Friday, October 31, 2014

"This is Halloween, this is Halloween, Halloween, Halloween..."




The Zombie quilt is coming along just dandy. I finally decided this odd design 'feels' like it belongs here. I snuck in a few good hours this morning, and plunged into the project. It'll be done by evening for my Zombie lover.

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Zombies! Zombies! Zombies!


Two days left 'til All Hallow's Eve! Don the costumes! Buy the candy!

If you were a good parent, and you had a child who was creeped out by Zombies, Zombie movies, and everything to do with Zombies, what would you do? 

Forgive me now. Or hate me. Meh. Either way, I made him a Zombie quilt. Let me justify this by saying he was nearly 21 at the time I started it, okay? The prints were adorable, and I knew I had to make this quilt. Maybe it would help desensitize him along the way. 

Monday, October 27, 2014

Modern Improv Top Assembled




There's that defining moment when you sew the very last seam, and flip that top open to see what you hope is a beautiful piece of work. Your heart almost stops, and your breath is shallow. I looked. It was good. I hurried upstairs to show my husband, and he said, "That's nice. Is it supposed to look like that?" No, there was no ball game on, and I had woken him up. He was just tired from working on the barn, and I forgave him. But, what was really spectacular was the way the afternoon sun was shining through the quilt, and I said, "Yes! Isn't that neat?"

Sunday, October 26, 2014

Brights, Camera, Action!


Do you have a good friend who will give you honest feedback? (If you ask her if your derriere looks big in something, will she tell you the truth?) My mother-in-law is not a good liar, and she is very nice--so she tries hard to pad the truth. Sometimes she'll fudge it a little, but with enough coffee and chocolate I usually get a pretty good read--even with my wild stuff. She'll hem and haw, but I'll keep rearranging until she says it's better than the last one, and I take that as good.

Friday, October 24, 2014

Meet Up at Jo-Ann's. New Towne Mall, Nov. 4th from 6-8:30 p.m.



Currently serving as a storage room, but ready in a flash.

Several local people have expressed to me their desire to have a meet-up. They want to meet other quilters, knitters, etc., and desire something without 'strings attached'--pun intended. In other words, they don't want the commitment of formally joining a guild just now, or taking a class. They just want to do their thing in the company of others, trade ideas, and share some time. Friends, let me announce, we have a Meet Up location and date planned. Woo-hoo!

Thursday, October 23, 2014

Deconstructivism


 Yesterday's deconstruction project started on the barn.

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

What's It All About, Julie?



Happy Wednesday, a.k.a. Hump Day!

What a great week so far! I woke to freshly baked gluten-free pumpkin muffins thanks to a nocturnal teenager. The rain should be taking a break, and we might get a chance to be outside today. The barn is coming down piece by piece this week. The concrete panels are being poured every day, and showing up on site. And yesterday, I spent the day with a good friend. It doesn't get much better than this.

Monday, October 20, 2014

Weekend Recap and Wonky Blocks


I woke up this morning, and took a look at the house. Whoa.
What happened here, and where did the weekend go?

Friday, October 17, 2014

The Autumn Blues-- and Greys, Pinks, Limes, and Citrus




8:40 a.m. and the outside lights haven't turned off yet.

Fall brings grey skies with little sun. We have lots of rainy days here. The plants look tired, and darkness creeps in from both edges of our day. Some of us embrace the change, and some of us are prone to seasonal melancholy. It sneaks up on us. I had a moment the other day when I was thinking of my brother whom we lost a couple years ago. It blind-sided me from out of the blue while I was driving, and I remembered what someone told me along these lines:


If you find yourself caught by the current, breathe slowly, and don't fight it. Swim with it. You will float, and come to shore on your own.

Wednesday, October 15, 2014

My 'Katie Jump Rope'


This is my interpretation of the Katie Jump Rope pattern. When I first starting back into quilting a year ago, I saw this pattern on the FreeSpirit website, and loved the pattern done with the depression era prints. Most of the fabrics were unavailable then, and I wasn't fully vested in quilting yet. I searched through what stash I had on hand, and filled it out with inexpensive fat quarters from the local fabric and craft store. I bought an acrylic tumbler template from Missouri Quilt Co., and this top came together in just an afternoon. It was close enough to make me very excited.

Tuesday, October 14, 2014

It's a Couch Day and Finish Up



                                                        Today feels like a couch day. 



There are days when I find motivating myself a tough thing, too. Not today, though. The Doxie Girls may be snoozing away the morning, but I've been finishing up a UFO from last winter. I started yesterday late in the afternoon, and kept at it through dinnertime. Back at the sewing machine by 6 a.m., and I'm down to 2 more rows. I'll have something fun to show you in the morning.

Monday, October 13, 2014

This Is the Barn that Jack Built




From left: Misha the llama, Fitz the alpaca, Evie the horse, and Armand an alpaca

Fall is well upon us here in Ohio. The trees are showing color, brilliant to travel under in the sunlight. That wistful feeling of it all being so temporary is in the air, and I find myself thinking of "The Ants and the Grasshopper". Last year was fierce with deep snow and negative temperatures, and this year's forecast is supposed to be much worse. Can that even be possible?

Friday, October 10, 2014

Improvements and Refinements: Daydream


One of the most valuable tools I've been introduced to so far has been a design wall. It's a novel perspective, (and just really exciting!), to see a work progress from across the room, or to have the luxury of leaving it up, and then popping into the room later to see if I 'm still happy with things. The Daydream quilt has been up since Monday, and I was sure enough of the arrangement that I sewed together the border blocks one morning. Then I worked on something else, and even slept on it. When I'd pop in to peek at it, something just didn't feel right. I dreaded ripping out those 1.5 mm seams.

Wednesday, October 8, 2014

I'm In the Dog House & Daydream


While it doesn't look like loads of progress, a lot of things happened here yesterday. All the missing blocks were finished. I arranged and re-arranged. Border design was thought through, and fabrics picked from stash.

Tuesday, October 7, 2014

The Process: From Chaos into Order





We were home just long enough to unpack our few things Sunday afternoon, and I hit the ground running. The end of the week was gearing up to be a busy one, and I saw my window of opportunity to sew. Oh,... it felt good to be back in my space! I had my assortment of what my friend called 'my bits', and still no perfectly clear plan of what I was doing with them. That's where the design wall did its job. 

Sunday, October 5, 2014

Sweet Sunday Daydream



I'd say this large block is very Florida-ish. 
Wouldn't you?

The zig-zag is actually a fussy cut chevron, and while I didn't try to match the lines themselves, I did try to balance them opposite each other. It only takes one time of not doing this to see how wonky your block can look--or maybe that's what you're after. Either way, look closely at your patterned fabrics to see if there's an interesting 'fussy cut' hiding inside.

Saturday, October 4, 2014

Saturday Daydream



Today let me introduce two large blocks with bold color--one rectangular, the other square.  Both have simple designs, but they play well with others.


Friday, October 3, 2014

Paper Stars-Making Your Own Templates


Come on. 
Look closely at this with me. 

If we look critically at this first star of mine, we'll find a few points that aren't "just so". The horizontal lines in the fabric are all a few degrees off being horizontal. Hmmmm....What-ever! Those little things will not deter me from being pleased as pie with it!


I drew this star out on paper with a pencil compass and ruler, and made a pattern from it.

Thursday, October 2, 2014

Thursday's Plan & Daydream


This is Away for a few days. 

We walked to the beach this morning, and it 
was nearly empty at 8 a.m.