LaVieEnRosie

Random thoughts...

As the numbers are starting to get a little fuzzy ~ I don't think 2 1/2" x 3 1/2" makes a square ~ I thought I should take a break and do something else. 

Something fun.

So I'm here. 

I've had an interesting morning... started it off by spending an hour speaking with Technical Support about why my wireless keyboard wasn't working.  When the folks said they hadn't sent me a keyboard with my computer, that I must have purchased it separately from another source, I got a little worried.  After a few minutes of conversation, I think I was able to convince them that I lacked the technical knowledge that would be required to purchase even the most basic of peripheral equipment.  Whew!  Ignorance finally pays off!

The good news is ~ and I'm sure you've figured it out by now ~ problem solved. 

I love this time of year... not because of Market!  That's work!  The only part that Market plays is this -- Market means new fabric... new fabric means... packages from my man Ted.

 

I can't show you what was in it just yet but I can tell you this ~ start saving your pennies!  You've already seen Mill Creek Inn from Joanna of Fig Tree Quilts ~ and you can see pictures at Joanna at Fig Tree Quilts.  It's even prettier in person.  

Other random thoughts...

Thank you to everyone who reminded me that grapes are bad for Rosie.  I "knew" that but I completely forgot and I do appreciate your reminding me and warning everyone else that grapes are very toxic to dogs.  While she's had a few in her lifetime, she hasn't had any in a few years.

Someone asked about my "other work" ~ some of you may not know that I have a part-time job at Williams-Sonoma.  I love it although there are days when I really, truly do want to smack some of the customers.  One of the corporate mantras is that when dealing with customers, we're to always ask ourselves "what would Chuck do?"  Well, Chuck never had to deal with some of the customers we have today.  When did everybody get so rude?  And when did lying about everything become a habit?  Grrrr. 

Of course, what I like best about my job is that it is a regular reminder that there are a lot of people in this world who work really hard at jobs that aren't easy.  If I'm tired after spending four or five hours on my feet, what would it be like to do that for eight, nine or ten hours?  I'm a lucky girl and as much as tease about loving my employee discount too much to ever quit, the truth is that I like being reminded to appreciate what I've got.  

Which reminds me, you know how some countries have mandatory military service?  I think this country needs mandatory retail service... or mandatory restraurant service.  Six months service or six weeks at the holidays ~ either one will suffice.  I am sure that many of you have worked retail or worked in a restaurant/fast food so you know what I mean when I say that I think people would be more patient, more understanding, more civil and a lot nicer if they had some inkling about just how much work it is.  

And my last random thought for today... Twitter.  

About a year or so ago, I was reading I-don't-remember-what and ran across something talking about a new up-and-coming online thing called Twitter.  The writer touted all the business possibilities of Twitter and suggested that everyone ~ especially small business folks ~ to open their account and register their name as soon as possible.  So not having anything else to do at the time, I did.  Yes, I've been on Twitter for almost a year.  

But no tweets.

It seems as though everybody but me is on Twitter... everybody but me has tweeted.

I have followers... but no tweets.

I've been invited to join twibes... but still no tweets.

There are a couple of reasons for that, not the least of which is that I'm a twechno-twit.  A Twitter-twit.  I also worry that if I did know how to tweet, that would be another thing to distract me.  I mean, really, if there was ever anybody born to chatter or tweet, I think it would be me.  And no, I'm not worried about the 140 character limitation... don't you know?  Most birds go "tweet, tweet, tweet... and so on. 

Still, if you hear of a Twitter twibe for twechno-twits, let me know.  That might be right up my twalley. 

Thank you...

You're the best. 

I asked for a little bit of help, a few suggestions, and you absolutely came through with all sorts of terrific ideas to keep me company while I'm sewing. 

And it goes without saying that I could absolutely spend the day sewing with any of you ~ with all of you!

Here's what I did for the comments... I counted the comments for both posts since some of you gave your snack and music suggestions on the 2nd post.  That was fine with me.  And since I was able to keep track of them in my e-mail box, I left everything in the order in which you commented regardless of which post you were answering.  And if you commented on both posts, only one of the comments counted.  (Given the hour and that I've been trying to write patterns all day, I'm not sure that makes any sense.) 

So here goes...

I did have one little problem with that Random Number Generator thing.  I think it's broken.  I put in my numbers -- 1 and 166 -- and I clicked it just like I was supposed to.  But the whole thing went haywire!  It just kept spewing out randomly-generated numbers.  Instead of two of them, I got four of them!  Oy vey... what's a girl to do?  It's a really good thing I have more than one of each kit... I was quite worried. 

(Bet you saw that one coming...)

So without further delay...

 

 The winners of the two Hot Cross kits are...

#117 ~ Susan A. at 12:27 pm on Monday, April 27th

#100 ~ Mary at 6:11 am on Monday, April 27th

 

And the winners of the two Good Fortune kits are...

#153 ~ Marie W. at 7:49 am on Tuesday, April 28th

#15 ~ Lissa at 3:14 am on Sunday, April 26th

Congratulations to the winners ~ I'll be contacting you about a mailing address. 

And thank you again for all the wonderful suggestions and recommendations.  Rosie particularly wants me to thank those of you who recommended pretzels, any kind of nuts, crackers and grapes.  She's tried and enjoyed all of them. 

You're in trouble now...

Rosie is annoyed.

 

All this mention of snacks and treats and not one person remembered a snack for Rosie!

Not that that stops her from helping herself to the pretzels, crackers, nuts and such.  She'd love the chocolate but that's a no-no. 

Thank you very much for all the suggestions of snacks and music! 

The really funny thing is that I probably should have mentioned that I don't usually snack while I sew either for the same reasons you mentioned ~ messy fingers and it's too easy to eat too much stuff I really don't need.  I do rely on the snacks when I'm working late and need to keep my energy up. 

The other thing that really made me laugh is that for all the comments about not snacking while you/we sew, I can't remember the last time I attended/taught at a retreat where there wasn't lots and lots of snacks!  Every table has crackers, chips, candy, jelly beans, m&ms, licorice nibs, popcorn and so on. 

I've been to retreats where we could have locked the doors on the first night there and laid siege for at least a month without anybody starving.  We'd have all been a little over-sugared and over-salted by the end of the month, but nobody would have gone hungry.  And I was at a retreat a few years ago where I would guess that every quilter who entered the building was toting at least 2 lbs. of candy.

And thank you for the music suggestions.  I was very interested to read how so many of you find music distracting and prefer DVDs or books on tape.  I'm totally the opposite, especially with the books on tape.  I have really tried to like those but I find I get too distracted by the story, or worse, by the person "reading" the book.  I think I am a closet-book-reader-critic.  I don't like this person's voice... I don't like how they do the voices for their opposite sex... they do bad accents or age distinctions... whatever.  I start getting annoyed which means I start making mistakes while sewing and then I'm really annoyed!  It's just not a pretty picture.  

As for DVDs, I don't have a television in my sewing room and I confess that I don't really miss not having it.  I can hear the television from the other room so I love it when there is a marathon for a show I like ~ yes, NCIS is my favorite too.  But my favorite "background" noise is either music or nothing at all ~ some days I need the peace of absolute quiet more than anything else. 

And for anybody who hasn't already left a comment about snacks and music ~ read this and leave a comment ~ the deadline isn't until midnight on Tuesday night.   

Yikes... I'm off!  I've got a busy day tomorrow!  Photographer... printer... quilter... Three Dog bakery... we're out of Cheez-its and I don't want Rosie mad at me too. 

What day is it?

I think I'm losing track.

It's my own fault... I'm way too old to be staying up until 4:00 am in the morning sewing.  I was wide awake and could have probably sewn for another hour or two but I finished the little Schnibble I was working on.  Have you ever noticed that your brain recognizes that sort of thing and goes from 60 to zero in about 2 seconds.  Which probably explains why I suddenly felt like a "crash test dummy".

But on Monday morning, this goes to the local photographer and then to the printer...

 

I know you can't see them very well ~ soon! ~ but from top to bottom, they are:

• Houseboat ~ made with Beach House by Blackbird Designs
• Reveille ~ made with Charisma by Chez Moi
• Picnic ~ made with Recess by American Jane
• Winter White ~ made with Glace by 3 Sisters

The new pincushions are in the hatbox. 

We'll see what kind of miracles it will take for the quilt tops to be quilted by Market. 

I didn't get much sewing done today, I mostly cleared off the cutting table, sorted through some stacks of "stuff" and basically avoided the sewing machine.  The thing is, this isn't a new phenomenon for me.  Or for the general population.  I know that I'm not the only person on the planet who always had a super-clean apartment/house during Finals in school.  Coincidental timing?  Not.  (One of these days I'll show you a picture of the quilt I made while I should have been concentrating on Civil Procedure.)

I'll get back to work tomorrow... although I do have to my "other" work tomorrow afternoon.  I'd rather be watching the Rangers and the Capitals but a girl's got to do what a girl's got to do if she wants to keep her Employee discount.  

Until then... I need your help on something.  Two things, actually.  

While I'm sewing ~ especially late at night ~ I like to have musical accompaniment and some kind of snack.  And after a couple of late nights, I'm need a tiny little change.  I'm still going to drink way too much Diet Cherry Dr. Pepper and I won't abandon my Cheez-its for anything, but I need a little bit of variety.  And, yes, chocolate is definitely on the list but I prefer salty-snacks for marathon-sewing days.     

As for musical suggestions, I'm simply looking for something new... a song I haven't thought of... a song I've forgotten about... or whatever. 

So in exchange for a little advice, I'm going to give away one kit for Hot Cross...

 

And one kit for Good Fortune...

The kits include everything you need for the quilt top.  (Backing and binding are not included.)

To enter, all you have to do is to answer these two questions:

What is your favorite snack to have when you're sewing?

What is the one song you absolutely, positively have to have on your iPod/radio/CD while you're sewing?  If you need to put two or three, that's fine. 

The deadline is 12:00 am, Midnight, April 28th, PST. 

(And I'll pick the two winners using that random number generator thing.  The first number chosen will receive Hot Cross and the second number chosen will receive Good Fortune.)

I'm off... I have some patterns to fold and stuff. 

And to those of you who are counting... 19 days until Market starts.  (And 14 days until I leave.)

Sixteen and counting...

That's how many days until I leave. 

I'm off to Pittsburgh a few days before Market to have some fun and do some "visiting".  I figure if it isn't done by then, it isn't going to get done by Market anyway.  And yes, I've had to accept that a few of the quilts I planned on having ready for Market aren't going to get to make the trip. 

A couple of things to clarify from the last post... about those pincushions.  While there are just two different designs in the pattern, I wanted to make a couple of each.  Partly to show some of the possible color combinations of each but mostly because I love making them.  They'll get photographed next week so that cover may actually be ready for Pittsburgh! 

As for the bindings, I think you know that I love doing those.  I don't much like the "sewing the binding onto the quilt top" part of it but I love the stitching down the binding part.  Because of the different battings I'd used in the three different quilts, I had to vary the sizes of the stips I cut.  I wound up using strips measuring 1 3/4" wide, 1 7/8" wide and 2". 

While I was sewing today ~ on a new Schnibble that will be called "Picnic" ~ I happened to see one of my very first quilts and I thought you'd get a laugh out of seeing some of my "early work". 

The first quilt I made was a Sun & Shadow using Blanche and Helen Young's book, and this amazing new tool called a "rotary cutter".  They were brand new on the market and I think everyone was a little afraid of them.  It didn't help much that the "quilting traditionalists" seemed bent on sharing horror stories of gruesome rotary-cutter injuries in an effort to keep everyone from trying this scandalous new invention. 

Now before I show you my quilt, I also want to tell you that the other ladies in my class were making these beautiful shaded floral creations.  Pink and green... peach and green... blue and pink... blue and tan... soft, pretty, lovely.  I made this...

 

While sewing strips in class, everyone else was making a lovely quilt.  I was making a windsock. 

The funny thing about it is that I machine-quilted it myself ~ which was truly scandalous behavior to the quilting traditionalists of Dallas, Texas in 1984.  And I quilted it in red thread!

 

After the smashing success of this first quilt, I figured I could make anything.  So what if I stitched this quilt to the living room carpet while basting it for quilting... everything was a learning experience! 

My second quilt was one of those Roman Stripes quilts that were all the rage at the time.  But instead of using black and traditional Amish colors, I used royal blue and all these sherbert-like pastels.  It was really cool ~ and no, I don't have it any more.  I gave that one away. 

My third quilt his was supposed to be a Double Irish Chain...

 

Just one problem... I didn't want to have to applique that little square into the corner of the plain square so I figured out I could piece it.  But it seems like I compressed it a bit and this is kind of a Triple Chain that the Irish want nothing to do with. 

And this quilt has rounded corners because I didn't know how to do a mitered binding and I didn't care much for that log-cabin sort of corner that the lady at the quilt shop recommended.  And since the resident shop "expert" did really awful mitered bindings ~ based on what I had seen at the quilt show, I didn't think her bindings were all that "expert" ~ I decided to go for something easier.  A curved corner!

Since I had obviously mastered strip piecing, I figured I was ready for a challenge for my fourth quilt.  I had the book ~ also by Blanche and Helen Young ~ I had my rotary cutter, and I knew math!  What could go wrong?

More than you think... although it looks pretty good now...

  

This started when I saw an antique quilt in a fancy quilt boutique in Houston.  It was priced at $1000.00, and it wasn't even in perfect condition.  One side of the quilt was completely faded out ~ probably due to being on a bed next to a sunny window.  But since I could sew... I could make that!

I made the top and never got the chance to quilt it.  I sort of knew how I wanted it quilted but I will totally own up to not having the skills to execute it.  So I put it aside so that I could quilt it when I had the skills... still waiting on that dream...

A few years ago, I had a quilting spot with a super-talented machine quilter, Carol Meka, and I decided to pull this out and let her quilt my "masterpiece".  I'm still trying to put together the shattered pieces of my pride...

Carol spread the quilt out on the floor and after some smoothing... lots of smoothing... more smoothing... a couple of "hhhmmmms...", she finally broached the subject.  The border didn't really want to lay flat... it appeared that there was more border length than necessary on two sides. 

When the corners ~ six borders, all perfectly mitered, thank you very much! ~ were aligned as they should be, one of the sides was perfect.  A second side was pretty good ~ good enough that it wouldn't be a problem to quilt.  The third side... a bit of a peak... maybe 1" of extra fabric.  Problematic... but not truly tragic.  The fourth side... huge problem.  About 3" of extra fabric.  Ooops... I'm guessing this might be an example of why just sewing on borders and whacking them off is a bad idea.

But I can fix this!  I know how!  I can rebuild this quilt... I have the skills... I have the technology! 

If you want a true lesson in humility ~ and an education in just how much you've learned over the years ~ take apart an early quilt and look at some of the things you did.  I'm guessing I cut those setting squares and triangles with scissors as some of the edges looked a little... well, choppy. 

Y-seams... sch-y seams... thankfully, I've gotten a bit better at doing those. 

After taking off the bad borders, I "fixed" a couple of things, re-did the borders and brought my quilt back to Carol.  The good news is the borders were really straight and there wasn't any extra fabric! Woohoo!  And the pieced star in the center was perfectly flat and straight.  You go, girl!  :::triple snap::: 

As for the setting squares and triangles... you should have seen Carol doing a Twister-thing on my quilt top trying to get all of them flat at the same time. 

But here's where a super-talented and awesomely-skilled quilter can make you look really, really good.  Carol said she would do what she could which was fine from me because I really just wanted it quilted.  When Carol called me a week later to tell me the quilt was done, she said she thought I would be pleased.  I didn't believe it until I saw it with my own eyes ~ flat as a pancake.  It couldn't have been any more flat if one of those street-paver things had rolled over it. 

So there you have it... and I still haven't made a perfect quilt. 

Maybe someday... but probably not in the next fifteen days.

Time to spare...

As in... does anybody have any that I can borrow?

Everybody has already read and heard about how everyone is rushing to and fro, furiously sewing up a storm and trying to get 384 things done right NOW... or, preferably, yesterday.

Yes, I've been busy but it seems like I've been most busy packing patterns.  Old patterns!  For orders!  I mean, it's a good problem to have but doesn't everybody know that I'm kind of busy right now?

I did get three bindings done ~ for Birdseye and Summer Rental, both of which are at the photographer's right now.  Hi Gregory and Elena!  And Sweet Escape is finally finished...

 

Yes, that's the back.  The front is... that's coming.  What is it?  Two Layer Cakes and less than 3/4 yard of fabric makes a 70" x 70" quilt.  Gypsy Rose by Joanna of Fig Tree Quilts... love this fabric.

In fact, since I had some scraps and I needed some instant gratification...

  

When I was done, I got back to sewing the blocks for a new Schnibble...

I was taking a break and I checked in with Laurie of Minick & Simpson fame and my name came up... that's never a good sign.  It took me a minute to figure out how but after catching up ~ and catching on! ~ I thought I might add to what Laurie wrote in response to some questions about receiving boxes of Moda fabric.  

The truth is simple, I haven't got a clue as to how I got sprinkled with pixie-dust and managed to get on Moda's list.  If I knew, I would certainly write a how-to book and make a million dollars.  I was lucky... I am still lucky.  I know the kind folks at Moda send fabric to lots of pattern folks ~ they're very generous that way ~ but I don't know anything about the whys, hows, or whatevers.  I think Laurie said it best when she wrote that it is good business sense on Moda's part ~ which definitely explains why Anne, Bren and so many others get it.   

What I can tell you is this ~ it isn't contractual.  There I was, hanging out at my first Market when this really nice lady walked up and introduced herself.  She said she worked for Moda ~ I had to sneak a peek at her badge because I was POSITIVE that I hadn't heard that part correctly ~ and that she'd like to send me fabric.  I know what you're thinking... yes, the moment is probably similar to what it would feel much like to cure hunger and disease in the world, bring about world peace, win the MegaMillions lottery, be crowned Miss Universe, and win all of the Nobel Prizes... all at the same time. 

There isn't any obligation to use everything I'm sent ~ and, yes, I always feel like I should send back what I'm not going to use.  I can request yardage if I know I'm going to need that ~ but I never ask for anything that I am not going to use  right away.  That just doesn't seem right or fair to me. 

The answers to some of the most frequent questions I get are... 

No, I don't get a yard or more of every fabric Moda prints.  And no, I don't get samples of everything they print either.  They're very good about knowing who uses what, which probably explains why I don't get much flannel.

Yes, I still buy Moda fabric at the quilt shops.  There are lots of pieces that I want a "little extra" of for my stash and I feel it is not ethical for me to ask for that.  It also lets me support my LQS... and trust me, I'm supporting them like crazy!  

No, I am not required to use Moda fabric ONLY with other Moda fabric.  And, no, I am not forbidden from mixing different collections and designer's fabrics.  If there are rules about that sort of thing, then I think I missed the memo because it's news to me.  

I'm off... my fingers are sore.  The bindings weren't the problem, I was finishing up some new pincushions the other day and a couple of my fingertips still feel like hamburger.  But it's okay, the pincushions are pretty nice... egad!... they might even be described as "cute".

By the way, don't hold me to this but I think this might be a pincushion Market.  It seems as though several people I know are doing pincushion patterns.  I can see Pittsburgh now... a total of 17 new quilt patterns but 6,374 new pincushion patterns. 

I wonder if I should stock up on crushed walnut shells and stuffing... 

Susan Boyle

I heard about this on the news this morning and went searching online for more of the story...

If you haven't seen or heard about her ~ you absolutely must.   

Britain's Got Talent ~ CNN

Your World Times ~ Video  

I love this ~ it's going to make me happy all day. 

I just had to share...

I just had to share...

My friend Judy sent me this as a "Happy Easter" e-mail... I think it's funny.  Just thinking about it makes me laugh, to the point that when I saw a few chocolate Easter bunnies at the store yesterday, I burst out laughing because this picture popped into my head. 

 

And one more thing... for the "24" fans.  I have just one thing to say about last night's episode ~ NO!!!

Just stuff...

 

Thank you!

I am so glad to know I'm not the only one who sometimes feels like a square-peg-kind-of-person trying to fit into a round-hole-kind-of-world.  And even when I think that being cute would be kind of rainbow-ish, I have to remember that the rainbow was preceded by a big rainstorm that almost certainly left a mud-puddle somewhere.  Perspective...

I did get a quilt bound today ~ perfect excuse to enjoy the NCIS marathon ~ and it's in the wash right now.  

Nicole had an interesting post the other day about washing quilts ~ do you do it right away, right after the binding is finished?  Or do you wait a little while?

I'm in the "after the last stitch is done" group.  I love the way a quilt looks when it is all quilt-y and soft.  Every now and then, I have to wait a little while for some reason ~ photography, travel, etc. ~ but my preference is to wash it right away.  

When I use the pre-cuts ~ charm packs, Layer Cakes, etc. ~ I always use a Color Catcher dye magnet sheet ~ or two ~ when the quilt is washed.  I don't know if they make a huge difference but it makes me feel better ~ and you'd be amazed at the color of some of the sheets after the wash.  And I always wash my quilts in Orvus soap... which led to a question about Orvus soap from Nicole.  

What is it?  It is a detergent, and it was made to be a body wash for livestock.  (Seriously!)  It was not made to be a quilt soap.  What makes it so popular with quilters ~ particularly quilt conservationists ~ is that it doesn't have fragrance, softeners, bleaches, etc.  (If you're interested in more information, check out this article by Hart Cottage Quilts.)

The most important thing to tell you about Orvus is not to buy it at the quilt shop.  If you want to try it and only want a small jar, then definitely buy it there.  But if you plan to use it regularly, head to the feed or stock shop.  An 8 oz. jar costs between $6.00 and $8.00 at the quilt shop while a 7.5 lb. tub ~ 15 times the amount ~ costs about $24.00 at the feed shop.  The big jar lasts me about a year or so.

I'm off tomorrow to pick up some quilts from the quilter ~ Birdseye and Summer Rental.  And then I'm home to finish up one of the new Schnibbles.  Market is still a couple of months away, right?

Happy Easter! 

Simple pleasures...

It is a beautiful day and I have a couple of quick errands to run...

Can I go? 

 

It's so easy to make Rosie happy...

 

And even easier to make Mom ~ and me ~ happy...

 

And to make Ginger happy... look what's hanging at The Olde World Quilt Shoppe...

 

Pick and Choose ~ the American Patchwork & Quilting June 2009 cover quilt. 

I'm off... so much to do, so little time... isn't Market still a few months away?