Gonna pout, gonna cry

The lament of many quilters: my iron died!

Same ol' story, but the second chapter.

Actually, today was a little more dramatic - it started to smoke. I thought a piece of lint or fuzz got under the soleplate. Took a compressed air cannister, blew it like crazy, plug it back it.

Yay! No more smoke.

Wait.

Why aren't the lights on? It's hot. It feels hot.

*fiddle and fuss for 5 minutes*

Oh. Not hot now. Pooh. Bye bye iron! Glad I could get 2 years out of you. :)

Why does quilting have to be murder to irons?! :P

Leah

It's cooling down!

It's finally started to cool down. Ahhhhhhhhhh. I'm really happy that we don't need to turn on the AC any more either - the last electric bill was $160. And to think, I used to cringe when I got a $90 bill back at my old apartment.

The best thing about the weather is that it awakens my desire to quilt again. Using the iron doesn't make me want to dunk my head in a tub of ice any more. ;)

I got all the too-small blocks fixed, lost a snowball block, hasty made another, and finally put the entire quilt together. I had a couple of border fabrics to select from, I posted them onto a forum I frequent and by far the black with colorful scroll won. :)

Now the top is set aside until I get some more batting. I'm planning to get roll of 30 yards for my birthday next month. Should last me for a couple dozen quilts. :D


I've also been enjoying some fruits and veggies lately. Here's a freaking huge peach that was on sale a couple weeks ago!

Big as my hand, and took me about 20 minutes to gobble it up. Yum. :)

Hopefully hot tea will be in my future soon!

Leah

Getting friendly with the seam ripper

A long time ago... 3 years? I was in a 9-patch swap. Kona black, with batiks and hand dyes. I have all the blocks I need to make a quilt top... but with one problem.

One of the swappers (I have no idea who, as this was a central swap) didn't really grasp "seam allowance" and "pressing" when it came to her blocks.

On the left is her block, on the right is one of mine. There's obvious size difference, and no matter how much I could stretch and "make it fit", I'd still end up with boob-like humps in my quilt.


The back side is even worse.

Almost looks like I edited the photo with some twist distortion. :P

So I'm gonna spend some time seam ripping 6 blocks apart. I just really hope that the swapper could at least cut 2.5" squares correctly! :D

Is it really that hard to get a good seam allowance? Is taking an extra 2 minutes to properly press too painful? I consider myself to be somewhat of a "careless" quilter. I don't focus on making sure the points match perfectly. Any long time reader of my blog knows that I have a HUGE dislike for pinning. I'm not going to try to sell myself as perfect, but three things really make quilting easier - proper cutting, proper seam allowance and pressing.

At least this means I'm joining in Judy's quiltathon! ;)

Leah

Butterfly Twist Quilt

Just finished the binding on this butterfly and green quilt this afternoon.

Whew... talk about vibrant! And I used orange thread this time, because there's a wee bit of orange in the butterfly wings. That's the downside about using Essential Threads, there aren't a TON of color options; only about 60 or 65 to select from. Hopefully there will be more colors down the road... but in the meantime it's make do! I love the thread too much to switch to a different brand that might have more options. :)


Can I moan for a long arm machine again? Cuz this wouldn't have happened if I had one!

Towards the bottom you can see a bit of the backing fabric that got pinched. Not a big deal, right? Well... when I was quilting that part, it started bunching on the top too. Instead of taking a moment to figure out if something was wrong, I just smashed the top relatively flat and hoped for the best. Nope, that's not how it works. :P

The quilting was just loops this time. I was running out of steam after free-motioning the ferns on the green zig zag quilt. So I picked something easier and wouldn't use a lot of thought. And if I accidentally crossed thread over, one would just assume it was another loop. :)

Still needs to be washed for "optimal usage", but I've moved onto the binding of the last trio of quilts.

Leah

Green Zig Zag done

The first of the trio is completed! I tackled this one with a lot of energy and interest for something new, which I can't say the same for the other two.

I love how crinkly it came out after washing. Just the kind of quilt you want to pull up on yourself and cuddle with. :)


And in a move that makes no sense at all... I used dyed orange backing fabric. That's one way to make the quilting pop!

Selective shot, of course. I'm not perfect, I'm not going to delude myself that I am, but I don't have to photograph it! :D I had a boo-boo where the backing folded over and I quilted on it. Then when I was trying to seam rip it apart, I accidentally snagged the wrong thread. So there's a certain section that's looking a little chewed up and thread heavy from re-sewing... I wish I could say live and learn, but I've lived through this several times now! Just one of those moments where I lament and wish for a long arm machine. ;)


My inspiration for the "endless cornstalk leaves" came from Suzanne Earley's Meandering Magic. You can get both books at her shop.

Well worth the money in my opinion, even though I don't have a frame set up for quilting. Somehow certain designs really started to click and make sense after I read through her books. Best of all, it makes me want to go beyond meandering and looping. :)


Here's the pattern I was planning to do:

But I just couldn't get comfortable back tracking. I know, practice, practice, practice. I'm happy enough that I branched out, period! ;) The result's pretty stunning, and nobody's looking for the mistakes.


I've also been keeping busy with other stuff. Last week I felt like I was trying to play superwoman! Some cooking for the Labor Day gathering at the in-laws, went to Tucson last Tuesday and spent $51 on gas and $51 on olive oil!! I think I got a better deal with the gas for once. ;)

Wednesday was my quilt guild's garage sale... ugh, didn't do as well as I hoped. I priced out over 100 yards of fabric, but only sold about 15 and made $37. But there's a noticeable dent in my stash, cuz 100 yards is still in my car! :D I really thought it'd sell better, cuz everything was $2/yard, including a bunch of Thimbleberries plaid and Christmas fabric.

Thursday the internet went out and it was kinda boring, but we got the living room super cleaned and I finished the binding on the zig zag quilt. We also went out to dinner, dipping into the grocery funds.

Friday the cable people came over, and I cleaned the kitchen too. Made for a nice relaxing weekend. And they better not charge us for that visit, as it wasn't our fault! :P

Saturday I did the weekly grocery shopping, and spent only $33.69!! Whoo. :D See, we're planning to buy a gaming laptop for my husband, cuz his won't cooperate, no matter how many times we've taken it into the shop, and the fact that we've replaced almost everything except the computer box and hard drives. We've reached the "enough" point, we just can't keep thowing money at it. Apparently it works fine with web browsing, so it'll become my computer. You know, as soon as I can cut the 5 year comfort I have with my current computer... augh. :)

My only request for the laptop was that we pay for it with cash. We've bought my husband 2 computers on credit... I'm done doing that! The credit card is paid off, it's staying that way. So, major budget time. $297/month for food, eating out and any stuff we need. Once we're out of money, we're out! We do have a 50 pound bag of rice, and 25 pounds of pinto beans, so we won't be starving any time soon. :P


And if you made it this far, have a cookie. ;)

Part of the menu planning includes a weekly sweet so we're not tempted to get a shake or run to the store for some ice cream.

And of course, I still have plenty of fabric, I can make hundreds of quilts. :D I am going to run out of batting at this rate, and would love to buy a roll... but I'm counting on the fact that my birthday is just 2 months away! ;)

Leah

Yeesh!

Bad connector on the outside cable box? Equals no internet connection.

It also equals a very clean living room, a tidy kitchen and one quilt binding done. :D

Off to catch up some more on my blog list.

Leah

Pinning Marathon

Ohh, color me tired and sore! I kinda surprised myself by realizing that exactly a month ago I got home from visiting my parents. I've managed to complete 4 quilt tops since. Admittedly, they're all baby/lap size.

I'll say this, my husband got a good view of my butt this evening as I bent over and pinned the three quilts! ;)

Seeing the picture, I'm reminded why I go either all-scrappy or 2-3 fabric quilts. I just can't do a handful of colors, I just don't get a good flow. The quilt on the right is starting to rub me wrong because "shades of pink and purple" was nice in theory, but didn't translate well into a quilt.

On the bright side, all three quilts use fabric from my stash - I didn't go out of my way to purchase any fabrics. I'd guess around 15 yards used, including the bindings, which are already cut and ready to be added after the quilting.

I wanted to pin last week's mystery quilt too, but I don't have a backing handy, and I'm out of crib size batting. Hopefully I'll remember to pick some up when I'm running around town while my husband's at the church council meeting. :)

Leah

A top in a day!

I woke up at 6am - without my "alarm" a.k.a. my husband. :D He's pretty worn out from the first week of school. Getting up at 5:30am again is a bit of a shock. :P But I started to work on Ann's mystery. First she had us do 4-patches, then HSTs.

We put them together to make this unit.

This was at clue 7, and there were eight clues. The beauty of this block is that you have NO idea how it's gonna look in the end. So many different ways to arrange and play with them. So I'm on my toes waiting for clue 8... and Ann surprises me with giving us 7 different options for arranging the blocks. Talk about a mystery til the end! :)

I picked option 1, arranging the blocks all in one direction.

If you look, you can see pink slanted stars. It's a beautiful baby quilt size, maybe even lap size? I'm planning to put a small teal green border around it, then bind it with the pink.

Ann also suggested making the blocks into a Jewel Box, but I already did that last year.

Another successful mystery from Ann! :)

Leah

Another one of Ann's Mysteries

Tomorrow is Ann's Summer 2008 Mystery. I've selected my fabric below. I'm keeping it simple this time, because the heat's really getting to me right now, and I just didn't want to iron 25 different pieces of fabric to make it scrappy! :P

You all know how much I love Ann's Mysteries. I'm sure I'll be thrilled with the results tomorrow. And if I like the pattern enough that I wish I had done it in other fabrics, I can just make a different version. After all, this only busts 1 yard of hand dyed fabrics... 99 more to go! ;)

100 yards of fabric on the shelf, take one down, pass it around... 99 yards of fabric on the shelf... (hope the song didn't get stuck in your head!)

Leah

Half off

I had my hair cut - about half of it off. Feel free to blame my sister Sarah. She planted the idea in my head that I would look really good with a layered hairstyle, and that it'd really help my curls.

A shot of the before:

No, my head isn't crooked or anything, my hair grows crookedly. I typically have a 4 inch discrepancy every year. My left side always grows longer. (Don't forget that you're looking at a mirror image, so in the picture, it's the right side that's longer.) I could pull that section straight and it was about an inch away from my waist.


Not any more! :)

A real mess of curls now. It was kinda funny though, when she was done cutting my hair, she asked if I wanted her to curl it, or to straighten it. I opted to have it straightened, because my hair is never truly straight. Sarah's the exact same way, except that hers never curls! So hair cuts are the rare times we get what's exactly the opposite of our natural hair styles. :)


And of course, I couldn't end this post without a front shot too.

I think I'll be maintaining a shorter length from now on. I wanted my hair to my waist so much for so long, but it doesn't fit ME. Styling gets frustrating, my hair gets frizzy when it's long because it wants to curl, but has too much weight.

I think next time I'll get to cut right above my shoulder. I feel daring! I haven't had hair that short in 20 years. :D

Leah

The 100 yard pile

This post is just for Kim. :) She's been very eager to see all the fabric my mom and I dyed.

Actually, this isn't ALL the fabric, this is about 100 yards that we divided up. Because we had two different blues this time, we ended up with the largest pile of blue fabrics.

I already took a few pieces out, including all the 108" wide fabric for backings. The biggest quilt my mom has made was about 42" square. She's more than content with the 1-yard pieces.

Coming soon: I got half of my hair whacked off while at my parents. :)

Leah

Third time's a charm for Alcatraz!

This island has been on the "to-do" list for years. First attempt the gang of us was late and missed the boat. Second time my uncle and aunt tried to buy same-day tickets, but there was no room. Finally, my dad handed me a credit card and told me to buy tickets for everybody. We were bound and determined to make it work this time! :)

I gave my husband the camera once we got on the boat - he's good at taking scenic pictures.

The Alcatraz Island is pretty small - only 22 acres. A little over a mile away from the San Francisco shoreline. I love being on boats though! (Unlike my poor husband who couldn't wait to put his feet back on solid ground.)


A picture of the lighthouse, which I didn't personally see.

My sister Sarah and I decided to derive from the rest of the family. Sarah was experiencing a major headache, I wouldn't be able to understand the guide because of my deafness. So we trooped off on our own and did what we wished.

The nice thing is that in the main prison, they have these binders with the audio written out for deaf people. We both grabbed one, and walked around almost whacking people on headphones with the wide sides of the book. :P


Below is a picture of the library. I think it was one of the quietest rooms in the prison - guess too many of us have been shushed in libraries. ;)

I was highly disappointed that there were no books left! I'd love to see what they were allowed to read, and what condition the books were in, given how near they were to the bay and moisture.


The building that caught my interest the most was the Warden's Home.

I wonder why it's in shambles, it doesn't really look like it was in a fire. But definitely the stuff spooky stories are made out of. ;)


Sarah and I also hiked down to where the "gardens" were - but they sure weren't much to speak of. The best I could find was some pooped-on blackberries. No! I didn't try a bite. :)

The same birds gave Sarah and I trouble when we sat near the dock waiting for the others. One decided to poop just before flying over us, and we got splattered with white. Yuck! Yuck! Yuck! To the bathroom to clean off, then hiding under some roofed benches.


There was a fantastic view of San Francisco near the gardens/Warden's Home.

I loved how cool it was too - I actually put on a sweater! It seems unbelievable now, as I sit in 80+ degrees at 10pm. I'm such a cold-loving girl. :)

Send some snow or something my way, will ya? :P

Leah

P.S. Yes, we're in the middle of the monsoon, but the rain is pretty warm. I'll stand outside late at night watching the rain in a tank top. Rain doesn't equal cool!

The non-quilty vacation part

I STILL haven't brought up my dyed fabrics into the apartment yet! It's a mess in here, I've been a slacker wife. :P So you get all the non-quilty stuff tonight.


Here's my parents house. I wish I could say that I was really thrilled to see it, but I was too busy cracking up about my dad following us home. Somehow he got behind us one street before the home street - I'm sure the Arizona license plate out of the sea of Californian ones was a big giveaway. ;)

But oh yes, it was nice coming "home" (even though I kinda feel like I brought Mr. Murphy with me). You can see my old bedroom - it's the on the right corner of the house, above the garage. I could catch a good breeze and see the sun set.

You also can see the corner of a work truck on the left. That? Is the A/C guy. It got to over 100 degrees, and something was wrong with BOTH A/C units! (Something about the freon valve not working?) Yes, we had to grin and bear the heat. Ceiling fans and open windows were our friends. Plus, I was pretty good about stocking and restocking the fridge up with water bottles.


But I'm skipping ahead of myself a bit. A new addition to my parents house was this spa.

The first time I took a dip, the water smelled so bad! Like wet stinky feet or mildewed laundry. :P Everybody was in bed by then, so the next day I asked my dad how to deal with it. Thankfully my second dip was much kinder on the nose! :)

A funny story about the spa: my dad was telling me about perks and options spas offer. Then he commented how the owner's manual said that it'd take about 30 minutes to fill the spa up with a hose. Not for him! He hooked up the firehose (very handy given the multiple fire threats they get every few years) and it was filled in three minutes flat. :D


As I was taking the picture of the spa, there were a handful of turkeys snacking around. They come by every day now that my parents don't have any dogs to scare them off.

I counted 11 of them flocking together, but the highest I've counted was 18 a few years ago. I know where one went...

Apparently a neighbor down the street killed one of the turkeys and gave a shot at roasting it. Told the mailman that it was the toughest meat he's ever had! They're not good Thanksgiving prospects. ;)


There was a lot of computer drama while I was there. I helped out as best as I could, although I couldn't really dig my fingers into the issue because I don't know how the dispatching program works. Never had a reason to learn, cuz I can't use the phone. :)


On the 4th of July we went to my aunt's house. I personally kept a low key profile and bugged out on the couch for a while - I thought I was getting sound overload and my ears were hurting. On the 5th they were hurting much more, and I knew I had another ear infection. :( My dad directed me to a place that I could go to, and turns out that I was feeling pain from both and inner and outer ear infection! Plus, my throat was red according to the doctor, and she kept trying to press my face to find any pain spots. I didn't feel anything except my ear. $163 in antibiotics and drops, I'm feeling back to normal.


I wasn't the only one getting friendly with doctors, my baby sister has been dealing with a non-stop killer headache/migraine for weeks. It's mind blowing pain day in and day out. I can't even begin to imagine how bad it is. She's had various check ups, CT scan, MRI and nobody's finding anything. She even landed in the ER - they gave her morphine and it didn't even touch the pain. I know she tried hard to join in the outgoings and events, but I didn't get to visit and chat with her as much as I usually do.


Some good news though, my only brother finally got his driver's license back. It was revoked last November, due to his seizures. He's got that largely under control, with a spell here and there when he sleeps. It does give him memory loss and migraines afterwards. But I know he's thrilled to be behind the steering wheel again and not having to put up with my mom's "painful driving abilities". :P Not that she's a bad driver or anything... she just follows the speed limit and doesn't zip through every open gap to get ahead, which is torture to a 19-year-old male driver. :D


Another non-medical mishap was my parents front loading washing machine was croaking. I did several loads while I was there, and it seemed like half of the time I'd open to a drum full of water. The dryer had already been replaced in the past year.

Nobody was home, except for my husband and I when the new washer came in. So I tested it out after it was hooked up. Just some towels. But I was hugely fascinated with the low water usage that I had to watch the entire cycle! You should have seen my husband's grin when he realized what I was doing. :)


But even a nice washer and dryer can't fix all the problems - like when the power goes out! I think 144 homes were affected.

My sister was doing a load and was ready to put it in the dryer when the power went out on the 4th of July. So she rigged up this clothes line for her jeans. My mom also needed to iron a pair of jeans, and the generator was at the shop. Dad was all prepared to go and fetch it, but he wisely drove around the neighborhoods a bit and found a PG&E guy. A fuse blew out and would be replaced in 20 minutes. Dad just drove back home and waited for the power to go back on, instead of the 30 minute drive to the shop.

(Oddly enough, just now we had a dump of rain and while I was standing outside and watching it, the power went out for a minute. Thank goodness for blogger's auto-draft save!!)

So with all these on-goings and mishaps... I didn't start dyeing fabric until 5 days before I had to leave! But that's another story. ;)

Leah

Home again!

I'm finally home again. It might have been an interesting 20 days, but I am really glad for all the time I spent with my family. :)

I brought home about 100 yards of dyed fabric - which most is still in my car. Also, my suitcases aren't unpacked either. :P

But it sure felt good to have a real home cooked meal tonight for the first time in a week - thanks to the effort of my husband. Gotta love that guy! :D

The details will have to wait until I have a bit more energy, as I got up at the crack of dawn to get the $1/yard WalMart sale, starting at 7am. Turns out it was clothing type of fabric, not quilting stuff, so I didn't get anything. And the fact that I actually went to the store and thought I needed more fabric when I just brought home a huge box of fabric... yeah, I'm still trying to recover and find some brain cells. :P

Leah

Found them!

Phew... I finally found them. :)

I was laying down, trying to ease the tension in my shoulders and my thoughts wandered to where the quilts might be. Then I realized it could be under the 25 yards of flimsy muslin I have. Oh yes indeed!! :)

I also "found" this quilt... eh, not that I realized it was lost. :P But the rows need to be sewn together... might as well add it to the pile?

I'm feeling so much better now... I think I'll sew! Never mind that I still haven't packed any clothing or personal items yet. But I've got the majority of my quilting stuff packed up! :D

Leah