2014 – Page 4 – Artquiltmaker Blog

Various & Sundry #13 – Mid-November

Fabric, Thread and Supplies
Need some discount fabrics? I mean full quality fabric for less? Check out this post on The Stitches Swap. Just go look. You know you want to go and look.

Hawthorne Threads has now produced its own fabric line. I saw it the other day while I was browsing their shop and didn’t quite understand what I was seeing. Fabric Worm / Birch Fabrics did this a few years as the modern movement was getting off the ground. I guess Hawthorne Threads thought it was a good idea. If you click on Hawthorne Threads as a designer you will see their three collections, Fair Isle, Bengal and Calliope. they have a pattern for an apron using the Calliope line on their blog. Need a gift? There are similarities in the designs even though the collections are different. Glad to see they are reaching beyond just being an online fabric shop.

Patterns and Projects
Moda has their Modern Building Blocks quilt project, which I really like. Not sure how old it is, because I can’t find the original post. Still here are the directions for putting all of the blocks together.

I found a really nice Pineapple quilt.

I know Thanksgiving is first, but I love this poinsettia table runner, even though I don’t love table runners. I love the colors (not screamy Christmas) and the design (Drunkard’s Path). Thanks to Mark Lipinski.

Tanesha has been working on art journaling pages and she did one recently that I really like. Check it out on her page.

Moda has a post on their blog about quilt math, Bake Shop Basics: Quick Quilt Math by Oda May, using their precuts. They had to make some assumptions, but I think it is a good post to add to your toolkit.

Media

Weeks Ringle posted about a subject near and dear to my heart. I call it “…but I am not creative”, which is similar to the title of her blog post. while I am fortunate to come from a family with a long tradition of needlework and a mother who encouraged (and paid for) a lot of our crazy creative ideas, not all of my quilts are perfect. I cut off points, my borders don’t fit, I can’t draw a human face. For me, creativity in my chosen medium is about getting better. Every quilt I make and technique I try further my knowledge. It also keeps my brain active and keeps me interested. What I would like to say is “banish the phrase (and related sentences) ‘…but I am not creative’ forever.” Don’t acknowledge the concept, don’t think about it. Everyone is creative, but you have to nurture and practice creativity, just like everything else.

Did you know that Abby Glassenberg has a podcast? No? Me either. There is a link on her blog. She is up to episode 32. Does this mean I am not paying as much attention as I should to new media or does it mean I am part of an insular little community that only talks to itself? I might think about that.

Judy Martin writes “Regardless of your skill or experience level, you can win the coveted Best of Show just by playing my new game, Quilt Show. It is out and available. The game retails for $34.95. It is for 2-4 players. You can read more about it or order it at:
http://judymartin.com/products.cfm?action=detail&prod=60&CatID=4 (no affiliation)

If you’re curious about the game but want to see how it plays, I have some short videos you can watch. Richard Ham has a series of videos where he plays games and explains what he is doing as he does it. It’s a great way to follow along and tell if a game is right for you. I’ve added his three Quilt Show videos to my Video page. And Dan King, the Game Boy Geek, does a video review of Quilt Show, explaining how to play. I’ve added his video, too.

http://www.judymartin.com/video-page.cfm”

The game would be great for retreats or Quiltmakers’ Game Nights. I am sure it makes a great gift. 😉

I found about the 45th anniversary of QNM from Judy Martin’s newsletter. See the quilts and read about the event on their blog.

There is an Amish Quilt Exhibit at the San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles. Read the article and go see it if you get the chance. I was disappointed that none of the modern inspirations were shown in the paper.

Features

I was featured on the Quilty Therapy blog in her healthy sewist lifestyles series.

If you want a good bio of Judy Martin, she was a Battgirl recently and you can read all about her. Yes, I am an inveterate Judy Martin fan. I love her original blocks, her newsletter and her quilts. The follow-up post on Judy’s quilter, Lana talks about Quilter’s Dream Batting in such a way that it makes me want to try it. Have you used that batting?

Thoughts and Ideas
The Badass Quilters’ Society had this “To be a BadAss Quilter is to be confident enough to embrace your own style without the need to mock the style of others. To at least aspire to fearlessness in your craft as well as authentic, compassionate and ethical treatment of each other. To be generally opposed to dumb-ass behavior that separates, denigrates or makes light of another’s work, style or lifestyle. In short, we are opposed to being a jerk about most things and about quilting most of all.” to say on a post that I marked to share back in April. Regardless of whether you want to call yourself ‘badass’ or not, the sentiment is really good. What is wrong with your style that you are embarrassed to own it? Why are you reluctant to make a change to a pattern that would clearly be better with your change? Why do you make fun of someone else’s work? The article goes on to discuss all the different types of quiltmakers out there. Go forth and embrace your quilt-i-ness!

Abby Glassenberg wrote a blog post on whether money trickles down to fabric designers. The Bad Ass Quilt Society wrote a follow-up post to Glassenberg’s post. I think it was an excellent example of how our expectations of pricing are way off. I don’t buy kits, but I have run my own business and I know everyone is looking for a discount. One of the things I like about the quilt industry is that it is still filled with a lot of small businesses and women owned businesses. Do you really need a discount?

Other Artists
Next week is the American Thanksgiving, one of my favorite holidays. Perusing some of my favorite sites (see link list on the right hand side), I saw that Quilt Rat had posted a turkey that is perfect for coloring. Print out a few copies, buy some new boxes of crayons and set the kids to work while you cook.

I heard Kevin Kosbab speak the other day at the Bay Area Modern Quilt Guild. He has a really interesting lecture on Mid Century Modern. Look for a more detailed post about him later. See his work and buy his stuff at: Feed Dog Designs

Doing Good Green T Quilt

I have the Green T quilt in my possession and I am applying the binding. This is the quilt that Gerre and I worked on together at the last Charity Day. Gerre quilted it and did a fantastic job!!

She quilted in a big circle and it really looks fantastic. I used the Reflections fabric (RJR, I think, from the Dark Ages) in a kind of olive green color. It is a little mottled, but I think it fits well with the variety of greens in the quilt.

Gerre and I make a good team and I told her so. I told her I want to work with her again. She is working on quilting the postage stamp/16 patch, which I will bind as well.

I really liked working with Gerre. I am thrilled that we have made this quilt together and I am proud of how it has come out. Yes, I know it is not finished, but I am thrilled with the way it has come together.

Russian Rubix Returns

Did you read the UFO post? I was really thinking about this project when I wrote it. This project is becoming painful. However, I refuse to let it beat me. After talking with Friend Julie a week or so ago, I was ready to dive back in. It is often easier to move on with a project after getting someone’s perspective.

I made the top border including the corners, which fit over the side borders. This was not helpful, as they had nothing on which to rest since I hadn’t made the side borders yet. Thus, I decided I needed to make the side borders as I thought it would be easier to put on the top and bottom borders which had the corners if there was enough fabric on the sides to accommodate the corners.

I decided I want this design for the border on this quilt. This decision means that I have to be ok with the idea that two of the borders may have to have a spacer to make them fit. I am not 100% sure the sizing won’t work, but it looks like it won’t. We’ll see as I make more parts of the border, sew bits together, trim other bits and the seam allowances are taken up.

I had a few hours on Sunday and spent the time making a side border. It was really nice to just be sewing. I feel like I haven’t had much time to sew lately, so that was part of the reason I enjoyed it so much.

I have a bit left to do, but essentially I finished the side border.

P.S. The piece, as usual, is too large for my design wall, so I had to use tape to keep the border up on the wall. that is the first time I have done that, but I doubt it will be the last because of the size of the pieces I seem to make.

DWM – Mid November

I spent most of the day yesterday out with Kelly and making banana bread. The Young Man budgeted for $40 worth of bananas for his Eagle Project and then BOUGHT THEM!!! People ate bananas, but $40 is a lot of bananas and we had a about 20 left after the project. By yesterday 12 were left, which meant 3 double batches of banana bread. I spent about 3.5 hours in the kitchen, including a walking trip to Trader Joe’s because I ran out of eggs. I got some steps in, but used up a lot of sewing time on this ‘project.’

Thus, the design wall looks pretty similar to last week’s version. I have high hopes that the end is nearing on a few projects, but time will tell, especially with holidays coming up.

1. More of the red 2″ squares for my 4 patches. I really need to cut some 2″ turquoise squares. I just can’t seem to get to it.

2. Black & Grey Teenaged Boy Donation Quilt blocks. I finally finished that last block that had been languishing, for, what seemed like, weeks. Next step is to layout all the blocks and look at them. I need to decide whether to sew them together with sashing or not. I hear red fabrics crying out for my attention when I think about this quilt.

3. Pieces and part of the PIQF Cross blocks. I have the other background parts cut as well; they are just somewhere else waiting for me to have a moment to decide on the fabric for the on point squares.

4. Start of a donation block for BAMQG. Made with leaders and enders technique yesterday as I sewed another side of a Russian Rubix border together.

5. My PIQF Cross blocks, some only partially sewn.

5.5 This is the PIQF Cross block that TFQ made. Somehow it got separated from its friends, though, perhaps, it volunteered to play referee between the red 2″ patches from and the Teenaged Boy Donation Quilt. 😉

6. Russian Rubix Octagons. I am still making a few blocks for the border. I am not sure if I will use these in the Russian Rubix quilt or if they will be part of the Snowball/9 Patch quilt I have in mind. If I do that piece it will be the third quilt I make from that collection of fabrics. It is interesting to do that. Perhaps I can consider it a series?

7. Most recent FOTY rectangles. These are the last of the fabrics that TFQ pressed for me. I need to toss another load of new fabric into the wash and continue on.

I am linking up with Judy over at the Patchwork Times. Looking through a few of the other links is fun. I see projects and things that I wouldn’t have otherwise seen.

How UFOs are Born

I was talking to a friend the other day. She makes sculpture out of the stuff she finds in her recycle bin. She makes about one piece a year. It was so fascinating to hear about her process and how she gets her ideas. Somehow we got on the topic of process and she said ‘sometimes, you have to put a piece aside and let it be for awhile.’

I froze, mentally, at least.

Have you ever had a moment happen where you think 10 minutes have gone by, but only seconds passed and you are able to pick up thread of the conversation with nobody the wiser that you just checked out? That happened to me at this moment. A movie started playing in my head of all of the UFOs that I had dredged out of the darkness of the fabric closet and finished in the past couple of years.Then the voice inside my head started screaming NOOOOOOOOO!

I pulled myself together and my friend was still happily chattering on about process.

This one comment made me think about how perfectly good projects become UFOs.

You start out happily working on a project. You are excited, love the fabrics and are already imagining it on your bed or wall or being opened by a lucky recipient at the next holiday.

The first blocks are challenging and you feel excited as you see them come together. The more blocks you make the more mundane and rote the sewing becomes. Boring follows close behind. Still, you think about other things, plan your grocery list and cross things off your mental to do list as you push fabric and thread under the needle of your machine. The charm and allure of the project hasn’t dimmed completely.

You are in the home stretch as you begin to piece the border. Then the process all goes horribly wrong. Your math is off. There is an extra inch where you don’t need it and the fabulously pieced border won’t fit.

Suddenly, you feel tired. The excitement of the project is gone and it is just a big pain in the neck.

You wander off, work on something else, add new deadline. A month passes and the project is taking up space on your design wall and you need the space to finish your donation quilt. You take the project off the design wall just for a small rest, put all the parts in a box and put it front and center on a shelf. Months pass and the space on the shelf is needed so into the closet, near the front, the project box goes.

More months pass. The box gets moved to the back of the closet as some rearrange new fabric.

5 YEARS LATER (+12 other completed projects)

A fabri-lanche hits your fabric closet. You decide this is a good time to take inventory and clean out. Everything comes out of the closet and you go through it before you put it back in. You find the project about which you had totally forgotten. The fabric is old looking and no longer interests you. You throw it into the guild charity bag and know that someone will do something gorgeous with it.

PIQF Crosses

Can you tell that I don’t know what to call these blocks? I really have to look the pattern up in Barbara Brackman’s book or Jinny Beyer’s book and see if they have a real name.

I haven’t made a ton of progress since I last talked about this project. I seem to have not had much time to sew in the past week or so. I finally took a few minutes last night while I was waiting for dinner to finish to sew the blocks together. It really only took a few minutes. I finished two of the blocks I have in process, but the others need fabric cut and I wasn’t set up to do that.

I was able to use scraps for most of the pieces as they are small, which is really good since my scrap bins seem to be overflowing. Still, the blocks are small and, thus, a pain to sew. In my haste I cut off some points, which I will need to remedy if we are going to continue making these blocks. I am not sure I like them well enough to make a whole quilt out of them.

I think they do look nice together. I like the scrappy look. We didn’t intend to use all blues for the crosses, but it seems to have worked out that way. The others I have in process do not have blue or blue green or aqua in the center.

So, my blocks will be winging their way to TFQ today. It is possible that I’ll have more time to sew tomorrow and will send some on Monday.

Stay tuned for that.

Creative Prompt #284: Lake

Lost Lake by Sarah Addison Allen

Land O’ Lakes

Definition-“A lake is an area, (prototypically filled with water, also of variable size), localized in a basin, that is surrounded by land apart from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, and therefore are distinct from lagoons, and are also larger and deeper than ponds.^[1]^[2] Lakes can be contrasted with rivers or streams, which are usually flowing. However most lakes are fed and drained by rivers and streams.

Natural lakes are generally found in mountainous areas, rift zones, and areas with ongoing glaciation. Other lakes are found in endorheic basins or along the courses of mature rivers. In some parts of the world there are many lakes because of chaotic drainage patterns left over from the last Ice Age. All lakes are temporary over geologic time scales, as they will slowly fill in with sediments or spill out of the basin containing them.

Many lakes are artificial and are constructed for industrial or agricultural use, for hydro-electric power generation or domestic water supply, or for aesthetic or recreational purposes.” (Wikipedia)

Mono Lake

Lake Tahoe

Loch Ness

Lady of the Lake

Lake Counties

Great Salt Lake

Lake Placid, New York

The Lake is the first book in AnnaLisa Grant’s Lake Trilogy.

Stow Lake

Lake Merced

Darien Lake Performing Arts Center

Great Lakes

Mammoth Lakes, Calif

Mountain Lake Park

The Finger Lakes, a region once known only for growing concord grapes for juice, is now making rieslings and some reds that can compete with the world’s best.

Lake County

The Salt Lake Tribune

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/or your blog.

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

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.

Music Quilt Progresses

I have made progress on choosing fabrics for the music quilt. I bought some fabrics at Houston and then I received a huge box of music fabrics from Mrs. K. What a bonanza!

The fabrics on the left are the fabrics I bought at Houston for the quilt. The fabrics on the left are music fabrics that Mrs. K sent me.

I still don’t have a pattern. I did another Missouri Star disappearing pattern that might work. We’ll have to see.

This seems like progress, but it is extremely painful.

PIQF Inspiration Blocks

These are the blocks we saw in the quilt at PIQF. I had a bad start with these blocks.

I started making them before I went to Houston and the pain and suffering was almost beyond endurance. OK, I am exaggerating, but I couldn’t understand why the square in a square pieces took so long to make. I really have had very few issues like this with blocks.

While I was in Houston, TFQ sent me one of her blocks. I put on the wall as inspiration for my blocks. When I finally got the square in a square pieces (ONLY the square in a square pieces, mind you, there are 5 additional pieces in this block) finished and up on the design wall, I found they were wrong. Much too small.

Huh?

I went back and checked the measurements and found that I had cut wrong or read the directions and cut wrong or something. Bleah. This was a total head on desk moment.

Once I got the dimensions correct, the square in a square pieces went relatively well. I put the first block together relatively quickly. I was able to cut pieces for the other blocks from some scraps, which was great.

There are lots of pieces in this block, but being able to use scraps is a bonus. I have to make time to sew about 10 more seams and then send them off. Wish me luck.

Nota bene: If you want to try to make the block, click on the link:
PIQF Crosses-6 inch version

Another Cafe Apron

I can probably classify this as a hack. Really, I don’t know about the hack thing, because I made the apron without the Amanda 7 Pocket Cafe Apron pattern.

I couldn’t find the pattern and, after cleaning my workroom, I called my mom and had her measure the apron I made for her. I looked at the previous blog posts and went for it. I had to kind of make up the pockets, but I think it will work well.

A few months ago, I volunteered at the Young Man’s Band Review. I was assigned to the grooming team, which means that I followed the head of the grooming team around and carried stuff she needed to fix buttons, cut hair, adjust hems and jackets. At that time I thought it would be really useful to have an apron.

I finally had a chance to make one and it took me about three to four hours. The hardest part was pressing the seams. I really dislike that part, because I can never get the seams as flat as I want them.

I have to say that I enjoyed making this apron a lot more without the pattern than I did before. I think the problem with the pattern’s printing/font size was too small.

Regardless, I think the apron came out really well and I hope it will be useful.

Design Wall Monday

It seems a little odd to keep posting these photos of what looks like the same design wall week after week. Still there is some difference. You can see the blocks I am making for the project TFQ and I are working on.

The octagons are still there, because I am still stuck on the Russian Rubix border. I got a little push in the right direction, but I just I haven’t had a chance to do any sewing. I will be really happy when I have a chance to finish the border so I can get the octagons off my wall and put something else up there.

1- As in the previous week, these are the pieces and parts for red and turquoise four patches. Ir eally need to find some more turquoise fabrics.

2- These patches are the start of the newest batch of FOTY 2014 rectangles.

3- Octagons from the Russian Rubix quilt top.

4- Finished red and turquoise four patches

5- Donation blocks, mostly finished, but one in process

6- PIQF Inspiration blocks in process

7- PIQF Inspiration blocks in in cutting stage

I am linking up with Judy Laquidara’s Patchwork Times

MassDrop Fabric

I have been a little off fabric buying for the past couple of months, but that seems to have abated. Despite not feeling the love for any new fabrics, I kept looking at Cotton & Steel. Who couldn’t with all the hype?

I am not that fond of the fussy-cuttable prints, but liked the tone-on-tones. I hadn’t yet gotten myself together to go and seek out the prints I wanted when I saw that MassDrop had an interesting offer. Interested parties were allowed to choose two FQ bundles of the tone-on-tone color groups of their choice. Note that this drop is closed now, but you can request that it be opened again.

Right before I left for Houston, I received the bundles. I didn’t really have a chance to open it as a lot was going on the few days before I left. I was excited about the cute little packets of fabric, though.

Went to Houston, came home and had a lot of stuff to do around the house, related to work, etc. Finally, I dragged my cutting table out of the closet (I store in the Fabric Closet when not in use or when we have guests or when someone is vacuuming) and began unearthing the rotary cutting mat. What a mess! I have a lot of projects in process, as you know, and it just creates chaos. I am in creative chaos stage right now.

One of the things I unearthed was the package above. Of course, I opened it.

Inside were two FQ bundles. Normally, I buy larger cuts of fabric, because you never know when you will need to make a border. Considering that I have plenty of fabric, especially in the blue range, I think fat quarters are plenty. I also have a project in mind for the neutrals.

There are a couple of kind of ugly greens (the ones on the end-right), but they look ok with the others.

Now I can I can say I am in the ‘in’ crowd and not just trying to be in the ‘in’ crowd. 😉

I do have to say that once I got them out of the MassDrop packaging, I didn’t want to take the FQ packs apart. They were just so compact and adorable. I gritted my teeth and did it, though.

The fabrics all go together pretty nicely and as soon as I was the blue and green pack, I will add them to my pile for Tale of Two Cities.

Houston Quilt Festival 2014, pt.2

The first thing we did after Julie and I met Marie Bostwick for breakfast 😉 , was look at quilts. Mom and Miss Vickie met us near the beginning of the quilts and we got on with it. We had barely started looking at the quilts when I had the best quilt experience EVER. We were signing blocks and chatting with the ladies at the QOV booth when a man walked up and asked if they were the ladies who made quilts for wounded soldiers. After they said yes, he said he woke up in the hospital in Germany with a quilt wrapped around him after he was injured in Iraq. It was clear this act of kindness meant a lot to him. OMG! I almost cried. He started to leave when they called him back and kind of swarmed him. They asked him to sign a block and just generally treated him like a hero. It was so great to see him as the walking epitome of some of the charity work in which I engage as well as chatting with the ladies. Very moving.

As I said, Miss Vickie joined us. It was fun to see the quilts through her eyes. She has clear ideas about what she likes and what she doesn’t like. She is not a quiltmaker, but will be soon. 😉 She bought some fabric and some charm squares and started playing with them while we had an afternoon break with candy bars and chips. We are staying with her north of Houston in the best B&B ever.

This show was similar to Long Beach in the set up, though there were quilts that were entered to be judged and awarded prizes. This was not the case at the Long Beach show. There were a lot of special exhibits: 500 Traditional Quilts, a collection of quilts from a Dutch Cancer survivor, a Bonnie Smith exhibit, Beatles exhibit, a Modern Quilt exhibit and some others I am sure I am forgetting. My favorite exhibit was the Farm to Fabric exhibit, which was an exhibit of quilts made from the American Made Brands solid fabrics. I like the idea of the company, which is that the cotton is grown in the US and the fabric is made in the US. That alone would encourage me to buy some of the fabrics, but when I saw the quilts, I couldn’t believe the colors! They were clear and gorgeous. There was something about the colors. They were different, and kind of glowed. I tried to find some in the vendor hall, but didn’t succeed. I was really excited when I saw the quilts and wanted the fabrics RIGHT NOW. ;-)They have a “find a retailer near you” feature and I see that there are several shops near home that sell them, so I will give myself a treat and go and look.

The other exhibit that was really moving was the Inspired by Libby exhibit. This was an exhibit of quilts that are being auctioned off (website above) to add to Libby Lehman’s medical fund. They were done by famous, or well known, quilt artists. I just loved Libby Lehman’s class. I am so glad I was able to take one from her and feel really sad that she can no longer sew. I hope it is temporary and she will be able to get back to it.

The prize winners were almost all applique’ quilts. They were amazing applique’ quilts, but I really wonder if you can win an IQF prize with a pieced quilt? I was kind of sad looking at them, because I will never make a quilt like any of the prize winners. I am not sad about that; I just don’t want to spend the rest of my quiltmaking career making one quilt that my heirs can enter after I am dead. I have a lot of fabric to use.

Morrell's Quilt by Di Ford — Morrell’s Quilt by Di Ford

In terms of random themes I noticed myself looking at: lines (like grass), circles and turquoise. If you are surprised at all by the turquoise, you haven’t been reading long enough. 😉 Circles have been on my mind for awhile. Part of that is the The Circle Game by Jen Kingwell quilts that have been popping up all over the web. Also, though, I have been thinking I need a challenge. <Nota bene: I might be over that, though, with the &^%$# Russian Rubix border.>

We took some time to talk to the NASA people who were there. They were talking about the program they have with local high schools to get their equipment sewn. NASA donates sewing machines, like Jukis, to high schools and trains teachers, then the teachers train the kids to make things like sleeping bags that astronauts use in space. Not only are the kids learning a skill, but they get to know that their sleeping bag is keeping an astronaut alive in space. I thought it was great.

We checked out the vendors on all the days. We went back and forth. When the visual stimulation got to be too much, we went into the vendor hall and looked around.

We also met a Twilter, Glenna. Of course, she didn’t look anything like what I imagined, but she spotted me and was very nice. We only chatted for a few minutes, but it is nice to put a name with a face.

Houston Quilt Festival 2014 pt.1

Yes, I went to Houston. We arrived on Wednesday and left on Monday.

The bad part was that I didn’t get enough steps and ate too much.

The good was so much. I can’t even begin to tell you how many fantastically gorgeous and amazing quilts were there. Even if you go once, you must go to this show. YOU MUST! Not only were there a gazillion fabulous quilts, but there were so many vendors I couldn’t take all of them in. The whole thing was amazing.

I really liked the vendors, but ultimately there was a lot of fabric, a lot of thread and a lot of people.

I took the time to look at the Janome MC 8900 in person. It is the machine that seems to be the right price for the right amount of features. None of the shops I have visited near my house have it, so the giant Janome booth was the place. I saw that it is a real machine and not as scary as it looks in pictures.

The guy was really nice and did the demo on a regular, if not slightly thinner, piece of quilter’s cotton. All the demos I have seen are done on felt, which, of course, makes the stitches look fantastic. The machine has a lot of decorative stitches and a knee lift. I do have to find a place where I can try the machine out myself.

Another thing I did was take the opportunity to look at the array of sewing cabinets.

My absolute favorite cabinet of the models I saw was this one from a company in Ontario called EddyCrest. It is solid wood (birch) and would be shipped to me for only $100. I also really liked the guy. He was not a smarmy sales guy and I got the impression that he actually works on the cabinets. He was really humble and nice. I don’t know the cost of this particular model (top left) because this is too large for my room and I probably wouldn’t buy it. I love it, though, especially the thread drawer.

If I buy a new cabinet, and, if I buy it from this company, I would probably buy the smaller version. This is a little different configuration than my current cabinet, but a little better, because it has drawers on the right, which my current cabinet doesn’t have. It also has a wider space to the right and I keep a lot of stuff over there for easy access.

This size cabinet isn’t as large as the other one, but I am pretty sure the back is larger than mine. I’ll have to go to the website and look at the sizes.

I also asked about the flip up back, which is fabulous for quilting. He said that he could add one on this size cabinet, which is great. Not that I quilt that much, but I wouldn’t want to give up that feature.

As I said, there were tons of other vendors, mostly fabric, but other stuff as well. I bought fabric for the music quilt, which will have a couple of other prints, such as a keyboard and some fabric that says BLAH BLAH BLAH as a small ode to being a high schooler and a teenager.

We brought mom’s cousin on the second day and, I think (fingers crossed), turned her into a quiltmaker. She has a long way to go, but bought fabric, a rotary cutter and a Creative Grids ruler. I am kind of excited, but we will see.

The most fun thing ever was Hallowe’en. I wore a black skirt, leggings and a black shirt. I wanted a black tutu, but settled for the skirt. I wear glasses so it is hard to wear a mask on the front of your head. I bought a mask and mom made eyes to put in the eye holes and I wore it clipped to the back of my head. Friend Julie wore her green witch outfit sans green makeup. People saw us, especially at the beginning of the day, and wanted pictures with her or both of us. It was really fun.

There were sooooo many quilts that we barely made a dent.

S	M	T	W	T	F	S
	1	2	3	4	5	6
7	8	9	10	11	12	13
14	15	16	17	18	19	20
21	22	23	24	25	26	27
28	29	30