simutaneously

i saved all the tiny scraps as i was cutting out the pieces for my paper piecing "go dotty" quilt. as i have not been in the mood to paper piece i've started sewing together the bits and pieces of scraps. so far, i have not had to go to the actual dotty "stash" to cut new pieces...

but then, i only have but two completed blocks so far! just playing it by ear. but at this point, thinking of a nine patch of the missmatched blocks.

as you may have figured out, i prefer small throws or child sized blankets. better known as, managable projects.

latest addition
of course the b&w dots are going into my go dotty quilt. the other geometric print... no idea. the rest i am thinking of utilizing in a line of fabric postcards. the plan when i bought them, was to use them to make my wedding invitations...

i've been sketching ideas but nothing i've come up with makes me want to shout "eureka".

same but different

the body of the following two quilts are the same (just 4.5 inch blocks) with with two different styles of borders. yes, i used gypsy caravan by amy butler, one of her earlier collections. the big one is mine... i'm pretty sure the smaller one will become a baby gift at some point.

Amy Butler (mine)

Baby Amy
i had enough squares to make another small quilt but not enough to make a good sized throw if i combined them all into one quilt... so this is how I ended up with two quilts virtually the same.

if you look closely at the center of this one, the center four blocks have a small border... as my cutting skills aren't always done with the greatest of accuracy... a "mistake" that i think made a better quilt in the long run.

my way

Typical design
If left to my own devices this is more along the lines of what i come up with. no rules quilting. on this quilt i just "tacked" it instead of quilting. yes, the border is from the kaffe fassett line.

finally, digital

picked up the canon powershot today on my lunch hour... as you will see from the shots below... i need a lot of practice, especially on keeping the camera steady. but i'm sooo excited, had to post the pix anyway.

polka stash
the giant pink, red, and green dots is a flannel piece that i am planning on using for the backing of my "go dotty" quilt.

going dotty

this is my first paper piecing project.
the pattern is from an old issue of better homes & garden quilting magazine. it will be set with a strip border and the center of each "circle" will be, of course, a giant polka dot.

Polka Dot
Paper Piecing

Quarter Circles

imagine

well. if i had a digital camera i would be documenting the progress and disaster we have made in the kitchen. but i haven't had time to shop for one... thanks to the project!

camera: i want it to be small and very portable. so, i was leaning towards the canon elph. consulted J and he suggested that one or the olympus stylus. hmm, now if i can just get to a store to play with them and make a decision.

easter: planning to celebrate a pagan's birthday and drink fuzzy navels and mimosas. i figure we will be happy for an excuse to get out of the house at that point.

and we did return the paint to home depot for a darker shade. navajo?
and i really like it!

wood putty

not exactly the same as needle and thread...

i have managed to procrastinate to the point of driving E crazy... so, he has decided he will complete my refinishing the kitchen cabinets project... (i say, thanks! and yeah!) he removed the remaining doors and applied primer while i filled the holes. which there seemed to be more of, per cabinet door, than what was needed to accomodate the hinges and handles.

i don't think the 1950 craftsmen were as marvelously talented as we have been lead to believe in past 30 years. i say men, only because i seriously doubt that there were too many women carpenters back in those days.

the cabinets pretty much refused to take the varnish that i wanted to apply. and i got frustrated with the whole process. so. i have settled on painting them a buttery, creamy-cream.

but now i think it is too light.

hellooo, home depot.

first cut book slut

if you get tired of being fed by the mass marketing machines... check out this website.

http://www.firstcutbooks.com/index.html

they tend to review books that aren't being reviewed to death by all other reviewers. exposure to a wider and more diverse group has gotta be a good thing.

another book review site i like. http://www.bookslut.com/

no, i have not actually purchased and read any of the books featured on either of these sites. but i have on more than one occassion added them to my amazon shopping cart. what can i say, i'm lazy. i've become one of those horribly short attention span spastic individuals... who only reads magazines.

i want to be a bibliophile.
almost as much as i want to be a runner.

instead.
i read short magazine articles
and
walk on the Y treadmill.

Wee Wonderfuls

Under links you will see a link to another blog site I like to read on a regular basis... wee wonderfuls. It was in reading sites like this that made me think how lazy I am... I have no kids... I should be able to find time to be creative!

Check her site out.

My Pink Dog
Great Folk Quilt

Ragged edge quilting.
This is the actual quilt on the cover of the pattern "My Pink Dog" as I did not take a pix of mine before hanging it up in the quiltshop that I work in part-time.

I also used pinks for my dog, but instead of using darker shades of pink I used purples and in place of the yellow I used brighter and lighter pinks. (i think) I placed him on a bright green background and for quilting did long thin zig-zags that hopefully resemble blades of grass.

When I get the little puppy back, I will post a pix of my actual quilt.

creative outlet

well. this is my first entry. a little scary and very exciting.
i've been bemoning the fact that i no longer take the time to be productive in a creative way on a daily basis.
so. here i am.

no rules.
regarding the frequency of posts.
or topics and subject matter... or any of that... just hoping that a public space that feels more formal might actually cause me to write on a semi-reg basis.

and hopefully, sew or design regularly.