Block of the Month, block 3

Block of the month, block 3
Shoo fly quilt pattern

The holidays hit me hard this year!  December went by in a frantic flash and before I knew it I was celebrating the new year!...  

By baking of course!  German New's Year's pretzel anyone?

German New Year's pretzel!
Soft, slightly sweet, brushed with glaze mmm
Don't let the photo fool you, this thing was a foot wide

I baked two of these (huge) pretzels from my recipe book Cook's Country, Lost Recipes.  I also learned what mace is: the outside fuzz of a nutmeg berry (thanks wikipedia).  The pretzel is supposed to bring good luck for the new year.




But in all the rush of the holidays, my mom and I realized we forgot to do our December block!  So this week we got together and stitched up block 3! 

Mom's block

My block

This quilt pattern is called 'shoo fly'.  It came together very easily, and we both enjoyed making it.  I think the white dots in my block form an optical illusion that makes it hard to focus on the pattern though!


You can read about our block of the month project here.

Block of the Month; Month 2

My mom and I finished month 2 of our block of the month sampler!

This month's pattern: log cabin of course!

We are both pleased with how our blocks turned out and have already picked the pattern we are doing next month.

Block of the month; log cabin
mine on left, Mom's on right



If you are interested in quilting along, or just want the book for yourself, it is:


Underground Railroad Sampler by Eleanor Burns and Sue Bouchard

Happy quilting!

Block of the Month; Month 1

My mom and I have just started a block of the month project!  Exciting!

It is a sampler quilt, with each block having been used as code in the underground railroad.  For this first block we started simple with the 'crossroads' pattern.

My mom loves civil war era reproduction fabric, and she's hoping to clear out some of her stash with this project! 

I've went a little more modern, pulling fabric from my stash in blacks and greys, pinks and reds, and mustard yellows. 

If you are interested in quilting along, or just want the book for yourself, it is:

Underground Railroad Sampler by Eleanor Burns and Sue Bouchard



Mom's block



My block

Planned fabric

Hopefully, we'll both have a finished quilt by next holiday!

New York beauty quilt; Madame Butterfly; Pics from a car

This week I've been working on an original sewing pattern.  It's a cute little pouch with a lot of potential, but I'm having a hard time getting it just right.  This evening I've started my fourth prototype, but I think I need a break!

Besides working on the pattern, I've been listening to the aria from Madame Butterfly on a loop... that should tell you pretty clearly where I'm at mood wise!

Last week I started a paper pieced new york beauty block.  I have admired this quilt pattern for years; there is a fabulous example in one of my fav quilt books, America's Beautiful Quilts, by Zaro Weil.

New York Beauty, circa 1920
I love the scalloped border!

When I saw that Jeni (author of one of my favorite blogs) participated in a new york beauty quilt along this past spring, I knew I wanted to make one like hers! 

I'd never tried paper piecing, which was remarkably painless.  I couldn't find the fabric I wanted to finish this block up, so for now it's in four pieces. 



Now for pics from my vacation to the bay area, all shot from the car.

Been a long time since I've been on a road where the trees touch overhead

High above the bay, an alpine ravine

This place was one of my favorites, there was a great peace about it



All of a sudden a lake



Getting back into desert



This was an amazing sight
See the railroad track goes into the hillside, just like in a cartoon!

The golden color of the grass was fantastic, it reminded me of a Van Gogh palette

This looks like an old picture in my Nanny's photo album

Earth toned squares mini quilt

I put together this quilt on a whim in about two days.  I ran across this fabric in my stash and thought the little squares would stand nicely on their own. 

Hand embroidered running stitches, linen binding

Finished piece is about 18" square

Sunrise; Gecko; Miniquilt; Movies

Summer sunrise, Las Vegas

I've been cleaning this morning-- and it's way overdue.  Been home from my vacation for a week and haven't done much but the dishes. 

With a full and heavy trash bag in hand I flung open the garage door, heading for the trash can.  Now...

I don't like bugs.. and I spend a lot of time unconsciously scanning my surroundings for anything that moves.  I'm pretty good at spotting a bug-- I can see an earwig crawling up the wall at 50 feet-- and I'm really nearsighted.  So when I saw a little movement at my feet as I flung open the garage door, I stopped cold.

This little guy was blending in with the floor so well that it took me a moment to see him.

Mediterranean house gecko

I was pleased to find only a little lizard; since I was a girl I have loved reptiles. 

After some maneuvering and coaxing I managed to catch the little guy-- and he was little!  No more than an inch and a half long, including tail! 

Yes, he's in a candle.  There's always one handy around the house, and the lids make an escape proof catcher.

I let the little guy go in my back yard, and after some Internet research, I found that I had a little house gecko-- cute!!  And they eat bugs, so I hope he sticks around.

House Gecko; his big ole eyes are so cute!

On a whim I started a mini quilt yesterday, and it has come together pretty quick.  I have the top pieced and have also done a little hand embroidery embellishment.  I plan to baste and straight line quilt it tomorrow. 

The little squares are all from a single piece of fabric I've had for years.  It's an eclectic print, and I love how the designs are so small (each block is about an inch and a half).  I cut the fabric apart and then gave each little square a little room to breath. 

This mini will get a more thorough post after I have quilted it. 


I've been hitting the Netflix hard over here this week.  Is it possible to watch too many movies?  Netflix is just too good!  As a lover of bad movies, B movies, old movies, foreign movies, I always find something obscure and/or entertaining.

Just a few recent screenings:
Resevoir Dogs-- for the first in over ten years, it's still good
Thor- surprisingly good, though lots of green screen
Alice's Restaurant- this is the third time, love that movie
Submarine- surprisingly good quirky, indie type
Anna Karenina- (2000 masterpiece version) I've seen other versions.. this was well done (of course, it's PBS) and the story is timeless
Leadbelly- dramatization of his life...once something awful happened to me when listening to a Leadbelly record, wont' go in to it
A league of their own- had this on VHS growing up, watched it a hundred times "batter up.."
The Red Violin- this was hard to watch but so good...an emotionally tense film and one that sticks with you
His Girl Friday- seen this at least three times, a great classic film!  Cary Grant is too good
The Fifth Element- though this one is silly, it's still entertaining!

San Jose Quilt and Textile Museum

San Jose Quilt and Textile Museum

I figured two weeks was plenty of time to experience everything the bay area had to offer-- where did I go wrong?

...We didn't make it to Chinatown or the museum of modern art-- and though we had some fabulous meals, I didn't get to eat a lobster that had been scampering along the ocean floor that same day..

Maybe I could have fit in more sites with a structured agenda, but we tried to keep things spontaneous.  This probably explains how late one afternoon, after a quick google search of local museums, we found ourselves heading to the San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles...

Hello!
Hands on parking garage

 

Yarn bomb,
outside museum

Quilt block tiles on
sidewalk outside museum

There were probably 20, and I wish I took
photos of all of them!

I was hoping to see lots of vintage quilts, but to be honest, there were only about six vintage quilts on display.  The museum's collection (though large) must be kept in storage- probably to protect the delicate textiles from deterioration.

In front of a nice
sunburst quilt

  
So, slightly disappointed with the small display of vintage quilts we made our way to the current exhibition, that of the painter and tapestry artist Mark Adams.  It was amazing!!

I had admittedly never heard of this amazing artist, but seeing his tapestries in person was an unexpectedly enjoyable treat.  I was not permitted to take photos of any of the tapestries, but I pulled a few from the net (below).

His tapestries jump off the cloth at you, and from a distance look like paintings.  Some pieces felt mystical or maybe esoteric; others had fabulous graphic pop.  Mark Adams' work deserves more recognition, and getting to see this extensive exhibit in person was great!

Mark Adams
Can you believe this is a tapestry?

Mark Adam
Tapestry

After our museum visit, we stopped in the gift shop, to check out the handmade objects, books, textiles... and we picked up these fabulous Mola embroideries!  We plan on framing and hanging them.  We've owned a Mola owl embroidery for years, it was one of the first pieces of home decor we bought.  The colorful and stylized look of these pieces will fit nicely with our eclectic decor.

Scoring these embroideries was the perfect end to our afternoon!

Blue jean quilt and cats

Yoko on my mouse pad.  She loves to hang out with me while I blog. :)  She's a siamese tabby and too smart for her own good.


And I wanted to share a project I've been working on this week for my stitch-love-project. 

It's a lap quilt made from blue jeans.  I have finished the top and am getting ready to tie it and bind it!  I've love the results, and will of course be sharing the finished project on my stitch love blog. :)

Embroidered Needle Book

I few weeks ago, I embroidered a letter "C" for submission to &Stitches "Stitch a letter for our header" project.  It turned out nice.

My Mom's name starts with the letter "C", and I thought this little letter would make a perfect needle book cover for her!  I used this this tutorial from nanacompany.  Her cute pattern is beautifully photgraphed and easy to follow. 

Patchwork back

First page
Vintage trim, button, blue wool

Second Page
Vintage trim, eyelet trim

Third page
Buttons, Trim

Fourth Page
Wool Squares

Aww!  Almost gag reflex cute :)