Thursday, December 30, 2004

Hip Hip Hooray!
I was completely stalled on August until last night. I was waiting for Cinnamon. to pick me up, and I was muttered "August, August. Heat. hot.... barbeque."

Barbeque!



September fell into space when I thought of using a brown/baby blue color scheme with red accents - vs. a more autumnal range that would have been very similar to the following months.

Here's the finished set of 12 months. I'll post when the calendar is ready to purchase on CafePress.

Now, I gotta clean up all my scraps. Then, I'm off to test my newly tuned up sewing machine.

Wednesday, December 29, 2004

April!

It's dry! Only August and September to go. Happily, I got a shot of inspiration for Sept. August has stymied all along.

February!

Obvious theme, but I still like it. It joins its friends over here. April's done and drying.
posted on 12/29/2004 05:22:03 PM

November!
Back to the grindstone on the calendars. Yeah, I know I'm pushing New Year's - but, hey - I do what I can.

Here's December:

Cozy bedroom for November. April is well on it's way...

Here's all of the finished calendar images.
posted on 12/29/2004 01:57:01 PM

Sunday, December 26, 2004

The Mom Nod
Mom called this morning and said she loves the quilt! Hooray!

My stepsister saw it and said, "it's so you." A very good sign, since she knows my mom, but we don't know each other.

Admittedly, it was designed for my mom's tastes, but it was a gift for both my mom and stepdad. Garry, my stepdad, said, "You know it's not really for me." Mom retorted, "When I'm down in the shop [her basement hair salon], I know you'll be upstairs under the quilt."

:)

Edited to add:
Here's mom and Garry enjoying their new quilt!

Saturday, December 25, 2004

So Sew Christmas!
Since my mom got her quilt today, I can now reveal it. I made her a quilt!


The 14th I finished her quilt and that day I made my OWN darn quilt! I'm totally smitten with it. With the polar weather we're having, I'm rarely unwrapped from my quilt when I'm home.


Details and all the quilts (seven now, started eight and nine) are collected in a new gallery.

Friday, December 24, 2004

For the second installment of Month of Softies, the theme was "Holiday Hang-Ups." I cast a coupla ornamental pals I made a couple years ago:

Merry Christmas!

Tuesday, December 14, 2004

Saturday, December 11, 2004

Friday, December 10, 2004

Fabric Fix
Anne's lovely mom Elsie is visiting from Ohio and and requested some quilt shop shopping. We first toddled off to the nearby (nearby a lunch restaurant and our homes) Vogue Fabrics in Evanston. Normally I have no problem with Vogue, but last night the customer service sucked. But I got some super fabric for a winter hat. (You'll see it sooooon)

Then next to Quilter's Palette in Morton Grove. Wowsa, that's a LOT of fabric in one place. Wow. Wow. They cover a lot of fabric bases. Palette's an apropos name, with loads of tone-on-tone stuff to built your stash.* Loads of batiks. If you like batik fabric, you'll love Quilter's Palette.

Helpful, fun staff. I liked that the man helping me -- talked enough to him I shoulda ask his name. He was wearing a Lanford (I think) Funeral Home shirt (?). I'll call him Lanford. I liked that Lanford talked about the industry, asides about what fabric was designed by who. Stuff I like to know. I was buying several Free Spirit prints, who's owner is the only woman business owner in the biz, and if I got this straight, the designer has tattoos. Lanford and I compared tattoos. His was as badass as a quilter's tattoo can - a simple, bold needle with a length of thread "pinned' into his bicep. Nice.

And I like that at a quilting store you don't have to feel bad about buying quarter yards. I can recommend getting out to Morton Grove to check out Quilter's Palette.

Quilters confronted with a fabric buying trip either get giddy or break out in sweats. All depends on how they feel about the stash of fabric they already have and how many unfinished/impending projects are looming.

I gave it some thought, and made a list of impending quilt projects: 1. 70's pinwheels, 2. Asian, 3. Lemons, 4. Red/Pink/White 30's repro 5. Scraps 6. Stripes. 7. Dutch Wax Batiks. Not too bad. All relatively straightforward projects, just need time.

Don't "need" fabric.

On the other hand, I have such specific tastes in fabric, that it makes sense to look and buy the very few prints that catch my eye. The same way I don't have to give a whole lot of thought to safe sex because there's so few people I'd want to sleep with.

Parameters:
• I have a very, very specific tastes in fabric.
• A single cabinet to hold all my quilt fabrics.
• I like bright colors, specific palette I always return to. A certain, singular pink, only certain green based blues.
• I la-la-love pattern. I want pattern.
• I don't like naturalistic prints, anything trying to look to much like something real. I.e. leaves, stones, animals, and of that. If it's stylized...maybe.
• I like things that are geometric if they aren't too rigid.
• Don't like florals, unless they're really stylized and bold and pop-y.
• Batiks are lovely, nice rich colors, but I don't like 'em enough to buy enough to build a stash.
• Love tone-on-tone, but they've gotta meet the above criteria.

Here's what made the cut - no pun intended:


*Or 'stache - shout out to Heather.

Friday, December 03, 2004

Inadvertent Pink
I've owned my red bathmat and toilet seat cover for seven years now. Washed plenty of times. I didn't think much of throwing it in the wash with my white pillow covers and cases. Always away that colors can bled in the wash, I do sort accordingly.

You never know what wash cycles will turn into a dyebath.

Jeebus! I wasn't expecting the whites to turn such a deep shade of adorable pink. I'd be cranky if I weren't so delighted.

Wednesday, December 01, 2004