I am writing again!! Ohhhh, I almost forgot how much I love it! 8 pages into a little project and I am on cloud nine :)
What are you up to? I am going blog surfing to find out but you can tell me here too if you want!
Today I went to my local library, after posting notices at the grocery stores, library bulletin board and on my local online newspaper, to teach anyone who showed up the basics of a sewing machine - for free.
I've given lectures about quilting before and was surprised at how many of the attendees had never threaded a sewing machine and were afraid to! Yikes! We can't let these gals be afraid of sewing!!
I set aside 2 hours, wrote up some notes (which I would be happy to share with you) and made arrangements to use the meeting room at the library (also free to non-profits!).
I had several people tell me that they were excited to attend, but who turned up was two young girls, sisters, who's mom had seen the posting and suggested that they attend. What a treat!! I LOVE teaching kids! We had the whole room to ourselves and they felt free to ask any question that they thought of - and boy did they!
I explained and then demonstrated: how a needle and bobbin work together to make a stitch; how to test bobbin tension; how to clean the bobbin and race area and what the parts are and how they are used; how to thread the machine and the major differences between the three machines that I carted down there.
They were enthralled! And then they got to sew! Straight stitch, decorative stitch and free motion! They had a great time. They enjoyed the quilts I brought along and the handled all the parts, checked out the machines with a flashlight and watched the gears in motion - - these two will never be afraid to change their bobbin tension!
I talked about threads (my favorite subject) and had them touch and then break many samples so that the understood how different threads can be. All in all, a great time was had by we three, and I am SO glad that I did this and that they patiently and then eagerly listened, learned and then tried for themselves.
Would you consider doing the same? For your local Girl Scout troup? Your after school program? Anyone who shows up for a Library gig? I can and will do all I can to help, you only have to ask - - and the reward of a new sewing enthusiast's smile is payment in full.
I just about peed my pants when I saw this! I need some imaginary friends - doesn't everyone?
Friend Feed is the "new" place to be, and if I can create imaginary friends there, well, why write another novel?
I find some interesting stuff on this internet - and I *love* the stuff that makes me laugh, makes me think and teaches me something new. I'll share a few favorites with you in the upcoming weeks.
Meanwhile, I'll be over on Friend Feed having some tea and scones with my imaginary friends :)
Come join us, won't you?
My pal Kay Mackenzie asked if I would like to be included in her internet Book Tour and I jumped at the chance!
What is so cool about going to Quilt Market and meeting other designers and authors is learning that they are just nice quilters, like every other quilter :)
Kay sent me a peek inside and an autographed book to give away! All you have to do to enter is [Contest ended April 4th - check back soon for the next one] I'll announce the winner here on April 4th and I will email the winner too :) {you won't be getting spam from me, I promise!}
Her book has the wonderful applique designs that you see here and also has a CD! As I flipped through her book the first thing that came to my mind was "homey". Her designs and her quilts have that comforting feel that just says "home". You'll love this book :)
Here they are! I went with the two-part format because I felt that there was just too much information that I had to cut in order to meet the 10 minute limit for YouTube (not criticizing, just explaining) so:
Part One - - -
Part Two - - -
I would love to know what you think!! So far I have only remembered one thing that I should have said - and that is "don't buy cheap pins". I did this once and totally regret it, it was a waste of time and money because I had to go BACK to the store and buy the good (expensive) ones just to get them to go through 2 layers of fabric and a needled batting. Better to just buy the good ones up front and avoid the frustration and waste of having a bag full of useless pins.
Please let me know what you think of the videos and of quilting a large quilt at home on your sewing machine. Do you stitch-in-the-ditch? Do you do things differently than me?
If you found this useful, please share it with your friends :)
I want to make this quilt! Made by Liz Harvatine, she calls it "Confetti" and I *love* it! Here's her tutorial, which I found very understandable and I have TONS of scraps. This is right up my alley! Thank you Liz for my next project :)
Today I am putting the sashing on my funky, fuzzy quilt. I hope to have it finished by tonight.
We decided, on the spur of the moment, to go to Anchorage for the weekend so that Tom could play in the Fur Rondy Pool Tournament. First, for anyone not in Alaska, Fur Rondy has its traditions in the old fur trade (furs are still traded today) and as a break in the monotony of the tremendously long arctic winters.
When Sarah and her cousins were growing up, it was the highlight of our winters. I'd bundle up the kids and we would go to the carnivals (outdoors rides like ferris wheel, tilt-a-whirl) then go see the snow sculptures, maybe stay late enough for the fireworks. Then we would do the indoor stuff. Craft fairs, face painting for the kids, whatever sounded interesting :)
That kind of stuff waned as they became teenagers, so I haven't really participated in any of the Rondy events in years. In the past I had visited one of the local pool halls, in the basement of a popular bar, just to see what it looked like, but you could cut the cigarrette smoke with a knife and I can't stand the smell of it, so I quickly left (besides it was intimidating with all the guys concentrating on their shots and games).
Anchorage banned smoking in restaurants and bars a few years ago and the pool hall moved to a new location so I was in for quite the surprise.
Anchorage Billiard Palace was an exceptional treat. So much so that I gave up the chance to shop for fabric, poke around for a few antiques and all the other errands that I put on my list when I heard "two whole days in Anchorage".
Tom taught me to play pool and he's very, very good at both playing and teaching. He placed on both Saturday and Sunday, in 8 Ball and 9 Ball, and I thoroughly enjoyed watching him and the other players in the tourney. Most of all, the staff at the Billiard Palace was outstanding. Polite, friendly, warmly meeting the needs of all the players and spectators, allowing me to take video of the room, they are the reason I'd go again. I am shy by nature and a hermit in my old age, so it takes a *lot* to get me out of the house, but I'm thinking about putting in the practice hours on the table so that I don't embarrass myself if I ever play at the Billiard Palace. I put up a poll on the right hand side of the blog, at the top, because I am curious - do you play?
Some of the things I loved the best: 12 nine foot tables, good lighting, great staff, dress code for men and women, no children allowed, central location in Anchorage and the nicest, most interesting people I've chatted with since I came back from Quilt Market.
I did get to see Sarah and Audrey for breakfast and some fabric shopping, but afterward I couldn't wait to get back to the games! If you have never been inside, here's what it looked like for most of Saturday and Sunday:
Granny's Closet, Jodi, Judy W, Desertsky & Garnet Rose, I *did* go out for a wonderful walk yesterday, after everyone's urging and it was GREAT! I walked on the beach in the salt water, listening to it splash onshore (bundled up in my parka and ExtraTuffs!) Still, the sun was out and it was great!
Rannyjean, Becky and Karen in MN, and Karol, you gals really made me laugh and I thank you from the bottom of my heart!! :)
Tina - -take me with you!!!
Snoodles, you are a genius! I have a pic of a warm looking ocean, but never thought of looking at webcams! And I have one!
Tessahjake, I have been converting friends into bloggers (abracadabra, you are now a *blogger*) and that's been really fun. Good idea to get in touch with old friends.
Both Sues in Australia, I almost want to trade houses with you gals but I *die* at temps over 75 degrees (23-24 C) - - let's meet in the middle - - say, Hawaii?
Jackie - -I used to live in Indian Rocks Beach as a kid - -Gulf coast, south of Tampa/St.Pete. I've often thought of going back to see all the changes, but then again, I like remembering just how it was when I was growing up there :)
Here's a view of the harbor, I walked to about where the coal terminal starts (the blue thing in the center of the photo) and here's a coal tanker coming in as I was out for my walk.
Okay quilters: Rannyjean was the first name pulled, so she gets first choice of the bundles of fabric in the photo below and Jodi was the second name so she gets the bundle that Rannyjean doesn't pick! Karen in MN, you made me laugh the hardest (and it was your wading pool in the living room that made me think of putting sun tan lotion on just to smell it!). I need your addresses all three and I'm going to find something to put a smile on Karen in MN's face!
I feel so cheered up by everything that you all said. I did some blog hopping and found a few blogs where the gals are keeping track of their exercise goals and weight loss and that was a great motivator too! I am really happy that even though I am stuck in the back of beyond physically, I get to visit with wonderful people from all over the world. Thank you!
Yikes, I have cabin fever *B*A*D*! Do you get this? How do you deal with it? This is one of the worst years ever! Can the "hormonal" issues of being age 50 have something to do with it? (yes, the "M" word). I am going to go clean up my stash (again). When I am done I think I might have 1 fat quarter left! LOL :)
I want to hear some cabin fever solutions and I'm going to draw names and send fabric to for creative solutions posted in the comments here! I'll have a bonus for what ever post makes me laugh the hardest :)
Drawing on 2/22 Let's have some fun! 
Oh what a great trip to Anchorage! To visit my favorite quilt shop (Seams Like Home Quilt Shoppe) and see the familiar faces and the new, gorgeous fabrics. Heaven!! Then Sarah arrived with granddaughter Audrey and the *real* fun began :)
Confession: I do not shop for fabric. I have asked (that being the polite way of saying 'forced') Sarah to pick my fabrics for me for years. Last time I went to Quilt Market I just gave her the cash and said "buy what you wanted but didn't get". She always picks the best stuff :)
When I buy fabrics and show my choices to people, they politely force a tight smile and whisper "oh, how nice .." and turn away quickly. It's true. Honest. I am a total loser at picking fabrics. That's why I buy the fat quarter bundles or have someone do it for me. I relied upon Doris, my all time best quilt shop friend, and now Sarah. Hopefully Audrey will take after her mom and have a good eye for color too :)
So anyway, Audrey and I played with the shop toys while Sarah selected my sashing fabrics for the two projects I have in the works now.
The quilt shop owner, Maret, found a minute between class sessions to say "Hi" (she is a total sweetheart) and take a look at my projects and THEN I spied, hidden at the bottom of a rack, my most favorite thing of all - -scrap bags!! Yay! I *love* buying scrap bags! At the counter Sarah spied a bit of left over ribbon with bunnies on it so of course we had to have it. What a wonderful day!
I'll be in Anchorage for a short period over the weekend and I get to go to my quilt shop! I *love* it there! I always bump into someone I know and I get to look at all the great new fabrics and get inspired by the projects on the walls. Since it is a 5 hour round trip (driving) it's a big deal to make this trip and a rare treat to have enough time to visit the quilt shop :)
I finished my Funky, Fuzzy squares and I need some sashing for them and I need sashing for another project (photos and video coming soon!). If I fall in love with a stiletto, I may even treat myself to one! Right now I use my seam ripper or a long, strong hat pin but I've always admired Eleanor Burn's stiletto and it sure would have helped when I was couching down that fuzzy yarn. Since I really liked that project and want to do more like it, I just think I *need* a stilletto, don't you? Do you have one? How do you use yours?
I updated the video that shows the Crazy Shortcut Quilts demo. I finally got Sarah to film some footage (talk about pulling teeth!) and so I re-did the whole thing.
Originally, all the videos were supposed to be "just for fun" and I had planned on taking a few comments and then re-doing them. Well, 5,000 views later (on some of them!!) I am just getting there. I had no idea that YouTube was so popular!
So, if you want to see Sarah in action, go take a look at the newly uploaded demo and if you look carefully, you can see that I also uploaded an "out takes" video too. We do have some laughs while we are making the vids.
Do you have vids? Or favorites on YouTube? I'd love to see them! Post a comment and share ....
My daughter Sarah and I love to donate quilts to the CASA program for their Quilt Auction each November. We also use the auction to see and visit with quilters that we only see once a year - -at the auction! I look forward to seeing my pals Kathy Harte and Judy Wedemeyer and Ruth (who bought one of my quilts last year - -thanks Ruth!!).
This year my offerings are meager compared to last year, and I am not too happy about that. I am donating the quilt you see here, made with RJR Fabrics (donated by them and Thank You Very Much RJR!), featured in our book Crazy Shortcut Quilts, called Sweet Sixteen. It is 60" x 60" and very pretty, with bright colors.
I'll also be donating a book called Fat Quarter Quilting and package of RJR Thimbleberries fat quarters and some batting too - -(almost) everything you need to make a quilt!
The Quilt Auction is on November 22 from 11am-2pm in downtown Anchorage at the Phillips/Arco building at 7th & G. I would love to see you there and I can't wait to watch the bidding on all of the gorgeous quilts :)
This is what happens when I am working on quilts.....hehehehe....and I'm not even apologetic about it! Every load of washing (at least I'm washing the dirty clothes!) gets brought up to the living room and then left there. That's why I have about 7 laundry baskets...this is a lifelong habit and it makes me laugh. When I am done with my current quilt project (or I run out of baskets) then I'll start putting clothes away. Until then.....need clean socks? Go to living room and search baskets........ LOL
Here's some of my squares from this project....
Whenever Sarah does a demonstration of our Crazy Shortcut Quilt techniques she mentions "stitch envy". It happens during class when the students are quilting their squares using the decorative stitches of their sewing machines. They look at the quilters next to them and the stitches they have on their machines, and well, you get the idea.
We teach a lot of ways to get the most from your machine no matter how many stitches it has and I've quilted on machines with just 5 or 6 stitches - changing width and stitch length just to get some variety.
Today I got an email from a really cool lady who couldn't wait to show me what she'd stitched up after reading our book. "We inspired her" she said, "and be sure to look at that crown stitch" she said. So I looked at her photos and now I have stitch envy!
She has crowns!
I want crowns!
Look at those stitches. I am so broke that I just couldn't ask what machine she has - - I'm afraid to ask! LOL I'll be dreaming of stitches tonight....thanks to Sandra Wucher of the Stashbusters Group on Yahoo!
This baby is my favorite - by far! I wanted to couch down some yarn instead of quilting my squares, and I dug through my stash and found this chunky funky fuzzy yarn - -isn't it delicious?
I've been using a narrow zigzag stitch to couch it down and it's going slower than I thought it would but that's just because of the little fuzzy bubbles in the yarn and the fact that I get to sew for only a few hours a week. We are still doing maintenance and work on the boat and putting up fish for winter. If you are following along and want to make the quilt - - I'll post the whole story on our website when I get the quilt finished. I am using the sizing from the book for "Easy to Go Crazy" and the cutting design from "Think Pink". I am making a few adjustments as I go so be sure to check back for the final post about this quilt. :)
I thought of a name for my new quilt..."Funky Shortcut". I've wanted to try this harlequin type of cutting arrangement for a while, and I really, really love it with these fabrics!
The Crazy Shortcake Quilt Pattern instructions are now on our website! If you have the book or have made a quilt in a class with Sarah, you'll know exactly how to put it all together and the fabric requirements and cutting instructions (with a few reminders) are here for you!
