Batik Squares

This was my other finish on my super productive weekend. This is a top I did quite some time ago at one of the Friday Night Valet Sewing events at Quilters Cottage. Such a fun night. I think I need to do another one of those.....
I had never really been a big batik fan until I saw the quilts Laura had created. Every pattern she did in batiks was just beautiful. So I had to give it a try. It reminds me of underwater. I really like it.

I quilted across the background squares on a diagonal with a beige/tan veriegated thread. Then used a variegated blue to stitch about 1/4" outside each of the border seams. Simple and it works.


This was another new binding technique. New to me at least. I stitched the binding on by machine. So that line of stitching also adds to the quilting I did.

Gratuitous Bug shot.
Look at just how dang cute she is!!! (Biased, I know.)

The sneeze - solution

I love to sneeze. I really get into it. A good sneeze just feels so great, one you can let your whole body experience. I think it is just one of those wonderful 'releases' our bodies provide for us. There are some 'O'bvious 'O'nes, and then some other little suprises, like the sneeze. I often get the shivers, or even giggle, after a good sneeze. Really, try it some time. Live it up.

But every now and then you need to save it for another time. Like this morning at 4am. I realized I would not get the full benefits of the sneeze, and it would wake up the 4 other bodies in bed with me - husband and 3 cats. I know, a lot isn't it? Well, this solution amazes me along with the act of sneezing itself. Put your finger across your upper lip, under your nose, and press. It works. Seriously. Try it. But only when you absolutely have to. Otherwise, embrace and enjoy your next sneeze. Enjoy the mini release.

Whirlygig Christmas

So this has been done for awhile, but life has intervened so I haven't posted it yet. This is one of the quilts I finished in my Very Productive Weekend. I even got soooo productive that I made a matching pillow case. Check it!
Isn't my little helper just the cutest?



Fabric is Sherri Berry Holiday with a white on white snowflake. I quilted (approximately) 1/4" into the white part of the 'gig. And may I just say that trying to quilt straight lines with a free motion set up, not your walking foot, is just a little harder that you think it is going to be. Seriously. But I still love it.


Oh and check out the binding. It has PIPING! So cute. I saw this tutorial at TLC Stitches and wanted to try it. And this was the perfect place to try it. I love the pop that aqua adds to this quilt. Again, a technique that is just a bit harder than you think it will be. It was the ironing that killed me on this. My iron gets very hot, and I have one of those fancy-dancy covers that is teflon or some such thing, that probably gets hotter than the iron. And you are working with a very small little area. But again, I learned so much, and I love the result. As long as I stand back. And don't have on my glasses. And I get the overall picture. And don't look too close at the stitching....



And then, since the detail on the binding added so much, I used one of my fancy stitches that came on my sewing machine that I thought I would never use, and made almost an eyelet trim along the edge of the pillowcase. Because, I mean really, if you are going to go big with the details, then you need to GO BIG with the details.



It is constantly amazing to me the affect that the smallest details have on a peice. I usually get so excited to actually get something done that I rush to finish, and miss opportunities to add a little extra here and there. I'm thinking that might be changing.

I got the call

The call that I did not want to get. My friend passed away.

And in an odd twist, a bit of irony, in the weird way things work in the world, my brother-in-law was the one to have to tell me. It was his tragedy I was relaying earlier this year. We are all so connected in so many ways.

Pay attention to each other. Pay attention to yourself. Do not let things linger. If you have been meaning to do something, do it. Do not wait. Reach out to the people that used to be important to you and tell them. Make them important again, in some small way.

Stop reading blogs and go talk to someone. Offer your biggest and most genuine smile, offer your kindness, offer anything that you can of yourself. In honor of Don.