What Has Come to Live in My House

As I mentioned in my most recent podcast episode, I had fun with the "TRYME" special sale on the Superior Threads website. (The sale goes through the end of July, by the way.) Their Try-Me specials are always a little less expensive than buying the spools straight-up, and now they're on sale so you save even more. The only hitch is that you can't choose the colors. But doesn't that make it like a fun surprise party when you open the box?

In any case, because they were on special, I bought more than I normally would. Here's the list, from left to right in the picture above:

• Fantastico #40 Poly, variegated yellow/orange/red
• Magnifico #40 Poly, green
• Art Studio Colors (Ricky Tims) #40 Poly, gray
• King Tut #40 Cotton, variegated purples
• Halo variegated purple/red/blue with metallic gold
• Glitter (holographic) purple base with red/green/blue colors
• Nature Colors (Hollis Chatelain) #40 Trilobal, cream/vanilla color
• Masterpiece (Alex Anderson) #50 Cotton, green
• Bottom Line (Libby Lehman) #60 Poly, navy
• Nitelite Extra Glow, #40 Poly, pink

The only one I'm a hair bummed about is the pink Nitelite. I hadn't really noticed that Nitelite came in colors--I guess I was thinking it would be similar to monofilaments where there isn't really a color to the thread itself. My bad. I'd planned on using it in a project for Halloween with all black, grey, and orange fabrics. Pink just won't look right. I'll likely find some other project to try the pink on and see how it works, and maybe order a color that works better with the project later.

I'm watching the DVD as I write this. So far, I'm realizing that I knew more about thread than I thought I did. Still n' all, there is some helpful information (how they make metallic thread is really interesting!) and I'm only four chapters in so I'm sure it'll be good overall. Besides, I got the DVD free with my order. Can't go wrong!

Yes, I've gotten to the point where seeing a funky-cool thread immediately starts making me dream up projects I can use it on!

A Finish in a Furniture Form

Okay, that alliteration was a little more work. Ahem.

Cutting table from "front" (the side I stand on to cut)

I finally got my cutting table done! Talking about it on this weekend's podcast episode renewed my motivation to tie up loose ends.

This is the table I decided to make based on Tanesha's (of CraftyGardenMom Podcast) description of doing one herself. It's all over Pinterest--just look for "book shelf cutting table" or "cutting table with Target bookshelves" or something like that.

In any case, I'd done most of the work over MLK Jr weekend (listen to the whole tale here, and a little more about it here). However, I'd lost steam before getting to the finishing touches and every time I pulled the stuff out to do it, I just got all-over-tired again. And, frankly, the table was working just fine for me and no one else sees the room so it's unfinished state wasn't all that bothersome.

Finally, Sunday...after putting 18 more scarves into dye baths (found a few more containers!), and also (finally!) getting my seasonal wardrobes sorted out into "keep, toss, donate, put away for winter" piles, I decided to keep the "Get 'Er Done" mode going and tackled the cutting table. It would be nice, after all, not to have the unfinished pressboard edges of the melanine top keep snagging my clothes when I leaned in to cut.

All I had to do was sand the edges and iron on the edging around the top...yes, you heard me right... iron on edging for a piece of furniture--and then use 3M strips to stabilize the cutting surface. It all took me maybe an hour, tops, and none of it was hard although I suspect my shoulders will be whining tomorrow from bending over at an awkward angle to hold what I now know to be a remarkably heavy iron against the edge of the table.

Cutting table from open end--looking towards where I stand to cut. You can also see what a fan I am of 3M strips and hooks here--that's how all my rulers and pictures are hung on the wall. Very handy!

I'd also thought I might attach the bookshelves to one another with 3M strips but they didn't want to hold, so I bagged that. I don't exactly live in an earthquake zone and they seem to be standing just fine. The usual method is to bolt these puppies together with metal brackets but I wasn't sure I wouldn't just drill a screw through into an open shelf--felt way too risky for me to do something I don't really think is necessary in my setting. In any case, if I ever want to move them, I'd prefer to move individual bookshelves--once these are bolted together no one would be moving them anywhere. 

I did, however, use 3M strips between the tops of the bookshelves and the melanine top to keep the top from slipping. It's actually heavy enough that it hasn't slid on me much over the last several months anyway, but once in awhile if I leaned way in to square up a corner of a quilt or something, it would start to slip a little. Four of the long 3M strips, one near each corner, seems to be holding it just dandy, and I left the tabs hanging out a little so they'll be easy to remove if I ever have to move this thing. You can't see the tabs in the front which is the only part anyone else ever sees.

A tip here, if you make one yourself--I lined up the top so it's flush with the back edge and has a couple of inches overhang on the front edge, where I stand to cut. I figured that gave me a little bit of toe-kick room. It's very comfortable.

Because of the space in my room I wasn't able to leave all four sides open, but having three sides open gives me plenty of ways I can maneuver around if I'm basting or squaring up a quilt or anything that needs more elbow room. And it's so much more storage than I had before that I don't cry about losing the bookshelves that are facing the wall. The shelving on the back side has proven to be a great place to stash some office-related stuff I never had storage room for before, such as off-season storage for the little space heater I use at my feet in the winter, some extra power strips, hand weights that never get used but always live in hope...

Look at all that lovely surface space! That's a 36x24" cutting mat.

Mostly, I just love how much room I now have on top. If I recall all the measurements, it's only a few inches larger than my old Joann's cutting table, but what a difference that few inches makes! You may be able to tell from the pictures that it faces my office desk: When I'm going to be in a long cutting session, I take my computer monitor from my desk and put it on the far side of my cutting table so I can watch Netflix, Craftsy classes, or The Quilt Show. It's big enough, of course, that I have to be careful not to let it get too stacked up with stuff. Every now and then I have to go through and sort out piles around the edges and get things put away. But still, I love that stuff can get stacked up and I *still* have plenty of room to work!

So, it may not be a quilt, but it's a finish. And it's a finish that feels like a gift that just keeps on giving...

OT: A Weekend Jaunt (No Quilting Involved)

Although the now-traditional Memorial Day Sew-In (#MDSI) was alive and well this weekend, I was unable to participate because I was off doing other things. DH and I have been ships passing in the night the last several weeks due to both of our travel schedules and evening work engagements and such, so we took a slightly-spur-of-the-moment trip up to Stratford, Ontario, for the Shakespeare Festival. My husband did the math for how long our relationship with Stratford was...math that can only make one feel very old. Stratford was our first big consistent weekend trip when we were first together. We were laughing this past weekend about how in some ways, we "grew up" at Stratford. We attended plays there almost every year for the first 12-15 years of our marriage before we switched to going to Niagara on the Lake (also in Ontario) more frequently. Now that our kids are (sort of) launched, we've decided to start a new tradition of going to Stratford in the spring/early summer and staying with NOTL for our anniversary weekend in the fall. Nice bookends to the season.

We left Friday afternoon--after a rather tempestuous morning involving having to put in an emergency call to the plumber. Ahem.

Fortunately, what looked at first like it would be hugely expensive and quite possibly require ripping out a lot of the tiling in our upstairs bathroom turned out to be a simple and inexpensive fix.

At least, plumbing-wise. The ceiling may be another matter. (No tiling was harmed in the making of this photo.) But we'd planned on getting some painting done anyway, so this probably just pushed the matter up a bit on our timetable. In any case, we were able to leave on vacation only about 90 minutes later than we'd planned; we still made our dinner reservations in Stratford Friday night.

Also despite a very rainy Friday, the rest of our weekend was absolutely perfect weather-wise. Mid-to-high 70s, brilliant sun, gorgeous. We went paddleboating on the Avon River (yes, it's really called that in Ontario, too) Saturday morning, saw "Crazy for You" Saturday afternoon, and "King Lear" Saturday night. Long day, but really nice. Both performances were phenomenal, although I have to admit that "Crazy for You" was a bit more fun. "King Lear" is, of course, just all-out depressing (spoiler alert: just about everyone dies), but it was very well performed and included Colm Feore in the lead.

There are no shows on Sunday so we were able to just "chillax," do more walking in the sun, have leisurely meals, and even spend a couple of hours in our little coach-house studio suite at the B&B reading. Perfect vacation. We zoomed home on Monday to make it in time for a ballgame with DH's family--we have a minor league team here in my hometown. Again, perfect weather.

The results of the weekend are (1) a more relaxed spirit, (2) a renewed memory of how much we love plays at Stratford, (3) fun times with family, and (4) a little bit of a sun tan to start the season.

Here's the photo gallery:

Retreat Report with Pics!

To listen to my report on last weekend's guild retreat, check out the latest episode of my podcast. Meanwhile, here are a few pics! This isn't the complete photo-report as some projects will be photographed later.

So, for now, here are the blocks I finished on my jelly roll sampler, a project that's been in the works for a few years.

Jelly Roll Sampler block 10

Jelly Roll Sampler block 11

Jelly Roll Sampler block 12

And, ta da, all 12 blocks together. Approximately three years of piecing. (Well, okay, three years of a couple of hours at a time on retreats.) As you can see, it's mostly a low-volume quilt although that dark burgundy fabric really jumps out in these pictures. It's not quite that stark in real life. I'm going to let these blocks brew on my shelf for a bit until I have time to get them to a quilt shop to find the perfect sashing/border fabric. 

Sorry, I really don't remember the name of the jelly roll. By 2011 when I started this it had already been on my shelf for awhile, and I may have inherited from my Mom. So who knows hold old the line is now?

Here's the (in)famous scrap bag/pin cushion retreat project. And yes, true to what I said in my podcast that my friend would be able to finish the second one off right-quick, she's already emailed me that it's done.

Here's the electric seam ripper I talked about on my blog--this was my friend's (I took the picture at retreat). I immediately came home and ordered one for myself. I've got it in hand now, although haven't had to rip a seam out with it yet!

And you know what else I figured out? I've been thinking about getting one of those seam rippers that has the big eraser-like knob on the end that helps you get the broken thread pieces out of the seam after you're done ripping it. Well, I discovered on retreat that the end of my Fons & Porter stiletto works the same way!

I just held it like an eraser, rubbed it across the threads in the seam lines, and they brushed right off. O, joy! I just saved myself $7 or whatever that other seam ripper costs. Let's not do the math with what I just spent on the electric seam ripper, though.

And here's a general photo gallery of shots from around the grounds. A couple are panoramic if they work well in this gallery setting. Also, I discovered I could mess with the panoramic feature on the phone, so there are a couple of photos that I've entitled "When Worlds Collide" and "The Edge of the Earth." See if you can figure out which they are.

Lancaster Report--Part 3 (The Haul)

Friday, Day 3 (with some Saturday, Day 4--homeward bound) thrown in

Friday was my day to see the show and visit the vendors. It was a very nice show, although relatively small. We started when the show opened in the morning and were able to see all the quilts by about lunch time--and that wasn't rushing through. I spent quite a bit of time studying a few that particularly held my interest.

I didn't check into the online posting rules for the show, so I'm not going to risk posting any photos here. Sorry about that. To tell the truth, though, I didn't even take that many pictures. After having seen a few national shows now, I have learned that I rarely actually go back to look at my photos later. I think I took all of about five photos of quilts with details I wanted to remember for my future reference later (you know, the "Hmmm....how did they do that?" photos). Indeed, I'd even handed off my good camera to my friend who'd accidentally left hers back in the hotel, and she was snapping left and right so I knew I'd eventually see the pics anyway.

I did get to see Katie's Corgi Fairytale quilt hanging--it's always a thrill to see a name you recognize!

I really enjoyed the show--the fact that it was small actually made it more manageable for me. I love Houston but I have to break the show up into segments so I don't get over-stim. There was a partial display of the applique quilts from Cairo that I'd seen in Paducah--it was nice seeing some of those again. They're beautiful. There was a nice inclusion of art quilts alongside the traditional, and there was a modern quilt challenge (where Katie's quilt was included). So, for a smaller show, they did a good job--in my opinion, anyway--of keeping it diverse.

And then, of course, the vendors! You've already seen my purchase from ProChemical and Dye in a previous post. Here are pics of everything else that came with me.

Clarification: Most of this was purchased at the show, but we also visited Burkholder's Fabrics on the way home on Saturday based on several listener recommendations, and I included all of my purchases from both places together in the photos.

I've seen this batting sampler at every show I've been to. The first time, I thought, "Why would I want that?" (I was a pretty new quilter at the time.) The second time, I thought, "I could see where that would come in handy, but no." The third time, I thought, "I think I'd like to get that, but I'll wait and see." When I went back to the booth later, they were out. This time, the first time I saw them, I grabbed it and paid. I'm going to use it to practice machine quilting at the same time as I experience the different types of batting.

In the same vein, I'd decided I would pick up a variety of threads at this show--also to use in my FMQ practice so I could easily test them out.

I got some bobbin threads in neutrals, some pretties and variegateds, and a few that were the ends of spools from the manufacturers (think: remnants). The remnant spools were sold three to a bag for something like $5.

Next, I picked up some great fabric scraps from a Thai fabric vendor. If I recall, everything in the bag (the stuff in the pile in the picture) was cotton but the rolled fabrics are nubby silk.

Boy, that was a fun booth. I could've bought a lot more but I restrained myself.

Way back in a dark and very chilly corner was a great vendor who met my needs for small bunches of funky yarn to use as embellishments. And he had a great accent, as he was from Australia. (@ozzypip!) Again, I could've bought a lot more but restrained myself. I picked up everything in the center and right from him. He told me he'd bought that wool right off the sheep. I responded, "Wow! She's a pretty sheep then, all burgundy like that." He looked at me blankly and said, "I dyed the wool after it was off the sheep." Okay, so he didn't get my joke. I'll assume he was just tired at the end of a long week.

The embroidery threads on the left were from a different vendor specializing in felted wool projects. I don't know if you can see it in this picture but the threads I bought from her are all really gorgeous variegated colors. Very subtle, but yummy.

Next up, fat quarters. I only purchased the four African fat quarters in the center--referred to in my previous blog post about my string star quilt. The fat quarters on the left were from BFF/BQF Katie who had gotten them from somewhere but they weren't to her taste, so she offered them to me if I was interested. I'm not sure what I'll do with them, but they'd make a cute donation something-or-other. The batiks on the right were also a gift that all three of us received and divided up between us.

In the "Less Interesting but Useful" category comes my collection of tools n' notions.

A few new stabilizers, another marking pencil and different colored refills, some tulle to use in upcoming projects, thread cards for future reference, and a big ol' jug of my favorite scent of Mary Ellen's Best Press: Cherry Blossom. The only LQS that carries jugs of MEBP up here only carries the unscented, which is fine, but I do love me some cherry blossom. Well timed, too, since I used the last little bit of my previous jug of MEPB pressing the hand-dyeds from Frieda's class.

Oh--speaking of Frieda's class--I found a picture of a couple more fabrics I dyed there that I'd forgotten to include. I did two fat quarters "pot luck" style. IOW, I took some of the leftover dye from a couple of the gradations and dumped it on fabric in a baggie. They're not great on their own, but will make good backgrounds for practicing machine quilting.

Yep, I did get a couple of books. One is on Shibori techniques for hand-dyeing, something I'll be playing with this spring. The other is one that Katie found for me at Burkholders. You all complain about me spending your money--Katie is great at spending mine! Sue Spargo's stitching book is pricey, but fantastic. I'll be talking about it in my next podcast episode as I'm already using it.

Finally, this wasn't at all quilt related but it was something I couldn't resist. I've become a scarf/shawl person. They're great for travelers; when you spend so much of your time on planes and in conference rooms you never know whether you're going to be brutally hot or freezing cold. The secret is dressing in layers and having shawls that you can wrap up in or stuff in your purse. I have a bunch of shawls that I travel with, and I couldn't resist adding this gorgeous one to my collection.

I can't wear most wool, but this one was goat's wool and not at all itchy. I'm in serious love. (And, for once, in this vendor's booth I was able to spend Katie's money as I talked her into buying a different beautiful wrap that she'll be able to wear to the office.)

Friday evening

Friday night, Lori and I attended Ami Simm's "Worst Quilt in the World with a Gong Show Twist" presentation. It was an absolute hoot, and I ended up taking photos for Ami on her iPhone because I was the only one who'd admit to knowing how to use one after she stood there for a few seconds waiting for a volunteer! (Here's hoping the pictures came out!)

It was a great show, as we'd expected. Ami is a hoot. Have I said that before?

Saturday, Heading Home

We'd originally planned to go home on Sunday but by Friday night, the three of us decided we'd done everything we'd wanted to do at the show. None of us had signed up for anything on Saturday. So we decided to leave a day early and take our time getting home. We had breakfast at the Tomato Pie Cafe in Lititz, recommended to us by a Lancaster Visitor's Bureau volunteer at the show. And she did not steer us wrong! It was fantastic! I had a "flipper" (which is their name for an omelette) with goat cheese and roasted beets. A-freaking-mazing. We ate breakfast at 9a and didn't need to stop for lunch until 3!

Lititz is a lovely little town--definitely a place we'd visit again.

But then, there's Burkholders. Despite my GPS lady completely losing us in the countryside, we found our way there and I had the joy of my second meet-up of the week!

Great to meet Torie (@torieQWQ) and Nicole (@1c4quilting)! And Nicole's daughter who was our photographer and shall remain nameless for safety reasons, but was absolutely lovely and I had a good time with her too.

And then we were home again home again, jiggity jig.

I enjoyed Lancaster and will most definitely be going back again in the future!

Lancaster Report--Part 2

And there was night, and there was dawn, and so begins...

Day 2 (Thursday)

Mad Quilt Scientist in her element!

On the second full day of Quilt Week, Lori and I were both in Frieda Anderson's dye class for the whole day. (Lori has some pictures on her camera--when I get them, I'll post them here.)

Since I'm familiar with Frieda's dye method (I own her book), I wasn't really expecting to learn anything new. I was looking forward to spending the day playing in dye, and I was looking forward to doing it with one of my BFF/BQFs. We were to be paired up in the class, so Lori and I got to work together. Lori has done a little dyeing but not as much as me, so when Frieda suggested that one person of each pair would be the "clean person" and the other the "dirty person" in the morning, and then switch roles in the afternoon, I offered to Lori that she could be Dirty Girl all day. That actually worked quite well for us because we were able to get into quite the effective rhythm once we both got the hang of our roles. And yes, I was thinking ahead. Now I get to call her Dirty Girl next time we're in a guild meeting. FTW.

The only slight hitch was that there was a mistake in the supply list. The list had said to bring one bucket and one dishpan to share per pair; Frieda had actually wanted us to each bring one, so we'd have two per pair. That created a little bit of an issue with keeping our work stations clean because we ended up having a very small container to use as our rinse pan, and a small bowl for smooshing the fabric around in the dye before putting it in its final transport container.

The other small hitch was that Frieda had adjusted her plans for the class and rather than doing two gradations, with a total of 24 fabrics, she decided we'd do four gradations, 48 fabrics total. I had enough fabric with me to do that if I split them into smaller pieces, but Frieda had shipped extra fabric for the class so I bought some off her to be able to do 48 fat quarters rather than having to do some fat-eighths. The only reason it became a hitch was that I'd brought 24 containers with seals for transporting the fabrics home. Fortunately, I'd also thrown a couple of boxes of Zip-locs in the car in case we didn't have enough space for me to use the containers. Lori and I both had all our fabrics in the baggies at the end, which meant two large garbage bags filled with wet fabric in baggies. It could've been a recipe for disaster but it mostly worked out okay.

We labeled all the fabrics 1-12 for each gradation, but as I've talked about in previous hand-dyeing posts in this blog, black sharpie tends to disappear when you're dyeing dark colors. When I washed my fabrics at home, I lost several of the markings. Therefore, in this "Reveal" photo, I made my best guess at where some of the fabrics belong in the gradation. Ultimately it doesn't matter since I'll be breaking up the fabrics to use them anyway. I may do the gradations again sometime at home when I can control the results better, and label them more permanently for my records.

Meanwhile, aren't they pretty?

The first one on the left is"cool" yellow, red, and blue; the second set is that same set of colors diluted for pastels. The third set is a "warm" yellow, red, and blue; the fourth set is those warm colors mixed with black.

No, I didn't really learn anything new in the class, other than confirming for myself that I hate using baggies in dyeing. Give me a nice, hard-sided sealable container any day. But I really enjoyed Frieda Anderson. She's very laid back and funny, a great teacher (there were lots of dyeing newbies in the room and she did very well with them), and had lots of extra supplies for those of us, ahem, who may have had to grab a garbage bag out of the hotel on the way to class to use as a table covering only to find out it wasn't waterproof and was letting dye through onto the table underneath. In any case, I'd look forward to taking a class with her again.

And I just had to do her the favor of buying serious yardage of PFD fabric off her at the end of class, just so she wouldn't have to ship as much home. I'm such a kind person, really. Goodness of my heart n' all that.

By the way...all those raveled threads you have to yank off the edge of the fabric after it's been through the laundry?

Yummy!

Even if you just stash it in a jar and call it "decor," you're going to enjoy it. But oh, the things I can do with a wad of pretty thread!

So now, perhaps, you can understand why I hit a particular vendor at Lancaster before I even got to Lancaster...

(Some of these are simply replacing colors I'm nearly out of, some are new. Plus I bought samplers of acid dyes to use on wool, and a marbeling kit. Play Day!)

None of us had anything on the schedule for Thursday night so we hung out at the pool and actually got a decently-early bedtime. Friday was the first time I was actually going to see the show, so I was jazzed. Stay posted for another update...

Lancaster update

I don't have the pics off my camera yet but just posting a fast Lancaster update, while still in Lancaster!

So far, I've made all the blocks for the center of a string star quilt with Ami Simms, dyed 48 pieces of fabric with Frieda Anderson, met and had lunch with two lovely women, saw presentations by eight teachers on their latest techniques (and really want to make that great fast quilt technique that Billie Lauder showed us to make a donation baby quilt!), played for a few minutes on a couple of longarms in vendor booths during the 20 minutes I actually stepped foot in the show hall, and met up with four listeners--Judy, Julie, Jill, and Sarah, and try saying that three times fast.

Have I seen the show yet? Of course not. I've spent both days I've been here so far in class, and the show ends shortly after the afternoon classes release. So today (Friday) is my show day--finally! I may try to tweet some pics as I'm able; depends on how engrossed I get in what I'm looking at. I haven't spent much time with the vendors yet, although I bought a bunch of yardage of PFD fabric off of Frieda after class today. (I really was just trying to do her a favor so she wouldn't have to ship it home. Really.)

Our Saturday schedule is still up in the air--we're all going to see what we feel like at the end of today. I hope to be able to meet up with two more listeners (you know who you are!) sometime on Saturday--I'm staying in touch with them on Twitter to figure out the wheres and whens.

Our hotel is very nice and downtown Lancaster is lovely, so we're having a great time. Well, except our rotating schedule of which one of us gets to sleep on the air mattress. In any case, I'll do a full report after I get home, of course. Just figured I'd give you a quick preview!

As a note, Craftsy is having a sale this weekend--classes up to 50% off. You might want to check it out!

(Transparency: Clicking on Craftsy links or banners on this site help support this blog. Thank you!)

Lancaster Meet-Up

Okay, y'all: I just sent an email to everyone who contacted me with their availability for the meet-up at the AQS Quiltweek in Lancaster this week. So check your email!

If you didn't get an email and are planning on being there (especially on Wednesday, hint hint), be sure to email me or tweet me (@sandyquiltz). If you leave a comment on this blog post, I'll get it that way too, though if I don't have your email address I won't be able to get in touch with you.

At last count, there could be seven of us at the meet-up--Woohoo!!!!

And a very belated thank-you to...

...Tina (aka @Weezyworks).

Several weeks ago now...well, okay, maybe a couple of months, Tina sent me a very funny Christmas card and this beautiful little spool pin doily she'd crocheted. It's gorgeous. I immediately put it on my spool pin and have been using it ever since!

I apologize, Tina, for the delay in my response but I've been using it and admiring it every time I change my thread!

...and to Jackie (aka @SewExcitedQuilts)

I don't think I've already blogged about this one, anyway. Jackie sent me this around the holidays as well, and I've been using it for (ready for this one?) holding my earbuds in my purse. It's great! They don't get all caught up in everything else, and I can easily get hold of them!

...and to Diane (aka @ddrquilter)!

Diane sent me this when she sent her thank-you gift for Charlotte. I held off posting the picture until after Charlotte's gift-giving ceremony had been up for a bit.

It's lovely, Diane! You can see from the 3M tabs it's hanging in my sewing room/office...actually, right above my cutting table.

Thanks so much everyone! I'm very touched by your thoughtfulness, and I love that I'm surrounded every day in my office/sewing room (and my purse!) by my listeners! :-)

Weekend Plans...Maybe...

So the last time I posted my quilting plans for the weekend, I got almost nothing done that I'd planned to get done. Is it a jinx? Hmmm. Here's trusting that I can break the spell and actually accomplish the following this weekend:

1. All the cutting done for my Lancaster class. (I refuse to leave it until the night before I leave!)

2. Collect all the supplies for my other Lancaster class.

3. Finish the Spring fabric postcard for Sandi's postcard swap. I'm about 2/3rds done, but since it's not actually due until after I get back, I'm putting it aside for a bit as I'm still hoping to...

4. Get the borders and backing done for my Disappearing Pinwheel and...

5. Get the borders on my Scrapitude quilt.

I still have a dream of being able to drop those both off at my LQS for longarming before I leave next week.

And by the way, I finally settled on working my way through Ann Petersen's Beyond Basic Machine Quilting as my next Craftsy class towards my 2014 resolutions. At the moment, I'm just watching the first few lessons again. I have to get a few other things off my machine before I can create myself something to use for her class and start practicing the actual stitching. I've decided it'll be a great way to use one of my hand-dyes as it's pretty much a wholecloth quilt. Cool beans.

I know, I know. I can hear you saying, "So, Sandy, doesn't that mean you should get off the computer and get back to work?" Yep.

Souvenirs from Alaska

My husband just got back from being in Anchorage on business. This is his second time in as many years being there. Last year, he texted me said, "Hey, I just walked by a quilt shop!" He very kindly included a picture of the front door with the name of the shop.

You know how mean that is? I gave him cr*p when he got home about not getting me anything, although I didn't give him too much of it because he had brought me a beautiful, small stained-glass plate with native designs that still sits on the mantle of our fireplace.

This year, he texted me a picture of the door again. "Really, you COULD buy me souvenir fabric, you know!" I texted back. His response, "I wouldn't know what to get." "Oh, please," I said. "They'd just think you were the cutest thing coming and would love to help you out!"

Turns out, this time he did brave the quilt shop. He put himself at the mercy of the staff, described the kinds of quilting I normally do, and they made some choices for him. Well done, team!

So, thumbs up to The Quilted Raven in Anchorage!

These fat quarters are all done by Alaskan artist Cindy Shake at Cindy Shake Design.

The longer pieces have two each of two designs; one's swirlies and stars, the other is the dog sleds and mushers. (Anchorage is the public starting point of the Iditarod.)

I love the many ways fat quarters can be bundled in cute little packages. But I did break open that star collection so you could see those fabrics as well.

Dig those birds!

And what's that little thing down in the lower right?

Why, it's a button, of course. It was used in the tie on the packaging. It looks to me like a bone button, but don't quote me on that. Perhaps part of an antler? There was no identifying information.

I won't be putting this on clothes--it'll go in my "random embellishment jar" for safe-keeping.

Finally, a traditional seal-skin thimble like those used by the Inuit for generations.

I won't ever use it--it'll sit on a display shelf I have in my sewing room with some sewing-related trinkets he brought me back from a business trip to China, and an antique pincushion  my supervisor gave me for Christmas one year.

But before I put it on the shelf, I couldn't resist.

February Update on Craftsy Class Progress

Here's my February update! A couple of people have mentioned how fast I seem to be whipping through these so far. There's good reason for that. The ones I've decided to focus on first were the ones I was very nearly already done with anyway, those that I thought I could easily accomplish within my current schedule, or those that I knew I'd pretty much just be watching and absorbing information for later use (such as knife skills for cooking). For the most part, however, now I've accomplished most of the classes on my list that fall into those categories. Future classes are going to take much longer so you won't be getting reviews quite so frequently.

Completed Classes (all topics)

Current count: 20 (+3 from last month--yippee!)

• Complete Knife Skills with Brendan McDermott.
• Shoot It! A Product Photography Primer with Carol Sheridan
• Spindling from Fluff to Stuff with Drucilla Pettibone
• Machine Quilting with Wendy Butler Berns
• Artisan Bread Making with Peter Reinhart
• Secrets of Slow Cooking: Mastering the Braise with Molly Stephens
• Art Quilting 101 with Wendy Butler Berns
• Chain of Stars Mystery Quilt with Kimberly Einmo
• Color Play for Quilters with Joen Wolfrom
• Craftsy Block of the Month 2013 with Laura Nownes
• Creative Quilt Backs with Elizabeth Hartman
• Hand-Stitched Collage Quilts with Laura Wasilowski
• Magical Jelly Roll Quilts with Kimberly Einmo
• Pattern Free Quilt-making with Joe Cunningham
• Piece, Patch, Quilt: Basic Quiltmaking Skills with Gail Kessler
• QuiltCon Lecture Series 2013
• Scrap Quilting with Pepper Cory
• Stitch & Slash with Carol Ann Waugh
• The Art of Cloth Dyeing with Jane Dunnewold
• Know Your Wool with Deborah Robson

Classes in Progress

Current count: 2

• Stupendous Stitching with Carol Ann Waugh
• Thread Art with Lola Jenkins

Classes To Be Completed

Current count: 17 (-1 since last month, since two of the classes I finished weren't in this list in January's post.)

• Art Quilt Backgrounds: Beyond Log Cabin with Judith Trager
• Beyond Basic Machine Quilting with Ann Petersen
• Designing Modern Quilts with Weeks Ringle
• Fabric Patterning with Wax Resist with Malka Dubrawsky
• Finishing School: Edges and Bindings with Mimi Dietrich
• Free Motion Fillers Vol 1 with Leah Day
• Free Motion Fillers Vol 2 with Leah Day
• Free Motion Quilting a Sampler with Leah Day
• Free-Motion Quilting with Feathers with Angela Walters
• Machine Quilting Negative Space with Angela Walters
• Machine Quilting the Home Sweet Home Quilt with Frieda Anderson
• Painted Pictorial Quilts with Annette Kennedy
• Pictorial Quilting Techniques with Wendy Butler Berns
• Pictures to Pixel Quilts with Carol Sheridan
• Strip Your Stash with Nancy Smith
• A Modern Take on the Mother Sauces with James Peterson
• Homestyle Pan Sauces with Martha Holmberg
• Perfect Pizza at Home with Peter Reinhart

Classes added this month: None!

What's on for the weekend...

I'm writing this blog post on Saturday morning and thinking through what my long weekend will bring. I'm caffeinating and "charging" (as my husband calls it when he sees me sitting in front of my light box), and watching another lesson in one of my current Craftsy classes, "Complete Knife Skills" with Brendan McDermott--a freebie that has quickly become one of my favorite classes I've taken from Craftsy so far. But you'll just have to wait for my full review when I'm done with the class entirely.

Speaking of Craftsy--they're having another sale this weekend, the "Perfect Match Flash Sale" in which you can get two classes paired together, both on sale. I've already glanced at some of the offerings but haven't spent a lot of time on the site yet. I have other things I need to get done today!

In any case, as I'm sitting here getting ready for my day (which begins with a run to the grocery store), I thought it might keep me on track if I listed here my quilty-related goals for the weekend, and then I'll check in again sometime Monday evening and let you know what I actually accomplished. As we know, I'm a list-maker!

1. Post a podcast episode. (Sorry about missing last week; as it turned out, it was a very busy weekend followed by a busy week!)

2. Get my Scrapitude blocks and triangles made. If I can manage it, I'd really like to get the whole Scrapitude top pieced.*

3. Put my dye studio back together. It's still dismantled from when I had to repurpose one of the tables for Thanksgiving dinner. I also still need to haul my old cutting table from my second-floor sewing room to my basement dye studio. This requires my husband's involvement.

4. Put the finishing touches on new cutting table--using my 3M adhesive strips as I mentioned in a previous podcast episode, and heat-setting the edging strip around the top.

Now, here's the thing--some of my weekend schedule is still a bit up on the air. I may be making a nice dinner tonight, which means some of today will be spent in the kitchen, or we might be going out for a nice dinner, which means I'd not have to spend time in the kitchen. I can actually go either way on this one--after being gone for a week of vacation I'm very okay with spending a night in my kitchen. I enjoy cooking when I've actually got time to do it. But I'd also be very okay with having a whole afternoon to spend in my sewing room. So I'm viewing this as a win-win whichever way we end up going. Tomorrow I've got a commitment in the morning which means we may not be home until about 3p, and although I've got Monday off, I've got an appointment in the morning so may not have much sewing time until the afternoon. I still think I'll be able to accomplish all of the above.

So here's to a long weekend, and being home, and getting homey kinds of things done. What are your plans for the weekend? For U.S. readers, do you have Monday off? I believe we've got a #PDSI going on, though it won't be as active as usual since this is a much-less common day off for most people. Indeed, this is the first year that I can remember actually having it off! Yay!

*Whether I get the whole Scrapitude top pieced is less dependent on the amount of time I have this weekend, and more so on how long I can sit at my sewing machine doing the same thing over and over again. This is why I rarely make bed-sized quilts. Even with movies or audiobooks, I just get stir-crazy after awhile, so I may switch up what project I'm working on rather than plowing through one project for the whole weekend.

Savannah Vacation Pics

If you're interested, I've got the photos from my vacation in Savannah uploaded to Flickr. Rather than uploading them all again here, I'm just giving you the link to the photo set in Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sandyquiltz/sets/72157640690062245/.

Snowstorm January 2014

We got a lot, but a manageable amount, of snow--the plows have been able to keep up with it well, although it's still pretty slick driving. This is one of those days that I'm extra glad to be a tele-commuter (to use an old-school term).

We're also fortunate enough not to be getting quite the horribly frigid temps of other areas, although it's single-digits. I ventured outdoors just long enough to take a few pictures in the yard, because there's nothing I like more than seeing pine trees covered in snow.

Spencer (Princess Doggie)--who normally gives up on the outdoors two minutes into her walk on cold days--took off into the woods and was rollicking about in snowdrifts like nobody's business. I think she figured if she just kept moving fast enough she was good to go--and there were those dang, nasty squirrels to protect me from, after all. Sam (Doofus), on the other hand, who normally loves burying his face in snowdrifts...

I took them both back inside as quickly as I could and spent a couple of minutes getting ice chunks out from between his toes. Poor guy--the downside of all that pretty Golden fur is it's an ice-magnet.

They both immediately flaked out in front of the fireplace. I don't think they'll be asking to go outside again any time soon. And, since it's supposed to just keep getting colder as the day wears on, I think we're all just going to hunker down.

Good day for sewing, and perhaps some baking.

A Holiday Greeting Card to Y'All...

It's been a year of fun and creativity! Thanks, everyone!

A video holiday card for my listeners. With thanks to Sandi of Quilt Cabana Corner for co-hosting the Project Hope Online Quilt Show and allowing me to play along in the postcard swap, to Tanesha of Crafty Garden Mom for co-hosting the Banned Book Week Challenge, and to Charlotte for #Scrapitude!

Found time...ice storm 12-22-13

Yesterday we had this...referred to on one website as "freezing fog," which sounds like something evil out of a video game.

Mind you, normally we can see houses. And trees. And the hill across the road covered in pines....

This morning, we have this:

At least we can see the houses again. And at least most of the trees, although the dark green pine is now coated in a half-inch of ice. I almost hate to refer to this as an "ice storm" because we've lived through some real doozies around here that this barely measures up to. But still n' all, it's ice. And it's a storm. So there is that. We're fortunate compared to many other areas of the country--I'm thinking of y'all!

Ice storms do create a dangerous beauty. Here are some close-ups around the yard. As it's a very soft gray light outside, I had to get creative with the photo-editing...and then just started having fun. No ice was added in the creating of these images. :-)

As for the "found time" in the title, due to the ice we're not heading out to church this morning, so I'm about to spend some quality time in my sewing room. We'll be doing some holiday stuff through the day--I believe my daughter may be doing some cookie baking, and we'll be decorating the tree tonight, so it'll be a nice, cozy, relaxed day at home.

As long as we don't lose power...

First day of vacation"Little Dresses"

Today was the first day of my prolonged holiday break--I don't go back to work until January 2nd. You can bet I have a whole lotta sewin' plans going on. I'll be happy if I even get a third done of what's in my head for the week.

I started off today by joining with some folks from church for a sew day of "Little Dresses for Africa," although I think, given the make-up of our congregation, we're planning on sending ours to Myanmar (Burma). But don't quote me on that--I was just there to sew, I'm not actually responsible for anything, a fact which I thoroughly enjoyed.

I warned the woman coordinating it: I'm a quilter, not a garment sewer. Don't expect much. 8th Grade Home-Ec trauma, doncha know. But the pattern was quite simple, and I have done a pocket or two in my life, so once someone explained the process to me, I was good to go.

Here's the irony--I went to sew but never actually did much sewing. There weren't enough machines to go around and it became apparent another young woman really wanted to learn how to sew. So I let her use my machine and she was in the very capable hands of another woman who is a talented garment sewer. I spent the day cutting fabric into dress pieces.

I mean, people--I was actually cutting fabric with scissors. I haven't used scissors to cut fabric in years! Where was my rotary cutter? Where were my rulers? Where was my cutting mat? I was going old school, baby. (We didn't even have "real" patterns--we were using posterboard templates made from tracing around sample dresses. Way old school.)

I was thrilled to donate two lengths of fabric I'd bought while in Hawaii a few years back--modern versions of traditional bark cloth. I had a project for them in my head at the time, but the project didn't come off and at this point, was unlikely ever to. On the other hand, the fabric would make great sundresses, so I was very happy to see them used for this. We cut up one of the two pieces (4 yards worth) while I was there. The other piece (also 4 yards) went back in the bin to get used next time.

I believe, if I were using the same rubric as Pam (for the Sunday Stash report), that would make it a total of 16 yards out of my stash because it counts double when it's donated, right? :-)

Although someone counted about 14 dresses sewn, I didn't sew any of them and ended up bringing one of the ones I'd cut out home to finish. But I'm okay with that. I was glad someone learned how to sew, and everyone seemed to have a good time.

Here's a gallery of pictures from the day. My sewing machine makes an appearance in one of them, as well as my Hawaiian fabric with the template on it ready for me to cut. If the gallery doesn't forward for you, just click on the picture--it should work. (If you're getting this by email, you might have to go to the website to see the gallery. Sorry!)

When I get the dress done, I'll post a picture. Right now it's a pile of fabric cut into odd shapes.

My mail was particularly beautiful last week

So, if you listened to either Daisy's most recent podcast episode or this one of mine, you know that I won Daisy's Twitter giveaway on Black Friday of a completed quilt top from her stash. I received it in the mail this week...

I'd put my name in for it because I loved the colors and hey, it's a quilt from Daisy! Who wouldn't want one?

It was only later that I began to think...hey, that design looks familiar.

Here's  picture of a quilt I made for my son a few years back. Somehow I never got a picture of the finished product but trust me, it did get finished and it's currently on his bed in his apartment. (Or in a rumpled heap on the floor but I choose not to think about that.)

It's a design from one of the Strip Club books, using 2 1/2" strips. (Please note--there are a few books in the series and I have a couple of them, so I grabbed a link to one but can't guarantee it's the book this design is in.) I'd always loved the design and had periodically thought over the years, "Maybe I should make myself another one...." Well, boy howdy. Now I don't have to! Wheee!

I plan to send this out to a longarmer, and I think it'll go on our guest room bed. Unless my daughter lays claim to it next time she's home, which she is wont to do.

I also received this in the mail this week:

This is a lovely little keychain change purse from Jackie of Sew Excited Quilts.

It's so cute! And yes, it's on my keychain, although it doesn't have any change in it at the moment.

Perhaps next time I go on a shop hop or visit vendors at a show, I should put as many bills as I'm planning to spend in this, and leave the credit cards at home! (Of course, it also looks like it might be the right size to hold said credit cards...hmmmm....)

And the third thing I received has a little bit of a story behind it.

Several times over the last couple of years I've had the privilege of visiting one of our denominational mission sites, a residential campus about 90 mins outside of Phoenix for adults with developmental disabilities, named Rainbow Acres. It's an amazing place--I could go on for several blog posts. (If you're in the Phoenix area, I highly recommend you go visit and even volunteer there--you won't regret it!) The adults, referred to as "ranchers," have a variety of jobs they can choose from. One of the things that Rainbow Acres has become well known for is it's weaving. Several of the adults are gifted weavers and love doing it. A couple of the times I visited, the man who is their head weaver quickly took to his loom to show me how to do it, his enthusiasm for the task bouncing out of every word he said. When people purchase the weavings (or paintings, or other items created by ranchers), half the proceeds go back to the rancher him or herself. I'd purchased paintings on an earlier trip, but had admired some shawls they were making. Since I'd just bought the paintings I didn't feel I could also afford the shawl.

However, when I was there in July and we were visiting the weaving room once again, I saw a pile of skeins of yarn they had just received. As we fiber people are known to do, I made a beeline for the pile and dove my hands right into it. Oohing and aahing, I couldn't stop petting the stuff. It was a gorgeous shade of gray with variegated purples and blues, and tremendously soft. The staffperson doing inventory told me that had just arrived and they were deciding what to do with it. She then raised an eyebrow and said, "We do work on commission, you know." Sold. I asked for a shawl done with that yarn, and just received it this week (in perfect time for our ever-dropping temperatures!)

Front

This type of shawl has a name that start with a P--not Pashmina--but I'm blanking. It's joined in the back but open in the front. It'll be perfect for my home office which is right above the garage and ever-so-much-nippier than the rest of the house.

In fact, I'm wearing it right now. Toasty.

Back

Ah, to be surrounded by so much beauty. I can barely stand it!