Changing Patterns

I’m sure many of you do this, for I can’t be the only one! You see a pattern you like, but you’d like it better in your own colors and/or fabrics. Or, in my case, you see a quilt you love – but you know you’ll never make the whole thing.

For the record, I do love to do needleturn applique. But committing myself to an entire quilt of needleturn applique is just asking for trouble. I know it will never be completed. So, I got a brilliant idea and decided to make just one block of the quilt. I’m talking about Wenche’s Christmas Balitimore BOM Quilt. It’s very beautiful, but in a rare moment of honesty with myself, I ‘fessed up and said, “Even at 1 block a month, I won’t get it done.” So, I decided to do 1 block but I wanted it to be summer like, so that I could hang it in my beach cottage. (haha – yeah, in my dreams, I do have a beach cottage but that’s as far as it gets.) Another thing I like to do is frame quilt blocks, rather than make them into pillows or a 1-block hanging.

Summer-like fabrics would be … Linen! Yup, that’s the one!

Summer Morning Glories a.k.a. Wenche's Baltimore Christmas

I printed the template pages onto freezer paper cut into 8.5 x 11 sheets. I turned on my new favorite TV show Bunheads and spent a nice 45 minutes cutting out all the pieces. It wasn’t a solid 45 minutes of cutting out pieces, sometimes I had to stop and watch the show!

Okay, so, I get all the pieces cut out, and laid onto the background. Pin and take it the sewing machine. I love to free-style straight stitch and that’s what I did. The flowers – I think they were supposed to be roses – I turned into morning glories. I added some veining to the leaves and kept it all very simple.

Close-up

close-up 2

Here are some pictures of a pillow I free-styled straight stitched. You can do this with just about any design. I didn’t do a lot of stopping and starting, I would just backtrack till I got to the new line to sew -

Pillow

white silk pillow with free-style straight stitching

Now, all I need is the right frame. I’ll hit the thrift shops for that. When I find it, and get the quilt block framed, I’ll do another post on that process.

This project took about an hour (not counting the watching TV or cutting), making it a quick and easy project. I might take a look at my Christmas list and see how many of these I could turn out before December!

Confessions of a Quiltaholic

Truth is, I don’t just love making quilts, I love hanging out with `em. I am a sucker for a quilt at a garage sale (yard sale, estate sale, tag sale, etc.), too. Just bought one this past weekend for $10. There are some worn spots on it, but it is lovely.

Now, this love of quilting may actually be an outgrowth of my love of sewing and of fabric. Or, it may be that the reason I love fabric so much is because I love seeing how it goes together in a quilt. Well, which came first: the chicken or the egg? No matter; I love it all.

The problem in loving this stuff so much is a problem of acquisition. And, by that, I’m not saying that it is hard to buy it – I’m saying it is hard not to buy it! Any of you have the same problem? In all honesty, can you walk into a quilting shop and not walk out with at least one fat quarter, or a yard or 2 of that new rose-patterned, cream-colored fabric over there on the shelf on the left, or that gorgeous cobalt blue with the tiny constellations all over it, or that cute, cute piece with the flying pigs or. . . Sigh!. . . Okay.  All of it, please!

See my dilemma?

Or, my favorite cohort-in-crime for the last 30 years and I are walking through the gorgeous rows of resale shops looking for pretty, old, china cake plates, which I also collect, and I suddenly catch my cohort-in-crime by her arm and:

Me: “Oh. My. Gosh! Can you believe that quilt over there on that bed frame? Did you see those beautiful feedsack prints in the butterfly pattern on it? I’ll bet it’s way out of my range. I’ll just ask, though.”

Cohort-in-crime: “Another one? You can’t own every old quilt you come across. You need to leave some of them for me.”

Me: “I saw it first. So, I’ll just ask the price. It’s bound to be too much. Neither of us will get it.” To shop owner: “How much? What?! Seriously?! Forty-five dollars?! Sold.”

Cohort-in-crime: “Well, I get the next one, no matter what. And, I thought you said you were not going to spend over $30 on any one item.”

Me: (smugly, with the subject quilt draped over my arm) “I lied.”

(Hmmm. My cohort-in-crime has never been really good at helping me fight my addictions, actually. Which is why we have always been such good friends, of course!)

Still, this adds to my stash, and, after quilting for around 30 years, and teaching quilting for about 20 of those years, I have acquired an awful lot of fabric and quilted goodies. I’m afraid I may be getting to the point that I need to part with some of it.

Nah.

I just need to rearrange everything to make more room, right?

Sewing for Sanity

Do you ever feel like you must sew, and you must sew now? The fabric, the sewing machine, the patterns, the templates are all calling your name and you cannot resist.  Does sewing bring peacefulness into your life? Does it calm you? No matter what you’re sewing, whether mending or piecing a Double Wedding Ring quilt, sewing restores balance to life.  I’m sure other people have things in their life  that do that for them -maybe golfing or cooking- but for me and I’m pretty sure for you it’s sewing.  I love every part of sewing.

The fabrics with their colors and textures, the threads with their brilliance and shine, the pictures of quilts or garments, everything related to the sewing room is attractive.  I have often said I would buy fabric even if I didn’t sew. It simply draws me in and I am helpless against it. I suppose I could try to be strong and not add to my already over-flowing fabric collection, but why? There will come a day when I will need this very fabric that is calling to me; otherwise, why would it be calling to me? That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it.

This is a longer skirt, made of white gauze and layers of lace

This is an elastic, lace blouse, but only 4 buttons, so it must be an over-blouse!

On the hectic and chaotic days, an hour in the sewing room is like a day at the spa. It relaxes me; it gets my creativity flowing; the stresses of the day melt away. Not only is it one of my forms of therapy; I actually end up with something useful for myself or someone else. That is a win/win situation, and I love those!

This is a dress made of fine, light green handkerchief linen, with lovely embroidery on the chest and the hem.

More of the green dress

Neckline of green dress

What other forms of therapy do I have, you ask? Buying fabric or other textiles such as yarn, threads of all kinds, and patterns is one kind. The other kind is going to the office supply store. I would rather go to the office supply store than to the mall. Actually, I hardly ever go to the mall, prefer to thrift shop, but that’s another story. I love the organizational aisles, with their bins and containers, drawers and boxes of every kind. I run my fingers over them, as I would fine wool. I look at them and wonder if they would hold my yarn, snaps, quilting threads, fat quarters, or yards of fabrics. You name it; I want to put it in a container!

My husband, who loves to cook, once told me, “When I bring home many bags of groceries in preparation for a big meal, I feel the same way you do, when you bring home bags from the fabric or thrift store.” Ah! So, we happily both go our own ways: me to the sewing room and him to the kitchen, where we both indulge in our favorite form of therapy.

I buy a lot of fabric from the thrift store. They are either in the form of bags of fabric, or clothes. I look for dresses with full skirts, clothing with embroidery on it, and sweaters made from wool that I can felt and use in making accessories. Anything with a lace collar will shout out to me, along with interesting buttons, leather garments and men’s shirts. Men’s shirts can be turned into skirts, tops for us women, or quilt pieces. I’ve scattered some pictures throughout this post, of clothes I recently bought during my trip to Idaho on Sisters Day – the day my sister and I take off, hit the thrift stores, and go to lunch.

What’s Your Quilting Story?

I’m always interested in hearing how people got into quilting. Did you come from the garment sewing world, or was quilting your first step into the sewing world? There are some interesting stories to be told. I hope you’ll share yours with us by leaving a comment. Since I brought the subject up, it’s only fair that I go first. Right?

When I was in third grade, I took a sewing class taught by my mother. She did a lot of sewing including making dresses for my two sisters and me. I think the love of sewing is in my DNA. My Grandma was a dressmaker for her entire life, as was her Mother before her. Once I learned to create clothes, I was hooked. I sewed whatever I could get my hands on.

This is my Grandma. And me, as a baby.

One time I noticed the rags my Mother used for cleaning were fraying on the edges and I asked if I could hem them. Oh yes! I was desperate to sew anything!

I did sew clothes for my children, but when they were older, they didn’t want my homemade clothes anymore (and looking back, I can understand why). They wanted clothes from the mall. So, I turned to quilting. I am a self-taught quilter. Imagine my surprise when I tried to sew my quilt blocks with a 5/8” seam allowance! Learning to sew with a 1/4” seam allowance was a unique experience! Wow!

I threw myself into quilt sewing for years and had a wonderful time. Then, I began to look longingly at a well made dress and made my way back into garment sewing. I even signed up to take an online class on Couture Sewing, which I love. Now that I have a few granddaughters, doll clothes have been the big thing

I even knit the socks!

around my sewing room! Even though I am totally into garment sewing, the quilt world is pulling me back and I’m letting it. A girl can do two things at once!

We’d love to hear your story! Please share it with us!

Going On Vacation

The anticipation of your vacation, then the vacation, then recovering from the vacation – that’s the process. Why do we go through this process? Because, it’s so much fun! Right?

On this particular vacation, my husband (Mike) and I went to visit my family in Idaho. Usually I go alone, but every few years he goes with me. This was the year.

On the windiest day of the week, my stepdad took Mike on a great, long motorcycle ride (about 100 miles) on his 3-wheel Harley.

At one stop, they were looking over a bridge and Mike’s sunglasses blew off his face, and dropped down many feet and shattered on the rocks below. It’s a good thing they carry more than one pair! They took some beautiful pictures of the Snake River Canyon.

Remember when Evel Knievel tried to jump his motorcycle over the Snake River Canyon and failed? Well, this is where it was. They didn’t take a picture of that; it’s just a built-up mound of dirt. There might be a plaque; I don’t know. I lived there for over 20 years, but have never been to the site; I just know it’s there.

I spent a lot of time with my grandsons, which is the best part of life. I guess it’s a big deal in 1st grade to say, “My grandma is picking me up from school!”

I did a lot of that. It was my joy.

My youngest grandson there, who is not quite 2, wouldn’t come to me until just the day I left. Sigh. I spent a lovely day with my sister, blogless Kris, thrift shopping till we dropped. I mailed a huge box home and it should be here next Monday. It’ll be fun all over again, and I’ll take a picture of some of the treasures I found. Are you a thrift shopper?

On the day we came home, our flight left at about 9:30 am, so we spent the night in Boise, rather than ask a family member to get up at 6 and drive us to the airport. And, just so you know, there are no such things as direct flights anymore. Maybe, if you’re going from huge city to huge city, but not from anywhere in Missouri, Oklahoma or Arkansas, to Boise. So, it was a long day.

One of the treats of the trip was at our hotel that last night. Quilts in the carpeting! Well, I could see quilts!

As we walked down the wide hallways to our room, I couldn’t believe my eyes.

Quilt designs!  Right there to take pictures of, so I can use them to make a quilt of my own!!

My poor husband said, “You’re not really going to take a picture of the carpet are you?” You bet I was!

The Great Bread Heist

Heidi, one of my kitties, loves bread.  I can’t leave bread lying around, because it will disappear. When I’m done making a sandwich, I have to put the loaf of bread in the pantry right away, so she can’t get to it.

One day I was at my computer. (Like most days of course – hehe.)  I heard a little rustling in the kitchen.  I remembered that I left the bread on the counter after putting up the groceries.  I knew what was going on; she was gnawing a hole in the corner of the bag to get to the bread.

I got up from my chair, heading for the kitchen and she heard me.  She wanted that bread and knew her window of opportunity was closing! She had to think quickly.

I heard a thud and I knew the bread had hit the floor.  This was a full loaf and I was amazed she could drag it to the floor!  This is one smart kitty and she knew that once I reached the kitchen, all I had to do is pick it up off the floor and take it away from her. I swear I could hear her little brain ticking with plans!

I am not kidding – she grabbed the end of the loaf and took off with it!  Just as I turned around the counter to the kitchen, this loaf of bread zoomed past me and into my bedroom!  Geeze this is one determined cat!

I headed to the bedroom and heard a thump.  Heidi made it under the bed, but the bread did not.  It was too big to go under!  The bread bag was shaking, as she frantically tugged and pulled on the other end.  She was determined to get that loaf of bread under the bed, one way or another!  Unfortunately for her, it didn’t happen.  I bent over and picked it up, examined the damage and repackaged the portion that was still OK.  I put it away in the pantry.

But, there was my disappointed little Heidi. She wouldn’t come out from under the bed, and I could just feel her sulking under the bed.  She did all that work and had no bread.  I have a soft heart for my little furry babies, so, I gave her the pieces of bread she had mauled during the Great Bread Heist.  She was a happy kitty.

cindy