Of Fabric and Forgiveness ...

So ... I am not saying that I am actually forgiving Blogger ... let's just say it's on probation. However, it did cooperate with me this morning on a (private) family blog post so I am willing to give it another chance. The picture above is one that got eaten a week or so ago, of my dining room curtains. I really looooove that fabric ... so ...

I used some scraps to cover a pillow in my family room.

All right ... so I am not completely thrifty and self sufficient. This pillow (cover ... I only paid for the cover) is from Pottery Barn. But it was on sale people, let's not forget that.

In other sewing news, I am actually doing some quilting (for myself) for the first time since I moved. I cannot explain why it is that it took me so long. It seriously made me a little teary to sit down at my machine with a quilt top that I started in 2009. I am loving how it has come together and (if Mr. Blogger continues to cooperate) I'll post some pictures soon.

~ The Power of Print ~

So ... I sewed.

I sewed curtains for my kitchen. I am quite thrilled with how they turned out ... which so beats the alternative.

I love how the cobalt blue in the lovely, leafy pattern shows against the pale aqua of the walls. Once I hung the curtains ... (Oh, who am I kidding, Mrs. Gee hung the curtains because Mrs. Gee is tall and I am decidedly ... not. Thank you PDaddy for contributing some tall genes. Thank you Mrs. Gee for hanging every single curtain [and rod] in my house.) ... I realized how happy I was that there were not beautiful white shutters on those windows like I was blessed with in so many other rooms in the house. The print delights me every dang time I walk into the room. If you ever wondered just why I am so in love with fabric ... now you know.

In other, more excrutiatingly painful news ... my back and I are once again no longer speaking. This could possibly be due to the fact that I lugged things around the garage this morning for about 3 hours. Much of that lugging was into a four foot tall space that is under my living room. The one time that being short could be an advantage and I'm not short enough. Seriously ... that can't be fair.

Oh, who cares. I've got print in my kitchen and room for my car.

And I sewed.

Oh Scrap!

So ... I just may have had a major epiphany today. I figured out that I brought way too much stuff with me (oh reaaaaallly)and that some of it ... simply had to be thrown away. (Hoarders? I do believe we can cancel that appointment.) The unpacking and arranging has come down to one last room. One last eensy beensy (8' x 8' if we're lucky) room. This room houses my studio and my office which in my old home were two separate rooms, each of which was at least a third larger than this one. Do the math ... it leaves a ginormous remainder.

The problem is the fabric. Waaaaaay too much fabric. I had really, really hoped to house it in this one room without some separate bin randomly in the garage (two flights down.) As I folded and placed each piece of fabric, I swear to you I weeded out. A lot. But alas, there was still not room for the odds and ends categories. And then came the epiphany: Perhaps ... just perhaps ... if I threw away the two full plastic drawer thingies full of scraps (see top picture) that I could make this thing work. You probably think I was an idiot for even attempting to move them in the first place and I'm thinking ... uhhh, yeah. But once I emptied them into a trash bag and said my good byes, it was absolutely invigorating.

Add to that the fact that I made primo use out of a relatively small closet and I am pleased as punch. I may deserve a medal. Who gives out that kind of medal?

What you are looking at here is the top part of my office filing system. I am well aware that once I pull a single piece out, the whole thing could come tumbling down, but I don't care. I had the guts to throw away my scraps (which I actually did use with regularity, but not at a greater rate than I accumulated them) and my fabric is all in one room.

Now ... bring on the awards. It's a really good week for that in Southern California.

To Dye For

So ... I have been sewing on my second sample from this book, to be taught at BC Quilter's Club. I'm not teaching it until July, but I like to take it a month early so people can start picking fabrics. Lori Smith used batiks in hers, so I did too. What a delightful process this has been. Batiks are not really my thing. (Although every single one of these came from my stash ... hmmmmm.) I have sewn on them before, but not in such an intricate project (what you're looking at here is only about 16" x 13".) They sew together like butta, I'm telling you, butta. I can really see why people convert to them in 100% fashion.

Speaking of fun things to sew, I saw this in the paper this morning. And I'm thinking ... you know ... Father's Day is just around the corner. I am always trying to help you people out. It's exhausting sometimes.

So ... weigh in on the batiks issue. Thumbs up or down?

And while your at it, any fabric ideas for the pants?

Life is Funny

So ... life is funny. Take today for instance. I had a busy day and upon returning home, I stopped to get my mail. It was all pretty much junk except that lo and behold, there amongst the junk was a ... magic key. (My mail comes to one of those multi-user boxes at the end of the street where, if I receive anything bigger than the usual, I am given a key to open another ... larger ... box where I will find some sort of package. I agree ... this has game show written all over it.) Much to my delight and shake-my-head-surprise it was from my friend Ginger. Let me explain:

Ginger and I have never met, we live thousands of miles apart, but we know each other three different ways. (#1) She is the sister-in-law to not one but two of my daughters' roommates. (#2) She is a quilter and a blogger and (#3) She won a Give-Away of mine back in the day when life was normal and I did stuff like ... give stuff away.

Well, my package contained these three oh-so-lovely fabrics that are oh-so-me with a note that said she was weeding through her stash and apparently found these fabrics screaming my name and so she took the time to send them on to me.

Wow. Life is funny.

And good too.

Come to think of it, I did leave my heart there ...

So ... I have not been around here leisurely blogging because I spent last week on a Magical Moving Tour, getting Ms. Gee all settled in her new place in the Bay Area. We took the drive in two days. The first day was mostly desert (meh) but the second day (Oxnard to SF on the 101) was just about the most beautiful one day drive I have ever taken. Those two days seemed like ... um, four days.

Once there we began the car unpacking (think clowns and VWs/phone booths) and then spent the next four days doing the box unpacking/stuff arranging/box throwing away part which seemed like at least ... ten days. And by that I mean ten days of pure unadulterated fun/exhaustion. We managed to fit in one day of fabric shopping (Thimblecreek and Stonemountain) and one day of tourist-y adventures which included (among other things) clam chowder in a bread bowl and cable cars (see above).

Don't think for one moment that I wouldn't do it all again in a heartbeat. I am afraid to go up and work in The Kingdom because there is no one for my Bernina to duel with. I am soothing my heart by calling Ms. Gee no less than 27 times a day and looking forward to a visit from Mrs. Dub and her girls in just a couple of weeks.

The way I see it I gained an extra week of life where I didn't actually have to age.

And that was indeed a San Francisco Treat.

It's a Pillow Miracle!

So ... I have had this fabric since sometime last summer. Upholstery type fabric. Reversible type fabric. Gooooood fabric.

When it finally came time to actually sew up said pillow slipcovers, I discovered that would not have enough for all four of the pillows I was planning to cover. The store that I purchased the fabric from last summer is a discount fabric establishment that carries ends of bolts and other paraphenalia. I don't know why I even attempted to go and look for some more ... now 5 or 6 months later, but I did and I naturally made Ms. Gee go with me for moral support. We scoured the store front to back and top to bottom to no avail. But then ...

... just as we were leaving I spotted a small amount of this luscious woven goodness hanging on a rack with other remnants that were 2 yards or less. The exact amount I needed, by the way.

And I just want to say that it's not the first fabric surprise of this kind that I have experienced. I also want to say how grateful I am for small blessings.

Separated at Birth

So ... I bought a new tablecloth a couple of days ago. I have a round table in my kitchen and ... it requires a 70" round cloth and those are not always easy to come by, so ... I snatched it up at my TJMaxx because ... it was the very stunning blue that I love so much. In fact, you could honestly say that I was in love with it the minute I laid eyes on it.

Ummm, it turns out there was a very good reason for that.

It turns out that this was not the first time I had purchased this very same fabric.

It turns out that the pillow I purchased some time ago for my bed was sporting the same lovely blue in the same lovely paisley pattern.

Naturally I felt it my duty to bring them together in the same room ... or on opposite ends of the same space. It was that or cut up the tablecloth to make other throw pillows for the bed and this was clearly the easier choice.

So there you have it: Rationalization, Laziness and Memory Loss. A trifecta of weakness in one swift decorating move.

Just please tell me you have done the same thing ... sometime??

The Pokey little Piecer

So ... remember three eons ago when I had the bright idea to do two, two, two quilts in one? Remember how I found it to be energizing and refreshing? Remember how I am the slowest sewer on this planet and a few others in the galaxy?

Yeah ... I was seriously reminded of that this week. Oh, I still had a splendid time picking the fabrics and watching them "grow" on the wall. I fell deeply in love with these Patasserie babies and surprised myself every time I picked yet another neutral out of my stash that I didn't remember owning. But it seemed to take For Ev Er to finish these two. And keep in mind that they are far from finished.

I have a serious question. (Really ... I'm am serious this time ... seriously.) Should it have taken me one kajillion hours to sew these 50 simple blocks? And by "one kajillion hours" I mean 3 or 4 hours a day for more than a week. How long do you think it would have taken you?

I must admit that a bit of time was taken up in the decision to add the "odd block" to my study in neutrals. I actually decided that this is one quilt that will hang in my kitchen and I wanted it to pick up just a hint of the dark blue in my kitchen curtains. I may or may not use that same fabric as the resting strip. That 3-hour decision is yet to be made.

So spill people, I mean it. If you are a speedy-and-still-relatively-accurate sewer, I want to know how and why. If you are pokey like me, tell me how you have learned to live with that.

Pronto.

Believe it or NOT!

So ... I am not entirely sure how many of you actually believed that I won yet another GiveAway, but today I offer proof of my extraordinarily good luck/blessings. On Saturday there was a package in my mail from Carrie/Miss Rosie (I am not entirely sure which one of them licked the labels) containing not only my Hot Cross Kit, but also thread, a Miss Rosie Ruler and a cool decal that will continue to remind me what it is we all should be doing.

And let's not forget the fact that it involves some Charm Packs from Moda with some Fig Tree Finery which is also a thrill for me. I already have plans for this sample that may or may not involve Patchwork Pilot Club in the fall. Ooh.

In other news that will certainly make it's way into the Ripley's Believe it or Not Museum ... I Made Bread. From Scratch. I even ground my own wheat. I am NOT kidding. You have to know that in the past, yeast and I have not gotten along. You might go so far as to say that we had an acrimonious relationship. A couple of weeks ago, I attended a class at church with a 3 hour demo from the mother-daughter team at Pantry Secrets. This particular bread makes up in one hour. Start to finish. My kind of time frame. I will save for another time some of the accompanying stories like how my wheat grinder pretty much fell into my lap and how you can make a kajillion other things from the same recipe, but for now just digest this:

I Made Bread. And it looks, behaves and tastes like real bread.

Believe it or ... not.

Score!

So ... remember how I won another GiveAway from the Jolly Jabber (aka the Fat Quarter Shop) and then I never checked back to see if I had won, but she hunted me down and then I couldn't wait until it arrived?

Well ... yesterday it arrived and since I was expecting some "charm packs" or even "jelly rolls", I couldn't figure out why the package was so dang heavy.

And then I opened it. And then I gasped just a little. Drool may or may not have been expelled.

What you see here is forty-two (count em, 42!) fat quarters from the newest* line "Aviary" by those secretive, yet talented 3 Sisters at Moda. I am stunned. I am excited.

I am very, very grateful.

Thank you Jolly Jabber. And for the record, I want you to know (somewhat sheepishly) that I did go back to your blog ... I was just so busy looking at the pictures that I never read the text.

And that, my dear friends, is a serious True Confession.

* I'm not even sure it's out yet.

Ooh, Woohoo and ... Boo!

So ... it's been an eventful couple of days ... busy ... exciting ... somewhat humiliating ... fun ... and downright scary.

#1) Before I forget ... Happy Halloween. I wanted to show off these darling treats that I received from my friend Louisa, just because she apparently likes me and she thought they would remind me of Mr. Gee and Miss Dub. (Which they do of course, because they are cuter than words.) The odd thing is that she brought them over yesterday, which was her birthday. I would hang my head in shame (no ... I did not have a little something for her) but I am too busy planting little kisses on these two.

#2) I won another Give Away!! Yeah! From those sweeties over at Jolly Jabber who are the queens of Fabric Fun! Here's the bad part: I won this ... um ... last week and didn't know it until she hunted me down. If you are somewhat new to this blog you may not know that this is the second time this has happened to me. Yep. That's twice this year I've been in need of a good finger-wagging. Aah ... who cares. I Won! And it's fresh new stuff from the Quilt Market in Houston.

#3) Last night, say ... past 11 p.m., as the PDaddy and I were just about to settle down for a long winter's nap, we heard what can only be described as an explosion at the window which was about 2 feet from my head. I had already gone about half way to sleepyland and I nearly bolted across the room. After some careful detective work we were finally able to determine that the tension hung window ... had blown the tension rod. We may not sleep again for years to come.

But that's OK, because I won some fabric (did you hear?) and I'll be playing with it all night long.

And just so you know, I have officially decreed that Halloween (or the day after) is the day to get out last year's Christmas magazines for dreaming and other practical purposes. I thought you'd want to know.

Bigger than a Mailbox!

So ... I ever so casually went to get the mail this afternoon. I have to walk/drive to a box that is down the street and around the corner. If I have a package larger than my teeny-weeny mailbox, then there will be a key in there to a larger box. Today there was a key. I just knew what it was.

I was right.
My free GiveAway from Jodi arrived today full of who-knows-what from Spring Quilt Market in Portland, OR. I was so excited I could hardly stand it. What could she possibly have sent me?

Tissue! I really like tissue. I use it all the time. So ... I am even saving the tissue.

Everything was in a plastic bag, which only prolonged my excitement. When the heck would I get to see my stuff?!

Oh, how it was worth the wait.

I opened it all up and then divided it into categories ... like candy on Halloween ... only much more practical and less fattening. First: A boat -load of reading material including a magazine and several catalogs. I love magazines and catalogs!

Next: A myriad of samples from tissues to a quilted nail file. I told you I love tissue!

Oooooohhhh .... fabric. Luscious, delicious, magical ... fabric! (And a little hot pad from Moda.)

Last, but not least: Candy ... just like Halloween. Some of it is still left. I won't tell you how much.

Oh yes and this card (made into a pin.) I feel so naughty already what with all the drooling and the candy eating and such. Mostly ... I feel grateful. Thank you Jodi. You made me feel like I went to Spring Market. I'm just sorry that I didn't get to go and meet you there.

So ... let's be honest ... how jealous are the rest of you?