Maison de Garance Schnibble

The Maison de Garance wall hanging has been pieced. It is an amazing accomplishment. I've come to the conclusion that I don't cut straight or sew straight. One side was an inch longer than the other. That's a lot of 1/4 inch seams being wrong. But I remind myself that I once stopped quilting because I felt things weren't perfect enough. I have to get better but not frustrated.

I really like this wallhanging. I think I'll make more Schnibbles. I felt I was accomplishing every time I left the sewing room. Just enough to bite off.

I've decided to hand quilt so I'll have something to do when I sit with DH watching tv.
I have no idea what this will become. I bought charm packs of Moda white. One night I needed to just sew. This is how far I've come. I don't know how to arrange them and how many more to make. I think some fell of the design wall but I have it complete this far. I don't know if I like it like this. Hmmm.....

New life! I ordered seeds from Burpee. My geranium seeds are sprouting. I'm such a nerd....this is so exciting to me. I took this picture then went to dinner. When I came back there were sprouts in another pot. So much fun!

I've got a set up in the spare bathroom. My goal is to save money on annuals and grow lots of them myself. It's a crazy amount of money to have fresh annuals in the summer.

Happy New Year! Be safe.

Schnibbling and Fat Geese

I have been coveting the Schnibbles I've seen on the blogs. I wish I had caught on to the Year of Schnibbles when it started. I decided I need one for a blank spot in the hallway.

I've never made flying geese. I've heard lots of moaning about them. There seem to be a million rulers. That indicates to me that they are hard. Therefore, I have avoided them. The instructions in the Schnibbles book call for an easy way-kind of like doing HST by drawing the line down the middle.

Little did I know how fat my geese would be. I sewed so proudly.

A flock of fat geese. I can't judge. I'm fat too. I wonder if this is like fat people who have fat dogs.

This is the layout.

And the first couple of rows sewed together with the obese geese scrunched in there.

I'm hoping to get the last rows sewn together tomorrow. I need to go to the LQS to buy some binding and backing. That's just an excuse to go to the LQS.

Joanna

A New Camera!

Santa brought me a new camera. Actually it's from the DH. It's been a long time since I've blogged. My agenda has been full. I married the nicest man on the planet. He's the guy that bought me the spiffy new camera.

Not much commetary to this post. Tonight is a freeze so it seemed like a good time to capture some of the current blooms. I'm learning how to use the camera and loving it.

Turk's Cap

Mexican Flame Bush/Vine

Chinese Lanterns

Bougenvilla

Carolina Jessmine

Azaleas

Hope Christmas was a joyful and peaceful time for you.

Quilt Festival- The Beauty

I'm on my way back to the Internatinal Quilt Festival. This is just a quick post and just one of the pictures I took. I think this quilt it beautiful in it's simplicity. It is made of raw edge pieces. They might all be triangles but probably not. I left thinking " I could attempt that."

Yesterday at Festival I sat down to eat a bite with a new book I bought. A woman joined me and began talking. She knows a whole lot about quilting. It's her 17th year. She told me there were many quilts that won awards that are sloppily done. She went on to talk about sloppy bindings etc. She wasn't impolite....she just knows alot and has an opinion.

I hope I never see what she sees. Ignorance is bliss. My breath is taken away by the quilts. While some are more my taste than others, I am stunned by what people can create. And most of those people are women.

Off to take in more beauty and do some sloppy work in the class I am taking.

Aster Manor #2 In Progress

I started my second Aster Manor Disappearing Nine Patch. It's so quick and easy. My thinking is that this will be a Christmas gift for someone. I was just going to make one but I bought way too much material for the sashing and border that it just seemed cost effective to mass produce. So here is a go at the second version.



I decided to make the center block solids in each of these blocks. I didn't do that with the first version. Below is the nine patch in red before cutting. It was hard to cut that up. I think it's so pretty.



Then one of the brown nine patch blocks.







Here are all 9 disappearing nine patch blocks without the sashing or binding. I'm not sure how I'm going to like this one. With the center blocks being solid and all the others being prints...I feel like I see the same print blocks over and over. Not enough variation. We'll see what it looks like with sashing and border.
This is version #1 with sashing and border. I'll compare both when the sashing and border is added to version #2.

I need an entry level camera for blogging pictures. My fabrics and flowers don't get the credit due them with this camera. What kind should I get????

Kaffe Hexagons

At last year's quilt festival I bought a charm pack of Kaffe prints. I had no idea what to do with them. That little pack has gone a long way. I just love, love, love these prints.

I have a weird hallway space that I have to fill. I've never been able to find prints that I like or want to pay the price for. I decided to frame some blocks that I could later change. I have enough spare fabric, for sure.

So, here is the start to a hexagon design that I'll frame. We'll see where it goes. I think the center of each flower will be yellow.

It's just a few weeks until quilt festival. Think I'll need some more Kaffe.

Nothing but heaven itself is better than a friend who is really a friend. Plautus.

That's a picture of my dog not my best friend. She would kill me if I posted her picture.

Just got off the phone with a friend of over 30 years. Tomorrow night I go out with a friend of over 25 years. Both are my "best friends." I am blessed.

Call your best friend. It will make your day.

Fancy Spinning Shoes

I'm putting these on tomorrow. They are my fancy spinning shoes. On the bottom is a clip to make me and the bike one. I have visions of me falling off the bike with my shoes still clipped in. I think that wouldn't turn out well.

Notice how new and unused they look. Shame on me. Off to bed so I can get up early. And spin.

What's Wrong With This Plant?

Yesterday I went to a lecture by Dr. Charles Cole about insects in the garden. He retired from Texas A&M and now works with the Master Gardener program along with other ventures. I love listening to people who really know their stuff. He said that by identifying insects we can solve 80% of the problems in our garden. My goal is to identify and differentiate between the nuisance insects and the troublemakers. He carries a small magnifying glass in his pocket. I need to add that to my supplies.



To continue my education I purchased the book below, What's Wrong with My Plant? It is well laid out using a flowchart to lead you to the possible issue.







The mandevilla below has old leaves turning yellow but still has new growth. The flowchart led me to nitrogen or magnesium deficiency. Not rocket science on that one but I realized that I fertilized it's neighbor but not this newer addition. I gave it some fertilizer. Let's see what happens.





The lantana has suspicious leaves. I'll research this today to see what ails it. Leaf miners? Hmmm.







Now for the happy places. I filled a hanging basket with cyclamen, snapdragons, and petunias. It's wonderful to have cooler weather. The previous tenant of this basket dried up in the heat.





The passion vine on the right has gone over to it's neighbor, the clematis, on the left. It is so much fun to watch both of these vines cover the pergola. I love sitting out here in the evening.

And a basket of roses to look at each day. My mother had miniature roses at the front of her house. I think of her when I look at these. I love all my plants but nothing is as pretty as a rose. Passing by and taking a sniff makes me happy.

I hope fall weather has hit your area. It's a beautiful time of year.

Design Wall: Park Avenue Coin Quilt

Posting pictures of the design wall sure is helpful. At a glance I can see which blocks I need to switch. Amazing the different perspective you get from a picture.

I didn't realize Park Avenue was a holiday print. It is so pretty. I've planned a coin quilt for quite a while. Since it's a holiday print, it's time to get on it. So far, it's a quick and easy project. I wish when I started the quilting bug again I had started with easy projects with precuts. It would have saved me lots of money and headache.

I'm thinking of sashing in white. Might go buy some of that blue. Kind of depends on if I want to get out of the house and buy more fabric.
Reds and blues are matching up too much.

We are hoping for rain today. Have a restful Sunday.

God Rest Her Soul

My beloved Bernina 1080 is not well. Over Labor Day weekend I went to spend much needed time sewing. When I stepped on the presser foot, no go. It's a belt or something in the motor. I will take her to the hospital but it was time for a new machine. I have loved her. She was such a splurge 20 years ago. I have not had an ounce of trouble. Love this machine.

Here is my new beauty. It was a huge decision. I tried a less expensive Janome but I'm a Bernina girl. And, you know they have that 830 which sells for $6,000 dollars. That is just crazy, but if I had $6,000 under my mattress I would have spent it on that machine.

I love my new machine. I feel so fortunate to be able to have such a beauty.

I'm on a disappearing nine patch binge. I finished this top in a day. That's unusual for me. It's just a little more than 2 charm packs. I bought way too much of the border material so I went and bought more charm packs. This is what some people are getting for Christmas.

The Bird of Paradise is blooming! We go to a mexican restaurant every Friday night. It's our Margarita Night. I love that tradition. We walked past a bird of paradise every week. I think they are so exotic. My honey bought me one. I think of our Friday nights when I see it bloom.
I found more Chenille plants. I love their fuzzy blooms.

Have a wonderful Saturday!

Found Time

No posts recently. No sewing recently. During vacation I sewed every day. I made the committment, again, to sew a little each day even when work started again. During a workshop, Edyta Sitar said we should sew 1 hour each day. We would finish our projects that way. It sounded so reasonable. I know I spend an hour a day reading blogs and watching tv.

For the first time ever I turned down a professional opportunity. I was all signed up to start my doctoral program. I would be doing it with a friend so we would work on things together. I went through the GRE exam, the interview, the essays and application, etc. As it got closer I got this panicky feeling that I just didn't want to do it. Add that I found out the total cost would be about $35,000. I don't know about you, but for me that's a really nice car. Lots of money for me. So, for the first time in my life....ridden with guilt....I chose to pass on a professional opportunity and focus on slowing my life down.

So, my theory is that I have "found time." I would be going to class every Monday and Tuesday night until 9 PM. Then I would be studying on the weekend. Why can't I put at least half of that time into sewing? Why, why, why?

The first 2 weeks of school have passed. The swelling in my feet is mostly gone. (Mostly, sure is getting harder as I age.) So, I will spend time doing the things I love- sewing, gardening, reading.

I bought the City Park kit. It says that it is for all skill levels. I had to read the directions 5 times before I could get it. Guess I'm below all skills levels. It's lots of cutting but looks like easy construction. I love the City Quilts book. Simply and striking quilts.



After the first week of school my whole body ached. I left telling my friends I was going to pay for a massage. Instead I went to the nursery and bought....

Brazilian Cloak

Blue Pea Vine

Aggie Giner

Ginger...whose name I have forgotten.

Off to the sewing room or quilt shop. Have a lovely Saturday!