Onward...

Making time to quilt or hand stitch is of prime importance to me. During one particularly stressful week of negotiations, potential buyer visits/house showings, it was important for me to sit at the machine and just sew. The Downton Abbey quilt resulted in grounding me and keeping me sane. Other projects accomplished the same relaxation.

On a quiet day after Christmas, I found myself alone at home with a whole afternoon free for sewing! I had a few projects in mind...

Peppermint Place needed to take shape! First the birdhouse blocks were trimmed.

Then the corners were sewn together. the applique pieces were all cut out in September; all that was needed was to prep them for appliqueing.

I have since finished the handwork on the top corner blocks. Perhaps I'll get the next 2 corners done before the move but this is questionable. I'm loving this quilt more and more each day... just love those little birds and the colors are delightful!

I received a request from DD no 2 who treated herself to a new camera after Christmas. She didn't like the camera bags available on the market and wondered if I would make her one; something that would fit in her purse, without straps, just something soft to protect the camera. This led me to JoAnns Home Decorator fabric section for these lovely cottons. I purchased 1/2 yd each not really knowing what pattern I would use but confident that it was enough for this purpose.

After a little web surfing, I found this pattern which google "tries" to translate from Italian. The pictures though speak a universal language.

http://hobbydistoffa-hdc.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2013-05-14T09:23:00%2B02:00&max-results=7&start=5&by-date=false

Since the camera had not been delivered yet, I resorted to looking at Amazon photos and getting dimensions of the camera and the lens. Then I decided to first build a paper pattern starting with the cosmetics bag size then changing each piece's dimensions to fit the bag I was making. Sorry, I didn't take any photos of this process... my mind was on the result not the process!

After 2 1/2 hours from the start of paper pattern-making to finish, this is what I had.

The next morning, I got up early to finish the removable foam insert.

 I was sad to have boxed up and stored my serger as I could have cleaned up the inside seam. The seam is zigzagged only. A little seam tape would give it a cleaner look. I was worried my calculations might not be accurate and was afraid the camera might not fit.

The bag is made so the camera body sits in the insert with the lens pointing up. As you can see, it fits beautifully and I have one happy DD!! The bag also closes without problem. 

I absolutely LOVE making bags! I have orders for 2 different sized bags but they will have to wait as the packing frenzy has begun. 

The contingencies on the sale of the house should be removed today. My studio is almost all packed. 

Lolah has a date with the technician who delivered her and set her up. She will be professionally crated and ready when the movers arrive on the 24th. 

In the meantime, I am getting ready for Road to California Quilt show. I've registered for longarm and machine quilting classes everyday starting Jan 20th until the 26th. When Road is done, I will be returning to an empty house, a house we've called home since Valentine's day 2008. We've loved living here but we're thrilled to start a new adventure in Canada, our real home!

Please forgive my absence from the blog... there is much to do in the next 2 weeks as we wind down our California activities and prepare for the road trip across the lower 48! Wish us luck!

Toodles!

Lorette

Threesome!

THE BIG REVEAL: my vision of  Counterpoint using Downton Abbey fabrics!

Once quilted, I will bind it with the dark red fabric. This was an extremely fun project to make and I am so pleased with how it turned out. Still planning quilting designs in my head... perhaps I'll load it on Lolah... she's been awfully lonely lately!

On the home front, DH is working his last day!! RETIREMENT starts today at 5pm!! Cannot wait!!

And we're very close to the end of negotiating the sale of the house! As the saying goes, things happen in threes! Well this could be the day for 3 wonderful endings!

Have a great weekend everyone! Take time to tell your family and friends you love them! And to my own family I wish you all a safe holiday season on the roads and at home!

Toodles!

Lorette

Stripping therapy!

The past two days have been quiet on the home front! Lots of time spent in the studio working away at my vision of a Downton Abbey quilt. I cut out the fabric late Monday afternoon and sewed a few units into the early evening.

There are a lot of HSTs (half square triangles) in this quilt but it's all easy work. Although the pattern is listed as an intermediate quilt, I believe a confident beginner could easily make this quilt successfully. 

HSTs are easy to make; I mark them before sewing... I blogged about them here.

These are leftovers after trimming the HSTs; they will make a cute little quilt someday!

The units are all ready.

My floor space isn't large enough in the sewing room anymore!  So I had to lay out rows 9 & 10 off to the side. The picture on the pattern sheet was used to help with layout of the 6 different fabrics that comprise the large units.

How do you mark your strips, rows, blocks when preparing to sew them? I use freezer paper pieces which I number and iron at the top of each strip. No pins to poke you when handling!

Once the strips are ironed and ready to be put together, I hang them up in order of sewing sequence.

Stay tuned for the quilt top reveal.

I have to prep the house today because we have another showing this afternoon! Can you tell I needed some sewing therapy?

Toodles,

Lorette

Nervous reflex!

Definition of REFLEX:

noun:

1: an action that is performed as a response to a stimulus and without conscious thought

2: a thing that is determined by and reproduces the essential features or qualities of something else

Case in point:

Broker's Open House was on Friday December 13th from 11-2 pm. The house looked great, the sun was shining and it was warmer than it had been in about 1 month. All good signs!

So what was I suppose to do during those three hours?? My mind was definitely not on Christmas shopping. It's hard to concentrate on anything when your thoughts run through the images of your home wondering what a newcomer will see and think when they visit. 

My soul told me to go play with fabric. It's a nervous reflex. There's something calming about designing whether it's a garment or a quilt. Looking at a particular fabric can instigate the beginning of an idea which quickly blossoms into a doable project. Have I ever told you about my "fix" when I'm in a slump or designing drought? I visit my local JoAnns, grab a cart and head for the quilting cotton section. There I will browse until I find a fabric that speaks to me and drop it in my cart. Along with that one fabric, I will choose coordinating ones and put my mind through a pattern slideshow. Sometimes it doesn't take long and I have a dozen fabric bolts in my cart with a clear picture of what I want to make. 

Then comes the hard part: I visualize my own fabric supply and try to figure what, from the cart, can be substituted and I replace that bolt on the shelf. There are times when I've completely emptied the cart and left the store to rush home and get started pulling the fabrics from my shelves. Some days, I've found myself at the cutting table with the whole lot. Rarely have I left the store without feeling "refreshed" and no longer suffering from designer's block. I do love buying fabric but I've also been extremely happy on those days when I leave the store without buying knowing that I have something in my stash that will work just as well. Sometimes too, just exercising my brain this way is enough and no quilt ever comes of it.

Friday, my soul needed a good feed! I visited my favorite local quilt shop: Quilt Emporium. I've been curious to see the new Downton Abbey fabrics having seen them online which really doesn't do this fabric line justice. The fabrics are luscious. Do visit the link to Quilt Emporium to see the Downton Abbey display at Quilt Market Houston 2013! 

Sunday December 15th was a special day at QE: a Downton Abbey Tea where representatives from Andover Fabrics displayed garments, hats, totes, ornaments and quilts made with their line, gave a presentation on costume designs and even showed a video of their visit to HighClere Castle. Guests were treated to tea and cookies, a sold-out event I'm told. Congratulations Quilt Emporium! Unfortunately, I could not attend! :(

Fran showed me her quilt made using a pattern called Counterpoint as seen on QE's Quilt Market page. It is magnificent! Great job Fran! Love those colors in the pale violets. I wanted a different spin to the quilt so I set out to flip the colorway to dark sashings. We'll see if I can accomplish how my mind sees the quilt. I do love these colors. The ecru fabric at the bottom will be used as backing.

The following cuts aren't from the Downton Abbey line but I want to include them as they fit the color scheme I have in mind.

This is the pattern designed by Kari Nichols; it's an intermediate pieced quilt.

Added to the stash was this green which I depleted working on a Christmas project I will share with you when the recipient has opened the gift! The bottom fabric is a possible Yoko Saito Quilt Mystere background! Love those lines...

My love of plaids and patterns was soothed too. I find I don't have enough grey fabrics! I must start to fill a shelf with them soon!

Quilt Emporium has a wonderful tradition: In December, in celebration of 12 days of Christmas, they offer a new stocking stuffer at a reduced price each of the 12 days! This needle threader was featured on a day last week and I went to the video to see how it works. Turns out it's a fabulous tool to own. As I get older, the hole in the needle gets blurred and I find threading becomes a challenge. This should help with the task! And I love how you can store your needles in this case! It even has a little cutting blade so you don't need scissors to cut your thread and a magnet to pick up the needle. All in one versatility!

Saturday, one couple who happened to drop in during the Open House returned for a visit accompanied by their realtor and their adult son. They were here for almost 2 hours! Then silence!! Isn't waiting for news the hardest part of buying and/or selling? So yesterday, in order to keep calm, we joined our friends for a bike ride along Santa Monica beach... the weather was wonderfully warm and dry. Love those Santa Ana winds that clear the air of pollution and brighten the view of the mountains.

Today, we have an offer! Wish us luck in negotiating the next steps of this nerve-provoking process! I hope to be able to devote enough of my energy and concentration to get this new quilt top made in the next few days. I love sitting at the machine to just sew; it's when I am most successful at finding solutions to any problem that may arise! I think my reflex on Friday was a good one! Expensive but it felt great! Thanks for your help once again Fran!

Now series 4 of Downton Abbey can't come soon enough!

Toodles!

Lorette