It's Official!

I have Quilter's ADD

I began last week dedicated to Patchwork of the Crosses.  I spent a couple of days stamping fabrics, cutting out the little pieces, and planning blocks.

POTC Pieces

Since I am hand piecing I only got this far before my attention went elsewhere.

First POTC Center

The diversion?  This bin of scraps.

Bits and Pieces

Realizing that I have just a few weeks to prepare my proposal for Quilt Camp 2015, I turned my attention to "Exploding Pineapple."  I needed to work through the pattern and formulize (is that a word?) what I'll put in the supply list.  The blocks are made with a series of squares, the largest being 5-3/8", and is very effective when made from scraps.  So I spent a couple of days whittling down chunks from my bin and after two days I had a pile of squares.  And the bin?

Still Full

Stirring things up has made it appear even fuller than before!

All the time I was cutting squares for pineapple I was thinking about a request  from DIL-1 for a throw in café-au-lait colors.  A glance up at my fabric shelves showed me that I had already assembled a selection of fabrics that met her request.  And how striking it would be to do an Exploding Pineapple in two colors to contrast with the totally scrappy example!

The results:

Exploding Pineapple in Progress

The lights are a lot more tan than the photo shows.  I'm using the floral border for color inspiration.

Here's the thing -- all this activity and nothing finished.  My sole goal for 2015 is to FINISH.  Not so much to finish UFOs as to finish what I start. 

Stay tuned .....

In the meantime, hop over to Patchwork Times to see what other quilters are working on.

Keep Calm

and

Finish

Thanks for visiting today.

DWM and Year-End Stash Status

Where has the year gone?

Once again I am ending the year in the midst of a Bonnie Hunter mystery.  When will I learn?  I made absolutely NO progress last week, what with holiday shopping, activities and such.

I have to admit, though, that my attention has been diverted by what could become a new obsession:  Patchwork of the Crosses.  I'll blame it all on Teresa at A Quilt and a Prayer.  Her POTC blocks are so stunning that I just had to try it.  It has been well over 10 years since I last did any hand piecing so it took a while for me to remember the techniques.  I need to work on the set-in intersections, but I'm getting the hang of it.

My First POTC Under Construction

Here the third round is ready to sew on, and I'm auditioning choices for the 4th round.  Any thoughts?

One of Teresa's secrets is fussy cutting the elongated hexagons that make up the block.  I knew that Cindy Blackberg has a rubber stamp for these so it went on my Amazon wish list.  Cindy's stamps are great because they include both the cutting line and the stitching line.

But I lay awake at night trying to figure out how I could stamp selected motifs accurately when I couldn't see what I was stamping.  Teresa to the rescue again!  She told me about a similar CLEAR stamp developed by Marita and available at The Quilter's Path in Mt. Juliet.  So on Saturday I made a quick trip to MJ (with a stop at Son-2's house to check out their new hardwood floors).  After a quick demo I was in business!

POTC Template Stamp Set

I started with some practice fabric to get the hang of fussy stamping.  With a water-based fabric ink, simply stamp the back of your fabric, cut out your pieces on the cutting line, then accurately stitch together on the stitching line.

Fabric Ink Stamp Pads

I use Fabrico or VersaCraft ink, both manufactured by Tsukineko, Inc.  (Don't be fooled by look-alike products -- it has to be an ink that works on fabric!)  I hope my arthritic hands will hold up because I really want to have a grab-and-go handwork project ready.

Stay tuned to check on my progress.  And let me know if you are caught up in POTC blocks, as well.  I love seeing what others are doing!  I could use some construction hints, too.


In the stash department I was about to say "nothing in, nothing out," but I just remembered I couldn't leave Marita's lovely shop without indulging in a little fabric fix.  So my final numbers for 2014:

Stash Report - Dec 31
     In last week:                   2.75 yards
     Out this week:                0.00 yards
     In year to Date:           261.25 yards
     Out Year-to-Date:        215.50 yards
     Net Used 2014            -45.75 yards

Linking up with Judy at Patchwork Times.

Hope y'all have a great week and a blessed New Year!

Serendipity

You never know in Nashville ...

... who'll you run into. 

My Main Man and I were doing weekly senior shopping at Kroger this morning -- along with everyone else grabbing last-minute things for their holiday meals.  After picking up some organic carrots I turned and almost tripped over a lady in an electric cart.  She was quite attractive for her age (I'm entitled to say that!), wearing a hot pink swing coat.

From the other side of the produce department I looked back to see how the lady was progressing.  With  sounds of "Rocking Around the Christmas Tree" coming from the PA system (or maybe it was "Jingle Bell Rock"), I realized I was looking at Brenda Lee!

OK, any youngsters reading this have no idea who I'm talking about.  It was her recording on the PA.

Brenda Lee and I are about the same age, give or take a year or two; we grew up in two small suburbs of Nashville in the 60s.  It was not unusual to see Brenda at basketball games with her circle of friends -- just an ordinary teen .... well except that she was a singing star, doing concerts in Europe, making records.

That's Nashville for you -- stars live in our midst and we give them their space.  I worry that with all the recent focus on the attraction of Nashville that the paparazzi will make it harder to see our beloved stars in public.

I hope it doesn't change.

More Reminiscing

Randolph, the Bear Who Said No

One of my favorite Wonder Books when I was a child was Randolph, The Bear Who Said No by Faith Nelson. 

It is a moral story about a bad little bear whose automatic response was "no."  So a fairy casts a spell such that he cannot say anything else.  Do you want ice cream?  "No."  Do you want to play outside?  "No."  You can imagine the frustration that developed.  For the life of me, I don't remember how he managed to get the spell removed, but that book taught me you should always be careful of what you say!

Why I am bringing this up right now?  Today the Queen Mother (my invalid MIL) was Randolph!  Ordinarily she is very non-responsive.  She has a difficult time processing questions and rarely comments on anything.  But every once in a while the wiring connects and she becomes Chatty Cathy.  And often, when she's in that mode, she says "No" to everything.  She will stay like this for about 36 hours and then crash for another 36.  God bless the caregivers who put up with her through thick and thin.

Today she was Randolph.  And all we can do is laugh.  It's hard to say which Mother we'd rather have, quite frankly.  I wish she were still the lively, thoughtful, creative, artistic mother my Main Man grew up with.  But that will never be.  We do our best to keep her comfortable and healthy.  Every year we think it will be her last Christmas, but the Eveready Bunny fools us.

Randolph lives on......

Christmas Traditions

Do you ever stop to think how some of your

Christmas traditions came to be?

Sunday the leader of our church children's programs talked about her family's tradition of eating fish on Christmas Eve.  That's a new one on me.

But it got me thinking about our family's Christmas Eve tradition when I was growing up:  vegetable soup!

Here's the backstory.

For many years the fundraiser for the Nashville home for unwed mothers was caroling on Christmas Eve.  "A candle in your window, a carol at your door."  Each year the Scout troops in our little community spread out over the town, caroling and collecting coins door to door.  Afterward we assembled at the Methodist church to warm up with hot chocolate and turn in our collections. 

One year my mother (a/k/a The Mama) was in charge of the event which overlapped the dinner hour.  So to make life easy for herself she made a big pot of vegetable soup in the deepwell burner on our stove (pre-crockpot days).  It was delicious.

The next year, when she was no longer coordinator of the caroling, she asked my brothers what they would like for Christmas Eve dinner.  Their response:  "We ALWAYS have vegetable soup on Christmas Eve!"  A tradition was born, one that I carried into my own family while Son-1 and Son-2 were still at home.

I'm linking up with Connie at Free Motion by the River.  Thanks for visiting!  Christmas Blessings to everyone.

All Caught Up -- Almost

In spite of my previous objections, I caved and decided to do Bonnie Hunter's mystery quilt again this year.  She is calling it "Grand Illusion" and clues are revealed each Friday; we are a month into the challenge.

Grand Illusion - Progress

Some things you need to understand:

1.  I chose my own colors which has presented its own set of problems since I substituted green for aqua, a rusty rose for green, and a taupey dot for the yellow constant.  I have to constantly refer to my crib sheet.  Otherwise I'm using flesh for pink, " "brack" (a brown that's almost black) for black, and silver gray for neutral--not much different than Bonnie's colors.

2.  I'm only making half size to start.  That way if I don't like the final reveal I won't have committed a lot of time and fabric.  But I've made sure that I'll have enough fabric if I want to make it full size.

So, Clue 1 -- broken dishes -- I finished right away, except for the extra half-square triangles that would be used in Clue 4.  I actually made a few more than half of the broken dishes units.

Clue 1 - Broken Dishes

Clue 2 -- double diamonds -- took a little longer.  I'm using Method 2 with the Easy Angle ruler and I'm having very good results.  I am 4 units short of completing half of the double diamonds.

Clue 2 - Double Diamonds

Clue 3 -- two-by-fours -- should have been easy.  Two rows of four 2" squares.  First thing I did wrong was make stripsets of brack and silver instead of  brack and rose.  And no one pointed out when I posted my progress that the brack squares were in the wrong corner!  At least I had only made a few to test my rusty rose color!  Still need to make 30 to finish half.

Clue 3 - 2 x 4s - Oops!

Clue 4 -- more broken dishes in two different arrangements.  Done!

Clue 4 - More Broken Dishes

I will try to get a few minutes at the sewing machine every day this week so that I will be totally caught up (half way, that is) when Clue 5 is revealed on Friday.

Hop on over to Quiltville's Quips and Snips to see progress around the world.

The Good Life

How does a S'more prepare for a retreat?

First she assembles the necessary sewing accouterments.

Pin Cushion and Housewife

Machine Cover

Then she makes sure to stay nourished.

Brownie Mix

She brings the proper beverage containers.

And, because it's Christmas, she decorates the tree.

At night she puts on her S'mores sleep socks, rests her head on her S'mores pillow case, and snuggles under one of her many S'mores quilts, 

Life is Good

Linking up with Free Motion on the River for Linky Tuesday.