Quilting in the Conflagration

So I got it finished. Jewel of the Orient. Now I can hand it off to Cathy... I feel so impotent with this fire raging through my city. All I can do is sew and cook... I've already cleaned out the extra pillows and blankets--I almost gave away my husband's favorite warm blankie!--and canned ready-to-eats--they won't take homemade goods and took them to the stadium yesterday. Now they're asking us to stay off the roads and conserve power.

I think I'll go sew some more. I just have to be smart about the iron. It's hot inside and too smoky outside to open the windows!

Wildfire Sets Home Improvement Back

This is my dining room in preparation for the carpet installation. It's a pretty good idea of what the rest of the house feels like. So, all ready, right? Yup, all ready! Even the weather's been cooperating: nice and dry, a little hot, windy but that's fine. It should sweep the new carpet smell right out of the house! Everything's ready. So let's relax. Turn on the TV. Smell the fresh... smoke? Huh? What's that on the news? My city is burning? Hmm. Better answer the phone.
"Hello, this is Cole's Carpets calling. We noticed you were in a certain area of San Diego. Are you sure you want your carpets installed tomorrow?"

Gee, I guess there are more important things than home improvement... ya think?



What's that? This is SUPPOSED to be a creativity blog, you say? Okay, here's some gorgeous fat quarters I picked up in Columbus.

Tonight's dinner was a masterpiece:

• Butternut Squash Soup with Apple Confit and Homemade Creme Fraiche
• Beef Stroganoff with Noodles
• Tomato Tart from scratch
• Chocolate Chip Blondies with Vanilla Ice Cream or Creme Fraiche

I cooked all day... and I did make the tart dough in my studio, so it still counts as going to my studio and making stuff!

Jewel of the Orient

We're currently getting the house ready for new carpet, moving stuff from room to room in preparation. My studio will get to keep its unique blueberry carpeting, but that means I get to put a lot more stuff in there. Like mattresses. Remember that beautiful tabletop I cleared off? Well, now it's folded down to make room. So sad...

This is a prayer quilt in progress for Robin, who's dealing with breast cancer. The pattern is Jewel Box and the fabric is Oriental so I'm calling it Jewel of the Orient. I was told she likes peach and sage--the sage came out a little turquoise in the pic-- so I found these in the Asian fabrics.

This will be cut up for the border. I like it so much, though, I may need to get more for the back!

My Cutting Counter

This is how I set up my cutting space. On the wall next to it hang my large rulers. Everything here I find useful and it's easy to get to. (Well, the tassels are just fun.) Underneath this is a large cabinet where I keep my supplies.

Back from Columbus!

Sorry I've been gone so long, kids. I've been visiting my sis-in-law, Barbara, in Columbus, Ohio. She's not doing so well, so I brought her a prayer quilt. Send up a prayer for her comfort, will ya?

I named Barbara's quilt "Order From Chaos." The pattern is French Braid and I made it up from a picture I saw online. Pretty neat, huh? I used tons of scraps! When I was trying to figure out what to use as a border, I ran into trouble. I tried green, then gold, the blue, but nothing looked right. I finally figured out that it couldn't possibly work as just one color... so I used four!


I took my traveling sewing machine and sewed in the hotel room at night. Yes, I'm crazy. And yes, that's Hello Kitty you see on the machine. It's a stripped-down Janome: very light, half-sized, no light, and only one speed. Still, it gives a really straight stitch and keeps me sane. Tips for visiting Columbus:

• Drink bottled water--the tap tastes like chlorine
• Drive! The streets are well-lit and the signs are plentiful.
• Go to Schmidt's Sausage Haus und Restaurant in German Village. Fun even when you're alone. And go late. That's when the band (Squeezin' and Wheezin') arrives--accordion and tuba!
• While you're there, stop into The Red Stable. Cool, funky jewelry adjusted to you while you wait! (And at really decent prices!)
  
• Wear red. It's a big football town.
  
• If you're looking for a friendly church in the southwest part of town, here it is.
• And yes, if you must shop for fabric... go to Quilting Beginnings. It's right by the airport!

The Back is Done!

Yes, Kiwi Twist is now ready for quilting--look out, Yuki!

I was watching an episode of Quilt in a Day and saw that a featured quilter liked to use up the leftovers from her quilts on the back. So, for my back, I used the extra 2 blocks and the leafy fabric to create a panel down the middle. I must admit, some Kiwi fabric is leftover... maybe I'll make a purse!
I'll post a pic soon--I'm having a little trouble with the website.

Hail to the King!

Finally! I got the last borders on Kiwi Twist and had a bit of a surprise waiting for me: it's a king! Well, it might be a large queen. (Does that make it an empress?)

Here's the history: I purchased the inspiration fabrics while on vacation in New Zealand three years ago. Then, two years later, I decided to go with the twist and turn pattern. Skip ahead to about four weeks ago when laying it out and I discovered that I had accidentally made 44 blocks instead of the 30 I had originally planned. Today I finally laid it out on a standard king mattress and it fits! (a little short for sleeping maybe, but...)

Now I have to get a back ready (time to dig into the stash!)---hoo-eee! Then it's off to Yuki for quilting!

An Amazing Gift

Last week, Therese decided to blow my mind and surprise me with a quilt top. She said that this scrappy version of this was my idea so she was giving it to me. THANK YOU!!!! I get to do whatever I want with it.... I am completely blown away. It's hard to make me speechless, but she did it! I was in such a state I couldn't accept that it was real until today, a week later!
It's a large lap-size quilt. I love it! (And I've got fabric in the stash to back it--woo-hoo!)

Below you'll see some fabrics that I think are muted. I want to use thiem in that muted fabric block swap I mentioned in my last post. But I don't know... do these seem muted to the general public? Each seems to have a grey or brown undertone. What do you think?

Cut it Up Thursday

Scrapbuster Alert! Cut it Up Thursday led to 30 blocks being made! The swap calls for Double 4-Patch blocks made with cream and muted colors. I'm not much for the muties, but I did have a few in my scraps. So chop, chop! I had a rough day yesterday and spent the mental part of today processing while my fingers did the walking...or the quilting!

I think I'll keep my 10 faves and send the other 20 in. Then I'll get 20 new ones from quilters all over the country! Fun 'n' games! The deadline's not for a while yet--Nov 12--maybe I'll make more!

I also had a chat with one of my very besties, Dawn. She's so good at keeping it real. And the best mom around! While on the phone, not only did I start the cutting, I sorted my "Unsorted Scraps" box. Now they're all in the right places: Light, Medium, Dark, and Bright.

Cleaning Day!

Stashbuster sets reminders for each day of the week. Today was Clear a Surface--have they been looking in my studio?

BEFORE
AFTER

And I was supposed to report if I found anything good.

1. 5 cents
2. 2 receipts dated from 2003
3. A ticket into the Vatican and one into Disneyland Paris
4. Nothing alive, thank God!