Contemporary Traditions

Fixing an Oops!

Sometimes I just don’t notice things that I should notice.

Like how I used the same fabric for the squirrel’s background and for one of the bordering squares. It wasn’t until I got it all put together that I realized that I didn’t like it. That square needed to be a darker value.

But not a problem… I ripped that offending square right out…

Dabbed a line of Elmer’s Glue along the seam allowances… (I love Elmer’s Glue. It’s been a part of my life for probably 40 years!)

With the new square glued in place I was able to sew it in place accurately. Much better!!

Happy 4th of July!

The 4th of July is one of my very favorite holidays. I love the concerts in the park, the parades and, of course, the fireworks!

To all of my friends in the USA I wish you a wonderful, patriotic day!

Quilt Studio Workshop: Storage

Quilt Studio is calling for posts on storage this month. I have a couple of ideas that have worked well in my studio to share with you. The first is a new fabric storage system and the second is a book shelf with a cutting/ironing table on top.

Last Christmas my husband gave me these wonderful drawers for my fabric. He got them at The Container Store. They are clear plastic sweater drawers and have dividers inside. So I just fold the fabric up to fit inside the dividers.

I like to keep my fabric organized by color to make finding what I need quicker. I use Joan Wolfrom’s 3-in-1 color tool to help with that. I separated all of the cards and slid one card into each divider at the front of the drawer. That way I can quickly look across the fronts of the drawers and find where the color I want *should* be. It takes a bit of discipline to keep the fabrics in their correct spots. But when it is all working right it makes finding the perfect fabric a breeze. And if I don’t have the right color, I take the card with me to the LQS to find it.

There is one problem with the drawers I have found. When I have one of the top drawers open it tends to want to tip forward from the weight of the drawer. This isn’t a problem with any of the lower drawers as they have the weight of the upper drawers on them to keep them in place. I just need to add weight to the top of the series of drawers to keep them stable. A counter top would be nice.

The second storage item I have to share is a book shelf that I have added a cutting/ironing table to the top. I posted about this table before but my dad helped me to alter it again to make it even more useful

As you can see the base is bookshelves, probably purchased at Target. To the top we added two pieces of plywood covered with batting and flannel. Between the two pieces of plywood are 1/2” spacers so there is a little slot to slide the cutting mat for storage.

And Viola! The cutting table becomes an ironing table.

The top easily unscrews so I can recover it when the flannel gets… dirty.

Thanks for reading!

Tina’s Quilt

Tina has been making slow but steady progress on her quilt. It is interesting that some days she just doesn’t have the patience to sit and work on it. Other days she works and works on it and doesn’t want to stop.

That’s pretty normal, huh?

At this point all of the strips are sewn together and I am cutting them into lengths to use as blocks.

WOW! It is starting to look like a quilt!

Tina’s Quilt

Life List

I haven’t done one of these games in a while so here goes… the things I have done are in bold type.

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii *I even lived in Hawaii!!*
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo- I’ve played one on the piano, does that count?
11. Bungee jumped- No way!
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea.
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty

18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check/cheque
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt …duh!
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been a passenger on a motorcycle,
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Kissed a stranger at midnight on New Year’s Eve
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88.Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Got a tattoo
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person

96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
..........................................
That was fun! Here are the rules for you to play, too:
Copy and paste the above list.
Bold the things you’ve done in your edit box.

Quilt Inspiration: Pattern on Pattern

I designed this quilt top some time ago in Electric Quilt. I used ideas from Ruth B. McDowell’s book Pattern on Pattern to create the design. In the book, Ms McDowell suggests laying a pattern in different sizes on top of each other to create sub-patterns.

I like the repetition of shapes.It looks almost as though the shapes are echoes of each other or maybe like they are ripples on a pond. I also like how the border contains the whole thing.

If I were ever to actually make this into a quilt I would probably quilt it with a simple curvy panto.

So many ideas, so little time.

Quilt Inspiration: African Violets

Quilt Inspiration: A Soldier’s Quilt

Quilt for a General

This quilt was pieced by Quiltnbee . She did a lovely job with it. I especially like the fabrics she chose. The background fabric for the stars and the alternating fabrics in the 25 patch blocks are all black on white prints. That gives a continuity to the quilt but still allows for a variation that gives the quilt a touch of “sparkle”.

I also love how she pieced the back. I imagine the squares are left from the piecing of the 25 patch blocks. One of the squares has the name of the piecer and the quilter on it. I like the back almost as much as the front.