Into the Mail

As part of the Interfaith Quilting Bee a special block is suggested each year for the groups to concentrate on making. Last year it was a rail fence variation. It was a good choice as a simple block but it did require some precision sewing to get it all to line up correctly. This year, a member of the KAQG taught something called a Crazy Nine Patch. It does require that you keep organized while you are sewing it but it has the added advantage that when you finish sewing it you square up the blocks to the largest size you can get your blocks to all match. For instance, if you start with twelve inch squares and, after slicing and piecing, you could get a ten and a half inch block out of each of them, them your blocks wil be ten and a half inches. If you really ended up with raggedty edges you might end up with nine inch blocks. Good for those of us that are not as precise as we should be. The original block block appears to have been taught at a Bernina workshop. A great tutorial on how to do this block is here.

I decided that I would use this block for my Doll Quilt Swap IV submission. Here is what I came up with:

I started with some of those five inch charm squares that are sold in quilt stores. I love working with this size but I thought it would be tricky for this block. It was a little tricky. In the end I ended up with twelve, three and a half inch unfunished blocks which ended up in a twelve by fifteen inch quilt. One thing I would do over is to follow the instructions. I went my own way and the last cut turned out to be a little tricky. Also, you can press your seams to one side as instructed in the Allsorts tutorial or you can press them open. Open means you will have fewer layers to struggle through with your rotary cutter.

BTW - I can't tell you where this quilt is going but its a very long way. I hope it makes it in time!

Saturday Sharing

I had the priveliedge of particiating in the 8th annual Interfaith Quilting Bee in Kingwood today. It was originally sponsored by the Interfaith Hospitality Network here. The network was a consortium of churches that assisted specific families in times of need. The Network was disolved but the day remains. Today the Bee is hosted by the local Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints and what a great job they did.

The idea is that quilting groups from many faith and non-faith based organizations gather once a year to finish off quilts made throughout the year. Most of the quilts were already completed when we gathered at 9:00 AM . By noon there were about about 500 quilts ready to be given to half a dozen local organizations. Some were simple quilts made from two pieces of fabric surrounding a piece of batting. Others were complex pieced quilts that probably took many many hours to complete. Participants ranged from young girls to great-grandmothers, from people who had never quilted before to those who can quilt in their sleep. The organizations represented included local quilt guilds and many churches. There was even a group of Hindu women participating!

The neatest thing was that as quilts were completed they were draped over the seats in the assembly hall. What a wonderful site! Here is a link to a blog talking about this year's Bee and pictures of last year's. One question came up among some of the women. What if you did not agree with the organization that was getting the quilts? My response is that I am not supporting the organization but the people that get the quilts.

If your area has a similar function, please make some time to participate. You will have a great time, meet new people and come away with a real sense of inclusion in a good cause.

Meet Kelis

This blog has primarily concentrated on Alex and his antics so today I have decided to introduce you to the little Queen of our pack - Kelis.

Kelis is the biological sister of Kemora and her fur is classic Dachshund black with red accents. At just under ten pounds she is a real light weight. She is very, very smart and tries every trick in the book to avoid doing what is required by the humans in her life. Her favorite is to roll on her back and show her tummy for a rub. She knows its a long way down to her and hopes I won't force the issue. I love the way she demands attention from me by jumping up on my chest when I am sitting somewhere and sticking her nose in my face until I give her the attention she wants. She eats like a real lady ... slowly and with small bites. That means that I always feed her first in the feeding rotation hoping she might scomplete her bowl of food before Alex comes looking for more. It rarely happens but I try.

She has had a few physical problems. When she went to get spayed she was missing most of the usual female equipment and what she had was deformed. It was tested for cancer and was cleared but it made for a few anxious days. It means that her scar from the incision is longer and more noticeable than Kemora's. She also has a spot on her right hip where one of her hip muscles has been destroyed and the skin has no fur. Its not that noticable but it definitely means that she will not be entering any dog shows.

Kelis, while Queen of my backyard, can be terrified by new situations or when she is not in control. Once, when I took all of them to get their nails clipped she slipped her collar, bolted for the door and ended up peeing all over the tech in fear. When we are on our walks she barks furiously at anyone we meet while backing up behind me. Other dogs and humans terrify her ... even those who she has met before. My next door neighbor, Joe, has to win her affection every time we meet up with him. Even then she is pretty standoffish.

Her favorite place to sleep is on top of Kemora or squeezed between me and the back of the couch if I am taking a nap. She is always the first one to notice that something is going on at the back of the house and leads the dash to bark at whatever is intruding into her domain... a squirrel, the meter reader, someone walking by outside the fence, a bird flying by. She will sometimes stand in the yard, four paws planted, tail in the air and just assertively bark to let the neighborhood know that this is her place and to stay out!

ASG Conference 2008 - Part 2

To continue from the previous post...

Saturday lunch was a wonderful sit down meal and the winners of the Creativity Contest were presented. Every year ASG and Simplicity choose several Simplicity patterns and challenge ASG members to use these patterns as the basis for a special garment or even a whole wardrobe. I must admit that the criteria for winning this contest are completely opaque to me. What makes a grand prize winning garment 'better' than the runners-up garments was not apparent to me from the runway show. I know several individuals that have entered garments that seemed to be very creative and wonderfully constructed but never made it to the final judging stage. For a look at last year's winners, click here. The winners from this year have not been posted as yet. One amusing thing that happened was that our chapter's past president had created a beautiful white outfit from this year's patterns. She then proceeded to spill and drop every thing that could stain on it during lunch. Maybe not amusing to her, but I certainly enjoyed the fact that I was not the one with chocolate sauce up my sleeve... as per usual!

After a short nap, I next went to a lecture/trunk show by Mary Ray on matching fabrics to a design. I love her work and have taken a class with her on making a vest using her rectangle vest pattern. I always have trouble taking a fabric and finding the perfect design for it or visa versa. The room was packed and I think we all came away with some ideas how to do this match better in future. Basically it all comes to drape and weight and I will try to do better next time. The evening was devoted to a gala dinner with everyone dressed to the nines. Patti Palmer was inducted into the ASG Sewing Hall of Fame and Deon Maas, the creator of the anti-ouch pouch, received a special gold star award. The final count of pouches made has not been disclosed but an estimate I heard put the minimum at 5,000.

Sunday was a completely different day for me. I got up so late that I never even made it to the buffet breakfast. I went directly to a class on creating a handbag with some lovely embroidery on it. The class was basically a commercial for the new Viking embroidery machines. The machines are fabulous and have a ton of built-in stitches. One good thing about the organization of this class was that the instructor gave everyone a small packet of different fabrics so we could try out the machine before beginning, and possibly destroying, the project. The bad thing about the class is that only five of the machines were set-up for embroidery. This meant that only five people could embroider at a time while the rest of the class moved on to other construction steps, or strived to catch-up. By the time I got my embroidery done I realized that the materials needed to construct the handle had run out. I packed up at that point and brought the whole thing home to finish here. These machines practically walk, talk and do the dishes and if you have a spare seven grand or so, it would be worth a look.

Lunch on Sunday was basically a farewell meal. We were treated to some wonderful information about next year's venue - Albequerque, New Mexico - and 2010's location - Altanta, Georgia - was announced. I am looking forward to next year as Albequerque is apparently within driving distance from here. I envision a caravan of cans, vans and SUVs driving from here to there carrying many well dressed women and the reverse a few days later with many sleeping ladies and tons of new sewing supplies... especially fabric!

Sunday afternoon I got to play with Lyla Messinger and create a necklace out of an expensive zipper and a large bead. Isn't it great!

I wore it home on the plane and it didn't set off the metal detector. Being a very cheap soul I wonder if you could use metal dyes and a regular metallic separating zipper? The possibilities are endless.

The rest of my stay in Chicago was pretty unstructured. I walked down the road from the hotel until I found a fast food place for dinner on Sunday. Monday morning I availed myself of the wonderfully expensive breakfast buffet in the hotel dining room. By the time I made it back downtown for some well deserved museum hopping, I realised I could not do justice to any of them so I spent a couple of hours in the Millenium Park. This is a wonderful resource for the whole city and I love the concept of cutting edge public constructions in the middle of Chicago's lakeshore. Here are a couple of examples:

And why are little boy's shorts so long on them?

By the time I made it home on Monday night I was thoroughly exhausted and my lungs had decided that they hated Houston allergens even more than Chicago allergens. I went to the doctor today and, after a scolding, she prescribed massive amounts of drugs to get everyhting under control. I think I got off lucky as she was pleased as punch with the navy silk fabric I brought her from Vogue Fabrics. Must remember that for the next time I want drugs from her.

If you have the opportunity to go an ASG conference or other crafty guild annual event, please try to go. I was inspired by some of the wonderful garments I saw that were for every day wear and not just for grand events. The other attendees were fascinating and I made an effort to sit with different people at every meal. Do try to go healthy so you can really enjoy yourself, but even ill I had a really good time.

On a final note, I really want to go back to Chicago and find a certain second hand store open for business so I can get this chair and its twin. Wishful thinking... maybe, but I could squeeze in another visit to Vogue Fabrcs to make the trip really worthwhile... now for the planning wheels to start turning......

ASG Conference 2008 - Part 1

The conference this year was in Chicago and was probably one of the best ever. I got into very few of my first choice classes but that did not stop me from enjoying those classes I did get to attend. The conference started Thursday evenng with the opening of the vendor area. After a full day poking around Chicago I was unprepared to spend much time fighting the crowd to really see what was being offered. There is always an elcelctic mix of vendors, from the Toronto based Wool House to a small booth for Melissa Brown's 'Fitting it all Together' Newsletter. I lasted about 10 minutes but others spent the whole two hour preview time shopping until they dropped. I did hear that there was some excitement at Louise Cutting's booth of wonderful fabrics when a couple of shoppers argued over who would get a particular piece of fabric. Chill pills were distributed and shopping continued uninterupted.

The next day the real business of the conference began. One thing about ASG, the food is usually fabulous and is included in the price of admission. Friday morning's breakfast included presentations for things like Chapter and Member of the Year. I missed most of the presentations as I slept in a little but I heard that niether the Houston Chapter nor its members received awards. My first class was with Melissa Brown on 'Embellishments to Flatter Your Figure". I left class early as it didn't seem that she was saying anything more than 'don't put bullseyes on your boobs'. I was still recovering from a bad bout of allergies so that may have colored my view a little. Tammy O'Connell taught my next class. It was called 'Leather Logic' and we spent most of the time learning about natural and synthetic leathers and their uses. We also made a little suede flower just to get a little feel of working with suede. I first ran across Tammy at the International Quilt Festival a few years ago and I was amazed how her business has grown. Lunch included a speech by Patti Palmer as the Keynote Address. It seemd like it was one big advertisement for her work and her daughter's new venture. I bailed on this one as well so I could take a little nap.

After lunch I attended a lecture/trunk show by Linda Macphee of the Macphee Workshop. I love Linda and have followed her for about 15 years. Unfortunately, most of what she showed and talked about I have seen and heard before so the whole thing sounded like one big commercial for her products. Also, although Linda does have a loud voice, I became exhausted just trying to hear her asides to other members of the audience. Note to self: the next time a teacher rejects a mic, bail immeadiately before your head bursts from straining to catch every word. Dinner was on our own and the day ended with the member style show. Several Houston Chapter members showed some terrific garments. I left a little early as I couldn't calm my cough but I understand that all the garments were photographed. When they get posted I will direct you to some of the best garments.

Saturday began with a wonderful breakfast buffet and I pigged out on eggs, bacon, home fries and croissants.YUM! My first class that morning was with Marla Kazell. The title of the talk was 'Fabric Collage Jacket' and I have no memory of it. I must have been dozing after that huge breakfast. The next lecture was by Londa Rolfing on Design Principles. I loved this class as she presented a lot of information we should know in an entertaining and insightful manner. We had a professional make-up artist in the audience who added a lot of good information as well. One tidbit I remember is that you can't go wrong wearing a garment that matches your original hair color ... who knew! Most of her garments use sweatshirts as the base for incredible embellishment and they all should be in my closet!

Well, that's all for now. Tomorrow I will try to sum up the rest of the conference.

Stay tuned!

Vogue Fabrics

While in Chicago it is mandatory that sewers visit Vogue Fabrics in Evanston. I made the trecl there by train/subway the other day and the destination was well worth the trip. I approached Vogue along Main Street and was disappointed to see that it had a brand spanking new red brick facade. My heartsunk a little as I thought the outside represented a modern chrome and plastic interior. I was happy to see that as soon a I stepped in that there were some folding chairs by the front door, the floors creaked and the building was way bigger on the inside than on the outside. There were literally four different, large rooms of fabric and notions, more than enough for even the most inexperienced sewer to find fabric for a project.

I picked up five different pieces of fabric plus some discounted varigated embroidery thread (at $2.00 a spool) and pre-packaged woven ribbons (on sale for ten packages for $2.00). I even know what I will do with most of my purchases.





This navy blue peice is for my doctor. It is navy silk with a bunch of medical stuff printed on it. Might make a good scarf.











This piece is a stretch cotton twill that I think will make a great puzzle blouse as the stretch will be enhanced by the bias cut of the blouse.
















This piece is a large tropical print of unknown content that I think was originally meant for curtains. I really don't know what to do with it but I love the lushness of the design.

















This piece is a heavy weight canvas. I love the cartoonish print. I think I will need to use my dye pens on it before it goes into a great tote bag or other application that needs a strong fabric. Green eyes, red hair? There are lots of possbilities.














Not pictured is a four yard piece of some light weight pink striped cotton that I need for a night gown I have been planning for many years.

This is a must see destination if your are in the Chicago area. The staff really knows its stuff and were very attentve to my needs. Some of my collegues took a taxi to Vogue and it cost $45.00 each way. I think taking the train is a better option. I got to stop off at Dinkel's Bakery and Willie and Slim's pet store on Lincoln. Afterwards I went to International Bead and Novelty in a downtown office building with stock, I am sure, that was in their original 1918 inventory as well as more recent acquisitions. Their prices were excellent and I could have stayed all day poking into the old stocking boxes for unique beads and findings.



Another place I went to was Gino's East. I had read about their wonderful deep dish pizza but was thoroughly disappointed. Many of you know that I allergic to tomatoes but I was willing to put up with significant intestinal distress for legendary pizza. The presentation looked good but the sauce was tasteless crushed tomotoes straight out of a can... at least it tasted that way to me. I ate a quarter of the small size and intended to bring the balance back with me to the hotel. I ditched it in a garbage can outside the subway station as it was becoming too irritating to carry any longer.

Except for this misstep, my time exploring Chicago has been well spent. I need to make it to the Art Institue to pay tribute to the Thorne miniatures, a favorite with me for many years. Even if I miss this stop I wll still be well satisfied with this trip.

Next up - The ASG annual conference.

Why I Hate Flying

I used to love to fly. I would dress in a special outfit, sometimes especially purchased just for flying. You could have friends come rght to the gate with you and it was not unusual to go to the airport just to watch the planes take off while sipping a beverage in the airport bar. While taking off and landing stewardesses would pass out chewing gum so passengers could chew it and relieve the pressure on their ears. Meals required the use of a knife and fork and desert came separately. It was a special time

Times have really changed. Now, you practically need to strip down to your skivvies to get to the gate. Loud mouthed TSA employees order you to do incomprehensible things like separate your laptop from your briefcase or to remove your shoes for the x-ray machine. A couple of times ago I was instructed to remove a fleece jacket because it had a zipper... the zipper was plastic but the TSA guy insisted so the whole world got to see the coffee I had thrown down my front that morning. My last trip started with a three hour delay in taking off. Fortunately the international lounge had seats you could actually stretch out on for a nap.

The flights are fuller and the seats are closer together - both trends are applauded by the airline industry as money making ideas. A glass of ice with a drop of soda is a standard beverage service. If you want more you have to bring it on board with you... however, youcan only buy it within the security cordon and not from home. Pilots have been neglecting to turn off the seal belt sign so the beverage service will not be interrupted. Great if you have a huge bladder, not if you don't. And what's the deal with turning off phones and other electronic devices? There has never been an incident where a consumer electronic has interferred with the safe operation of an airplane.

The recent changes in the baggage rules are just about the worst idea yet. A friends always travels with two mid-size bags as she is too small to haul one big bag. Now she will need to either pay an additional fee to check both bags or figure out how to get the second bag into an overhead compartment with is about a foot above her reach. I much prefer to check as much as I can so this change is a real pain to me... with bursitis in both shoulders I really do mean pain!

What to do?

I know one family that has stopped flying entirely. They have two young sons and although the boys love flying , they both freaked out over the security screening the last time they flew. They are planning cruises from a local port or a motorhome vacation as alternatives. I can't stop flying unless I want to spent days on the road each time I go to visit Dad. I may be spacing out my trips so I have less time opportunity to encounter either TSA or all the new airline rules.

Just when I wanted to stop being a home body!

Before You Travel

I am away on a trip and have discovered that most of us have various rituals that we go through before we head out on a long trip. Some people close all the curtains and blinds so that the bad guys can't see into their homes. Others set up timers for the lights or take in the potted plants or cancel the newspapers or put the mail on hold at the post office or put the animals in a kennel on other house keeping tasks. Many of us do most of these things but I have also discovered that some of us have more off-beat rituals. Here are several I have heard about during this trip.

One person gives her kids an updated lisiting of where all all her assets are located ... just in case something does wrong. This seems like a good idea except that the location of my assets hasn't changed in many, many months. Maybe when I become a big investor in the stock market I will need to update that listing from years ago, until then Paul will have to wing it.

Another disposes of all old magazines and newspapers. This is to reduce the amount of stuff she will need to go through when she gets home as it all be new to the house. I should try this as I hate the amount of paper clutter I have in the house.

Another puts clean sheets on the bed so she will come home to a clean bed. I myself, have tried to do this for many years as I do love fresh clean sheets at night. I also clean all the dishes and laundry so I do not have to face these tasks when I get home.

I have a habit that I have had since I moved to Texas. The water here is so very full of mineral content that standing water left in the toilets will grow mold at the drop of a hat. I try to clean all the toilets before I leave home for any length of time and hope that no mold will grow in them while I am gone. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.

Do you do anything special before you leave home for a while?

A Glorious Fourth

It truly is a Glorious fourth around here - It rained for most of the day and the puppies and I spent most of the day watching movies, napping and planning a run to the grocery store. My allergies have been killing me so a lazy day at home was a relief. I did have a lot of plans to be productive but being draped in puppies fells better.

I hope your Foruth was dry and ended with wonderful fireworks.

I promise I will get back to showing you what I've been doing soon... actually, once I stop sneezing and coughing!

Oh Canada!

Today is Canada Day and I hope all my Canadaian friends are having a good time today. I was up there last week and the news was full of odd patriotic angst.

For instance - Bracebridge, a small city, has Canadian flags on many of its bridges. The flags are hung horizonitally and contained within stainless steel frames. Apparently this has been going on for years but now someone has decided that this evidence of patriotism is illegal. The rules on displaying the flag say that it must be hung from a flag pole and not on bridges or from light standards. There were lots of references to the way Americans display the flag and how the rules are very strict. No where in the debate did anyone say that it was a good thing to display the flag as long as it is done with respect.

And...

On the radio one commentator said that hearing the national anthem made him 'all tingly'. Heck, almost every national anthem makes me a little tingly. The folks calling in on the show thought he was a little weird so I guess I'm a lot weird.

And..

Some people were writing letters to the editor because they wanted Canada Day to be celebrated on a long weekend every year. Makes no sense to me but for some reason the writers thought that Independence Day was set up for a long weekend every year. Does anyone have a calendar up there?

How to reconcile these three separate incidents is impossible but I felt I was at home. Canadian wackiness is a lot like American wackiness and I love it all.

Happy Canada Day... even if its on a Tuesday!