Evening Edition–Sew Time & Free Kindle Book!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

As for today’s freebie…

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

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

Book Description:

Review

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Review

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

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

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

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

iPhone-o-Gram! In Search of Storage!

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

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

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

Oh happy storage day!

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

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

Mary’s Stilettos! ((Tutorial!))

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

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

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

The photos and wording below are all Mary’s!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

MQX, Part 2!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

COLOR! I am so drawn to color!!

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

As for the quilts….Oh the quilts!

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

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

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

Look at the quilting and the lettering!

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

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

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

Here’s the tag!

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

OOOOOOOHHHHH! AHHHHHHHHHHH! :cD

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

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

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

And here’s the info card :c)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

This is NOT a quilt!

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

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

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

Happy Wednesday – this work week is already half over!

Ugly Is As Ugly Does! ((Or Death By Cheetos ---))

If you read my frustrated post from THIS AFTERNOON ---You will already KNOW what kind of defeated mood I found myself in.

And because of this fiasco -- my whole plan to show more MQX photos today went OUT THE WINDOW. Which is where this quilt back should have gone too --- just sayin'!

Tomorrow. I'll do more pics tomorrow.

How could ONE PERSON mess up on a quilt back when she had 10 yards of fabric to work with?

I’ll tell you how….

You measure and cut and piece the backing ……using the measurement across the TOP of the quilt….not down the SIDE….that’s how!

And it wouldn’t have been a problem except that this fabric is not only directional like a stripe, but directional as it can’t go sideways, and it can’t go UPSIDE DOWN either, because it’s buildings and café’s and little street scenes.

So OUT comes the trusty Orphan Box.

The search began for something I had “enough of” to go all the way across the quilt from side to side, therefore adding to the LENGTH of the backing.

AHA! There are some REALLY hideous giant 4 patches on point that were a failed way-laid leader/ender project, and I know they haven’t seen the light of day for at least 5 years – this was way before we moved to NC!

I could alternate these with SOMETHING, but it had to be something that stood out against that Paris fabric….and you know what?

There was this ONE PIECE. The only one I liked color-wise…and it was in the “Use for charity” bin --- I loved the colors in it, it picked up the red in the Paris fabric ---I loved the pattern, it’s a very cool print – but I HATE THE FEEL of this fabric!

I’ve washed it, ironed it – it still feels stiff and yucky. No matter – it’s getting used, and will be GONE. ((I think it came from Joann’s – how’s that for a confession! I’ve bought good feeling stuff there, but this was not one of them – so go by the feel and don’t trust that something is going to soften in the wash.))

Being in a green kind of mood…I pulled out my Singer 185J “Mean Judy Green.” She is a 3/4 sized machine and was born in 1954 ---I wanted to try the ecolux light on her --- and I know it’s really important to run machines every once in a while to keep them from locking up. I oiled her, cleaned her a bit, and set her to going….Sewing 4 patches on point to the red colored “stiffy” squares! LOL! Oh, do you see that MILLENIUM fabric front and center? Someone give me a high-five – it’s now USED!

*Note* I've been asked how I sew on different machines, and it's simple if you be sure to test and match your seam width with every different machine you switch to. If you have one machine that gives you a baseline -- you can use tape or a seam guide in order to keep a consistent seam allowance from seam to seam and machine to machine -- but TEST -- never trust a 1/4" foot to do the job for you, they are all too different.

This is an aerial view of Judy…and how I’ve been able to move the sew adjustable table by Sewing Mates to fit her base. She can’t come out of her base because she sits lopsided without it --- poor old girl! But I am loving how this table changes around to fit everything I’ve got!

Plenty of light, plenty of space…plenty of ugly UFO parts….Oy! What am I getting myself into?

I did a double row like this…and a single row. I think there are only 3 left-over 4 patches on point…..red fabric ALSO gone…that’s score 2 for me! But you know what? even at this point the backing is still 4” too short. (*&@#($*&(*&!

So here’s where things get REALLY ugly..LOL I had left over 9-patch type strip sets from Florabunda’s border. Yellow, Print, Yellow.

I had left over strip sets print/white/print in the orphan bin that someone had sent me and they’d never been used…..I decided to sub-cut everything at 2” ((Yes, I remembered to double-check that I was using the 2” die for the Accuquilt Studio!)) and set to making a checkerboard border.

Only – it doesn’t look any better…LOL!

I think it would have been FINE to have the buildings sideways at this point!

But here you go.

Paris Street Scene Fabric? GONE!

4 patch on point blocks? GONE!

Stiffy red horrid feeling fabric? GONE!

Leftover checker-board type strip-sets? GONE!

Also gone?

One 2 liter bottle of Diet Dr. Pepper

One medium bag of Cheetos ---

Yes, it was that kind of day ----and the quilt is still not on the frame, and it’s probably the ugliest backing ever, but it’s DONE!

And Mean Judy Green was just a CHAMP! She was made in Canada, and this model was made to replace the old black Singer 99’s. I found this YouTube video of an old commercial for the Singer 185. It was considered the Young Budget Machine. You could buy it on the Budget Plan for $119.50 ($12 down and $1.25 per week). This ad is too cute not to watch….Enoy!

What a hoot! I love how the hubby is inspecting the dress after she looks like she says “PUT DOWN THAT (*&@#$(*& Freaking Newspaper and pay attention! LOL!

iPhone-o-Gram! Oh! No!

I just went to load the Florabunda quilt in the machine.

Remember I'm using Paris street scenes as the backing!!

I measured the wrong side of the quilt! And now my backing is WAY too short. If I turn it the other way ((which usually doesn't matter)) my Paris Cafes are going sideways.

This will NOT do!!

I think I'm going to inset something to make it look planned. Off to raid the orphan bin.

Aauuugggghhhhh!!