Not exactly a rock garden...

   

Not exactly a rock garden... but pretty close.

If our front yard is an explosion of plants (I love that overgrown cottage look) then the back is shaping up as an homage to rocks.

Flat rocks.  

River rocks.  

(Lots & lots of Montana River Rocks).

I'll throw these here as a promise for more when we get a few more plants popping out of the ground (& a sunny day would be nice).

 

Ed & Mr. J (who was afraid of the rake)

View from the kitchen on Easter.

So what are you growing?  

    Reading?  

        Making?

xo

sash

Battle Wounds

Sometimes stress needs a more immediate release than can be found in a book or at the sewing machine.  At those moments, I really need to kill things.

Usually those things are demons, undead, and other pixelated evils. 

Tromper - Survivalist Hunter

   Which I can shoot,

Bramblethorn - Protection Warrior

          Whack with a sword,

Carindre - Restoration Druid

Or leave to the devices of my allies (while I keep my guildies alive from a safe distance)

Sometimes, however, virtual violence isn't enough.  I must hit things.  With sticks.

In particular, I hit a pell (upright, padded target my darling hubby built for me) with either bokken (wooden practice sword) or tanto (knife - in this case, a wooden practice version).

I must have been extra tense this week.  I was trying to remember all the basic escrima moves. & managed to strain something in my mid/lower back.  I didn't have my notes so I was relying on muscle memory.  Clearly what my muscles didn't remember was how long it's been since I've done any escrima.  

Sheesh.

I couldn't remember beyond the first 4-5 moves.  I need to check with Sensei Craig but maybe I'll wait a couple weeks first.

Meanwhile, about those demons....

xo
sash

Moving right along....

March was a blur of business and stress.  My sweetie quit his job (after 27 years!).  My work landed some big new projects.  The ManChild started another term of school.  Just a whole lotta life being lived.

Not a whole lotta quilting going on, however.  In particular, my March "A Lovely Year of Finishes" wasn't.  

Finished.  

At all.

Ah well.  

Moving Right Along!!!   

I will keep working on getting MC's Carpenter's Star quilted but that's not my goal for April.  I figured out that I can't really set a goal for creativity and inspiration.  I can work on it, but I can't guarantee that I'll find a pattern I'll love or decide on a final design.

I CAN set a goal that's based on putting in the time and effort.  That's something I can control - mostly.

My goal for April is to turn this:

Into a Broken Dishes quilt top.  Sorta like this:

I needed a project that I can just sew on without plotting or planning.  I had these great batiks from Connecting Threads and added some neutrals I had left from the Stonehenge line.  I got a start on it this weekend, cutting a lot of the squares and sewing some of them to make the HST's.  I think it will come together nicely.

So that's the plan for April's ALYoF2014.  Click here to check out these other great project and goals for the month.

True Love

Inspired by my darling & brilliant niece (I have many nieces & nephews) I'm offering a few words on love.

    Tim Minchin (and hence NSFW!!!)

In the "almost too true to be funny" category 
I present:
              

Hank Green 

 










Watch those first. 

Fires at Midnight

Then, if you want a more serious idea of what I really think about love, check out this video & read the lyrics. 

To me, the most romantic song ever written. 

          Really.  (I don't joke about Jethro Tull.)  




The most difficult projects can be the most rewarding.  Be mindful of who you pick for your lab partner. Pull your own weight.  Pick up slack.  And laugh, even through tears and struggles.  It will be 23 years of marriage on the 23rd of this month.  I'm so frickin' lucky. 

Handsome guy & the sexiest brain I've ever met :)

- auntiesash

As Seen On YouTube

I'm having a great time with this Herringbone/Friendship Braid project.  The fabric is beautiful, the pattern is all mathy, and the results are just as I imagined (phew)!

It does, however, require pressing and trimming after each piece is attached.  No chain anything on this one.  I was pretty tired and Sparki the wonder dog was camped out between my chair and the ironing board.  I could have overcome my inertia but add in geriatric dog inertia and I knew that up & down and up & down wasn't happening.

I've never had a large, cleared, surface to do pressing and cutting and sewing all from one spot, but I thought it was worth a try.  I felt so efficient!  My little portable pressing pad (with a towel under for condensation), a small cutting mat and ruler, & I was good to go!  Being tall was a big help, and working on a long, narrow piece made the cutting possible.  Check it out!  A work station worthy of Jenny or the Gourmet Quilter !!

Rendered in Black & White because it IS the week before Christmas!

I also discovered one more important tool to have on hand.  A decoy project - in case someone shows up or walks in unexpectedly.  This photo is also in black & white.  Any WIP that's within reach right now is also headed for a December delivery.

Hastily deployed decoy quilt

Even with a visit from my sweetie to install hooks, a wall heater (yay), & some artwork, I got a lot of sewing done & Sparki had a nice, long nap by my side.  See how rested she looks?

The sweetest dog on the planet & such a pretty girl!

- sash

Meh...

I try not to be a whiner.  Well, most of the time.  But (and you knew that word was coming) I am right fed up with this whole shingles situation.  It hurts.  It's lasted too long.  It's getting in the way of things.

I might be a little bit cranky.

Borders DID happen though.  The green & yellow quilt is completely pieced and I'm really pleased with the result.  The borders made it more modern and classy.  And I finally got the proportions all sorted.

My sweetie helped me sandwich the candy squares top.  We ALMOST got the green & yellow sandwiched but my basting gun stopped working.  Upon inspection, the needle was totally bent at the end.  Wouldn't even pierce the fabric.  My sweetie gave a try to straightening it out but even though it made the gun work again, the needle was too rough and tugging at the fabric.  I decided I could safety pin the rest (ugh) and I set about looking for a replacement needle online.

I'll never understand why basting guns aren't more popular.  I love mine and find it SO much easier than pins, sprays, or hand basting.  It goes quickly, they don't come apart, & I have to go over the whole quilt anyway to trim little threads and check everything, so I do that while hunting for tacks.  It's kinda relaxing.

Fortunately, basting guns are still popular in the UK, so I found the tack removers from a vendor there.  Tonight I found replacement needles from a US source.  They are spendy but the same place has the micro fastener refills for less than I can buy them here.  Getting the needles (they come in a 5 pack) is a good investment and I know that my quilting guru can use a replacement too.

So the weekend was not as successful or enjoyable as I'd hoped, but it wasn't a total washout.  I made some progress.  I can start quilting the candy squares tomorrow night.

I guess I don't really have that much to whine about...

sash

Public Safety

My extended lapse has been the direct result of safety precautions implemented by my sweetie & the MC.  It was decided that, while narcotics and shingles go together well, narcotics and sewing machines do not.  Ditto for irons.

It's also an odd mix with internet fabric shopping, but I do love the fabric I received even if I don't, exactly, remember ordering it.

Moving on....

With adult supervision, I did make a bit of progress in the last 3 weeks:

1) I modified the Iron Quilt design to make it a little more interesting (to me anyway).  Then I set it all aside because even improvisational piecing was WAY beyond my drug addled skill set.

2) The Carpenter's Star was pieced in time for the birthday celebration, but stalled at that point due to fabric issues.  The MC wanted a BIG quilt.  When my gentle giant says BIG, he means BIG.  I had to order out the minky for the backing.  I have yet to track down the correct shade of Northcott Stonehenge that I want for the borders.  I also think it's time to negotiate long arm services with the quilt fairies to the north.  Did I mention this thing is huge?  Even with my new sewing area, this would be a TOTAL nuisance to quilt myself.

3) The anniversary quilts are pieced - Mostly.  

Border Audition (And WHY is this sideways??)

I finished piecing the candy squares & stitched together the pieced binding.

This weekend - while weening myself off pain meds - I made about 8,000 more blocks for the yellow/green.


OK maybe only 50 more but I also squared them up (I HATE squaring up blocks), did the layout, & stitched it all together! 

I like the results.

The borders I selected are Black swirls, Cheddar solid, Dark Green solid, Black Swirl binding.  That will tone the quilt down a bit, make it a bit more modern, and keep it masculine. Maybe.  

I'm hoping to slap the borders on tonight & get some sandwiching help from my sister Thursday night before Project Runway

And really?  Bugs?  I know it was Halloween, but I don't want to look at big old spiders - or dresses inspired by them - while tucking into my kit-kat bars. 

 

And tell me the center outfit doesn't look like the lamp from A Christmas Story.

3(cont) I'd hoped to have these two quilts done by this week but I think I can quilt them simply & quickly this weekend.  Considering the last month, being just a week late isn't too bad.

Alright then.  All caught up and now, for new projects.  In the interest of turning a fabric-purchaser into an actual fabric-sewer, I'm doing a buddy quilt.  She's in charge of thematic novelty prints.  I'm in charge of coordinating solids.  We're doing split rails, cut on diagonal.  Should be fun.

I'm also eager to make some smaller, instant gratification gifts.  Bags, Pillows, Table runners, Etc.  And I've found out nephew #1 is bringing his bride out for Christmas, so I may need to turn thoughts to a Texas Star quilt??

Who has time for shingles or pain meds??  I have sewing to do!!!

- sash

Such a productive weekend!

My newly designed work station is a dream.  My sweetie did a great job and the queen-of-folding-&-organization made it a warm, cozy, functional space.

This weekend, I finished ALL the quilting on the man-child's girlfriend's quilt top.  I finished the piecing in time for her graduation in June but, as often happens, stalled out on the finish.  But NOW I've got all the quilting done, the basting tacks removed, and the binding cut and pressed.  I just need to square it up, add the binding & tags, and pass it on.  Phew.

Hmmm - I guess I should add "Take Pictures" to that list.

The other big progress was on the Craftsy Candy Squares Quilt. I'd cut most the pieces and started assembling the blocks, but by last night all fifty of the 9-patches were complete, pressed, and attached to an alternate block.  Next step - figure out the arrangement of those sub blocks and stitch it all together!

I also played with making little snap bags.  The sample turned out pretty well (I know, where's the picture?) and I think these will be fun to make for the holiday craft sale as well as for little gifts.

So a great weekend quilting and enough progress to have me itching to hit the sewing room tonight.

Keep your feet on the ground!

- Auntie Sash