It's That Time Again, Folks!

The other day, I was visiting a few blogs, doing a little catch-up reading, and one of the blogs I checked in on was Tall House Quilts. There I found the cutest collection of thrifted watermelon "stuff." (Click HERE if you'd like to see for yourself.) Well, yes, you probably know where this is going. The yearning hit me, and hit me hard.

Work was insanely crazy today. We had a huge pile of legal documents to prepare and get into the overnight mail. By the time I got out of the office, I needed a little time to decompress, so yep, I stopped at the thrift store on the way home. I figure it's reasonably cheap therapy!

One of the differences between me and the Tall House Quilts gal is that she took her Easter bunnies down in mid-April; mine are still up. Sad, isn't it? I SERIOUSLY need to do something about that because summer's here! So, with that in mind, I thought this print would make a nice summery background in my hutch or somewhere else in the kitchen.

Nothing TOO exciting about the print, but I kind of like it. I also came home with a few odds and ends. A book of recipes from The Stinking Rose restaurant in San Francisco--I've always wanted to eat there, but since we don't really GO to San Francisco much, it just hasn't happened yet.

A butter bell because--well, apparently you just can't have too many! I have one that's a deep yellow, and I sent Red Geranium Sharon one of these blue and white ones about a year ago, but I have some other blue and white kitchen things, so I thought I'd hold onto this one. And, unfortunately, my photography skills are such that you can't really SEE the rusty star candle holder to the right very well, but trust me--it's there! Rusty star candleholders are always good for those patriotic occasions AND Christmas. How versatile!

Here's my really good bargain of the day, though:

Even Hubby knows this is a Jim Shore/Heartwood Creek angel, and while I'm not THAT into angel "stuff," I do like Jim Shore, and this angel's harvest basket will fit in nicely with my fall/Thanksgiving decor. No chips or blemishes to be seen, which makes this find a steal at something like $4!

(Note to Gran: See the embroidery floss at the base of the angel?

This STUFF is everywhere!

And I'm blaming YOU!)

And last of all? Well, Hubby rolled his eyes at this--quite openly too! How can a person roll their eyes at a snowman tree garland, I ask?!

But really, if I don't get rid of these bunnies soon, I just might go straight to decorating for Christmas!

A Blog Post About Blogs!

In quilt class the other day, some of us started talking about some of the blogs we enjoy, and Gran mentioned that I don't have a list of blogs I read on MY blog. Nope, she's right! I read a lot of blogs; some more often than others depending on how often the blogger posts and the anticipated blog content. Then, too, I'm always adding new blogs and (OH NO!) deleting old blogs that for one reason or another, I don't visit much anymore. So keeping a blog list in my sidebar would just give me yet another thing to fall behind in. I'm not very good at keeping up. Kind of like my reading list, which is a hit and miss endeavor and is usually at least a couple books behind!

As we got to talking in class, though, we all agreed we enjoy reading Nancy's blog, Blogging, Near Philadelphia. Nancy often gives us something to think about, like her recent post about a commentor taking her to task about what she'd written in a prior post. Nancy handled the criticism with her usual style and grace and turned it into a thoughtful discussion about the economy, spending money, and blogging about spending money, among other things. A very interesting post that made us evaluate our own views.

I mentioned to Gran that I enjoyed reading two blogs in particular because the bloggers have wonderful senses of humor and a fine ability to write about things that happen in their lives in entertaining ways. A Month of Sundays, written by Dianne-of-the-Pink-Flamingo-Slippers is one of those blogs. When you get a chance, click over there and read her post on Cake Decorating 101, among others. She often cracks me up!

The other entertaining blog I wanted to mention is G'Owens On Around Here, written by Dawn (previously titled Our Adventures in Korea). Only Dawn could write about a family funeral and make me laugh--even if I did feel a little guilty about laughing at a funeral post. (Read Ahhhh it was the Irish in Me.)

I think it would just be a TON of fun to spend a day with Dawn and Dianne!

What are YOUR favorite blogs--the ones that might be less well known? I've been thinking lately that there are a lot of new bloggers in Blogland well worth reading, so I thought we might share. Please leave a comment if you have any to recommend to the rest of us!

And, while I blush to refer you to a blog post largely about ME, I thought if you weren't too tired of hearing about Saturday's class and wanted to see a photo of me, you might click on over and visit Gran, who has posted a nice photo collage of the class and the quilt shop, Bearpaws & Hollyhocks.

Thanks for stopping by to visit!

Loose Threads

In the aftermath of yesterday's class fun, I slept like a log and woke up to the smell of baking bread. Yum! Hubby had gotten up early and got the bread machine going. What an enticing aroma on a lazy Sunday morning!

Hubby's been sorting out some of the things we've been storing in the garage for years and years, and he brought this in this morning to see what I wanted to do with it. Isn't it funny?!

You can probably tell from the colors that this was something I made in the late 70s! And you know what? I never even finished it! Something for the Goodwill bag, I suppose, destined to end up in the Crafts-Gone-Bad aisle!

Mare left a comment on yesterday's post asking whether "M" stood for Mare! No, sorry, Mare! I DID tell her that she came to class with me though--my embroidery project was in a bag she made for me--

If you click over to her blog, you'll see she's been awfully busy making more bags while she's recovering from rotator cuff surgery.

And do you know what "M" really stands for--at least in the case of my embroidery project?

Today I spent a little time finishing the embroidered words. Next I'll be working on the rest of the "garden"--this is something I'll take to the office with me to work on during lunch hours.

There were a couple questions about the "tablecloth" I used in class. Yes, it is in fact a Thimbleberries project I made several years ago. It was a Club pattern at the time. I think the pattern has since been included in a Thimbleberries book, but I'm not certain. I varied the pattern a bit by turning all the blossoms outward and I think I changed the sawtooth part in the center as well, but it's hard to remember exactly what I did differently.

Ruby was kind enough to send me a photo of her completed Fireworks! center and allowed me to post it on my blog.

Isn't it great! And, by the way, for those of you who were in my class (or, for that matter, those who have purchased the pattern), I wanted to mention that using triangle paper for the half square triangles in the border is a really good option! It's impractical for the center, but the blocks in the border are small enough to make it a quicker way to get them done.

When I wasn't embroidering, reading, or napping today, I pieced the large block for the Back Home Again BOM class I'm taking--I still need to make the small block though. I'm really happy with the way these are coming out using the older Ellery line of fabric.

And, finally, I wanted to post a photo of the class packet that will be going out in tomorrow's mail to Melissa--

And the inside--

The weekend is nearly over, but if I hurry, I have a little time left to head back into the Sweat Shop and cut the pieces for the smaller Back Home Again block. Happy quilting!

Fireworks Class!

It was a long and tiring day, but in a very GOOD way! I had a lot of fun, and I think my "students" did too, judging by the chatting, laughter, and the headway made on the quilts.

The class was full with 12 quilters--13 including me, but that doesn't seem to have been an unlucky number. Several of the "regulars" came as well as a few new faces. In particular, I was quite tickled that Ruby, one of my blog readers, drove 1-1/2 hours from home to attend!

Here's a basket stuffed full of the little "gifties" I made and couldn't show you before:

I think I mentioned in a previous blog post the Studio e Classmates pattern I'd bought and made. Well, I modified the size a bit, making it a little larger so it would hold the pattern. I also tucked a pencil and a half sheet of paper inside for class notes, and I added an extra copy of the block layout sheet. A few people are making the quilt using different colored fabrics--I brought crayons so they could color the extra layout sheet to match the fabrics they were using.

A couple hours into the class, we took a lunch break. I didn't get too elaborate with the table decorations this time, because I knew we wouldn't have very much space. You can't see them in the photo, but I had hot dogs heating in a crockpot. I took this photo an hour or so before lunch, so not everything was laid out, but I knew we'd get busy and I'd forget to get a picture. Colleen was thoughtful enough to bring a cake to add to our feast!

By the end of class, just about all the food was gone!

This is where I sat. (Notice the nearly empty Starbucks iced latte? Yep! You just knew it was MY spot, didn't you?! Oh, and those were my sunglasses--it's always important to make a fashion statement, even when attending a quilt class!) You can see I had a good view of all of my students, and I kept them hard at work! I was sitting next to Gran, my embroidery teacher, so what did I do? I embroidered, of course!

We took another little break later in the afternoon for some show and tell.

Imelda had brought her Hat Party quilt top--it's not done yet, but she had it pieced. Pretty, isn't it?! And much prettier in person--my photo doesn't do it justice!

Bev brought her tulip quilt from the Spring! class--she opted to leave off the bunny and added garden bugs. I think it turned out great!

Imelda was the first to finish her center. Ooooooh! Aaaaaaah!

Followed soon after by Julia! Oooooooh! Aaaaaaaah! Julia marked her rows with Post-It notes--given the limited room we had, we weren't able to lay our blocks out, so marking the rows helped.

By the end of the day, we were all starting to get tired, and a few of us made errors in positioning blocks or sewing the correct row on. But just about everyone either finished their center or came pretty close. One of my friends, Jackie, wasn't able to get to class until we were a little way into it and so she didn't get quite as far, but since we work together, I'll be able to help her if she thinks she needs any more help.

And I finished my "M." But not in class--I brought it home and finished it here.

Thank you all for the comments saying you wished you could be in class--I wish you could too! I asked Hubby to pick a number and he picked--gosh, I can't remember what it was! I guess I'm tired too! I think it was 26. No matter, though. I counted up and figured out the winner of my "honorary student" giveaway before my mind went numb. The winner is Melissa from Cornbread and Beans who said, "I sure wish I could see you in action in one of your classes, I bet you would be a hoot! Thanks for hosting this give-away JUST FOR ME!! hehehe =)melissa." Congrats, Melissa! Please email me your address and I'll get your "student packet" in the mail to you!

Wish You Were Here!

Tomorrow (Saturday) I'll be teaching the Fireworks! pattern at Bearpaws & Hollyhocks, and I'm sure it will be another day of fun! I wish you all could attend, but since you can't, I thought I'd have a little giveaway for those of you who are too far away.

If you would like to be an "honorary student" of my class, leave me a comment, and I'll draw a winner on Saturday night, to be posted on the next blog post (Saturday night/Sunday).

Oh, were you wondering what you'd win if your name is drawn? Well, I can't tell you! You see, I always like to surprise my students! I WILL tell you, though, that you'll receive the same "giftie packet" that I'm giving the students. Unfortunately, I won't be able to send you the lunch I'm serving them because hot dogs and macaroni salad don't travel well through the mail, and the postal service tends to get a little annoyed by soggy packages.

Along with announcing the winner tomorrow night, I hope to post a few class photos, including a photo of the prize. See you then!

UFOs

We all know what UFOs are, right? A quilt-related novel I recently read described UFOs, for the benefit of non-quilters, as--and I'm paraphrasing here--quilt projects that a quilter has set aside because she's (or he's) lost interest in it for some reason. That description didn't ring true with me. For me, UFOs are projects that have reached a certain natural stopping point--either completed blocks or a completed (but unquilted) quilt top--and then been set aside out of necessity because some other quilt project has had to take priority.

So let me ask you this: What causes YOU to have UFOs?

Rock 'N Roll Quilt Show

Have you ever looked at quilts while listening to rock 'n roll music? That's what I'm doing tonight and here's why. Remember my daughter, the Wild Child? Remember when I posted photos of her band at one of their outdoor performances in the snow?

Well, tonight she emailed me a link to a My Space page where I could listen to their music. Since I haven't heard her sing since she was a teen, I think it's pretty cool! So, I opened two windows on my computer; I have her music playing in one while I'm looking at and posting photos of quilts I took at Jo's Little Women Club tonight in the other window.

If you'd like to check out the band, HERE's a link. Please keep in mind that these are amateur recordings; of the four, I think my favorite is the third one down called Walk On--probably because you can her her vocals best. She kind of reminds me of Janis Joplin or Pat Benatar. Boy, wouldn't I just love to go hear the band?! I hope I'll get the chance someday.

Now for the quilt show. The first four are Jo's Club quilts--this is a club pattern called Holiday Inn. The first three have appliqued centers, but the fourth has a pieced center--an option we were given in case we just didn't want to applique!

Here's Pam's Hat Party quilt--she took my class and I just love how hers has turned out, don't you?!

Thanks for stopping in!

My Ramblings

So, what the heck do I think I'm doing? Seriously, I planned to work on the Halloween quilt top tonight. In fact, I planned to get the center pieced and add the inner borders so I could take it to Jo's Club tomorrow night for show and tell. But here it is, nearly 11:30 p.m. and have I done that? No! And why not? Well, because I worked on it for about 45 minutes and my attention seemed to be wandering, so I thought I'd take a little break and see if there were any emails I could read and answer. Well, yeah, there were a couple, but that didn't take long, so then I started reading just a blog or two.

Okay, so now it's something like two hours later, and I'm still sitting here at the computer and only half of the center of my quilt top is pieced. And, since I don't have anything more to show you as far as the quilt top goes, nor can I dazzle you with the speed at which I've sewn the center together, I'll just talk about my internet blog surfing. Which is kind of weird because that's what you're doing right now if you're reading this.

And that reminds me--let me digress just a minute. When I was down in Salinas, looking at old family photos with my brother, we laughed and laughed at my mom's photos of pictures--mostly her paintings. We thought that taking pictures of pictures was pretty funny. Then we found photos of photos. And photos of people LOOKING at photos. So, yeah, me telling you about reading blogs while you're reading blogs reminds me of that.

So I won't exactly tell you about reading blogs. Instead, I'll tell you about my favorites list, where I keep my blog list. And other stuff. It's the other stuff that sometimes puzzles me. Here's a sampling of the "other stuff" to be found in my favorites file:

The "Frenzy" of San Jose Girls' Slayer. I wanted to mark a 1969 newspaper article about two girls who went to the same high school I went to who were murdered about a year before I started high school. Reason? I wandered onto Classmates dot com a few weeks ago and there was an ongoing discussion board spanning several years about the case--a professor is writing a book about it. I was curious and wanted to refresh my memory.

Mini Stuffed Pumpkins. I thought I might want to make some but didn't. Yet.

Woman with Beer Can in Hand Starts Brawl at Wake. No, it wasn't about me . . . or my relatives. But doesn't she sounds like she might be fun to hang with?

Talking Heads Once in a Lifetime Lyrics. Doesn't everyone have this one marked?

Six Reasons We Have Bad Dreams. I don't remember why I marked this one, but it reminds me: I had a nightmare last night that I was being attacked by a giant lobster that I thought we'd left for dead in the living room the night before. Maybe I should go back and read the article about bad dreams.

The Phantom Tollbooth--Wikipedia entry. One of the best kids' films ever. I'm guessing it would also be a good movie for adults on recreational drugs. I still love Milo and Tock, his watch dog.

Newspaper article--Dressing Alike Everyday Habit for This Couple. Maybe I was thinking about driving my husband nuts by getting matching outfits for us to wear. I dunno.

How-to craft article: Tampon angels. Just in case I run out of Christmas craft ideas. Or complete menopause and end up with a lot of leftover tampons. TMI?!

Tiny Long-Lost Primate Rediscovered in Indonesia. Really? Did I really save that one? Maybe there's still hope for Jimmy Hoffa.

Yahoo Survey: For Elderly, Sex Doesn't Have to Get Old. What can I say? It holds about the same weird attraction as watching a train wreck.

Study: Marijuana Potency Increases in 2007. When's the next study and where can I sign up?

Yahoo News: Men Create More Housework for Women. No! Really?! Where can I apply for a job where someone will pay me to reach these kinds of brilliant conclusions?

Time for bed, where I hope no more lobsters are waiting to attack me once I fall asleep. Luckily, the classroom at Bearpaws and Hollyhocks has an entire mirrored wall. Maybe if I take my half quilt center and hold it up to the mirror, I can fool people into thinking I've actually gotten the center sewn together!

Oh, and a P.S. for Mam, whose comment asking where she could get the pattern came through as no-reply. Mam, the pattern is listed in my Etsy shop--just click on the photo in my sidebar or click on the link in the sidebar to my Etsy shop. And thanks for asking!

Will We Finish The Quilt in Class?

As a teacher, I hear this question more often than I would expect. Most of my classes have been four hours long, although the "Hat Party" class and the class this Saturday for the "Fireworks!" pattern are six hours long. Still . . . we have to have time to eat and chat and have some fun, so no, the chances of finishing a quilt top in class are pretty slim. Besides, my philosophy has always been that quilting is not a race. Sure, quick piecing methods are great--I love them and use them whenever I can! But it seems to me that quilting just isn't a hobby for those who require instant gratification.

My main goal in any quilt class is to show my students the steps they'll need to know to complete the quilt once they go home, offer any tips and suggestions that occur to me, and make sure to demonstrate anything that may be a little "tricky" or not quite common. And, as I tell the students, they're always welcome to email me or call me if they run into trouble or have a question--in fact, one of my Hat Party gals called me at home yesterday to ask a question about the sashing, and I'm always happy to help.

So why am I telling you this? Because my students on Saturday just might come reasonably close to completing the Fireworks! quilt top in class, and I'm pretty tickled about that! Realistically, I don't think we'll get the borders finished, because piecing them will take about as long as piecing the center, but still, they should go home with a quilt top that won't take too much longer to complete.

Remember I had cut my blocks for the center last night? I gave my students the information they need to precut their fabric up to that point as well. Tonight I sewed the half-square triangle blocks and trimmed them up. Then I put everything up on my design wall--

I tried to time myself, and I think it took about 3 hours tonight to get to this point with a few interruptions. I figure I'll be able to sew the blocks together and add the inner border in about two hours, so that still leaves an hour of class time to work on the pieced borders. Or maybe we'll just eat, and chat, and have fun! Yep, it's not a race. But I think this is about as close to instant gratification as it gets!

Seeing Spiders

I'm afraid I'm a little boring tonight since all I've done all day was to get the Fireworks! pattern ready and work on making a few things for my class students--which I'd really LOVE to show you . . . but I can't right now because they're a surprise. So what can I show you?

Well, can you stand to look at a few more spiders?

I think I mentioned that I was going to use the Fireworks! pattern to make a Halloween quilt, didn't I? I'll be using this as a demonstration for the class, so I thought that tonight I'd get the cutting done for the blocks that will make up the center of the quilt. Here are the fabrics I'll be using--

I think most of the fabrics for this quilt are Alexander Henry fabrics except for the orangy-yellow, which is from Sandy Gervais. I also have a great Alexander Henry black border fabric and a good stripe for the inner border--no idea who makes that one. I came across it at the quilt shop in Hollister last weekend. I'll have to show you the border fabrics another time since I didn't think to take a photo of them.

Cutting the spider fabric kind of gave me the creeps! A couple times I'd catch sight of the spiders showing through the back of the fabric and I'd get that little burst of adrenaline before my mind made sense of what I was seeing! Oh, sometimes I make myself laugh!

I hope you had a lovely weekend!