Still Here

wow!  I hadn't realized the time gap since my last post.  Sorry about that.  I've been...busy.  Is that what I've been?  Since I last posted, I made another card.

But I still haven't made the labels for those baby quilts.  groan.

I made Penny's Halloween costume, and sent it to her.  It arrived a few days ago.  She is Princess Jasmine.  Always a princess.  :)

I have the makings of her flowergirl dress waiting for attention.  My youngest son's wedding is November 5.  Better get sewing, Gramma!

I added the binding to the green Lesson #7 quilt, from the Katie Pasquini Masopust class, so it is finished, except for the sleeve and label.  Those labels.  They're holding me back!  ;)

Lesson #8 - the last one in the class - is due on Monday.  A day or two after it was assigned, I enlarged a photo from Oban, Scotland, thinking I was going to focus on boats for my final project.  When it got to Friday, 10/21, I realized the boats would never be finished by 10/24.  I made a much smaller enlargement of a much simpler photo, and I am now in the middle of sewing Harvest Barns.  Here is my photo:

 This is what I had by about 5pm Friday afternoon.

I have since filled in all of the pieces, with the exception of the bottom 2 x 7 block quadrant.  I should be able to finish the piecing today.  Goals are good.  I highly doubt I can have it quilted by tomorrow midnight, which is its deadline.  I'm not sure if I will even try.

In other news, I now have a new dishwasher.  The door kept falling off on the old one, and the handle broke.  I have yet to use this one.  It seems to hold a lot more dishes than the old one did.

Also in other news, the local Joann's closed their super store and opened a cleaner smaller store in a different shopping center.  I may have gone hog wild when they marked apparel fabrics down to 90% and 95% off, when you finished the bolt.  I "saved" over $2000.  Such a thrifty shopper!  Most of my haul consisted of tulle and costume fabrics, in pink, purple, and turquoise.  I also got some "grown up" glitz, which I sent to my teenaged nieces.  This is some of what I sent to them:

 Within 24 hours of its arrival in Alaska, my eldest niece had made this pillow out of the grey roses.  For $24.99/yard?  I never would have purchased it.  For $1.25/yard?  I bought the whole bolt!

I was not the only one bargain hunting at Joann's.  One of my sons bought dozens of fixtures, which he is using to organize his garage.  When he was leaving with the last load, the liquidator asked, "Don't you think you could use the cash register counters as well?"  Yesterday we were over there, dismantling them and hauling them off.  Seven register cubbies, plus the electrical, plus the huge customer service booth are all now fighting for space in the garage.  Such a deal, such a deal!  Who could pass up free?!  I am thrilled to know that my thrifty ways have been passed along to the next generation. 

And with that, this has just been too long.  Stay tuned for my finished quilt top from Lesson #8.  It's definitely not my usual, though you can probably tell I made it.  :) 

Ta Da!

Yay!  I've finished something!  That doesn't seem to be happening very often any more.  And yet, when I logged onto Blogger, I was astounded to see that this is my 1402nd post.  Holy Moly, that's a lot of posting!  So, if you're waiting around for me to post something new, you might just want to take a peek into the archives.  Who knows what treasure hides in those files?  :)

I finished Penny's costume, and it arrived today at her home.  I am waiting to hear whether or not it fits, and whether or not she likes it.  Surely she will like it, won't she?

 She wants to dress as Pocahontas.  Apparently my daughter's friends are shocked, and think that Penny's choice is politically incorrect.  Au contraire, Pocahontas is a beloved historical figure, who also happens to have much the same coloring/physical characteristics of my granddaughter.  Yesterday I was thinking that, in order to be politically correct at all times, we should eliminate all forms of communication. That way nothing can be taken wrong, right?   Sometimes the world is a silly place.

I finished a batch of postcards this afternoon.  Several will be sent out to members of Postmark'd Art.  The theme for this exchange is "Aquarium."

 I forgot to mention the batik tjap (pronounced "chop") that I found at last week's estate sale.  I've added it to my collection.  One of these days I will put them to use, but not today.

I've been out at the walnuts a lot lately, keeping tabs on some of the gleaning that we've allowed this year. 

Tulare County has laws requiring signed permission documents from the landowner, to prevent walnut theft.  Earlier this week, a Sheriff's deputy had pulled over to check the paperwork of our legal gleaners.  As he was talking to them, a car pulled up, two idiots jumped out, and they stole two 50 lb bags of nuts that the gleaners had filled.  The deputy jumped in his car, chased them down, and escorted them to jail for booking.  Incredible.

The leaves are beginning to fall from the walnut trees, and they are beautiful.

 Some of them are also quite large.  Look at this one, compared to my key ring, which holds 6 keys and two car remotes.

 Here is the same leaf, compared to Pixel.  It's almost as big as she is!!

And that's all I've got for today, folks.  Hope you enjoyed stopping by!

Finding Time

I can't believe how long it's been since I've posted.  It seems like every day is go, go, go.  Then again, I was down for a couple of days in need of antibiotics, but once they kicked in, it was back to go, go, go.

I have yet to make my granddaughter's Halloween costume, but I finished one for a friend.  This is the part that I did:

 She was in charge of the tank top, cape, mask, and tights.  Pretty cute, right?  She sent me a screenshot from Pintrest, and I went with it.  :)

The Oasis exhibit never made it to Palm Springs or PIQF, but the book is now available on Amazon.  My copy should arrive tomorrow.  woohoo!  :)


The nuts are falling in earnest, so I've made multiple trips out there to glean.  I'm barely making a dent, and have yet to harvest some for personal use.  Every 50 lbs off the ground is 50 lbs less for moths to overwinter in.

We had some wonderfully refreshing torrential rain last week, accompanied by rolling thunder and lightning.  It was truly spectacular, as though the curtain has been raised, and the introduction to "No More Drought" was on stage.  I hope it's not just a trailer.  I hope it's the beginning of the end of the drought, really and truly.

The event was not without consequences, as the walnuts went without power for 30 hours, once again.  This time we were rewarded with a set of brand new transformers.  yay!

 When they said they would send a crew, they weren't kidding!  :)

 Now doesn't that look better?!

I've made time to run out to this sale and that one, looking for treasures.  Here are some from my last foray:

 Isn't the parasol delightful?  All lacey and feminine?  And then there was the Bauer pitcher, in perfect condition, and the little white crocks.

 And a cotton pareo, that will be perfect for some project down the road, though I don't yet know which one.

 And, of course, I'm always looking for more large shells.  I found the one on the right, for $4.  woohoo!  :)  They're displayed on the toilet tank, to give you a sense of proportion.

 Oh, and we went to a wedding, where they had a photo booth.  Looking good, Kistlers, looking good!

I'm hopeful that there will be some actual sewing to share in the coming days, and then next week?  Stay tuned!  I've got big plans.  :)

Fiber Interlude

I thought I'd interrupt the recollections of our Scotland tour with a recap of what's happening fiber-wise around here.  I've been busy, though not so busy as to have things to actually get super excited about.  I believe my last quilt-related post involved quilting at the Fair, back on the 15th of September.

That weekend, the Kings River Quilt Guild put on their quilt show.  It's an every other year event, one that I make an effort to attend.  I thought this year's edition was particularly good.  Because it's a guild-only display, the members are pressed to produce new work.  I think they outdid themselves this time around.

Unfortunately, I did not take any pictures. 

I shopped the vendors with vigor, but I can't show you much of what I bought.  Let's just say that some Christmas gifts are now hidden away until their December reveal.  Then again, I can't go to a quilt show and not spend money on myself.  Here are my personal treasures from the show:  Hand-dyed socks by Kristin, and the coolest thread cutter I've ever seen.

 I mentioned my surgery a couple of weeks ago.  I had a 2 week follow-up visit with the surgeon, who thoughtfully has her office in Fresno.  It's just a hop and a skip from Quilter's Paradise, so I had to stop by and look through their fabric.  I came home with these goodies.  Not only that, but it was double-punch day.  Woohoo!  I have a full card, which I will bring with me to my next follow-up appointment in November.  :)

 October is not just coming up, it's here.  That means that Miss Penny has submitted her costume request.  This year she wants to be Pochahontas.  Of course she wants to be a character that Disney has NOT patterned.  I found a mermaid pattern that has the right lines.  I'll be leaving off all the floof, and turning it into a simple dress with fringe, a la the upper photograph.  I expect it to be pretty straight forward, but things don't always turn out the way I expect.

 And last, but not least, on the quilting front, I've finished appliqueing Penny's feet.  These are part of the project that I began in the David Taylor class, at Asilomar, back in 2014.  Maybe I will finish it after all.  Goals are good!  :)

And I think that wraps it up for fiber happenings around here.  I need to do some serious housekeeping in the studio, if I ever intend to be productive again.  I don't know how it got so out of control, but out of control, it most definitely is.  I can't even show you pictures, it is that bad.  I can barely open the door to squeeze through, let alone fit in a camera!  :)

But the camera works just fine everywhere else.  I'll leave you with this spectacular sunrise this morning.  I took this picture facing AWAY from the sun.  The entire sky was glowing.  The rosy hue of my backyard pulled me out there to see it.  Truly inspiring, to be sure!  Tut, tut...Looks like rain?

Quick Catch-Up

I spent the weekend at Hartland Christian Camp, at a quilt retreat.  It was lovely, though dry.  so dry.  Evergreens were brown, and rivers were dry.  Really terrifying.

 But once I was there, I lucked out and got my very own table.  An entire workstation, all to myself.  Heaven.  Bliss.  yep.  It was "all that."  :)

I drove down the hill again the next day for an errand, and tried to capture the raw beauty with my camera.

I only finished one thing, but it was an important thing.

 It was especially important because when I got home, there were two special people on their way for a visit.

 ta da!

 I love it!

 I don't like the collar, Gramma.

 And she wore it until it was time for dinner.  I think it's a hit.  yay!

Making Progress

I still have some details to work on, like attaching velcro and hooks and eyes and making the collar, but it's going quickly.  yay!

One Done

I recovered from the cutting gaffe earlier this week, and you would never know it was there, unless I told you.

 Add the cape to the dress...

 And you get this:  Anna, from Frozen.

I haven't decided whether to try to deliver it in person, or to ship it.  Either way, it should arrive in the hands of its intended well before Halloween.  woohoo!  Goals are good!  And it is WONDERFUL to actually meet them once in a while.

Now excuse me while I head to PIQF, then move on to Snow White.  So much to do!  So little time!

One Step (almost) Forward

You know that phrase, "One step forward, two steps back?"  I did that this weekend.   Actually, it was more like "One step forward, and stumble."

What did I do?  I cut two of one piece right-side up, rather than two mirror images.  Somehow it's much more dramatic when it's for a garment than it is when I make this mistake while quilting.  Maybe it's because the pieces are bigger and there's nap involved.

yep.  A nap.  That's what I wanted when I realized my mistake.

Maybe there's enough fabric left?  Nope.  Not on this scrap.

 And not on this scrap either.

 Piecing skills to the rescue:

 I am hoping that I matched the nap, though it doesn't look like it in the picture.  When I take the 5/8" seam allowance in both directions, there won't be too much of the error exposed.  Then, when I add the black trim, it should (I hope!) fade to the background.  No one will ever know...except for the millions of people who saw the post here and on Facebook.  :)

At least the dress went together without incident.  I added the gold after I looked for a Disney comparison.  The dress made with the pattern directions were just a bit too ordinary for a princess.  I think the gold takes it from homemade to custom tailored, don't you? 

And with that, I've a cape to assemble.

Keeping Busy

We have a wedding coming up this month.  Young Penny needs a dress.  She's the Flower Girl.  Gramma was given this picture, and asked if it could be replicated in the proper colors.

It's not exactly the same.  I only bought one yard of silk, which yielded a 104" sash.  She'll be tying it in the back, rather than in front.

It's en route to Penny.  Fingers crossed that it fits!  The bow should look better and the skirt poofier with a Penny in it.

A Few Quiltlets, A Few Costumes

I've been dawdling, not getting down to business.  Rather than focus, and do something Important, I've fiddled with strips and postcards.  In between, I made some quiltlets, in celebration of a couple of birthdays.

Monica, my middle son's bride-to-be-some-time-next-year, needed a card, so I made one for her.  Hopefully it has arrived in Missouri, which is where they now live.  I added some crazy patchwork around a snippet from an antique applique/embroidered pillowcase.  (It was stained and torn.)

 For my youngest, I stuck with the beach theme, and scattered some beads, coral, and shells along the shoreline.

 Here he is, with his quiltlet.  I have LOTS of photos of him holding quilts up for photography.

All my kids can moonlight as professional quilt-holders.  :)  Here he is, back in high school, with a new birthday quilt.

 Here he is again.

 And again,

 and again, with his brother, (the one who's getting married),

 

 Here he was, in college...

Can you tell I like to make costumes?

Speaking of which, I just received some photos of Belle.  Here she is, during the candlelight art walk around the Cantor Art Center, back in October.

 Isn't she beautiful?

I'm pretty pleased with the way her dress turned out.  woohoo!

It was nice to receive these in my inbox.  I also received a, "We regret to inform you" note from Road to CA.  If I entered two quilts, and only got one email, is that a good sign?

Finally, I recently joined the online presence of Postmark'd Art.  You can see my page here.  :)

See me smile.  :)

And now, I think I'll go play around in the Studio some more, even if it's nothing Important.