Category Archives: miscellaneous

A Walk Around the Block

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To see some flowers around the block this time.  Flowers from the pathway up to the front entrance to the building.

Flowers at the store right across from the building.

I had hoped there’d be pictures of the flowers from the roof garden, but I guess the gardeners are sticking to the don’t plant before May 24th rule. I’m a bit surprised as we had gloriously warm weather throughout the entire long weekend and this week looks like it’s going to feel like July rather than May.

On the long weekend I got lots and lots of the New York Beauty pieces I had printed on fabric cut and ready to stitch, a few more of the Drunkard’s Path blocks stitched and spent a fair bit of time giving my blog a facelift. Which, if you’re reading this other than through a reader, you’ve probably already noticed. I love the new WordPress option of being able to see a true preview of how the various themes look with the blog header photo. It made switching themes fun this time.

Baxter knows how to relax but, even when having a snooze, always likes to know where his toys are. Mr. Q.O. captioned this one, “Choices, choices.”

Quilts in Boxes

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Almost all the shapes for the ’30s Drunkard’s Path blocks are cut now. Doesn’t this look inviting? I love having everything for a quilt so well organized. Now, when I want to stitch some of these little shapes, I just need to pick up the book box and everything I need is there. Well, not the thread – but in this case I’m using one colour, an heirloom cream thread, and it’s in the end table drawer just waiting. I have to stitch a few more of the blocks to make room in the book box for the remaining shapes.

All the shapes for the red and white Texas Star quilt are cut and waiting in this box. In fact, everything’s in the box. The thread is there. The top, in the stage it is now, is in there. And all the pieces necessary to complete it.

The Winding Ways blocks I’d starting making with the  hand-dyed fabrics reappeared. Everything that’s necessary for the rest of them is printed and in a box as well.

A fair bit of time was spent on the weekend trying to organize my stitching. After I excavated – cleaned off – partially cleaned off the table where my sewing machine is, which had become the catchall area, I found a lot of orphan blocks and projects in one stage or another including a few forgotten projects. Then I went through the process of sorting everything into its appropriate box and am now much more organized than I have been for the past few months.

As part of that sorting process, I also made use of a large cardboard box into which went a number of projects and orphan blocks. Some of the projects have enough blocks done to turn into small quilts. Some of the orphan blocks may get turned into stitching books. But I am going to try to make a habit of fishing out one set of blocks once a month and doing something with them.

I’m always surprised at how disorganized my stitching area can get. When I was working at an office, I  never shut my office door at night until my desk was clear. It seems the creative process has brought out a whole different side of me.

I know what happens – a new idea comes into my mind and I have to start it immediately. Part of that means finding fabrics I want to play with, but instead of putting them back I seem to toss them on to the sewing table and forget about them until I either am looking for them again or the stitching table hits critical mass and I have to go through the organizing process again.

Every time I do this I swear I’m going to stay better organized. And every time the same thing happens again. And it will happen again and again. Just seems to be part of the creative process for me. But oh, how I wish I could keep that area better organized and actually be able to use the sewing machine when I want to instead of having to go through the excavation process!

Baxter likes to keep his eye on what’s drying on the clotheshorse when I wash fabric by hand.

A Little Stash Enhancement

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Friday we made it to the Creativ Festival. While it was smaller than in past years, there was lots and lots to see. I had a pretty good idea what I wanted to find. Some ’30s prints for the 2″ Drunkard’s Path project. Found.

Some white on whites. Found. A black that would read almost as a solid but still light enough on the back so I can print shapes with Inklingo. Found.

I decided to take a super macro shot of the black to show the pattern in it.

Some more fabrics for the Tiffany Lamp quilt. Found. While I’m not sure all these will make it into the quilt, they are welcome additions to my batik stash.

Except for this one. This is one of the Northcott Stonehenge fabrics and most definitely is going to be used in the Tiffany Lamp quilt. I love the play of colours in this.

It was a great weekend. We went to the Festival, I got the lion’s share of the printing done for the Drunkard’s Path quilt and Baxter was posing for photos every time we glanced his way.

Baxter has claimed that spot on the quilt as his own. We put a teddy bear up beside the quilt, looked over a while later and Baxter was sound asleep with his head on the teddy bear.

Some Favourite Quilt Books

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Some of my favourite quilt books got taken off the shelf last night. Mr. Q.O. and I are both really feeling the allergy season starting and, while I did get some stitching done, last night was mostly a night for leafing through these books.

This little book, Quilts, A Beautiful History, is definitely one of my favourites and one which has inspired two of my quilts – Pink Ice and the pink and cream quilt.

When I first got the book, this page was looked at over and over again and eventually I made Pink Ice, which was inspired by the photo.

Ontario’s Heritage Quilts is a book I can never get enough of. I can read and re-read the narrative and look at the pictures for hours at a time.

This is just one of the many quilts in the book. It’s impossible to describe just how fabulous this book is.

Next up is the Two-Color Quilts book. I love looking through and seeing the various two-colour quilts, as making a series of two-colour quilts is one of my long-term goals.

Clearly I’m on a red and white kick, as this is the one I spent the most time looking at last night.

Then Art of the Needle from the Shelburne Museum. There are countless quilts in this book that are absolutely stunning.

This is one of the many quilts in the book that I can’t stop going back to and looking at.

Then comes the Jinny Beyer book, The Quilter’s Album of Patchwork Patterns, which I think is an absolute must-have for any quilter.

Turn to any page in that book and there’s inspiration plus just waiting.

So what are your favourite quilt books? Which ones do you turn to for inspiration?

Baxter was looking regal as he sat atop the couch watching.

Progress Report and a Question

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The last time I showed this box it was more or less stuffed full and that was even after three-quarters of the main body of the quilt was done. Now the box is empty enough I had to put another box in there to prop up the glassine envelopes holding the remaining blocks to be pieced for the border. So progress is being made!

After looking at the red and white quilt exhibit app, I started looking through one of my favourite quilt books and came across this. There are other red and white quilts in the book as well and they all stand out because of the fabulous contrast.

The book is never far from reach as I spend tons of time looking through it and admiring the amazing quilts in it.

Yesterday of course I spent altogether too much time playing with the iPad. Aside from spending loads of time looking through the red and white quilts on that app, I found myself looking at my and other blogs.

When I was looking at my blog I realized that certain elements are left out when viewed on a tablet, which has me thinking about yet another blog facelift so that my blog does appear the same on desktops, laptops and mobile devices. Which brings me to a question. If you have a tablet, do you use it to visit blogs?

Thanks to a comment left yesterday, Baxter has his very own app on the iPad – a game for a cat. He’s quite interested in watching it. Made us laugh watching him watching it!

Quilts and Technology

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Isn’t this a pretty floral? It’s decorator weight cotton, but I’m going to use it for the centre large diamond of a Jane Austen quilt. Ever since the Jane Austen Patchwork Inklingo collection came out, I’ve been thinking about making one and, as I was finishing another portion of the red and white border last night, I remembered I had this piece of fabric left over from the making of the side drapes in our living room. It will be perfect! Now I’ll just find some fabrics in my shabby stash that will play nicely and I’ll be ready to start it.

Yesterday we ran a few errands, and the weather was glorious. I can’t get over how green everything is looking so early.

One of the errands was to pick up this! I have wanted an iPad for ages and yesterday there was a fabulous sale which we took advantage of. The first thing I did once we got it home was to download the app for the Red and White Quilt show from last year. What a treat to see all those beautiful, magnificent quilts. I know it’s nothing like what it must have been to see them in person, but to have the chance to see them like this is a huge bonus.

And that’s where the title of today’s post came from – fabric for a quilt and the technology that enables me to see those beautiful quilts from last year’s exhibit.

Last weekend I picked up a cover for my eReader. They had many, many different covers available but there was something about this one that really appealed to me. I like the fact that now when I finish reading, it feels even more like a book as I close the cover.

Mr. Q.O.’s caption for this one is, “More toys for you?” Baxter was less than impressed with the sounds from the iPad. There is definitely something he sees out on the roof garden at night and, whatever it is, he absolutely does not like it. Last night he was growling at it. Mr. Q.O. couldn’t believe the noise he made and initially thought it was a motorcycle going by.

Fabric Play

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While I was working on the red and white pieced border last night, I was thinking about playing with this group of fat quarters. Once the red and white, the Scrappy Star, the Pickled Ladies and the quilt I’ve decided to make with the fabrics I won in the Love the Lines contest (more on that quilt soon) are done, I’m going to start playing in earnest with those fabrics. I prewash all my fabric and then just fold it to put away. Ironing happens when I’m about to use it, which is why these FQs appear a bit wrinkled.

Right now I have too many ideas and not enough time to stitch! I think I need to teach Baxter to start stitching. Maybe I’d have better luck teaching Mr. Q.O. to stitch, although he’s making noises about perhaps playing with EQ. I hope he does actually, as I am sure his design ideas will be really intriguing.

It was yet another absolutely glorious warm day here on Wednesday. They finally opened the roof garden but we didn’t get out there to take a shot of the red and white top. Maybe today we will.

Baxter loves to sprawl on the floor with Cappy nearby.

New Quilt Possibly Being Planned

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When I was looking around in my stash for yet another possible fabric for kaleidoscope stars, I opened the container in which the shabby chic fabrics are stored. I then realized just how long it has been since I’ve worked with them exclusively. I pulled out a handful of them to see what I come up with. While i have no real plan in mind, I think that it will likely involve curved piecing.

However, on my hunt I found this fabric. I had it out on the ironing board to audition it using the window template. This piece of fabric has the potential to make some wonderful kaleidoscope stars!

The grading of the red and white Feathered Star/Sunflower blocks is all done. Finally. Six of the blocks are joined. Today I’ll give them all a quick press and hopefully will have all 12 of the blocks joined up by the end of the week. If I stay focused on this, and this alone, I could have the pieced border done in about 2 weeks. But that’s a big if.

The Pickled Ladies are inching their way closer to completion too, so I may get distracted by them. It would be nice to time this so I finish both tops at close to the same time.

The orchid plant is doing incredibly well. More blooms have opened and there are still more yet to open.

Yesterday Kitty TV was very active. Along with the squirrel, the grackles made an appearance. I think I was more excited about that than Baxter was, although he spent a fair bit of time watching out the window during the afternoon.

Red and White Trimmings

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This is the pile after grading the seams on two of the red and white Feathered Star/Sunflower blocks. Two blocks left to go and then I can start putting the top together. It will probably take less time to stitch the blocks together than it has to grade the seams. If nothing else, this may be the final time I need to learn the lesson to grade seams as I make the blocks but it is worth the effort as the difference in weight is noticeable and the quilt will drape quite nicely. I put a nickel beside the pile of trimmings just to give it some perspective.

When I needed a break from the grading, I went looking in my stash for another candidate for kaleidoscope stars. This fabric has a relatively small repeat which would mean little fabric waste, but I have a feeling the stars would all end up looking alike. So back it goes to the stash to be used in something else.

Baxter had a very busy day on Tuesday. Kitty TV has started – a squirrel was seen out on the roof garden. So last night he was relaxing in “his” chair.

Possibilities for Kaleidoscope Stars

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So much fun was had making the kaleidoscope stars like this one that I couldn’t resist doing a little hunting in my stash for some other fabrics that might be likely candidates for interesting kaleidoscope stars.

This one is a definite possibility and will be easy to fussy cut/print for some more kaleidoscope stars.

This one has a larger repeat, but I think some really striking kaleidoscope stars might be the result. I don’t have a lot of it, but perhaps an interesting wallhanging can be made using kaleidoscope stars from it.

This is the fabric combination from yesterday’s post that I was 90 per cent sure I was going to select. It was interesting to read how many of you also felt the same way. So that’s another project waiting in the wings. I’m going to make one block using the two fabrics before I start on that project in earnest.

Last night I was working again on the red and white quilt. I’m really motivated to at least get the 12 blocks together this week. Then I’ll make a decision on whether a small stop border is added before the pieced border.

This picture of Baxter makes me laugh.  If you look closely, you can see that his tongue is sticking out just a bit.