September 2015 – Page 2 – Artquiltmaker Blog

Portland Pillowcase Progress

I couldn’t resist the alliteration. College Pillowcase Progress did not have the same ring to it. Clearly, I am easily amused.

I made three pillowcases for the Young Man, though one may go to his cousin. First, was the Back-to-School Pillowcase, which I almost didn’t make until I found the fabric. It wasn’t babyish and he approved it. I talked about the fabric the other day in the Random Bits and Bobs post. The fabric is still cartoony, but ok enough for him not to be embarrassed.

I thought yellow would be a good cuff and found this Reflections yardage, into which I had NEVER cut (bad, Jaye, bad!). It is a really good yellow and that is perhaps why I was saving it. Off it went. I cut a piece for FOTY 2015, so I can remember I had it for a million years before I used it.

I did send the Back-to-School pillowcase along with the Minkee pillowcase off in his first care package. He hasn’t received it yet, that he has told me so that is more news for later.

Next on the pile was a Pokemon fabric. I think I mentioned that the YM saw it and generously thought that his cousin would like a pillowcase out of it. He said that he has so many great pillowcases already. Hhhmm.

It was a fabric I chose for one of the months where themes for the College Pillowcase Project were difficult, such as February. His pronouncement put a monkey wrench in my plan. I wasn’t planning on using Pokemon fabric in a quilt, so I made a pillowcase and figured I could decide where it would go later. If nothing else, it would be a donation. It turned out that I had enough for a pillowcase and a cuff, so I made two and one will go to the YM anyway.

Again, I used the Reflections fabric for the cuff. It is a similar color to the Pikachu character and it was off the shelf, so handy.

In looking at the fabric, I can see why the YM might not want it as a pillowcase in his dorm. I am having, and have had, a hard time getting my heart and brain to realize that he is a grown up now.

The Pokemon Pillowcase #2 uses a solid as the body of the pillowcase and just a Pokemon cuff. Hopefully, this bit of Pokemon fabric will not embarrass him. If it does, he doesn’t have to use it.

Next I want to make him a Christmas pillowcase. I found some festive and not too trite or girly fabric that may be his Christmas pillowcase. There is a lot of pink, though, so I am on the fence about a cuff. Not pink, for sure. Perhaps that gold shown in the center tree or the light green right above it towards the top. If it doesn’t end up as suitable for the YM, then I can use it for another niece or nephew. There is some prep, but this pillowcase could be a leaders and enders project as well.

The O9P Hump

Math is a problem.

Well, math is a problem for me. I try to avoid it where possible, but as a quiltmaker, I clearly can’t avoid it all the time. I do have strategies. If my blocks are on the design wall, I can count them and don’t have to do actual math. I live with brilliant math geniuses to whom i explain my math problem and they figure it out. Usually, they say, “oh you just have to factor this number into….” then I am back sitting in 7th grade math class the horror that I could not understand the teacher dawning afresh. As a purely self preservation tactic, I start drifting off into color and visuals land while they sound like the teacher on Charlie Brown cartoon (WAH WAH WAH) in the background. I drift back when they give me the answer and everyone is happy. Well, at least I am happy. I don’t think the boys really care or not. They know they will have to explain the same concept to me again at some future date.

The problem really comes in when my blocks are not on the design wall and I can’t get a sense of where I need to go. I believe the last time I worked on this was sometime around the end of April. I think I got it off the design wall so I could work on Field Day Zipper and the Food Quilt #2. I don’t really remember.

It is pretty easy to just sew 9 patch, except for the hump. I need more foreground/colored squares. The problem is I don’t know how many I should cut so that I can finish the 9 patches I need and not have too many leftover. This means math and I have been avoiding it. Or I could just cut a strip off each piece of yardage and not worry about the leftovers. Isn’t as though there is a shortage of fabric in my house.

Lots of humps in my life at the moment.

This would be a great project to move forward on as I stitch the FOTY 2014 pairs together, so perhaps I should do some math?

Donation Blocks

I was finally able to make some donation blocks!

Unlike Pam, I do not have piles of 2.5″ squares laying around, though I am starting to think I should. I cut the foreground squares from a FQ I found that I won’t use in a quilt. I decided to make the blocks, because I had some leftovers from a One Hour Basket I made. That fabric became the background. There isn’t a ton of contrast, but they are pleasant blocks. The best part is they will go to a good cause. I haven’t done as much charity work this year and it makes me feel good to add to the BAMQG charity pile.

As I started to sew the FOTY 2014 together on Friday (started last week, but got really serious on Friday), I realized that I needed leaders and enders. After I sew each FOTY pair, I need to sew something in between so that I can keep the FOTY patches in order. I have been using the Octagon 9 Patch as leaders and enders pretty regularly, but I am at a weird place with that project, so for the moment it won’t work. I gave away a bunch of my neutrals, but dug around and found some suitable greys for more donation blocks. I used leftovers of some Bonnie and Camille greys. They are a little too taupe for me, so I have been using them for projects I don’t plan to keep. Since I also have a lot of green scraps, which I don’t use much, I cut some random 2.5″ squares from those and made a couple of blocks.

Now I have a random thought to make 12 more and have enough for a quilt. I suppose it is possible since FOTY has a lot of pairs needing sewing, but the cutting of the 2.5″ squares – enough to make a quilt before next week is a little daunting.

I think it will be better if I get over my Octagon Nine Patch hump so I can make progress on that project, not that donation blocks are a bad thing.

Fabrications Quilt Shop

Here is irony: the last time I went to this shop was when the Young Man was a baby. He was in some kind of carrier or sling. I went last week on my way back from dropping him off at college.

This is a small shop, but it is right on the main square of Healdsburg and it is crammed with fabric. I found a few pieces that will work for the Improv quilt.

By this time I was getting into the fabric equivalent of a diabetic coma, but it was fun to stop in this shop and realize how close it is to me (about 2 hours) and worth the drive, because there are other nice shops and good places to eat nearby.

There were two people working and they were watching us the whole time, but they weren’t unfriendly. I meant to ask about the local quilt people around, but I forgot. I wondered if this shop was mainly visited by tourists or if there was a thriving quilt community. Oh well. Next time.

Creative Prompt #327: Grill

gas grill

“A grille or grill (French word from Latin craticula, small grill) is an opening of several slits side by side in a wall or metal sheet or other barrier, usually to let air or water enter and/or leave but keep larger objects including animals in or out.^[1]” (Wikipedia)

charcoal grill

George Foreman Grill

backyard grill

Tadich Grill (San Francisco)

Definition: “Grilling is a form of cooking that involves dry heat applied to the surface of food, commonly from above or below (as in North America).

Grilling usually involves a significant amount of direct, radiant heat, and tends to be used for cooking meat quickly. Food to be grilled is cooked on a grill (an open wire grid such as a gridiron with a heat source above or below), a grill pan (similar to a frying pan, but with raised ridges to mimic the wires of an open grill), or griddle (a flat plate heated from below).^[1] Heat transfer to the food when using a grill is primarily via thermal radiation. Heat transfer when using a grill pan or griddle is by direct conduction. In the United States, when the heat source for grilling comes from above, grilling is termed broiling.^[2] In this case, the pan that holds the food is called a broiler pan, and heat transfer is by thermal radiation.

Direct heat grilling can expose food to temperatures often in excess of 260 °C (500 °F). Grilled meat acquires a distinctive roast aroma and flavor from a chemical process called the Maillard reaction. The Maillard reaction only occurs when foods reach temperatures in excess of 155 °C (310 °F).^[3]

Studies have shown that cooking beef, pork, poultry, and fish at high temperatures can lead to the formation of heterocyclic amines, benzopyrenes, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, which are carcinogens.^[4]^[5]^[6] Marination may reduce the formation of these compounds.^[7] Grilling is often presented as a healthy alternative to cooking with oil, although the fat and juices lost by grilling can contribute to drier food.^{[citation needed]}“(Wikipedia)

John’s Grill (San Francisco)

In food

Barbecue grill, a device or surface used for cooking food, usually fuelled by gas or charcoal, or the part of a cooker that performs this function
Grilling, a form of cooking that involves direct heat
A restaurant that serves grilled food, such as a “bar and grill”
A Flattop grill cooking device often used in restaurants, especially diners

Music

Grillz, a 2005 rap single by Nelly
- A Parody of the song by the German rap-group K.I.Z.
Grill Music Venue, an Irish nightclub located in Letterkenny, County Donegal

People

Bernhard Grill

Other

Grill (jewelry), a form of dental jewelry commonly associated with hip hop
Grill (philately), a pattern of indentations on a postage stamp
Grille, architectural element
Grille (motor vehicle), an opening in the bodywork of a vehicle to allow air to enter
Grille (artillery), a self-propelled artillery piece used by Germany during World War II
Grill (cryptology), method used chiefly early on, before the advent of the cyclometer, by the mathematician-cryptologists of the Polish Cipher Bureau in decrypting the German Enigma machine
Grille (cryptography), a technique for encrypting a plaintext by writing it onto a sheet of paper through a pierced sheet
Grille, a decorative window Muntin for simulating separate panes
Grillwork, decorative grating

Post the direct URL (link) where your drawing, doodle, artwork is posted (e.g. your blog, Flickr) in the comments area of this post. I would really like to keep all the artwork together and provide a way for others to see your work and get familiar with your blog or website.

The Creative Prompt Project, also, has a Flickr group, which you can join to post your responses. I created this spot so those of you without blogs and websites would have a place to post your responses.

We are also talking about this on Twitter and Instagram. Use the hashtag #CPP

Back to School Pillowcase

I wanted to make a Back to School pillowcase for the YM. It was a good theme for pillowcases for September, but I didn’t find any fabric that I liked.

As mentioned in a post, I found some on my way to Portland and it ended up as a pillowcase.

Forget Me Knots Quilt Shop

This store is RIGHT next door to an ice cream shop. Kids and spouses can have a nice time there while you browse. 😉

This shop has a lot of panels and kits. A LOT. The panels are great and I bought a couple to make Thanksgiving decorations. I had better get on it!

They had fabric, but not the tons that other shops had. I bought a few pieces.

The store has a lot of gifts, which is what tourist town shops have and that was great. Some of the fabrics were novelty sea related fabrics, which I had never seen before.

The shop also had a lot of interesting patterns.

I think the strength of the shop was really the panels. They had lots and lots of panels, especially in the Thanksgiving realm (it is nice to see that some retail isn’t going straight from Hallowe’en to Christmas!). I bought two panels with which to make some Thanksgiving table runners. Am I trying to fill my time now that my YM is gone? Probably, at least mentally.

Thanksgiving, as you may remember, is ‘my’ holiday in the family. Lately, I have been feeling a bit of a slacker, because I really don’t have any Thanksgiving decorations. One of my SILs sends a flower arrangement every year, which is the sum total of my decorations. I have wanted to make napkins, but the thought of sewing 24+ brown and beige napkins makes me run away from the sewing machine screaming. When I saw the panel with the pumpkins and gourds, I could imagine having it in my house. The colors are a little brighter than normal Thanksgiving colors and it isn’t boring. It is also a bit arty. It also doesn’t need much piecing, so almost all I would need to do is quilt it. STOP laughing! 😉

The one panel will make two table runners. I might piece the leaves to the end of one to make it a little longer. They are supposed to be coasters, but I am not making coasters as we have about 30 sets of coasters. We will see.

I set up three tables at Thanksgiving and I don’t want the ‘kids’ table to feel bad, especially since they usually don’t get china, so I bought another panel for them. What I will do with this one is cut off the smaller panels and sew them together in a long line, then quilt it. If I have time, I will quilt the wreath and make it into a table mat for the coffee table.

These panels are already washed so there is hope for me to finish them.

Like some of the other shops Forget Me Knots was participating in the Row by Row Experience. The lady helping pushed us hard to get the kit. Not my jam so I resisted.

They had a lot of notions, a large classroom and generally a large space. I found this store to have a lot to look at and it took me awhile to figure out that there weren’t as many fabric bolts as I originally thought.

I liked this shop. The lady was friendly, they had fabric and notions I hadn’t seen before and the location was convenient. Look for the ice cream shop. It is huge and that is what we noticed. The quilt shop is in a large building, but they need better signage.

Location: 640 2nd St SE, Bandon, OR 97411
(541) 347-9021

FOTY 2014: Over the Hump

Sometimes a little whining goes a long way. I got down to business after my last FOTY 2014 post and am now sewing the piece together. Yes, the piece is arranged to my satisfaction and I am on to the sewing part.

My driving force: I need all the pieces to be on the design wall. At the moment the very top and very bottom row are hanging off. I also want the whole thing off the design wall and in the hands of Colleen. I need to move on to other projects. I need the design wall for other projects.

Is the piece perfect?

No.

Will I ever make a perfect piece in this series?

Probably not.

Will I keep trying?

Yes.

Before I started sewing, this photo shows the piece as it was laid out in the configuration in which I decided to piece it.

I worked on the layout for hours yesterday and then after I started making dinner, I deliberately did not look at it.

When I got back to my workroom the following day, I decided to look at it and rearrange the patches.

These quilts will never have a perfect gradation. The nature of the fabric, the color combinations in the fabrics and the motifs as well as contrast make perfect gradation difficult. Still, I have done a good job with the parameters of my challenge and I am pretty happy with the layout.

Some process photos. You have to look carefully to see the differences because they are subtle, but that is part of the process:

Fat Quail Quilt Shop Again

I have visited the Fat Quail Quilt Shop before. The last few times DH and I have driven to the North Coast, we haven’t stopped. Absence makes the heart grow fonder? As Mom and I drove south from Portland it turned out to be a good place to stop for a stretch. Laytonville is a small town after Leggett and before Willets as you drive south on Hwy 101.

When we visited several ladies were having a sew-in. The ladies were sewing away on their own projects and asking for advice as needed (by their own words). I was glad to see that they were there. Those small towns look so small, I always wonder how they can support a quilt population. My mom and I discussed this quite a bit in the car and her theory is that crafts are popular because of the lack of big city distractions. She could be right.

Fat Quail probably has the most ‘country’ style of the stores we visited. The colors of the decor tend more towards sage, beige, cream and rust. The shop is light filled and there are plenty of pinks and turquoises for people like me. They also have some more modern patterns, such as the Time for Tea pattern, which makes me think of the Mad Hatter.

I don’t know that I will make it as a quilt, but I do like the clock being half off the quilt. It is a good reminder that design elements do not need to be complete. I also like the stylized coffee pot. Both are interesting design elements. The pattern is Time For Tea (CSD-110- 13″x 35″) from Creative Space Designs. They have other interesting, including more Mad Hatter-ish, patterns as well as flowers and animals. You can buy it from their website or call Fat Quail.

They brightened things up quite a bit from last time. The room with the card catalog drawers holding fat quarters held a lot of Stonehenge last time. This time there was the cat quilt and that green, cream and rust quilt. The room was a lot brighter. No Stonehenge. Sorry Sandy!

I also saw some 1930s fabrics as well as some aqua and turquoise hiding in that room. 😉

As at the Quilter’s Corner, this shop had some specialty quail items. The quail is the state bird of California and this shop had a pattern for s stuffed version and some prints that could be added to a quilt. You can see them hanging on the fabric shelf to the left in the middle of the picture.

Autumn was in full swing in all of these quilt shops so there was a lot of Thanksgiving: reds, golds and browns. You can see those fabrics on the left in the back of the picture.

While fabric wasn’t everywhere, which I didn’t see in any shop I visited, there was plenty to choose from. I also found that a lot of different styles were represented even if there weren’t samples using every fabric.

I still think this shop is worth a visit and there is a coffee shop down the road a little where the family can relax while you look at fabric

Location:
44550 US-101, Laytonville, CA 95454
(707) 984-6966

Random Bits and Bobs

I went to a number of shops, but some of them are not getting their own post because I didn’t buy enough, take enough pictures or I had been there before pretty recently.

The best thing about visiting all the quilt shops I visited, aside from being distracted from leaving my Y.M. in a strange city all alone, was that I saw a lot of different stuff. Different colorways, different fabrics, different motifs. It made me realize how much fabric I never see. I suppose that is a good thing.

I found a big list of all the quilt shops in Oregon and we kind of followed that one.

Ocean Waves, Eureka, California

I usually visit this store when I am on the North Coast and this trip was no exception. The last time I visited was in February.

The Young Man and I drove up on Tuesday and we had kind of short driving day. We should have driven farther, but we didn’t. We arrived in Eureka, checked into the hotel and I called the quilt store. They were open for another half and hour so I hightailed over there and looked around. While I was there, I texted the Y.M. with a picture of a not-too-juvenile back-to-school print and asked if he wanted a pillowcase out of it. He said YES so I bought it. I also bought some more dress fabrics. You know those Philip Jacobs will be on body in the not too distant future. 😉

Ruth’s Family Fabric, Waldport, Oregon

This is an upholstery shop and quilt fabric store. I may just bring my wing chairs there to be recovered. It will force me to drive by. The price is right and the Fabric Depot in Portland had some great upholstery fabric.

I may have found the perfect fabric at this store. I have never seen this Riley Blake Awning Stripe before. The stripes are about an inch wide. I would upholster an entire room in this fabric if I had a sunroom or a boudoir. I love this fabric so much. It is an older fabric from the La Creme Basics line. This should seriously be in their lineup all the time. And WHY did I have to go to Southern Oregon to find this fabric? Why didn’t I ever see it before? WHY?

It was also in red and another version in black, but I restrained myself. I have to make something that I will use all the time. I don’t know what yet, but something great.

By My Hand, Brookings, Oregon

The lady who was manning the store (pretty sure she was the owner) was super nice. Mom barely looked at anything in this shop because she really hit off with the owner and they just chatted the whole time.

The store is yarn and fabric, but more yarn. I looked for light greys for my Flying Geese project throughout the trip and found a good one here.

This shop was hard to find. It is in a kind of strip mall, but the sign is impossible to see if you are driving. Quilt and fabric shops MUST have a giant sign near the road if they want out-of-towners to visit.

We passed about 3 shops up because we simply couldn’t find them. One was in the same town as this shop and we drove by where it should have been twice and we still couldn’t find it. Another thing, shops should have navigation tips on their websites. If they are near a giant department store their website should say “we are just before Super Giant Department Store if you are going south.”

We did stop at a wonderful cafe in Brookings called Blue Water cafe. It was down by the water and little hard to find, but totally worth it. They had gluten free bread and the service was excellent. The lady was very friendly. The place was also clean and had a very interesting Hawaiian/surfing/tropical theme.

Missed Shops

I drove right by Cool Cotton, Portland. It is, supposedly, a modern quilt shop. I was looking for exit, but didn’t see it. I’ll make it there next time.

Country Keepsakes was impossible to find.

We were shopped out when we passed the Quilted Angel. It isn’t that far from my house so, theoretically, I can go almost any time.

Photos from shops I didn’t use in other posts:

Quilter’s Corner

We found a list of Oregon quilt shops ** on the web and used it quite a bit. Mom was really good at directing me to the various shops. I think I have a bit of DH in me (he has trained me, more likely) after all these years of traveling together. I tend to stay in the car far too long whereas mom needs to get out and walk around. I have to say that getting out of the car was easier when we did it more often. I didn’t feel like I needed a crowbar to get myself out of the car.

There are a lot of quilt shops on the Southern Oregon coast! It is amazing that every hour or so you can get out and take a look around a quilt shop.

Quilter's Corner - no life sucking beige — Quilter’s Corner – no life sucking beige

Quilter’s Corner was bright and cheerful. I love the paint on the outside of the shop. I am not particularly fond of the color on its own, but with the white, yellow and stainless steel flower tubs, it really works. It looks so welcoming and cheerful.

The inside of the shop was bright and cheerful as well. The people were friendly. They had a great selection of notions and fabric.

Quilter's Corner batiks wall — Quilter’s Corner batiks wall

To the left when we walked in was a wall of batiks. There were a lot of bright and cheerful, clear colors.

I think the light along the southern Oregon coast must be similar to the light we have at home, because I didn’t see a lot of country/Civil War themed shops. Most of the shops had bright and cheerful colors. Granted, we did not visit most of the shops on the list.

You know I love looking at notions and this shop, as I mentioned, had a lot of interesting notions. I had seen, that morning, a post on Instagram from Moda Fabrics about a finger light for handstitching. Before I left I had been working on the Food Quilt #2 binding, and stitching black on black was hard to see, so I was interested. They were on my mind when I was checking out. There was a basket of the lights on the counter, so I picked out one for me and one for my mom. It is so awesome that I didn’t have to hunt around for weeks for one to try. They were only $2 and the counter lady said she liked them. DH has been out of town so I haven’t been sitting with him and stitching, but I will give a full report on this little light later.

Quilter's Corner books etc — Quilter’s Corner books etc

There is a certain ruler for which I am looking. I don’t know if it exists, but it is about 5″ or 6″ x 12″. I looked at all the shops we visited, but haven’t yet found exactly the ruler for which I am looking. They had a good selection of rulers at this shop. I spent some time looking at them and really wanting to get back to the sewing machine. I envy OzzyPip for taking her machine with her on her trips. Of course, I would not have had time to machine sew on this trip. I did have some handwork with me, but as I drove most of the time, I didn’t work on the project (EPP). Not making much progress there.

Quilter's Corner fabrics — Quilter’s Corner fabrics

One thing I noticed in a lot of these shops was the sea theme. They didn’t have it all over the shop, but had a section of fabrics with a sea theme or panels (such as the lighthouse panels you see, right). I didn’t buy any of these, but it made me think of the Michael Miller Ocean fabric I bought a few years ago. I think these must be for tourist quiltmakers who come and want a little something to remember their trip.

I also saw the nationwide row by row challenge in full force in many of these Oregon shops. Daisy mentioned this challenge experience in one of her recent podcasts. The theme there is something about the sea and each shop had a pattern for a row. These were free, but they also had kitted up the pattern with fabrics and those seem to run around $15.

I am not one for challenges, but I do like the idea of getting different rows from different shops and putting the rows together in your own way. It seems like a very neighborly thing to do, especially if people were doing it together. I could have collected a lot of rows on this trip, but, again, not my thing.

Quilter's Corner fabric displays — Quilter’s Corner fabric displays

The shop really had a lot packed into a little space and they still had the opportunity for displays using antiques like the sewing machine. Sometimes I feel like such displays are taking away valuable space from fabric, but I didn’t in this case.

After we had been there for a few minutes other ladies started to trickle in. We found out that the local quilt group was coming to meet and 30 ladies would be there in about 30 minutes. We didn’t rush, but since we were almost done anyway we finished up and got out so someone else could have our parking space. I do like it when quilt shops offer space to quilt groups. It is worth their while as, in this particular instance, several ladies handed over bolts of fabric to be cut and bought fat quarters for an exchange they were having.

I never cease to be amazed at how different quilt shops can look. This shop is well worth a stop if you are heading to the Oregon Coast.

Location: 335 7th St, Port Orford, OR 97465
(541) 332-0502

**Nota bene: both shops on this list in Tualatin are closed, as in no longer exist.

FOTY 2014 Frustration

I have almost had enough of this piece. Something drastic has to happen.

I had a couple of choices on projects to work on and FOTY 2014 was one of them. I took this picture on Thursday as a baseline for the weekend.

The piece has looked like this for a long time and it isn’t a bad look, but it isn’t finished either.

The red and pink look pretty good. The green area needs a lot of work and the purple is simply missing.

I decided to do one small thing as one small thing often leads to larger things, so I counted up all the patches, then I worked on figuring out how large the piece needed to be. I *think* the piece needs to be 16 rows tall by 26 rows wide. At the moment the piece is 15 rows tall by 24 rows wide. Easy to add two more rows?

No.

Some FOTY 2014 Work - early Sept. — Some FOTY 2014 Work – early Sept.

I got busy and started moving things around until I got to this point. The whole piece is filled in, which is a good thing. The green area still looks terrible, but it could be worse. The bad part is that there are 40+ patches on the floor. I have crammed some into the bottom rows, which is fine, but also not fine. I had to face reality that 26 x16 rows does not fit on this does wall and I need to do something else.

I really need all the pieces on the design wall in order to arrange the pieces the way I want them. I can’t just put the pieces up on the wall and sew them together and have a piece that I like.

I don’t seem to be able to think of very many options except to trim all the piece. The rectangles are large (5″x3″) and if I trim a 1/4″ off each side that will cut the size down and, perhaps, enable me to get all the pieces on the wall. I cut the rectangles that size to have them be 4.5″ x 2.5″ once sewn together and I kind of want them to be that size. I could cut them down to squares and forget my rectangle idea all together. I did squares for FOTY 2013 and I don’t think I want to do them again another year in a row.

Sigh.

Creative Prompt #326: Vanilla

Definition: “Vanilla is a flavor derived from orchids of the genus Vanilla, primarily from the Mexican species, flat-leaved vanilla (V. planifolia). The word vanilla, derived from the diminutive of the Spanish word vaina (vaina itself meaning sheath or pod), translates simply as “little pod”.^[1] Pre-Columbian Mesoamerican people cultivated the vine of the vanilla orchid, called tlilxochitl by the Aztecs. Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés is credited with introducing both vanilla and chocolate to Europe in the 1520s.^[2]

Initial attempts to cultivate vanilla outside Mexico and Central America proved futile because of the symbiotic relationship between the vanilla orchid and its natural pollinator, the local species of Melipona bee.^[3] Pollination is required to set the fruit from which the flavoring is derived. In 1837, Belgian botanist Charles François Antoine Morren discovered this fact and pioneered a method of artificially pollinating the plant. The method proved financially unworkable and was not deployed commercially.^[4] In 1841, Edmond Albius, a slave who lived on the French island of Réunion in the Indian Ocean, discovered at the age of 12 that the plant could be hand-pollinated. Hand-pollination allowed global cultivation of the plant.^[5]

Three major species of vanilla currently are grown globally, all of which derive from a species originally found in Mesoamerica, including parts of modern-day Mexico.^[6] The various subspecies are Vanilla planifolia (syn. V. fragrans), grown on Madagascar, Réunion, and other tropical areas along the Indian Ocean; V. tahitensis, grown in the South Pacific; and V. pompona, found in the West Indies, and Central and South America.^[7] The majority of the world’s vanilla is the V. planifolia species, more commonly known as Bourbon vanilla (after the former name of Réunion, Île Bourbon) or Madagascar vanilla, which is produced in Madagascar and neighboring islands in the southwestern Indian Ocean, and in Indonesia.^[8]^[9] Leptotes bicolor is used in the same way in South America.

Vanilla is the second most expensive spice after saffron,^[10]^[11] because growing the vanilla seed pods is labor-intensive.^[11] Despite the expense, vanilla is highly valued for its flavor, which author Frederic Rosengarten, Jr. described in The Book of Spices as “pure, spicy, and delicate”; he called its complex floral aroma a “peculiar bouquet”.^[12] As a result, vanilla is widely used in both commercial and domestic baking, perfume manufacture and aromatherapy.” (Wikipedia)

a genus of orchids

a color variation

a lightweight Internet forum package

something ordinary or everyday (plain vanilla)

computer software which is not customized.

a girl band from Barnet, London, England

Vanilla (Gackt song)

Vanilla (Leah Dizon song)

Vanilla the Rabbit – a Sonic the Hedgehog character

Vanilla – an Asterix character

Vanilla, Pennsylvania

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Quiltwork Patches

I stopped in Corvallis, Oregon on my way home at a shop called Quiltwork Patches. This wasn’t the largest store I visited, but it was one with a very good selection of fabric etc. Their excellent selection of fabric also included colorways that I hadn’t seen. They had some of the latest Moda charm packs and mini charm packs and really great selection of sale fabrics.

The ladies in the shop were friendly, but not too pushy, so I felt ok looking around, which was great, because I wasn’t feeling that well*.

There was a ton of fabric in this shop and half of it was sale fabric. The other part was really different, as I mentioned.

Quiltwork Patches front to back of the store

I liked the displays as well. They weren’t too cutesy and didn’t get in the way of the fabric. The displays facilitated the display of the fabric.

This was the first time I really liked those little benches in a quilt store. They, again, facilitated the display rather than overwhelming the display.

Quiltwork Patches back to front of store

If this looks like a lot of fabric, it is because there was a lot of fabric in this store. Their website says 4000 bolts and I believe it.

Quiltwork Patches across the front of the store

Location:
212 SW 3rd St, Corvallis, OR 97333
(541) 752-4820

I kept catching Mom in my photos!

*Nota bene: Mom and I ended up with what we think was food poisoning. We can’t figure out where we got it, but I was sicker than she and it was unpleasant.

Fabric Depot

If you have been playing along you know that I was in Portland (Oregon) with my DH over the weekend dropping our Y.M. off at college. It was a whirlwind adventure filled with moving in, then 2 days of orientation, some picking up the slack and then letting him go off on his new adventure living somewhere else and fending for himself. Sending children off to college is weird! One day they live with you and you are telling them to pick up their socks and the next day they live somewhere else.

My mom flew up to drive back with me and while I was waiting to pick her up at the airport, I went to a shop that Tanesha mentioned, in one of her podcasts, called Fabric Depot.

OMG! This place is so enormous, I couldn’t even, while I was in the store, understand how large it was. Conservatively it was the size of 3 Safeways. I think. It was so big that I couldn’t even begin to think about seeing everything. Truly. I am not exaggerating.

The three pictures above are the view from where I was standing when I walked in and got past the husband area. The three pictures show the vastness of the space. It is a store you have to go to with a bag lunch and plan out to look at one corner, then go back that next week with the same idea in mind.

They had everything new that I have been hearing about. I saw April Rosenthal’s Meadowbrook line, which I thought I would buy, but I ended up not buying any. They had charm packs and layer cakes, but I didn’t like it enough to have the desire to make something with it.

The other thing I noticed is that they drape the fabric like House of Fabrics, etc used to do. It is a great idea, because you can really see a lot of the motifs on the fabric.

The fabric shown left is a row of batiks. There were about 10 rows of batiks that I saw.

Julie would be thrilled with the Hallowe’en selection they had. I never saw so many interesting Hallowe’en fabrics! I bought some panels to make the Young Man and his two (yes, TWO, count ’em two!) college roommates Hallowe’en pillowcases. I already made the YM a Hallowe’en pillowcase, but hopefully he will change his sheets more than once in October.

There was a little boy with a 4 week old puppy walking around the store showing off his puppy. He wanted everyone to pat the puppy. I got to pat the puppy twice. The boy was about 4. OMG! They were both so cute.

In addition to a zillion pre-cuts, they also kits made up from their own designs or from local designers.

There were a lot of different ideas in this area and they all used solids.

The store had an excellent selection of solids. They had the ubiquitous Moda Bella solids as well as the Kona Solids. They also had the Michael Miller Cotton Couture solids and a few of the American Made Brands solids. It was great to see such a selection of solids.

There were also packs of solid colors with color related patterns prepackaged and ready to grab and go.

I saw a group of fabrics called Modern Mixers. I love the name of these fabrics and wanted them all. They reminded me of Half Moon Modern (and that I have to find something to do with those fabrics!). There may have been some that were in the Half Moon Modern group.

I did buy a couple for some more Political Wifery/work outfits.

The store also had some great displays. I loved the quilts they had hanging up including one from Dr. Who.

I have noticed the Jack’s Chain pattern (above quilt with green background) showing up in shops and on the web lately. I have loved that pattern since I saw it in the Cotton Patch a thousand years ago. Perhaps it is time to make it?

I didn’t have a lot of time, but it is probably good since I would have spent more money. I bought a few things, mostly they are earmarked for projects. Fabric Depot had a great selection of zippers, which were on sale. I took the opportunity to stock up on a few for dresses so I don’t have to go rushing around when I need them.

The store was definitely worth a visit and I will go there again when I am in Portland another time.