecing a quilt just for the fun of it, with no thought to whom this quilt will go ... and somewhere down the line, God will speak through that quilt.  And by Emily's request, I knew that this would be Rebecca's quilt.  When I can, I'll get full on pictures but for right now just enjoy this marvelous quilt and say a prayer for Rebecca. 

Zen Tangling

I was out of town this past weekend and while visiting daughter Emily in Savannah, we made a trip to the local college bookstore.  I love a good bookstore!  I picked up some Micron pens and a couple of books of heavy weight paper and started 'doing' some Zen Tangles.  Have you tried this art?  It is just so interesting!  I first heard about this art form while attending a quilting retreat this past summer with Deloa Jones and Jamie Wallen.  They both recommend "doodling" with Zen Tangles as a way to open up your eyes to the beautiful forms and shapes in the universe.  My artistic side is starting to come to life, and working with the Zen Tangle doodling is an eye-opener.   I thought there would be a lot of pressure to "do it right" but there isn't!  You just doodle and when it's finished, it's finished!  I bought the book Zen Mandalas and the book Totally Tangled  to start the Zen Tangling thing.

Here's a picture of my very first Zen Tangle ... 

All the Pretty Pumpkins Sitting in a Row!!!

Booooooo .....

It's my favorite time of the year ... and I was given these cute pumpkins to quilt.  Aren't they the coolest thing ever?  Pam did these in batiks and her color selection is spot-on.  I just love these little fellas.

I used Magna-Glide thread on top and bottom and it just popped.  Meandering pumpkins and vines and loops around the pumpkins and then more pumpkins in the outer border ... vines and loops on the smaller border.  
 
Click on each picture to enlarge it.   


Thanks, Pam! 

Quilts of Valor Day

 

 The 3rd Tuesday of every month has been designated QOV day at our church quilting group.  Several of us will stay until 3 or 4pm and work on our QOVs.   We are a very small group, but the stitchers really put out some gorgeous work.  This is one that was completed several weeks ago and I quilted it up this past week.  Trying to balance a thread color with the very sharp red, white, and blue was tricky, but I came up with a soft grey which didn't stand out TOO much on any of the colors.  It's a beautiful quilt and I know that there is a service person out there who will love this quilt.  Good job, Eleanor!