Lots o' Little Birds

I about died last week at work when I was flipping through the newest wholesale catalog for C & T Publishing.  It’s really true!  Who would have guessed that my Little Birds quilt from the Doll Quilt Swap would be an accepted contribution to this book coming out in May 2010?  Some of the other contributors include Mellie & Me, Bari J, Bird Brain Designs, and so many more.  I am filled with awe, excitement and a little bit of fear too.

A quick baby quilt

Here  is the first of my pledged-to-finish UFO’s for Jacquie’s Joy in the New Year Challenge.  A quick baby quilt from some Timeless Treasures fat quarters my boss gave me.

bunnies & bees & frogs & pigs, Oh My!

Just 5″ squares cut and sewn together. And some Kaffe Fassett Clover print for the backing.

Ribbit!

Done and ready to send to a friend for their recent addition to the family.  Now… onward to the next UFO.

Where the Red Chairs go for the winter*

Every so often I feel the need to cocoon and energize. I think I am an introvert by nature and need time alone to refocus, regroup and go forward. Know what I mean?  And that’s where I’ve been.  Spending more time inward. Living a little more slowly.  Unfortunately, the blogging side of life gets pushed to the back burner.   I am sorry.  I do appreciate your visits and comments!  Really, I do!

So, today I’m giving myself a gently kick in the tush to get back to blogging a little more regularly again.  It’s dawning on me that the holidays are just around the corner and I’m afraid that if I blink, they might pass me by.  And…  I pledged to finish 6 non-work related projects by the end of the year for Jacquie’s Joy in the New Year Challenge.  Time is running  out!  I’m amazed at some of the double digit UFO’s that others have pledged to finish. You are brave!  Brave, indeed.

The Neighbor Dogs

While the sun happened to be shining today, I spent some time taking photos of quilts in the back yard.  The entire time I was outside, the neighbor’s Great Dane, Bounder, kept barking at me. And it’s not just a tiny little bark. It’s a deep, echoing bark.  You’d think after all these years he’d recognize me! Nope, I’m a new wonder to greet each and every time.

And another random thought… does anyone know anything about computer monitor color calibration?  I got a new notebook computer a couple of months ago and am struggling with the color.  All the reds and oranges on my screen appear neon.  I’ve even purchased the Spyder3 Express to help color calibrate the monitor.  While the reds are a little less neon, they are still in the neon range.  I’ve been jumping between my computer and my hubby’s computer to compare. But that is getting old.  Any thoughts on the subject would be more than greatly appreciated!

*The red chairs have gone to the other side of the house for the winter – under the eaves where, hopefully, there will be more protection from the rain.  I heard on the news that for the month of November we have already gotten twice the amount of rain we normally get.  I’m not sure what that is saying about the winter ahead of us.  Hopefully it means that the skiing in the mountains will be good, but the streets in our neighborhood will be snow-free.

Coming in January 2010 from American Quilter’s Society. No need to spend your life savings on the first edition any more. I’m so excited!

Turkey Pumpkin Chili

That was one weird cold that I had last week.  The first few days acted like a cold and the last couple of days felt like I was recovering from the flu (no flu symptoms to speak of in between).  And I’m SO glad to be over that!  All that I accomplished last week was to knit about 15 inches on the back of my sweater vest and read the book “C is for Corpse” by Sue Grafton. The rest of the time I lied around on the sofa watching movies.  A friend turned me on to the Sue Grafton series and I diligently started out with “A is for Alibi”.

Pumpkin is creeping into everything around here!  I had some pumpkin left over in the fridge and decided to use it up in some Turkey Pumpkin Chili.  Loosely based on this recipe, doctoring up the spices a bit and adding black beans instead of kidney beans and chicken stock instead of water.  Use at your own risk.

UFO Challenge

And did you see that Jacquie is hosting a UFO Challenge?  Count how many UFO’s you have hiding in your closet and start out the New Year with as many as possible finished!  I hear she’s giving away some great prizes.

I’ve got to go see how many I actually want to count. And now that I’m feeling better, I am starting to get the urge to purge.  I definitely need to catch up this week and then…  who knows?  I think I’m going to take on the challenge so that there might be a little more Joy in the New Year in my sewing room.  How about you?

Tunic Vest with a Cable

Between intermittent downpours of rain outside and my sniffly nose cold inside, I think an afternoon of knitting and catching up on blogs might just be what the doctor would order.

Home Sweet Home

Thank you everyone for all your wonderful comments lately!!  I apologize for not responding to very many of them.  I have to admit, I haven’t much felt like being on the Internet, blogging, or even sitting at my computer.  I’m not sure what my problem is…  burnout?  Some kind of slump, for sure.  And I’m mourning the loss of our annual beach vacation. Maybe that has something to do with it?  Every year for the last 3 or 4 years, we have taken at least a long weekend, if not a few more days, and hung out at the beach.  We sleep in late, schlep around in our pajamas until we feel  like getting dress, eat only what we want when we want, read, knit, nap, and generally give ourselves some time to be completely, guilt-free lazy.  Well, we just couldn’t fit it in this year.  Here are some photos and a post from previous years.

Placemats for Natalie

The dogwood in the front of our house was in peak autumn glory over the weekend.  And I sent off these spiderweb placemats to Natalie for the Placemat Swap.  Just soaking up the autumn color before it’s all gone.

Birthday Books

I know I’m a wee bit late in acquiring these books. But I got to use some Birthday Bucks to buy some books!

Inside Kaffe Fassett’s Quilt Romance is an article on Kim McLean that I found really interesting.  She says, “I think I am a person of contrasts. Whilst strong vibrant colours appeal to me in artistic designs, my home environment is calm and sedate.” She goes on to say that her home in Sydney is rather neutral and her home by the beach is white.  She likes to dress in sedate colors navy, black and white. And she is a clean freak yet her hobbies generally produce a lot of clutter.

For some reason I found that completely fascinating. Maybe because I know many people who believe that an artist’s home is a messy home or a messy desk is the sign of a brilliant mind. Or maybe I have some strange expectation that what people do or make is reflected in how they live or who they are.  Colorful art = colorful homes & colorful clothing.  Obviously this isn’t always the case.

I have to admit that I dislike clutter in my home.  Not that our home is completely clutter free, but that when it starts to get cluttered I find it hard to think.  And some days I like colorful homes. Other days I’m really drawn to the cool, calm white of the shabby chic or Scandinavian designs.

What do you think?  Clean or clutter?  Bright or sedate?  I’m curious. Everyone is different.

A little peek

And… just because a picture of some books is sort of boring, here is a sneak peek at the placemat I made for my partner in the Placemat Swap.  I can’t show the rest until it has been received. I hope she likes it!

Brilliant autumn color

seems to be infinitely better in the mountains.

Cool mountain air and warm color.

Orange leaves & blue sky.

Leavenworth Lederhosen

And polka bands.

Ah, autumn!

We found a wee bit of time for a much needed weekend get-away. Gary and I met his sister in Leavenworth for Oktoberfest.  The mountain pass air was crisp and the color on the hillside was amazing!  Bratwurst, pretzels and Bernese Mountain Dogs. Ah, autumn!

One of the earliest quilts I've made

Amy has pulled off another amazing Blogger’s Quilt Festival.  Go check out all the other quilts!  Thank you Amy!

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This is one of my earliest quilts. And this is the story about how I became addicted to quiltmaking.

In 1995 my husband wanted to move back to his home town to be closer to his family.  Near the end of the year, he accepted a job in Spokane, the other more brown and less green side of the state.  And so, between Christmas and New Year’s Day we packed up our apartment and moved all of our belongings.

Our new home was a HUGE one-bedroom apartment that was one of five in a large home built around the turn of the century.  Back in the day, the wealthy mining moguls built these huge houses that could no longer be maintained as a single family home when the mining industry waned.   In our apartment were two large walk-in closets and one small one.  The large walk-in closet in the living room became my sewing room.  I put my banquet table (which I still use today, but now painted white) in the closet and set up my sewing machine.  Up to this point I really only sewed clothing and home deco items.

From cozy flannel fabric

While Gary was at work, I was home alone and bored. I didn’t know my husband’s family very well and I had only one other friend who I had come to know through him.  We had been married only 2 1/2 years. Through a series of temporary jobs, I finally found a mornings only part-time job. In the afternoons I would sew.  Besides JoAnn Fabrics, there was a really nice quilt shop on the edge of town.  Eventually, I discovered that there were several quilting book authors living in Eastern Washington and they often taught classes at this quilt shop.  Watercolor quilts were really popular at the time and the authors of Watercolor Quilts were teaching a class. So I signed up.  Cool huh?

My best friend now owns the quilt I made in that class. I have only a  poorly lit photo. It was prior to the popularity of digital cameras.  (But I can visit it any time I want.)  That quilt led to another quilt which my sister-in-law now owns.  And then these really cool floral flannels were starting to be manufactured. Not just plaid flannel shirtings, but flannels with flowers!  And nice heavy flannel, not brushed cotton. Thick and heavy.  Perfect for a cozy quilt.

And easy 4-patch blocks

This pattern is from Marsha McCloskey’s book Quick Classic Quilts.  This was before I knew all about quilt math.  Before I really understood free-motion machine quilting.  Before I knew anything about Electric Quilt. And before Kaffe Fassett and Amy Butler and all those fabulous fabric designers that are now blazing the trail for new quilters today.  But I have to say, this is  probably the quilt most often used in our home. We have taken it on ski trips and to the beach. We’ve piled it along with other quilts on top of our bed when the power goes out. We have crawled under it in the dead of winter and watched sappy old movies on the sofa. It’s warm. It’s cozy.  And it’s seen us through the ups and downs of another 14 years of marriage since then.  Even though the fabrics of today have changed, I still love this quilt.

One of our most often used quilts

Well, Gary’s job lasted only a year and then we moved back to the Seattle area.  But that foundation of quilting has continued on in my life.  Three or four years after our move back, I started working in a local quilt shop, which led to a job in a different quilt shop, which led to my tiny little pattern company, which led to this blog. Who knew that one quilt class so long ago would take me down this road in my life!