Wednesday, February 28, 2018

Pin It Weekly #235

Jade ProsserI'm terribly sorry that I didn't post a Sunday Quilt Inspiration this week. I just wasn't feeling it, as my students used to say. Tell a teacher that about an essay!


Anyway, I owe ya an SQI, but Wednesday is when I generally post a PIW (Pin It Weekly) and since I've not been feeling too Pinteresty, I thought it might be time to highlight a few ideas from others. 

Let's start with Kim Hyatt, who must love some of my quilt pins, because she's the first follower to show up on my analytics. Please don't ask how I found the page, I clicked around and lots of clicks later, I discovered who is repinning from my boards! Anyhoo, here are a couple of other things Kim is pinning....

Lol!

She has a board about sisters! I have seven sisters (true story, no brothers), so when I saw this board, I had to see what she's got going!

Quotes About Non Biological Family. QuotesGram

best friend sister quotes (1) » Quotes Orb - A Planet of Quotes
This is going on my sisters FB page. Today. First I'll finish this post. Uhm, can you believe that she has a board on roosters? Here's proof...
Antiqued ceramic roosterFitz and Floyd "Ricamo®" Rooster Figurine.   ❤ ❤ ❤




Tarah Luke is on that list, also. A quick review of her boards, and I found one on bears with almost 2,000 pins. That's a lot of bears, y'all!
Bear in The Woods!Mother and Her Two Cubs!

Mother's love....

How cute can you get? That cute. And from bears to burlap... because sure.
Black Burlap TopiaryBurlap Coffee Canister | Click Pic for 20 DIY Kitchen Storage Ideas for Small Spaces | Easy Kitchen Organization Ideas

French Printed Burlap | French: I Want To Be With You Forever My Love. 8x10 print (Burlap ...

Last up is Lorraine Pierre. She has a board on pottery, clay and ceramics. Here are a few pins from that board.

Hand Thrown & Decorated Bowl / Lucinda Chips via Etsy

Stoney Matte Gold Luster Bowl 1 by olialamar1

Out of clay!

I know, right? It's supposed to be clay. If so, it's pretty amazing!
Later, gator.

Thursday, February 22, 2018

A New Gadget:

It's a Fiskars Rotating Cutting Mat. I've been thinking that this might help alleviate some of the shoulder pain that I've been experiencing in my right shoulder. Not quite sure what the problem is, I've been to the doctor's twice--once for a steroid shot, which I do not want have again.

However, shoulder pain is not alleviated when all you do is rotate the mat instead of the fabric. The shoulder works pretty much the same amount. The mat itself "is neither here nor there" (as my mom would say) when it comes to easing pain. So that's a scratch. When I consider the cost of the mat, there's another twitch, but nothing like a steroid shot, so I can deal with it. In the end, I like the mat.


Finally, we get to my habits, which are difficult to change. Really difficult. I probably need a shot for that, but I don't know where the doc would put it, and I'm not taking any chances. The habit of which I speak is that I'm used to making a cut, turning the fabric and arranging it and the ruler just so, then making the next cut. Until all four sides are nice and square and pretty close to the best I can do. 

The mat is a revelation in that it--the mat--revolves! No moving the fabric: lay fabric on mat, center ruler, make a cut, turn the mat, make a cut, and so on until all the sides are cut! The fabric doesn't move! So it doesn't get all wonky because you've moved it. 

And the ruler doesn't slide around. No, it all works beautifully. 

There's one caveat, however. The person has to remember to leave everything alone and turn the mat

Turn the mat. Turn the mat. That's been my mantra for three days now. Turn the mat. I'm still turning the fabric. Yes. I know. 

Frustrating. Annoying. Stupid. Dumbass. All those ugly words that I did not allow my children to call each other. I've said them all and a few more and, still, I forget.  And accidentally, the mantra became Turn the damn mat. This despite having just gone to confession on Sunday. (We Catholics try to stay in good graces for a while after confession.) 

I've said those ugly words only a time or two, but they are too ugly to allow any more. Thank goodness I was alone. I have a thing about using ugly language and another about setting examples. I've apologized to God and the Angels and the Saints and my poor Mama and Daddy in heaven. 

Eventually I figured a way to avoid some frustration. I sew up several--okay many, many--blocks, press them all, then take them to the mat to cut. Once I'm in the turn the mat zone, I tend to remember. 

It turns out that this way of doing things is more efficient, though I don't like the feeling that I'm working in a factory, trying to make production so my babies can eat. 

Otherwise, it's not so bad. I was able to make and trim two pretty stacks of blocks in a short time. I keep telling myself that if I do things this way for a while, I'll shift my habit to doing it this way all the time. 

Of course, when I'm designing and working out what it is that a particular quilt wants, I'm moving back and forth between sewing, pressing, and cutting. That's really when I forget the turn the mat mantra. But I'm trying to be patient with myself and remember that I'm relearning a habit that will (apparently) take some time.

Otherwise, I like my rotating mat. It is a nifty little gadget and makes short work of cutting and trimming. I definitely recommend it to anyone who fussy cuts or often trims down blocks. Just remember:  Turn the mat

Wednesday, February 21, 2018

Pin It Weekly #234

Want to see this one under a neon light.What's happening in your Pinterest world? Are you getting any pinning done? If so, what's pinning? 


I don't know why, but I've been all over the map pinning stuff that just strikes my fancy. One day I pinned baby animals--I saw a few and jumped into the fray. Another day I pinned more quilts into my "scrap, quilts" board. I've ignored that board for such a long time, avoiding moving everything into "heart, quilts." Now I have more to move. What? Why? 

Expression is the key to opening your heart to dance without expression dance would be dull and hard to watch
After taking Jolie to buy new pointe shoes, I went on a "ballet, dance" binge. It's time to move on, Mary!

Seriously! Some people need to put their phones down and go do something!
Whatever shows up in my feed gets pinned, unless I get sidetracked by something especially interesting. If I begin a new board, I almost need an intervention to get back on track. Here are some things that are appearing on my feed. If you binge pin, don't blame me. I'm leaving this warning right here!

Pinterest Addicts - 10 Signs You Have a Pinterest Addiction.  #s 2, 3, & 10 are definitely me!! LOL!!!!!

watercolour cacti and succulent Throw Pillow

Covered Bridge

Additional Images of Selkie Quilt Kit by Coras Quilts - ConnectingThreads.com
February 2018 Block Study: Side Stripe | MQG Community

Paintings-of-lonely-robots-experiencing-the-quiet-wonder-of-the-world6__605

A special cutie

4,251 Likes, 116 Comments - Missouri Star Quilt Company (@missouriquiltco) on Instagram: “These Pineapple blocks are beautiful! Have you ever tried making a pineapple quilt? #Repost…”

Packed With Amenities - 36238TX | Country, Hill Country, Traditional, Luxury, Photo Gallery, Premium Collection, 1st Floor Master Suite, Butler Walk-in Pantry, CAD Available, Den-Office-Library-Study, MBR Sitting Area, Media-Game-Home Theater, PDF, Split Bedrooms, Corner Lot | Architectural Designs

Did I not tell you? Is this not a crazy mishmash of pins? It just gets crazier every week. I wonder if I follow too many people...

Harley Davidson ~~ finish!

The Harley Davidson memory quilt is complete! Binding and label done and dusted! The only thing left to do is to deliver it to the client. There were 30 or so tee shirts in the container, and I tried to use at least a small part from all of them. On many both the front and back had nice designs, so I sewed them together and created one panel. It was helpful in creating the puzzle design that the couple wanted. 



We were barbecuing on Monday when I finished the binding, so I  asked a couple of the kids to hold it up. Two "volunteered" but one of the guys was a bit short and had to stand on a small table. 



The other kiddo acted like he'd never held up a quilt, so someone had to get in the mix. Getting a straight line was impossible once I asked them to turn the quilt around. I had to choose how much of the boys to crop out but decided that I'll leave in however much is there. This way you can check out their happy faces. Everyone wants to be a quilt model in this family. At least they liked that it's a Harley Davidson quilt. 



My client mentioned using a black backing, but black is such a shocking color on the back of a quilt. I found some Kona charcoal, which is almost as dark and decided to go with it instead. I debated about the binding until I realized that I didn't have enough of the charcoal fabric. So black binding it is. I actually like the little contrast on the back, and the black works better on the front since many of the tees are black.



I put one full strip of tees on the back and the bottom-most tee has a nice open area above the design--perfect for the label. I included the information that I always include on a label and still have space for the family to add a note for dad. It's to be a Father's Day gift, so  that will be especially nice.


 Ready for its trip to Baton Rouge in the next few weeks, this quilt may be one of my favorite memory quilts. I'm quite surprised at that realization since I'm not a motorcycle fan but happy that I like it so much.

Quilt Stats
Name: Ainsworth Harley Davidson Memory Quilt
Size: 74 x 96
Fabrics: Tee shirts from client
Backing: Kona charcoal
Binding: Kona black 
Pattern: Puzzle design
Quilting: custom design based on tee-shirts
Completed: February 2018


Sunday, February 18, 2018

Sunday Quilt Inspiration: small town life

That's our life: small town. Only a few families. Only a few homes. Only a few folks.

Wellfleet, Massachusetts: Even though this Cape Cod-based town is famous for its mild, sweet oysters, natives  ("Fleetians," as they call themselves) stay for the nine beaches, white-clapboard New England-style homes and trendy restaurant scene.This is a neat town to stay in,in December, each weekend they have Santa, caroling and the whole town is decorated. The best part is each evening they do a countdown at dusk and then turn on the lights.

The 10 Most Beautiful Towns in Virginia ~ Clarksville Chamber of Commerce © Sheila Cuykendall

Best Downtown – Old Town Alexandria. Loaded with history, but balanced with modern fun, Alexandria was named one of Livability.com’s top 10 choices for best downtowns around the country. Located on the Potomac, just 6 miles from Washington, D.C., Alexandria offer a beautiful historic district, museums, theaters and shopping. It was also named one of Livability.com’s Best Cities for Foodies in 2013.

A few from Pinterest and a few from our travels...




 


Interestingly, these small towns are all much bigger than our small town. Here we have three churches, a post office, a town hall, and homes. Some of the homes are old, historic homes, but that's all we can brag about. We're okay with not having a grocery store, a dollar store, restaurants. We gladly travel 15-20 minutes for those. 

Belle idée, les toits en dentelle !

And on That Farm - With a Big Quilt Here and a Small Quilt There Pattern: And on That Farm - With a Big Quilt Here and a Small Quilt There is the block 1 applique pattern of the And on That Farm quilt by McKenna Ryan. This quilt block features a quaint farm town with quilts on the barns! Finished quilt block measures 47 1/2

Round the Garden. Pattern by Wendy Williams.

Country Quilts: New Pattern--Summer

Country Quilts

A house on a quilt is a symbol of comfort and the togetherness of family, friends, and neighbors. House quilts really appeal to us, maybe be...

I finished   machine quilting my wallhanging with the houses. I try and do the smaller quilts I make and leave my large quilts to the p...

My Kinda Town quilt pattern designed by Peggy Larsen for Fiberworks features 9 whimsical paper pieced blocks

This would be a fun quilt to do by having a bunch of kids draw the house pictures!

Here it is all in one piece!  I can't wait to see how it looks when it's quilted!  I am waiting on 1 block which will be made into a label!!!

MySmallWorld1and2

It's always nice to see such variety on a theme, but the number of quilts depicting small towns is really surprising to me. Most of these have been added to my board, "heart, quilts." 

QuiltNut Creations