Out of the Ruler Drawer!

I know I’m not the only one who is drawn to rulers and gadgets and things that do specific things, and I have some that I love even though they are not “Every Day” items…

Rulers are just that way. I have my favorite 12.5” X 6.5”, my 6.5” square, the Easy Angle, Companion Angle and Tri Recs. I have BIG squares for squaring blocks, and quilt corners before putting on borders and binding, I use a large setting triangle ruler for cutting setting triangles from strips instead of cutting big squares into quarters --- I have a long ruler for trimming quilt edges before putting on binding……These things are close at hand where I do my cutting…

But there are some other things that only come out to play once in a while.

One of these things is the “EZ Center Square” ruler by Sharon Hultgren --- Any time I have a block that needs a center square on point – I know the math is going to be funny and I can’t just reach into my pre-cut squares for a square that will work.

And because the rotary cutting math is funny when you put something on point, I could find myself drafting the unit in EQ to see what size it would tell me to ROTARY CUT if I wanted the center square-in-a-square unit to finish at 3” when the corners are added.

Just to show you --- here is the print out from EQ ---telling me to cut a 2 5/8” center square and cut my corner triangles from 2 3/8” squares – which would work…but with this ruler I don’t have to go and try to figure the math before hand.

For a unit that is going to finish at 3” with the center square on point within the unit I just use the 3” finished line on the ruler. I don’t have to hunt down 2 5/8”, or even calculate to see what size that square needs to be.

Once the strip is cut, the ruler also helps you cut squares from the strip…it has sizes from 2” up to 8” units with the center square on point in the unit. The only down side is that it is full inch increments only, not half-inch sizes. But for most things, this has the size that I need without having to do the math.

Like I said --- it’s not a ruler I find myself using all the time – but when I need it, it’s there!

From here I Just used my Easy Angle Ruler and 2” strips to cut the half-square triangles I needed to put that center square on point. I didn't have to cut 2 3/8" squares which is also an odd strip measurement that I don't keep readily at hand.

Here is where they will go!

I used this unit in the center of my Star block for this week’s Barrister’s Sow Along ---

And I sewed two more!

Jacks on Six, Big Dipper, Sawtooth Star, Flying Dutchman

These are the 3 blocks from this week’s installment, and the one bonus block as well. I’m still 3 blocks behind! I thought it was 2 – but no – it’s THREE. I came home after dropping the Wake Forest quilt off at the ball park for Karen, and crashed for a nap ---but I’ll be back at it! I’m bound and determined to get CAUGHT UP!

It’s 9pm --- and I feel a second wind coming on thanks to that nap!

Deacons, Indeed!

Karen and I had a great time working on the quilt for her son. Being as we are both the mother of boys, two sons each – we had a great time discussing what it’s like to cook for boys, the things they appreciate, the things they have no clue over ---and most of all how FAST they grow from babies to youngsters to teens to young men.

All too quickly!

Karen was even sweet enough to bring lunch ---this girl comes organized! She packed her rolling cooler ((Mothers of boys who play sports MUST have a rolling cooler for games!)) and at just about half way on the quilt, we broke for lunch, heated up her yummy homemade southwestern veggie soup on the stove, and ate yummy chicken salad upon crackers ---along with fresh sliced strawberries, and muffins – which we never got around to, we were too full!

And being the mother of sons who play copious amounts of baseball, and it IS baseball season – she had to ditch out at 2pm to go play “shuttle bus” driving home to Lewisville to go get a van full of kids to drive them all the way back to Kernersville where the game is this afternoon. Kernersville is fairly close to me --- so I told her to not worry, I’d baby-sit the machine and finish the last few rows on the quilt, and bring it out to Kernersville during the game so she can get started on the trimming and binding tonight.

Here it is off the machine….isn’t it PERFECT for a young man? I think even the big ones would love it. Solid fabrics are SO graphic..and I love the texture of the quilting:

For those asking, this is a pantograph called “Storm Watch.” I tried googling “Storm Watch Panto” and got weather channels…..but not the designer! Oh Bother ----I’m sure if you do some searching you can find it, it’s a great one for a masculine looking quilt, and if you do find it, let me know so I can update the info here.

Thanks to those who persevered and found the link for me! You can find the panto HERE --it's the 4th item down the page!

We did the happy dance of joy when we advanced the quilt to reach that center square!

I love the texture of the quilting on the border --- this is Signature Variegated thread --- the color is Butter Toffee.

Of course, I tried to google "Signature Thread Butter Toffee" and THIS is what came up:

Which is not what I was looking for, but hey I’ll take it! LOL!

I worked on my Jubilee blocks a bit --- 3 more bonus ones to go to be completely caught up, and hope to be able to upload that later --- but right now....I’m off to Kernersville to go deliver a quilt!

iPhone-o-Gram! Let the Quilting Begin!

Karen arrived bright and early! We've got her son's Wake Forest Trip Around the World quilt in the machine and stitching away!

Love the variegated thread against the solid fabrics---

This is one masculine feeling quilt that any 12 year old boy would love!

NO FLOWERS!!

It's going to be a fun day!

Shelves, Closets, and Wee Small Hours ---

The shelves are up.

But first that meant moving EVERYTHING out of that storage closet ---it really is just a large ugly cinder block lined corner of the “mud room” side of the basement ---So when people were asking to show pics, I was thinking…REALLY? SERIOUSLY!?

It’s not "House Beautiful" down here. I live in a 1970s bungalow style home…the top floor has 2 bedrooms and a bathroom. The main level has the master bedroom, bath, kitchen, living room, dining room and sun room – but the BASEMENT SPACE is what I really loved about this house.

It’s often been said around here that if there were a kitchen and bath in the basement, I’d never come upstairs at all!---- That’s MOSTLY true! :c)

So as the Hubster was doing his manly thing of assembling shelves…..I needed somewhere for them to go, and that meant --- hauling everything from that closet into the quilting room, which is the OTHER half of the basement.

The way I first thought the shelves were going to go, which would have been the easiest of all --- didn’t work, the corner unit made one wall too short for the adjacent shelves….so that meant that even the “DEEP STASH” ((This is the stuff to use for backings, the weird things like novelty prints, older stuff that needs to be cut REALLY SMALL and other….”what was I thinking?” type stuff)) needed to come OUT of its wire cubbies so we could move the wire cubbies to the OTHER wall, putting one shelf set where the cubbies were, the corner unit in the other corner, and one shelf unit along the next adjacent wall. EVERYTHING had to come out of the closet to do this…OY!

I did NOT get a picture of the mountain of STUFF before putting it all back in.

Like I said..this is an ugly room/closet. It’s not glamorous, it would never make “coolest sewing spaces in America” ---but I love the shelves already! There are NO MORE STACKED TUBS OF STUFF on the floor! This is the view from the door as you enter the closet….do you see all those empty shelves? They likely won’t be empty for long ----That laundry basket holds deconstructed shirt parts, and I really need a tub with a lid for those, maybe two – just haven’t gotten there yet.

The self set on the right of the corner unit --- Machines on the bottom two shelves. Including a serger that hasn’t been plugged in in maybe 7 years, and I probably couldn’t remember HOW to thread it if I needed to! And the rest…all the necessary stored junk – on top – BASKETS. How does one person collect so many baskets? I don’t know, but I love them and I keep thinking I’ll find purposes for each and every one. The electrical cord you see goes to the dehumidifier that is a basement necessity in keeping fabric from smelling musty in basements like this when you live in the South East humidity. It does a great job!

This is the DEEP STASH. Some of it is backings, some if it is old FQs and parts that just don’t go in the regular FQ drawers ((Too old, too ugly, no real category, etc…)) My Batiks are here, Christmas too. There is now room to spare ---

To the left of the photo you see the edges of tubs…those are on the shelves on the next wall:

THIS was all I could get photo wise of this last shelf unit,I am all the way IN the closet up against the other shelves, and can't get any farther away to get a whole shot. This is the tubs and bins you see in the cubbie photo above. I just started putting things on shelves to get them out of the way so Karen can come quilt her quilt today --- needed a PATH to the long-arm!

I finally gave up about 1:30am --- when I realized that the only critters up were me and this guy:

He seemed as big as my hand! He was on the front hall floor --- I saw him move out of the corner of my eye when I went to get the broom and dustpan from the utility closet….EWwwwwwwwrrr! ((Okay, I was not so grossed out that I didn’t have time to quickly wield my phone out of my back pocket and SHOOT HIM! But when I tried to get him with a paper towel – he ran UNDER the front hall closet door, and I was NOT going to go in there to search for him. I turned out the lights…put thoughts of big giant fuzzy spiders out of my mind and went to bed!

Karen will be here shortly – there is still more stuff to move ((As in rolls of batting and other STUFF)) before we can pin in her quilt and start the quilting. I had plans this morning of more MQX photos but --- time is a-wasting! Later today? And then --- there is ALWAYS tomorrow!

OH – I found lots of STUFF for the next Yard Sale Saturday that will be happening on May 5th! I’ll be up in Somers, NY Teaching at their quilt show over that weekend, but I think I can get a post written ahead and have it ready to go before I leave town. If you are wanting to join in --- CLEAN THAT CLOSET! If I can do it – even an ugly closet can become a more user-friendly space ----and it looks even better with the door CLOSED! :c)

Evening Edition–Sew Time & Free Kindle Book!

DH is busy using his riding lawn mower and the wagon behind it, to bring the shelving units we bought from the back of the van, around the house, down the hill to the back of the house, and in the basement door…man those things are HEAVY – there was no way we wanted to bring them THROUGH the house and down the stairs.

Thanks for the affirmation that these shelves are the ones to get. I hate shelves that sag in the middle, and so far, that’s all that we’ve had….saggy, baggy, cheap plastic or pressed wood – NO MORE! I can already see more of these shelves lining the wall of the “under the stairs storage closet” down here in the basement as well…that closet is just a mess of stacked boxes, mostly filled with recycled shirts – and it’s a disaster. But let’s get this ONE closet taken care of first shall we?

So, while he was playing lawn-mower-wagon-man…and until he needed me to help unload the wagon….I sat down to sew one of today’s Sow-A-Long blocks from Randy’s Blog!

Yes, Mean Judy Green is still out on the desk top and wanting to play ----So I’ll leave her out for a while ---now that I have this adjustable table, sewing on her is such a pleasure!

There are two more blocks in this week’s installment, and I also have THREE bonus blocks to catch up on, so I think I’ll be busy through the rest of the week on these. What I like about them is that they are a quick project, each on their own, easy to fit into my day, and hardly use any fabric at all!

This one is Dutchman’s Puzzle, and I used 2” strips of cheddar solid and 2” strips of recycled fabric along with my Easy Angle Ruler ((For the half square triangles)) and the Companion Angle Ruler ((for the large goose quarter square triangles)) to make the flying geese units. My favorite part is the fact that the strips are already cut, and I can use the same width of strip for BOTH triangles in the block, no cutting weird sizes, and no trimming anything down!

So – one block down, 5 to go to catch me up? I better get busy!

Some asked to see the tools that I bought at MQX! I love these! They aren’t just pretty, but one of a kind and functional. These were hand made by Cynthia Ellis of Woodbyc.com. The following is from her website:

New Hampshire artisan, Cynthia Ellis - a juried member of the League of NH Craftsmen - has been turning colorful wood into useful, beautiful works of craft for over 30 years, exhibiting her creativity at fine art and craft shows across the country, with unique pieces made to the highest quality standards. Working freehand at the lathe, as the spirit moves, each piece is truly one-of-a-kind.

For years I’ve just used half of a clothspin when a wooden presser was needed, but you know what? I was ready for something just special for me as a momento of this trip. And I love the fact that I was helping to support another independent working woman in the quilting industry by buying such a beautiful piece of functional art. Business deduction? You bet! LOL! ((Boy DH is going to roll his EYES by the time I am done THIS YEAR!))

As for today’s freebie…

This one was discovered by my friend Cathy B --- as in “Have you seen this one yet, Bonnie!?” And No, I hadn’t --- I haven’t had time to go search through Amazon to find things that might be what I’d like to read --

Promise Me This by Cathy Gohlke is free today in the Amazon Kindle Store.

Book Description:

Review

"This dramatic and heart-wrenching interpretation by two-time Christy Award winner Gohlke (William Henry Is a Fine Name; I Have Seen Him in the Watchfires) will enthrall fans of character-driven CF and readers who enjoy Francine Rivers."--Library Journal

Taking a break from work to watch the Titanic set sail on its maiden voyage, Michael Dunnagan meets passenger Owen Allen and decides to stow away in hopes of convincing Owen to let him join his uncle’s business in America. But the so-called unsinkable ship strikes an iceberg, and a dying

Owen extracts a promise from Michael that he will care for Owen’s relatives in America and his sister Annie, still in England. Annie can’t bear the thought that Michael lived when her brother was lost, but the two develop a friendship through the letters they exchange.

When World War I breaks out and Annie’s letters stop, Michael drops everything to find the woman he has come to love. VERDICT

No matter how many times the Titanic’s sinking has been depicted in film and in print, the 1912 maritime tragedy continues to fascinate us. This dramatic and heart-wrenching interpretation by two-time Christy Award winner Gohlke (William Henry Is a Fine Name; I Have Seen Him in the Watchfires) will enthrall fans of character-driven CF and readers who enjoy Francine Rivers. (Library Journal )

One afternoon, young Michael Dunnagan steals away from his job to see the Titanic off.

Through a sudden turn of events, he meets Owen Allen, a young man off to America to help his uncle in a gardening business. After a series of deceptions, Michael, who is not supposed to be on the ship, boards the Titanic, hoping to follow Owen to America and join him in this new business venture.

Owen has left behind his sister, Annie, promising her that he will call for her once he is settled in America. When the Titanic sinks, Owen dies and asks Michael to take care of his sister.

Annie and Michael begin a correspondence that at first is friendly, but soon turns romantic. When WWI intervenes, it appears that the two may have lost each other because of various circumstances on both sides of the Atlantic, but love and grace prevail in the end.

Two-time Christy Award winner Gohlke tells a gripping tale of sacrifice, loss, love, and hope against the setting of familiar historical events; the loss of the Titanic marks its centennial in 2012. (Publishers Weekly )

Review

Stunning. Simply one of the best— if not most powerful—books I have ever read. (Julie Lessman, author of A Heart Revealed )

It sounds really good! You know, the 100th Anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic was just this past weekend. 100 years. The thought of that ship going down still chills me to the bone…..this sounds like a really good add-on story that takes place after the fact!

As always, check before purchasing that it is still free. I have no way to know if/when prices will change, and they often go to “prime members only” by the next day – right now it’s free for all.

Have a great evening --- as for me….someone is assembling shelves already and I best go help!

iPhone-o-Gram! In Search of Storage!

I can't stand my basement storage room any more! The cheapie plastic shelving units don't hold any weight--

I've wanted these industrial shelves from Sams Club for forever, but always told myself that I don't need them.

Well yes I do! It's rainy and chilly and the Hubster is not playing golf or tennis tonight so guess what he gets to help me put up??

Oh happy storage day!

I have my eye on a corner unit too---but I need to see how these will fit first!

Update---DH showed up and says get the corner unit! We have our work cut out for us!

Mary’s Stilettos! ((Tutorial!))

A special thanks to Mary Tosch for graciously sharing her directions for making beautiful beaded stilettos with our readers!

It was so fun to meet her in person, and her generosity just blew me away. Not only did she gift ME with one, but the two gals traveling with me, Fran & Nancy were also recipients of her giving spirit!

I did upload Mary’s directions as a PDF file, and you can click HERE to print it.

The photos and wording below are all Mary’s!

Materials:
-Turkey lacers, available at the grocery store
-Glass beads with holes largeenough for the lacer to fit
-Spacer beads metal or glass
-Aleene’s Jewelry & Metal Glue
-Needle nose pliers, round nose pliers
-Wooden clothes pin
- Magic Eraser

1. With round nose pliers, close the loop at the top of the lacer.

2. Starting with a small spacer bead, try different arrangements of the beads
until you find one you like. Once, you are satisfied, you are ready to glue.

3. A very small amount of Aleene’s Jewelry & Metal glue is needed for each
bead. I put a tiny dab between the loop and bead, then slide the bead into
position.

4. Add another a dab of glue, then slide your bead up snug against the previous
bead. Continue in this manner until all your beads are glued in place.

5. Using the wooden clothes pin to hold the stiletto upright, allow the glue to dry
completely, about 24 hours. There may be a white residue when the glue has dried.

6. Use the magic eraser to clean the residue off the beads.

7. If the bottom bead comes loose from use, place a dab of super glue between it and the prior beads.

Thank you Mary!! I love my stiletto, and I think these will make quick easy and beautiful gifts for quilting friends and family!

MQX, Part 2!

Downtown Providence last rainy Thursday from the convention center........what a neat place!

The biggest part of MQX ((Machine Quilters Expo)) is of course --- THE MACHINES.

There were dealers for regular home sized machines as well as every kind of longarm or midarm imaginable.

If you ever find yourself considering the purchase of a longarm machine ---I suggest you go to a venue such as MQX or a large regional quilt show where many dealers are present so that you can TRY THEM ALL.

Just like cars----each person should try many to find which one it is that fits their needs right.

There is no one universal machine that is going to do it for everyone, so try them all and try them all again, whether you want the basics, or computer driven, or even a table top longarm that you can sit down at. Try them all.

A good thing to do is to try to quilt your name on the sample piece….just to get a good feel for how the machine moves.

Along with the machine vendors, there were of course fabric and thread and notions and all kinds of other goodies.

COLOR! I am so drawn to color!!

I didn’t buy much. I bought a foot for my Janome machine, and then I bought something I knew I wouldn’t be able to find anywhere else ---a seam ripper and a wooden presser ((For pressing paper piecing or other seams when no iron is near by)) that were hand made, turned and dyed by a lady --- they are SO different. Lord knows I don’t need more fabric or thread, so I thought these would be a good momento and could just live in my “live in the suitcase” traveling notions box.

As for the quilts….Oh the quilts!

There were more “Glacier Star” quilts in this one venue than I have ever seen. And they were each so different. I may have photographed a few of them, but the quilting on this one just took my breath away --

There were awards given for computer guided quilting….which believe me, is not as easy as it sounds, because you have to size everything to fit just right before you quilt it, and if you don’t….you spend a LOT of time with the seam ripper!

This one!! Holy radiating geese, batman! It was judges choice, viewers choice, everyone’s choice…..and you have to get up close and personal to see why ---

Look at the quilting and the lettering!

Center medallion--- love how those rays are quilted!

Many ribbons, of course can’t read the note pinned next to the quilt..I thought the ribbons matched the quilt pretty well too!

Border section….what I loved about this one was the intense piecing….and mix of quilting..it was about 50/50 as far as impact goes…not too much wide open space, and the quilting just fits it.

Here’s the tag!

This one has been posted on the blog before, because it was on the cover of “On Track” magazine in the same issue that my article on Scrappy Mountain Majesties was! It was however, the first time I got to see it in person…and get CLOSE!

OOOOOOOHHHHH! AHHHHHHHHHHH! :cD

This was just so detailed. What I don’t remember is if it was tinted ((The black to grey)) after it was quilted, or before?

This background “lattice work” seemed to show up on many quilts I saw….pretty!

I love how the quilting echoed the applique…..and carried on into the filler background…

And here’s the info card :c)

One more for this post! I’ve seen this pattern before, but never seen one quilted so beautifully! This is a piece o’ cake design, and I’m excited to be teaching with Becky Goldsmith at the Virginia Consortium of Quilters at Smith Mountain Lake, VA in just over a week!

I love piecing mixed with applique, but this quilting is just SO nice…it becomes part of the whole.

This quilt was not quilted SO HEAVILY that it is flat. It’s a good mix without it being “too much”, you know?

I think this one would look awesome on a bed, and still be cozy enough to snuggle under. There were so many quilts that were so heavily encrusted with beads and crystals and sequins and all other surface embellishments ----and while they are so pretty to look at, if it can’t go through the washer and dryer, it’s not something I’d find myself making….but I was really feeling at home with this one, even though I’m a very remedial appliquer!

Climbing Clematis --- love the colors and texture in this one. SO many different shades of purple, and many different shades of green. It’s more than just a “purple and green quilt” This is raw edge applique, something I’ve really never done..

Close up of quilting detail! Love that white fluffy bit at the flower centers!

Here’s the card for this one. I tried to get pics of cards as long as there wasn’t a mob of people around the cards trying to read them. I didn’t have time to stand in line and wait!

This medallion was just lovely….all the way gorgeous! I’ve really been drawn to yellow over the past year. The card is there, but I didn’t get a close up, someone moved in to read it while I was photo taking!

This is NOT a quilt!

This is the tile on the lady’s room floor! LOL!! Faked you out, Didn’t I!?

There will be more pics to share tomorrow – we are not done by a long shot! And if I get time, this afternoon ---I’ve got a special treat you’ll want to come back for. Remember the stilettos that were gifted to us by the quilter-who-wished-to-remain-anonymous?

She has sent me the directions for making them, and wants me to pass them on to you, I’ve got to upload a PDF file ,etc….so I’ll have that ready for you hopefully this afternoon!

Happy Wednesday – this work week is already half over!