Venturing Outdoors

After the week of feather quilting, I've been a bit antsy. I still have PILES of work to be doing indoors, but the weather has been lovely of late. Not too hot, not too cold, it's just right. Goldilocks would love it. It's a bit chilly at night, and it warms in the day. Is this what they call Autumn?

It's been so unusual that one of my irises is promising a bloom. I bought this rhizome at the Sutton Iris Gardens at least two years ago. This is the first time it's attempting a bloom. It looks like it might be a purple somethingorother...

The outside kitties are snuggly buddies during the chilly nights. During the day, they fight until one of them screams. (It's usually Charlie. He's a big baby.)

Indoors, Malcolm thinks he's king.

But back to outdoors. Daniel was home for a week, and asked if I still wanted the brick walkway. I started it in July 2007, placed 6 or 8 bricks, and abandoned it. Yes, I want it, but not enough to actually do it...

He decided that he wanted to try his hand at bricklaying. My hero!!!

Here he is, as he's filling the cracks with sand.

This is what it looks like, with the sand in place.

And here he is, at the end of the path.


My hero!!!

"Mom? Do you like it?" Well, Daniel, what do you think?


I LOVE it!!!!

And now I need to get back in the house and get to work. Thanks for stopping by!

October Step

I know, I know: I'm late. I woke up, find that it's already October 10, and I haven't declared a Step. Is it because I don't have one? No, it is not. It is because I've been running around going a million miles a minute (yeah, right) and making feathers.

You KNOW I didn't make up the feathers part, I posted proof. I have pictures! :)

My plan for today was to do a number of "clean up" projects in the Studio, and maybe quilt another quilt-for-hire. But my plans just changed.

My Bernina 150 has been giving me some troubles, poor baby. I think I've about worn her out. I know she got tired of making feathers. The minute she was done, she was done. And she pooped out in class yesterday, although I was able to coax her into finishing the day. She just got back from the doctor.

He says, "Run her 'til she dies." Dies?!! I don't want her to die! She's my favorite!

But her problems are not obvious enough, so I need to run her today. A lot.

And so, instead of working on someone else's quilt, I will proceed with announcing and working on my October Step. It will be to quilt this quilt:

I know. My photos have been terrible of late. I think I'm getting lazy. Or maybe it's that getting the computer "cleaned up" means that downloading picture files now takes 7 steps instead of one. Once I finally get them on the computer and see how bad they are, I don't feel like taking more pictures.

This is the quilt I made in the Sue Rasmussen class earlier this year. Or was it last year? It's been basted for months, and now I know just what I want to do with it. The first step will be to quilt it. So, there you have it, my official October Step.

On a different note, our middle son has been home for a week, waiting for a "check in the mail." It finally came yesterday, so he's going back to Davis today. It's been fun to have him here, and I know that Charlie is going to miss his new favorite headrest. :)

That's all for now. I hope you have a weekend filled with creativity and progress!

Peace and Piecing

Wow. Talk about doing a 180!

Years and years ago, back in 1989 or so, Sally Collins came to our guild and presented a lecture and trunk show. I don't know if you're familiar with her work, but it is precision piecing at its most precise. Twenty years ago, I was intimidated by her exquisite workmanship. Even over the past several years, as I've gone to Asilomar, I've walked through her classroom with my jaw hanging slack.

I absolutely could not understand how her students could be sitting there with these peaceful meditative expressions as they pieced 1-1/2" stars. Were they crazy? Hypnotized? Drugged? I didn't get it.

Today I did.

Sally is a thoughtful, generous, organized and encouraging teacher. She knows where the pitfalls lie in missing that perfect 1/4" seam allowance, and can tell us exactly how to avoid them. Measuring is key, so this is not a technique for the mass producer. It's a one-step-at-a-time process, that is extremely methodical. The results blew my mind.

Here's a picture of one of her quilts. It isn't large, maybe 12 or 14 inches.

The lighting in the room was poor, and I apologize for the lack of clarity in my pictures. When I used the flash, it caused a white-out. ;)

How about this? It is the BACK of one of her quilt tops. wow. If only the fronts of my tops were half as perfect! :)


I took this photo near the end of the class time. Once we'd learned her "secrets" (which are primarily to measure and slow down), we wanted more, more, more. Every question had an answer, and nothing ruffled her feathers. She has this zen thing going on that is pretty amazing. ;)

Here is the block I made in class.

The class began at 9am, and we left at 3:30pm. We had quite a bit of lecture before moving to our machines, but every word was useful. I took three pages of notes, in addition to the thorough handout that accompanied the class.

Here's a second picture of my block. Again, I apologize for the blur/color issues. I took the pictures in the classroom, and the lighting was less than stellar.


It's a star in a star. This is a 3" star, with a 1.5" star in its belly.

This technique is kind of peaceful. For the first time in a month, I was so totally focused on something (i.e. getting that 1/4" seam allowance), that I didn't have room in my wee little brain for anything else. It was a beautiful thing. :)

I'm Back!!!

Did you miss me?

QuiltedTime was partially correct in asserting that I was covered with feathers. I WAS making feathers - lots of feathers! - but that wasn't the only reason I was missing from blogland. My computer got worms. ew gross!!

If you get a "notification" about a "Windows Antivirus" popping up on your computer, followed by an announcement that "you have a worm!" be aware that that IS the worm. And it's a nasty one. It showed up first thing Tuesday morning, and after talking with the local experts, I unplugged and took the ailing machine in for treatment. Two days later, it is clean and functioning. Sort of. It doesn't seem to like aol any more. Every time I try to check my email, Mozilla goes bye bye. Sigh. Life in the computer age.

But take away my computer? I go into an ohmygoshwhereismycomputerIneedtopost/ sendemail/workonthemailinglist/writeupabio/checkmyfavoriteblogs panic. Every time I walked through the living room, it called out to me - a phantom computer.

Thank goodness it was curable!

So back to the feathers. After a rescue by Charlotte - I used an entire cone of YLI red, running out with one border to go - I was able to sit down and finish the quilt this afternoon. Here is the back:

Here is a close-up of the front:

And here is an overall shot of the quilt. It took hours upon hours to finish. I will turn it over to its owner on Monday. I hope she likes it!!

Judy Martin's Snake River Log Cabin pattern
by Barbara Brown 2009

Quilting for hire has not been the only thing I've been doing. Today was guild, and our guest speaker was Sally Collins. I took a picture of her, but it came out so poorly I think she would have been unhappy with me had I published it. Instead, I'll show you some of her quilts.

These take my breath away. Tomorrow I am signed up for her Precision Piecing class, which I am really looking forward to. I've seen her classroom at Asilomar, and know that she is a very patient, organized, skilled teacher. Hopefully some of her skill will rub off on moi. :)


Here's another view of her quilts. I included Charlotte in the picture so that you would have a sense of scale. Much of her piecing is done with 1/4" pieces. Mindboggling to say the least!

And that's it for now, dear friends. Oh, it is SO good to be back online!!!

Look What I Found!!

Spring Gingkoes
Franki Kohler, 2009

This beautiful quilt was found on my doorstep yesterday morning. The mailman must have left it there the day before. ooh aah!!! I am so happy!! It is my one purchase this year from the SAQA reverse auction. It is the work of Franki Kohler, of Oakland, CA. I love, love, love it!!

Last year I'd planned unsuccessfully to purchase one of her quilts. I had my choice of two, one through SAQA reverse auction and the other through the Alliance for American Quilts eBay auction. Both ended up too rich for my blood. When Franki's quilt was still available on the next to the last day this year, I decided to splurge. I am so glad I did! It is a beautiful piece, with thread-painted leaves, textural quilting and little beaded accents. It is nothing like anything I make, and I am in awe. :)

Not only that, but I had the pleasure of meeting Franki in March, when we were both students in Cynthia Corbin's class at Asilomar. It was one of those small world things that always seem to pop up when you least expect them. :)

Anyway, that's all I've got for now. I need to get to work so I'll have something to post this week!!

Playing Hooky

I know, I know. I have all this quilt stuff I'm supposed to be doing. Today we're going to an Art Faire AND to a Civil War Reenactment. And in the meantime, I haven't been quilting, I've been


shh!! Don't tell anyone!!! :)

October!!

As I fought the crowds in Costco yesterday, I wondered where they came from. Then it hit me. It was October first! And if it's October, it's time to determine an October Step. This is going to be a toughie. As of now, I don't have one. I'm going to have to search through my projects and find one that I can realistically meet. Unless, of course, I decide that unquilting the rafting quilt should be my step. Actually, it SHOULD be my step, but it doesn't sound terribly gratifying. That's why it's so perfectly qualified.

Congratulations to all who completed their September steps. I know Pat finished two, how about you, Kay? Kristin? Did you meet your goals? I still can't believe that I met mine so early in the month. Deadlines are the BEST motivators!

But back to October. I have so many quilts-for-hire waiting for my attention, it's hard to know when I will have time to quilt for myself. The current QFH is so large, it's taking its toll on my wrists and elbows. I do need to take a few breaks from manhandling it, even though I'm only putting in 2-3 hours each day.

My calendar says I'm quilt-booked at least for the next 2-3 weeks, and I need to write that article, and I have a zillion things I should be doing. So what did I do? I started knitting.


I know, I know, call me crazy. My quilt muscles were tired but I didn't want idle hands...yep. One more thing to keep me out of trouble. ;)

Feelin' Feathery

yep. I've been up to my eyeballs in feathers today. And yesterday.

It is SO nice to be out of the ditch!!

I just wanted to share...if you've missed me, I've been slaving away making feathers. :) I have more feathers in tomorrow's future as well. oh my aching wrists & elbows...this is one big quilt! ;)

Edgar and the Pool

The question is: Did he jump?

The answer? I don't know. But I suspect he did.

Not that he's suicidal, mind you, but Edgar is the odd sort of cat that LOVES water. He runs to play in the sprinklers, he strolls leisurely in the rain, he tries to join me in the shower, and he lies down in the gutter when it's full of water. Lately, I've seen him hanging seriously over the pool's edge, checking out the water. I've warned him, but he doesn't pay attention. He's a cat.

The other cats lean over as well, but it's to get a drink. I don't know if your cats are like mine, but mine adore the taste of chlorine. It's very strange. In fact, we had one cat that would sneak into the chlorine cabinet, where the fumes had to be toxic. It was her favorite hideaway. She lived to be about 16...

Back to Edgar. Did he jump? Possibly. Did he like it? I suspect it was colder than he anticipated, and today there were no signs of an early morning swim. Let's hope it stays that way!!!

As for me, I'm working on this quilt-for-hire. I'm finally to the feathers, and I'm having a grand time. I'll post pictures in a day or two, when they become obvious. :)

Cat Post

There's not much that will jolt me awake in the morning, but Pete found something. Try, "Hey, guess who just pulled himself out of the pool?"

ohmygoodness!!! Edgar!! Went swimming? At 5am? Good grief!!! Pete said he noticed the water sloshing, but didn't think much of it. Then he saw the trail. It comes from the deep end of the pool, folks.

I immediately insisted, "Bring him in the house!" as I went to grab a towel. "Seriously?" Areyoukiddingme? Of course seriously!! Temperatures dropped dramatically overnight, and the pool was pretty cold to begin with. I don't want him to catch pneumonia!!

Edgar doesn't seem fazed in the least. Just a bit wet. After 20 minutes of clean-up, he was begging to go outside again. sigh. I guess a cat's gotta do what a cat's gotta do.

He doesn't seem any worse for wear. Here he is, with Charlie and Hecate, beginning the daily catnap. It's 7:30am, and 52 degrees out there. The only thing disturbing them is the flash of the camera. Sleep well, my kitties!

My week has been filled with this quilt. Because it's so large/heavy, I can only put 2-3 hours in each day, so I'm still working on the in-the-ditch stitching. I have one more loop to do, and then it will be feathers, feathers, everywhere. I'm looking forward to them!

Quilt by Barbara Brown, 2009

That's all for now folks!

Not Much...

Today has been filled with quilting for hire. I took a break to wash this quilt. Today it's 98, we're told that tomorrow will be 78. yikes! I've run out of quilt-washing days, but I haven't run out of quilts!

You know how we all buy tickets to win opportunity quilts? Some people actually do win them. I did, back in 2002. I love this quilt, but I will no longer put it on the bed. One side of the quilt is becoming discolored, because one of us is a space heater. That would not be me. ;)

Valley Oak Quilt Guild Opportunity Quilt 2009

And that's it for now. No opossums last night, thank goodness!!

oh! And I bought a quilt from the SAQA Auction. If you want one, I believe tomorrow will be the last day for the last group. Check them out here, they'll disappear quickly if the previous two sets were anything to judge by. Good luck!

Quilt Show!

I love it when there's a quilt show nearby, especially when I have the time to get to it!! Today I had the special treat of seeing the Kings River Quilt Festival, in Reedley, CA. In a move of convenience, they now hold the biennial show at my kids' old high school. My car knows how to get there, almost without my direction!! big smile! :)

As I think I've said before, I'm not one to take many pictures at a quilt show. But if there is something that catches my eye or that I think you might like to see, I've got my camera handy.

Hey look! Do you recognize this quilt? It's the one I quilted back in August. Doesn't it look nice, all finished and bound?

Wedding Quilt
Jean Bell & Susie LaLa-Bell
quilted by Suzanne Kistler 2009

I recognize this quilt. I quilted it last year, in time for Christmas.

"Happy Holidays"
Pat Bell
quilted by Suzanne Kistler 2009

And this one, again quilted last year.

"Behold the Lilies of the Field"
Pat Bell
quilted by Suzanne Kistler 2009

I couldn't resist taking a picture of this quilt. It's the one and only quilt that I know of, made from a pattern I wrote. "The Color Runs Through It" quilt pattern was published in a 2005 issue of American Quilter magazine.

"The Color Runs Through It"
quilt by Persis Blaesing
designed by Suzanne Kistler

And then, there are those of you who wonder what kind of quilts catch my attention when I'm at a quilt show. Always, always, the stars of the show are the traditional quilts. This was the first one that stopped me in my tracks.


The Double 9-Patch is gorgeous, and the machine-quilted feathers are pretty spectacular. It is a very dramatic quilt. I have no idea who made it, I was too captivated by the quilt itself to remember what the paperwork said.

This was the other quilt that stopped me in my tracks and drew me in. Again, the machine-quilted feathers are spectacular.

I don't know its name, but it was made entirely by Patricia Robertson.

Finally, you knew I wouldn't be able to resist the vendors, didn't you? I did NOT buy any fabric, thankyouverymuch. But I did succumb to the lure of buttons for 25 and 50 cents a card. Many of them were made in Holland, and some were made in the USA! Imagine that. The spool of thread is Madera rayon, also for 50 cents. I bought them from Second Chance Fabrics.


My favorite book vendor was there, so I picked up some reading to get me through the next couple of months. The cards were from the Mennonite Quilt Center; the little Santa painted starfish ornament was also from Second Chance Fabrics.

And there you go, my day in a nutshell. Hope you enjoyed the show!