QUILTING DEVELOPMENT

MY BELOVED FATHER

2009-05-04T16:24:00.007-04:00

I cannot even begin to explain where I've been for these last couple of years. It is ironic, however, that I stopped blogging when my father became ill, and am now blogging again only after his passing this past November. Ironic may be a strange word to use, you might think, but that's because you didn't know my father. He was the picture of health, even to the last day. He never complained of any pain because he never complained about anything, so we really didn't expect him to leave us, even though on some level I obviously registered it could be the beginning of the end.

My father was a handsome, brilliant, civil engineer, a man's man, as I've never seen him cry or even tear up until 6 years ago when his father passed away and he was eulogizing him. My grandfather died at age 99.5, and, my father told the meager crowd (because Grandpa outlived all his friends and all contemporary relatives (and he used to say God forgot about him!)), it wasn't enough time. I guess it's never enough. My paternal Grandma is still alive, God bless her, and is now 100. With genes like that it was hard to believe my father would pass away at 74. It wasn't until I saw my strong father succumb to cancer (CMML) that I fully appreciated what a devastating disease it is, depriving otherwise vigorously healthy people of precious time with loved ones. Even my father's doctors and nurses had been impressed with how well he tolerated chemotherapy.

While he was a strong man, he was an incredibly gentle one. He had the patience of a saint, but the old adage "Beware the anger of a patient man" was certainly applicable during my childhood. What most impressed me about my father was that he was one of those people who really perfected himself, overcoming emotions to the point where I don't even remember the last time I've seen him angry.

He was well loved wherever he went. As someone who visited us said, "People always say about the departed that he/she was a well liked man/woman, but in your father's case it was really true!" His coworkers all came and even the men teared up when they met us. But what we'll miss most about him is that he loved perfectly, completely, and deeply, and never hesitated to say so outright ("I love you so much it hurts!") or show you with gifts (of hats with our initials, mugs with beach scenery, and so many shirts!). All of these items are now sacred objects, elevated to holiness from material things which barely represented his love.

We were kindred spirits, he and I, often laughing uncontrollably because of some pun or situation, to the dismay of even my mother sometimes! By the end of such a scenario, we'd just laugh because the other was laughing. I never had that with anyone else, and I suspect never will again. I told my children, with whom he was incredibly close and adored with all his might, "Your father loves me, there's no doubt, but no one will ever love me like Grandpa."

I know that I am extremely lucky to have had a father like that, and to have had time to get to know him as an adult. By design we lived in the same neighborhood. I still talk to him every day. It's hard to pray for a long healthy life on the one hand, knowing that, on the other hand, it means I won't see him again for an excruciatingly long time. It is an extreme consolation to me to know that it's not an end, just a separation, and that any good deeds I do here on earth elevate his soul in heaven.

PENNY FOR YOUR THOUGHTS

2007-08-18T22:54:00.001-04:00

I went to that Bay Ridge fabric store again, and found some felted wool suitings for 50 cents a small scarf-sized piece. I bought nine of them, and felted them some more in my washing machine. I've been "itching" to make a project of wool for a long time now, and it was fun. It's based on a design I'd drawn in my journal for a quilt back in December, but I altered it somewhat and came up with this. It's going on my dining room wall. Doesn't it make you want to sit down and have a drink?!?

BACK IN THE SWING OF THINGS

2007-08-11T23:06:00.001-04:00

I finally became settled enough to begin quilting again. It's been a long time between preparing for, being on, and recovering from, the trip. I decided I wanted to make a portrait. The only objective that I had was to get the shadows and highlights semi-correct, so that it actually looks like a person. And, Oh, did I mention that I wanted to do it in red and yellow? I just really wanted that, well, because, that's why! I am no where near done, but here it is so far...Don't you just hate that it is so hard for the camera to capture a quilt's true dimension? I hate the way the quilt looks in the photo, but I do like it in person. Weird.

It's nice to be back on the beach again, too, and I decided that just because I was outside didn't mean I couldn't be artsy...

Mom got some special tools for sand castle making, so we gave it a whirl.

It finally started looking like a castle when a wave reached it. So we abandoned the project, but learned alot for next time!

BACK IN MY REAL WORLD

2007-08-06T21:33:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone, it's good to be back home. Sorry it took me so long to post, but I'd forgotten how much work it is to go on a trip for so long - and then to return. Not to mention the jet lag and the 12 - that's twelve - hour flight home with 4 misbehaved children.

Our last outing included the following sights - I'll give you shots from the car as we approached the city.

Jerusalem is an elevated city, and you can feel the car working harder and harder as you get closer. When you finally arrive, you see the stone wall above, and the welcome sign below. Welcome in Hebrew is Brucheem HaBa-eem, literally translated it is "blessed be those who come." This greeting used to be spelled in flowers, but I guess it was too much maintenance. I prefer the flowers.

Within the city limits, one still needs to drive a bit to arrive at the old city, and here you can see the old city wall. It is such an awesome sight. The old city is divided into four quarters - the Armenian, Christian, Muslim, and Jewish.

Once inside the old city walls, the roads are narrow and busy with people walking all around - a real challenge. I was surprised they still allow cars to drive through. We went through this tunnel to get to parking for the Kotel, or Western Wall.

We got these insider directions from friends,with whom we visited and found this terrific mosaic:

Finally, the Kotel,

where we bumped into friends from NY! The sun was so bright and it was hot, even in Jerusalem. (It's much cooler due to it's elevation.) But after three weeks in Israel, I did get used to it, somewhat. Now when everyone's complaining about the heat here in NY, a measly 90 humid degrees, I just laugh. It ain't no thang.

Then it was back to my favorite part, the city center and the midrachov, a stone paved strip only open to pedestrians, where we ate dinner and my son stole the show from these mimes with applause. Night life in Jerusalem is very kid friendly, and the shops are open late. Shopping here is just AWE-SOME! In addition to great clothes and shoes and jewelry, this is where everyone gets their best souvenirs, and there are always entertainers practicing.

While the mimes kept the kids occupied, wouldncha knowit? Another friend from NY...

And it was a good thing we met up with him, too. We'd parked our car in a lot, and being from NY, we never thought that a parking lot in the very center of a very large city would ever close. 9:50pm to be exact. So, without toothbrushes or a change of clothes we followed our friend back to his hotel where we stayed for the night. I didn't care. I was happy in my favorite part of Jerusalem - the part where I'd lived for 3 months when my oldest child was a baby. I inhale and can only remember the smells - the evergreens, the night, I don't know what it is, but I love it.

For those of you who guessed Israel, you were right, of course. The zoo was the biblical zoo in Jerusalem, and that oasis? That was Eilat, Israel' southernmost city, closely bordering Jordan and Egypt. The coral reef was in the Red Sea, and those are Jordanian mountains in the background. We drove through the Negev desert, and that crater, the Ramon. On the way back, that was the Dead Sea I showed you, and what looks like snow is of course salt. I think I covered all of the pictures I posted.

Anyway, thanks to all of you who posted, I had fun with it!

WHERE IN THE WORLD? PART II

2007-07-23T13:24:00.000-04:00

I hate to taunt you, but I am having a bit of fun with this. OK so maybe I do like to taunt. Last time I posted pictures of my vacation and asked for guesses as to where you readers think I am. I have more pictures for you - and yes, I am still here. These pictures will pull it together for some, and throw some of you off. Let's have some fun, shall we? PLEASE DO POST YOUR GUESS!

This place intrigued me. It is almost in the middle of nowhere, but it's near the house where I am staying, which you could also say is almost in the middle of nowhere. Every time I pass it I am in awe of it's beautiful architecture, and how the gardens are a perfect compliment. This angle was the best I'd seen of the structure, taken from a very unlikely place, a museum of historical and military accomplishments. Here's a close up...A few days later we met up with another friend from high school in a mall for a quick dinner with our misbehaved children. In the mall, there was this great mosaic which I thought would make a terrific quilt block...They sure do love their mosaics here. A family down the block has this cute one in the middle of their porch, just begging me to photograph it - so of course, I did...

Then there was this fabulous one, in another mini-mall in another up and coming city, also nearby...

Just outside that mini-mall was a playground with the most beautiful sunset...

I digress, back to the hints. Last week we went on a mini vacation within the vacation, and we drove - I should say, I drove, because hubbie hurt his foot - through intimidating, winding roads that were really in the middle of nowhere. For a native New Yorker like myself, this was a little freaky because I am not used to that, and all I could think about was how long it might take someone to find me here if God forbid something went wrong! It's terrible, I know, I can't really fully enjoy the quiet of a vacation but hey, it's survival back home to have the mind constantly aware of surroundings and permutations. So picture this, I am driving in the middle of the desert, winding around mountains, descending and ascending, and all of a sudden, I come around one arbitrary bend and saw this...

This is a magnificent sight, the R____ Crater, which legend says was created by a meteor but in reality was formed by water. Mind boggling gorgeous was this humongous thing. I didn't want to leave. The pictures just don't do it justice. It's quite humbling to see something so vast. I haven't been to the Grand Canyon but I suppose I'd have the same feeling there.

Why would I drive through a huge desert? Am I out of my mind? Well I may be, but it was to arrive at this resort, nestled in the desert hills. The resort was quite unique and had "Tuk Tuks" (essentially, glorified golf carts) take you up and down the mountain from your room to wherever. Yes, that is a shoreline you see, fish and coral all around.

Before you commit me, check out this view from the lounge. Still think I'm crazy?When we drove back, we took a different route. Aside from getting this great picture (that's two camels, in perfect symmetry)...

We saw this...

Here's a view from the dashboard. This is a two way highway, folks, travelled by huge double trucks and tour buses. To pass someone, one must go into oncoming traffic. To complicate things, you can't see around the bend and have no pick-up going uphill!

Slowly but surely, plant life, and then forest green as far as the eye can see...

For my next post, I'll show you what I did yesterday. I can't show you that without giving it all away :)

WHERE IN THE WORLD AM I?

2007-07-11T16:48:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone, sorry it's been so long again. Things have been a bit hectic around here. Where is here, you may ask? Well, I did receive my passports in time for my trip, thank God, and I am far, far away from home. I thought I'd make it interesting by asking you readers where you think I am... of course, I'll give you hints.

Here is the family seated at "Pizza Meter," where, you guessed it, you order by the meter. The owner is posted in the Guinness Book of World Records as having made the longest pizza in the world. We met Charlie, this blue and yellow macaw, in the zoo. Charlie is on record as being the oldest parrot, 104. It said on the card next to the cage that he likes to curse the Nazis, using words he learned from one of his former owners, who legend has it was Sir Winston Churchill. We tried getting his attention but perhaps he had heard the war was over...

Here, hubbie stops to smell the weeds. Rosemary...

And one picture of scenery...

Look at this stained glass window. I thought it would make a beautiful quilt!

We visited friends we've had for over 20 years and had a lovely evening BBQ, using only wood, not charcoal.

So, what do you think? Where am I?

PASSPORT WOES

2007-06-20T02:02:00.000-04:00

I have been one of those victims of the passport agency's demand woes. I sent applications in for me and my kids in April, only to find that while they were efficient enough to cash my checks back in the beginning of May, that is where the efficiency ended and chaos began. I have been calling the agency for a few weeks already only to find out that while they know where my application is and were able to (finally after several calls and three weeks) expedite it's process, my kids' passport applications are in New Hampshire but not "batched" yet so they cannot be expedited. What this means, to my mind, is that they're in a big unsorted pile somewhere - for a couple of months.

Now, understand something: I am not the shopper who screams with a sense of entitlement, nor the diner who demands better food or service, nor the driver who pushes herself ahead of the pack. With rare, bad day, once a year exceptions, I am courteous, patient, and more understanding than anyone I know when I employ some one's service or interact for a simple purchase. This, my fellow Americans, is nothing short of RIDICULOUS. The person responsible for this should be tortured as I am when I call to make an appointment at a regional passport center with the automated system that cuts you off, falls silent, and is antiquated at best. I have been trying for a week to get through to said automated system, and if it weren't for my daughter's tenacity, I'd be up the proverbial estuary without a paddle.

At first I thought, OK, I just need to be a little more patient, but now I see this problem is way out of control. We should be required to carry a passport to Mexico, Canada, etc, and this requirement is way overdue. But who is the idiot who didn't anticipate the surge in applications? Do we not know how many people cross the border into said lands every summer? Can we not calculate how many of said citizens use the minimum vital documents or passports, and therefore how many more may be required? TOTAL TRAVELLERS MINUS THOSE WHO USE PASSPORTS EQUALS THOSE WHO STILL DON'T HAVE THEIRS. And while I'm at it, who is the moron who designed the menu for the telephone system? (If you make a mistake, there is no going back).

By the way, if we don't have the above information to fill in the formula, then our borders are way too porous, and that's frightening. It would be a good idea for people to carry identity cards for that matter. There are people trying to kill us, you know. I for one am willing to sacrifice a little privacy for safety, but I digress.

I know I'm not alone, based on the telephone system not accepting my call due to high call volume. Where are you, fellow victims, and what do you think?

APOLOGIES

2007-05-28T23:20:00.000-04:00

My gosh, I didn't realize how long it's been since I posted! My sincere apologies to those of you who were looking for me and wondering if I am OK. It was really thoughtful of you to inquire, and I guess for a while I thought I was blogging to nobody! Silly thought, when I have great co-quilters and quilt lovers like yourselves who write me regularly.

I am OK, everyone is fine, I've just been very busy preparing for a very special trip. Details to follow. One of the reasons I haven't posted is because all I've done quilting-wise is to sew half of the rows for the star quilt together. It is extremely time consuming, back-aching work. This is not to say I haven't been working with fabric at all. Actually, I re-upholstered my kitchen chairs with a great home dec fabric I purchased for $4/yard, and covered that with plastic so I can wipe it clean. 4 chairs cost me $24 including the staple gun for $10! But of course for that price I purchased lots of extra fabric which I am now using to make a bag. I also made a comfortable leopard print cotton (only, always) knit skirt which is so comfortable it feels like pajamas. And I just tonight finished hemming a stretchy cotton and spandex knit top for myself that I copied from my favorite-fitting top. This was a first for me. I am tough to fit up top, so copying a shirt I already owned and loved became the perfect solution. It's an Ann Taylor Loft top that I purchased years ago, made of polartec. Now I have that perfect fit in a lightweight, comfortable top - so delicious, smooth like butta! I have read many articles about copying patterns but never thought I could do it. This turned out to be easier than following a commercial pattern, which thrilled me. So many of my garments go unworn because they just don't look right. It still needs some tweeking but I'm happy with the way it turned out.

Comfort is a main objective in all of my (albeit limited) garment sewing. Ladies, why shouldn't we be comfortable? Of course, there is nothing wrong and I much enjoy dressing up for a special occasion, or even just dressing funky for no occasion but my mood, but why should we torture ourselves just to project an image to others - I'm cool, I'm sophisticated, I'm hip - whatever the case may be. Really, when you boil it down to the minerals, it's insecurity, isn't it? Worrying about what others see when they look at us can take so much time. And Lord knows, we quilters need all the precious time we can get!

I have no pictures for you today, but wanted to post to let you all know I am still here. One of our cameras has been dropped one too many times by my daughter, so I guess that contributed to the lack of blogging. Now with the trip planned, I hope to purchased another one soon and get lots of sewing done before I go. I'll try to post the pics of the aforementioned stuff I've been making. Stay tuned!

MORE PROGRESS

2007-04-15T20:28:00.000-04:00

We had that terrible Nor'easter today - all day. Isn't it great to have quilting as a hobby on a day like today? We never feel stuck indoors! The kids were surprisingly content with the nothingness, but once in a while I had to play referee.

I put a real dent in that quilt today. I didn't sew a stitch because this quilt goes together in rows and I have to concentrate on which way to press the seam allowances, which always get mixed up anyway. Instead I focused on color and placement, cutting and pressing and starching my fabrics over and over again. It would be so much easier if the pattern were one dark, one light, and also easier if I could sew it color by color, but it must go together in rows, or it may not go together at all in the end!

I began the colorway having in mind that it would be strictly adhered to - that is to say, there is a 2 row surround of each color. You can see the red is strictly bright rainbow red, and the light is a very pale pink in order for the red to stand out even more. With the oranges, I simply didn't have pale oranges, and couldn't even find too many in stores, so I had to bend my rules and use some light medium oranges. I even turned some of them to the other side to get the color lighter!

The yellows are still proving to be the most difficult. I could have kept them all dark yellows to enhance the stars and keep the pattern, but there would be no bright rainbow yellows (making up the star itself, anyway) and that is what I really wanted. So yes, the design does break apart a bit, but that break gives the eye a focus on the center, then outward and in again, and the design to search for in the yellows. Keeps it interesting, I think.

I had a very fun time putting the greens together today. I own plenty of them, which made it easier, of course. What I love the most is the use of yellow greens primarily in the inner layer, to blend better with the yellows, and blue greens in the outer layer, to blend better with the next blue layer. This is a complete departure from my strict hexagonal colors I envisioned in the beginning. I even started using an extremely pale green to fill in some of the missing yellows, which enhances the blending even more.

All I need is a few more storms (not too intense!) and I may actually finish this quilt!

PROGRESS

2007-04-12T22:43:00.000-04:00

I've finally gotten to the point where I wanted to write this entry, and missed blogging and all of you! I'm hoping this means my blogging rut is over. Now that Passover is finished, I have time to show you what I had been working on all this time. Remember my post about my design wall, and the Bat Mitzvah quilt I started for my daughter? Well, she just turned 12, but the quilt is no where near finished. I have, however, made good progress, and here is the so far...
Each of these triangles are only 3" tall, and they have to be sewn individually because I select each one and wait sometimes days to see if I could live with it. Reds were easy, orange a little harder because you'd be surprised how few light orange fabrics there are around - or perhaps it's how few I can live with. The yellows were the most challenging because the pattern was in danger of disappearing with that layer. Dark yellows are not rainbow yellow, really light yellows are almost white. I decided that a slight loss of design is a slight advantage, in that it helps the focus go in and come out again, brings in luminosity, and any lack of "perfection" in fabric choices can be charming. Let's hope I'm right. We'll probably be able to tell after the next layer.
I hope your holidays were happy, and most importantly, that your quilting is happy!

CHECKING IN

2007-03-08T19:31:00.000-05:00

My uncle Stu - the best dentist on the planet with the tooth quilt I made for his office:
You can see in the picture he collects all kinds of dental paraphernalia - see the "DENTIST" framed pic to his right? And the Garfield behind him on the shelf?

Those of you who had trouble with pics last post it wasn't you. I finally figured out how to add multiple pics at once. For some reason the pic files are too large to process all at once and I have to go back to adding them one at a time. Nothing like blogger issues when you are in a blogging rut, huh?!

Elaine, doll, thanks for inquiring about me and my well being. I'm doing well, actually, socializing, going to fundraisers (one in the Marriott times square!), having 3 neighborhood families over for lunch this Saturday. All happy stress, right?! I just remembered that we took a pic before leaving for the Marriott...

Some of you like my New York stories, so how 'bout another one. Now that I mentioned the Marriott fundraiser... We were pretty late, but since it was late I figured we'd save the $60-100 for parking and make an attempt to park on the street. For those of you who know NYC, you've seen the signs that say, "Don't Even THINK of Parking Here." Well, we circled around a couple of times and found a block that seemed to have half a dozen spots! Is this right, or are we missing something? Both hubby and I get out, and read and re-read the three signs posted vertically. They went something like this: from 8am-6pm no parking any time, from 6pm-8am 2 hour parking with meter (which was down the block), sat/sun/holidays something else I forget, and there were a myriad of stipulations such as "except deliveries." It seemed too good to be true. Slightly up the block a police car idled, double parked. We approached, and the cop reluctantly lowered his window, as it was the coldest night of the year. "Excuse me, officer, I'm sorry to bother you but is that legal parking?" my husband humbly inquired. "What does the sign say?" was the gruff response. My husband explained that in the maze of sign language it seamed OK, but we just wanted to make sure. The cop's response was something like, duh, if it seems OK and you read fluent English why are you bothering me? No, he didn't say that, but it was implied with the, "Well I guess it's OK then." We walked down the block a bit, and hubby said with a smile, "Tough job to be a NY cop in Manhattan, huh?" Why the smile, you might ask. I can't explain it but I understood it. When you're a proud New Yorker you understand that there are territories - you respect that. This was the cop's territory, and as native NYers we're expected to be self-sufficient enough to park our car. In my neighborhood, for example, it's understood that street parking in front of my house is my domain, and unless there are no other spots available, courtesy dictates one should not park there. Of course, only neighborhood people understand that, so I don't expect someone from out of town to understand that. There is the shmuck across the street, however, who has "taken" my husband's spot out front when it's been dug out from snow, despite the fact that there's one right behind him, not so neatly dug out by us.

Am I making any sense? I surmise if you read my blog long enough you'll start to get a feel for NYC and it's "street sense." That is my goal here. A person can come to NYC a thousand times and see all the sights, but you won't see this - this pulse.

About my sewing machine - it's still moody, and I think it has something to do with a cheap-o thread I put in it. It rebelled both times. So guess what I done did? Yep, I bought a new one! Designer II on Ebay baby! It's risky I know, but thank God it all worked out, and I got a great deal. If I liked my Viking dealer I probably wouldn't have done it, but I don't, and it's an extra bonus that I bypassed him :)

A FEW OF MY FAVORITE THINGS

2007-02-19T19:14:00.000-05:00

Sorry it's been so long since my last post. I very much prefer to read updated blogs and so I try to post weekly on average, but it doesn't always work out that way. I've been a bit bogged down with the mundane lately, and I needed a break from the pressure of blogging, too. Most of the time I find the blog a terrific outlet, a great way to get feedback from people who are interested in quilting, and a means of connecting with people I would not have the opportunity to meet in "real" life. I have been sewing, but felt the picture taking lately was getting in the way of my creative process, so I decided for once it was OK to put the camera down and just swim in the process, enjoying every drop of creative juice and with no pressure that my work will be seen. Elaine left a terrific morsel on her blog that I will never forget - "Quilt like no one's watching!" and ever since reading that I've started to think about how much the blog work gets in the way sometimes. Conclusions: I am more creative, less nervous, accomplish more when I sew and no one is watching. What I mean by all that jibberish is that I am torn, but am feeling myself land on my 2 quilting feet. I will blog, but I surmise I will show finished products more often, leaving the camera in another room during the process. So what have I been up to?

I've made a skirt, a bag, and mended kids clothes that have been piling up. I suppose I could post pics about that, but I am rebelling, you see. Purhaps when things settle down in my head.

Now for a few of my favorite things:
First, there is this towel. The colors are not as perfect as when I first bought it, but love it so much I'd design a bathroom around it if I could! I hadn't been shopping for towels, didn't need towels, it doesn't match my bathroom but I couldn't resist. There was just something about it. One day I'd love to make a bargello quilt with just these colors (by the way, those dark specks are navy, not black)...

Then, there is this spoon. It has absolutely no function. In fact, my son broke the top off the day I brought it home. No matter, I just want to look at it once in a while...

Ahhh the soft wool scarf. One of those "finds." I love it because of the quilt-like pattern, but I would have loved it long before I knew about quilting. There goes that colorway again. Notice a pattern to my madness?

Then there's this. It cost too much when I first saw it so I didn't buy it. Then I bumped into it again, it wasn't on sale, but I had thought about it over and over and just decided nothing could take it's place. I love this thingy...
Now for some quilting photos. My uncle is a dentist who lives almost a 2 hr drive from my home. I've tried other dentists, there is none like him. Although I've insisted on paying him, he refuses to take it, and after hubby and kids made the trek today I decided to make him a quilt. He has a lot of "chatchkes" in his office relating to his profession, so I'm sure he'll love it. There's only one problem. My sewing machine...

After going back and forth to the dealer 3 times, it was purring, but then I noticed a little "ping" every time the needle went down. No big woop, it happened once before, I'll take it to the dealer again. But then I started to notice the top tension getting stiff again, and worse, that the zig zag stitching was inconsistent in width, plus the machine would slow and speed up ever so slightly. That's bad news, I think. But this machine is 12 years old, a Viking, and supposed to last forever! It has served me well, and I hate my dealer. If he weren't so overpriced and a little bit nicer I'd be throwing my money at him. The repair man I went to is much cheaper, but perhaps he doesn't know quite how to fix it? I think it's worth another try, I just hate the down time. I used to make fun of all the ladies with multiple sewing machines. What's the point? I get it now, and I think I'll be becoming one of those ladies.

Today I did the following. It is unfinished, please don't look at the inconsistent zig zag stitching - it really was the machine and not me!

That's as far as I've come. I had to stop - the machine was depressing me. Kind of like when you visit someone who is sick who used to be vibrant. You hate to see them that way. Likewise, I hated to see my machine that way.

QUILTERS OF THE NIGHT MEET BY DAY

2007-02-04T16:37:00.000-05:00

A picture is worth a thousand words. I think my round robin quilt came out so beautifully! I made the center star and enclosed the teal fabric, and I'm so glad I did because it really helped blend all the rounds together. The ladies that worked on it did an amazing job, and read exactly what it needed at every stage.
Here's almost everyone holding their quilt. Hopefully we'll get a more complete picture next time. Ladies, take a bow! You all did such a beautiful job and I learned so much!

LAST ROUND OF THE ROBIN?

2007-01-29T18:20:00.000-05:00

Before...
Requirement: Some aspect of triangles.

This was tough, because the last thing needed was triangles. I thought I'd just slap some broken dishes together in black and white, excluding green to calm things down a bit, but it was just horrible. I couldn't do it, no matter how much time I put into it and despite the fact that I had no idea what would work.

Then I thought, the last round was my favorite one, why not ignore everything else and just continue some of the details?

So I did. First there were the cornerstones, subtle from grey to green and blended with appliques. I wanted the eye to continue outward, so I made mine bold. The appliques had triangular but organic shapes sticking out of the oval, so I figured that was triangular enough.

The results...

Close up...
The only green added was the thread design which tacked down the pieces.

I'd love to know what you think. I don't think it's amazing, but I'm proud because this was a major hurdle, and I learned to trust my instincts again. Major lesson here: symmetry, repetition, simplicity can't fail, and repeat agreeable colors or aspects of the design. Hmm, that sounds like book material! I hereby reserve it as mine.

BAY RIDGE, CONTINUED

2007-01-17T14:30:00.000-05:00

Doesn't this picture make you hungry (to create)? Aren't they delicious? $3 a yard, people! I'm trying to buy fewer patterned fabric and more solids because I have a lot of art quilts brewing inside me. Oh, and that's a buttery soft warm cotton knit on the right, in the perfect neutral stone color. Last time I found black and made a great skirt that I could sleep in it's so comfortable. When I saw this I grabbed it. Angel said there might be more in some unpacked bags so you better believe I'll be checking back. $8.75 is the total cost of the skirt!
As promised I am posting pictures from my most recent trip to Bay Ridge. I made yet another trip to retrieve my sewing machine (which appears to be purring like a kitten finally) and figured I'd make a detour on the way home to visit Angel again.

I wanted to take a picture of the inside but how would I explain that? How do you, fellow bloggers, explain it when you click pics?

Here's one more for good measure. I love driving home and seeing the Verrazzano Bridge at the end of the avenue. That's why they call it Bay Ridge, see? Because it's at the bay's ridge.... Some of you may think it's silly to point that out but I find myself very interested in the way places come to be called. Most interesting to me to date is Intercourse, Pennsylvania! I'd love to hear your favorites - bring it on!

BLAH BLAH BLUES

2007-01-11T00:28:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone!

Sorry I haven't posted in a while but there's been no sewing activity because my sewing machine is on the fritz! It is so frustrating! I've already made 2 trips to the repair man (who is no where near me, by the way) only to take it home today and see that there is more wrong with it than before! Somebody hold me back because I'm ready to clock him over the head!

I hate posting without pictures, because I'm so visually oriented, as I imagine most of you are. So sorry, all I have are words for you, hence the name Blah Blah Blues.

So what would you do when you can't sew, but are dying to? OK, besides reading over your quilting magazines for the 30th time? I explored a little bit, because I keep hearing how in New York I have access to all these fabrics and specialty stores. Truth be told, I've still never been to the City Quilter, although I've driven by it once or twice - and even entered into their challenge 2 years ago! I didn't do anything that ambitious - those of you who've been reading this blog know I don't make it into Manhattan much. Ellen's been after me to try "Angel's" in Bay Ridge Brooklyn for some time. $3 per yard on even brand name quilting fabrics, home dec silks, knits, woolens, you name it! The place is small and packed - you can't see the fabrics that well, but if you know what you're looking for Angel can find it for you. It wasn't that easy to find - because it's not called Angel's, but J & A Fabrics or Trimmings or something. I'll get you the details, and even take some pics next time, OK?

For those of you who are unfamiliar with Bay Ridge, it's a funky neighborhood. It's a tough ethnic mix, historically Italian. As a matter of fact I think it's the setting for "Saturday Night Fever" with John Travolta. My neighborhood is very casual and beachy, friendly and relaxed. Bay Ridge is, well, just tough! It's not a poor neighborhood, the shopping's pretty good, and it's always busy.

I know you're thinking, what the heck is she talking about? I'll give you an example... My husband and I bought the laptop I'm working from on black Friday just after Thanksgiving at a Circuit City in Bay Ridge. It was one of those specials for just a few hours and yes, there we were on the street in the dark in the early morning hours waiting. It was the first and last time I've ever done that. Now, when you wait for any amount of time with a high concentration of New Yorkers congregating somewhere (the line went on for BLOCKS), things tend to get interesting. For one thing, I heard Polish, Chinese, Japanese, Spanish, Arabic, and oh yeah a little English being spoken. In the 2 hours it took to get into the store, the police drove up, ate their donuts, and left, just in time for a drunk Mafia hit man (well, he looked like one with his long coat and highly polished shoes and hair) to walk up and down the line yelling at us how we all had "issues" and should re-evaluate our lives. My husband could barely contain himself, laughing, "OH yeah, WE'VE got issues" under his breath but loud enough that I elbowed him. Then there's the lady at the front of the store, when we finally got there, one of many who tried to eek their way inside with some lame excuse. She approached the bouncers - you didn't think they'd just trust us to behave did you? - one big burly guy who clearly does this for a living, and one older tough guy who clearly is a cop or ex-cop, claiming to have someone inside that she was just joining. When that didn't work, she blurted, "I'm a cop." "Oh yeah," said the off-duty cop, "show me your badge and I'll give you the courtesy." Now, if this lady was a cop I'd be pretty surprised - maybe the mother of a cop, but not a cop. She whipped out a bunch of cards, "Nah, nah, c'mon," she was busted. Sigh, it's true, we New Yorkers - some of us - are quite pushy.

Finally in the store, we had the good fortune to get the right employees to tell us the right line to wait on, only to have a girl insist that she was in front of us. And I thought I was gonna get away without a fight! Oh no, chickadee, I SAW you get on line after me, and I'm right behind this guy, and you're not even on line, talking over there with the techie. Well, chickadee wasn't one to admit the error, and started the encroachment. We see your encroachment and raise you one squeeze. She proceeds to bad mouth us in Arabic to her parents, as if we don't understand (we don't) but it's sooooo obvious. My husband starts making fun of that to me in Hebrew, and well, middle east conflict comes to Brooklyn. We could tell her parents were telling her to calm down and leave it alone, and in the end they asked us for some advice on which computer to buy and the tension fizzled. Turns out her (very lovely) parents were just visiting from Egypt - the way she was carrying on she clearly lived in Brooklyn!

Well, there you are, more than you ever wanted to know about the birth of this computer. I ended up bringing back that one because of software issues, only to receive one with hardware issues, only to return that finally for this one. And now I just found out that my husband signed for the computer twice as the return was rung up incorrectly. I really hope I get the money back, but if not, this episode will go down in history as the single biggest thing my husband gets to rub in for the rest of my life!

QUILTERS OF THE NIGHT KITCHEN GO OUT!

2006-12-24T23:15:00.000-05:00

This past week, our group went out for a holiday party. As you can see, Lenni had her head tatooed in henna, which I thought was so cool. Only Lenni could pull off something like that! I predict that this will become a trend, although she's bald due to illness and not fashion.

Check out the close-up:

Here's Ellen and Madi. You can view their art websites on the link list to the right.

Here's Lenni and me.

And finally, my next round robin project. Unfortunately, this is the last or second to last round, and I've only had the chance to work with 2 greens and 2 red quilts in addition to the black and white requirement. It makes it pretty boring. OH, and did I mention, it has to be a round of triangles? I don't have much energy to put into this one, so don't expect any interesting results this time. I'm thinking simple broken dishes units.

GLAD TO BE BACK

2006-12-18T17:45:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone! Glad to be back quilting again - and slightly less stressed out. My arm still hurts in places but the hand is much better. Still I have to be careful not to overdo, so I'll type little and post pics more, OK?

I am happy to report that I finished my round-robin homework. Remember, it came to me this way (left). The assignment this round was "any form of applique."

If you recall my thinking process, I mentioned Andy Warhol dancers, but was mistaken, it was, as Irene said, Keith Haring dancers that came to mind. I was going to put a square border, but it would've needed to be very thick to separate from the busy-ness, and even then I decided it did not separate enough. What to do? Why, turn it on it's head, of course! This was a hard decision because I knew that Ellen wanted to keep her center as squares, not diamonds, but nothing else satisfied me. If I had more time, I would have turned it again on point and added black triangles, with twisty arrows pointing outward appliqued in that toned down red and white that is the background here. I showed it to Ellen already, and she loved it, and she would have loved it even more if I turned it again. But the next quilt meet is tomorrow, and it's time to put this homework assignment to rest.

Here are the drawings I made, freehand, based on some web browsing on Haring. I put my guys on a diet as you can see!

Thought you might like to see some close-ups of the appliques. This first one's my favorite:

THERAPEUTIC BOOKS

2006-12-06T16:49:00.000-05:00

I don't have any quilting to show you this post, as my last couple of weeks have been very stressful. Thank God everyone is OK, but I've had so much nonsense to deal with that I think I've had my fill for the year. Major car issues, computer problems, cell phone company customer service peeves (Cingular), and worst of all my hand. That's why I have no quilting to show you. The stress and exhaustion shows on my face, and I hesitated to include this picture because of that. Then I thought, what the heck? This blog is supposed to be a journal of my life - my real life. So there I am, in all my stressful glory.

What is a quilter to do when she can't quilt? Why, read about quilting, of course! I have a funny story to tell, if you have a few minutes...

Do you remember Rundy, the quilt I showed you from Houston? Fellow blogger the Calico Cat told me about the artist's website (Marilyn Belford). I was excited to learn that she has workshops even though as a mom I'll most likely not get to that this decade. I'm not sure if I mentioned that this enchantment started last January in Orlando, when I bought a quilting magazine and saw Rundy for the first time. I just stared at it, went through the magazine, and stared at it again. Months passed and I forgot Rundy until the Houston show. There it was in all it's glory. I'm sorry I didn't get more time to spend with it - I thought I'd go back but was too exhausted to continue.

Fast forward to Thanksgiving, when I spent some time with cousin Nancy. Nancy has an interest in the arts of all kinds, and asked me how my quilting was going. I mentioned my blog, and she checked it out the next day. After seeing my post on Marilyn Belford, she thought the name rang a bell. She called her long-time friend, and yes, it is her mother! Small world huh? Nancy's friend said her mom just came out with a book - !!! - a book?! I hadn't noticed it on her website when I checked it out the first time, but on a second look there it was!

And here it is...(just click on the pic)

No, I don't get any commission, although I wonder how many people will buy this book because of my post? I haven't had a chance to read it but it looks thorough, and the techniques are definitely do-able for any quilter. She has a process where she computer-manipulates a photo to make it easy to select fabrics for shading, etc. I recommend it highly. When I'll get to actually making a portrait is another story.

Between that book and a trip to the book store where I picked up the latest Quilting Arts magazine and this book:

"Creative Quilting - The Journal Quilt Project." This super-thick book is chock full of terrific quilts from people who participated in the journal art quilt project. One quilt per month, chronicling any aspect of your life or the world. Each is the size of an ordinary piece of paper. I usually prefer technique books but this one has so many quilts using so many different techniques that I really learn something new every time I flip through.

I am making it through my hand's healing process. How did I hurt my hand, you ask? Since my littlest started Nursery I decided to do some home improvements and over-did. It's officially a tendinitis. It still hurts and I have to watch myself with the groceries, lifting kids, etc, but I am typing this so that's a start!

You know, I've really missed you guys! I appreciate every comment and find it motivates me to keep going. Thanks for that.

ROUND AND ROUND IT GOES

2006-11-28T22:28:00.000-05:00

OK, here's the next round. The center block is Ellen's wonky squares, then Lenni got a hold of it and you just can always tell when she's touched something. Lenni always does something unexpected, with fabrics you may even call just ugly. Somehow she makes the uglies come together into a beautiful swan. I happen to like these fabrics though. Then Malki made the last round, "Circles," starting at the red border. So I've been staring at this again and again. Then I take myself away and take short glances, just to see something new. When those two things didn't work I just despaired. I always like to make something nice for others, but this is my next door neighbor and when no ideas were coming I thought what a shame it would be that I couldn't pull this quilt out of it's shell for Ellen. It needs order, it's just all over the place, crazy! THEN, IT HIT ME! Crazy. What do I do when I'm a little crazy? Flashes of Andy Warhol dancers went through my head. Walk like an Egyptian. You'll have to tune in to see where I'm headed as I'm not completely sure myself. I have an image, but again the insecurities come in. I can't see it through, where am I gonna get the dancers from because I can't draw. Blah blah. Then I remember what Ellen always tells me - JUST DO IT!

2006-11-27T13:18:00.000-05:00

I visited this fellow blogger and thought this post quite interesting.
Quilting Fitzy: What American Accent do YOU have? I thought it'd be cute to try and pass on.

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The Northeast Judging by how you talk you are probably from north Jersey, New York City, Connecticut or Rhode Island. Chances are, if you are from New York City (and not those other places) people would probably be able to tell if they actually heard you speak.
Philadelphia
The Inland North
The Midland
The South
Boston
The West
North Central
What American accent do you have? Take More Quizzes

Well, I cudda toldya that! You know, it's funny, somewhere in my teenaged years I tried to cover up the accent, and did so successfully, to some degree. I mean, you could tell I was from New York, but it wasn't that thick. Then I met my husband in Brooklyn College, and his accent is unabashedly thick. I tried to resist it but I spend so much time with him that it became impossible. I started to question why I wanted to tone it down at all? It seemed less scholarly or businesslike, for sure, but once I was home all day with the kids what do I need to worry about that for? It wasn't until I realized that I thought it made me sound less intelligent, that it started to make sense. My brother does it too - but he spends alot of time in Manhattan. (Uh Oh if he reads this I'm in trouble!) Manhattan has it's own "fake" accent. They try to talk like the newscasters on television, very standard American. Why do I call it fake? Just get them mad and you'll see what I mean! Anyway, back to my accent, I decided that it was OK to just let it all hang out, because my husband is probably the most intelligent person I've ever met (just saying that to make a point) and he has a thick accent, why can't I? There will always be someone who thinks less of me perhaps (especially the Manhattanite snobs) but, I've gotten to the age where I just don't care! There is one bonus to it though - you sound tougher and people are less likely to mess with you!

FLOWERS FROM HOUSTON

2006-11-26T12:34:00.000-05:00

{DO CLICK ON THE PICS BELOW TO BETTER APPRECIATE THE QUILTS! }

I've always found it interesting that flowers trancend age, era and culture as a universal beauty. The quilt show in Houston was no exception, and there were many quilts to keep flower lovers happy. This first one is just spectacular. I'm sorry to say that it was the only quilt from which I forgot to take down artist info. If anyone knows who made this do let me know... This next quilt is just funky. I like people who think "out of the box" so to speak. Photo transfers and quotes plus an original arrangement made this quilt a photo-opper. Cynthia Ann Morgan calls it "Deconstructed Flowers"...

Cool gradated blues with warm appliques just popping off the quilt, not to mention excellent craftmanship in Sunset over Keukenhof Garden by Jenny Raymond. Notice how she uses the pink (warm) colored center to draw your eye's attention in? Then it zooms back out again with the design, especially the bias strip design. Pretty cool, huh?...
OK, compared to the others you would probably wonder why I included "Citrus Nobilis" by Susan Purney Mark of Canada. She made this as a result of a textile design class she was taking, using paints, and I just loved the analagous color scheme of orange through green. It made me think I'd like to make something with those colors, with the exception of the blue-green...
This quilt had Swarovski crystals all over it, not to mention exquisite thread painting, just the right colors, and fun mixed in. Linda Taylor quilted it, but the sign next to the quilt only read "Cheri" as the creator of the top. She hand appliqued, and trapuntoed with silk thread. I bought my crystal tool from her booth...
"Paeonia Mascula" by Amira Wishinsky of Israel was simple in beauty and skilled in execution. Nothing not to like!...

I still have plenty to show you. Next post I'll concentrate on the traditional quilts that just make your jaw drop. Unfortunately, the pictures don't do them justice, but they do inspire!

ROUND ROBIN AND OH THAT FOLIAGE

2006-11-21T16:44:00.000-05:00

Before I get to the round robin, here's the close-up of the foliage in that woodland's quilt I showed you in the last post. Some of you asked how the bits of fabric were applied. It looks to me that however they were applied, they are behind a layer of netting, before the quilting was added. If you click on the picture, you can make it out.

As you may recall, this round of the RR is "some form of circles." It took me a while to figure out what to do with it. Going to the quilt show helped alot. It's always good to get your artistic juices flowing with overstimulation of form and color. I came home and there was no stopping me. Here is the before, above. Unlike the last one, it came to me very busy and needed some calm, but also some unity with the original center block. So I started doodling on the nearest scrap of paper, and this is what I came up with (below). OK, now how to implement it? Do I use bias stems and form each corner - but then how do I transfer the design to fabric? If there is one thing I wish I could skip in quilting, it has to be transfering lines to fabric. I have yet to find a method that suits me. I decided that it would be much quicker and more precise to fuse pre-designed shapes in place. Before I began that process, I thought it would be a good idea to select and attach a border (below), and select the colors of the applique. Any black and white fabric would have worked against the calming effect I was looking for, so I chose a mottled grey fabric. Mmm, much better already... OK, I was happy with the scale of this, selected the applique fabrics, and enlarged the design on paper. Now all that's left to do is to trace the design onto the paper-backed fusible. After attaching to the reverse of this beautiful batik that I bought in Houston with the round robin in mind, I cut, peeled, and fused in place. It was great that I was able to cut all of the little circles out of the extra green batik that had fusible on it, as I was becoming very impatient with the length of time this one round was taking me. I suppose I shouldn't complain about that, because if I don't make myself have the patience then I shouldn't be quilting. Come to think of it, I tell myself that alot! If I'm boring you with my details I apologize, it's just that I find I enjoy blogs and quilters who aren't afraid to share their methods. Why should there be a mystery as to how something was done? I wish every quilt in Houston had these details attached! I was thrilled to see the evolution of "Rundy." It made me think that I could do that too someday. So if I can help someone feel less intimidated, by gosh I will! Following are my results...

HELP

2006-11-17T00:32:00.000-05:00

Before I kvetch to you let me just tell you about this terrific quilt - WOODLAND BY NORIKO ENDO OF JAPAN. Oh, it seems blogger ate my close up of that terrific foliage. It's made from bits and pieces of fabric - so terrific because now I never have to throw any fabric away, no matter how small. I always hate throwing away even the smallest pieces. I once tried to recycle all of those bits of batting by soaking in hot water for days to no avail. I thought I'd just be left with pillow stuffing but it was just felted batting!

OK now for the kvetching...

It seems I'm quite the fool. Those of you who use blogger know that they've been asking for us to upgrade to their beta through Google crap. Flashes in your face, over and over, your account will have to change by the end of 2006, and when you finally join you have tons of problems. Of course, knowing blogger I am not all that surprised. I thought I'd take the plunge and use flickr, then I tried photobucket, and they are sooooooooooo slow. Please! Any advice?!!! Those of you who used Hello know what I'm talking about - it was so fast! I also downloaded Picasa and hit blog this, then nothing but waiting. OIY!

MARILYN BELFORD

2006-11-13T17:42:00.000-05:00

Oh my gosh guys, you must check out Marilyn Belford's website. She's the creator of "Rundy" that I raved about below. She even shows Rundy's creation! Fellow blogger the Calico Cat sent it to me - thank you Aviva!

EYE CANDY

2006-11-11T23:01:00.000-05:00

CONTEMPLATION III: OH JUST TO BE BY BONNIE LYN MCCAFFERY. OK, as promised here are some of my favorite quilts from Houston. This quilt - oh this quilt. This quilt started my journey towards art quilting. If I'm not mistaken, it was on the cover of Quilting Arts magazine, only I did not own that copy, but saw it in a picture. I tried to pick it apart and see how the artist managed to make something so lifelike and dreamy, to no avail. Then I moved on, forgot about it, and when I went to Houston there it was!!! I remember saying to myself that I would be happy if I could ever quilt like that. Maybe one day. It was a reminder of how far I've come since I've first viewed that quilt, and how far I still have to go.

Here's a close-up. Many of the quilts in Houston use heat fused crystals as embellishments, which I was really happy about because while I love the look of beading, I love the increased sparkle of the crystals, and even more, how much easier they are to affix. For some reason, I like hand work and even hand applique, but the idea of sewing all those beads is just not appealing to me. So, of course, I bought a kit of crystals with the special heat tool!

GULLS IN THE HEAT HAZE BY INGE MARDAL & STEEN HOUGS. This quilt is just magnificent. I don't know if she used paint because I kept telling myself I'd come back to all of my favorite quilts to analyze them, only I didn't have time to see all of the quilts! How sad is that to fly all the way there and not to fully appreciate your favorites! Anyway, I just thought this was magnificent, and as you can see doesn't even look like a quilt!

Close-up just in case you thought I was trying to trick you - it really is a quilt!

RUNDY BY MARILYN BELFORD. I saw this quilt in a magazine last winter and was mezmerized by it. She has used no paint in this quilt. All shading and details are fabric and thread. I don't need to tell you how happy I was to see it in person. While it may be true that one needs to see a painting in real life to fully appreciate the art, how much more true is that for a quilt, with all of the textures and softness. A bunch of people were gathered around this quilt but I dutifully waited my turn to take this picture. One person commented that his eyes were a little creepy, and he did seem to stare at me wherever I went!

Close-up.

Closer-up. See, fabrics and no paint! I'll be posting more, but I just wanted to show you the ones that really turned me on. It seems I'm drawn to pictoral quilts, although always love the traditional ones. I had a major conversation with hubbie the other night as to which direction I am going with my quilting. Am I serious or hobbyist? Art quilter or traditional? I don't have specific answers yet which is so frustrating, but he did help me to see that I have definite likes (pictoral quilts) and dislikes (crazy quilting). It's a real departure in my life. I'm a planner who likes definite, defined goals, and here I am swimming in a free for all art world. Can I sink or swim, or do I just get out of the pool and do something else? Fundamentally, that is what this blog is about!

HOUSTON QUILT FESTIVAL

2006-11-06T22:24:00.000-05:00

Guess where I went this weekend?

Those of you who were there know what this is!

HOUSTON I'm sorry, I don't mean to start on a negative note but what the heck? I thought this had to be one of the ugliest buildings I have ever seen. It housed the most beautiful quilts I've ever seen though. When some of my quilting buddies told me they were going to Houston for the Quilt show, I was sooo jeaulous. I mean, you can have all of the money, looks, brains, whatever and I'll be happy for you, but, you're going to a quilt show and not me? No way! So, last minute, hubby and I made the plans and we went! This place is so huge I didn't even have the chance to see everything, or buy everything, that I wanted. I'd never been to Texas before, so it was quite an adventure, but I really didn't get to see much as the weather was bad, and we came in and left in a whirlwind. Next time I have to plan to venture into and around the city. Y'all have amazing neighborhoods with all the amenities, and all car friendly! After commenting on how friendly everyone is in Houston, a gentleman proudly told me that Texas is known as the friendship state, and that any true Texan takes that reputation quite seriously, or he's not a true Texan, except for those in Dallas. Yep, that's really what he said! Anyway, Houston, I love ya!

My hotel on the other hand, was designed really well. I thought this was so cool - It's a panel of broken glass in the elevator, covered, of course, with smooth glass, and reached from floor to ceiling.

And check out this chandelier in the lobby. Is it not the coolest?

Here's a close-up. In any other building it might look like an eyesore, but because this place was so huge and it receded into the ceiling, you really don't notice it unless you look. Brilliant!
It's true what they say, Texans like everything B-I-G!!!
I have to go over all the quilt pics and artists to see which is worth sharing with you, so bare with me! More to come!

But I will show you this. Round robin before it came to me...

Round robin after. So much better! Now I have to work on that black white and green one, although with all the inspiration from the Quilt show I'd much rather be doing something artsy. Stay tuned!

QUILTS! ROUND-ROBIN AND BALL MAKING

2006-10-24T22:53:00.000-04:00

My friend Jane bought this for me upstate. Aside from the fact that it's adorable, I am so happy to have a friend like her, who does not quilt, who supports me and takes pride in my work. It sits above my sink in the kitchen so whenever I do the dishes I just smile.

Remember the round-robin? Black and white and one color of our choice? Well, this is the block I received, and I didn't really know what to do with it at first. Her block ends at the white frame, and really she used off-whites. This round was paper piecing, and I knew the quilt needed some action - boy did it get action! Obviously, I haven't finished it yet, and I'm late with my homework!

And now my homework has is building up. I have to put some form of circles as the next layer.

An finally, I finished sewing all the seams for the big red ball.

Ball is turned right side out.

Stuffing...

and more stuffing...

with this stuff.

Ta da!

2006-10-23T16:21:00.000-04:00

Here's another one!

And another!

Now I've graduated to the more complex and larger ball. It's more complex becuase there are lots more pieces - shown is for half the ball. Also, there are both pentagons and hexagons. I made it more difficult by my color selection, not wanting like fabrics or shades to touch as much as possible. I love these fabrics!

First I sewed rows, then the rows together.

Here's the half-ball. It took two evenings!

KWILTAS OF THE NIGHT KITCHEN MEET

2006-10-16T22:52:00.000-04:00

This is Me with my next door neighbor, Ellen. Here we are making our patchwork balls, that I taught to the group.

Another partial pic of the group - Madi, Lenni, Malki, Susan, and Merri.

My lesson went very well, I thought. Here's Linda with her ball. Nice right?

Here's our newest member, then Lenni and Linda.

But then, what's this?

Susan and Merri have stars, not balls! Yep, I'm a good teacher! We had a lot of fun, but I think the embarrassment shows on my face! I set them up with the two half balls incorrectly. Call the quilting police!

PATCHWORK BALL OBSESSION

2006-10-11T23:25:00.000-04:00

I told you I would become obsessed with these.
I made this the night after my purple one. This is a great thing to do when you're too tired to quilt and just want to crash in front of the TV. I'm going to be teaching my group how to do this next week. They're excited! I'll have to remember to bring my camera to this meeting.

Would you believe, this is what we did yesterday? I went down to the beach for a quick relaxation hour, and it turned into 3! My poor boys backs are burned. The water was chilly, we acclimated quickly. I don't think I've ever swam in October before! But the beach was so hot from the sun, and there was no substantial wind, so we welcomed the cool water. I was sad to leave, knowing it was probably the last swim for too long.

And last but not least, the kids insisted on practicing the art of sculpture - and who am I to discourage art?!

WHERE IS THE PINK SUNFLOWER?

2006-10-09T22:08:00.000-04:00

Just thought I'd write a brief post updating you on my "quilt pink" quilt block. Remember, the pink sunflower? I'd link to it if I knew how. (Can someone teach me how?) It ended up in my quilt group's hands, specifically Madi, who took it to The City Quilter in Manhattan and sewed it together along with a bunch of other quilties (my slang for quilter ladies). Here's the link to some pics on that day... http://cityquilter.com/quiltpink.htm The pic of Madi with the quilt is on the bottom, center, with my quilt block barely discernable but towards the center of the quilt. It's such a great feeling, as I'm sure most of you know, to make something as special as a quilt block rather than to give money or even time, which are both important too. I predict this will become an annual task for me.

PATCHWORK PUZZLE BALLS

2006-10-03T22:32:00.000-04:00

I made this today. The ball is stitched by hand, and while I've done some inset seams, I've never done this many. By the time you're done with this little ball, you become a pro at insets. The pattern is from a book by Jinny Beyer and this is the most basic of balls. She has some really challenging ones in there. It only took a couple of hours, as I sat helping kids with homework. Make no mistake, they were deprived - we had leftovers for dinner so I could do this! When my husband came home and I wanted to show it to him, they were off somewhere with it playing. They remarked how it was the perfect size, weight, and so cool! My oldest daughter was diggin' the purples. I just gotta say, I am so proud of myself! You should try it too, but I do recommend buying the templates that go with it - they have a convenient hole for marking the starting and stopping points (a must with insets!). I suppose you could make the template by hand with hole, but you can't really use the rotary cutter with it. I cut out these pieces 4-6 at a time zip zip zip! Whaddaya think? I may just become obsessed with this for a while...

2006-10-03T22:21:00.000-04:00

I'm sorry, I messed up. I was supposed to put all these posts together. Anyway, here's another view...

2006-10-03T22:20:00.001-04:00

It comes out better on camera if I squeeze it!

BAG FOR FUN AND CARRYING SNACKS TO THE PARK/BEACH

2006-09-17T10:42:00.000-04:00

I made this bag last Sunday.

Here's a more complete picture.

I added the applique today. I painted buckram, which is a very stiff i-dunno-what fabric with orange and glitter paint. Actually I think the glitter paint glows in the dark, but I haven't tested it out yet. When it dried, I drew and cut out the design, sandwiched it with grey organza and stabilized it with a tear-away. After stitching the design and tearing away the stabilizer, I cut and stitched the organza together in a square, using short stitches. Then I frayed the edges and attached it to the bag. The best thing about this bag is that I got the black and white fabric for free! I went to a party mid-summer, which was black and white themed. The tables were upholstered in this fabric. I had to ask the caterer, "What do you do with all this fabric when the party's over?" "We throw it out," he answered. You can see how this story ends. The best part is that I can call him whenever and take whatever he has!

9/11 STORIES THAT LEAD TO STORIES

2006-09-11T18:52:00.000-04:00

This is way off topic, but today is such a solemn day that I feel compelled to write my story. My story is so insignificant compared to so many of my neighbors, but I want people to know the view on the street of NYC, from my perspective of course, and not just what they always talk about in the media.

The morning of September 11th was my two daughters' third day at a new school, over the bridge, in Brooklyn. My husband had driven them that day, and it was on his way home that he heard the news on his car radio. He called me immediately, and as most people I just countered his statements with, "what? when? a plane? terrorism? no! probably a small plane that lost it's way..." He kept insisting as I walked with my cell phone and pushed my son in a stroller. A battery operated radio rested on the stroller's sun visor, as I marched alongside other neighbors with the same idea of watching from the bay, where I could see the Manhattan skyline since my youth. I never went into Manhattan much anymore, but I loved knowing it was there. On my walk a few blocks north, the second plane hit the other tower. "I told you" my husband screamed, "those bastards!!!" There it was, the ominous black smoke, blowing south towards Brooklyn and my girls. My husband had already decided to pick them up and return home, which would later prove impossible until much later in the day, due to the fact that every bridge in New York city was closed indefinitely. Navigating the Brooklyn streets, a neighbor crossed in front of his car, walking home as so many did with unusually beautiful weather - he had been at the scene and wanted to stay and watch, but an Israeli friend of his warned him to get as far away as possible, as terrorists were known to strike in twos, increasing the terror as the "rescuers" became victims. Needless to say he was glad he listened. He showed my husband a piece of the plane he had found, and together they waited in Brooklyn. I watched as you all did on television for the next few days incessantly. So what's so special about my story? Not much compared to other New Yorkers, as we all new someone who perished there that day. But that's exactly it. WE ALL KNEW SOMEONE WHO PERISHED THERE THAT DAY. Suddenly, New York city was a small town. Crime was non-existent for weeks. We all went to our houses of worship and prayed. But we had something the rest of the world didn't - we were praying for someone we knew. In my case it was Stephen. Stephen was a sweet and gentle man, yet opinionated and hard working. He met his wife, Sara, several years ago after she had adopted a baby from Azerbaijan. Sara's first husband passed away from illness when she was very young. Without any prospects for marriage, Sara decided in her forties she didn't want to leave this world without being a parent, and adopted Daniel. Soon after, Stephen fell in love with both Sara and Daniel, and they married. Daniel was 6 years old on 9/11/01. Stephen was the only father he ever knew. Nightly Sara's home became a waiting room, and every time the phone rang someone ran to answer it, in case it was Stephen, or someone who found his belongings, or perhaps him. As the nights dragged on, our hopes turned from bad to worse. We listened to her patiently as she told us the "process" that too many had to go through. We tried, as we still do, to focus on Daniel.

I've heard miracle stories which help you keep the faith, and still others that are very personal and equally horrific. The following one is quite bizarre and puzzles me to this day. Mary, my neighbor just two doors down, has a husband , Bernie, who worked in the second tower to get hit (I believe that was tower 1?). He worked on the 87th floor. When the first tower was hit, he said the heat generated from it was scorching, and the fire so intense and surreal. He didn't hesitate to head for, of all things, the elevator, which was full. Bernie squeezed into it despite announcements that tower 2 was secure. When he got downstairs, he exited and headed for, of all things, his car (most people take mass transit which he usually did). He didn't stop to look, had no desire to remain, and Bernie made it almost all the way home - through multiple tunnels and bridges, until the final bridge which was closed so he walked it. Mary "knew he couldn't walk outta that," but he did. Now for the bizarre part, the thing that irks me to this day - Stephen, Sara's husband, worked on the same floor of the same building. That in and of itself is a strange coincidence as these towers are just, er, WERE just, huge. One lives, one dies.

I interviewed there for a job once, at a Big 8 accounting firm, but didn't like the stuffy atmosphere at all. It was beautiful, though, and the 360 views of NYC were and still are unparalleled. I miss those towers so much. I can't explain it to you, but it's pretty universal here. My mother says she thought they were an eyesore when they were built, but she misses them too. The anger in all New Yorkers was intense. In the days that followed, we sometimes were extra nice to each other, other times we snapped at strangers and looked for things to fight about. It wasn't that we never fight over a parking spot, it was HOW we fought about it now. We were, and still are, in great pain. The smoke over Manhattan billowed for months. The towers are still gone. The people we knew we still miss.

Like most Americans, I dutifully wrote a letter to the President. He had to get the bastards who castrated my city. Yes, I said it like that. Yes, it's simplistic. Unrealistic, some of you might think. I have yet to meet a New Yorker who feels differently. Regardless of one's political affiliation, New Yorkers are pro- War on Terror. Frankly, I can't fathom how anyone can speak of how America made people angry enough to do this because they were so threatened by our imperialistic desire to spread democracy. Or even better, how we continue to bring this hatred on ourselves, or how we can improve our image by cowtowing to terrorists or terrorist sympathizers. When does the blame for something so horrific and universally condemned lie squarely on the terrorists, sympathizers, or lousy mothers who hand their children candy to celebrate it? Those mothers are raising the next generation of haters. I think my point is, albeit not so well worded, that New Yorkers know what it's like to be a victim of a major terrorist attack. The rest of the world struggles with their handfuls of victims while we lost thousands in one morning. The rest of the world closes a few square blocks for several days but roads to Manhattan were strictly controlled for months. Every single victim of any attack is one too many, and any amount of damage a crime, no matter where in the world, but unless the pain is felt en masse too many forget. We can't. We all still miss someone.

ON THE DESIGN WALL

2006-09-01T18:08:00.000-04:00

Did you miss me? We went to Hershey for our annual trek this week. It was overcast and rainy, but the chocolate more than made up for it! Thought I'd show you what I've been working on for the last couple of weeks. Washing and starching fabrics for a "thousand pyramids" quilt I am finally making for my daughter. She loves rainbows, so I needed to incorporate that either with my color design or fabric choices. Since she'll turn Bat Mitzvah this coming year, I thought it appropriate to make her a quilt with the 6 pointed star, using color choice to pull out the design. I've officially started sewing (see those 2 center rows?) and am very excited! The colors will move from red through indigo and back to red again. At least that's the plan. The triangles are small, 3" finished, to be exact. By the time I get done with this it should be April, just in time for her birthday!

MY LAST THREE DAYS

2006-08-23T16:19:00.000-04:00

Monday afternoon there was a knock at my door. It was Ellen, my artsy neighbor! "We're batiking, wanna join?" I only had a wedding (hubby's colleague's son) to get to in a couple of hours, but what's more important? I joined the ladies in Ellen's garage and had too much fun. The wedding? we went late (missing the shmorg) and ended up making it just in time for the ceremony! God works in mysterious ways :)!
This is Madi who used to be the principal of NYC School of Art and Design - I hope I got that right, Madi!

Melting wax for batiking.

Applying wax to fabric. I have no finished products to show you just yet.

I give it a try! After this there was no stopping me, right Ellen?! I forgot to get a picture of Ellen! You can see a great example of her painting expertise in the pic below next to Merri...

This is Merri with my son who wondered... where are all the men? Do men quilt too? I made sure to tell him it's perfectly OK. He wants to come to all my quilt meetings, he said!

And yesterday, the beach was so lovely.

But dare I say, I'm soooo tired of it? (I know I'll regret saying that in just one month.)

The water was so calm, bringing to mind liquid light.

Last but not least, today I went a little crazy in Joann's. I had ordered a bunch of fabric and thread from Paducah, but it's taking too long to arrive!

ROUND ROBIN

2006-08-14T13:55:00.000-04:00

I am relieved that I completed my "homework." We're doing a round robin in my quilt group - blacks and whites, greys, and one color of your choice. I was going to choose a bright orange but I've been in love with this turquoise/aqua fabric for so long already I just had to use it. This is officially my first lone star, although I used a pattern from a book called "Stars Made Easy." There are nothing but rectangles and squares to cut, but there is alot of waste so I believe next time I'll take the plunge and do it the traditional way. It was a great way to make up a star easily enough, so I could get back to my summer and not have any pressure looming...

MID-SUMMER POST

2006-08-10T10:36:00.000-04:00

Would you look at this guy? Mischief is his middle name. I actually have him trained - when he does something like this, I exclaim, "If you weren't cute, you'd be in WHAT?!" He replies, dutifully, "BIG TROUBLE!" Back to quilting...

I finally attended another quilt meeting and our group has grown from 3 to 8! I'm sorry I forgot to bring my camera. We all made breast cancer quilt blocks for that fundraiser in the magazine. They're supposed to be pink and white, 8.5". The group is trying to make their own top for the fundraiser. I frankly told them I am only up to doing this one block as I am busy with the kids and the other members are all older and settled. I think I did a pretty good job, and like it better that I made one special block. I made the big mistake of using tear-away stablilizer and had to tweeze out all the extra pieces for about an hour!

Check out that yellowed polka-dotted fabric. Stuart brought that for the group to share. It was his grandmother's from over 50 years ago. So retro, so cool! When I ironed it, the wrinkles didn't want to budge because it had been folded in one position for the entire 50 years! By the way, I cannot take credit for this design. I modified it from quilterscache.com. The woman who runs it was very gracious and just asked that I mention where I found it, as follows: This is the Sunflower pattern from The Quilter's Cache/Marcia Hohn.

2006-07-28T19:34:00.000-04:00

Close-up

2006-07-28T19:29:00.000-04:00

I made this today. It is a disturbing piece to me. I really don't like it, but I was disturbed while making it, so I guess it's art representing life. I experimented with oil pastels on muslin, then covered it with organza strips. There is so much heavy meaning to this, but I really don't think I did the meaning justice so I'll just leave it for whatever you'd like to tell me it brings out in you...

SKIRT ON THE TOWN

2006-07-26T22:51:00.000-04:00

I've been meaning to show you the skirt I made for my cousin's wedding. I am very happy with the results, and got alot of complements on it. I would have preferred to wear a more airy turquoise top, but this was all I had. When I come across a pattern I fall in love with for the top and some turquoise fabric (I tried) I'll have to make something up.

The ripples are still there on some of the seams, and it bothers me, but when you're moving it just looks like, well, you're moving. The skirt was very comfortable. The whole night I kept thinking I'd make a bunch. There's nothing like custom!

Here we're on the terrace of the party hall, right near Shea Stadium, with fireworks in the background as it was the night of July 3rd. Right after the game we were treated to a nice show! I'm more a Yankees fan than Mets, but I heard they won.

On another note I think I finally figured out what I'm doing wrong with my lack of multi-pic posts. This picture of us entered in fine, as it was sent by my brother and he resized it (smaller). It seems to me that it should still work with a larger one, but it doesn't... bear with me!

2006-07-23T00:02:00.000-04:00

This tropical and bright fabric is so cheery, and I love the color of the green, but too many circles...

2006-07-23T00:01:00.001-04:00

Traced it, not even waiting for it to dry...

2006-07-23T00:01:00.000-04:00

It all started with this tree near my house. It's been pretty hot lately, and then came lots of rain. I got so sick of being inside and needed something to cheer me up. I ran out in the rain and retrieved a leaf...

2006-07-22T23:59:00.000-04:00

Here's a close-up of the quilt. I serged the edges with a rolled edge and black metallic wooly nylon.

"TROPICALIZATION" completed July 23, 2006

2006-07-22T23:58:00.000-04:00

I made this yesterday, at an obsessed pace in under 2 hours. I love this quilt, it just makes me happy to look at it.

HELP!

2006-07-22T23:46:00.000-04:00

OK, I've been putting this off for some time - actually since I started blogging - but the time has come to come ask all of you for a little help. I realize my blog may be a bit hard on the eye, in that every picture is the same size, and each picture is a separate blog entry, and that for my last quilt you have to read the posts backwards in order to get the sequence correct. I CANNOT FOR THE LIFE OF ME FIGURE OUT HOW TO ADD MULTIPLE PICTURES TO A POST!!! I usually use Hello and Explorer to post my pics, but it leaves no way for me to add more than one pic per post. I have tried uploading pictures into this post directly from my computer, but nothing ever shows up and it takes forever! What am I doing wrong? Should I be using flickr or some other method? Isn't it incorrect to add pics directly from my computer because a host site would make loading much faster? Any help would be super appreciated!

2006-06-19T16:24:00.000-04:00

What do you do in a power outage? I had to pick my older son up from school almost as soon as I dropped him off. We got a call that the school was reopening just after the bathings suits and sunscreen went on. You know that wouldn't be fair to bring him back, plus I've been itching for my summer schedule for about 2 months now....

2006-06-19T16:21:00.002-04:00

Look ma, sand crab!

2006-06-19T16:21:00.001-04:00

First dip of the season!

2006-06-19T16:21:00.000-04:00

See the bias center? The edges are fine. The straight grain side pieces got rippled under the serger. I decided to go ahead anyway, and most of them pressed out. But I kept wondering, what would Julia do?!

2006-06-19T16:19:00.000-04:00

Back to that skirt I'm making.... No matter what I did the serger rippled the edges slightly, but only the edges that were on the straight of grain. The bias cut piece (left) was fine.

2006-06-19T16:18:00.000-04:00

My older daughter graduated from middle school! I am too proud!

GARMENT TIME

2006-06-07T09:48:00.000-04:00

This is an interesting magazine. It's published in Germany and then translated into a bunch of languages and republished. Obviously, I get the English version, at a cost of $60 a year. What's great about this magazine is that it gives you the latest fashions, with dozens of patterns included in each issue. I've let my subscription expire as I've clearly been doing too much quilting to be sewing garments. I do miss it though. Somehow just knowing I can sew any of the things I see gives me a tremendous amount of satisfaction. The only catch is that you have to trace the patterns before you're able to sew them, but this is a good thing for me because then I am more likely to alter it to make it fit better. With the tissue patterns that you cut, I'd have to slice, add, tape, ugh!

2006-06-07T09:44:00.001-04:00

I've chosen to make this skirt from the magazine for my cousin's wedding.

2006-06-07T09:44:00.000-04:00

Here's a view of the detail of the skirt. I'll be doing the "E" version.

2006-06-07T09:43:00.000-04:00

Here's the very shiny polyester brocade I'm going to try to use. Why do I say try? Because I'm out of practice with garment sewing, and have been sewing with cotton knits for as long as I can remember. Two things scare me about this. First, it frays like crazy. As a matter of fact, the blue strings that just fall off were used to accent my apple quilt - remember? This doesn't scare me so much because I do have a serger. Which brings me to the next thing that scares me - the slightly curved seams. If I need to clip them to lie flat then what about the fraying? I calm myself thinking it's just a slight curve. Julia! I need you!

2006-05-28T19:26:00.000-04:00

Finally done! Remember that quilt I was working on for my friend Jackie? Well, I finally finished it and brought it over today. There was a whole family party going on so my timing couldn't be better! Turns out that Baby Sarah is going to be a year in 2 days, so this baby gift turned out to be a birthday gift instead. By the way, did I mention that Jackie is an ob/gyn and genetics specialist? She can get technical with all the male docs in the neighborhood and then still talk to us housewives about the best sales. Quite a character, and all under 5 feet tall!

2006-05-28T19:21:00.000-04:00

Baby sarah doesn't know what to think...

2006-05-28T19:20:00.000-04:00

And the back...

MY NEW STUDIO!

2006-04-30T09:47:00.000-04:00

My new studio! I still need to work out a few kinks, and hang those threads and sundries on the wall for more table space. I'd love a real sewing table, too. The work table is the best, although I need to expand/finish it. Right now it's a piece of plywood on top of our foosball table. I would like to put two plywoods, with recessed hinges, and maybe formica top? Anyway, it's a great hight, and great dimensions. I noticed that I'm not afraid to work bigger now.

2006-04-30T09:44:00.000-04:00

Auditioning fabrics for Mt. Sinai and the tablets. Legend has it that Sinai was covered with flowers. Time for my first "broderie perse" or, for those of you who aren't quilters, it's when you cut flowers from fabric and make a collage.

2006-04-30T09:41:00.000-04:00

The lighting in my studio is amazing. Well, maybe not amazing, but anything is amazing compared to the dark dreary place it used to be. Most of my work used to be done by my sewing machine light, which was do-able during the day, but at night became detrimental to my sight. Here, Leah is actually inspired to quilt! That was a rare moment, but she loved it!

2006-04-30T09:38:00.000-04:00

Happy in my new studio. Check out the iron... where is it plugged? Yep, that's right! In the ceiling! That was inspired by pictures I saw in designer workrooms - they have the irons dangling from the ceiling and plugged there too, so I had the contractor put one outlet in there.

2006-04-30T09:36:00.000-04:00

Sinai quilt with bias tape attached. At this point I think it would have looked better without it, but I started this project with the sole intention of finally trying bias tape! I'll make it work somehow. We'll have to get funky with some more black/darks in the border and throughout the mountain...

MISSED ME? Construction Blues

2006-04-08T22:05:00.000-04:00

Oh how construction sucks the life right out of you.... I didn't realize how tired it made me until it was over. We finished the first and major phase of basement construction, and things look well, but I don't want to post pictures until at least my studio is organized. The most major of improvements is the lighting - I used to work in the dark. The area is finally clean and has the potential to be organized - I just have to take all of my stuff the contractor has been tossing around and sort through it for the next, oh, month or so. I have missed blogging, and of course quilting. Can you believe it's been over 2 months without any textile therapy? To top it off, I won't be able to organize or sew for another 2 weeks. I predict, after organizing and finishing the loose ends, I'll be obsessed for a while. In the meantime, the quilting blogs and magazines will have to suffice - but you all know, it's just not the same.

2006-03-05T22:07:00.000-05:00

Quilt Fest NJ - You know, it's odd how I took more pictures of the traditional quilts over art quilts. I was drooling over both, but the workmanship on the traditionals are (generally) so perfect! I am into that green right now, so I was drawn right to it. This quilt was one of my favorites. I'm itching to do my first lone star...

2006-03-05T22:04:00.000-05:00

Quilt Fest NJ - I know I'm revving up for a beach scene since I was drawn to every water quilt in the show. This one far out shown them all!

2006-03-05T22:03:00.000-05:00

Quilt Fest NJ - This one's called "Hot Flash." You gotta love anyone who would take that much time to be funny. All that work for just one laugh!

2006-03-05T22:00:00.000-05:00

Quilt Fest NJ - It's all in the details, honey, which are simply not represented in any photograph. Just ghawjus!

2006-03-05T21:59:00.000-05:00

Quilt Fest NJ - How regal is this? Makes you just want to go out and buy a castle!

2006-03-05T21:53:00.000-05:00

Quilt Fest NJ - I'm into still lifes (lives?) right now, and loved these, especially that onion!

2006-03-01T11:46:00.000-05:00

It's been a while, I know. I haven't been doing any sewing since we are (finally) finishing the basement. It's horrible! But at least I will finally have enough light down there, and it won't be a dungeon, but a studio for me and 2 bedrooms for my older girls. My stash is full of dust - I was going to move it upstairs but the contractor assured me they will be fine. They're not. I'll have a lot of laundry to do when all is said and done. I DID use my better judgement and move my sewing machine and serger! Anyway, back to that baby quilt - I decided to add the baby's Hebrew name on the back. After finding a great font, I printed it large and used steam a seam light to attach. I stitched around the letters using a shiny but clear pink thread with a free motion quilting foot. I felt that zig-zagging it would ruin the calligraphy, and used small stitches so it wouldn't fall apart in the wash. This was alot of fun. I'm going to piece the back with some girly fabrics.

2006-02-16T16:21:00.000-05:00

FALL FASHION WEEK

2006-02-16T16:19:00.000-05:00

FALL FASHION WEEK

GREETINGS FROM CHILLY BEACH!

2006-02-07T18:03:00.000-05:00

Thought I'd share this great photo with you. I especially love that seagull perched on the distant jetty, safe from the dog's curious gaze. I love the many lines intersecting, the anonymity of the subjects, but action nonetheless. It's not quite a quilt, but I'm not sure why. Something missing, but what? Perhaps if I gave it whatever it needs it would be a successful quilt. So, what does it need? Is it too dull, and just needs more color? Too hazy, needing more clarity? Ah well, guess I'll have to take some more pics next time I go to the beach. I'm revving up for a beach scene...

2006-02-07T17:58:00.000-05:00

Lil' guy probably wondering why I keep telling him he can't go swimming!

QUILT TOP IN RECORD TIME

2006-02-07T17:55:00.000-05:00

This is what I did yesterday and today. Kids have been sick so they sleep more. I've been eyeing a few of these fabrics that I purchased before I began quilting, when I used to make dresses for my girls. They've just been in my stash way too long and frankly I'm sick of them. So, who had a girl? AHA, my friend Jackie and I owe her a gift, but she had told me she had some blankets - not quilts - for her baby already. After seeing how it came out I'm glad I didn't listen! I love it. I got rid of some fabric, and I finally got to use some of those depression era fabrics. I would've loved more orange, but I discovered I only have bright and obnoxious oranges, not subdued or pastels. And so the stash cycle continues.

2006-02-07T17:47:00.000-05:00

Here's a close up outside. This would have made a great "trip around the world." But I was looking for fast. This is my first quilt for a girl, come to think of it. I'd like to make one of those for my daughters - it's time they got some quilts, too. I'm just nervous as I've not made a twin size yet!

2006-01-31T14:02:00.000-05:00

This is the quilt the giftee chose. I hate it, which makes it a real challenge as I took up this hobby to do what I wanted. Everything else in my life is determined by my kids, hubby, and their schedules, and quilting was for me. In addititon, she wants only solid pastel colors. So, there was a problem with that, as I don't have many solid fabrics, and certainly not pastels. Oh, and did I mention that it "has to match her room?" I explained to her grandmother that cost we agreed on is not enough for me to be worried about matching her room and purchasing a whole slew of new fabrics. If I did that I'd almost lose money on this quilt. So tonight, I'll ask the girl to purchase her own fabrics for slightly less cost to the grandma.

2006-01-31T13:55:00.000-05:00

Back to that commissioned quilt. This is causing more aggravation than it is worth, but it's a milestone I am ready to cross - making money from my quilts. This is a picture of a quilt that I thought would be perfect for a Bat Mitzvah, but was nixed by the customer. I thought it would go together quickly, I could use up some of my stash, and not have to worry about yardage.

I MUST LOOK LIKE A TERRORIST

2006-01-28T21:43:00.000-05:00

Sorry to go off topic so much - those of you who have visited my blog before know that I pretty much talk about my quilting and sprinkle in some personal stuff, but I just love this photo. I was "randomly" chosen both ways to be frisked and searched, including my 13 year old daughter. Now, I know we can't legally do racial profiling, but when does the TSA have permission to employ common sense? And by the way, what's to stop a crazy terrorist from planting a bomb on his younger children? OK, back to quilting after this, I promise....

2006-01-28T21:38:00.000-05:00

My kids, parents, and I waited patiently for hubby to time the spinning universal ball so we could see it say universal in the photo. I teased him so much about that! Now this is my favorite photo from the trip. You bet he made me eat my words!

2006-01-28T21:32:00.000-05:00

How happy am I? I spent plenty in this Orlando JoAnn's Superstore. When will they open one close to me?

ROCKET LAUNCH TO PLUTO

2006-01-28T21:28:00.000-05:00

I'm back! This was the highlight of our trip. A rocket launch to pluto! It had been delayed for 2 or 3 days from before we arrived in Florida, and we hoped it wouldn't be delayed again. Somehow we stumbled upon the place the Floridians watch the launch - a rest stop on a causaway overlooking a beautiful bay. Volunteer x-navy guys played the countdown over a loudspeaker. Here, Hannah poses with the rocket exhaust. It was THE MOST AMAZING thing I have ever seen to date. By the way, estimated arrival - the year 2015.

2006-01-15T19:08:00.001-05:00

I like this shot best of all... Notice the tulle over the thread and for the border, so the batting shows through! I thought it, the frayed edges, the needle and thread, are all very "sewerly."

2006-01-15T19:08:00.000-05:00

Another close up of messy work, but I didn't care! I guess my neighbor finally rubbed off on me, and I thought I heard her whispering in my ear, "Just do it, Miriam, who cares, get it done..."

2006-01-15T19:07:00.000-05:00

Mega close-up of the heavy embroidery.

2006-01-15T19:06:00.000-05:00

This is what I made today when I was supposed to be packing. I just couldn't help it. I kept thinking about everything I needed to do and the more stressed out I became the more I needed to quilt! So I stole away from the family into the dungeon that is my studio. That's where hubby found me and took my picture, below.

2006-01-15T19:05:00.000-05:00

A close up of the needle and thread that will remain.

Do you recognize the fabric under the spool? It's that ugly challenge fabric for "The City Quilter!" Now, the fabric is supposed to be "recognizeable" or it will be disqualified. I need input on this one - do you think it will make the cut?

The two fabrics underneath were from a challenge that I didn't have time for. I also didn't like this fabric (left), which is why I bleached the heck out of it (right). To my dismay the pink just wouldn't leave no matter how many times I tried. So, this is a hodge-podge of ugly fabrics that worked together. I think this is why I didn't mind being messy. I figured, if I don't like it, no big woop. An interesting aside - the fabric frayed beautifully.

BUSTED!

2006-01-15T19:04:00.000-05:00

Hubby was looking for me all around the house, and this is where he found me. We've both been so tired as lil' man has been up every few nights wretching for hours. Turns out that he has MONO!!! I nearly fell off my chair when the pediatrician called with that news. My husband the doctor didn't even suspect this as it manifests very differently in young children. So we're off to Orlando soon with virus in tow. Thankfully his bad days are getting further and further apart. My biggest challenge is making sure the others don't get it, but I think they may have had it. I wouldn't have planned this vacation if I'd known, but as mom said, what could be better for them than warm weather?

TAGGED BY A MEME

2006-01-14T19:05:00.000-05:00

I've been "tagged by a meme." I admit my blognorance on this one, as I had no idea what that was. Deborah was kind enough to educate me. I am to answer the following questions, and post them to my blog. I hereby fulfill my blobgibation....

Four Jobs You've Had:
1. babysitter extraordinaire
2. "customer service" in a midtown manhattan electronics store that couldn't care less about the customer (oh could I tell you stories!)
3. auditor in a mid-sized accounting firm
4. accountant for a foreign government's organization which sells bonds around the world

Four Movies You Could Watch Over and Over:
1. Braveheart
2. Incredibles
3. The Sound of Music
4.

Four Places You've Lived:
1. coastal, NYC
2. Bronx, NYC
3. 3 months in Jerusalem, Israel
4. mainland Queens, NYC

Four TV Shows you love to Watch:
1. That 70's Show
2. Simply Quilts!
3. Medium
4. any news magazine show like 60 minutes, etc

Four Places You've Been on Vacation:
1. Israel
2. Florida
3. Hershey/Lancaster PA
4. Tennessee

Four Websites You Visit Every Day:
well, not every day, but
1. my blog
2. other people's blogs
3. Hancock's of Paducah
4. news sites

Four Of Your Favorite Foods:
1. pizza and anything Italian
2. Oreo's (I've never met a cookie I didn't like)
3. chocolate
4. salad

Four Places You'd Rather Be:
1. Israel
2. the beach
3. sleeping in my bed without peripheral noise or a time I have to be up
4. shopping in Hancock's Paducah Kentucky store!

Four Albums You Can't Live Without:
i could live without these, but I like these artists
1. ABBA
2. Phil Vassar
3. Alanis Morrissette
4. Pet Shop Boys

Four People You'll Pass This On To:
not sure yet, i need to think about this!

2006-01-12T19:19:00.000-05:00

Just thought I'd show you this quilt I made about a year ago for hubbie's office. I love that red and white fabric. It brings alot of action to the quilt, and I am tempted to use it often, but I don't as I do like change. I only bought a fat quarter of this one, shucks!

$$$

2006-01-12T18:45:00.000-05:00

I got a call from a nice old lady last night. She wants to commission a quilt for her granddaughter's Bat Mitzvah.

WOW!

While I have given serious thought to making money from my quilts, I've been putting it off for a while. I've actually turned people away. I'm not sure I want to be so busy, first of all, as I do have children that need attending to. Also, I don't want the work to remove my joy of quilting. Remove the joy and you remove the artistic flair - your personal stamp. That's why I've always thought that I'd create what I feel like creating, and if people like it they can buy. This is new territory. I'm still not 100% sure if I'm doing this yet, as she's consulting her granddaughter and we'll talk color/pattern. She's willing to pay what I asked, but given the time it will take for a full twin quilt it's really not that much. The way I see it I'm getting paid to get experience, and that makes it just great. Mostly I am flattered.

Gals, how much for a twin quilt in basic patchwork? What's average, what's professional?

POOR SPOILED ME

2006-01-08T22:26:00.000-05:00

I've so missed blogging - writing mine and reading others'!

We've been offline due to cable modem difficulties, and I've literally been pacing the floors at a loss of what to do. Ever since hubby added high speed internet to my world, I've gotten most of my news online, kept in touch with friends (my "shy guy" doesn't let me talk on the phone for long), and shopped for fabrics, of course, with such pleasure. I didn't want high speed internet - who needs the extra extra expense, hassle, bla bla. Well, he did it anyway and now I'm addicted. I come to you today only through dial-up.

I'm due to fly south soon anyway, so there's not much quilting going on. Packing for 6 is tough! I find myself thinking about it in the middle of the night - what not to forget. I keep telling myself it's happy stress, the best kind, but I still wake up tired and cranky in the morning!

2006-01-01T13:03:00.000-05:00

Hannah and Leah helping to show scale.

2006-01-01T13:01:00.000-05:00

"Diane Said You Can't Put Red and Pink Together" completed 1/1/06.