UR PRICELESS BLOG HOP STARTS NOV 5TH

My day is Friday, Nov 9th - remember to come back and see my UR Priceless purses!

Here's the latest edition of the full schedule:

 

Day 1 - Nov. 5th

Quiltin' Jenny
Hill Valley Quilter
Loopy Lou's Adventures Into Handicrafts
Just Let Me Quilt
Lixie Makes It
Beaquilter
Sunshine, Handmade
Buzzing and Bumbling
ANNIEOFBLUEGABLES
Needled Mom
The Slow Quilter
A Quilting Sheep
I Have A Notion
Quilt-n-Queen

Day 2 - Nov.6th

The Crafter's Apprentice
Jane's Fabric and Quilts
Rosemary B
Why-Knot-Kwilt
Random Thoughts..do or "di"
Mary T.
Supermom No Cape
Lily Pad Quilting
.Quiltscapes.
Stitch, Stitch, Stitch
Rose Creations
The Treehouse
Gracie Oliver Arts
Quilting Prolifically
Stekje
Grammie Q's

Day 3 - Nov. 7th

I Love Wool
I Like to Quiltblog
Keep Your Fork There's Pie
Retired to Quilt
Selinaquilts
From This to That
Jenny E.
Domestic Deficit Disorder
Pig tales and quilts
CherrysPrairiePrimitives
Espritpatch
Maria
Count it all Joy!
Creative Notions

Day 4 - Nov. 8th

as sweet as peaches
Deborah B
Birgit H
Fish Creek Studio
A Quilter's Table
Lily Patch Quilts
Cherry Blossoms Quilting Studio
Mary F
Rose Prairie Quilts and Farm
The Desert Rat Chronicles
Sally K
Paris at a Certain Age
From Blank Pages
Quilt Taffy
Barb H

Day 5 - Nov. 9th

Polka Dot Classic
Geta's Quilting Studio
Busy Bee Free
Briarside Lane
Quilts and Dogs
Blueberrymoon
Debbie R
suebee's World
Englating
Les passions de Cliodana
Colorpoint Quilter
On the Go Quilting
Personalized Sketchesand Sentiments
Freemotion by the River
grannygoodstuff
Scrapbook-ChickADoodle


Day 6 - Nov. 12

Read, quilt, cook, pray...
The Learning Curve
Bacon Then Eggs
Nati's Little Things
by Mary
Feltfree på Åsly
El Patchwork de la Abuela
Amy's Crafty Shenanigans
Maryjo J
s.o.t.a.k. Handmade
Chloeandme
Janice M
throw a wench in the works
Everyone Deserves a Quilt
A Stitch in Time
Sew Me Something Good

Day 7 - Nov. 13

Julia P
Tina
Dachsies With Moxie
Marci Girl Designs
The Sunflower Patch
Wish upon a star
Mary on Lake Pulaski
Greco Mara
Linda M
Mack and Mabel
Dreaming in Patchwork
Judith Handmade Treasures
Kaydie
Caesarea Scrappers
Patchouli Moon Studio
Sew.Darn.Quilt.
Sew We Quilt

Thanks to Madame Samm and Katherine for organizing this blog hop!

Nature always has the last laugh

Have you ever not asked yourself "Where has the time gone?" 
It just doesn't stand still... no matter what, no matter how much we try to slow life down, it just rolls on. 
Sometimes leaving us to 'dust off' and get on with our lives even when life throws us on our backsides. 

The good part of all this is that time does not drag for the caretaker who is not hospitalized.  I've hardly been home for the past month except to unpack and repack the car, do some laundry, grab a snack and go - to teach, to nurse, to nurture...  and hoping that I don't fall asleep at the wheel!

So, what have I been up to? 
learning how to blog with the 'new and improved' blogger... again!
researching drug interactions (not for myself!) and driving hubs back & forth to hosp & dr visits
finished a beautiful quilt on commission...

teaching 50+ active youngsters ages 3 to 10 for a week of craft projects

 ...these are the kids in the t-shirts that I silk screened...they added the colors!

these are some of my 'best boys', above....

making a few quilted postcards...

making a few of these class samples...

 
prepping a couple dozen kits for Quilts 4 Kids (similar to these, for others to sew, hopefully!)

Greensburg Modern Quilt Guild with their quilts for "Quilts 4 Kids"

and two quilts for new baby boys ready to deliver soon to Jonathan

 and... Wyatt

such precious little bundles...

making a big batch of paper clay for molding faces, etc.... not very photogenic stuff, really!

adding to a 'round robbin' online/mail quilt exchange

 I just added that simple bit at the bottom... click the link above to see others in progress.

...and this being the season for weed pulling - which I know is futile, as Nature always has the last laugh, but mostly Nature laughs in flowers. In my yard, morning glories....  And that reminds me - I have more seeds to plant!

 loving my pink petunias!  yes, planter is an old work boot...  now for sunflowers and nasturtiums!

bye for now! time for lunch with friends...

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Hello all,

First, a little greeting from the "Graphics Fairy"....  Erin Go Bragh

A whole month has gone by in a flash - just coping with hubs and his health issues (he's getting better - at last!) and keeping up with my own tendency to 'over-commit' myself. 

I won't get to be in Lancaster this week - but I will be in 'Amish Country' - Smicksburg!

Sew - here's what I've been up to in the studio lately (or nearby, as it were)
silk scarf dye workshop:

a table runner class:

designed a pretty quilt

this is with the new MODA Pappillon collection - wonderful big florals - and a juicy red!

..and I enjoyed a wonderful retreat with quilting friends - and finished 2 UFO's plus a purse and a new thread catcher/pincushion, too!   I'll have to post pics of them later, tho...  there are more silk scarves waiting for me on the pressing table.

Enjoy the links!
GGS

Goals for 2012

I have a lot of 'UFO' projects from past years... I found another one this morning - thankfully, with all the backing and binding fabric in a tidy zippy bag - the date on the backing fabric is 1995....

UFO from 1995

UFO - current decade...

backing fabric of UFO - another current decade

UFO - a mystery quilt started in early 2000's

Scrap buster from 2011 ready to quilt

Now, I'm not sure where they are hiding... but I think I have some blocks waiting to become quilts - or possibly tote bags - such as this one I did recently:

....proving that there's more than one way to 'finish' an 'unfinished object'!

It's a good thing to take inventory once in a while - I wonder what else I'll find?

Happy New Year - 2012

I honestly don't know how the years go by sew fast... but here's a little review of what I accomplished last year:

I finished this . . .

Made a bunch (5 or 6?) of these kitty beds . . .

took a few trips... mostly to quilt shows, one to a Bead Fest and sometimes just to see the ones I love.

In short, I enjoyed my family, my friends and my sewing, art and crafty projects.

I taught others to craft, dye, sew and quilt.

I thrived in the love of a wonderful husband.

I traveled - to NY, Ohio, Tennessee, West Virginia, and Virginia -

not far from home, but far enough to appreciate home when we returned!

I invite you to form a list of all the places you went last year, all the things you made (besides $) and most of all, all the people who love you.  It's amazing how good life is when you see it from the right angle!

sew on!

 

First week in August

Hello again,

My blog is suffering from summer fun - I'm just having too much of it!  Last Saturday was our annual Block Party BBQ.  The street was closed off - all two blocks of it - and the neighbors got together to catch up on family doings and who had heard from which former neighbors recently.  The weather (which was extremely wet in the morning) cooperated just in time to light up the grill and let the local littles play in the sprinkler.

Between travel, recuperating from travel, and all the other fun stuff - not to mention the exhaustive heat - it has been too hot to spend much time at the upstairs sewing machine - but I have spent enough time to get a couple of the corners done for my RRCB:

yeah, I know... still in the drawer.

... and a "Trend class" sample is quilted and bound:

The 4 x 6ers have almost all received their postcards from me for July before the middle of August:

Isabell's, Janet's, and mine

and I've received this beautiful little quiltie from my friend, Lani, all the way from California!

Lani's pc

doesn't it look like a sunrise behind a Manzanita?  I love it!  and, it's her first try at a postcard quilt.  I think she did a great job on it - she has a wonderful sense of design - and I love those bright colors!

The FATraders exchanged embellished coasters which we joined into books to celebrate our 6th anniversary on Yahoo.... it took a bit longer than expected due to the postal workers strike in Canada, but I'm loving my little book.  Here it is:

I've also been working on an embroidery block of the month - I'm keeping up pretty well with the Little Birdie Stitches by Little Miss Shabby... I'll post those pics in a day or so, along with the latest update on the Happiness Key Mystery quilt.


...and I've sewn, cut, re-sewn, rearranged, cut, sewn again on my QCE Guild fabric challenge - due in Sept. which I can't post pics of or any other details until the 'Reveal' at the next guild meeting.
 
The QCE guild has a quilt show coming up in November - and I'm trying to prep a new quilt or two for that deadline.  I'm also trying to get to Philadelphia to spend a couple of days with my one and only daughter, who has graciously kept her calendar free for the time of my visit.  Smoochies!

midsummer days

Hello again!

I'll be you're wondering whether I'm still blogging or not?  Well, of course I am!  But, summer being what it is with so much to do and only 24 hours in a day, etc.  Sometimes the writing takes a backseat to the doing...  and what I've been doing is - for the moment - a secret!  I do so wish I could tell you all about the new product from C&T that I'm testing, but no, sorry, no can do - not yet!  It is interesting stuff, tho, and I'm enjoying the playtime.

I've been scrunching it, ironing it, painting it, separating it, draping it and sprinkling it with sparkles.  It has an intriguing ethereal quality about it.

That's not all, of course.  I'm also working on a 'fabric challenge' for QCE guild - which is supposed to be a secret until the 'unveiling' in September.  So far, I've done a little shopping and a lot of cutting - enough for at least 2 quilts of the required size limit.  I like having choices, but hate making decisions.  What a conundrum!

I've also been working on a quilt for my good friend Carolyn T. so I think I can show you a pic of that...

 If you squint a bit, the bright parts seem to curve, but really they're straight.

The Irish Chain in me.... went to Lancaster!

I spent St. Patrick's Day at the AQS Quilt Show in Lancaster PA - and I wore a deelibopper headband with little sparkly shamrocks and feathers.  Almost everyone who looked at me smiled - it was a wonderful day!
Beautiful quilts on display, marvelous vendors with lovely new tools, books and fabrics.  I also ran into some old friends that I hadn't seen in a long time, and met some new friends that I hope to meet again.



a sampling of the  AQS wallhanging quilts
 - every one deserved a prize!!!

  and an overview of the first floor - the show altogether is about 6 TIMES this size... for starters!

AQS Lancaster - 1/4th of first floor exhibit hall....

The talents of machine quilters continues to amaze me.... watch for these winners in future magazines!  Of course, pictures never do them justice - you really need to see these in person to fully appreciate the talent and skill involved!

One of the tools I brought home is a finger guard for my rotary ruler.... no more finger cutting for me!  It goes onto the ruler with little suction cups and is easy to move to all kinds of rulers.  I'll have to share that in a future post, because now, I have to move on to a little quilting!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Block of the Month for QCE this month is Irish Chain.  This is a simple pattern that alternates two blocks.  I like to make the simplest one first to give myself a sense of accomplishment, then I proceed to the more difficult block.  Here is the simple one:

Irish Chain Block 1

This has a 6 1/2" CENTER square surrounded by 2 1/2" x 6 1/2" strips and 2 1/2" squares.  It finishes to a 10" block; 10 1/2" unfinished.
This quilt has 12 of these blocks.

First, sew a square to each end of 2 of the strips, then sew the remaining two strips to opposite sides of the large center square.  Press the seams toward the green corner squares on the outside pieces, and toward the center of the block on the center square unit.  Then sew the three sections together to complete the block.

The second block is a bit more complicated, being a 5x5 layout of 2 1/2" squares there are 13 of these in the quilt:


Irish Chain Block 2

This block will have 9 of the dark squares, 12 of the medium and 4 of the light (25 total).

I lay out the squares to the left of my sewing machine so I keep the pieces in order as I sew.  I pick up the pieces in the second column from the left and turn them over like the pages of a book and lay them on the pieces of the first column, then turn the pieces in the fourth column and lay them on the pieces of the third colum.  Then I pin them... pick them up in order and sew them, column by column, chain piecing so there is a continuous bit of thread holding them in their proper order.  when I get to the bottom of one column, I insert a little scrap of a bright color to remind me that I've reached the bottom of a column, then proceed to sew the next column.  When I've finished the first/second and third/fourth columns, I join the two columns together (leaving the little joining threads intact) then open that set of rows, lay this out on the table where it all started to make sure I have the orientation correct, and join the pieces of column 5 to the rest of the rows.

NOW it's time to press!  The top, middle and bottom rows are pressed in one direction, and the other two rows are pressed in the opposite direction.  Now it is easy to match up those rows and complete the block!

The block should look like this from the wrong side when finished:

wrong side of Irish Chain Block 2 showing pressing

These blocks can then be assembled to make a quilt that will be 56" square with the addition of a 3" border:


Irish Chain Quilt


This is an excellent design for small redwork (or greenwork) patches and works up very quickly.  The size is a generous proportion for a baby quilt or a comfy lap quilt for that tall guy in your life!

Curved Piecing Tutorial

The first step in curved piecing is to put a fresh sharp needle in your machine.... choose a Microtex, size 70/10  you want a fine needle to minimize needle holes in your fabric.

Choose fabric with a tight weave - you will be sewing a very narrow 1/8" seam, and a loosely woven fabric will just not hold up....  I'm using batiks and hand dyes in this sample...

My fabric is cut in assorted strip sizes from fat quarters, some are a little longer than others. 

Layer two strips the same length - if they are different widths, it doesn't matter at all.  I use a long ruler to hold the layers together while I cut the curve free hand with my rotary cutter.... the cut should be straight at the first and last inch, and  make sure there is at least 3/4" of fabric on both sides of the cut so you have enough to add another strip to each side without cutting into your curve (although cutting into curves is a possible design choice!)  The pic above shows two sets of strips that have been cut at the bottom, and above that are similar strips that have been separated and arranged side by side showing the cut edges aligned.  You take the right/left layers and switch them to get the sets....  in case that wasn't obvious.

Pin each set of strips at one end to keep them paired up.   Set your stitch length a little shorter than usual to make the curves easier and keep those narrow 1/8" seams from pulling apart!  Note placement of fabric on inside of presser foot - if you are using a regular presser foot, measure from the center to determine where the 1/8" seam allowance is on your presser foot.  Most sewing machines are marked in 1/8" increments on the sole plate as well.

Align the straight inch of the strip set and sew the first inch of the seam - stop with needle down - adjust the strips as the edges start to curve, keeping the raw edges together - sew another inch or so until the edges are not aligned.  Stop with needle down, realign edges, and continue to sew.  Do this in very small increments - sew, adjust, sew, etc. until you reach the end of the strip set.  I didn't say it would be fast, did I?

As you reach the end, you might discover that the ends don't meet exactly - don't worry about it!  The important thing is that the curvy edges are together all the way along the seam.

Once you finish the seam, check to make sure you have that fabric caught the whole way along - and don't ask me how I know that it's important to check....  trust me, it is!

see that narrow 1/8" seam?  yippee!  I did it!  Excuse me while I do my happy dance.....

Now press seam allowances to the 'dark side' and lay all the pieces out on the table while you celebrate!

These can be joined along the straight edges, or you can overlap the edges by an inch and do more curved seams to join these together.
I did some postcards with mine.... with an OCEAN theme!

Let me know what YOU would do with your curved seam piecing.