Doki Quilts

Beloved Two

2010-06-15T19:25:00.001-07:00

finally! here's Beloved #2. i started this whole project back in january and i finally finished #2 and both have now been mailed to Pascha who heads up this project. (just finding a box that would fit two quilts and going to the post office took a few weeks!)

i love the bright colors in this quilt. back in the day, these saturated colors were the ones i collected but i have to admit, they look a little 90's to me now--i'm more into the kaffe fassett brights currently (though in 10 years, they'll look a little '00 to me :-)

the triangles are almost all from the Lakehouse Baskets quilt. and the white is from my stash. the back is fleece--though if i make more of these quilts (and i would like to), then i'll have to check in with Pascha about that--these quilts are going to SE Asia and i think fleece might be a bit too warm.

i would like to continue to make more of these quilts --maybe one for every 2-3 quilts i make for myself?...

More Blocks

2010-06-15T19:18:00.001-07:00

i was bummed--i had finished my jelly roll sampler block #7 in time but forgot to upload it in time for the drawing--oh well, next time. this photo is too dark but doing the auto brightening makes the colors completely untrue.

this is block #8. you should check out the flickr group --this block in particular looks completely different with each fabric choices--pretty amazing.

the latest in my own BOM. i'm really enjoying making these sampler quilts--making one block at a time is time-consuming but i'm don't feel overwhelmed in making these intricate blocks either.

the kids have started summer vacation but this week they're in VBS in the morning (truly a hallelujah is needed!) so lots of sewing going on! i'll try to take some photos soon.

The Four Backs

2010-05-19T09:59:00.000-07:00

i had such a clever title planned for this post--"the four tops" but the photos of the tops were blurry and two of them are already basted, so here's a pix of the four backs instead.

i gotta say, if i was rich, i would buy those 108" backing fabrics and send out all my quilts to be quilted--i hate this part of the process--so tedious. but alas, i'm not, rich that is, so i pieced together all 4 of the backs and am in the midst of basting them. two of them are a nice size (70" wide) but the other 2 are monsters over 90" wide--i'm not even sure if they'll fit in my living room floor to baste!

i do think though--there's a lot of value in piecing the backs--that i'm almost glad i'm forced to do it. the backs are so much more interesting when you piece them together and you get to use up miscellaneous bits of fabrics that are nice, but not good enough to actually use for the top. i have had the odd experience of someone preferring the back of my quilt to the front--not sure how to take that!

the top backing (the yellow & white one) is made of fabrics that over 10 years old--they are marimekko, which i bought from crate & barrel. C&B had an outlet store where they had a barrel full of fabric scraps and sold it for like $1.oo/lb. one of the first quilts i ever made was with scraps from that barrel (i have a non-digital picture of it somewhere--not very exciting though). these scraps are ones that i've carried around (3 moves since then) and in fact, last year, i gave them to my mom. she however, is about to move, so had a box of scraps to give to my sister, who was going to take them to her daughter's school for crafts. so i rescued them and am finally using them!

so yes, i guess it's good to be forced to do the boring parts of quilting :-)

Farmer's Market

2010-05-18T19:45:00.000-07:00

i bought this as a kit from PIQF 2008 and am finally getting around to it. the pattern is called Contra Dance from the Straight to the Point series (QuiltWoman.com Designs) --where you piece in straight rows, cut the top; resew it and voila--you get an on-point setting for the quilt. it's a really clever idea though i'm not sure how in love i am with the project. (i'll reserve my comments for until the quilt is completely done and i show it).

so here i am, merrily cutting away (i use iron-on interfacing for the cutting line--which helps the bias edge to not get stretched out) when....

yup--you probably guessed it, i cut another block accidentally. AARGH!!!

here's another shot. sigh. it comes from not spreading out the fabric carefully and trying to rush the job.

luckily the block was 1) at the side, and2) was one of the big fabric blocks (no piecing) so it wasn't too hard to fit it back in. and also luckily, the kit was very generously cut so there was plenty of fabric to squeeze back in.

all done (again). it's added to the stack of quilt-tops ready to be basted and quilted.

Jelly Roll Sampler #6

2010-05-17T12:56:00.001-07:00

i think the hardest part of this quilt-along is downloading the photos in a timely manner (which is also why i'm not a very good blogger). this is #6 and designed by Nanette who has the greatest blog --i always love her fabric choices.

Merry and Bright Packages

2010-05-09T11:53:00.000-07:00

i had to search around my blog for when i first wrote about this block--go figure, it was under the Happy Thanksgiving heading (?!) despite the obvious Christmas connection. i finally finished the quilt a month ago--ta daa!

this is Sandy Gervais' Merry and Bright line--i really like how it doesn't scream Christmas but uses other colors--like the turquoise and gold--and makes it a fuller line. and i like how the pattern doesn't scream "presents" but gives the illusion of wrapped packages.

and even more excitingly--this is the first quilt i've ever sold!

unfortunately, like most school districts in California, our school district is facing a huge budget deficit this coming year and as one of the many cuts, the school board decided to lay-off over 100 teachers and get rid of Class Size Reduction (CSR) which meant that Gr 1-3 would go back up to 30 students/class instead of the 20/1 ratio right now. this is a huge blow to our kids' education--even without studies (though studies do prove the point), it's obvious to any parent that a young child would do so much better in a smaller class where the teacher has the time to really get to know a student--my oldest is in 1st grade and i can see it for myself.

so anyways--long story short, a bunch of parents in our district, and especially at our school, banded together to raise money to save the teachers and CSR. due to union agreements and a massive effort by parents, we've almost reached our goal and it looks pretty sure that we'll save our teachers--hooray!

our school had a silent auction to raise funds--and the teachers graciously gave of their time and energy (one teacher auctioned a quilt class :-) and raised $3500. the parents in turn gave of their time and resources and we held a 2nd auction (results not yet announced)--so i donated this quilt and it sold for $120 :-) there were 2 parents who bid on it (coincidentally both from my son's classroom) --so i feel better that it wasn't necessarily "pity bids" but someone actually wanted it :-)

it's sad that we have to work so hard to raise money to educate our kids--but on the other hand, we're so blessed to have the resources to do so. i better get going on another quilt for next year--i don't think the budget crisis will be fixed by then :-(

Blocks of the week

2010-05-03T15:59:00.000-07:00

Sunday was a nice day of sewing (and doing laundry) while paul takes care of the kids outside!

First up, was block #5 of the Jelly Roll Sampler. i'm really enjoying this quilt-along and am now more confident of joining others!

then #8 (i think) of the BOM i'm doing. it's a little faded out in the photo but the colors are pretty in person.

3-1/2 pounds!

2010-05-01T14:49:00.000-07:00

i finally finished piecing the top of my Dotty Dresden Plate quilt today--and since i don't like showing just quilt tops--i like showing the finished product--here are just some peeks.

the quilt is the cover quilt of the book Material Obsession and i decided to forego the red circles in the middle--and instead put prairie points on the border to mimic the blades of each plate. i think it turned out cute and it was fun to do prairie points which i hadn't done before.

but oh my, this quilt turned out to be a monster. it literally weighs 3-1/2 pounds! and measures approx 88" square (i also changed the setting from 6x4 to 5x5). it's extra heavy because of the applique work and the prairie points--so it's pretty much double the amount of fabric you would normally use for a quilt this size.

it's huge! i'm not looking forward to quilting it (with batting & backing it might be closer to 10 lbs when finished) but it's gonna be a beaut when done.

Jelly-Filled

2010-04-27T16:53:00.000-07:00

as in up to the gills in jelly rolls. sigh. i'm a sucker for sales and i found these jelly rolls online for great prices. shall we take a look?

after Nicole of Sister's Choice Quilts blog pointed out that Martinique goes really well with the French General fabrics, i had to get some. it doesn't hurt that i'm a huge fan of 3 Sisters/Moda either. oh yeah, got a layer cake as well.

i've been seeing Verna (Kate Spain/Moda) all over blogland and this would make a pretty baby quilt. (one of my best friends in high school had "Verna" as a middle name and we would all make fun of it--too funny if it's becoming a hip name these days)

i've been eyeing Oz (Sanae/Moda) for a long time but couldn't commit -- so a jelly roll (on sale!) made perfect sense.

another 3 Sisters line, Aster Manor--i think it'll go nicely with their other Christmas-y lines.

i ended up buying 2 Rural Jardin (French General/Moda) rolls from two different stores--because i was worried that one store was saying it was in stock but really was out of it--and i also figured i could & would use both of them :-)

this is Blush (BasicGrey/Moda). i also have a layer cake of Sultry that i bought awhiles ago--they coordinate really well together. not that i know what to do with them.

sigh. all that shopping was fun! but i guess i should actually use some of them. i'm also blaming the Jelly Roll Sampler Quilt Along for (re-)stoking my love of jelly rolls! something about that package of fabric brings a smile to my lips!

and on a practical level, i find that it's really useful to use a lint brush and press it over the tops & bottoms of the jelly roll. there's so much lint on them--it takes several sheets to really get the fuzz off!

Finishes!

2010-04-21T18:48:00.000-07:00

Hooray! finally some finishes to post. this was originally called the VLJ quilt for my friend's b-day present--but she said the colors didn't "match" her furniture (!) though more to the point, she liked LHB's quilt more (and the fabrics/colors in that quilt). this has more of a blue tinge because the border fabric and the backing is blueish. i'm calling it my "Posh and Charismatic" quilt because it's the Posh and Charisma lines from Chez Moi (Moda)--yeah, i'm really clever. this was inspired by an Anka's Treasures pattern--Heather Mulder Peterson is a talented designer of patterns AND fabric! (good blog too :-)

well, back to the drawing board for VLJ (this is a 2-year old b-day present promise). and now wondering to whom to gift this quilt.

oh, and here are some oops. this is the back--i accidentally quilted over some scrap batting. (i work on a really messy table!)

and here's another oops. i'm usually pretty good about my backing extra big but i guess i skimped a little here--that white edge was about 3/4" that i had to add on.

i like this quilt a lot--but it's also going to be a gift. this is made with Tula Pink's Flutterby line--one jelly roll and lots of miscellaneous pieces, and around 2 yards of the border and sashing fabrics. hmm....i should really take a close-up one of these days--you can't see but the border has illustrations of a gorgeous bug. (oh, here's a pix from Tula Pink's blog--it's the 2nd photo).

i think the pattern is called a Friendship Braid--really fun and easy to make--but i was a little worried that the bias edges would get out of control--i was really lucky that it didn't. i do have an idea of who to give this to--a good friend who is needing a hug these days.

Block Party

2010-04-15T19:36:00.001-07:00

lots of sewing done these days--my favorite part is piecing! as i said previously, my sewing machine had been packed up for a few weeks so i did a lot of cutting and trimming and now i get to do the fun part!

first up was block #4 for the Jelly Roll Sampler. this has been really fun & easy quilt-along. looking at this block though, i wish i had gone more scrappy. oh well, if there's leftover fabric, maybe i'll re-do it.

then it's this self-made BOM--have i mentioned this before? it's a freebie pattern from here --i totally appreciate how this person is offering a lovely free pattern--but gotta say, i don't like the cutting directions. oh well, maybe for the next one, i'll take the time to re-write it to my liking.

i've also finished piecing the top of Japanese Marbles and am in the middle of piecing the top of Dotty Dresden Plates. finally! actually, the next posts will show some actual finishes!

Quilt-Along!

2010-04-08T13:18:00.000-07:00

Hooray! this is my first Quilt-Along--and it's the Moose on the Porch Jelly Roll Sampler quilt along. (i'm so lame--i couldn't figure out how to grab the button but you can click on the links above to check it out).

i haven't joined any in the past because i can't predict my sewing times--but these blocks look nice and simple so i think i can actually keep up.

i cut out blocks 1 & 2 during my sewing hiatus so it was a breeze to sew them all up yesterday. and block #3 is so easy (picture below), i sewed it together today in less than hour and that's with sophie "helping" me.

each block, from different designers, will be published every two weeks. the fabric is Simplicity from 3 Sisters (Moda).

fun!

Salad Days

2010-04-06T19:10:00.001-07:00

doesn't that look like a head of lettuce? it's the trimmings from the Japanese Marbles quilt--i'm such an awful fabric-cutter--that it's easier to just trim down the blocks to a consistent size (almost always a smidge smaller than what the pattern says) after finishing the block.

my sewing space is the dinner table unfortunately--there's just no space in our house. and we've had friends over for dinner the last few weeks so my sewing machine has been packed up for 3 weeks. 3 weeks!!! however it was a good time to do lots of catch up work, rather than just piecing. so i prepped a few more Joseph's Coat blocks; trimmed down the aforementioned quilt; and also trimmed down the Dotty Dresden Plates. now i just have to piece them altogether. but of course i started a new project in the meantime...

Seconds

2010-03-11T15:39:00.000-08:00

here's my 2nd Joseph's coat block all prepped--i'm only halfway done with the 1st block. i figure since it's going to be years before this done, i'll just showed the prepped blocks :-)

and here's the 2nd Beloved quilt. it's going to be made of scraps from the Lakehouse Basket quilt so lots of bright colors with white tonal fabric. i'm working on doing the machine blanket stitch around the letters right now.

Tardy for the Party

2010-03-04T13:14:00.000-08:00

yes--i've outed myself as an avid watcher of The Real Housewives--well, "only" Atlanta and NYC (starts tonight!)--as if that makes it less trashy :-)

anyways, the party in question is Don't Look Now's Joseph's Coat Quilt-Along. this quilt is breath-taking but it looks like it'll take years to finish! this Quilt-Along started a few months ago--it took me that long to commit to this quilt--it just looks like sooooo much work (and it is!)

i prepped this first block (only 48 more to go!) at a Arts & Craft morning that my friend organized for our church. it was so much fun to have an uninterrupted 5 hours (!!!) to just work on my quilts. i didn't bring my sewing machine but was able to start prepping this project as well as start work on the 2nd Beloved Quilt.

i'm using a mostly pink palette from my stash and from the newly acquired stash of Kaffe Fassett's (LOVE these fabrics) and am using Kona Coal as the background. i love DLN's white background but since this is my "porta-project," i would think the white would get dirty right quick. it's funny--just a few months ago, i wrote that i never use solids but i'm bowing to peer pressure out in blogland--solids seem to be the new "in" thing with quilters! the idea for using gray as the background came from Mrs. Schenkman --hmmm...can't find that particular post but you should read her whole blog anyway--she does amazing work!

i started stitching the petals down on this block today--the twins had their first gymnastics class (after the first 10 min of being painfully shy--they shook down and took part in everything--they did great! :-) so i was able to do it during their class. i think i have only 4 more "Marbles" to go--that's such a easy & portable project, i almost don't want to finish it so soon.

Porta-Projects

2010-03-04T01:04:00.000-08:00

25 of these blocks finished!!! i started these back in July, and they really did go pretty fast. in fact, the last couple of months, i started working on my other big handwork project (Grandma's Pop Garden - May '09) in the car while the twins napped because the dresden plates are more portable.

i decided to set the blocks 5x5 instead of the pattern's 6x4 'cos i think it might be a little more usable (6x4 makes for a longer, skinnier quilt which won't fit on our bed). i still haven't decided if i'm going to applique down the little circles that go in-between each block. lots more work to do--i've gotta cut them all down to the same size (i'm sure they're wonky from all that handwork) and lay them out. i'm thinking of prairie points around the edges. we'll see...

and here's my newest hand project. it's the Marble Champ pattern (i talked about it here). there's 42 of these blocks (i use 21 different fabrics for the circles, so 2 each) and i just finished prepping all of them (that wonky white thread is the basting thread--i like using that for appliquing much better than pins--i always poke myself!). these go really fast--it takes me around 45 min to do one and i was able to finish two blocks at a school meeting :-) i think i've finished 8 already so this shouldn't take too long (famous last word). enough time so that i'll be able to prep for my next big portable project (more on that later...)

UPDATE: i wrote this post back in january and forgot to post it. i haven't done anything more with the Dresden Plates but am almost finished with the Marbles. Also almost finished with Row 8 of the Grandma's Pop Garden--have to admit, i'm getting a little bored with this project, but have 6 more rows to go!

Beloved

2010-02-13T17:05:00.001-08:00

(this is one of those word-y posts so feel free to skim through for the pictures!)

over Christmas, i got the book Quilting For Peace for myself because i heard about it on blogland and because it was cheap :-) on pg 13, Pascha Griffiths and her project Beloved Quilts was highlighted and i never did get farther in the book! Pascha is a fellow Christian who felt called to make quilts for the homeless in her area. after reaching her goal of 100 quilts, with the help of friends and friends of friends, she has decided to make quilts for children who are victims of sex trafficking.

"'How unloved these girls must feel and how tainted their concept of love must be,' says Pascha, who wonders what 'bed' must mean to them after what has happened to them there. 'Then to think that there's this blanket that says they are beloved. They might be too wounded for it to mean anything, but it might mean something. It's one way of saying, 'You're seen, and here's some safety.'"

i couldn't stay dry-eyed through that paragraph.

this story actually started awhile ago for me.

my church has a strong calling to social justice--and much of that vision came from a former pastor, who left a couple of years ago to join International Justice Mission as a staffworker (that name always makes me think of the old superhero cartoon --International Justice League :-) though people working at IJM are truly the heroes of this world). when the pastor left, at his last service, his new boss from IJM came to speak to us and tell us about IJM. he showed a video about some of their work throughout the world. it's been a couple of years so the details are fuzzy but there were some incredible stories told. one of them involved the rescue of child prostitutes in India. now i knew that there was such a thing as child sex trafficking in the world but it was the first time i saw evidence in front of me--pictures and videos of these beautiful little girls who were being treated in such an inhumane and ungodly way. as a mom now, i can't help but relate everything to my kids, and i couldn't even fathom the pain of having my daughter go through such torture. i turned and found my husband sniffing and discreetly wiping away his tears (and trust me, he never cries!)

well, we wrote a check to IJM and that was pretty much that. sex trafficking is a huge issue and i couldn't conceive of a way to even think about it.

fast-forward a couple of years to last August when our church had our first church retreat. we were beginning a series of "Visioneering"--how to create a vision for our own lives that is in keeping with God's vision for us and for our church and for our world. one of the exercises was to write our own obituary (not as morbid as it sounds :-) in examining my life, i thought my relationships were in order--yeah, i yell at my kids a lot, but they love me and would miss me when i'm gone (well, that's what i tell myself :-) and i have a wonderful husband, and loving friends. all that was fine. but in terms of what have i done with my life outside of family and relationships, that was a lot less impressive. i haven't worked professionally (use to be a librarian) since the kids were born (over 7 years now) and even then, i wasn't really a stellar librarian--or at least, that wasn't my passion in life. quilting is, but that's not a career. (one side-note that i haven't even realized until just now--i'm starting to make quilts for my friends--in the past, i've made lots of baby quilts for their offspring--maybe i'm trying to perpetuate my legacy through them now).

nothing was really resolved at the retreat--i just pondered what i wanted to do with my life--especially as the kids grow older and i have time for myself. one out-there thought that entered my head, was that the child sex trafficking issue is so horrific that i want to do something about it. but i immediately scoffed at that idea 'cos i'm not the activist type and what can i do about it?

so when i read about the Beloved Quilt project, it was a Hallelujah moment. my compassion for children who are caught in this horrific situation, my love for quilting, and my hope to follow God's will for my life were all intertwined into this one project.

i emailed Pascha and she seems like such a kind person! she was excited for me but because i didn't have anything really definite to tell her, we sorta left things up in the air. one thing she said made me smile, that she was struck that i was so moved by just reading about her project in a book. and i couldn't really explain in an email, just how many years it took for God to work on this hard heart!

as you can tell from my (very infrequent) posts--it takes me forever to get things done. so it took another month or so to actually make the quilt and sadly enuf, another few weeks, just to photograph it and now to write this blog post.

i used some of my much hoarded Grand Revival fabrics--i actually can't really remember which lines i used, i think Barefoot Roses and Darla.

and on a frivolous note, i even had enough scraps left over to make a scarf for myself (here modeled by my oldest :-)

i will be emailing Pascha soon to ask if she wants the quilt now (she sends them overseas periodically) or if i can wait until i make a 2nd one to send along as well--who knows how long that will be!

one of the reasons why i've been in such a hurry to finish up some of the WIPs that were languishing was because i don't like things hanging over my head and i wanted to start a 2nd Beloved Quilt with a clean-ish slate. i would also like to involve some of my friends in the making of the quilts but i'm not really sure how 'cos they're not quilt-y people--still pondering that.

i'm so grateful to Pascha (who appears to be much more of an activist type than me!) who was obedient to God's calling for her, and which then enabled me to participate in this way. i don't really know where this path is leading--whether it'll get bigger or if it'll stop after 2 quilts (i personally committed to at least two, if not more) --but i'm learning that God's journey for me is not of my making and not under my control. all i can do is obey what is in front of me.

Max's Truck Quilt

2010-02-13T16:47:00.000-08:00

finally--a finished quilt! this is just a "quick" (though it still took months to complete) bed quilt for max using scraps of truck fabrics leftover from another project (and those were scraps too).

because this is a quilt for everyday use, i decided to machine bind it so that it'll actually be done (it'll take me a couple more months to hand-bind the other 2 quilts i've finshed binding from the last post). i'm still not very good with machine binding but this method does make it a tad better. these are Clover pins--and they are just thin enough to sew over. yup--i said SEW OVER!!!! i've heard that there are quilters who sew over their pins as the norm, but that just seems to be living too dangerously! as it is, my heart stops everytime the machine needle grazes a pin. however, it really does help the back of the binding lie flat while sewing it down.

these pictures show the pins from the front of the quilt--but i found it easier to pin from the back after awhile--that way, i'm sure to catch the entire seam allowance.

i'm still not a big fan of machine binding but it's so much faster than hand-binding!

Basting

2010-01-30T21:10:00.001-08:00

phew! a nice productive Saturday afternoon as Paul played (and worked) in the yard with the kids.

Pieced a backing for the bottom quilt and pieced the batting (yeah, i'm cheap, i use up odd pieces of batting to make a new bigger piece) for the middle quilt and then pin-basted all 3. Hooray! these WIPs have been weighing heavy on my mind.

the top quilt is the Christmas quilt i talked about here. i really wanted this done before Christmas but once our tree was up, there was no space in our living room to lay out quilts to baste.

the middle quilt is Max's Truck Quilt. it's a pretty loud quilt, made up of bits and pieces from the scrap pile--but it's got trucks and i think Max will like it.

the bottom quilt was made for VLJ but now i'm not so sure. i'm giving her the opportunity to yay or nay it this saturday when we hang out. the fabrics are beautiful (Posh & Charisma by Chez Moi, Moda) but it's a tad simple. well, if she doesn't want it, i can think of other people who will :-)

of course there's still tons to do--quilting them (i usually just meander all over them) and then putting on the binding. i don't think i'll machine-bind them this time after what happened in the last post!

binding

2010-01-21T19:13:00.000-08:00

i've been working on machine-sewing the binding on quilts--both sides, not just the top part--it's turning out horrible! but functional. and so much faster than hand-sewing the back so i guess i'll keep practicing (nope, i'm not showing pictures of my terrible workmanship--these are just pretty pix of the fabrics :-)

this is my latest quilt--it's completely finished today--hooray! i'll try and take a good picture and write up the whole story soon--it's a quilt for charity--inspired by Quilting for Peace

Swimming & Quilting

2010-01-13T18:30:00.001-08:00

the kids were swimming (first lesson! they did great :-) and i was quilting (when not taking pictures of them). this is the Dotty Dresden Plate quilt that i've been working on. it's the hand-sewing project that i carry everywhere and i'm on block #24! (started this in july of last year). the pattern calls for 24 blocks but i think i'd rather have a 5x5 setting (i.e. 25 blocks) rather than a 6x4 setting so i only have one more block to go. of course, it'll probably take me another 6 months after that to actually finish the quilt...

WIMH

2009-12-26T19:34:00.000-08:00

we all know that WIPs are "Works in Progress"--but what about quilts that one is just dreaming about?--i'm calling them WIMH--"Works in My Head" --i have definite ideas of what i want to do (which doesn't mean i won't change my mind)

this is from the Bari J. collection with a couple of Atelier Akiko fabs thrown in (they coordinate perfectly). i'd like to make her sample quilt (if you go to her site, scroll down and look on the right hand side-it's the Garden Tea Party Quilt. i wasn't crazy about the border but the always inspiring Mrs. Schenkman came up with a great border solution which i'll be using.

i've been gathering and collecting some cute japanese fabrics (some of these are lecien caramel town) --i'm thinking of making the Marble Champ Quilt by LizzyHouse --also using a green background (the top fabrics with some other lime greens) --this will be my to-go hand-applique project when i'm done with the Dotty Dresden Plates (i'm actually doing pretty well with that quilt--i'm on block #20!)

then my last WIMH (sorry, no pix) is this quilt with this fabric. it should be turn out really pretty--though anything made with Grand Revivial fabrics would be pretty. my Barefoot Diamonds quilt was also Grand Revival--hmmm....maybe i should do a series of these types of quilts--a log-cabin-ish quilt but with different shapes (diamond, octagon, etc) with the Grand Revivial fabs....more WIMHs :-)

Chocolates!

2009-11-25T13:06:00.000-08:00

my friend MYB came down for a visit yesterday and despite my pleas to the contrary, she brought a lovely gift of chocolates! aren't these pretty?! i had to hurry up and blog about them so i can eat 'em!

so cute! chances are very strong that i'll keep the box (emptied of chocs) just because of the cuteness factor. (definitely crazy hoarder lady in training!)

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-25T12:38:00.000-08:00

though honestly, i'm already thinking Christmas!

finally some finished products to show.

i bought a layer cake of Merry & Bright (by Sandy Gervais) last year and even though i have a long list of WIPs, i felt the hankering for a quick Christmas quilt. i saw a similar block on someone's blog (shoot--i can't find where i saw the quilt) and it reminded me of packages. i didn't want to use extra fabric but stay with the 40-10" squares of the layer cake so this is what i got.

i selected 8 of the plainer blocks to be the "ribbon"--cut 2" strips to be the long ribbon part and a 2" contrasting square. each 10" square will provide four 2" strips and five 2" sqaures (one extra). then i trimmed the rest of the 32 blocks to 9"x10" and then cut into half (4.5" x 10") and sewed the "ribbon" down the middle. i'm no pattern writer obviously! but this is a quick & easy block. oh and because i'm a very inaccurate sewer, i'm also trimming the blocks down to 9.75" but if you have a perfect 1/4" seam, then you would finish at 10". i have half the blocks sewn together, and 1/4 of them trimmed. hopefully i'll get to finish this before christmas!

and because i can't bear to throw away fabric--and because there are lots of 1" strips leftover, i decided to make some christmas cards with them.

i think they turned out pretty cute (though some are a bit puckery--oh well, we'll call it "texture"). i re-used some old cards i had that weren't useful anymore. one card was to let people know you're moving--there were only 3 left of those. and the rest were free christmas cards from a charity we support--you know, the cards that aren't really attractive and i think i'll send them to people i don't really know, but then i won't do it because they really aren't attractive. (yeah, i know, i'm a crazy hoarder in the making).

a close-up :-)

oh, and very happy news. i won this magazine from the Happy Zombie! i'm a big fan of her blog and her work (she uses the most beautiful and cheerful colors!) so it was a thrill to win a prize from her blog, and a bigger thrill to see her block in the magazine--very cute!

PIQF loot

2009-10-21T20:10:00.001-07:00

i think i was pretty restrained this year!

this is from the Stitchin' Post of Sisters OR fame. they have a really great sales section :-) the top FQs were only $1 each! i got a nice group of Kaffe fabrics and some other miscellaneous ones. and because i felt guilty only shopping from the $1 pile, i bought a pack of KF FQs at full price (very unusual for me!) but these colors are so pretty i got over the full price part.

these KFs were reasonably priced at $2 each. they're from Cotton & Chocolate--a very cute booth that was featuring English paper piecing. i bought some 3/4" hexagons! not sure when that will happen but i can always hope and plan for the future.

these are from the Creation Station which is one of my favorite vendors 'cos they have great prices--they only sell pre-cuts --either 1 yd or 1/2 yd packages -- for either $6/yd or $3 for 1/2 yd. last year it was $5/yd--i guess they had to raise their prices. but they have a large booth in the middle of the vendor area and i always find cute stuff.

the vendors seem to be mostly brick & mortar stores from california. the problem is that internet stores (which i almost exclusively shop from now--i may bring twins to a once-a-year quilt show but i'm not going to bring them to a quilt store to go shopping!) have a faster moving inventory so i'm used to newer fabrics and also used to buying whole lines now in the form of FQ bundles or the other pre-cuts. there was one store that was selling a line of fabric at full price that Hancocks-Paducah has already discounted and presumably sold out of a few months ago (i know 'cos i bought several yards of it :-) so it was hard to find fabric that i was really excited about. i guess that's why i ended up getting a lot of KFs this time around--they're timeless and very collectible!

celebrity sightings: i got to meet Verna Mosquera who had a great pumpkin-headed figure in her booth. she was very sweet and gracious, and didn't mind me snagging a couple of pieces of chocolate for the twins even though i didn't buy anything. also said Hi to Joanna Figueroa who rushed back from Houston for this show--she's a local gal. she always has a beautiful booth! i've seen her at PIQF for the last couple of years but finally screwed up the courage to say hello. it's like seeing a celebrity! i'm such a quilt geek.

sigh...even though this year was a little less exciting--in terms of the exhibition and the shopping--it was still wonderful. 12 more months to go 'til next year's Quilt Fest!

PIQF, Pt 2

2009-10-21T19:53:00.000-07:00

i made a much simpler quilt like this years ago--i think it was called yin yang--but it has half the curves inside the circle. i'm actually not a big fan of black/red/white palette but i like it here 'cos the white is more cream which softens the effect. (here's proof that i brought the kids)

i didn't take a picture of the whole quilt--i just like how she used curvy houses as sashing.

it's the borders that are outstanding (to me) in this quilt

the circles are wool fiber somehow twisted around into circles. ZM thought they were actually part of the fabric and i argued that it was superimposed on top--turns out there's a very fine tulle on top of the circles which probably protects the fiber and also flattens it out. it was a really pretty effect. i would like to say i'll attempt it one day but i doubt it :-)

maybe not politically correct but this gollywog quilt was cute.

and max had to take a picture of the train! (to keep the twins' interest, i would let them use my camera to take pix of the quilts. lots of animals, cars & trains!)

i like scissors! even if these were printed on the fabric :-)

paul liked the stain glass effect of this one.

this was a simple rail pattern with these 3 dimensional flowers--very pretty.

oh, and i forgot to take a picture, but this quilt was hanging in the exhibit right near the entrance. the name of the quilter caught my eye 'cos there is a mom in our preschool class with the same name. and when i saw the name of the baby...yup! it's our preschool friend. the twins were thrilled to see "baby Brian"! and i felt like i knew a celebrity :-)

pictures of PIQF loot tomorrow!

Pacific International Quilt Festival, Pt 1

2009-10-21T19:21:00.000-07:00

I'm so lucky to have PIQF in my backyard (so to speak) every year--at the Santa Clara Convention Center, 10 minutes away. it's a Mancuso show and is held every October. just so happens that all my kids are born in October (granted there's a set of twins in there) so i haven't gone every year but i try to attend when i can.

i still remember bringing rolls of film with me and taking the pictures to costco to develop (i'm sure i have a couple of photo albums around for inspiration)! so much better now with digital cameras!

lots of safari themed quilts this year--which was great 'cos i took the twins on the first day and i could point the animals out when their interest started to flag (which was after 5 minutes :-) it was cute--i told them i was taking them to a "quilt show" which got them really excited until they got there and kept asking "where's the show"--i think they thought there would be singing & dancing quilts instead of quilts just boringly hanging on the walls. they did really well considering they're only 3 (almost 4 but it sounds more impressive this way) and max only touched one quilt and he was only trying to lift the curtain :-)

there were lots of "art quilts" this year which isn't my favorite--somehow i feel that painting on a quilt is "cheating" :-) i know i'm in the minority here. i prefer traditional piecing (with non-traditional fabrics) and there weren't a lot of those this year. but still--lots of eye-candy and inspiration.

i went with quilting friend ZM--it's so much fun to talk shop with someone who has quilting knowledge. (2 years ago when we went, some people thought we were docents 'cos we were talking so technically :-) now when i make a quilt for a friend, s/he always say, "how long did it take you to make this? i don't have the patience to do that." so it's funny how when we see these outstanding quilts, we say the same things, "how long did it take that quilter to make this? i wouldn't have the patience!" it's all relative.

here are some favorites (with more pix tomorrow).

i like this quilt of squares and circles--i can see myself doing something like this but with a different (brighter) palette.

this was such a great idea! if you can't read the description--the quilter cut out a piece of every single fabric she bought in 2008 and made the following quilt! i liked what she said, that "the exercise showed me that using fabric right away means that i get to enjoy it longer."

you can tell this is a Piece of Cake design right away! the applique fabrics are actually not that bright when you look closer but the red background really makes them pop.

this quilt has everything i like--lots of bright saturated colors and lots of white--and also circles!

more circles.

S for Sophie.

not crazy about the palette but would like to make something similar one day. maybe with Kaffe Fassett fabrics?

this diamond quilt is really cool. from faraway (2nd picture below) it's just a simple diamond quilt but close up, the lines are all wavy. can't quite figure out the construction technique. i know you can stack squares on top of each other and cut out wavy lines to piece together, but diamonds blow my mind.

love the fabrics too!more tomorrow.

Baby Shower!

2009-10-20T19:24:00.000-07:00

so here's the baby quilt i made for my BFF CKB (does that make sense?) hmmm...i should've taken a close-up of the border fabric--it's totally cute--bunnies in traditional Japanese kimonos--dressed up for Girls Day.

the sad part about this quilt is that i have no color sense. i actually picked out the pinwheel colors using another fabric that i had planned to use for the border. It was another Japanese theme fabric--with little boys and girls on green background--that i had purchased when CKB announced she was engaged--i'm very optimistic :-) but after i finished piecing the inside and placed the original border fabric with it--it was completely wrong. i realize now that the white was too stark and the original green fabric didn't have any whites in it--a soft pink as the background fabric would've been better. oh well. CKB will just have to have another child (preferably a girl)!

CKB chose a safari theme for the nursery so we decided to go with that for the shower theme. my girlfriend VLJ, who hosted the event, has tons of toys at her house (3 kids) so went whole hog on the safari animals. here's the runner for the table:

and instead of fancy schmancy china plates; she used her school lunch trays:

you may have guessed that we are Asian Americans :-) every month or so, my high school girlfriends & i have a potluck lunch that lasts all day. we all went to the same high school (except one girlfriend who "married into" our group :-) which means i've known these women for more than half my life! (yeah, we're old) i'm so blessed to have these women in my life!

more animals in the jungle:

the cake is from Schubert's in San Francisco. absolutely delicious.

the baby is due Thanksgiving weekend. we're all praying for a safe & speedy delivery!

New Projects

2009-09-20T15:06:00.001-07:00

so i'm in that limbo time where i've finished 3 tops and now i need to piece the backing and prepare the batting and then baste it--all jobs that i hate. i do have a deadline (baby shower) for one of the quilts so gotta get going on it soon. but of course i can find more new projects to start!

doesn't that look like professional BOM? it's actually my own BOM--but when i package it up like that, it just looks so nice and expensive :-) i'm using a freebie BOM (but not making the center medallion--just the surrounding 12 blocks) and finally getting around to a fat quarter stack of Dena's Rambling Rose fabrics that i've had for a couple of years.

here's the first block all done. they're large blocks--16-1/2" unfinished. when you break down the cutting into an individual block, it's not so overwhelming. and in 12 months (or so), i should have a nice big quilt finished. i have the 2nd block prepped but haven't started sewing yet (i really should start on my other projects!)

i also started a selvage block. i've wanted to do this for a long time, inspired by this blog, and i finally had the wherewithal to start it. i'm sewing the selvages from the Dena fabrics onto this red polka dot. that way, if i end up with enough for a quilt, i won't back it, but just consider the red polka dot as the backing. (hope that makes sense.)

oh, the joy of quilting--that you can have so many things going on!

Dresdens Galore

2009-09-12T15:09:00.000-07:00

Finally--something finished! this is the American Jane Dresden block that didn't make the cut so it's been laying around. i finished two tops recently so had finally got around to making it into a cushion cover. i don't know why it takes so long to get things accomplished--it feels so good when it's finally done!

this is my incredibly messy working area. too embarassed to show pictures!

and just 'cos i don't have a lot of photos usually--here's the back. it's funny how the fabric (also AJ) looks so bland from far away but it's really cute up close. oh, here's a close-up:

these are two blocks (i think will also be destined to be cushion covers) that i recently prepped for a friend, using the Little Romance line. i've gotten good mileage out of those fabrics! i actually don't know this friend very well, she's the mother of one of alex's classmates. she's been battling leukemia for the last year or so and still needs to make multiple trips to the hospital weekly. i was working on my own Dotty Dresdens while waiting to pick up Alex, and she seemed really interested so i was showing her how i work the stitches. it was definitely a God-nudge that made me ask if she would like to work on something similar while she's on her hospital visits. it was so gratifying to see how excited she got over the project :-) so over the weekend, i prepped these two blocks, made a simple felt needle book, bought a cheap thread-snipper and kitted it up with a spool of quilting thread in a little bag i had made awhile ago, serendipitously also of the Little Romance fabs. (hmmm....i guess i should've taken a picture of the kit--it was pretty cute.)

isn't it nice to do a good deed and indulge in your own quilting passions too?!

i've been making good progress on my Dotty Dresden Plates. i carry a block with me at all times and i whip it out whenever i have time. now that Alex gets out of school at 2:30--the twins and i usually get there 20-30 mins beforehand--that way the twins get to snooze in the car while we wait. they're at the age (almost 4) when they're just about to grow out of the afternoon nap--but if we're in a car around that time, they'll fall asleep almost right away. it works out well 'cos it mean i get to do a little hand-sewing almost every day. i think i'm on my 7th one right now. no pictures to show 'cos they all basically look the same :-)

Grandma's Pop Garden is going a little slower. this is my at-home hand project but i don't find as much time for it. still i have 5 rows stitched together so far.

it's pretty wrinkly 'cos i bung it around the house.

so lots of sewing going around the house, but not much to show yet. i have 3 quilt tops that need to be quilted so will show pix of those when they're done. this is the part that takes me the longest--i dread it so!

Made by Rae Jackpack Backpack GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

2009-09-09T13:18:00.000-07:00

Made by Rae Jackpack Backpack GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

that's a cute backpack! paul's mom made him one when he was little, out of a rice sack. not quite as cute but probably more authentic!

Double Gauze

2009-08-27T20:45:00.000-07:00

so this is what all the fuss is about! lots of blogs are talking about Heather Ross' line that is made of "double gauze" and i wondered what it was. the other day i was browsing around FQS (very dangerous!) and Lecien's Atelier and Akiko line was on sale--it was so sweet that i thought i'd buy a couple of remnants. well, when i got it, it felt different from quilting fabric--it was extra soft--almost like a knit but not stretchy. when i looked around, Superbuzzy listed their A&A line as "double gauze"--ah ha!

i can see it as an apparel fabric but would work quite nicely as a quilt too. i had originally thought i might make a purse or a zip-up bag with this fabric but i'm not sure now-it might be too soft and nice-to-touch to "waste" on a bag.

turns out the A&A fabrics perfectly matched the Bari J. Full Bloom tea pot fabric i also bought. i buy almost every tea cup & tea pot fabric i see and of course i haven't actually used any of them--i have a little problem like that :-)

here's the latest selections for the Dresden Plates. it's not very obvious in the pix but it's 4 stacks of 16 prints each for 4 more blocks. i can't believe it but i'm on my 4th block already (24 altogether so i'm still a long ways away). i do a tiny bit almost everyday 'cos i take it with me everywhere.

alex started 1st grade last week (woo-hoo!) and he gets out of school at 2:30 (woo-hoo!) we're trying to wean the twins off their naps but if they're in the car around that time, they will almost always fall asleep. so i try to get to school 20-30 min early and let the twins have a quick shut-eye in the car--which gives them just enuf energy for the rest of the day (before, they would sometimes fall asleep at the dinner table :-) but allow for a reasonable bedtime hour (if they took a nap, they wouldn't fall asleep until 11:00 p.m.!!!) which ultimately means, i've been getting a little bit of hand-sewing time while the twins nap. win-win situation :-)

here they are, cut into wedges. so pretty!

Pinwheel faux Tutorial

2009-08-19T19:04:00.000-07:00

work in progress.

i'm working on a pinwheel quilt for a friend's upcoming baby and so just finished piecing 256 half-square triangles (HST) using the triangle papers. coincidentally, right before starting my HSTs, i had just read this post from Minick & Simpson where she had also worked on HSTs, and it helped me be more thoughtful while working on mine. so this isn't a tutorial per se, just some thoughts while cutting and snipping and ironing and sewing my HSTs :-)

trimming dog ears are such a pain--literally and figuratively! my wrist is still sore from snipping fabric 512 times (years ago i had tendonitis because of cutting fabric and i'm still prone to it--eep!). but if you're using the triangle paper, it's a tad easier to fold the paper over and then trim according to the paper (hopefully the photos are a little clearer). this has the added benefit of weakening the paper before tearing it off. of course, i didn't figure this out until i was 2/3 of the way through!!! (btw, in my Miss Read books, i'm always reading about how they "top and tail" gooseberries--i've never seen anyone do it, but i see myself "topping and tailing" my HSTs :-)

the white is the paper, not the background fabric. when you fold up the paper, you have a nice sharp edge as your guide to cut off the dog-ear.

i've been reading alot on the blogs about pressing open the seams (vs. pressing to one side) Carrie Nelson of Miss Rosie does it and i'm a huge fan of hers so i thought i'd give it a try. but i gotta say, i don't like it. it's just too time-consuming to have to press open the seam from the back, and then from the front to smooth it out--way faster to just press to the side. (this probably speaks more about my lack of perfectionism than anything else :-)

i thought i would at least try pressing open the seams with the pinwheel block 'cos that middle section, where it all comes together, gets awfully bulky. i did one, and while yes, it does lie nice and flat, it takes longer and i would need to pin the blocks together while sewing.

i found that being consistent is the key with these pinwheel blocks. if you always press to the dark (just for example's sake, i guess you could also always press to the light if preferred), then all the seams will nestle together (so you don't have to pin) and you would still get a flat block. it also makes it a no-brainer while sewing--just make sure your blocks line up exactly the same as the previous one, and you're on the right track.

1) press to the dark always.

2) you can sorta see how the two seams will nestle together.

3) when chain-sewing the HSTs together, note that the white fab is always on the top left. it becomes a no-brainer to sew--otherwise you may sew the wrong sides together (been there, done that :-)

4) it also helps to lay out the fabrics exactly the same while pressing--again press to the dark. i learned from Simply Quilts, to press blocks on top of each other, that way the bottom blocks get the extra benefit of additional heat as the newer blocks are being pressed.

5) when sewing together the sides of the pinwheel, the opposing seams nestle together quite nicely so you don't have to pin....

6) though it really helps to have a stiletto to push the seams through the sewing machine. i only recently got this stiletto (from Daiso) and it's helped tremendously in matching seams.

finally, when pressing open the 4-patch, which makes the Pinwheel block, you do that little twist on the back which pops open a couple of threads (i love it when i can hear the little "snap") --sorry, i can't explain it in words more than that--and then the other seams will also magically lie towards the dark, and you get the little pinwheel in the back. this will make it way easier when piecing all the blocks together because you'll get the opposing seams that nestle nicely together.

Voila!

i like the pinwheel block for a baby quilt 'cos it's so colorful, it looks like a lot of work (though it's mostly just tedious), and you don't have to sew thousands of HSTs (for a bed-size quilt), just a couple of hundred :-)

this is probably really basic info for most of you guys, but hopefully it'll be helpful!

Kaffe Fassett

2009-08-18T13:31:00.000-07:00

i've heard of KF for years now, and have a couple of his books even--but mostly, i've admired him from afar. just recently i started buying his fabrics, and wow--are they beautiful! this is my latest acquisition--a bunch of 5" squares from this etsy store--which i heard about from the Selvage Blog. (that's a really fun blog btw--it's amazing what people will think of to do with their selvages. i, of course, have been collecting mine now but still haven't actually started a project yet.)

for those of you who know me, i'm cheap cheap cheap--and usually only buy things on sale. but i think this set of blocks is totally worth it 'cos i got a smidgen of 45 different fabrics and it'll totally pump up the volume on the Dresden Plate quilt i'm working on (see previous post for pictures).

not much sewing these days so not much to show. i'm working on tearing out all the paper backing of the half-square triangles that i did last week, and also cutting off the rabbit ears (man--that's tedious work) but i did catch up on The Daily Show while doing these chores!

(obviously you can google the great man yourself, but here's a link to his website)

Update

2009-08-12T23:05:00.000-07:00

sigh...back from vacation life to normal life (of household chores and yelling at the kids :-) ...and next week alex will be starting 1st grade. yikes! summer is almost over.

so here's what i did on vacation. finished up one dresden plate.

i always like looking at other people's close-ups of fabric so here goes--though this does expose my so-so applique skills :-) i am really loving this project!

i have one unfinished dresden plate in my purse (the perfect take-along hand-sewing project--the block and needle & thread fits into a small zippered bag and i keep it in my purse at all times) and these two (below) prepped up. i think i'm going to make 24 blocks so that's 1/6th of the blocks! oh did i mention this earlier? while driving down to Monterey (it takes 75 min or so)--i finished the first plate block and then i had nothing else to to do--i didn't bring anything else. aargh!!! it was soooo frustrating to just sit there in the car with nothing to do--especially on the way home. so i took a nap :-)

so this is as far as i got on the Pop Garden (you can see in the lower left corner where i left off) --4-1/2 rows so far. very wrinkly and i still have a little problem with the corners popping out but it's going good so far. i admit, i had a moment of hesitation with all the colors and patterns, but i got over it and am loving it again!

i don't really like the jaggedy edges that a lot of grandma's garden quilts have so i'm putting in a border (a Heather Bailey's Bijoux print) on mine. i just cut the template in half and cut the fabric accordingly.

this is a new project that i'm starting--a baby quilt for CKB. i bought the border fabric (not showing it yet) when she announced her engagement--i'm such an optimist :-)

i'm using this triangle paper (by Mimi Shimp--bought it years ago at PIQF) which means easy sewing--but i can see hours of tedious cutting, tearing paper and ironing ahead. i wonder if it really saves time? but it's easy and accurate and i'm not very accurate usually!

another close-up :-)

whew! that's a lot of photos for me! it'll take me awhile to actually get things done but hopefully i'll have more pix to show soon.

Monterey Bay Aquarium

2009-08-07T21:16:00.000-07:00

so technically, this is Day 6 of our vacation but since we're back at home--it doesn't feel quite like it :-) i woke up late--the kids got up at 7:00 a.m. (!) and i was still able to fall back asleep through the noise. so we didn't leave the house 'til almost 11. got to monterey around noon but it worked out well 'cos the kids took a nap in the car and then we ate lunch right away.

the Aquarium is always crowded (or so it seeems). but we hit all the exhibits. there's a new (& temporary) otter exhibit & seahorse exhibit. the seahorses are especially amazing. max loves the penguins the most and alex prefers the sharks. sophie says her favorite thing was the guy who was cleaning the penguin tank (? :-) it was busy and tiring, but the kids held up well, only whining a little near the end.

we got a street, metered parking space so saved a bunch of money (most of the lots were $20/day) so we bought some plastic sharks ($13!!!) for the kids. max was the most thrilled with his hammerhead shark :-)

dinner at the local pho place (the "lollipop" shop). and that's it--our vacation is over--sigh... now onto sorting out the photos.

Day 4 & 5

2009-08-06T22:18:00.000-07:00

Day 4.
low-key day but lots of sewing. it was overcast and cool when we woke up. i went for another walk. visited a coffee shop--so-so mocha. the kids & paul played a game of Sorry and then we went to a local park--one that we had gone to last year. funny--it seemed much smaller this year now that the kids are a year older! still, they had fun, and we had a picnic lunch there. sewed while waiting for the kids (it's nice to have paul there to play with them!)

we wanted the kids to take a nap so decided to drive around UC Santa Cruz, but there was a lot of traffic and we kept getting lost, and so by the time we figured out where we were, the kids were asleep in the car, so just went home instead. sewed while in the car waiting in the traffic jam!

then, an afternoon at the beach. we're certainly getting our money's worth of this beach! around 3 hours or so there. the usual, splashing in the water, me collecting shells, lots of digging in the sand. another starfish :-) actually sewed at the beach--poor dresden plate is getting a little grubby and wrinkly :-)

simple dinner of costco lasagna (kids didn't like it) and leftover hot dogs and pulled pork. then movie night--Wall-E (which is why i didn't post last night). got to sew during the movie :-)

after the kids went down to bed, i thought i would finish the chapter of my library book, Maisie Dobbs (found it through another blog) and ended up finishing the book at 1:00 a.m. good read!

Day 5.
another walk in the morning though woke up a little later due to my late bedtime. much better mocha today at another coffee shop :-)

ann & kids came at around 10:00. we were milling around outside getting ready to go to the beach, when the owner came out and started chatting (very nice lady). she mentioned she wasn't looking forward to cleaning our house today--and i said, you mean tomorrow. she looked me at funny and said, no today. called paul over and he said, yeah, we're leaving tomorrow. so she calls her husband and finds the paperwork and of course THEY were right--they actually had another family coming to stay that very day which is why she had to start cleaning right away. yikes!!! don't know how paul made a mistake (i.e. screwed up)--just a brain freeze.

luckily ann helped with the packing and L & K played with the kids and kept them out of the way. so we were able to be done by 11:00 (check-out time) (though the owners were very nice and i don't think they would've been that mad if we were late). sigh.... had to call Carol who was coming with J and the parents and say it was better if they didn't come since we didn't have a house (i.e. bathrooms anymore). that was the major bummer. otherwise, really not a big deal to leave a day early (which is the nice part of santa cruz being local).

we ended up going to the beach (the owners let us use the key :-) and stayed 'til 3. today was actually the nicest day weather-wise (yesterday was sunny by the afternoon but windy so it was kinda cold). the sea was actually a little calm at times. no major shells to pick but found another starfish (3rd one of the trip--unless it was all the same one :-) L&K are really comfortable in the water but probably most of the time the kids worked on big digging projects. Sophie is so much more at home in the water--in fact she'll go in when no one else is around (a little dangerous!) but the boys are careful to only go in when paul or i are in the water.

the boys pee'd against the cliff, but paul took sophie down to the water to pee. she refused to do it in her swimsuit, so paul took it off, and then she wanted to be naked after that :-) max then joined in (he actually gets too cold wearing the wet clothes)--very cute to have two little naked bodies scampering around. alex also wanted to join in but we wouldn't let him :-)

paul also took out a kite and got it up in the air for a few seconds at a time. unfortunately he also got stung by a wasp but at least the pain subsided after a bit!

so we left around 3 or so--took a little while to clean up and then headed to McDonalds to have a snack. ann & the girls went back home. we headed back, cleaned up, and then had dinner with the parents & carol & tim & J (Hometown Buffet of course)--so it was nice to at least hang out with them a little bit.

it'll be nice to sleep in own bed again (though i really liked the bed at Madeline's Cottage!) but it's a bummer that we had to come home early--did laundry tonight :-(

we're headed down to Monterey tomorrow as originally planned so technically we're still on vacation!

Santa Cruz Quilting

2009-08-04T22:07:00.000-07:00

Day 3 of our vacation.

i was actually able to wake up at 7:00 to go walking--yay me! finally got a chance to walk around downtown Capitola (though of course none of the stores were open) but still fun to look at shop windows. not possible to do this with young kids in tow. tomorrow, i gotta remember to bring some cash and get some coffee :-)

we spent the morning & early afternoon at the beach (10:00-3:00). our cottage comes with access to a local, gated beach. the stairs are a pain but it's nice to have your own private beach! lots of seaweed, but also lots of shells to collect. i'm not really into shells but it's fun to have a "job" to do. max was much warier of the water today! he didn't really warm up until after lunch. sophie doesn't go out in the water much but she was actually braver and didn't want help when the waves bumped into her (she used to cling to anyone around her). alex & max spent most of the time digging in the sand.

the weather was perfect! sun was shining; water was cold but you get used to it. no more nature today but found a couple of really large shells. paul chatted with this old dude surfer--he was 86 years old!!!! been surfing since 1939!!!! he was kinda shaky walking, but fine out in the water--wow!

after the beach, lots of clean-up of course--sand is so pervasive. we let the kids watch a little TV and then an early dinner of hotdogs. then went down to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk--it was 75 cent night with all the rides at 75 cents. of course the place was a zoo! but still it was manageable. the kids were a little cranky 'cos they didn't have naps but were ok considering. it helped that cotton candy was also 75 cents! so spent $10 on parking, $15 on tickets, $1.50 on cotton candy and $7 on a caramel apple & fudge (that's mostly for me :-)

we went on the baby roller coaster (paul's choice--or rather, he got to ride it, and not me); the really boring Cave Train (max's choice of course); paul & alex went on the car ride; and sophie went on the Red Baron ride all by herself! the boys didn't want to go on it (or rather alex didn't want to go on it so max didn't). then we took the sky tram to the other side and the 3 kids went on the Speedway ride by themselves :-) fun but exhausting!

got back at around 9:00; alex said he was still hungry so paul made a dish of nachos & pulled pork and the kids just devoured it--made 3 helpings for them! it's 10:20 now and i think the kids are actually asleep! last night it took almost 1-1/2 hours for them to fall asleep but they should be pretty exhausted.

oh, and the quilting refers to how i actually did a little sewing on my dresden plate block while waiting in line for the aforementioned boring yet popular Cave Train ride. got a whole blade done! i've also been able to do a little hand-sewing back in the cottage. last night paul crashed at around 10:30 but i wasn't sleepy so stayed up 'til midnight listening to podcasts (Annie Smith) and working on the Pop Garden. hopefully will get a couple more rows on by the end of the week.

Vacation Blog

2009-08-03T21:24:00.000-07:00

Boring Post Alert!!!!

we're in Santa Cruz (CA) right now for a week's vacation. so no photos (yet), no quilty stuff--just personal anecdotes that i'm sure will bore even close friends. so please come back next week--hopefully i'll have more progress to show on my Grandmother's Pop Garden.

Sunday started a little iffy. we woke up at around 9:00 a.m. & left home at around 2:30p.m. and basically packed the entire time in-between. i was so tired, and was thinking that i'm just lame--but then realized that i was a actually sick--started getting a little achy and my throat glands were swollen. took a nap on the way down, but still tired and out of sorts (i'm sure the kids didn't notice--they're so used to me yelling at them)

we got here, unpacked, and went down to Capitola--got a great parking space and played a little on the beach. the kids weren't in their swimsuits, but didn't care, they still got soaked. came home for dinner of soup & salad. the rental has a Sorry game--which paul taught them. alex LOVES the game--the twins were so-so--but max is a sore loser (luckily he won) and alex would try not to have to Sorry max. that game goes on forever! early bedtime for me (9:30) but poor paul had to stay up to start on his driving school lessons online. i'm still snoring (from being sick last week) so he slept with the kids. and good thing, 'cos max fell off the bed onto him (he was on the trundle, sophie on the floor in a sleeping bag)

felt much better today! we went up to Roaring Camp and took the narrow gauge steam train for an hour ride up to Bear Mountain. a little pricey ($80 for all of us) but the kids loved it and it was a beautiful ride in the redwoods. after lunch (we didn't pack so settled for 2 overpriced hamburgers for all of us --poor alex was soooo hungry) we walked over to the Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park (right next door--if we ever go again to Roaring Camp, we should try to park there 'cos it's actually closer to the trains then their own parking lot) --they have a .8 mile trail (loop) that goes to their big redwoods, including one that you can actually crawl into. very cool. kids only got a little whiny/tired near the end. lots of morning fog, but the weather cleared up really nicely--so it was good to be in the shady redwoods.

of course they all fell asleep in the car on the way home. then on to the neighborhood beach (gated access). the tide was fairly high --by the time we left, the water was reaching where we originally put our stuff. there are quite a bit of stairs but having a private beach is pretty cool. the kids love playing in the water now (quite different from the 1st 2 years where they wouldn't even touch the ocean) which of course means we have to be extra diligent--no more reading on the beach.

1st thing, we saw a seal swim right by! didn't take a good pix--he had left by the time i got the camera. but how neat, to see one right there! the waves were pretty big, but when they receded, the beach has a good amount of shells. i had just picked a really big one, put it in the bucket that max was holding, when a huge wave knocked him down--he tumbled over a couple of times :-) alex saved him and grabbed his shirt! but we lost the shell. oh well. max didn't cry but was a little more wary of the water after that. then i found a starfish! i've never done that before!! not sure if it was dead or alive so took a bunch of pix and then threw it back in the ocean. paul found a half-dead crab--good-sized one--so also took pix and threw it back in. nature!

dinner was pulled pork on hawaiian rolls and spinach on the side. pretty good--especially when you're hungry :-) even the kids ate well. then a dessert/snack run to Trader Joe's; back home, started a game of Sorry--and now the kids are playing in bed.

we're staying in Madeline's Cottage which is a little cottage right behind someone's house. it's a mile out of downtown Capitola--hopefully i can wake up early enough to take a walk down. it's a tiny cottage but nicely furnished (the sheets are so luxurious) and the garden is beautiful. last year's rental had better access to a beach but this place is nicer. the 1st year's (this is our 3rd) rental was the nicest but it didn't have good beach access and was really not appropriate for young families (narrow, windy stairs)--plus my parents came and the in-law unit they stayed in was pretty crummy (we didn't know!) so this year is working out pretty well....

we really like santa cruz 'cos it's close to home (45 min away) so travelling isn't an issue--but still far enough way to feel like we're truly on vacation. plus i like cool weather, and the kids love playing in sand, and now the ocean. the 1st year we came, alex was 3 and the twins 1 (turning 4 and turning 2) and they wouldn't get close to the water at all--i remember one time, alex was just crying, "I hate the beach" :-) (that was the year Grace & her family went to Hawaii; we were jealous until we went to SC and realized a HI vacation would've been completely wasted on us!

Down Under

2009-07-29T16:54:00.000-07:00

so here's the new and improved Dotty Dresden Plate (see previous post for that fiasco). the colors are much better suited. i went into my current stash and picked out fabrics that had a "clear" coloring to them. i don't know if that makes much sense to you (it didn't make sense to my graphic designer friend so i know i'm not using technical terms here)--but it's colors with white to them, rather than dusty browns.

here's one with the center placed on top. i really like the red/white polka dots!

this is the stack of fabrics i'll be using for the blades. i've included my recent acquisition of Kaffe Fassetts, some Heather Bailey Freshcuts; some Sandi Henderson's Farmer's Market; and a little of Robyn Pandolph's Flirt. (there's also one or two random fabrics in there) quite eclectic!

i also included my little stash of fabrics called A Day In the Country--an Australian line. i don't believe they're available here--or at least i haven't seen them. though you might be able to still get them from here.

they are the loveliest fabrics. so soft--and the colors are bright and clear. i'm saving most of them for a China Doll quilt i'm planning to make for sophie, "one day."

i was lucky enuf to get these fabrics because paul's aunt in australia had given us some cash in australian currency when the twins were born. it wasn't quite enough to make it worthwhile to exchange at a bank (with the high rates) but enough to make us wish we could do something about it. long story short, i found this store who was willing to take a chance on me--i sent her the cash, and she sent me these lovely fabrics. what a treasure!

(p.s. you should check out her blog. great minds think alike--she's also doing a Dresden Plate pattern right now and even used American Jane fabrics!)

Dresden Plates

2009-07-29T09:38:00.000-07:00

so the lobster dinner last week gave me extra energy and i started cutting a new hand-work project (which doesn't make a lot of sense 'cos Grandma's Pop Garden is far from finished) at 10 p.m. that night.

i've been obsessed by this quilt ever since i saw the cover for the book Material Obsession (great blog too; i'm always inspired by the quilts their customers make)

i've always wanted to make a dresden plate quilt--i like the combination of easy piecing and easy applique--it's always good to have a portable hand-sewing project to take along trips (that Grandma's Garden is getting way too bulky!) but i've never been inspired by the ones i've seen. i do like 1930s palette and 30's fabrics are actually ones i collect--but i didn't want to do a traditional dresden plate. this one however, with the bright colors and the polka dot background and centers, was perfect! (i was just listening to a podcaster who also mentioned this quilt but specifically disliked the background as way too busy :-) that's what makes the quilting world great--we all have different sensibilities)

so in my head, i've been planning out this quilt for the longest time. i have a stash of American Jane fabrics that i've been collecting and i thought it would be perfect for the quilt. it's almost traditional for a dresden plate, but not quite. so i started cutting into a charm packet that night.

this is why you shouldn't start a project at 10:00 p.m.!

looking good ...

oh no!!!! it's all wrong! it actually doesn't look so bad in the picture, but in reality, the colors were all wrong. the AJ palette is on the dusty side, while the polka dot background is a clear white. and why would i choose a traditional coloring when that's exactly what i didn't want? sigh....

a much better background--it's from an older AJ line. well, this will be a cushion cover instead. i plan on making an AJ quilt sooner or later so the fabrics definitely won't be wasted.

here's the colors i'll use instead. lots of Kaffe Fassett and bits of all the "modern" fabrics i've been buying recently. i just pieced one plate today--and it's looking quite glorious. i'll post pix of that soon.

Lobster Dinner

2009-07-28T13:21:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday, i had a hankering for lobster! (pardon the dirty dishes in the sink :-) it's relatively cheap these days at $8/lb. my husband refuses to kill a live animal, but i figure, we're not vegetarians or anything, it's just hypocrisy to say that we can't kill an animal to eat.

yum. she was quite delicious. though it's a little scary how much butter i consumed along with the lobster.

here's Max. he doesn't make it into the blog very often. the kids were fascinated by the lobster. i explained that we don't kill animals for no reason--but we do kill them to eat them. the twins tried a little, but luckily didn't like it too much :-) my oldest is allergic to shellfish, so my husband & i got to enjoy it ourselves! (this was a 2-1/2 pound-er)

Thank You!

2009-07-22T16:23:00.000-07:00

i was lucky enuf to receive 2 books from Linda Lum DeBono of Dzyning Things. she was having a giveaway of some of her fabrics--i didn't win--but her sons convinced her to give out extra prizes--how cool is that :-)

my SIL snapped up the scrapbooking book--so cute, but not my thing. the quilt book has cute applique designs--i better hurry up and make a couple before my kids get too old!

thanks Linda!

T-Shirt Quilts

2009-07-20T14:22:00.000-07:00

wow--it's already been a week since my last post. i have renewed admiration for you bloggers who blog consistently--it's too easy to let days go by!

today's quilts are some that i recently finished but started late last year. it's a long story so again, feel free to skip to the pictures (that's what i'd do :-)

last year in our church, JH passed away from cancer, leaving behind his wife, PH and 2 young children--the oldest is a year older than my oldest and the youngest is a year younger than our twins. even though i didn't know the family (our church isn't huge, but it's still hard to meet everyone), it was still really sad, especially thinking about the kids.

a few months after his passing, my friend JL who is a talented photographer, offered PH a photo session with her kids. while doing so, she also took some pictures of JH's collections--one of which was a t-shirt collection. he was quite the traveller and there were t-shirts from all over the world--and lots of t-shirts from the Hard Rock Cafe. PH mentioned that it would be nice to make the t-shirts into quilts for the kids but she didn't know where to begin. JL's ears perked up but didn't come right out and offer my services; but she came to me later and told me the situation.

it is not to my credit that i didn't immediately think, oh good, i can make these quilts. instead i was a little hesitant, thinking of all the time it would take to make these two quilts--and that it wouldn't be exactly "fun" --but more tedious work. fortunately, i came around and realized that God didn't give me a whole lot of talents, but that quilting is one of them, and it's not often that i get to use it for His glory!

i introduced myself to PH at church and we got the ball rolling. now obviously, PH is still going through a hard time so it took a long time to get things started-- for her to bring the t-shirts to church (so i can pick them up), and for her to choose the sashing materials (from my stash).

side story: God has such a sense of humor--so while going through my stash to see what would be suitable for a 6-year-old girl (the older child)--i came across a length of Lakehouse fabric that is similar to the flower pattern used in Lakehouse Baskets, but instead of a black background, it's white. i thought it was absolutely perfect for a little girl--fun and feminine without being too sissy. but again, instead of thinking, yay--i have the perfect fabric, i thought, and to quote the great PamKittyMorning, "if i use it, IT WILL BE GONE." it was quite the struggle to add it to the pile for PH to choose from and to be quite honest, i would put the fabric back into my stash, God would nudge me, and i would have to take it out and put it back in the shopping bag. so finally, after months of this back and forth, PH & i finally had the chance to go through the fabrics and when she got to the Lakehouse fabric, she basically said "eww--too bright"!!! i'm sure God was giggling up there at my selfishness!

like i said, it took quite awhile to get organized--a few months actually. in the in-between time, i was able to make the Roman Peace quilt, the Think Pink quilt and the Little Romance quilt --which again shows how God is in control and has only wants what's good for us-- He saw what was holding me back (time) and directly addressed the issue. yay God :-)

so yada yada yada. here's the first quilt. PH chose the Little Romance fabrics (from April Cornell) for her daughter's quilt. very sweet colors.

i wasn't sure who should get this rather flamboyant lady, the daughter or the son, but figured the girl could handle it :-)

here's the boy's quilt. i thought the blue starry fabric & red pindots were a little dull--but a boy probably doesn't need/want "pretty". it was also quite fortuitous in that my husband says that the boy's t-shirts are more interesting to look at. so it works out that the sashing isn't as fun as the girl's quilt. i tried to divvy up the quilts by value in color, and then also equally dividing up the Hard Rock t-shirts.

i wonder how JH got the t-shirt from Cuba? pretty cool.

most of the graphics are from the back of the t-shirt; and the shirts also had a smaller logo on the front. so i ended up with tons of the little logos. i used two of them for labels in the back (PH wrote the labels and they're a tad personal so i won't show photos of them).

after finishing the two quilts, God gave me another nudge, and asked, what about PH? i had one t-shirt graphic which was larger than the 12-1/2 x 12-1/2" blocks i was using--but it was so pretty that i didn't want to cut into it. also, while choosing the fabrics, PH really liked a teal-green one for her son. but i didn't have enough of that one fabric--it was a part of bunch of scraps that my friend ZM had given me while de-stashing her stuff. and the rest of the fabrics didn't seem "masculine" enough for PH's tastes (there was one fabric i had chosen for her son which i thought the design looked like firecrackers, but she saw flowers and immediately nixed it as too feminine).

so with the one big block, and lots of little logo blocks, the design was pretty easy to come up with. (though having said that, while drafting it on paper, i got my numbers completely mixed up and ended up cutting one fabric all wrong!!! luckily i had lots of that one. hats off to you designers out there!!)

the colors are a little washed out, but it's all shades of teal, green and purple. these were all scraps from a leftover project from ZM and she has great tastes so i knew all these fabrics would coordinate perfectly :-) only the 4 corners are from my own stash and that's the fabric that i messed up in the cutting.

this is the block i especially like--it's from the Hard Rock Cafe in Singapore.

i really like the back too--i don't usually piece my backs with such little pieces of fabric 'cos inevitably i sew in some ripples--but these quilts are lap-size--all are 60" square--so it was really manageable. even so, this back was a little smaller than it should've been.

of course all these t-shirts were washed before i cut them up, and even though i used my own laundry detergent, there's still a smell (a pleasant one :-) to them that i think is JH's--these t-shirts were well-used and loved for many years before i got them.

i haven't had a chance to give the quilts to PH yet--i hope to do so soon (of course i had to photograph and blog about them first! :-) at first i really wanted to see her reaction and see if she would love them (and you quilters know how gratifying it is to give a hand-made gift that's truly appreciated). but now it almost doesn't matter what her reaction will be--these 3 quilts aren't really my gift to them. they truly are a gift from God--He drove this whole project--He only allowed me to be part of this process (and was quite gracious about it considering my initial selfishness!)

i hope these quilts will be a comfort to the H family. that they will know though whatever pain and loneliness they experience, that their Father in heaven really wanted them to have a physical expression of His love and comfort. He is still holding on tight to PH and her children.

Birthday Cupcakes!

2009-07-13T21:26:00.000-07:00

Hooray! i received TWO exciting packages today--from MYB (i made the Roman Holiday quilt for her last year) for my b-day (which was back in june--how nice to stretch it out into july!)

shoot! i thought she knew i was on a diet!

aren't they tempting?

MYB knits the cutest sweaters--she's made one each for my kids--and she knit these for me!

they are sooooo cute. the pattern came from here, and serendipitously enough, awhile ago i had sent MYB the link for the blog since it was a knitty one.

the fabric as the backdrop was in the package from Fabric Depot (it's either Swell or Sweet by Urban Chiks)--on sale of course :-) MYB also gave me a gift cert for FD and this is one of the fabrics i got. (i also got a Glace layer cake--really good price over there.) the thing with gift certificates, especially for fabric stores, is that you (i) end up spending way more than you got in the first place. oh well, i figure, it's like getting a discount card :-)

i think this is my favorite. thanks MYB!

Lakehouse Baskets

2009-07-10T15:49:00.000-07:00

i blogged about this quilt in the last post about My First Quilt--this is one of the last ones i've done. but i'm so happy with it that i'm gonna write a little more.

like i said, this pattern is from the Leisure Arts book series--this one is called Quick Quilts From Your Scrap Bag. (though none of the patterns are particularly "quick.") sadly, i wrote that in my first quilt, i was slavish about following the color placement of the pattern, and on closer examination, i was kinda slavish about this one too.

i didn't follow the colors for the actual baskets--too many of those! but for the borders and setting triangles. oh well, some "real" designer figured it all out and she was pretty good at it! all the basket fabrics are from my stash. way back when, whenever i bought a bright fabric, i would cut off a 8 inch strip and store them in a shoebox. so gathering all the scraps for the baskets were a cinch.

the binding, border, inner sashing & setting triangles are all fabrics from Lakehouse. and that's my sophie :-)

digression time. so i have 3 kids, a 5-year-old (almost 6) and 3-year-old (almost 4) twins (sophie is one of the twins). i still had time to sew when i had 1 kid, but i was pretty besotted with him so didn't sew too much :-) my husband & i were married almost 10 years before having kids, so we had tons of time and energy for our first kid. and then the twins came. of course i loved them too, but wow--it was HARD having 3 kids, and twins at that. i had a little help but not too much and that first year was a blur. needless to say, not much sewing was done during that time.

by the time they were two, i was getting a little more into the groove of things and was able to attend our local Quilt Festival again. (we're lucky in the South Bay Area to have the Pacific International Quilt Festival as our "local" one). i first discovered Lakehouse fabrics there and just loved the bright colors--one stall had all these cute FQ bundles. i'm not one to buy things at full price so when i came home, i looked online and found them at some store (can't remember now) and ended up spending a lot more than i would've if i had gotten those FQs! that's when i got these fabrics. i also bought a bunch of the flowery fabric with a white background and a few other Lakehouse fabs--that'll be another quilt "one day". (and i have another story about that fabric when i post about the t-shirt quilts i recently made.)

oops--a misshapen basket--not worth it to unpick the seams since there's bias edges so i put it on the back.

here's the back. that panel in the middle & surrounding big blocks were a FQ bundle that my friend was destashing. really pretty fabric but i knew i wasn't going to use them for a quilt and realized the back is a good place to put it!

even though the kids are still young, i'm back to quilting. sometimes they can "help" me, but they're at the age where they can play quite happily among themselves (though while writing this post, i've been interrupted numerous times!)

it's amazing how the quilting world has changed in the 3 years that i took a hiatus from quilting. the blog world really exploded and i find so much inspiration from there. designer fabrics seem to be much more prevalent though maybe that's just me. since i don't have time to wander around my LQS anymore, i mostly buy online, and it's safer to buy established collections.

maybe that's why i love this quilt so much--it has a great framework of Lakehouse fabrics, but is also from my stash. a lot of my recent quilts are made from one line of designer fabric--and though they certainly look very tasteful and i love them too--this basket quilt is truly representative of me :-)

My First Quilt

2009-07-08T19:50:00.000-07:00

Camille & Carrie are starting this thread about our very first quilts and the last one completed. Quilters' Newsletter Magazine has this topic as a regular feature in their magazine though they usually ask famous designers & quilters--and since i will never grace their pages as such--i can post it on my own blog :-)

feel free to not read this long-winded post and just look at the pictures--i wanted to write it down my crafty history for my own posterity's sake.

growing up in Hong Kong, both my parents worked, and not to say i was neglected or uncared for--quite the contrary--but there wasn't much time for my parents to nurture or encourage any creativity. ironically, my parents are both rather good with their hands. my mom knits and sews--she's very practical and mostly makes clothes and whatever is useful. she gets a little too practical and sometimes her workmanship is a little shoddy (don't worry--she'll never read this :-) but if you need anything made of fabric in a jiffy--she can do it. i've started her quilting in the last few years but like i said, she's practical, so she still thinks it's a little odd to cut up perfectly good fabric to make basically, another piece of fabric. my dad works with plants and rocks and that kind of stuff--he likes to create little bonsai scenes, or landscapes in his aquariums, stuff like that--very old-school Chinese.

so even when i had the craving to do craftiness growing up, i didn't have the opportunity. my aunt taught me to knit & crochet but HK is hot and i didn't like handling all that wool (probably acrylic). i had a hippie cousin who was in HK briefly (after a stint in the Peace Corps in Fiji Islands) (very hippie-ish) who taught me macrame but i didn't remember it after she left.

it wasn't until college that i started doing anything crafty. my sister was into cross-stitch at the time and i did a little--but there wasn't too much time to do needlework in-between all that studying and partying (just to say--my "partying" was the very tame, Christian kind :-)

i stayed at the same college for graduate school (library sciences) and that's when i finally had the time and a little money to start getting into crafts. i did some stencilling (very badly--i didn't know any of the techniques) and painting on wood, and dried flowers (when a friend came over, she had an allergy attack with all the dried flowers--and dust--in my apartment :-) --lots of hot glue was used. it was exploring a whole new world for me!

back then (almost 20 years ago), our local crafts chain store was called Leewards and i think they were later bought out by Michael's. there weren't any stores near my house so anytime i was near one--out in the suburbs--i would just go crazy and buy all sorts of crap. by now, i had started working and had actual money for the first time in my life. i think i spent most of it on craft supplies!!

(the pink ice cream is probably the only fabric i would buy again today)

and then, i found Quilting. i went to a crafts expo with LHB (i made the Roman Peace quilt for her wedding this year) and bought a bunch of crap (i remember i got a baking dish in the shape of a heart--so NOT my style now; a blue and white woven throw with cows and farm animals on it--finally gave it to goodwill last year; and a embossing stationary set--used it once--still have it--maybe one day... :-) AND the pattern for this quilt. i mainly bought it 'cos another friend VLJ was really into ice-cream and i had some idea of making the quilt as a present for her. (i kept this one, but eventually made another ice-cream quilt for her 1st baby, and the 2nd design in the pattern of ice cream sundaes for her 2nd baby).

i bought all the fabrics at Joann's (it was probably still called New York Fabrics then) near Serramonte Mall. i had the pattern and was slavishly copying the fabrics in the photo--i remember being thrilled with the striped sashing fabric because it was so close to the one in the photo. i think i even placed all the colors in the same location! (shoot--i wonder where the original pattern is--it'd be interesting to see how close i got to the picture.)

(yikes--the sides really do bow out that far!)

(hand-quilted!)

i fell in love with the whole process. buying the fabrics, cutting them out (no rotary cutters--just templates and tracing) , piecing them all together, etc. etc. i had forgotten, but i actually hand-quilted this! (see the huge stitches above) i think because i had didn't know how to machine-quilt it. and i'm pretty sure it was a polyester batting inside. i used my mom's old sewing machine. she was back in HK at this time so i remembered having to borrow a book from the library just to figure out how to thread the machine. it was an old cabinet machine, not a Singer, that she got at a garage sale years ago. we still have it but i don't think it works anymore.

VLJ bought a cheapie sewing machine too & started sewing--dolls, simple clothes, etc. and i followed suit on my mom's. i remember sewing a stuffed cow from a panel, making a pair of shorts (i still have some fabric from it), little stuff like that. oh, and a half-finished dress (horrible!) was started around that time. but quilting was it for me. it felt like coming home.

what did i learn from quilting while making this first quilt? my biggest lesson was that i don't like solids. in the 100s of quilts i've made since then, only 1 or 2 have used solid fabric since. a lot of quilters i see out in blogland are using plain whites for sashing--and i guess with lots of quilting, that would look good, but i still prefer tone-on-tone whites or creams as my background. i just think that looks better--but obviously that's totally subjective. and i also learned to never use polyester batting--i just don't like the way it feels.

(Lakehouse Baskets. 2008-2009)

so all this quiltiness started around 18 years ago. wow--i'm old. and this is one of my latest quilts--not a single plain fabric in sight :-) like many of you, i have a long list of WIPs so i can't say this is my last quilt but it was finished this year. it's quite appropriate though, 'cos the colors are still bright and are actually a little reminiscent of my ice cream quilt. i don't only make bright quilts--my color tastes run the gamut--but i still have a fondness for pure bright colors.

(pattern by Tracey Brookshier; Quick Quilts From Your Scrap Basket) (i'll post a full blog just about this quilt later--i really like it :-)

i'm still not a good craftsperson (don't look at my points, or lack thereof) and i still love color--i just embrace all colors now. and i've given up all my other craftiness. it's like i've decided to major in quilting and i don't have the time nor interest in anything else. i still have a box of cross-stitching stuff out in the garage and i've made one redwork quilt but i've decided that i like hand-piecing more than embroidery.

a lot of my friends don't have any sort of passionate hobbies. of course they go out more often and visit interesting places, are able to save money 'cos they don't buy endless amounts of fabric, and are healthier 'cos they actually go out and exercise :-) but still, i wouldn't trade my love of quilting for anything. it's part of me. it's coming home.

Summer Reading Program

2009-07-07T23:18:00.000-07:00

awhiles ago, i won two FQs of some Little Golden Books fabric from Jona of the beautiful Stop Staring and Start Sewing blog (she also owns the online store, Fabritopia which has a nicely edited collection of fabrics). it was actually an impetus to start a blog--i had been a lurker on blogland for a couple of years--but winning the fabric seemed like truly a blogworthy event! thanks Jona :-)

this is a super-easy tote bag to make (pattern found here)--perfect for grocery shopping or library visiting. here we are outside our local library after signing up for the Summer Reading Club.

...and the other side of the bag.

i was a Children's Librarian in my previous life and spent countless hours organizing, promoting, and just doing the Summer Reading Program at my various libraries. so when i had kids, that was one of the first things i wanted to do with them! check out your library to see if they have a Summer Reading Program--they usually have prizes--free books for kids--woo-hoo!

More Shopping

2009-07-05T19:09:00.000-07:00

now why would i say a silly thing like "last shopping trip"? makes no sense at all! June is my birthday month and the celebration continues (into July). my girlfriend CW has her b-day in July and this year we agreed that we would go shopping for ourselves in each other's honor (she's going to Banana Republic). so thanks CW! i had fun going fabric shopping :-)

this latest spree was at Fabric Shack. this is a great place to go if you want the newest fabrics at a discounted price (around 10% off), but their sales section (remember, i'm a bottom-feeder) is even better! all the fabs are from the sales dept but with varying prices.

more Japanese cuteness.

2 pieces of Pop Garden that i don't already have, for the hexagon quilt i'm piecing. (it's slow going!)

i have a little stash of American Jane going on. this is an old line but coordinates with all the other AJ fabs. if i didn't already have too much fabric, i would've bought a few more yards for backing. as it is, 1 yard is quite enough.

more Kaffe Fassett. i've resisted him so long, it's so much fun to finally succumb and buy these gorgeous fabs. have you seen Quiltsalott's banner? (it's a really fun blog too) that quilt would look great in all Kaffe. one day...

and this is what happens when you leave the fabric out and the boys get to it and play who-knows-what with them--lots of fraying. don't worry, they're now safely out of harms way. oh, i meant the fabric, not the boys :-)

Happy 4th Everyone!

2009-07-04T22:05:00.001-07:00

aren't these dahlias (they're dahlias right?) beautiful! i think one of the best ways to celebrate anything is to go to your local Farmer's Market and buy flowers and fresh fruits & vegetables!

2 weeks; 2 days

2009-06-30T20:54:00.001-07:00

so how long does it take to un-do TWO WEEKS of work? two DAYS. sigh....

so here's part of two rows that i was trying to piece together--the whole quilt is going to be 17 hexagons across. it looks ok on the top but here's the back...

see how the paper is bursting out? it's murder trying to piece the hexagons together without the cardstock providing the stiff edge. the problem is...

the seam allowances are not wide enough. it's exactly 1/4"--just like machine-piecing, but now i know, that's not enough for hand-piecing. or at least not for me. i think the problem is that the cardstock is fairly thick and it ends up taking up too much of the seam allowance--those extra thread-widths make a difference. now of course i knew that while i was basting all 72 hexagons (i have 72 paper shapes) but i didn't think it would be a problem. Ha!

here we go again. i cut off 1/8" off each side of the paper hexagon --the fabric is cut 5-1/2" across--so the finished size is now 4-7/8".

can you see that the seam allowances are now much wider? and easier to sew. the cardstock on the block on the left just popped out. but i think it'll be ok. (hmmm...famous last words...)

well--hand-piecing is about the process, not the result, right?

i'm wondering how to piece the top together though. the directions on the pattern (sorry, i can't get the link to work--but try googling "Wildwood Garden Free Spirit"--it's a free pattern on the website) and on my ruler say to piece row by row--i.e. piece 2 separate rows of 17 hexagons across, and then piece the two rows together. but it's pretty bulky and awkward. i'm leaning now to piecing the traditional Grandmother's Flower Garden units (i.e. one hexagon surrounded by 6 other hexes), and then piecing the units together. i think this is more of an issue since my hexes are so big. what do you think?

Miss Read & Seinfeld

2009-06-28T12:20:00.001-07:00

i haven't been to the library recently with all the bathroom upheaval and sick kids--so i've been re-reading my absolute favorite books by Miss Read (aka Dora Jessie Saint)

she wrote many books, mainly two series--the Fairacre books and the ones about Thrush Green--fictional villages in the Cotswolds of England.

and what do they have to do with Seinfeld ?--besides me watching the re-runs over and over again, almost as much as i have read and re-read Miss Read? well, both are "about nothing" except for the "minutiae" of daily life. Miss Read's books are simply about village life--there are some minor ups and downs and household drama, but i love these books because they are so peaceable and calm. Miss Read has a dry wit and so you may not be guffawing over these books, but there'll be lots of smiling.

my reading tastes tend to the mild and non-eventful. i try to keep up with the news and current political events and that's depressing and violent enough--so when i read for pleasure, i want it to be total escapism. and a peaceful village life in the Cotswolds is my idea of paradise.

other British authors that fit into this genre for me are Barbara Pym, Angela Thirkell, Maeve Binchy and Agatha Christie. comfort reading :-)

It's It!

2009-06-27T21:00:00.000-07:00

today was HOT--so the only good thing with having sick kids (one kid is STILL lingering on) is that we stayed in all day with the AC on! and what's perfect for hot days? IT'S IT! man--i LOVE this stuff (see the empty box above :-) for you non-san franciscans, it's a cookie ice-cream sandwich dipped in chocolate and it's amazing--the perfect oatmeal cookie with rich, creamy ice cream. sigh...

Grandma's Pop Garden - WIP

2009-06-25T18:19:00.000-07:00

man--this is one of the worst weeks ever! my kids are still sick (the 2nd week of illness)--this flu bug is just lingering and lingering AND we have to be out of the house everyday, all day, because we're remodeling the bathrooms. the grandparents have been great and i've been able to bring the kids and camp out at their respective houses. at least i'm better now (i was sick the first week) and i was able to do some hand-sewing!

these are all the hexagons that i've basted so far. they're big--5" (i started them here). "only" 300 more to go! but it's pretty relaxing to do mindless sewing. i'm planning to put rows together as i go so once i baste another 20 or so, i'll start sewing the rows together. i'll show pics as i go along.

lots of TV time for the kids while they're sick which is why i'm working on these. ah well--there's always a silver lining!

Last Shopping Trip (almost)

2009-06-21T10:24:00.000-07:00

well, there's still one more photo shoot with my new French Hatbox fabs but that'll come later. this haul is from Hancocks-Paducah (see, i just can't resist their sales) but got lucky 'cos everything i ordered was in stock. shall we take a look?

first up, two charm packets of Mary Engelbreits. i already have some yardage and maybe i'll make another dress for sophie or maybe/probably a quilt in the far-off future.

more Amy Butler's Midwest Modern to add to the stash. this is a really mellow line of fabrics that isn't my usual style but it appeals to the more sophisticated side of me (it's a small side :-)

and i finally decided to go for it--start a Kaffe Fassett collection! i've always loved his sense of color-- i've got a couple of his books--but it seemed like a big commitment to collect his fabrics. but i'm starting to see some of his pieces go on sale--and that's enough to convince me :-)

L-R: Heather Bailey's Bijoux; Sandy Klopp's American Jane Recess; 3 Sisters Simplicity. i'll actually use the Bijoux rightaway (very rare for me) for this quilt; the rest will go into the stash collection.

a last look before they all go off to their separate bins. and that's it--no more shopping! (for at least a little while :-) but the fabs come at a perfect time. i've been home since this past Wednesday (except for one quick foray out to drop off alex & pick him up from a b-day party) 'cos the kids have been sick. first sophie, and now the boys. oh, and me too. it's been a BORING and uncomfortable few days so at least i get to look at my new favorite fabrics.

Children's Books Quilt

2009-06-20T12:46:00.000-07:00

this is the block that inspired the quilt. i inherited this lone block, with templates (no pattern), from my quilty friend susan (you can barely see her pencilled remarks on the white fabric--it says 'Georgia Bonesteel's Bright Ideas for Lap Quilting 10"' ) as you can imagine, this was a pain to cut--i'm so not into templates--but i guess i was in the mood to just go for it.

lots of pinning too for the curvy parts. curves are truly not as hard as it appears to piece--you do need to match up the crucial points--beginning, middle & end, go slowly, and it helps an awful lot to have a needle down button on your machine.

here's the whole thing.

sorry--the photos are a little blurry--here's a close-up. the hello kitty fabric is from japan--back in the day when HK fabrics weren't so readily available here. the mustardy yellow book right next to HK, is from a class i took, where a lady brought her "uglies" (ugly fabric) to share with everyone! i wouldn't make a whole quilt with that fabric but it's interesting to spice up a quilt with a dash of color that might not be your taste. the great thing with collecting conversation prints is that i can remember when/how/why i bought/acquire almost every piece.

the border fabric is really cool (and the background fabric is the same but in a beige colorway). i forgot the name of it but i got it on sale at Hancocks-Paducah a whiles ago. i still have a piece of it which i'll make into a book bag one of these days.

but the sashing fabric is even better--see my name in it?--how cool is that! i think i also got this from Hancocks, or off the internet, so i didn't even know my name was printed on--i just wanted the text--bonus :-)

here's the back of the quilt--all the pieces leftover from cutting out the parallelogram book covers; a couple of book blocks that didn't make it to the front; susan's lone block; some scraps and a Paddington Bear panel that i've had for over 10 years i think--but never had the opportunity to use. it sure feels good to finally use that up!

i was a children's librarian in my former life and this quilt was a lot of fun to make. it's not the most coordinated of quilts--the whites and the tans and the black/whites don't quite mesh together but i think it's scrappy enough that it's not too noticeable. i envision my kids cuddling up under this quilt while reading stories (though it's probably more realistic that they'll be cuddling up under this while watching tv :-)

Shopping Again

2009-06-18T20:18:00.000-07:00

i got another parcel in the mail--yippee! it's my birthday month so i figure everything i buy is my birthday present! this time the fabrics are from Bee Square Fabrics--unfortunately they are closing down, hence this awesome, 50% off everything sale.

here's another look :-) and since i love looking at other people's fabrics, let's go set by set (there was some method to this madness :-)

the fab on the left is from the Momo Wonderland line which i'm using for this quilt. it's just some extra, probably for binding, but if not, it's a nice polka dot so i'm sure i can use it somewhere (isn't that what we, fabric hoarders, all say!) the fab on the left is from American Jane Snippets line. i have a few FQs and some yardage of her older lines, they all coordinate nicely. i'm planning to make this quilt but that will be far off in the future. i bought the book but can't seem to find it so i went down to Joann's, got the book off the shelf, went to the rulers dept and got the measurements :-) i figure it's legit 'cos i really do have the book somewhere.

CUTE! these (top & bottom photos) are Japanese fabrics so even at 50% off, it's not super cheap. but so cute. i'm hoping to make this quilt with it (again, some day). lots of hand-sewing ahead!

and then these fabrics (below) are from Lecien; the top 3 are Minny Muu, and i can't remember the bottom fab's name--but i have some FQs from that line which i'm saving for some unknown project--and the colors are just too pretty to pass by.

sigh...this was a fun shopping trip :-) two more packages are coming!

Winner!

2009-06-17T13:25:00.000-07:00

what's even better than a shopping trip for fabric? FREE FABRIC! i won these lovely fabrics from the lovely Jona at Fabritopia recently--she was holding tons of giveaways of some the loot she got from Quilt Market. that's where the Golden Books fabric is from, and the cherry panels are from her shop. she was sweet enough to include the cherry panels because she thought she was late in sending out the prize--but honestly, being generous to hold a giveaway is quite enough. but i would never say no to more fabric :-)

here's a close-up of the Little Golden Books fabric--isn't it cute?! i'm planning on making it (2 fat quarters) into a simple tote bag (here's the tutorial) (this is probably the easiest tutorial out there for tote bags--i made like 50 of them 2 Christmases ago as gifts for everyone!) for the kids' library books this summer (make sure you sign up your kids for Summer Reading Clubs at the local library!)

when i read that i had won the giveaway on Jona's blog, my heart skipped a beat! i had to go back into her comments to make sure it was me who won--though gotta say there aren't many "Dorothy's" out there! i've never won anything before and good chance this will be the last time :-)

Jona's blog is a lot of fun to read--she's not really a quilter though she's recently started, she does more seamstressing things--but more importantly, she loves fabric! and of course, it's fun to read her perspective as a small business owner--she runs Fabritopia out of her home. check out her blog & store--she's having some great sales right now!

Shopping!

2009-06-14T21:33:00.000-07:00

these are my most recent acquisitions from Hancocks-Paducah. to be honest, this isn't my favorite store, even though they have an awesome sales section. the problem is that i only usually buy fabric on sale (so i also don't think i have the right to complain! :-) and they don't inform me when the fabric is sold out (most of the other on-line stores i buy from, have an option to contact me when a fabric is unavailable) (in fact, the other day, Fabric Depot called me on the telephone to check in on a fabric i ordered! now that's customer service :-) which means that if i'm buying for a project, i might get 3 out of the 4 fabrics i ordered, which renders the project un-sewable. or it also means that i might end up paying postage on just one item when i like to maximize the postage. anyways, like i said, i'm a bottom-feeder so don't have the rights of people who pay full-price :-) and again, their sales are usually fantastic.

that cute dog fabric is just going straight to the stash but it was only $4/yard! maybe a bag? the charm packs were half off. i'm collecting the Aviary fabrics and love that whole look of 3 Sisters fabrics--Aviary coordinates with their earlier, Sanctuary and Simplicity lines (which i also collect). i will actually be using the Wonderland charm packs right away. it's rare for me to actually buy fabric and use it!

this is April Cornell's Spring Magic line--the fabric was $5/yd and the charm pack was half off--so i figure for less than $10 and some background fabric from my stash, this will make a charming baby quilt for a little girl.

i just went on another shopping expedition at Hancocks last week--they always pull me back in with their sales!

Think Pink

2009-06-13T18:27:00.000-07:00

pardon the crappy photo--this was taken at night and since i finished it in the car literally 5 minutes before taking this photo and then delivering it to my friend, this is all i got. too bad, it was quite a pretty quilt.

my friend CKN was diagnosed with breast cancer last november. she's a friend from college days so it's rather horrifying to have friends your own age with this disease. but praise God that it was caught in the early stages and she is expected to make a full recovery. having said that though, it's been a difficult journey--chemo sucks in all sense of the word--but her family & faith have really pulled her through.

CKN and her husband are just amazing people. they have been in east asia for the last few years, with their young kids, as tent-makers for God. during their time there, they fell in love with a little girl they were fostering (because of course CKN had tons of time to take care of other kids as she home-schooled her own 2 boys!!!) and eventually adopted her. because of the paperwork and all the ensuing delays, their sabbatical was delayed a year (until last year, 2008). it was frustrating but they trusted God through it all, and of course, as a result, they also are the proud parents of a beautiful little girl.

in november of 2008, as they were wrapping up their sabbatical time and preparing to move back to east asia, CKN went in for a routine check-up when they found the lump in her breast. it was amazing timing that they were here in the u.s. to get treatment, surrounded by their family and church community, who helped them in all sorts of practical ways. (plus it would've been really expensive to send this quilt internationally!! :-) obviously, we would all have preferred that CKN didn't get cancer in the first place, but God has His reasons, His timing, and mostly His provision and love during our hard times (because hard times will come).

CKN has a couple more courses of chemo to go, it's been rough--but she's a tough chick. and they are looking forward to moving back to east asia to continue the work God has set for them. i am so amazed at and inspired by their faith.

anyways, back to quilty stuff. here's a picture of a scrap of the pink ribbon fabric i found on ebay--it's so cool--it has chinese characters all over it as well as the pink ribbon. i had to get alex's chinese school teacher to help me translate some of the characters :-)

i have quite a pink stash (for that pink and white quilt i'll make in the future) (who knows when) and all the other fabrics are from my stash--which was pretty cool. i did buy some flannel for the backing, figuring she might like something cuddly. the pattern is from Moda and part of their breast cancer awareness project. it's really fast and easy and i can see myself making it again in the future (though hopefully not for the same reasons).

these are scraps from the project (all those corners from the star points). when i was binding it, i was doing it with some friends, and they all asked if this was going to be a cushion cover--another duh moment because of course this would've been a perfect size cushion cover--but i hadn't thought of it and so i made it too small and also was almost finish with the binding and didn't feel like ripping it all out. oh well, it's now a doll quilt though sophie never uses it and one day (many years from now) when i have my own studio, it would be fun to have a wall of mini quilts.

i like the back too :-) an extra block from the quilt and some Ava Rose.

Roman Peace

2009-06-10T13:53:00.000-07:00

i might have the chronology all wrong, but i think Roman Holiday came out in 2007 and Peace on Earth in 2008 (both by 3 Sisters, Moda) (and this year's Christmas line is called Glace. it's also beautiful!) i was able to buy a jelly roll and a FQ bundle of Peace on Earth in the Great Holiday Sale of 2008 at FQS and combined the leftover pieces from the Roman Holiday kit to create this quilt, Roman Peace (which doesn't make a lot of sense but does roll off the tongue :-)

this quilt was made for my friend LHB for her wedding present this past March (she had the BEST wedding favors--full-size Cadbury chocolate bars!!). again it's my own "design" --very simple--but i did utilize the jelly roll quite cleverly i thought--i cut them in half (1-1/4" strips) so as to have enough for each block.

LHB opened the present at her bridal shower and it was quite gratifying to hear all the oohs and aahs from the other guests (moment of vanity :-)

LHB's husband has spent quite a bit of time in Italy and they're planning to go there later this year as a late honeymoon. plus they got officially married at Christmas time so i thought this line of Italy inspired Christmas fabric was quite appropriate for them! plus LHB has very quiet & classic taste, so these fabrics are as tasteful as i can get :-)

it's a queen-size quilt which is the maximum size i can baste--it takes up the entire living room! you can see the fireplace at the top edge of the photo, so i can't go further. and i'm standing on the sofa which is just out of range on the bottom edge of the photo.

man, i hate basting! sooooo many safety pins for a queen-size quilt too!

i still have lots of scraps and am planning on making a Miss Rosie pattern so i can have my own "Roman" quilt (in the far off future :-)

Roman Holiday

2009-06-07T20:37:00.000-07:00

this is another quilt kit from the Great Holiday Sale of 2008 from FQS. Roman Holiday is a line designed by 3 Sisters, Moda, and i really love most of their designs (except when it gets too brown). this kit was really generous --there were tons of left-over pieces, including most of a charm packet. i used those in another quilt that i'll blog about later. one unique aspect of the quilt is the ripply border, where you add a length of wide piping, and handstitch down sections to get that ripply effect. i'm not too crazy about it but it's different.

this quilt was for my friend MYB's birthday. her b-day is in june & she lives in arizona, so i don't think she used it right away :-)

Leaders & Enders

2009-06-05T14:55:00.000-07:00

Yay!!! my sewing machine is home again. they did a really nice job of cleaning & tuning it (for quite a price too, i might add) and now it's so quiet that i keep checking to make sure there's bobbin thread (when the machine is sewing without bobbin thread, it makes a different, quieter sound).

the pix above is my Momo Wonderland project. i'll blog more about it later but i'm using it as a "leaders & enders" project. i first learned about this on Bonnie's blog and it was one of those "ah-ha/duh" moments when the concept is so obvious, you wonder why you never thought of it in the first place.

basically, what it is, is when you start and stop machine-sewing, you usually have long tails of thread hanging. to save thread, and also because it's less messy and easy to start, i have a piece of fabric to "lead" and "end" with. in the past, i've used scraps of fabrics to sew on and then end up tossing them. i learned about that trick from Simply Quilts. then Bonnie comes along, and says you can create a whole separate quilt top, using small patches from another project as your leaders and enders. yikes--i don't know if this makes any sense at all. well, just go over here and read Bonnie's much clearer explanation. (btw, i'm referencing Bonnie like she's an old friend--we don't know each other at all but i enjoy reading her blog :-)

well, back to the t-shirt quilts!

First Sight

2009-06-05T14:54:00.000-07:00

i don't usually make a quilt pattern twice, let alone the same fabrics--too factory-like, but i really like these panels (called First Sight by Michael Miller) and i liked using my own collection of reds and black/whites.

my quilting friend susan was the first to advise me to look for and buy true reds when fabric shopping--they're hard to come by--lots of reds are too orange-y. and the great Freddy Moran taught me to stash away black and whites for my bright quilts.

the first quilt was for the Fong Baby and the 2nd is for the upcoming Hu-D baby.

here's my (big) baby :-)

Kimono Quilt

2009-06-04T13:19:00.000-07:00

did you know that Japanese kimono fabric were/are(?) printed in 14" strips? unlike our American standard of 42/44" width. i inherited a stack of beautiful kimono fabrics from my quilting friend Susan and they became this quilt for CKB's wedding present. some of the fabrics are from CKB herself when she went to Japan years ago. she's a graphic designer so i had asked her if there was such thing as a "perfect" rectangle size and this quilt used the dimensions she gave me.

the inspiration for this quilt came from Leanne Beasley (love that name!), an Australian designer. i borrowed her idea of adding one red block to the monochromatic layout (hers was black and white--in case you can't see--these blocks are blue and white) to give it interest.

sadly, our bed is now my "design wall"... and yes, actual thought went into the placement of each block.

genius

2009-06-03T13:41:00.000-07:00

this kid is a genius!

More Giveaways

2009-06-02T19:48:00.000-07:00

hmmm..this seems to be all i post about these days but this is another really good giveaway! Sweet Liberty is a blog that i found recently 'cos they posted about Quilt Market and it's good read (i.e. lots of eye candy!) and check out this loot! Lecien and Lakehouse are two of my favorite fabric housees.

Katie Jump Rope

2009-06-02T18:19:00.000-07:00

this must be one of the most coveted bundle of fabrics in our little quilting universe. it's called Katie Jump Rope by Denyse Schmidt and i don't think it's being printed anymore. and someone is actually GIVING IT AWAY! check out The Fabric Shopper, which is a great blog about fabrics (yay!) and is the conduit for this generous gift from Pickled Pear Lane, an etsy store that a nice choice of fabrics (i need an allowance!) crossing my fingers that i'll win (but not likely with hundreds of entries!)

Paris Bebe

2009-06-02T13:41:00.000-07:00

this is probably my worst quilting fiasco so far --which is saying a lot. i LOVE this fabric too--it's from Paris Bebe and i bought a bunch of FQs from her directly awhiles ago. this is a really simple pattern--a square within a square set on point. however i decided to get fancy and i mitered some of the corners on some of the blocks. you can't really see it, but i also put a tiny piping-like border to set it off from the outer border. i'm not sure which is the problem --the mitered corners or the piping--but see how it sags in the middle? the quilt top absolutely does not lie flat--completely un-quiltable.

i ended up sewing it to a backing (right sides together and then turn inside out like a cushion cover) without any batting and it's my summer blanket and works pretty well. actually, alls well that ends well, because the backing fabric was a pretty pink gingham that i bought many years ago and turned out to be shoddy material--after washing the blanket once (i don't pre-wash my fabrics) it started pilling. so luckily, i didn't spend hours quilting it for it to fall apart like that.

what a catch!

2009-05-31T21:04:00.000-07:00

one of the funnest things about blogs are the giveaways. this prize is rather esoteric but much desired--a fabric fish autographed by fabric designers at the Spring Quilt Market! definitely not what most people would want--but highly desired by all sewers alike. i would keep it next to my sewing machine as inspiration. check Confessions of a Craft Addict to see more pictures of the fish!

Grandma's Pop Garden

2009-05-31T20:10:00.001-07:00

well, as i said, my beloved Bernina is in the shop for at least a week so i decided to cut for a hand-sewing project. which really wasn't that smart since i have 2 queen-size quilts to bind--and an irish chain/grandmother's flower garden that has been a WIP for at least a year now, and i need to cut strips for the chain part. but you gotta strike while the iron is hot and i was super-motivated to cut out HUNDREDS of hexagons.

first, cardboard ones to use for the English paper-piecing. i splurged on scrapbooking cardstock 'cos i didn't want to use boring colors--and the cost was all of $3 (vs free with cereal boxes)

a frontal view since it took me so long to cut these out. oh, and i didn't take pictures of all the holes i had to punch in each hexagon as well!

then a few hundred fabric hexagons. first though, some eye candy...

isn't this pretty?! it's Heather Bailey's Pop Garden and i love the vibrant colors. i think this is a perfect choice for a looooong handwork project 'cos there'll always be something interesting to look at. i think it's kinda cool how FQS folds their FQ bundles above, but here's another more traditional shot.

everything has to be cut out individually but it was fun because the fabrics are so pretty. first, i ironed each FQ and then cut a clean edge. i almost prefer FQs because it fits under my 24" ruler without folding (for the uninitiated, a FQ is a fat quarter, or 18x22") --i have such problems cutting fabric--it's almost impossible for me to cut a perfect strip, sigh...

then cut 5-1/2" strips

i got the hexagon ruler at Joann's (40% coupon of course!) --i used the biggest size which makes it extra easy to cut.

and here are 324 hexagons!

now, i'm a little confused as to how many hexes i actually need. using this picture (which is also the inspiration for the quilt), i'm approximating 325 hexes, but the guide sheet on the ruler says i need over 400 hexes! not sure why there's such a discrepancy. oh well, i don't have enuf for 400 anyway so i'll just adjust my size as i get closer to the end.

if you're interested in english paper piecing (tedious but good for long car trips), there's lots of tutorials out there but i learned the most from this one. i've done a couple of other ones--much smaller projects--and while i can't imagine sitting down and churning them out day after day, it's a good vacation project.

now i have a handwork box all prepped and ready to go. first gotta finish the binding on the 2 quilts! (and when the machine comes back--3 t-shirt quilts to finish, and VJL's long-promised birthday quilt)

BK

2009-05-31T13:20:00.000-07:00

i found this on the camera recently but it's an old quilt--BK--before kids. back in the day, i would actually go into fabric shops and browse around and buy fabrics that look interesting. nowadays, i almost only buy fabrics at on-line stores, and since i can't really see and touch them, i usually end up buying a whole line of fabric from a trusted designer. as VJL says, my quilts are much more tasteful now (since a designer actually put them together) but i say, they've lost a little of its character :-)

this was easy to sew--but took longer to cut since i basically cut a piece from every one of my conversation prints (any fabric that has objects on them, rather than a design) and then fussy-cut them again. i never did count how many different fabrics are on this quilt but i think 100 at least. i'll get one of the kids to count them one day!

Meandering Stitch

2009-05-28T13:10:00.000-07:00

this is the easiest quilting stitch and pretty much the only one i know. i think if you make the lines tighter together, then you could call this stippling. this is PH's t-shirt quilt so there's actually quite a bit of white (the t-shirts) in it which is why i used a white thread against a dark background. i really like how much it stands out against the dark background.

after i finished quilting this, the needle-through-the-safety-pin incident happened why binding it (see previous post :-(

AAAARGH!

2009-05-28T13:01:00.001-07:00

this has been an expensive 2 weeks. i lost my little camera last week, i think at alex's school, but really have no idea where, and it still hasn't shown up yet. of course that camera is now "old" and the new models cost a lot more.

and then, yesterday, i'm sewing on the binding to PH's quilt when the machine jumps and starts a horrible grinding noise.

yup, i sewed over a safety pin! i have to say--the Bernina is a pretty powerful machine--the needle tip didn't even break off--and if you enlarge the photo, the needle didn't go through the hole in the safety pin, it went right through the metal. i was crossing my fingers that the machine was ok--now that would be blogworthy!--but no, something is off and the machine is in the shop right now. sigh...that's another $100ish bucks.

so i'll be machine-less for a week or so. the repair shop said they could arrange for a loaner sewing machine--but i'm not sure if it's worthwhile to make another trip down and then to learn a new machine. on the other hand, it might be fun to try another machine and see how that one sews. but i could get a lot of other stuff done in the meantime. perhaps even play with my kids more often. nah--probably won't happen...

Charming Threads Spring Quilt Show

2009-05-26T21:05:00.000-07:00

this is the first time i've entered a quilt show, albeit an online one. it's probably the easiest quilt show to enter and there are even prizes! check out the Charming Chatter blog for the other entries--such beautiful quilts.

so this quilt is my Charming & Frugal Empress Woo. the fabric line is designed by Robyn Pandolph and it's a few years old. i bought a pack of charm squares and cut those up to be the 16-patch blocks--that's the "charming" part. i used a green from stash to be the cornerstones (the 16-patch block is constructed like a snowball) . i also bought some yardage of the figures and since i didn't have quite enough of the people--i would carefully piece scraps together to get a whole figure in the block--hence the "frugal" part. this was my own "design" (as designs go, this is pretty simple) and i'm very proud of that!

Strawberry Fields Forever

2009-05-25T19:47:00.001-07:00

it's a tradition that we go strawberry picking on Memorial Day. well, maybe "tradition" is a little strong a word, but this is our 3rd year in a row. we go to Gizdich Ranch with friends from our different worlds--church, school, work & family.

we picked 13lbs of strawberries and ate lots more--see the juice dripping off alex's chin!

i made freezer jam with the strawberries--one batch is low sugar so i wonder how that will turn out. freezer jam is the easiest thing to make and the strawberry flavor really shines through.

voila!

i also cut up a few cups of strawberries and froze them--they'll be good for smoothies--yum. a few pints went to our neighbors and there's a bowl of too-ripe strawberries in the fridge. i'm done for the year! until next Memorial Day...

Hand-Me-Downs

2009-05-24T21:36:00.000-07:00

my kids are the lucky recipient of hand-me-down clothes from my nephew & nieces AND 4 of my girlfriends & their kids. it's amazing how much money we've saved by being one of the last of our family & friends to have children! (though on the other hand, if i had to buy clothes for our kids, they sure wouldn't get all the name-brand stuff they've inherited).

anyways, this little wallhanging was made for my friend CNP. the fabric is from a dress that she wore when she was a little girl (she's my age so that was a loooong time ago :-) she didn't really think sophie would wear the dress (it was kinda worn out) but didn't want to throw it away either. so i cut it up to make this little quilt for her b-day. i saw a similar quilt at a quilt show awhiles ago and i eyeballed the pattern for this one.

one day--probably far off in the future, i'll make similar quilts for all my lovely sister/sis-in-law/girlfriends who have so generously (and tastefully) clothed my kids!

busy Sunday afternoon

2009-05-24T21:24:00.000-07:00

whew! i washed (well really, the machine washed) 3 loads of laundry; baked two loaves of banana bread and 3 loaves of chocolate buttermilk pound cake and baked ribs for dinner--the oven was on for probably 4 hours!
here's sophie anticipating the pound cake...

this is the pound cake but paul thought the banana bread (with chocolate chips of course) was better.

A Little Romance

2009-05-24T19:42:00.001-07:00

i made this quilt for paul's aunt who has been in the hospital and is now in a rehab facility (no, not for drugs) getting physical therapy. she should be going home soon but i wanted something to brighten up her hospital room. in typical chinese fashion, she said it was too pretty to use and will save it for when she gets home. oh well, as long as she uses it.

it's hard for me to use my stash--i always feel like i need to save it for "one day" (as in one day i'll make a green quilt)--well that day is far off so i'm trying to use stash especially for backing. i liked how this green back turned out.

the pattern was a quilt kit by April Cornell for Moda; the fabric line is called A Little Romance. i don't love the fabrics per se (too much purple--quite ironic since i spent my teen years loving purple--because of Donny Osmond but that's another story) but it was 50% off at the Fat Quarter Shop during their awesome Christmas sales (2 years ago). i also bought a FQ bundle 'cos it was too cheap to resist. so the irony is that i've used this fabric a lot lately, whereas i'm hoarding all the other fabrics that i really love.

this is a t-shirt quilt that i'm making for PH's daughter. i'll share photos and the story behind it when it's quilted up. but PH chose this line of fabric for the sashing.

and last christmas, i made a bunch of these fabric baskets as gifts (pattern courtesy of the Pink Penguin) using some striped and dotted fabric from a friend's destashing, and of course lots of A Little Romance fabrics.

i still have lots of scraps & FQs of this line--no more purple though!--and will save for a baby quilt in the future. (oh, not for me! but for other babies that come around :-)

Barefoot Diamonds

2009-05-24T18:01:00.000-07:00

i LOVE this line of fabric called Barefoot Roses. it's by Grand Revival Design and Tanya Whelan, the designer, has designed many more beautiful lines--including Ava Rose and Darla. i automatically buy a FQ bundle when her fabric comes out and then wait and hunt for sales as the season progresses. her newest line is called French Hatbox (available in june) and if you look around Tanya's blog, you'll see swatches. so beautiful....

the pattern is a freebie from Moda the quilt consists only of diamonds which means that the sides are triangles

but the pattern calls for you to make the diamonds and then cut them in half!!! which is so incredibly wasteful, it took my breath away. it probably looks better but my frugal (i.e. cheap) side couldn't take it. so i ended up making all the diamonds required, decided to cut out the side triangles from yardage instead, and instead, make another quilt with the extra diamonds. that quilt was a little smaller, and looks pretty much the same as this one (so no picture). i gave it to my friend JH who helped us out a lot when the twins were younger.

here are a couple more detailed shots. note how i pieced together the center of the above block. i probably had enuf fabric but loved it too much to waste any piece of it.

i'm still making things from all the tiny scraps from this quilt because it is just too beautiful to throw away. i'll show pictures of those when i'm done with them.

(this is a series of blogs about quilts that i made in the last 2-1/2 years (i know that because the twins are 3-1/2 and there was very little sewing done that first year!) that i finally quilted, bound and photographed this year)

spam musubi

2009-05-23T21:13:00.000-07:00

this is probably the kids' favorite meals right now. not particularly nutritious but definitely delicious. and they assemble it themselves which ensures that they'll eat the whole thing. actually alex can eat a lot more than we give him--and is the reason why i bought the musubi mold in the first place. these little suckers cost $2 each at a hawaiian restaurant and alex would happily eat 4 or 5 if we let him.

messy house

2009-05-23T21:11:00.001-07:00

ok, our living room isn't usually this messy but one way to have enuf time to quilt, is to not clean up!

quilty mistakes

2009-05-23T21:08:00.000-07:00

i make tons. i had a little time this afternoon to baste this quilt (it's only lap-size) and i was half-way done when aaugh!!! the backing was too small. i'm usually pretty good about making them way too big but there it is. i finished pinning up to 10 inches away, and then sewed on another edge. (this quilt is for PH--i'll tell more when i show the finished product)

Chairs

2009-05-23T16:09:00.000-07:00

i just spent the afternoon with my friend JH who's house-sitting for her friends (it's our crafting day) --and what a fun house! first, the bed's headboard is in the shape of a sofa. so imagine a sofabed, but raised up to the height of a real bed--i really wanted to take pictures but figured it's a little intimate especially since i didn't know the couple. it just looks sooooo comfortable! i believe it's custom-made but i want one! probably in the life-after-kids-go-to-college life.

and then they also had one of those really expensive massage chairs. i was prepared to be underwhelmed, thinking how good could a massage chair be--but this one was amazing. it was so powerful that it was almost painful at times! each "session" lasted 20 minutes and i got two sessions--am feeling very relaxed. i would love one of those too--i'd put it in my sewing studio which won't happen until that aforementioned life either.

good times :-) (paul took the kids out to a newly opened bridge--alex scooted, sophie biked (with training wheels) and max triked--what a great dad :-)

testing hyperlinks

2009-05-22T22:45:00.000-07:00

fat quarter shop

Lecien Tag Sale

2009-05-22T22:10:00.001-07:00

this is my Lecien Tag Sale quilt (Lecien fabrics, pattern by Miss Rosie). paul thinks the colors are totally not me 'cos it's so subtle & pale, but i really love this one--it's on our bed right now. (that's my sophie sauntering in front)

in a roundabout way--this quilt started my blogging obsession. i came across the Miss Rosie pattern book at Joann's and really liked the traditional patterns with a twist, and the colors/fabrics that Carrie Nelson, the designer, chose. i googled Miss Rosie , but she didn't have a web presence then (this was around 2 years ago) but i did come across a blog called Sister's Choice and it was like a new world opened up--where people took pictures of their quilts and fabrics and talked about stuff that i was interested in! plus, the twins were still little and i was house-bound a lot so had lots of time to surf the 'net (and no energy to actually sew). btw, Sister's Choice is still one of my favorite blogs--lots of pretty pix and lots of posts. and Miss Carrie Nelson now has a wonderful blog LaVieEnRosie which is also a fave. (i know there must be some way to link to them from the text but i haven't figure it out yet so look on the sidebar and click over to them from there.)

i bought the fabrics from Fat Quarter Shop soon afterwards--again, having found out about FQS (great selection & customer service) from reading the blogs--and spent a ton of money (qualified for free shipping, for those of you in the know) --this Lecien line was on sale --it's a Japanese fabric and pricier than the american fabrics. i think it's called Durham Rose but not quite sure.

this is the back of the quilt. it's not very exciting but had to show my first (and probably last!) attempt at dying fabric. i didn't have enuf fabric for the borders, and when i went shopping online, that line of fabric wasn't on sale anymore. i found a fabric, also by Lecien, that was on sale so i figured it should be somewhat similar. it ended up being too white (the problem with buying fabric online) so i decided to dye it with coffee. not having done it before, and not believing in taking the extra step to test it first, i brewed a really strong pot of coffee and dunked the whole piece (3 yards) --it came out way too dark. so i tried soaking it in bleach which did almost nothing (i didn't want to soak it too long in bleach in case it weakened the fabric too much). so there it is on the back--the dark strip in the middle. sigh.... and it smelled pretty funky for awhile--bleach & coffee don't mix! i ended up buying the blue fabric that is from the original line for full price. sigh again. but oh well, i love how it ended up looking.

i know this is wordy for just one quilt but i figure quilt-geeks would appreciate it :-)

My Favorite Blogs

2009-05-22T20:39:00.001-07:00

i actually follow a ton of them--but the ones listed here are my faves. when i first started reading blogs, i added them to the Favorites tool and now that there are hundreds of them, i don't feel like getting a RSS feed (or whatever it is you do to subscribe to blogs)--it was a pain enuf to add them to the blog.

i like these the best 'cos they post often and have lots of pretty pictures--and isn't that the basic requirement for a blog--to have fun things to read and look at.

now how do i add photos?

2009-05-22T18:11:00.001-07:00

lessee....

ok, got it. this is a fq bundle of susan branch fabrics. i love this so much i haven't opened it yet! i've only made one wallhanging with SB fabrics but have a huge box of it--it's so hard to cut into fabrics that i love (which is kinda dumb 'cos i end up making a lot of quilts with fabrics that i only "like")

testing

2009-05-22T17:39:00.001-07:00

testing testing testing

First Day

2009-05-22T17:18:00.000-07:00

I did it! I finally started a blog. It really stems from thinking Facebook is a little boring (sorry!) and wanting to talk more about quilts & everything quilty. But it's a big learning curve--we'll see where this goes.