A Boring Blog

Sorry, no quilts this time.  It's difficult to blog about something interesting on a regular basis. Or whip up something fun to show you.  You've all seen enough of my Dear Jane blocks, I'm sure.  Still plugging away. So, I fear that my blogging has become a little boring lately. I'm hardly a quilting jet setter, ha ha. Jennifer M. made me feel good recently when she mentioned that she likes to read my blog anyway - even if all I write about is walking my dog! Now there's a fan for you . . . . The question then becomes -  Is a boring blog better than no blog?   I'm not sure.

Well,  this one is for Jennifer and all the rest of you out there who love me even if I'm boring to tears at times.

 More photos of a nice peaceful walk I took at yet another conservation area -

 Bird Girl by Sylvia Shaw Judson

Stumbled upon two log cabins in the woods

A few weeks ago, on a cloudy day, I walked around Lake Geneva, Wisconsin.

That's all for now, folks.

Maple Leaf Redux

I posted a pattern for a Maple Leaf  block here a few years ago. Since a couple of you asked about the pattern again after seeing my blocks in the previous post, here it is - Maple Leaf block. The pieces go together pretty quickly and if you have some time coming up this weekend you might have fun making a few. It's an easy block and if you don't like scrappy then make it matchy in your favorite fall colors. I really enjoy making them scrappy and have lots more pieces cut from my scraps that are all ready to go. But I have enough blocks that I made a few years ago so I can also easily stitch some of them together.

Every time the weather gets a little cool I bring them out and get inspired again. 

There was even a maple leaf block swap in my small quilt group, not once but twice, so everyone got a pretty nice assortment.  I made several small quilts and gave them to friends.

"Even if something is left undone, everyone must take time to sit still and watch the leaves turn."

~ Elizabeth Lawrence

Or, just take time to sit still and sew up a few leaves . . . 

Clean Your Sewing Machine

Whenever I teach, I'm often amazed at the number of quilters who have trouble with the sewing machines they bring to class, right before they start to sew. Skipped stitches, thread breakage, tension problems, etc. It's always difficult to watch some of them become frustrated and struggle with their machine during class when all they really want to do is sew and get on with what everyone else in the class is doing. I cannot always stop the class so they can clean their machine and get it going before we go on to the next step. Do yourself, your teacher and your machine a favor. If you're thinking of taking a class, here are a few things you can do beforehand to make your experience pleasant and productive, not frustrating. This also goes for everyone else in general who sews, not just class takers. These things should be done on a regular basis if you quilt at all.

Number 1 - CHANGE YOUR NEEDLE. It matters, so do it often. Dull, bent or broken needles can definitely affect your sewing. If you sew frequently, then your needle goes in and out of the fabric thousands of times. I was originally taught to use an 80/12 needle, but now I go with a 75/11 or 70/10 needle. Try a finer needle. You may find that it makes your piecing much easier and your blocks will look better, particularly if you make small quilts. Some quilters go by the rule of changing the needle every time they begin a new project. That's not always practical if you're mostly making small quilts but it's still good advice to do it often.

Number 2 - Try a different thread. I can't remember now but I am grateful to the person in one of my classes many years ago who told me about using Aurifil 50 wt cotton thread. It's wonderful - thin but strong and takes up less space in the seams (so your seams lie flatter). I like a nice neutral tan for sewing with both light and dark fabrics.

Number 3 - Do your machine another big favor - take that little brush that came with it and clean out the bobbin casing and all around and underneath the plate or anywhere else you see lint. Do this often and your machine will thank you. I take off the plate and clean out the lint from around the bobbin case every time I change my bobbin. Every single time. I'm not lying. It takes me about 5-10 minutes tops and is so worth it. Before this became a habit, I would start to notice problems when I forgot so now I take the time and do it automatically when I put in a fresh bobbin. And I'm still always amazed at all the crap that accumulates in there even though I do it so often. (Tweezers help get the big clumps).

Although Aurifil thread generates much less lint you will still get lint from working with certain fabrics or batting. One time I noticed a student was having a lot of problems with her machine before class so I suggested that she clean her bobbin case to see if that made a difference. Oh my Lord - I wish I had taken a picture. It was so full of thick, smashed down lint that the bobbin could barely move. So, if you haven't looked in there and cleaned it in awhile, be brave - go clean out your bobbin case. Now.  (If it looks really bad, take a picture for me!)

Oh, and make sure to keep your sewing machine manual handy in case you forget how it put it all back together! 

Don't be a chicken. Just do it.

Once you've done these things, especially if it's been awhile, you'll be amazed at how much better your machine runs. Try it and tell me what happens. I'll bet sewing will be a breeze after that and you won't have to waste your precious time fussing with a machine that's crying out for some TLC. You'll have more time to make pretty things!

Worn Out and Loved

That title could describe me to a T but I'm talking about quilts, hah! Don't you love old things? (Again, I could be talking about myself; I just had another birthday!) I could not resist buying this old tattered-on-the-edges crib quilt recently, mostly because it has simple pink and brown nine patches and a pale blue striped backing.  It's very worn out and appears well loved. I'm going to reproduce it in newer fabrics.

The little bird dish was a birthday gift from my daughter. She knows me well. We had a good time during dinner deciding what it should hold after I put it on my sewing desk. Pins? Buttons? Chapstick? Sunflower seeds? M&Ms? Chicken bones? (I was eating chicken.) 

I don't buy a lot of antique quilts because they just cost too much around here but there are some I can't let get away. Sometimes they're raggedy but who cares? It's always the well worn and also well loved look that gets me.

The crib quilt I bought sort of reminds me of the pink and brown quilt I made for my daughter. It's held up well and is getting that faded look because it gets washed a lot. That tiny bit of nail polish hasn't come out.

Another well worn quilt I keep on her bed.

Faded indigo always gets me too.

Doll quilts that were obviously played with quite a bit.

When I reproduce that antique quilt I will probably use some of the same types of prints that I used in my pink and brown shoo fly doll quilt. It's actually more like me - not quite worn out yet and certainly well loved. 

Walking My Dog

I meet the strangest people, um lizards,  when I walk my dog.

The day started out nicely enough when I decided to take a short drive to a local conservation area to check out the savanna and get some exercise. I was all excited - Hey, a savanna, and they allow dogs! Who knew what glorious adventures awaited us. "You up for an adventure?" I asked. She seemed pumped. And eager to get there.

DOG is my Co-pilot. (She keeps her eyes on the road for me if I have to send a text . . . JUST KIDDING! I'm not stupid. )

It turned out to be a very quiet, beautiful place to take a walk. 

This particular area contains "600 precious acres of tallgrass savanna, a rare ecosystem. The preserve also includes wetlands, woodlands, prairie and open field ecosystems offering a variety of habitats that attract a diverse bird population." Yeah, birds. No mention of exotic lizards. But they have a Wildlife Discovery Center there too and I guess the "Wildlife" gets antsy if they can't walk around a little now and then.

She can sense something's coming.

This thing was HUGE. Five feet long.

Ugly as sin, too.

At least it was on a leash. But I'm telling you, the thing scared the heck out of me. Upon further inquiry it was determined that this was not your ordinary large lizard - No, it was a celebrity lizard! Imagine! An Asian water monitor generously donated by actor Nicolas Cage. Poor Nick had to travel a little too often for work and  was not able to take proper care of his beloved pet.  So he dumped it here to be with us devoted dog walkers. 

After I got home I looked up Asian water monitors:

"Captive juvenile water monitors will do well on a diet that consists of fish, frogs and an occasional newborn rodent. As adults, water monitor diets can include more rodents and other small mammals, insects, mollusks and fish."  

And what about little black poodles?? Huh? Do they eat them too?  Tomorrow I think we'll stick to the park.

                                         

Let Your Creativity Take Over

Have you ever created a design for a quilt or made a certain plan for one and then after you played around with fabrics and settings it turned into something completely different?  This happens to me all the time and I'm guessing I'm not alone. It truly does seem like the quilts always take on a life of their own and turn out the way they want to, not necessarily the way I plan them. What looks good on paper or in my head doesn't always work when I begin to sew the pieces together. This is one of the things I really love about quilting: if you trust your instincts and let your creativity speak to you, you'll almost always be pleasantly surprised at what you can make. 

Using prints that don't match made this simple block a little more interesting. Worked in the rest of the quilt too - I opted for mismatching the setting squares and triangles.

I never know how a quilt will turn out when I begin and I've been known to start over from scratch if I take the wrong road and ignore my instincts (much easier to do if you're making small quilts!)

This month my small quilt groups (Yes! There are 2 groups - Yahoo and Facebook. Take your pick. ) are making small quilts with Double Pinwheel blocks for the September challenge.          

I thought this would be a perfect project to display for fall and since I do not have many quilts in this color range it seemed like a nice challenge for me to work on something a little different. I designed it in nice, warm colors. It looked cute on paper. I poked through all of my brown and green and rust prints and tried to put something together. Here's what I came up with -

Yep. Sorry to disapoint. I really tried. But, no -  this quilt of mine does not not want to be made in fall colors. Indigo kept leaping up out of the scrap box and mixing it up with my pink prints. I guess my mind (or the quilt) was telling me something . . . . Stick with what you like and the creativity will surely follow.  If you're making one of these this month, don't listen to me - make it your own way. Hope I can stay on track and finish this one.  I think it'll be cute. 

Tumbling Blocks

One of the most "antiquey" looking quilts I've ever made is the little Tumbling Blocks quilt from my book Remembering Adelia. Remember this one?  Anyone made it? Why not? It's easier than it looks. 

This little quilt was inspired by a large Tumbling Blocks quilt made in the 19th century by President Calvin Coolidge when he was about ten. I saw a photo of that quilt in a magazine and knew I wanted to make a little one for myself. If you've been itching to make a tumbling blocks quilt yourself, this is a good one to try because it's small and easy. It's really a lot of fun and a good way to use up your scraps.

I've hand pieced and hand quilted THREE of these if you can believe it. Not because I was crazy but because I was sending trunk shows to various shops around the country at the time so they could display them and promote the book for me. Sure, it took a little time but they were fun to make and if you haven't hand pieced a quilt yet, try making a little tumbling blocks quilt by hand. It's not as hard as it looks. Remember, I've made three so it can't be that bad.

The instructions in the book are very clear cut and simple. If you prefer to do it on your own, without a pattern, cut diamond shapes from 2-inch scrap strips, lining them up with a 60-degree diamond ruler. There's a pattern for a template included in the book.

Because the blocks are small, it was easier for me to sew the "Y" seams, or set-in seams, by hand. but you can certainly do it on your machine.
                                               


If I were going to make another one someday I think I'd like try English paper piecing the blocks.

If you don't feel like making your own, here's a link to buy this antique quilt that's remarkably similar -

                                    


                                          

LLBean used to sell one.

I wonder if Adelia or her daughter ever made a tumbling blocks quilt?