RATTLE and WARM ready for snail-mail

still getting the hand of the letter thing. no matter what i intend the words end up bigger than planned. hmmmm pratice practice practice

my son stole my Mother's Day cat!

She was supposed to be my belated Mother's Day present (I got a new potty on Mother's Day, not a good present). A beautiful Russian Blue, just like Commi (Jim's cat) for me. Her name is Izzy, a rescue cat with 3 legs, and is kind of compact like me...but who does she choose to love and bond with? My rotten 17 year old man-child who insists on calling her Tri-Pod. She does love fabric though, so maybe there's hope for a somewhat meaningful relationship when he goes away to college.
Kitty Update:
Matt still calling her Tri-pod, but he's sleeping through most of the summer so I'll have more time to make her name stick and Tri-Pod will disappear. Commi has been trying to introduce himself, but she is very shy, playing hard to get. But they did spend a 1/2 hour together in the bay window watching birds. Funny Commi hasn't been in the bay window for months now. Amazing how a new friend can make the same ole' thing look brand new.

connecting threads

My wonderful husband and I were discussing the value of Facebook and other networking sites. First let me say that my husband is a very simple guy, straight forward, believing that everything must have a very specific purpose (which makes understanding my wish to just "have" a beautiful fabric nearly impossible). The idea of a virtual social network where you can learn and discover things through someone named LazyGal, for instance, just doesn't make since to him.
I tried to explain how I had been able to see the quilting artistry of people from all over the globe from my computer screen simply by following the trail left by other quilters. My set of links for these quilters are a creative life-line for me, a chance to see what others are creating without stepping foot in a quilt shop or buying a single quilt magazine... which is absolutely necessary since I can't spend money right now. I think that part got my husband's attention the most.
I am really greatful for this daily quilt show that comes into my home each day. I'm thankful for kitty updates from Tonya, for amazing images from France on wordless Wednesday, for a taste of delicious batiks courtesy of Wanda. I am inspired, encouraged, challenged and amazed by all those gracious enough to share their talent and the art that it makes possible.
Thank you so much!

for better or worse it's done

I took these outside at the church, only to realize that freshly mown grass sticks as well as that inch coat of yellow pixie dust we in the deep south refer to as pollen.

golly-be! I used to like doing binding

I am finishing the binding on my little country spider web quit and I am so disappointed in the finishing. I have never done a binding with inverted points before. Got the whole 60 degree corners fine, but those insides are murder. Will post pics later.

taking a break with some hand piecing

I'm a little wonkied out, and needed some structure. Besides, I have been under the weather, so I have been doing some hand-piecing. It's a little odd that I find hand quilting painfully slow, yet I find hand piecing sort of relaxing (in small amounts).
These are some blocks I did from a pattern I saw called "Wee Spin". The strips are 2.5 inch, so it's perfect to do with jelly rolls. It's a strip piecing project that uses a 60 degree ruler to cut out the wedges. Very easy, especially when you consider that there are really no points to match, as long as your blocks are the same size.

so nice

I have been so overwhelmed by all of the kind people who have posted...just wanted to say "thank you" and take the opportunity to post another Commi pic. He is rather camera-shy, and would rather be loved in person. He slid into the spare bedroom where I sometimes lay-out my "to be quilted soon" projects. Apparently he approves of this newest baby quilt. Here's hoping it gets finished before the little girl is in pre-K.

quilt history

Christmas 1998

made for my son who would rather sleep with a cheap asian made quilt 2004

old, old, old still cross-stitching that's how old maybe 1993

one of my favorites...hand-pieced, but got lazy and machine quilted it...everyone say "arghhh" 2002

not sure how I got the border to come out right back in those days 1992

Someone asked me to post images of my quilts in my log cabin...does lack of house cleaning equal rustic charm? Except for the Christmas one, all of them came out of my head, a scary place to be but not a bad place to visit. Sorry they are old quilts, my newer ones have all been given away. My mother-in-law has many, probably 15 or so. If she wasn't so wonderful I'd have her give them back. lol

subdivision looking for an "entrance sign"

OK, so the body of my neighborhood is done. It's amazing that everytime I went upstairs (I live in a log cabin and sew in my loft) I would say, "just two more houses." It's almost complete, which is good since I get bored easily. I need some ideas on what to put around the outside border. I want wonky words, but each thing I think of doesn't seem to fit.
I was thinking of giving the quilt to a kindly man in his 70s who is the contractor on the new church addition we are building (I volunteerf ull-time as a media specialist and creative arts person for our church). He has been so wonderful about all the delays, just last week we threatened to bring shovels ourselves and start digging for the foundation. Anyway, I want to do something nice for him and the "construction" of houses I would build seemed perfect. Trouble is, it doesn't really look like a "guy" quilt...maybe I should just finish and keep this one and do another that's a little more masquline for him. What do you think? And what words do I put on the border?

lesson #1 in scrap quiltmaking

Making a scrap quilt is like throwing a large party, the more colorful participants you include in the whoop-de-doo, the less you have to worry about who's sitting next to who and the more time you can spend having a good time at the event.

playing with new friends

How many of us remember meeting someone new and joining in on their fun in progress? For me it was nearly impossible and made me a loner. I am no different today. But we all have to grow and change, even at 45...YIKES did I say that?

I have joined in with some ladies in a free-piecing challenge, no rulers, measuring, templates or special cuts. Just a pair of scissors and whack and stitch. The project is the sounds of Halloween, my sound "rattle". Here's the finished block, ready for the lead person to form into a quilt...ho-pefully, not sure if it's good enough. Remember there was no measuring, no applique, just guess and go.

Wonky houses

Like most quilters, my creations have changed over the years (remember when a 7 fabric log cabin was a stretch in imagination?), but I have recently been challenged to set aside my rulers and try a new free-form style of quilting...here are the results, along with a look at my "old" neighborhood.

more than a place for my cat to lay

there are some days when I believe tht no one enjoys the quilts I have made more than Commi, my fabulous Russian Blue feline, with what my son believes are marxist tendencies. Spread out blocks, fabric or a near finished piece of work and he is right there to investigate. I would like to think that he is appreciating the color, pattern and countless hours of decision making that goes into each quilt, but the truth is, it's just a comfortable place to grab some attention and some zzz's.