Houston 2011 Winners!

They've posted the Houston Quilt Festival winners and I'm heading for the airport! Click here to see the winning quilts. I am in for a treat and can hardly wait. Harry got me a new flash for my camera so hopefully I can get some great photos of beautiful quilts ... and the awesome quilting! I will share photos when I get back. Meanwhile, happy sewing!

Just Dandy Quilt by V. and Co

I have just this moment discovered a new blog loaded with tutorials. The artist is Vanessa Christenson, owner of V and Co. I love her "Just Dandy Baby Quilt", available from her website as a pdf download:

Robert Kaufman has a new Kona cotton roll up called "Silent Film" that I think has tremendous potential. I'm imagining it with a punch of orange or a punch of lime green ... or just the right print ... 





V and Co. made a pillow using the roll up and put together a lovely tutorial:





The pillow would of course be beautiful in your favorite color gradation!

Happy 25th Anniversary to Harry and Me

I simply cannot believe that 25 years ago, Harry and I got married. It seems like 10 years ... maybe! This is Harry with our first golden retriever, Jason, who apparently is in need of a tummy rub.

There were no cell phones then ... check out that rotary dial phone! I'm talking to someone about details, I'm sure!

Here I am with my mom as we go into the living room to start the ceremony. It was a very special, emotional time and it's especially poignant to look at these pictures today. Mom died about 15 years ago ... I miss her very much ... every day.

Here's Harry with his sister and father. Another special photo ... Harry's father died maybe 18 years ago. Harry's dad never particularly cared for cats so he, of course, was my cats' favorite person!

Our minister arrives ... in pink ... and to her right is Harry's mom, Grace, in the brown velvet jacket. Brown was Grace's favorite color ... we did not have that in common! Between Lois and Grace is my sister, Angela. But front and center is Jason ... who is hoping for a treat. We met Lois before our wedding day and I remember the first question she asked us was "Why do you want to get married?" I clearly remember a mental panic ... there's a test? No one told us there was a test!

After the ceremony, our friends and family accompanied us to dinner.

Cutting the cake

My brother took photos for us. I have always loved this photo of him:

And of course there had to be a little mischief with Harry's old Ford Custom 500 ... with one of the guilty parties front and center:

We didn't have enough room for everyone to have their own bed so my dear, sweetheart brother slept on the couch ... and was greeted by Jason first thing in the morning.

Mom, my aunt Midge and I made breakfast the next morning ... I'm sure there were biscuits! Mom made the very best biscuits!

So today, 25 years later, I am grateful for such wonderful years and miss those who no longer get to share our lives. And I would simply KILL to be that thin again!!!

The Proper Way to Seam Rip

I ran across this excellent video by Mary Fons ... daughter of Marianne Fons ... of Fons and Porter fame. I had no idea there was a proper way to rip a seam. I tried it and it works great ... it doesn't stretch the fabric and is much faster than ripping out one stitch at a time.


I was so excited about this technique that I volunteered to rip out any seams that needed rippin' in last week's "Learn to Quilt" class at the Pine Needle. Fortunately, there weren't many but it's a great way to rip out a seam. Enjoy!

Penguin & Fish Embroidery Patterns and more!

I rarely am interested in embroidery but these patterns from Penguin & Fish have really grabbed my interest. Isn't this the cutest little newt you've ever seen?





and I absolutely must get this golden retriever puppy pattern:





This weekend, I watched Jean Wells on Oregon Art Beat. If you missed it, check it out! It's great to see Jean featured ... she is the most amazing, inspiring teacher ever. I only wish the segment were longer!

Quilterly Measurements

Here's a handy "quick reference" of the quilterly measurements in a yard. I have a copy pinned near my cutting table. With "Nickel" distractions every 5 minutes, it's definitely better than doing the arithmetic in my head!

Yards	Inches
1/8	4.5
1/4	9
1/3	12
3/8	13.5
1/2	18
5/8	22.5
2/3	24
3/4	27
7/8	31.5
1	36

If you have any difficulty printing it out, just let me know. I am happy to email you a pdf file that should print easily.

Pine Needle 2011 Fall Open House

The open house was tons of fun! I am very excited about Metropolitan Quilts' new designs and was thrilled to see all the customer quilts hanging from the Farmer's Wife classes and the Great Escape Retreat back in June. Check out the photos on my Picasa photo album.


I demonstrated the Strip Tube Ruler from Cozy Quilts ... a fast and fun way to cut pieced or plain half square triangles from a tube. Clever! I definitely recommend using starch to stiffen the bias edges of the blocks. I can't wait to make the Transitions pattern I bought two years ago ... with no idea there was a ruler to make it a snap!


And I demonstrated Pilot's new FriXion pens. I think these pens are terrific for marking quilt tops, including embroidery and applique. A quick touch with your iron instantly removes the marks. If you don't want to touch your work with an iron, simply hover the iron with steam over your work and the markings disappear. I had gone to great lengths to avoid marking my quilt top but no more! I eagerly await a color that is visible on dark fabrics.

Pine Needle Fall 2011 Catalog

Yippee! The Pine Needle's 2011 catalog is available:
http://issuu.com/pineneedlequiltshop/docs/fall2011?mode=embed

Basting the Quilt - Introduction

Once the quilt top is complete, you need to temporarily hold the quilt top, batting and back together while quilting. There are three main methods of basting the quilt:

• use a spray adhesive such as 505 Spray and Fix 
• use safety pins
• use thread to baste by hand or machine

Here I’ve outlined the advantages and any disadvantages of each method:

	Advantages	Disadvantages
Spray Basting	The temporary adhesive holds the layers together more securely because the adhesive is sprayed across the entire surface  You don’t have to stop to remove pins when quilting! It’s fast! 505 is odorless, acid free, adheres at least 5 years (ask me how I know this) and, when the quilt is washed, the adhesive releases 505 does not place any drag on your needles, nor does it gum up needles or scissors	Even though 505 is non-toxic, spray in an area with good ventilation
Pin Basting	Pin baste if you object to using a spray or prefer not to expose your quilt to the spray adhesive	Interrupting sewing to remove pins also disrupts the learning process for developing smooth free motion stitching Quilt layers are held together only where there are pins so it is easier to get pleats on the back Pin basting is slower, harder on your hands and, if you pin baste on the floor, is a killer for your knees and back
Baste by hand or machine	If stitches are not too far apart nor too long, holds layers together better than pin basting	Relatively slow, especially if basting by hand Must remove basting stitches unless you use water soluble thread

NOTE:  the quilt back and batting should be approximately 3” larger than the quilt top on all sides.

I personally will never pin baste again and can recommend the 505 spray. I have basted many quilts, ranging from small wall hangings to a queen-size, with success. The only shifting between layers I have experienced was with a lap-sized flannel quilt with wool batting. Because both the fabric and batting were fluffy, the layers were shifting slightly so I machine basted with water soluble thread in the top and bobbin - problem solved!

Ideally, your work surface is in a room other than the one in which you have your sewing machine.  To avoid getting any of the spray adhesive in or around my sewing machine, I baste my quilts on folding tables in my garage and open the garage door for good ventilation.

Next: layering for spray or pin basting.

Dinnertime and Mischief

Puppies, like children, are incredibly flexible. I am so envious ... I never realized nor did I sufficiently appreciate how fluid movement was until it became less so! Here is Nickel, sleeping in his soft crate ... head is north, front paws face south, hind legs face the moon!

Can this be comfortable?

Breakfast and dinner are major events in the lives of a golden so they give their undivided, utterly focused attention during meal prep.

 Harry filling their bowls ... any chance he could miss Nickel?

Unbearable waiting for the magic word ... OK!

Benny's tummy is sensitive due to his chemotherapy meds so we cook part of their food and let them lick the pan afterwards. Nickel will lick the pan long after Benny and Frankie give up, with high aspirations of cleaning every molecule out of the pan.

 Hold that pan still

Yummmmm!

Mischief!

 Nickel, is that my favorite fleece jacket?

 Jacket? What jacket?

I swear it wasn't me!