King size quilt went in a carry on

This is a huge quilt, on our driveway, with oldest at the top of a ladder to get it all in the picture. If you are trying to visualize the size, the row of flying geese, on each side, is nearly to the edge of the top of a king size bed, a little of the gold/brown shows on the top of the bed, then the rest of the border hangs down the sides. It is massive and very heavy.

In the process of cleaning out stuff (in general), I came across a partially finished quilt top.

It was finished to the flying geese on the sides.

So it was finished vertically. It just needed the outer borders.

And I knew WHY I had not finished it. I ran out of the right kind of fabric, like 15+ years ago.

I looked at a couple shops (an hour away) and did not see anything that was just right.

Then when I was out of town a month or so ago, I found the blue that ended up being the outer border.

And a friend gave me the blues that are in the 16 patches (on point in the gold/brown border).

So I finished this quilt top, sent it to my machine quilter, bound it, and it went home with oldest in his orange carry on yesterday.

This quilt was king size. We had to fold it several different ways and put it in a plastic bag and squish all the extra air out, but it did fit.

It is going on his bed. He now has six quilts (of mine). And all six are ones he really wanted.

Interestingly, he looked at it and said - there is something funny about the binding. I said - yes, it is machine bound and you are use to hand binding, but it is too hard on my thumbs, I don't do that any more. It was interesting that he noticed that immediately.

Middle has a couple with her name on them (still at home, but hers - feathered star, purple/orange). And I am making pairs of twin quilts for her future children - (2) pink/green and (2) brown bear version 2 and (2) my flag design. And she will take her childhood quilts (below).

Youngest has a few squirreled away (log cabin, yellow/white and bow tie). And she will have her childhood quilts (below). She sort of puts them under her arm and scurries upstairs to hide them in her room, so we don't know exactly how many. Interestingly youngest goes by the feel. She likes the old cool cotton feel. She has to touch them to know what she wants.

And I stuck a white/blue Irish Chain in  my closet. It is in emaculate condition. The white is as white as white can be. Beautiful, rich blues. It is not often that I look at a quilt and think - please do not touch it, but when I saw that one, it went in the top of my closet, rolled, not folded. I might make another one and put them on the girls downstairs beds when they have both taken their childhood quilts with them (brown bear version 1 and star quilt, one of each quilt for both of them, 2 each, 4 total).

If anyone can multi-task . . .

. . . and listen to Natalie Jill and James Maskell for a half hour and give me a recap, I would much appreciate it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nm3lnEa9iv8&list=TLpKU8eTNEdK8yNTA1MjAxNg

12 minutes - Gretchen - Drift

http://gretchenrubin.com/happiness_project/2016/05/drift-graduate-school/

This was a big chunk of Tuesday

Graduation gifts for youngest's circle of friends. Some of these are best friends, some are regular friends, some are friends who have lockers in the same area and would be hurt if everyone else got one and they did not.

We did the base coats all the way back here.

Emergency call to my husband to pick up the R on his way home. We forgot one person. And this ended up being proactive, because I had him get another M, for a girl graduating next year, while he was there.

This (below) is how we made the dots. And we had to practice, a lot, on construction paper, to understand the right amount of paint and how to apply it.

ALWAYS have a coupon (40% Hobby Lobby is often the easiest, 50% Joanns is also readily available) when buying things from any of the craft or fabric stores. Walmart might appear to have lower prices, but the coupon gets prices even lower at the other stores.

Peeps

Remember the fabric that when I put it with green it was red and when I put it with red it was green?

Look what it does when I put it with gold?  Stellar. I think.

And just in case you were wondering, when I take out the stripe with the red in it, this is how the greens read. I think MAYBE this is okay/safe/simple for those who like more muted color things. Do you agree?

OR is better with just two greens? (that Houndstooth plaid is my favorite fabric out of all of them).

Calling all color peeps, I need you for a quiz please

First six pictures were taken in short time span in the same window. So the same lighting. I am not sure why the lighter colors are so washed out looking in the pictures. Same window I usually use.

I have two blue fabrics.
And I think that blue might look good with these two pieces of floral.
And I think the two pieces of floral might have too much white in them to use with other fabrics.
Soooo, I think this is a very good use of four fabrics. 
I think someone might like these.
I have enough for one, maybe two skirts with this color combination and then I am not buying any more of any of these fabrics.
So that is question 1. What do you think of this blue option?

This stripe seems somewhat busy to mix in with other prints.
(I am remembering no one likes these skirts to be too busy, quilt-y looking.)
The red reads as a solid.
Question 2. What do you think of this stripe with the red fabric?

This green is very light and reads as a solid.
It is very close to the same shade of green that appears in the stripe.
Question 3. What do you think of the stripe with the light green? 

Question 4. What do you think of the stripe with gold? 

I have enough of the stripe for ONE skirt if I alternate with another fabric. 

And it is possible the answer is to NOT use the stripe with anything, scrap bag it.

So, Question 5. Do you think I should just forget the stripe?

These are my greens.
Except I can see that the picture picks up the center one as a red.
So retake time.
(I moved that print to the red pile and it totally reads as a green there).

So now I am back with my greens. This is a similar concept to the red skirt and the gold skirt.
I probably have enough for two of these green skirts and then I am done with green.
Question 6. What do you think of all the greens mixed together?
Do you think it is too many patterns and I should make two green skirts with just 2-3 green fabrics each?

And if you are trying to remember, here are the original red and gold ones (below).
(The multi print belongs to middle and will not be made again.)

I have enough red fabric for more red skirts.
It sounded as if we all agreed the red is a keeper and probably best general appeal.
This (red) is the skirt I intend to make long term. Restocking reds as I run out of them.
Question 7. Do you agree red skirt is the safest/best bet?
I have enough gold for a couple more skirts.
If the gold turns out to be surprisingly popular, I can restock golds.

nine patches

The piles of pinwheels, waiting to be sewn, are on the right side of the picture.

Here is the nine patch, uncovered, all sewn into rows and waiting for me to decide about borders.

More staring

Found my greens for the in-between blocks. It was quite hard to find the right greens. This year's greens appear to be mostly yellow or blue based. And I did not want kelly green. So,  I needed a more even green which was tough.

Now working on block placement.

The two pictures (below) might look the same, but I added three light (white with pink polka dots)  pinwheels and rearranged several things.

(The 9-patch is actually under the pinwheel quilt, with the blocks already sewn into rows.)

This was my first try. So many variables and too many of the same fabrics used again, and again. Random was hard to achieve. 

I think this is the keeper. I used my old stand-by of diagonal rows (lights and darks) and I think it is more pleasing to the eye. 

Christmas Tree Skirts - yes, please leave me comments with your thoughts.

I have gold, green, blue, red fabrics remaining. Suggestions for the next variation please?

There are six red fabrics included in the latest 18 wedge version. 

This is the previous gold 18 wedge version with five fabrics.

This is the original with 36 narrow wedges. This one belongs to middle and I am not making this narrow version any more.

Here are the three together, so you can see the depth of the colors.

Ground turkey/migraines. And the gummy fiber pills.

A couple months ago I had ground turkey (extra lean ground turkey) burger, and then I got a migraine.

A few weeks later, it happened again.

And I thought I remembered it happening other times in the past. Like I had vague notion it was a pattern in the past too.

I called my husband and told him I thought I was now (freaking) being triggered by extra lean ground turkey.

And a few hours later he said he had looked it up and the ingredients were turkey and rosemary. Did I have a history with rosemary?

I was not sure I had ever had Rosemary other (evidently) than when I was getting it with the ground turkey. I don't even have Rosemary in my spice collection.

He said he did not think ground turkey was causing a migraine but we should try it again on a day that nothing else was likely to cause a migraine (my cycle, a storm, stress, etc).

So we tried it a few days later. NO migraine.

We tried it again a week or so later, no migraine.

So what I think was happening is that on a day a migraine was possible, I was feeling the first tell tale migraine line of pain, I craved a burger.

Now I want to add that I have had other things where I ate them for years and then one day I could not eat them any more (cantaloupe, cashews, beets, etc). So I do watch for patterns. Patterns are important for both migraines and asthma.

But I have found other things that I was subconsciously picking up on body cues and then reacting.

An example of this is gummy fiber.

I thought it worked for me.

I was not taking them at a regular time. I was taking them more impulsively, but every day.

And each time I took them, I pooped within a short interval.

But one day it occurred to me that I might be attracted to the sugar. And I might be taking them when I was subconsciously picking up on body cues.

So one day I THOUGHT about taking them, but did not take them, and I still pooped a short time later.

AHA!

Very interesting.









I have been meaning to note (all that) for a while. What brought it to mind today, was a post in Amalah's archives about gummy vitamins and cavities.

http://alphamom.com/parenting/toddler-parenting/toddler-toothbrushing-wars-continued/

I am against gummy vitamins in general. I think kids need to take big pills and little pills and shots just because it is something you do. It is a life skill. Sugar (and cheese) does not have to go on everything . . .

And if you start brushing teeth very early, the kids just don't know any different. And going to the dentist can be eased.

(Amalah writes she uses a brush that goes on the finger and brushes her kids teeth after nursing/bottle as part of going to bed routine. She writes a lot about not nursing/bottle to sleep, but instead nursing and then brushing, rocking, singing, book and THEN bed starting by about six months. And she writes about no bottles at all after 12-13 months. I have no pacifier or bottle experience, but it is still interesting to read. Because yes, I have seen 3-4 year olds with one of those many times).

Ditto with showers, water on face, going under water. (Yes, I know that sometimes an incident can create a fear of something they have always done). But if it is something they have just always done, you do not have a four year old freaking out about putting their face in the water at swim lessons.

Christmas Tree Skirts

I spent extra time this week working on tree skirts.

I remade one.

If you remember, I made a serious error in sewing this one (below) together. I sewed from outside to center on each seam. And this made the whole thing cockeyed, like a broomstick skirt. Now was the time to fix it, while I had my Christmas tree skirt brain functioning. So, I spent Wednesday unsewing and resewing. I ripped out every other seam. And I resewed those seams from center to outside. And as you can see from the picture (below), it now is flat and lovely.

This is the first one I made (weeks ago) that sort of made the non-quilt people feel a bit Kaleidoscope-y.  Too many colors and too many patterns. 

Do not feel bad, oldest felt that way too.

And we all decided this was too narrow of strips, which then made it too many strips. 

If you remember, because of this, I drafted my own pattern for future skirts (see below).

I appreciate ALL input, keep it coming, because I am giving five Christmas tree skirts as wedding gifts this year. 

So, after hearing thumbs up from some and thumbs down from others, color wise, I arrived at the solution to let each couple chose their tree skirt. I am making a stash so there is a selection.

Middle has already claimed this tree skirt (above). 

I made a second one from scratch this week also. The first in my stash.

Yes, it blends into my light floors in this picture. Not an ideal picture, but I was not going to make my husband move the tree. The tree is in the middle of the hall/entryway intersection while I make these skirts. This is the first skirt with my self drafted pattern - wider strips and a smaller circumference. I am making just one of these, to put in my selection. If someone chooses it first, then I will make a second one to put back into the mix. 

Here is a close up, in my regular picture taking spot (window seat when there is indirect sun and therefore no shadow), of the new one. It looks gold-ish to me in real life. It might look more beige in the pictures. And it does not look homemade to me. I serged the seams. I top stitched all the seams. The hem was turned with gold bias tape. It looks very professional.

Here are the two next to each other so you can compare the color depth.

Now I have to say, my husband thought the new gold one was the most boring thing he had ever seen. But,
1. he is used to quilts, my quilts.
2. he is used to a lot of rich colors in pretty much everything I do.

When I said - picture how stellar this new one would look under a tree filled with gold ornaments and gold trim. Or gold and white decorations.
He said - It could be in a magazine, would look really good.
It would.

First Communion Gift

I did not know I had a First Communion gift needed for this year.

Ours will be a little late, but it is on the way.

You may remember, I like having standard gifts for certain occasions.

We do swaddling blankets for baby showers (this may become a thing of the past with so many great products now made for swaddling).

I do Church Activity bags for Baptisms.

I often do water pitchers for weddings. This year I am trying Christmas tree skirts (made by me) as wedding gifts, I am hoping that is a keeper, because I think that is a unique and sort of stellar gift.

And now I am doing Guardian Angel pillowcases for First Communion.

I get them from Catholic Child.

I have the first and middle name put on the pillowcase (not saint name, their regular given names). To my knowledge, Catholic Child is the only place that readily puts the names on the cases. Plain cases can be ordered from Amazon.

And when I ordered this morning, I called the (Catholic Child) company and they gave me a discount code to use on my on-line order. I did not try to order over the phone because I had three unusual names and I did not want to risk spelling errors.

There are three kids (so far) in this family. Their oldest has First Communion this weekend. I did not not want to run the risk that this product would not be available by the time his siblings had their First Communions, so I ordered all three. I saved on shipping. It is done.

I already have one for our seven year old. I was not sure if she would be this year or next, so I ordered about a year ago, when I first saw this product.

I think this is a great First Communion gift. First of all it is unusual. And I know from experience that kids like pillowcases. And if they would happen to get two, that is okay, because many kids have two pillows on their bed.

I think there are other Saint pillowcases available. So their specific favorite Saint would be another good idea.

Graduation letter gifts

We don't often have youngest project pictures. She does like to paint. This was a lot of painting. Two solid coats on each and then I think touch ups. We use the excess plastic from when we have things laminated as drop cloth, letters do not stick to it, works really well. I had to take this picture from part way up the stairs to get it all in the frame. That is a folding table at the end of our long kitchen table. High School graduation gifts for friends. We bought the letters a couple years ago at Hobby Lobby. We bought on sale at 50% off, so $2 each. We had to buy three colors of paint, we had the rest. So really economical gifts. Letters come painted white (which we use as a base coat). They have holes for hanging on the back, super important to check, I have seen letters other places with no hangers. She asked each girl for favorite colors. We are not sure of next step. It will either be white polka dots with Martha Stewart pouncers or spray paint through lace. We have to experiment.

Photo (printing pictures/albums) update

cross stitch pattern switch

Picture added later. By the following day, I did get going. If you have a good memory, the sled's checkerboard is similar to the Angel sleeves, so it felt familiar. This pattern is much simpler than the Angels, actually. 

Now I am staring at this

Taken standing in doorway to studio. Counter is at top of picture, doorway at bottom.

Taken sitting on counter. Counter is at bottom of picture, doorway at top.

Taken standing on counter. Counter is at bottom of picture, doorway at top.

Pinwheels with fish as one quilt?

Or the same pinwheels with a green alternating block?

Do the nine patches do best on green?

Or will they work with the fish?

The fish fabric is one of my all time favorites. I have saved it for just the right project for years. So, now I contemplating, is this the right time to use them?

 And I should note, whatever I decide is the answer for both quilts. I am doing these as coordinating quilts, like for two girls sharing the same room.

To recap, my color friend gave me a pile of fabric that all went together. She is cleaning out too. And I am making baby quilts.

I started out thinking I was going to see how many baby quilts I could get out of her stack of fabric.  I dug through my stuff and found a few pieces to add to the pile.

I decided on pinwheels. As I started sewing, I realized the fabric was kind of great together and if I was very careful, I could get a twin size quilt. Then I realized if I was really careful, I could probably get two twin size quilts.

So, the pinwheels I was previously considering, have now been joined by nine patches. Two separate quilts.

And along the way I decided something and we discovered something. I decided I am only piecing blocks that will stay in my family. For gifts outside the family, I am only making quilts where I sew plain squares together, no pieced blocks. And we discovered my husband loves nine patches and doesn't much care for pinwheels. I have mentioned I am now drawn to very simple quilts. One patch designs in the old, old patterns.

I had to dig through scraps/garbage and sometimes sew two small pieces together, but now have enough blocks (I think) for a twin size pinwheel AND a twin size nine patch. I have never cut so carefully in my life.

I originally intended to sew the pinwheel blocks directly together. These are 9" finished blocks. However together (pinwheel next to pinwheel) turned out to be really busy looking in these colors. (My husband's mind sort of exploded when he looked at it.) These are really strong colors.

And nine patches need something between them to see the pattern.

So I dug through my very limited supplies (which are now out where I can see them and use them, readily). And I found things to ponder.

The first (not pictured) was white back ground with frogs on it. Scale of the frogs was too big, white did not work.

Then I found beloved fish print to consider (I have been wondering while I was sewing if blue would work).

I had already found the green (I think those are peahens) to use as the backing, but using it to consider if I need a green alternating block. (It is the only green I have in a blending shade. Not one other scrap of the right kind of green to my name. Really pleased to have enough (peahens) to back both quilts. I am all about using the right thing, but using up what I already have.)

So, to recap, I am staring and considering whether they (the blocks) need to be set with alternating green fabric (which means I would have to buy some), or if I can set with alternating blue fabric that has green and pink in it (the fish).

Sewing/finishing up piles, cleaning/organizing so I have a nice zen work space, a post of pictures

If you remember, I was staring at this -

Now I am staring at this, from one angle and

From another angle -

This was the china quilt (beloved by youngest) that I unquilted, fixed the piecing, had long arm quilter requilt it, and finally finished the binding today -

It is probably queen size, Folded in this picture.

And the last (7th angel) -

And I took a time out to work on my cubbies today. And cleaned off the odds and ends that always accumulate on my sewing table.

Posture moves

5 Must - Do Moves for Better Posture

Clothing patterns

I had some patterns in my sewing room under the stairs.

I had two boxes in the attic.

My husband went through the boxes from the attic out on the drive way.

If ever there were nesting mice in the attic, that is where they would have been.

No mice. No bugs. No dust.

They were in good boxes.

All the seventies and eighties and nineties women's clothing patterns went in recycling.

I kept all the nursing clothes patterns as well as all the Halloween costumes and kids' patterns.





What prompted the pattern clean out was my search for my original Christmas tree skirt pattern.

I knew one specific pattern piece would give me the right curve for the outside edge of my pie wedges (on the tree skirts I am making now).

I found the pattern and the piece.

It was very helpful.

I am going to draft my own pattern and take it to a local glass company to have it cut out of plastic. It will be my own rotary ruler, the perfect size and shape.





It took a deep breath to put dozens of patterns in the recycling bin.

I cannot picture clothes sewing ever again (other than nursing tops or dresses for one of the girls, kids clothes or Halloween costumes). BUT even if I do sew clothes again for some weird reason, it would not be with those patterns. I would get contemporary patterns.

As I packed a bin with the keepers, my husband very happily packed the rejects in the recycling bin. I was able to get all patterns, including some three ring binders with quilting stuff in one organized bin.  That cleaned one whole cubbie from my sewing room under the stairs.





And middle sorted the mess that is our bead bin. It moved into a bigger bin, is all together and organized.

And my husband moved all middle's children's books to the massive cupboards under the counter in the studio. Very good place to store them until she needs them. Books take up about 2/3 of that space.

My color friend took two of my old sewing machines. She has the exact same one. So now my two are parts for her one. That way her beloved one will keep going indefinitely. (They no longer make the parts for old metal machines, you have to selvage parts from other old machines, kind of like cars in Cuba.) I was so glad to send those machines to a good home where they will be useful.

Quilting in the days of the Internet

I had just realized this, then my color friend commented this week too.

It used to be that we had to buy inspiration.

Quilt guild/club memberships, quilt magazine subscriptions, entry into quilt shows, quilt books, quilt workshops.

Now all we have to do is plug key words into Google search engine and then click on "images".

One patch quilts, baby quilts, simple quilts are some of my recent searches.

I take screen shots. I bookmark pages. I sign up for email notifications of quilt blogs I enjoy.

My iPad was not free. But all my searches are very free.

It is just entirely different than it was.

Shocking amount of pictures, inspiration, details. I can look in my pajamas, falling asleep, each night. I do not have to go anywhere. I do not have to get off track by guild/club charity projects or other people's priorities. (This is a real issue.) I can have my own focus.