Love Anna Williams Style

Whoohoo, finished a quilt top. I really really love how it turned out. Love Anna Williams Style (aka LAWS):

I know, it's a terrible photo, but I was too excited to wait until I had better light. I started this quilt way back in April (you can read the first post here - inc a photo of the Anna Williams quilt that inspired me). I had to think and cogitate upon it for awhile before I was ready to move forward with it.

I made all the blocks and then added piano keys and plain bits of fabric to make some of them larger or taller. I knew from fairly early on where I wanted each block and that I wanted to join them in columns rather than rows.

My first task was to get all the block the same width in a particular row. That meant adding on more than I needed and then slicing down. I joined the blocks of two columns together. I wanted a general idea of their length:

After joining the blocks of the third column, I played arrangements. Instead of my original format, did I want to make the two columns containing four blocks each the outer columns???

As it turned out, I didn't. Meanwhile, I added rows to the middle of the 3-block column, the only one that wasn't finished at that point. Once that column was all together, I joined the columns, just whacking off the extra length here and there. I made a choice not to get them all straight and even, hoping that I get a bit of wave, if that makes any sense. 

I didn't make it monstrously large, LAWS is 49.5" x 52" more or less. Since it didn't get too huge I'm going to go ahead and hand quilt it.

An update on my health. Turns out (after medical procedures and blood testing) that I don't have Celiac Disease or any of the other possible horrors including bleeding ulcers. My iron and ferritin levels have improved and the only change has been to my thyroid medication, which I insisted on because of my lower-than-normal T3 levels. (My doctor said that couldn't be the problem... well, well.)  I'm now on Armour (a naturally derived medication that contains T3 as well as T4) and doing better.

Gotta run, but here's a quick pic of baby Pokey before I sign off (I know some of you are only here for the kitty pics)

The Quilt Show

I continue to make slow progress on my Crowns of Thorns. It's my traveling project so I only work on it when I'm getting together with friends. Pokey has to inspect them:

I guess the blocks passed muster. And okay, I hear ya all, I'll keep the reds in:

It's kind of funny. Even when I have perfectly sized triangles and squares, I'm still me. I don't need no stinking matching seams...

I've got news for you. I'm going to be a guest on The Quilt Show with Alex Anderson and Ricky Tims. On the one hand, oh boy!!! and on the other, aaaaaagh!!! definitely mixed emotions and nerves there.

The Quilt Show is an internet tv show that is filmed in front of an audience of quilters. I'll be doing a demo of the letters and bringing some quilts for show and tell. The good thing about it being on the internet is that you don't have to live in the U.S. to see it.

I'll be going out for the taping in Boulder, CO in August. Luckily that's where my favorite uncle and aunt (you remember Janet, the quilter, who helped me out after surgery last fall) live so I'm excited about getting to see them.

Unfortunately, the tickets for the TQS taping are all gone - apparently they go FAST as soon as they are announced. The show won't be airing until 2011.

My computer connection is miserable right now. So I'll just sign off with that tidbit. Later!

More Crowns

I've made three more Crown of Thorn blocks from shirting fabrics - for a total of seven. I'm not sure if the ones with red will stay in - they seem so much darker than the other blocks. Since I don't actually have a plan, they might work or they might not.

I'd have gotten more done if I didn't have to do boring stuff like piecing a backing for a quilt. I know I could just buy fabric for that, but I'm ready to move older fabric out of my stash. Pokey was ever so helpful in the process.

Must wrestle fabric into submission:

Here she is, ready to pounce on another square of fabric:

Anyway, sewing hasn't been the highest priority. Instead I've been putting in time on the book. I was amazed to discover that Word Play Quilts is already on The Patchwork Place website. Holy cow! We now have a date for it too, December 7th. fingers crossed. I'm feeling like a real author.

Okay, I know I have lots more to tell you, but the Tour de France has finally hit the Alps. I've gotta go cheer Lance on.

Ya'all take care.

Crown of Thorn Blocks

I started a new project with my thrifted shirting fabric. I started by cutting squares and half-square triangles that finish at 2". I didn't know how I was going to sew them at first, but ended up deciding on Crown of Thorns:

I think my quilting friends almost fell out of their seats to see me working on these fabrics and in a traditional pattern. yeah, well, it happens. It's been too long in fact. I just wanted some mindless sewing to do and it's too hard to take bins and bins of strings when I go sew elsewhere. So the Anna quilt is temporarily on hold.  Fun to see my works in progress together:

Well, some of my works in progress.

I'm also working on cutting up more shirts (Note to self: Must . stop . buying . shirts) when I can get them out from underneath the cats.  Pokey:

and Lily:

and just for Dawn, another pic of Lily:

I shouldn't be sewing with new quilt blocks or cutting up shirts at all right now. I'm supposed to be sewing backings together. And working on this:

Bonnie Created a Monster

I have gone completely nuts the last month over repurposed clothing fabric ala Bonnie Hunter. She has created a monster. 

First, gorgeous baby Pokey posing helpfully on a white and purple striped shirt:

and again:

I stopped taking photographs along the way and I'd be embarrassed to admit just how many shirts I've gotten... But man, Florida is great for getting shirts in light colors like this pink plaid and the purple and white houndstooth

I've also been grabbing good oranges and fun greens whenever I spot them.

I know at some point I need to actually sew with these fabrics, but I've been amazed at how much fun it is to cut apart the shirts. I love the destruction, who knew. And right now the sewing machine is a little hard to find.

This area of Florida isn't just good for the colors in the shirts but my jaw drops at some of the labels. Couture shirts handmade in Hong Kong and London. holy cow. One guy I was talking to at the Goodwill told me about a thrift shop south of here where you can find all sorts of clothes like tuxedos and evening gowns that have never been worn. criminy.

It just makes me crazy that the shirts I find that would be perfect for me are never the right size. I love some of the men's Hawaiian and bowling shirts but these stupid hips get in the way.

Pokey has enjoyed the new spot to sleep on the cuffs and plackets I still need to cut up.

Pokey is doing well. She's still overgrooming her front legs (she has two reverse mohawks) but at least she's not doing it so much that she's hurting herself. I wish she wouldn't spend so much time hiding under the bed worrying about being abducted to the vet. At least she's bouncy and happy when she's sure the coast is clear.

Commenter Oleander asked how old Pokey is. She and her sister Lily are six years old. They were rescued from the streets of Cairo after they lost their mother when they were about 4-6 weeks old. Little tiny critters I could hold in the palm of my hand and only intended to care for for a couple of days until I could palm them off on someone else. yeah, well that part didn't work out so well. It's not like Pokey was this irresistible when she was tiny. She was bald and funny-looking - it took several weeks before she was fluffy and cute.

At least Pokey is doing well. I haven't been on the top of my game. Fatigue, low iron. I've been undergoing tests - the doc is still trying to decide on whether or not I have Celiac Disease. Sigh. More tests. Gluten-free looks like a pain the patootie, but very healthy.

What else? Have you caught Bravo's new series Work of Art? It's Project Runway for artists in a range of media, primarily paints but also some photography. No fiber though... In the first episode the artist who won wouldn't even have been in my top five, but did agree on their bottom three. Could have added a few more to the bottom as well. All in all, very enjoyable and recommended.