Are you still here, February?

Welcome
MARCH 0, 2008!

On February 12th I officially broke up with February.

(No, don't even try to bribe me with a LOVE day on the 14th! I'm over February.)

It was while I was shoveling a foot of soggy snow from the end of the driveway and digging out the mailbox. In the pouring rain. Again. We were headed for a deep freeze and every time the snowplow went by it deposited another foot of crap at the end of the driveway. There would be no moving it if it freezes; no mail deliveries and no getting in or out of the driveway.

Photo is Wednesday's snowfall (covering our sledding course).
More forecast for tonight.

Black Fly Season can't get here soon enough.
I promise NOT to complain.

I say: Let's leap into March early.

Well, THIS ticks me off a little.

NEW Easy Open Box?
(new EMPTY SPACE design)

Aunt Jemima Buttermilk Complete has a new box design.
This seemed like a good idea . . . at first.

BUT. We go though a lot of pancake mix and by the 2nd box purchased with the new opening, I noticed something not quite right:

Because the easy open pour spout they designed is a good 2 and a 1/4 inches down the side, the box is necessarily 2 and a 1/2 inches EMPTY.

My first comment sent off to them via their website was returned with a snotty "not out product" reply from Pinnacle Foods. I encouraged them to check their own website and they promised to contact the webmaster. I see they have fixed it since and Quaker Oats is actually the package designer.

BRILLIANT.

PUT THE EASY OPENING ON TOP!
And fill the box up, dudes.

Wish you were here!

P.S. to Stephani...

The reality of your mother's aging is undeniable. Taking a running start and throwing myself down onto the old sled so that I might PLAY with the boy has taken it's toll.

It's the walk back up the hill that will get you, though. I FELL! I can't lift my left elbow high enough to throw asprin in my mouth. It's bad.

I need a nap!

Political Diversion: EcoSewing

Recycling (more) jeans into bags

I've been hiding out (away from cable news political coverage until we see who wins...WAY TO GO WISCONSIN!) back in the sewing room, deconstructing more jeans into totes & messenger style bags.

I made another collapsible bucket to store the second denim Circle Jeans Quilt. For ease of carrying it to the perfect picnic spot! I made it taller and the rolled up quilt fits just about right.

Also made several messenger style bags, including one big enough for my laptop. I put 2 pockets on the front flap, tops sewn together facing each other, to try making a pocket big enough for the charger/cord. It didn't fit very well though.

I worked on more kindergarten Letter People during the day on Tuesday and unfortunately turned on the TV in time to watch way too much of the Clinton attack machine going after both Obamas'. I grow weary of the Clinton "power at any cost" tactics, but am not surprised by it.

I actually watched Michelle's speech live on C-Span and it was clearly being taken out of context, even given the fact that her "adult life" is not such a long span of time. I personally have not found much to be proud of for the last 8 - 12 years of Bush/Clinton regimes. Clinton Impeachment. Bush's War against the wrong enemy. Government sanctioned Torture. Our Constitution shoved through a shredder. Hardly our shining moments.

But clearly I came out of the sewing room way too soon. I'm going to need some more jeans to hack up and take out my frustrations on. Or perhaps a stash busting scrap quilt to keep me busy for the next round of rooting for Obama. I found this Project Linus pattern that seems perfect: HOPES & DREAMS.

Yes, I will!

Come on, People!

YES WE CAN!

Like HOPE. Only different?

Are you kidding me?

Compare and Contrast.
It makes you laugh at the end. Really.



Or cry?

Can I look now?

(who did we vote for?)

Me and my sewing machine.

We've been hiding out in the other room with the TV off.

Listening to Pandora on the laptop.

(So what if I've had it since December and just caught on that the thing is actually meant to be portable. Like a really expensive radio.)

I've been sewing up a storm.

NOT listening to cable news talk.
Too much can drive a person crazy.
I'm tired of screaming pundits, push polls and back stabbing talking points delivered by straight faced political hit people.

And I'm tired of being angry.

Not sure if lifting eyes heavenward to request a presidential candidate get the most votes is proper use of a spiritual aid?

Perhaps there's a forgivable Good Intentions clause.

But, THANK YOU MAINE for voting for Obama most!
You had me worried, I'll admit because I really had no clue which way we would go. Sunday's caucus turnout did us proud.

So while tucked away hiding out in my sound proof Laundry slash Sewing room:
I've finished my 2nd Denim Circle Jeans Quilt!

And a tote bag to match the 1st Circle quilt. Actually called the Collapsible Bucket, found here at a recently discovered website called Instructables. "The World's Biggest Show & Tell". Very cool. Detailed how-to directions for making stuff. I've been on the look out for more things to make from denim. I'm blaming it on Project Runway's 501 Jeans & a T-Shirt episode ;) So that makes it all Stephani's fault since she got me hooked on the show.

I changed my bucket...a bits.
Bigger. Recycled materials including waistband handle. It needs another button though, because the belt loop at the top guiding the strap is not stable enough with just the one button I reused at the bottom.

Also tried this Protect the Tech project, since I've been saving the pockets from all the jeans I've hacked up.

Plus a Denim Quilt Leftovers Tote (I made it up :) I'll probably fill it as a diaper bag for a baby shower gift at the end of the month.

Busy, huh? I missed a whole new technique for destroying a News Reporter's career while sewing. Shustered: “to lose a career for an inappropriate, relatively minor utterance about a powerful person or group.” Okay. Back to the sound proof room.

I'm about out of worn out blue jeans. Perhaps I'll put out the word to family I'm looking for donations. Noble cause. I'm willing to help with your spring cleaning!

Want a picnic quilt?
It's a long time until November's election.

And after 40 years of using a sewing machine and NEVER sewing a finger I've managed to stab a machine needle through a finger tip. TWICE this week.

Denim Circle Quilt

My 5 day impulse project is complete!

In under a week, 7 pair of worn out or too tight blue jeans became a "quilt".
It's FINISHED!

It could be a table quilt or an "It's okay to put on the ground for a picnic" quilt.
Not really a comfort blanket ...because it weighs a ton.

I didn't have a clear plan when I started this project so had to stop back at the store next time by to get another yard of the window fabric. Funny how cutting cloth into 4" squares and sewing it back together again takes more yardage than you would think to make a quilt?

Probably spent too much supplementing fabric for a recycle project since I bought it full price at a real quilt shop. Then again I probably saved a few dollars in gas by not driving across town to use a coupon at a chain store. Plus a childhood Best Friend owns the new shop so stopping in for my first visit was part of the impulse of this project. The fabric I chose was an impulse as well and perhaps not quite what I was thinking when I went in. I'm very pleased with how it turned out.

MORE SOCKS KNIT!

Sock Box

The Sock Box is the tote where finished knit socks go to wait for someone to need them. Either for personal use or as a gift giving purpose.
Sara tends to shop from the Sock Box. (Frugal shopper!)
Stephani is all about her own feet looking good. (Personal comfort & joy, baby!)

The Sock Box was getting a little low with only 5 pair left from last season's knitting binge. I've finished 3 more pair since the last time I blogged. Well not counting the other entry this morning on quilt progress. That would have been some fast knitting!

This is more stash knitting from yarn on hand and the variegated is supposed to be Simply Soft. But they're not. Soft. It was however $1 a skein from Goodwill so when the bottoms wear a hole through (and they will) disposing of them with the "Darn it!" method won't be too painful. (Socks with holes should be dropped straight into the trash can as you yell "Darn it!", per Yarn Harlot advice that I take very seriously.)

The (not) 6" Blocks are for our local newspaper's By Hand charity drive for the Humane Society. She wants 6" knit or crochet squares to be sewn together with all the other 6" squares she gets, for pet blankets at the shelter.

I swear my blocks started out 6 inches but a Seed Stitch border screwed that up pretty good. My plan was to make six so she would have enough same sized blocks to work with for one blanket. Too bad they're all coming out a little different at about 7"... and not very square!

She's getting them anyway. Then they'll be her problem!

Recycled Jeans Quilt

(1/2) of a Circle Blue Jeans Quilt

Internet Exploring a couple of mornings ago for inspiration, I stumbled (back) upon this site for Mock Cathedral Windows - a technique for recycling worn out jeans into a useful thing.
I've made pretty good progress after a few hours of sewing.
Half of a quilt!

I had to figure out a couple of the short cuts on my own as the written directions are not as easy to follow as pictures would have been.
So I'm including a few progress shots. (They are out of order of course because I never upload pictures in the right order first time out. I may or may not rearrange them later!)


Some things I figured out:

1. "Right sides together" does mean right side of blue jean fabric - which is actually the BACK of the quilt. (Which I mistakenly figured was the WRONG side.) So DO start out with 2 circles "good sides together." And sew right off the fabric both top and bottom along 1 seam. (Repeat!)
2. You only need to trace the center square sewing lines on about half of the circles. AT FIRST. Later you can draw the missing lines on rows of circles sewn together in a strip. But there is NO SENSE in trying to play the matching game with pairs of circles. Your lines will undoubtedly be out of line on the back. And things go wonky fast if you try sewing down the side that's out of alignment later. I know!
3. Finger press open the seams and stack 2 pairs together. YES. You can sew a strip of circles together and then add them all at once for the next row! I started out doing one circle at a time -Set in Seam style. SLOW!
4. Lift up the stacked pair of circles, making sure the seams match. Follow the opposite side seam line as you sew a strip of circles together.
5. Sew right down the traced lines at the top of the oval windows, without doing more than just touching them. And DON'T MISS the top of the oval or you'll have a hole!!
6. Press Windows open with an iron well before adding the window fabric, and press again once center fabric is laid in place.

After trying a satin stitch zig zag, I didn't like the effect. So I used a fancy stitch on my machine with a first back, then forward criss crossing motion. It's a little too jerky now that the quilt is getting big! Will experiment some more next time before committing myself.

I intend to experiment with a miniture version to see if I can make a Fabric Postcard Quilt for the next round of Postmark'd Art swaps. I've signed up for "Recycled" already so hope it works. Maybe I should have tried it first or I'll be left thinking up a new idea. I'm thinking of trying a dream catcher in one of the "windows" of a postcard, so stay tuned!

Days like these...

Local Op Ed

I was never really sure why it pissed me off that Pat LaMarche got to replace Molly Ivins in the editorial pages of our local newspaper.

Except I LOVED Molly. She soothed my sometimes sad, often angry political soul after the 2000 elections. With humor. Common sense.
Truth.

This week's replacement addition is probably intended with truly good intentions. To remind readers of the real dangers of driving under the influence...even a little drunk... can destroy lives. And I will accept that if just one person takes note and changes course, it will have been worthy of the space it filled.
Still not Molly.

I've left a message in the reader comments.
Remembering Nola.

Just for Stephani

The first picture with my new camera!
Sara took this as a movie and then captured a still so it may not show off the best quality I'll get out of this camera.

To be honest, I'm still a little afraid of it's shiny newness! And the last 2 days have been too dark, drippy & dismal to venture outside. But soon!

What's on the fridge?

OBAMA '08!

THANK YOU, IOWA!!

I sent a Dream Catcher fabric postcard to Barack Obama's campaign headquarters in October.

I got a (semi) personalized letter back.


Dated November 14th, it starts out: "Thank you for your kind message and for such a unique postcard."

Cool :)

Okay. The rest was a pretty standard form letter and it was probably a volunteer who took the time to acknowledge a fabric postcard. And probably a rubber stamp signed his name. I'm pretending someone shoved it under his nose along with a pile of other stuff and said "sign these!"

Hey, it's my world...

I sent 2 other Dream Catcher postcards to his Iowa campaign offices, c/o Any Volunteer, encouraging them to keep up the good work. I hope someone who enjoys fabric postcards keeps one.

Snow Daze

We've had some snow.

And it's freakin' cold outside.

I went cross country skiing again today.

Yesterday my outside exercise consisted of raking snow off the roof AGAIN for as far as I could reach.

Another 10 inches fell and filled up all the ski tracks I made on Monday, but it was easier today blazing a trail in the tracks I could almost find from before.

Jasmine is beside herself, unable to follow through the deep snow. She usually runs circles around us, and starts barking as soon as she sees the "funny shoes" come out of the storage bin. She stood on a plowed snow bank and barked at me as I skied away. Maybe I can talk Tyler into running their snowmobile through the field to pack down a path so she can go out again. That she went back to the house when I told her she should was a shock.

I finished socks today. I made the pattern up as I went along, using the same cable design on the ankle as for the wrists of the Fetching fingerless gloves from last year. I made another pair of the fingerless gloves for Steph for Christmas. (Actually I made 3 gloves because the second one was so mismatched. Now there's an orphan left over because there's not enough left in the skein for a fourth.) I changed the bind-off around the fingers because the picot edge as written turned out too wavy.

Happy New Year!

Be a better blogger.

I don't do resolutions.
But here's hoping 2008 is filled with inspiring ideas and FINISHED projects to blog about. I finished a pair of socks! They were on the needles since Sock Madness ended - both done up to the cuff and ready for the heel. I abandoned the Sock Madness pattern and opted for simple eye of partridge heel and some straight knitting to just get them done. I let Sara give them to her advisor as a gift without even taking a picture as proof they're done.
(Bad blogger!)

I ordered a new camera today!! With help of a $200 dell gift card the purchase of my new laptop earned before Christmas. Yes. This blog entry is coming to you from my LAP! I'm not very good at the finger scrolling...touch pad... thing... still confounds me on a very regular basis. (How do you hi-light something again? Stubborn is my middle name. I WILL finish this entry without a mouse!)

I do adore the new technology. (A mouse without cord!) I was afraid Windows Vista still had too many bugs to be worked out from all I read of it's first reviews. But I'm lovin' it! Things open in seconds. Pages of Publisher 2007 turn in an instant! I had resorted to folding a basket of cloths or vacuuming a room while I waited for the old computer to perform a task. So less housework gets done while I'm working on future Patchwork Press editing? That's the price of progress!

The next issue is to be sent to the printer in PDF form so fingers crossed it goes through without a meltdown. Mine if it fails and I have to start over!

A new pair of socks have been started. They're almost done actually! My reward for finishing 3 projects in as many months from the list of things that had gone into UFO mode was "I could start something new!"

I did use stash yarn, though. If resolutions for 2007 count for anything, that is. There's 6 more size 1 knitting needles waiting to be rescued from another pair of socks in the UFO pile. Before Sock Madness 2008 sign-ups start in February. Sara has promised to continue the very popular tradition of Mexican Take-Out delivery on Day One of new patterns. So mom doesn't have to cook...works for me!

And if Sock Madness drives me crazy...it will be Sara's fault!
Works for me.

Shaking OFF some funk

2 years in the making

WHAT?! (I finished a quilt :)
Stained Peace - with a purple edge

I started putting these 20 finished blocks together a couple of weeks ago.
My quilting group, the Clueless Quilters had a workshop (a really long time ago!) on a Stack & Slash stained glass style quilt, made from fat quarters.

I went into my stash and used fabric already on hand - only supplementing with the Peace Dove fabric and a couple of others. My Use (mostly) What You Have project is (finally) finished!!

Once I had the top together and had decided I would hand-quilt it, I promised myself I would try quilting a block-a-day. If I kept to my self-imposed deadline it could be done in 20 days. Or there about. I lost track, but it took less than 2 weeks to quilt it!!

Feeling has started to return to my fingertips. I hand-quilt with questionable technique - needle stabs repeatedly into thumb and forefinger of both hands so often my fingerprints are ruined. My thimble use needs re-evaluation? Probably.

At this point in today's story my new laptop became a brick.
Thanks to Blogger, this much was auto saved and my determination to begin blogging again didn't suffer an instant death before the PUBLISH button could be poked for the first time in a very long while. Then again it was probably the Blogger auto save that froze things up in the first place?

Fingers crossed. A picture will follow to prove finishing UFO's might be useful therapy for whatever ails me. I finished a baby sweater several weeks ago that had been started last spring. I think.

Next up: a half pair of finished socks (both cuffs are done) left over from Sock Madness. Although it may be Sock Madness that set me off on my funk in the first place? We'll see if I can be a better blogger. Yeah...

Right.

Featured Article

Fabric Postcard Dream Catcher

My Dream Catcher tutorial is posted online now.

I've been a member of Postmark'd Art since it began, soon after Quilting Arts issue 14 came out and began spreading the word about fabric postcard swapping. I was asked by our group leader to write a tutorial on how I make dream catchers on postcards for September.

Visit the site and look around at all the other neat tutorials as well!

Technically, the last "finished photo" is shown upside down from the way it's intended to be looked at when you pull it out of the mailbox. I blogged about this design here when I admitted my "state of flux" had left me in no mood for knitting. I'm still not knitting and the one sock I did work on this summer ended up getting ripped out even though I was right at the toe bind off stage. It came out way too small because I still can't count and had cast on too few stitches. I didn't even notice until I was half way done. I didn't want to waste my yarn making another one just like it - fitting nobody I know!

I'm working on Letter People again for the 14th Street School Kindergarten class - only 24 kids this year! I already have 7 letters of the alphabet finished (per kid) and plan on taking a break from letters to get back to postcards (or even some sock knitting!) since I'm ahead schedule.

Time to vote: Fabric Postcard Contest

Number 17 is mine...

A Piece of New England in Fall

Go vote!

Contest details from my blog entry here...

Tearing down mountains to get a better view?

Actually, it's all about corporate profit.

There's a commercial on TV that drives me right up the wall. It claims "People are smart" but there seems precious little evidence these days. I watched a rebroadcast of Bill Moyers show this week on PBS and as usual his topics make you think; then make you angry.

Our government is about to make it easier still - for the sake of corporate greed - to tear off the top of mountains to get to coal faster. (Including but not limited to the Appalachian Mountains of West Virginia.)

What can YOU do?

Finished things

I won't tell.

Harry Potter book 7 was finished mid week, leaving me with an "I don't know what to do with myself now!" anti-climax. This book is not at a young child's age level. For the kids & adults hooked on Harry from the beginning, we've aged along with the characters in the book. I fear with all 7 now available at the same time, the next generation hooked on Harry will be too young for some of the later books. I hope parents pay attention to their child's age level and not just their reading skill. Librarians should be cautious of where the series is placed on the shelves.

I've also finished my series of free-form needle tatted trees for the Postmark'd Art postcard swap. 4 plus one for me to keep for my own collection. They sort of went from stark bonsai to Whomping Willow. My reading material may have had some effect on the direction my free form tatting took?

Each one is a little different from the next, with a marked difference between first and last. Not sure which is my favorite. Will probably keep the one directly over the book. Background colors might have been better with something else, but I'm stash busting with fabrics I have on hand.
It is what it is!

Vacation time is here (half over now). Tom and I decided a day trip or two and instead of traveling around spending gobs of money on gas and fast food for 2 weeks. Instead we have demolished the living room!

Going about the same track as a favorite children's book: "If you Give a Mouse a Cookie" (he's going to want a glass of milk). ONE THING LEADS TO ANOTHER! We ripped the nasty squares of ceiling out to replace with wood. (Only 2 rooms left after this and all of the ceilings will have been replaced.) That means the wood molding has to come down. And be stripped of multiple layers of paint and stained to match. And the wall paper I put up 20 plus years ago might as well come off. This time taking it back all 3 layers and painting. (Perhaps another shade of yellow?) And then door trims & window sashings will need to be painted. The floor has issues but we will deal with that later. Seriously. One thing ALWAYS leads to another!

Of course a major issue cropped up when we realized 15 feet of ceiling trim is trapped by 4 feet of ugly fake brick fire wall that was put in place before we bought the place. A wood stove used to dominate the living room but we installed ours in the basement with ductwork bringing the heat up. But the ugly bricks stayed. Until Friday.

I saved you a fake brick, Steph!

Not NOW!

Shh! I'm reading Harry Potter.

I'm on page 259.

I took time out late this afternoon to walk to the edge of our field and pick enough raspberries for a pie. They're just starting to ripen and it looks like it will be a good year for them.
I may put down my book again long enough to go make the pie, now that good reading light has faded.

I also practiced a butterfly this afternoon from the tatting calendar for July 19th.

The colors I used made one freaking ugly butterfly. I thought purple & red would work better than this! I didn't put much thought into color choice - just grabbed two to practice technique with. Will have to ask the what thread was used for the sample as it is very pretty.

I'm still using up bags of free crochet cotton I was given, belonging to Aunt Nonnie. It's been over a year now since she passed away and I miss her. It pleases me to be able to finally put some of it to use, now that I've discovered needle tatting.

I don't know the correct way of working two colors yet, so I cheated and ran the second color in behind the stitches on back to get started. I'll go ask for group help on tatting using 2 needles later.

After pie baking.
And another chapter with Harry.

Book 7 KNITTING CONTENT ...from page 21:
Harry remembers asking Dumbledore: "What do you see when you look in the mirror?"
"I? I see myself holding a pair of thick, woolen socks."

Tatting Collage project

Bonsai Fabric Postcard

Not sure if this needle tatted bonsai tree qualifies as motif 9.
Let's say it does since it's a finished item.

From inspiration found in Lindsay Rogers' Tatting Collage book, this is my interpretation of her cover, scaled down to fit the tree themed postcards I've signed up for in a coming swap with 5 members of Postmark'd Art.

The book gives basic instructions for the combination of stitches & patterns found within the book that were used in the collages - not actual direction for each collage.

I'm a JOINER!

25 Motif Challenge

Needle Tatted motifs are turning up everywhere!
I've joined a group that's all about tatting motifs. Pledging to make 25 this year.

(I do pledge to give it my best shot :)
I'm starting a little late!

I made 2 more needlebooks just so I could have some place else to stick some tatting onto. As the queen of unfinished things I'm hoping my 25 motif's translate into #25 finished items. Not just a box of motifs!

I suspect Needlebooks and Bookmarks will be added to sock gifted friends & family far into the future.

Not counting anything twice, I have 8 finished.
Technically, I have 15 basket postcards all finished and 6 have been mailed away already.

I'd be working on my next motif but the Patchwork Press (newsletter I edit for Maine's Pine Tree Quilters Guild) is due out to the printers this week. This computer is so slow in between waiting for things to open or download or print I have washed kitchen & living room windows - inside & out; done 3 loads of laundry, vacuumed and made potato salad for supper.

(@#%&*$ thing!) There's been a great deal of swearing, as well. When PWP is done I will happily go back to some guilt free needle tatting practice.

I'm a Calendar Girl!

July 16 Tatting Calendar pattern

My basket has been added to the Tatting Calendar project.

Today!

Hopefully it's not riddled with mistakes, as a couple of people are testing it, but as of now it's only been tested by me. Awfully bold of someone who's been holding a tatting needle for all of 3 weeks? And had never even heard of the concept of needle tatting until I wanted a basket for a postcard?

(Still no knitting happening, although I got a project out and touched it a few minutes.)

Next Item! Here is the newest fabric postcard I came up with over the weekend, changing the cutout to hold a purple tatted butterfly within a net window. I've done this basic crazy quilt design before, with several different motifs in the window. Felt cutouts of maple leaves, shamrocks & hearts - until I discovered tatting! Will add beads and maybe even a tatted edge to a seam next time, but I'm out of pink seed beads & I wanted to test the first one (NOW!) with a butterfly, just to see how it would look trapped in the net.

A couple of weeks ago I sent one I did for fall swaps last year to the ArtCard Ideas project:

Share your fabric postcard creations online for the ArtCard Ideas 2007 Idea Deck Contest!
We're looking for fun, elegant, wacky, and wonderful fabric postcards as art for a deck of ideas especially for fabric postcard artists.
Postcards will be collected from all over the world and displayed here for everyone to view. Visitors will vote on their favorite postcards, and photos of the 52 most popular cards will be included in the 2007 ArtCards Idea Deck for sale this fall!
There are goodies for the 10 most popular cards, and every winner earns bragging rights, so get a fabric postcard creation to us by August 1!

My card, A Piece of New England in Fall can be seen here in their gallery. I seem to have moved to the bottom of the page. Hopefully it's an alphabetical thing.
Or last - but not least?!

Voting starts August 15th for 2 weeks - and it would be lovely to be one of the chosen ones.

(What she actually means: Shameless begging will begin on the 15th!)