Moving Along

So, I finished decorating the tree, and it is beautiful.

 Then I cleaned the dining room, in preparation for a dinner party next week.  I moved the dining room chairs into the living room, and, poof!  The place was again a shambles.  Good thing I had a meeting the next day in the living room.  Everything was put back to rights.  Well, at least the walkway was clear and the chairs easily accessible!

That's Pearl, up front.  Oh, the stories she could tell!  She's been in the family for years, and has had many starring roles in high school videos, etc.  She kind of hangs out in whichever corner happens to be available at the moment.

I haven't done much sewing, other than to make a block for our outgoing Valley Oak Quilt Guild President.  It was to have a green background and a flower.  I went with simple, because there's simply not enough time for anything.

 Notice the little bee in the flower's center?  I thought it was pretty cute.

I don't know if I ever mentioned the summertime drawing I won from Vicki Welsh, hand-dyer extraordinaire.  I'm not even sure what I did, maybe liked her on Facebook?  But she drew my name, and sent me this amazing selection of her hand dyes.  I've been meaning to at least make a postcard to thank her, but time is running faster than I am these days.  You should click on the link and check out her shop, because she has a lot more than just fabric.  She is one talented woman, that's for sure!

The only other quilting thing I've got to share is that I signed up for the next Katie Pasquini Masopust class, which begins in January.  This one is on working in a series.  I'll have 15 weeks to create 5 new quilts.  If only I had the time to finish the "old" ones I put together in the last class!

So much to do, not enough time.  Spend it on the things that matter.  Hug your family, smooch your pet, smile at a stranger.  The world is better for it.  And on that, I'm off to the next thing.  (Boy is the next family member to walk in the door going to be surprised.  I might just grab them and give them a great big hug.  After all, it is the season!!)
Joy to you!

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.  :) 

WooHoo! I'm a Winner!!

 A few weeks ago, Vicki Welsh, of Colorways by Vicki, had a week filled with daily giveaways.  I love reading her blog.  One day she's quilting, another day she's dyeing, another day she's doing glasswork, and on another day she's working on a full-wall mosaic.  Never a dull moment with her, that's for sure!  I had no expectations when entering the giveaway, but wow!  I won Monday's bonanza!  It arrived yesterday in my mailbox.  Thank you, Vicki!  Thank you SO much!!  :)

In other news, I'm working on Lesson #5 for my Katie Pasquini Masopust online class.  groan.  The current assignment is to be achromatic, i.e., all done in black and white and greys.  Not being a fan of b&w&g, this is really a struggle for me.  I began by choosing a photo, cropping it, and then drawing a pattern.

 Next, I made my freezer paper pattern, that I will use to cut pieces and follow to assemble the quilt.

 As I was working, I realized that what I really needed was another design wall.  I've been wanting one for a long time.  I went to Lowe's and bought some insulation.  It wasn't until I was cutting it that I realized I bought the wrong stuff.  What I wanted was foam sheathing.  What I purchased was styrofoam.  I didn't think it would make a difference, so I taped on the flannel surface.

 Here it is, looking beautiful.  Unfortunately, my pins do not like the styrofoam surface.  I am going to have to go back to the hardware/lumber store and find the right stuff.  I think I'll go to Home Depot, as I only saw styrofoam at Lowe's. 

At this point, I've got 1, 2, 3, 4...5 days left before my Lesson #5 deadline.  Today's job:  to see if I can cover the pattern with all of the cut pieces needed to complete the quilt.  On Monday, I thought I would make the iris grey and the backgrounds black and white.

 Once I had some of the background up, it was clear that it was a mess.  Yesterday, I tried to switch, using the black and white for the iris and grey for the background.  Neither is pleasing to me, but perhaps I'll be able to work through this and get the thing finished by Monday.

Goals are good!

Delicious Color

Hancocks of Paducah sent me an email advertising a $6.99/yard sale.  With free shipping included for a $70 purchase, well, I was hooked.  The batik fabrics arrived last week.  Aren't they yummy?

 The guidelines for Lesson #3 arrived.  I will be working with 2 cool colors and 1 warm.  Isn't it funny to see that it's the same color scheme that arrived on my doorstep?  I've since swapped the yellow greens (too warm) for blue greens.  All of the super-dark fabrics are actually blues.

I really should be working on Lesson #3, but instead, I've been doing some hand applique.  Penny's Pinwheel is still on my portable design wall, and I am gradually piecing the back of her jacket.  I am hopeful that I will have the quilt top done by the end of the year.

I also made some more very skinny strips for railings on the Lesson #2 lifeguard tower.  Perhaps I'll get the top finished this weekend, and be able to quilt it soon.  Goals are good, and the cooler weather this week is truly helping me move towards them.  Happy Stitching!

Finding My Groove

Lesson #2 with Katie Pasquini Masopust arrived in my inbox early Tuesday morning.  Oh dear.  I thought that I'd have a few minutes (hours) of down time between assignments, but that wasn't the case.  I read the assignment, and my mind started spinning.  What to do?  How to attack this?  It took 3-4 times of reading through the assignment to realize that there is a quilt I've wanted to make that will fit the bill perfectly.  I went through my stash, and pulled fabric.

 I was missing a few hues that I really wanted to include, so a shopping spree was in order.  I started by ordering 12 yards of batiks from Hancocks of Paducah, since they on sale for $6.99/yard.  Such a deal, such a deal.

But none of the batiks fill the gap in my color runs, so then I went to Thimble Towne.  There I found some barely violet blues and a pinky color (it's not as coral as it looks in the image) and purples that fill the bill.  I will probably begin cutting and sewing on Saturday, at least that's the goal, for now.

I've also pieced an entire baby quilt in the past two days, and worked more on my applique from the 2014 David Taylor class.  Yes, I seem to be getting my groove back, and it's bringing a smile to my face.  woohoo!  Happy Quilting!

More Fiber

I neglected to show you the yardage (meterage?) that I purchased in Linlithgow, Scotland.  I asked for local fabrics, but somehow the green VIP print got into the mix.  It's fine though, because Scotland was really that green.

 Before we left for Scotland, I made a quilt for a challenge.  Today we were notified of results.  We were told to wait on releasing them - my quilt did not make the cut - but if I don't tell you what challenge it is, does it matter?  They had a ban on showing our work before the deadline, but now that I know it's not included?  This is mine.

 "Oceanside Sunset"

15" x 14"

Suzanne Kistler 2015

 "Oceanside Sunset - detail"

The next image has bad color, but the bobbin gives you an idea of how tiny the sails are.  I really really liked making this quilt! 

 Not only did I love the front, but my first attempt did not please me, so I slapped it on the back, matching many of the colored stripes.  The back is almost as relaxing as the front, at least to my way of thinking.

The last thing I will leave you with is a picture taken during this morning's sunrise.  I looked out the window to see everything glowing with a rosy tint.  I grabbed my camera and dashed outside.  My view to the east is blocked by TALL trees, but the entire sky was lit with color.  Oranges, yellows and reds covered the heavens, with bits of blue peeking out from the clouds.  It even rained a bit, though I only experienced enough to make my car look dirty.

You can tell by the dark silhouettes of the trees and house that the sun had yet to make it above the Sierras.  Truly, an inspirational way to begin one's day!

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?

*Groan*

As you know, because I keep telling you, it's been a full week since the carpet layers left.  You would think I would have the house reclaimed by now, but no.  I've earned a great big FAIL in that department.  I've been working diligently, but visible results are minimal, at best.

I've been pleased with my fabric stash.  I reorganized much of it, putting the things I use the most in more easily accessible places.  It's looking lovely, don't you think?  This cabinet is still in the bedroom, but it's now acting as "art" rather than a barrier in the room, as you can see it from the doorway.  The top two shelves hold my batiks, the third has fruit & vegetable fabric.

 Sorry about the flash.  This is the bulk of my stash.  I've unloaded all of the totebags and bins.

Or at least I thought I had.  But when we moved a bookshelf to the back bedroom, what should be hiding behind it but this:

oh dear.  I thought I was low on yellows and pinks on the shelves.  But I'd convinced myself that they were "in the other room," depending upon which room I was in.  I guess I'm going to have to cull through much more aggressively, to see if I can find space to stash these favorites.

The good news is that I sold a lot of quilt accessories at guild last Thursday, so I don't have quite so many things to try to set up in the studio.

The bad news is that the spare room is still full of studio contents, and the bed is still buried. 

I think I had my dread/panic focused on the wrong end of the carpeting project.  Yes, it was difficult to move everything out of every room, even though we did it in waves.  But I'm finding it even more difficult to organize it and put it back once the project was "done."  Apparently, I've run out of steam.  And that's not good news.

I Love My Fabric

This weekend was a bit stressful.  Tomorrow is our fourth and final installment of carpet.  I am ready to be done with this project.  Four days should have been plenty of time to empty a 10 x 11' room, but really, it was barely enough. 

It was nice that I had a helper this weekend.  I'd tried to install the new blinds on Friday, after painting all day Thursday, but it was a bust.  Once Lowe's cut them smaller, hubby volunteered to hang them.  He didn't know what he was in for, but I did.  He finished the last one this morning.  woohoo!  That means there is only one small window left that sports aluminum mini-blinds.  Not for long, though.  I'm ready to be done with them too!

Do you like his headlamp?  He uses it for night-time surgeries.  And for hanging blinds.  :)  Both are delicate tasks.

Everything has been taken out of the dining room.  It looks like this:

 And this.  I think I will keep the wallpaper.  I hung it back in 2001.  I think the viney pattern will flow well with the carpet.  We'll find out tomorrow.

It was rough emptying the studio.  I bought several Hefty bins to hold my fabric, but they don't hold very much:  (wink, wink)

I guess it's a good thing I have a lot of tote-bags:

I'm not sure you can tell, but they are all filled with fabric. 

The good news is that guild meets on Thursday, and they're allowing sale tables.  I'm renting one, and will be bringing a number of things from my studio for dispersal.  But not much fabric.  I love my fabric.  It's very hard for me to part with it.

I guess the other good news is that seeing the fabric sparks all kinds of ideas.  If my Studio ever comes back together again, well, there might just be some hard core quilting going on.  Goals are good!