Sister's Choice Quilts

Flowers For Clara

So.  What do you all do when you feel overwhelmed with the number of quilting projects you have started and have yet to finish?  Do you pull your hair in frustration?  Do you stay up all night to make some headway on all the sewing you need to do?  Do you hide the unfinished projects away so your family won't scold you for buying more fabric when you haven't even finished what you have started?

Or do you do what I do?

Start a new project!!! 

I love the energy and enthusiasm that comes with beginning something new.  It cheers me up and makes me love life and the joy of creation and the prospect of bringing something lovely into my future.  Please. No comparisons to the psyche of the typical addict.  That would not be me.  Not at all.

 

This is my new project!  (Don't you love it Karen Dianne? It is so your thing).  It is a kit I bought awhile back from Bonnie Blue Quilts.   It calls for 64 blocks, each one of which has 12 half square triangle units!  That is 768 half square triangles.  I did not feel daunted in the slightest however, because the kit came with these cool half square triangle papers called Spinning Stars.

All you have to do to make two blocks is to cut out three six inch squares of your print fabric and three six inch squares of your background fabric.  Plus eight 2 1/2 inch squares of your print fabric.  Stack a print square and a background square right sides together and stitch on the dotted lines.   Do this three times.  Cut on the solid lines and you have 24 half square triangles, which is enough to make two complete quilt blocks.  The kit came with 32 different prints, so there will be loads of variety in the blocks.  Super scrappy, just like I like it.

 

This is the package of Spinning Star papers that came with the kit.  You can buy these in a number of different sizes from Bonnie Blue.

 

Stitch on the dotted line.

 

Cut on the solid lines to trim up the edges and separate the square into quadrants

 

Cut the squares in half on the diagonal.

 

Tear off the paper, like you are ripping off a bandaid.

Open your half square triangles, press them and trim off the little dog ears.

There are many ways of making half square triangles, and this one is a nice change.  The units come out super accurate.  Give it a try, and I bet you'll be smiling.

Well, What Do You Know?

Those of you who read my blog know that this summer before I Became Gainfully Employed, I had a goal of finishing a quilt top each Friday.  I have a lot of quilt tops to show for my summer, and you see in the photo above how I store my yet-to-be-quilted finished tops.  The only tops that get to have hanger space in the closet are the ones that are DONE.  My unfinished tops are stored in labeled plastic project boxes.  I am extremely organized about this little habit.

To my dismay recently, one of my unfinished tops went missing.  It wasn't just any quilt top, it was the unfinished center of my Web Sampler Challenge quilt.  I joined the challenge months and months ago and dutifully made my twelve sampler blocks and thirteen or so pieced alternate blocks, and sewed them all together into an almost finished top.  I was having some problems with the pattern instructions for the border, got frustrated and put the quilt away.  A couple of weeks before the challenge deadline I decided to get out the Web Sampler top and get it finished.   Hmmm, where was that thing?

I searched all my project boxes.  No Sampler top.  I searched my assorted tote bags.  No Sampler top.  I even looked under and behind the bed in my sewing room.  I suspected Sophie and Ozzie of sneaking off with it and burying it in the back yard.  It even occurred to me that since I had been so vocal in my criticism of the pattern designer that she may have sent evil minions to steal the top to teach me a lesson.

All my friends and family have been asking me, "Did you find that quilt top yet?".  To tell you the truth, it was embarrassing.  I don't lose quilt tops.  Many of you more optimistic friends told me "Don't worry Nicole, it will turn up when and where you least expect it".  Sure.  Right.  I tell you, I had just about given up that I would ever see that thing again when......

I opened my closet to put some backing fabric up on the shelf, when I thought I saw something.  Could it be?  Gasp!!!!!

 

Do not even ask me how that unfinished top got in with all the finished ones.  I would never in a million years have thought to look for it there.  What do you know?

Remy Meets Sophie and Gets Tag Teamed

 

He looks pretty happy in this picture, but minutes earlier, Ozzie (in the rear) and Sophie (on the right) were rolling him around the backyard like a hedge hog.  Poor Remy, he and Ozzie used to be best buds, and now that Sophie is in the mix, Rem is odd man out.  My two wild maniacs sided against him and gave him quite a going over.  Remy is tough though, and held his own.  You see them above in a moment of respite before the next go-round.

Remy was here with Sara for the weekend, and the dogs pretty much wore each other out with the chasing, tumbling and wrestling.

 

Sophie quite liked Rem, which you can tell by the smile on her face.  She knows she looks good.  He thought so too.  Nothing like a little flirtation to bring a glow to a girl's complexion.

 

After Sara and Remy split for the safety and peace of Home, Ozzie and Sophie collapsed on the rocking loveseat on the patio.

 

Remy must have really worn them out, as you see here from this picture taken late in the same day.  Hope he comes back for another visit.  All in good time.

Chicken Piccata Penne

 

Hmm, I kinda forgot about the electrical sockets in the background when I took this photo.  My daughter Sara would scold me for being so negligent.  Anyway, what you see on my pretty autumnal dish towel are all the ingredients for my speedy but elegant Chicken Piccata Penne Pasta.  (I added Fines Herbes and Parmesan at the end, so they aren't in the photo).

I need recipes that I can put together fast on a week night.  There aren't too many things I like less than getting off work at 5:00 and not having a clue about what is for dinner.  A trip to the grocery store, then trundling home with bags of food and having to deal with preparing dinner is no fun.  Lack of planning on my part, so I get no sympathy.

This recipe was simple and tasty.  It took about ten minutes to chop the onions, garlic, parsley and chicken and get it in the pan while the pasta cooked.  I added some Fines Herbes at the end, just for some more green color.  The recipe is below, and I highly recommend it.  Unfortunately, in our eagerness to dig into the finished pasta dish, my dh and I forgot to take a picture.  You have to trust me, it looks and smells great.  Oh, and don't forget to sprinkle on some Parmesan when you serve it!

Basket/Fan Quilt

 

On Sunday I went up to Palo Alto to see my father and stopped in at Eddie's Quilting Bee, where my sister Kate and some other friends were sewing together.  The shop had changed out all the display quilts and had a lot of new class samples up on the walls.  I took a picture of some of the ones I really like.

Isn't this Basket/Fan pattern wonderful?  Does anyone out there know if it is a pattern I can get my hands on?  I got involved with my friends and never had a chance to ask any of the people at Eddie's before I had to dash out of there. 

 

The quilt top itself is gorgeous, but look at the added details--praire points and hand quilting!

 

Added later:  I phoned Eddie's and all they could tell me is that the class supply list calls for "1930 Grandmother's Pride, choice number 1".  I have searched online for books or patterns by that name, and don't find anything.  Anyone have a clue?

Happy Autumn

 

My husband and I had to go out on Saturday to attend a memorial service.  It was sad of course, as these affairs usually are.  The deceased was a wonderful man who died way too soon after fighting a long battle with cancer.  I have to speak candidly (when do I not?). 

I have always thought that there are good funerals and bad funerals.   The service we gave for Mom has to have been the best one ever.  Respectful, thoughtful and appreciative words were spoken, laughs were had by all, the food was splendid and she would have enjoyed the event, could she have attended.   Another funeral I heard about but did not attend was for an old lady who was a quilter and had lived a long life and had been loved by many.  Her daughter put on a one woman quilt show at the church in her mother's honor so everyone could appreciate her art.  The service for my friend Carl was steeped in Jewish tradition and culture.  His wife sang in a clear beautiful soprano.  See what I mean?  Those were Good Funerals.

The one we went to on Saturday was a Bad Funeral.  The family had become divided after the patriarch's demise, and the stepmother is feuding with the two adult children over her husband's business holdings.  Lawyers have been retained.  There was much weeping and recrimination and anger in the eulogies.  If the deceased had been present he would have been appalled.  My DH and I could not get away from the place fast enough.

I have completely digressed from my intended post which was to have been about the Joy of Autumn.  Sometimes I sit down to blog and I just never know what is going to spring from my fingers.

After the very Bad Funeral, I made my DH take me out to lunch.  After soup and splitting a pizza at the California Pizza Kitchen in Monterey, feeling much improved, I dragged him over to Pottery Barn.  I think he realized he was going to have to do something major to make up the morning's unpleasantness to me, so we went Shopping.  He bought me candles and a cool glass dish to make an arrangement in, and a whole bunch of seed pods and acorns.  We went home and I spent the afternoon cheering myself up by redecorating for Fall.

 

This is my family room mantel arrangement.  Can you see the little bird?  I had to come in close for the photo, otherwise you see the tv looming over everything. 

 

That pumpkin is actually a candle!  Pottery Barn has them in several sizes and in orange or white.  I had intended this for the coffee table and my husband said, "Oh, I don't think you want to put it there.  You know the dogs will get into it".  Did I listen?  Nooooo.  I put it on the coffee table, thinking it would be safe since I was going to watch it like a hawk while we sat in front of the television.  DH fell asleep first, and I was soon to follow, stretched out on the couch.  I woke up at 11:30 to find two of the green seed pods chewed to crumbles right at my feet.  Now this arrangement sits in safety on the kitchen table.

Web Sampler Confession

 

I agreed to participate in a Web Sampler Challenge with Perry, Cindy, Nancy, and Lisa.  The deadline was September 1.  I loved the fabric (leftovers shown above) and the blocks turned out very pretty.  There were issues with the border instructions in the finishing kit I chose, so I was planning on making a border of my own design using my leftovers.  I had the 12 sampler blocks all sewn together with the alternate blocks, and everything was looking way cool.

I missed the deadline of September 1 for a very good reason.

I have lost the quilt top. 

Seriously, I cannot find it anywhere.  I know I had it folded up in a plastic bag.  It has completely disappeared.  I have torn the sewing room apart and searched in every nook and cranny.  No Web Sampler quilt top.

I am guilty of making a lot of grumbling comments about the instructions for the finishing kit.  Do you think the designer got sick of me bad-mouthing her work and sent evil elves to my house to remove the quilt top from my possession?   In my entire life I have never lost a quilt top. 

Here is Ozzie in what is left of my sewing room after I ransacked it.  You can tell he is thinking, "Well Toots, this never would have happened on my watch.  Remember the good old days when it was just you and me?  Things haven't been the same since that new kid came to live with us".

 

Oh, no.  You don't think Sophie might have done something with it?

Mermaids in the Octopus Garden

 

My daughter Sara came down for the weekend and we planned to spend our time sewing together.  She brought the most adorable fabric for a new project.  It is Mendocino by Heather Ross for Free Spirit.  It is so whimsical and fresh vintagey looking in shades of brown, aqua, pink, and rust. 

 

Don't you love it?  It has mermaids, sea horses, squid, sea turtles and girls in bikini bottoms swimming about.  Such fresh colors.  Sara picked out a pattern and I told her I would cut it out for her while she worked on another project.  Lord knows I do not have anything of my own going on at the moment.

This is the pattern she chose:  American Pie by Miss Rosie's Quilt Company.

 

When the cutting was finished, I made a couple of test blocks for Sara and think the results are going to be super when she gets it all together.

 

Just to show you how versatile Carrie Nelson's patterns are, take a look at the quilt I made from the same pattern a few years ago.

 

I made this one using all 30's fabrics in shades of purple.  That is the beauty of Miss Rosie patterns.  They work beautifully with all sorts of fabric styles.  Do you love Asians?  Her patterns will work for you.  How about batiks?  Stunning.  Civil War?  Go for it.  You won't regret it!  (Can you tell she is my favorite designer?  And no, she doesn't pay me to say nice things about her!)

A Sign

 

Remember this?  From my post a week or so ago?  The meager amount of sewing I had managed to accomplish lately?  I had it laid out on the rug in the sewing room to take the picture, and just left it there.  (I know, it was dumb, but I did close the door after myself.  After all, what could happen?).

This is what it looks like now:

 

Where are the four center log cabin blocks?  As you might guess, there is a story here.

I went into the sewing room last night to dig around for a baby quilt kit I wanted to pass on to my daughter Sara, and Sophie followed me in.  Before I could say "Bad Girl!", Sophie piddled right in the middle of the quilt blocks.  Tagged all four right in the middle.

Don't you think that is a Sign, friends?  A Sign that I should just put this project away for awhile?

 

Oh, I tried to wash out the soiled blocks, but I just don't feel the same about them.  I have enough fabric to make more blocks, so that is ok.  This poor project has been cursed from the beginning.  Just when I think I have it figured out and can pull it out of the fire, my darn dog pees all over it.  That is it for a while.  I packed everything up and put it on the shelf.

And she isn't even sorry.  Maybe I could start a side business making quilted piddle pads for puppies?

Separated at Birth

 

Isn't it amazing how similar they are?  They actually are brother and sister (same parents, two different litters).  Just like you and your siblings, unless you are a twin.  Twins would be the same litter, don't you know?

Since there has certainly been no sewing going on around here for ages (BIG sigh), I thought I would put out a little Ozzie and Sophie update.  Sophie has learned to sit and wait for a treat, as shown in the photo above (she is on the left).  She doesn't sit for long, so this was a lucky shot.  Ozzie is behaving like a complete gentleman, and even lets her take a chew bone right out of his mouth.  Look out if he tries to take it back though....we had a humdinger of a fight on Sunday when that happened.  Sophie was prepared to fight to the death over that darn chew bone.  We are working on her possessiveness and with time, I know it will get better.  A greedy dog is not a lovely thing to see.

They do everything together.  Chew on the garden hose or a favorite stick----

 

Take turns with a toy---

 

Ozzie is learning patience, a quality I never thought he would acquire.

By the way, that humongous spot on the carpet where Ozzie is lying, is what is left of the time he took a bottle of salad oil out of the pantry, chewed a hole in it, and got oil all over the rug.  That stain isn't coming out folks. 

But you know something?  Since we got Sophie (complete with all the challenges she has brought), Ozzie has done absolutely nothing of a destructive nature.  Oh, he is still mischievous, and snatches my eyeglasses off of my head when he can, but that is IT.  He has taught Sophie that trick as well, so now I have two demons trying to snatch my glasses.  What fun.

Sara is coming this weekend (maybe with Remy!) and we plan to sew, so I PROMISE there will be quilty posts next week!

Have the best weekend you can friends!