I love bookstores!

We went to the bookstore today. For me that is a bit like going to the fabric store. I love it. I could spend HOURS just wandering, browsing, getting ideas, touching things. I truly feel the need to touch things in the book store and the fabric store. (Not sure why but it feels like a compulsion.)

I have found that I need to make lists now when I go shopping. I used to be able to keep quite a bit in the noggin', but I now have Mommy brain so things just don't stay in there like they used to. So on the list for the bookstore was - a reference with more pictures of animals - found one on sale right when we walked in!, a sign language dictionary - check, a version of The Princess and the Pea to go with the quilt I am making (although this is not needed until x-mas) no luck, and a copy of A Short History of Women.

The first three items were for bug, she is absorbing so much info we really need to keep up the input! The last on the list is our next book for Book Club. I better get on it as the meeting is next Tuesday night. I can't wait. I'll let you know how the book is once I finish.

Ouchie teeth

My little one, bug, is about 14 months old. And she is cutting teeth. Her baby molars are coming in and it just doesn't feel good. The best solution we have found so far is frozen grapes. When nothing else seems to make her feel any better I pull out the bag and she goes to town.

I end up cutting them in half before they go in the freezer and that makes it a little easier for her. And I usually wait until that point where you aren't quite sure you want to eat them any more. You know that point - some look a little more sad than others, some are a little too squishy, but they aren't completely gone. In the freezer they go and the come out as little globes of frozen goodness. Try it - for yourself or your little one. Yummy!

Great idea for class project

My sister is so clever. She was in charge of her son's Fundraising Project last year. The class had just learned how to stitch - so cool that they teach that in elementary school. So she got a lot of different colored burlap and yarns and assigned each child a letter or two. The teacher created a more detailed design to be used as the center panel. Then she came over to my house all panicked because she didn't really know how she was going to put it all together. We figured it out and here it is -



It says "Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul and sings the tune without the words and never stops at all." The inspiration for the piece was 'borrowed' from a Pottery Barn Kids poster. (Original design is I think by Rebecca Puig of Sugarboo Designs and the poem is by Emily Dickinson.) A nice choice for Hope Elementary, don't you think? And a nice project for the kids. Well done MLR.

Valet Sewing

I am heading out to my 'class' in just a bit. I love this set up. It is at Quilter's Cottage in Fallbrook. One Friday a month they pick the pattern, you pick the fabric for your kit, they cut it all for you, you show up with your machine and tools, dinner is served, you sew, they iron, and Voila! - most times you come home with at least the center of your top pieced. It is called Valet sewing and I just love it! A little mini-retreat.

Here is a quilt I made in one of the 'classes' a few months ago. It was for my brother and his wife who both celebrated 'big' birthdays within a month of each other.

I think the pattern is called Easier by the Dozen. And I didn't quilt it, I leave that to the professionals! I tried quilting once for one of my first creations. And wow, was that harder than I expected. Especially on my little Brother machine. But with all of the quilts I have been making lately I may need to take another stab at it, just to be able to afford to make more quilts!

So I am off to enjoy an evening dedicated only to sewing, oh, and visiting and eating and chatting. But mostly sewing.

Oh, that isn't what I was expecting.....

I need to learn how to get into the habit of posting regularly. Just add that to the list of things to do....along with figuring out how to rescue my Old Red Barn quilt. I just loved seeing it all come together for so many people. And I really wanted to be a part of that. But when I went to get my fabrics I got sidetracked by a grouping of paisley fabrics, in three colorways.

I have to admit I am not great at picking fabrics - it kind of intimidates me. So I basically announced to the room I was in at the LQS (converted house so fun rooms filled with fabrics) that I needed help. And help came to my rescue. Wow, did it ever. I think 4 or 5 women gave various suggestions, timidly at first and then when I encouraged them it truly became a group effort. We had bolts piled all around, switching back and forth to find the perfect combinations. And in the end I came away with the 12 that I needed. And I really liked how it all looked - as folded fabric sitting next to each other. But it was definitely not the bright and fun fabrics that many others were using. And that, in hindsight, is what probably 'made' the quilt for me.

I learned a few things. As I seem to do with each quilt that I make. Especially the ones that somehow did not turn out like I thought they would. Plaids are not good for me, or some stripes for that matter. Turns out I am not the best fabric cutter. And it becomes very obvious in that kind of fabric. And in this particular pattern, it becomes very obvious that I am a bit 'casual' when it comes to a 1/4" seam allowance. Wow - I had some blocks that were 11 1/2" and others that were the 12 1/2" they were supposed to be. I am now an expert at easing to make sure things line up. In the end it all turned out. I have the center finished. I think it needs a little 1" border and then the extra strips will be the outer border.

Now to just get into the habit of taking pictures and downloading them on a regular basis. I'll get to that as well. And then you can see my results. So my Old Red Barn quilt is not bad, but definitely not what I was expecting. More on that to come.

EDIT: I finally got a picture of the top, what is now just the center. And here it is. I have since made a few additions and am liking it better. But now I have to get a photo of that as well. Don't hold your breath.

One for you, and one for me

Over the past weekend I made a gift for a friend having surgery. It actually came together pretty easily, and it was by no means a hard project, just a rag quilt. But since I have a one year old daughter things need to be broken down into smaller chunks, each with their own time frame and negotiations. I guess that is how it is for everyone. It just feels so much more challenging now.

1. Get fabric - which requires juggling a nap schedule with Dad and then worrying about how much time I spend in the store to get home in time. This also entails seeing everything that is on sale for the holiday weekend, endlessly debating exactly how much fabric I can buy and how many projects I am willing to have sitting and waiting for me. And then the inevitable 'guilt' at possibly buying too much at one time. Knowing I won't get to these new projects any time soon because they go to the end of the line on things I want to do. Turns out this time it was all flannel so the projects won't take too much time once I get into them. Its just a matter of prioritizing within the big 'to-do' list.

2. Cutting the fabric. I find this to be my least favorite part. But this time it was easy - what size squares will make the easiest cutting and mximize the fabric - why 10" squares will do that just fine. There is a LQS somewhat near my house (okay, an hour a way, but worth it) that once a month has a valet sewing night. They pick the pattern and you basically buy the kit plus a small fee. The nice thing about the 'kit' is that you get to pick your own fabrics. The store then cuts it all for you. You show up on Friday night with your gear, they feed you dinner, you start sewing right away since it is all cut for you, and THEY IRON AS YOU SEW! How fantastic is that? I don't know if I would necessarily choose those patterns on my own, but the night is so fantastic I keep coming back. It is a wonderful little mini-retreat for me and I am learning so much by working with new patterns.

3. Sewing. I love rag quilts because they do come together so easily. Seems silly that this one is all the same fabric, so basically I just cut up one big piece into smaller pieces and then put them back together in one big piece again. But it was exactly the soothing pattern I was looking for. And hopefully will comfort my friend in her recovery. When I brought it over I realized it will work nicely in her understated family room. See, rag quilts aren't only for babies!

(I loved the fabric so much I made one for myself at the same time! I love it.)

I love my book club. It is a great group of women. I was originally going to say ladies but, man, that just makes me feel old. And I really don't feel old. The new book for this month is The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver. Looking forward to it.

I am off to Kentucky for work tomorrow. A very early flight to get there in time for dinner. A tour of the plant on Wednesday and then a late flight back. Lots of good reading time at least. Although on flights I usually enjoy my 'guilty pleasures' reading, the stuff I am embarrassed to tell my book club about. I have heard of the genre referred to as Historical Romance. But I have to say it is pretty much just cheezy romance. Anything with "seduce" in the title along with duke, duchess, scoundrel, etc. I head straight for the bookstore at the airport and pick up anything with a Fabio-looking cover. Gotta love it.

Now I have to figure out what to wear for 8 hours on a plane to be comfortable and still presentable to clients for a fancy dinner. Hmmmm.