Saturday Evening Progress....

The more I sew these blocks to their sashings, the more I like this. Here is the Work-in-progress at my machine!Yes, the gingham is subtle...but I like that. It doesn't upstage the blocks. And where I used the scrappy cornerstones in the sashing, it repeats the 9 patch center of each block...and becomes part of the overall design.

Not sure about borders yet, but it will come :c)

I also have to HAVE to show you this darling bouquet that showed up at my door this afternoon. Thank you SO MUCH Karen J!! *hugs* You darling..you brought the yellow sunshine right to my door! I love the mug....when the flowers are gone I'll be using it for my morning tea.

Choices, Choices!

You know, sashing color can REALLY effect the look and the "feel" of a quilt. Remember these blocks? Here is Oscar after rearranging my "Nines In The Middle."

Before I left for The Netherlands, I had been toying with these blocks and how to lay them out, with what, etc.

My first draft was light sashings...but it became TOO LIGHT in the quilt. It took over...big blank blah.

Keep in mind my first go-to is usually red, but I have so many quilts with red, that red is off the docket for this one (which is why I also chose pink for Double Delight) No red.

I love the look of old quilts made with mourning prints. I had a lovely by Baum that I had never used..just petted. But it made the quilt look SO somber, I guess the blocks felt like THEY were in mourning too. So. Nope.

Bright green? AAACKKK! I got sea sick right away! Even though I love this color,and I'll use the strips I cut in something else...

The kicker with a scrap quilt is...it can't be a fabric that cancels out anything else in the quilt. It can't be the same color as major block parts because then those blend together and it looks like parts go missing.

Medium. I needed a Medium. I needed something that was darker than the lights, yet lighter than the darks. Something that would let each color and fabric do it's own thing without playing too heavy a part in the design...

I found a little blue gingham check in the closet, I had about 3 yards of it. I wasn't thinking I wanted blue at first, but I think it is what the QUILT wants.

Gingham is timeless. It never looks dated. It doesn't upstage anything. It's like a trusted friend, just willing to lend a helping hand! Click the pic to get a closer look.

Cornerstones and all of the squares in each block are 2" leaders and enders. Come to think of it so are the light triangles. Those 2" squares are just the ticket for so many things!

And in looking at these pictures, I STILL like that mourning print..but when you see it lifesize....the print is so busy and it just makes the quilt look depressed. I'm sure I'll find another quilt for THOSE sashing too....

I've spent the morning hooking up my backup "MY BOOK" for the computer. I've wanted this thing for a long time..I'm backing up EVERYTHING on it, and telling myself to back everything up monthly, if not every 2 weeks. I'm not going to lose anything. I'm already so happy that I switched to gmail for my email because never again will I lose my address book,etc. But I needed to back up not only my computer, but my website as well. I think 1 Terabyte will hold A LOT! :cD

I was also sick of all the usb cords everywhere, so I bought a hub thing, and now all the wires are OUT of sight. I hate a bunch of electrical cords and computer wires and cables everywhere in a big mess. It's a real peeve of mine. Now it is all straightened, cords bound up, all functional. Much better!

Less is Best!!

You know, I tried so many different border treatments on this thing, my head was spinning! I've spent the last week at it!

There is something that happens when you put a quilt on point. The dimensions, which start out even, since everything is built on a 9" finished block size..becomes WIERD. The dimensions are 63 3/4" X 76 1/4". By itself, that isn't a problem. But if you want to have a nice little pieced border that marches around the quilt, you are going to have to find a common denominator for these units, and that means having to add spacers to the top and bottom of the quilt that are a different measurement than what you add to the sides of the quilt to give you the right size.

And that is only IF your quilt actually DOES measure 63 3/4" X 76 1/4" Your own personal cutting and personal sewing might leave you with a different sized quilt center. Not that that is wrong, but just different.

The center of this quilt is so busy..that I decided less is more.

I added a 1.5" cut inner border of the cheddar/gold, and I even had to pull in a second cheddar/gold because I ran out of the first one. It's okay..I just alternated the strips so it looks like I intended to do that :c)

I pieced some extra 9 patches for the cornerstones..making a "4 patch" with the two 9 patches and two plain brown squares for each corner.

The outer border is cut 6.5"

I just didn't think that anyone was going to want to add odd sized spacer border strips, and no one was going to want to piece another gazillion square in a square blocks as that is what I was leaning towards!! :cD

And yes, this is the quilt that was on the machine when the circuit board blew! So you can imagine how that influenced my Whiney Wendesday.

However, the circuit board arrived yesterday and I could finish the quilt! I quilted it with Keryn Emmerson's Double Plume! Keryn and her sister are also part of our Quilt Maverick's ring, so go check them out if you haven't made it around the ring in a while. Thanks Keryn for a great design! I love designs that don't mash the quilt so flat, leaving a quilt that is begging to be wrapped up in. I think this one fits the bill just fine!

I sewed a bunch of left over pink strips together for a scrappy pink binding, and I'll be doing the hand stitching on that tonight. The back was also pieced from several different pieces of pink that I am happy to find a home for!

Part 7 can be found HERE!

Color, Wonderful Color!

Patty M in CT....you are my Quilting Angel! I received your lovely package yesterday, and I had no clue why you would be sending me a big box? I thought maybe it was a customer quilt I'd agreed to do,but didn't write on my calendar. (And uhoh...quilting machine had a blown circuit board!)

I was left breathless by your gift. My son wants to know why you are sending me gifts, and if you could send him something too, because his birthday is also in January as is mine :c)

I don't know if this is an early birthday gift or not, my birthday isn't until the 23rd! But I'm treating it as such, and what a happy one it is! I love the fabrics, the colors, the patterns, THANK YOU!!


And since I'm talking about color, I'm tickled that so many are liking the colors I've chosen for Double Delight. Many things combine for my inspiration,but I want to show you THIS one....It's an antique quilt I bought in Asheboro last year. Very homely, homey and utilitarian, it's a HUGE Corn & Beans block quilt. There is ONE cheddar block with double pink,blue and brown. Sound familiar? Look familiar? It's the one odd block in the quilt that made me want to put these colors together in Double Delight.

I don't think the lady that made this quilt was using a color wheel to decide what colors went together and which didn't. I think she intuitively knew what was pleasing to her own eye.

So when it comes to color, think outside of what is "popular" right now as far as fabric lines go. Don't let the home dec industry make your choices for you. Follow nature, look at photographs, I've even seen some interesting color combos on TV when my son was watching a cartoon.

Playing with colors that are out of our comfort zone....EXPANDS our comfort zone! And that's a good thing.

The music playing today, calming my feelings from yesterday..JOHN DENVER. I miss him. He went too soon. But his music is very soul centering to me, and I'm playing and singing......"Its a sweet sweet sweet dream, sometimes I'm almost there, sometimes I fly like an eagle..and sometimes I'm deep in despair....on the road of experience, join in the living day......"

(of course, the dogs are howling! *LOL*)

It's too easy....

It's too easy to send off an uncaring email to someone you don't know personally, saying something you would never EVER say to them up front.

I've been blasted by one lady who was "UPSET" that I ruined the
mystery for her (she said she was in tears?) because she saw pics of the
blocks on my blog.

Except that she called my "blog" the front page of
the mystery.

This BLOG is not the front page of anything, it's my personal blog and
I reserve the right to post what I want at my own pace, just as anyone
in the mystery quilts web ring are going to post their steps as they
are completed.

If you don't want to see clues ahead of time....don't go looking.
Stick to pattern pages, don't click the link to the next step until
you get there, don't go around the mystery ring, and don't go through
the photo files! The world (as in, the rest of us, working at our own
paces) are not going to wait for everyone to catch up to the same spot
before we post.

This lady actually called me a SPOILSPORT and said that I ruined it
for her. I've been numb all afternoon because I didn't FORCE her to go
clicking to my blog??

So this is why I am slow to post the last step. Maybe over the weekend.

When it gets to the point that doing an online global mystery is no longer fun, then I guess it is time to retire myself from doing them and do something I DO enjoy.

On top of that....my quilting machine blew a circuit board and I am
waiting for the part to be overnighted, of course I was in the middle
of quilting something.

Am I allowed to have a Whiney Wednesday?

Yes yes, Mrs G...Life is STILL Good! :c)

Quilter's Helper!

Look at ME, Mommy!

Pay Attention to ME, Mommy!! Aren't I cute, Aren't I adorable??

You really would rather be petting me, and brushing me and playing with ME...instead of sitting at that boring old sewing machine, wouldn't you??

And Yes, Part 6 is up!

Just Doodling!

Okay...so working on this mystery non-stop has gotten to me too,and yesterday afternoon I had to get OFF my butt (meaning the chair at my sewing machine...it was about to have to be surgically removed after all these sewing days!)and do something else!

I bet you didn't know that you can burn calories long arm machine quilting? At least I am aware of certain things...I stand taller...as I move from side to side, it's careful and with a purpose, which means I can feel certain muscle groups tightening, and you can focus on holding your belly in during this pass, do your keegle (kagle?) exercises through this block, etc. Put on some peppy music and it can be "Quilting to the Oldies!!" Remember to breathe.. :c)

Who did I put on?? BILLY JOEL!! Yes, this week I'm reliving my highschool music.

SO what did I quilt? Remember some months back I was trying to clear out some random orphan blocks and pieced a couple tops? This one was all 9" blocks. There is even one spare rosebud block from the quilt that went into the book...a scrappy rejected version of another quilt from the book, and some leftover big triangle setting blocks from something else..just a mishmash of everything. No way I wanted to hand quilt it...it's fairly boring. But it made for good doodling.

I think I'll bind it and put it on my dining table. Now that the holiday quilts...Halloween Through Christmas are put away, it needs something new :c)

Off to the binding.....

And yes...Part 5 is now up!

Scenes from Spakenburg

I caught Lucy with my camera as she was walking just a bit ahead of me. This is Spakenburg!

Hard to believe that it was Two Weeks ago that Lucy and I were driving to Spakenburg from Haarlem. We had the music up loud, and even the traffic jam that occurred just outside of Amsterdam didn't dampen our fun! We just turned Marco Borsato up louder and SANG ALONG! Was Mij is a song written about the children of war, and how some children so early in their lives are thrown into carrying guns and killing. Marco is an advocate for organizations focusing on saving these children. The song is very touching. Not only does it have a beautiful powerful melodyand amazing orchestration, but the message is full of hope for these children. "Was Mij" means "wash me". Cleanse the children from things they never should have experienced in their young lives. And for anyone in war torn anywhere..


SO as we rode and sang....we made a stop at the little thrift shop where I got the wooden skates. (Skatjes)


And here, look what I found! Oh, I wish I could have taken it home with me. It was too heavy, and there was just no way this could have made it as a carry on. But I snapped a picture anyway. Look at the mother of pearl inlay!

Spakenburg is a fishing village,oh so quaint! when I visited Lucy before she drove me to Marken, which is also on the sea, but we never made it to Spakenburg. The link is in Dutch,but the photos are lovely! I love the traditional costumes. There are still about 300 women who wear the traditional costume daily, but more and more the younger generation doesn't want to bother, so it is a dying art.

I love the old wooden fishing boats. It's winter now, so my pics show them moored and canvased for the winter weather.




Aren't the boats great? It was chilly that day,but not too bad. It rained a bit when we were in the museum, but the rain stopped by the time we were done. We had the best lunch at a little fish market place where they fry the fish to order. Yummy!



Great memories! The streets are lined with unique shops...there was a market place in the town center with all kinds of vendors selling their Christmas goodies. The only thing the didn't have was a candy vendor selling Dropje!! Darn!

Part 4 of Double Delight is up, if you are following along! But of course, you won't click the link unless you have finished with parts 1, 2 & 3, right? ;c)

Sitting and Waiting...

The Christmas Tree is down. It's amazing how quickly you can un-decorate during a football half time!! It's nice to have things back to "normal". I have always taken everything down on New Years Day. It's the start of a new year, out with the old, so to speak!

You know I've been having internet issues. It seems to be related to my cable service in general. Now the TV is coming in all pixelated. BADLY. So I am sitting upstairs typing on the laptop waiting for the cable guy.

I can't hear the doorbell downstairs in the quilting room, because the doorbell gave up the ghost yesterday! I guess it rang the old year out, the new year in, and died! This is the story of my life I guess! I wonder what else will fall apart around here, it's getting to the point of hilarity.

No matter. The house is quiet. I've got binding to do on the Scrappy Trips quilt..I've got music playing, TV can be OFF for all I care.

If you are following along with the Double Delight Mystery, part 2 and part 3 are now up!

And since all my pics are on the other computer, and I have nothing really else to share with you today (blissful normal friday!) I thought I'd share with you the dorky movie I made at the top of the windmill with Lucy!

It was too dark inside the windmill to do much videoing..I wish I made this one longer. Look at the thatched roof...it's reeds...packed inches thick on top of a wood frame. You could see the framing inside the windmill in my previous pictures. I love this memory!

Ready? Get Set! SEW!

I've uploaded Part One of Double Delight!

I had some fun with this, and coerced DS Jeff into filming a video of me squaring up some units.

It wasn't scripted, and I had a total brain warp in the middle..and my rotary cutter DID have a new blade,but it got clogged with lint inside from trimmings....so sometimes you just gotta unscrew that blade and blow it out of there! DUH!

It also sounds like I talk with a lisp, which I don't..it's just the close proximity of the camera to me as he was filming.....but I think you get the idea!(On second thought, maybe my teeth are full of Dropje!! *LOL* (Licorice bits)

Could I get him to WANT to shoot it a second time? NO WAY! So..it is what it is. Maybe you'll get something out of it. Maybe not...at least maybe, a laugh or two!:cD

Bonnie

Dutch Treats!

I'm having fun going through my pictures, and this morning when I made myself a cup of tea, I thought I needed to share with you what I brought home with me!

Lucy hasn't even seen these.....but these are the tall coffee mugs I found at the AIRPORT! I was trying to find a way to use up all my left over euros.. :cD My only regret is that they didn't have FOUR different designs. They had 3 on the shelf. So I bought 3. I could have bought SIX...then I would have had 2 of each. My family loves them for hot chocolate. They are now my favorite mugs. The designs are based on traditional delft tiles. One of them is the same pattern pretty much to an antique tile that Lucy gave me years ago. I just LOVE these. Maybe I can twist Lucy's arm to bring me more when she comes stateside again?? (6 mugs would have been a pain as a carry on, I had enough as it was)

Limited baggage space, and the cost of things in Europe makes things a challenge. And my favorite thing to do? Thrift shops! So we were able to find some goodies at dutch thrift shops!!

Aren't these tins great? I think the most expensive one was .50 cents SERIOUS! Thrifting is the way to go! I can see the red rectangular one with the hinged lid as a sewing caddy. And it is OLD!

Of course the big thing when shopping in the Netherlands for us Touristas.....DELFT BLUE! This would have been expensive anywhere else,but I found it...at the thrift shop! It is now hanging in my kitchen. And what is more fun is that I have the memory of junk hunting with a good friend to add to the memories. Anyone can shop in a store....but treasure hunting with a friend? Priceless!

One of the funny things while in the thrift shop....hearing "grandma got run over by a reindeer" over the speakers! It was like..what's WRONG with this picture! I wanted to hear Christmas Carols in Dutch :c)

But instead, I found this hand embroidered table cloth! Someone put HOURS into stitching this, it's lovely! I only show 1/4 of it, but the design is repeated all the way around. And it was easy to pack and bring home. I had it on my table for Christmas.

No, they are not minature samurai swords...they are antique wooden ice skates!! These were also at the thrift store. We were headed to Spakenburg, and Lucy knew of this little thrift store. We saw a table of ice skates,but no wooden ones. So she asked the guy...and these were in the back! I guess he thought no one would want these...but I do! Now they are hanging off a rack that also has a quilt on it in my front hall.

Licorice! Or Drop, if you are dutch. I love this stuff....it is AMAZING! And yes, I had twice as much,but Jeff and I have eaten it half gone already (including the Apekoppen that is Jeff's favorite...(Apekoppen means MONKEY HEADS!)

Tonya, the sweetie...found these wonderfully fun BUG dish towels in Amsterdam and gifted one to me. It's shown here hanging on my oven door. I LOVE it! It's just not the normal thing you expect to see in a kitchen. I love textiles, and these are all thread woven into this wonderful pattern. Thanks Ton!

The most touching gift of all:


After the workshops, the shop staff,friends,and others had a small reception upstairs in the classroom area. Treats and everything! I was presented this lovely hard cover book, and it is signed inside by all the shop staff,and the shop owner. I was speechless. Believe me, it isn't often that words fail me,but they did. I love this book of antique dutch quilts SO much. Thank you ladies, I'll treasure it as I treasure all of you!

Quilting The Old Year Out........

Quilting The New Year In!!

One of our favorite movies at Christmas time is "Holiday Inn" with Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire. It's a black and white classic, and such a hoot to watch. We watch it every year.

In the movie, there is a song for New Years where the chorus goes "Kissing the old year out, kissing the new year in....." And I've been humming it to myself and replacing the word kissing with QUILTING. I guess you know where MY one track mind goes! *LOL*

So yes..I'm trying to finish some older projects before the year gets crazy.(On top of the mystery thing!)

I finished quilting this a couple days ago,and the binding is on. I just need to sit and do the hand stitching on the binding and sleeve. I just couldn't make myself do it when all that was on the TV was FOOTBALL! It's not that I mind the football itself...it's the NOISE...the announcers, the crowds, the way the commercials are even broadcast louder than normal. It's like fingernails on a chalk board to me. But this is what I get being the only female in this household.

So TONIGHT...I'm claiming the TV for myself right after dinner, NO FOOTBALL...and I'm binding!

I had a hard time getting pics to turn out right...the color is most correct in the outdoor shot,but the sun is shining on the quilt, and you cant see it...so..between all of these, maybe you'll get the idea!