LaVieEnRosie

Math... schmath

One of the big ironies about my being a quilter ~ and writing quilt patterns ~ is that I was one of those students who sat in math class and adamantly assured my teachers that I was never going to need math.  Never.  Nope.  Not me!  Not a chance. 

Wrong. 

Only those math-loving folks who pursued math degrees and did math-related jobs ever actually used math.  REAL people didn't need math because REAL people never actually used math. 

Wrong again.

It comes in kind of handy.  Especially if you're a quilter. 

Many of the early quilt book and pattern authors had ~ have! some are still with us... ~ strong math backgrounds.  They were teachers, engineers, math textbook writers and so on before they became quilters.  Or maybe they became quilters because they recognized the math involved.  That is less so today.  While there are still many "professionals" with math backgrounds, many claim to have more knowledge and expertise than they really do.  Most of us didn't get much math beyond high school algebra, and even those of us that did... well, some of us were still insisting that we were never going to need it. 

So, what's the point of all this, Carrie?

Now that it's officially post-Thanksgiving, it's time to start pulling out a few Christmas decorations.  For me, that means it's time to put the Christmas quilts on the beds! 

A very long time ago ~ the primary fabric is from VIP so that should give you an idea of just how long ago it was ~ my Mom asked me to make a Christmas quilt for her using a red paisley fabric she fell in love with. 

This quilt comes with a story.  A "Carrie-really-botched-the-math-when-figuring-out-the-nine-patches-on-this-one-kind-of-story."

Here's Mom's quilt...

 

The block is a Reverse Double Nine-Patch.  It measures 6 3/4" x 6 3/4" finished size.  There are 81 blocks set on point, appearing as nine horizontal rows of nine blocks each.  The pieced blocks alternate with plain squares of the red paisley, and there is an 8" outer border.  No, I didn't quilt it... thank goodness!

On a side note, it seems that I've been making itty bitty blocks longer than I thought.  These nine-patches finish at 2 1/4" x 2 1/4".  The strips are cut at 1 1/4" and the little squares finish at 3/4" x 3/4".  Apparently, I've been nuts for a really long time and only recently realized it. 

Now back to Mom's quilt... So there I was, happily cutting and sewing all these little strips.  Sewing.  And sewing.  Hour after hour.  After hour.  After hour... I was sewing a lot.  After awhile, I started thinking that I really was sewing a lot of strips.  I mean... A LOT of strips.  I had a mountain of them!  And lots and lots of little pieced strips cut from the strip sets.

Since I needed 324 nine-patches ~ 81 blocks and 4 nine-patches in each block ~ I had carefully calculated that I needed 42 dark/light/dark strip sets measuring 42" long.  And I would need 42 light/dark/light 21" long strip sets.  I would get about 33 pieced segments from each 42" strip and 16 pieced segments from each 21" strip.  Sounds good, right?

And I needed four dark/light/dark pieces and two light/dark/light pieces for each nine-patch, right?

Hmmm... not exactly. 

That's the kind way of saying "wrong".  As in WRONG!

It seems I have enough strip sets and little segments to make over 650 nine-patches.  Oops. 

Actually... I should say @#(*$#&#&$!!!!

Now what, Miss I'm Never Going To Need Math... Not Now, Not Ever?

I made a second quilt. 

My favorite thing about this quilt is the green ribbon fabric.  There are a few quilters who like to look down their noses at Debbie Mumm and her fabrics, but not me.  After trying more than a dozen different green fabrics for the setting triangles, I happened upon this particular Debbie Mumm Christmas fabric.  It was perfect and it absolutely made the quilt. 

While you can't tell from this picture, each block is comprised of a Double Nine-Patch surrounded by four matching setting triangles.  The green blocks then alternate with the red blocks in a straight setting.  This quilt has 81 blocks set in nine rows of nine blocks each.  How's that for synchronicity?

And you thought I knew what I was doing...

I almost forgot...

About the new Schnibbles patterns, a couple of questions came up that I wanted to answer. 

All seven of the little quilts are made with just two charm packs.  A few only need a little bit of yardage for an inner border, others need a little bit of yardage for the background or whatever. 

The Tuffets are all made with a single charm pack ~ about 40 squares.  All six designs will be in the pattern, and no, there isn't any paper-piecing involved.  Most of the Tuffets are pieced on a foundation, but one of them is pieced and then layered and quilted.  And, yes, you can layer a piece of batting with the foundation.

When that pattern has been shipped, I promise I will post a couple of tips and suggestions on stuffing, finishing, and actually making the little pincushions. 

One other thing to suggest... since I've become addicted to making these pincushions and other little bitty blocks, I've been putting all my little strips and odds and end pieces in a big jar.  I keep it next to the cutting table.  Aside from looking really pretty, it holds all sorts of pieces for future pincushions.

Giving Thanks

When it came to giving thanks, I like what Emerson said...

For each new morning with its light, For rest and shelter of the night, For health and food, For love and friends, For everything Thy goodness sends.

That's what matters most. 

No matter what difficulties and disappointments I might have now or in the future, the reality is that I have always been a lucky girl.  I have been blessed with family and friends who love me in spite of my many faults ~ not the least of which is my stubborn refusal to believe that I actually have faults.  I have been blessed with good health and with growing up with what I can only describe as security.  I never worried about not being safe, not having shelter or not having those "basic necessities" that not everyone in the world has ~ running water, food, electricity, etc.  And I have been blessed by having the opportunity and the ability to choose my own path, whatever that may be and however far it might veer from what others might have chosen for me.  Even the biggest "problem" in my life the past few years has been an indirect blessing by regularly reminding me that we choose our behavior, and that our choices make us who we are.

Which brings me to you ~ my latest blessing.  I would like to thank each of you for making this new adventure so much fun.   

When I started, I hoped that I could respond to each comment but I fell behind... way behind!  But I hope you know that I read each of them and I very much appreciate your taking the time to respond to whatever silly thing I've written about.

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

(And a big thank you to Vintage Holiday Crafts for the vintage Thanksgiving postcards.  They were free!) 

And just in case my family and friends find their way here...

• I am thankful that my friends and family are all happy and healthy.
• I am thankful that Rosie is happy and healthy, and as goofy as ever. 
• I am thankful that 24 is back!  Finally!  It has been 18 months and I didn't think Jack would ever be back!  Thankfully, January is just around the corner.  (I really wanted to put this first as I am THAT thankful about it but that seemed a bit shallow.  No, wait, second... not even Jack comes before Rosie.) 
• I am thankful that my sock knitting class is over!  I had a very good time and I will finish my stocking ~ and I will continue knitting!  I am also VERY thankful that Judy is still speaking to me after I dragged her into this.
• I am extremely thankful that there is a one-month grace period with the new photo radar cameras recently installed on the local highways. 

P.S. I will post again tomorrow to respond to a few questions posed in the comments.  After I bake my pie. 

 

Best laid plans...

I had it all figured out...

The new Schnibbles' covers are at the printer and should be ready by November 30th, or thereabouts.  The images are being sent to the website folks and should be published about the same time ~ I hope.

But it seems as though I've had to re-think those plans after the covers showed up somewhere else first!  So we're playing catch-up... maybe this is the gods way of getting me moving along a little faster.  

So here they are, the new Schnibbles patterns for Fall.  (And just so you know, they were photographed before they were quilted.)  

Oh and before I go any further, I need to tell you that Kimberly took a huge chance and ordered these sight-unseen.  She'll be receiving the first order when they're ready to ship on or about December 1st.  So if anything looks interesting to you, she's going to have them up on the Fat Quarter Shop website this afternoon.   

In order...  #425 ~ State Fair. 

   

Yes, there are some bias edges, but when the blocks are being joined, you'll always have a straight edge against the bias edge.  Mine was made with the Wee Play collection. 

#426 ~ Dow Jones

 

Up and down... at least mine is ending on an up-note.  Mine was made using the Tradition Collection for a Cause.  It's all strip-piecing and the border is already made by the time you get there. 

#427 ~ Betsy

Flag Day Farm by Polly and Laurie was the inspiration for this quilt ~ and for the name of it.  Two charm packs and border fabric, that's all you'll need.

And #430 ~ Nice Day

   

I love this fabric ~ Harvest Home by Barb and Alma.  (Love them too, they're exceptionally nice ladies.)  I used a background fabric from Madeira to get a little more contrast, but the rest of the quilt comes from just two charm packs.

#429 ~ Open Season

Remember those little geese I was trimming up with the Mini Fit to Be Geese ruler?  Here they are.

 

The Heritage Collection for a Cause ~ I LOVE this fabric.  (Don't tell anyone but I was just a tad underwhelmed when I first saw it.  All I saw was the brown and the tan.  But when I saw all the fabric on the bolts, I fell in love with it and bought a "goodly" amount of it.)

#430 ~ Hot Cross

 

Patisserie by Fig Tree Quilts.  Two charm packs and a little bit of yardage for the inner border.  But just to warn you, this fabric is so pretty, "a little bit of yardage" isn't going to be enough.  Trust me, you're going to want a lot more of it.  (To see all the wonderful things Joanna has done with it ~ www.figtreequilts.com.)

#431 ~ Good Fortune

 

The upcoming Legacy Collection for a Cause.  Have I mentioned that I LOVE this fabric?  I'll tell you more about how this quilt came about later, but for now, let it suffice to say that I was at a total loss for what to do with these charm packs.  And then early one morning while trying to go back to sleep for just a few more minutes, it came to me.  This takes two charm packs and some yardage.

And the last pattern is #432 ~ Tuffets. 

Do you remember that little double-nine-patch I was making a few weeks ago?  Not the "neeps", this one.  This is what I was making ~ a pincushion.  One of several, actually.  

   

All six pincushions were made from a single charm pack ~ about 40 squares.  Can you tell I've been in the mood to work with itty-bitty little pieces? 

And when I actually have the patterns in hand, I will be doing a little giveaway for a "shop pack" of patterns.  But that's later... I have to go finish proofing patterns!  Oy vey!

Tool Time

The fourth best thing about being a quilter is all the great gadgets, tools and gizmos we get to play with.  The first, second and third best things ~ in no particular order ~ are the joy of the quilting process, the beauty of the finished product, and the pleasure of touching and drooling over gorgeous fabric. 

So when I wrote about my most favorite flying geese ruler last week, it got me to thinking about some of my other favorite tools.  And I expect you to tell me about your favorite tools!

 

Starting at the top, I love the new quick-change rotary cutter from Olfa.  While the quick-change feature is very nice, what I really like is the shape of the handle.  I've never been able to get used to the ergonomic cutters and when I'm doing a lot of cutting ~ I like to cut out the whole quilt at the same time ~ my hand gets tired.  This handle is wider at the middle and the curve of the handle makes it very comfortable to hold when I'm doing a lot of cutting. 

My Clover seam ripper.  This one fits my hand well and I like that the point is very narrow.  My friend Sue likes those surgical steel seam rippers but they scare me... as in, I'll need surgery to close the wound I'll have after using it.  The magnifying glasses at the bottom, those are so that I can see the stitches that need to be removed.

I use a stiletto/awl to guide pieces under the presser foot, and to keep my pieces straight when I get to the end of a seam.  I bought this one from a lovely gentleman on eBay who makes crochet hooks and other needlework tools from beautiful laminated woods.  I would love to buy another one but his stiletto/laying tools have gotten extremely expensive, often going for more than $75.00. 

Can I be honest about something?  I have a scissor fetish.  I love good scissors.  I think it comes from growing up with a Mom who would never let me use the "good scissors".  So now I have lots and lots of pairs of "good scissors".  These two pairs are by Dovo, a German company that started out making barber scissors.  They are very lightweight and very sharp.  And I love the brushed finish.  Pretty and functional! 

My measuring tape ~ I use this to measure my quilt tops before marking and attaching borders.  The metal tape from the hardware store doesn't stretch, doesn't warp and you can use it by yourself if you need to. 

 

This is my favorite thread ~ Presencia 60 wt.  It is very fine and very, very strong.  I first heard about it two years ago when Harriet Hargrave started recommending it.  The simple truth is that Harriet's forgotten more about quilting than I'll ever know, and since her daughter, Carrie ~ who just HAS to be brilliant with a name like that! ~ did an extensive study on thread, I figured that they knew of what they were speaking.  So I tried it and I love it. 

The one thing to tell you if you try it is that you'll want to try using a smaller needle with the 60 wt. thread ~ I usually use a 75/11 needle with this thread.  While the 50 wt. comes in a couple hundred colors, the 60 wt. only comes in about 30 colors.  My favorite color for almost all of my piecing is 216, but I also use 212 and 175.  Presencia is made in Spain and is the preferred thread for couture sewing in Europe.  Oh and you'll love the price, the large spool of 600 meters is about $6.50, and sometimes less. 

Getting old really bites... although, yes, I know, it beats the alternative. 

Since my old Bernina machine doesn't have a flourescent light, this light is perfect as it gives me more light and it lets me direct the light to where I need it!  It's one of the better gadgets of recent years. 

Almost done... the ruler is one of the frosted rulers by Olfa.  I admit it, when I first saw it, I didn't expect to like it.  I figured it would be one of those great "new" ideas that didn't really do anything.  I was wrong about that as I have found the ruler to have less glare than some of my others.  I also like that the lines are very thin and the logo is very small!  The ruler doesn't slide very much, and it is very easy to see through the ruler on both light and dark fabrics. 

The marking pencil and "glue stick" from Sewline are two new products that I also figured would fall into the "fancy new gadget that I won't really use".  It works like a mechanical pencil and it is terrific, especially when you have to mark lines on a dark fabric as you can choose the color of the "lead" you put in.  And the glue stick is just perfect as it is very easy to use and gives you "just enough" stick for when you just need to keep two pieces together for just a little while.  

As for the pins, you really can't see them in the picture but I love the super-fine pins by Clover.  Half the box has yellow heads and the other half has blue heads.  They're a little bendy but they are so fine, you can sew over them... and, yes, I know, you aren't supposed to.  But I do.

And, last but not least, my iPod.  I love to sew with my music.  I've never been able to do the audio book thing, they usually wind up distracting me by annoying me.  I don't like the reader's voice.  I don't like the inflections they put into the words.  I really get annoyed by accents, and by the readers trying to do a voice for the opposite sex.  So I like music, and most of that is rock and roll, with some jazz, some opera, a little bit of country and some classical thrown in.

I also listen to the Squeezebox radio/computer thing my brother got me for Christmas two years ago but that takes me way too long to explain.  Let it suffice to say that I can listen to a jazz radio station broadcasting from Paris on the stereo thing in my sewing room via wi-fi and my computer. 

I also have a few scented candles in the room ~ although I don't keep those on the sewing table anymore.  Almost setting a quilt on fire at 1:30 in the morning changed my thinking on the wisdom of that.  And, yes, I always have some kind of chocolate in there.  And doggie treats ~ there are two treat jars in my sewing room, one by the sewing machine and another on the cutting table. 

Whew!  Finally done. 

So what are your favorite tools?  And what "creature comforts" do you have in your sewing room that you just can't live without when you're stitching?       

Whew!

I am so glad the weekend is over because I'm tired. 

Happy, but tired. 

Feeling like I got a lot accomplished.  But still tired. 

I am happy to know that I am not alone in the knitting wilderness, at least as far as it goes for frustrated wannabe knitters like me.  

I have good news and bad news of the knitting front.  Judy was doing really well... until a couple of stitches slid off her needle and she panicked.  (Really, you've never heard such muttering in all your life.  I gather it gets a lot more colorful at home.)  She had been knitting along beautifully, to the point that she was right up there turning heels with everyone else.  Show off!

I was still working on the leg part of my sock, mostly because I couldn't remember where I was after last week's class and didn't know where to start.  So I went to class without my homework done ~ good thing its a familiar state of being for me, meaning I was still working on the ribbing at the top of the sock.  But here's where I was after class...

   

Looks pretty good, doesn't it?  I'm pretty impressed with myself... except for one little problem.  Actually it's a large problem... a large size problem.  Because I'm not a very experienced knitter, it was "suggested" that I use a thicker yarn rather than one of the sock-weight yarns.  No problem, I can do that!  So I am using one of the worsted weight wool sock yarns from Lorna's Laces.  But I'm following the pattern as written for a sock-weight yarn.  The sock is turning out a little large.

So I'm going to improvise and turn this into the prettiest pink/lavender/blue Christmas stocking! 

I did get some sewing done this weekend too.  I am in the middle of making half-triangle squares for an upcoming project and, no, you don't want to know how many of them I am having to make.  It's a lot.  This is what it looked like a few weeks ago when I had finished cutting.

 

I'll have to wait until next Spring or Summer to show you what the quilt looks like.  It is one of my favorite kinds of quilts ~ very scrappy and very simple.  Well, all except for the part about making a bajillion half-triangle squares. 

And since even I get bored doing that, I did take a break and putz around my sewing room pretending to tidy up a little bit.  In one of the baskets, I ran across some itty bitty pinwheels I made a year ago using the leftover pieces from the connector corners from Decoy. 

And just so you know, when I make blocks that use that connector corner technique, I do not save the little triangles that are cut off.  Almost never.  Maybe five times total in 20 years of using that technique.  And this is the first time I've ever used them to make something!

After stitching the bias edge and trimming down the half-triangle square, I had enough blue and white squares to make nine pinwheels blocks measuring 2" x 2".  So I made a little mini quilt which I then had to machine-quilt, and then wash and iron to shrink and age.  Then I went searching around for the house for a square frame I wasn't using any more and this is what I made.  

 

I am going to "live with it" for a few days while I decide whether it needs a different frame, a different background or mat, and/or a finished edge.  I rather like the unfinished edge on this one because it looks like something that didn't get finished.  But it's all scrunchy, which is a good thing since it helps hide the really crummy job I did when I made these pinwheels last year. 

One last thing... I made the Cranapple Crisp for my Mom this afternoon and she loved it.  But since I didn't want to be eating crisp all week, I made just half the recipe.  What I did was mix the apple pie filling and cranberry relish, then measured out half of it and put that back into the jar which went into the refrigerator where it will keep for a couple of weeks.  The same with the cake mix.  I dumped it into a bowl, measured it and used just half.  The rest went into a ziploc bag and into the freezer.  I used an 8" x 8" baking dish and it was perfect.   

Yikes!  It's after midnight and I am way too old to be staying up this late!  It's kind of scary but I don't get tired when I'm making things... do you think that's why Martha Stewart never sleeps?

Twisted knot...

I'm trying to learn how to knit socks. 

Now, let me start by stating that I am not a knitter... but I have aspirations.

I first learned to knit when I was 11 or 12.  My Mom was learning to knit ~ or trying to as she would clarify ~ and she taught me.  We were inspired by my Aunt Doris who was a seriously accomplished knitter.  Mom and I were seriously not.  The only think I knit really well are those 4" guage pieces.  I'm quite expert at those.  Truly!  Mine are awesome ~ knitting-shop worthy!   

And that's the only thing I've ever finished.  I've not made a single project of any kind... unless you want to count those guage pieces as mini-potholders or coasters.

But after spending time with Heather Peterson ~ another seriously accomplished knitter ~ I was bitten by the "I want to knit something" bug.  And then when my friend Sue showed me the bazillion dozen socks she'd knitted over the summer, I got very itchy.  So I signed up for a "refresher" class and then a sock class.  They told me it was SO easy ~ 6-year old children in Europe knit socks all the time is what they said ~ and that I could do it!  Yeah, right... they knew everything they needed to know about me ~ I had a credit card and "gullible" stamped on my forehead.    

 

And so I wouldn't be alone in the knitting wilderness, I badgered my now-former friend Judy into taking class with me.  (Judy will be easy to recognize if you ever see her, she'll be the one wearing just one sock.  I've heard from Sue that Judy is going to finish the one sock and that's it!)

Now, the reason of this story is this ~ nobody told me that knitting class is a contact sport!  OHMYGOSH!!!  It has been absolutely hilarious!

There are eight of us in class and six of them spent much of the class oohing and aahing over what expert knitters the others were, and discussing yarn-overs and other knitty-stuff.  Judy and I were conspicuously left out of that discussion... probably because Judy couldn't remember how to purl and I still don't know how to make a proper slip knot.  (I need a picture diagram in front of me every single time.)  And I'm sure they're still atwitter about the blank look that appeared on my face when the teacher said something about a "long tail cast on."

Still, isn't that yarn beautiful? 

And WHEN I finish them, the socks will be beautiful... if you don't look too closely.  And who is going to see them?  It isn't like I'm going to wear them with shorts or a skirt!  Maybe I can just knit the toes and wear them with Birkenstocks... okay, maybe not.   

And I have the world's easiest recipe to share with you ~ a Cranapple Crisp.  We've been making this at work and it smells amazing when it's baking, and it tastes better than it smells.

CranApple Crisp

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, combine 1 - 29 oz. jar Apple Pie Filling with 1 - 18 oz. jar Apple-Orange Cranberry Relish.  (We use the W-S stuff, of course.)  Stir until it is evenly mixed.  Pour it into a 9" x 13" pan.  Spread evenly. 

Open a box of yellow cake mix ~ or white, whichever one you have.  Sprinkle the whole thing on top ~ if necessary, use a fork to evenly distribute the cake mix.  Don't pat it down or stir it into the fruit mixture.

Melt 1 and 1/2 sticks of butter ~ 12 oz.  (In the microwave is fine.)  Pour that on top of the cake mix.

If desired, sprinkle the top with 1 cup chopped nuts ~ toasted or not.  (We've been using walnuts but pecans work well too.)

Bake at 350 for 35 to 40 minutes ~ or until the top is golden brown.  

Cool until you just can't stand it any longer ~ about 2 minutes at the store ~ and dig in.  (Now suck in air in vain attempt to cool burned tongue and start blowing on remaining crisp on plate so it will cool faster.)

This is really good with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream on top.  

I have to tell you that I've made this three times at the store for samples and everybody loves it.  More importantly, nobody can believe how good it is and that it is so easy to make!  In a fancy dish, no one will ever know it took you 3 minutes to put together.

P.S.  And if you go to a Williams-Sonoma store, the apple pie filling is on sale right now.   

Wish me luck ~ I'm off to knittting class.    

Quick hits...

Sue Vollbrecht!  That's the name of the very nice lady who showed me the little post-it note trick in Rockford!  I thought that was who it was but I wasn't sure.  Thankfully Monique has a much better memory than I do!

And, yes, the flying geese rulers ~ both the mini and the regular  size ~ are my favorites.  You make them a little bigger than required and trim them down to size.  The funny thing about using them is that when I sewing the little triangles to the big triangles, they look pretty good!  In fact, they look really good... so good that I start thinking I may just piece these things the old-fashioned way.  Never mind that trimming down thing, I've got some very fine looking geese. 

And then reality hits me upside the head with a 2' x 4'.  I lay the ruler on top of my geese ~ and any ruler will do at this point ~ and I see just how straight my geese really aren't.  Wonk City!

If I want perfect geese, I need a ruler that makes them that way. 

Not that they stay perfect after I sew them together though... some days, the issues are with the flying geese, they're with me.

On a side note...

   

Goofball.

Can you believe this position?  Would you believe me if I told you it was her favorite one?  She gets like this all the time?  She lays down and then gets herself rolled over so that her feet are against the chair and her back is against the table.  And, yes, there is usually a toy ~ her very most favorite ball ~ right next to her. 

Goofball. 

One of the funny things about my "job" is that everyone thinks I get to sew all day, every day.  I wish that were the case.  Still, there are days when I get to have the whole day to work on whatever I choose to work on.  So I baked.

  

I baked some Neeps.  That's my word for "itty bitty nine-patches".  And these are for my "Birthday Quilt".

While on my way to Spring Market in Minneapolis a couple of years ago, I went with several friends to JJ Stitches in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin.  If you've never been there, it is amazing.  And wonderful.  And it is owned by the amazing, wonderful and very nice Julie Hendrickson.  

After a lovely dinner with Julie and Jean, we finagled an invitation to Julie's house.  (Can you blame us?  Her shop is beautiful, we know she loves antiques and has some exquisite antique quilts... you'd have been right there with us!)  Sweetheart that she is, Julie showed us her lovely home and let us drool over her collection of quilts.  While in her sewing room, one quilt on the shelf caught my eye.  She let me pull it out and while we were all ooohing and aaahing over it, she told us that it wasn't an antique.  But it did have a story.  

I don't remember if it was at a show or in an antique shop, but Julie had seen an antique quilt that she had fallen in love with.  Unfortunately, the quilt came with an outrageous price tag.  Julie figures that she must have talked about the quilt quite a bit when she got back to the shop because several of her friends duplicated it for her birthday, which is why she calls it the "Birthday Quilt".

Julie's quilt is made entirely of nine-patches and alternating squares set on point.  Both the nine-patches and the alternating squares finish at 1 - 1/2" x 1 - 1/2".  (Meaning that the little squares in the nine-patches finish at 1/2" x 1/2".)  There are 1032 ninepatches and 920 alternating squares in the quilt, which measures about 68" x 68". 

While the original ~ and Julie's ~ is made with reproductions and muslin for the nine-patches and shirtings for the alternating squares, I'm making mine a little bit differently.  (Like that comes as a surprise.)  I am using muslin for the light in all the nine-patches but I'm using any fabric that has a small print and a color that I think works for the darks.  And since I only need 1" strips for the nine-patches, I'm getting to use up bits and pieces of a lot of scraps.

As for the alternating fabrics... well, let it suffice to say that I really love shirtings.  In other people's quilts.  As wonderful as shirtings are, they just aren't "me".  And since this is my quilt and I'm making all those little nine-patches, I get to use what I like!  So I'm going to use a single fabric, this wonderful little antique looking print in ivory, pale yellow and brown that makes all those little nine-patches just pop.

After typing "nine-patches" a dozen times, do you see why I like to call them "neeps"?

As for the muffin tin, when you've got 30 little 1" x 2" pieced strips of each combination, the muffin tin makes it easier to keep everything together. 

 

I've got almost 700 nine-patches made ~ and that doesn't include the 100 that Sue owes me!  And with 10 months to go until my birthday, I just might get this thing done in time! 

Where has the time gone?

See what happens when you're busy working?  Time just disappears! 

With the "holiday season" approaching, it is getting busy at work.  (In case you don't already know, I have the best part-time job, I work at Williams-Sonoma.)  We were so busy on Sunday afternoon that I baked three batches -- packages -- of Spiced Pecan Pumpkin Quick Bread for our tasting samples. 

 

And I have been getting some quilt-work done ~ I've been busy "schnibbling" this past week to get everything finished for the photography this afternoon.  That's done and the new Schnibbles patterns will be done within a couple of weeks.  I'll tell you more about those later. 

But I did want to share a cool little tip/trick I learned this past summer.  Before I continue, I will have to tell you that I cannot remember the name of the lovely lady who showed me this little trick.  I can picture her and I remember where she was sitting, but not her name.  So if you know who you are, I will happily give you full and complete credit for this nifty little trick. 

While teaching a class at Quilter's General Store in Rockford, Illinois, one of the ladies was trimming up some flying geese using the Fit to be Geese ruler by the wonderful Monique Dillard of Open Gate Quilts.  To make the process easier and a little faster, she stuck a couple of Post-It Notes to the underside of her ruler, right up against the top part of the goose to be trimmed.  Like this...

 

Just take off a little stack of still-stuck-together sheets ~ about 5 or 6 sheets is what I usually have on my ruler ~ and attach the sticky side of the post-it note to the underside of the ruler.  This will create a little ridge at the seam line that will let you put the ruler in exactly the right spot quickly, and it will help keep the ruler from sliding while you're actually trimming it.  (The little square post-it notes are the perfect size, they measure about 2" x 2".)

And, yes, that is the Mini Fit to be Geese ruler you see in the pictures.  I was making small geese ~ 1 1/2" x 3" finished size. 

And this works with any flying geese ruler... although, really, why would you use anything but Monique's?

 

And the post-it notes generally don't get in the way when you're making the final cut on the bottom edge of the goose.

 

If you're trimming smaller geese or just want a smaller square, you can trim the post-it notes down to as small as 1" x 1".  The only thing that really matters is creating that little edge at the top of the ruler where it gets lined up with the top point of the triangle. 

Pretty nifty, huh?  I thought so... and so did Monique.  I asked her why she hadn't thought of it!  (She's extremely clever that way.)

As for the geese, this is my gaggle...

 

They were for a new Schnibble titled "Open Season" and the fabric is the Heritage Collection for a Cause by Moda.  I'll show you a picture of the quilt next week.  I promise. 

And to all the winners ~ thank YOU!  Thanks to YOU, I'm having fun with this new adventure. 

Until the next time...

I have a winner...

Since this is the very first, and oh-so-official, "Miss Rosie's Blog Giveaway" I am quite concerned about doing things properly.  I don't want to break any more rules of etiquette less than one month into this new adventure. 

And then it hit me... my blog... my giveaway... I get to make the rules! 

I love this!

I do so love being in charge... in control... omnipotent! 

So I don't have a winner... 

I have 15 of them! 

Woohooo!!!  Congratulations to Covered Porches, Lisa D., Countrythings, Judy, Becky S., Ginny Worden, marianne, Natalie, Joyce, Darlene, Nicole, Kate, Carol, and Sheila!  And lovetostitch... before or after the "witching hour", you still posted before I did so you still win!  (My giveaway... my rules!  I'm getting pretty good at this omnipotence thing!) 

I have some "extra" kits for Cheap Trick, Scratch, Imagine and X-Rated ~ and they are exactly like the quilt shown on the pattern cover.   

So, here's what I'm going to ask you to do...  Pick which one you like best.  And then your order of preference ~ first runner-up, second runner-up and so on.  (I will fill requests in the order received ~ and don't worry, I have plenty of kits.) 

You can go to the What's New page to see all four options.

Then send me your list of preferences and your mailing address at carrie@missrosiesquiltco.com and I'll take care of the rest.

So there you have it.  And a big, huge THANK YOU for commenting, and for reading and visiting. 

And there's one thing.  I promised I would show you a picture of my first booth if I ever found it... well, I found it.  She's going to kill me for not cropping her out of the picture but that's my wonderfully talented, very patient and very forgiving friend, Ginger Sanchez in the next booth with her very gorgeous penny rugs. 

(Forgiving?  I keep messing up the exact date of Ginger's birthday... I had it written down so I wouldn't get it wrong... I wrote it in three or four datebooks so that I wouldn't forget and that I would get it right this year because it is kind of a "big" birthday this year... her 30th... or thereabouts... and I wrote it down on the wrong date... it's October 26th... not the 23rd.  I did mention patient and forgiving, didn't I?)

And the lovely ladies from American Patchwork & Quilting were my other neighbor. 

 

That's it... Happy November!