The obligatory cat picture.
Bronx, or Bronxie as I call him, is a F1 Bengal. Some states ban such hybrid breeds (one parent was an Asian Leopard cat). Apparently, regardless of anything else, ALL F1s will eventually turn on their owners, are vicious, and dangerous.
Yea, right….
Bronxie is somewhere around 14 (we were the second rescuers) and such a big baby. I often photograph him on my fabrics. The above photo was taken at my Memorial Day party. What you don’t see is that there were some 10 or so other people in the house. He just plopped down on Chris’s lap; I think he was jealous of Chris paying attention to other people besides him. Bronx does think he’s a person.
See here for some Bengal information. http://www.breedlist.com/bengal-breeders.html
Sewing More
Retreat is Coming
Most people who read this blog know me pretty well. For those who don’t, I have to clue you into a part of my personality. I am a capable, mature woman, with several degrees, and consider myself very smart. That said, I’m also should never be left alone in my own house or be responsible for keys.
Seriously….
We have an electronic lock on the front door. It controls the deadbolt.
Several months ago, my hubby had a business trip out of town. He left me alone for two nights. One the second day, I came home after work and discovered that I’d locked myself out.
Remember… keyless lock…
I must have gotten a little nervous alone, and I locked the doorknob lock on the door as well. The deadbolt opened with the electronics, but the door still didn’t.
An ex-marine friend of mine came over, put a ladder against the house, and got a second floor window open. (for the record, I had phone calls from neighbors all around me as soon as he did this, so don’t think about it as a way in!)
What does this have to do with retreat?
I’ll tell you…
Hubby just told me that he’s going out of town for a weekend for a race in Cedar Falls. We discussed, and he made the comment: “Probably safer if you stay in a hotel while I’m gone”.
I slapped him, but, he’s actually right….
I then looked up the weekend on the calendar and discovered that he’ll be gone over retreat weekend, so I won’t be left alone in my house!!
Which also made me think about retreat weekend…. and I’m starting to get very excited about it. I haven’t been doing a lot of sewing lately. When I do get a little time at home, there’s so much else calling out to me – other hobbies and, of course, the need to pick up the house. I’ve got a system of sewing a certain number of pieces, and then doing putting away/cleaning for a set time, then cycling again. Boring, but necessary to keep my house clutter from taking over. It’s going to be very nice to JUST sew for days….
Sewing Projects
Jo’s Little Women Quilt Group
I finished the quilt top for the project for August. The pattern is called “Raspberry Swirl”. It was supposed to be scrappy with reds and tan backgrounds for the blocks.
If I haven’t mentioned in here yet – I put together a plastic tote box (project box) of fabrics that I consider suitable for small quilts. It’s a bunch of tiny prints, small stripes, etc. There are fat quarters, small pieces of yardage, the fat quarter bundle that I had to buy for the group and a bunch of small piece collections that I picked up various places. I’m applying a Scrap Tamers ™philosophy to this group as well… USE SCRAPS!!
I decided Raspberry = Red, Red = Pinks. All nine blocks were originally going to be the darker pink, but I didn’t have enough, so I decided on an every other. The brown sashing was strips that I already had cut. So here’s the picture.
I think it sucks. Its precision piecing and my points are awful. Here’s my whiny excuses…
I missed the July meeting, it was one week before the August meeting when I got started on this, I didn’t want to go in empty handed, I had a hard few weeks at work and just needed to sew rather than sew and rip….
I am proud of the border though.
The border is from a striped print from a Jo Morton fabric (the woman who designs the classes and for whom it is named). I bought a couple yards of it. It’s alternating – one strip is pink, then the next is brown. I’ve cut it lengthwise, and used the stripes themselves as borders on a couple of the small quilts. I actually like doing mitered borders. The border was discussed in group when I showed the top, so I feel a little better.
I’ll finish quilting it and it will go to one of the daughters of the women I work with. It’s a good 18 inch doll sized blanket.
Monthly Packages
Early this year, I signed up for a “Club” from one of the quilt stores. Each month, I get a package that costs around $20 and has bits and pieces of some sort: die cuts, charm pack, etc. The main impetus behind this was to give myself an opportunity to work outside the box. I figure that I would challenge myself to do something unique with each collection.
Like everything else, I’ve been behind on that, but I’ve worked on a couple!
One of the packages was a set of (I think 40, I didn’t count) 7 inch squares in yellows and greens. I do a lot with green, but yellow is not a normal color for my palate. Having a bunch of yellow squares combined with green is a good thing – making me work outside my paradigm!
I decided to do a pattern – don’t know the name – which I’ve done before based on seeing it in a shop. I cut each square diagonally twice (working with bias – another challenge!) and am reconstituting them with 1 inch fabric strips through the centers. There’s also a “corner stone” in the middle.
Here’s an in progress picture.
The stripes are a deeper pink – almost a fuchsia – with black polka dots. The cornerstone is a lighter pink, with white polka dots. I haven’t decided on sashing for the piece yet; I have to lay it out before I decide upon that. Right now, I’m considering reversing the pinks – make the sashing light pink, with the darker pink as cornerstones. Unlike some people, I don’t plan ahead. I wait until I’ve got the blocks done, and then let the pieces “speak” to me.
10 year anniversary ME quilt
The first full sized quilt that I made was a Mary Englebreit quilt for my daughter Ana. She loves ME things. I collected fabrics for several months and then put together a log cabin type of block. I also purchased an embroidery CD of ME designs. I collected both large print and small print fabrics and divided them up. Each block has a 6 inch center and then three rows of small print fabrics framing it. Some of the blocks have an embroidered center and others are the large prints.
I used polyester (*wince*) batting and did some simple “stitch in the ditch” quilting. It’s really NOT a piece of art…. Simple, rudimentary, and a work of learning.
This was a 15th birthday present to Ana and she’s used it non-stop ever since. It is starting to fall apart. I’ve repaired a couple spots, but more crop up all the time.
This year is Ana’s 25th birthday…….
I think it’s time to make a 10th Anniversary version of the quilt….
Open call: I need ME fabrics!!! Send me links, 6½ squares of big prints….
I may have to brace myself and go to a Walmart with fabric (just not the best quality) because they always have ME prints.
Glass Updates
Diagonal Plate
In my last post, I showed some pictures of works in progress – before I put them in the kiln. This was one of them:
After the fusing, I slumped it into a “square in square” dish shape. If I remember right (not running downstairs to measure), it is 9 inches. Here’s a finished picture:
I like it, but I don’t find it super special. The diagonal stripes versus the squared off shape is pretty cool, and up my alley for style, but, it’s pretty simple otherwise. However, I’m getting a ton of compliments on it! For art, Brandie is the opinion that I respect the most. She, and a couple other people, zeroed in on it when I brought it home and let me know how cool they found it!
Pendant Update
Shameless brag….
Last post, I talked about all the compliments that I got about the hand rolled glass pendant. Well, I put several – smaller versions than mine – into the kiln and gave one to the cafeteria girl at work who complimented it.
OMG…. She loved it!
She’s said it was the nicest thing anyone has ever done for her! She even went on and on about it to mine and her coworkers in the hallway one day at work!
I’d have the decency to be embarrassed, but I’m danged proud of myself!
Using dishes
I mentioned having a Memorial Day party earlier. Note: Fused glass pieces are food safe, and dishwasher safe. We used several of my pieces as serving dishes.
· The large hand rolled, mosaic, 16 inch plate was used as a vegetable tray
· The clear/green leaf bowl was a bread tray, with a small bowl placed in the center for tapenade
· The red “brick” sushi shaped plate was used for shrimp (also with a bowl in the center for sauce)
· One of the tiles that will be part of a wind chime was used to hold down the napkins that were blowing around due to the fan.
Another Large “My Style” Piece
This one is also 8 inches x 24 inches. Take a close look at the topical designs made of stringers. I made some triangle shaped pieces rather than just random squiggles.
I *may* have one of the large pieces sold. Someone I work with is interested. I’m a little wary of selling to people I work with.
Leave me comment if you have an opinion on pricing. The large pieces are all 8 inches x 24 inches. I would say that each has somewhere between $25-$50 worth of glass in them. The 24 x 8 inch base is the most – a 24 inch square piece of clear is $25 if I remember right, and white is a little more. Each yields three “bases” for my large pieces. The rest of the glass is scrap and small bits. A 12 x 12 square runs from $6 - $40 depending upon color, properties (irradescent) etc.
One of my teachers suggested $250, and my friend Cathy suggested $300. She’s a watercolor and other mediums artist – serious amateur – and I believe she’s sold pieces.
Off on a Tangent
There is actually fabric mentioned here….
A couple weekends ago – Chris and I went on the annual Grandview Lodge Pilgrimage. The room that we stayed in had a stuffed (fabric) fish pillow on one of the beds. We amused ourselves with it….
Here is my hubby showing it off as if he caught it…
And here he is “sleeping with the fish(es)”
And, in complete juxtaposition….. My lovely daughter, Ana.
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