buzzville

23/5

"I was also lucky enough to find this set of four grey linen floral print napkins and this other linen piece which eludes me as to its function (not quite large enough to be a tea towel, but wrong shape to be a napkin...), but I love the appliqued roadrunner."

Well, I guess this meme (from Alison!) shows that I don't always get around to things as quickly as I'd like... easily distracted? Yes! Here's the original post. Hey, I thought this blog was supposed to keep me accountable for all these projects... I must be a bigger flake than I thought!

I'm still suffering computer woes, but I can do an occasional quick blog post (sans photos) from my work computer. I'm trying to keep up with all the blogging, but you have all been so busy out there! I can't remember who has already posted the 5th sentence from their 23rd post, but I'd love anyone who hasn't to join the fun. If you're like me, it might remind you of something fun you'd like to do but had forgotten about!

Computer Woes

Just a quick note to moan that our computer is sick... very sick. It appears that we will have to reinstall everything, and I think we have at least a bazillion different programs on this computer. Rather than installing on the existing, older hard drive, Jerry has decided it makes a lot more sense to buy a new hard drive - and - he's out of town for work for the next 2 days. So, I will be without a computer to blog with for a few days (hopefully not too many!). I hope you are all well and hope to blog more soon!

Modern Quilt Along Update!

As promised, today I am posting a progress report for the "Unfinished Business" quilt I am working on as part of the Modern Quilt Along. For anyone thinking of tackling this project, I thought I'd comment on some things I've learned thus far. I know that these comments are a bit detailed (and maybe hard to follow!), so just ignore them if you don't plan on making this quilt. If you plan on making the quilt and these don't make sense, send me an email and I'll try to clarify...

• This is a very challenging project for me! Piecing all of the irregularly sized pieces is like putting a puzzle together, especially as I'm trying to keep pieces of the same fabrics far from each other in the patchwork. I might also be making it more difficult on myself because I'm trying to conserve fabric as much as possible - it would probably go more quickly if I just pieced randomly, without concern for potential fabric waste.
• Don't cut all of your fabric pieces at once. There are 2 basic shapes used for the pattern: irregular 4-sided shapes and fabric strips of varying widths. The instructions in the book don't indicate how much fabric should be used for each. I ended up cutting too many of the 4-sided shapes and not enough of the fabric strips. I recommend cutting just a bit of each of your fabrics to start, and then cut more as needed.
• Cut your 4-sided shapes at the larger end of the size scale given in the book. The book says to cut strips between 2" and 4" wide and then cut these strips into the irregular 4-sided shapes. However, if you like the overall look of the quilt shown in the book, you'll want these 4-sided shapes to be closer to 4" wide than 2" wide. Otherwise, you don't end up with a nice large piece at the center of your "blocks" - they end up looking like just another fabric strip.
• Leave ample room between your 4-sided shapes when strip piecing them. After you've cut your 4-sided shapes, the instructions direct you to strip piece them to the strips of fabric you have cut. Because your 4-sided shapes are irregular (not 90 degree angles), you could end up having to cut into an adjacent 4-sided shape on your strip set if you don't leave enough room between them when strip piecing. I learned this the hard way and some of my "central" pieces ended up getting trimmed down quite a bit.

Having said all of that, I also wanted to mention that I haven't gotten as far as you might expect because I have it on hold for a bit. I wanted to get as much done as possible on quilts for Katrina folks, and I also desperately wanted to make a Halloween quilt this year! So, I've been working on these other projects while Unfinished Business remains - errrrr - unfinished! Now, here's what you've been waiting for:

In case this project is new to you, I'm making the quilt in shades of grey. This completed panel is the darkest charcoal grey panel and was very tough to photograph. I had to take it into blinding sunlight and then lighten it a bit on the computer so that you can better see the patchwork. As a result, the photo is a bit washed out, but hopefully you can see how the patchwork and patterns are (or aren't!) working. I hope to pick this project back up as soon as I complete my Halloween quilt (yes, an FO should be coming soon!).

Quilting update soon!

Well, I had all the best intentions of posting a long overdue update on my "Unfinished Business" Modern Quilt Along project, but I waited too long to take pics and the light is now really crummy. So, look for a progress report on this *very* challenging (to me!) quilt project.

As for today, Brynne was thrilled to get some fun mail - the gorgeous coloring book from Tania! As you can see, she's already breaking hers in (Amy and Hillary - does this count for the cute-off?!?):

Quilts from the Heart

I was very lucky on Saturday to take part in an all-day quilt sew-in for folks displaced by hurricane Katrina. My local quilt shop, Quilt Ventura, sponsored the day. We all worked fast and furious producing quilts called the "Dirty Dozen" based on the Turning Twenty pattern, so named for the number of fat quarters used for the finished quilts.

We were asked to donate 6 fat quarters, and Quilt Ventura donated the remaining 6 fats, backing, and batting. Plus, we were lucky enough to have a talented long-arm quilter donate her machine and time to machine quilt everything as quickly as we could piece the tops. We worked fast and furious in assembly line fashion (some people cutting, some piecing tops, some piecing backing, some sewing on binding and labels), and we completed a whopping 35 quilts in one day! Here are some photos of the day:

We were happy to hear that folks at the Astrodome in Texas are well supplied with quilts, so Joey, the owner of Quilt Ventura, is sending our finished quilts to a smaller shelter in Baton Rouge. I hope that these reach the people who need them... This is a regular activity for Quilt Ventura; the shop sponsors Quilts from the Heart, a monthly meeting for folks to get together and make quilts for various charitable causes. So, thanks to Quilt Ventura for sponsoring the day, and thanks to Jerry for watching Brynne all day so that I could go sew up a storm!

As is often the case for me in quilt groups and classes, I am generally one of the youngest people there. It's always interesting for me to listen to the conversations of another generation of women - invariably the common topic seems to be menopause! It sounds so miserable - I'm hoping to be one of the lucky few to have minor and shortlived symptoms...

Back Tack II

I'm pleased as punch to once again be a participant in Back Tack - the last one was such a thrill! However, I fear my poor secret buddy will be too overwhelmed with all of the many crafty goals I have unless I give her a few hints. It is probably safe to say that there is hardly any craft I wouldn't like to try - from jewelry making to paper crafts to more glass mosaics - but there are a couple that are currently occupying the forefront of my brain:

• knitting - I know you've all heard this before, and I really have no excuse, but I still haven't learned to knit! I'd love to finally learn and try my hand at some of the gorgeous, modern knitting patterns I've seen out there. Interweave Knits always seems to have something contemporary and interesting, and I love the look of books like this:

So, if my buddy happens to be a knitter (isn't everyone but me?), I'd love a kit to help me get started on a simple, beginner's project!

• needle felting - like Amy I was given a gorgeous, fluffy pile of roving from Stephanie, and I still haven't made the time to try it out! I have several fun books on needle felting, including a couple of Japanese books, but I need a good excuse to make the leap!

Those are my top 2 at the moment, although my buddy certainly shouldn't feel limited to these! I hope this helps!

Fun Mail, Finished Projects, and Gifts! Oh My!

I just received the sweetest package from Carly, including this hand-dyed and gocco'd tee for Brynne and some delicious Australian sweets (yes, they're already gone!):

I need to think of something really fun to send back her way...

How could I have forgotten to mention that I am now the proud owner of this fine crafty piece of equipment (thanks Jerry! xoxoxo!):

I'd love to hear tips/tricks from anyone out there who has experience with the fantabulous Gocco!

I mentioned the nappy bag I recently finished, and here is the other half of the pattern, the changing pad and case:

Instead of using the recommended terry cloth for the "baby butt" side of the changing pad, I went with one of the Amy Butler flannels from the Ginger Bliss line - they're so soft! I got a lot of comments and questions about the nappy bag, so I'll give some details about this half of the project.

• First, if you're making the changing pad for yourself, I think the case is completely unnecessary and will only result in slowing down the mom attempting to complete a quick, on-the-fly diaper change. However, since I was making this as a gift, I will concede that the case does look very professional and makes the whole package that much more special. I especially liked the double-drawstring cinch closure - very fancy!
• As with the nappy bag, prepare yourself for much topstitching!
• If you're a quilter, you may be amused at the instructions for creating the changing pad, which is, after all, a mini quilt. There is no basting, no binding, and frankly, I'm surprised it came out as well as it did. Maybe this means that all those "traditional" quilting methods can be put by the wayside now and then!
• It would be helpful to have a serger on hand to finish the seam allowances for the case. I don't have a serger and just zig-zagged the unfinished seams, but I have a feeling little stray threads will be showing up here and there.
• Making all the little straps (one to tie up the changing pad and two for the case) is a big pain - lots of ironing and (did I already mention?) topstitching!
• The changing pad does fit nicely right in the bottom of the nappy bag.

The completed project is on its way to the new mom and her brand new little girl...

More Katrina News

Just wanted to make a quick post to mention a couple of fundraising efforts you might not yet know about. The Flickr Katrina Relief Auction is accepting bids for donated photos with all proceeds to be donated to The Red Cross. The Flickr Katrina Print Donation group is selling prints of donated photos with all proceeds to be donated to The Humane Society to help them rescue and take care of animals displaced by the hurricane. There are still hundreds of beautiful and funky handcrafted items still available on the Etsy Crafters United shop; I've been getting some early Christmas shopping done!

For those of you who can't watch anymore Katrina news, don't watch this. But, for those of you who are interested in hearing a chilling tale of survival from New Orleans' 9th Ward, watch the video of Charmaine Neville - it brings a new perspective to some of the news reports of what's been going on. Definitely a tear jerker...

I hope everyone, especially those affected by Katrina, has a weekend of hope and rest.

Weekend Recap!

So sorry for the infrequent posting this week... the little cold that Brynne and I got seems to have a second wind that gets even worse, and I took her to the doctor today for what has turned into an ear infection.

I wanted to share with you what we did over the Labor Day weekend to celebrate our anniversary and also spend time with family. Jerry and I both took Friday off and we started our day by going to the Getty Museum in Los Angeles. For one reason or another, we had yet to visit this amazing museum even though it was completed a few years ago. Since our taste in art leans toward the modern, we were most interested in the architecture of the buildings and the gardens. I have to tell you that the gardens are spectacular - much more extensive than either of us had expected. Here are Jerry and Brynne enjoying the view of the azalea maze that is surrounded in water fed from the stone waterfall:

Here is the gorgeous cactus garden with views of the modern buildings in the background:

After the Getty, we headed to Beverly Hills for a quick stop at Sprinkles, the magical cupcake bakery. (Good news for those in Dallas, Chicago, Las Vegas, Phoenix, and Newport Beach: a Sprinkles is coming your way soon!). You may remember that we visited Sprinkles once before, but because of an LA Times article, they were extremely busy and sold out of many of the flavors. This time, we were much more fortunate; we purchased four cupcakes: dark chocolate, pumpkin, chai latte, and lemon coconut. All of these flavors were extremely good, but I must give the highest ratings to the dark chocolate, which did indeed have that bittersweet flavor I am so addicted to:

After this detour to cupcake heaven, we then headed to our hotel for the night, the Beverly Hilton. I splurged on a junior suite with a terrace for our one night at this classic hotel. The place didn't disappoint... beautiful room with the nicest bathroom I think I've ever seen, large pool for Brynne to swim in, and a really good buffet breakfast at the restaurant in the morning (huge bowls brimming with fresh berries, omelets made to order, French pastries, eggs Benedict, etc. and they didn't charge us for Brynne's nibbles!). Here are some shots of our room:

The impetus for our stay at the Beverly Hilton was that we had been wanting to drink and dine at Trader Vic's for quite some time. For those of you who may not be familiar, Trader Vic's is a small, relatively upscale chain of Polynesian restaurants known especially for their extensive and exotic cocktail menu. It also happens to be one of the restaurants at the Beverly Hilton. So, we figured we could take Brynne to dinner with us, drink all the fruity rum drinks we could handle, and then stumble back up to our room - no driving required! The food was excellent and appropriately exotic, the drinks potent and somewhat kitschy, and the desserts were outstanding.

The next afternoon we were scheduled to meet with Jerry's family at the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach (a must see for those of you who like aquariums - this is on a par with the Monterey Bay Aquarium), so we headed to Venice Beach in the morning to wander around the canals. We were amazed at the beautiful houses along the canals - many of them modern - and the immaculate gardens. We found lots of inspiration here for our own home.

We had a whirlwind tour of the aquarium (which was totally packed - Labor Day Weekend!) with Jerry's family and a nice dinner on the waterfront that evening. The next morning we all headed to the Queen Mary for the famous Sunday brunch. The brunch spread was visually overwhelming, but I didn't find the quality of the food to be all that good (although they did have Swedish Princess Cake which I had to have!). The highlight was being able to wander the ship and see the incredible art deco detailing throughout - they just don't make them like they used to! You can also book a room and stay overnight on the ship. They have various theme packages - we happened to be there during an Art Deco Weekend event, and we had fun watching the people who were all decked out in their garb from the 20s, 30s and 40s. We parted from the rest of the family after brunch and made it home in record time - exhausted but well fed and happy!

Too much going on...

Like many of you out there, I too am feeling out of sorts and blue because of the terrible news still emerging from the Gulf Coast. I've been feeling physically and emotionally weak; as if to commiserate, my body succumbed to the latest virus du jour and Brynne and I have annyoying head colds. I was away for the weekend and so am just catching up with all the news from blog land. I'm thrilled to hear about the Quilts for Katrina flickr group set up by Shanna. I will try to contribute if I'm not too late... I thought I would also point the quilters out there to these organizations that are accepting donations of quilts for Katrina victims:

Quilters Comfort America is a project set up by the folks who organize the International Quilt Festivals. They will match, dollar per dollar, financial contributions to The Red Cross up to $10,000. They are also requesting donations of quilts and clean bedding that will be distributed to the many refugees in Houston.

The American Quilter's Society is also accepting donations of quilts, and the have developed a special quilt label that you can download and print on fabric for your donated quilts.

In reading a few of these sites, I learned they would rather not have baby/crib sized quilts as these are not as needed or as versatile for setting up emergency bedding. Please consider at least a twin size quilt for your donation. It was also recommended that donated quilts not directly reference the hurricane because they don't necessarily need any more reminders of that horror. I have a lot of fabric sitting here that was either given to me, or came in a big bag of thrifted fabric and isn't my style. Rather than just donating the fabric back to the thrift stores, I'm thinking I'll get busy making some quilts. Since the need is urgent, I probably won't be doing anything fancy, but at least I can make something warm and homemade for a few of these displaced folks.

Although it's hard to feel celebratory, I can't let today go by without mentioning that today is our 7th wedding anniversary. It is truly amazing how finding one's life partner can really make you value life and love. The family that we have been building these 7 years (and will continue to build) is so special to me... I can't begin to imagine being forced to live this life without Jerry, and I am so thankful that we have each other and our beautiful little girl. We had a beautiful Labor Day weekend, filled with love, adventure and family. I'll post more about it when I'm feeling a bit better. In the meantime, here's more of the face I introduced last week... this is a self-portrait Jerry and I took this past weekend just before heading out to a nice dinner.