Silly Photo Shoot Pictures

So before I left on my trip my daughter took these silly photos of me. I thought you might enjoy them.

Cheers,

Dionne

Whoop de doo Has a Giveaway too!

Whoop de doo has a giveaway going on right now...

I had the brilliant luck being in a swap with Whoopdedoo on this quilt. (its the lovely green and pink quilt in the first two pictures!)

PS - I haven't heard from you yet Karen. I'm leaving very soon on my trip and I'll be away for nearly 4 weeks. (not away from my computer, but away from my home et. al.) So please, please email me with your contact info.

Cheers,

Dionne

Oops, Now for real the winner is....

First off, let me just say I'm sorry to everyone not getting back to you and all your lovely comments. I always think I have more time. I'm getting ready for our trip AND I'm on a work deadline! Ouch! And Subee, as always, you are wonderful! Thank you!

And the winner is...

Karen!

Karen wrote:

I love Tula Pink's fabrics and would love to win your giveaway. It would make a nice (day after) birthday present for myself. Thanks!

Well Karen Happy Birthday!

Cheers,

Dionne

There once was a quilter named Jane...

There once was a quilter named Jane.
Who hosted a quilting bee from the US to Spain,

and then back again.

It was trees that she desired, in colors quite wild.

Not one of her blocks could be called mild.

When her quilt left my door, the blocks counted four,

in hopes to gather more.

Cheers,

Dionne

PS - Today is the last day to leave a comment for my 'Plume' giveaway. Leave your comment on the post HERE.

Almost Lavender Jelly

So if you will indulge me, I would like to veer away from quilts for just a post in time.

I have been on a canning bender. Okay, well three times is a bender when you've never done any canning before.

I started out on a whim after taking the kids to the strawberry farm.

My good friend and I with the help of our six children learned the hard way what we were lacking in tools and skills.

So just a few days later, and a several dollars lighter in the pocketbook, I had all the canning tools we had lacked.

Fortunately I also had an abundance of cherrys and some fresh lavender I had no idea what to do with. So in one day I made several jars of cherry jam and three jars of lavender jelly... well, almost. The lavender jelly turned out to be a little more like a thick syrup.

Here is the recipe I used:

2 cups dry white wine (I used sherry)

1 tbsp lavender flowers (I used fresh)

2 cups granulated sugar (I used raw organic sugar)

1 3oz pouch liquid pectin (I didn't think to check if the pouch was 3oz or not)

1. In a large stainless steel saucpan, combine wine and herbs. Bring to a boil over high heat. Remove from heat, cover and let steep for 20 minutes.

2. Transfer to a dampened jelly bag and set over a deep bowl. Let drip, undisturbed, for 20 minutes. Measure 1 3/4 cups infused wine. If you don't have the required amount, squeeze the bag. (ok, let me just say that even when I squeezed the bag I was shy of the required amount so I poured a little extra sherry in at this point ~ I may not have meaured that extra pour so closely. You know how it goes, a little for the jelly, a little for me.)

3. Meanwhile prepare canner, jars and lids. (after my full day of strawberry preserves, I had this step DOWN!)

4. Transfer infused wine to a clean large, deep stainless steel saucepan. Stir in sugar. Over high heat, stirring constantly, bring mixture to a full rolling boil that cannot be stirred down. Stir in pectin. Boil hard, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and quickly skim off foam.

5. Quickly pour hot jelly into hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Wipe rim. Center lid on jar. Screw band until resistance is met, then increase to fingertip tight.

6. Place jars in canner, ensuring they are completely covered with water. Bring to a boil and process for 10 minutes. Remove canner lid. Wait 5 minutes, then remove jars, cool and store.

Okay, that is my recipe. It never jelled completely, so its more like lavender syrup. I tastes really, really good. I was surprised about how lovely it tastes, but very sad it didn't turn out as jelly. I guess almost jelly is pretty good.

If you try this recipe let me know how it turns out. Or if you have a better lavender recipe, I'm all ears!

Cheers,

Dionne

PS - Just two more days to leave a comment for my 'Plume' giveaway. Leave your comment on the post HERE.

Sample My BOMmy Heart!

It's month two of my first Block Of the Month. Yes, I've been quilting a million years and I've never done a BOM before. Unless you count the Thangles BOM; which I don't. And besides my LQS discontinued that program anyhow.

Now there is so many more patterns to choose from. It's amazing to me how many BOMs are out there. Literally something for any taste, preference. You can do piecework or applique; from brightly colored monsters to a Halloween balitimore quilt. The possibilities are endless.

The problem, for me anyhow, was that all the BOMs back in the bad old days of quilting were always traditional Samplers. I never cared for the Sample quilt - or a cross stitch sampler for that matter. It was just something that didn't appeal to me. The design wasn't uniform, too much chaos.

Oh what a control freak I was! It makes me laugh now. How the times have changed. Samplers appeal to me, now. They are much like the way my life has turned out. A little of this, a little of that....

It seems I've created a life like a patchwork: friends, family, good times and bad, all these memories held together by the efforts of my stitching.

Of course my life is only one third over, so there is still plenty of room to change the story. Who knows, I might just have a masterpiece in me somewhere.

But not today. Today I'm just going to enjoy working on my Sampler and sample a few more patterns and blocks...

This month I have two identical blocks in different fabrics. Also, for every month, I have two filler blocks. Some participants are putting in applique on these blocks and others are doing embroidery. I toyed with the idea, but decided to keep my filler blocks plain and simple. I have more chance of getting it done on time that way.

The colors for this quilt are all in the fall colors, so by the time I'm finished with the blocks (next year this time) I'll have just enough time to finish the quilting for a new fall quilt, right?

Well, that's the plan anyway!

Cheers,

Dionne

PS - Just four more days to leave a comment for my 'Plume' giveaway. Leave your comment on the post HERE.

Just a Little giveaway!

I figure it's time for a little bitty giveaway.

I have a charm pack to send away to a new home. Tula Pink for Moda has a new line called Plume. I quite like this bright, cheery print.

Now, I'll be leaving for Scotland quite soon so we'll need to wrap this up soon, so I can get the prize off in the post before I fly away.

If you want to win this little charm pack, leave me a comment. You can get a second entry by becoming a follower. Leave me a comment letting me know you've either become a follower, or already are a follower.

Also, if you have a blog, you can blog about the giveaway and leave a link back to this post. Just leave me an additional comment letting me know (and your blog name) for another entry.

So leave your comment(s) below before thursday July 15th at noon. I will put the parcel in the post on friday before close of business.

But be warned, if I don't get a valid address in a timely manner the winner will have to wait until I get back from Scotland to receive their package. I fly out the morning of July 19th and will be busy packing on the 18th and 17th.

On another note, I will be in Scotland between the 19th of July and the 1st of August so if there are any scottish quilters out there that are interested in a meet-up, or have word of a good quilt shop send me word.

We'll be staying in Edinburgh, but visiting Glasgow and Falkirk frequently, also my in-laws live in Grangemouth so we'll be spending a fair amount of time there.

Cheers,

Dionne

Stars and Stripes in Red and White

Katy at I'm a Ginger Monkey has requested a red and white quilt in the Around the World Quilting Bee.

So here is her quilt so far. It's stars and stripes (and dots and more) in red and white.

(Note to self: press well before photographing and use the good camera for blog pictures)

Cheers,

Dionne

Teaching Little Ones to Sew...

Yes, once again I'm teaching some little ones to sew. Today it was three youngsters with a simple little bag project.

Each child chose a fat quarter of their choice and we used that and a silk cord (or yarn, whichever the child chose) as the drawstring.

The youngest child was/is six years old. He chose a vibrant print of dragons. He had a little trouble with the button hole stitch. But he did a great job.

They all did everything themselves with the exception of using the rotary cutter. Sorry, some things just should not be in the hands of a six year old, no matter how enthusiastic they are. In fact, the more enthusiastic, the more adamant I am about not letting them use the rotary cutter.

I think they did a fabulous job, don't you?

Cheers,

Dionne

We're growing a little fabric forest

We are growing a little forest for FlossyBlossy.

These sweet little blocks measure just 6 1/2" and aren't they lovely. Too bad my photo is so dark.

Three blocks are applique and three are pieced.

Cheers,

Dionne

Quilter's Block ... of the month, that is.

The whole idea of Block of the Month is great in theory. One or two blocks a month, a finished quilt by the end of the year. Brilliant! The commitment is small and the year is just beginning and optimism runs high!

I consider BOMs often; really often if I'm honest. It's almost an obsessive how much I read, and re-read the catalogs that come in the mail; the web-pages I surf.

But I've never taken the plunge. I know myself too well. Quilting is the first thing that gets put aside when time gets short. When I'm working on a deadline and the project is running long. When the children all have tournaments on the same weekend. When my husband is out of town and my father's radiation treatment are all scheduled for the same timeframe. Those are the times my sewing machine gets neglected.

I know this about myself. I know that when the year is just beginning and my optimism is running high, I will tempt myself with beautiful designs and fabric to die for. But I will then close the catalog or the browser with a sigh; denying myself the pleasure of taking part in the BOM.

But you know what, this time I didn't! I didn't sigh and walk away. Perhaps because it was at my LQS, and the completed quilt was right there in front of me. Perhaps because I was having a melancholy day and it was either sign up for the BOM or get a quart of Ben and Jerrys!

At any rate, I've done it. I've signed on for my first (real) BOM!

And now you get to see my first two blocks for June. The pattern itself is called GreenPiece and it's from Moda.

Cheers,

Dionne

A Classic Case of the Cobbler's Kids

I have spent my working life as a writer and a tester. Quality Assurance that is, process improvement and software testing. It's been a nice career. Whether my focus is on software or writing depends on my current contract, and even my software positions turn into a great deal of writing in the end.

My writing contracts have been primarily corporate. But lately I've been moving more towards freelance work. It's been a great deal of fun. It also gives me more flexibility when dealing with my father's health issues and traveling back and forth to see him.

Then I got the brilliant idea to do some writing work in the quilting industry. Something I've never done before. How exciting, I thought, now I can finally merge my income with one of my passions.

So, I approached it from the aspect I have always used and contacted a large company with a proposal. The project is one I've executed many times for many companies, but the subject-matter was new. After some interesting discussions, I was dropped from consideration. Do you know why? Was it because my writing samples and corporate contacts were badly executed?

NO! My resume is brilliant. My clips are solid and my corporate contacts are stellar! Do you know why I was dropped from consideration? It's because my quilting blog hasn't been professionally executed. OUCH!

The worst part is…. The worst part is that it's true. It's a classic case of the cobbler's children having no shoes. I have never considered this blog anything more than a hobby to exercise my quilt-y habits. It never occurred to me that I might lose a job over it.

All I can say is…. OUCH!

The funny thing is I was more disappointed about losing this job over losing a bid on any of my corporate contracts. I've dusted myself off and picked up two more jobs. One of them is even quilt related. Still, now I know how those cobbler's kids feel – neglected and under-appreciated.

 

Something modern and something blue.

That was her only request. Modern and blue.

The possibilities are endless and some would go hog-wild with the freedom of such minimal requirements.

But that is not me. My mind just doesn't think modern I guess. I don't know, my mind went completely blank!

Here is what I came up with.

I'm looking foreward to seeing all the other interpretations!

Cheers,

Dionne

Twenty-Four!

Who knew that twenty-four little blocks could be manipulated in so many ways. It took me twice as long to decide on a final layout for these little beauties than it took me to actually make them!

So, what do you think?

Cheers,

Dionne

ATWQS is coming to an end....

This is the last quilt to come through my door. It has been a year in the works; with ups and downs. But here it is, the very last.

I quite like all the motion in this quilt. All, or at least most, of the blocks have the feeling of motion to them. It's like a colorful garden of whirlygigs!

Next ATWQ top to arrive in my mailbox will be mine!

Cheers,

Dionne

ATWSQ - Scrappy Star

On this swap quilt block I made another scrappy star, but this time I framed it with a nice bright red.

Isn't that postage stamp block great? I love the churn dash block as well.

But the quilt top itself is a lot bigger than just these three blocks.

They all look GREAT. It was too big to get them all together on my design wall. But it's going to look great when it's done!!

Cheers,

Dionne

Cottages for Ginger Monkey

This little village is another swap quilt.

This one is for Ginger Monkey. I love the trees amongst all the cottages.

And that barn is FANTASTIC!! I wish I could say I made it but alas, the block I made is another little cottage.

Cheers,

Dionne

Lady Belle's Butterfly Garden

I made this butterfly quilt block for Lady Belle's swap quilt.

I actually got the idea and made up a pattern for it from another one of the blocks.

I am really enjoying this quilt. I love how everyone's blocks work so well together. What do you think?

Here is a picture of all the blocks together. The butterflies, the flowers, the bird -- all the colors.

It's really beautiful.

Cheers,

Dionne

Scrappy star for the latest Swap Quilt

Here are all the squares in teh latest swap quilt. This one has a huge variety of colors and designs.

I made the block in the lower right hand corner.

There is a close-up of the block I made.

This is a scrappy star, made with all scraps and a tone on tone background.

These squares are a great way to use up some of your left-over scraps -- especially the smaller ones!

Cheers,

Dionne

Summer Sadie

Summer Sadie is the one who organized the Around the World quilt project.

Looking at Sadie's quilt top was a lot of fun. The second block was made by her mom and it's really sweet because it is signed 'Mom' Isn't that sweet? I love the idea of a quilt top that has gone all the way around the world is signed also by mom.

My block is the last one. This is a simple block, but I still, really like the lines and colors.

Cheers,

Dionne

Around the World Quilt Swap for Katel

Here is the quilt (so far) for KatelNorth:



These are all such beautiful blocks. There are some beautiful star blocks, all the blocks have beautiful fabrics. One of my daughters LOVES the Frog block with the loooong tongue.

My block is the last square, the blue star:

Cheers,

Dionne

Kendall's Around the World

Yes, I know. It's been nothing but around the world lately. But I've a flurry in my mailbox, and although I'm still working on the Spice Market Batik, I'm not going to show you anymore until I get to the next big step.

So this quilt is for Kendall. Let me give you a rundown of where the blocks are from:

Row 1 - Virginia, US (Kendall's starter block), Memphis, Tenn US (x2), Surry then Cornwall UK

Row 2 - Wiltshire, UK; Leeds, UK; Waterfield, UK; Holland; Australia

Row 3 - Brasil; Cape Coral, FL, US; Austin TX, US; Reseda, Ca; Palmdale, CA

Row 4 - Oakland, CA; Lake Bay, WA and finally to me in Bellevue WA

And a closeup of my own block. Not sure why my block looks wonky, it's really not.

Cheers,

Dionne

Anita's Around the World Quilt block swap

Well, here's another one done and in the mail.

This one is for Anita (Bake and Sew). The block I made is the last block on, bottom right. All the blocks are lovely, but one of my favorites is the one from Australia. That bird with the hand embroidered plumage is just beautiful!

Cheers,

Dionne

Maria's ATWQS Quilt Spoiler!

Well, here is the latest Around the World Quilt Block Swap quilt. This one is for Maria.

(Maria - if you don't want to see your quilt blocks until they come in the mail - DON'T READ ANY MORE!!)

In this quilt, blocks were made by women all over the world; from Florida, Brazil, California, United Kingdom, The Netherlands, etc.

Oh, yeah, and also one block from Washington State!

Cheers,

Dionne

Latest on the Spice Market Batik

Here is the latest on the Spice Market Batik quilt I'm working on. It's going to be super large - bigger than my design wall.

This quilt is going to be beautiful when it's done, and I think it's coming together nicely.

I have one piece on the design wall placed backwards, but I'll just let you figure out which one it is. Do you see it?

Well, no worries, the quilt wasn't sewn together at this point. Thank goodness for design walls!

Cheers,

Dionne

What I've learned...

What I've learned in the last two months.

I've learned that cancer has a voracious appetite and lung cancer never goes away.

It's always too early to say good-bye to loved ones, even when the end is inevitable.

Sewing doesn't fix everything, or mend all broken hearts.

But the human race has an immense amount of creativity and through the miracles of modern medicine, the body can endure amazing things.

Also, people can live with very little useful lung capacity.

I was making a surprise for my father and at a certain point it just became too difficult to look at my project sitting there. I had other projects in the works, but somehow, I couldn't bring myself to put my father's project aside to work on anything else either. Silly, I know.

But I think it's time to open up my sewing room again. It's rather dusty. But it's time.

Cheers,

Dionne

Around the World Quilt - Brazil

This is the progress on Glaucia's ATWQ - The blocks are all looking so great. I love how nicely they look together. They all play so well!

Eight blocks in and only sixteen more to go!!

Here is a closeup of my block. I had a bit of difficulty with this one, I changed my mind mid-block on the design and almost nearly didn't pull it off.

Cheers,

Dionne

A Sneak Peak of Spice Market...

Here is just a little peak at the Spice Market quilt blocks. I'm making this gigantic quilt, and because it isn't for my family or a gift (What I really mean to say is that I don't have a flexible schedule, flexible pattern or flexible fabrics).

So, of course I have had a few.... well, issues. Lets just leave it at that!

Anyhow, here is a really small look at some of the finished blocks.

Cheers,

Dionne