Happy New Year!!!

Hi, guys. Happy New Year!

I finished this quilt top on the first day of 2012. It's made with a lot of the recycled clothing fabric that Nifty gave me when I was out in Seattle last summer, so right now the tentative title is Something Nifty:

So much fun to use fabrics that someone else has chosen. Nifty had a lot of orangy coral salmon colors in softer tones that I never buy much, not to mention the nifty polka dots and retro flowers. She has an inconceivable distaste for purple, so that came out of my recycled clothing stash, as did the yellows and bright pink. One of the fabrics that really helps pull all this together is a dark brown woven stripe with gold and orange in it. Really beautiful and rich, but not showing up here well.

I made this quilt with my scissors and a steam iron (and yes, the sewing machine), just sewing things together and trying not to stress too much. I didn't even use pins, although I know my machine has a tendency to sew unevenly and pull a bit.

I started by adding some of my own recycled clothing fabric to go with Nifty's - far more fabric than I ended up using. Made sure that I had dark darks and light lights - because contrast now is my big concern.

I cut a row from the fabrics I most wanted to use, just guessing at the width (roughly the length of my index finger). Cut a few pieces and threw them up on my design wall, to check I was on the right track and liked the proportions. I tossed a few fabrics out entirely and realized I needed more of the dark red.

I did all that to gain confidence, not to work on that precise composition. Would have been too hard. Instead, I just sewed bits together, making combinations that I liked. Lots of times I'd make the join just because the widths were the same. I made several rows of different lengths and found one I really loved and just used that length. Then it was a matter of joining rows to that initial one, walking off any extra length.

etc. I auditioned a row, stepped back to see how it looked. Auditioned several at a time, then sewed.

It was only at the end, the second to last strip that I added, that I ripped apart a few strips to create one with the colors I wanted. Second strip from the left in the final pic. (by the way, the picture above has the truest colors.)

Really loved working on this quilt. It went together in just two days and woohoo, I felt good. It was the first time I was able to sew without getting a migraine in months and months. I mean that literally.  I've been getting what my neurologist described as cervical migraines. That is, problems in my cervical spine are causing them. And that area of my neck is stressed when I sew.  But I'm on some new meds and doing better.

Yeah, so medical issues have been a problem this year. I have been diagnosed with Spondylitis by my rheumatologist and so far the meds I'm on for that haven't helped.

But anyway, I spent January 1st happily sewing with my good friend Kathy, who said that how you spend the first day of the new year reflects on the year you're about to have. I sure hope so, because it will be a great one. Hope it will be for all of us!

Ellis Island

I finished my Legos top and love how it turned out. This is Ellis Island:

While I sewed, I realized I was making a quilter's Ellis Island. (Ellis Island was the port of entry into the United States way back before airplanes). You know, send me your tired, your poor, your wretched refuse - all those unwanted (fabrics). The name's a bit formal for this loud fun quilt, but still appropriate. There really are some uuugly fabrics in here...

I ended up going smaller than king-sized - this is 70x80. With all these shedding cats, any quilt on our bed will have to be washed and I'd like it to be easy to do. Plus, I was really inspired by a photo of Mary's bed with multiple quilts on it. Perfect since my husband and I completely disagree about how much warmth we need to sleep.

So sorry that these fabrics from Barb didn't arrive in time, but they will get into another lego quilt! some of these are sooo not ugly. love love the "hello" fabric in all sorts of different languages.

Not that we need warmth that often in Florida. But we'll be moving to Maryland next spring and I know they get winter "up in America" as my husband calls it. We've done some househunting and fingers crossed will get a house we love. Anyone here a member of the Columbia Faithful Circle Quilting Guild? I think that will be the nearest guild.

Back to the legos. These blocks are sooo much fun to make and so addictive. Seriously fun. Here are some fun one that others have worked on (sorry if I missed anybody - just let me know!):

•   Chawne's Compost Quilt top
•   Julies Dumpster Diving
•   Siobhan's Pensieve Quilt top
•   Diane's Chinese Coins in progress
•   Clare's ongoing monster (don't we all need Doctor Who!)
•   Sara's legos with One-Patches top. The borders are great too.
•   Joe Tulips legos with Flying Geese. she got distracted by zombies though... (well worth it!)
•   Lynley's not quite legos top
•   Kim's I-Spyish lego blocks

This is how I approached making the Legos quilt. Sara came up with a different method, just sewing a biiiig long strip amd cutting it in two and joining those lengthwise etc.

I have to get a blogpost done so I'm going to sign off now... See you all hopefully sooner than the last time! By the way, you can follow this blog by email (there's a doohicky over in the sidebar) so you'll know when I finally post again! That is, if you're not using a reader (which I highly recommend if you follow more than a couple of blogs).

Lily says, time for a nap!

Watch Me on the Quilt Show!

Hi guys! Ya'all can watch my episode of The Quilt Show for free (woohoo!) October 3rd through October 9th by following this link to episode #907. You do have to sign up to be a basic member (which is free) to access the show.

That's me at the sewing machine walking Ricky Tims through UnRuly Letters.  So funny to see me worrying about straight lines and rulers. I've changed in the last year!

Additionally, you can sign up to be a Star Member and access other shows for 20% off by using the coupon code: 182844782548

Be kind while you're watching it - remember I was incredibly nervous! Someone asked me if LAWS is hand quilted. Most definitely. You can see me there working on it, no hoop or frame. 

Thank goodness I had that quilt with me to work on and keep my mind focused on. Really helped with the nerves.

Can I just say I love Alex Anderson. She is an incredible sweetie.

Enjoy the show!

p.s. all photos courtesy of The Quilt Show.

Love Anna Williams Style - woohoo!

I finished LAWS (aka Love Anna Williams Style) the other day. I love it!

I haven't been able to take a really good photo - this is a little dark. But you get the idea. I did a bonehead move and washed the quilt in warm water. I had two boxes worth of Color Catchers AND some Synthropol in the washing machine, so I figured it would get out the bit of bleeding I was worried about.

Well, it did that - the purple onto pink is gone. But I ended up with a brand new, far worse spot of evil. That bottom right corner? The thin line of blue bled. Here's Lily, turning around to look at me after inspecting the damage (it's in the gold up above her head):

I didn't realize I fabric had bled until after the quilt went through the dryer. I washed the quilt again, this time using a tip I'd heard from my friend Kathy. I thread-basted Color Catchers directly onto the quilt in all the places I was worried about. This is what the block looked like AFTER the second wash (again with free-floating Color Catchers and OxiClean gel and Synthrapol) and dry:

Look at how well that worked. I'd have been soooo much better off if I'd done this the first go round in the washer. And used cold water. Sometimes I'm an idiot. Anyway, I really recommend the Color Catcher baste method for fabrics that are a concern. I didn't like doing it - the smell and feel of the catchers is icky - but worth it.

After the second wash didn't get rid of the bleed, I'm just living with it. Bothers me less all the time.

Before you even ask: I pre-wash all my fabric - except for the hand-dyes. That will now change for blue, purple and red. The fabric that bled is from the 90's, definitely not one from Dye Candy. I have had some Cherrywood deep purples bleed on me, though none in this quilt.

Speaking of LAWS and Dye Candy... Watched The Quilt Show episode #907 this morning with my husband. I didn't torture him with the whole thing, just the bits I'm in. Here's the trailer for the show:



I'm relieved. There are a few things that bug me about my performance, but overall, okay. Fun to see me hand quilting on LAWS way back in August of last year when we taped and now I've just finished it.

Some of the hand-dyes in LAWS are from Chris Daly of Dye Candy. I love her fabric, so I asked her to do the giveaway to the audience on The Quilt Show. I wanted certain colors (turquoise and olive) and she created them for me, which is pretty awesome. Right now she's having a giveaway on her blog, ending October 2nd. Chris just finished "Night and Day," the wonderful quilt she made as part of the Liberated Amish challenge. 

I've pinned Night and Day on my Pinterest board Quilts with Words and Letters. I've got other great quilt boards (and Halloween!) on my Pinterest too. I've recently added a Quilts - Anna Williams -y board for Anna's quilts and those who've been inspired by her.

Have ya'all seen the Crumb Along at Jo's Country Junction? I really like how she's structured her "along." Great place to get started/motivated on crumb piecing.

Willy Wonky did a great post on Andrea Balosky, aka Nyima Llamo recently. Andrea's work is gorgeous.

There is a great quilt exhibition called Bits and Pieces going on in Salem, OR. There are some amazing quilts on exhibit including some by people I've met on the internet and in person. These are liberated unruly quilts, and boy, do I wish I could see them. Nifty's "Inspired by Anna" is amazing. Oh, and some of these fab quilters are HAND quilters, so definitely go see the show if you can. (through Oct 15th)

My husband is home for awhile. I'll be happy when he's not away this much. So will he.

Woohoo, the new tv season has started. Important to a tv addict like me. I enjoyed the premiere of Pan Am and the first Secret Circle held my interest. There were a few I couldn't force myself to watch after I recorded them including Persons of Interest and Free Agents. Yay, Fringe is back as are Community and Parks and Rec. I only started watching the latter two over the summer and am now all caught up.

Pokey says it's naptime

which reminds me, The Quilt Life magazine's October issue (with Rumspringa, halloween quilts, and Pokey) is available in all kinds of stores now. It's a fun issue!

Ya'all take care. Later.

At Long Last

Finally, a blog post. First off, I taught a class on crumbs to the Martin County Quilt Guild. It was fun and a really good way for me to see how people take different approaches to making blocks. We put all the blocks together, so much fun to see how all the personalities can blend to make a really fun quilt. The green carpet gives it a groovy sashing:

I felt like a harpy because I kept trying to nudge folks into using fabrics with more contrast. I did contrast so poorly for so many years, that it's just really glaring to me now. I wasn't sure how much of that I should do in class and finally decided that was part of my job. To nudge though, I didn't actually smack anyone around or hide their fabrics...

I've received more fun ugly fabrics in the mail. These are from Patti. I love the bicycle fabric and think it's a hoot that she included an e-coli pattern. I gotta guess that's the bottom left print.

Up next is Michele. Woohoo! Elvis and florida fabric. but yes, those cherubs are pretty ghastly.

Marge included this fabulous Halloween fabric, which is making me happy. Hee hee hee, skeleton reapers and mummies.

Not only did Lynette send me wonderful fabric (some of which I actually LOVE and wish I had more of - not ugly at all) but she also made me a crumby heart and some O-O-V-E

From Kathy W. Love the rooster fabric and the cocktails! Wonderful selection, thank you.

Cheryl sent me some fabric too. I'm not sure but this hunting outdoorsy fabric may just be the ugliest fabric ever. Seriously awful.

The package from Cheryl actually arrived the day I finished sewing my lego quilt together. Woohoo on the top finish, but sad I didn't get to include any of this fabric in this quilt. Definitely another one though!

Thank you to everyone who mailed me fabric goodies. I love thinking of you as I work with them. Also thank you to those of you who've emailed me, to make sure I'm okay. So sweet of you.

I've actually been struggling the last few months. I don't want to go into all the details in this post, but I've been struggling with an inflammatory arthritis that I've had for years, it kicks my ass, and I still haven't gotten a doctor to diagnose. Fingers cross that is going to change shortly - I think there is now enough evidence for the diagnosis of Ankylosing Spondylitis, a form of inflammatory arthritis, which I've had for 19 years now.

It's one of those horrible diseases that's hard to pin down, has remissions and flare-ups. I've been in a flare for the last while. I got a new symptom of tension headaches/ migraines which act up after I've been sewing or cutting or ironing for a few hours (or even less). Needless to say, not good for a quilter. That's on top of all the back and neck pain I've had for years.

But one of the worst things is the fatigue. It's not just that my body doesn't want to be active, but neither does my brain. Makes thinking difficult, and writing. Which is why fewer blog posts and emails etc. All I want to do is sleep, watch tv, play on Pinterest. Lately at least I've been enjoying hand quilting again, so that's an improvement.

Fingers crossed I get my official diagnosis when I visit the rheumatologist next Friday. And if I don't get it from him, the search will be on for another doc. I'm soooo tired of this. I'll try to not whine too much, but wanted to let you know what was going on.

Okay, back to quilting news. Got Gwen Marston's new book 37 Sketches. here's a sample page

It is a beautiful jewel of a book. Very finely made. I hate to say that I don't love all the quilts in it, because I really wish that I did. There's a lot of influence from Jean Wells and it is fun to see how Gwen takes that on board and plays with adding some of Jean's techniques to her own arsenal. I just wish it were Gwennier. But wow, love seeing all of Gwen's sketches together in the report that The Little Red Hen wrote about this years BIQR reatreat. wonderful.

My appearance on The Quilt Show is coming up shortly - September 26th for subscribers. You can see a slideshow of pics from the episode here. Ya'all will be able to watch that episode free for a week (October 3-9), but you do have to sign up as a basic member.

So the link to watch the show for free, from October 3rd to the 9th is here

So anyway, that's what's going on with me. I try to not whine too much, but I'll let you know how the doctor's visit goes.

cheers.