I'm a Lucky Girl

I rarely add my own name to the list for the monthly block lotto drawing . . . this month was only the second time in the lotto's 8year history.  But I couldn't resist this month and I am one of the lucky winners of a set of "liberated love letters."  

Click here to check out the photos of the blocks we made.

Linda, the other winner this month, also lives in Dallas.  I don't think we've ever had two winners from the same city in the same month before.   It must be a lucky day in Dallas–I'm hoping my good fortune lasts through a phone interview tomorrow afternoon . . . and that the sun keeps shining.  It's really beginning to feel like Spring around here.

Really Knitting ... and It's about Time

If I were a speed skater, I would have been disqualified for a couple false starts.

If I were a bobsledder I wouldn't finish well because of my slow start.

I even swatched and started and stopped one more time–with a yarn that I knew had less than the required yardage for that beautiful shawl pattern.

Then, I did a little stash diving one last time and came up with this Alpaca Sox yarn ... of which I had twice as much as I should need.  I cast on last night.

It seems unlikely that I'll finish in time for the closing ceremony in Vancouver . . . but after a few stumbles, I think I've finally found the rhythm of this pattern.  I already am thinking of making another in white cotton for summer.

You can't really appreciate it before it's blocked and the triangles along the edge and lacy pattern are revealed, but here's an in-progress photo. (The yarn photo has more accurate color).

I think this will be the project that prompts me to go looking for a yarn shop with some blocking wires.

Coming Soon . . .

. . . to blog sidebars and facebook pages everywhere . . . or at least a few ;-)

Only a geek like me would follow the (table runner-sized) Block Lotto Blog Banner quilt, with this 17 x 22 inch quilt intended to become a blog/facebook badge.



It was fun to make this little quilt from small pieces of fabric in my scrap bag. There are 14 different blue fabrics used in the letters and 6 more in the binding. The white-on-white and the black & white fabrics in the background are also completely scrappy.

. . . and the string pieced heart makes it my first finish for the String Challenge.

What's in Your Lap?

I have next month's Block Lotto blocks on my design wall–but can't share those for another week. That's OK because most of my work-in-progress has been going on in my lap while I watch the Olympics coverage.

I wonder how many others have switched to hand work for the Olympic season?

Besides Bonnie's BOMs for January and February, the beaded heart sewing kit–all of which I've already shared–and the failed and unraveled sweater start (that I didn't even like enough to photograph), I've also stitched these small "pockets" from cathedral window squares.  They're currently open on one side and will  probably be stuffed and sewn into pincushions, but they're also just the right size to hold my classic–or could it be vintage already–iPod.

Yesterday I decided it just feels wrong not to be completing a knit project during the Winter Olympics, so I ordered Rosemary Hill's pattern for her Brandywine Shawl.

She is offering this pattern as a fundraiser for Doctors without Borders.  I loved it when she posted it on her blog and after seeing yet another beautiful example knit by someone else on their blog yesterday, I could no longer resist it. (I'm not the only one–this has become a great fundraiser for Haiti relief.)

A couple days ago, Lazy Gal Tonya shared some sweet photos of herself hand quilting–with her cat Poky in her lap. My big tomcat Johnny has lately decided that whenever I settle into one of the wing chairs with a project in hand, he needs to be in my lap . . . and be the center of my attention. Here he is, creeping up my ribcage and getting in the way, even as I AM focused on him and trying to take his photo.

Grace Hopper is not a lap cat and prefers to perch nearby, but last night, when I was machine quilting the doll-sized Blog Lotto Blog Button quilt, she jumped onto the sewing table and rolled on this small quilt (18 x 22 inches) . . . while I was stitching–she's never done that before and I was so startled, I didn't grab the camera fast enough.  Somehow I managed to finish the machine quilting with her "help."

In Michigan, I built a window seat for the cats next to the window (and beside my sewing table) so they could be nearby without being in the way.  It was also a good seat to watch all the activity on and around the pond behind my townhouse. I still need to find a way to do something like that in the itty bitty loft.  In the meantime, it'll be a balancing act around here, as I begin knitting the shawl and putting the binding on the little Block Lotto quilt.

For more snapshots of design walls and other projects, check out the links at the bottom of Judy's Design Wall Monday blog post.

Block Lotto Give-Away Prize and Tutorial

Maybe I should always watch more television.  Somehow, all those hours of Olympics coverage have kept me home and busy with knitting and quilting projects.

Last night, I made this little sewing kit.  It will be going to the quilter who creates the longest word or phrase (as measured by number of letters and punctuation, not actually block length) on the Block Lotto this month.

It's an embellished, quilted copy of a quilt shop giveaway from Moda that I've been using for years.  The heart is a class project from a beaded quilt workshop with Ann Fahl at the last Mancuso show in Lansing–yes, it has been hanging around for that long.  I'm really pleased that I was able to put it to a practical use.

My sewing kit is  only four by four and a half inches, but I've always been able to pack the well-used original with what I need for a take-along appliqué or hand-piecing project: small scissors, a packet of needles, appliqué or hand piecing templates and a mini-sandpaper board in the large pocket; thimble and a spool of thread in the smaller double pocket; a few parked needles and pins stuck into the felt, with small blocks or cut pieces inside the felt pages. It works for me and I hope it will be a beautiful and useful gift for our longest phrase winner this month.

Even if you don't want to enter the lotto this month with a long, liberated love letter for a chance to win this prize, you can have one of these for your very own . . . if you're willing to spend an evening making it. I have posted a step-by-step tutorial here: My Portable Handwork Sewing Kit.  Maybe you have a odd mini block or a workshop sample, too, that could be featured on the cover of your kit.  Maybe you'd like to try one of Leah Day's 365 Freemotion Quilting Filler Designs–a little 5" x 10" quiltlet is a quick and easy way to play to explore something new.

But, of course, I'd love to see some more Liberated Love Letters this month ... so joining the lotto for a chance to win is OK, too.  The current contender for longest block is Kristen's Hunka-Hunka Burnin' Love.

My Portable Handwork Sewing Kit

This sewing kit measures 4 by 4.5 inches, has three pockets and two felt pages inside. It's an embellished, quilted version of a quilt shop giveaway that I have been using for years. When I recently came across the appliquéd, beaded heart–the class project from a workshop with Ann Fahl, I decided to put it to a functional use. A miniature block or stitchery sample ... or even a small piece of beautiful fabric would also be wonderful to feature on the cover.

This little pocket was made as a prize for the Block Lotto this month, but you can easily make your own–I already want to make another one . . . for ME.   Here's how.

Cutting the Fabrics

• Two 5" x 10" rectangles of fabric for the cover.  Your outer cover might be appliquéd, pieced, embroidered, etc.  You'll also need a piece of batting cut to the same size.
• For the pockets, one 4-1/2" x 6-12" rectangle and one 4-1/2" x 7-1/2"rectangle. Fold these in half, WRONG sides together and press.
• One rectangle of felt cut at 3-3/4" x 6-3/4"
• Approximately 28" of binding.  I used 1-3/4" wide, double-fold binding cut on the bias.

Making the Kit

1. Layer the two large rectangle with batting and quilt as directed.  I think this is a great size to try one of Leah Day's 365 freemotion filler patterns that she's been blogging.  As you can see, it got a little challenging for me when I got close to that beaded heart. That's OK, the pocket will cover it.

2. Trim the quilted piece to 9-1/2" x 4-1/2" 

3. Round the corners.  I used a large Rx container (which now contains quilting pins) as a template to ensure all my corners match.

4. Lay the cover on the table, inside up and then position the two folded and pressed pocket fabrics at each end, with the folded side toward the middle. Pin in place.

5. Flip over the piece and trim the corners of the pocket fabric even with those on the quilted cover.

6. Stitch a line through the smaller pocket to create two sections and then bind the edges. I used bias binding to make rounding the corners easy-peasy.

7. Center the flannel on the inside of the kit.

8. Sew it to the kit through the center

9. Trim the corners of the felt to match the rounded corners of the kit.

It was so fast and easy, I know I'll be making more of these. This one came together last night, while I watched the Olympics on TV. Here's my well used original and the embellished, quilted copy.

And here's  how I fill mine: small scissors, a packet of needles and handpiecing templates in the large pocket; thimble and a spool of thread in the smaller double pockets; a few parked needles and pins stuck into the felt, with small blocks or cut pieces inside the felt pages. When I was working on an appliqué project, I made a small sandpaper board that fit in the large pocket, too.

How will you fill yours?

February Quilt Along Blocks

During a night of LOST and Mens Figure Skating, I pieced my February blocks for Bonnie's quilt along.

. . . speaking of Lost, When I walked past the Angelika theater at Mockingbird Station, I wondered if this happening in theaters everywhere?

Catching up with the Quilt Along

When some interesting blocks started showing up on Cyndee's,  Linda's and  Ruth's blogs, I really wanted to play along.  I tracked them back to their source and contacted Bonnie through her blog, the Scrappy Bee,  and asked to be included  ... and she gratiously agreed and mailed me the patterns for January and February.

Yesterday, I switched from knitting to hand-piecing while I watch the Olympics and here are my January blocks.







(I didn't crop these very well–they will fit together in a perfect circle)




I'm thinking I'll make 3 of each block for a total of thirty-six 7.5 inch blocks and an asymmetrical arrangement at the end of the year. Color/fabric-wise, I decided to choose a fabric I'd resisting cutting and colors that aren't in my go-to crayon box.

Bonnie has posted a photo of the March block ... I need to keep busy so that my February blocks will be finished by the time it arrives in my mailbox.

. . . And That's a Fact.

The Internet is Made of Cats.

The Internet is Made of Cats - watch more funny videos

(Another fact is that the Funny or Die player is a bit too wide for this blog template–sorry about that.)

Playing with Scraps

While I watched all three hours of LOST last night, I pulled out some scraps and free-pieced a few words and played some more with strings.

I'm having too much fun with these words, but I really ought to make some more "love letters" for the block lotto this month.


I'm sure my recent adventure with strings informed my decision to string piece the heart.

This afternoon, I pulled out more scraps and played with the idea of a black & white border.

Since black and white quilts never seem to photograph very nicely and I'm thinking this doll-sized quilt could become a blog badge for supporters and friends of the Block Lotto, I'm inclined to go a different way. . . isn't it interesting how seeing something on a computer screen can make you see how/why you don't like it as much as you thought ;-)

It's back to the design wall and more playing with scraps for me, I think . . .

Edited to add, here's a photo of where I ended up.

The borders will be trimmed a bit. I will probably bind it in a bright blue or red.

Progress Report ... and thoughts on Abstraction in Quilt Design

Johnny rarely ends up in my quilt photos–his baby sister is the one who is fascinated by fiber–but when I was trying to take a photo of this finished top on my bed, he refused to budge. So here it is, Johnny Be Good and all.

(I'm not sure, but I think that light circle means there's a spot on the lens of my camera . . .  grumble, grumble)

As I was sewing the blocks together, I was thinking about the Lazy Gal Liberated Amish 2010 challenge that I recently joined and about the process of abstracting a traditional Amish quilt into a new quilt design.  I couldn't help but think about how the quilt I was putting together,  based on Gwen Marston's Liberated Wedding Ring quilt (from her book, Liberated String Quilts) was itself a liberated abstraction of a traditional quilt pattern and how it shares the essence of a wedding ring quilt, interpreted in a freer way.  Gwen's quilt has beautiful, traditional quilting . . . and I plan to attempt the same.

While I initially was eager to start working on my Liberated Amish challenge quilt, I actually think that the time spent thinking about it while I finished putting together the string quilt has been good for my thought/design process.

This is the quilt from the Faith and Stephen Brown collection that I have chosen as a starting point for the Liberated Amish challenge.

005:Nine Patch-Midwest c.1920 74"x62" 

To me, it's a 9-patch quilt that doesn't scream 9-patch and it features a wide range of values.  So, those are the two characteristics I hope to create in my quilt.

I feel like I'm ready to go, but I may pull out a UFO and finish it while I think about it a little more ;-)

Because I like Round Numbers . . .

I made six extra January Lotto blocks this afternoon, so winner #6 will receive an easily settable set of 40 blocks.



The last day/first days of the month are usually a flurry of Block Lotto logisitics. Since January was our biggest month ever (with 280 blocks, counting my extras) and 6 winners, there's a bit more emailing and following-up than usual.

As a result of timing, mostly, my design wall now has January Tic-tac-toe blocks, waiting to be packed up and mailed to the winners and some of the free-pieced "liberated love letters" we're making for the February Block Lotto–there are links in the sidebar if you want to know more about the block lotto . . . and maybe even join us. Here's a larger look at honey (my first block for the month).





To be honest, I'm anxious to get back to the project that was on the wall a few days ago, that I blogged about here.



After I finished making 14 blocks–as many Liberated Wedding Ring blocks as I had string yardage–I decided I wanted a bigger quilt and pieced some more strings. This time, since I knew how they would be used, instead of making a single piece of "yardage," I made sections that were sized to be cut into 2 or 3 blocks. The sun block is a reminder that I need to re-draft that block in a different size for the next UFO I plan to finish.

Painting with a Twist

When I received the Groupon offer of the day about a month ago, I had never heard of Painting with a Twist . . . but the concept looked interesting. After I purchased my groupon, I signed up to paint the Dallas Skyline.

You arrive to a space set up with lots of table and easels.

The paintings on the walls represent other classes that you can take.

There's an area in the corner to set up the food and wine that you're encouraged to bring to class. Here are some of the early arrivals tasting the wine they had just bought around the corner . . . in downtown Grapevine.

Everyone is given a canvas with the outline of that night's painting lightly applied with carbon paper. Then the instructor steps through how to paint it.

After some progress is made, everyone breaks for more food and wine and a walk around.

As you can see, by looking at the handful of canvases in this photo, everyone paints together, painting the same colors in the same places in the same order.  It's a little like Follow-the-Leader. Or Paint by Number with alcohol (and no numbers).

The lady in the foreground is a frequent painter; she had filled up her card (buy 10 classes and earn a free one) and was given her own embroidered Painting with a Twist apron last night. She told me that learning to paint was on her "bucket list." And I could tell that she's having a ball doing it.

Here's the artist at work's view . . . or mine, anyway. I never really saw anything the instructor was showing . . . but she did a great job of describing things as she went along.

When we were all done except the "finishing touches," there was another wine and food break.  It was a little surreal to look across the room and see nearly 40 painted canvases that are essentially the same.

Then we add the finishing touches and took a group shot of the 35 painters holding nearly identical "paintings" of the Dallas Skyline.

If you live in Texas, Louisiana or Florida,  it might be a fun way to spend the evening, especially if you (or a friend) "isn't a painter" and wants to feel like one . . .  sort of.  I have had only limited experience with paint and brushes and it made me want to do more.  I also thought this abstract Dallas Skyline would be an interesting QUILT design . . .