Brooklyn's quilt, part one

Remember Brooklyn's quilt?

Today I will show you how to quilt a star in the plain block.

The star is made up of eight lines.  I started stitching from the bottom left corner of the block up to the center of the top of the block, then I stitched down to the bottom right corner of the block.

I continued stitching from the bottom right corner of the block to the middle of the left side of the block, then I stitched up to the top right corner of the block.

I next stitched from the top right corner of the block to the center of the bottom of the block, and continued stitching to the top left corner of the block.

I continued stitching from the top left corner of the block to the middle of the right side of the block, then finished my design by stitching back to the bottom left corner of the block where I started.

I use a HQ Straight Edge Ruler.  It is short enough to handle easily and long enough to cover the block; most importantly it is 1/4-inch thick so I can stitch against the edge of my sweet Sweet Sixteen.

With the needle in the fabric, I line the ruler up against the 1/4-inch hopping foot.  I angle the ruler so it is 1/4-inch away from where I want my stitching to end.  Since the foot is 1/4-inch wide, this will allow my needle to stitch directly into the corner.

Fortunately as quilters we have trained our eyes to see 1/4-inch.  If you do not believe me, stitch a garment with 5/8-inch seam allowances.  THEY ARE HUGE!!!

Time to pick the thread.  I like this one:

"Ivory Tickle" is a great name!

Ready to quilt?



I am on my way to Russia tomorrow and will post another video when I get home.

At last...

Are you ready for some new quilting videos? I am!

My last videos were filmed about a year ago.

I recently made a quilt for my cousin's new baby, Brooklyn.  It is a variation on my Facing Forty pattern (not yet published).  The quilt is layered, basted, and ready to quilt:

I will be quilting this on my sweet Sweet Sixteen:

The camera is ready:

Lights, Camera, ACTION!

Follow me or add me to your blog reader to be notified when the video posts are up.  I will be adding the videos throughout July and maybe into August.  I will be travelling extensively

• Virginia
• Saint Petersburg, Russia
• Moscow, Russia
• Hershey, PA quilt show
• Rochester, NY
• Philadelphia, PA
• home
• New Hampshire quilt show
• Warwick, NY
• Pelham, NH
• Salt Lake City, UT

and will post as my hotel internet allows. 

Happy Anniversary!

Remember these placemats? I quilted and bound them and sent them to Mom and Dad for their anniversary.

Hopefully the obviously scrappy-ness of them will make her less afraid to use them. The slogan could be "Slop all you want; I'll make you more."

It's a Good News / Bad News sort of day

Good News:  I am home for a few days!  I have done some laundry, cooked some meals, quilted some quilts, and am aggressively cleaning my office.  Today I had to run to the Quilt Basket to drop off one quilt and pick up another, but...

Bad News: I couldn't find my car keys.  This is unusual for me.  My keys go on my key hook.  They always have, but apparently they did not this time.  I looked and looked and looked.  I knew they were here because I drove here and the car was still in the garage.  I thought back to the last time I had my keys in my hand.  Hmmm, I went back to my car to get a CD out of the player and the car has to be on to do that, so...  Oh, yeah!  When I took out the CD, I also took out my old broken GPS so I could throw it away.  I threw it away in my husband's office after I asked him if there was any use in saving it.  Did I throw my keys away?  Oh no!  What if my husband already emptied the trash?

Good News:  My husband hadn't emptied that trash can yet.  Yay!!!  Let me just check in the bottom of the trash...

Bad News:  Apparently a picture frame broke while I was away and the glass broke too.  So there were large sheets of broken glass in the trash can.  As you may have guessed, I cut myself.  Rather, the glass cut the side of a finger open.  I believe if you are going to do something you should do it well, so I did a pretty good job of cutting myself.   Once I wrapped a towel around my finger, I discovered...

Good News:  The keys WERE in the trash can!  Yay!  Now I can go to the Quilt Basket.  But...

Bad News:  My finger is still bleeding and should be tended.  Let me check and see what first aid supplies I have on hand.

Good News:  I have Hello Kitty Band-Aids!

I love a story with a happy ending, don't you?

Last night in Virginia

I finished teaching my last day of classes at Patchwork Plus in Dayton, VA today.  After work, I visited a turkey farm and saw about 6,000 of these:

I know a lot more about turkeys than I did this morning.

Once in my hotel room, I pulled out some Block of the Month quilt blocks from the Quilt Basket.

I am still two months behind, but I like progress.

Remember when I started a red and white quilt with fabric from each quilt store I visit this year?  I'm behind three shops, but I did make blocks from this week's visit to Patchwork Plus:

And so ends my week of hotel sewing.  I really enjoyed it, especially since I don't know when I'll touch my sewing machine again.

Early, and Late

Tonight's hotel room sewing produced two tablerunners.  

I think I will give them to my mother and mother-in-law for Mother's Day next year.  Do I sound overly prepared and organized and ahead of the game?

Allow me to shatter that perception:  Today I discovered that Sunday is Father's Day.  Oops!  I thought it was next week.

Sorry Dad!

Hanging with my Peeps

More hotel sewing tonight.  I made an Easter tablerunner:

If it doesn't look Easter-ish, check out the fabric:

PEEPS!

I got the fabric and pattern from the Quilt Basket.

I think I just figured out what Mom is getting for her birthday -- tablerunner #29!  or is it #30?

I can post this since Mom doesn't ever look at a computer.  If you see her, keep my secret, OK?

Turning my frown upside down

Earlier this evening, I dined at a local Italian restaurant with some students from my quilt class.  The calzone was quite nice.  I asked them to box up a piece of chocolate cake for me to eat in my hotel room tonight because, as you might know, I am somewhat partial to chocolate cake.

Sadly, the cake was disappointing.  OK, it was a little beyond disappointing:  it was gross.  I was sad.

I decided to dive into my quilt project stack here in my hotel room and pull out something that would make me happy again.

This quilt did the trick:

How cute is this?  The light is not great in my hotel room, so the bright orange polka dot border looks reddish in the photo.

I bought this kit from my good friend at Sturbridge Quilting and Sewing when I taught there last week.

Another quilt to add to my to-be-quilted pile.

Quilt Top #2 -- DONE!

Remember this quilt? It is huge (102-inches square). I finished piecing it tonight in my hotel room.



What project shall I work on next?

Hotel Sewing, day 1

I am moved into my home away from home for the week and have my sewing area all set up:

Things I wish I had packed:

pins
extra bobbins
EZ Angle ruler

Fortunately, I am teaching at a quilt store this week.  I think maybe they can help. I am looking forward to teaching five days of classes!

32 Hours

I just spent a fantastic two days teaching in Massachusetts and got home after 10 pm Saturday.

Monday morning, early, I will leave to teach for five days in Virginia.

The 32 hours I have at home are busy ones.  I got some sleep, unpacked my suitcase, did some laundry, repacked my suitcase, unpacked my quilting samples/supplies, and repacked my quilting samples/supplies.  I also spent some time in the kitchen.

I cleaned out the crisper drawer and made veggie stir-fry for Jeff's lunch.  I made enough for him to eat it again later this week.

I made ham and spinach couscous for Jeff to eat later this week.  Erin hates spinach like I hate snakes.

I made some spicy fried tofu for Erin to eat later this week.  It is Erin's favorite, so Jeff probably will not get to each much of this.

I made congee for my lunch today.  I made enough for Jeff and Erin to have some later this week.

I cooked up an eggplant and made a tray of eggplant parmesan.  I left Jeff and Erin baking instructions for later this week.

I made some quinoa and veggie pilaf and stuffed some peppers for Jeff to cook up later this week.

I made pizza for Jeff (pepperoni) and me (olive) for tonight's dinner with leftovers for snacking.

I made cheese pizza for Erin's dinner tonight with leftovers for snacking.

Hopefully they will have enough food to survive while I am gone.

Nest watch -- the final chapter

And then there were none:

The snake had the last two eggs for an early breakfast yesterday before Jeff was awake and embracing his "keeper of the eggs" responsibilities.

I really hate snakes.

Nest Watch, the new math

Jeff is on nest watch while I am working out of town.

   2 eggs from yesterday
+ 1 new egg today
+ 1 snake this evening
-------------------------
   2 eggs left in the nest after Jeff removed the snake

I doubt there will be any eggs left by the time I get home.

Math makes me sad.

Nest watch, take 2

After the excitement of watching the robins fledge, I thought my nest watching was done for the season.

Yesterday morning, I noticed new eggs in the old nest!

Yay!

Yesterday afternoon, I noticed another visitor in the nest:

Boo!

This is either a copperhead or a milk snake.  I don't know and I don't care!  I am terrified of snakes, but these are my babies!  I leaned out the window with a broomstick and carefully wrestled that nasty thing out of the nest, making sure not to ruin the nest or damage the other egg.

The snake had one egg in its mouth when it left the nest, leaving one egg in the nest:

Yay!

I donned boots and gloves and armed myself with a shovel and went out to retrieve the other egg.  The snake charged me, but I defended myself with the shovel.  The snake slithered away from me and I picked up the egg.  It had no visible damage so I put it back in the nest.

Yay!

I am worried about the fallen egg.  I am worried that the snake will come back.

 But for now, Momma is back in her nest.

Yay!

How I handle frustration

 Remember this magazine cover?:

It came in handy when I was recovering from post-vacation trauma.  Unfortunately, my challenges did not abate.  My head was getting rather sore from banging it against the magazine on my tabletop.  I thought a softer landing place might help:

The words were quilted with two threads through the needle at once:  30-weight rayon and 50-weight cotton.  The circle was stitched with an 8-weight thread in the bobbin (I quilted it upside down).  The background threads were both 100-weight polyesters.  I, of course, used my sweet Sweet Sixteen!

I found the perfect place to hang my little quilt:

The particular challenges I was dealing with have been resolved (I hope!) and I have sent this quilt on its way to someone who needs it more than I do.

Quilt Wars

Long, long ago in a state not so far away, a lovely young couple got married.  As usual, I planned to make a quilt and, as usual, I didn't finish it in time for the wedding.  Or later that month.  Or later that year.

NINETEEN MONTHS LATER, I bring you "wedding quilt for Alexis and Vinny":

The fabric is S'mores from Moda. I made a quilt for myself from this fabric several years ago and Alexis tried to steal it from me.  I scrounged around the internet to find fabric to make her wedding quilt, and this was even before she was engaged.

A close-up of the pieced block:

A close-up of the plain block:

A close-up of the inner border (ribbon candy variation -- yay!):

A close-up of the outer border (more ribbon candy!):

The happy couple is still happy and they are now happy with their quilt.

I Won (on Jeopardy?)

My category: American Literature from the 1600s

"To My Dear and Loving Husband"
by Anne Bradstreet

If ever two were one, then surely we.
If ever man were loved by wife, then thee;
If ever wife was happy in a man,
Compare with me, ye women, if you can.
I prize thy love more than whole mines of gold
Or all the riches that the East doth hold.
My love is such that rivers cannot quench,
Nor ought but love from thee, give recompense.
Thy love is such I can no way repay,
The heavens reward thee manifold, I pray.
Then while we live, in love let's so persevere
That when we live no more, we may live ever.

All this to say "Happy Birthday!" to my dear husband.

(I guess it also lets you know that I have been doing the homework for all those classes I have been taking.)

Empty nest

It is amazing how fast my robins are growing. We were not sure how all three fit in that little nest:

Apparently they didn't fit, because they all flew away this afternoon.

Mama and Papa are watching over them as they are learning to fly.  It is so cool watching them stumble, then hop, then fly for 5 feet, then 10, then 20 feet.

I hope the world is kind to my baby robins!

Baby Love

My first daylight photos of the babies:

How fun!

I should have stayed at the beach

We just returned home from a supremely marvelous time at the beach.  I fed some fish and some ducks and got sunburned and saw Elvis.  It was PERFECT.

We had two uneventful flights home, and I was even upgraded to first class on one of them.  Hubby wasn't.  Oh well.

We had a reasonably easy drive home from the airport, considering it was the Friday afternoon before Memorial Day in the metropolitan New York area.

We had a fairly quick trip in and out of the Apple store to pick up my third iPhone in four months (speaker died on #1, touch screen died on #2).  I do appreciate their "let's just hand you a new one for free" policy.

Once we got home, I checked on my new babies:

All three accounted for, and Momma Robin was nearby with food.

Then the trouble began.  I tried to restore all of the information on my iPhone.  Why does technology have to be such a booger?  The phone had been backed up online, but nothing was restoring.  Let's just say I was slightly frustrated.  I already transferred my photos to my computer, so no big deal there.  I have to re-install email programs, facebook (of course), and a few apps, but there was no way I could find all of my contacts.

I decided that it wasn't fair that my husband was the only one who could share in my slight frustration, so I decided to call the nice folks at Apple.  I am certain they would be happy to hear all about my concerns.   While working my way through the phone menu and waiting on hold, I opened a few fun pieces of mail.  

I got a new refrigerator magnet:

I wish I were there, too.  Seriously.

I got a magazine with a helpful suggestion:

It helped pass the time, but overall not too helpful, because my contacts still weren't restored.

Eventually, I spoke with a wonderfully helpful woman from Apple who helped restore most of my contacts from someplace know as "the Cloud."  I don't care if they came from "the Next Galaxy" as long as I have all of my cell phone numbers!!!

In the middle of writing this post, my laptop gave the "Danger, Will Robinson" flashing light signal telling me my battery was dead.  I was somewhat concerned since the laptop was plugged in to the outlet.  After some investigation, we realized that the wall outlet was not working.  The circuit breaker was off.  We ran to the next room (laundry room) where the chest freezer is plugged in to the same circuit.   We asked questions like, "How long has the freezer been off?" and "Do you smell anything awful yet?"  Fortunately the food was still frozen and that particular crisis was averted.

I still have to re-install some apps and hook up my email programs to get my iPhone working again.

Fortunately, there is cake.

Mmmmmmm.... cake.