Sister's Choice Quilts

New Dishes

Company's coming!  The next three weekends I will be cooking and entertaining friends and relatives; my second favorite thing in the entire world to do.  Some of you who have gotten to know me are aware that I like to collect things:  shoes, fabric, and cookbooks.  Well, I also love to collect dishes!  I found this Villeroy and Boch pattern called Audun for 50% off at Macy's.  Of course Macy's had nothing in stock for me to make the combination of patterns I wanted.  I got creative and went to a local china shop and told them I was interested in buying the dishes, but since their price was only 25% off, I guessed I would go on back to Macy's.  In these days' economy, those folks were not about to let me out of their shop without making a purchase.  They quickly agreed to meet Macy's price, and before you know it, the trunk of my car was full of new dishes!  It pays to bargain these days I guess.

What I like about this pattern is that it is sophisticated and elegant, but casual at the same time.  The dinner plate even looks kind of modern all by itself, with the black and white geometric design.

Of course, I then completely lost my mind and had to purchase black place mats, and yellow and black napkins.  I polished up my silver pitcher and filled it with yellow roses and think things are just about perfect.  Oh, Oh, Wait!  Wouldn't clear wine glasses with thin black stems be awesome?  Stop me someone, please....

The tea cup isn't part of the set.  By total coincidence, when we had the tea cup exchange at our Mother's Day Tea at Sara's house, this is the teacup I got!  It is from Anthropologie, last year, according to my sister Andrea who bought it.  How perfect is that with my new yellow dishes?  Aren' the little blue birds adorable?

I had fun digging out some other accessories and plants that tie in with my new color theme.

Tie Off Needles

Several of you have inquired about the "tie off" needles I mentioned in my last post.  Here is a photo of the special needles I got for doing the tie offs on my blended neutrals quilt.  You don't have to thread them in the normal manner.  You just kind of hook your thread around the eye.   For anyone over the age of 40, this is a very good thing!

Ozzie is a bit bored today, and refuses to get off my husband's favorite chair.  Life is tough isn't it?  Just wait.  We have dog training class at 2:00 today.  That will wake him up.  Heh, heh, heh.  (Evil laugh).

Blended Neutrals Quilt

I got my Blended Neutrals quilt back from my quilter (Debbie at Prairiequeens) this week!  She did a custom job for me and is it ever gorgeous.  The quilting makes the quilt, as they always say.  Here is a close up of one of the blocks.  My photography does not do it justice, but you can get an idea of some of the detail.  Very "heirloom"  if I do say so!  Thank you Debbie.  This is a treasure.

The deal with this custom quilting job is that I have to take care of something called "tie offs" myself.  Marie at the shop gave me a quick tutorial.  What you have to do is find all the trailing threads, knot them securely and bury the knot within the quilt.   Marie gave some special needles that you can just hook the thread through, so there is no tedious threading process.  With my old eyes, that is a great benefit!

I hope to get the tie offs done and the binding on by this weekend.  The next three weekends we are having house guests and/or dinner parties.  And I want to show this new quilt off!!!

Web Sampler Alternate Blocks

I have been plugging away at my Web Sampler Challenge.  In the photo above you see some of the blocks with the alternate blocks called for in the setting I chose.  The construction of the alternate blocks was totally easy, and would have been considerably more so if the instructions had suggested speedier piecing methods, such as making all ten of the red and tan four patches at once, all ten of the black and tan four patches at once etc.  It would have been such an easy thing to include, but no.  There were instructions to make six blocks as shown.  Period.  I have felt all along with this project that I am kind of on my own when it comes to figuring out the best construction methods.  I know, grumble grumble.

On a very much happier note, Sunday my daughter Sara hosted all the special women in her life with a Mother's Day Tea and Tea Cup Exchange. The party was held in the garden of their new cottage, and we were surrounded by the most lovely assortment of flowers you have ever seen.  There was a bit of a mishap in that I forgot my camera.  How incredibly dumb of me.  I had it right there on the counter and in the flurry of packing up cucumber sandwiches and cake plates I left it behind.  Sara took some wonderful shots of the food and the garden, so if I can download them from her, I will share them.  Or, take a look at her blog where she has some you can see!

Hope everyone had a lovely Mother's Day!

Web Sampler, Resurrected

Confession time.  I was getting quite frustrated with the Web Sampler Challenge and closed up my project box and put it away.  I was even considering dropping out of the Challenge I am doing with Perry, Cindy, Carol, and Lisa.  Let me tell you why, and what happened to make me pick it up again.

I made my first block before going on the retreat in April.  All the blocks were cut out and ready for me to sew.  My plan was to make a big dent in the sewing while up at San Damiano with my friends.  Two things got in the way of that plan.  I got sick (with the 24 hour flu) and could barely make it out of my bed, much less do any sewing.  Also, these sampler blocks take a LOT of concentration.  There are tons of itty bitty pieces labled from A to Z and it is so easy to get fabrics mixed up if you get the slightest bit distracted.  While at the retreat I attempted to start on block number two, and made such a mess of it, I had to throw it away!  My fault entirely.  I just could not give this project the full concentration it needs.

Part of the problem was that it was difficult to focus while in the midst of happy conversational friends.  The other issue was (and I apologize to the pattern designer, Paula Barnes, for what I am about to say):  the instructions are not that great.  The blocks are gorgeous, don't get me wrong.  However, I have discovered several editing issues that if clarified or corrected would make things ever so much easier.  The A/E, J/H, C/E instructions are confusing, the pressing directions are inconsistent (some times mentioned, other times ignored), and the number of units to make is sometimes mentioned and other times not.  With one of the blocks, I ended up with four left over flying geese units.  I thought I must have screwed up, but Lisa said the same thing happened to her.  I have to say that is a bit sloppy.

Thank goodness for the color copies of what the finished block is supposed to look like that were provided by Common Threads (Block 6) and Back Door Quilts (Block 7).  If all the shops had done that it would have been so helpful.  In one case I accidently got the color placement wrong (Block 2, my problem child).  I could have referred to the web page that shows all the blocks in color, but it just wasn't as convenient as having a color picture right there with the pattern.

Maybe I shouldn't be so quick to blame the pattern instructions for my foul ups, but I just have to say that I have had many more goofs and errors with these block patterns than others I have used.  But, after all, it is supposed to be a "Challenge", right?  It has been for me!!

I have been feeling tremendously guilty, having committed to this project and to regular postings.  Some of the other women have completed all their blocks alreay.  I do love the fabric, and I am happy with the finishing kit I chose.  So, what could I do to recharge my interest in the project?

Today I took the box out and opened it up.  I mentally forced myself to at least make one block.  As I started to sew, I groaned to myself at the number of tiny half square triangles to be made for each block.  The instructions said to draw a line diagonally on a gazillion two inch squares.  What?  I wanted to SEW, not fiddle around with a pencil and a ruler. 

Then, I had an Ah Ha! moment.  Remember me posting a while back on a tool called the Angler 2?  ( I posted on it on Aug. 30, 2007). This little gizmo changed everything for me.  I taped it place on the throat bed of my sewing machine and started stitching away.  With the Angler 2, you line your stitching up with clearly marked guide lines, and you do not have to draw any darn lines! 

I finished three blocks in about two hours and I love them!  I'm back in the groove girls!

So what's the message?  Don't give up.  Find a way to do it smarter.

Strip Quilt

Over the weekend, I made some progress on my Strip Quilt, using the Jocelyn fabrics by Sentimental Studios for Moda.  There are two blocks in the quilt, a "flower block" shown above and a chain block made up of green, white and yellow.  There are two units within the flower block.  One is a simple four patch made in different combinations of colors:  yellow and green in the center, green and white and yellow and white for the corners (this will form a chain).

The other unit is this one:

It is constructed by sewing squares onto the corners of colored strip units.  I used two color ways, pinks and purples.  This pattern is a wonderful way to use up fabric in your stash.  You could use all florals or add in a coordinating tone on tone as I have done.  The pattern called Kitty Kitty is available on line from Cozy Quilt Designs.  You could easily make it from jelly rolls since the strips are all 2 1/2 inches wide.  Or, dig into your stash and come up with your own fabric combinations.

Two Color Quilts

Go have a look at the fabrics a couple of the gals are using for their two color quilt projects.  Yummy, yummy.  By the way, a couple of people have inquired if the two color project can be something other than a bed quilt.  Of course!  Anything goes.  Pillows, tote bags, table toppers, table runners--whatever your heart desires and your imagination comes up with.  If you don't have a blog, but want to play along, just send me a photo of your progress from time to time and I will post it on my blog.  Let's go wild! 

Check my side bar for links to those people who are playing along who do have blogs--even if you catch them on a day when they are not talking about the two color quilt challenge, you will be inspired and entertained by what they are up to, I promise.

Susan is going with red and white, and incorporating some red work embroidery.  This is going to be stunning!  I cannot wait to see what pattern she uses.

Andrea has some sweet and soft light blues and creams for her version.

I made progress yesterday with the center sections of my Union Square blocks.  It was fun to fussy cut the toile to feature some of the motifs.

Oh No. Not Again.

He did it again.  I have never heard of a dog who hates irons as much as my Ozzie does.  What is this?  The third or fourth iron he has executed?  This was my extra back up iron that I bought for the retreat.  Luckily I didn't spend too much on it and it wasn't the greatest iron anyway.  But still.  He doesn't even look sorry.

Do you think I would be a bit better about remembering to keep the door to the sewing room closed?  Honestly.  Have I mentioned lately, that I ADORE this dog, despite his occasional naughtiness?

Two Color Quilt Challenge

On the sewing front, I have decided to make my Two Color Quilt Challenge quilt in red and white, using the Union Square block.  The quilt top only has nine blocks set on the diagonal, so I will have plenty of half square triangles left over to make a small Lady of the Lake quilt as well, if I am not sick of red and white when I finish this one.  The pattern I am using is from a Joan Hansen/ Mary Hickey book called The Simple Joys of Quilting, and the pattern is called Red Union Square.

A few of you said you would like to make a two color quilt along with me, which I think would be super fun.  Susan from Blackberry Creek, Erica from Polka Dot Quilts, Jane from  Sew Create It, Julia from Scrap Happy Quilter, and Patti from  Quilting is My Passion all said they would like to join in.  So, I guess we need some rules for the Two Color Quilt Challenge.  How about if we set a deadline of August 1?  And how about if we post on our progress a minimum of at least four times:  this week or next week (to show our fabrics and describe the project), June 1, July 1, and August 1?  If participants want to post more frequently, I say Go For It!  When we post, we need to link to the other participants' blog sites so folks can check out everyones two color quilt project.  On my side bar, I have created links to the other participant's blog sites, so check up on them often to see how they are doing.  If you want to join in the Challenge and I haven't listed you, be sure to let me know and I will add you in.

Two color quilts are so lovely.  I think we forget about doing them because the market is deluged with fabulous coordinated fabric groups, and we just go nuts and buy an entire line.  It takes patience and time to collect a variety of coordinating fabrics in one or two color ways.  The hunt for those perfect fabrics is the joy of quilting for me!  We get lazy when the fabric manufacturers do all the work for us.  Making a two color quilt is also a terrific way to use up fabric in your stash.  The reds and whites in my quilt were a great surprise when I opened a box and found a stash of already made half square trianges and a gorgeous collection of barn reds.  You just never know what you may have on hand and have forgotten all about!

If you would like a book on the subject of two color quilts, there is an excellent one by Nancy Martin called Two Color Quilts.  I believe it is out of print, but still available from some used book sellers through Amazon. Another book on two color quilts is also called Two Color Quilts by Better Homes and Gardens, also out of print. 

And Now, A Word From Our Sponsor

This little doll is Katy:  dancer, swimmer, artist, kindergartner and grandaughter of Perry.  Katy also has Cystic Fibrosis.  There is a raffle going on right now to raise money for research to find a cure for this presently incurable disease.  Your contribution would be so helpful to Katy and children like her.  Please go to Perry's website for links to Katy's story and the raffle.  The quilt being raffled was made by Cindy and is truly awesome.

Several people have inquired where they can get an ironing board cover with personality, like the one Lisa gave me.  Lisa provided me with this link:  http://www.homealamode.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=11  So go on, get one for yourself!

A few of you have said that you would be interested in working along with me on a two color quilt.  I will post more about that on Monday and we will see what we can get going!  As you can see, I have a couple of them in mind....