Laboring through Labor Day

The end of the Labor Day weekend means back to school time. I've been diligently preparing my classes, but also trying to make time for sewing.

One project I can't share with you yet, but I *will* say the project will be posted at Sew, Mama, Sew! for Sewing for the Home Month.


I still haven't used my machine much since the blanket binding, but mostly because I'm finally putting the things I learned in that hand quilting class to use. September is Quilt Month over at Mr. Monkeysuit so I am trying to get on the ball. After a ton of questions to Louise about her beautiful, bold quilting, I got myself some perle cotton (or pearl cotton in the U.S. because we apparently have to Americanize everything). I only wish I could find the right blue!


I also made something new for a Labor Day cookout. It's from this recipe but I substituted two cans of cherries in light syrup (not pie filling) for the peaches and deleted the cinnamon sugar topping. It was a big hit.

I don't know whether to be excited about this or afraid of this. We'll see.

Nervous Nelly

OOHH, I still get a little nervous thinking about it.

I've been eyeing this machine for awhile now, but couldn't get over the price. Mom and I visited a quilt store last weekend and they still had two left at the sale price from NQA so I got it (with a little bit of help from mom for my Christmas present). I had a nervous stomach the whole time -- this is the most money I've spent on myself (excepting a house or car).

Here it is in all of its (dim) glory. I was finishing up some curtains I promised to make Jaxon's daycare. Four layers of heavy weight home dec fabric?? No problem!!
Needless to say I love it. It is SO much quieter than my old machine, I don't have to worry about waking Jaxon up. I've spent the last couple of evenings playing with the different stitches and finishing up a few projects I was having trouble with on my old machine.

Here are a few of the specialty stitches...I love the Christmas ones! Charlie wants to know if I will make a blanket with bad words stitched all the way around the edges.
And these three blankets have been in my Etsy WIP pile for awhile because my machine wasn't handling the satin bias (tension issues). I whipped through all three in one evening! This will be up at my Etsy shop as soon as I have a nice day to take pictures.

Switching gears, I'm sure many of you in the blog world have heard about Nie Nie. For those of you who haven't, Stephanie (of the great blog The Nie Nie Dialogues) and her husband were in a horrible plane crash a couple of weeks ago. The flight instructor was killed, both Stephanie and her husband Christian survived but have a long road to recovery (read more here). Thankfully their four children are able to be cared for by family, and the support from all their friends (both "virtual" and "live-action") has been wonderful.

This has really hit close to home for me (as Charlie is a flight instructor) and I'd love it if you could all contribute in some way to Stephanie and Christian's recovery. You can do this by taking part in Nie Nie day (today!!) -- simply bid on one of the numerous auctions found here (there are also others if you search):

• DesignMom
• A Room Somewhere

I am currently bidding on:
Lemon Yellow Jade Drop Earrings edited: Drat! Outbid!
Pantograph Pattern Quilting Service

ed.-- Now also bidding on:
Dress #1
Dress #2

So don't outbid me!

If you don't have time to babysit an auction, you can make a donation:

Thank you!

Back from the Left Coast

I've been back a few days and have unpacked and done laundry...after a trip my baggage always sits on the bedroom floor for a couple of days until I'm ready to forget about my trip. The suitcase went to his home today.

I don't usually enjoy my trips to LA, because the conference is always downtown and there isn't a whole lot to do. This time was better -- more people from school went this year, we saw two movies, and I got to go to the fabric district. I didn't have much cash on me, but I managed to get a yard of giant rick rack, 10 zippers (for $1!!) and 4 yards of fabric:

1 yard of red and white stripe silk, and 1 yard each of orange, yellow, and pink cotton sateen (60" width)...the salesman called the sateen double-sided cotton. Anyone ever heard of that?

I already used two of the zippers for wristlets.

The red one is for my sister-in-law, the other two are a bit smaller to accommodate the sale zippers. Only one problem. One of the zippers is upside down (the pull tab is mounted to the wrong side!!). It doesn't open easily.

I always bring home a lot of swag from this conference, usually notebooks, pins, posters, and keychains. I always look forward to Pixar's giveaway of a full size poster from the movie they produced that year. This year I have a new favorite. I always come home with an assortment of bags that I use at the grocery store. These are actually MEANT to be used at the grocery.

I had been looking at Baggu Bags online. Obviously I went back to the booth too many times as they ran out after the second day!

And since I've been home I've picked up too fun web addictions. This one to go along with my Olympics TV obsession: Medal Count. And this one that creates images from the words on you blog: Wordle.

Here's mine:


And finally my little man is learning to drive!

Another travel bag

Every year I attend the SIGGRAPH conference, and it seems every year I get ants in my pants to sew a bag to take. You'd think by now I'd have the perfect bag!

I wanted something that could also be used as a purse, and since I won't be lugging my laptop to the conference center every day (yeah, iPhone!!) the bag needed to hold conference necessities but not be too heavy or bulky. That Exhibition floor gets tiring!

So here is the 2008 Travel Bag:


The fabric is Botanical Pop by Windham. It's really nice to work with, maybe only second to this.


The back has a pocket for my boarding pass and other paperwork I need quickly, with a some large ric rac trim. I really like how that turned out. Maybe it should be the front!


I used the new tutorial at U-handbag Blog for a concealed zipper in casing. This was a challenge, but worth it I think. It looks nice -- but mine is a bit long. I should have better heeded the tutorial!


I also used the U-handbag Blog tutorial for an insider zipper pocket. Why haven't I done this before? It was so easy! I also included pockets for my iPhone and sunglasses.

I'm thinking this is the perfect bag for the mom of a toddler. I could fit his diapers and wipes case in it plus all my stuff but it is not as big and bulky as a diaper bag.

I leave for LA tomorrow and return at the end of the week. Anybody have a "must go" fabric or vintage store? Unfortunately we are staying downtown, so I can't travel too far...

Things I am currently lovin'...

include...sale dress and shoes...


...with a little handmade touch...


...homemade peach pie made with North Carolina peaches...


...my solar garden Tiki and my Elephant Ear plant...


...my first snowball quilt top and our summer view...



...and what are you lovin' right now?

Thank You gifts

I have a super cool aunt named Beth (of course) who always comes through for me. I called her this week and said, "What am I going to with Jaxon during the funeral?" My parents are in NC on vacation and all of Charlie's family will be with us in Columbus, an hour-and-a-half from our usual daycare.

She immediately responded "I'll call Claire!" Claire is her sister (Beth is married to my uncle Van) and she has done in-home daycare for 25 years. Claire said to bring him on over. What a relief!

So I whipped up two more wristlets like before, only this time I quilted them (layering the outer layer of the wristlet with batting and muslin). I like how they turned out, only I think the pattern needs a longer strap (note to self for next time).


Claire's in the brown (quilted in bright pink with a bright pink lining) and Beth's is the black and yellow (quilted in black with a yellow lining).


I thought this was a good opportunity to practice my machine quilting so I attempted a little echo quilting around one of the flowers. I need more practice. I kept the black one simple since it is pieced.

Beth has no idea it's coming so I'm hoping she doesn't check the blog before she gets it. If she does -- sorry I ruined the surprise!

Checking In

Once again, an apology for the blog break. Since I last checked in we've celebrated Jaxon's 2nd birthday, and I've completed two quilting classes: machine quilting and hand quilting. I haven't been brave enough to apply what I learned yet...

And I have, of course, been working on my tenure case and sewing.


It's been awhile since you've seen this, and I finally have it basted but I am a little nervous about quilting it. I used the Sharon Schamber method of basting (parts 1, 2) and it really made it easy! Here it is ready to be basted.


And a friend of mine just started a job at U of Cincinnati so I made her a little congratulations gift.


I did some "cheap" decorating the week of Jaxon's party, including these colanders I picked up on sale at Sur La Table (please ignore the lack of lighting fixture above our sink -- we're getting there).


And did you know the post office has a series of stamps celebrating the Eames's work? I bought a frame half off and had a matte cut, and including the cost of the stamps I have a nice piece of art for less than $20. I also got some great old airline ads framed for the kitchen, but I haven't hung them yet.


I have 5 quilts at some level of completion, from basted and ready to quilt (above) to cut and ready to be pieced. I'll share those when I can -- unfortunately Charlie's grandfather passed away yesterday and we will be away for a bit. Don't forget to give your loved ones a squeeze!

NQA 2008

I had the opportunity to attend this year's National Quilting Association show and expo (thanks to mom for babysitting!!) and I got to see some great stuff. I took lots of pictures and here are the quilts I found most inspiring:

AH, the beach! Love the umbrellas, some pretty cool piecing on this one.
I am really digging quilts of black and white with one bright color thrown in.
This is a reproduction of the artist's favorite photo using only black thread on white fabric. Amazing!
More great color...
Love! Love! Love the use of pattern on this one!
My favorite -- both because of the color and the abstract interpretation of banyan trees.

And of course there were lots and lots of vendors -- here's my haul:


Clockwise from upper left: Timeless Treasures Taxi; a Moda Jelly Roll of Sandy Gervais's Merry & Bright; Large Ric Rac; Northcott's Kitty Kaleidoscope; Andover's Duck, Duck Goose; two 1/2 yards from Urban Chiks by Moda (clearance!!); three 1/2 yards from Fresh Cut by Heather Bailey for Free Spirit (clearance)!!

I better get sewing!

Where I've been

My grades were turned in Wednesday and Summer has officially begun! I'm still going in to school three days a week to work on my tenure case, but with no students around I get so much done!

Before the quarter's end I attended a conference at Princeton. Here I am looking as if I walked off the set of "A Beautiful Mind."


And before I left I wrapped up an independent study with two of my students, Tom and Wes. The focus was on pre-visualization for special effects and for their final they attempted to composite fire onto video of their apartment building. They needed someplace safe to film the fire so we did it in my backyard. It was great fun and a learning experience for us all.





Also, I finally had a chance to update the Etsy shop with a bunch of stuff, and I'll be adding this Rock 'N' Roll blanket tomorrow.



And a little gift came for me in the mail. This was meant from Charlie and Jaxon for Mother's Day but it had to make its way from Singapore. It went with me to Princeton and to NQA, which you will be seeing more of in the next couple of days!

Desperation

So I read in the Big City's daily paper today a call for submissions. I immediately broke out the camera.

The headline read "Let us help you get organized." An expert in home organization will help one lucky reader declutter a room in his or her home. It just so happens that I am DESPERATE for some help in this area...


The room in question happens to be my sewing room. It started out as my office and as my sewing hobby grew I just kept adding piles and piles of fabric and assorted supplies. Now that Jaxon is running around, I'm constantly stepping on toys and picking up bobbins with long tails. I need a place for everything and everything in its place. The above picture was taken AFTER I straightened up.


Why can't the rest of the room look as simple and clean as my Eames rocker? *sigh* Yes, that is the ironing board on the floor. When I started sewing regularly I moved it from the laundry room and for awhile I would store it in the closet, but I am using it so regularly I tend not to put it away.

The room is lined with books. We bought supplies to build some (more) bookshelves in the living room, but that is pretty far down on Charlie's priority list. I would like to turn our old baker's rack into an ironing station, but the only place to put it would be where the bookshelves currently reside, so I haven't done it yet.


Ah, the true mess. Fabric piled in plastic crates, fabric piled in cardboard boxes, fabric piled under the table, fabric piled ON the table. It doesn't end. I think I would like to have one big shelving unit to hold it all, but where? All that clutter includes the things I use regularly, but isn't there a way to store it all that it would be close-at-hand but hidden?

See the cutting mats on the floor? There is no surface big enough or clear enough to use them except the floor, so that's where I leave them.


And finally, the closet. I've tried for organization -- you can see it I think -- the desk with plastic storage drawers underneath; plastic crates for supplies, magazine boxes up top. It just isn't enough. I think some things have to go, but it is going to take someone more ruthless than I am.

So what do you think? Cluttered enough but with enough potential to be chosen? Fingers crossed.

You might have noticed a WIP in the above pictures, hanging on the closest doors. It's an almost complete skirt that I am very excited about. I need to move it to the back burner for a few days while I work on my student's finals and complete a couple of other projects. Here's some more work on the funky quilt:


And look how sweet my boy is saying "Hi" to this goat at the petting zoo. He loved it!

In a blink of an eye....

...almost two weeks have passed. AH, spring quarter.

Here's what I have been meaning to tell you about!

I received this beautiful little quilt from Ginger of Paisley & Polkadots in the Four Seasons Quilt Swap for Spring. Ginger was inspired by a bib of her daughter's -- and I have the same bib for Jaxon in blue! Kismet! I can't decide what my favorite part of this quilt is: the sweet pink hand quilting around the squares or the pieced back that makes the binding pink AND green. Thank you so much Ginger, I love it!!


And speaking of sweet gifts, here is a collage (because the pictures came out so poorly) of my Mother's Day gifts. The necklace on the left was made for me by Jaxon at school. Wooden beads + finger paint + glitter = gift goodness!! The necklace on the right is from Charlie and Jaxon (and I assume the pets) and was purchased from The Vintage Jewelry Box on Etsy. The bottom shot is of a tote bag and notepad (and sweet Jaxon) from my sister–in–law. The bag is super cute and the perfect size for carrying Jaxon's things to and from daycare.


And here are a couple more works in progress. If only I could finish something....

A sneak peak of my Ohio Sky quilt, began in class and finally assembled. Now I need to add the border and the top will be done.

One completed square of what I am calling my funky star quilt. This was begun WAY BACK when I took an online quilt course and I just now have the confidence to start assembling. I would have 6 more squares to show you but something is up with the tension on my machine. *sigh*

For those of you stateside, enjoy the long weekend. I have lots of grading to do, but first we have tickets to see Indiana Jones tomorrow night. I'm looking forward to the film, but I think I am even more excited to visit a movie theater!