Quilted Lovelies

New From Quilted Lovelies

2010-09-16T14:14:00.000-05:00

Autumn Leaves Are Falling

The new fall line is available at Quilted Lovelies! Richly colored quilted table runners, quilted placemats and napkins will add autumnal beauty to your home.

Merle's Day

2010-08-20T14:26:00.000-05:00

A lot of Merle’s fans have asked what his day is like. It’s jam packed with lots of doggie activities! To give you an idea, here’s his schedule on any given day:

6:45 a.m. BREAKFAST!!!

7:00 a.m. WALKIES!!!!

7:30 a.m. Post walkies nap

9:30 a.m. Mid morning nap

11:30 a.m. Outside to do my business, hunt for rabbits and roll around in the grass

1:30 p.m. Post hunting nap
3:30 p.m. Mid afternoon rest
5:30 p.m. Get head scratched
5:35 p.m. DINNER!!!

7:30 p.m. Depressed. No bunnies to be seen from the window.

10:00 p.m. Bedtime

Wow, what an exhausting day! And Merle gets up the next morning and does it all again. Where does he get his energy? Hope you enjoyed this peek into the personal side of Merle.

From Lost To Found To Fabulous

2010-08-03T16:30:00.001-05:00

Looking for exotic and stunning jewelry made from upcycled and reclaimed items? Look no further than Fanciful Devices. Using things the rest of us would either throw or give away, Fanciful turns into striking necklaces, earrings, rings, pins and bracelets. Plus you learn something new with each description. Check out some of her “lovelies”!

How To Retrieve Your Scissors From Across The Sewing Table In Four Easy Steps

2010-07-14T15:00:00.000-05:00

Don’t you just hate it when you’ve finished sewing and can’t find your scissors to cut the thread? You scan the table and there they are, on the other side, down near the end.

Now the sensible thing to do is sigh heavily, get up and get your scissors. But with my simple plan, you never have to leave the comfort of your chair. Let’s get started!

1. Try to snag the scissors with your 6” x 24” ruler.

2. If that doesn’t work, use the ruler with something else to bring you closer to your goal. I used a 6” square ruler.

Great. Now the scissors are stuck under the iron. Keep trying!

Can you reach them yet? No?

3. Now that the scissors are a little closer, use your big ruler to see if you can drag something else to use, like a pencil.

4. Hook the scissors with the pencil, being careful not to poke yourself in the eye with either item.

Et voila! You have your scissors, never had to get up, and it only took 8 minutes!

The "Art" Of Conversation

2010-07-04T19:16:00.000-05:00

This is a typical conversation at my house. My husband and daughter were watching the really bad Batman movie from 1966 on TV:

Me (came into the den and saw the back of Catwoman): “Is that Eartha Kitt or Meredith What’s-Her-Name?”
Hubby: “It’s Lee Meriwether, not Meredith.”
Darling Daughter: “Wasn’t she on ‘Sky High’?”
Me: “No, that’s Linda Carter.”
Hubby: “She played Wonder Woman, not Catwoman. Lee Meredith was also Buddy Ebsen’s secretary on that detective show. What was it?”
Me: “It’s Lee Meriwether and the show was ‘Barnaby Jones.’”
DD: “Who does Eartha Kitt play?”
Me: “She’s not in this movie.”
DD: “Then why did you mention her?”
Hubby: “Shh, I’m trying to watch this bad movie.”

After that great intellectual discussion, it was back to the show. SOCK! POW!

Norman Strikes Again!

2010-06-03T17:17:00.002-05:00

That Norman! The chocolate lab who tore apart a vintage Grandmother’s Flower Garden quilt in April (see The Dog Ate My Quilt) has developed a taste for old quilts. This month, he chewed the corner off a gorgeous vintage Bowtie quilt. Not as extensive as April’s damage, but Norman’s owner is starting to think I’m paying him in Milk Bones to tear up her quilts.

I had to replace half the bowtie, batting, backing and binding. I could not locate a green striped fabric that came anywhere near what the original bowtie looked like, so Norman’s “mom” decided to go with contrast and picked out a polka dot.

I noticed there was another quilt in the bag, and it was the Grandmother’s Flower Garden quilt I fixed in April. Oh no! Immediately, I did the mature, professional thing and jumped to conclusions: she hated my work and was throwing it back in my face. Can you believe I was wrong? The worst worn flower in the garden had batting falling out around what was left of the fabric. While the owner didn’t want me to make a completely new flower (too expensive), she did ask if I could “put a patch over it” to keep the batting where it belonged. Well sure, I can do anything. Hahaha. I mean, how hard can it be to make a one piece patch, sorta hexagonally shaped semi circle, complete with seam allowances? Pretty darn difficult, that’s how hard! The patch and I had a few differences at first, but after I threatened it with the fireplace, things fell into place.

Everybody is happy for now, but I sense Norman is plotting his next “challenge”.

UPDATE: This blog won American Quilter's Society Blog Of The Week on June 4, 2010. Thank you Norman! Your Milk Bones are in the mail!

Sofa.com's Comfy Award

2010-05-18T15:43:00.001-05:00

Sofa.com is a trendy sofa company in London, dedicated to building high quality, custom made sofas for a fraction of the usual custom price. One of their passions is comfort, and their blog is devoted to all things comfortable. I would love to be able to visit them and all the funky shops the blog mentions! Sofa.com’s latest mission is to recognize companies that understand the significance of comfort and coziness in one’s life.

Quilted Lovelies was recently honored with a Comfy Award, and a very lovely post on Sofa.com’s blog. Check out the badge! Pretty slick, huh? I love their avant-garde pictures too – not what you’d expect in merchandise photography. Take a look at their site; you’ll wish they delivered to the U.S.

Enjoy and stay comfy! :)

CitizenS.A.M.

2010-05-14T14:18:00.001-05:00

This great organization is composed of volunteers who desire to support our Armed Forces. They send quilts to transport wounded soldiers from the battlefield to safety, plus helmet liners and Christmas stockings. There are several more volunteer groups that involve writing cards and letters, adopting a soldier, helping out the K-9 unit and more.

If you are interested in volunteering, please click on any of the links above. If you have any red, white, blue or patriotic themed fabric that you don’t want anymore, I would be most appreciative to receive it. I recently started making quilts for them, but one of their stipulations is that all the quilts have to be made of 100% cotton, red, white, blue or patriotic themed fabric. After only 2 quilts, I am quickly running out! If you’d like to donate your unwanted fabric, please send it to Quilted Lovelies, P.O. Box 126316, Benbrook TX 76126. If you’d like to volunteer your time or make a donation to CitizenSAM, please click on CitizenSAM to go to their home page.

Thank you so much for your help!

The Dog Ate My Quilt

2010-04-29T14:44:00.000-05:00

Destroyin’ Norman, the Labrador Retriever is one lucky dog. When his owner brought me the product of his labor (1st photo), I wasn’t sure I could put Humpty Dumpty together again. The Grandmother’s Flower Garden quilt was over 70 years old and fragile. Now a dog had taken a big bite out of it. How is one supposed to age gracefully with a chunk missing?

The first thing I did was look at it for a day, hoping some magic power would come through my eyeballs and fix it. When that didn’t work, I got busy. One of the half flowers at the border needed replacing as did a 2 foot section of the border itself. The batting, back and binding for the section also had to be replaced (next 3 pictures). Then the new section would have to be hand quilted, matching the stitches of the original quilter (“Good luck with that,” Norman chuckled). Two big challenges were finding fabric that matched the old border fabric, and trying to attach the new section to old fragile material. Finding the fabric was easier than I thought it would be; thank goodness Depression era colors are popular right now. Getting everyone to play together nicely was another matter.

The old border fabric and the background hexagons are very delicate, and fell apart in places when machine sewing was attempted. After more than a few Diva Moments (“This looks like trash, and trash is not allowed to exist in my presence!”), trying the Magic Eyeball trick again, and walking away a couple of times to mutter to myself, everything finally came together and stayed together. I wondered if there was a place I could take the quilt to have all the negative energy removed, but decided a good airing would do just as well.

Norman is out of the dog house for now...

Americans Helping Americans

2010-04-23T11:26:00.002-05:00

Get some good priced Quilted Lovelies items and help out a great cause at the same time. Americans Helping Americans is featuring some donated items from QL in their online store. All profits go to AHA!

http://store.helpingamericans.org/

Time For A New Look

2010-04-22T11:26:00.001-05:00

At last, renovations have started on my aunt's Flower Garden quilt. It's a little sad covering up an old flower, but at least it's still part of the quilt. Now the old flower is protected, and the new flower makes the quilt more stable.

The first picture shows an old flower that has seen better days (see the far left blue flower in the middle). Good-bye old flower! The new flower is then basted over the old to hold it in place (picture 2), then hand appliqued to the quilt (picture 3). Finally, the quilt stitching on the rest of the quilt is repeated in the new flower (picture 4). My grandmother made some of the tiniest stitches I've seen; it's going to be challenging to match her standard. Only 11 more flowers to go, and it's finished - I may be writing from the looney bin next time (ha)!

Grandmother's Flower Garden Quilt, Part VI

2010-04-17T14:57:00.000-05:00

Yay! The last two flowers are done, and they are as different as night and day. The flower on the left is a coral beauty made with a modern fabric in a scallop design, and matching solids. The look isn't too much for the quilt though because of the medium scale print (believe me, I checked!). The second flower is a typical small scale floral in pretty pinks and greens. The middle ring has another floral in cream and pink, while the center is a tiny cream-on-cream floral. Lots of flowery goodness!

Up next, the new flowers will be appliqued over the damaged flowers, providing more stability and less stress to the surrounding fabrics. Stay tuned!

Two New Product Lines For Quilted Lovelies

2010-04-15T10:01:00.000-05:00

Two new product lines have been added to the Quilted Lovelies line-up: doll quilts and hot pads.

The doll quilts come in two designs, checkerboard and diagonally striped. The checkerboard doll quilts feature bright fabrics in carnival inspired colors of turquoise, red, yellow and chartreuse, just to name a few. They come in two sizes, 10" x 14" and 12" x 14". The diagonally striped doll quilt is made up of triangles pieced together to seemingly form rows of flowers on a solid yellow background. Both designs are perfect for 18" dolls.

Two of the hot pads designs are primary colored quilt block patterns in 2 sizes, 8 1/2" square and 9 1/2" square. The third is a whopping 16" x 14 1/2" (that's big enough for a lasagna pan). I made them because I couldn't find a hot pad big enough to fit under the crock pot. I made a "guinea pig special" for me, then my mom wanted one, and a neighbor, so I made a dozen of the smaller ones and 4 of the larger ones. The big hot pads are pieced squares and rectangles in spring colors of lime, yellow and turquoise, and can also be used as a table topper or a wall hanging.

Not a new line, but 7 new coasters designs have been added as well. Coming soon: placemats and quilt block kits!

Grandmother's Flower Garden Quilt, Part V

2010-04-09T11:19:00.003-05:00

I've been a busy bee in the flower making department, but kind of slack in the picture taking area. Four more flowers are done. Hooray! There are two more left to do, then the fun really begins - actually restoring the quilt. I talked to my aunt yesterday, and she kept telling me to "take my time." That's code for "don't rush and screw up." Just kidding, Auntie! Before I get myself into trouble, let me describe the fabrics used.

The flower on the left in the first picture is made with a small yellow floral print accented by solid mint and a white-on-white fern print center. Like my grandmother, I had to make do with what was on hand for the second flower. The darker pink floral is a 30s repro, and I thought I had enough scraps to make 12 hexagons, but I think I was just wishing there was enough. The other pink is also a 30s repro. Not an exact match, but it gives the flower character. The other fabrics are solid yellow and a tiny white-on-white floral center.

In the second picture, the flower on the left is also a 30s repro of yellow roses and green leaves. It's complemented by solid nile green and a dragonfly white-on-white print in the center. Last but not least, something a little different. The red and cream hexagons are made with an Art Nouveau style print. It is highlighted by solid blue and cream-on-cream stars in the middle. A patriotic flower amid all the flowery ones.

Flower #11 is in production, so it won't be long until "real" quilt work begins. Stay tuned!

Grandmother's Flower Garden Quilt, Part IV

2010-03-28T16:04:00.001-05:00

Six flowers down, which means the half-way mark has been reached! The flower on the left has a pink and green dogwood print with a complementary green inner circle and a pink and green plaid center. Dogwoods are prolific in Kentucky, where my grandmother was from, and in the spring, the mountains are a fairy land of pink and white. The second flower uses a space age inspired print in avocado, along with solid marigold and a center of white on white stars. The flower that's in production now is also green and yellow, but it's light spring green for the inner circle and a bright yellow floral print for the outer circle. Very light and airy!

Amazing What You Can Find When You Clean Out Your Closet

2010-03-26T10:49:00.001-05:00

I cleaned out my closet yesterday and found a treasure. For over 30 years, my Great Aunt Florence owned the swankiest dress store in town, aptly named The Florence Shoppe. All the well heeled ladies of the town could get anything they wanted there: dresses, shoes, jewelry, peignoirs, hosiery and all their lingerie. The entire time Aunt Florence owned her shop (40s-70s), ladies' "unmentionables" were in discreet boxes behind the counter. The box I found used to hold a dozen panties. From the tape marks, I think it used to hold Christmas presents too. I thought the box was treasure enough, because I could remember the stacks of seafoam boxes that lined the wall behind the counter. But when I opened it, there was a mink collar inside (don't throw red paint on me). I don't remember getting the box, let alone looking inside it. I think it may have been my aunt's mink. The collar clips to your dress at the shoulder, and snaps in the front. All hand stitched too. I don't wear fur, but I collect vintage textiles, so I guess I'll find a better storage method than an old lingerie box lined with old plastic Sears packaging.

Why “Refrigerator To Table In 30 Minutes Or Less” Is A Lie

2010-03-24T15:58:00.002-05:00

I hate cooking, but I like everyone to eat a healthy dinner around the table. So my save-time radar perks up when I see a recipe that claims I can fix it in 30 minutes or less. Included is the alleged time saving recipe, scanned from my recipe book (I can’t keep torn magazine pages intact so I put them on a card and pop them into my recipe book).

Here’s the first time sucker: 1 pound of chicken cut into strips. Do you know how long it takes to cut 4 boneless chicken breasts into strips if you remembered to defrost them ahead of time? 5 minutes! If you didn’t remember to defrost them, add another 12 minutes for microwave defrosting. I don’t know about you, but I rinse my chicken off before I prepare it. Then I put it on a paper towel lined plate to drain. Do you think the person who took the last paper towel replaced the roll? No. Stop everything while I go find another roll of paper towel. This little side trip took 3 minutes.

Second step: Toss chicken strips in cheese. Where’s the parmesan cheese? Great, we’re low on it. Is there any more? No. Hope there’s 4 tablespoons. Luckily, there were 4 tablespoons of parmesan cheese left. Now do I toss the chicken like I toss a salad? Dredge it? I decided to toss it. Raw chicken doesn’t toss as easily as lettuce, so before I started throwing food everywhere a la the Swedish Chef, I developed a little toss-roll thing. Parmesan search and technique development chewed up 7 more minutes. Now we’re up to 15 minutes, and I haven’t even started cooking!

I don’t like to start the oil heating in the skillet until I’m almost ready to cook in case there are unexpected preparation difficulties. Nothing worse than a forgotten skillet with hot oil in it. Can you say kitchen fire? While the chicken and cheese were “getting to know each other” (one of my granny’s cooking terms), I got the olive oil. I started putting it on the highest shelf when the kids were little but I can’t remember why. I’m sure it involved making a mess or accidental ingestion. Who knows why it’s still on the highest shelf since my son is taller than me now. At any rate, I have to s-t-r-e-t-c-h up there to get it, and just as I’m about to snag the bottle, the phone rings. It’s for my daughter, but while I’m distracted looking at the caller ID, I knocked down some seldom used baking cups and a birthday candle lighter. I can see why I put the lighter up there, but baking cups? I’ve gotta reorganize this cabinet some day. Obtaining my 1 tablespoon of olive oil ate up another 3 minutes.

While the oil was heating, I started the side dishes in the microwave. Times flies so much faster when you’re preoccupied by other activities, and before you know it, your skillet is smoking. That didn’t happen this time though. In go the chicken strips, and the cheese promptly absorbed all the olive oil. Now they’re browning too fast, soon on their way to being blackened. I put in some more oil, hoping I wouldn’t make the whole thing a big grease ball. The recipe should be amended to 4-6 tablespoons. Now we’re up to 23 minutes.

The last side dish was going to take 6 minutes to nuke. I wonder if the chicken is 6 minutes from being finished? I don’t know, myself answered, why don’t you ask it? Enough of that, get back on track. Saute 3-4 minutes until browned and cooked through doesn’t apply to any chicken I buy. More like 8-10 minutes. Of course by now my side dishes are cold because I forgot to factor in special sauce production time. It’s taken 32 minutes so far, and I still have one more thing to make. I hollered for the kids to set the table and pour the drinks, and got to work.

I don’t add tomatoes, because the other 3 people who live with me don’t like hot tomatoes. Well, that saved me a minute. Where’s the pesto? I know we have some; I just bought it. Found the pesto, and am now cooking 1-2 minutes until sauce thickens slightly. No thickening is occurring. Does it need more flour? Just leave it alone, I told myself, and threw the veggies back in the microwave for a quick re-heat. I decided to take up the sauce because I feared it would just dry up and permanently adhere to the skillet. It wasn’t thick like white gravy (don’t know if it was supposed to be), but it smelled good. Hollered for everyone to come to the table. On the plus side, Pesto Presto Chicken ended up looking like the picture (always a success in my book), and tasted good too. But it did take 37 minutes from refrigerator to table. Seven whole minutes longer?! The horror! I wish the folks at the Magazine Recipe Testing Kitchen would take into account such time zappers as no paper towel, slicing, defrosting, chopping (take that back, there was no chopping!), cabinet items falling out, ringing phones, etc. before they proclaim a recipe as a “time saver”. At least nothing caught fire this time.

Grandmother's Flower Garden Quilt, Part III

2010-03-21T13:44:00.002-05:00

Two more flowers are finished! After the next two, I'll be half way done. The flower on the left uses a vintage turquoise and pink floral from the 40s along with a turquoise ombre print and a white on white vine print in the center. The peach fabric in the other flower is a vintage Wamsutta from the 70s. The other two fabrics are a mint lawn, and a center made with the same material as the center of the turquoise/pink flower. The flower I'm working on now is gold and green - the combination is so pretty together!

Grandmother's Flower Garden Quilt, Part II

2010-03-14T16:36:00.003-05:00

Two flowers are done. Only 10 more to go! I'm using the English paper piecing method to make the flowers. Most of the fabrics I chose for the restored flowers are reproduction prints from the 30s and 40s. One lucky flower though gets to be made with the real deal: a vintage floral print from the 40s. One flower is made with a summer themed print (apples, bees, sunshine) and a solid burgundy, and the other is made with a 30s repro blue and pink floral and a pink solid.

Grandmother's Flower Garden Quilt, Part I

2010-03-05T16:12:00.002-06:00

This is a picture of my grandmother, Lillian Fields Patton, in 1943. She was one of the many women who inspired and nurtured my love of quilting. Long before I was a twinkle in my daddy’s eye, Grandmother made Flower Garden quilts for all her children when they were freshly married. Each hexagon was hand cut, and no two flowers were the same. She used up every piece of scrap fabric she could find, and some of the neighbors’ too. Grandmother even made flowers from my grandpa’s old boxer shorts (3rd picture)!

Six months ago, my aunt, a Super Master Of The Quilting Universe herself, sent me her quilt, asking me to restore it. ACK! What an honor to refurbish something my grandmother made! Not to mention nerve wracking, anxiety producing, heart pounding, pressure filled... OK, I’ll stop. While I was marking the flowers that needed to be fixed, I noticed the binding needed a little TLC too. However, Grandmother bound each side of the outer hexagons with its own separate miter. Can you imagine hand sewing the binding to the quilt 1" at a time, then mitering 1” pieces of fabric together? My mind reeled. Before I fainted completely away, I asked my aunt if she wanted me to replace the binding too. Luckily for my heart, she said no because it would be too hard to match the fabric. What’s left of my sanity thanked her.

The other two pictures are of the quilt itself. It’s too big to take in one shot, so I just took a couple of close-ups to show the diversity of colors and fabrics used. I’ll be posting updates as I go along, or maybe pix of me in the loony bin. Stay tuned!

Get A Coupon!

2010-02-13T08:32:00.000-06:00

Only a month to go until the Funky Find Spring Fling! Around my house it's time for me to drive everyone crazy with "requests" (that's a nice way of saying "demands") for help to pull it all together. Wait until there's only a week to go; it will just be me and the dog. The rest of the family will be staying with my folks until Her Majesty, The Drama Queen leaves (ha).

Here's a picture of my banner. If you plan on coming to the Spring Fling, be sure to look for it and stop by for a visit. If you'd like a 10% off coupon, email me your name and snail mail address, and I'll send you one. I won't send you anything else either, so don't worry that this is a lame ploy to send you junk mail.

Hope to see you there!

How Not To Give A Dog Medicine

2010-02-09T11:26:00.001-06:00

There is a right way and a wrong way to give a dog medicine, and I think I have all the wrong ways down pat.

My golden retriever, Merle, has to take medicine for his sensitive skin, and outsmarted me at almost every turn. I think he did this for spite. Half of his medicine ended up a gloppy, semi-dissolved mess on the floor, and so did I. However, when I took Merle back to the vet to tell on him, Merle happily took his meds for the doc. There’s that spite again. It couldn’t possibly be me.

So here is a list of everything I did wrong

1. Put the pill in your hand and say, “Here ya go,” like you’re handing him a treat or something. Merle gave me an arched look that said, “Do I look that stupid?”
2. Hide it in food. Now that he’s on to me, Merle ate around the pill and spit it out.
3. Here’s my fave. The vet said to put the medicine in Merle’s mouth, lift his snout and rub his throat. Magically, he’ll swallow the pill. Ha. The first time I tried it, Mr. Merle chewed the capsule, getting granules of medicine all in his mouth and on his lips. The capsule part was partially dissolved and stuck to the hair around his mouth. Pretty! And pretty stinky! I thought I was successful with attempt #2, but the little sneak cheeked it - he put it between his massive floppy cheek and gum – then spit it out when I wasn’t looking. I swear that dog has it in for me.
4. Wrestling. He won.
5. Pretending to take it and acting like I feel so much better. The performance got a yawn.
6. Begging. He won.

In the end, I took him back to the vet where I got personal lessons on the rub-the-throat technique. The vet was very supportive, but Merle smiled gleefully, knowing that once again, he had shown himself to be smarter than I am.

Be Nice To Your Mail Carrier

2010-02-04T11:11:00.001-06:00

Today is Thank A Mail Carrier Day! We have the sweetest “maillady”. The kids started calling her that early on, and the name stuck. We have the drive-up-and-put-the-mail-in-the-box delivery system. If a package is too big for the mailbox, our maillady will come to the door (with the rest of the mail), ring the bell and wait for someone to answer. She also says hello, pets the dog, and asks how our day is going before she heads back to the truck. It doesn’t matter if it’s raining or cold or sleeting. I know she has Monday off because if a package is too big for the mailbox, her substitute leaves it on the porch, and doesn’t even do a ding-dong ditch. The rest of the mail is in the mailbox.

So today I will be waiting for her with a beverage of her choice as just a small token of my appreciation of her hard work and excellent customer service. I’ll be waiting inside though so as not to give the neighbors something to gossip about. It would be my luck that she’s sick today and a substitute is driving the truck - another good reason to stay inside and listen for the familiar squeak of the postal truck brakes.

If you decide to thank your mail carrier today, here are a few tips:

Don’t run outside, waving your arms, shouting, “Thank you! Thank you!” Your mail carrier might just keep on going, dialing 911 at the same time.
If you have a mail carrier who walks your route (i.e. your mailbox is attached to the house), don’t wait by the door then spring out with a loud THANK YOU! The results might not be to your liking (heart attack, mace to the face, any number of bad things).
A really good way to show your appreciation is to tell the boss! Everyone calls to complain about the post office, but I bet hardly anyone calls to say, “good job”. Contact 1-800-ASK-USPS (1-800-275-8777) and they will be happy to document your compliment.

Thanks Maillady!

Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo

2010-02-01T16:15:00.002-06:00

Fran's Button Corner is celebrating the last week of the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo by discounting all mixes with red, white or blue buttons by 15%! No waiting for a PayPal refund or a revised invoice either. Red, white and blue button mixes have already been marked down! Hurry, sale ends February 7.

To read more about the Stock Show, go to http://www.fwssr.com/. To read the Hog Blog (I am not kidding), go to http://www.star-telegram.com/stockshow/. Great pictures and video!

Opposite Day

2010-01-26T12:30:00.001-06:00

Yesterday was Opposite Day so I did the opposite and didn’t write a post yesterday. However, I got it all wrong. Opposite Day was meant for you to try things you haven’t tried before, or do things you’ve always wanted to do, but haven’t. Here’s what I attempted yesterday:

Try to be different - was subdued and acquiescent. For all of 15 minutes. Not gonna happen.
Try a new route to work – got lost.
Wear a color you’ve never worn before – pea green was hideous.
Don’t have your usual lunch – lots of hot spicy food was a bad idea

Didn’t get a whole lot done in the afternoon, which is a complete 180 for me. More than likely had something to do with the atomic bomb I had for lunch. Try something new today – you’ll probably have better luck than I did!

A Yummy Recipe

2010-01-20T11:18:00.001-06:00

Today is National Buttercrunch Day! Hooray! Buttercrunch is caramel coated in chocolate and ground nuts. Sounds heavenly! In honor of such an auspicious day, here's a buttercrunch recipe.

It comes from Stonewall Kitchen Winter Celebrations: Special Recipes for Family and Friends by Kathy Gunst, Jonathan King and Jim Stott. You can double the recipe if you like, but if you want to make more you shouldn’t try to multiply the recipe by three or four -- simply keep doubling the recipe.

Ingredients
1 cup unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon light Karo syrup
2 tablespoons water
2 large (about 7 or 8 ounce) chocolate bars*
About 1 cup very finely chopped walnuts**

*Buttercrunch can be made successfully with regular grocery store milk chocolate or chocolate chips, but you can also splurge and use fabulous bittersweet or semi-sweet 60% cocoa chocolate. The choice is yours.

**You can use walnuts, almonds, pecans, pistachio, or any type of nut but it must be finely chopped to adhere properly to the chocolate.

Directions

Line a cookie sheet with a piece of well greased aluminum foil.

In a medium saucepan, heat the butter, sugar, Karo syrup and water over a low heat, stirring frequently. The mixture will caramelize and is ready when it hits 290 degrees on a candy thermometer. Watch it carefully, particularly toward the end of the cooking process. It will take at least 15 to 20 minutes to reach 290 on low heat. The mixture can burn easily; reduce the heat to very low and stir constantly if it seems to be cooking too quickly or turning darker than pale golden brown.

When the candy hits 290 remove from the heat and carefully spread it out in an even layer on the sheet of greased foil. Spread with a spatula to make a fairly thin layer. Let cool and harden. (If you are really impatient you can place the cookie sheet outside in the cold in a protected place so it will harden more quickly.)

While the buttercrunch is hardening melt the chocolate in a saucepan over very low heat, stirring until smooth. IF you choose to let the buttercrunch harden outside or in a very cold spot you must bring it back to room temperature before spreading with the chocolate. If the buttercrunch is too cold the chocolate won’t adhere properly.

When the buttercrunch is hard to the touch (you shouldn’t feel any soft spots), use a soft spatula and spread a thin layer of chocolate over the entire thing. Sprinkle with half the nuts, pressing down lightly so they adhere. Again, if you are the impatient type, you can let the chocolate harden in a cold spot. The chocolate should be fully dry—no wet spots to the touch. Carefully remove the foil with the candy from the cookie sheet; place the cookie sheet on top of the foil and candy. Gently flip the candy over onto the cookie sheet and peel away the foil. Spread the remaining chocolate on top of the other side of the buttercrunch. Sprinkle with the remaining nuts, pressing down lightly. Let the chocolate harden and set in a cool spot.

When the buttercrunch is dry and hard break it into small pieces. You can keep it in a cool, dry tin or tightly sealed plastic bag for up to two or three weeks.

Serves 6 to 8 (or one if you keep conducting quality control tests - ha). Once you taste it, it’s hard to stop!

The Answer You've Been Waiting For!

2010-01-18T08:15:00.003-06:00

An interesting article in Parade stated that scientists writing in the Medical Journal of Australia have an answer to an age-old question: should Band-Aids be ripped off or slowly pulled off?

Faster is better they say. Sixty-five medical students at James Cook University had medium size Band-Aids applied to their skin on three different parts of the body: upper arm, hand and ankle (no knees?). Two volunteers were given the job of pulling the Bankd-Aids off - one with a quick yank, the other with a slow and gentle peel back (just reading the second one sound torturous).

Subjects were then asked: On a scale of 1 to 10, how much did each removal hurt? Zero for "no pain" and 10 for "the worst pain imaginable." Fast came in below 1 (.92) on the scale, while slow scored 1.58. Neither was a big deal, but fast clearly hurts less.

They should have tried that experiment on screaming toddlers to see which way worked best. The answer would be neither! Try holding a toddler still while you either rip or peel. You have to soak off as much of the Band-Aid as you can in the bathtub, then let if flap around until the next time they take a bath. In the meantime, when you mention "Let me take the rest of that thing off," you're met with wails of protest and a protective hand over the limp and sagging Band-Aid. My teenagers now soak off their own Band-Aids. Maybe one day they'll graduate to the rip or peel method.

What Am I Doing??

2010-01-16T09:37:00.001-06:00

Today is National Nothing Day. So what am I doing writing a post? Well, it isn't National Do Nothing Day, so maybe Nothing Day means nothing will bother me (snicker), nothing will get done, the kids will bicker over nothing (likely), or nothing good will come of what I'm going to do this afternoon (sounds intriguing).

On the romance side, there's "I'm nothing without you darling." Or I'm wearing nothing but a ... never mind. Nothing good is coming from that (harhar).

However you celebrate National Nothing Day, be sure to do it enthusiastically!

That Many?!

2010-01-11T07:23:00.001-06:00

I know Trivia Day was last week, but I just learned another interesting tidbit. Each person eats an average of 35,000 cookies in his or her lifetime. I think I'm already over my limit! I wonder who didn't get any cookies?

It's Time For Some Snuggly Flannel

2010-01-06T15:21:00.001-06:00

Because today is Cuddle Up Day! Now flannel may not be your fabric of choice for snuggling, but it is mine. Nothing says cuddly goodness to me like being in my flannel jammies and snuggling with my husband. What great timing that Cuddle Up Day is in January and not July. I guess then it would be called Stay The Heck Away From Me - It's Too Hot Day.

Happy cuddling!

Happy New Year!

2010-01-04T13:49:00.001-06:00

Hope everyone has a blessed 2010. Happy Back To Work Day too. I'm sure after sitting around watching bowl games and eating leftover Christmas cookies, everybody is bright eyed and rarin' to start a productive 5 day work week. Hey, don't throw rotten tomatoes at me - I'm just trying to be encouraging! :)

To get your mind off of the 7,000 emails that have lingered in your in-box over the holidays, I'll let you in on a little secret: today is Trivia Day. Hooray! I know you've waited 7 weeks to hear that. And here's some trivia to amaze and impress your co-workers: the prickly pear cactus is the only type of cactus that grows in Yellowstone National Park. Isn't that remarkable? Now you're ready to be a game show contestant.

Stay tuned for more interesting "holidays" throughout the year!

Button Day Is November 16!

2009-11-13T15:05:00.000-06:00

Button Day is a fun day to collect, use, and just enjoy buttons. Button come in all sorts of shapes, sizes, colors and designs. There is an amazingly endless variety of buttons for your collection.

But wait a minute... is that the meaning of this day!? Maybe the purpose of this day is to wear buttons. You know, those diverse buttons that send a message for political purposes (according to Macmillan Dictionary, it is in England). Or ones that have funny sayings. Or a button with a smiley face to cheer everyone up.

The origins of this day are unknown. So we can't be certain of the real meaning of this day.

While every day is Button Day at Fran's Button Corner, it's nice to know there is an "official" holiday to acknowledge the wonderfulness of buttons. To celebrate, EVERYTHING in the shop (Clearance too) is 15% OFF until November 16! No secret codes to enter, unless of course, you just want to expound on virtues of buttons. :) Your 15% discount will be promptly refunded via PayPal.

From our friends at Holiday Insights, here are some other ways to celebrate Button Day:

• Button Collecting and Display Day - collect and display clothing buttons

• Button Up Day- 'cuz it's cold outside!
• Pushing Your Buttons Day - you're kidding me, aren't you!?
• Belly Button Day - now, here's one that could be real fun
• Belly Button Fuzz Day - it's amazing what you find in there.
• Wear Buttons Day - skip the political buttons. My favorite is a Smiley button.

To send a free Button Day card to your favorite button enthusiast, go to All-Yours. They have some really cute ones.

However you choose to celebrate, have a Happy Button Day!

Christmas In October!

2009-10-20T15:34:00.001-05:00

As a sequel to last week’s post about thread, I got an early Christmas present: a thread cabinet to put it all in! I’ve outgrown my plastic shoe box method of storage, and was looking for a bona fide spool cabinet. I saw an antique J.P. Coats one online for over a thousand dollars and figured “that ain’t gonna happen.” My favorite antique store to the rescue! Those ladies must love to see the QL Mobile pull up, because I always walk out of there with something.

Here’s my something: an Art Deco dresser from the 1930s with original Bakelite drawer pull inserts, made with real wood and dovetail joints. It’s so beautiful. I know it’s not a thread cabinet, but it will do the job. Plus, there’s extra room for fabric!

Art Deco was a popular international art design movement from 1925 until the 1940s. It was an opulent style, and its lavishness is attributed to reaction to the forced austerity imposed by World War I. The structure of Art Deco is based on mathematical geometric shapes, and was widely considered to be an eclectic form of elegant and stylish modernism. Eventually though, the style was cut short by the austerities of World War II. The dresser has “Denmark Manufacturing Company” stamped on the back, but I couldn’t find any information about the company. If anyone knows anything about this particular dresser and/or the Denmark Manufacturing Company, I would love to know more.

Time to move the thread into their new home!

Another Addiction?

2009-10-16T16:21:00.001-05:00

To quote one of my blogging buddies, “I got thread!” 54 new old spools of thread were delivered into my hot little hands today, bringing my spool count up to 267 including an approximately 80 year old French blue variegated from Cartier Bresson (last pic). Is that too many? Perish the thought! Like vintage fabric and buttons, I love vintage thread. I don’t know if it’s the age or the colors; most likely both. I also adore the old label graphics on wooden spools. They’re a treasure all their own. I’ve read that thread degrades in quality as it ages, but I have never (jinx!) found that to be the case. Probably because it has spent decades in Grandma’s dark, temperature controlled sewing box. I’ll seek a 12 step program is thread starts to take over my life, but it’s going to have to get in line behind fabric and buttons!

A Challenging Quilt Label For A Quilt Challenge

2009-09-24T15:25:00.001-05:00

One of my regular customers called and asked me to make a label for a quilt she was entering into an Ugly Fabric Challenge. The only parameters she gave me, besides the message to sew onto the label, was “make it creepy and black, and put a spider on it. I trust you.” As much as I appreciate my customers’ trust, I get very nervous when they say that. Sometimes I get a wild “out there” hair and who knows how something will turn out? Plus, this was for a contest! I can hear it now: “You were going to win until we saw that horrific piece of crap sewn to the back.” Are you sure you don’t want to tell me exactly what you want? After I got through whining about it, I got to work and here is the result. I used the Blackadder font which was really challenging to sew given all the loops and flourishes. The customer was very happy with it, and I hope she wins (the crown covers her last name to protect her privacy – another thing I’m a big spaz about).

My Dork-Out Quilt Is Done!

2009-09-21T21:15:00.002-05:00

I finally finished the redwork/feedsack quilt I’ve been geeking on about. Hooray! Except I couldn’t call it My Dork-Out Quilt and expect to sell it. So its professional name is Everything Old Is New Again.

Here’s some history for those who aren’t familiar with redwork or feedsacks. I got the inspiration for this quilt from two of my favorite mediums: redwork and feedsacks. Redwork is a style of embroidery that was popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It's called redwork because of the colorfast Turkey red thread that was used at the time. The redwork patterns used are authentic 1890s motifs which I hand embroidered. One of the design themes in turn-of-the-century redwork was nature which is where I took my cue for this quilt. Peaches, strawberries, leaves, roses and cherries fill the 5 embroidered squares.

Feedsacks that formerly held flour, sugar and feed were a popular quilt material during the Depression and World War II. Through the shortages of money during the Depression, and of cloth during the war years, feedsacks filled the needs of thousands of women for fabric to create the things they could not otherwise buy. Recycling at its best! Nine 3” squares of mostly cotton 1930s feedsacks with some viscose and cotton scraps were hand sewn together to form each block. I got these blocks already sewn together at an antiques store and instantly fell in love with them. Each one is still gorgeous and the seams strong even after all these years.

There are red frames around the embroidery, and around the center is a border of black and red paisley print from this century. The border has a double cable quilt stitch, while the smaller 9 patches are quilted with a half moon pattern. The quilt stitches are hidden in the seams around the redwork so as not to distract from the embroidery. The backing fabric is a white on cream tiny floral design. To keep all this red from becoming too overpowering, cadet blue thread was used in the quilting, and blue and cream plaid binding was used to finish off the quilt. Its finished size is 34” x 34”, and is available for sale on the Quilted Lovelies website and the Quilted Lovelies Etsy shop. If you would like to see all the embroidered redwork and 9 patch squares, please see my portfolio on Flickr.

To keep the antique theme going, I just got in a 45 year old Flower Garden quilt to restore. More on that later!

Diva Moments

2009-09-11T17:12:00.000-05:00

Inside my businesswoman body beats the heart of an artist. And sometimes that artiste gets pretty darn uppity, wanting nothing more than to cut up whatever I’ve been working on. The kids started calling these episodes Diva Moments, and the name stuck.

Diva Moments occur when a quilt I’m sewing is not meeting expectations. This is a bane to my perfectionist tendencies. Why can’t everything I do be perfect the first time? Instead of realizing I’m not perfect and trying a different approach (perish the thought), my prissy little diva starts ranting.

“This is swill! Why can I not create anything but garbage? I’m going to put this in the fireplace and burn it!” Sometimes, on the way to the fireplace, a reasonable facsimile of sanity returns. Or my husband brings the matches, and I am dismayed that he agrees with me.

Methods of destruction and expletives vary according to how high my frustration level is (much like the ever worsening rings of hell in Dante’s Inferno):

• Small seam ripper: mutter, mumble, big sigh
• Large seam ripper: How hard can it be to sew two pieces of fabric together in a straight line?
• Big honkin’ seam ripper: If this weren’t for a customer, I’d cut it up right now.
• Big sharp scissors: This looks like crap! Prepare to say hello to your new friends in the scrap bag! (see picture)

Other destinations where my projects have ended up are:
• The fireplace after being cut up.
• The dog’s mouth (Merle’s new chew toy).
• The shredder (bad idea – had to buy a new one).

You’d think after the shredder incident, I’d learn to control my little fits of pique, but no. Take this post for instance. It’s almost been to the new shredder three times.

I’m getting a little better as I get older though, and my Diva Moments can’t be heard by the neighbors anymore. I realize I can’t be perfect all the time, and try to be more patient with myself. But I did buy my own personal heavy duty shredder just in case…

Two Dork-Outs In One

2009-09-03T08:00:00.000-05:00

I’ve been wanting to make a redwork quilt ever since I restored the 1907 redwork quilt last year (see first post). But I wanted to do it with authentic patterns, so the hunt was on! During my quest, I came across nine patch squares from the thirties at my fave antique store. Shortly thereafter, I located the aforementioned redwork patterns. Two, two, two dork-outs in one! Redwork embroidery and antique fabric!

The nine patch squares were filthy dirty and stapled together (just put a staple through my heart why dontcha), but after I surgically removed the staples, I was able to move on. After a good long soak, most of the grime came off and I could get a good look at what I had. Nine 3” squares of mostly cotton with some viscose were hand sewn together to form each block. All are still gorgeous even after the indignities they’ve suffered.

I thought it would be cool to pair the redwork and nine patches together since there was a lot of red in the 9 patches. Fortunately, the reds complement each other and a new quilt will soon be born.

The hand embroidery took 27 hours to complete, and was a joy to follow patterns over 100 years old. There are 1” frames around the redwork to make all the blocks the same size. Around the center is a 6” border of black and red paisley print. The blues in the squares plus the cream in the redwork balance out all the red fabric. I’m almost done quilting it, and haven’t decided on a binding fabric yet. Maybe a blue and cream print? Any ideas?

Meet The Teacher Night

2009-09-02T08:07:00.000-05:00

For maximum embarrassment to your teenager, be sure to try these tips at the next Meet the Teacher or Open House night. They really work!

Wait patiently for your turn to speak with every teacher.
Tell every teacher that your child has “special needs”
Speak French to the French teacher (or foreign language of your choice). The worse you speak it, the more embarrassed your teenager becomes. It’s amazing!
Give all the teachers permission to hand out extra homework to your middle schooler in order to get her/him “ready for college”.
Ask all the members of the opposite sex who say hi to your teenager to fill out a health questionnaire.
Make sure the P.E. teacher knows it’s OK to give your child extra laps/pushups every day.

Use these little tidbits, and I guarantee you at least 3 eye rolls and a couple of huge sighs. Maybe even a "Mother!" or two! ;)

"New" Antique Textiles

2009-08-31T13:04:00.001-05:00

I went on a bender the other day and bought a ton (OK, a little less) of antique textiles. It’s a good thing my affinity for old stuff runs in less expensive areas than let’s say furniture or jewelry. OK, on to the “booty”.

First are 3 linen hankies, which are hand embroidered in the corners and around the edges. The needlework is exquisite, and its perfection is what drew me. Ditto for the 2 hand sewn picot trimmed doilies. They’re cotton, also hand embroidered and 11” x 8”. Both items are in excellent condition for being over 60 years old.

I also found a set of 8 colored damask rose napkins from the 50s. They had never been used or even unfolded. What a shame since they are so gorgeous. When put in the light, the white on white design radiates like sunbeams. After I got the napkins home, I was afraid they would fall apart because they were stiff at the fold lines from disuse. But no worries, after a little soak, they were as good as new. I don’t know what I’m going to do with them yet – I may just put them to their original use as napkins!

The piece de resistance is a twin size quilt top made from 2” feedsack squares from the 30s. Each square is hand sewn, and the points match up perfectly. The seams haven’t come apart anywhere even after all this time. I wonder how long it took to make – probably years. I did my best not to let my spazziness out in public, but it was hard. I think my inner fabric nerd fainted. I’m certainly going to finish quilting and binding it, but whether the quilt goes on the website is another matter. I don’t know if I’ll be able to part with such a labor of love.

Pros & Cons Of Working Alone

2009-08-29T09:34:00.000-05:00

I run a one woman shop, so I work by myself during the day. I never get lonely though because I have our Golden Retriever, Merle, to keep me company. I’ve had people ask me if it bothers me to be by myself all day, and after working in the corporate world for over 15 years, I can answer: H E double hockey sticks no! But to be fair, I wrote myself a list of the plusses and minuses of working solo:

1. No more tyrannical, ego-maniacal bosses to put up with. However, I am now my own tyrannical, ego-maniacal boss.

2. No commute. However, I'm responsible for all the daily household minutiae because I’m home all day “doing nothing”.

3. Don’t have to listen to co-workers’ drama, but now I have to make up my own gossip.

4. Don’t have to stress over the rumor mill, but one day, I may have tell myself I’m laid off (awkward).

5. Peace and quiet rule! However, Merle doesn’t like my singing.

6. Don’t have to complete “personal goals” on my section of my performance review. They never liked seeing, “Save my money to open a quilt business.” Or “Retire by 58.” On the minus side, how the heck do you write a business plan?

7. My artsy-fartsy creative side can finally breathe. The CYA, watch your back, don’t trust anyone side can retire.

Since the plus list is longer than the minus list, I guess I’m where I’m supposed to be. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to see if I’m achieving my business goals, and complete Merle’s performance review.

I Learned Something New Today

2009-08-28T07:40:00.001-05:00

Always make sure your parking brake is off before driving. I had just dropped my daughter off at school and was heading home. A school bus was in front of me. After I passed 25 m.p.h., this horrible screech was heard all around. “That bus needs to get its brakes fixed!” I grumbled. I slowed down because the bus was slowing down to turn. The horrible screech began again. “What is that noise?” I grumbled some more. “And what’s that smell?” Turns out I had been driving with the parking brake on for a good half mile. Here’s another tip (a twofer weekend!): never assume the one making the horrible racket isn’t you.

College Life

2009-08-27T08:02:00.000-05:00

Talked to my son yesterday for the first time since he left for college. Classes start today, so I wanted to call and wish him good luck. He said everything I didn’t want to hear, everything that sets my Mama Grizzly Bear /DEFCON alarm off. Fortunately, by sheer force of will, I kept my side of the conversation upbeat, positive and encouraging (at least I hope so). Here’s how portions of our talk went:

Me: How’s the food?
Him: I haven’t tried the dining hall for dinner yet, I’m still eating that pizza Dad and I got Sunday.
Mama Grizzly Bear: Sunday?! Today is Wednesday! Is it still good? There wasn’t that much left over. What’s he eating? Half a slice of moldy unhealthy pizza for dinner? He’s not eating right, he’s going to make himself sick. AND classes haven’t even started yet!
Me: You might want to try out the dining hall at least one meal a day so you can get enough healthy stuff to eat.

Me: You sound tired. Watching too much TV (said jokingly)?
Him: The bed is like a rock and my roommate snores. Plus I think everyone on this floor just came here to party.
MGB: ACK! ACK! Not sleeping AND not eating right! That’s a recipe for disaster right there! And what does he mean by “party”?
Me: I’m so sorry to hear that. Maybe we can bring some more egg crate foam with us in October. Would you like me to mail you a white noise maker to block out your roommate’s snoring? I know it’s hard now, but it will get better. A big change like this takes some getting used to. What do you mean everyone’s there to party?
Him: There’s loud music every night, and this morning, two thirds of the stalls in the bathroom were taken up with guys puking their guts out. I’m looking into switching to an intense study or substance free floor.
MGB: OMG! DEFCON 4! DEFCON 4! What kind of riff-raff is he living with? However, that’s my son making a wise decision. Look at him, all out on his own, and making very mature decisions. He takes after me that way.
Me: That’s an excellent idea. I hope there’s a room available for you.

Me: Have you made any new friends?
Him: No, there’s nothing to do.
Me: I thought there were meet and greet activities this whole week.
Him: Yeah, if you’re rushing a fraternity.
MGB: Stupid fraternities.
Me: You need to check things out a little better – I’m sure there are other non-Greek things to do. Have a good first day of school tomorrow!
MGB: Hey! Remind him to eat better and get more sleep and stay away from the riff-raff and wash his hands and stay away from bad girls and study hard and go to class and... !
Me: Bye-bye!

Man, I gotta figure out a way to quiet that bear down. She's going to get out and cause trouble again.

Sunbonnet Sue Quilt

2009-08-26T08:01:00.002-05:00

This quilt was made by my mom and one of her sisters at least 45 years ago. When asked the exact date, my mom said, “A hundred years ago.” My aunt’s memory was a little better. Her reply was, “After you were born.”

They made a 12 patch Sunbonnet Sue quilt, with each block being 18”. There are 2” sashings between each block, and a 2” gingham border around the Sues for a total size of 62” x 82”. Each Sue is different with a pretty dress and coordinating bonnet. I love all the old fabrics that were used. I remember as a kid wishing I had Barbie clothes that matched that nicely (even then - fabric, fabric, fabric). Most of the material is from the 40s and 50s, and had been in the scrap bag a good while. All the embroidery was hand sewn, as well as the appliqué, the quilting and the binding. The batting is real cotton and thin, but I don’t know if that was the original design or has become thin from years of love.

Double spaz for me because not only was this an antique quilt, but one I had adored as a child. I never knew Sue's story until I was asked to restore her. Some days it's a good thing that only our Golden Retriever, Merle, is around to see me in action (ha).

Poor Sue had around 4’ of binding at the top that had come loose. Additionally, all the quilt stitching at the top had come out. I repaired the binding and the quilting, and gave Sue a nice long soak. She looks as good as new, and is ready for another 45 years of memories.

To see all the Sues up close and personal, please go to my Flickr page.

Secret Sale At Fran's Button Corner

2009-08-25T20:13:00.000-05:00

In honor of my daughter's big 1-3 birthday, all mixes with purple buttons (her fave color) are 20% off at Fran's Button Corner now until August 26. Happy Birthday!

The Creative Process

2009-08-25T07:54:00.000-05:00

I had just purchased some scrumptious red, white and black fabric, and was sitting down to figure out what to make with it when my brother called.

“Can’t talk now – I’m designing a quilt.”

“How do you manage that? By…”

No, it does not involve pulling ideas out of my posterior. Since you want to know, Bubba, here it is. But I’m warning you, it ain’t pretty (or even sane).

Process I: Bolt From The Blue (my favorite). This involves standing around, minding my own business, when – BOOM! – inspiration strikes. The downside is that it usually occurs when I am unable to write down my perfect bolt of blueness: I’m asleep, in the shower, standing in line at the store with an armload of groceries, or at the bank, so when I excitedly pull my notebook and pencil from my purse, it looks like I’m pulling out my Handy Dandy Bank Robbin’ Kit. I had no idea that bank employees were so skittish.

Process II: Sit Down & Doodle (this has steps!)

1. Get paper, pencil and fabric for inspiration.
2. Sit down at desk and stare at fabric.
3. Draw a blank.

This is where the ugliness (insanity?) starts.

Internal Voice (alter personality?): C’mon get going!
Me: I got nothing.
IV: Just start doodling for cryin’ out loud!
Me: Sounds good. Doodle, doodle, doooo :-(
IV: What are you doing?
Me: Huh? I’m doodling. What does it look like I’m doing?
IV: Not designing a quilt.
Me: Would you quiet down so I can think?

Next, I put my elbows on the desk, and cover my eyes with my hands. This blocks out the distractions, plus makes it look like I’m weeping. Other family members steer clear, thus further reducing distractions.

Me: Hmm, should I do a variation on the Log Cabin pattern?
IV: No, everyone’s done that twice.
Me: Hawaiian appliqué?
IV: Remember the Diva Moment you had last time? Took the scissors to it?
Me: Yyyeahhh. I’m looking at blackness here. Utter and complete blackness, just like my career.
IV: Oh criminy! Here we go again. Would you please quit feeling sorry for yourself and get on with it?
Me: Zzzzz
IV: Wake up loser and get going!
Me: What to make? What to make? How about chicken for dinner?
IV: Stay on track! I’m going to leave if you don’t stop this.
Me: Mission accomplished!

If nothing comes from that exercise, I stand up and start swaying from side to side, like I’m comforting a baby. This usually unclutters my mind, but is not successful all the time.

IV: What are you doing?
Me: Shut up! I’m trying to design here!
IV: Whatever. How about some appliqué? Throw in a bright color just to mix things up?
Me: That might just work. Maybe yellow.

Then I pull out some more fabric, start drawing, and everyone lives happily ever after. But sometimes, nothing comes from the ol’ Creative Department, and no one lives happily ever after. Next comes pacing or putting my forehead against a wall. Bad news either way.

Me: This isn’t working. I’m going to do something else, and maybe I’ll get a Bolt From The Blue.
IV: That won’t happen. You’ll start doing laundry or errands or surfin’ the Web, and forget all about it until you need something new for the site. Then you’ll be running around, squawking about how you’re always pushed for time and never have a creative moment to yourself. Like you’re some special diva who has special needs. Blah, blah, blah.
Me: Would you shut up so I can think??!!

Husband: Why are you arguing with yourself? You’re scaring the dog. How many of you are in there anyway?
IV: *crickets chirping*
Me: Just having artistic differences with myself, dear.
Husband: *crickets chirping*, one eyebrow up in the air.

Then he leaves, I’m sure to measure the guest room for padding. By this time all’s quiet in the Design Department, so I can now get a little work done. First, I get out a piece of paper, a pencil and the fabric for inspiration…

The next time you're stuck for an idea, try these tips. They really work! ;-D

Off To College

2009-08-23T15:16:00.000-05:00

Back at Christmastime, I ordered a fleece Texas Tech blanket for my son from Auntie Mac’s at Etsy. I jokingly told her that I’d probably need to order a security blanket for me since he was the first chick to leave the nest. Bless her, she made a small blanket for me and folded it up his blanket. What a kind and thoughtful surprise! Well, the security blanket was put to the test today as I bid good-bye to my oldest. I swear I just took him to kindergarten a few years ago. Please visit Auntie Mac’s shop. She’s a sweet lady who sews beautiful things, and not just fleece blankets either!

I couldn’t go to Lubbock and help my son unpack (how sad – not!) because school starts tomorrow, and we have another chick to deliver to the fine halls of public education. My husband is taking my van, aka the Quilted Lovelies Mobile. Can you believe he and his son took the magnetic signs off the doors simply because they look girlie? Hmph. The QL Mobile is now naked but looks as manly as a van can look. They did clean it inside and out as compensation so I guess I can’t complain too much (but I probably will for form’s sake).

1907 Redwork Signature Quilt, Part II

2009-08-22T10:22:00.003-05:00

I had an opportunity to turn a 101 year old redwork signature coverlet into a quilt. It was time to quit hyperventilating and get to work. The coverlet had been in storage for many years, which explained its excellent condition, but after a century of service, everything needs a little work. The main problem was that the red herringbone stitches that decoratively tied the squares together were coming undone.

But first a little history (no, no, don’t skip, it’s not long or boring). Each contributor embroidered a muslin square with a picture (usually domestically oriented), the date, her name, and the town where she resided. This is why it’s called a signature coverlet. The thread color most often used was called Turkey Red, which is where the term “redwork” draws its name. Redwork was very popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. See? Was that so bad?

Each square was sewn together, then a red herringbone stitch was sewn over the seams to tie it all together. Later, a ruffle was added to turn the coverlet into a bedspread. This coverlet’s third incarnation would be as a quilted wall hanging. My mantra was “don’t screw up, don’t screw up...”

The first order of business was to repair the seams. After further inspection, it wasn’t so much that the thread had come out of the needle holes, but that the fabric was pulling apart from the thread. There just wasn’t any fabric left at some of the seams to sew them back together. Yikes! Fusible webbing to the rescue! I sewed where I could sew, zig-zagged stitched where I had to (all by hand), then applied fusible webbing to the back of all the seams to make the whole quilt top stronger for quilting and hanging. Next I had to fix some herringbone stitches and completely redo others. It was so cool to find the needle holes in order to duplicate the stitches. It was like following a trail of bread crumbs left by another woman a century ago. Cooler still to know that I was the first person in a hundred years to sew on that fabric. I was really being a big spaz now, but only the dog was around to see.

Here are some of my favorite squares: (1) This is my favorite, because the sentiment is so punny: “I wish you joy from the bottom of my soul” AR AR

(2) This is my second fave. The temperance movement of the 19th and early 20th centuries was an organized effort to encourage moderation in the consumption of liquor or press for complete abstinence. A temperance drink was one that did not have alcohol. A political statement to be sure, but it seems Mrs. Hull thought very little of temperance drinks, comparing them to a donkey drinking from a water trough.

(3) This is a bow wrapped around the violin before the embroidery was repaired. The blue pattern line is still visible after 101 years.

(4) This was a popular redwork pattern at the end of the 19th century. In various pattern catalogs, it was mistakenly labeled a moose. The needlewoman, Mrs. E. Bessey, correctly named the animal on her square (you can tell it's a reindeer because of the antlers). The repair in the upper left corner was done hastily, and consumes all of the herringbone stitch.

(5) Here's Mr. Reindeer after the bad repair was removed.

(6) Here he is after the seam was resewn, and a new herringbone stitch was applied. It was so cool to figure out how the decorative stitches were sewn in order to duplicate them. Even more amazing to know that I was the first person in a hundred years to sew on that fabric.

(7) After all the squares were repaired, it was time to quilt and bind. Piece o’ cake after all the other drama. Here’s what it looked like (a close up anyway) after I was finished.

(8 & 9) The finished product, ready for another 101 years. The last picture is of the back with the hanging sleeve attached. The client was extremely happy with her new quilt/wall hanging, which was good, because I think I would have busted down bawling if she hadn’t liked it.

If you would like to see all the squares, and the history behind them, please go to my Flickr page: http://www.flickr.com/photos/quilted_lovelies/.

1907 Redwork Signature Quilt, Part I

2009-08-21T15:28:00.007-05:00

One of the things I’m ga-ga for is antique textiles. I love old quilts, hankies, napkins, fabric, you name it. I wish they could talk to me and tell me their story. Last year my wish was granted (sorry, no talking fabric). I received a call from a nice lady asking me to turn her bedspread into a wall hanging. “It’s been in the family for years, and I want it out where everyone can see it.” Sure, says I, and since she was local, I went to her house to see the bedspread. I was thunderstruck when she brought out a perfect example of early 20th century redwork. I was awestruck by how well preserved it was, and it was a signature quilt to boot! My mouth fell open and I couldn’t speak. I heard angels singing. Then I heard my little voice tell me, “Shut your mouth and straighten up! Be a professional for crying out loud!”

The bedspread, without the ruffle, measures 62” x 80”, and has 10 rows of 8 blocks each. The client told me it was a wedding gift to a great-great aunt, and had started life as a coverlet. The ruffle was added some time later, but she didn't know when. I had been commissioned to repair split seams and embroidery, and turn it into a quilted wall hanging so it could be displayed. What a career highlight! Then after my head quit buzzing, I realized everything had to go off without a hitch. ACK! ACK! Where’s my paper bag to breathe into? Why did I say yes?!