Long and happy day...

There is so much to do, and so much did get done today.  I tested the Simplicity Five pattern and have a few changes to make - nothing drastic, but important never the less.  I redicovered how very important the scan 1/4" seam can be - here is the math!

Ugly piecing!!

If you sew a piece that is 2 1/4" to another piece that is 2 1/4" you should end up with a piece that is 4" wide.

So if you don't, you need to adjust your 1/4" seam and I discovered that my 1/4" seam needs to be nearer 3/16 to give me the result that I am needing.  I think part of that is that one of the fabrics is a Batik and there is no stretch.  So I have learned today that I need to re-evaluate my 1/4" seam with every block that I make as there are so many variables:

Thickness of sewing thread
Fabric variations
Sewing machine
How I feel! - sometimes I am just in too much of a hurry - slow down and take care!

So the first block that I made was about 1/4" too small to make a 10 1/2" square.  So I threw the square away, started again, measured all the seams as I put the block together and finally got a square that was 10 1/2".  And, hopefully, I can pass this information on to my students in class on Saturday, and they will be able to make a well constructed and beautiful quilt.

So, time for a glass of wine and a dip in the hot tub.  And the final thought for the day is this:

Yes - it's been hot (105F), but it's cheaper to wear almost no clothes than try to keep warm!  Bandit struggles with that, since his clothes are permanent.

The Quilter's Dog.

I just had to share my quilter's doggie with you all!  He spends all day in the studio with me and never complains.  He is 13 years old now, so he gets a lot of sleeping done during the long hours.  Just occasionally he notices that someone is here and barks, but for the most part he holds the floor down - someone has to.

So today he got an itchy nose:

Then he got tired, after all it's hard work scratching your nose:

So, it's been a hard day for Bandit - but he'll be as bright as a button after a good night's sleep.  Anyway, it's Wednesday, which means supper with friends and wine with my friend Roz.  Simplicity Five got written today and will be on the website tomorrow - Miss Moneypenny is in the studio and on my case bright and early in the morning.

So - since dogs are a man's best friend, my friend and I are going out to play for a while!  The sun is shining and we are experiencing a rare lack of humidity for South Carolina in June (late June!).

A Huge Opportunity.

So - I entered a quilt in the Columbus, Ohio show and Roz entered 'Lofty'.  I was thrilled when my quilt came back and the critique stated that my Sitch in the Ditch was well executed.  Makes all those hours of work worthwhile!  Didn't win a prize, but just to be hanging there is a real honor.

So Roz called today to tell me about the critique for 'Lofty'.  And it was interesting - areas to improve on, quilting has good movement and well executed - very positive.  So all that was imformative, but the really exciting bits were the final points:

Held for Special Award:  Color

Held for Special Award:  Best Machine Quilting

OK - we didn't get either award, but to be held for consideration in a National quilt show - oh boy!!!!!  That is about as good as it gets until we finally win the awards.

So it's time to tub and reflect on the day.  I did a whole day of stitch in the ditch on a custom quilt - and I did it with much more focus and joy than usual since it was noticed and I feel so much better about the time I spend doing it if it is well judged in a show. 

The point is that the most expensive part of quilting a quilt should never be seen, but it adds so much to the quilt that it should never be skipped.

Good Night and remember.....

dogs apparently need to be fed on a regular basis!

Productive Day

Finished a custom quilt on Nora and I am looking forward to loading a different quilt on her tomorrow.  It's always nice to get a custom finished - I have been looking at it for a few days, so to see it completed and ready to go home is fantastic!  And I get to play with another one - new ideas needed and challenges to be met.

So it's time for the hot tub.  Tomorrow I want to work on the Hoffman Challenge quilts - since I entered two last year and got one to go travelling, I have to aim for two travellers this year (and why not - a prize would be good!).  If you don't know about the Hoffman Challenge go to www.hoffmanchallenge.com and check it out - it runs every year and produces some really interesting quilts.

So - to the tub!

And remember, every new day is a new chance to do something special, so have a cup of tea and get going!

Just a quick good night....

I need to remember a very special man here tonight.  We had dreams and schemes and plans for the future.  We had been married for almost 19 years and had been very happy - not always perfect, but contented and together.  He was supposed to be so much a part of all this - the quilting, the designing and the future.  So - this is for John Barrett - you gave me a name and a life and you left this life too soon.  There are so many people in the world that knew you and miss you, the children that you have influenced, the work that you did and the life you gave me. 

RIP John Matthew Barrett.  5/9/51 - 4/18/2009.   Aren't they all gone too soon?

So never take love for granted - it's a blessing and a joy and it may not last as long as you think.

Ways to Improve a Hot Tub.

Having now become addicted to the hot tub, because it's the only way to end the day and mine has a very pretty blue light that shows up well in the dark, the only improvement I could think of for that basking, warm relaxation would be the ability to blog in the tub.  I think that the waterproof laptop, invented already I'm sure, will probably be out of my price range.  So I'll just have to lie back, sip wine and think of things to tell you about.

And there are lots of things to tell you about....

The website is looking fabulous.  We keep thinking of so many things to add to it that ideas are floating around all over the place - and getting the patterns on there is now our top priority.  Karma Simplicity Five is being written right now (well maybe not at this second, but it's a work in progress!) and is a Celtic Knot quilt.  My first ever quilt was a Celtic quilt because no-one told me that it was too difficult for a beginner - and that is probably my thought of the day for my personal assistant (Miss Moneypenny).  I will return to it at the end of this post! 

The class is at Pieces and Patches on June 30th and July 1st.  I am hoping to get much more of the sample done before then, but you can see from the picture that the knot square came out really well, and the pieced square is just gorgeous.  It is going to be a lovely quilt, and my head is racing with quilting ideas.  I want to get this out to a show before the end of the year.

Karma Simplicity Six is a Sampler quilt that will knock your socks off!  I will be working on putting it together in the next three weeks or so but this is what it looks like - so excited!

 

There is a lot more, but it really is time to get in the tub.  I played tennis tonight and my brain is wondering why I test my limits against a fuzzy yellow ball that is much smaller than I am, but my heart says 'kill the fuzzy yellow ball' and I have this feeling that the fuzzy yellow ball just won again.  But it's '''WIMBELDON'''  next week - two weeks of wall to wall tennis - I listen to a lot of tennis!! since I can't watch and quilt, but I can quote the commentators line by line, so I sound like an expert.

So these are the closing lines for Miss Moneypenny....

who told you that it was something a beginner couldn't do?

and who defined the beginner?

and I still believe that one day I will be a ballet dancer!

and don't keep junk food in the house if you don't want to eat it, because the midnight munchies will get you!!

Tomorrow will be bright and sunny, if not the weather then all the things that we can achieve - good night all!





The New Website - about a month!

I am busy today, editing and working on the new website.  Hopefully it will be up and running in about a month.

So, the mission of the new website, http://www.quiltersexpress.com/, is to provide new and exciting designs and patterns that have clear and detailed instructions, so that you can produce a well made quilt with confidence.  And in the coming months all sorts of tools, threads and stuff that you have to have will be added!

The first pattern in the 'Karma Collection' is 'Karma Simplicity' a elegant on-point design that uses only two fabrics.  The one pictured below I named 'Simply Sunshine' and is stunning in real life, the picture doesn't do it justice!  I am still finalizing the pattern, but as soon as I do, I will post it for you to download.  Once you have made 'Simplicity' you have the groundwork done for all the quilts in the Simplicity series, which consists of five quilt patterns, all based on the first pattern.

'Karma Simplicity Two' will be available on the website, and is a rail fence variation.  For those that are new to quilting, a rail fence pattern is strips of fabric sewn together, cut into squares, then arranged by twisting the blocks - hard to explain, but here is a picture to illustrate!



So, 'Simplicity Three' is in the planning stages, as are 'Simplicity Four' and 'Simplicity Five'.  Three is made using a paper piecing technique - I will post general directions for paper piecing in the next week or so.  Four is a 'Dresden Plate' pattern - I'll post a picture soon.  And Five will be the final pattern in the 'Simplicity' series and will be 'Celtic Quilting' - another new technique for you to learn!

So we have an interesting journey to set out on - I hope you will join me!