I feel the need for speed
Gas is $3.88 at the local Costco... I'm going out. I have been driving a lot less lately and been really careful where I go when I do drive. Now that gas is so cheap I may throw caution to the wind and go on a single function trip.. .. Parr -Ty!!
I am the Karate Kid!
Well, as you know I got the new handles and have been practicing. Did you see Karate Kid?
Mr. Miyagi said "Wax on, right hand. Wax off, left hand. Wax on, wax off. Breathe in through nose, out the mouth. Wax on, wax off. Don't forget to breathe, very important."
That's is what I am doing! I spin the circle(wax on), then spin out(wax off), making sure that I have my hands correctly placed and I try to be "even". I have been doing practice on passage quilts, and trying to remember to breathe. wax on.
Today I realized my hands were very sore from holding the handles in a "death grip". Deep breath and relax - wax off.
The great thing about the handles is that I have the control knobs right done by the quilt top.
wax on - that gives me the ability to be more precise- wax off - I am hoping to learn to McTavish - wax on- now that my hands are closer to the needle-wax off .
My upper arms hurt, hands hurt, but these hours have been good learning, I feel much more balanced.wax on- wax off - remember to breathe.
We are no longer alone. When we first moved in, we had no neighbors- no one across the street- just one family behind us. They got divorced and moved out. We were alone. In the past few weeks 3 new families have moved in around us and behind us we got "intel interns". I have always been jealous of the ladies a street over- they all moved in around the same time, they all know each other, they are all blonde, they look so darn cozy.. .. hummph. Part of me is so excited to have neighbors... I hope they like me.
Quilters Rock!
Mr. Miyagi said "Wax on, right hand. Wax off, left hand. Wax on, wax off. Breathe in through nose, out the mouth. Wax on, wax off. Don't forget to breathe, very important."
That's is what I am doing! I spin the circle(wax on), then spin out(wax off), making sure that I have my hands correctly placed and I try to be "even". I have been doing practice on passage quilts, and trying to remember to breathe. wax on.
Today I realized my hands were very sore from holding the handles in a "death grip". Deep breath and relax - wax off.
The great thing about the handles is that I have the control knobs right done by the quilt top.
wax on - that gives me the ability to be more precise- wax off - I am hoping to learn to McTavish - wax on- now that my hands are closer to the needle-wax off .
My upper arms hurt, hands hurt, but these hours have been good learning, I feel much more balanced.wax on- wax off - remember to breathe.
We are no longer alone. When we first moved in, we had no neighbors- no one across the street- just one family behind us. They got divorced and moved out. We were alone. In the past few weeks 3 new families have moved in around us and behind us we got "intel interns". I have always been jealous of the ladies a street over- they all moved in around the same time, they all know each other, they are all blonde, they look so darn cozy.. .. hummph. Part of me is so excited to have neighbors... I hope they like me.
Quilters Rock!
Learning All Over Again!!
I got the new handles!! A Common Thread had them in stock. 10 minutes to install and forever to learn. I also had to call Handi-Quilter and get new carriage tracks - 14$ set and they are not in their catalog. Thursday was Pioneer Day so they were closed. but I ordered them yesterday. In the mean time I am practicing on passage quilts, doing simple exercises or patterns to get used to where I need to put my hands.
I have been sucked into Big Brother After Dark, and twitter... I am now twittering and will soon start posting regularly. So if you twitter; I'll follow you, if you follow me.
WANTED: New Handles!!
No, this is not a picture of my machine... these are the new micro-handles for the handiquilter. They are kinda spendy but I want them anyway! My birthday is coming so maybe I can swing them... This is just what I need! really. me wants!
For the last 3 days I have been quilting a top and the thread just kept breaking.. and breaking...
something was wrong and I struggled, playing with the tension, changing the needle etc... then, I fixed it...or it stopped. It sure can be frustrating. I was trying something new, a new style of feather, and its been real tough going...
Today I finished a second quilt, and am going to load 2 more today! Hurray I am back on track.
Anxious to get some pumped out and off for binding.
Quilters Rock!
And the winner is...
GroovyHolly !!! She is in Canada! Are they metric?
It's on groovyholly to contact me(I don't have her mail)after I left a comment on her blog... so if I don't hear from her... second runner up will be chosen from my box of entries.
makes me so crazy!!
I made mention on a couple of blogs - quilters gallery (see badge) and TallPrairieStudio - she is a great quilter and her blog is pretty awesome so go check it out. Check her out on flickr too. The talent is amazing! Hi Jackie! *frantic wave*
Below is a pictue of a quilt, I made it 2 years ago at a retreat with the BBClub. Since that time, our Queen has cut several dozen kits, quilters have generously donated time, assembled them, quilted them and bound them. The Patterns For Passage System is based on a 12" block and 6 inch borders. 12 blocks and borders make a 48x60" quilt everytime. Based on variations of the 9 patch or 4.5" thirds we have several kits we make, and people can sign them out at a local store, bring them back, and its a mitzvah all the way around. Who makes what and who quilts what gets pretty anonymous and I like that.
Back when we first started making kits we got in trouble for photcopying other peoples patterns and needed to make our own. Hence, the P4PSystem.
I love working Passage. I love making quilts for people I will never know. I love the people I have met, the friends I have made, and the skills I have learned. I never think of my enemies, but my "Frenemy" drives me insane! Every couple of months she pops up and wrecks havoc with sanity and my ego. I hate how easily I react!
Change of subject!!!
Tuesdays I go to Farmers Market! I like to get mini pies. they are called "All Mine". I also get vegetables and berries.
I am quilting a lot lately. I finished quilting The Calico Cat passage quilt and am doing practice on the left over backing. When I get it off the machine I will take pictures..
GIVE AWAY!! In honor of the quilting of the Rolling Pin tops this month... I am giving away a copy of the Rolling Pins Pattern. Leave a comment to be entered, it runs till Monday the 21st of July (10 days)
Below is a pictue of a quilt, I made it 2 years ago at a retreat with the BBClub. Since that time, our Queen has cut several dozen kits, quilters have generously donated time, assembled them, quilted them and bound them. The Patterns For Passage System is based on a 12" block and 6 inch borders. 12 blocks and borders make a 48x60" quilt everytime. Based on variations of the 9 patch or 4.5" thirds we have several kits we make, and people can sign them out at a local store, bring them back, and its a mitzvah all the way around. Who makes what and who quilts what gets pretty anonymous and I like that.
Back when we first started making kits we got in trouble for photcopying other peoples patterns and needed to make our own. Hence, the P4PSystem.
I love working Passage. I love making quilts for people I will never know. I love the people I have met, the friends I have made, and the skills I have learned. I never think of my enemies, but my "Frenemy" drives me insane! Every couple of months she pops up and wrecks havoc with sanity and my ego. I hate how easily I react!
Change of subject!!!
Tuesdays I go to Farmers Market! I like to get mini pies. they are called "All Mine". I also get vegetables and berries.
I am quilting a lot lately. I finished quilting The Calico Cat passage quilt and am doing practice on the left over backing. When I get it off the machine I will take pictures..
GIVE AWAY!! In honor of the quilting of the Rolling Pin tops this month... I am giving away a copy of the Rolling Pins Pattern. Leave a comment to be entered, it runs till Monday the 21st of July (10 days)
blog test from my phone
Looks like the text in the field didn't take. hmmm. Anywoo, this is a photo I took with my phone
of how I am doing the calico cat HB quilt. My DH got a new "auto-pap" machine for his sleep apnea and it is so much quieter I can't sleep. Could it also be the large Dr.Pepper that I had at Passage that was chock full of caffeine and high fructose corn syrup? yeah maybe..
Passage Quilting and the Kindness of Strangers
I started passage quilting this last week. I have not been doing as much charity work as I used to, and I started feeling like I was missing service work (see previous post on subject) so I am making a real effort.
The first Saturday of the month is BB Quilt Club and the second Friday is Passage. The Queen of BB (not me, I am the Keeper of the Quilts)has ruled that in order to belong to BB; one must do Passage, attend regular meetings and retreats... I didn't go to the last retreat so I better get on the ball and get my passage done.
In the past, I delivered quilts to BB so the binding could done or made ready by passage. She Who Works Miracles With Fabric, took some Blue, White and yellow fabrics and made 2 tops in the Rolling Pin pattern -- from Me And My Sister Designs. I quilted one last Friday, delivered it to BB and it went out to be bound, so maybe we will get it back this week. I'll do the other one next week.
GIVE AWAY!! In honor of these being quilted this month... I am giving away a copy of the Rolling Pins Pattern. Leave a comment to be entered, it runs till Monday the 21st of July (10 days)
I am a Utility Quilter, not an Heirloom Quilter. What does that mean? It means that the quilts I quilt are meant to be used. Loved. Drug around, tossed in the washer, dryer and generally abused. I have been working to figure out how to quilt, the way I want to quilt, in a fast and efficient manner to keep the cost low for those who want me to quilt for them. By Quilting Passage quilts I get the opportunity to quilts lots of different quilts and gets lots of practice, trying different things. I like to make a single pass, free hand quilt, with little or no cutting of thread. No super tight fills but hopefully good thread movement. Here is a picture of a quilt thats ready to be trimmed and bound.
Amy from TheCalicoCat sent me 2 tops from her pre-baby destash for charity. One of them is a pieced strippy quilt, with the strips going left to right instead of up and down. Is there name for that pattern? idk. Anyway its wonderful! Just the kind of work I like doing, a nice blend of contemporary fabrics and style with a splash of tradition. I am doing a "feathers to fill" pattern like the above pink/green. Except that because its a "strippy" I am trying to make each strip a bit different but related.
I wanted to get it finished today to take it to Passage but I am going to take longer than 2 hours to quilt it and so I will bind it myself. I will keep you posted. :)
Tech Talk: I was gonna use a King Tut thread called "baby blanket" but it proved too dark, so I switched to Maxi-Lock "pastel sprinkles". I am using Bottom Line 620 cream on the bobbin.
Above on the Rolling Pin Top I floated the top by not rolling it up on the bar. A frequent passage shortcut. Notice I rolled up the The Calico Cat HB top, I am using this top as a practice run for a paid job. I float tops a lot. I usually float tops I quilt for me and passage but when I am getting paid I won't. It doesn't seem to make a difference in the quilt but its a time thing. I really hate pinning on. Really hate it, so much so, that I must be paid to do it. ;D
Please leave a comment and get entered in the give-away (be sure that I can contact you, is your email included or on your profile?)
as always
Quilters Rock!
All About Eve!
All about Eve is on TCM tonight. I didn't "get" this movie till I was about 35. Its fricken Brilliant!
Miss Davis' gowns are by Edith Head and Marilyn Monroe is in it. So great!
I am quilting for Passage all week, quilts are due Friday. I'm feeling really good and connected to passage again.
While I am busy hit www.patchmenagerie.blogspot.com to see a tutorial I found. It is brilliant!
Did you see me listed over at whipup.net?? I was very excited! my Bali-PopTutorial got mentioned in "craftapoloza" with a photo! hooray!!
Feeling Bette Davis evil?? Have a glance at awfulplasticsurgery.com or PerezHilton.com
Feeling Eve evil try www.passiveaggressivenotes.com
Back to the movie!
Quilters Rock!
Miss Davis' gowns are by Edith Head and Marilyn Monroe is in it. So great!
I am quilting for Passage all week, quilts are due Friday. I'm feeling really good and connected to passage again.
While I am busy hit www.patchmenagerie.blogspot.com to see a tutorial I found. It is brilliant!
Did you see me listed over at whipup.net?? I was very excited! my Bali-PopTutorial got mentioned in "craftapoloza" with a photo! hooray!!
Feeling Bette Davis evil?? Have a glance at awfulplasticsurgery.com or PerezHilton.com
Feeling Eve evil try www.passiveaggressivenotes.com
Back to the movie!
Quilters Rock!
Thinking Lincoln! and the Rare Book Room
When I am not sewing patchwork, actively quilting or gardening ... or doing any of the million things people do each day, I am on the internet. And what, pray tell, am I doing there you ask?
Lately, I have been looking over the RareBookRoom.org
They have a first edition of The Grammar of Ornament, which is nice. RBR has Poor Richards almanac and my favorites; the illuminated manuscripts from the 16th century. These manuscripts have beautiful paintings in them that I can look at as long as I want, zoom in and zoom out, and whole books can be flipped through almost like seeing them in person. I love this site.
Lately, I have fallen under the spell of the International Quilt Study Center & Museum: an affiliate of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. They just announced that they won a big prize for the brilliance of their logo. My favorite aspect is that you can search through their collection and create your own collection of bookmarked quilts, kind of like Fickrs "favorites". They have a quilt of the month, downloads, podcasts and it well worth a visit and a bookmark!!
Lately, I have been looking over the RareBookRoom.org
They have a first edition of The Grammar of Ornament, which is nice. RBR has Poor Richards almanac and my favorites; the illuminated manuscripts from the 16th century. These manuscripts have beautiful paintings in them that I can look at as long as I want, zoom in and zoom out, and whole books can be flipped through almost like seeing them in person. I love this site.
Lately, I have fallen under the spell of the International Quilt Study Center & Museum: an affiliate of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. They just announced that they won a big prize for the brilliance of their logo. My favorite aspect is that you can search through their collection and create your own collection of bookmarked quilts, kind of like Fickrs "favorites". They have a quilt of the month, downloads, podcasts and it well worth a visit and a bookmark!!
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