R/ E/ L/ A/ X

Sunprint baby's breath branch with cobalt beads and painted edges



"Life is like a race, you run like mad toward the finish line trying to get ahead of everyone in front of you"

How do you relax?  Working out? Cooking? Gardening?  Quilting?  All these things are great and can take your mind off other things like the workplace, but to me the only way to unwind and relax is to get a full body massage.   I went yesterday for my monthly massage.  I didn't realise I had any tense tight muscle groups, but my therapist found them and worked hard at getting them relieved.  The music she plays is nature oriented and easy to lose yourself in a dream world.  Before you know it, the hour is over and you wish it wasn't.  After drinking about a gallon of water to work all the toxins out, I take a very warm bath and cover my face with a hot wash cloth.  It's the best feeling in the world and no one can take it away from you.  You take in a deep breath and as you let it out, all the stresses of an entire month melt away.  Ahhhhhh......Suddenly, the phone rings and DH pulls in the driveway expecting something on the stove.   You're dropped back to earth and the race begins again. 

A couple things...

Batiks are my all time favorite fabrics.  I like to pair them up with printed fabrics.  Some quilts I see are nothing but a sea of batiks which is great in its own right, but to me, they are great mixed up with other fabrics and they fill in the gaps or brighten up something dull and boring.  I've just completed this table runner top and will back it with the geometric orange.   The orange was also used in small amounts for the paper pieced spikes.  It measures 42"X15".  I have some wonderful rayon threads that I am thinking about using for the quilting.   I need some practice on my feathers, so will quilt a wavy feather around the outer border and a small meander stitch in each block.  

Has anyone used fusible batting?  I am not liking it in the least.  It is very hard to work with and I am wondering of its long lasting effects on the fabric, like staining.  You can prewash it and render it un -fusible. (? is that a word?), but then what's the point in buying it?  I will never purchase a fusible batt again.   

This block measures 10" square and will be shipped off this week to the IQFOI which will be held in June.  The finger nails were thread painted.  I wanted the hand to stick out, so I only added a small amount of regular cotton batting to the hand and arm.  It is backed with a piece of calico as requested.   

Our friday group will be working on Cathedral window blocks, so I'm thinking batiks for this beautiful block.  When it's completed, I will post a picture here. 

TGIF

Yeah, it's Friday!  Being Friday the 13th doesn't bother me in the least, just that it's Friday and the weekend is just a short few hours ahead.  We are blessed with sunshine, so I am soaking some of it up by sitting near the sunniest window in the house. 

I want to touch on a subject today and that is COLOR!!  Why do so many people have trouble with color?  Just the mere mention of color (like yellow) sends some people running for cover.  I LOVE yellow!  Actually, there is no color I don't like.  If you like a particular color, what is wrong with using it? 

Does Orange bother you?  My fall pumpkins attic window quilt is full of orange. 

How about blue?  Or the center squiggle, an orangey red?  Do these colors make you cringe?  Especially when they are put together like this? 

Do you like black and white?  This has a bit of yellow/gold, and yes, it hangs this way so the bargello stripes are vertical instead of horizontal.  Probably another of my "mistakes", but hey, I love it. 

My surprise boxes quilt was made using whatever was in my scrap bag at the time.  It's a mix matched selection of great colors.  It's tremendous freedom to just reach in and pick whatever is on top for each one.

The colorful stripey squares around the first border were already cut pieces in my scrap bag from the

"Color My World" quilt.

"Color My World" won a design competition in July 2000

Do these colors make you scream?

This one is full of texture in the quilting and just that thin blue line of color makes this quilt. 

Jinny Beyer's "Sport" pattern.  To add interest to my quilts, sometimes I infuse just a spot of unexpected color.  Notice that the bridles on the horse heads are not all the same color?   Next time you make a monocromatic quilt or one using just 3 colorways, try an element of surprise in color and see if it works for you, if not proceed with your original design or pattern. 

Years ago I took a color class with Jinny and I bought 3 of her books one of them was "Designing Tesselations".  It is a wonderful book.  I have taken other color classes with different teachers and they were all great resources.  The best tool you can make or buy is a color wheel which will help you make some decisions on color choice, but ultimately if you love a color don't be afraid to use it. 

Portrait quilt

This is my portrait quilt I did last year for the green and white challenge I participated in.  It was my first attempt at this monocromatic and portrait type of quilting.  I don't take step by step pictures of each quilt I do, as you've noticed.  It just takes me too much time to locate the camera and have enough lighting and space to lay everything out.  So, if I'm lucky and make an effort, I usually only take one shot of the quilt when I'm finished with it.  Sorry, but that's just the way I work. 
We had set instructions for size and color, but after that anything goes.  Our dimentions were 6"X24".  Strange, I know.  It limited me to making a wall-hanging or a table runner.   Really, I didn't need another one of either of those.   But, my thoughts have drifted back to my love of photography and how I like to frame photos to hang.  Way back in the 1970's and 80's tole/folk painting was very popular.  You could find family plaques at nearly all the craft stalls where there would be a nice folk painting in the center and on top would be a family name and the bottom would read something like "est. 1974".  So using that idea and the fact that I wanted to practice my machine's capability of sewing the alphabet, I used that on this piece.  Of course, don't look too close, as a couple of them are slanty and my binding strip pulled slightly at the end so it hangs slanty as well.  All these little mistakes gives it my homemade flair and I will not rip it apart to fix it to make it perfect. 
There are quite a few publications out there on portrait quilting.  Here are 2 that I have used.

Fabric Photo Play: Love to Quilt Series by Julia C. Wood

Faces and Places: Images in Applique by Charlotte Warr Andersen

I am going to do another challenge this year, however, it is my own personal challenge.  I have done a red and white quilt for my mother before, but this time I want to use red and white a little differently.  So, I will try to keep you posted on my progress.

Rave On

Happy New Year!  What happened to December?  I blinked and it was gone.  Honestly, I know I'm getting older....thankfully, everyone is.  But, time for me has always been an issue.  Its careless fleeting cosmic course sends me reeling from one edge of my existence to the other.  Although I would rather blame time itself, I realize I am to blame for not being an expert at time management.  I sometimes brag to my DH about how I can multi-task by balancing a huge arm-load of folded laundry with a mouth full of papers to shred and my treasurers notebook tucked under my arm, up the stairs to the bedroom to unload the clothing and then the office to dump the notebook and shredding on my desk.  Back tracking only once to put the clothing away, then into my office where I'll spend the next 2.5 hours either reading emails, shredding or doing other necessary office related tasks.   It's boring work, but if I don't do it and at intervals so I can tolerate the boredom, it will never get done.   Stay at home wives or husbands have been short changed for years.   I absolutely despise the term "Stay at home wife".    Being called a "Lady of Leisure" is hardly the proper term to use in this country as well.  Only the very rich and elite who wouldn't do one chore to risk breaking a nail should be called this.  It's insulting to those of us who actually work at home and don't get paid to do it.  It's also the most important work anyone can ever do, and that is taking full care and responsibility of a household.   In the 1950's it was expected that women would stay home to raise their children and be there for them after school and the wives were happy to do it.  They made meals from scratch, hung the laundry on the line, washed dishes by hand, made minor repairs, sewed everything from clothing to curtains, and helped the children with their homework.   Call me old-fashioned, I don't mind at all.  But, don't ever call me a "Lady of Leisure"!   If I need a title, then it should be "Household Director/Manager", thank you very much. 

Motivation

Maybe these pictures can offer some inspiration. 

          Thank you to our service members now and past who have honorably served our country. 

Frieze in St. Mary's Church at Fountains Abbey

 I'm in the middle of decorating for Christmas.  The house is cluttered with full and empty boxes.  We have the same dilemma every year...where to put things.  It just isn't big enough to set decorations out.  Somewhere in the attic, I have a set of Christmas dishes.  They haven't seen the light of day in about 7 years.  Why have them, you say?  Because I love them and if I had to buy them today, they would be too expensive.  So, there they stay for the time being.   

  My pumpkin yielded 3 pies and I still have about 1 1/2 cups of pulp left to use.  Maybe soup today?  Have a  Happy Thanksgiving. 

Scotland

How about these for motivation??

 Ben Nevis

Eilean Donan Castle

 Glamis Castle



Finished

When my machine is not in use, I like to cover it to keep the dust off.  It came with a carry bag when I bought it, but I don't want to take it out of my sewing table and put it in the bag each time, so I came up with this cover/cozy.   It was an easy pattern, however, I had to alter the calculations just a bit on the instructions for the angled pieces in the spool and under the arm.  The back is the exact same as the front.  The embellishments include 2 black buttons for the knobs and 2 buttons sewn together on the very top so it's easy to pull off.   This is another one of my "fly by the seat of my pants" type projects.  I roughly sized up my machine by noting the height, length and width and chose the pieced sewing machine block that I found online at the fabshophop.com website.  This is a 12" finished size block, so I made 2, one for the front and one for the back.  I added the black strips to each side of the blocks to get to my length measurement.  The black and white diamond fabric for the gussett was measured according to the width measurement.  I sandwiched each section (front, back and gussett) with batting and backing and quilted each piece.  Then, I sewed the sections together and bound the edge with a black binding strip and finished with the embellishments.

Something Sweet

There is something about Bisquick.  I've used it for nearly 30 years.  As a newly wed, it was a quick solution to making easy meals.   In a pinch, I sometimes bought the cheaper brand, but it just wasn't the same.  Years ago, I used to send away for the little cook booklet with a box top and postage that many brands offered. I remember it coming in the mail and always being surprised at how thick the booklet was and marveling at all the great recipes inside.  I wore the Bisquick booklet out completely and had to throw it away.  Deeply regretting this move, I emailed the company and asked about a particular recipe, but they didn't have it in their archives.  So I searched and searched through my recipe box as sometimes I would write a card out and put it in my box just in case I ever lost a really good recipe or couldn't find it again in the booklets I had accumulated.  I am glad I did this routinely as I found the missing recipe misfiled and would like to share it here with you so you can give it a go and see if you think it's worth treasuring.  I still have some of the booklets and recently my DH has bought me this wonderful Bisquick cookbook.  Now to make some coffee and enjoy some easy homemade danish pastry. ;o)

Bisquick Raspberry Braid
3 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
1/4 cup butter or margarine, room temperature
2 cups Bisquick mix (regular or reduced fat)
1/3 cup milk
1/2 cup raspberry jam (or any favorite jam or preserve but not jelly)
egg wash - 1 egg whisked with a dash of water
Icing - recipe follows
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Or 200 degrees C.
In a mixing bowl, combine cream cheese and butter.  Cut in Bisquick until crumbly.  Stir in milk until combined.  Turn out onto a floured board and knead 8 to 10 times.  Roll dough to a 12"X8" rectangle.  Turn onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet.  Spread the preserves down the center of the rectangle of dough.  Make 2 1/2" cuts at 1" intervals on both long sides of the dough.  Do not touch the preserves.  Fold strips over the filling which will look like a braid.  Brush with egg wash.  Bake in the center of the oven for 12-14 minutes or until lightly browned and done in the center.  Cool slightly then drizzle with icing.   Store covered in the refrigerator.
Icing:  1 cup powdered sugar, 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract, 1 Tbsp. soft butter, 1-2Tbsp. milk or enough to thinly drizzle over the top.  Blend all ingredients together in a small bowl.

On Retreat

Quiltworks is the best place to stay for quilt retreats or taking classes on offer.  DH and I just got home from a 5 day retreat.  I spent nearly every moment at my machine while DH found himself immersed in his novel or off on a hike.  There is plenty to do in the area and is a central location to the Lakes District.  Please go here to find this wonderful studio in the beautiful county of Cumbria. 

I worked on my own UFO's and was inspired by other talented ladies.   In August, I took a Kate Dowty class and made this pebble wall hanging which I call Sweet Wells.  Sweet wells is one of the many becks in this area.   

At retreat I started and nearly completed a sewing machine cover; and  a 12" square block which will be a calendar top.  There will be several more of these made and will be changed with the months.   A small doll size pillow/sample which has applique, piping and a ruffled edge, but it's not finished yet.  I also started quilting the maple leaf quilt I've shown in a previous post.  It is so good to just think sewing/quilting the entire time and not have to drop it all to make a phone call, go shopping or prepare meals.  There are no distractions here if you don't want them and plenty of inspiration.  If you've never been on a retreat, I highly recommend finding one in your area and meeting other talented people or go with your own group.  It's therapeutic.  ;o)

Tiles

I've always loved tile mosaics old and new.  In grade school, our class had to make mosaic plaques and remember it being so much fun.  Seeing mosaic floors in churches, museums and Roman ruins has given me inspiration and the desire to try out the technique in quilts.  I bought the book "Tile Quilt Revival" by Carol Gilham Jones and Bobbi Finley.  It contains a brief history and instructions on making the projects in the book along with patterns.  I am making the quilt "All in a Dream" which I thought would be an easy project to get my feet wet.    My "grout" lines don't look perfect, but I really like the look of this quilt.  The idea was to make each block with a warm and cold side as well as mixing dark and light. 

The borders will be a yellow stripe all around.  Juliet will long-arm quilt for me and when it returns I will post a final picture. 

This Asian square quilt is also finished.  My son likes the outcome and has hung it in his bedroom.  I dismantled the entire thing and took out the glaring white and added the black and red sashing strips.  The green cornerstones were also added.  My son loves the center symbol, which is thread painted.  Look back a few posts to "Time Out" and you will see how this top was returned to me from the round robin.   Since this was always meant to be for my son, he had the final say in what it should look like, so I don't feel bad that it was dismantled and redone.  He has to live with it afterall.  

Have an inspiring day ;o)