Sister's Choice Quilts

Sewcialites Progress Week 16, Snow, and the COVID Vaccine

We find ourselves coming up on week 17 of the Sewcialites Sew Along hosted by Fatquarter Shop and Kimberly Jolly. These are the two most recent blocks I have made, week 15 "Genuine", designed by Lori Holt, and week 16 "Friendship", designed by Carrie Nelson.

I tell you, that block 16 had me reaching for my seam ripper quite a few times. I went into it full of confidence because after all, it is flying geese, my favorite block unit. But I had some issues getting the seam intersections to line up properly.

Look what greeted me when I looked out my window on Monday morning! We only get snow rarely, but here we are. Brrrrrr.  It is way colder than this girl likes it. And yes, those are our Christmas lights. Someone hasn't gotten around to taking them down yet. We are supposed to get more snow this week, which I am hoping I won't have to drive in.

Look who got a COVID-19 vaccine! My sister took our dad in for his on Sunday afternoon.  They are giving the injections in the underground parking structure of our medical clinic. Dad, being 95, is one of the first people I know to get one. He was extremely excited to get it. He says they had to wait in a line for about 45 minutes, but he had his wheelchair so he was good. The injection did not hurt and he has had no after-effects of any kind. So that is all excellent. I tried to schedule an appointment for myself, but it turns out I am not old enough. lol

Hope you are all having a great week!

Book Twins

Do you have a Book Twin? A Book Twin is someone whose reading taste is remarkably similar to your own. When this person recommends a book, you can be pretty sure you will like it as well. I am still searching for my true Book Twin, but have come pretty close.

I enjoy a bookish podcast called Currently Reading, whose hosts Meredith and Katee have steered me towards some of the best books I have read in the past year or so. That is not to say that their recommendations are 100% on target for me. Katee reads a ton of social justice-themed books, which are not my first choice of bookish entertainment. However, when she suggests an "own voices" book, I know it is going to be authentic and well done. (Example: With the Fire on High, Transcendent Kingdom, The Girl With the Louding Voice). Meredith enjoys story tale retellings and fantasy, which I typically avoid. However, I tried A Court of Thorns and Roses and A Curse So Dark and Lonely because of her and liked them. On the other hand, when Meredith recommends a mystery it is a pretty sure bet that I will love it. (Any Louise Penny book, Home Before Dark, The Magpie Murders). Interestingly enough, when Meredith mentions a book she did not like, and I have also read it, I tend to be of the same opinion.

There is such a thing as an Anti-Book Twin as well.  I think I have discovered my Anti-Book Twin is Reese Witherspoon. I have enjoyed exactly three of the last 17 of her book club suggestions. (Such a Fun Age, The Guest List, and The Henna Artist). Some of her recommendations have actually been on my Least Liked Books list. Despite the trend of their bad book recommendations, keep in mind, sometimes even your Anti-Book Twin may get it right!

Many readers recommend that you keep a list of the books you read in a given year to keep track of your reading life. I use a little leather notebook, but Goodreads is another good place to track your reading. I track the title of the book, the author, the date I read it, and my rating of the book. Katee and Meredith recommend tracking one more detail, and I think it is brilliant. They track the source of the recommendation of each book. Where they heard of it first, who said it was good. 

This would be a great way to find out where you consistently get good book suggestions. We all want to improve our reading lives. Spending time and money on a book you are not enjoying is a huge waste. If you can find your book twin, you could be on your way to loving a much greater number of the books you read!

The Quilter's Clapper

Have we talked about The Clapper? For the life of me I could not recall if I had mentioned it before, so forgive me if I have. It is such a great tool, it bears talking about again.

The device is a wooden block made from hardwood, such as maple. It is technically called a tailor's clapper and is used for flattening seams on garments. The way it works is, you press your seams, then lay the block on top of them. The wooden block absorbs the heat of the iron from the fabric and the pressing surface. What happens is, your seam gets pressed on both sides. The wood really heats up and continues to press the fabric after you have removed the iron. It is very gentle and works amazingly well to flatten seams. You do not need to leave it on your seam for long to achieve the results. Just a minute or so.

You will have the flattest blocks ever when you use this thing. Combined with the wool pressing mat, which also retains heat, the results are incredible. I bought mine from fatquartershop.com. They are currently out of stock but have them on order. Many people make their own by having a piece of hardwood cut, and then sanding it. It comes in two sizes, 7" and 12". I got the 7" and will be ordering the larger one when it comes into stock. This particular clapper is made by Riley Blake, but I think Steady Betty may also make one.

Highly recommend this product.

Sewcialites Progress

I have made 15 Sewcialites blocks since I switched fabrics/colors a month or two ago. I do like this combination of reds, blacks, and tans. I have to say that I am really enjoying the sew along and also the Friday YouTube videos Kimberly of The Fat Quarter Shop puts out each week. They are nice and long and I can stitch along while she demos the week's block and shows sewing tips and new items in her shop. Next Friday she said she will show some upcoming Moda Collections plus some new books. One of the books is a collaboration by Joanna Figueroa and Carrie Nelson, which I cannot wait for.

It has been so nice to be at home. The weather is absolutely gorgeous and we have all our sliding glass doors open. I got an itch to reorganize my bathroom cabinets and drawers. Can somebody please remind me that I do not need to buy any more cosmetics for the rest of my life? I tossed out so many lipsticks and old foundations and dried out mascaras, it was ridiculous. It's a great feeling to be able to see what I have and have room in the drawers and on the cabinet shelves. 

I made a nice crockpot dinner, and as I am writing this, my house smells so good. I combined onions and red, yellow, and orange bell peppers in the slow cooker with some mild Italian sausages. We will have them on hoagie rolls. I also did laundry, ironed a few things, and played in my sewing room for a couple of hours. I feel as if I had a day off!

Hope your week got off to a good start.

Sorting Things Out

Things have gone a bit topsy turvy on me in the past week.  My 95-year-old dad has had a small stroke.  It was a scare at first, but he is doing quite well. His symptoms are relatively minor, mainly a weakness in his left arm. He was hospitalized briefly.  And this is not a great time to have to go to the hospital, let me just say that. Of course, no family member could be with him, and there was no communication regarding his condition from the hospital for eight hours. I get the feeling they are pretty busy at hospitals right now.  Forget about trying to call them. No one answers the phone.  Seriously.  No one answers the phone at the hospital. They are all occupied with other things at the moment due to COVID.

We have him at home now, and he has a good appetite, his spirits are great, and we are so grateful that things didn't go in a different direction. My two sisters and I are sharing his care, and my shift looks like it is going to be the weekends since I am homeschooling Eva during the week.  We will get through it.

Not much sewing going on, but I have made some fabric purchases that are tempting me greatly. I missed out on ordering Harvest Road by Lella Boutique when it first came out a few months ago, but I was able to order a honey bun and a layer cake on Etsy. I got a bit of background and a little something for a border also.  Not sure what I will make, but I do have an idea rattling around in my head. 

This pattern is Summer Stroll by A Quilting Life.  I may adapt it and make a table runner or two.

Hope you all had a good weekend. Feeling grateful here.

 

 

French General Explosion

I was very lucky to be the recipient of a lot of French General fabric at Christmas. My son in Ireland, who completely understands my love of fabric sent me a vast amount of it as a Christmas gift. He purchased it from a shop in England and had it mailed to him in Dublin, then sent it to me in California.  It got waylaid back in England, staying at Heathrow airport for over two weeks, but finally arrived.  Covid-19 is wreaking havoc with mail delivery in the UK as well as the US.

He had ordered half meter cuts of a variety of pinks and reds. What you see in the photo above is just what I have starched so far.  I cut it all into fat quarters and am only using half of what he sent for now.

So I have around 30 fat quarters of this delicious fabric to use in a project, and about the same amount to stash away for the future.

And I am quite excited about it. It's kind of crazy, since I just finished an enormous project using all French General fabrics. That would be my red pineapple quilt. But you know what? I am not really tired of this designer's fabric!

My new project is going to be a very large bed sized quilt in a basket design. I have always loved basket blocks and this should satisfy that itch.

I'll tell you more about the pattern later, but there are a lot of baskets blocks in this quilt, and a lot of half square triangles in each basket block. I made a test block and like it. But it took a while. I can see I will have to pace myself with this project. It could take another eight years. Just kidding I think.

My week got crazy busy unexpectedly, with a big work assignment from the company I write for. Plus, my dad isn't doing well, so my sisters and I are taking turns staying with him. My shift is Thursday through Sunday. Not sure how much I will be able to blog, but I'll try!

Where We Got It All Put Away and Ate Chocolate Cake

I have shared with you before how my husband is an absolute nut about Christmas. He starts buying his gifts way early and always gives the best presents. He is known for his generosity. But what he loves most about the holiday season are his special decorations. Of course, he puts lights up everywhere he can hang them, and insists on more than one Christmas tree. This year we had three and they were gorgeous. He is definitely a "more is more" kind of guy.

Every year I say "Oh gosh, maybe we won't put it ALL out this year..." But the look of disappointment on his face makes me immediately retract my statement and suggest we do even more. Putting out all the decorations is a three-day process at least. Taking it down and putting it all way is a bit quicker and we each are responsible for certain items. My husband has an extensive collection of glass ornaments that he has acquired over the decades and he won't hear of anyone putting them away but himself.

First, he spreads towels out on our countertops and arranges the ornaments all by size. One by one, he wraps them in individual plastic bubble wrap bags and carefully places them in large plastic tubs. I am not sure anyone else in the family is quite as smitten with the collection as he is, but hopefully, someday they can be parcelled out to interested family members when we have no more use for them. Or maybe Sara can sell them on eBay and use the money to send Eva to college.  lol

Well, that was hard work, so we celebrated getting the project done by making the best chocolate cake. I highly recommend it, because after all the cookies, fudge, and fruitcake from the holidays, we had to keep up the momentum and keep the pantry stocked with something sweet. The recipe is called Top Secret Chocolate Cake. But it isn't a secret, because here is the recipe. You should make one for yourself.
You know you want a piece.

Thrifty Me

I had a lot of leftovers from my recent Red Pineapple finish. Normally, I am not one to fret about using up leftover fabric, but I had an idea for what to do with them.

I have had foundation paper piecing on my mind lately and purchased a couple of the 6" Log Cabin paper pads from Fatquartershop.com. I LOVE these papers. Years ago, you could not have persuaded me to do paper piecing for love or money, and now I am obsessed with it. The accuracy is amazing and each block turns out just like its sisters. I sure wish they came in a 4" size.  I am also working on some 4" log cabin blocks and using a Creative Grids ruler.  It's going ok, but I sure do prefer the papers.

So I used my leftover French General strips and made a super cute Log Cabin table runner.  I am sending it off to be quilted this week. I doubt I'll get it back in time for Valentine's Day, but I may put it out anyway! It will look so good on my dining room table.

The colossal mess pictured above is my sewing table. I was using my little Fiskars cutting mat to trim the seams after each addition. I realized while I was using it that it is really beat up. I have never had to replace a cutting mat in my entire life of sewing, but I did order myself a new one. I have probably had this one for twelve years or so and have used it constantly for trimming small block units. Replacing it is sure cheaper than replacing the bigger mats on my cutting table, so I don't mind. The small size is so handy, so keep it in mind as a way to save your larger mats.

I had a very productive weekend, but we are commencing back to homeschooling today. My plan is to try to carve out a couple of hours of stitching each afternoon when school's out. Fingers crossed!

Apricot and Ash, Corey Yoder

Isn't this stack of fabrics luscious? It is Apricot and Ash by Corey Yoder, a Moda designer. There is a sew-along coming up called Serendipity that I want to do.  Click here for fabric requirements. It is a row quilt, you know, the kind where you make multiples of some blocks and arrange them in rows.  

Here is a better picture of the range of fabrics.  Aren't they lovely? My bedroom has green walls, and I was thinking a quilt with these colors would be so pretty in spring and summer.

This is the quilt I plan to make.  I love Corey Yoder's website Coriander Quilts.  Her fabrics are scrumptious and her patterns are pretty good too. She lives in Amish county somewhere in Ohio and often posts Instagram photos of neighbors driving their horse-drawn buggies down the roads in her area. Her photography is excellent. She is very faithful about telling you which Moda Solids match her colorways. When you are looking for a perfect background match that is so helpful. She seems like a lovely young woman.

So, that's all I have for today. I hope to sew this weekend and be a good companion to my husband. Happy January everyone.

My New Neck Light

My new neck light kind of blends in with my dark sweater, but you can see it I think. I turned it off so you wouldn't be blinded by the brightness. Let me just say I love it. It works so great for reading, particularly when I walk into our library room to read in my favorite chair by the window and am greeted by this sight:

It is somebody else's favorite chair too and he is often in it when I want it. That little red light is from Ikea and was given to me years and years ago by a friend.  At first, I used it by my sewing machine, but now I use it all the time by my reading chair. Except when Ozzie has it monopolized.  But it no longer matters if my chair is full of dog!  I have my neck light. I can go into the living room and sit on the couch, where the light is not great for reading. With this neck lamp, low lighting in a room no longer is an issue.

This photo is with the light on.  I can see the printing on the page of my book brilliantly!  I am very excited about this purchase.  Less than $20 on Amazon and it is going to make such a difference in me being able to get all those bindings stitched down. I highly recommend this for reading and hand sewing.