Trying out Windows Live Writer!

I am trying the windows live writer, and not sure what I’m doing, but I like how it shows me exactly what the post will look like on the page. It shows my blog background and everything…..I’m just writing in the center panel as if it were really my blog! It's an "What you see is what you get" kind of editor, so we will see how this goes!

I did download google chrome for a browser, and it seemed to work fine with blogger.....my editing options were back again with the old editor as with the new, but I think I want to play with windows live writer for a while...mainly because I can write the posts offline ((Like when sitting on a plane or in the airport?) ) and then send them either live to blogger, or save them as a draft in blogger and then I can go in and post them, or post date them from there. Options. I like options. ((Yes, I like options, even if it means learning new things sometimes!))


We took some lonely back country roads to get to where we were going on our way from Winston Salem to Holden Beach, NC…..this is what we call a North Carolina Traffic Jam! :cD

Wow, as I’m looking at this editor, there are all kinds of neat things….photo albums, videos, maps, post tags, emoticons!!
TABLES!!

Projects started	projects finished	projects given up on!

Yep! this could be neat!

I can round off the corners of the pictures and change the style! cool!
As we crossed the cause way, this was our view! Can you see the sun setting? There is nothing more peaceful than a beach in winter! We dropped our stuff off at the beach house, and went to a little seafood place for dinner. The special? Grilled tuna and grouper, served with conch fritters! I thought I had died and gone to heaven…..if we go there again, it’s more conch fritters for me, those were so yummy!

Tiled picture! WHOOO! Yep, definitely a fun editor! This was my view at 7:50am yesterday morning. Cold and crisp, but blue sky and sunny! This is the view off the back deck. I just love the sound of the crashing waves on an empty beach. Nobody’s boom box, no one’s tents and wagons full of coolers and beach stuff, no one’s trash and yelling..just the sound of crashing waves and birds. Bliss!
Lisa and I worked on our projects all day, and we’ve got quite a bit done!

I’ve added two more border sections to the hexagon monstrosity..it looks pretty weird right now as I’m working in sections. The picture to the right shows the sections…I’ve got 5 more of the upper one to do, and only one more of the lower one. There are 6 of each section to complete that border around the center medallion. I spent time before coming to cut some more neutral hexes as I am using more of those than anything else right now. I sure love how this is coming out!

Here is Lisa walking Miss Girl Shelby! It was so cold on this walk I had to keep my hands in my pockets….but we loved it!

Look at that Sunset! You can’t see it but there is a pier in the distance. When the sun hit the water, we knew it was time to turn around and beeline it back for the house…..

Ahhhh! Home Sweet Beach Home! At least until Sunday morning when we have to return back to the life of the living! But until then, there is more sewing to be done, and I’ve played with windows live writer long enough for now!

This is what I see...

 

 Okay...in the new editor to get this pic up, but THIS is what i see in the old editor...no tool bar to post. No quote, no link, no picture, no bold, no italicize, no center/left/right, no nothing!

The formatting box is weird too..it has no boundaries. There is no "compose" mode or "edit html" mode or tab to click to show that I've changed anything, and yesterday's post went just fine, so does anyone have any ideas on what I've screwed up with here? I really really hate new editor.. I miss the preview page.

Oh, and...I can't get the "post options" at the bottom of the page to collapse, it just stays wide open...what's with that?

I want my old editor back, and yes I am whining! But I'd appreciate it if anyone has any ideas of why my post editor page has gone this way? IS anyone else experiencing this besides me?

Where is my blogger tool bar?!

I just logged in to write a post, and where the text box is, i can type, but all the "editing" tools are missing! I can't link, upload a pic, bold, italicize, all that kind of stuff...no centering or tools to align right or left!

I do use the "OLD" editor as I've never gotten the hang of the new one. I like in the old editor that I can move my pics from the top of the post to where I want them to be between the lines by copying and pasting. I have a hard time re-learning to do things another way when the new way seems so much more complicated!

I am of the school "If it ain't broken, don't fix it!"

Is anyone else experiencing this with their old editor vs the new one?

On the quilty front, tho I can't upload pics for you, Lisa and I are having a great time at the beach! You'll just have to imagine us without pictures to show you what a mess we've made with our sewing projects all over!

By the time you read this......

I will be on my way to the NC coast with Lisa to SEW ALL WEEKEND!!! winterize and close down her dad's house for the season.

Two girls and shelby-the-dog, we are on our way to Holden Beach! I had to ask Lisa just today "Where is it we are going??" Because I just really didn't pay all too much attention at the time she asked me. I only heard.....NC COAST.....BEACH HOUSE.....SEWING...and that was all I needed to know!

We will return Sunday, so it's a short trip, but I'm looking forward to some behind-the-machine time. I'm dumping the "Texas" duds out of my suitcase, and re-packing it with "2-girls-roughing-it-with-no-make-up" duds!

No plans for meals, or cooking...we can stop by the grocery store and pick up breakfast stuff. No plans for dinner...we can go out or stay in or have pizza delivered or do whatever!

It's been SO COLD here in NC, that when I arrived home last night it was 22 degrees with a windchill that made it feel like 13. So I was a bit worried about what the weekend would throw at us. In fact, my car sat in the garage un-driven since Friday, and when I went to go mail out book orders, it wouldn't start! TOO COLD!!

But look!! This is the forecast for Holden Beach!



This doesn't look so bad! Long bundled up walks on the beach? I'm there! Sleeping in if I want to? I'm there! The rain/wind for Sunday doesn't sound so great, but it can come after we are on our way home.

Part 4 of Roll Roll Cotton Boll is already to be released in the wee-small-hours of Friday, so you don't need me around for anything else, do ya? ;cD

Oh. PS. I've had some people email and ask, looking for things --- thinking they were on the blog, wishing they were on the blog instead of the website, asking if I would kind of consolidate it. I'd love to make it easier for you to find things! So I'm considering moving some tutorials and tips & technique stuff over here to the blog. It might mean a post with a chart of cutting side triangles comes through your feed, stuff like that, but it would be nice to have it in one place for easy reference for you, so I'll do it. A little bit at a time!

A Funny Thing Happened......

I posted this on the Quiltville Friend Page on facebook, and a reader sent me this HILARIOUS cartoon to go with the story. You probably need to click it to biggie-size it. It was too good not to do a re-cap here for those who are not on facebook!

Yesterday morning as I went through security on my first flight from Harlingen to Houston, I was one of the lucky ones to go through the xray machine....

"Ma'am, place your feet on the diagram feet...palms above your head, palms open and face forward please!"

((this felt like some weird version of twister with no way to twist!))

Then I had to step to the next station and get the "Pat Down" routine...evidently my underwires required further inspection!

The female officer was friendly and I had no problem with it as I really....really...had nothing better to do! I was plenty early to the airport, so hey, I'm always up for an adventure!

When the process was completed she double-checked my boarding pass and said "Wow! You really ARE Bonnie Hunter!"

I laughed and turned beet red. Turns out she is a quilter too! We chatted for a few minutes and I told her what I was doing in Harlingen....too funny!

It's nice to know that even TSA agents quilt! Still, it catches me off guard a bit!

Oh, she also said...."Wow! from your pictures, I thought you were a lot shorter..." Heheheh!

It was just all very cute, and it kept a smile on my face all the way home.

I crashed early last night...slept all the way til 7:30 this morning. It's a catch up day! I've got the next two parts of Roll Roll Cotton Boll to write and post-date. I'm going to be out of town the next two Fridays, so they've gotta be ready to release for you!

I've also had questions on various things like

* Why do you use phone book paper, can't you just sew strips and trim?

Well, yes, you can, but the paper adds a bit of stabilizer as I sew. Not all my strips have straight edges, and this helps me keep things flat so I don't get hills and valleys in my piecing.

The paper also gives me a BOUNDARY to shoot for. I can start with longer strips down the center diagonal, but I can use the shorter strips and even triangles in the corners. This makes everything usable. Remember, I'm not working from strictly FQ length strips, or yardage long strips.....The shape of that paper is my guide on the sizes of strips I can use AND where they will best fit.

*Someone wrote about their stitches coming undone as they pulled paper:

My stitching starts at least 1/4" before the paper....and my stitches are VERY SMALL. 1.5 on my bernina, 1.4 on my janome. if your stitches are pulling, your stitch is too long. Any loose stitches should be trimmed off by the time you square up the block.

*Someone wrote about having to crumple the block to remove the paper??

I have NEVER heard of this. I start in one corner, and rock the piece I'm removing. I'm right handed, so it rocks from left to right, just as if I were removing binder paper from a notebook. Remove the corner piece, tug on the corner a bit to loosen the top edge of the next strip, grasp it and rock it from left to right...loosen the top of the next strip of paper, and remove that one just like from a binder as well. No crumpling, no problem. Again...if you are having problems, you are not starting at an edge, and/or your stitches are STILL TOO BIG.

*Someone wrote about removing the paper first and then squaring...

To which I reply...do whatever works for you! There are really no rules, and if that works for you, fine. I just do what I do because I like to do it that way, it is not a "rule" that you have to do it this way.....find what works for you, try other ways...what matters is that you end up with the units you need in the right size they need to be. There is more than one way to skin a cat as they say!

*Someone asked why I use phone book paper, and not the kabnet wax paper.

I discovered phone books for string piecing after I had finished using up my kabet wax paper and was in a hurry and didn't want to go make a long drive to go buy more. I grabbed whatever was at hand. And you know, I really like the phone book paper better! I think it tears off easier than the kabnet wax paper. But you can use any kind of paper you want. I do a lot of paper piecing on just regular re-purposed printer paper. It's more about the recycling, and giving things a second opportunity to be used before they hit the landfill instead of having to go BUY SOMETHING that I'm going to just tear up and throw away.

My favorite comment so far? The gal that said she realized her phone book pages could get a 3rd life, by going from string piecing....and into her worm beds! Now that is frugal quilting at its best! :cD

*Someone asked about piecing a panel into a tube and then using a ruler to slice them that way.

Well..if it works for you, go for it. Again, I am using junk strips. These were many different lengths, widths, grain lines, and not all straight strips. Some tapered wide to narrow, some had even a gently curved edge. That would not work with a tube method. A tube method would also give you identical blocks. I'm not a fan of identical blocks. My goal in this step was to empty out a lot of stuff I had been saving for years. I was not working from new yardage. But if it works for you, go for it.

I think this is one of those steps that either people love it, or they hate it. I personally LOVE it...each and every scrap that gets used....

My printer is working over time this morning, printing out the pdf pages of Scraps & Shirttails II! Oh!! You guys!! It looks SO GOOD! As soon as I get a cover to show you I will. As soon as I get the go ahead, I'd like to do a weekly "preview" and show you one quilt a week or something like that so you know what is in the book. I just haven't been told that I can sneak-peek anything yet. If we go OVER on the page count we'll have to maybe pull a pattern and let it go in the NEXT book...so...we are working on it to get everything to fit!

December is crazy, so I'll be starting the pre-orders on January 1st and I'll keep you updated on that, however, I hope to hear this week when I'll get Tonya's Word Play Quilts book in stock, and you will know as soon as I do!

Quatro Quilters y Ropa Usada!

I'm on a lay-over, waiting for my last leg home from Texas!

Of course, now that I am going home, the weather has decided to turn sunny and warm...auugh! I must have a frozen fairy on my shoulder, because it has been cold and windy in Texas the whole time I've been here, until this morning, that is!

Yesterday, oh yesterday! How can I find the words to describe to you JUST. WHAT. I. SAW!!

I was picked up by Jan and a whole carload of winterly-displaced Minnesotans ((who call themselves Winter Texans, but are fooling NO ONE with their totally home-sounding-to me "Oh, Yaaaaaaaaa..you BETCHA, Don'tcha Know??? Don'tcha wanna come WITH?!?" Minnesotan slang! :cD))We headed out. To MC ALLEN...for my first venture into the land of ROPA USADA!

What Just IS Ropa Usada, you ask? Oh Man. Oh MAN. It makes the Goodwill Clearance center look like a teeny tiny yard sale!

I know the building looks unassuming from the outside, but....



This was my first view through the big wide-open loading dock doorway.

MOUNTAINS!

MATTERHORN MOUNTAINS of recyclable clothing!! And about anything else could be hidden in there too. The price? 50 cents a POUND.

((OKAY. YES. I KNOW. My bags were almost already at their weight limits anyway! But the MN girls said they would ship a box for me if there was something I could not bear to leave Texas without!))




The piles LITERALLY went to ceiling level. And you had to watch out for the killer fork lift that was beeping and backing up, and dropping new bales of clothing, and using its deadly forks to push the piles back up to the ceiling....people were climbing on the piles and digging. DIGGING...for hidden treasures!

I was told before coming, that I should wear tennis shoes....no flip flops or clogs..because one could easily lose their shoes, and any other loose items in the piles, never to be found again! I can see why!




Jan snuck a sneaky pic of me digging and checking out labels, hoping that things I was finding had that 100% cotton tag!



The second place we hit was a bit different...and of course, because it was "somewhat organized" in bins...the prices were a bit higher. They had done half the digging for you...and I'd say that was worth it!



We found the "PLUS SIZE" area....and the prices were only $1.50 a pound! Look at this yellow striped XXXX large shirt! Whooooo! This definitely came home with me, and made for a fun "object lesson" in just how MUCH fabric can be found in a shirt-of-significant-size!

Jan also grabbed a pic of the other three of us as we prepared to stow our goodies in the back of her car:



It was such a great day! We found a terrific Mex-Tex place to eat on our way back to Harlingen, and I was able to rest up and do a load of laundry, catch up on email, and unwind before doing my presentation for the guild last night.

My flight boards in about 20 mins, so I'm running to finish this up....we'll catch you again from NC!

A Quilty Day in Harlingen, TX!

The gals in Harlingen really are a bunch of "Texas Tornadoes!"

This was such a fun workshop..and we were full at 24 students!

One of the things I love about this workshop is getting students to let loose and really play with variety! We worked strictly with pre-cut bricks and squares that everyone cut ahead of time so that when we began, we began big time!

I've uploaded a little slideshow to webshots!



Harlingen, TX 2010

There is also a link below the slide show for you to click through to view the pictures individually if for some reason you are unable to see it.



After the workshop, we drove out to South Padre Island! It was my first time, and though it was a quick one, I'd love to come back some day. I tell you what, if you wanted to gather some girl friends and retreat...even the Hampton Inn had rooms advertised for $22.95 as it is really OFF OFF season right now. If it weren't so far to get here....I might consider it!

We stopped to have dinner at Pirate Landing, yummy blackened red snapper!! It was a windy blustery night, but I loved it! There is something about palm trees blowing in the wind, even in a stormy wind, that just makes me feel like I am in another world. And..I suppose I am! Since I left snow in NC! I feel like I am getting away with something that I shouldn't be....

The weather was gorgeous when I arrived....and the last two mornings, even though it has been brisk, I've been out the door about 6:45am power walking for about 1.5 hrs....feels good!

One funny thing about Texas...Every town has at least one, if not several HEB grocery stores! I loved the HEB when we lived in Waxahachie....

I stopped to get some breakfast things, cereal, yogurt, fruit, milk..and OH OH OH !! They have my absolute fave! Pina Colada light yogurt. This is the BEST, better than the "name brands." There are actually pineapple and coconut bits in it...MMMM! So guess what I had for breakfast today? :cD

I'm being picked up by Jan and her cohort, I'm being shuffled around for a bit of sight-seeing today, and lunch out! So far, we've hit the BBQ place the first night...hit the seafood place last night....and today....I've got Tex Mex on the brain! So that is my request for lunch.

This evening is my lecture/trunkshow, and tomorrow....it's already time to go HOME! Time really does fly fast when you are having fun, as they say!

Adventures in Aviation!

Yesterday I had a great day with Friend-Jen, showing her how to paper piece! This is her first block, one of many...for an airplane quilt for her son! See the sections? Yeah, she didn't choose the easiest, there are weird angles etc...but she is a trooper!

First, we took the pattern and labeled the sections. We also figured which size of strips the pieces would each come from.

And then we took another pattern and cut it apart, using some of the pieces as patterns to rough-cut so she wouldn't have to guess the placement on some of these weird angles, mostly in the background pieces. This also helps eliminate waste as well as helps placement!

And then we set to sewing!



This is the first block, DONE! As of an email I got this morning, she is up to 5...nearly a whole squadron! It's going to be so cute, what growing boy wouldn't like a quilt with these planes on it? They finish about 10" square...

I wish I was having as much fun with my flights today as we were with Jen's airplanes yesterday. :cP

You know, 3:45am comes AWFUL EARLY....and we were a bit late leaving Greensboro. I thought to myself...not a problem...plenty of layover...and I found my gate at Dulles with about 15 minutes til boarding. Just enough time to head to the powder room, get all in order.

We boarded the plane (And I got bumped up to first class...WHOOOOO!!) and all systems "SEEMED" go. Safety demos were presented, the pilot came over the loud speaker and told the flight attendants to take their seats and prepare for take off...we had taxied all the way out..and then...

"Ladies and Gentlemen, we have a sick passenger on board, we are returning to gate for medical help." WHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

Of course, we more than anything wanted well for this passenger, and if they needed medical attention, of course...

The thing is...I "saw" this lady when we were at the gate. She was wearing a blue medical mask. She was hacking and coughing and blowing her nose and looking miserable. In my opinion, should she even have thought to travel today? What was she thinking? Is that mask really going to keep her from polluting the rest of us with whatever she was suffering from? I moved to the other side of the gate before boarding. When they said over the loud speaker that a passenger was ill, I knew it was her. I just knew it. Why was she let on the plane?

So...we head back to the gate. we park on the tarmack for at least 30 minutes because no gate was available. When we finally get there, there is an ambulance waiting, there is paper work to be filled out, and all that goes with having to update our flight plan. 1.5 hours......auughh! We would have been 1/2 way to Houston by the time we could finally take off.

This means that a WHOLE AIRBUS 321 full of passengers MISSED THEIR CONNECTIONS...because one passenger thought they could fly while they were sick. AND..we have all now been coughed on and breathed this same air. Do I sound a bit paranoid? I hope not! I just hope that if I were "THAT" sick, that I would think twice before traveling. I don't know what the story is, or why she was traveling alone and so ill...but.....

At any rate, I hope she gets the help she needs.

So! We got underway, and the upside was:



BREAKFAST!!

OMGoodnes...I feel like I have never been SO HUNGRY in my life. I hadn't eaten anything since about 5:30pm last night. This morning I set my alarm for 3:45, and had time for a shower and a bit of packing of the toiletries before leaving the house at 4:15am! I honestly thought I'd get something in Dulles, but we were late, so no time..after I got the upgrade, I knew there would be munchies on the plane, but then the delay and return to gate, and waiting, and I didn't pack any munchies in my bag! I usually travel with a couple apples..but....forgot!

Needless to say, when the flight attendant asked if I wanted breakfast, my answer was, "How fast can you serve it!?" LOL!

You'll notice there are some hexagons on the left of my plate on the tray!Yes, there has been much hexagon sewing this morning too...and it will continue. Thank heavens for busy-bags! ((And busy hands...))

I did miss my flight to Harlingen, but I've found a comfy spot to plug in, catch up on mail, charge my phone, sew a bit...and of course, I can always power walk the terminals. There will be time for sleeping later!

And now for some exciting news!



Tonya's book is ALMOST OUT!! I am so excited I can hardly stand myself. It was Tonya who taught me these techniques back when we were in the same guild when she lived in Georgia and I in South Carolina. One weekend when both of our hubbies were out of town, she came and spent the weekend and changed my life forever with one simple tutorial..."Just piece your name" She said...yeah....sure....and a whole new world opened up to me! I'm so proud of her and getting this book underway...

And to top it off, I'm going to be selling Tonya's books on my site! WHOOOOO! I'll let you know as soon as I know when I can expect them to be in, and added to the Quiltville book store. My own book will be out in early Feb, so we will have more great things you will want to have.

I'm going to start pre-orders for Scraps & Shirttails II on Jan 1st, and hopefully I'll have more info on Word Play Quilts (maybe even have them in stock) So you can order them at the same time.

It's going to be a great new year full of Quilty Goodness!

Well into December!

Yesterday I was in denial, Today, comes acceptance! December will march on, all the way through, this year will be done, history...and a new year awaits! I just wish time would slow down a bit more so we could enjoy it!

I've spent time writing Part 3 of Roll Roll, Cotton Boll, but of course, that won't be ready to upload until tomorrow, so I thought I'd leave you a goodie I found while cleaning out my inbox!

Holly sent me this recipe after the episode of the gifted-fudge that came in the mail that I mistakingly thought was yummy-smelling SOAP! LOL!

Since it is December, and Holidays are in full throttle, I thought this might be a good addition to your December Yummy-making!

Orange Creamsicle Fudge
7 oz. marshmallow creme
12 oz. bag white chocolate chips
1 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup heavy cream
12 Tablespoons salted butter
3 teaspoons orange extract
3 drops red food coloring
5 drops yellow food coloring(suggested)

Steps:
1. Line a 9 inch square pan with Release Foil or line with regular foil and spray with non-stick cooking spray.
2. Place marshmallow creme and white chips in a large mixing bowl.
3. Combine sugar, cream and butter in saucepan.
4. Turn heat to medium and cook, stirring once or twice, until mixture reaches 235 degrees F.
5. Remove from heat immediately and pour hot cream mixture into mixing bowl with chips adn marshmallow creme.
6. Stir well with a wooden spoon--mixture will look slightly stretchy and unappetizing, but don't worry, it will smooth out.
7. Remove 1 cup of mixture and set aside.
8. Stir orange extract and a few drops of each color food coloring into mixture which remains in bowl.
9. Stir until it reaches a lovely orange hue.
10. Adjust colors if needed.
11. Pour orange mixture into prepared pan. Pour or spoon white mixture on top.
12. Drag a knife through both to make swirls.
13. Using a sheet of foil, press down slightly to smooth top.
14. Let cool to room temperature (about 40 minutes) then chill for one hour or until set.
15. Lift fudge from pan using foil handles and using a large knife, score into squares. Makes 20 servings or 2 1/4 pounds of fudge. Enjoy!



I'd also like to take a moment to wish those that celebrate, a Wonderful, Warm and Happy Hanukkah!

Joyous Hanukkah!
by Eva Grant

At last! At last! Hanukkah is here!
The whole house is bursting with holiday cheer.

Pancakes are sizzling as hard as they can,
Browning delectably crisp in the pan.

The dreidels can scarcely wait to be spun;
Presents are hidden for Hanukkah fun;

And there, on the table, polished and bright,
The shining menorah gleams through the night,

Like the oil lamp in ancient history,
That burned on and on miraculously!

And each flaming candle proclaims the great story
Of the Maccabean heroes, their deeds and their glory.

On This Date....

NOTHING HAPPENED!!

Well not nothing, but my day yesterday was just so blissfully normal. Not a weekend. Not a Monday, Not a Friday. It was a TUESDAY. And a very ordinary wonderful Tuesday!

I had been buried in paperwork, trying to find my way out of a stack of papers that I couldn't even remember why I stacked them there on my desk side table, no rhyme or reason for what I intended to do with them....

Some of them were contracts and I needed to make copies before sending them back to their prospective guilds, but low and behold...as soon as I started to copy the first one, the printer decided to run out of ink about half way down the page >_< !!

About this time Jen called! I told her of my printer cartridge woes and that I was going to have to run for a new one, and pretty soon we were making a lunch date for the Chick Fil A that is right there near the Walmart/Staples where I was headed!

Is there anything better than a friend who can make an un-wanted errand trip turn into a fun lunch?! Thanks Jen, it was a great day! We are planning to get together on Friday and SEW. I'm always up for that! She has an adorable airplane quilt she wants to make for her son for his next birthday. (Did you get that pattern enlarged at Staples? What size did you decide?! :c) )

At Walmart, I found the printer cartridge, the LAST ONE of the kind I needed. Thank you ink-fairies! And I realized that I didn't have to rush, I could slow down and WANDER! No quilting stuff came home with me. Not that there is much to be found there anymore, but I can usually pick up machine needles, rotary blades, and other little stuff if I need it.

This walmart has gone to completely having only pre-cut packages of fabrics on hand, mostly for home-dec projects, though the bundles say they are for quilting. You know, when you can't really open the fabric like you can on a bolt..and feel it in your hand ---because it is so tightly wrapped that you can't see how thin it is, or what the texture is --- it just loses something in translation!

I can see myself grabbing the 2 yard cuts of the 100% cotton solids they have there. 2 yards for 5 bucks? Yes, I've used that "Country Cotton" or whatever the brand name is, and I like it...but that is the only fabric I think I would trust from there right now because I know I've used it, and have had experience with it. The others? The prints look kind of "cheap" for lack of a better word. I'm just not impressed.

Still....for those in rural areas ((Yes, and that includes me too since they closed down the Ben Franklin that was the "MAIN" quilt store in Kernersville)) This is it. This is all there is if you need thread, notions, fabric, whatever. At least the Walmarts are TRYING to provide us with some things we need. But it's sad that it falls this much short.

They also closed down Randy's Quilt Shop in Greensboro...And there are a couple shops in Winston-Salem, but they are clear on the other side of the planet from me, and my errands just don't take me anywhere near where they are located, so I do most of my shopping when I am teaching on the road rather than make a 40 minute drive one way locally...but that's another tangent! When I am home --- The less time spent in the car the BETTER!

So what DID come home with me?! I decided it was time for a NEW IRONING BOARD COVER. Oh how that can perk up a sewing space!

And I decided that it was time to go through this basket of bills, statements and receipts and do some organizing there. I bought a collapsible file and spent time sorting and clearing out (None of this had been done since Tax Time in April! It just all went in the basket!)while watching "In Her Shoes" With Shirley McClain. Oh Chick Flick Heaven!

I sewed a bit....and puttered. That was it! That was the whole day, and I am so grateful for it!

I'm gearing up to head to Harlingen, Texas on Saturday. I've got a trip to meet with the Frontera Quilt Guild! WHOOOO!!!

This is an area I've never been to before, and I'm really looking forward to it. We are doing the Oklahoma Backroads Workshop to use up HUGE amounts of bricks and squares! YAY! And a Lecture and Trunk show as well...

Gals, I have two requests, any time I go down to Texas! BBQ & Tex Mex! Bring it on!

Christmas Lights, Part 3!

If You've reached this stage, you are ready to put this quilt together!


Click HERE for printer-friendly .pdf version!

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Cutting The Setting Triangles!



I believe in specialty rulers! I also love on-point quilts, so this ruler really comes in handy. I remember exactly where and when I bought it -- it was 1999 and we had just moved to Sulphur Springs, TX. This is "The Setting Triangle" by Omnigrid, and you know what? I just did a web search for it, and couldn't find it, so I don't know if it is even made any more! Bummer if not....but I'm sure there are other rulers by other manufacturers out there that do the same thing.

Basically, it is a HUGE "Companion Angle" type ruler, and allows you to cut big triangles with the straight of grain on the longest side of the triangle from STRIPS, not squares. I find it really easy to use. You find the unfinished block size (9 1/2") on the left side of the ruler, and it tells you what width of strip to cut for your triangles (7 1/4") and you use the ruler to cut them down the length of your strip. I've learned to give myself a bit of extra allowance with the first cut at the end of the strip, and those cut off corners are big enough to trim for the 4 corners of the top.

But if you don't HAVE access to a ruler like this, we are going to be cutting squares!



From your gold fabric, cut:

(4) 14" Squares, cut diagonally twice from corner to corner with an X to yield 16 setting triangles.

(2) 7 1/4" Squares, cut diagonally once from corner to corner to yield 4 corner triangles.

Lay out the quilt as shown in the picture above, paying attention to the direction the blocks are turned. That said, feel free to play with them! Rotate them! Find an arrangement that is pleasing to you.



On-point quilts are sewn in diagonal rows starting in one corner. Each row gets longer as you get toward the center of the quilt, and then the rows diminish again.

Stitch the blocks into rows, with setting triangles on the end of each row. Join the rows.

I like to sew the quilt in 2 "approximate" halves, and then join the halves together to complete the top, this makes things a bit less unwieldy when putting so much through the machine.

Trim the quilt center, leaving 1/4” seam allowance beyond the block corners around the outside edge of the top. There might not be much to trim, but this helps get rid of dog ears as well, cleaning up the top before adding borders.



Adding The Borders!

Black 1st border: Cut (7) 2" strips across the width of yardage.

Red 2nd border: Cut (7) 2 1/2" strips across the width of yardage.

Paisley 3rd border: Cut (8) 5" strips across the width of yardage.

*Note* If you want your borders continuous with no piecing in them, cut them lengthwise from 2 1/4 yard lengths of fabric. You will need 4 Strips of each border fabric.

I prefer to cut mine across the width of the fabric unless there is a pattern that I want to preserve in a certain orientation in the border. I also like any remaining yardage to be "full width" in my stash so I know exactly how much I have and what I can get out of it. It's easier for me to plan a quilt with 44" wide yardage than 30" yardage that has had borders for a previous quilt removed from it, get it?

I could do this the easy way, and just tell you the length to cut your borders according to the "math-perfect" dimensions, but you know? I find more people have greater success if they work with their own measurements. I want your quilt to be successful, so you need to cut borders that fit YOUR quilt, not the prototype :c)

Follow this procedure for EACH of the three borders shown, adding each border individually to the quilt and repeating the measuring steps with each border added:



Join the strips for each border end to end with diagonal seams. Press seams open and trim dog ears.

Lay quilt out on the floor, smoothing it gently. Do not tug or pull. Measure the quilt through the center from top to bottom. Cut two inner side borders this length. Sew inner side borders to the quilt sides with right sides together, pinning to match centers and ends. Ease where necessary to fit. Press seams to the borders.

Repeat for top and bottom inner borders, measuring across the quilt center, including the borders just added in the measurement. Stitch top and bottom inner borders to quilt center, pinning to match centers and ends, easing where necessary. Press seams to the borders.



If you are really ambitious, you could sew all three border widths together first, and MITER your corners! If you want to do that, you can find directions for that HERE!



Here is a close-up of the fabrics in my top! Writing this tutorial has really urged me to get this quilt out of cold storage the closet and get my holiday decorating under way!

Of course, you are going to layer and quilt "as desired". Christmas Lights is edge to edge quilted in free-hand garlands of light bulbs and cords that wind and meander over the quilt surface. I used a variegated gold thread.

Binding:

Cut 8 strips of paisley fabric (Or go contrasting if you want! I would have if the magazine hadn't already chosen this for me...I'm such a rebel and my binding is usually contrasting with the outer border!) 2 1/2" wide by width of fabric. (I know some of you are 2 1/4" binding girls, but I like mine a bit fuller and wider at 2 1/2, using the edge of my walking foot as a guide for my seam. It makes a nice 3/8" Binding instead of 1/4", which I like!)

For more on quilt binding...go HERE!

*Part 1!

*Part 2!