Spring's On The Way!

It was a beautiful spring day here in Northern California. I thought I might get out and wander around the local flea market today looking for treasures, but for a number of reasons, I decided to stay put and enjoy a relaxing Saturday at home. Instead, I wandered out to my own backyard to see what was in bloom.

Usually just as the star magnolia comes into bloom, a storm will come along and batter all the blossoms. That hasn't happened this year--so far!

I love when the spirea starts to blossom! Besides blooming bulbs, it's one of the first signs that spring is nearly here.

Besides quilting the tulip/bunny quilt, I played around with some blocks from a previous block swap. These were made using some spring colored fabrics. My next project perhaps?

Despite the nice weather during the day, the nights are still chilly enough to appreciate a good bowl of beef stew simmering in the crockpot. See that frilly double daffodil in the background? I found it kissing the soil under the weight of its blossom, so I decided to bring it in the house as a reminder that spring's on the way!

Tulip Quilt--Again

The applique is finally done--maybe. I'm not sure if I want to add anything else, but it's at least to the stage I had planned. I'm contemplating a butterfly. I'll look at it again in the morning and make up my mind. In any event, I think I should be able to get it quilted this weekend, unless I get distracted by other things. And I'm easily distracted!

Work continued to be busy up until about 5:45 today, but the last couple of days haven't been quite as insane as earlier in the week. Still, I'm certainly happy to welcome the weekend!

Back when I was working hard to save the economy, I managed to amass several largish piles of fabric. Over the last few days, I've been concentrating on getting everything reorganized and put away, so the Sweat Shop is finally back in order again--it feels so much better to work in there!

Did you notice that word "amass" that I used? I like it! I doublechecked the meaning and here's how the dictionary defined it--which I think is quite fitting when it comes to newly purchased fabric:

"(1) To gather for oneself, as for one's pleasure or profit . . . (2) To accumulate or assemble a large quantity . . . ."

Happy weekend everyone!

A Little Something

Last weekend, I made a lunch sack-type bag and I wanted to show you a photo:

It's about the size of a brown paper lunch bag but much cuter! I first came across a photo of some that Screen Door Mel made HERE. Although she gave a link for the free pattern, I'll post it again: Lunch Sack Bags.

They're really quick and simple to make--two fat quarters and some heavy non-fusible interfacing is all that's required besides a button--that's for the larger of the two patterns, and that's the one I made. But what I was thinking about is wouldn't they be cute if you made some with Easter/spring fabrics, rolled the tops down, stuffed them with Easter grass, and filled them with Easter goodies for your friends and family? Something a little different than the traditional basket! And if you used fabrics that weren't strictly "Easter," they could be used later as lunch or gift bags.

I'm sure I'll be making a few more of these!

That Does Not Compute!

What does not compute? Me! Tonight. Or blog. Much. I'm just too darn tired and every thought has been sucked from my brain. If someone was to decide to do an MRI of my brain tonight, they might think they had obtained an MRI of a raisin. Or Silly Putty. Or bubblegum, as Darlene suggested to me last night--but in a nice way.

And can someone explain how I've managed to post 32 times in February when I pretty much just post once a day and today's the 27th? I guess I must have had a lot to say before. Hopefully that makes up for having nothing to say tonight. I guess if you want to read something more from me, you can go back and see if you missed anything.

And just to make sure no one's terribly disappointed at having stopped by and gotten nothing for their efforts, well a number of you were clammoring for a photo of me awhile back, and after a great deal of careful thought and consideration, I figured I'd oblige.

Stop back by tomorrow--maybe I'll have something for you then. Remember that secretary who has the flu? She called today and said she'd be back tomorrow. Now, if only I can figure out where I put my brain . . . .

"Out of Office Reply:

The Recipient Lost Her Mind and Has Gone Home to Search For it."

That's the reply I sent my boy boss today when he emailed me the gazillionth piece of electronic dictation that I haven't a hope of getting to any time soon. Later in the day, he commented that I seemed a little . . . uh . . . feisty?! Yeah? Ya think?!

Stress is a funny thing with me. Literally. I cope with stress by getting kind of funny. I think maybe stress just pushes my mind past its normal boundaries and on into the land of the absurd. And yes, I can hear some of you muttering that I must be stressed quite often, right? Hummm. Maybe.

Now that boy boss and girl boss are full-fledged attorneys, they're becoming reasonably productive, and they keep me pretty busy. Add to that the fact that new attorneys are the dumping grounds for last minute rushes, and you will begin to see why I tend to be funny on occasion. Now imagine that on top of coping with the demands of boy boss and girl boss, I've had to take on the demands of one of the senior partner bosses because his secretary is out with the flu. Yep, she called me Monday morning from the pharmacy after seeing her doctor. She was running a 103 degree fever and was waiting to pick up some liquid mega dose of antibiotics that was supposed to make her feel like hurling the rest of the day but would hopefully start her down the road to recovery. In the meantime, her doctor wanted her to rest for a few days. I think I need a referral.

And can I just mention here that this week, I'm a disgruntled employee? Yep, I realized that since my pay is based on a monthly salary, my employers are getting AN EXTRA DAY of work out of me this year, since it's leap year. Aargh!

I was hoping to come home tonight and spend a relaxing evening basting the next applique pieces I plan to add to my tulip quilt, but having scrolled--SEVERAL TIMES--through the TV listings, I found there's absolutely nothing I wanted to watch. And generally speaking, I'll watch just about anything, so there being NOTHING that (1) interested me or (2) I hadn't already seen--several times in some cases--is unusual. Didn't the writers' strike end? And what were they doing with all that time off? Couldn't they have at least come up with some ideas while they were off so these TV shows could get back up and running quickly?! Sheesh!

So, instead of relaxing, basting, and watching TV, my younger cat and I went to take a nice, long bath. Yes, you're right: I took a bath and she watched. Then she got bored and decided to try to dig up the bath towel I had laid on the floor next to the tub. That part was really fun! Every time she'd start to dig, I'd flick water on her. She'd stop and look around and maybe twitch a little and then start to dig again. And I'd flick water again. Well, this went on and on for awhile until she decided to watch from afar. Then I got bored, and we played peek-a-boo with the shower curtain. See what I mean? I think I've lost my mind.

Once I was all nice and clean and wrinkled to the point that I was starting to resemble my 80-year-old mother, I got out of the tub and got onto the computer and ordered a couple bunny quilt patterns from Canada. What fun! The best part is that since it was Canadian money, I don't know how much I spent! I figure you really can't feel guilty buying something if you don't know how much money you spent, right? I mean: Is it even REAL money? Hummm.

I think it's time to go to bed with a good book, a slightly damp cat, and a cup of hot chocolate. Chocolate's good for stress right?!

Here's The Thing . . .

Okay, I think I'd better defend myself over the whole ironing board issue before someone calls the quilt police! LOL! I don't know if they make those tabletop boards thinking that people won't use them a whole lot or what, but the fabric they use for the covers seems a bit flimsy and not of the best quality--kind of like that somewhat thin but stiff fabric you can find at discount department stores for a couple bucks a yard. Add to that the fact that I often do things like sew up 284 half square triangles and press them open all at once--I have a feeling that doing that repetitive pressing tends to overheat the batting and the board cover and eventually the textiles start to break down. I never leave my iron plate down on the board and half the time I don't even leave it sitting up on the board, so that's not the problem. Maybe my iron is too hot? But I don't really think so.

One of these days soon, I'll need to stop quilting long enough to sew up a new ironing board cover. I have some nice, heavier cotton, and Quilt Nut was kind enough to take pity on me and provide THIS link to a site that shows how to make a new cover for your board which is pretty cool.

I wish I could stay home and play with fabric today--I'm still working on the tulip quilt--but it's time to get ready and head to the job that pays me to show up. Happy quilting and crafting!

Why?

Libby has a little thing going on at her BLOG where we're supposed to leave her a comment there and post a photo on our blog of our ironing board. You may have seen her post. If the contest was based on who has the worst ironing board, I'm guessing I just might win. Are you ready for this? No, really--you REALLY, REALLY have to be ready before you look. Make sure you don't have food or drink in your mouth, and if you're feeling at all squeemish, you might just want to go on to the next blog on your list right now.

Ready?

Okay, here it is:

Pretty pathetic, isn't it? And here's what really bugs me--you can't buy new covers for these small tabletop boards; you have to buy a whole new board. Which I've done several times already. And THIS one is only several months old. For awhile there, they were packaging TWO covers with each board, but not this time. And I keep telling myself that I need to make a new cover, but do I? No, I don't want to stop sewing the FUN stuff long enough to waste time on making an ironing board cover. What's a girl to do? Maybe Libby's prize will be a new, custom-made ironing board cover. I can only dream! Oh, and please don't tell anyone what my ironing board looks like--I would be SOOOOO embarrassed, I'm sure I'd die! So let's keep it just between us, okay?

Progress!

I made quite a bit of progress on Sunday on the tulip quilt. First, I finished piecing it:

Then I added some applique:

I still have a little bit more I want to add, but it should be ready for pinning and quilting sometime this week, I think--probably near the end of the week, since it's back to work again! I'm looking forward to getting this one up on the wall!

Sharon's Tulip Quilt

Thanks for leaving me comments on the name of the tulip quilt book! For those of you looking for the pattern, it's in a book called My Flower Bed by Cheri Saffiote/Indygo Junction.

Time now for me to head into the Sweat Shop and play with tulips. Enjoy your day!

Saturday Day of Beauty

Sometimes getting dressed on a Saturday is beauty enough. Oh, I did make a cursory check for chin hairs and located one or two, but I soon abandoned the search due to poor lighting conditions. In other words, right now I could have a veritable forrest of chin hairs, but since we had this gloomy weather and I'm a middle aged woman with poor close-up eyesight, it just didn't seem like a worthwhile way to spend a Saturday afternoon.

And remember the 75 mile an hour winds we were supposed to get? Didn't happen. It stayed dry but overcast most of the day until late afternoon when it started raining off and on. Tonight we have a bit of wind, but nothing like 75 miles an hour--well, maybe 7-point-5 miles an hour. That's fine with me though. At least I didn't have to worry about power failures.

So, if I wasn't plucking chin hairs or tying the cats down to keep them from blowing away, what was I doing today? Well, I was playing with fabric and tulips--fabric tulips, not the real kind. Several of you asked about the pattern for the tulip quilt I had posted yesterday, and I checked with Ms. Red Geranium Sharon who said it was from a Cheri Saffiote book, but she wasn't sure which one. I think she's going to check and let us all know, but since she's still looking for her Hometown Christmas quilt kit . . . well, let's just say that if any of you happen to know the answer, could you please post a comment to let me know? In the meantime, I thought I'd show you what I was doing with my tulips--

The pieces above are just stuck up on my design wall and not yet sewn together in the photo. In real life, I have them about half sewn and will probably finish sewing tomorrow (Sunday). Until we get some info on that pattern, I thought I'd give you a little tutorial on what I've done with mine.

First of all, on Friday night I picked out some pinky reds and pinks and several scraps of background fabrics. For my quilt, I made 13 tulips, so I had 13 different reds/pinks. I cut a 4-3/4" square of colored fabric and one of background. I also cut a 4" square of colored fabric and one of background. I did this for each of the 13 tulips. This morning, I paired up the larger colored squares with the larger background squares, drew a diagonal line down the back of the background pieces, and sewed 1/4" on either side. I then cut on the line and pressed the pieces open, ending up with two half-square triangles. I then trimmed those down to 4". Of course, you could cut your larger pieces a little smaller and not have to trim them, but I like trimming--I think it gives me a more accurate block. So, here are the pieces that comprise each tulip block (they are all 4" at this point--camera perspective makes them look unequal but they aren't!):

Next, without sewing the pieces together, I stuck them up on my design wall in a configuration I liked--

Knowing where I wanted stems, I cut background blocks. For those two larger empty spots, I cut 7-1/2" blocks. I did the same for the two central spaces below the last line of tulips. To fill in the rest of the stem areas, I cut 4" blocks.

To make the stems, I cut 1" strips of green. I then cut each background/stem block on the diagonal and sewed each side back together with a strip of green down the center. Because I wanted this scrappy, I did a bit of mixing and matching of those background pieces after I cut them and before I sewed them back up. (You can see that in the next photo.) Once I had the stems made, they went back up on the design wall.

I then realized that the stems were going to look kind of funny if I didn't add green corners to some of the blocks so the stems went straight all the way down; otherwise, where the blocks joined, the stems would come to little points. Maybe you can see what I mean in this photo--without adding anything, that stem under the tulip would come to a point and the bottom of the tulip would come to a point and I think they'd look a little funny, but this is even more apparent where I have some really LOOOOOONG stems that travel through more than just one block.

So I cut some squares and sewed them on the diagonal at each spot where a block would touch a stem.

I ran into a problem here, because I figured the squares should be 1". Nope, too big, so now I'm adjusting. If you want to try this, try cutting them at 3/4"--I think that might be about right. But try it before you make all of them this size and see if that works, because I didn't test mine first, and I'm paying the price now! LOL!

For the rest of what you see in the first photo of the tulips on the design wall, I just kept cutting 4" background squares to fill in until I was happy with the size, and then I cut some larger squares and cut them on both diagonals to make the triangles to finish the sides. I think I cut those larger squares at 9", and the smaller corners, which were just cut on one diagonal, were cut at 6" (I didn't have the corners up on the wall yet when I took the photo).

Other than adjusting those green corners and sewing some of the blocks together, this is as far as I got today. I'll post more tomorrow of my progress. Until then, happy quilting!