Not quite Sapphire stars yet

     The last couple clues from Kevin came fast and furious and were fussy clues. For now,  I assembled one block and got all the other pieces ready. I have to change the color of sashing and redesign the outer border so it will be continuous, and thus, it has been a slow process.

Off to see the Queen (of scraps)!

     After months of waiting and wrangling, I am packed to leave for 2 Bonnie Hunter workshops in Rochester, NY, about 1 1/2 hrs. from here. I do not like packing, so it is always difficult getting ready. I had to cut fabric for the patterns and hope I have enough. I never know how much extra fabric to take. I hope to learn to work better, see Bonnie who is such an inspiration to me, and look forward to seeing what others are working on. I am so excited!

     Looking in the garden after I packed, these mums come back every year- the only ones that have no matter how hard I try with other ones. They are over 8 years old.

      There are still some gorgeous coneflowers blooming and the one big sunflower is now a seed head. I have to take it down before the maniac squirrels get it.

Aren't the shapes just awesome?

Scrappy Super Zig

    Another quilt I made for the Easy Scrappy Quilt Presentation coming up is Super Zig by thehappyzombie.com. It is a free pattern that uses pieces 4 1/2" x 8 1/2". However, I wanted to show how to use scraps, especially 5" wide strips cut from scraps. Once I cut the length I needed (3 pieces x 8 1/2" long- 25 1/2") from a 5" strip, I cut the width of the pieces to the required 4 1/2" so the remainder of the 5" wide strip could be cut into 5" squares making more precut squares for the next quilt. I will show them how to choose scraps that will read well together. If I had more time, I would have used scrappy creams and whites for the backgrounds.

Stacks of all cut scraps by color

Blocks pinned in place

Rows sewn 

All sewn

A twist on Disappearing Nine Patch.

     In a couple weeks, I have to give a program at my guild called "Easy Scrappy Quilts" and talk about making precuts from scrap fabric, storing them, and turning them into quilts. One pattern that I revisited was the disappearing nine patch, but added sashing to the blocks. I got the pattern idea from a pattern on Interweave by Lisa Swenson Ruble called Disappearing Nine Patch. I made the quilt with 12 blocks instead of 20 (3 x 4) because it will be a comfort quilt for a child. I will show this quilt in my presentation. Yes, I made a big mistake in orienting the animals. I arrranged them like I would for a regular Dis9Patch, but they stay in the same orientation in this block. 

Making the blocks 

With sashing

Stick a pin in it

     In honor of my new sewing machine and a pincushion challenge from my guild, I built a sewing machine pincushion. It won third place. I am using this one and it is next to my Singer 301 loaded up.

Sunset and wonder

      I live in a small Cape a block from the City of Buffalo line and I love my neighborhood. Even though it is not an exotic location or a wonder of the world, I have fun living here and I am awestruck on a regular basis by beauty. I guess that is one reason I garden.
      The other night, I caught some orange glow out my window and ran to the corner and carefully stood in the street. The view was awesome and I kept snapping until the glow died back. The orange just draped the clouds with colors. One woman was walking towards me with a dog and I said, "Turn around and look". She did and said, "Meh" and kept walking. The wonder of nature and colors motivates me all the time. That is one reason why I love fabric and paint and make things with them. Try some wonder on for size soon.

New member of the Herd

     Don't ask me how many sewing machines I have, I won't tell you. I don't ask my husband how many pairs of sneakers he has, and he doesn't ask machines. However, I do not own a free arm machine. Sometimes, I need to sew a pocket on a tote bag (already made) or some repair and it is difficult to do it on any of my vintage ones. 
     I certainly was not buying a new one- already made that mistake about 7 years ago with the $2000 Pfaff. So, I consulted a few machine people I could trust, and started looking. Andrea sent me a bunch of ideas and I started pursuing a Bernina 830. I found a very fine one on ebay, and the seller is a sewing machine store who knew how to pack a machine. They were super terrific. It came unscathed and I could just stare and drool at the innards- metal, machined, not chintzy, and it worked. It came with all the feet (except walking foot), manual, case, etc. I immediately made a tote bag and it sewed like a dream. I am in love with it.

Some kind of foam that conformed to the case, sides and bottom

Just gorgeous and runs so great!