LaVieEnRosie

Herky jerky...

And "fits and starts"... that seems to be how my days ~ and the past two weeks ~ have gone. 

My days have been a little bit like learning to drive a stick-shift... it isn't smooth... it definitely isn't pretty... it's hard on the engine... and you don't get very far.  And sometimes the engine kicks out before you even get moving.

Every morning, I start out with a plan... sometimes even with a list of things to get done.  And then I get derailed and at the end of the day, I've gotten a lot done.  While it is usually something that needed to be done, it is often not what I wanted to get done.   

Sound familiar?

But everybody is healthy, happy so it's all good, right?

So here's what's been going on...

Rosie... She's fine.  She loves the new floor in the family room, mostly because the balls roll  better on the concrete than they do on the carpet.  And she's having fun finding all sorts of new "favorite places" to play and sleep. 

My sewing room... It's progressing. 

I've given/donated what seems like a mountain of fabric to friends and charity, and I've still got a mountain of it left.  I've found a few UFOs ~ both kinds.  Unfinished and unknown.  I found these pieces in a box and I admit it, I have absolutely no idea what they were intended for.

 
Something with nine-patches... lots of them.  Some were finished but not pressed, and some were still just strips.

 
I thought I should finish them before I put them back in the box... I thought it would help me remember what they were for... didn't work.  I still don't remember that. 

 
The most embarassing "find" was a quilt kit I bought several years ago.  I know... you're wondering what's embarassing about that.  Let it suffice to say that I must have really, really liked the kit.  It seems I bought the same kit twice.  Oops. 

But the end is in sight and I'm making progress.  I better as the contractor is coming in about two weeks.

Cooking... Yes, I got the new Pioneer Woman cookbook.  It is awesome and I've already picked out a few recipes that we're going to try right away.  And we've been making the best bread pudding at Williams-Sonoma!  It uses the Pumpkin Spice Quick Bread Mix and it's awesome. 

I'll be honest... I'm not a huge fan of the quick bread.  It isn't that I don't like it, it's just that I'm not one of those people who gets excited when it comes back every Fall.  But the bread pudding recipe might change that.  I promise to share the recipe later this week.  (I would do it now but I can't find it on my desk.)

New patterns... I picked up four of the new Schnibbles covers today and those patterns should start to ship by the end of this week or the first of next week.  There will be two more coming soon to make a total of eight new Schnibs for Fall.  And there are at least four new "big" quilts coming before the end of the year ~ hopefully sooner.

I was trying to wait until I had the last of the new Schnibs done so I could show them to you all at once but with all the "fits and starts" I'm having, it was taking way too long!

The new patterns are...

Sunday Best... 

This was made with two charm packs and some background yardage from the Panache collection by Chez Moi.

And this is Two Bits...

 
Two charm packs from Old Primrose Inn and some background yardage by Blackbird Designs. 

And then there's Roundabout...

Two Simple Abundance charm packs from Bonnie and Camille ~ the lovely ladies of Cotton Blossoms.  (I used the wonderful polka dot from Mill House Inn for the background.  I love the way it looks with this Simple Abundance as it's a little lighter and the polka dots are a perfect companion for the rest of the prints in the collection.) 

And then there are some new Tuffets, seven to be exact.  These were totally inspired by the fabric, Bar Harbor by Polly and Laurie, Minick & Simpson. 

I think you can see why... and why I am calling this pattern, Sweet Liberty Tuffets.

 
And these...

 
And that's it for now. 

You thought I was buried under a mountain of fabric, didn't you?

Actually, I was sort of buried under a pile of pattern covers this afternoon... but I'll tell you about that next time. 

Later...

A week?

I've been MIA and I'm not getting ready for Market... going to Market... or at Market?

What's up with that?

Oh... right... I'm cleaning out and clearing out my sewing room.

You know how that goes...

... oooooo... I forgot about this!  I love this!

... oh... I forgot about this... What was I thinking?  Was I even thinking?

... uh?  Did I buy this? 

... oh yeah... I remember this... [Insert name of friend here] who scoffed at the bolt I picked up so I bought a yard just to annoy her.  I'm going to make her a tote bag with the fabric.]

Senility moments abound.

The thing is, someone needs to talk to "Ted".  I'm clearing stuff out and he's sending stuff in!

So since we're not at Market, I'll show you a little bit of what I've gotten in the past month... now that they have "officially" debuted...

This is the new Collection for a Cause ~ Charity ~ coming in February 2010.

It looks very old ~ although not so much in the morning sunlight in Arizona. 

Lots of blue, red, pink, brown, and cheddar ~ you can't really miss that one in the picture.   

Brannock & Patek have a new collection ~ Looking Back ~ coming in February 2010. 

 
And no, I didn't forget the reds...

 
The prints will look familiar, they are some of the best and most favorite from old B & P collections.  I recognize a few of my favorites!  The colors are also like the earliest B & P fabrics.  It's a beautiful collection and I know I'm going to need some of those reds and blacks for my "historical collection".

I am hoping that you've already seen the pictures of Laurie's beautiful new quilts ~ Minick & Simpson ~ made from their fabulous new collection Bar Harbor.  It's coming in February 2010. 

 
And this is the gorgeous floral in the collection ~ there are five pieces of it in the collection!  (The red is my favorite... but I bet you already knew that.)

 
Iron it?  As if! 

It's Sunday morning! 

It was either iron the fabric or take pictures of it.  (I think I made the right choice.) 

I did make something small with a charm pack of this beautiful fabric.  I should have a picture of it to show you later this week.  Or, rather... of "them". 

One of my favorite new collections is Oz by Sanae ~ coming in January 2010.

 The colors are awesome ~ yellow, apple green, hot pink, red and black. 

 I know... you think I've lost my mind but I love this Oz fabric! 

And last and definitely not least, there are those 3 Sisters.  They've been island-hopping... to Martinique. 

This is coming in March 2010...

The colors and prints are beautiful ~ like past 3 Sisters' collections but still different.  (If you like the taupe-cast to Rouenneries, I think you'll love this!)

I'm off to clean and clear... and maybe if I'm really lucky, I'll get to sew just a little bit. 

Later...

Self-reliance...

... can be seriously overrated.

Don't get me wrong, I really like being able to do things on my own... for myself... without needing supervision.  Yes, I know, there have been times when someone else's assistance would have been useful.  Advisable.  Helpful in averting disaster.

And to do the heavy lifting.

You know what I'm talking about.  The icky jobs that nobody really wants to do unless they're getting paid to do it.  [e.g., Refer to prior entry on removing popcorn ceiling.]

It isn't that I think a husband would do the job.  Or even that he could do the job.  I just like the idea of being able to pretend that he might do the job.

Instead, if I want a curtain rod mounted on the wall so I can hang a quilt, I'm going to have to do it myself.

On my birthday. 

Okay, so it didn't need to be done that exact day except that I wanted it done before the new sofa arrived that afternoon.  I could have done it a day or two earlier but I kept telling myself that "I'll do it later".

So this is how I spent my morning...

Do you know how much work it took just to get the ladder in the house?  It's tucked into a corner so that it will be out of the way ~ that's a women-folk kind of thing.  Of course, some men would have complained about all the stuff they had to move to get to the ladder.  Never mind that the ladder is only used one or two times a year.  (And anyone who reminds me that I just used the ladder a few weeks ago to do the ceiling is banished!)

I also had to move the tv-bookcase-thing, a lamp, a chair and assorted "stuff" to make way for the ladder.

On my birthday.  And I'm now officially old... just ask Ginger!

But isn't the rug pretty?

Pottery Barn, of course.  Collette. 

By the way, I've already told my Mom what I want for Christmas this year.  A cordless drill that does screws.  Red, if they make it.

Up and down the ladder three times to mount the brackets.  And another time to slide the rod into place.  Then two more times to get the rings for each side.  And drat ~ not the exact word I used ~ two more trips to get and attach the end-caps which I forgot.  Then another two trips up and down to get the quilt clipped into place.

I think that is more than enough exercise to justify a big piece of birthday cake! 

I had a hard time deciding how to hang the quilt ~ yes, that's it on the floor.  I like the flat wooden quilt racks because the quilts lay flat against the wall.  Except I didn't really think I liked the way it would look here.  There are other ways of hanging quilts flat against the wall that don't show the rack at the top but they aren't as easily changed out for different quilts ~ especially for quilts of different sizes. 

Since I wanted to be able to change the quilt pretty easily and quickly -- notwithstanding how long it takes me to get the ladder out and move all the furniture out of the way -- I decided to use a curtain rod and the rings with the little clips.  I've done this before and I've always liked the way it looked and worked.

Old Plan ~ Change out the quilt every two or three months.  I have lots of quilts and this would be a very nice way to enjoy them.

New Plan ~ Made after hanging this quilt... You know, I really like this quilt.  It's kind of a year-round sort of thing.  I might change it one of these days... eventually.

The sofa arrived later that afternoon and while I still have some pictures that need to be hung, a lamp that needs replacement, and so on ~ I finally got to relax on my birthday.

PB Comfort sofa, natch.  I bought because I fell in love with the slipcovers, they're made from the softest, most wonderful cotton-linen blend.  The color is a light creamy tan sort of color ~ Light Camel. 

My Mom insisted on those pillows.  She loves them.  They were the blocks I made for the "alternate version" in the plaid book I did five years ago.  I got them quilted and then finished them into pillows using a binding sort of thing that I think was first done by Lynette Jensen.  It's a cool and very quilty way to finish pillows.  Every time they get washed, they get softer and quiltier.

My sewing room is next.  I've been cleaning out and clearing out for a while but there's still plenty to do, and that will be my task this coming month.  When that's done, I'll move the furniture out and remove the popcorn from the ceiling... ugh... the ladder again.  If everything goes according to plan, the window will be replaced, the ceiling re-surfaced, the room painted and the floor refinished starting the middle of November.   

Wish me luck.

And no, there won't be any "before" pictures. 

Older... wiser?

I wish.

Do you know what the best part about yesterday being over is?  My former-friend Ginger will stop calling me to remind me how really, really old I am.  Is my hearing aid working?  Have I heard from AARP?  Do I like getting a senior discount?  How many naps have I had so far today?

Never mind that she's a year older than I am. 

Friends.

Actually, the coolest thing yesterday was finding out that I have another awesome birthday buddy!  Polly Minick is an October 1st birthday too.  (You have to go see Laurie's ride to Houston... rental cars, you never know what you're going to wind up driving, do you?) 

Happy Birthday Polly! 

Now let's get to the really important stuff... the Year of Schnibbles!  I have a winner to pick and announce.  A couple as it turns out.  After seeing all the gorgeous, wonderful little quilts, I just had to find a way to pick more than one.

In most official fashion...

Random number generator... I realized it wouldn't work so well so I wrote down everybody's name and put it in a bowl.  I was going to ask Rosie to draw but that didn't work out so well.  She came running up when I held out the bowl, tail wagging... very excited.  Huh?  No food?  Bowls are for food!  What's up with the paper?  It isn't even Kleenex?  What do you want me to do with this? 

Plan B.  Carrie does the drawing.

And this is what I drew...

 

(Don't you love the reflection of me taking the quick little picture on my desk?)

The Alliance layer cake roll of fabric and a Fit to be Geese ruler goes to Pam Walker ~ her beautiful quilt with the terrific stripe border is shown on Sinta's parade of quilts... Pink Pincushion.

A Spring Fever layer cake roll of fabric and a Fit to be Geese ruler goes to Trisha of TLC Stiches.  Trisha's "Celebrate Spring and forget about Winter" Schnibble was shown on Sherri's parade of quilts... A Quilting Life.

And finally, a couple of Fit to be Geese rulers go to Sandy of The Textile House.  Sandy made a Simpl-y Abundan-tly wonderful Schnibble.

If the winners will post a comment here, I will e-mail you to get your mailing addresses so I can start mailing off some prizes! 

I'm off... I have to take some Schnibble-stuff to be photographed.  But I'll be back tomorrow to show you how I spent my birthday... let it suffice to say, I need a husband.

Later... 

 

Am I late already?

Well, duh!  Of course I am!

Sherri and Sinta said 7:00 am... uh... no wait!  I'm early!  It's only 5:00 am here in Honolulu!  Yeah, that's it... that's the ticket... I'm in Hawaii!

I wish. 

Will you forgive me if I told you I stayed up way past midnight last night sewing?  It's going to be a new Schnibble pattern that I can't show you yet ~ new fabric and I have to wait until next weekend to show you what it looks like.  Grrrr...

Winter White! 

Yes, I made a new quilt for the Year of the Schnibbles ~ a quilt I've titled Winter Nights. 

Red, gold, brown, rust, green and black.   

All of the flying geese are different ~ 72 different Jo Morton fabrics.  And I substituted quarter-triangle squares for the plain squares.  What I did was cut about 64 squares measuring 4 - 1/2" x 4 - 1/2" and then cut those into quarters on the diagonal.  One set of triangles went for the flying geese, and I did cut a few additional rectangles ~ 2 - 1/4" x 4 - 1/2" ~ to make up the rest of my flying geese.  The remaining three triangles from each fabric were then scrap-pieced to make the quarter-triangle squares which were then trimmed to size.  The leftover squares are in the corners.

Thank you to Sherri and Sinta ~ I loved going back and making something completely different than the "original".  And I can't wait to start looking at everybody else's quilts!  The couple I've seen so far are awesome!

I get to pick a winner ~ I'll do that a little later today after finding out how many quilts... doing that random number generator thing and so on. 

I did promise to show you two more quilts ~ two of the new Schnibbles that will start shipping next week.

First up is Lincoln...

Wiscasset by Minnick & Simpson... but I bet you already knew that. 

Two charm packs and 3/8 yard for the background on the stars.  And it measures about 31" x 31".

And then Madeline...

My only problem with this quilt is that I want it to be bigger... big enough for my bed.  Rosie thought it would be perfect for her bed... as if!?

Rouenneries... you already knew that.  French General... you already knew that too.  Two charm packs and 1/4 yard of fabric for the inner border.  The quilt measures 28" x 28".

And that's it for now ~ I'm off to enjoy a fresh-baked croissant.  (Trader Joe's... as much as I love the croissants from Williams-Sonoma, I love the price of TJ's more.)  And then I'm going to bake a carrot cake.

But after I go check out some Winter White quilts...