Quilt Blocks Go Wild

Hey all ya'all. I gotta do a little bit of shameless self-promotion. See this?

 

Shazam! It's the block I redesigned for the book Quilt Blocks Go Wild just published by Leisure Arts.

It's my version of Rail Fence. You know my Dr. Seuss Christmas Quilt? Well this is the way to make it. The easy way I figured out how to do years later...

I've got a mixed opinion of the book. Of course there is my block--which is fabulous-- and made UnRulily. That is, no marking or real fussing - although you do have to pay attention. I love that we were allowed to use photos to illustrate the steps, so I think it's pretty clear. (If not, give me a holler.) I love Malka Dubrowsky's Drunkard's Path redo. I love that the book shows you alternate methods for working.

But. But there are some methods in the book that do not appeal to me in the least. Freezer paper and templates. So this book isn't about Liberation. It's about how to step outside the traditional zone in baby steps. And of course not everyone loves Liberation and UnRuly so hopefully they'll find a way to play that they do like.

The book will be available on Amazon (Quilt Blocks Go Wild) and at JoAnn's stores. Possibly other places as well.

While I've got you all here, can I make a request for blocks? I know I don't deserve them since I still have several UFOs-worth of wonderful gifties from readers. I do, I know. If you don't worry about it eventually becoming a quilt and just think of it as a gift to Lazy Gal, who looks at it and feels loved... I'd appreciate it. Not that I'm trying to guilt you into anything ;-)

I'd like to make a love quilt for Pokey. I still miss her so much.

I have a quilt in mind. I know what the components are, but not how the quilt will look. I'd love to receive Pokey-colored blocks. White, cream, all those lovely shades of brown and dark brown/black accents. I called her my cappuccino girl - coffee with cream. And of course turquoise/cyan for her beautiful eyes and pink/red for her nose and paw pads (and love).

And the type of block? It's a love quilt. UnRuly L-O-V-E letters and UnRuly XOXOXOXO hugs and kisses. And wonky hearts.  Individual letters, or joined together. Just one or several. Nothing too big please unless you're piecing the letter fabric. Any questions, just ask.

Summary: UnRuly Letters (as found in Word Play Quilts)  E, L, O, V, and X and wonky hearts in white, cream, and all sorts of brown with hints of turquoise, red, pink, and black. (not that you have to have all those colors in one block). The goal is to have a quilt for the next book (yes, I'm finally working on one) so it's gotta be UnRuly.

If you make some letters/hearts and they don't come out well? Don't throw them away. Send them anyway. The UnRuly Orphanage takes in all sorts of strays.

To be even more obnoxious: as always, I'd love any spare orphan UnRuly letters you'd care to send. And teensy bits of ugly ugly fabric in light colors. I've got way too many dark fabrics in my stash...

I hate sunless, overcast days. This blog post makes me sound so sad and dreary and that's really not the case. I'm enjoying the Olympics and sewing. Yes, I'm sewing again and book plotting. woohoo! And enjoying the company of the cats. Even the little stinkers, Annabelle (or should it be Annabowl?):

and Cooper:

They both love the dishwasher, why I don't know. Shiny cave to explore, oh boy! These are older photos, amazing how much they grow in just a couple of weeks.

Later, gators!

Meet Annabelle and Cooper

I know this is supposed to be a quilt blog, not a cat blog (or at least not ONLY a cat blog) but I haven't done any sewing and hardly any hand quilting or cutting since my last post which was eek, five weeks ago? aagh.

I've had distractions. Meet Annabelle and Cooper:

They are darling siblings, now 3 months old. Rescue kitties of course. I saw their little faces looking at me from Petfinder.com and they just drew me in.

Notice the resemblence to Lily? (that's her down below) Couldn't bear thinking of Lily living in jail, so figured I'd bust these two out. Not that they were in jail - actually living in a wonderful foster home, but that's besides the point.

The big difference is the eye color. Right now the wee ones have yellow-green-brown eyes, as compared to Lily's striking clear green. And the little dudes have a more pronounced snout. Their mother is gorgeous, as well as friendly, so I know they will be too.

Anyway, Annabelle has a white face, ears, and legs.

She's a chewer - chewed my iPod headset cord in two and scared us by playing with electrical cords. We now have lots of cords wrapped in blue electrical tape,  which supposedly has a chalky taste that kitties don't like. Agh, Annabelle just launched herself at a quilt hanging on the wall - and she stuck there for a few seconds.

Meanwhile, Mini Cooper has the same face mask as Lily and two brown ears and hind legs.

Cooper's more likely to chew on fingers or toes. He loves hunting and dragging prey behind the sofa - there's quite a collection of toys and paper towels back there. Cooper has made the unfortunate discovery of the dishwasher - he loves jumping in there while I have the bottom rack pulled out. He's the more affectionate of the two and voluntarily sat in my lap for a couple of hours yesterday.

They both have tiny sharp teeth and tiny sharp claws. Agh.

The big cats for the most part ignore them, but there has also been hissing and running away. The big boys are mostly uninterested and Lily is peeved.

The little dudes added a lot of life and energy to our house. We sorely needed it after losing Pokey. And then Bubba.  Bubba was a sweet, cuddly little guy that we really loved, despite having him in our family for only 9 days. I had to have him put down - the vet suspected Feline Infectious Peritonitis. That was truly awful.

I feel like I am finally, slowly starting to come back to life again. The last few months have been difficult.

Besides the cats, the other big event around here was the super derecho which left us without power for three days. That meant we had no internet, cable tv or phones either. The winds knocked down the cell phone tower too - so we felt really cut off. First time I've ever really wished for smart phone. But the whole thing could have been much worse, since there are areas that STILL haven't gotten their power back more than a week later.

And now to watch the Wimbledon Men's Final and whatever stage of the Tour de France we're at today.

Lily on the Mat with Diamonds

I'm trying to get back to normal, but I still miss my sweet Pokey so much. Writing in my blog makes me think of her, so it's hard to do.

Working again on a string diamond project inspired by one in Gwen Marston's Liberated Strings book. I dragged my machine up into the kitchen (rather than using my still horrendously unorganized but wonderfully lit new studio down in the basement) so I felt a part of things rather than apart.

Lily worked on the quilt with me, of course.

I'm using the EZ Rulers 60 degree diamond. Love it. (Thanks for letting me keep it, Kathy!)

the classic "holding down the blocks so they don't get away" technique:

Kitchen islands (and counters) really are a fabulous place to set up a cutting station. So stable and just the right height. I'd be able to iron too if Lily would just move...

I was caught horribly off guard when I downloaded my new photos to the computer. I didn't know I'd find darling Pokey.

So frail and underweight, but still my baby. She'd just come back from the hospital so her leg was bandaged in bright pink.

I miss her so much. dammit dammit dammit.

That's why working on the diamonds is a good project for me. Stringing onto paper is soothing for me. The decisions are small and I know exactly how each piece fits. And I'm working with some of the fabrics that ya'll have gifted me over the years so those are good thoughts. I miss my blogging community even as I find it hard to participate.

Everything will be okay. just not yet.

Pokey

Sorry I've been away for so long. This is a really hard post to write. Lots of things have been going on in the last few months, some really really good but others not so much. I'm about to start bawling now, so I'm just going to write it quickly and get it over with.

Sweet baby Pokey lost her battle with Chronic Renal Failure. I am absolutely heartbroken and I've spent too much time crying. Pokey was never "just" a cat. She was playful, sweet and my truest companion. I loved her dearly, as did my husband. She was just 8 years old. She was lucky to have made it to her first birthday, but that knowledge doesn't make her loss any easier.

She took a dramatic turn for the worse right before we moved to Maryland. The most stressful move to a new house and new place to live that I have ever had. Vets both in Florida and Maryland did what they could.

Sorry, bummer of a post. I needed to get it out of the way. I'm turning off comments - don't think I can handle it. Hope you are all well. I am actually doing well, just having a hard time today writing about my sweetie girl.

Get it While You Can

I can't believe I forgot to include this in yesterday's post, but holy cow there is an incredible sale on the  book Amish Abstractions: Quilts from the Collection of Faith and Stephen Brown. It's only twelve dollars for a bargain book. I paid a loooot more for my copy and it was worth every penny, so believe me when I say it's a SERIOUS bargain now. I actually bought a second copy, couldn't pass it up.

I think this means that it's time for another Liberated Amish Get-Together. It was sooo wonderful the first time to see the amazing quilts that folks made. Really impressive. Maybe starting in February? But this time we'll use the UnRuly Blog so I don't have to make up another one. Sound fun? Maybe I'll actually make one this time!

You don't have to buy the book to participate, but I recommend it wholeheartedly nonetheless. You can see a bunch of the quilts on this website for the Browns Amish Quilt collection.

I figure I'll be more flexible this time about the guidelines so that folks can interpret it how they want, so that they push themselves - you all know where your own boundaries are. Can be any size that you want. I think it would be fun to make an Amish quilt as interpreted by a Gee's Bender. (Gee's Bendie? hee hee hee). But the goal is to still see the inspiration in there. For instance if they were ever hung in an exhibition together you'd want it to make sense...

Picture of Lily from awhile back, cuz I needed something to go in this post. I do still love this UFO - need to work on it some more. When I'm reunited with all the bits and pieces that is.

Oh, and I also can't believe I neglected to mention that I am thoroughly engrossed in the second season of Downton Abbey. I do so love that show!!!

p.s. You can click on the link for the book on sale here: