Category Archives: Notes from a quilter

Tick tock…

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I am out of hand work – oh no! I don't have a new pattern drawn but I have plans to work on a book on color so I let the fabric talk to me for this project. This is where I started, and this is the direction the background will take.


TickTock-13 copy

I added more fabric…


TickTock-03 copy

and then I added more fabric…


TickTock-12 copy

The original fabric is less prominent in this photo but I knew at this point that the other fabrics would be used in small doses. My thought was that the browns would be prominently used in the applique.

Then I started constructing the blocks. I am using the same technique that we wrote about in Applique Outside the Lines. I cut with a rotary cutter but I didn't touch a ruler. The clock fabric is the dominant fabric – as was my plan – no matter if it is used in large or small amounts in each block.


TickTock-15 copy

A few hours later I had several blocks in progress, on my design wall…


TickTock-37 copy

At this point I had to decide how big this quilt might be, and what sort of shape it will be — square? rectangle? Did I want it to be lighter or darker overall? Notice that where the fabric shapes are bigger, the blocks are easier to look at. As pieced areas get smaller and denser it has an effect on the look of all the blocks. 

I made backgrounds for 9 blocks but I can't show them all online because of that whole 'it might be in a book thing'. But I do plan to put together a tutorial on how to do this sort of piecing that should be helpful if you haven't done this before. I hope to have it up next week, it might be the one after that. I should be able to share smaller areas of this quilt as I work on it.

PS – How many of you would buy that fabric with the big clocks? I'll bet not many because quilters tend to shy away from big prints. I've said it before and I'll say it again – you really need some of these amazing prints in your stash. They will surprise you!

 

Before I die…

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I'm sewing, cutting, sewing, taking photos… busy day! And while I'm at it I'm catching up on TED Talks. I think you will love this. It's short, thoughtful, and heartfelt.

 

I am now trying to figure out what space in my house I paint with chalkboard paint. We have people over often. In addition to what Steve and I write, I'm pretty sure that we would accumulate some very interesting thoughts about what is important to our friends. I think that seeing these hopes and dreams daily would remind me to focus on what's important – and to remember that we each travel our own paths through life.

I'll show those project photos later today. I'm still sewing….



 

How to ride a bike…

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As I watched this I thought:

  1. I could be in better shape.
  2. Even at my peak, I could never have done this.
  3. If my sons did this I would never stop worrying about them.
  4. I'm going to have nightmares about riding a bike on a tiny railing next to a steep drop.

 

I'm not really wasting my day trolling the web. I'm sewing on a new project – an applique project. Tomorrow I should be able to share a bit of it with you. Back to work!

 

Do you know how to miter a corner?

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I've been piecing more than usual lately. First it was the baby quilts, then it was the Big Fish quilt for Elanor. I needed to get the back made for the fish and I pulled some fabric I've been saving to use for a kid's quilt – from the Castle Peeps Collection by Lizzie House for Andover.

I got the center of the top (below) together before I decided that it really did not go with the fish at all. I added the dark strips top and bottom and am calling this yet another kid quilt (and I have just the child in mind for it – a nephew that never got a baby quilt!).


Castle-Top_01

Those 8" wide border strips around the center had to be mitered to look good. Mitered corners are easy to do if you know how and I do know how. I want to share what I know with you. 

I've made a new Piecing Lessons page. There are only two lessons on it for now; more will come in time. I'm hoping that if you click here the How-To Miter A Corner PDF will open. If not you can get to it from the Piecing Lessons page.

NOTE: In case you don't know, you can save a PDF to your computer from your internet browser. In mine, I go to 'save as' and save it to my computer.

There's a link on the Piecing Lessons to a video that shows how I make triangle squares. To spare you from having to click to get to it, here it is. I hope you find both of these piecing techniques useful. 

 

  

ANOTHER NOTE: We did write a book, Piecing the Piece O' Cake Way, that you may or may not have seen. It's on it's way out of print but it is available as an eBook.Click here to read more. You might find a copy in print if you hunt around the web a bit.

 


Cats…

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Did you hear about the Walker Art Center's Internet Cat Video Festival (called Apocalypse Meow in this article)? Imagine a large outdoor screen with hundreds (maybe thousands) of people in the dark watching 65 minutes of cat videos. Not just any cat videos – the videos were selected from more than 10,000 entries.

The following video won the Viewer's Choice award. 

 

Apparently Henri is famous! I think I'm not doing justice to Dave and Emma. There is not one video of them online. Or even in my camera. I don't think I'm going to tell them that they are missing out on fame. 


AAQI (and Ami) are in Women’s Day!

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Watch the news stands for the October issue of Women's Day magazine. You'll find an article about the AAQI – and Ami – on page 14.

 

Don't forget that you can buy a quilt to help fund research to find a cure for Alzheimer's. AND, coming soon, is the Celebrity Quilt Auction. I'll have more on that as it gets closer to the auction.