How Tall

How tall is 100 yards of fabric??? It's not as tall as you might think. This was the first order.


I fell off the no buy wagon right after the first of the year. I should have unsubscribed to those "end of year sale" notices. You knew it couldn't last forever didn't you? I did try to stick to a few colors that I knew I needed.



I also went on a thread buying spree with a couple of gift cards from Christmas. I love how all the colors look together. I wanted to get all the colors I needed for a machine embroidery kit that I purchased a few years ago.

Remembering Cathie

She didn't get to see her quilt, but I know she would have loved it. She's moved on to a better place, but her memories will warm our hearts forever. Cathie was the one that insisted the group must stay together and keep meeting. I'm not sure why she picked me as the leader, but she must have had a reason.

Quiting Progress

The Christmas rush is here. I have been busy making sure all my promised quilts get done. My quilting schedule has been very limited this year due to my kids being in more activities. These are my most recent finishes. I also finished a beautiful redwork quilt, but I haven't taken any pictures of it yet. It is all trimmed and folded so nothing can happen to it.

The first quilt is a queen size yellow brick road pattern. I love how the feathers make it look more intricate.

The second quilt is a small quilt with applique mittens. I think it turned out very well. I just love the border fabric. It makes me wish I had bought some myself. Then I have to remember that it would just lay on the shelves with the rest of my fabric.

The third quilt is a free pattern from the internet (one of the fabric companies). It was well put together and nice and straight. I love that kind!! I did freehand water on it. I think it makes it look more like a rainforest. I hope the customer is pleased. It was tought to pick a thread color on this one. I went with a variegated thread by YLI. This is the one thread that I have problems running on my machine. This time it behaved well and I only had a few pesky knots to contend with.

Last but not least is a beautiful art quilt that is over 90" long. The customer brought metallic thread for me to use. This is my first attempt with this type of thread. So far it is behaving well. I stabilized the entire quilt first by stitching in the ditch all the sections. So far I have 4 of the rays quilted with the metallic thread. My instructions were to have fun with it.

Distressed!!

Last night while in a shopping frenzy, I couldn't find the crucial ingredient to my cranberry sauce recipe. After much searching (what did I do before the internet), I discovered that the company is out of business. How could that be? I thought the nice grocery store stocking man was mistaken. I scoured the internet for the recipe. I found a recipe, so I am going to give it a try. This recipe is untested without the Indian Trail sauce, but I am confident it will taste the same. I am often asked for this recipe, so I am passing it along:

Cranberry Salad

Orange Cranberry Relish: Grind with with food grinder (food processor would work also)

1 pound fresh cranberries (or one bag)

2 oranges quartered with seeds removed (with peel)

3/4 - 1 cup sugar

Let drain; refrigerate or freeze (this makes enough for 4 batches)

In large bowl Dissolve 1 large box Cherry Jello (Raspberry or Strawberry will work also) with 2 cups boiling water

Add:

3/4 cup Orange Cranberry Relish (formerly my friend Indian Trail)

2 cans whole berry cranberry sauce

1 can mandarin oranges

1 to 2 cubed apples

1 cup seedless grapes halved

1 can crushed pineapple drained (20 oz)

1/2 cup walnuts (optional)

Pour into trifle bowl to look extra pretty or a 9X13 container and let set overnight. My kids like to have this year round. I am not a cranberry lover, but I love this recipe.

Selvage Obsession

I think I am starting to have a selvage obsession. I was at a friends yesterday and I started digging in her trash to pull out selvages. I am always looking for new ways to organize mine. What is your best method? I have mine sorted by color and strung like fish on a thread. Is this nuts or what?? I found out yesterday that I didn't have any pink selvages. I actually thought really hard about running to my stash and cutting some. Thank goodness I came to my senses before that happened! I can't post pictures of my most recent creations yet, because they are Christmas gifts. Have you started saving selvages yet?

My Humble Studio

Subee asked me some time ago to post pictures of my studio. I felt even more compelled to do so after she revealed all the bolts of fabric she had in her possession. I hope you enjoy the tour. I did clean up before the pictures, but It still has that lived in look. This is the view as you enter my studio. The room is approx. 16' x 28'. I love having the glass doors to let in additional light from the main part of the basement. This is the view to the right of the doors as you are looking in. You can see that my large design wall is full and inviting me to finish a few things. The pink and red pattern is a mystery pattern that Bonnie Hunter hosted. I kept up with the mystery (2 or so years ago), but the quilt has been in rows ever since. The larger portion of my studio houses a second design wall a cutting mat, my Accucut, and the every important "resource center". It is a walkout basement, so I do get natural light. The last picture is what I have stored under my Gammill. All the drawers are labeled and sorted with various projects and lots of "scraps"

This is about as clean as it gets. I can never seem to manage to get all the piles organized at once. If you have any questions or design suggestions please let me know. The flooring is a remnant of carpet from another room. I am still undecided after 5 years on what I want for my flooring.

Great Givaway

Click on over and check out the great giveaway at Canton Village Quiltworks. I haven't won anything on a giveaway yet, so this would be a great time to start. She has some great quilt market photos to view while you are there.