Sister's Choice Quilts

Taking Stock

I have cut back my work hours substantially, my husband is away all week long, and I can now sew until midnight if I wish to.  Full of eagerness to get into my sewing room and get something accomplished, I stopped short upon gazing at the UFO's I have stacked up.  Hmmm, I sure do have a lot of unfinished projects I need to complete.  Let's have a look.

Should I take up Allspice Tapestry and work on the star medallion quilt from a past Quilt Sampler magazine?  Gosh, that fabric is so great.  I made one star.  It involved flying geese units, and the pieces are all pre-cut, so I can't use my new Fit to be Geese ruler.  Bah.

Or how about a more recent UFO?  Sweet Escape using those gorgeous Neptune fabrics that came out last spring?  I have only half my blocks made, and they are so easy.  I could zoom through these.  No.  Not in the mood.

Or, hey, how about going back a couple of years to this wonderful project?  Love the block, love the fabrics, hate, Hate, HATE the half square triangle construction technique.  Sorry. Marsha, but your method takes forever.  Accurate?  Sure.  Fiddly and time consuming?  Sigh.  Yes.

Oh, now here we go.  What if I just put those UFO's out of my mind, and start a wonderful new project I have been dreaming of doing?  Birdseye, with all sorts of yummy rust, green and brown Civil War prints.  Oh yes, this is going to be good.  But it's 4:00 in the afternoon.  This isn't a good time to start an entire new project.  Besides, I need to see if I can find more of this great border fabric before it disappears from the face of the earth.  Maybe I should forget sewing for the day and log on to my computer and go shopping?  No, stop that, Nicole.  You need to accomplish something.

Well, here is an old friend I keep working on and then putting away for months on end.  She is going to give up on me if I don't follow through.  This is a terrific quilt project.  Flowers for Clara, a kit I ordered from Bonnie Blue eons ago.  I really want to get this one done and on a bed.  I am totally in the mood for Civil War prints.  Let's go.

By now it is 5:45.  I have completed two blocks. 

What is the matter with me?  I need to focus.  But, it's Wine O'Clock.

Reunion

Hey, it's you.  You're back.  Where have you been Ozzie?  By the way, that is my spot on the chaise lounge.  Do I need to kill you?

Aw, it's ok.  You can stay there.  I' ll let you live.  I guess I kinda missed you last week.

By the way, did you notice I have been to the doggie beauty salon?  I look pretty cute, don't I?  Nicole and I did salon treatments while you guys were out of town.  I think mine were more of a success then hers.  At least mine didn't hurt.  You should have heard her yip. 

You might think of going to the barber yourself Mister.  You look a bit rough.

Opening Day Quilted

Thanks for all the offers of sympathy after my bikini waxing incident.  I have decided that once one reaches a certain age, a bit of hair on the upper thigh is not going to be noticed.  By anyone. 

And the glass of wine in the picture was for medicinal purposes AFTER I caused myself the injury.  Just so you know.   Mmmm hmmm.

The quilt you see in the photo above is Opening Day, a pattern by Miss Rosie's Quilt Company.  A fabulous pattern, that deserves to be made more than once.  I used a not-so-Christmassy looking Christmas fabric called Roman Holiday by 3 Sisters for Moda.  What a dynamite combination:  a Miss Rosie pattern and any fabric designed by 3 Sisters.  I have another quilt in the pipeline to be quilted that is that same magic combination---Summerwind by Miss Rosie using Wuthering Heights by 3 Sisters.

The quilting on Opening Day was done by the awesome Debbie of Prairiequeens.  This quilt is going on my bed for the entire month of December!  Sure wish I had used my Fit to be Geese ruler by Monique of Open Gate when I made this quilt!

Sophie and I start our second week on our own in the house.  Last week went just fine, with us girls striking up a rhythm of meals, exercise, sleeping, and snuggling.  No more home beauty treatments for awhile though.  I succumbed to eating junk food quite a bit, which has got to change this week.  I plan to make a pot of some kind of yummy soup to eat in the evenings, along with a little salad.  It is amazing how easy it is to resort to fast food or something pre-made instead of taking the time to thoughtfully prepare a proper meal for oneself when alone.  Hey, I'm worth it!

Do Not Try This At Home

Now this seemed like a really good idea at the time.  A home waxing kit.  You can save hundreds of dollars over time by doing your own waxing.  Got a fuzzy chin?  Zip it off in the privacy of your own home.  Got a little mustache going on?  Take care of it yourself and save the $15 bucks you would pay at a salon.  Need to wear a bathing suit on your vacation?  Think you look a bit furry, and it isn't the look you are going for?  Save yourself the embarrassment of having a stranger dealing with your hairy nether regions.  Buy your own Home Waxing Kit!!!

Oh man.

First of all, it takes about 4 hours for the wax to melt and get to the right temperature.  Second, that stuff is darn tricky to work with.  If you aren't careful, that wax gets onto all sorts of things you would rather it didn't.

I tried the lip and chin area first.  I used a teensy little Popsicle stick and managed not to burn myself with the wax, and got those pesky hairs right off in a quick flip of the wrist.  Easy peasy, Bob's your  uncle, I can do this!  Pleased with my success, I decided to move on to shall we say, trickier areas.

Friends, I may have done myself permanent damage.  The bikini area is delicate.  Delicate.  And I am only talking about the upper part of my inner thigh.  I don't know what I did wrong, but I bruised the dickens out of myself.  BIg purple spotty bruises that popped up instantly.  I must not have been holding my flabby thigh skin down firmly enough or something.  Owie, owie, owie, owie, owie.

Mercy.  I won't be trying to wax that area on my own again.  Oooh, man that hurt.  I would show you a picture, but this is a family friendly blog.

Some things just should be left to the professionals.

I am just so thankful I didn't try to wax the area around my eyebrows.  Can you imagine?  Oh dear.

I'm A Happy Camper!

My favorite Quilting Rock Star sent me a new project to work on for her.  These adorable little rolls are called Honey Buns--1 1/2 inch wide strips of one complete fabric line rolled into these irresistible packages.  The fabric is Happy Campers by American Jane (Sandy Klop) for Moda.  Sandy's designs are always, and I mean always, cheerful, usually made up of primary colors, and cute as a bug.  I can't tell you what I am making just yet, but I will be making many many blocks.  Hundreds of blocks.  It is a good thing I like this fabric collection....

Sophie and I are continuing to get along just fine.  She let me sleep until nearly 6:00 AM this morning, which is just barely tolerable.  I staggered out to the kitchen and made coffee and we went out for our morning constitutional.  Friends, it is DARK outside at 6:00 AM.  The street lights are still on.  There could be marauding skunks about.  Or coyotes.  Gasp, or mountain lions.  There have been mountain lion attacks on deer just over the hill from us in Carmel Valley.  Oh man.  Couldn't she sleep until the sun comes up?

I am reading the best book right now.  It is called Shannon by Frank Delaney, an Irish author.  "After witnessing the atrocities of WWI, Father Robert Shannon returns to the United States shell-shocked, and the church eventually sends him to Ireland to restore himself and seek out his origins along the famed Shannon River".  Father Shannon is an American, or "Yank" as the Irish call him.  He has a letter of introduction from the Church that he shows to various people along his travels, which allows him to depend on the kindness of strangers while he pulls his fragile mental state together.  He is hiking his way along the Shannon River in an effort to find his roots and restore his soul.  I highly recommend it.

On Our Own

We girls are on our own.  Since my dear husband has found employment in the Big City, he and Ozzie will live away during the week.  Sophie and I are fending for ourselves.  Our first step was to get some beauty treatments.  Sophie went to the doggie beauty salon and I bought a home waxing machine.  As you see from the picture Sophie has a glam new haircut and nail job.  I will tell you the story of my home waxing scenario some other time.  Ouch.  I bought her a new toy, a floppy little raccoon, which she dearly loves.  When Ozzie and Sophie are together they cannot have toys because it causes terrible fights.

This new arrangement is going to suit us all very well I think.  My husband and Ozzie are staying with Andrea, Sara, my father and Remy during the week.  How cool is that?  And how typical a sign of our current economic times.  Jobs must be had, and often the job isn't close to home.  What do families do?  They live together like they did a hundred years ago.  Ozzie and Remy are loving being able to play together all day long, my father is loving the company, and Andrea and Sara are loving being able to share the cooking duties during the week.  My husband doesn't know what is happening, since he is only two days into the new job and new routine.  He just turns up at the end of his long day and enjoys the company of the family.

Sophie and I are getting on just great.  It turns out she doesn't have to get up at 4:30 AM.  That is something my husband taught her.  She recognizes that such a thing simply is not going to happen with me at the helm.  Please do not tell my husband, but this morning Sophie and I slept in until 7:45.  We take walks, I feed her on time, we sleep together and we give each other support and companionship.  She is such a good girl when she isn't around other dogs.  Hmmm.

Will I miss my husband and my Ozzie?  Of course.   But I'll have more time to read or sew in the evenings, which when DH is home, I don't do so much because it seems unfriendly for me to disappear into another room by myself.

I have decided that I can eat anything I want for my own dinner.  At first I was going to go for Coldstone ice cream sundaes every night, but reason prevailed.  I have bought a freezer full of Lean Cuisines and will be on a diet Monday through Thursday.  Maybe I will lose those 10 pounds? 

The weekends will be very very special.  I told the folks at Talbots I can only work 14 hours a week, and no more Sundays unless it is a dire emergency.  I will cook lovely meals for my husband, and maybe we can even start going to the movies again.  I will have LOADS more time to sew, which is the best news of all.

I will keep you posted on how things progress, but right now, I think I can manage this quite well.

Things Are Looking Up

'O frabjous day!  Calloo!  Callay!!'
He chortled in his joy.

Things are pretty happy at my house right now.  My husband received a great job offer which he has accepted.  Things are looking up indeed.

No need for me to work two part time jobs, so I will be drastically cutting back my work hours and will be spending a lot more time with my Bernina.   I will get to see my family again on the weekends!!!!

In other news--  This is my Spice Market Schnibble for September, made with Carrie Nelson's pattern Winter White.  My fabrics are some Spice Market that Cheryl sent me, and some leftover gold prints from an old Sandy Gervais collection for Moda.

Once it is quilted, it will be so pretty on my kitchen table.  I am so pleased that I didn't give up after my first attempt came out sloppy.  Now I am looking forward to the next month's assignment!

Happy Sewing & French General Giveaway Results

Things are going splendidly with my Winter White Schnibbles blocks.  I am so happy that I decided to scratch my first poorly executed effort and start anew with fabrics I had on hand.  Look at my blocks above!  So sweet.

I have all my flying geese units completed and have been enjoying myself enormously, trimming the little fellows down to size.  The perfect, exact 2 X 3 1/2 inch size.  The Fit to be Geese rulers by Monique at Open Gate are making this project a breeze.  Which it was decidedly NOT when I made the geese without her ruler!  If you have not yet ordered one of these rulers, head right to the Open Gate website and do it!  You will be so happy once you try it out.  There are two sizes, and if it were me, I'd get both!

 

Hope to finish my Year of Schnibbles project this weekend! 

Now, on to the topic you are all waiting for  with bated breath!  The winners of the French General Rouenneries giveaway are.................................

Megan Griffin wins the layer cake

Carol Lewis wins the charm packs

Email me your addresses girls and I will send you your goodies.  Congratulations!

French General Giveaway!

I don't know what I am more excited about--this giveaway or the fact that the incomparable Kaari Meng from French General read my blog!  Evidently one of my enthusiastic raves about her new fabric design Rouenneries came to her attention, and she emailed me to say that she would like to contribute a couple of items for me to give away in her name on my blog, was I interested?

Was I interested?  Is this not the most fun thing ever?  I am totally star struck over this gorgeous fabric collection.  I emailed her back to say I would be thrilled to host a giveaway for her.  So this week, a box arrived from French General with two cutely tissue wrapped packages and a sweet card from Kaari, saying "Thanks for spreading the word"! 

So here is the dilemma.  Don't you want to see what is in the packages?  Don't you?  I thought so.

A Honey Bun of Rouenneries and two charm packs!

Many of us agree that this fabric is the most exciting thing to hit the quilting world in some time.  I would like to hear from you just why this fabric collection is so appealing.  Comment on this post and the honey bun will go to one lucky person and the two charm packs to another.  (If you are doing the Year of Schnibbles project, just imagine what you could do with these charm packs!)

I will do the random number drawing on Thursday night 9:00 PM PST, and post the names of the winners on Friday morning.

It's A New Dawn, A New Day

On Saturday, I woke, still smarting from my sewing fiasco of the previous day.  I lay in bed, fuming at my sloppy work, my lack of planning and my wasteful use of both time and fabric.  Then, I remembered something. 

The lovely Cheryl, my friend from Gran's Quilting Place, had recently sent me some gorgeous fat quarters from a group called Spice Market by Exclusively Quilters.  Really beautiful fabric.   This black print is my favorite.  I believe this is my inspiration print for my second attempt at the A Year of Schnibbles project!

I flew out of bed, hair wild, and ran to the sewing room, only pausing to grab some coffee on the way.  Sophie was in hot pursuit, nipping at my nightgown hem, trying to herd me into sensibility.  I rushed past my son in the hallway.  "Mom?  Are you ok?"   No, I hadn't lost my mind, although I may have been singing for joy. 

"It's a new dawn
It's a new day
It's a new life
For me
And I'm feeling good"

You see, I had an Idea.  An Inspiration.  Yesterday's failure didn't matter anymore.  I was ready to begin anew.  Thank you Cheryl!

I had my inspiration fabric, but needed to pick some tone on tones from my stash to coordinate with it.  Shop at home, Friends, it is amazing what you already have on hand.  I found a rusty red and an olive green for my Flying Geese.  I used a paisley fat quarter from Spice Market (also from Cheryl) and some beautiful Sandy Gervais golds from a previous group of hers.

Now I am cooking with gas.  Except for the issue of my horribly executed Flying Geese.  How was I going to rectify that problem?

In Carrie's Schnibble pattern Winter White, the first Year of Schnibbles project, she mentions a new tool called Fit to be Geese.  As a matter of fact, Carrie actually SENT me this tool a couple of months ago!  (Do I have great friends or what?)  Obviously, the method I had been using for flying geese was not serving me well, so I got out the Mini Fit to be Geese ruler and gave it a try.  Thank you Carrie.

Oh good gravy, what a difference in the quality of my flying geese.  You see, with this method, you make the geese BIGGER and use the ruler to Trim Them Down.  Results:  Perfect Flying Geese every time.  Every single one, identical in size and shape to the others.  No wonky geese.

Before trimming.  (See, they are a bit wonky at the top.  Doesn't matter).

Being trimmed.  (It is as simple as lining up the marks on the ruler).

Perfect little goslings.  Perfect 3 1/2 inch square flying geese unit for blocks.

You must try this tool.  It is made by Monique of Open Gate.  There are two sizes, a mini size and a larger size.  This ruler has made all the difference.  Thank you Monique.

Check back tomorrow.  I hope to have a finished block to show you.

Life is good again.

PS:  Yesterday's post garnered a number of comments from people who, while not exactly scolding me for tossing the poorly made flying geese, expressed dismay that I had "wasted" them.  Couldn't I use them in some other way?  On the back of a quilt maybe?  Couldn't I "donate them to a charitable organization"?  "Turn them into potholders?"

No.

The units were poorly made and not worthy of any project that has my name on it.  The units were not consistent in size, and the blocks they were used in were consequently not uniform in size.  It was a shame that I rushed the project and therefore did not do my best work.   It is a pity that the fabric was wasted.  

But that is the way it is.

I should have known any Flying Geese made out of a fabric group called Gobble Gobble would turn out to be turkeys.