Happy Independence Day

Whee, look at my display for the 4th of July - I'm really happy with it - much better than last year's (see the post and learn more about the four quilts on the right side).


Several of these quilts are hung on mini 3M Command Hooks which work great. I also tried something new to cure the wobbles - I used hookless stickies on the bottom quilt corners. The little tabs are barely noticeable.

I have a bit of Christmas in July going on here. These gorgeous patriotic Santas were a gift from my sweet Dad. These are cypress knee carvings by Bill Evans, whom I adore and highly recommend. I now have three knees he carved and I love them all.

This is America with Flag. I hate naming quilts, just try to come up with something descriptive... I wrote about quilting the next two quilts in this post from last July.

Blue with Stars. Check out Kathie's quilt - we were both inspired by the same piece in Small Endearments but came out with different results.

Even though I finished the quilting on these two small quilts last year, I didn't get them bound and finished until this month. I'm lazy and I just hate that part.

I washed these two quilts and Liberty Blooms together. (I'd added more hand quilting to Blooms even though it was already bound and sleeved - just looked too barren and I hate underquilted quilts.) After a delicate cold bath in the washing machine and a short visit to the dryer, red had bled all over the stems in Blooms and some blue had bleed on America. That was even with Color Catchers tossed in.

So I put those two quilts in a big pot with several more Color Catchers and added hot tap water. I kept stirring so the quilts never just sat there. After quite a bit of dye released into the water I drained it out and added more hot water. I did that five times before the water was mostly clear. And that did the trick, the bleeding was out.

My sweetie and I celebrated with antipasti at our favorite Italian restaurant. Not quite hotdogs and potato chips, but it sure was yummy.

View From My Kitchen Window

Today I read Lynda's blog LuLu's Bay in which she recounts stories of her family's recent move to and life in Egypt. Brought back all sorts of memories for me. Anyway, she asked "What is the view out your kitchen window?" Here's mine: the back of a building. Sorry, no view of the Eiffel Tower ala Remy in Ratatouille.


While I'm reminded of Egypt, here's part of my living room. My Bastet statuette, a couple of charms to avert the evil eye and a punched tin frame holding a crusty I made while living there.

Oh, and a quilt too (I finally got all those Christmas quilts down). This is a Lone Star made by my mom many years ago. One of mom's friends hurt her feelings by saying that she couldn't stand to look at the quilt and had to sit facing away from it. Mean, mean, mean. Personally, I love it and was thrilled when my mom let me take it. The quilt is wonky (the right arm is about an inch lower than the left) and a bit loud, just like my mom. And me -- where did you think I got it from?

I reread my last post and realized I didn't actually say "thank you" to those who sent me wonderful gifts in the mail. D'oh, what an oversight. I was certainly thinking it! Big thank yous to them and to Marathon Quilter Cher who sent me this big S:

Trying to get caught up on links. Let's see... And Sew It Is Holly has almost finished her marvelous quilt Hangar Talk. Holly was one of the very first quilters to use my alphabet tutorial and did such an amazing job with the letters and figuring out a way to use them that really meant something to her.

Speaking of alphabets, the ever amazing Spiritcloth Jude has finished her alphabet sampler top (made for the first Lazy Gal Online Class) which is just amazing and so very Jude. Her work is so distinctive and if this is your first visit to her blog I highly recommend you go back to the very beginning and read her story chronologically.

Wheee, Taniwa Tanya has gotten the center of her class quilt together and it is totally wonderful. She made this quilt step by step, not knowing how it was going to turn out, but just having faith that it would. She started with the words, including one in Japanese (a touch that I LOVE), then went from there to make a quilt about home.

QuiltDiva Julie made a second quilt for the class (the first was her really fun vowel quilt), a lovely soft springtime violets quilt. While you're visiting her blog, take a look at the really bright Bargello quilt top she just made too - very fun.

and ooh ooh ooh, look at the photos Margaret took at the Ikat exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum. yummy.

I'm out of time now, so I'll have to wrap this up. By the way, got only a tiny bit of handquilting done today and that was it. There was sun, glorious sun out so I escaped the apartment.

A Bit of Order in this Chaos

I started another thready before leaving Florida, very similar to the first one although this time I covered almost every bit of the foundation. And I did cheat- I had to use some real scraps and not just bits bound for the trash (actually the bag of stuffing I'll use for making Santas and things like that). This is roughly 8.5" square.

And this is what it looked like before we departed. I've worked on it quite a bit more, but have been very neglectful at taking photos.

My bookshelves are in order. My husband's bookshelves are completely and totally off limits to all my decorations (that little problem of letting him get here first and get settled) so I've had to put what I can here. The framed pieces are threadies, the metalwork and alabaster is all Egyptian, and a wee bit of Britain has snuck in (the phrenology head and most of the printers' stamps).

These are my husband's Harry Potter books. He's a huge fan and rereads the books and rewatches the films seemingly constantly. July is going to be a big month at our house with the new book and new movie coming out.

And a tiny bit of America: a switchplate featuring a girl riding a cat. I haven't had a switch that fits ever since I bought it, but love it anyway.

The cats are doing reasonably well. It's heartbreaking, but the girls are still hissing and swatting at each other. The boys are still jumpy and have a tendency to slink off quick if they think they being rounded up - calling them to come get treats has the opposite effect.

On Saturday I rode the metro for the first time. We went to the big mall at La Defense (pronounced something like la dee fonce) to get supplies to hang my quilts and pictures. Of course we were idiots and forgot the dictionary. Does this mean plaster? This probably means brick...

Yesterday we got quite a few quilts hung up on the walls. I've run out of hanging rods - so couldn't get them all up. I haven't yet tried your suggestions for getting the crumples out of the quilts, so they don't look fabulous up on the walls, but they will. I also want to hang my framed Egyptian embroideries, but I'm a bit intimidated about arranging them. It was easy in our last place - they went up on the walls as I bought them one at a time. I'm going to lay them out on the floor and arrange them that way.

It still doesn't feel like home yet. Making progress though. The things I'm finding hardest to adjust to: lack of tv programming in the English language (there's loads of American and UK tv on, but they're all dubbed into French and only the rare show has the option of listening to it in the original) and food stores closed on Sundays as well as holidays. I'll get better at thinking ahead. In fact, tomorrow is a holiday and I already have our yummy baguette and salad items purchased. I did have two "pain au chocolate" (croissants with chocolate) for tomorrow but I was very very bad and ate them both for lunch.

Lily managed to wipe me out today - classic kitty manuever of crossing over right in front of my feet. She squealed horrifically when I stepped down on her but is okay now. My knee (the bad one with arthritis) hurts but I've been icing and elevating and wrapping... At least it's a good excuse for not cleaning the bathrooms. My husband will of course be all sympathy for the baby and blame me - "you have to watch where you're going." harrumph.

Red White and Blue this n that

What a space case I've been lately. This is really idiotic, but I just realized today, the 6th of July, that I could put up my 4th of July decorations. D'oh. I am a pinhead, truly. Admittedly my brain has been elsewhere lately.

So put the decorations up today. I posted pics of all this stuff last year, so I'm not going to do that again. This year the blue and white houses quilt has been superceded by my need for a design wall.

I have done zero sewing. Since a couple of ya'all mentioned liking the flag block in here, I put it back up. I love this border fabric, so it's providing me inspiration.

I decided to let myself do a bit of playing today as well. Instead of quilting Terms (going up the left side on the third row of fans - woohoo) I got out the beady I've been working on for two years now.

Unfortunately the sparklies don't show, but I'm happy with the size 5 red bugles I just added. I had to put a bead in where a blue sequin used to be - I had skimped and used a single thread of Silamide instead of doubling it as is recommended. Hopefully that'll be the only bead I lose. Since I want to get this one framed here in the land of inexpensive framing, I'd better work quick.

Finn, you asked if I'd beaded or french knotted Liberty Blooms. No, that is just the cool fabric I found. I had to carefully cut out the circle so that I would get the little dots going around like this.

Liberty Blooms is 22" x 26". I explained how I did the running stitch applique here.

This poor quilt definitely needs more quilting in it. Maybe someday when I have extra time (ba ha ha ha) I'll add some crosshatching.

I haven't mentioned it, but it's officially Tour de France time. Now, the cycling so far has been dull what with all the flat routes, but one of these days it's going to get intense in the mountains and I will be glued to the tv with no distractions other than my quilting. Yet another factor in my diminishing blog time allowance. This of course assumes that my tv channel will cooperate. I was home in time yesterday to watch but the channel was dead air for hours and hours and hours. It was working again this morning (exercise equipment infomercials dubbed into German - always good for a laugh) so fingers crossed I will not be desolate two days in a row.

Trip Around the World

This post is for Lily (human Aussie blogger Lily, not my cat), who asked what I do with my evil eye protection charms. They are up all over my walls. Some of them are much larger then you might expect. This Trip Around the World, aka Sunshine and Shadow, quilt hangs on the wall near my front door. The quilt is 45" square made up of 1.5" blocks.

It's one of my favorite quilts, made between May 1995 and April 1996. I think the colors and fabric all work. I love how the multicolor fabric gives me purple blocks in one spot and turquoise in another. Everytime I look at it I think, why am I not making another one of these? I guess if I wanted it to look even more Amishy I'd have put a really wide border on it, but I think it works without it.

This is the quilt that I learned what "easing" means, or rather doesn't mean. I was stretching and pulling my fabric to make it fit. D'oh. That is NOT easing. I managed to get it to work anyway and I have a nice chunk of leftovers in my orphan quilt, which I really will work on again one of these days.

Here's a detail. I just quilted Xs in each of the blocks with standard quilting thread.

I tried to get a good shot of my hallway, but it's just too dark. Still, you can see my quilt and some of my charms.

And here's the eye-in-the-hand-in-the-eye good luck piece that hangs next to the quilt. It's made out of faience: earthenware decorated with opaque colored glazes. This is a technique that goes back to the time of the pharohs. They made little blue hippos and things tho, not stuff like this.

Thanks for the lovely compliments about the darling baby Pokey pic from yesterday. She is my sweetheart. And in general, thanks for the comments. I love reading them. Ya'all have a good day.

Last look at Halloween

Sorry I've been MIA. I should change my blog title to Cranky Gal Quilting and then I could post every day. Ba ha ha ha. Sorry, had the PMS blues. I always have a day or two where the world is tragic, no one loves me and everything sucks. I know this about myself. My hubby has been warned and is allowed to ignore me (well, ignore my whining).

Got the update from my rheumatologist. Definitely have the evil PVNS. As far as I know, can wait a while for that surgery and have it while we're in the states inbetween tours next summer. (No one has said, get it NOW before your leg falls off.) On the good side, got the doc to admit that I may just have the A.S. as well - he's not ruling it out. So that's a small victory. As such.

Yesterday I went for my first real walk since the arthroscopy. Alone, tho hubby was on standby to drive over and pick me up if needed. Wasn't a huge walk, but I did go to the framer's and pick up my Web thready which has been languishing at the shop for ages and then made it over to a cafe to pick up lunch. Even better, my knee didn't blow up.

Decided to show you the finished thready in place. I know, I know, I should be done with Halloween already, but there's so much to see. On the top shelf is my purple cat embroidery, which I'll talk about another time. I bought the papier-mache headed devil and witch, which are loads of fun. The middle shelf has three of my threadies that are done on pre-printed fabric. On the left are three skeletons, in the middle the green monster ya'll watched me do (doesn't he look good framed?), and candy corn, which I made several holes in so you can see the red-orange "velvet" backing through. On the lower shelf is a Halloween sampler a wonderful friend made for me this year.

Yes, it is actually still Halloween at my house and will be another two weeks. Mwa ha ha ha.