Happy Mother's Day!

Aren't you glad fashions have changed? Aren't you glad we don't wear hats any more? I AM! Have a happy day!

Dive In!

Do you watch Guy Fieri and Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives? Tonight was girls' nite out with my friends Lisa and Kathy and we decided to visit one of the "dives" featured on the show, Jamie's Broadway Grille. I've actually spent a fair number of Friday afternoons at Jamie's over the years--"working" lunches, you understand! But although I've enjoyed numerous garlic steak sandwiches, I'd never tried the Friday night BBQ dinner until tonight.

Tonight I ordered the BBQ ribs combination, and the plate came piled high with a combination of beef and pork ribs. Buried under the mass o'meat and bones was a scoop of the creamiest potato salad I've ever eaten and pieces of fresh pineapple and watermelon. On a separate plate came a bowl of BBQ'd baked beans and cornbread. I can tell you the beans were yummy; the cornbread, though--I was too full to try it, so I brought it home, tucked into the corner of a styrofoam box heavily packed with all the ribs I couldn't eat as well as at least a couple bites of potato salad--so there's tomorrow's lunch. Jamie has a smoker out back and is also known for his smoked prime rib--which was awfully tempting too, but I'll have to try that one another time!

After dinner, we went to a nearby Starbucks, but that part of town is a little "iffy," and eventually all the crazies made us a little nervous, so we decided to move on. Or maybe it was all the caffeine that made us nervous. Either way, when a guy, who had been talking to himself and who also had something hidden down his pants and under his shirt, stood up and started talking to the imaginary people, we thought it was time to go. (Lisa thought he might have had a gun hidden under his clothes but he kept touching it and it seemed much bigger than that; I'm guessing he probably had dynamite taped to his belly. For all we know, he might have just been a little bloated and talking on his blue tooth, but we have good imaginations. THIS post will give you an idea of HOW good.)

Next stop? Evangeline's in Old Sacramento! Evangeline's is one of those shops that's filled with costumes, joke stuff, and just downright kitschy gifts. It's entertaining just being there, giggling with friends over everything in the store--and that's just what we did. They really should charge admission just for looking, because although me and my home-girls spent about an hour and a half there, I'm the only one who bought anything, and that was just a T-shirt for Hubby--he likes weird T-shirts and I'm embarrassed to be seen in public with him rarely have an opportunity to get him one. Here's a similar T-shirt I found online, although the one I bought Hubby is black:

Have I mentioned that Hubby family came from Ireland a couple generations ago? He got a good laugh out of it. Hubby and Soccer Son are going to be out of town this weekend for football try-outs, so he'll have the perfect opportunity to wear it while he's gone. Yep, I'm on my own--just me and a big box full of ribs! And a sewing machine and a lot of fabric, and . . . well, . . . good and happy stuff! Yes indeedy! Me and happy supplies. As Guy Fieri would say, "now that's money!" Or maybe he'd say my weekend is going to be "off the hook." I love weekends, don't you?!

Friends, Flowers, and Bloody Butcher

Last Saturday, I ran into Pam (Orcsmom) at Bearpaws & Hollyhocks and found out she was off work this week. Coincidentally, Gran and I had just been talking about not having been able to spend any time with Pam recently, so it didn't take long to arrange an outing, but we weren't quite sure what we wanted to do. Gran had been battling some kind of sinus crud and was starting a new antibiotic, so we didn't want to stray too far from home in case she tired out, but we wanted to go somewhere we hadn't been before. So what did we decide to do?

Another friend, Carol, had told us about the Flower Farm, a local nursery with a little restaurant on the grounds, and since the weather was beautiful (but for a bit of a strong breeze) we thought we'd enjoy the countryside, the plants, and the food.

I wish I could say that was us biking in, but you probably wouldn't believe me anyway, right? This building is the little restaurant, and behind the building is a wonderful patio looking out onto a pond, the nursery, and a bocci ball court, and that's where we had lunch--on the patio. Each of us chose a different sandwich--mine was ham and brie on a croissant with sliced apples. Yum! And isn't my cup of white mocha pretty? Maybe not quite as nice as my red with white polka dot cup at home, but Gran was envious nevertheless. She was happy enough, though, to drown her envy in a pot of creme brulee tea accompanied by a chicken curry sandwich, and Pam enjoyed an iced tea and a turkey and Havarti sandwich.

When we first arrived at the Flower Farm, two of the ladies I was with (who shall remain anonymous) were trying to figure out if the cow by the pond was REAL, but we soon found out she wasn't.

Did you notice the legs sticking out of the water to the left of the cow? That's Esther. Presumably she's named after Esther Williams, the great swimmer and movie star of the 40s and 50s, but that's just a guess on my part. While Gran and Pam were off wandering around the nursery and gift shop, I struck up a conversation with one of the owners and learned that she wades into the pond each season and changes Esther's clothes so she's dressed appropriately. I understand it's nearly time for Esther to don a bikini. Here's a larger photo--love those slippers!

All of us enjoyed our time at the nursery so much we decided to stop at another nursery--High Hand Nursery, which wasn't far away. Gran and I had been there about a month ago, but Pam hadn't been with us on that occasion. And that brings me to the last part of my blog post title: Bloody Butcher.

It's a tomato variety, of course! Admittedly, I selected it in large part because of the rather catchy name. I also bought a Cherokee Purple and a Black Prince--all are heirloom tomatoes. And all three of us came away from High Hand carrying tomato plants. (I also bought a couple of flowering plants at the Flower Farm, and "Farmer" Gran bought some potatoes.)

Besides the two nurseries and the restaurant I've written about, we also made stops at two quilt shops and a Starbucks. All in all, a really nice girls' day out.

A year or two ago, I wrote a post in which I wished I had a group of quilting friends to do things with. Back then, the few quilting friends I'd made over the years had moved away or drifted away or lived too far away to get together with, and the friends I DID have were not quilters. How things change! And yes, I realize how truly lucky I am to have found my friends Gran and Pam and several others who weren't with us on this particular outing; these quilting "sisters" bring such joy and laughter to my life.

No Textile Dysfunction Here!

Nope! Just a terrible addiction. Kind of like Tiger Woods but different, although it DOES involve a lot of touching. But I like to think it's a better kind of addiction.

The new Schnibbles is done--the Reveille pattern made with the 12 Days of Christmas/Kate Spain fabric. Where's the addiction? Well, I just happened to be at the quilt shop today and bought two more charm packs of this fabric. Even though I STILL HAVE A FAT QUARTER BUNDLE. Untouched. Sick, huh?!

This one was quick to quilt--I thought it was just perfect for snowy swirls.

"Kim, now that you've finished that quilt, what are you going to do next?" Well, it's funny you should ask.

The next Schnibbles is cut. Addiction? Yep!

Schnibbles addiction. Fabric addiction. Charm pack addiction. And I just don't want to stop!

With this next Schnibbles, I'm really stepping outside of my comfort zone. This Freebird fabric by MoMo--part of me feels uncomfortable with it because it's not what I'm usually attracted to, but part of me is anxious to see what this turns out like. And I'm pretty sure we'll all find out before too long, 'cause I'm addicted. And obsessed. And I'm planning to spend a lot of time in the Sweat Shop this weekend (not to mention the next day or two). Yep, I'm sick, but in a GOOD way, right?

Tell Me This . . .

Last Friday I was at the monthly Tea with Gran at Bearpaws & Hollyhocks, and Gran and I were both stitching down the binding on our Tagalong Schnibbles quilts. Gran asked a couple of us whether we press the bindings back after we've machine stitched them. One quilter said she didn't; I said I do. I like to keep my bindings somewhat narrow, and pressing the binding gives me a sharp edge and I don't have to tug on it as I'm stitching. Several more quilters weighed in, and the table was mixed--some do; some don't.

Then we started talking about binding clips. I don't use them because they get in the way and I feel like my binding's not migrating anywhere, but then I'm not much of a notions gal either. Many of the other quilters DO use them and said they think it's faster.

So what about you? Press your binding? Use clips as you're stitching? Why? Why not? Any other tips to share? Inquiring minds . . . .

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like . . .

The 12 Days of Christmas!

I finished this quilt top this evening--I used the Schnibbles pattern, Reveille, and then I added the outer border. (I had the stripe in my stash; it's not from the 12 Days line--I'm always on the lookout for interesting stripes, especially red and white. Remember my obsession with peppermint and candy canes? Yeah, that's why.)

When I asked you about Christmas lines the other day, a couple of you mentioned the Riley Blake line, Colorful Christmas, and Monica's Holiday Happy by Lecien. Colorwise, both of these fabric lines are similar to the 12 Days line I used, although Colorful Christmas has a few other colors thrown in. AND . . . that polka dotted white I used with the 12 Days line? Riley Blake's Christmas line from last year called Be Merry. These seem to be the "new" Christmas colors. Along similar lines, I stumbled upon Quilt Soup's 2010 Christmas offering, Hip Holidays for Henry Glass (if you click on the Hip Holidays link, it will take you to the main Henry Glass site, but check out Hip Holidays from there). I've been trending toward these colors the last couple years and using them primarily in my Christmas decorating scheme in my kitchen, but I think this year I'll pull them into at least one of the bedrooms--after all, I have a fat quarter bundle of the 12 Days fabric and plans to buy some of Monica's Holiday Happy when it comes out too. I need to use it all SOMEWHERE!

Along more traditional and elegant lines, while you're at the Henry Glass site, scroll down to Heather Mulder Peterson's At Home for the Holidays. And, of course, there's the French General line, Lumiere de Noel. I tend to be a little more traditional in the living room, so maybe one of these lines will find its way there, although I'm ready for a change in the living room too, so we'll see.

In any event, the Schnibbles quilt above is a good start on Christmas, and working with those happy colors doesn't seem too odd in May. I suppose we'll hear about a few more lines at Quilt Market or soon after and goodness knows I have fabric from last year I didn't get around to using, like the Glace line. I'm just sorry Christmas doesn't come twice a year!

The foregoing post is intended as a public service announcement for those quilters among us who are under-tempted by new fabrics. Decreased fabric libido CAN be treated and should not be suffered alone or in silence. One of the goals of this blog is to provide healthy creative stimulation to ALL quilters. If you or someone you know suffers from textile dysfunction and you are unable to provide the help and treatment they need, refer them to this blog.

Tote-ally Classy!

As you probably know, I taught the picnic quilt and tote class on Saturday and I think we all had a great time! I don't know why I come home from teaching so tired when I have just as much fun as the students, but I do. Crazy, huh?! By the way, Gran has also written about the class from her perspective, and she has some awesome photos of the tote she made. Want to see what "the kids" did?

I didn't get a photo of Dona's tote because she had to leave a bit early. She made hers using the new Hunky Dory line--there's a great border stripe that was just perfect for the tote and quilt border. I'm really looking forward to seeing the finished project.

Then there's Sandy's tote--she didn't get hers finished, but you can see her tote is going to look great! Class was supposed to end at 5:30 but we were having so much fun, we decided to stay and finish--or nearly finish--our totes. Sandy, though, got a call from her significant other about dinner plans and had to leave before the rest of us, so she didn't get quite as far. The green, white, pinks, and pinkish-reds she's using look wonderfully fresh. She had these in her stash--she'd originally purchased them for another project and never made it.

Next up is Julie-Julia's tote. (There's a story about her name, but I'll have to tell it another time.) Julie-Julia wanted only to make the tote and not the "matching" quilt, so she helped Sandy make a couple of quilt blocks. Once we got to the tote-making, she left Sandy to her own devices and turned out a really lovely tote--she had it completely finished before we left.

Wilma used the same Lecien border stripe I used for my quilt and tote, but she used some different fabrics in the body. It may not look like it here, but she was nearly done making her tote. She had made her handles, and all she still needed to do was to sew the inside and outside together, turn the tote right side out, and top stitch along the top. Really cute!

Both Julie-Julia and Wilma are planning to make more totes soon. (I also pointed out to the class that the picnic quilt, made smaller with fewer blocks, would make a great baby quilt, and the tote would make an excellent diaper bag.)

Here's Gran's tote. She found these crisp-looking blue and brown fabrics in the sale/clearance section of the shop some months ago and snapped them up. I know they're going to look great in the matching picnic quilt too! On her blog, she has photos of the inside of the tote as well.

And my tote. (Or totes.)

Before class, I pre-made sections to use to demonstrate various steps of construction, so it didn't take me very long to further demonstrate the final steps and get this one finished. (To the right of the class tote, you can see my purse "tote" which I made awhile back, and then just barely in the shot is the original picnic tote I made as a shop sample for the class.)

I told the students they would get their totes done by the end of class, and I wasn't too far off. Most of us did finish or came awfully close. By 7:30, we were getting our things cleaned up and packed and loaded into our cars. Besides making the totes, early in the class we worked for a little bit on the quilts--just long enough so that everyone understood how the disappearing 9-patch blocks are constructed and made at least one to take home to use as a sample. So, all in all, the class went well, we had a good time, and everyone was fairly productive--what more could I ask for?! I'll get the patterns uploaded on Etsy in the next day or two in case anyone's interested in purchasing one as well as the patterns and kits from the last class--the "Baa Baa Black Sheep" wool class--I'll let you know when they're posted.

As always, thanks for stopping by to visit!

Do You Know . . .

that there are less than eight months until Christmas?

Christmas fabrics are starting to arrive in the shops--perhaps you noticed? Last year, I was madly in love with Figgy Pudding by Basic Gray; this year, 12 Days of Christmas by Kate Spain makes my heart go pitter patter.

The Year of Schnibbles pattern was announced today for May--and it's our choice! So I pulled out one of the patterns I had that isn't in the new book and two charm packs of 12 Days of Christmas and got busy cutting tonight. I still have to cut the background but the charm squares are cut.

Today I taught the picnic quilt and tote class--more about that in the next day or two I think. I didn't get home until nearly 8 p.m., and by then, I was much too tired to do very much, but I'm pleased I at least got part of this Schnibbles cut out. (I would have just gone to bed but for the lure of Doctor Who and MI-5, so I had to at least be semi-productive.)

I have one more Schnibbles plan for the next couple days--to pin this version of the X-Rated Schnibbles quilt I pieced and appliqued awhile back so I can quilt it soon.

While I'm still thinking about Christmas, though, I was wondering--what's your favorite line of Christmas fabric coming out this year?

Tagalong

I finished quilting and binding Tagalong, this month's Schnibbles--just under the gun too! I probably couldn't have done it without the help of my friend, Stitch.

You might remember my earlier post when I showed you the completed top and mentioned I'd set mine differently, because the fabric I used, Garden Party by Blackbird Designs, seemed to blend together when the blocks were set in rows.

Stitch agreed that something different was needed, so I searched my stash and found the cream colored setting squares--the fabric has writing on it, and I'm a fool for graphics and writing. (Okay, so maybe I AM a fool most of the time, even when graphics and writing AREN'T involved. You can just tell that's what Stitch is thinking, right?)

And speaking of graphics and writing, did you notice the quilt back? Stitch did. More graphics and writing, although it's a different fabric line--something else found in the stash of a fool.

And then I thought you might want to see the quilting up close and personal, so I took a photo and photoshopped it until it kind of showed up. Daylight helps when taking photos of quilting, because you can get those nice shadows and light, but when you're taking photos at night, Photoshop is the next best thing.

In fact, the above photo of Stitch turned out nearly black, but through the magic of Photoshop, I was able to lighten it until Stitch emerged from the darkness. I just couldn't seem to teach him to change the bobbin though. Are you as bored with this post as he looks in the photo? I think he's catatonic. Get it? CAT-atonic? Ar, ar, ar!

Chit Chat

I'm sure you'll be disappointed to hear that Gran and I behaved ourselves at Starbucks today. Sure makes for a boring story, doesn't it? I think it's because we didn't have Brandon to play with--our barrista today was one of the worst I've seen when it comes to customer service. Bet she can't whistle the Jeopardy tune either.

But you know--good barrista or bad barrista, it was awfully nice getting together with Gran. We really hadn't had much opportunity to just sit and chat since before her vacation to Maryland, so it's been a few weeks.

What else did I do today? Nothing too exciting. I cleaned house, saw my workers' comp doctor, stopped by the quilt shop, did some grocery shopping, and quilted the Schnibbles Tagalong quilt--I still have to do the binding though.

I think I probably told you the other day, after the nerve conduction studies were performed, that I have moderate carpal tunnel in my right hand, right? I thought I might find out more about treatment when I saw the doctor today, but all I really found out is that the next step is to refer me to a hand specialist for evaluation. So more waiting. Thank goodness for reading and quilting, that's all I can say! If I didn't have any hobbies or interests, I'm not sure what I'd do with myself.

Speaking of quilting, Anonymous Sue left me a comment on yesterday's post saying she'd just been to a quilt show in Columbia, Maryland, and someone had entered a quilt they made from my Spring! pattern. How cool is THAT?! Do you remember that old Steve Martin movie, The Jerk (in which Steve Martin was "raised a poor black child"), where he says something like "The new phone book is here! I'm somebody now!"? Yep, that's the kind of excitement I'm feeling about somebody's Spring! quilt being in a quilt show and seen by millions and millions of people! (Okay, yep, slight exaggeration on the number of people who will see that quilt, but I'm just THAT excited!) And I understand I'm even given credit for the pattern. I'm pretty sure it won't be long now before they'll be beating down my door. Of course, I'm not sure who "they" are, but as long as "they" come calling with wads and wads of money, they're welcome to beat down my door anytime!

Gosh, would you look at the time? It's after midnight, and Friday's going to be a busy day, so I'd better shut down the computer and get to bed. I'm glad you could stop by for a chat!