Quilting Bear Gal

THE DAY OF LOVE

2012-02-14T04:03:00.000-06:00

I claim there ain't

Another Saint

As great as Valentine.

~Ogden Nash

I love this vintage valentine because it reminds me of the Faberge Easter Egg called “Lily of the Valley” gifted in 1898 by Czar Nicholas II of Russia to his wife Alexandra, the great love of his life.

Faberge "Lily of the Valley"

You can see more pictures and read more about this particular bejeweled egg by clicking on its title in the caption above.

I wish each you love and joy on this Valentine’s Day.

DONNA

WHAT’S UP

2012-02-12T19:11:00.000-06:00

Trying to fix Windows Live since my computer problems so this post is just mainly a test. Oh, and to let ya'll know I'm still alive. What’s a girl to do? I can’t breath, can't think, my head is stopped up and my ears are ringing. Looks like a doctor visit for me tomorrow.

At least the rash and blisters of shingles are almost gone, but I still have the residual tingling and aching in the nerve endings which may hang on for a while. Needless to say, no sewing is being done.

It's been really cold today, hovering around 30 degrees or so, so the fireplace is glowing, and we are covered with quilts while we read or watch television. Waiting to see the next dramatic events to take place in Downton Abbey. Looks like the valet is about to be in big trouble with the law regarding his dead evil wife! Yikes!

GETTING BETTER EVERY DAY

2012-02-06T01:36:00.000-06:00

The shingles are beginning to hurt less. They are still red and angry looking but they are getting better every day. That phrase made me think of the song by The Beatles "Getting Better." Just for fun, here is a video from You Tube of them singing that song -- Getting Better.

I loved school so that part of the song doesn't apply to me particularly, but it really cheers me up! I was madly in love with Paul McCartney from 1964 until the Sgt. Pepper album came out - about 1967. That album was a major change for the group and I didn't like it until years later. I guess I had to let it grow on me. Anyway, here is my big teeny bopper crush!

The 12 Days of Christmas quilt is bound and hanging on my wall in the den. Alas, I can't upload anything to my computer still so I will have to share a photo with when my computer issues are resolved. Having trouble getting all my sashing cut for the Civil War BOW quilt. It's giving my neck and shoulder fits so I can only cut about 18 2" x 8.5" strips per session. Then I stop and sew them on. Then I have to quit for the day.

Still trying to dance in the rain,

Donna

PROBLEMS GALORE!

2012-02-03T17:31:00.004-06:00

I've got problems. All kinds of problems. I wish I could fix them but I can't.

First of all, as a belated birthday present I got shingles on my right forehead. At first I thought it was an insect bite but by the third day I knew something wasn't right so I went to see the doctor. She took one look and said you've got shingles. Shingles! I would never have guessed that in a million years. I am now taking an anti-viral medication and occasional pain pill to get me through this mess. Currently I'm at the blistering stage (gross!) waiting for that to crust over and start healing (double gross!).

Next problem. My computer got a virus in early December that we couldn't get cleaned out completely. A message kept popping up that I was not running authentic Windows 7 and could not receive updates. The computer tech worked on it and I worked on it but nothing made that message go away. So I had to upload my Windows 7 program again which created another set of problems that we are trying to work out. The internet works fine but I can't print, type a word document, locate any of my pictures, or download anything else. Argh!

I had some additional photos from Jefferson of antique quilts from the various antique shops that would have been of interest but I don't think I will get those back. My last back up was Wednesday of last week and I didn't upload the photos until Monday of this week.

Anyway, now that I've vented, I feel a little better. Sorry to dump it onto all of you. You will understand it I don't manage to get another blog entry posted within the next week. The computer gremlins need to be exterminated.

I managed to complete the quilting and binding of my 12 Day of Christmas quilt and will post a photo later. I'll go back to sashing the Civil War quilt now.

Onward I go -- Donna

CATCHING UP

2012-02-01T17:22:00.000-06:00

I, like many others I'm sure, have fallen in love with the PBS series, Downton Abbey. I missed Sunday night's episode so I watched it on the internet. I wonder if Lady Mary and Matthew will get together after all? I also missed The Good Wife so I spent Monday catching up on my shows. The internet is such a fabulous thing, isn't it?

If you have an interest in reproduction fabrics, may I recommend a new blog called Material-Witness. The most recent entry is about pillar prints with a bit of history and numerous photos of reproductions. It just so happens that I have one pillar print in my collection.

Sorry that I took it with the pillar going sideways. My computer
is on the "fritz" and I couldn't turn it up vertically.

I bought this print back in probably 2005 while working at a local quilt shop. I had admired it for several months before I broke down and bought any. I'm so glad I did, because I still love it. It's from Moda, a Barbara Brackman and Terri Thompson fabric based on the Spencer Museum of Art Collection, 1810-1840 Pillar Print.

My 12 Days of Christmas quilt is quilted and ready for binding. You can see the border edge of it under the second picture above. I plan to work on it tonight and have a photo to post sometime tomorrow or Friday.

Time to keep on stitching - Donna

ANNUAL BIRTHDAY TRIP

2012-01-30T14:51:00.001-06:00

In celebration of my –cringe-- 6th decade of life, Sweetie and I spent the weekend in Jefferson, Texas attending their annual quilt show. I’ve made a Smilebox slide show of some of my favorite quilts in the show. It’s a small show, with limited space and lots of people, so taking great photos was not an option, but you can still appreciate the beauty of the quilting arts just the same.

Personalize your own photo slideshow

In addition to the quilt show, we ate some wonderful food. Cornbread ham and cheese sandwiches and soup at Kitt’s Cornbread Sandwich & Pie Bar. Fried chicken strips at The Hamburger Place. A BLT (bacon, lettuce and tomato) sandwich on fresh bakery-made wheat bread. And the grand finale – my favorite – lasagna from Lamache’s Italian Restaurant. Heaven!
More about the trip later.

JUST TAKES 2 AND SOMETHING A LITTLE DIFFERENT

2012-01-22T12:00:00.000-06:00

I’ve completed blocks 7-11 of the Just Takes 2 quilt along project. I did things a little different than the instructions given on three of the blocks. On the house block, I went into my EQ5 program, found a house pattern very similar to the one given by Brenda Papadakias, made some slight changes, then printed it to the correct size for paper piecing. I am quite happy with the result and more comfortable with this technique than the one Brenda suggested.

On the fan block, I copied the whole fan with seam allowances onto a paper piecing sheet ( I use Deb Karasik’s Perfect! Paper Piecing Paper.) Then I paper pieced the fan blades. Next I cut a 6 1/2” square of my background fabric, then machine appliqued the paper pieced block on top of the square, using invisible thread. Next, I traced the quarter-circle piece onto Steam-A-Seam 2, also including seam allowances, pressed the shape onto the black fabric then cut out the shape. Next I ironed the quarter-circle to the background fabric, making sure the top of the piece overlapped 1/4” on the bottom of the fan blades. Once again, I machine appliqued that piece to the block. After pressing the entire block, I cut out the backing fabric from behind the fan blades leaving about 1/4 below the stitching so there would not be so much bulk in the block.

At least for me, this is something a little different. My latest quilt book purchase is Transparency Quilts written by Weeks Ringle and Bill Kerr.

I’ve been drawn to solid colors lately, purchasing several pieces from the Centennial Solids line and some from Cherrywood Fabrics. There are two quilt patterns in this book that I’m considering for my niece’s baby quilt. Very sophisticated but warm and comforting for Baby Girl E.P. As you can tell from the cover photo, this is not my usual 19th Century patchwork quilts genre. I’m branching out and stretching my wings!

PHOTO EDITING PROGRAMS

2012-01-21T09:00:00.000-06:00

I admit it. I’m cheap. I don’t want to pay tons of money for a photography editing program, so I’ve been using a free program on the Internet called PicNik. Well they just notified me that they are closing down their program in April of this year. So I decided to do a little internet research and came up with an alternative free program that I actually like better than PicNik. It’s called FotoFlexor. While testing it out, I made this pop art photo poster of my cat.

Isn’t this funny? It reflects four of his moods – from left to right: Angry enough to do something evil, friendly purring, moody, and hungry. I see the hungry mood the most, but worry about sneak attacks during his evil angry mode.

It’s fun to play with stuff on the internet. For instance, this message came up on my Facebook page from Sew Unique Creations that sums me up entirely.

BY POPULAR REQUEST

2012-01-19T23:11:00.000-06:00

Here are the three blocks I made that Barbara Brackman chose for her Civil War Quilt book.

#1 Catch Me If You Can

#38 Ohio Star

#30 Peterson’s Stars and Stripes

Be sure to visit Moonbear Designs’ blog to see the three that were chosen from her Civil War blocks. I understand that Ellen of American Homestead also had CW blocks chosen. American Homestead’s blog helped me with many of the block patterns because Ellen often had easier, more precise instructions for making each of the 53 blocks in the quilt. Thanks Ellen.

Once again . . .

PERMISSION GRANTED!

2012-01-17T16:18:00.001-06:00

Guess what? I received an email from my quilt history idol, Barbara Brackman, asking for permission to use photos of three of my blocks from the Civil War Quilt Flickr group in her upcoming book based on the Civil War Quilt blog quilt. Can I just say – yes, yes, and yes!!!! I signed the permission form and returned it to her just as quickly as I could. What an honor! And what a wonderful way to sell books! I will buy one as soon as it’s available, of course.

I’ve been cutting out cornerstones for the sashing of the CW quilt, along with working on the second batch of the Just Takes 2 blocks, and pin-basting the 12 Days of Christmas quilt. (Be sure to click on the 12 Days of Christmas link to see the Flickr group photos of all the different wonderful variations of the quilt made by others.) I planned on doing the Free Motion Quilting Challenge as well but I haven’t even worked on the first lesson! Maybe after some major practice, I can use the free-motion leaf motif from the first lesson on my 12 Days quilt. We’ll see how well the practice goes first.

JUST TAKES 2 BLOCKS 1-6

2012-01-14T18:05:00.000-06:00

Since I made a red and white quilt in 2011, I wanted to go with a different color combination. Basically, what fabric I had in my stash in sufficient quantities to make the Just Takes 2 quilt became my color choice. As it was I still had to order 5 more yards of the background fabric. I’ve also posted this photo of completed blocks to the Just Takes 2 website.

My applique is done by machine rather than by hand. I remembered a tip given on one of the blogs I read or maybe even read it in one of my quilting magazines about a quick way to transfer templates. Instead of tracing the applique shape onto my Steam-a-Seam 2, I could run the pattern through my printer instead. A big caveat: Use only adhesive sheets that have paper on BOTH sides. If you try this without the paper against the adhesive side, you will have one big ole mess inside your printer with icky melted adhesive.

There was just one problem with this. My main fabric is black, and the printing on the Steam-a-Seam 2 came out so light, it was pretty hard to follow the line when cutting it out. The next time I will probably choose a different color of ink that will show up better on the black fabric and increase the print quality setting to "high". As you can see, I was able to get it cut out and sewn down just fine.

That’s the stabilizer poking out from the back of this block. I always use stabilizer when satin stitching around the applique shapes for a smoother outcome. When the stitching is done, I just tear it away.

Friday the 13th has come and gone. I slept right through it because I wasn’t feeling well!

Otherwise, no problem at all.

Until next time,

HALF SQUARE TRIANGLE EXCHANGE TOP COMPLETE

2012-01-12T16:27:00.002-06:00

I’ve named it “A Barn Raising With Help From My Friends,” made with half-square triangles that were part of The Quilt Show’s “Sisterhood of the Traveling Triangles" exchange. The way I have it hung here in the doorway between my dining room and den makes it look all wonky, but really, it’s not.

It’s now ready to sandwich, pin-baste, and quilt! I have quite a bit of the floral border print left so it will go on the back, probably with some coordinating fabric pieced-in to cover it all. But first, I am going to quilt the little bitty 12 Day of Christmas Quilt.

THE POWER OF TEN

2012-01-10T01:30:00.001-06:00

As Henry Ford said, “Nothing is particularly hard if you divide it into small jobs.” That will be my focus on projects this year. Plus I am making a list of projects to work on this year as recommended in The Power of Ten courtesy of Texas Quiltworks.

“POWER OF 10”

The “Power of 10” in quilting is not some higher mathematical formula that quilters all need to learn to make a quilt. It is a simple way to complete those projects we want to finish before we buy anymore fabric.

First, simply find the projects that you are no longer interested in completing and pass them on to someone who would love it as much as you once did.
Second, list “10” projects that you would like to complete. Now remember “Only 10” projects are to be on the list.
Third, begin working on the projects on the list and spend three hours toward completing it.
Fourth, keep a list of projects and the hours worked.
Fifth, once three hours are spent on a project move to the next. A quilter's interest wanes and is usually spent after three hours. Now if a project requires two to four hours it doesn't matter. Simply finish the project. Feel good about finishing it.
Sixth, find another project and add it to the list. Remember, only Ten Projects are your focus.
Seventh, continue to rotate the projects you are working on.
Eighth step is to list the supplies needed to finish your projects.
Ninth would be to shop at Texas Quiltworks (or your local quilt shop) for items to finish your projects. Local quilt shops need your support more than ever in today’s economy.
…and Tenth, the ‘Power of Ten‘ becomes reality when you are able to share your project. Be sure to share your quilt at guild meetings, quilt shops, family and friends. Remember by showing your finished project you are inspiring someone else to finish a project.

One customer with whom I shared this concept at the beginning of last year came by to tell me how it worked for her. She listed only ten projects and when she completed a project she added another one and in a few months she had completed all her projects. She was so excited and wanted me to know that it worked wonders. This customer said it empowered her to finish projects, freed her mind, allowed her to focus on the projects at hand and feel good about starting a new one. Give it a try and let us know how it works for you.

This is the first type of sewing machine I ever got to ~~use~~ play with at my Granny’s house, but when I got old enough to be trusted with a electric sewing machine, it was more like this one.

A Singer 99 K like Mom used to have. She's long gone to sewing machine heaven.

Sewing machines have come a very long way, thank goodness but my Janome 4800 is not a fancy one – no embroidery, just 50 or 60 fancy stitches and the alphabet in two styles - but it does the job for me. I also have a Singer Featherweight but it needs a little TLC since I haven’t used it in two years. She's skipping stitches which may be because I threaded it wrong. Something about not looking at the threading diagram in the Owner's Manual. You can read about the Featherweight HERE.

I have one more of the first set of six blocks of the Just Takes 2 quilt to make, then I will post photos. The next batch of block patterns comes out on January 15th I believe and I want to be ready, so I guess I better get back to work.

FLICKR.COM GROUP SET UP FOR 12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS QUILT PHOTOS

2012-01-08T22:43:00.001-06:00

With permission from Sheryl of Temecula Quilt Company, I set up a flickr group page for uploading photos of the 12 Days of Christmas quilts, in progress and finished. To find the flickr.com group page, click HERE. There were so many people discussing this little quilt on several of my Yahoo groups, I know that a flickr group page would be a great place to share our progress with others who are making it. Some of the participants are making two!!!!

Another thing I wanted to share with you is a drawing depicting a quilter’s mind. It is so very accurate in my case, and for some of you too I bet.

On the Friendship HST quilt project I’m working on, I have the two inner borders sewn on and only lack the outer border. When that is done, I will post a picture of the finished top.

Until then, just keep on sewing and enjoying your “quilter’s brain.”

THE 12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS AND STEPHANIE PLUM

2012-01-06T23:54:00.001-06:00

Although I am dealing with bronchitis or a very bad case of allergies, I managed to finish the top of the 12 Days of Christmas quilt.

Since it is so small, I was able to sew on it a little while then rest, then sew some more, then lay down, then sew some more all in 15 to 20 minute intervals throughout the day. I will quilt it on my home sewing machine, but not until after I finish the sashing and binding of the Friendship HST quilt.

I'm a huge Stephanie Plum fan - a series of books written by Janet Evanovich - and find this quote hilarious. It's just a taste of the wacky sense of humor Evanovich uses in her writing.

Janet Evanovich

A funny quote from the book High Five: Grandma Mazur came to live with my parents several years ago when my grandpa Mazur went to the big poker game in the sky. My mother accepts this as a daughter's obligation. My father has taken to reading Guns & Ammo.
Looking forward to seeing the first Stephanie Plum movie named "One For the Money" coming soon - later this month I think.

Now I think I’ll take my achy body to bed.

PROJECTS PROGRESS IN 2012

2012-01-03T17:31:00.001-06:00

This is the last block of Barbara Brackman’s Civil War Quilt Block of the Week project for 2011. It’s #53 Union Shield.

I’ve auditioned several different sashing fabrics and border fabrics. These are just a few of them:

I’ve decided on the solid blue sashing strips and the blue Civil War Chronicles border as seen in the first picture on the right. I’ve got to buy more of the Centennial Solids blue to complete the sashing and have ordered additional CW Chronicles fabric for the border and binding.

On The Quilt Show friendship triangles quilt, I tried several different fabrics as borders.

and I’ve decided on the second one with the floral outer border and that dark same blue for the inner border. Fortunately I don’t have to buy any more fabric to finish this one so I will tackle finishing it first.

I’m also working on the Temecula Quilt Company’s 12 Days of Christmas quilt and we are to day 10. Here are the last five 3 1/2” blocks I’ve finished.

Working with such small pieces of fabric – the nine patch pieces are all 1 1/4” square – can be a challenge. To improve my accuracy, I slowed my sewing machine speed way down and I am pressing all the seams open. I’m having so much fun!!!!! And so is Ranger,

Sleeping all day long in “his” dining room chair when his Papi (my Sweetie) isn’t using it. He’s not living up to the “Rowdy” part of his name “Rowdy Ranger” much these days although every once in a while he’ll go crazy and zip around the house and out of his pet door to his screened-in patio like a cheetah. Wish I had that much energy.

Oh well . . .

LET 2012 BEGIN!

2012-01-01T06:50:00.000-06:00

Thanks to each and every one of you who have become regular blog readers and left comments on my entries. It’s so nice to know that there are like-minded people out there who enjoy quilting as much as I do and are willing to share that love with me.

To start 2012 in a high note, I redesigned my blog with new stuff and moved around some of the old stuff. What else is in store for 2012? I hope a lot more sewing, good health, making new friends and keeping the old ones, more time with loved ones, and more comments from you guys. Happy New Year to one and all.

12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS–THROUGH DAY 5 AND A 2012 QUILT CALENDAR

2011-12-30T13:05:00.001-06:00

Along with some of my quilting friends from Jo’s Prairie Stitchers and Small Quilt Talk Yahoo groups, I am making the 3 inch finished quilt blocks being posted daily on Temecula Quilts blog. Yesterday I made the first five days of mystery Christmas blocks. The Temecula folks are using fabrics from the newest Judie Rothermel line I think, but I using my own scraps and fat quarters, limiting myself to creams, beiges, tans, browns, blacks, madder and just a tiny touch of medium blue.

I’m also auditioning fabrics to use as borders on both my Brackman Civil War block of the week quilt and my Friendship Triangles exchange quilt hosted by The Quilt Show earlier this year. More about that later.
Guess what I just found out today! I have two quilts featured in the About.com Quilting 2012 Calendar. The first one is for the month of February:

February 2012 Quilting Calendar

Sponsored Link
Oprah's Next Chapter New Guests and New Adventures This Sunday on OWN at 9/8cOprah.com/OprahsNextChapter
February 2012 Quilting Calendar
© Janet Wickell
Donna's quilt was sewn with alternating Capital T quilt blocks. Adjacent blocks are flipped in color value -- some have a light background and blocks 'next door' have a dark background. Use my Capital Ts quilt block pattern to make your own version.
Download the February 2012 Calendar PDF file.

The second is for December:

December 2012 Quilting Calendar

Sponsored Link
Quilt with nancy Learn to Sew, Quilt or Embroider with Easy Step-by-Step Instructionswww.nancysnotions.com
December 2012 Quilting Calendar
© Janet Wickell
December signifies a wide variety of people and events, and one person is Santa. This little quilt conveys his fun personality.
Download the December 2012 Calendar PDF file.

There are a lot of other wonderful quilts from others of the About.com Quilts internet community, so be sure to take a look at them HERE, and even download the pages to print your very own 2012 quilting calendar.

On that note, I think I’ll close for now. I'm sew happy!

BLOCK 52, CHRISTMAS STAR

2011-12-27T10:10:00.001-06:00

This week’s block of the week for the Brackman Civil War quilt is called Christmas Star. However, I decided to go more toward the Christmas “wreath” look .

I can’t tell you how many times I had the half square triangle units going the wrong direction. There were several unsewing steps on this one. Also, my photography skills are pretty awful. The top corners of the HSTs are not cut off as they appear in this picture.

I’m auditioning several different pieces of fabric from stash (aka “Resource Center”) as borders and may show pictures of the possibilities later this week. If I need to buy MORE fabric, I’m set. Sweetie bought me a gift certificate from the local quilt shop. He knows me so well.

JUST TAKES 2

2011-12-24T05:00:00.000-06:00

Earlier this week I received an email announcing a new block of the month challenge issued by Gay of Sentimental Stitches and Brenda Papadakis of Dear Jane fame. It's called JUST TAKES 2. It's based on the red and white quilts featured in an exhibition called Infinite Variety that were exhibited in early 2011. It sounds like much fun that I am thinking about doing it. I will probably not do another red and white quilt this time but will choose another two-color combination.

For more information about this free program, click on the Just Takes 2 photo below:

In the meantime, I want to wish each of you who celebrate it

TAKING THE EASY WAY OUT

2011-12-20T08:00:00.000-06:00

When you look at my version of Block 51 of the Civil War Quilt by Barbara Brackman, you will notice that I took the easy way out.

The stripes were supposed to be pieced and the stars pieced in as well. Instead, I found a pre-printed stripe fabric that I liked then machine appliqued the stars fabric over it. Piece of cake! My only regret is that I did not machine applique with invisible thread in the top. Otherwise I am happy with the result. I thank Barbara from Cookie’s Creek blog for her idea about the star fabric. I had this in my stash and worked just great.

After much procrastination, I dug out a couple of Santa Claus’s out of my closet and set them up around the house. I also pulled down the box containing the Christmas wrapping paper, ribbon, and gift bags to start wrapping up the gifts for the grand-nieces and nephews’ presents. Books. Some will love them. Others will not care one way or the other. And still others will be going – “Aunt Donna and her books” as they roll their eyes. If I can get just one kid out of the six to read a book, I will be so very, very happy.

We have a new grand-niece due the middle of next year, so I didn’t leave her out. She will have a cute little stuffed giraffe under this year’s Christmas tree. Next year she too will get a book.

Finished addressing Christmas cards tonight so I can check that thing off of my to do list. But there are still more on that list to take care of. Like the grocery store trip. Ugh!!!! Pecan pies to bake. Yummy!!!! and presents to wrap. No problemo!!!!

AND THE WINNER IS . . .

2011-12-18T00:48:00.001-06:00

The Random.org generator chose Mystique as the winner of my gift of the CD audio book The Duchess of Death – The Unauthorized Biography of Agatha Christie . I sent an email to Mystique to notify her and hope to hear from her soon.

Thanks to all who joined in The Quilting Gallery’s Celebration Blog Hop. I hope you will come back to visit me again.

Best wishes for the holiday season.

GRAPES OF WRATH CW BLOCK 50

2011-12-13T13:39:00.001-06:00

This is block 50 of Barbara Brackman’s Civil War quilt-along, The Grapes of Wrath. This is another one that would look best sitting on point so that will probably be the way that I go.

I had to square up the center of my block to 6 1/2” before adding the side and bottom pieces to make it line up correctly on the diagonal seam so it came out to a perfect 8 1/2” unfinished block. Yee Haw!!!

For those of you visiting my blog for the Quilting Gallery Party Blog Hop, please jump down to THIS BLOG ENTRY to leave your comment for the drawing. Thanks so much for stopping by. Hope to see you again soon.

WELCOME TO MY BLOG

2011-12-10T03:43:00.001-06:00

I’m hoping that many of you visiting my blog today are newcomers joining in on The Quilting Gallery Blog Hop Party With Give-Aways along with some of my regular readers.

One of the things I like to do while sewing, especially chain piecing a large group of fabric pieces together for a quilt, is to listen to audio books. I’m telling you though, I have to listen when I’m doing mindless things because if I’m sewing something more intricate, I can’t follow the storyline of the book or I mess up the project I’m working on because I’m not concentrating on the job at hand or both. I can only multi-task just so much.

Well this is the “mysterious” give-away I hinted about in yesterday’s post. I enjoyed listening to this audio book while sewing so I’m passing it along to a lucky winner.

This unabridged audio book read by Nicolas Coster contains 10 CDs. AudioFile says:

Agatha Christie, author of 80 novels and stories, maintained a secretive personal life. Using Christie's autobiography, previously unpublished letters and notes, plus interviews with those who knew her, author Richard Hack draws an indelible portrait of the real woman. From his first words, narrator Nicolas Coster's voice commands attention. Coster's star-quality performance captures every intriguing nuance in Hack's novel-like retelling of Christie's life, complete with its mystery, romance, and scandal. As her troubled first marriage was ending, Christie disappeared for 11 days, but her disappearance was only one of many episodes that colored the normally publicity-shy Christie's life. Hack's fascinating recounting, enhanced by Coster's superb narration, guarantees that listeners will enjoy this unauthorized biography almost as much as they do Christie's mysteries. S.J.H. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine.

If you leave a comment below, your name will be placed in a drawing to win this mystery book on CD. The drawing is Saturday, December 17 so I will announce the winner on Sunday the 18th.

Photo from the Library of Congress

My blog is usually about making quilts, collecting antique and vintage quilts (yes there is a difference between ‘antique’ - 100 years or older and ‘vintage’ – unofficially pre-1970s but it can vary), quilt show and guild show and tell photos, plus a little about flowers, my cat Rowdy Ranger, books (quilting and others) and an occasional mention of my favorite baseball team, the Texas Rangers. I even sometimes share a link of interest such as the one today for the Sentimental Quilter blog by Kathy Tracey. She posted a tutorial for a small red and white peppermint pinwheel quilt that is so festive and charming. And to get you in the mood for the holiday season, she also included a recipe for Peppermint Bark Candy. Yummeeeee!

I know you have other blogs to visit during this Blog Party so I’ll shut up for now. Just know that because you visited the Quilting Bear Gal blog,

Don’t forget to leave your comment in order to participate in my drawing at 12 noon CST on Saturday, December 17th. Oh – and be sure to visit me again.

QUILTING BLOG HOP WITH GIVEAWAYS

2011-12-09T02:06:00.001-06:00

Please join me and other quilting bloggers Saturday, December 10 through Saturday December 17, for a "Blog Hop" celebrating the 4th birthday of The Quilting Gallery. Michele (aka Mishka) describes The Quilting Gallery web group this way.

Meet thousands of quilters from around the world in the quilting bloggers directory, then browse the quilt shop locator, a unique map-based directory of quilting retailers and professionals.
Find connections in our world-wide directory of quilt guilds and search for the latest in quilting books, patterns and notions in the quilter's market.

You'll also find hundreds of free quilting projects, inspiring guest bloggers and charity quilting projects and events. Submit a quilt in our weekly themed quilt contest too.

So be sure to visit my blog again on Saturday to find out what I am giving away and and how you can win it. Here's a hint: it's something 'mysterious.'

FOR ANTIQUE QUILT LOVERS AND PAPER PIECERS

2011-12-06T16:44:00.001-06:00

Laura over at the Pine Ridge Quilter blog is featuring a different beautiful antique quilt each day in December. If you love antique quilts or just beautiful quilt designs, be sure to visit her blog. You won't be sorry that you did.

Speaking of antique quilts, this is a picture of one in my collection that’s the closest to a traditional green and red Christmas motif.

I don’t know it’s age, but the main reason I bought it was because of the crazy little green pinwheel fabric used in the sashing. That’s a logical reason, isn’t it?

There are some shattered fabric in some of the stars and on the entire back of the quilt so I know she’s an “old girl.” That green pinwheel fabric just made me lose my head and buy it!

Next thing on the Christmas subject, if you would like the little paper-pieced Christmas tree pattern pictured below, visit Bonnie Hunter at Quiltville to download the pattern. It finishes 4”X4” and it’s a real cutie.

PRESENTING . . .

2011-12-04T22:22:00.001-06:00

This is “Yankee Puzzle,” block 49 of Barbara Brackman’s Civil War Quilt block of the week. Fabric choices were easy, construction was easy, I loved making this block. Only three more blocks to go before it’s time to assemble them into a quilt top. I’m leaning toward an on-point setting at this time, but who knows what I will end up with.

One thing for sure, I will be glad when I can put of the two boxes of red, blue, gold, and background fabric that I’ve been drawing from to make these blocks. My sewing area needs to be decluttered big time! It looks like a slob works there. And she does, but I’m usually not quite so helter-skelter. One day there will be order,

so help me God!

BETSY CHUTCHIAN ON APQ RADIO

2011-12-03T14:35:00.001-06:00

For those of you who love 19th century reproduction quilts, I have some news for you. Betsy Chutchian, author of the following two books published by Kansas City Star Books:

Carol Staehle is a co-author of this one

was interviewed by Pat Sloan on American Patching and Quilting radio. You can listen to it here. There are a couple of interviews on the show before you get to Betsy’s so hang in there. It’s well worth it.

It’s a lazy, rainy, cool day here in North Texas so I’m spending it inside reading my latest issue of Country Living magazine, reading blogs, doing genealogy research, sewing and the like. Hope you all are keeping warm, dry and cozy in your neck of the woods.

I GOT MAIL!

2011-12-02T17:15:00.001-06:00

Today the postman delivered a squishy envelope from Cherrywood Fabrics containing the fabulous suede-like hand dyed fabric I ordered on their “Cyber Monday” promotion with free shipping.

This is my version of a coral, kiwi and berry collection. Isn’t it gorgeous. The fabric on the far left side looks grey but it is actually a sand color. I bought extra yardage of that color because I always need lights. These are not my usual 19th century reproduction fabrics but the colors just speak to me.

Last year at the Houston Quilt Festival, I bought Cherrywood fabrics in shades of cream, rust, dark orange, gold, green and some sort of brownish purple color for a workshop with Deb Karasik called “Look Ma, No Curves.” This is the only section I got finished, and it will likely turn into a pillow or something. I love the look, but can’t see myself making the whole quilt. You’ll see what I mean when you look at the quilt photo on her website.

Anyway, I have more of these colors, some of which will look good with the new ones that arrived today.

The last few days I have been keeping several balls up in the air trying to juggle several projects. I’m working on my a genealogy project focusing on my mother’s side of the family – Buswell and Lomax lineages. I get to researching on Ancestry.com for historical records and one thing leads to another - then another – then another, and before I know it, I’ve been sitting at the computer for a couple or three hours following the rabbit trails.
When taking breaks from the genealogy research, I’ve taken turns working on my “The Quilt Show” Friendship Triangles project, sewing my sections together. When I get tired of that, I’m working on my Civil War quilt block of the week. Right now, I debated on which fabric to use as the center focus piece, either this

or this.

Although I love stars, I decided I liked the floral best so that’s what I went with. I think it will look great on point.

Oh, and another thing I’m working on while watching television is hand quilting that poinsettia wreath quilt that is moving slowly but surely. I was working on it during the Texas Rangers baseball playoffs and World Series this year but some of the games got so intense, I ended up having to put the project down.

As you can see, I’m not letting myself get too bored with any one thing for too long. Variety is the spice of life.

COOL OLD STUFF

2011-11-29T13:46:00.001-06:00

When my aunt and uncle from south Texas visited over the Thanksgiving holiday, they brought me several interesting old sewing items. I collect old needle books so I was thrilled to receive these.

The NY World Fair book is from 1939. Oh so modern and sophisticated for its time.

Here is a great little article with photos about collecting vintage/antique needle books/cases at Country Living magazine.

Also, they brought this 1940s era Cinderella Apron pattern published by the JC Penney Company in the 1940s. It’s in good condition.

Wish I could show the the colorful pictures inside this foldout pattern but it’s too big for me to scan on my machine. It’s a cutie!

Although I don’t crochet, she brought these three crochet booklets published in the 1930s and 40s.

Don’t you just love old stuff? I'm glad I do because I have lots of it, including my old man. He's a keeper.

A BETTER WAY TO MAKE BLOCK #48 OF THE CIVIL WAR QUILT AND MORE

2011-11-28T15:58:00.001-06:00

American Homestead has another way to make “West Virginia,” block 48 of Brackman’s Civil War Quilt 2011 with no “Y” seams. Just click on her blog name on the first sentence and it will take you there to her instructions and photos. That’s the way I’m going with it.
My computer just returned from the shop after being infected by a “worm blaster” virus.

A little trip to Office Depot, 3 days and $200 later, we are back up and running. Just in time to order some Cherrywood Fabric on the “Free Shipping” Cyber Monday. That’s been my only purchase for the after Thanksgiving shopping hullabaloo (except computer repair fee!!!!).
That’s all for now. Catch ya later!

'TIS TURKEY TIME

2011-11-23T08:54:00.001-06:00

The grocery shopping is done. The salad is to be made in the morning. Then we are off to Mom’s house for Thanksgiving dinner with family. I love these get-togethers, even more so now that we are getting older and some of the older family members are no longer with us. That makes me appreciate more any time together with family.

Vintage Postcard Image from GraphicsFairy.com

I’ve only cooked a turkey once and never made cornbread dressing. That tradition may fall by the wayside when my mother is gone or unable to cook much anymore.

My father-in-law underwent surgery Monday to remove a cancerous spot from his lung. Fortunately he is up and around at the hospital, doing well and probably will be going home today. Something I didn’t know could be done. They were able to remove it arthroscopically. Quicker recovery time; less pain! Wow. Modern medicine is wonderful.

Best wishes to you all during this Thanksgiving season.

TRINITY VALLEY QUILTERS' GUILD NOVEMBER MEETING

2011-11-21T16:57:00.000-06:00

On Friday, November 18, the Trinity Valley Quilters' Guild meeting featured quilter and teacher Karen Combs and her quilts of illusion. I took a bunch of pictures so I'm sharing them with you through the Smilebox below. Just click on the arrow to see the slideshow.

This photo slideshow generated with Smilebox

I also got to meet for the first time fellow blogger and TVQG member Barbara D and her friend, Lynda H. Be sure to check out Barbara's blog Cookie's Creek if you get a chance. She is a very talented quilter and photographer. Stop by and say hi. She would love to hear from you.

DIXIE TEA BLOCK, BEFORE AND AFTER

2011-11-20T16:21:00.001-06:00

Block #47 of Barbara Brackman’s Civil War Quilt 2011, called Dixie Tea, threw me for a loop on color choices. At first, I wanted to use a light blue with some red “tea leaf” motifs in the pattern. This was the result.

Yucky!!! What was I thinking? So I decided to replace the two light blue squares with more of the red with star squares and this is what I got.

This looks more like a leaf to me. So glad I made the switch. I might drink some Dixie tea made out of this leaf!

MISTAKES AND OTHER THINGS

2011-11-13T17:32:00.001-06:00

Sometimes it doesn’t matter how carefully I lay out pieces then sew them together, I can easily get myself switched as I did on block #46 Apple Tree, part of Barbara Brackman’s Civil War Quilt 2011 anniversary project. What’s more, I didn’t even see the mix-up until I had taken the picture and uploaded it on the Civil War Quilts 2011 Flickr page. I deleted that one before remembering I should have saved it for a before and after shot for my blog. Let’s just say, my reds were flip-flopped on the bottom left part. An easy fix.

This block looks better set on point in my opinion.

However, I don’t think I’ll be setting my quilt on point. Decisions. Decisions. How AM I going to set my quilt. I don’t know. I’m thinking. Waiting for the light bulb to switch on.

THIS PHOTO SAYS IT ALL TO THE VETERANS

2011-11-12T02:43:00.001-06:00

In honor of my grandfather, Eric Lomax, who served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. God bless America.

Block 45 Port and Starboard

2011-11-10T04:07:00.001-06:00

This is my version of block #45 of the Civil War anniversary quilt designed by Barbara Brackman. The name of the block is Port and Starboard. Fortunately, I had some fabric with an anchor and flag motif that fit the theme perfectly. Also, there are stars, moons, and suns fabric in honor of ship navigation methods. I think all the corners and points matched up well. The only problem is that this 8 1/2 inch block came out to 8 3/8 inches. I may be able to coax the additional 1/8th inch with some spray starch and vigorous ironing.

Be sure to visit the Flickr Civil War Quilt group to see photos of all the blocks that have been made to date. There are so many different fabrics, fussy cuts and such that inspire us.

The weather here in north central Texas is cooler now and we’ve had some rain several times in the last few weeks. However, we need more rain to make up for the lack of it the rest of the year. Sure not missing those dry, 110 degree days. No sirree!

Nothing else much going on. We are just kicking back and taking it easy.

Sew until next time,

NEW FABRIC AND A BLOG TOUR

2011-11-07T18:49:00.000-06:00

When I took the blog tour earlier this year for Volume 3 of the 100 Blocks magazine by Quiltmaker, I won a copy. Needless to say, but I am, that I will take the tour again this time. Give it a try. It’s a good way to learn about different quilt designers even if you don’t win anything.

Look what arrived in the mail today from Sew Unique Creations.

I went crazy over these Centennial Solids by Judie Rothermel. I even bought extra yardage of the Cheddar. I love cheddar, don’t you. The fabrics with prints are from the Crossroads to Texas line by Betsy Chutchian and Civil War Reunion by Barbara Brackman which was on sale.

I have not yet cut out Block #45 of the Civil War Quilt block of the week but fabric is chosen. Choosing which fabrics to use are the hardest part usually. I hope to work on it tonight.
Sew, I better get on with it!

44 UNION CIVIL WAR QUILT BLOCK

2011-11-01T03:43:00.004-05:00

Let me just say, this one was tough! Lots of seams, lots of bias, and lots of parts that ended up not measuring 8 1/2” square after all was said and done. As I said on the Civil War Quilt Flickr page, this one will probably be subject to lots of steam, stretching, and pulling to work it into submission for a 8 1/2” on all sides, not just one.

I like my instructions to include what each section “should” measure as I go along so it can be corrected before it gets to the end. Unfortunately, my math skills are pitiful and I can’t figure it out myself unless it all breaks down to quarter, half, or three-fourths increments. This one had a bunch of 1/8ths and 7/8ths. Oh well, I’m not the only one.

Here are all the blocks laid out on the design board as of November 1. This is not how I plan to place them when sewing the top together and they are not in any kind of order.

My little helper didn’t help me with this week’s block. He was too busy laying on another quilt I made over 8 years ago. It was my first completed one. There are a LOT of butchered corners in this one. Doesn’t bother him! It’s soft and that’s what’s important on a cool autumn evening.

Until next time,

VINTAGE HALLOWEEN

2011-10-30T14:50:00.001-05:00

This little Halloween party invitation is dated 1927 and came from my grandmother’s childhood scrapbook that was deteriorating. Knowing how I loved vintage black cat art, advertising, pottery, etc., my Aunt rescued it for me.

Here’s hoping you have a joyful Halloween. No tricks. Just treats!

I'M BROKEN HEARTED BUT THERE'S A "RIGHT HAND OF FRIENDSHIP"

2011-10-29T02:46:00.001-05:00

Game 6 of the World Series was back and forth, tied in the 9th, then the Rangers had to play two more innings. But they didn’t win. That was okay. There was still another game left to win it. Game 7 – the Rangers scored two runs in the first inning, and it was downhill from there.

So close yet so far away! The World Series trophy went to the St. Louis Cardinals this year, but not without a fight! I’m still a big Texas Rangers fan. I haven't given up on them since I started watching them in 1996 and I'm not giving up now.

Completed block #43 of Brackman’s Civil War Quilt block of the week. It’s called Right Hand of Friendship (although I keep thinking its name was Hands All Around for some reason).

After taking the picture, I noticed a bit of smudging of “Best Press” on some spots that aren’t visible to the naked eye. So weird.

Although the block is supposed to be 8 1/2” square, I came out to a perfect 8 1/4”. Points are pretty good, the parts matched up pretty well and there are 1/4” seams on each side so I can’t really complain too much. Anyway, I got week 43 finished just hours before week 44 will be posted by Ms. Brackman.

It’s time for me to wind down now after the stress of watching the game and the fun of putting together another CWQ block.

WHAT CAME IN THE MAIL TODAY

2011-10-25T12:22:00.000-05:00

I collect all kinds of antiques and vintage items, including some related to quilting. My most recent purchase comes from EBay, a booklet published by Aunt Kate’s Quilting Bee in 1965 called Abraham Lincoln Spread: A Famous Quilt From the Year 1865.

The booklet stated that this spread was made in 1865, two months before Lincoln died, and located at the Shelburne Museum in Vermont. I Googled the quilt and came up with this photo in The Quilt Index. This is a photo of a quilt made in the 1960s based on the original quilt:

“Aunt Kate’s Quilting Bee,” a magazine for quilt lovers, was published by Glenna Boyd of Burleson, Texas from 1962 until 1979, with the help of her daughter in the later years. I discovered her when I came across Mrs. Boyd’s obituary in the Fort Worth Star Telegram a few years ago where it stated she published this quilting magazine. Since then, I’ve collected 55 issues of “Aunt Kate’s” and am still looking for some missing editions. It was the precursor to the quilting magazines of today, with a friendly, chatty style, and contained quilt patterns from several sources, including her own designs. There were also poems, a scripture here and there, and ads for more quilt patterns. A delightful publication from the 60s-70s, important to quilt history in my opinion.

Well, after a truly bad game on Sunday night where the Rangers lost by lots and lots of runs, they won the next two games. Unfortunately, I was not feeling well on Sunday so I slept through the majority of that game, but on Monday night, I was wide awake, whooping and hollering when our guys did something good. Plus nibble on my fingernails when things got tight, and cringed when they did something wrong.

It turned out good for the Ranger Boys with a close 2-4 win. Now they head back to St. Louis and need to win just one of the two games left in the Series. Hand quilting came to a halt by the 7th inning when things started getting too exciting to handle the needle. I’m still making progress, but only when there isn’t much happening during the game.

Sew until next time, keep stitching.

Book Giveaway Notice

2011-10-22T18:50:00.001-05:00

No it’s not me giving away a book but Colleen of Colleen’s Quilting Journey. Just click HERE to go to her blog and leave a comment for a chance to win a copy of The Devil’s Puzzle by Clare O’Donohue. Part of Clare’s quilt-themed series, this book is described:

Small town mystery and neighborhood witches make for perfect Halloween reading, and THE DEVIL’S PUZZLE is certain to delight quilters and mystery fans alike.http://www.clareodonohue.com/

The Rangers are about to start game 3 of the World Series so I’m ready for for exciting action and hand quilting. Hope Elvis and Ian provide a little more of their quick defensive double plays and their crazy offensive base running and stealing.

L to R: Ian, Cruz, Elvis, Hamilton

A LITTLE FAMILY SEWING HISTORY

2011-10-21T04:20:00.001-05:00

I’ve been doing a little family genealogy research on my Grandmother’s side of the family and guess what? I found out that my great-great-grandmother from Scotland moved to London and was a seamstress for a while, then moved to San Antonio, Texas where she made hats. That’s where my sewing gene came from!

Vintage Sewing Machine Trade Card

The other day while reading Collector With a Needle’s interesting blog entry about her Martha Washington Sewing Cabinet, my oak sewing cabinet jumped to mind. I bought this cabinet at an auction in North Fort Worth 10 or 15 years ago when Sweetie and I had a booth at the local antique mall. However, this purchase was not for the antique mall booth – it was completely for me! It has no labels but I believe it is from the 1910 era, plus of minus 10 years.

It is nestled between an antique steamer trunk topped with quilts and
a chair draped with an antique quilt. Please ignore the dust and
the basket of cat toys under the chair (if you can).

Cabinet with top and drawer open

Close up of sewing cabinet front

My Friendship Triangle Exchange quilt is coming along. I’m adding two more rows at the top and one row at the bottom then I’ll sew all the sections together and see if I want to add more.

Barn Raising HST in sections

I had to make more half-square triangles to add those additional rows – maybe 50 or 60 more. Of course, there are two HS triangles out of each block of fabric sewn together. I’ve just been digging through my scrap drawers and anything that is big enough to cut 3” square went into the HST mix.

Last but not least, the Texas Rangers won Thursday’s game in the 9th inning 2-1, but lost it on Wednesday 3-2. They are on their way back to the home field in Arlington tied 1 and 1 in the best of 7 games World Series. They’ve been close both nights, which makes it hard to hand quilt because I’m so tense watching the close call, outs, swings, and misses.

After the game on Wednesday, I stitched 4 needles worth. I load my needles all on the spool of thread, then separate each needle to cut the thread about 18” long, then tie the knot on the ends. That saves more frequent interruptions of stopping to thread one needle at a time so I can stitch just long enough that it’s time to take a break at the end of the last needle.

Guess that’s all for now.

42 H is for Hospital and Oh Yes–The TX Rangers are Headed for the World Series!!!!!

2011-10-16T03:32:00.000-05:00

This week’s block for the Civil War Quilt is “H” is for Hospital.

Once again, my photograph and cropping skills are far less accurate than my sewing skills. I absolutely love this block. When I taught Beginning Quilting several years ago, this was the first block I taught so we could test the student’s 1/4” seams and make the necessary corrections before pressing on with the other blocks. This block being #42 means we have only 10 more blocks and weeks until the end when it’s time to piece the blocks into a top. I’m still debating on which way to set them although I have a pretty good idea (in theory anyway).

Barbara Brackman mentioned a book that I plan to read written by a nurse from the Confederate side of the conflict called Kate, The Journal of a Confederate Nurse.

Several months ago I read the memoirs of a nurse on the Union side of the war, Amanda Akin’s The Lady Nurse of Ward E. Earlier this year there was an exhibit based on Nurse Akin at the Smithsonian Institute. You can take an online tour of the exhibit by clicking HERE. This quote from Nurse Akin is so poignant:

“We pass up and down among these rough men without fear of the slightest word of disrespect. They feel their dependence upon us for comfort and entertainment, and the difference in the wards where there is no ‘lady’ shows how much can be done for them.”
—Amanda Akin, 1863

The lives of so many women were affected just as much as some of the soldiers who fought the war, and that subject is of great interest to me.

On a totally different note, tonight was a great one for the Texas Rangers as they head to the World Series for the second year in a row. Nelson Cruz was the Most Valuable Player after breaking numerous post-season record in total number of home runs, extra bases, walk-off home runs, etc.

My hand quilting project is coming along as you may or may not be able to see in this photo.

If nothing else, you can tell where I’ve quilted because the safety pins are removed. I am doing outline stitching around the flowers and leaves. My stitching is getting smaller and more consistent the more I stitch but it will never be super-great. That’s just not who I am I’m afraid. I do the best I can do and that’s all I can do without fretting or worrying about such things. I’m having fun doing it and that’s my goal. I’ll have at least four more games and possibly seven to continue on my quilting quest during the World Series.

That’s all for now.

41 Red White & Blue Civil War Quilt Block of the Week

2011-10-12T01:05:00.001-05:00

This week, I chose not to follow the directions on Barbara Brackman’s blog but instead found a paper pieced star to avoid the templates and set in seams situation. The paper pieced star pattern is at The Quilter’s Cache HERE.

My only complaint is that it is difficult, in my case impossible, to keep the star background fabric lined up. However, if you avoid extremely directional fabric, that won’t be a problem. I couldn’t avoid it since these stars are my background fabric throughout the whole quilt.

To see another paper pieced star, visit Barbara M’s blog Cookie's Creek. She has no overtly directional fabric to contend with and her block looks just great!

My Texas Rangers have won the first two games of a seven game series (yee-haw) but lost Monday night to the Minnesota Twins. That’s okay. We still have tomorrow and only two other games to win to advance to the World Series. They can do it again. Let’s go Rangers! Keep your fingers crossed ‘cause I said sew.

By the way, did you notice the similarities in the last quilt block and the Texas Ranger's logo? Both five-pointed stars. Thank goodness we didn't have to add a circle, a banner, and little round shapes at the end of the points on our design.

The hand-quilting project is coming along both during the games and other times when the mood strikes me, as well as my friendship triangles probject. I'm having to make additional HSTs to add length to it but I'm making huge progress.

Untl next time,

FALL SPLENDOR QUILTS

2011-10-07T14:25:00.000-05:00

My Fall Splendor Quilt got 41 votes! Thanks to all of you who helped. The winners had many more votes but I'm very pleased with my result.

Fall is in the air and this is a shameless request begging you to please vote for my quilt on QuiltingGallery.com. The theme this time is “Fall Splendor.” This is my entry, “Pumpkins for Sale”:

To vote, just click HERE. The quilt entries are listed in alphabetical order so just scroll down to the last part of the page where the voting is done and click in the dot next to mine, PUMPKINS FOR SALE. There are a lot of nice entries. There is no huge prize, just fat quarter bundles of “Autumn Gatherings” from The Fat Quarter Shop, but wouldn’t it be nice to win!

Voting ends this Sunday at 11:59 p.m. Enjoy looking at the wonderful fall-themed quilts.

LATEST CIVIL WAR QUILT BLOCK

2011-10-05T17:34:00.000-05:00

This is Order Number 11 of Barbara Brackman’s Civil War Quilt block of the week #40. That means there are only 12 more weeks to go!

It is the picture that is askew, not the block. It is machine appliqued using the raw-edge method.

Yesterday I was alone watching the Texas Rangers play the Tampa Bay Rays, except for my trusty buddy Rowdy Ranger, while my Sweetie was at work. This is how Ranger watched the Rangers, except when I was whooping and hollering after Kinsler or Beltre hit a home run.

Then Rowdy Ranger would run like a “scalded” cat to the back part of the house until he felt it was safe to come back, only to be startled awake again by my enthusiasm. I couldn’t help myself.

They now play the NY Yankees or the Detroit Tigers, depending on which team wins their playoff in the next few days. However, it doesn’t matter which team the Rangers play next. The Texas Rangers will win either way!!!!! More time for hand quilting.

HOW I USE MY TIME WISELY

2011-10-04T13:15:00.000-05:00

Baseball games take a long time to play – at least a little over a couple of hours and up to 4 or more if they are tied and go into extra innings. How do I help use that time wisely but still keep up with the game? Hand sewing work. During the current playoffs between the Texas Rangers and Florida Rays, I’ve been hand quilting.

This quilt top has been waiting for quilting for almost a year now. I think I worked on the applique pieces prep during last year’s play off and world series games. This if my first attempt at hand quilting using a smaller needle and thread. In the past my hand quilting consisted of #8 perle cotton thread and a #5 or 6 needle. The stitches are further apart, used in simple designs light a Baptist fan or grid quilting. On this quilt, I wanted to outline the applique pieces so I opted for the more traditional quilting method.

At first, I tried using a large hoop but after working with it for a couple of hours with poor results, decided to take off the hoop and just do the lap quilting. That worked much better for me but my stitches were still a little too long. However, the more I stitch the better the stitches began to look. I can definitely tell where I started compared to where I am at the time. Much, much improved but not perfect. The index fingers are getting pricked and tougher each day which is another good sign that I’m making progress.

Maybe by the end of the World Series for 2011, my Poinsettia Wreath quilt will be completely hand quilted and ready for Christmas display. And the Texas Rangers will the be World Series champs.

Let's go Rangers!

TRINITY VALLEY QUILTERS’ GUILD SHOW 2011

2011-10-02T16:29:00.000-05:00

Friday, September 30th, my friend Charlotte and I attended the annual quilt show of my local guild, the Trinity Valley Quilters’ Guild in Fort Worth, Texas. I didn’t take as many photos as I intended simply because we kept running into people we hadn’t seen in a while that required a lot of chatting and catching up. It was a wonderful show. I was to work at the admissions desk on Saturday but got sick and couldn’t get back to photograph more quilts. As soon as the photos are uploaded to the Guild web page by the photographer, I will share that link with you so you can see more fabulous quilts if you so desire – and I bet you will!!!!

Here’s what I have:

This minature quilt is based on a large antique pine burr quilt
I exhibited in last year's TVQG show.

For some reason the background looks brown here

But the background is really blue.

The quilting on this is spectacular!!!!!

This is a Jo Morton pattern from several years ago.
I made one way back when early in my quilt making learning period
and this one puts mine to shame.

If you would like to see the picture of and read about the tale of my sad "Prairie Basket" make from the same Jo Morton pattern from above, just click here.
Hope you enjoyed these quilts as much as I did.

COME ONE COME ALL!

2011-09-28T00:52:00.000-05:00

Trinity Valley Quilters’ Guild of Fort Worth
Presents its 29th Annual Quilt Show
“QUILTS: Recycling Our Past Into Our Future”

Amon Carter Exhibit Hall - Will Rogers Complex
3401 West Lancaster Avenue; Fort Worth, Texas 76107

Friday, September 30, 10 am – 5 pm; Saturday, October 1, 10 am – 5 pm; and Sunday, October 2, 11 am – 4 pm
Admission: $7.00 at the door

Our show typically presents 300+ quilts and is open to all quilters, guild members and non-members. The show is a judged show with ribbons and cash prizes. Come shop the Vendor Mall for fabulous fabrics, inspiring books and patterns, novel notions and beautiful quilts. The creative side of our guild members will be evident in the recycling Member Challenge.

We are proud to have the Texas Department of Agriculture GO TEXAS QUILTS as our special exhibit this year. These quilts highlight the natural beauty and rich cultural heritage of our state. They are original creations by talented and gifted Texas quilters.

For more information about the show email quiltshow@tvqg.org This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Hope to see you there!

WAY TO GO TEXAS RANGERS! AND MORE DENVER PHOTOS

2011-09-26T00:40:00.000-05:00

First of all, let me get the most important part out of the way: Texas Rangers celebrate second consecutive AL West crown after home win and some help. You can read more here if you are so inclined.

Now, just a few last words and photos about Denver.

We visited the Taste of Denver street festival one beautiful, balmy morning in downtown Denver.

where we had the caricature drawn by a young artist.

Do you think it looks anything like us?

We also visited the Museum of Nature and Science

Plaza outside of Museum of Nature and Science with dancing waters fountain

and also saw a 3-D Imax film called “Born to Be Wild” featuring rescue programs for orphaned baby orangutans and elephants. Of course, I dodged the soccer ball that looked like was coming right at me and swatted at the gnats and bugs that were flying all around my head. Made me feel stupid but that’s the magic of 3-D.

There was interesting architecture all around

One of the capitol buildings - don't know if it's federal or state

A modern house built right next door to a historic house

Denver Art Museum building known as 'the ship'

Unfortunately, this museum was closed so we didn't get to see the inside.

More modern buildings and outdoor sculpture

Plus beautiful flowers everywhere.

What a wonderful trip. Let's go Rangers!!!!! All the way to the World Series!!!!!

GOLDEN, COlORADO - QUILT HEAVEN

2011-09-22T04:03:00.000-05:00

One of the most important stops on our Colorado vacation was in Golden, where we visited the Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum. Pictures are on this Smilebox slideshow. Just click on the arrow. Please forgive the photographer. Some of the photos are a bit blurred or not well framed. The lighting was great for showing quilts but not for taking pictures.

Free slideshow created with Smilebox

While in Golden, we also visited the Creative Crafts' Group office, home of Quilter's Newsletter, Quiltmaker Magazine, McCalls Quilting and other major quilting and sewing magazines.

In the reception area of the office, they have a gallery where they exhibit quilts from some of their publications. At this time they had quilts made from blocks featured in Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks Volume 3. Here are just a few.

Rain Dance by Judy Laquidara

Block # 283

Judy Laquidara has a wonderful blog called Patchwork Times that I've been reading for several months now. She's a very creative quilter who loves vibrant colors, just moved from Missouri to my home state Texas, and likes to raise chickens.

Black Pearl by Monique Dillard

Block # 267

Spinning Star by Lynn Roddy Brown

Twister by Christina McCourt
Block #286

These are just a few of the many quilts on display which made the visit there all worthwhile. There are just a few more things I want to show you about our trip, but that will be next time.

FREE QUILT PATTERN PLUS END ALZ

2011-09-21T13:27:00.001-05:00

American Quilter's Society offers this free pattern that I want to share with you.

Free Color My World pattern

The cool thing about this pattern? There is more than one way to set it. Give it a look-see!

Also, today is National Alzheimer's Day. Help stamp out alzheimers in our lifetime.

My dear mother-in-law is suffering from this mind-robbing disease.

We miss her terribly, although she is still here in body.

Block #38, Ohio Star

2011-09-20T18:53:00.000-05:00

Still working on Barbara Brackman's 2011 Civil War Quilt blocks. This is block #38, Ohio Star.

An easy one this time, with no set in seams or templates needed. The triangles around the center block are not as "cheddar" looking in person. It's more of a dark gold.

Getting excited about watching the Texas Rangers play baseball for the next few weeks. They are 5 games ahead in first in the American League West. However, all the 9:00 p.m. games are hard on Sweetie. He usually goes to be about that time, but he may be able to condition himself to hang in there for a few innings. I give him a full report the next morning since the game finishes way too late to publish the score in the Fort Worth Star Telegram sports page.

Go Rangers!!! Beat those Angels!

Block #37, Confederate Rose

2011-09-17T02:48:00.000-05:00

Just wanted to drop in to post a photo of Block 37 of the Civil War Quilt from Barbara Brackman that I finished making about 2:00 a.m. Saturday morning, just in time to download the new block that will be up on her blog about 6:00 a.m.

I used a slightly different method of making the part that goes around the center floral square. Instead of using templates and having weird inset seams, I just cut two 6.5” squares, then cut them diagonally, sewing them to each side of the center like a square in a square. Then I trimmed the square in a square to 6.25 inches before sewing on the next strips. It went together perfectly. I almost used my red/cream star background fabric where I place the red fabric but didn't like how it looked. I switched it to the corners and I'm glad I did.

Now it’s time to go to sleep, if I could just turn off my mind. I've got to rest up for the next block!

WHAT’S AT THE TOP OF THAT MOUNTAIN?

2011-09-16T02:02:00.000-05:00

Well, we didn’t drive to the top of the mountain first thing. On the way to Mount Evans, we visited Red Rock Amphitheater. Such a beautiful sight for this venue. Lots of concerts are held here, like Carlos Santana, Willie Nelson, and many others. No, we didn’t get to see or hear a concert while there. I only knew about it because I’ve seen some concerts on T.V. at that location. It is truly spectacular.

Me standing in front of some of the big red rocks

The view of the seats to the stage from the left side with beautiful mountains in the background.

Seats and state from the right.

Can you just imagine sitting on those seats in the mountains surrounded by beautiful red rocks and great music? Someday . . . .

After a refreshing stop at the Red Rock Amphitheater, we drove to Idaho Springs, ate a sandwich at Quiznos, then headed for Mount Evans. With an altitude of 14,130 feet, the temperature changed from 88 degrees at the bottom to about 40 degrees at the top. Yes, we brought our jackets and we used them! The road was pretty narrow but paved all the way up to the top. There were hairpin curves and steep drop offs on one side the entire way. It was only 28 miles long, but it took an hour and one-half to get to the top. Driving slow was the only option.

There are several “life zones” which were clearly visible by the change in trees and vegetation to the lack of both near the top. Here's a Smilebox slide show of our Mount Evans excursion. Just click on the arrow below.

Create your own free slideshow design

You can probably tell that I was excited about seeing the mountain goats. I took many more pictures of them but didn't put them all in my slide show. There were some baby goats as well, called "kids", but we weren't able to get a shot of them because of the traffic jam created by the goat herd sighting.

By the time we got back to the hotel room, we were exhausted and hungry so we ordered room service. The pizza and antipasti salad were just about the best Italian food I'd ever eaten. Wish I had more. We ate it so fast, I forgot to get a picture of it.

My next blog entry will have quilt stuff for those of you who are tired of all the other non-quilt stuff. We visited the Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum in Golden, Colorado the next day. So nice . . .

What is a Brews Cruise?

2011-09-12T16:22:00.000-05:00

Personally, I don't care that much for beer. However, my husband likes one now and then. I had to offset the visit to Harriet's quilt shop with an appropriate "guy thing," so I signed us up with Brews Cruise for a tour through several microbreweries in Denver.

The reviews by "cruisers" on TripAdvisor.com really sold me on the tour. Brent, our tour guide, gave our group of 10 men and 2 women an Intro to Beer 101 at the Breckenridge Brewery, our first stop. He showed us some of the ingredients and explained the process it all goes through to make a beer.

We visited four microbreweries in all, with ample samples from each one. Click on the Smilebox arrow below if you would like to see pictures of our tour.

Free picture slideshow made with Smilebox

Even though beer is not my thing, I thoroughly enjoyed visiting with the people from all over the United States and some of the locals who were on the tour with us. I told one group of guys that I was a real beer "wienie." They all got a laugh out of that. Simply stated, the only beer samples I tasted that I even remotely liked were the mild, pale ones with very little hops brewed in them. The more hops, the more bitter a beer tastes. I learned more about beer-making than I knew before and developed a better appreciation of this beverage. Brent did a fantastic job showing us a good time.

On the next day, we had a completely outdoors adventure. I'll tell you about that next.

A Visit to a Quilt Shop

2011-09-11T10:26:00.000-05:00

Here is a Smilebox of photos from our stop at Harriet's Treadle Shop near Denver, CO. Just click on the arrow in the box to see the pictures.

Digital slideshow generated with Smilebox

Harriet was not in the shop that day but here friendly staff granted permission for me to take photos. Harriet is a knowledgeable, caring teacher. I learned a lot about machine quilting from her a couple of months ago at the workshop held by Trinity Valley Quilters' Guild and would love to take some of her Quilting Academy courses with her. Maybe I'll have to return for another visit to Denver about the time they are having one of those courses at her shop. If you get a chance, I highly recommend you visit her shop or take a class from her or both.

Yes, I did buy some fabric - yardage of Chintz and fat quarters of some greens, purples, and golds from the reproductions section. Some of the golds will show up in my Civil War Quilt blocks.

More about our trip later. Stay tuned.

LAST WEEK’S CIVIL WAR QUILT BLOCK

2011-09-10T19:52:00.000-05:00

Since I was out of town part of last week and most of this week, I didn’t get my Civil War Quilt block of the week made until Friday.

This Kentucky Crossroads pattern is super easy and lots of fun to make. Fussy cutting the blue wavy strips was the hardest part and that wasn’t really tough at all. This time I used very little of my red star on cream background fabric just to be a little different. is block would be gorgeous throughout a complete quilt. This block would be gorgeous throughout a complete quilt.

I have the pattern for the next block, Confederate Rose, but haven’t tackled it yet. I’m waiting to see if American Homestead comes up with an easier, non-template method before tackling it. Templates are not my thing when it comes to piecing. Don’t mind them for applique but not for piecing???? Not when I have a rotary cutter and a ruler.

I’ve just finished editing and organizing the vacation photos so I will start posting about our trip next.
Until then,

HOME FROM DENVER

2011-09-09T15:32:00.000-05:00

My Sweetie and I took a vacation trip to Denver, Colorado last week and returned Wednesday evening. I’ve been so busy washing clothes, catching up with emails and blogs, and just plain resting that I haven’t felt like posting on my blog. I don’t have any photos for you yet – I took about 221 pictures which have been uploaded to my computer but I haven’t gone through them yet to edit, etc. When that task is completed, I’ll show you just a few of them. I promise not to post all 221 photos. That’s more than anyone but me want to see.

Let’s just say that the cooler temperatures were wonderful! We even had to put on jackets a couple of mornings.

We did our best to bring some of that cooler weather back to Texas with us and it looks like we succeeded. It’s about 88 degrees this afternoon. Yee Haa! Now if we could just get some rain! Guess I’ll have to do a rain dance.

A COUPLE MORE VINTAGE QUILTS

2011-09-06T00:32:00.000-05:00

I don’t believe I’ve posted pictures of these two quilts before on my blog. I’ve had them for several years and am considering putting them up for sale on Ebay or Etsy in the near future. This first quilt appears to be from 1930s-50s. The batting is HEAVY cotton and the muslin backing is brought around to the front for binding. The pattern is similar to the Carolina Lily (Block #32) from Barbara Brackman’s Civil War Quilt block of the week series. For some reason I don’t have any close-up shots of any of the fabrics. Fabrics are a major part of what catches my eye when I see an antique or vintage quilt.

Sometimes the quilt can be a little unattractive if the fabric is interesting. This next one is really not a pretty quilt. It has machine appliqued Vintage Ladies and Sunflowers on alternating blocks. The fabric on this one appears to be 1960’s. What caught my eye on this one is the fabric on some of the ladies.

If you look closely at the next two shots, you might be able to see the “Davy Crockett” print. The Davy Crockett television show aired in the mid to late 1950’s. You can visit an interesting web page about the show here.

However, Roy Rogers and Dale Evans were my favorite television western stars in the 50s and 60s. You can read more about them here. Unfortunately, I’ve yet found anything with Roy Rogers fabric in it thus far but I bet there is some out there. In the meantime . . .

Happy trails to you, until we meet again,

BEST WISHES FOR LABOR DAY 2011

2011-09-04T00:04:00.001-05:00

Here’s hoping you get a break from your labors to celebrate.

FOR ALL YOU ANTIQUE QUILT LOVERS

2011-09-02T01:25:00.000-05:00

Just wanted to give you antique quilt lovers a heads up on a new blog by Barbara Brackman called “War and Piecing" at: http://quilt1812warandpiecing.blogspot.com/. It focuses on quilts made earlier in the 19th century. It looks interesting. Great history, photos, and references.

Star of the West Includes the Pioneer Woman

2011-08-29T12:14:00.000-05:00

This is my version of block #35, Star of the West, from Brackman’s Civil War Quilt this week.

Not my favorite block as far as fabric choices, except Jo Morton’s blue corner squares and the trusty star background. However, when I place it with the others on the design board, it looks fine.

I am a Pioneer Woman blog fan. Her tales of ranch life, family, and cooking really get me laughing and ahh-ing. She now has a cooking show on the Food Network. After watching her first show, I've decided that the secret to her cooking seems to be BUTTER. Lots and lots of butter. So much butter that my arteries seized up while watching her make mashed potatoes on Saturday’s show.

Looked so good, but don’t think my hips and arteries could handle it.

One of my Facebook friends (thanks Jay) has this quote on her status. "It's so dry in Texas, that the Baptists are starting to baptize by sprinkling, the Methodists are using wet-wipes, The Presbyterians are giving rain checks and the Catholics are praying for the wine to turn back into water. " That about sums it up. Our watering is being rationed now. The lakes are getting so dry that you can walk across them in some spots. I ‘m ready to head north to the much cooler Rocky Mountains.

Praying for rain and lower temperatures here at home,

WHAT I DID WITH THE OTHER 4 PIECES

2011-08-26T16:59:00.001-05:00

Because of the way #33 Indiana Puzzle was machine appliqued and cut apart for reassembly, I had the remaining 4 extra parts to do something with. I took the easy way out.

Instead of tediously matching the circles into the center like Indiana Puzzle, I decided to sew the un-appliqued edges together. I named my block Texas Puzzle just because that’s were I is. It may go into my Civil War Quilt as an extra block if needed for the setting I choose.

Guess I better get back to working on my Friendship Triangles project but before I do, let me leave you with this thought: "A house becomes a home when you can write "I love you" on the furniture." It is truly home at my house.

TA-DA!!!! OR IS IT TAH DAH?????

2011-08-25T15:28:00.000-05:00

After a major screw up the first go round involving measuring incorrectly when cutting the blocks into four sections, I finally made a decent Indiana Puzzle block today for my version of Brackman's Civil War Quilt.

I decided to do the machine applique method rather than curved piecing on this one per American Homestead’s blog instructions. I’ve done curved piecing before and probably would have little problem with it again but I didn’t want to take the chance of having totally stretched out bias edges before I was through stitching. Of course, after my mess up with the first machine applique block, I probably would have made two of the curved piecing blocks as well without the world ending.

For the last couple of weeks or so, I have been anxiously awaiting the October issue of American Patchwork and Quilting magazine to arrive in the mail box. I’ve read on some of my Yahoo groups of others receiving theirs. I wonder -- what is the hold up? I may need to contact APQ to advise them of the loss/delay so they can ship me another one. Has anyone in the north central Texas area already received theirs?

Still waiting,

ROSEBUDS

2011-08-23T16:50:00.000-05:00

I completed block #34, called Rosebud, for my Civil War Quilt block of the week. Even though we hate having to deal with 16th of an inch on our rulers, the measurements given by American Homestead made the block finish at a perfect 8 1/2”.

I also work on last week's block, #33 Indiana Puzzle but measured wrong and have to start all over again. Darn it! It’s break time now, but I may tackle it again later tonight when my head clears.

Speaking of Rosebud, here is a close up face photo of my little rosebud, Rowdy Ranger. He is a little sour puss but he allows me to touch him when he’s ready and to feed him on demand.

The little white comma on the right side of his face and mouth looks to me like he slurped up some milk, splattering it on his face. Of course, he has never touched milk. That would set off his throw-up act. He has a pretty delicate stomach. Kinda like his momma.

That’s all for now. May your bobbins always be full ~

FAMILY STUFF AND NEW DESIGN WALL

2011-08-22T17:43:00.000-05:00

Spent Sunday with family at my Mom’s house and loved every minute of it. Here are just a few pictures taken with my wonderful new Nikon Coolpix camera.

This is my grand-niece posing in my old bedroom at Mom’s house with the “flower arrangements” she made. Notice that she posed like the photograph of her aunt that is on the bottom shelf of the antique oak table.

My brother and husband at the barbecue pit cooking hamburgers.

Sis, nieces, nephews and Butters the Yorkshire Terrier lounging in Mom’s living room.

The finished new design wall made by Sweetie in our garage.

My sweetie being shy.

Design wall in sewing room with the first 32 blocks from Brackman’s Civil War Quilt blocks of the week.

I’m a happy quilter.

NEW CAMERA AND OTHER STUFF

2011-08-17T16:52:00.001-05:00

I finally ordered a new camera – it’s a Nikon Coolpix S6100 in anticipation of an upcoming trip. I didn’t want to take a chance that my older camera finally falling completely apart when vital picture-taking was in order. My dear Sweetie dropped our little Canon camera while at the July 4th parade and it’s trying to come apart at the seams. It’s taped up at the moment, but a new camera was in order. Here it is:

The battery on the new camera is charging now which gives me time to read or should I say muddle through the operator’s manual. It’s best to figure out how everything works before getting into a situation where it MUST work or the photo is lost. But first, I need to buy a memory card to hold more than the 5 pictures the internal memory holds.

Slowly but surely I’m sewing my block units together for the Friendship Triangle Exchange quilt. Four sections (lower bottom left side) are assembled and others are laid out by my sewing machine for assembly.

So far so good.

I haven’t made this week’s Civil War Quilt block, #33 Indiana Puzzle, yet. Don’t know if I’m going to do the curved piecing or the applique method yet. It’s time to make a decision!

I’m shutting down the computer now. I’ve been working on it for several hours now. I've read all the blogs I follow, downloaded the new camera program, fixed an audio problem, and downloaded a new book on my MP3 player. Enough is enough already!

UNUSUAL DESIGN WALL

2011-08-12T11:19:00.001-05:00

Working on my half-square triangle friendship exchange quilt presented a problem. I don’t have anywhere big enough that I can assemble quilt pieces in a layout for a twin-size or larger quilt. Being a fairly resourceful woman, I figured out an option.

I draped a large piece of 80/20 cotton batting over the tub shower fiberglass doors in the bathroom that is not our main showering place. Voila! A bigger, though not huge, design board that is not in anybody’s way and where the cat can’t rearrange pieces like he loves to do if I work on the floor. My only complaint, it gets hot in there because the air conditioner does not vent into that room, so I took frequent cool down breaks.

I’m taking groups of 4 X 4 HSTs to the machine to sew into a “block” to keep from getting myself confused with a larger number of pieces at one time. Then I will sew the various “blocks” together in order to make the quilt top.

Some of you may be Dear Jane Quilt fans also known as Janiacs. Even if you aren’t, you should visit the American Patchwork & Quilting webpage here to view pictures of lots of variations of layouts, fabrics and colors used in some Dear Jane quilts. You may be surprised. Some are bright and bold, another is a yellow and blue two-tone palette, unique layouts (including one with DJ blocks laid out in a Christmas tree shape), on point settings, and many other fun techniques.

After 40 consecutive days of temperatures in the triple digits here in north central Texas, we got a break on August 11 of a mere 97 degrees, just short of a 42 day record set in 1980. Have no fear, we are back to the triples digits and will probably be there again for several more days! Still no rain!

Back to sewing after I eat a bite of lunch,

Civil War Quilt Block 32

2011-08-07T16:28:00.000-05:00

This week’s block is called Carolina Lilly with Barbara Brackman’s directions here. However, I followed American Homestead’s directions instead with a slight variation.

American Homestead’s tutorial on this block featured all half-square triangles and 2 1/2” solid squares. I made all the half-square triangles as she instructed, but instead of the 3 – 2 1/2” background fabric squares on each of the long sides of the block, I used 2 – 2 1/2” X 6 1/2” rectangles. It worked like a charm. Easy assembly with good looking results.

The heat here in my neck of the woods in Texas still blazes, currently at 105 degrees. The only time I’ve been outside today was to go the the International House of Pancakes (IHOP) around 6:00 a.m. for some yummy buttermilk pancakes with warmed maple syrup. Delish! We scrambled back home quickly afterwards and have stayed inside cooling it ever since. Our neighbor lady told us this morning on her way to church that she was going to pray really hard for some rain. Hope her (and our) prayers are answered sooner rather than later.

Until next time, sew your hearts out.

SPOOLS AND TRIANGLES

2011-08-03T17:31:00.000-05:00

This is block #31 from the Civil War Quilt, Empty Spools.

However, I chose to use a different pattern for the spool from EQ5 so that I could add a third color in the mix, plus this pattern was easier to do than the one from Barbara Brackman’s blog. My spool is ALMOST empty. There is still more work to be done by the Civil War ladies to make quilts, shirts, and other necessities for the soldiers!

Haven’t worked on much else. I’m going through a bout of headaches that just interferes with my sewing time and life in general! I have decided what I am going to do with my half-square triangles from the friendship exchange. Here’s just a small layout, not complete, but enough to get the idea.

Until next time, keep cool – (my computer says it is 109 degrees today –OMG!)

FINITO!

2011-07-31T03:13:00.000-05:00

Earlier last week, Infinite Crossroads was quilted, bound, labeled and hung on my dining room wall. That is why the title of this blog entry is Finito! (Italian for finished). I’m not Italian. Just would love to visit the country someday and I like the way finito sounds when said with gusto!

I pulled out several other quilts with red and white fabric featured to place on the quilt rack sitting below the hanging quilt to complete the theme,

and put a red, white, black and gold quilt on a corner wall on the other side of the china cabinet for good measure.

Please pardon the bright light flash on the top shelf of the china cabinet because it is backed with a mirror there. Circumstances beyond the photographer’s control.

From these photos, you might guess/notice that my Sweetie and I are collectors of old things – like, Hall teapots, vintage linens, vintage/antique quilts, mercury glass, carnival glass, depression glass (clear and red Manhattan pattern here), a 1900s clock and 1930s Crosley combination radio/78 rpm record player (both in working order and both from his side of the family). That is just one corner of one room in the house. Believe me, there is much, much more.

Today I wanted to share my finished red & white quilt with you. Later, I will post my next Brackman Civil War quilt block. I did something a little different. Until then, keep on stitching,

WHAT DO BASEBALL AND HST’S HAVE IN COMMON

2011-07-28T23:12:00.000-05:00

Tonight while watching the Texas Rangers vs. Minnesota Twins baseball game on television, I began clipping “ears” and tearing off triangle paper from a half-square triangle exchange done with other members of The Quilt Show . The exchange was called Sisterhood of the Traveling Triangles because half-square triangles were submitted from all over the world for exchange. So far I’ve found lots from the United States, but also a few from Canada, England (U.K.), Germany and Australia. The fabrics included batiks, florals, conversation prints, solids, prints, bright, dark, all different kinds. There were no limitations put on them.

There are many more to trim and tear, which I will probably pick up again tomorrow during the baseball game. One thing though, they are messy – I was covered all over in threads and paper giblets after a couple of hours.

As you can see from my photo, from left to right are (1) the half-square triangles to be clipped and to have paper removed; (2) the HSTs already clipped, paper removed and finger-pressed open; and (3) the trash can for all the little clipped off ear bits and torn HST paper trash. The remote control is handy and the pillows for my back and arm are set up. It’s working out to be a pretty good system.

I think I am going to make a version of the Cheddar Triangles Block quilt located on page 101 of Betsy and Carol’s book, History Repeated: Block Exchange Quilts of the 19th Century Patchwork Divas OR a version of the Medallion Quilt from Edyta Sitar’s book, Friendship Triangles. For some reason the pages in that book are not numbered. Go figure. Anyway, I dream of what I will do with the HSTs as I rip the paper off. Such wonderful dreams.

THE HOT AS H*LL IN JULY GIVEAWAY WINNER AND CIVIL WAR QUILT BLOCKS

2011-07-24T12:09:00.000-05:00

Pat, your number won THE GOODBYE QUILT book. Looking forward to receiving your mailing address so it can be mailed to you. Thanks to all who left a comment for this drawing.

I have two Brackman’s Civil War Quilt blocks to show this time. I didn’t work on last week’s block because I was machine quilting the red and white quilt. Once the quilting project was finished, I began working on the blocks for the Civil War Quilt.

Block #29, Railroad Crossing, has a little problem. It went together beautifully – all the measurements worked – except that it finished a perfect 8 3/4” instead of 8 1/2”. I’ve not decided yet whether to re-make it with slightly larger than a 1/4” seam allowance or just to let it go. I like the way it turned out so if I do remake it, I will use the same fabric choices.

29 Railroad Crossing

Block No. 30, Peterson’s Star and Stripes was easy to put together because I am machine appliqueing the star. I did, however, have to draft a star in my computer Paint program because the link to the star pattern in the Peterson's Star post sent me somewhere besides a star pattern. Otherwise, this block is a piece of cake.

30 Peterson's Star and Stripes

That’s all for now.

RED & WHITE QUILT UPDATE AND REMINDER

2011-07-21T17:39:00.000-05:00

Before I get to my red and white quilt, I first want to remind you to jump down to the July 19th blog entry below and leave a comment to enter into the drawing for the book The Goodbye Quilt by Susan Wiggs. The deadline to enter is midnight C.S.T. on Saturday, July 23rd. A description of the book is also located on Tuesday’s blog entry FYI.

Now, on to the quilting on the red and white quilt. For those of you who are just visiting in on my blog for the first time, I was inspired by the red and white quilts exhibit in New York City at the American Folk Art Museum this past spring. You can watch videos of some of the 650 red and white quilts at this show on YouTube.com by clicking on the highlighted parts, Part One here, Part Two here, and Part Three here. You will be amazed at some of the close ups of these quilts featured in the videos if you haven’t seen them already. But don’t forget to come back here to finish reading this blog!!!!

Immediately following that quilt show, I designed my own red and white quilt for a wall hanging after seeing photographs of those spectacular quilts at the exhibit. In honor of the museum exhibit name, Infinite Variety: Three Centuries of Red and White Quilts, I am naming my little quilt Infinite Crossroads. I may put it in the guild quilt show this coming September. We'll see.

I quilted all over in a 1” grid with my Janome sewing machine using a walking foot and invisible thread and am very happy with the results. Now all I need to do is trim the edges, apply the binding and label, then wash and dry it before hanging it on my dining room wall.

As you can see here, some of the blue marking pen is not washed out yet. I spritzed it with water from the only squirt bottle I could find and it was small . . . VERY small (see it in right center of the first photo above). My fingers and thumbs got soooooo tired. They are kind of sore today.

I will keep spritzing, but I’m sure the rest of it will come out in the washing machine. The washing and drying give a nice crinkly soft look and feel like an older quilt that I just love. I’ll post another photo of it when finished.

Having fun in my sewing world,

ON A READING SPREE PLUS A GIVEAWAY

2011-07-19T17:57:00.001-05:00

Due to the hot weather and laziness on my part, I’ve done a lot of reading this past month. With all the attention to the 150th anniversary of the beginning on the U.S. Civil War, I became interested in a book recommended by Smithsonian Magazine The Lady Nurse of Ward E, by Amanda Akin. The Smithsonian has an exhibit based on Ms. Akin and her diary which you can read about here.

Personally, I like to learn about events in history as they affect the women who also lived during that time. This book fit the bill.

On the lighter side, Janet Evanovich’s, Smokin’ Seventeen is the 17th in a series about Stephanie Plum, oftentimes inept bounty hunter, and her madcap co-workers, family and friends. This author can really crack me up. When I laugh out loud while reading, my husband wonders if I'm going crazy.

This particular book was not quite as funny as some of the previous volumes, but it had plenty of humor and an exciting love scene.

Next I read Charlaine Harris, Dead Reckoning, a Sookie Stackhouse Novel. You can read Chapter 1 at http://www.charlaineharris.com/DeadReck_1.html

This series of books is the basis of the True Blood HBO television series, however the television writers don’t particularly follow the story line of the books which is usually the case. I started reading this series before True Blood because I had read some of this authors mystery books in the past and liked them. I met author at a Mystery Book Convention in Dallas several years ago and really liked her personality, friendly and funny.

Finally, I read The Goodbye Quilt written by Susan Wigg. I’ve never read any of her novels before, and I can’t really remember where I heard or read about her being a writer with story lines involving quilts, but I gave it a try. It was a quick read about a mother and daughter’s trip to college for the first time. Of course, Mom felt the tug of “empty nest syndrome” and wondered how her little bird will handle being away from home for the first time. I’m sure some of you have gone through this part of life or are about to this Fall. And yes, there is quilting involved.

Because it’s too hot to do anything but sew and read at my house, and possibly at yours too, I am giving away my copy of this book to one of my blog readers. Let’s call it the “Hot as H_LL in July” giveaway. To enter, just leave a comment on this blog entry by no later than midnight C.S.T. on Saturday, July ~~16th~~ (SORRY FOR THE MIX UP - IT'S THE 23RD not the 16th). I will draw a lucky number out of the basket on Sunday. Leave any kind of comment, like what you are doing during these hot summer days, or that you are somewhere where it is not hot, or what you are working on, or whatever.

Sew leave me a comment to enter the giveaway,

MORE ANTIQUE QUILTS, OH MY!

2011-07-15T17:11:00.000-05:00

More on American Homestead http://americanhomestead.blogspot.com/2011/07/american-folk-art-museum-nyc-part-2.html

As always, you can see photos of wonderful antique quilts and fabric plus learn a little history behind them from Barbara Brackman’s blog, Material Culture.

Here is one of my own, purchased at a an antique mall in 2010. It’s called Darting Birds, possibly from the 1930s or 50s. Baptist fan quilting pattern. Love it!

ANTIQUE QUILTS GALORE!

2011-07-11T23:44:00.000-05:00

Newsflash!

In the last day or so, two of the blogs I read faithfully featured photographs of antique and vintage quilts. If you are a fan of old quilts, I recommend you visit American Homestead to see her photographs of quilts from the American Folk Art Museum in NY City. Furthermore, Bonnie Hunter’s Quiltville is filled with great antique quilts from the Sisters, Oregon show this past weekend. You won’t want to miss these beauties.

MOST RECENT BRACKMAN CW BLOCK

2011-07-11T02:54:00.000-05:00

Good (or bad) Next Door Neighbors:

Block #28, Next Door Neighbors

I dug into my Jo Morton fabrics box for the blue and gold in this block. I starched the heck out of the fabric before cutting and sewing it together to reduce the chances of stretching the many bias edges too much. It came out measuring 8 1/2" - I got lucky! My little design board is full and we've done only 28 of the 52 blocks. I guess I'll have to start pinning them to my wall or something. I want to admire all of the blocks as we go along!

History Repeated was indeed available at the meeting on Saturday, so I was able to get Carol to sign a copy of this book for me. (See my blog entry for more info about and photos of the book here.) The quilts are gorgeous plus they featured more than one setting for the blocks. Both Carol and Betsy deserve a big pat on the back for a job well done. I highly recommend you get a copy if you love 19th century patchwork quilts and their repros. You will love it!

Carol and Betsy, we want more!!!!!!

ANXIOUSLY AWAITING

2011-07-08T16:48:00.000-05:00

Saturday is the day for our monthly meeting of the Quilt History Society group at Cabbage Rose in Fort Worth. Our leader is Carol Staehle, one of the authors of a new book called History Repeated: Block Exchange Quilts of the 19th Century Patchwork Divas. I’m hoping that Cabbage Rose has her book in stock by now because I am just dying to own it and to get Carol’s autograph in it.

Her co-author, Betsy Chutchian, a wonderfully sweet lady as well, are members of a group of talented women who have been making exchange blocks as part of the 19th Century Patchwork Divas for a number of years. I’ve seen many of their outstanding quilts in person during class and at quilt shows, including the Houston International show. This book features patterns for several of those quilts made from those exchanges. To read more about it, go to the publisher’s site here. For a look inside the book, click here. You can buy a copy from Amazon or preferably your local quilt shop, I’m sure.

Things are back to normal at the house. No more crazy banging on the roof so Ranger is back to his usual pestering self showing no signs of mental trauma. He is a very vocal cat. Sometimes too vocal, but we talk together all the time. My little furry companion.

"If you have only one smile in you, give it to the people you love." — Maya Angelou I include my cat as a person I love, too.

SCAREDY CAT

2011-07-06T18:24:00.000-05:00

My cat is in hiding today. The roofers are here banging loudly and often. Ranger’s scared and won’t come out until they leave at dark thirty tonight after the roofers quit for the day. Poor kitty cat. Life is so hard.

Ranger at a more leisurely time in the past

This photo is before the roofers. Can’t find him to take the during the roofers snapshot! I'm betting he looks something like this . . .

And he's got to go through it again tomorrow!

WHAT DID I DO DURING THE LONG 4TH OF JULY WEEKEND?

2011-07-06T00:17:00.000-05:00

Very little! I can say that I finished block #27 of the Brackman quilt, the Irish Chain.

However, I think it needs more red so I may change out the center block. We will see.

I also got the top finished on my red and white Crossroads/”T” quilt
.

You can’t tell but all the red fabric has a small white dot all over it and my white fabric is a mixture of various white with red accents found in my “Resource Center” (aka stash). The top measures 33” X 41” at this time but may shrink a little after I grid quilt it on my home machine.

The rest of my long weekend was spent mostly on the couch in the den nursing a headache.
I missed the 4th of July parade . . .

My niece’s kids, Trinity & Hunter

Big, Loud Fire Truck

Terry’s Texas Rangers, Civil War Reenactors

Old Fellas Driving Old Tractors

Most Importantly, the Veterans

Sweetie went to the parade with my family and his Dad and took these photos before he dropped the camera and busted it. A new camera is in our future.

He also went to the annual 4th of July family get-together at my Moms and brought me leftovers of pulled pork sandwiches, potatoes salad, and grape salad. Wish I could have been there.

The strength of my allergy shots bumped up a notch, so I’m suffering a bit from that bodily assault from extra allergens. I’ve been told I should see some improvement after the third month, but I’m just now starting my second month. Keep your fingers crossed.

Hope everyone else had a wonderful weekend and got to sew a little. A little sewing (and leftovers) were my only solace.

INDEPENDENCE DAY–JULY 4TH

2011-07-04T18:09:00.001-05:00

Hope you are having a wonderful 4th of July!

DECISIONS WERE MADE AND BLOCK IS DONE

2011-06-30T13:18:00.000-05:00

I tried not to overly obsess over fabric choices finally settling on the ones you see in Block #26, Barbara Frietchie Star from Barbara Brackman’s Civil War Quilt 2011.

I would have made flying geese blocks for the star points rather than the half square triangles called for in the pattern, but I happened to have several of the red and tan combined with the cream with red stars background already made from another week’s block but got rejected for another fabric choice. Can't let anything go to waste.

We are now halfway through 2011 with 26 blocks completed and 26 more to go. And the beat goes on. . . . .

IT’S TOO HOT!

2011-06-28T17:34:00.000-05:00

You would think that because it is so hot outside in north central Texas (right now it is 101 degrees but with the humidity the heat index is 109 degrees), that I would spend that time wisely sewing in cool comfort under the air conditioning inside. Just barely. I’ve worked on odds and ends but have nothing significant to show for it yet. I made more Red & White Crossroads blocks and started on the Civil War Quilt block of the week (Barbara Frietchie Star) with some half square triangles made but contemplating whether to use the ones I’ve made or change out some of the fabric. Decisions, decisions.

If you check out the flickr Civil War Quilt Board, you will see all the wonderful combinations and styles of fabric used by others for each block. Lots of fussy cutting, directional fabric layouts, etc. It’s almost intimidating. But I shall persevere!

Sweetie and I had a busy weekend. First, Sweetie’s boss took us out to dinner with another couple at Bella Italia West restaurant in Fort Worth where I had the best raspberry cheesecake for desert. It was heavenly! And the meal wasn’t shabby either. I had a fettuccine alfredo with artichokes, onions and mushrooms. Sweetie had the trout special. Am I making you hungry yet?

The next night, we met my in-laws at Pappadeaux’s Restaurant in Fort Worth. This Cajun-style seafood restaurant serves unusual foods most Texans have never eaten, such as fried alligator tails, crawfish, etouffe’ – a blend of seafood, sausage, rice and spices in a brown sauce/gravy. However, I stuck with the spicy shrimp cocktail

and a Greek salad. Yummmmmmmmyyyyyyy! The shrimp cocktail looks as good as it tasted, plus I had plenty of iced tea nearby to help cool down the spicy flames. Delish!

After all that rich food Friday and Saturday, by Sunday we were eating plain leftovers out of the refrigerator. The normal, plain food that I cook. Oh well---- back to reality.

GETTING ORGANIZED

2011-06-24T02:08:00.000-05:00

I won this fabulous set of Fabric Organizers from Quilters’ Newsletter Magazine blog in a round about way.

Apparently, the first person whose name was drawn did not respond to the QNL editor’s email, so they chose a second name and it was me. I responded without delay – and they arrived at my house a couple of days ago. If you are interested about this type of fabric organizer, read more about them here. A big thanks to Quilters' Newsletter for sending me this product to try.

To test out the organizer, I grabbed about 2 or 3 yards of fabric still lying around of my cutting table from the last Civil War Quilt 2011 BOW, folded the width twice then stuck the end of the fabric under a couple of tabs and wrapped it around the board. Voila! Neat and tidy fabric. Don’t know where I’ll store fabric wrapped this way, but I’m sure I can find a little spot somewhere – maybe the top of my closet? I have fabric stashed everywhere in my bedroom, closets, and sewing room. Labeled and everything so I won’t forget what I have stored away. Maybe?

Getting sew organized, (yeah, right)

CIVIL WAR QUILT BLOCK 25

2011-06-19T14:06:00.000-05:00

Barbara Brackman’s Civil War Quilt block for week #25 is called Calico Puzzle. After making one block and not liking my fabric selections because of too many larger scale motifs mixed together, I made a second more calm one and am now happy quilter.

This is the one I like

This one is the rejected block

I found that once the block was assembled using the measurements on Brackman’s instructions, I did have to trim 1/4” off of each side to make it the appropriate 8 1/2” unfinished size.

Missing Dad on this Father’s Day,

Mom and Dad in 2005