Not So Fancy Nancy

Quilting inspiration all over the walls!

OK, so the crafting-by-the-day method is not exactly working. Not really surprising since I can't even keep my daughters on track with their day-of-the-week panties. Routine is not my strong point. But the goal I was really going for was to keep the entries focused. I tend to build up too many thoughts and then wait too long. So I'm going to try to post more often with few subjects per post. That seems vague enough for me to manage.

Those pesky family things have been occupying me since last week. Eldest had one of those mommy-projects that involved a costume, props, memorized two minute speech and various PC generated activities and charts. Fourth grade mind you! She's a hunt & peck typer at this point - how else is she going to create four or five pages, including a word diagram, without me at the keyboard? I really don't want to be the parent that does their kid's work and I usually hold that line, but they don't really leave you a choice with assignments like this. Anyway, last night at the final presentation they were all cute in that mumbling 9-11 year old dressed up in costume kind of way. Mine of course was the cutest.

Thank you all so much for the wonderful comments on my posts last week. They meant a lot to me after such a long break from blogging. I've also been catching up on my blog reading and continue to be amazed by how much cool stuff you're all making. I've got the fabric for a bag tutorial spread across my dining table, so look for that as my next post. For now, I'll show you a place I go for inspiration...

Sowing Sisters in Carlsbad CA. They just opened in a new location 3X the size of the previous shop with tons of windows. I took these photos while they're still organizing, so you can imagine how great it's going to be when they get settled in. You've got to stop by if you're anywhere near San Diego County. There's lots to do in downtown Carlsbad and the beach is just blocks away, so the family could stay occupied while you indulge.

I've got to go in again this week because they had stacks of boxes from Westminster yet to be opened. Ms. Be*Mused has me jonesing for the new Kaffe prints so I know what I'm doing tomorrow. On top of that they're having their anniversary sale this week - 20% off your entire purchase. Christmas in June!

I first went to the store about five or six years ago after I bought my sewing machine. Back then they were in a tiny three room cottage a few blocks away. The modern quilting fashions hadn't really hit the market yet, but they encouraged this newbie. A few years ago they rode the wave of newer fabrics into a bigger store and became the best place around to see up-to-date quilting fabrics and quilts in person. Beckie, the owner, her daughter and the women who work and teach there keep the walls full of the latest patterns. Nothing is more inspirational than to see all these quilts in person. It's this shop that brought Kaffe Fasset to town for that workshop I took in January.

Finally, I'm adding the weight loss ticker below as a form of public accountability. A good friend of mine loves WW, but I just don't do meetings of any sort except under great duress. My goal is about 3-5 lbs/month with the target reached by New Year's. Losing 25 lbs would put me at my lowest weight in the last 10 years (post first child). When I get there I'll worry about new goals.

I know that for me simple calorie counting combined with regular exercise is the answer. I'm overweight, but genetics has blessed me with low blood pressure, great blood sugar and very healthy cholesterol levels. Before you think I've won the genetic lottery you should factor in that I have two herniated discs and spend the first 20 minutes of each morning figuring out how much pain I'm going to have that day. My mom and dad are incredibly healthy, but we all have bad backs. I figure mine can only benefit from hauling around less butt. If I'm destined to live a long life I'd like to do so standing upright. Finally, I've grown out of all my favorite clothes, and that bugs me. We're talking about clothes from the last three years, not my high school jeans.

This website is one of many, but I like it so far. I bought access to the upgraded features because just about everything I eat has to be entered as a custom food. We do 90% of our grocery shopping at Trader Joe's and Wild Oats, so the standard list of grocery store foods doesn't offer me much. I also like it that you can create custom meals since I eat the same combos for breakfast and snacks all the time. I've spent this morning adding in my favorites. I know this won't work if I can't eat the foods we love around here - I just need to eat less every day and watch for the diet-busters (aka kids).

my-calorie-counter.com    The webs free Food Tracker

Forest Path Stole & Farmers Market Quilt

(Revised Thursday Mar 29:  Quilt photo was on its side [tsk tsk on me] and I added a bit of text about the design process I composed in my fogged brain but forget to type. DH was waiting for the pc last night and looking over my shoulder [tsk tsk on him].)

I've finally come in from the garden, but it seems to have worked it's way into my creative mind.

Newest knitting project is Forest Path Stole. Take a look at the Stole-A-Long and you'll see and find links to some absolutely gorgeous and amazing knitting. Me, I'm still on the border. Traveling next week, so plane time should help. This will be my summer project.

Photographing black cats is hard. Add to that her reluctance to stay still when she's in play mode. She is dangerous help! This is out in the courtyard on the new sofa. Yeah baby, finally! First furniture for the new house and it's only been one year - I'm breaking my DH slowly but surely.

I'm making this lace stole more for the process than as something I plan to wear, but who knows. Lately I don't seem to wear anything that can't get dirty, but hopefully that won't always be the case. The yarn is Alpaca with a Twist's Fino in Twilight. I love it so far, especially the color.

Using Knit Picks Options circular needles in US #3 - super sharp. I really like how flexible the cord is and the connecting mechanism works well. By now I think most blogging knitters have taken the plunge, but if you're still thinking about them I'd at least try one pair.

Here's Cami in my patio bed with David Austin's Lady Emma Hamilton and a Platt's Black flax. The space behind Cami will be filled with that dark purple butterfly bush that's putting on growth and that sage on her left will reach almost 4' high.

February and March are planting months around here. We put in six fruiting trees (low chill apples and plums), another ornamental plum, bulbs, shrubs and loads and loads of perennials.

Found that even with our mulch, the weeds find foothold. Thankfully they pull much easier though. Biggest mistake was the stacked rocks put in place before the mulch - every crack has sprouted devil's spawn. Last week I filled two full size garbage cans with weeds and unwanted gazinnias that, like cockroaches, will survive Armageddon.

All my roses are going gangbusters and the buds are forming now. I go out everyday and watch for fungus and bugs - the rose obsession has hid hard. I'm generally an organic gardener - diversity is good - but I will neem oil my babies when required. I think I'll cry when I get my first bloom.

I missed photographing apple blossoms, but here's an ornamental plum and the Lady Banks Rose.

I now understand the draw of container gardening - instant gratification!

The back door was looking kind of bare so I washed out some old terracotta pots and dug up the silver gray Dusty Miller that was misplaced on the bamboo slope.

Added the sedge for height and the flowers to bring the colors of the bougainvilleas on the back slope down to the patio. The licorice should fill in the bottoms and drape nicely in a month or so.

We're lucky around here because there are so many nurseries to visit - most of them locally owned. Toured the agri halls at the county fair last summer and learned that San Diego County has the largest number of small farms in the entire nation! Pretty cool.

The dog of course could care less. She just wants her spot in the sun. I was going to replace the mat that got, well, doggy after last summer in the dirt yard, but didn't think it was worth it. Can't tell you how many times I've tripped over her when carrying something out the door.

For about two years now fruit, veggie and flower themed prints from Kaffe Fassett and the other Rowan designers have been sneaking into my stash. It started small - a fat quarter here, a half yard there. Then when we moved here and the empty wall space screamed hang a quilt here! And here. And there too. I started thinking about a food themed quilt for the kitchen niche. Kind of a dark corner that begs for some color. It's getting color.

This is on the "design wall" otherwise known as the ugly and too high mantel in the living room. A couple of c-clamps and spare boards and it finally has purpose. Last time I just placed books at the top, but it was precarious and dangerous. Notice the cats in the photo below - they get behind there and play tackle. Narrowly missed disaster that first time so stronger measures were required.

The light in this room is actually nice for working, but a little too dark for non-flash photos. Tried the flash but it popped the colors in a funny way. Even here the purple plums pop more than they do in life and the light greens jump more too. The walls in that room are a subtle green, so this is definitely made to the space.

The pattern is the same one we used in the Kaffe Fassett class - I think he's calling it Potpourri in the next book. In his latest book it's called Tapestry. I turned it on end and took off 12" of blocks to fit the niche.

Using a pattern like this is a real departure for me because it's not a slice, dice and sew quilt. Most of the patterns I've used have you cut, sew, cut etc until you have blocks that you then arrange. Here each patch is individually cut and placed. Those empty spaces are what was left after I placed the first group of patches. This allowed me to pick and choose the remaining cuts. This all came together in just a couple of mornings, but that's probably because it's been percolating a while. I'd gotten out most of these fabrics at least twice in the past, but put them away feeling like I wasn't ready yet.

I've included this photo with the missing patches to show three points Kaffe reiterated throughout class. (1) Use a design wall. The "design wall" doesn't have to be fancy or permanent - mine will come down with the quilt. I wish I had a good spot for a permanent one, but this does the job. The cotton sticks naturally to the batting so no pins are required except for really big or long pieces like the borders - you can move things at will. I first got this idea from Jan at Be*mused whose wonderful quilts certainly show the power of creating one's quilt like artwork. She always uses a design wall and tests different fabrics. She's not afraid to cull and replace until she's happy. I've always appreciated her photos showing the process. (2) Leave no white space between the patches as you place them. You can see from these missing blocks how white space distorts the color relationships that will show up when the pieces are sewn. (3) Stand back. Kaffe kept strongly encouraging (i.e., scolding) us to move back and see the whole composition. Everything changes when you can get some distance and look at it as a whole, and not at an angle on the floor where I've always worked.

It was two of Kaffe's newer prints that gave me motivation to start cutting. The floral print used on the border and his foxgloves done in the same rich purple and red colorway became the glue that brought all the colors together. Here are come closeups. I'm so happy to finally be able to use the artichoke and flying veggie fabrics!

Since I'm taking the girls to KY for nine days over spring break I don't know if I'll start sewing before we leave - might save this for after they go back to school. Right now I'm just happy to look at fruits and flowers instead of weeds.

 

Project Linus, sweet peas & a tea party for one

My garden is my art project this month. Tilled and toiled from 10 - 7 yesterday and I'm sore. Photos soon, but it's raining today. Yeah! TEA PARTY TEA PARTY TEA PARTY ("toga" for homebodies)

Usually I just plunk the tea ball in a large mug and make a cuppa, but this little ritual pleases me on quiet days. The candle warmer really works too. All supplies from Adagio Teas except the cup. Their tea too - mango - which I love. Start with a sampler though, as Deb can tell you, it's not to everyone's taste. I know Deb ... you really want to like it. I feel that way about opera.

That's Van Gogh's Crows over the Wheat Field ... on the tea cup. Yes, I'm guilty - I sometimes buy trinkets at those ubiquitous exit shops at art shows. Often I fly through them, not wanting to sully my mood with commercialism, but other times I browse. Not picking on the museums for staging them - big shows support all the other shows - and not picking on anyone else for buying in them.It's just that I've been known to cry while looking at paintings and shopping is a buzz kill (if you can call crying over art a buzz, which in my warped psyche it is). Over the last 20 years I've been lucky enough to travel to see Van Gogh shows at the Met, Musée d'Orsay and LCMA and this cup brings those memories back. Ack - TWENTY years - Ack. Funny, I also remember hiding how much I loved Van Gogh. As an Art History major you're supposed to have passion for obscure artists with "difficult" work. Accessibility = boring (the artist and you). Now I'm loud and I'm proud:  I adore Van Gogh. Please, before I get emails regarding that "supposed to" above, I'm talking about arty university students only - a Impressionists poster on your wall was the equivalent of loving the latest American Idol winner when all your friends are into indy bands. One advantage of getting older - no one gives you crap about your artistic tastes except your family. We've been training our kids up right though - Emily has developed a passion for The Raconteurs and Tom Waits, whom she calls "the grumpy guy". OK, I'm still particular about music and I've never seen American Idol, but I'm pretty accepting that people like all styles of painting, though I can't stomach big-eyed children and anything by The Painter of Light™. If you love them, just don't tell me and I won't crank Jack White on you.

I know many of you are snowed in, but it's planting season here. I can't justify sitting down inside when there are beds to fill and bulbs to plant. In just a few months it will be too hot and dry to plant so I'll be back to crafting - bascially the inverse of most of you. Luckily it rained a little last week too, so I got busy and made two Project Linus quilts for their 8th Annual Make a Blanket Day. Both are out of scraps of flannel I had left over from my baby quilt making years. With those days never to be repeated and grandkids just a glimmer, I thought it should be passed on. Nice to use up stash - I've literally a handful of narrow strips of the retro print after finishing this. It couldn't have been an inch bigger (36" x 46"). Anyway, I may not get grandchildren. Emily informed me yesterday that she's not having kids because they're "too much work". Right on.

Sorry for the dark photos, but it was gloomy. Immediately after this I washed and bagged them to take to my LQS Sowing Sisters in Carlsbad. Click to check out their photos of the Kaffe Fassett class. 

I'm proud of myself for trying a different quilting technique on the second one. I've always quilted in the ditch or diagonally, but this time I did a 1/4 inch inside line for each block. Free motion is next.

Today I'm going to cast on the Forest Path Stole. There's a great KAL for it if you've ever eyed it but felt uncertain about the entrelac or lace patterns. Me, I got my rear kicked by the nupps in my swatch, but I'm bravely going forward. Photos when I have something to show.

Now ... drum roll please ... I finally remembered Eye Candy Friday!

My neighbor got her sweet pea seeds in early enough for a winter crop. I've promised her roses. I borrowed this antique vase from my dad's collection many years ago (yes Dad, borrowed) just for sweet peas and every year I'm reminded of how much I love it. Thanks Dad.

   

Kaffe Fasset & Brandon Mably Workshops

It's good to start the new year with a creative boost. I attended Brandon Mably's color knitting workshop at my LYS this past Saturday and Sunday, then Kaffe Fassett's and Brandon's quilting workshop on Monday.

This is Kaffe in front of my quilt. He's tall. I'm not. I was glad for his help taping up my batting. Seems to be a nice man. These classes must be hard in a way - everyone knows who they are, but of course we're total strangers to them. In his lecture he shared that he's a homebody who loves to shut out the world and just work hard. Since I always work alone I can understand that. This was my first quilt class ever for that reason. I should be clear that he was engaged in analyzing people's work and was available to us, but he didn't come off as a social butterfly. From a few grumbles I heard I think some people thought there would be more "teaching", but I feel all you can expect from a day like this is a creative environment. The chance to stretch yourself and be energized by others.

Brandon is a bit more social - he's the organizer of the team. Something tells me he could really let the colorful, bitchy humor rip, but of course this is not the environment for that. He was very professional 99% of the time.

Didn't take photos at the knitting class, but the class is outlined in Brandon's book Knitting Color. We made swatches just like in the book. My biggest take-away from that class was the yarn blending technique Brandon and Kaffe use to allow you to move across the colors quickly. You use your left hand to do the color wraps and work-ins without losing tension on your working yarn. I was in a bad place that first day and I just didn't get it, but I came back on Sunday determined to walk away with the technique. It's not insanely hard, I just had a mental block that first day. Pleased with myself for pulling Brandon aside on Sunday and working with him until I got it. Our swatches were worked off of very colorful museum postcards and that proved to be a bit of a challenge. Everyone was supposed to bring bits and pieces of leftover yarn to create a bit colorful pile in the middle of the floor. Small (no, large) problem is that here in So Cal few of us do colorwork in DK/worsted wool. Some kind soul had dumped a huge collection of old tapestry wool - if not for that I'd have been toast. As it was I was still frustrated with my color choices. Oh well, got the technique and some good thoughts about freewheeling color combos.

Brought my camera to the quilting class. This is my design wall at the end of the day.

Sorry, but none of the full shots are quite straight because I was in the corner of a hallway that I came to realize was skewed. So essentially, I was shooting next to a crooked wall. It was also east facing, so my light faded as the day progressed.

The class, hosted by the wonderful crew at Sowing Sisters, was so full that three of us overflowed onto the covered breezeway outside of the hotel's meeting room. Proved to be a saving grace because we had record high temps yesterday (almost 80 even at the coast) and the no-AC room became stifling with all that batting and fabric taped to every inch of wall space. I did miss out on the energy of the main room, but I also got more done than most, so maybe the lack of distraction was beneficial. Became a little weary of explaining what I was doing to hotel guests waiting for the elevator near me and my legs are still sore from standing and kneeling on cement all day, but space and air were worth it. Anyway, Kaffe and Brandon came out and visited us regularly, so I didn't miss out on personal feedback.

These pastels are not my typical color range of Kaffe's fabrics. When I first went through my fabrics on Friday night I was leaning toward reds or greens & ochers. Started with a huge messy pile.

By late (way too late) Saturday night I had it sorted it down by color. I think I've reached the critical mass to start keeping it this way rather than by designer or print line. Ended up focusing on Westminster patterns only - Kaffe's and others - because of the unified palettes and painterly quality. Their prints blend so nicely.

Then, somehow on Sunday night I suddenly veered off course and cut up the pastels. Started cutting around 10:30 PM and finished around 1 AM. I'd had the advantage of asking Kaffe at the knitting class what he wanted from us in way of prep and he mentioned fussy cutting some of the blossoms. Glad to have done that at home on a table. 

I've been thinking about what I got out of the class. All the fabrics used were picked by me and they didn't remove any of my choices, so this is very much my quilt. What I appreciated was just having someone to do some quick idea bouncing ... more of this, less of that. The assignment was to choose floral fabrics in a similar tonal range, but not all the same color. I expanded that to include fruits, veggies and graphic prints so I had enough variety. I'd been stashing these colors for a while to make a quilt for my youngest. I wanted light, bright, intriguing and cheerful. Decided the class was a way to force me to get moving on that project.

During class Kaffe said he wanted to see individual flowers pop off the quilt. He also contradicted his own suggestions in his book by saying he wanted to see the breaks between fabrics - no "mushiness." Guess he's earned the claim to artist's prerogative eh? He wanted those little 3.5 blocks to hold their own.

 

Joking aside, listening to them verbalize their creative style both during class and at the critiques at the end was probably the biggest take away. Kaffe and Brandon talked in both classes about their very intuitive design methods and we were constantly encouraged to stop thinking and let our hands/hearts make the color choices. If Kaffe starts liking the look of blocks standing out, he does it. No rules, no boundaries. At the start of the quilt day we were told to work fast - just throw up blocks without moving anything once it's up. That's huge ... don't move anything. The point was to give it time and see how the pieces relate as the quilt grows organically. Stop second guessing your intuition and let it all percolate. I also saw the value in pre-cutting rather than only cutting once you're sure where something's going to be used. Easier for them with their free product, but still, I try to remind myself the fabric's not worth nearly as much in the stash box. Use what you have - that's why you bought it. This design only uses three standard block sizes, so extras will find a home. I did add about three fabrics after lunch (the store brought 1/2 yard cuts to the hotel for impulse buying), so I will need to do some pattern balancing, but I like it so far.

I just updated my photo albums today with all my quilt tops to date and I like the way this new one stands out from my previous work. Feels like the start of a new direction and that excites me. I've got the stash - time get over my timidity to make the quilts.

This blue and raspberry print is Kaffe's one addition to my quilt. We talked about big, strong borders/sashing and I asked him to go pick a fabric for me - surprise me I said. I can't say I would have chosen this, but I might keep it to remind me of what the class was all about.

So, from now on I will try to be a more intuitive quilter. But knitting, well, that's different for me. Brandon accused me of over-intellectualizing my knitting. What can I say, I'm a lace knitter more than a color knitter. The loosy-goosy approach does not add up to pretty lace. Irony of my creative life has been that the intuitive types accuse me of thinking to much and the intellectual types shake their heads at my lack of discipline. My ass is sore from sitting on the fence, but I refuse to pick sides. I see the value in both thanks.

To be honest I wouldn't sign up for three days straight if I had a choice - too much creative thinking and social interaction combined - but I did it and I'm glad. I didn't find out about the quilting class at my LQS until it was already full. I was 6th on the wait list, so I didn't want to get my hopes up. Instead I ran down to the LYS and grabbed a spot in Brandon's class, which also filled. Of course a few weeks ago I scored a spot in the quilt class far too late to change the knitting one. I know some of you are probably saying "what's your issue?" but my DH that works 60+ hours a week, the two young kids still need management and the menagerie, well, there are demands. Me being gone three days was hard on the household and ... shocker here ... the laundry and cleaning fairies didn't visit while I was in class. Guess I know what I'm going to do today.

Birch is finished! Happy New Knitting Year

Cast off Birch just before the bell on January 1, 2007 at 11:30 PM. I wanted to start the new year with a finished object. Pre-blocked:

 

Blocking in action (wires from KnitPicks).

I belong to the "stretch the crap out of it" school of lace blocking. When I finished this thing was elevated 1" off the floor from the tension.

The wires are well worth it. They allowed me to pull each side to a very even line and adjustments were easier. Been eying these things for a while, but wasn't sure they were worth the money. I vote yes.

Did add to the kit by ordering fork pins today. This kit didn't have enough long straights and my sewing pins on hand didn't hold up well to the task. Also, as the tension increased the wires would jump the pin. Learned to turn them perpendicular so the T-top caught, which helped some, but I think the U shape will be better.

OK, another gratuitous shot, but I'm amused.

Post blocking shots to come when I'm appropriately dressed for modeling. Need to stop wearing my red bathrobe as a "house coat" but I'm not really compelled. I've always felt a certain connection to The Dude on this matter.

Kids have been off two weeks and we've all taken to spending inordinate amounts of time in our pj's. Four days in a row of playdates coming over have been the only thing knocking us into regular clothes (and not always then, as shown here).

The rill is serving its purpose as our personal woodland stream. As long as no not too much (I'm a realist) foreign matter gets added they can play. Yesterday Ems put on her swimsuit for a while until even she had to admit is wasn't that warm.

I'm enjoying putting this post together. Last week found me in a mood. Decided it was better to keep things to myself so I hibernated. In our world of "get it out there" I've found some things are better kept close. Things you can't change, or don't want to - really - but want to today. Things for which radical change would actually not be an improvement, but minor, manageable change is not immediately interesting (because your mind is having more fun with thoughts of radical change). Experience ... not grand wisdom per say, but just plain ol' years alive ... has taught me that when I feel this way I'm better off taking a wait and see approach. If I call every friend, startle every acquaintance (way too much information thanks) or bore strangers - or blog readers - with my frustrations I'll regret it. With some things talking is great. Therapeutic. Beneficial. The path to understanding. But with things like this I know that next week I'll find my way to that manageable change, but if I've talked, everyone around me will be expecting an explosion. No explosions forthcoming. 

To some degree I might attribute some moodiness to the time of year. I know I'm not alone (chin up Moni), but most of it's related to my own personal calender rather than the Gregorian one. We all have those moments of change - events that redirect our lives forever. If the work of countless poets and writers is any indication, I'd say I'm not alone in this human condition of melancholy reconsideration. Makes me envious of August and Raven. Cats understand what's important.

Yes, the photo is accurate. Raven is getting little white hairs all over her body. My vets haven't seen anything like it and they noticed it at the animal shelter too (took her back to get fixed). Her face has remained the darkest - she's gone pepper with a good dash of salt on her back. And yes, I'm such a sucker for this cat that I let her sleep on my swatches. Found her yesterday at the top of my shelves in another basket full of yarn. This kitten is no fool.

So, since I can't live lying around all day like a cat or dog, I'm a crafter. If the brain's running in circles, one might as well put the hands to work.

Ariann (in Rowan Kid Classic) progresses. Seeing the lovely finished ones all over blogland (Risa and Cara both love theirs) has spurred me on.

River (in Rowan Kidsilk Haze) is flowing again.

I've found for whatever reason I can't watch TV and knit this pattern. The back and forth movement is not a hard pattern, but I found myself, to abuse the metaphor, swimming against the current.

Still undecided about the beaded scrunchy thing Rowan shows holding the wrap across the front. Did any of you River knitters make one? Do you use it?

From the lost and found files:

I was connecting the blocks on the new Christmas quilt before my little hand surgery, but five days after Christmas it just wasn't compelling. Why bother?

Jan had great thoughts on starting the new year off fresh. Well worth the read. I like her attitude. Though you must finish those blocks Jan - if only to show the rest of us what the whole quilt top looks like.

So, in the spirit of new beginnings I went to put it away and found this. Oh. Would you look at that... an unfinished Christmas quilt. At least four years old! Guess I'll finish them both in 11 months. This one makes me proud of how far I've come. Cut this fabric about 4-5 months after I got my machine. No one told me it was hard to sew to points on bias cut flannel (what's bias?). I was going to do Christmas trees - how difficult could it be? Cut out a bunch of triangles and sew right? Who needs a stinking pattern? I ended up just crazy piecing all my bits and pieces after I discovered the pack of fat quarters I'd picked up didn't necessarily add up to a full quilt top. But you know what? I kind of like it for its naive energy. It will get finished in due time.

This one's time will come sooner. My first quilt top. (That box in the bottom of the closet held so many secrets!) What really makes me laugh now is remembering how I thought that dark green with the light flower stencil print was so ... bold! This from the woman taking a Kaffe Fassett class this coming weekend.

It reminds me of fields seen from the air. I even found it with the borders already cut. Fear of quilting stopped me then and ... well here we are. I intend to overcome my fear of free-motion on this one. It's not a showpiece. It's been languishing all this time. No fear.

For those of you who don't do both, quilting and knitting patterns share common phrasing at the end ... "bind and quilt as desired" and "finish and block as desired". Time-consuming, technically challenging and often tedious processes all wrapped up in five simple words. Make-or-break steps referenced with a vague wave of the hand. Run along now, this pattern is finished. It's taking me several years of knitting and quilting to even being to understand my "desires" for finishing. ... Please know I type this stuff innocently, but see my own allusions and metaphors when I proof. Too much art. Wow, that phrase takes me back! After a semester full of lit, art and philosophy classes EVERYTHING became symbolic. "Too much art," was our cry for release from the mortal coil. Time to go out to the bars kids - there's a good band playing.

BTW, I understand now why patterns end the way they do and I know there are myriad books to fill in those technique gaps, but that's an understanding developed over time. In the beginning this self-taught knitter/quilter went numb when the pattern ended ... What now? Lot's yet to learn, but at least I'm no longer frozen.

Happy New Year!

Good news and showing off

Good news is my back's doing better. You wouldn't know this, but for a long week earlier this month I couldn't sit down comfortably and getting out of the car was a nightmare. In the past this was a one way ticket to a nerve root block procedure, but this time I've slowly come out of it and am almost recovered. Very thankful about this. I even sewed today for the first time in weeks. I had to sew today because I'm making this and the clock's a tickin'.

A quilt for cuddling on the sofa Christmas morning. Small fry helped me lay out the blocks.

I bought this fabric pack back in the spring with no clear plans and have just managed to squeak a bed-sized quilt out of it. Was only thinking of a lap quilt at the time, so a bit of smidgy cutting was involved and the back will be pieced with some stray red and green yardage. I decided it needed to be big enough for multiple cuddlers with no one's toes getting left out in the cold. It's cold here. Not cold like most of your areas, but cold for us. Down almost to freezing at night and into the very low 60's in the house in the evenings and mornings. Not heating our home is how I justify all my wool here in SoCal. Not throwing money at SDG&E is how I buy all my wool.

This is that Turning Twenty quilt pattern to the rescue again. I've just finished joining the edges and pairing the blocks this afternoon. Going to try and finish the top tomorrow. I don't want to make a hundred of these, but it's a real time-saver on the cutting and piecing when what you really want is just to play with colors and get a finished object. For this pattern the blocks are pieced randomly, so the placement is a fun challenge. I try and sprinkle the patterns and tones around and always seem to spend about 30 minutes on the last two or three blocks arranging and re-arranging to keep like patterns from touching. Each move to solve one bad placement creates a new one, but like I said, it's fun in that perverse crafting way.

Finally got smart and started printing a low-res version of my block layout to keep by the sewing machine while I'm joining blocks. Though I tend to be orderly when I pick up the blocks, it seems on every project I mis-sew at least one pair. Not the end of the world, but when you put so much effort into arranging blocks you get kind of attached to your plan.

Until the dog chasing the kitten sends it all flying before your brain has it locked down.

Amazing what one can forgive when the object of wrath cuddles and purrs when you pick her up. Thanks for all the kind words re her illness. She's not had a down day since and has even recovered from her kitten-prevention operation yesterday in just an evening. She was back on my sewing table causing trouble today. Cami now shares her food with Raven Star (my oldest is a Warriors book series fan). Yes, she is an excellent dog!

Seems only about half of the comments on the last post were delivered to my email. I think it was because I changed my email with Typepad a few days after the post. Regardless, thanks for all the comments - I really appreciate them. The saga with my out-of-warranty teeth continues. Skip to the next paragraph now if you don't need to know more ... but since some of you asked ... When this is finished I'll be over $3000 poorer (and my dentist richer) but I'll have five gold crowns:  three replacing cracked fillings and two replacing bad alloy crowns that don't fit well and keep getting infected. Turns out I have a small mouth (no one's ever told me that before) and bite so the gold allows for a better fit. Caught one filling in time so that was just a replaced filling and finally, fun fun, that gum thing I talked about in my last post. Hope to finish it all mid-January.

Before you think I'm in pathetically bad health I should say I'm very lucky with everything that doesn't involve my back or teeth. My annual "womanly" exam produced a clean bill and absolutely fantastic numbers for blood pressure, blood sugar and all the cholesterol readings. It's really not fair to those battling bad genes for these things since I'm, shall we say, well-rounded and love chocolate, eggs, butter, cheese and red meat and coffee. Must add that I rarely eat fast, fried or processed foods - sometimes not for many weeks - and I eat oats, whole grain bread and rice, veggies and fruit every single day. Big hum. Still, I know people who are perfect eaters and workout fanatics and they struggle - genetics - just like my bad back and teeth.

Healthy but pleasurable food is my DH's pet subject. He's a slow food movement fan and loves to cook well. He's discovered the world of food blogs where the food p*rn shots make my yarn p*rn look amateur. After clicking on a link for heirloom beans (they're as bad as us for dangerous links), his version of yarn is turned up at the doorstep. He made a pot of these Rancho Gordo Christmas Lima's and I made the corn bread and it was simply delicious. Kids loved it too.

When unpacking the box he made his first quilt.

Me, I cook different things... like chocolate tapioca pudding. Good ingredients make good pudding.

More good news! At the end of this 18-day!!! school break I'm getting a weekend + of Kaffe Fassett inspiration. Didn't find out about the class at my LQS until it was already full, but they told me Brandon would be teaching a weekend color knitting class too so I ran by the LYS and signed up for that and Kaffe's lunchtime lecture. Then I got the call just this week that I'd made it off the wait list, so I'm in the quilt class on Monday too. Three days of color madness. Already gathering my fabric (Rowan provides the yarn for the knit class). I remembered that the very talented Englishwoman at Yarnstorm has taken this class and I popped over to see her class quilt. This will be fun. I'll arrive psycho after so many wonderful hours with my darling children (my DH is not taking much holiday time), but I hope to leave invigorated and ready for a very creative new year.

Oh, the "showing off" in this entry's title ... My mom made this amazingly beautiful wrap in glorious Blue Sky Alpaca Silk - and - excuse me while I hug myself - gave it to me. When I wrap it around me I know I'm loved.

First I have to unwrap it from my daughter who had fun modeling it.

Yes, that child needs to brush her hair. She's heard that once or twice. But it was just after school. And very windy. And her mom's a trifle unkempt too.

My DH said this reminded him of a Stieglitz photo of Georgia O'Keeffe.

When he said that I knew immediately which photo he meant. I've not been able to find the image on-line - it must be controlled. I think I saw it at a Stieglitz exhibition at the Getty many years ago when the main collection was still at the villa.

My mom visited for five wonderful days over last weekend. I miss you mom.

Portland remembered & knitting WIPs

First, thanks for your welcome backs. I've read them all in my comments section, but some have never come to me as an email - lost in the switch from Adelphia to Time Warner. I still can't download emails to my desktop, but I can now read new ones online. Please forgive any email misses on my part.

Sadly, our little cat Claude has not come home. The cats stay indoors, so we can only figure that he must have been near an open door and gotten scared out. DH had hired a guy that day to help with planting, so he must have run further up the hill to hide. He was an exceptionally timid cat - he would have never gone exploring. Coming downstairs was a walk on the wild side for him. We have preserve areas behind both sides of our street with lots of nature. I just hope it was mercifully fast. Didn't expect to find another kitty so soon, but this little darling was dropped at the animal shelter and I couldn't resist. She had exactly the temperament for this chaos and is very people oriented. Just what we needed.

Here's something I don't need.

Hum, we've established I need the kitten .... So, it must be another CO. But I did it anyway. That's my eldest's youthful hand, not mine. She's on fall break for two weeks starting today. Thankfully small one remains usefully engaged at her Montessori school. This yarn has been in my stash for years waiting for a lace pattern to make the most of a solid color. While idly leafing through the latest Vogue Knitting I found a pattern using this exact yarn. It's a physically hard knit. The repeats aren't that difficult, but all the knit stitches are made through the back loop. Looks cool, but the tight stitches on fragile toothpicks with yarn that has sticky acrylic in it is slow going. Maybe it's me. Still, I like the pattern a lot. Anyway, here's a better look sans kitten:

Noro sweater is coming along too:

Finally unpacked my Portland stash - and only two weeks after returning - a record I think. I've just realized I have a life-long habit... I unpack clothes, toiletries, etc within a day or two of returning from a trip, but the ephemera sits for (at least) weeks. Sometimes months. Sometimes years. I just don't want to explore the memories while they're that fresh. I think it's because I tend to have post-trip-blues and looking at mementos and photos from just days or even hours before just makes it worse. At the risk of sounding like a rube, I have to admit plane travel still throws me. It's all such a blur of down time and blandness that it's all instantly forgotten. I'm always a little shocked that one minute I'm in one place and then, blink, I'm home and the whole experience in which I was so deeply engaged is suddenly in "the past". Here's the family and house, all the same, but I'm different. Damn this meta-cognition. Must be more zen ... must be more zen ... must be more zen. Of course none of the above means I don't love coming home. My nest and all that. I reserve the right to have completely opposing emotions simultaneously.

I went to Portland to see paper arts friends I've known for over eight years. We're spread across the country (really spread! California, Nebraska, Texas, Ohio, Florida and New Jersey) but keep in touch via mail art and our private Yahoo group. Over the years we've done weekend getaways in Santa Fe, NYC, Cleveland (for the now defunct Art Continuum event) and now Portland for Art & Soul. We all took a class, but the main point was hanging out. Getting together with these women is pure pleasure. No pretenses. No stress. Lots of talk and laughter. Bonus points that we all like to go to art and craft shops.

We only had time for two trips into the city, so choices had to be made. We focused on the Farmers Market, Pearl District, NE Alberta St, a brief walk around downtown and Nob Hill.

First thing Saturday morning I persuaded them that the Portland Farmers Market would be worth it. It was.

Whenever I travel I look for markets. I love them all - flea markets, antique markets, arts and crafts markets - but by far my favorites are always the seasonal farmers markets. It's where you see the locals and literally get a taste of their life. It's a bit painful if you don't have access to a kitchen on your trip, but there's always fresh bread, cheese and fruit to make a meal.

I always eat street food. Tony Bourdain and I would travel together fabulously. I'd leave him the nasty bits and he'd give me the veggies. I've eaten from street vendors and hole-in-the-wall shops in Mexico, Greece, Russia, Canada, Paris and London and I'm not dead yet. If there's a line I figure it must be good. Years ago my husband and I had the most amazing sandwich in Toronto that was an unexplainable mix of French pate and Vietnamese salad and spices on a baguette. The line was out the door of the tiny shop and only one other customer was Anglo. We asked him what was good and he said just point at the sign (no English) and say "sandwich". OKayyy. It worked. I've never forgotten that lunch.

Aren't these parsnips beautiful? My kids and I adore parsnips. A potato with more flavor. Oven fry them with oil and salt.

The dahlias were beyond beautiful. It was very overcast and I didn't have a tripod, so I had trouble getting clear shots under the vendors' tents. Still, you get the idea.

This market has made displaying your wares an art form. All the vendors do it, if only to keep up with Farmer Jones in the next stall.

I was in line when a woman breezed by me stopping only long enough to say "Ah, Clapotis!" My friends laughed and said we're a cult. Yep.

This was my favorite public display of handknitting that day. Yes, I did ask permission from his mama and promised not to show his face.

After the market we went to Powell's. Love that they have the latest titles mixed with resale books. Gives browsing an extra boost because even if you've seen all the latest titles, there still might be something "new" to you. Found out of print Alice Starmore books, but none that I had to have at the price offered. This seemed more practical.

After Powell's lunch was in order. I highly recommend Henry's Tavern. One side is a bar and the other a restaurant. Forgive the dark photos. Two beers probably didn't help my arm, but I did use a pint glass to balance the camera. These crab cakes were amazing. I'm not in love with mashed potatoes but I ate every last bite of these. Sadly, one of our party became very ill (nothing to do with food at Henry's or the market) so we left downtown Portland so she could rest.

 

Sport that she is (and with hard-earned money burning a hole in her pocket) we drove to Alberta Street to find a bead store (her current hobby). Great thing about Alberta street is that it has fabric, yarn, bead, paper arts, wine and coffee shops. There was something for everyone in our group!

Close Knit is a well stocked and charming store. The women who run it were friendly and approachable. If you live in the area and haven't stopped by go find it. There're are plenty of places to sit and loads of inspiration from floor to ceiling. I'd been wanting this new Mission Falls book. Realized I wanted this Fino lace weight (70% alpaca/30% silk) from Alpaca with a Twist too, I just didn't know it until I held it.

 

Oh-so-conveniently located right next door is Bolt. Small shop, but very focused on "hip" fabrics, so the space is rich with inspiration if this is your style. Guess it's mine as I have pieces of at least 1/4 of their stock! They also have a nice selection of designer decor weight fabrics which my local quilt stores don't carry. Got this new Amy Butler heavy print there and found the book at my local quilt store when I got home. Perfect match.

 

I love neighborhoods like this where the rent is still cheap enough that small boutiques can take a shot and there are no chains.

I always tried to live in places like this when I was young, single and poor. Funny thing time. Now I'm that middle aged "arty" suburbanite that drops in occasionally to take in the atmosphere and energy.

Hardest part about getting older is that you still see the world through the same eyes. Shaw asked "Oh why is youth wasted on the young?" Trust me, it starts making sense at 40. Something tells me it's not going to stop.

A little more about Art & Soul next time.

Just what is the Wench doing? & New Amy Butler prints

I've not written much about this, but I've been pretty anxious over the last few months about this landscaping. Really anxious. Gain weight and throw out my back anxious. Our first bid was in the 6 figures (yes, really) and we're not building a pool, jacuzzi or BBQ. I was depressed thinking we would never get what I dreamed of and pay way too much for what little we were getting. Finally, after getting bids from three contractors and not really liking any of them we were refereed to my current favorite person in the world, Javier. He is young but experienced, creative, driven and an all around nice guy. His wife does the paperwork and his crew are all family members and close friends. To a man they're respectful, friendly and hard workers and we've heard nothing but great things about their craftsmanship. Every other contractor we interviewed wanted to build their standard plan their way, but Javier is applying his expertise to our plan.

The thing about being a person who's maybe a tad obsessive is that it seeps into so many parts of life. That part of me that just can't follow exactly a knitting or quilt pattern, a recipe or - to be honest - rules in general, just can't do landscaping the easy way. Where would the fun be in that? So I drew our landscaping plan, designed the fountain and am still working on the planting layout. No grass at all. Not a patch. All Mediterranean and native plants. Four-season interest. This is hard! I've never gardened before so it's all up hill right now. If you're a gardener take a bow! I so respect you. It's like doing the most complicated quilt, but in 3-D. There are color, texture and size to consider, then I also have to factor in water-use, seasonal cycles and maintenance issues. I can't even begin to estimate the hours I've put into this - that's why you're not seeing much knitting or sewing. The payoff? One day I will sit in the shade of a tree with my feet propped on a wall made of stone I collected, surrounded by bees, butterflies and birds and listen to the fountain while I knit. It took 40 years, but finally I want to stay somewhere and put down roots literally and figuratively. I'm holding that bucolic image in my mind because this is what it looks like right now.

The water cascades out of a wide back wall, goes underground, then comes back out behind a seating wall, flows down a 10 foot rill, then falls into a catch basin on the patio with a burbling pot. I hadn't even dreamed of trying this design until we found Javier, who got his experience working for a high-end landscaper and pool builder. The first time he looked at my drawing his eyes lit up with excitement. At that instant I knew we were home free. This is going to be so cool.

I need cool. It was the hottest July on record and the south facing backyard was baking each day and I have to keep the windows closed because of the dust.

Now we've had several freaky days of rain, It NEVER rains three days in a row in July here. Never before at least. And humidity. Feels like KY in the summer. Just saw this morning's paper covering Blair and Schwarzenegger's climate pact. Now if only Washington would catch up.

The orchids are loving this though. They like this house even more than the last, probably because we're out of the marine layer with an even greater daily temp range. Some of you have asked me what we do to our orchids to get them to bloom and I'm sorry to say not much. I wish I had tricks to share. We leave them alone and forget to water them. We don't have AC and don't use the heat, so they get the critical 20 degree day to night temperature change that forces them to bloom. So, in essence, we sacrifice our comfort for beauty. Saves on the utility bills too.

This plant on the left bloomed last July too. The blooms are already falling off after a week, but they're amazing while they last --- about 10" tall and they flutter in the breeze (sorry, but they wouldn't stop for a photo).

Forty-one is on the horizon this week so I took myself birthday shopping. DH seems to think the landscaping is my gift, but I don't feel like capital improvements count. Anyway, my local quilt store gives a nice birthday week discount and just got the new Amy Butler in stock. My take:

I've tagged the ones below for a Turning Twenty. Yeah, I know I've been there done that, but it really shows off big prints. Happy Birthday to me. Thanks Mom and Dad, got your card and the money's been well spent!

If you wonder why I love to photograph cloth and flowers...

Mother:  "Hug your sister please.... No, not choke her ....

See ... not so bad!"

So, the tote bag tutorial will be coming.

First I must wait for the man with the jack hammer to finish demo-ing the stoops in my courtyard. It's a tad distracting.

Funky Monkey & Daizez Quilts, Mason Dixon strikes again and Birch gets drunk

I'm going to reveal a little something ... you will either see yourself or think I'm a nutcase. When I log on to typepad and look at the date of my last post I wonder what happened. I think of things to post all the time while driving, doing the dishes, sewing, knitting or any other activity that engages the body while leaving the mind to wander its own labyrinth. Of course these posts are witty, engaging, informative ... etc etc. Don't be nice and suggest I carry a notebook or some such thing - I'd never use it. I've decided my brain uses "Hey, write this in the blog ..." as its internal dialog starter. You are all my imaginary friends and I talk to you about inter-connectivity in the universe and quarter inch seams. Not to imply in the least that you're not real individuals with real lives of your own, but in my little dialogs, no, make that monologues, you're just a quiet, rapt audience. I just realized ... I miss Spalding Gray. Wow, that man could tell a story.

OK, some photos to share. I took these yesterday, but am only now sitting down at 9 PM the next day. Today I cleaned the entire garage. Not just tidied. Rearranged. Sorted. Organized. Vacuumed. CLEANED. We had some mice out there recently. Enough said if you've ever cleaned up after mice. The lengths I will go to to get my husband to put up one of those mop/broom handle bracket thingies. He claimed it was not required - that it was just too messy out there. I require it darnit and I deserve it. I am tired. Yes, I know I could put it up myself, but that would disrupt the powerful tool-use separation force in this household. I get the washer, dryer and sewing machine. He gets the power drill and all PCs (fixing, not using). I'll hammer nails with abandon, but I don't do drywall anchors or operating systems.

First, a quilt top. Two or three years ago I bought four one-yard pieces of tumbling sock monkey fabric in red, orange, lime green and white. I was young and stupid. I didn't know that not much in the way of quilting can be done with four yards of the same print. Then the sock monkey line was no where to be found and those lonely monkeys were hidden deep in my stash. This spring Moda revived Funky Monkeys. Oh joy! Bought a fat quarter pack and a story panel. Problem is that they went pastel on me. The lime became minty. The orange got soft. They introduced baby blue, yellow, pink and lavender. I pieced it anyway. This is a square Turning Twenty. The story blocks plugged right into that formula so it was very fast to piece. Just today I received some Chenille-it ribbon to join the story blocks. Will try it tomorrow and share.

Earlier in the week I'd leafed through Mason Dixon Knitting for a light diversion after a long day. Didn't really walk away with anything concrete, but that was ok. The book is so fun. So funny. You all have it, so you know what I mean. If you don't have it, go buy it now. Anyway, yesterday morning I cleaned out some of my stash closet. Yeah, some weird cleaning urge has come over me - I have to honor it because it will go away soon and may not return for many moons. Spent some time coming up with a stash recycling plan (more on that next post) and was moving along nicely when this chenille stopped me. You know those yarns you've never gotten rid of because they're so pretty, or soft, or expensive? Or pretty, soft and expensive? Bought four colors of Blue Heron Yarns handpainted chunky chenille way back when. Not to abuse my naive stupidity excuse, but I, with my new knitter zeal, thought an 8 oz hank of each would be enough to make a sweater. I mean, they looked so big. And those stripes wouldn't make my butt look huge, right? And cotton chenille worked tightly enough for a sweater wouldn't break my hands would it? So now I have four colors and not enough to do anything ... or maybe ... Log Cabin Knitting saves the day! Thank you Kay and Ann. And in the middle of the block? A vacation purchase of three hanks of recycled silk. I wasn't a naive knitter by then, but like I said, I was on vacation. We all know how that can happen.

My field of flowers is growing too. A little slowly, but surely.

 

The bias sewing was kicking my ass. That big blue one in the first row was the worst but I'm starting to get the hang of it.

Cool thing with these Daizez is that bad is still good. Ok with me. There's a great moment at the end where this whacked up bunch of strips gets squared off and suddenly ... blooms. (couldn't resist)

I will make a non-kid quilt. Really. But I've needed this sewing 101. 1/4" seams, joins, bias stretch ... I'm getting there. In the meantime my kids are reaping the benefits.

Have been thinking blue. Still can't decide on a pattern though.

Birch is kind of blue. Does that count? I've been knitting poolside while the kids play, but found out last Friday evening that Stoli, lemonade, Limoncello and lace don't mix. Well, those first three do quite nicely, but the lace gets all mucked up. Spent Saturday AM dance class undoing what vodka did.

Love the difference in to colors of these two photos taken just seconds and a puff of breeze apart.

Have a great weekend everyone.

Labor Day Weekend

No, that's not a typo in the title. My poor DH had a critical meeting this morning, so he worked much of Saturday and Monday over this weekend. I arranged a couple of activities with the kids and took some neighborhood walks, but basically it was a stay-at-home weekend after a long week of stay-at-home mom excitement. A good house cleaning was desperately needed so I gave up most of Saturday to that. Wow, the thrills and chills never end around here!

But, I did play with fabric in my clean house on Sunday and Monday. Made this:

I love this Amy Butler pattern. I've still got some in blue tones, so I think I'll make another. Hard to get a good interior shot, but I wanted to show the pockets - finally remembered to put in a magazine/pattern book pocket and a straight needle or ruler pocket (it's on the right side in the shadow), plus the small notions pocket up top.

This tote is for DH's mom so he even accepted my dining room take-over:

Showing these "truth" shots since some of you have commented in the past that I work so neatly. No, I just photograph my work neatly. I create chaos when I'm actually working, but I generally clean up every few days to return the room to it's designated use. I'd turn it into a sewing room in a heartbeat, but since DH's hobby is cooking weekend dinners I don't think that will happen.

There are three projects on the sideboard, bits of fabric everywhere, ball winder and swift, portable ironing board (out of photo) and two coffee cups in various stages of mold growing. I was wondering where they were this morning...

A while back I fell in love with Jan's Daisiez quilts. Check her quilting photo album and you'll be inspired too.

In the spirit of Summer of Stash I'm trying to use only fabric I already have for this. When I bought my machine 4 or 5 years ago I went to the quilt show and bought all these batiks with no thought as to how much was needed for a quilt and in what ratio (total newbie). They've been languishing in my stash closet ever since. I refuse to buy more, so it's real challenge to make it work with what's here. The block on top will be the daisy. Sorry the light's not the best - sun hasn't moved to that side of the house yet, but you get the idea. Still cutting the outside flowers.

I've signed on for Trek Along with Me. Had the yarn in stash along with not one, not two, but three sets of US #1 DPs. What's up with that? Hope I don't find I need 0's!

Already thinking of local walks - this will be good.

Well, some knitting should get done soon because little one finally goes back to preschool tomorrow after a week+ break. Yeah!