Feeling blue?

The question of the ages: Why finish an old project when it's much more fun to begin a new one?

Actually, this quilt has been on my mind for about 3 years now. I forget where I saw the original pattern.

If I were ever kidnapped and forced to eat hot fudge sundaes by a panel of quilt judges who demanded to know what my favorite color was, I guess I would have to say blue.

Every single one. Sky blue, robbin's egg blue, midnight blue, peacock blue, ocean blue . . . . . . Well, you get the idea.

Problem is, I cannot work with 1 or 2 or even 3 fabrics. Oh no, 300 is more my style.

And this is just the beginning. I've been trimming 2-1/2" squares from every single one of my blues. All told, I'll need 540 pieces of blue and 540 of white.

Do you think that by the time it's done, I'll be tired of blue? It's doubtful, after all it's timeless.

Who doesn't love chocolate?

I imagine the folks who love chocolate are the same ones who enjoy Connie and Mary's patterns from Country Threads. (http://www.countrythreads.com/)

Who can resist those adorable chickens, cows, sheep, and bright red barns. Even for those who don't often use plaids, their patterns will make you want to.

For me, the best part of their books, along with their emphatic love of animals, is their promotion of the spaying and neutering of pets. Those animal lovers out there know what I mean. I've noticed that abandonment is especially rampant in rural areas I've lived near.

This quilt comes from their book Country Threads, which came out in 1992. Of course I had to change it around. I chose to use 2" strips instead of 1-1/2" as called for and adjusted the house blocks accordingly.

And just so I won't disappoint those yearning for something sweet, here is a great cookie recipe you can make while contemplating which plaids and prints to pull for this quilt.

Chocolate Chunk Cookies

2 packages (8 squares each) BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Baking Chocolate, divided
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup butter or margerine, softened
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
2 cups chopped walnuts

Coarsely chop 8 squares (1 package) of the chocolate; set aside.

Microwave remaining 8 squares of chocolate in a large bowel on high 2 minutes. Stir until chocolate is melted and smooth. Add sugar, butter, eggs, and vanilla. Stir with a wooden sppon until well blended. Add flour and baking powder; mix well. Stir in chopped chocolate and walnuts.

Drop by scant 1/4 cupfuls of dough onto ungreased baking sheet.

Bake at 350 degrees for 13 to 14 minutes or until cookies are puffed and feel set to the touch.

Cool 1 minute and remove from sheet on to wire cooling racks. Makes 18 large cookies.

Author's note: As you can see no where does it say "add calories" in the ingredients section. Therefore, there aren't any.

Can I interest you in toll tickets for the bridge to Hawaii?

How I survived summer school.

I made this quilt waaaaay back in the summer of 1995 while I was in college working on my certificate for medical transcription. As many of you know, summer school is a shorter session, which means you have to cram more stuff in to your brain in less time.

To say I was majorly stressed would not be putting too fine a point on it. Of course, the main culprits were two intense classes, one of which was anatomy. For those fellow medical majors out there, you know what I mean. To top it all off, the teacher could not teach. Really. Oh she tried, but simply was not capable. As a matter of fact, I remember having to go to the dean's office about it. But I digress.
Through teaching and personal experience, I've learned that one way to deal with stress is with the use of color. Many, many colors. The more colors, the better. Sort and trim and sew and place as much as possible. Let the fabric speak for you. Clear your mind of all clutter and focus on color. Follow a pattern if you want to. This one happens to be from Little Quilts.
And when you're all done, make sure the label says, "I survived . . . . . . " You'll be a stronger person for it and have a new quilt to boot.

Until then, keep stitchin' . . . . . .

Celebrate Fall

The book, "Colorsplash, Trip Around The World" came out around 1995. Rarely do I follow instructions in a book simply because I generally work in a smaller scale. And okay, yes, following someone else's instructions is simply not in my nature. I tend to make up my own method as I go along. Nevertheless, their technique for speed piecing proved to be the exception.

For such a thin volume (just 21 pages) it holds a wealth of information on creating 8 different size quilts.

I really don't know how many quilts I've made using this pattern since some were sold. I'm glad I decided to keep this one though, as it remains a favorite of mine.

Oh Happy Day

In February of 1999, Valentine's day fell on the weekend so I decided a quilting pot luck was in order.

There were 3 cutting stations set up and 1 main sewing table in the long living room. Several of my friends (mostly all former students) came by for an afternoon of sewing and a lot of laughter.

This was the pattern I taught them that day. As far as I know almost everyone else finished theirs. However, I can proudly say that mine is now DONE! Oh Happy Day.

Play Time

Isn't it amazing how the leftover pieces from one project find themselves in yet another?

Set aside after a lengthy involvement with bear paw blocks, were these tiny triangle units. I tend to work small, but not miniature. These started out as 2-1/2" squares. And yes, each and every unit was trimmed.

The fun part of leftovers is the option to simply play. No pattern, no book, no written guidelines, just play time.

Put on some soothing music, let your mind wander, and your fingers do the work. Try it and see what your unconscious mind can create. I bet you'll be surprised.

The Well-Traveled Pineapple

In 1989, Nancy Smith and Lynda Milligan came out with the book Pineapple Passion. It was a huge success.

In the early 1990's I was going through a "use every fabric in the stack" phase and simply "had" to make this quilt. I remember that it took me 3 weeks just to cut out the pieces.

Finally, ahem, FINALLY, this summer I was able to put the borders on! We can only hope that I can get it quilted before I have to move again, as I still love it just as much as when I first started it.

If you have scraps . . . . old scraps, new scraps, red scraps, blue scraps, then this is the quilt for you.

Sad Times, Glad Times

Today would have been my mother's 77th birthday.

This photo was taken at the Philadelphia Zoo and one of her sisters is sitting on the right. I can only imagine the laughter they shared that day.

My mother loved to laugh. She had a marvelous, witty sense of humor. But what I remember most was her love of family and the joy she got from cooking for and feeding those around her.

I remember holiday dinners when the house was filled with the smells of fresh baked pie, roasting turkey, steaming hot mashed potatoes, and her special coleslaw. Then company would arrive and there would be more laughter and merriment around the table.

I have her soup pot and you know to this day, I cannot make soup for less than 30 people. So of course I share it with those I love just like she did.

Unfortunately, during her last days, I did not get to visit my mother until she was intubated in the hospital and unable to respond. However, I was there at her passing. She fought a hard battle with asthmatic illness most all of her life, but her inner beauty, strength of character, and integrity will continue to be my goalposts. She set the bar high. I will always remember her smile and her courage. And how to make soup for 30 people.

If you can, call or hug your mothers today. No matter how far away they are.

The String's The Thing

Frugality can certainly be fun. These string blocks go together very quickly. You can make the top as large or as small as you like. This is also the type of quilt that would make your grandmother very proud, especially if she grew up during the depression. (Maybe you should make one for her.)

The smallest string is 3/4 of an inch wide or thereabouts (before sewing). The narrow strings work best for this quilt as they create more contrast and texture.

The foundation paper is from Golden Threads at www.goldenthreads.com/ or, as Bonnie suggests, you can use old phone book pages.

Squares begin at 6". Then after sewing on your strings, starch heavily until stiff. Starching makes the paper backing come off more easily and deters fraying. It also keeps those bias edges stable with less tendency to stretch. After it dries, trim the block down to 5-1/2" and you're all set to play on your design wall. You may borrow my design idea or come up with your own. Whichever you choose, I hope you'll share a picture.

ASIDE: If you enjoy the process and have some bigger strings to use up, why not check out Mary's blog at http://maryquilts.blogspot.com/ . Click on the Heart Strings Quilt Project and learn how you can donate extra blocks for a very good cause.

Until then, keep stitchin' . . . . . .

Get a grip

Sometimes, it's not easy holding on to a quilt while you are machine quilting. The loss of hand strength can be very gradual, but nevertheless, it happens.

Recently I've discovered 2 items that assist with the grip dilemma. The Nitrile gloves put out by Mr. Clean are very thin, but flexible. When they fit your hand snugly, you get much better control and I tend to use these when working on smaller quilts. The Stanley brand gloves I found in the hardware section of a local store. These fit fairly tightly but are still a bit more bulky than I'd like. Still, when working on larger quilts they do a good job of handling the big rolls.

The brand I prefer, but have not been able to find locally, are those used by car mechanics. They are made of the same blue Nitrile as the first, but are a bit thicker. The plus side of the Nitrile is that they are fairly inexpensive and you can clip off the fingertips on those fingers that need to be available for threading needles, etc.

If you are having any trouble at all manipulating the rolled layers in and around your sewing machine, give one of these a try. Who knows, you may have all of your tops finished by the end of the year.

Awwww shucks. . . . .

It's taken me a few days to post it (new nickname Pokey), but thank you Carolyn for the award. That was most thoughtful of you. And I sure hope you are feeling better soon. For those of you who have not had a chance, pop on over to Carolyn's blog at "Lakeside Quilting" and wish her well as she recently just had surgery.

Now whom do I pass it along to? Well, that will take some serious consideration as I'm only permitted 5 and how can one possibly narrow the list down that far. Goodness gracious. Can you smell the smoke, I'm thinking that hard. Obviously a commercial break is in order and I'll have to get back to you all on this one. You might want to pick up a good book while you wait. Say . . . . War and Peace.