LaVieEnRosie

Horseshoes...

23 yards.  I was close.  

Okay, not really.  But it could be argued that I was in the ballpark.  I knew it was between 2 yards and 3 yards... but I couldn't remember which off the top of my head.  Since I figured you'd want to make both versions... and since I knew you'd rather have "too much" than "not enough"... 23 yards seemed like a good-enough number.  

If you're buying that, have I got a lovely piece of water-front property for you!

For the record, it depends on which version of Morning Joe you want to make.  The PamKittyMorning version on the front cover needs 2 1/8 yards, the American Jane version you can't see right now needs 2 1/2 yards.    

Life here has been slowly finding a routine... I think.  I'm not really sure since it's been a while since I've had anything resembling "normal".  Oh wait... does anybody really have a "normal" life?

I'm packing new patterns and finishing some "soon to be new" patterns.  A couple of PDFs are done, two others are "almost there"... waiting for a file and then it's done.  I've been getting some Clover kits cut - the PB&J version shown on this cover.

 

There is some sewing going on... but not nearly as much as I would like.  I'll blame that on "new patterns" and Breaking Bad.  And Homeland.   

I've been cooking and baking - a lot.  I baked a batch of Chocolate Chip cookies - that I sent to my brother along with his birthday cake.  He should have that today - Tuesday.  FedEx Overnight.  

Hi Mark!  A belated Happy Birthday.  Yes, Mark reads my blog.  He's occasionally threatened to leave comments "refuting" some of the things I've written about, especially when he thinks I've been a little snarky about him.  Seriously.  After all these years, he just doesn't get that "being snarky about brothers" is what big sisters do.  If he wasn't such a complete sweetheart and without question the smartest person I've ever met, I'd ignore him.   

If he were here, he could have had some of this...

Farfalle Pasta with Butternut Squash, Pancetta and Parmesan.  

 
While at the salon the other day getting my hairs cut and colored - since nobody ever gets just one hair cut... why do they call it a haircut?  Whatever... while I was there, I flipped through Rachael Ray's cooking magazine and ran across a couple of recipes that piqued my interest.  One was this - only I changed it.  I think Rachael is okay but I often find that her recipes seem to be missing "I'm not sure what".  So while I liked the sound of her recipe, I knew I would make some changes.  First, I don't really like penne.  I don't know why... I just don't.  I also thought the recipe had way too much parsley.  And Butternut Squash and Pancetta... that's a pre-ordained match.  It's that good.  So I added pancetta, reduced the amount of parsley, added a little bit of onion, some white wine... or chicken stock, if you prefer, changed the penne to farfalle and I think that was it.  

This is what I did... Pasta with Butternut Squash, Pancetta and Parmesan.

I'll make it again soon - just so you know, I love the bags of pre-cut squash from Trader Joe's.  It makes the first step so much easier.  Ditto for the packages of pre-chopped pancetta - also available at Trader Joe's.  

It helped me maintain my energy while packing this...

This pattern is done - packed and ready to ship.  

I can't think of anything else.  

Did I show you this?

This is also packed and shipping... and the PDF should be done by tomorrow.  Or today.  (Yesterday... it really depends on when you're reading this.)

This "getting older" stuff is really hard.

Until later!

 

Channeling Joe Fox...

Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Wednesday... I don't remember the line from "The Godfather" but I remember it from "You've Got Mail."  

Do you have days where you can't figure out what day it is?  And even when you keep reminding yourself that it's Wednesday, it just won't stick.  I suppose it doesn't really matter... except that it does when you've got something you have to do on a specific day. 

I've been a day ahead or a day behind all week long.  Since Saturday.  Which I would have bet the farm was Sunday.  Except that on Sunday, it didn't feel like Sunday.  Sure, NFL football was on, but they've got Saturday, Monday night and Thursday night football so that isn't any big help.  Do you see why I'm confused?

The funny part is that on Monday, I was scrambling to get something ready for Tuesday.  Only it wasn't needed on Tuesday.  I was scheduled for today, Wednesday.  Even though I KNEW I was scheduled for Wednesday, September 25th, I still called my brother this morning to wish him a Happy Birthday!  His birthday is the 26th.  Tomorrow.  I knew that.

My head hurts.  

I'm betting yours does too.

Let's take a deep breath...

And look at a terrible picture of a new - coming next week! - little quilt.  Bungalow.  

But back to today - have you been over to the Moda... The Cutting Table blog?  It's Crumbler time!  Why does that always make me start humming... "crumblin', crumblin', crumblin'... keep them quilters crumblin'...Rawhide!"  Okay, so the last part doesn't fit but I couldn't think of something that did.  (Suggestions appreciated.)

(While you're over there, make sure you enter Monique's drawing too!  You could win a Fit to be Quarter ruler!)

Do you remember when I showed you the Fig Tree prints I'd been saving a few weeks back?  It's done!  I am so looking forward to this being quilted, bound and washed so I can use it!

I've already napped on the sofa with this one...

When I wrote the Cutting Table post, I forgot to mention the Moda Dessert Rolls!  At 5" wide by 42" long, they're tailor-made for The Crumbler.  And wouldn't these - Floral Gatherings and Floral Gatherings Shirtings by Lisa Bongean of Primitive Gatherings be perfect?  The two rolls would also make a very nice size quilt.  

And no, I still don't have the handles on this yet...

Two mini charm packs of Scrumptious, three fat quarters, a 1/2 yard or so of Bella No. 97.  I didn't really have a pattern, I just made it up as I went along.  The tumblers were cut at the base of the Lil' Crumbler and no, I didn't worry about the pinked edges.  The white background crumblers are narrower than the print crumblers, and there is a 3/4" finished background between the tumblers and the base.  The base was made with a 4" x 21" strip from a fat quarter.  The strip at the was cut at 2" and it was added after I had quilted the rest of it so I wouldn't have to stop-and-start neatly.  My pieced panel measured 18 1/2" wide x 16" tall after quilting and trimming.  The lining was cut the same size and both inside and outside layers are finished with box corners.  Oh, and I bound the top edge to finish it.  It's machine-stitched on the outside for a top-stitching look.

Did I mention that the two sides are different?

The side on the left has five vertical rows and the white background crumblers are a skosh narrower than the print crumblers.  The side on the right has six vertical rows and the white background crumblers are narrower than they are on the other side.  Frame Magic on my phone.

The red polka dot handles!  Joanna Figueroa of Fig Tree Quilts sells them in her shop - they're listed under Our Favorite Things.  I have some on order - black and red - and as soon as I have them, I'll get them listed too.  They are cute, and I'm pretty sure I'm going to need to make another bag soon.

While on the subject of tumblers, the one question I'm asked the most is "are they hard to make"?  It's the angles - they make it look harder than it is.  If you can sew squares or rectangles together and get the points to match up, you can sew tumblers!  Seriously - it's the same.  Don't let the angle throw you off.  If you're matching them up wide-part-to-wide-part and narrow-part-to-narrow-part, the two rows will nestle into each other when you put them together.  You don't have to worry about angles meeting at a certain point 1/4" from the edge and so on.  If the seams are pressed open, the seams match up in the same way they do for squares and rectangles.  If the seams are pressed in one direction - or alternating directions - the seams abut in exactly the same way they do for squares and rectangles.  

Its only after the seam has been stitched and pressed that it looks difficult.  By the way, yes, I do like to press the seams joining the rows open.  

One more picture... okay, two.  But they're two versions of the same new Schnibble coming next week.  They're off to the quilter... better pictures then.  (Or maybe not... but I'll try.)

This is the one on the back cover.  It's made with an assortment of American Jane charm squares and my favorite American Jane pindot.  It measures 52" x 52".  This is the quilt on the back cover... even though I made this one first.  It was after making the big stars and seeing them on the design wall that it occurred to me I could make a quilt with just big stars.  

And I could use some really wonderful fabric by PamKittyMorning...

This is on the front of the pattern - Morning Joe.  It also measures 52" x 52".  Two charm packs and 23 yards of background.  

That's it for today... is it still Wednesday?  

It is... but not for long.  And maybe not when you're reading this... but that's not my problem.  Thinking about it will just confuse me and I have a couple more patterns to finish... and I have to call my brother.  

 

98 and counting...

That's fourteen - 14 - in people years.  

Today is Rosie's birthday!

With only a few concessions to age...

... she's still a puppy-at-heart.  

(Okay, so I got a little silly while up sewing one night... I posted this on Instagram.  I post too many Rosie-pictures there.)

She's always been a goof.  She still eats Kleenex.  She still takes half the laundry out of the cart when she's home alone.  She still likes loves rocks.  And she's still up for any sort of adventure.  While at my Dad's house when she was still a puppy, he asked me if I thought Rosie would go in the pool.  The power of suggestion - she hit the water right as he spoke the word "pool".  She paddled around for a minute, came over to the edge and I helped her get to the steps.  She climbed out, shook her little body dry and then sat down as if to say "what's next?"   

Did I ever tell you that Rosie was a birthday present from my Dad?  

Rosie is adjusting well to the different pace around here - we both are.  Really.  Thank you for the sweet, kind, and lovely comments - I appreciate them very much.

I'm busy finishing and packing patterns - the Schnibbles that I originally tried to have done for Spring Market might actually be done for Fall Market.  No, I won't be going to Houston.  I thought about it, and I considered trying to slide in at the last minute - the folks who run Market have been amazingly supportive and cooperative - but I need to get some things done here to get organized.  I've had a few things on my "to do" list for years... as in, I need to clean out the garage.      

I don't mean "clean the garage".  I'm talking about... Clean.  OUT.  The garage.  I have to move every single thing out of there.  In addition to the regular sort of "stuff" we've all got out in the garage, I store a lot of my "business" out there.  Gosh but I love that Metro shelving from the Container Store!  I might take some pictures before I start... maybe.  While it's fairly organized - that's a relative term - there is stuff that can be tossed.  And it could really be better organized.  When I get everything out of there - and into the house and onto the patio - the garage is getting an overhaul.  Old cabinets removed, door to the house replaced, popcorn ceiling removed, garage painted, floor re-surfaced, new cabinets installed... you know, Market doesn't sound like such a bad idea after all.  It might actually be less work...   

But I don't have to do that today.  Today, we're going to play... 

Rosie still likes water... and it is hot today.

(Another photo from Instagram.  Really.  I'm having too much fun over there.)

One last thing... Rosie asked me to share one of our favorite songs.  We love to dance to a catchy beat and as soon as we heard this one during the opening of last week's episode of Suits - we both love Harvey! - we had to find it and download it.  Fitz and the Tantrums - The Walker.   

 

It's a great song for a Monday.  

Especially a Birthday Monday.  

  

Station break...

I've told you about - and shared - my "Ramona Mail" but I don't think I've shared any of my "Judy Mail".  These are my favorites from one I received yesterday...

This last one could be my sweet girl...

Yep... I know that expression.  

Thank you for all the kind thoughts - they're much appreciated.  

Rosie and me...

Don't worry, Rosie is fine but it's just the two of us now.  

After a really long year of ups and downs, my Mom passed away August 31st.  

This is how I'll always think of her - smiling.  She smiled a lot.  People liked her because of that - that and the fact that she was a sweet, lovely, truly nice, kind-hearted woman.

Her name was Dorothy - Dorothy Ann Roth Nelson.  She was a nice German girl from Palisades Park, New Jersey.  She was smart, wise in a way that will always escape me and totally unflappable.   

And she was patient - especially with me.  I kept thinking if I took good enough care of her, she could get stronger... at least for a little while.  But that's not the way life works, is it?  She knew that before I did... I think she knew that last Fall.  But she had to wait for me to realize that her "good days" were becoming the exception so after a few trips to emergency, she entered hospice care in July.  

My brother and I were so blessed to be able to have her at home for her last weeks and months, and that we were both able to be here when she passed.  

We were also blessed to have a really great Mom.  Of course, she was convinced that she had the smartest, cutest, most amazing kids ever.  Though I have to admit, my brother is seriously cute in this picture.  I'm just serious... it's probably that bowl-haircut.  

While we both miss her, we're both comforted in knowing that she was at peace.  She told both of us that she'd lived a long, happy life full of more adventures than she ever would have dreamed possible.  She got to christen a ship in Scotland, ride a camel and see the pyramids in Egypt, she met Imelda and stayed in the Presidential Palace in the Philippines, and she trekked through the Andes Mountains in South America.  But the coolest thing she ever did - in the view of both of her kids - was run a still while living in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia.  Our Mom!  A moonshiner!  

That probably explains why she needed patience with yours truly.

Just so you know... she once grew a pot plant too.  To about 3' high - and bushy.  She didn't know what it was... and no, I'm not going to explain how the seed got into the flower pot.  You'll have to ask my brother about that.

This is my favorite picture of my Mom.  And Dad.  This was taken the night they became engaged - Tavern on the Green in New York City.  Dad had his moments.   

They met while she was working as a secretary for Aramco in New York City.  He was an engineer visiting from Saudi Arabia and he sent some documents to the secretarial pool for typing.  He became annoyed when his typed pages were returned to him with corrections to the grammar.  It simply wasn't possible that he was wrong.  

They were married a year later following a long-distance courtship by mail... letters my Mom had until she passed.  

I hope you'll forgive me for telling you a bit of her story but that's who I am.  I love stories.  I get that from my Dad.  

While I do sometimes take liberties with the rules, I get my love of writing and language from my Mom.

Mom, you'll be missed.  You already are.  

It's a lovely rainy day...

It's a lovely gray, cloudy, rainy day in Phoenix.  We don't get them nearly often enough - and yes, we need the rain.  It's been a very dry year.

As promised, I've picked winners for the Open Gate Fit to be Quarter ruler... and as you're probably expecting, of course I scrounged up a couple more rulers.  

So if your name is below, check your e-mail box... you should have an e-mail waiting...

• No. 87 - Tilda
• No. 51 - Cathy C
• No. 5 - Anne
• No. 40 - Linda P

I do wish I had rulers for everyone - truly - but until Monique sends me more, this will have to do.  But I know you can find them here - Fit to be Quarter 6.5 & Companion.  

There's not much sewing going on right now as I have been playing a bit of catch-up again.  It's my pattern these days... but more on that later this week.  

I didn't get the binding on my Scrappy Trips quilt but it occurred to me that I didn't show you a picture of my finished pineapple quilt.  I posted it on Instagram and then forgot to do the same here - I'm a bit forgetful that way.  

This is the picture from my phone - it's too gray a day to take a better one.  (Not that I'd manage that but hope springs eternal...)

I used a red and tan woven stripe from an old French General collection - it was perfect.  I've been enjoying seeing it on the wall except that there are times when I forget that I made it.  

The last thing I got to sew with were these - I used vintage feedsack squares to make one of the upcoming Schnibbles patterns that I fervently hope will be published in my lifetime.  Yeah, there are days...

I used to buy packs of vintage feedsack squares and pieces - and even some whole feedsacks - when I would see them at shows, and even online.  It's kind of funny to be sorting through the squares and run across a print that looks really, really familiar... 

Coincidentally, a stack of fabric currently sitting waiting for some attention is this...

Florence by Denyse Schmidt.  I've loved her fabrics since the first collection - Flea Market Fancy was used to make First Monday.  These are pretty wonderful.  I got them from WestwoodAcres on Etsy.  Do you shop for fabric on Etsy?  I confess to buying way too much fabric there - from Amanda - Westwood - and others.  

That's all I have for today - I have to get back to finishing up some orders so that I can do a little sewing later.

Though I think Rosie and I need a walk in the rain before I do that... we don't get to do that very often.

Mercy mercy Mercerie...

I really love this little quilt.  The blocks look more complicated than they are, and there is tremendous potential for variations.  But the pattern... right now, I'm not really in love with that.  It's been a long, challenging summer and it seems as though little things are being omitted from patterns... or worse, one misplaced " can really confuse things.  

So first, my apologies for the the omissions and additions.  Here is what the bottom of Page 1 should say -  Mercerie Clarification

To help clarify, I thought a little explanation of the block and my favorite Open Gate ruler - okay, one of my favorite Open Gate rulers... maybe my real favorite ruler! - the Fit to be Quarter 6.5 and Companion.  It does the absolute best job for quarter-square triangles, for square-in-a-square units, and for this unit which I've always called a Shaded Four-Patch.  

Monique - the genius that is Open Gate Quilts - has a terrific tutorial on using the ruler here - Fit to be Quarter Tutorial. 

Random block from the quilt.  Each block is made with two (2) fabrics and the background.  To make this block, I needed two matching (2) grey charm squares and two (2) matching cream floral print charm squares.  The charm squares need to measure 5" x 5".  For the  cream floral print charm squares, only three (3) of the strips will be used for the blocks.  The 4th strip is a leftover - pincushions?  

Here are two squares each of some lovely scrumptious fabric - make that Scrumptious.  

Here are the strips you'll cut from each pair of charm squares.  Pretend that one of those white print strips has been cut into 2 squares - see the correction/clarification sheet above.

The pieces are joined - the squares to the short rectangles and the long rectangles joined in pairs.  Pretend that I remembered to take a picture before I cut one of the strips for the four-patches.

As I wrote in the pattern, it truly doesn't matter how these two pieces are joined - just so long as the squares are on opposite sides, that's all that matters.

The seam is clipped roughly in the middle - a little bit one way or another doesn't matter.  It also doesn't matter if you nick the seam allowance because it's likely to be cut off in the seam allowance of the next seam/step.

Using a ruler with a 45-degree line, draw a line from the corner across the point of the square as shown.  Do not - do not! - draw the line across the square itself.  

Flip the piece around and draw a second line in the same manner.  The two lines will be at least 1/2" apart but don't worry if they're more than that, or less than that.  The only thing that matters is that the line is straight... crosses the seam junction of the corner square... and is at a 45-degree angle to the sides of the rectangle.

The drawn lines are your stitching lines.  These are not guides for seam allowance, you will be stitching on the line.  

After you've stitched on the line, cut the rectangle apart leaving a scant 1/4" seam allowance from the stitched line.  And pretend that I didn't cut the white background rectangle a little larger than necessary.  

Just so you know, I wanted to cut these larger so I could show you Monique's - Open Gate's - Fit to be Quarter ruler but I forgot to cut some of the pieces to the required larger size.  Oops.  It was that kind of a Friday.  

I like to press the diagonal seam open because it makes the point of the square nice and sharp but toward the background/large triangle is fine.  

Now for the trimming part - I recommend placing masking or GloLine tape to mark the lines for the "cut" size of the square - in this case, 4" x 4".  If you're young and have perfect eyesight, this step may not be necessary.  I'm not so it is.  

This is why I love this ruler - there are so many guidelines and reference points to help you wind up with a "perfect finished square."  And I do mean p e r f e c t.

Because the size of this square will be 4" x 4", the lines for the corner square will be at 2" x 2".  Pretend that I had pieced this larger instead of to size.  

The diagonal line of the half-triangle should line up on the diagonal line of the ruler.

After you have trimmed the first two sides of the pieced square...

Flip the square around and trip the two remaining sides.  Again, line up the diagonal seam with the diagonal lines on the ruler.  This is where I found the tape-markers to be especially helpful.  Did you notice that the square is still exactly on line?  Yeah, yeah... Monique is a genius.  

Lay out the parts of the block as shown - oh, yeah, don't forget to make 2 four-patch squares.  They're easy.  The instructions are in the pattern.  

Scant 1/4" seam allowance - press toward the four-patch.  Yes, I did "pop" the seam on the four-patch though one seam will get flipped back at some point.  But "popping" the seams on the four-patch squares - and the blocks - does help when the quilt top is assembled.  

And there you have it.  Uh... pretend that my iron didn't "spit" and leave a wet spot on my block... or that I noticed it before now.  

And there you have it.  Four charm squares - two pairs of two matching squares... with a leftover strip.  

But... what if you wanted something a little scrappier?

One charm square - or a 1/3 yard of fabric, or 32 matching strips - the short ones - for what will be the triangles in the block.

 

Add two very scrappy four-patch squares.

With the way the blocks are laid out, the scrappy squares will be completely "contained" by the navy polka dot triangles.  Pretty cute, don't you think?  

This is the ruler.  You don't absolutely positively need one to make the blocks but when the results are so good - so p e r f e c t - it's kind of hard not to use it.  To help with that, I have two rulers that I am going to give away.  Since I know you want to get started with this, this is a quick drawing - leave a comment before Midnight on Sunday night - 12:01 AM Monday morning and you're too late - and you're entered to win.  I'll pick winners on Monday - two of them.  

I hope you have a terrific weekend - I'm hoping to stay inside and work on a binding or two.  And pack some patterns.  And finish up some patterns.  But mostly I want to get the binding on this...

And yeah, I need to learn how to do one of those draped quilt-y pictures.  Mine looks like its wadded up on the chair getting ready to fall off... which it basically is.  Is there a class for that sort of thing?