Fresh New Calendar

I love this lull after the holidays before the beginning of the new year.  I slowly putter around the house and clear up the chaos putting the house back to rights.  I feel like I have a license to throw out stuff I would otherwise hold back on. Half bottles of condiments in the refrigerator ... gone!  Magazines and catalogs .... gone!  Boxes in the basement to things I bought over the year  ... gone!   The odd pair of shoes in the laundry room that don't belong to anyone that lives here .... gone!  Clean out the file cabinets and junk drawers too while we're at it and throw out all the mystery keys and tangled shoelaces. 

I keep a big calendar in my kitchen that holds all the important events and appointments for the family.  On a quiet evening I take down my old, worn out calendar and transfer all the birthdays and anniversaries over to my shiny new model.  Reading through all the scribblings on the pages of each month reminds me of what we were all doing throughout the past twelve months.  Years ago it was pediatricians and orthdontists and birthday parties for friends.  Lots school plays, open houses and band concerts and soccer games.  Then it was driver ed courses and road tests and regents exams.  Soon it was college visits and proms and senior teas.  Now it's pretty much just my hair appointments and the heart worm reminder for the assistant.   I feel a little sad when I go through the past year now and see all the blank spaces staring at me.  How did the boys grow up so fast? 

Well, here we are embarking on a shiny new year with a shiny new calendar and I'm getting a little morose.  This year will have lots of new adventures in it and lot of new quilts and sewing projects.  I'm teaching my friend Mary to make a quilt soon and the ORB quilt group is starting it's NINTH round next week.  I'm getting my dining room turned back into a sewing room this weekend as I put away the tree and I'll be all set to start sewing again in 2011. 



Thanks for all the concern for the assistant.  The vet checked her leg out pretty thoroughly and he didn't feel any evidence of tears or breaks.  Whew!! It seems it's an inflamed knee, probably from slipping on the ice.  She got some cortisone shots and is on some meds and was told to rest.  She is taking her resting orders very seriously and has been faithfully snoozing away almost all day lately.  She is already walking better so if all goes well she will soon be back to one hundred percent.

Sick little girl

The assistant is down

I wouldn't share this with too many people but I know I have a lot of animal lovers among my bloggy friends. My poor assistant hurt her leg last week. We're not sure what happened but last Sunday she was limping pretty badly. Being a large dog and prone to strains I didn't think too much of it at first .... especially when she seemed to be getting better on Tuesday. But soon she was not putting any weight on her back leg again. She has been very lethargic all weekend and today we made an appointment for her at the vet for tomorrow afternoon.

When someone just can't communicate how they feel I'm left feeling so helpless. I hope she understands that we are taking care of her and will not let her be in pain much longer.

Wrapping up a year

Well I never got to make anything with the Merry Modern fabric.  One of the problems of having your sewing room in your dining room is that you just have to give it up at a certain point and put all your tools and mats and piles away.  It's kind of nice to have that cut-off though because the pressure is off ..... you really don't have the option of trying to whip up a last minute gift.  You can just close off that part of  your life and concentrate on other areas. Before I put everything away I did make some new pillows for my couch with the leftover fabric from my Sampler quilt and I about twenty felt mittens for small gifts.

It seems every year I don't have enough time to do everything I have in my mind so next year I am planning on doing some sewing in July with my tons of Christmas fabric and maybe even designing some original cards with my photos from this year.  I'm thinking the assistant with some reindeer antlers under our tree.  Hee Hee.  I think of that every single year but not usually until the middle of December when I'm receiving cool original cards.  Of course this grand idea will be 100% dependent on the humidity level so I can't say for sure how much I'll actually be doing.

Another benefit of not having access to my sewing is that is that I'm getting antsy to start a new project or two.  My notebook is getting full of ideas and I'm constantly surfing fabric sites.  I just won a signed copy of Malka Dubrawsky's book Fresh Quilting on her blog tour stop at Pink Chalk Studio.  I can't wait to get it and start marking pages.  I'm sure that as soon as the new year starts I'll be ready to jump right into the sewing with both feet.

Saturday was my family Bailey Girl Christmas party here and we had such a fun time and lots of good food and good laughs.  I gave my niece Jamie the star quilt I made for her and her reaction was perfect!

My nieces Jamie and Lisa

Jamie snuggled up with her new quilt the next morning.

 Hope you all have a wonderful happy and healthy holiday! 

Mad Men made me do it

Oh dear.

Look what watching marathons of Mad Men while sewing will get you.  I innocently went on line the other night to do some Christmas shopping and somehow stumbled onto the Fabric Shack site.  Oops!   Today some Alexander Henry Merry Modern fabric just appeared in my mailbox with a credit card slip. 

I was planning on NOT getting into a sewing frenzy with a deadline this December but now I've just GOT to make something with these fabrics.  And before my Mad Men craze is over too.  Hmmmm.... I'm thinking pillows ..... any other ideas??   I need to redeem myself by producing something supercool. 

Gnome from Utah and the Tree from Minnesota

Along with getting this fabulous fabric in the mail today I also received two sweet ornaments from a Flickr ornament swap.   December mail is soooo much nicer than January mail :)

Thankful

I have such a blessed life and I try and be thankful every single day for all the bounty in my life.  Great children, loving and supportive partner, my family, my assistant, warm home, health, jobs, our great country, etc, etc.    My list of things to be thankful for can go on forever.  I love that we have one day to relax and just revel in our blessings and the only obligation is to be thankful.  

I'm also thankful for all my readers.  Finding a community of people to share my quilting journey with has also been a blessing in my life.  Thanks guys!  You really do rock!!    Even if it's not your Thanksgiving Day I hope you all have things to be thankful for today and can spend a moment to relax and enjoy. 

After the meal ..... Thanksgiving Dinner 2009

Sampler Quilt

I finished up the sampler quilt that I made this summer with Amy's quilt-a-long.  I worked on honing those ever useful quilting techniques of measuring, accurate 1/4" seams and trimming half square triangles with this quilt.    I always wanted a red and white quilt and now that I have one .... I want more! 

This is the first quilt I took to a long arm quilter to have professionally quilted.  It felt a little like cheating at first and I balked at spending money on it but I have to say that it came out beautifully and the cost really wasn't that much.  I found a great little shop right near my workplace and she was able to use the back I'd pieced and my batting and, most importantly, she didn't cringe or laugh at my points (or lack thereof).  I'd been pondering just how to quilt this and since I like to get old projects finished up before I start new ones it was really blocking me.  The back is kind of a mish-mash of my leftover pieces because I was desperately trying to just get enough together so I wouldn't have to buy any more fabric.  Sometimes I CAN be frugal ....

On to Christmas .....

Now I have to move the sewing machine and mat out of my "studio" and turn it back into the dining room for the holidays but that's OK.  I can still work on smaller projects and here are some felt mittens I'm working on for ornaments and gift tags.  These are fun to make up ahead of time and then embroider and finish while watching TV on the couch at night.

Happiness is .... a star quilt

I had a fun time making these stars and I'm pretty happy with the final product.  Kona ochre is my new favorite color and it made a  nice frame to this quilt ... don't cha think? 

I had a pleasant time with the hand sewing this week while watching Mad Men on Netflix.  I can't believe I haven't been watching that series!  I've got one more quilt to bind this weekend so I'm saving my discs for another hand sewing marathon.  Bring it on! 

I'll enjoy this quilt for a while but I made her for a special person in my life.  Can't wait to let her spread her cheer. 

Denyse Schmidt is so wise

Today was another quilt sandwiching day at the Bailey house!  I got a pretty cool back made this weekend and since I had another in my long line of dental appointments this morning I took the whole day off and did some pin basting.  Does anyone else find making a pieced back more work than making the quilt top?  I basically have NO plan for the back and at least with the front I'm working with small squares and I know what I'm doing.  I try to use up all the scrap pieces and leftovers but trying to fit everything together is like a puzzle.  Plus you're working with looooong and wide pieces of fabric.  But anyways, I digress, the back is done and the binding is made so all I have to do is quilt now.  Eep!  My most scariest part. 

I was trying to rush to finish up this quilt for Amy's quilt festival this weekend and it was making it too much like work.  Then I was an inactive (shy) participant in a live chat with Denyse Schmidt on Twitter Saturday.  One thing Denyse said really stood out because it's so true for me. "As soon as a deadline is attached, just assume that it introduces a level of stress and may take some of the enjoyment away."  

I decided right then to take the deadline out of the equation and just relax.  I'll be taking my time on the quilting because I've got a  more involved pattern in mind.  I'm actually looking forward to working on it a little bit each evening after dinner.  Quilting gets pretty monotonous so I may have a little wine and Pandora involved.  Ahhhh .... sounds much better than hurrying to get it done last week.

Here's a little hint of the back

I love you guys!! Seriously.

I've got to say thank you, thank you, thank you to all of you that took the time to send me some great tips for free motion quilting and to commiserate with me also.   I was getting so discouraged and felt like the lone quilter with no one to turn to and here all of you just spent your time and energy to connect with me.  Wow!  I feel like I'm really a part of community even though it's virtual.   Not only that but I received a great present from Julie just because she's nice and she wanted to spread her bounty.  Flora and Fauna!!!  That really knocked my socks off.

I was doing the happy dance when I saw these fat quarters! 

Things are turning around here.  I've got my teeth saga wrapping up soon, I'm finishing up a pretty cool quilt that I'm excited about, and I got all of you guys to help me out when I get in a jam.  Next weekend I'm heading to Boston to visit my honey so if anyone knows of any cool quilt or fabric shops in or around Boston let me know.  Maybe I could find something exciting for my first giveaway .....

A dark and grainy glimpse with my cell phone camera 

Quilt Festival

I just love Amy's Quilt Festival so much I decided that I'd showcase a quilt I made with The Amy herself!  This zig zag quilt was the second "real" quilt I ever made and I have a special affection for her. 

My first quilt was a hurry up and get going deal because I'd found the first Old Red Barn quilt-a-long already one week in the works.  I rushed to the fabric store and bought hurriedly and came home to start cutting.  I learned a tremendous amount from that first quilt, not only about sewing but also about the comradery and generosity of the virtual quilting community.

This zig zag quilt was the second one our group did and was led by Amy.  This time around I really took time to come up with a vision and carefully picked out the fabrics accordingly.  I'm sure the women at Joanne Fabrics thought I was having some sort of breakdown the way I wheeled the cart of fabric around the store putting some back, picking some up, putting some back, picking more up, etc.  I was still so new I hadn't even discovered on-line fabric stores yet.   Can you imagine!?

Lots of cutting and measuring for a newbie

I don't know if I had realized going in how many tiny half square triangles there would be to cut, sew, cut, trim and sew again if I would have jumped right into it.  This quilt-a-long happened during the humid months of summer and I was ready to call it quits many times.  I persevered and have been extremely proud of my second quilt of all times.  I love the turquoise and brown fabrics and the striped binding. 

What a great present ....

 This is also the first quilt I made on my new sewing machine that my oldest son bought me for my birthday.  He saw how much I enjoyed quilting and so generously wanted to get me a better machine. Lots of firsts associated with this quilt and she will always be one of my very favorites.

FMQ Failure. Is is me ... or is it my machine?

Let me start right off by saying it's probably me.  I  have tried free motion quilting many times and I just can't get my stitches to come out anything but too loose and large and sometimes loopy.  I've read and watched all sorts of tutorials and many times just started fresh with a whole new attitude.  But I just can't get it.  Here are the stitches from my latest attempt.

Wish I had practiced on a solid now ...

I've tried a million variations and combinations of settings not limited to the following:

-tension dial up
-tension dial down
-feed dogs up
-feed dogs down
-stitch length at every possible length (I only have slider bar so I can't set it to zero)
-cleaned machine
-new needle
-sewing fast and moving practice piece fast
-sewing slow and moving practice piece fast
-sewing fast and moving practice piece slow
-sewing slow and moving practice piece slow
-etc
-etc

I get the movement but my stitches are just way too loose to be quilting.  Even with washing and drying they don't tighten up enough to be quilting on a quilt.  You can almost take your fingernails and pull out the stitches.  I can do straight lines with my walking foot and am getting better with some practice. 

Here's my questions that I'm sending out into the blogosphere:

Can one of you come over to my house and try out my machine so I know if I should keep practicing or give it up?  Or .... Can I come over to your house and try it on your machine? 

OK ... I know this isn't possible unless one of you lives in Western New York (hint, hint).  This is just one of those times I wish I had a real, live quilting community near me.  I love the internet and my blogs but sometimes I just need ten minutes with a real, live person. 

Has anyone has gone from a basic machine to a higher end machine and what sort of differences did you notice when sewing?  And how did you buy one if you didn't live near a sewing machine dealer? 

I've had a rough couple of weeks having some extensive (and expensive) dental procedures that are kind of freaking me out.   Sewing in the evenings has been a pleasant way to take my mind off of my mouth.  So here's a little sneak peak at some of newest star blocks.  Hopefully these will be turned into a quilt in time for Amy's Fall Quilt Festival.  

What to do next?

I'm a finish-up-a-project before I start a new one type girl.  I know lots of quilters have tons of different quilts in different stages but I just can't seem to work that way.  I need get one at least on the path to total finish before I can even think about fabric or design for my next one.  I even need to clean the house to clear my mind a little and get all the scraps of the old one out of the way.

My mind is just full of ideas and I have drawings and print-outs and books with sticky notes everywhere.  When I'm finally ready to start a new one I freeze for a while afraid I'll wish I had started a different one first. 

I just ordered a couple kona solids in beautiful fall colors and last night I sat down and started making some stars. I love making stars.  They have so much personality and each one is special and different from the next one.  They make me happy when I see them emerge from the fabric.  I made a big one and a tiny one last night and I can't wait to make a some mediums and and teeny tiny one too.  I can't go wrong just making stars.  I'm not even sure what my final outcome will be yet but I'm sure it will be a Christmas present for somebody special. 

Look at that cute little guy in the middle

I finally got my sampler quilt top all sashed and sewn and the binding is all made.  After a trip to the fabric store for batting I can finally get this big girl quilted.

I cringe even posting these pictures with the giant shadows and all but decided I'm not getting a better picture in the near future.  I contemplated getting my son out of bed to hold up a lamp but decided against it.  The boys think I'm crazy enough as it is and they love to mock my blawwwwwg.  Sooooo .... this is my  quilt top in it's shadowy glory.  She is still hanging on the china cabinet (I took this last night) and she may be there for a while.  I like looking at her there. 

Shells from my vacation.  That seems like so long ago!

I've been wanting to practice my quilting so I made a little patchwork runner to sit on my coffee table.  I love to make the house look cozy this time of year.

In My Hoop

I love to be snuggled on the couch at night watching all the new shows. But I just can't stand being so inert (LOVE that word). Embroidering is such a pleasant way to pass the time idly ... yet be productive. After many nights you have something pretty starting to fall from your hoop. That, and having a ready gift later, is just an added bonus.

I got a little distracted at work today .....

....  and starting planning a new quilt with my highlighter.  That ever happen to you? 

Camper Quilt

My niece Lisa and her family just love, love, love to camp.  In fact, you can never find them at their house on the weekends spring through fall.  Last year when I first forayed into online fabric shops I found the Michael Miller vintage camper line.  I was so excited I threw a half yard of each fabric into my cart and purchased them that day even though I didn't have a plan.  I just .had.to.have.them. to make something ... anything .. for Lisa. 

I decided to make a quilt for their camper to use for all the sorts of things you'd use a quilt for on a camping trip.  Picnic blanket, chair pad, leg warmer on a chilly morning while drinking coffee by the creek, camp fire seating, table cover, pillow, etc, etc.  Well, my quilting is apparently not going to coincide with the yearly cycles very well (hence my autumnal brown and orange quilt that I finished this June while everyone else was breaking out the summer brights) because it would have been much nicer to give this to Lisa at the beginning of the season.  But I have no doubt they will be camping again this year and all of the next years coming up.  Lisa's birthday was last week so I kinda missed that target too but decided that quilt making/giving just can't be on a timetable. It's impossible.  Life is too unpredictable!

There's Lisa in her stylish sunglasses and capris!  All she is missing is her vodka tonic. 

I went with a snowball block (process post here) so I could showcase the larger scenes on some of the fabrics and Kona tomato for the accents and binding.  I wanted to give it a vintagy red theme since Lisa is a cool girl that loves stuff a little funky.   

Fall Cleaning

I love this time of year.  Something about the beginning of September just feels full of possibilities.  I have this incredible urge to finally clean the house, throw out all the piles that have collected around the edges, and start everything fresh.  Doesn't fall cleaning make so much more sense than spring cleaning?  I mean really, you are going to be snuggled in the house for six months ... don't you want it clean and comfortable? 

The combination of the hottest summer in recent history, two vacations, my son collecting items for his college apartment and all of us working full-time led to an almost explosive situation of dust, clutter, dog hair, unexplainable sticky spots and smells. 

Friday night we got Carson all moved into his apartment and I was  up bright and early on Saturday to start my fall cleaning.  I purged, purged, purged!  And  it felt GOOD!  I sorted out piles of old mail and papers, threw out a heap of mending I was never going to get to, chucked a couple unfinished projects I felt guilty about every time I moved them.  My recycle bin was overflowing with magazines and catalogs and my donate pile was delivered to various places immediately. 

Sunday night it felt so good to sit on the couch and plan some new projects while every surface was clear and pledge-wiped.  I'm working on a new quilt and hopefully I'll be able to get some sewing time in now that the nights will be getting longer.

top secret project waiting patiently to be sewn together

Labor Day weekend heralds the beginning of my favorite three months.  Fresh apples, fresh haircuts, sharpened pencils, casseroles in the oven, pumpkins, mums.  What could be better?  Now excuse me while I run the the store for a sparkling fresh notebook and a set of really cool pens.

Happy Mail

I was the winner of a supercool collage handmade by Kristin at Woollypetals and was so excited to see a pretty package on my porch when I got home last night!  Not only did I get this fun and flirty collage Kristin also put a cool owl stamp and some other little goodies.  That was a nice end to a busy day.  This has also given me a great incentive to clean up my house this weekend and rearrange!  Sometimes getting something new is all it takes to re-energize  me in that department. 

We've been busy getting my son Carson ready to move into his college apartment.   I made curtains this weekend we've been collecting pans and dishes and all sorts of sundries.  I'm so excited for him getting to live with his friends and feel out the adulthood waters while still kind of cocooned in the college world.  Hmmmm....  four math/science majors sharing an apartment .... great fodder for a sitcom! 

The day before I left for vacation I received another happy mail package from my bloggy friend Tiffany.  She makes her own soap and she sent me a bar of lavender rose geranium and rose geranium and lemongrass.  Oh!  Do they smell wonderful and I've been dreaming about lathering up with them.  I've been waiting to clean up my bathroom good before I get these out so even more incentive to get moving.  The weather is cooler and Carson's boxes and piles will be gone from all the corners and halls (sniff, sniff) so I'm really getting a mood taking over me.  Watch out house!!

Zucchini Sunday

I've declared today "Zucchini Sunday" and I'm determined to use up every zucchini in this house and then call it quits for the year.  If you know who I am and where I live  **PLEASE** do not bring me another zucchini!   

Zucchini Bread ....

I use applesauce in place of the vegetable oil in the recipe

Zucchini Chips .....

and a zucchini casserole is going in the oven now. 

It's been a great season and I've loved every one of these green wonders.  But, as they say, all good things must eventually come to an end. 

Good-bye zucchini. I'll be delighted to see you next summer :)

The Block That Almost Defeated Me ... or ... Why I Quit Sewing After Ten O'Clock

Whew!  Finally finished my blocks for the Sampler Quilt a Long with Amy.  I almost called it quits this week because I was busy with my summer life (see previous post with rant on why I don't like summer) and trying to fit in enough sewing to just complete these blocks.  I hate to get behind on sew a long projects because part of the reason I like to get involved is the comradery I feel with the other quilters who are working on the exact same thing.  I love that at first but then I end up feeling this self-imposed pressure when I get behind.  Crazy me.  I had all my pieces cut and sewed together this block one night while all bleary-eyed before bed.  When I got up the next morning and looked at it one piece was upside down.  That night at ten I picked the whole strip apart, flipped the upside down piece and sewed it back together.  The next morning I get up and ALL pieces are wrong.   It's like evil magic possesses me when I sew before bed. 

Actually none of these match at this point but I think you got the point without me drawing two more circles

I put it all aside for a few days but felt I couldn't be defeated with only two more blocks to go.  I picked the whole entire block apart and steamed ironed each square and then set it aside until this morning after I had three cups of coffee.  Voila!!   Here are my week six and week eight blocks and then all of them together.  What a satisfying sight :)

Notice the perfectly placed hourglasses!  

I had made two blocks of a few at the beginning so I could make mine a little longer as I'm a rectangular quilt kinda girl.  I've got a deadline project to start on quick and will get to the sashing and assembling the quilt top right after that.  I just felt that if I didn't get these squares completed I wouldn't go back and finish the final two.  Onward ....

Why can't we always be on vacation?

Back from my vacation and getting slowly back into the groove. 

My only sewing project is keeping up with the sampler quilt-a-long and here are my block from week seven.  Week six was when I was gone so I still have to work on those.  I've really learned a lot from this quilt.  I have finally mastered trimming the half square triangle and have neatened up my 1/4" seam.  But the biggest thing I've gleaned is how to chain sew my quilt blocks in a more efficient manner.  I love the way Amy gets all her pieces pinned and then sews them all at once.  Yes ... I'm sure everyone else already knew this ... but it was a revelation for me!  If only you could only have witnessed the way in which I pinned and sewed and stopped and started and clipped and clipped and clipped.  It was ridiculous and a tremendous time waster.  I'm amazed sometimes when I realize something so simple that I just.didn't.know.it before. 

Tried to mix up the background a little

This is going to be my last quilt a long for a while.  I'm anxious to see what I can do on my own now.  I've got some great ideas of what kind of quilts I'm drawn to and I'd like to really start designing and seeing what I come up with. Can I come up with anything??  I guess we'll see .....

I'll be visiting my honey in Boston this weekend and then getting my son settled in his apartment for college (gasp!).  Sewing him some curtains and doing some school shopping will be my activities for the next two weeks.  But September is coming .....

Our Favorite Walk

The assistant and I love the walk on the bank of the Erie Canal.  I sometimes take for granted that we live by this man made marvel but I never fail to notice the beauty on our walks.   The assistant even says it's lovely for a quick dip on a hot day, but I'll have to take her word on this. 

This year we started up again in early March when it was still empty.   The first day we walked I noticed a solitary white duck waaay down just floating around in the dirty puddles on the bottom.  I figured it was just a fluke and it was passing through.  It was still freezing at night and snowing many days but on and off we would walk on nice weekend days through March and April.  Every time I walked I noticed the duck all by himself.  I started calling him the solitary duck and I looked for him every time we were there.  I came to depend on seeing my little friend and I always wondered about him.  Why is he alone?  Is he a farm animal gone astray or a pet that was abandoned?  Does he like being alone? 

Two migrating geese stopped by one day this spring and he tenatively swam over to them and floated around in their company for a while.  I was so happy for him that day! 

It's the end of July now and he's still out there.  Now he has taken up with some wild brown ducks and their brood.  He looks so sleek and shiny and happy this summer.  I don't like to think of him wintering out there again ....

I'm leaving for vacation on Sunday so I'll leave you with some pictures from our favorite walk on the Erie Canal.  When I get back it will be August and my favorite time of summer will be beginning.  Ya know ... the end of summer when even though it's still hot out the nights start getting a little cooler and a little longer.  There is a slight change in the atmosphere and I keep saying, "I can smell fall in the air!"  Ahhhhh .....  pretty soon......it will be sewing weather again. 

This is my favorite picture of the solitary duck

Lots of Queen Anne's Lace out now

I'm so glad he has some friends now

Gratuitous picture of The Assistant carrying a big stick

My solitary duck in March. Doesn't he look lonely??

I've got a mule, and her name is Sal.
Fifteen miles on the Erie Canal.
She's a good old worker and a good old pal,
Fifteen miles on the Erie Canal.
We've hauled some barges in our day,
Filled with lumber, coal and hay,
And we know ev'ry inch of the way
From Albany to Buffalo.

Low bridge! Ev'rybody down!
Low bridge, 'cause we're coming to a town;
And you'll always know your neighbor,
You'll always know your pal,
If you've ever navigated on the Erie Canal.