Roz-Counterpane

update on Roz

2011-11-01T20:48:00.000-07:00

Hello my friends.

I am in the hospital. I have asked my dd (dear daughter) to type for me. I am dictating.

I miss my friends and my blog. I miss my sewing. I have some sewing ideas. I am very frustrated. I hope to get back to sewing soon.

Please send get well wishes to marionschack@gmail.com or

Rosalyn Manesse

c/o Marion Schack

8 San Carlos

Rancho Santa Margarita, CA 92688

It's a wonderful world

2011-10-16T09:18:00.001-07:00

There's been a lot of time passing without my sewing or blogging. I'm recuperating from an illness. Doctors have told me that I'm lucky--it could have been much worse. I will be having on operation, but I'm praying to be well enough to bake a pie for Thanksgiving. Meanwhile, I've been resting. I haven't had enough energy to sew--therefore you can tell how easy I've been taking it. My daughter has stepped up to the plate and she's been looking out for me. Yesterday we went to visit my DH and he seems to be holding on. He's comfortable and not suffering at all. I went out on my patio this morning and although it's a bit foggy, I took a photo of the acacia tree that's blooming right now.

Inspired by Anna Williams

2011-10-05T09:47:00.000-07:00

I had a mishap. I got sick last Wednesday. I was at my daughter's house and had just enjoyed a lovely dinner, when I had to spoil the evening and be taken to the ER. I don't care to publish my medical history, but let me say that I was in the hospital for two days, enjoying medical tests, and the food. The person in the kitchen said, "You must love the salmon because you ordered it for lunch and dinner?" "No, " I answered, "it's the only thing listed on the menu that I can eat."

Concerning my DH,and as far as the problem with Medicare is concerned, although he's in a seriously declining condition, the Medicare rules exclude him from receiving either Palliative Care or Hospice unless or until he can't speak. He has Lewy Body disease, not Alzheimer's. And although Alz patients stop talking in the end, I don't believe he will until he lapses into a coma. So there you go, you can rest easy knowing my dying husband is not cheating on Medicare. Meanwhile, it's costing Medicare more money to send my husband to the ER every time he's in trouble instead of having him tended by a nurse from Hospice.There--I had my rant, and I feel better!

OK now back to my quilting--I put my money where my mouth is and decided to divide my scraps into lights and darks. I'm piecing my squares with strips. This is a really simple pattern of alternating squares. I'll save the more complex patterns for later.

Recycled denim apron

2011-09-26T09:17:00.000-07:00

I joined up the quilt blocks, and I think that it needs a little solid color border. For fun, I tried a bit of recycling. This project is not for the perfectionist sewer. Take a big old pair of jeans. Cut off a leg. Hem around. Add some strings and maybe a pocket.

I'm having a problem with arthritis and can't type a lot in this post--I'll have to save it for later. Meanwhile, I'm doing battle with my health insurance. It seems that Medicare has imposed a lot of new rules on dying people.

Half-Log Cabin blocks

2011-09-19T10:03:00.000-07:00

Rather an upsetting weekend for me, as my DH's health is not doing very well. However, nothing like a bit of quilting to quiet the nerves, and if I make a mistake in my sewing, I just remind myself that I'm only sewing scraps of cloth together, and although what I'm sewing is in danger of turning into a crazy quilt block, or even a dust rag--so what. I want to make another half-log cabin quilt. Although I made a similar one not too long ago, there are so many ways to set the blocks that every quilt made with this pattern can look different. The trick that I have found is to sew all 24 blocks simultaneously. That way, I only have to figure out where each piece in the puzzle goes one time. I made a sketch of the finished block and tacked it to the bulletin board that I have hanging on the wall behind my sewing machine.

By the way, if you like muffins, I've posted a recipe for milk-free Apple and Honey Muffins on my cooking blog at http://roz-kitchen.blogspot.com/

Bricks Quilt--the second

2011-09-14T09:33:00.000-07:00

This bricks quilt was so easy to machine quilt. I simply quilted in the ditch. I think that I should have made it a bit longer, though. But it is a nice size for a lap quilt. I'm putting in a close-up photo because I think that this fabric is so amusing. I found a fat quarter that's printed to look like money. I'm putting this quilt away for a rainy day. I plan to donate it to a sick person as a Healing Quilt.
Sad news here, one of the sick people that I gave a quilt to has died. I'm planning to attend a prayer meeting at the home of the mourners this evening.
Meanwhile, as my blogging friends know, I'm already sewing another quilt. It's a log cabin. More news to follow.
Here's a question for you--if you were planning to take out insurance--how much value would you place on your fabric stash and sewing equipment?

Holiday snuggle quilt

2011-09-11T08:46:00.000-07:00

Today is September 11th. Such a heartbreaking day to remember. I cry. I have completed this quilt--it's made similarly to the Art Quilt that I posted about previously, except that I used printed fabrics instead of solids. I had a hoard of some special Holiday fabric scraps and I used them in this quilt. I put flannel on the back, and I quilted it in sort of straight lines (except the borders are wavy). The quilt turned out to be kind of puffy, and I think it may qualify to be called a Comforter. I love it. I'm thinking of putting it on my sofa and using it like an afghan.

The above quilt is another "Bricks" quilt, similar to the one that I made last December, except that the blocks are 3/12 inches by 6 1/2 inches. I sewed 13 rows. Why 13? because I didn't count how many blocks I cut out until later, and it turned out that I had enough for 13 rows. The quilt is approximately 40 by 45 inches--enough for a lap quilt. I gave the last Bricks quilt away to a Cancer patient--and I plan to give this one out as a gift sometime, also. I hope I can get this one pin basted today. I've been thinking about quilts that use dark and light fabric as part of the pattern--such as the log cabin quilt does. It's one of the things that we don't seem to pay enough attention to when doing free-piecing. I want to try to do more light and dark patterns.

Four Patch Scrap Squares Quilt

2011-09-05T09:11:00.000-07:00

I like to play recordings while I make my quilts. I played some Bach while I was pin-basting this quilt, and some Jimi Hendrix while I did my free-motion quilting. Jimi was maybe the best guitar player that ever lived--his recording of Bob Dylan's "All Along the Watchtower" is absolutely wonderful. I could name a bunch of other great guitar players that I love, such as Stevie Ray Vaughan, Carlos Montoya, Julian Bream, Santana, and of course, Charo--who is a wonderful guitar player when she's not wiggling and acting funny. Who's your favorite?

Anyhow--back to the basics--I just love how this quilt came out. I'm very proud of it. I also have done some quilting on another quilt that I kind of made in the background--it's a printed-fabric version of my "Art" quilt. I have to do the binding today.

Four Patch Scrap Squares Quilt

2011-09-01T09:56:00.000-07:00

Those untidy piles of scraps in the last post have been tamed into a quilt top. It's very easy to do. The scraps were combined into 6 1/2 inch blocks and the blocks were joined into a four patch, while alternate 6 1/2 inch blocks were surrounded by 3 1/2 inch strips of solid fabric. Borders were cut 2 1/2 inches wide.
It's rather exhilarating to put together a quilt top, but it's the quilting and binding that make it into a quilt. I'm so tempted to keep making quilt tops, without stopping to finish the quilt! But without the finishing, this is only a pile of scraps--when completed, it then becomes a useful article. Rather like life, isn't it--it takes some commitment and determination to see something to completion.

"And the beat goes on..."

2011-08-29T09:16:00.001-07:00

I don't know if you recall the old song by Sonny and Cher? I think I'm letting this free-piecing get away from me! I have to promise myself to make a different kind of quilt next. Anyhow, I saw a photo of a free-pieced quilt over on the http://quilts4leukaemia.blogspot.com/ and I was inspired to make a quilt similar to the one in the photo, made by Carol E. That quilt was made for a leukaemia patient. Clare does a deed of loving kindness by making quilts for patients. I invite you to visit her blog. You might wish to contribute--she needs quilt squares for this project. I'm planning to donate this quilt, when completed, to a person in my neighborhood (as yet unknown--but I'll find them.)

Shoo Fly quilt

2011-08-23T17:41:00.000-07:00

Good news on the quilting front--I've completed quilting and binding this Shoo Fly quilt. I hope to be sending it off for donation this weekend. I free-motion quilted it on my sewing machine. And today I did sew the border on that Hodge Podge quilt. I sewed on 4 inches of a mottled gold fabric. Now I have to dig through my stash (it's in a big storage box at the bottom of my closet) to try to find a backing for it. I've been enjoying my sewing lately. And oh yes, my daughter liked her shortie PJ pants that I sewed for her. The fabric was printed with helicopters and I managed to not have any of them flying upside down.
It seems to me that I ought to be counting my blessings lately--I'm grateful for my wonderful family and friends. I have to be grateful that I live in a nice place and go to bed each night in comfort. And I have to stop complaining so much!
By the way, a message to the East Coast from the folks in California--welcome to earthquake country!

Shoo fly quilt

2011-08-21T09:42:00.001-07:00

As per usual--I'm leaping ahead as it were--and although I haven't finished sewing the borders on the Hodge Podge Quilt in the previous post (can't decide what add on next,) I've sewn another quilt top. This one is also for a donation, because the string quilt that I sewed the other day for a donation already has a destination.
Well, thanks so much Gwen Marston for your great quilting books (I own several of them) I'm making a liberated quilt. Here I've used some of my collection of solid colors. I began collecting solid fabrics a couple of years ago, and I'm so glad that I did. I feel like an artist who has a big collection of paint tubes.
This quilt is made with 12 inch squares, and the sashes are cut 2 1/2 inches wide. I added a 3 1/2 inch mottled blue border. The border does not show up very well in the photo, but the mottled color really gives a finishing touch to the quilt. The result is a lap quilt approximately 36 by 50 inches. Now on to the pin basting!

Next quilt--a Hodge Podge

2011-08-18T16:40:00.000-07:00

So, I had such fun making that quilt with all solids--which I called my "Art Quilt," that I decided to try making the same type of free-pieced quilt, but with prints this time. I guess that you might call it the Hodge-Podge Quilt. I like it so far, but not as much as the solid one. I need to add borders to it, and that should improve the appearance somewhat. But it's such fun to just sew like crazy and see what it looks like afterwards.
As you can see by the second photo, I also sewed a pair of shortie pajama pants. That's what happens when my daughter takes me to the fabric store--she always seems to find something that she wants me to sew for her! I haven't sewn a garment (except for an apron) in years. I used to make nearly all my own clothes at one time, but fabrics got so expensive that it was no longer economical to sew clothing.
Anyhow, when my two oldest kids were little, the pajamas I bought for them at the store would wear out very quickly. So I decided to make some pajamas for them myself. The kids picked out a flannel fabric that was printed with cowboys. I sewed the pj's with flat-fell seams and those things lasted long enough to become hand-me-downs. My daughter remembered those pj's and she found this cute fabric printed with helicopters--and I had to sew pajama pants again! This time I made French seams. Flannel ravels and if you are sewing flannel clothing, you need to make an enclosed seam. She came over today for a "fitting" and I need to hem these pants and sew the elastic.

String quilt

2011-08-16T12:02:00.001-07:00

Here I am again--it's been so long since my last post! I was having a wonderful time with visiting family! And there was a big birthday party for my daughter and her husband's 50th birthdays. They have their birthday in the same week, and are the same age. So it's good news all around. And at last I have completed this string quilt. It's intended for a gift for a sick person. My head is spinning with ideas for my next two quilts. I do have some blocks started for one of those.
Meanwhile, I finished knitting a sweater for a small cousin. I couldn't decide which sweater to knit--a pullover or a hoodie--so I'm knitting both. The hoodie needs a lot more knitting, but sweaters are not really needed much until October or November. By the way, the wrist warmers that I made previously were a big hit as soon as the girls figured out what in the world they were. Also not needed until the Autumn.

Art Quilt

2011-08-09T09:58:00.001-07:00

Here's a picture of my Art Quilt. And I'm really proud of it. I machine quilted it with a meandering stitch, using a shiny rayon thread on the top, and ordinary black thread in the bobbin.
I hope to use this method of piecing to make another quilt soon, using printed fabric instead of all solid. I made the background a dark brown color. I rarely use much black in my quilts. Although I wear a lot of black clothing, I still have a funny feeling about black. I guess that goes all the way back to my childhood. My father had a superstition about children wearing black. He wouldn't permit it. I think that he thought it might be bad luck because black was a color of mourning. The other day I presented the quilt pictured below to a dear lady who is having chemo therapy. She said, "This is my lucky day." I certainly hope so. As you can see, the quilt is composed of free-pieced stars (that I learned how to make from Gwen Marston's books) along with some free-pieced log cabin blocks.

O happy day!

2011-08-04T13:40:00.001-07:00

Do you remember that old song, "The sun is shining, Oh happy day..."? At last I'm feeling well enough today to pin baste this quilt. And this photo gives a better close up of the quilt's construction. The second photo is a cover that I designed for my daughter's I Pad. She wanted a sock monkey on it. I should have written down what I was doing at the time--but I didn't, so there's no pattern for this. I simply measured the I Pad and crocheted a large rectangle to fit it.

It's fungly

2011-07-30T20:45:00.000-07:00

OK, what's the best cliche? "Don't look a gift horse in the mouth," "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade," "Ugly as sin." We could go on and on. However--since someone gave me these fabrics--thanks. A good quilter should never let loud fabric go to waste. I know, you might think I ought to sew these fabrics on the back of the quilt. But I didn't. I look at it this way--this quilt is sure going to be cheerful! And you could always throw an afghan over on top of it, if need be. It's not a bedspread after all--it's a lap size. And it cheered me up no end to sew this quilt top, as I've been a bit under the weather. I'm getting tired of doctors, no matter how kind and understanding they are. And that from a person who has another appointment with another doctor next week. What a complainer I am! As my mother used to say "Oy, I'm sick in bed with the doctor!" At least all these problems are improving, I plan to be a lot better tomorrow. And to get to pin basting that other quilt top--the one that came out to be prettier than this one.

The Winners and my "art" quilt

2011-07-25T10:56:00.000-07:00

I got out my sun hat and put in all the names for the etui drawing and the winners are Clare, Nanci and Debbie! So I'll be mailing out the etuis pretty soon.
Meanwhile, I thought that I was making a gift utility quilt for an as-yet-unknown sick person. I'll have to try to make a utility quilt again. I don't want to give this quilt away! Clare warned me in her comment on the quilt-in-progress photo, and she was right. How she could tell from that little photo of a few quilt blocks, I'll never know. I made twenty-four 6 1/2 inch free-pieced blocks using solid colors and added 2 1/2 inch strips of solid on two sides of the block, as seen in the second photo. I was inspired by Karla Alexander's book New Cuts for New Quilts--more ways to stack the deck. She made a quilt called "Orderly Chaos". However, I didn't follow her directions at all--just the way that she put the blocks together. After making the blocks, they are arranged every which way. I didn't follow her directions for that either, I put the blocks together without paying attention to the arrangement. And I used a different border than the one in the book. The dark color might look like black in the photo, but it's actually dark chocolate brown. I know that I'll have fun quilting this one!

500th Post--Etui Give-Away

2011-07-20T08:50:00.000-07:00

I have made three etuis to give as prizes in celebration of my 500th Blog Post. As I've reached the 500th Post, I guess that I've been doing a lot of blogging! It's fun and I've met some wonderful people in the world of Internet Blogging.

OK--what's an etui? Is that a word in the dictionary? It's not even in my pocket dictionary, but is in my Scrabble Dictionary. As you will notice in the second photo, in this instance it's a little needle book. (Pins and needles are not included in the give-away.) I made my own etui many moons ago, and it's been in active use ever since. As it is a bit of an unusual sewing accessory, I thought that I would sew these as a sort of party-favor kind of gift. I will be drawing for the winners.

How to win an etui:

Bloggers, make a comment on this blog post before midnight Sunday--that would be Pacific Daylight Savings Time. (you figure that out)

Be sure that you have your blog set so that your email address will be visible (so that I can find you to notify you.) If necessary --edit your profile to show your email address.

Free piecing

2011-07-18T13:01:00.001-07:00

So I finished and sent on its way that four patch quilt and of course I'm making another kind of quilt. Because I have given away the quilt I made for a male-type sick person, I decided to make another quilt to have on hand in case there's a need for it. I think that solid fabrics might be more suitable than flowered or printed fabric. This quilt is going to be made with all solid scraps. And since my scrap baskets are overflowing with printed stuff--there's no question what I'll be using next. I'm feeling all energetic lately! Life sure has it's ups and downs. I even made it to the swimming pool today--wearing my new bathing suit. I'm so glad that they are still making modest grandma-type suits. I guess that it's been 50 years since I wore a two-piece type suit. This is my 499th post, so the next post will have a little bit of a surprise.

Four Patch donation quilt

2011-07-13T15:43:00.001-07:00

Here's a photo of my completed four patch quilt. I took it to my knitting group today. My friend Ria held it up for the picture to be taken. And my friend Judy will be taking it in to the charity to be donated this week. I hope that it will keep someone warm this winter. Even now, in July we have some cool nights. I have two quilts on my bed all summer.

This is my 498th post on this blog. I want to plan something a little bit different for my 500th.

Wrist warmers

2011-07-13T08:47:00.001-07:00

Do you think that I made enough wrist warmers? Well, I'm blessed with four granddaughters! What, do they need wrist warmers in July? No. But they might in the future--it can't stay hot forever. Meanwhile, I've completed that four patch donation quilt and I hope to get a nice photo to post later today.
And I'm rounding up some scraps of solid colors for another quilt. No problem here--I seem to have accumulated a mountain of scraps. And I confess I did purchase some really loud orange fabric to throw into the mix.
I've been having a lot of problems with food allergies. I'm allergic to soy. I have hives. And you wouldn't believe how the soy bean has taken over the world--there's soy oil or some other form of soy in a whole lot of stuff (breads, crackers, cereal, hot dogs, soup powder, mayonnaise, herb tea, canned tuna, etc). But after donating a bunch of food to the food bank and sharing some of the rest around--I have managed to become soy-free. I found that a store that has some really nice things that I can eat. And I'm feeling a lot better. If anyone else out there has an allergy to soy, I'd appreciate hearing from you.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-07-06T15:00:00.001-07:00

Jacob's quilt--Liberated Churn Dash

2011-07-04T10:27:00.000-07:00

I'm so proud of this quilt. And I had a ton of fun making it. I got the idea for the churn dash pattern from Gwen Marston's book Liberated Quiltmaking II. And of course the lettering is from Tonya Ricucci's book Word Play Quilts. I wanted to make a color scheme suitable for a college man. So I used basically blue and yellow. The borders are a tan color, sort of a tea-dyed shade. The very top and bottom border fabrics are printed with the Hebrew alphabet. And in the bottom photo, my family helps me out with taking the photos.

Four patch

2011-06-30T08:58:00.000-07:00

This four-patch was very easy to sew together. I had to be careful though, to get all the dark patches in a line. I plan to machine quilt this and try to get it ready for donation. Although it's summer now, and not many quilts and caps are required, the charity stores away all these donations and hands them out as needed. They aim to help homeless folks get situated in jobs and housing.
I'm enjoying our nice weather. I plan to go for a swim today. I had a little emergency lately when I discovered that my bathing suits have been hanging in the closet and disintegrating from last season's swimming in the chlorinated pool. I'm not much of a swimmer these days, but I find that exercising in the pool really helps my arthritis.
I want to wish all my Internet friends a Glorious Fourth of July--that is all the ones in the U.S.! I'm fortunate enough to have some quilting friends in several different countries.

Completed projects, Jan. to June 2011

2011-06-29T08:17:00.000-07:00

Last January I started a notebook with a list of every item that I finished. I make a lot of things that I donate to charity--Serving People In Need of Orange County--especially hats for the homeless and for babies. Besides that, I give many things for gifts to family and friends. And I need things, too. It's now the end of June, and I have several pages of notes. So this is my inventory:

10 dishcloths

9 sweaters

2 afghans

46 hats (not a misprint)

7 toys

5 quilts

3 wall hangings

5 pairs of socks

2 baby bibs

2 scarves

1 tea cozy

4 pairs of wrist warmers

Now I have to do some housework!

Lots of sewing goin' on

2011-06-27T13:06:00.001-07:00

Good news today--I'm actually finishing Jacob's quilt. It's all quilted and I'm working on sewing on the miles of blue binding. I watched a movie on TV yesterday and got a lot of progress on the hand hemming. Maybe too much, I had to put an ice pack on my neck. After the quilt is totally complete, I plan to find a couple of folks to hold it up for a good picture.
In case you might think that some of those blue fabrics look like denim--you are correct in one respect--they look like it, but they are only cotton that's printed to look like denim. And furthermore, I have cut up a lot of fabrics from that fat quarter bundle I had the luck to acquire--and that has been "burning a hole in my pocket." I want to make a four patch quilt for a charity donation. Here's a little picture of those fabrics in motion--as it were.And another thing, I realized today that this is post number 492 on my blog. I guess that I've been chatting and quilting on the web for quite some time. I'll have to try to come up with something special for the 500th post--whenever that may be.

Free motion quilting

2011-06-24T13:33:00.000-07:00

Here's a photo of the quilt at another stage in production. The posts on this quilt seem to go on and on. But, good news--I have finished half of the free-motion quilting. I've been too tired to quilt some days. (That means I have another life besides sewing.) However, I manage to do at least a little bit of quilting almost every day.
What a struggle I've been having with Google lately. I went to the "Settings" page and changed my blog back to "old" for my postings. There's an old saying, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." It wasn't perfect the old way, but I could usually manage to post my photos. Speaking of "it ain't broke." I don't know how those wizards of Silicone Valley have managed it, but they now have a lot of us replacing perfectly functioning phones and computers by newer ones! Everyone seems to have a strong desire for a phone that can not only make actual phone calls, but can play games and do everything except jump rope.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-06-22T09:39:00.000-07:00

Pin basting

2011-06-16T13:55:00.000-07:00

Every time I start pin basting a quilt, I promise myself that the next quilt I make will be smaller! This quilt is about twin comforter size--approximately 62 by 84 inches. I had to piece together three fabrics to make the backing.
Of course, meanwhile my mind is spinning on what quilt I want to make next. I want to make another gift quilt and a donation quilt, too.
I think I need an afternoon nap before I finish basting.
The good news is that Jacob saw what I'm making for him and he likes it!

Jacob's quilt

2011-06-12T10:14:00.000-07:00

I have to tell you a story first. On Tuesday I was taking a transportation bus. It's a bus for handicapped folks and so it has a different route each day. On Tuesday the bus driver, obviously not familiar with the neighborhood, was driving the long way around. I suspected where he was headed, because buses frequently pick up a certain lady that lives near me. And sure enough, after a bit of a meander, the bus driver stopped in the street in some confusion. "Are you lost?" I asked.
"I'm supposed to go to X Street," he said.
Seeing that he was now two blocks away, I told him, "Well you are doing so good! It's right over there, just make a left at that stop sign, go one block and turn left again."
The man was so happy that I had told him that he was "doing good." I know that it made his day. When we picked up the person he was looking for he told her, "We have the most wonderful lady here on the bus with us today!" As they say, some positive reinforcement goes a long way.
And here's the quilt top, all assembled. I get such a feeling of satisfaction when I get something assembled. Especially when I started this with no really clear idea of what it was going to be. I was trying for the free-pieced lettering from Tonya Ricucci's book Word Play Quilts, the liberated style from Gwen Marston's book Liberated Quiltmaking II, and at the same time for a simple color scheme and a bit dignified feeling of a quilt for a young man. Now on to finding a backing and doing the pin basting--

"Slow but sure wins the race."

2011-06-07T14:56:00.000-07:00

OK, just to prove that I'm still working on the quilt, I'm posting this photo. As you can see, (sort of) I've begun to put the blocks together with light brown colored sashes. I've finally completed and squared up 16 blocks. I hope that I can get the whole thing put together in a couple of days or so.

And meanwhile, I've added in a picture of some of the flowers in my cousin's garden. We visited them on the weekend for a lovely day.

I've been doing a bit of knitting and crochet lately. I make a lot of hats for charity.

Complaining seemed to work

2011-06-03T07:56:00.000-07:00

Complaining about Google seemed to have worked--it's back to normal today.

Problems at Google

2011-06-02T15:20:00.000-07:00

I've been very discouraged by Google service lately. I've had a lot of trouble posting comments on blogs. I've also having problems signing in to my Google account. I've looked all this up on Google, and they say in a post dated May 24 that they are aware of this problem and are trying to fix it. Yesterday, I was unable to post a comment on a friend's blog. I sent her an email instead. I hope that they fix this bug really soon.
Also, I was attacked by a rotten virus. It pretended to be an email from a relative. So as they say on TV cop shows, "Be careful out there."

Quilt blocks

2011-05-30T16:06:00.001-07:00

Here are the quilt blocks so far--it doesn't look like much, does it? These liberated churn dash blocks take time, I guess. I make them by using the base-block construction method in Gwen Marston's book called Liberated Quiltmaking II. First I cut out the blue background squares that are each 4 1/2 inches square. Then I cover the corners and edges with pieces of trim, in this case, yellow fabrics. Each part must be squared up and then the block is sewn together into a nine-patch. I must confess that I never planned how big this quilt is going to be, although I'm aiming for approximately twin size. I did not plan how many blocks I'm making, or how I'm going to assemble them. I'm just going to make a bunch more blocks, and then decide what to do--so to be continued--

Thanks so much to Amy for hostessing the Blogger's Quilt Festival. And thanks to Fat Quarter Shop for awarding me a prize of fat quarters!

I went to Florida

2011-05-23T10:48:00.000-07:00

I went to Florida to visit. While there, we went to see the Norton Simon Museum at West Palm Beach. That interesting black construction in the above photo is a sculpture near the entrance. This museum is first class and I loved seeing the really wonderful art and sculpture. I would suggest visiting the museum to anyone who can get there! It's an inspiration. And I enjoyed having reunions with some relatives from both sides of my family.

I went to Boynton Beach. This picture above is the entrance to a restaurant.

This picture is on the wall at my favorite restaurant in Boyton Beach, ZaZa.

Now I'm home again and I hope to get back to my sewing really soon. I thought that I had gotten better from that cold I had, but it flared back up and I had to make an appointment to see my doctor. The further adventures of Roz---to be continued.

Beginning another quilt

2011-05-17T08:45:00.000-07:00

I've been slow to post anything new this past week. I have a cold. Don't I hate when something like that happens. I'm still coughing. So, right before that hit me, I had made a start on a quilt for a young man--I think you can read his name here. This fabric is one of my favorite type of blue fabric--stuff that's cotton, but printed to look like denim. The pattern I decided on is a liberated churn dash or monkey wrench. It also has the titles Hole in the Barn Door, Double Monkey Wrench and Sherman's March. This is according to a book called "The Collector's Dictionary of Quilt Names and Patterns" by Yvonne M. Khin. I bought this book in the B.I. (before the Internet) days. So, as I was saying, I had just made this sample quilt square and started cutting out fabrics when this cold struck me down.
I had a lot of fun reading posts on the Blogger's Quilt Festival. It's fun to see what other quilters are doing. I'm sometimes amazed by the folks who seem to need a whole bunch of other quilters help in order to complete enough squares for a quilt. I guess I'm prejudiced. I remember starting my first quilt and muddling through. I didn't know enough to be intimidated, besides who else did I know in Brooklyn, New York (where I lived back then) in 1961 that knew how to make a quilt? So, what, I thought, I want to make one. I remember sitting in the park with my baby carriage and sewing a quilt block by hand. A lady asked me what I was making. "You can't make a quilt," she said, shaking her head, "you're making a quilt cover." I think she meant a duvet cover. Surprise lady!

Blogger's Quilt Festival

2011-05-13T12:51:00.000-07:00

I thought that I would share this quilt for the Blogger's Quilt Festival. I made this quilt for my granddaughter, and you can read her name right there in the middle! The lettering is free-pieced. I learned how to do this lettering from Tonya Ricucci, and I recommend her book Word Play Quilts. You will notice the liberated Shoo Fly blocks. Gwen Marston's book Liberated Quiltmaking II has directions for those. I have three young granddaughters. I thought that they would like to have colorful quilts for their beds with their names on them. I know that they followed the sewing process by reading my blog posts. When their aunt came to their house with three bags, she said, "Grandma sent three bags with a quilt in each one, but she didn't label the bags, so I don't know who each bag is for!" But the kids said, "Don't worry, Auntie, we'll find out right away!" Now the Blogger's Quilt Festival is at this link: http://amyscreativeside.com/

Applique Spools and Hearts Quilt

2011-05-08T11:29:00.000-07:00

I made this quilt ages ago, I think in 2004. It's mostly made by applique, and is approximately 40 inches square. I saw a photo of a similar quilt in a magazine someplace. I wish I knew where, so if anyone out there has a copy of that old magazine, please send me the name of the designer! I'd like to thank and give her credit. However, I didn't follow the directions in the magazine, only the photo. I figured out how to put it together my own way. The spools were sewn separately, the edges turned under, and then machine appliqued to the quilt block. Over that, I hand embroidered with a blanket stitch. I then turned under the edges of the hearts, and hand appliqued them in position. I hand embroidered the hearts with a blanket stitch. Finally, this quilt is not quilted, instead it is tied by sewing on buttons. I have included a photo of the back of the quilt, which was pieced from scraps.

Wordless Wednesday--Long Beach CA airport

2011-05-04T09:20:00.000-07:00

Log Cabin Baby quilt

2011-05-02T08:39:00.000-07:00

This is the Log Cabin Baby Quilt all quilted and completed! I have machine appliqued a duck in the center. And it has 4 inch strips of fabric sewn all around. Some of the strips are baby-type fabric and some are not. The quilt measures about 39 by 49 inches. The backing is made of flannel. I machine quilted it using the free-motion method. This method is so simple, I recommend it for any small quilt. Safety-pin baste the quilt. Lower the feed dogs, or cover them with a feed-dog cover, whichever your machine will do. Use a free-motion foot on the machine. Set the stitches to very small. I have a pair of gloves that I wear to help control the fabric. I sew a small strip at a time. It helps to practice on a scrap of fabric and batting before beginning.

Denim Medallion Quilt

2011-04-27T11:43:00.000-07:00

This is the denim medallion quilt. It's a tied quilt. I have completed it at last. It uses parts of old blue jeans mixed with fabric scraps. Also included are some quilt blocks of wonky houses and basket pattern. I plan to use the idea of mixing parts of old jeans into patchwork quilts again soon. It's so much fun to do a bit of recycling in a quilt. This quilt could fit in many categories. It has so many influences--quilting books by Gwen Marston, Gee's Bend quilts, Bonnie K. Hunter books, among others.
I was already using this quilt last evening, to cuddle in while resting on the sofa.

continued

2011-04-24T13:26:00.000-07:00

It's been so long since my last post. Needless to say, it's been a full week. I did a little crochet and knitting. And at last today I got back to the sewing machine and sewed the binding on that denim quilt. I have to hem it down during the week. This year I decided to keep track of everything that I finished during the whole year. Here it is nearly the end of April and so far, if my math is correct, I have totally completed 6 quilts and wall hangings, 2 granny afghans (those were donated to charity), and 28 hats, 7 sweaters and 3 pairs of socks. I made more than that, but I'm not going to count the dishcloths and toys and etc. The secret is to be able to knit or crochet while watching TV. I suppose I have a strong desire to complete my projects, because "it ain't finished until the fat lady sings."

Log Cabin Baby quilt

2011-04-15T12:52:00.001-07:00

I made an applique duck for the center of this baby quilt. You see, I've been tying one quilt in the living room and sewing another at the machine. I made a lot of four inch strips for this little creation. The quilt top measures about 39 by 49 inches, and the center rectangle is 11 by 14 1/2 inches (without the seam allowances added). A very interesting thing occurred yesterday, I received a phone call from a second cousin that I had lost track of for many years. They asked their 11 year old granddaughter to get on the computer and locate me! I was able to send them an email and several family photos. Oh these kids! My 5 year old great-niece can already look up the translation of words on her Mom's I Pad.

The denim quilt progress

2011-04-10T10:21:00.000-07:00

As you can see in this photo I'm in the middle of tying that denim quilt. I have found that it's so much fun. I don't have a quilt frame, I have simply done a lot of pin basting, and I tie the quilt while holding it in my lap. A friend gave me a ball of blue crochet cotton (bedspread or #10 size thread) and I thought that blue would go well with that denim and assorted scraps. I use a curved needle for tying. I can do some tying while I watch those lawyer or detective shows on TV, but not while I'm watching a hockey game! I love when the hockey playoffs start. Go Ducks! Meanwhile, back at the sewing machine--I have started another baby quilt. I always have to have some machine sewing to do. I'm so glad that I managed to mail off that baby quilt for the survivors of the Japan disaster. That particular quilt was very quick and easy to make. And one of my grown-up grandsons seemed to want something with his name on it. That's just a dream in the back of my mind right now. I have to come up with a design. Speaking of dreams, last night I had a very realistic dream that it was morning, and I could see out the window that it was raining on the green grass. I opened my eyes and saw that it was pitch black and about 3 AM! Darn I hate when that happens!

Baby quilt for donation

2011-04-04T12:30:00.000-07:00

Spring has sprung. Lots of flowers are blooming. I took a photo today of the flowers by my door. And happy dance time, I have completed this baby quilt. I used some conversation prints and a red solid. And I sewed on a strange print fabric that sort of resembles bananas floating on a pale green background for the outer border. The backing is flannel with birds printed on it. I free-motion quilted it on my sewing machine. I want to mail this quilt to Quilter's Newsletter magazine, where they are collecting donated quilts to ship to disaster survivors. I published their link a couple of posts ago.

I hope that the quilt will comfort some child who has suffered in this terrible event.

And back on the quilting scene, I have to do some major cleaning in my sewing room. I've simply been working at a frantic pace lately. I have gone to the hardware store today and purchased another magnet on a stick--I already broke the first one that I had--to use to pick up stray pins on the floor. And if I scrape up all the bits of scraps scattered here and there, I can actually vacuum this room sometime in the near future. It's a small room where my computer and sewing machine live happily, with modem lights glowing in the dark at night.

Heart applique wall hangings

2011-04-01T14:12:00.000-07:00

Here they are, completed wall hangings. If you look closely you will realize that they are each unique. Similar but not the same--appliques or buttons. And the manatees are swimming on the fabric background. I'm fascinated by those creatures. And although they are bulky, it's nice to know that they are vegetarian and will not take a bite out of swimmers!

A few notes about the sewing construction: First the appliques were made by drawing the heart shapes on the back of iron-in non-woven interfacing. These were placed sticky side to right side of the fabric, and then sewn all around the whole edge. Trim seam, cut a small slit in the interfacing. Turn right side out. And there you have it, the edges are turned under. I hand sewed the appliques to the wall hanging using black embroidery thread and a blanket stitch. Secondly, I didn't sew any binding, I just did a pillowcase turn. I used a solid blue backing, that matched the edges of the wall hanging. Thirdly, I didn't use batting in the wall hangings but I interlined them with flannel. I didn't use any new flannel either, I had a discarded nightgown (washed of course) and I cut the interlinings from the skirt. I edge stitched the wall hangings, catching in a flap of fabric to use for the curtain rod later. But I didn't hem that down in the back until after I had sewn on the button trims.

I hope that I explained that all OK. Actually, it's a very simple sewing method.

Now back to work on my two other quilts that need quilting!

Wordless in Las Vegas

2011-03-29T17:47:00.001-07:00

Baby quilt for donation

2011-03-25T15:21:00.001-07:00

OK, I admit that I haven't finished the denim medallion quilt that I was making in the previous posts (although I did pin baste it.) And I didn't finish those heart wall hangings (but I completed all the applique.) However here I am working on another project while the others languish in the living room, draped on chairs. I wanted to hurry up and start on a baby quilt. I hope to get it completed in plenty of time to donate to the drive for Quilts For Japan, which I mentioned last time. There's a deadline for the end of April. I guess you could call this one an "I spy" type of quilt. And I did select a backing for it already. Why all this rushing? Because now it's Spring Cleaning time around here, and I've already begun on the closets. I work from the bedrooms to the bathrooms, then the living room and finally the kitchen and dining room. Those last two need the most work.

My latest efforts

2011-03-21T08:56:00.000-07:00

I'm making two applique wall hangings. These are intended for my daughter in Florida and her friend. If you look closely, you'll see that I'm using fabric in the background that is printed with pictures of manatees. They are a Florida mammal. I just couldn't resist buying this fabric when I saw it, and I thought it would be so cute for these wall hangings. I have made the hearts with a turn under method, and I'm sewing them to the background with a blanket stitch.
My method for the applique is to trace the shape on the smooth side of iron-on interfacing. Then I place the interfacing sticky side down to right side of the fabric. Sew all around the edge. Trim edges. Cut a hole in the interfacing and turn the applique right side out. Presto, all the edges are turned under, plus you can iron the applique down. I have one of those little craft irons and a Telfon pressing sheet, so I iron only the edges of the appliques flat first. And here are some stuffed animals that I made out of scraps. I got the buttons and the rick rack at a yard sale. And they are stuffed with bits of left over batting, so these are "free" toys in every sense of the word. I made the pattern myself. I drew an oval and improvised. I made similar toys once before, so it was very easy. Everything has to be in triplicate, for three darling granddaughters.

And last of all, I had a stash of baby sweaters and hats that I made and put away for the day that I needed a baby present. And guess what--I needed every one of them. Our town has an adopted Marine contingent, and is putting together a baby shower for Marine Moms. They are making gift baskets for them. Isn't that lovely!

And meanwhile, "back at the ranch," I want to make a baby quilt to send to Japan. Quilter's Newsletter is going to collect them and ship them. For more info, see their web site

http://www.quiltersnewsletter.com/blogs/insideqn/2011/03/18/call-for-quilts-for-japan/

National Quilting Day

2011-03-17T08:43:00.001-07:00

I'm posting photos of a couple of my quilts here in honor of National Quilting Day. It's on March 19, 2011. And that happens to be my birthday, too. I'm going to be 73 years old. So a big salute to all the quilters out there! (And there's a lot of them.) It's our special day. When did I decide to identify myself especially as a "quilter?" I have lots of identities, wife, mother, grandma, author, and so on, but a quilter? It sneaked up on my one day as I sat at my sewing machine sewing an orange fabric next to a red one, I guess.

Denim Medallion

2011-03-13T09:31:00.000-07:00

Thanks for the great comments! I guess I'll just settle for the name Denim Medallion. That covers it, I guess. At least I have sewn on the last border. It turned out to be two green fabrics. I auditioned a few other colors, and this one looked the best to me. Things are a bit busy around here, but I'll try to do some sewing almost every day. I want to pick out a backing, and get this quilt pin basted. But the dining table has a bunch of tax papers on it today. Spring has arrived, we had to remember to change the clocks to Daylight Savings today. I still have a couple of more clocks to do, because my stove and microwave each has a clock, and I have to change them or I'll forget what the time is every time I go into the kitchen. One lovely thing about Spring, besides all the new leaves and flowers is that I have noticed several different kinds of birds have arrived. There are swallows that come here every year. There's even a song about that, "when the swallows come back to Capistrano, that's the time I'll come back home to you." I live not very far from that actual place. And some swallows do nest on a building across the way from me. They are swift fliers and able to perch on the walls. One reason they come back is because they make elaborate nests out of mud, and they like to reuse the old nests.

Name the Blue Jeans Quilt

2011-03-06T08:43:00.000-08:00

I cut up a couple of blue jeans and I cut the legs into strips. I sewed and sewed. Then I put the quilt on the bed and climbed up on a chair--rather dangerous, but I wanted to get a good photo. This thing is kind of getting away from me. When I started out, I had no idea how big I was going to make it--it simply insisted upon growing and growing. Because if I added a piece here, well then a piece needed to be added there, and so on. I'm starting to feel like Dr. Frankenstein or something. This photo is taken today and the size is 48 by 64 inches. I think I will be adding a simple border of some kind--probably some solid color?

I would appreciate any comments on how you would categorize or name this denim and fabric quilt. It's not a contest--I won't be sending out any fat quarters or anything like that.

Improvised Denim Quilt

2011-03-03T13:07:00.001-08:00

OK, I'm having way too much fun! I've just been winging it. One thing I learned--find your sewing machine zipper foot. It makes it a lot easier to sew seams that are very close to the pocket of the jeans. I've been chopping away at the old jeans, cutting them into strips and rectangles. I refuse to post a photo of what my sewing area looks like at the moment. Would you imagine the words topsy turvey? I know I will be sewing on a few strips of fabric next, but after that--to be continued--tune in next time--

Denim revisited

2011-03-02T08:42:00.001-08:00

I'm now having a lot of fun sewing together scraps of old jeans along with fabric. I want to try surrounding denim scraps with patches. Some time ago I made some quilts that were mostly made from old jeans with only a tiny bit of cotton fabric seaming the denim scraps together. Now I want to try making a quilt that has just as much scrap fabric as denim. We'll just have to see how that works out. It's an experiment.
I've been surfing around the net to look at some blogs of quilters and sewing enthusiasts. What fun, and such colorful posts. Very interesting to see the blogs of folks who sew pincushions, table runners and tea cozies and so forth.

Flannel scrap quilt--completed

2011-02-28T08:42:00.000-08:00

Good news--I have completed this little flannel quilt. It's constructed using only scraps left over from other quilts that I have made. Finished size is 35 by 40 inches. This quilt is destined to be donated to SPINOC--an organization that helps homeless folks get situated in a job and a nice place to live.
Either the baby quilt is used to cuddle the baby when it's cold, or it is put on the floor for baby to play on. Babies love this kind of patchwork quilt, and will drag the quilt around until it finally wears out and is in shreds. I've received photos from a Mom whose kids would not part with these old things even when the quilt was in rags and the kid was in grade school. (Of course I made new, bigger quilts for those kids!)

String Quilt

2011-02-24T11:48:00.001-08:00

All finished! This string quilt was very quick and easy to make. I got to use up a lot of scraps. I sewed on a blue binding. I finally finished the hand sewing of the binding while I was watching TV. American Idol seems to be having big ratings this year. I like The Defenders too. And lots of mindless TV stuff. While I watch TV I usually sew or knit.
I'm busy now free-motion quilting that flannel quilt that I'm working on. I might slow up a bit and try making table runners or something else for a change. And good news--my grandchildren cleaned their closets and I will receive a bunch of old blue jeans. I've made a gallery of photos of denim quilts on my Flickr page. Some folks seem to have success in combining parts of old jeans with fabrics, making charming quilts. I bet I could sew some place mats that way, too. I did make a couple of quilts using blue jeans and they came out OK, but they are very heavy. I thought that only using jeans for parts of the quilt may work out better?

Flannel scrap quilt

2011-02-22T14:28:00.000-08:00

As Ronald Reagan used to say, shaking his head, "There you go again!" I haven't finished sewing the binding on the last quilt, but here I am, I guess it's nervous energy--making another baby quilt--I often use flannel for quilt backings. This will result in long strips being left over when the edges are trimmed. It was a simple matter to cut these strips with a rotary cutter, especially since no special width was required for this quilt. I merely cut the strips as wide as I could. I joined them together in a log cabin style, trimming the lengths of the strips after each one was joined. I used a wider than the usual 1/4 inch seam, nearly 1/2 inch. And the result was a baby-sized quilt top. I found a couple of left over pieces of batting to join together. I join batting scraps by butting the edges and quickly hand sewing with quilting thread. And I pawed through my stash and managed to find a nice bit of baby fabric for the backing. The result is that now I will have to figure out what I feel like making next! Not so fast--I do need to quilt this!

Left-overs

2011-02-18T12:33:00.001-08:00

As the old saying goes, "if life gives you lemons, make lemonade." Here's a photo of a baby quilt I made a while ago. I had some left-over four patches from a quilt I made back in 2005. They were left over because I substituted some appliqued patches in that four-patch quilt. So what I did with these blocks is to combine them with some squares of kid fabric and make a baby quilt. The patches are about 7 1/2 inches square and the quilt itself is about 45 inches square. Now what happened to this quilt is that I finished it, put it away on the closet shelf and forgot about it. My life was very busy back in 2005. However, I have now taken it out and I plan to donate it to charity the first chance that I get--hopefully next week! Meanwhile, I have managed to get the string quilt free-motion quilted and I'm sewing the binding on, as shown in the bottom photo.

Meanwhile "back at the ranch" as they used to say in those old Roy Rogers movies, the quilt which I donated for Alzheimer's Disease Research has gone on sale on their web site. It's number 6290. I have a logo of this charity web site on here, see below.

Wednesday in Rancho Santa Margarita

2011-02-16T08:35:00.000-08:00

String quilt (another one)

2011-02-10T11:52:00.000-08:00

One of the happiest times of my day is when I'm sitting at the sewing machine. I love putting colors together. Someone recently emailed to me that I ought to learn more about how to put colors together and not be so timid. She must be living on the moon. I'm still laughing. I ought to have saved her exact statement. But I erased it. Anyway, here is the latest effort. I have made similar quilts before. I want to sew on a border today. After this, I have no exact plan of what to make next. No problem, I will no doubt grab a bunch of scraps (there's so many littering my sewing area) and start on a donation quilt. I have been constantly making hats for the charity that my knitting group sends stuff to. Lately I have found a lot of sport yarn for baby hats. Folks donate yarn to our group.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-02-09T10:34:00.001-08:00

Easy Baby Quilt, completed

2011-02-07T16:12:00.000-08:00

So, I finally decided to free-motion quilt this quilt. And look at the nice hunk (a technical quilting term) of green flannel print that I rounded up from my stash to use for the backing. I recommend this easy quilt layout (see previous post for the recipe) for any kind of quilt, it could be using a color scheme (forgive me for using the term "color scheme") on this blog! Anyhow, the quilt could have all the same color plain squares alternating with a traditional quilt pattern such as nine patch, four patch, bow tie, or whatever. Even some applique could be thrown (Roz, how could you--applique is never thrown!) in. While it doesn't show up very well in the photo, I sewed on a yellow binding. So it's all ready for the next baby who comes along--there's always a baby! Although there seems to be a lot of baby girls in the family. I knitted a blue baby layette set a couple of years ago and no takers.

Speaking of knitting, I made some socks for myself for a change (I'm usually giving them away). I wear heavy socks to bed on cold nights. I found this pattern a long time ago, it's for a different type of heel called a peasant heel or afterthought heel. You knit the sock and you place some stitches on a spare bit of yarn, and after you do the toe, you go back, take out the bit of yarn and knit a heel with a method that is just about the same as the toe. So very easy.

L'Chaim to Life! wall hanging

2011-02-04T15:09:00.000-08:00

I'm so excited to have completed this wall hanging! It was a lot of fun to make. I just love doing the free-pieced letters. Hebrew was a challenge. I hand quilted the piece. I added a bit of hand embroidery (outline stitch) to the leaves. I plan to insert a curtain rod in the back. I have sewn a hanging sleeve on there.

It's Wordless Wednesday

2011-02-02T15:58:00.000-08:00

Very easy baby quilt

2011-02-01T13:25:00.001-08:00

Here's the easy quilt. There's alternating plain and pieced squares. And the recipe is as follows: cut 10 plain squares (I used a bunch of different children's prints.) Sew 10 pieced squares. I just made free-pieced blocks--using up a bunch of scraps. All blocks are cut 6 1/2 inches square and that includes the 1/4 inch seam allowances. Then I cut sashes that were 2 1/2 inches wide. You need 7 strips, but if you are willing to piece them, you only need 6 strips. The borders are 4 1/4 inches wide, cut 4 of those. The quilt will finish up about 38 by 46 inches. So it will be simple to make a backing and use a baby quilt batt. Furthermore, if you piece the quilt by joining horizontally, four blocks at a time, there is no need to worry, the blocks will all fit together--and alternate naturally, because there are two pieced and two plain on each of the five rows. I've got to get this thing basted today! Meanwhile, I'm doing hand applique on the wall quilt. (See previous post.)

And a little bit of applique

2011-01-30T15:30:00.001-08:00

I'm adding a couple of flowers to my wall hanging today, in between watching the Figure Skating on TV. I've been hesitating so much on this thing. I have to keep reminding myself that it's only a little bit of fabric. It's not my only project either, as I sewed a few quilt blocks besides. Thanks for all the encouraging comments that have come in! I want to remember to give credit to the inspiration of Tanya Watanabe's quilt with the Japanese lettering that was published in the book Word Play Quilts by Tonya Ricucci.

I hear music--up on the roof

2011-01-26T09:13:00.001-08:00

"Turn off that blasted fiddle music!" my mother used to yell at me, just like moms do now about hip hop. I grew up on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia. And Cape Breton had its own brand of country fiddle music. Nowadays, I guess the best recordings of that style are by Natalie MacMaster.
However, this wall hanging I'm attempting to make (with the encouragement of Tonya Ricucci's book Word Play Quilts) is about an altogether different fiddle music. One of the most successful Broadway shows, and a movie (three Academy Awards) was called Fiddler on the Roof --music by Jerry Bock and lyrics by Sheldon Harnick. The original story was written by Sholem Aleichem in the book Tevya and His Daughters. And the words to the L'Chaim song are: "Drink l'chaim, to life! God would like us to be joyful. Even though our hearts lie panting on the floor; ..." Actually, the saying "L'Chaim to Life." is a traditional toast. Chai--the word "Life" in English--has a lot of meaning. I could write a book about the word. I wouldn't know where to even begin. Chai is a loaded word, to say the least. I ought to do a series of wall hangings of it.
So anyhow, back to sewing, I looked up the Hebrew spelling for the word L'chaim. In Hebrew the "to" is a prefix. That's an l sound. It's the long letter on the right--Hebrew is from right to left. The letter looks like an English l on the top, see, with a long tail underneath. I have to now sew some fabric to the sides of the words and assemble them. I will then decide how to go from there, maybe some applique.

Half Log Cabin Quilt

2011-01-21T13:12:00.000-08:00

I'm so happy to have completed this quilt. I tried to do something different--I used left over strings from the quilt for the binding. Lots of quilters do this, but it's a first for me. I just joined assorted bits together. I think that this binding goes with such a scrappy quilt. Now, why was I in a bit of a rush? Because ever since I got my hands on Tonya Ricucci's book Word Play Quilts, I've been mulling over in my mind what to make. This book is so inspiring! Anyhow, I decided what to make--a wall hanging. And I even did some research--yes, this wall hanging actually required a little bit of double checking--and then how to arrange the words. But my worst struggle was the colors. I keep telling myself to make beige lettering, but GREEN lettering keeps popping into my mind! Oh the decisions. What a lovely dilemma. And then there's the size--to be continued....

Half log cabin--Falling Timbers

2011-01-17T10:44:00.001-08:00

This is how I decided to assemble those half-log-cabin quilt squares. I believe this arrangement of blocks has a name--Falling Timbers. This title reminds me of the pioneers of America who cleared forests and made farms. Anyhow, what happened is that after I made twenty blocks, I started to run out of the dark 2 1/2 inch wide strips. So I measured, and decided that I had enough blocks to make a throw or lap-sized quilt. And I added a green border. I used to not care much for green, but the last few years, after seeing so many quilters using green to such an advantage on their blogs, I changed my mind about the color. As a matter of fact, I think that I will be using some bright green on my next "creation". Meanwhile, I have a nice piece of green flannel in the wash machine at the moment, and plan to use it for the backing of this quilt. I have an idea in my mind, to make a wall hanging with the help of my new book, "Word Play Quilts," by Tonya Ricucci. Ever since I acquired the book, I've been having a good time planning a free-pieced something.

Half Log Cabin I Spy Quilt

2011-01-11T13:01:00.000-08:00

I completed this quilt in March 2009. I guess that I had forgotten it. But a dear friend just gave birth to a beautiful girl. I was looking in my closet for a baby gift. I confess that my closet is not as organized as it might be. Oh, dear, here come the Quilt Police--anyhow, what a good time to find this baby quilt. It's a Half Log Cabin pattern. The novelty fabrics are cut in 6 1/2 inch squares (includes the seam allowance) and the light and dark fabric strips are 1 3/4 inches wide. The finished size of the quilt is about 35 by 44. The backing is flannel. The quilt is tied by machine. My sewing machine (Viking) has a setting for doing machine quilt tying. I don't think I would necessarily machine tie a very large quilt, but baby size is quite easy.
I'm a bit behind in my sewing lately, but I know that I'll catch up. Meanwhile, I went to the Scrap booking store today. In this town where we live, there is a big scrap booking store, and no other craft store. I pleaded with the management to at least start to stock some fat quarters and knitting yarn. We have to drive miles just to buy a button around here! Scrap booking is a big hobby, this store is stocked like a supermarket with aisles of the supplies. I don't want to even look at it, and to avoid temptation. As it is, I'm wracking my brain on finding a place to stash all my yarn. My yarn stash is getting out of hand around here. I refuse to mention my huge fabric stash, my lips are sealed.

New Year 2011

2011-01-07T11:55:00.000-08:00

Happy 2011! Let's start the new year. I've finished the granny afghan. Actually, what happened is that I have used up all of my black yarn, or I would have added another row to the outside edge. So the afghan is ready to be donated for charity. I made so many afghan squares that I have quite a few left over and I'll be able to crochet another afghan pretty soon. I like this pattern, because the squares are joined as you go, instead of having to be assembled by sewing or crocheting them together--that's not very well explained, I guess, but people who crochet afghans will understand what I mean.

And I have taken a photo of some of the half log cabin blocks that I've finished so far. These things are a little bit tricky, I've learned that there's a right and left way to do these--and I made that mistake already on one of them. I have not made up my mind on how I will arrange the blocks in the final quilt, or even how many of them I'm making. That will just be more fun for me later. No hurry.

Thanks to all my friends who have posted such kind comments on my blog, I appreciate it very much. And a little PS--on that complaint I was making about Medicare--we have ironed it out as best we can and things are OK at the moment.

Bricks quilt

2010-12-30T12:48:00.001-08:00

Well, I was pleasantly surprised when this Bricks quilt was completed. I was impressed by the contrast between the light and dark sections. That made the pattern much more interesting. Sometimes the full visual impact only occurs when viewing the completed project. The fabrics in this quilt comprise some of my very oldest scraps, along with a couple of fat quarters that I received as holiday gifts. I have included a couple of photos I took of the succulent plants that I grow on the ledge of my terrace. Clare http://dordognequilter.blogspot.com/ challenged us to post some photos of things in our ordinary lives. By the way, she is also collecting quilt blocks for "Quilts 4 leukaemia." I'm hoping to sew a block or two for that cause. Many years ago when I was a nurse, leukaemia was a virtual death sentence for kids. At least now the medical profession has some treatments for the disease.

Dove quilt

2010-12-26T10:10:00.001-08:00

This is the Dove quilt completed. Now I have to do the application process at http://www.alzquilts.org/index.html because this quilt is to be donated to the great cause of medical research to find help for those suffering with Alzheimer's Disease. It took six hours to make. It's an original design of mine. And I hand appliqued, embroidered and quilted it. But it's quite tiny, under 9 by 12 inches. The embroidery stitches are blanket stitch and fly stitch. Now on to the exciting topic of Tonya Ricucci's book Word Play Quilts. I'm the proud owner of a copy. It's so well written. And the illustrations are excellent. Tonya, it's a triumph! I'm sure that it will be a popular book with quilters, and words will be sprouting up on all sorts of quilts. Furthermore, the book has a great deal of humor, and it's entertaining. That's a big achievement for a technical book. For anyone who has been in the Antarctic for the past few months, Tonya's blog is http://lazygalquilting.blogspot.com/

Advancing on the brick quilt

2010-12-18T11:49:00.001-08:00

About the changes in my husband's Medicare: My husband's new doctor was very good, and reassuring. My granddaughter came with us in the special taxi to help with the wheelchair. My husband tolerated the trip. He's back safely in the Care Home. So far, so good.

So now I was doing some quilting! I sewed the brick quilt patches together. As you can see, I have the ends extending. I decided not to drive myself crazy figuring out the size and placement of the end patches. I just will trim those extra ends off now and baste the quilt.

And I'm so excited about the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative http://www.alzquilts.org/index.html that I decided to start another quilt for that. I'm making a hand-appliqued and embroidered block. I designed this block in 2005, and I used it in a tea cozy and in a "bird" quilt. I had to make the design in a smaller size to fit into the requirements for these donation quilts. I plan to hand quilt it.

Season's Greetings and Happy New Year!

Quilters raise money for research on Alzheimer's Disease

2010-12-13T16:43:00.000-08:00

Here's the link
http://wp.me/pZ0C5-5r

And life goes on

2010-12-12T09:21:00.000-08:00

It's been a rather trying week for me. I don't usually mention personal stuff. But the truth is that I have a sick husband and the changes in Medicare have had a big effect on his medical care. The Medicare has changed the criteria for what kind of care you can get from the Medical Insurance. The nurses at the Medical Insurance could hardly believe it themselves. Anyhow it now turns out that it doesn't matter how weak and frail you are anymore. Instead, Medicare judges if they think you need medical nursing care or not, and the answer is--NOT MUCH. So I was busy arranging for him to have a new doctor and other important stuff. Imagine me not feeling like doing a lot of quilting? I cut out some strips though, for my current project. And I sat around sort of gritting my teeth and I crocheted a lot of squares from scraps of left-over yarn. I'm making a granny afghan for charity.

Just to prove that I still have lots to be thankful for in my life, I'm putting in a nice photo of sunset over the shopping center. My family has been great and very supportive, and we've been enjoying the Holiday. That includes my husband who ate chocolate and sang happily when we went over to the Care Home to celebrate with him.

In honor of Tonya Ricucci's book

2010-12-07T08:13:00.000-08:00

Today is the big day--Tonya Ricucci's book Word Play Quilts published by Martingale is being released. In her honor, I'm posting some of the quilts and wall hangings I made recently through her tutelage. Tonya's blog http://lazygalquilting.blogspot.com/ has been a big inspiration to so many quilters!

Two for the price of one

2010-12-01T08:56:00.001-08:00

I couldn't decide whether to make a Bricks quilt or a Half-log cabin pattern. I realized that I was digging through my scraps for the quilt blocks and that both have to be made with a definite dark and light assortment of scraps. So why not cut out both types of blocks at once? Maybe I can finally really use up some of this old fabric. I have scraps that hang around for years before I decide what to do with them. I finally made a start on them yesterday. I made my sample blocks. Sample blocks are so important. Sometimes I think that I like a pattern, but when I make the sample I decide that making this quilt block is such a drag--forget about it. Anyhow, down to brass tacks, the bricks are cut out 6 1/2 inches by 4 1/2 inches. The Half Log Cabin is made with 2 1/2 inch strips. These measurements include the seam allowances.

The other photo is of a big bunch of baby hats that I made for charity. There is a nice lady that comes around to our knitting group and donates baby receiving blankets that she makes. She sews flannel into receiving blankets by the "pillowcase" method. The blankets are so nice. And she asked us ladies who knit and crochet to make some hats to go with them. I thought--how does a hat go with a receiving blanket? But my daughter pointed out to me that if a mother has a nice blanket, and can pop a cap on the baby, the baby will be all cozy to go out. So I dug through my left over scraps of yarn (I'm a real scrap collector, aren't I?) and I surfed the Net for directions. I tested out some of the directions that I found. I still need good directions for a knitted hat that uses sport yarn.

It's Holiday time, so Happy Chanukah to all my Jewish friends!

Completed flannel quilt

2010-11-24T09:09:00.000-08:00

I thought I would add some autumn photos to my blog today. These trees line the street near my house. I call that a California maple, but I'm no plant expert. Anyway, it's a charming tree and they grow lots of them around here. I figure if I can't travel to New England to see the fall colors, I'll just take a walk in my neighborhood. As Rabbe Nachman of Breslov said, "Have you looked up at the sky this morning?"

Good news, I've completed the little scrap flannel quilt, sewn on the binding--and it's all ready to go to the charity. I quilted it by sewing one of the fancy stitches on my machine along the seam lines, and down the centers of the blocks. Finishing this quilt was a challenge from Finn at http://finnleah.blogspot.com/ Pieces From my Scrapbag Blog--to complete unfinished quilt tops by New Year's. I guess that I made it on time. I'm now in a thinking mode, as I decide what quilt pattern to make next. I want to donate another quilt. The charity group that I volunteer for asked for blankets--so it's blankets they will get. I'm also making a granny afghan using bits of left over knitting worsted yarn. Got a granny block done last night while watching TV.

Happy Thanksgiving! My daughter and son-in-law live near me, and I'm going over to their house for dinner. What I love most about Thanksgiving is joining with family and friends for a lovely time together. It's a big group hug.

Flannel scrap quilt

2010-11-19T10:46:00.000-08:00

I'm using left-over bits of flannel to make a baby quilt. I plan to donate the quilt to a charity. These flannel strips are from the back edges of flannel-backed quilts that I've made in the last year or two. I've got to confess, that I save nearly every scrap. In fact, the laundry hamper where I store bits and pieces is just about to overflow, no matter how many quilts I make out of it. I even have enough flannel scraps left to make one or two more quilts--and I'm only talking about the flannel--never mind the ordinary cotton stuff! About sewing flannel quilts, I should mention that I use a fatter seam than the usual 1/4 inch. My sewing machine has an easy adjustment for the needle. I hope that I can complete quilting this by New Year's!

My public library has a used book store that's run by volunteers. Today was their semi-annual sale. I got there really early and bought some quilt books. These books look like they have a lot of antique quilt pictures. I love to see the old-time handiwork. I also bought a lovely book about wild flowers, and so on. I'll be reading all weekend, I guess. And a reminder--Tonya Ricucci's book "Word Play Quilts" is due out the end of December. I've already pre-ordered my copy.

The challenge quilt

2010-11-14T11:15:00.000-08:00

I'm so pleased to report that I have completed my challenge quilt for http://lazygallibamish2010.blogspot.com/ This quilt was a really big task for me. First, I researched Gee's Bend quilts and Amish quilts. I actually went to the library and looked in their reference books. I decided that Amish Bars pattern and some Gee's Bend quilts had a lot in common. The rules of Lazy Gal's Challenge were no rulers, templates or rotary cutters. And use a lot of solid colors. I found cutting long strips of fabrics using only scissors and by eye was difficult, unless I decided to simply have fun with it. You know that saying, "don't stress the small stuff." I pulled out a bunch of scraps for the scrappy row that I made going down the whole quilt. Then I used the size that that came out to be for the approximate length of the strips. If the strips were too long, I chopped them off, and if too short, I did what Gee's Bend quilt ladies do, and added a scrap to the edge. The edges of the quilt were quite uneven. So instead of quilting, I tied with size 10 crochet cotton. I use a curved needle when I tie a quilt. I think I ended up with what the quilting books politely call a "utility quilt." I didn't actually know if I liked this quilt all the way through the creating process. It was only after I finished hemming down the grey binding on the outside edge, that the full impact of the quilt was apparent. You know what, I decided that I like it just as well as any other quilt I have made!

Embroidered Thanksgiving wall hanging

2010-11-10T09:06:00.001-08:00

Good news, I finished hand-embroidering and hand-quilting this wall hanging. I'm giving it to my daughter to use for a decoration this Thanksgiving. She's the one who makes the delicious meal (I help a little bit) at her house every year! A big crowd of family and friends enjoy it so much.

I bought this pattern from http://www.memesquilts.com/ It's supposed to be made into a pillow--but it's the right size for a wall hanging. I need to purchase a curtain rod or a dowel for the back, and I have a nice cord for hanging it up.

I'm really trying to get my projects finished by the New Year--I have that flannel quilt to put together, and I'm still tying the quilt that I made for http://lazygallibamish2010.blogspot.com/

There's always knitting and crocheting, but I refuse to count that stuff. Needless to say, I do get those done as I go along, but I'm always starting more! And I'm always making a hat for charity. Those hat projects fit into my purse, and I bring them along to work on when I go out.

Well, I got really tired of struggling with the postings and I reset my blog to the old method of posting. I wish that Google wouldn't put out "new" stuff until they get the bugs out!!

Stars Baby Quilt

2010-11-07T10:46:00.000-08:00

Here's my Star quilt, all completed! I'm quite pleased with the result. Now I'm going on to the next project, which is making a flannel quilt. It is intended to be for a donation, and I'm using some of the flannel scraps that I have hanging around here--as it were. I promised for a Challenge on Pieces From my Scrapbag Blog which is http://finnleah.blogspot.com

that I would complete the flannel quilt before New Years! Meanwhile, the Thanksgiving embroidery is nearly done. I hope to post that one someday soon. Also, I slipped in a photo of a baby sweater that I knitted. I love making baby things--it's like they say about eating peanuts--you can't eat only one. (Golly, in my case I really cannot eat actual peanuts.) Anyhow, the directions for this sweater are free from Lion Brand Yarn. http://www.lionbrand.com/patterns/50678AD.html

I like raglan sweaters because they are knitted all in one piece.

Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative

2010-11-05T09:27:00.000-07:00

Thanks so much to Michelle at http://with-heart-and-hands.blogspot.com/for getting in touch with me. She did a lot of computer search stuff to figure out that this quilt that I donated was at the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Iniative at Houston International Quilt Festival. http://www.alzquilts.org/ I titled the quilt "Tribute to Modigliani."

Busy

2010-11-02T11:00:00.000-07:00

All kinds of adventures have occurred since my last post. I recovered from all my medical stuff except for an attack of arthritis--and at this stage in my life, arthritis doesn't count anymore. And a lovely event, a family visit. So much fun seeing everyone! We took the grand kids ( well the adults liked it, too) to see Peter Pan. It was a big production put on in a giant tent. Peter Pan and Tinkerbell were flying through the air on enormous wires. Lots of fun for all of us! And then we had Halloween.Tons and tons of candy--funny costumes!
Meanwhile, I haven't completed one thing! But I started on another project, pictured here. I'm making an embroidered wall hanging for Thanksgiving. So I moved that to the front of the line, as I have to get it done on time. I ordered the pattern from http://www.memesquilts.com/ Sherri's web site has all this primitive embroidery stuff on it. I've bought from Meme's Quilts before. This web site has no connection with me personally.
That "stars" baby quilt is nearly done, I just have to hem down the binding.
Now about the top photo--that big pile of left-over flannel--it's for a charity quilt. I often sew a quilt backing in flannel. As soon as enough flannel scraps accumulate, I can start to make a quilt out of them.

Are the stars out tonight?

2010-10-24T08:52:00.000-07:00

Here's a photo of my Star quilt. I have it all pin basted. That's in spite of my feeling a bit sick lately. I'm getting discouraged. I was planning to be all back to normal long before this. I guess it's what happens when you get older (and older)! I've begun to free-motion quilt this today. That ought to lift my spirits.

I'm posting some pictures of the tree that flowers every year in back of my condo. I just love this tree and I notice that hummingbirds do too. I used to know the name of this kind of tree, but it escapes me right now. The streets around here are lined with trees, and many of them are of this variety.

That's the wonderful thing about California, there's trees and flowers blooming all year around. Some people say that they miss the snowy weather. But it happens that if you drive up to the tops of the mountains there is snow there in the winters and people can go skiing and snow boarding.

Thanks to all the kind folks who look at and/or post comments on my blog. I appreciate it. I've been surfing around looking at all my blogging friends as much as I can--so many really interesting and creative quilters! I have to remind myself to get back to sewing sometimes.

How to make coasters

2010-10-18T13:35:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted for a few days because I was a bit under the weather. This is not a medical blog, but let me say that I've got three different medical appointments this week, and let it go at that.

Boy oh boy, what a struggle I had trying to post these photos in any kind of order. If anyone has any helpful hints in how to post a bunch of photos without wasting an hour, please let me know. I decided to make some coasters for gifts and I figured I would post some photos of how I'm doing it.

First of all, I cut out three 5 inch squares, a backing and a front, of course, and I decided to cut an interlining. I pinned the backing and interlining together with a piece of batting that was cut in a 4 1/2 inch square sandwiched in the middle. I sewed the sandwich together all around in a 1/4 inch seam. Place the backing and the top right sides together and sew around the edge. Leave an opening on one side for turning. Trim the corners. Turn right side out and sew the opening closed. There you have it. I tried machine quilting one of the coasters in the center, and the other one, I just sewed and extra row of stitching all around the edge about 1/4 inch inside of the first one. A set of four or six coasters would make a nice little gift, just tie with a ribbon.

Stars Baby Quilt, ready to be quilted

2010-10-10T10:39:00.000-07:00

I'm making progress on this quilt. I sewed on the green gingham border. So now, I still have to finish tying (not much headway there) the liberated quilt I made for the Amish-Gee's Bend Challenge (see previous posts) and I have to pin baste this one. I'll be busy. I don't like to have a lot of quilt tops hanging around, so to speak. It's important to me to complete each quilt top as I go along. I feel a real sense of accomplishment after I finish sewing on the binding. So now I have two to work on. I'm also crocheting a shrug for myself, knitting a sweater for my daughter, plus I had a big idea yesterday on how to use up some green baby yarn that's been in my stash for ages, and started knitting a baby sweater. This sounds like a big bunch of stuff, but--I did complete a sweater and cap for my granddaughter yesterday evening--so stuff is getting done, eventually. By the way, I made a baby hat and booties for my doctor last week. I have an appointment with her this week. My dentist just went on maternity leave, too. Good news, people keep having babies!
And another thing, I'm reading a cute book That Dorky Homemade Look by Lisa Boyer. It's an amusing book about sewing quilts. A quote: "Give it (the quilt) to someone you love dearly. They must drag it around the house, wrap themselves up in it when they have a fever, spill something brown on it..."

How our little "Stars" are doing

2010-10-08T09:49:00.000-07:00

First of all, welcome to new followers of this blog! There are so many interesting blogs out there now. I could spend hours surfing around the net. But back to my sewing. I made some alternate crazy-pieced blocks for this quilt. I don't use any foundation for my free-pieced crazy squares. I simply keep joining my scraps together until I have a block of big enough size, then I square it up. I do lots of pressing of the seams. A quilt like this could be made using any design you choose for the appliques, and any background(s). I have found in my stash a nice chunk of green gingham for the border. I don't see many quilters using gingham these days. It's very versatile. And can be used in a variety of different ways. I'll be stitching on the border next--to be continued...

Star baby quilt--the beginning

2010-10-03T09:15:00.000-07:00

Well, I was a bit under the weather for a few days, in more ways than one! Besides my not feeling well, we went from having comparatively cool type weather all summer to having the hottest day ever recorded. It was as if all that summer heat that we had avoided decided to hit us in only one day! Lucky me, I had my AC repaired recently, and it was up and running for that blast of heat. And people say that we have no weather to speak about in Southern California.

I have begun sewing a baby quilt, which was the next thing on my sewing list. I turn under the edges of the stars by sewing them to fusible interfacing. Placing right side of fabric to sticky side of interfacing, I sew all around the edges, then I cut a little hole in the interfacing and turn the star right side out. Presto, all the edges are turned under. I then press the stars to the quilt square and machine sew the edges. I plan to make alternate squares in a free-pieced crazy square. I have a lot of scraps of kid-type fabric left over from that I Spy quilt that I made. So now is the perfect time to get some of them sewn up.

It's an Oldie

2010-09-22T16:50:00.000-07:00

The nights are getting colder, and I grabbed this quilt out of the closet. I made this quilt in 1996. The blocks are made totally of scraps. I got the dark blue used in the blocks at a charity rummage sale. Someone had donated what are called "cut aways." Those are scraps of fabrics left over when clothing is sewn commerically. The assorted white scraps were left over from my sewing. Many of the centers of the blocks were also left overs from when I was sewing blouses for the summer. This is a tied quilt, and the backing is pieced from part of a white sheet and some muslin. I threw the quilt in the dryer and fluffed it a bit. It is still as cozy as when I sewed it.

A Challenge is a challenge

2010-09-19T11:22:00.000-07:00

I really am grateful to Tonya for the challenge! http://lazygallibamish2010.blogspot.com/ At first, I thought that I was making the world's most unlovely quilt. But being as spontaneous as you can grows on you. And I found great satisfaction when combining the fabrics and colors. I have added three border strips to the quilt since the last post. And now I feel that I have finished the top. There's a bit of a way to go yet, as I decide how to quilt it. I'm thinking about hand quilting it, except that my arthritis might not like all that stitching. I may have to tie it. Because of the unevenness of the top, I think that machine quilting would make big puckers.

Needing advice

2010-09-14T11:16:00.000-07:00

Here is my work on the Challenge http://lazygallibamish2010.blogspot.com/so far, and it has been challenging! I already posted a photo of this quilt top. Now I have added borders--so what did I do? I decided to do what Gee's Bend quilting ladies might do, and I added strips of fabric that were left over from making the backs of some previous quilts. I always cut a generous backing, and there is often a strip left over after I trim when adding the bindings. What the photo shows--I spread the quilt top on my bed, so please disregard the yellow edges, that's simply the background quilt. My questions are: Is this enough? What does the quilt need, within the requirements of the challenge?

I Spy Quilt

2010-09-12T10:41:00.000-07:00

Here is a photo of the completed I Spy quilt. I free-motion quilted it. This time, I tried to make some circles in the quilting, and I like it. I think that it makes a light-hearted touch. I have to use this method more often, I think. The difficult thing for me now is mailing this quilt to the library where it is being donated. But good news, I have a box to pack it in. Now back to the salt mines, as my mother used to say--I want to do some creative sewing on that challenge quilt!
New Year greetings to all my Jewish friends--may you be Inscribed in the Book of Life for a very good year.

In Memory

2010-09-08T09:49:00.001-07:00

Beginning the challenge for http://lazygallibamish2010.blogspot.com/

2010-09-06T14:27:00.000-07:00

OK, I started on The Challenge. And the first thing I want to say is that I hope that I haven't offended either the great Amish or great Gee's Bend quilting ladies with my effort! Well, I got out the scissors (according to the rules, no measuring and no rotary blades) and I went to town. The quilt that I used for my basis is a typical Amish Bars pattern, such as in the book "The World of Amish Quilts" by Rachel and Kenneth Pellman. And the second thing I have to tell you is remember that perfect 1/4 inch seam that you pride yourself on--"fegget about it!" I mostly tried for about 1/2 inch. And the third thing is it ain't done yet--I have to add the borders. As far as the ironing is concerned, what you see is what you get--and it ain't pretty! That quilt fabric stands out like a sail in a breeze. Don't know how I'll ever quilt this thing--maybe I'll tie it? I'm glad that I bought some of that orange color fabric a few weeks ago, I must have known in my heart that I needed it. And I need to make a note to myself to buy more grey. I bought that a couple of years ago, and it's nearly used up now.

I Spy quilt top

2010-08-31T13:01:00.000-07:00

I've done lots of sewing and joined all the blocks. And I had one yard of cute fabric with little fish swimming on it for the border. It's so fortuitous to have something in your stash that suddenly proves to be exactly what is needed. Now I plan to piece together some large leftover pieces of batting for the quilt. For the backing, I still have some of that baby fabric given to me by friends some years ago. I think that it must have been a whole bolt, because I have sewn it to the back of numerous quilts, and I still have some left. Usually I put flannel on baby quilts, but this quilt is destined for the library Mommy and Me Story Time, so I thought that flannel would get dirty faster than plain fabric.

Little I-Spy quilt underway

2010-08-27T10:24:00.000-07:00

As you can see in the photo, I'm starting to sew the I-Spy quilt together. It's a little tricky arranging the blocks. I decided to join it in strips, and to pin a paper with the row number on each row. First of all, I want to make the assorted colors so that they don't butt up against the same color. And I'm trying to keep the prints with a definite up or down side pointing right way up. And I want to have the seams turned each way, short pieces to long pieces. A little patience is required. Meanwhile, I'm trying to decide on my next project.

And it got really hot here, and I have the repair man coming to do something to my air conditioner today. And I'm still afraid to purchase eggs.

Egg-less cake--for these egg-less days!

2010-08-23T12:50:00.000-07:00

2 cups light brown sugar, packed
2 cups hot water
1/4 cup margarine
2 cups raisins
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons cold water
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
Boil together the sugar, 2 cups hot water, margarine and raisins. Allow to cool. Add baking soda dissolved in 2 teaspoons cold water. Sift together the flour and dry ingredients and mix all ingredients together well. Pour into a greased and floured 9 by 5 by 3 inch loaf pan. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 1 1/2 hours, or until cake tests done. Set pan on a rack for 10 minutes, then turn cake out to cool. Does not require frosting.