LaVieEnRosie

Time out...

A funny thing happened on the way to Spring Market in Kansas City... oh wait, I didn't get to go.

Don't worry, everything here is fine. My Mom is fine and Rosie is fine. I'm fine too. But I had to cancel going to Spring Market. A few months ago, my Mom started having some problems that were causing her a fair amount of pain. When her doctor recommended surgery to correct the kidney issues that were causing the problem, I didn't have the heart to ask her to wait to schedule it until it was convenient for me. So she had surgery last week and she will be home from the hospital later this week. That is, if the nurses let her leave. My Mom really is a sweetheart so all the nurses like her, and they remember her from past visits.

I'll be glad when she's home because then she won't call me at 6:00 am in the morning to ask "what's up?" Uh... not me! Not yet anyway.

Though it was pointed out to me that I would have been awake and out of bed if I hadn't stayed up until 3:00 am reading a book. Moms. They know just how to get you, don't they?

I'm just happy she didn't tell me that I probably should have been sewing. Or writing patterns. Though I have been doing both. Except I'm still running behind.

But these are coming soon. They've been photographed and the covers are "in the works" at the printer. This is the first batch with more coming a few weeks after that.

I confess to being a little disappointed that almost all of the quilts I've finished this year have been smaller ones. As much as I like making them, I'm frustrated that I haven't been able to finish the three big quilts that I've been working on. No complaints though... it is just the way things are right now. Sometimes things don't get done as quickly as I would like them to.

Of course, that hasn't stopped me from starting a new one with the Chateau Rouge collection by French General.

The quilt will be made with a bundle of Fat Eighths and about 2 1/2 yards of fabric. As much as I liked it, I was thinking that I probably wouldn't get to use this collection. But after seeing a few of the quilts that others had done using this collection, I changed my mind. The quilts are lovely but I "saw" the collection completely differently so we'll see how it turns out. Yes, I'll let you know how that goes. The fabrics have been pressed and cut, and I've made a couple of blocks... but finishing this will wait until I finish a couple other small things. And until the additional yardage I'll be using is available.

Maybe I should have written that a funny thing happened on the way to finishing what I had started?

 

 

 

Sideways...

You know what I mean.  It's the kind of movement where you know you're moving, but you aren't making any forward progress.  I'm just glad I don't have any evidence to suggest I might be moving backwards.  

Thank you very much for "prancing along" with Pat - and with me.  Three winners have been randomly selected and notified -- that part wasn't random.  They are -- JMNiffer, Lisa B and Suzan.  If you think that might be you, check your e-mail box.  If you have something with the subject line "From Miss Rosie...", then you're it!

I'm still binding.  And I'm still watching playoff hockey games.  Woohoo to the Coyotes!  The games have been great but I'm feeling quite old.  I remember when Martin Brodeur was a youngster so I'm going to have to hurt the next announcer who feels compelled to remind everyone that Marty is now 40 years old.

Speaking of birthdays, my Mom is 82 years old today - Wednesday.  After getting a ho-hum-ish sort of response to Carrot Cake and seeing strawberries on special at the grocery store, I decided to make her long-standing favorite Gateau des Fraises ~ Stawberry Cake.  

Basically a cheesecake with a sour-cream layer underneath the strawberries.  This cake is supposed to be served with whole strawberries on the top but (1) it looks best when all the strawberries are the same size and I didn't have that.  And (2), it is so much easier to cut, serve and eat when the strawberries are sliced.  So with all apologies to the French chef who created this recipe... I changed it.  

Speaking of my habit of changing things to suit moi - do you remember when I showed you these blocks last year?  They were part of the 2011 Summer Pieced Block of the Week from Primitive Gatherings in Menasha, Wisconsin.  

It's a twelve week program and each week, you're sent the kit for five blocks.  

Five stars that are supposed to finish at 4" x 4"... except I changed that.  My blocks finish at 5" x 5".  I also changed every combination just so that mine would be different, adding and subtracting fabrics as I went along.  And because that wasn't going to be different enough, I also made more blocks.  I didn't know what the shop setting was going to be, but since I was already in for a penny...    

I've called my quilt Rorschach.  

Yes, this quilt says more about my psyche and personality than any silly little inkblot every could.  

I used a lovely soft gray tonal print by Lecien for the alternating squares and setting triangles because I wanted the stars to be the focal point of the quilt.  It is also why I decided that this quilt didn't need a border.  The binding is a faded red print from an early Sturbridge collection.  

The quilt was going to be in a book I was scheduled to publish in September 2013 but I have postponed that because my timing is so "off" these days.  (Don't worry!  Yes, I had asked Lisa's permission to publish my version of the quilt.)

The only other thing I've been working on is this quilt...

When you see this one, I think you're going to laugh.  Think of it as a "plus-size" quilt... and that will make sense when I tell you about it as soon as I've got pictures and a pattern cover on the way.  

Happy Thursday!

Wednesday... Thursday... Friday...

Prance prance prance...

All the way to France!  Wouldn't that be lovely?  Wishful thinking on my part.  

As a friend recently joked, "Calgon, take me away... no, farther."

It's Day 2 of Pat Sloan's Focus on the Center - 8 New Looks for Medallion Quilts published by Leisure Arts Blog Prance!

Wait... I have to catch my breath.  That's a long title.  I bet Bonnie and Michele are glad this isn't some kind of pageant where they have to wear a sash with the title because that would be one big, long sash!  But they could both manage it beautifully.    

Today's prancing bloggers are:

Bonnie Hunter of Quiltville.  

Michele Foster of the Quilting Gallery.  

Bonnie and Michele will each be giving away two (2) books so leave a comment with them.  And don't forget to see what secrets Pat has managed to learn about both of them.  

Did you leave a comment for me yesterday?  It's not to late to do so, you have until Midnight on Monday, May 7th.  Leave the comment here.  (If you need a reason -- prizes.)

Thank you for all the amazing, creative and imaginative ideas for fabrics for Antique Mist.  From a variety of color schemes to fabric styles, specific collections to busting the stash and scrap basket, I enjoyed reading and thinking about all the wonderful possibilities.  

It reminded me of one of the first things I learned about when I first got into Pinterest over a year ago.  Design Seeds.  Are you familiar with the website or the color palettes they create?

Even though I have yet to actually use one to  create a color palette for a quilt, I think they would be an awesome tool for jump-starting one that isn't jumping on its own.  They would also be a terrific starting point for an experimental - improvisational - quilt using all solids.

I'm off to run a few errands today, including making my case to be someone's "favorite person" today.  Let it suffice to say that she needed some fabric that I just happened to have.  Ah, the indirect benefits of cleaning out my stash.  I also have to stop and get a new "point-turner" as I can't seem to find my old one.  I'm thinking one of those bamboo ones would be nice.  

But this would be nicer...

Yes... Calgon, this would be far enough away.    

Blog Prance!

It's just like a blog hop, only you get to strut and shimmy from blog to blog.    

How about a blog gambol?  What about a blog vault... after all, it's a jump of sorts, isn't it?

(Exhibit A that a thesaurus can be dangerous in the hands of the wrong person.)

So let me get to the main event -- Welcome to Day 1 of Pat Sloan's Focus on the Center Blog Prance!

Have you been to Vanessa Christenson of V & Co. yet?  I'm sure she's got something wonderful to show you, just make sure you don't miss the pictures of her debut fabric collection for Moda - Simply Color.  Admit it, you're going to want some, aren't you?

Let me get the particulars out of the way first --

How long is the Prance?  Five days.  It starts today and ends on Saturday with two blogs each day.  

How many blogs and bloggers will be prancing?  There are ten of us!

• Vanessa Christenson of V & Co. 
• Bonnie Hunter of Quiltville
• Michele Foster of the Quilting Gallery
• Victoria Findlay of BumbleBeans Inc. 
• Rachel Griffith of p.s. i quilt
• Jackie Kunkel of Canton Village Quiltworks
• Dana Bolyard of Old Red Barn Co.
• Vicki Welsh of Field Trips in Fiber
• Faith Jones of Fresh Lemons Quilts
• And me... but you already know that.

While you're prancing about, make sure to visit the Leisure Arts blog and Pat's blog as both will have more chances to win and all sorts of interesting diversions.  Do you want to know if Rachel has a secret chocolate stash?  Or which quilt is on Bonnie's bed right now?  Does Faith eat cookies in bed?  What is Victoria's favorite movie?  Pat will have all the answers to those questions.

Prizes.  Of course there are prizes!

• Prize No. 1:  Two winners from each of the ten blogs will win a copy of Pat's new book.  That means there are twenty (20) books to be given away!
• Prize No. 2:  Of course I'm putting something into a goodie box for the winners... plus one extra.  That's right, I'll pick three winners and they'll each get a fat quarter bundle of something wonderful.  Since they'll all be different, it will have to be a surprise.  But surprises are a good thing, right?

How do you win?  Leave a comment here before Midnight on Monday, May 7th.  All ten of us will leave comments open until then so if you don't get to it right away, you've still got time.  Unless you're reading this on May 8th... in which case, so sad, so sorry, too late.  

Now to the best part -- the book, one of the quilts and fabric possibilities.  

I love medallion quilts.  Always have.  Always will.  Which might explain why I've made several of them over the years, and why I'll probably make more.  The eight designs in Pat's book range from relatively simple to a bit more challenging.  Several of the quilts are shown using just four fabrics, but they could easily be made very scrappy.  (Pat knows I love that in a quilt design.)

My favorite quilt is Antique Mist --

It measures 57" x 57" but add another border - or two - and it's getting into bed-sized territory.  

If I had time to play, I might make this quilt using this fabric...

I think I would use the red or blue gingham in place of the strip borders - probably the blue - and then use this yellow print instead of the aqua...

All the blocks could be in the blue and red prints... though that would mean leaving out the pink and the green... I don't know if I could.  I'm not that strong.  Just in case you didn't already know, this is Pam Kitty Morning by Lakehouse.  But you knew that.  

(If you're wondering why I cleared out some of my stash, it was to make room for more of this.  And the PKM Love that is coming later this year.  Congratulations Pam!  I look forward to seeing it and buying some... okay, lots!)

For something completely different, I could also see this quilt in this really cool collection...

Curious Nature by Parson Gray.

I would make this one scrappy as well, perhaps even piecing the two stripe borders.  And in place of the floral print, I would love to mix this collection with some Essex Linen.

It's a 55% linen/45% cotton blend and it has the most amazing texture to it.  It looks and feels like linen but it washes and sews like cotton.  It also comes in terrific colors.  Just ask Jackie, she carries some of it -- Canton Village Quiltworks Essex Linen.

What about a French Antique Mist?

Rouenneries Deux.  You can't go wrong with a little French General, can you?  

And then there's an upcoming collection that would also work very well... I think it's called Eat Your Fruits and Veggies.  Pat probably knows more about that one...  :)

What fabric would you use for this quilt?  

Just leave a comment telling me how you envision Antique Mist and you might get the chance to actually make your own version because you'll have the book!  You'll have to provide your own fabric though... that's not included.  

You've got until midnight on Monday - May 7th! 

Good luck!  And if you haven't already been there, prance on over and say Hi to Vanessa!