Fractals, Turtles, and Hexagons
Check this out, I found this cool store on Etsy by complete accident one day. After looking at the pictures and being mesmerized, I started to wonder if anyone had ever tried to recreate a fractal in a quilt, with fibers. So, of course I went and did a Google search and found thispage. Aren’t they amazing? At first I really thought it was all pieced in curves and then I realized that for this technique she is actually printing the design onto cotton fabric and then goes back and embellishes it with thread, beads, and the quilting design. I’ve sort of been obsessed with fractals lately. I think they are sooo pretty and just fun to look at. I guess that’s because when you sit in a little white box (office) all day by yourself, you start to crave color and something interesting to look at (or at least I do). When I found that book, Material Obsession, I saw a cute wallhanging that looks like a window with some adorable birds. “That’s what I want to make to hang on the wall in my office.” I thought, because at least then I could pretend I had a window. You know, normally I don’t like applique, but I find that if it’s the right sort of project, I’m willing to give it a try. Also, since I’ve been working on quilting my Avalon quilt I’ve realized that it’s not that hard to feel artistic even though I never thought I really was very talented in that area.
In other news, since hubby brought his turtles home from his classroom, I had sort of been helping take care of them over the summer. I never realized that they could be so sweet and smart! By the end of the summer (he took them back last week) the turtles would swim close to the side of the tank when I said hi to them and they would let me pet their heads and eat food from my hand. In fact, I fell so in love with his little red sliders (who really grew over the summer) that yesterday we went to the pet store and came home with two new baby turtles of our own! We have a passthrough space between our kitchen and dining room and the sink is right in front of it. Ususally the view from the sink isn’t very exciting, although during the summer, that’s where we kept the turtle tank. So now, that’s where the new turtle tank is and I will always have some company while I do the dishes. Oh, did I mention that the turtles are just sooo uber cute? Now that I found some new batteries for my camera, I’ll try to get some pictures of them. We even used some flat rocks from our backyard in the tank! What a great way to recycle! Alright, now, after doing a little research I think I’ve decided on names for my turtles. One is going to be called Oolong and the other is Rooibos (prounounced roy-bos) which are both types of tea. I think it’s because they are green turtles and the lady at the pet store is a friendly lady from China so I sort of assumed that the turtles must be Asian in some way. Uh oh, just realized that Rooibos is actually a South African term for redbush tea, but that’s OK. I think I’ll call him Roy for short. 🙂 Now I guess you’ve learned your new fact for the day, haha.
And finally, hmm, hexagons. Well, as I’ve said, I really don’t like handwork much, such as applique, or embroidery or English paper piecing (EPP). Ha, I guess all that is changing. Turns out that when I come home from work in the evenings, mostly all I want to do is veg out on the couch. I don’t really feel much like trekking upstairs to my glorious (and HOT) sewing room to sew something all by my lonesome. I did move my sewing machine downstairs for a little bit while I quilt Avalon, but that’s also consuming my machine time too. As it turns out, doing handwork on an embroidery project or applique or English paper piecing is something I can do while I veg in front of the TV so at least I also feel like I’m being productive. As it turns out, Aneela over at Comfortstitching LOVEs to do EPP (makes sense since she lives in the UK) and her posts on her blog have sort of inspired me to give it a try. I was also inspired when I saw this quilt at Common Threads in Waxahatchie, TX last week. It sold me on the idea to try EPP because I’ve always loved the look of the hexagon flowers but never wanted to make a hand pieced Grandmother’s Flower Garden Quilt. This one blends the best of both worlds! So I bought that pattern and decided to try my hand at EPP. I have almost completed one flower in “test” fabrics and I think it’s looking pretty good. I’m getting the hang of it but had to figure out how to keep the stitches from showing up on the front. Good thing I’m practicing first! So, that was my weekend. Oh yeah, we also had a Crafty Girls Workshop meeting which was super fun! I think I’ll post more about that tomorrow.
I guess I’ll do the obligatory appology for no real pictures in this post. But I hope the links will help to illustrate what I’ve blabbed on about. Thanks for visiting and reading my rambling thoughts.
Until Next Time.
Happy Stitches,
Anna
Headstart on April projects and Shop Update
I have tried to list my hopeful projects for each month so that I could cross them off as I’ve completed them. Has this worked? Uhm, not especially, but I always say, if at first you don’t succeed, buy more fabric and try again. Haha. I’ve definately got that buy more fabric part down to a science. Well, what do I plan to work on in the coming days of April? I have started a new applique quilt. The pattern is in the magazine called, Quilt, the April/May issue, I believe. It is the Pink Daisy Quilt pattern, made with all scraps! I think it’s going to be very cute. This is one of my “sit in front of the TV” projects because I have opted to hand applique all the pieces on, and each block has 12 petals, and there are 16 blocks, hmm, that’s…(getting out calculator) roughly 192 petals! Then the small flower blocks have four leaves and all the flowers have yellow circle centers, phew! That’s a lot of stitching! Good thing I’m not in a hurry or anything. So, that is one of my projects. I also just bought some beautiful chenille yesterday in light blue and pink! I plan to make those into some kits for fast and fun baby blankets (pattern included!) And I will, of course, list them in my shop. I also have some more fabric for making a dinosaur pillowcase, a cute girly fairy princess pillowcase, a boyish train themed pillowcase, and a grown up fashion/shopping diva pillowcase. I am sort of debating if I want to finish these out or kit them so that, should you be in the pillowcase making mood, you can just buy the adorable, already coordinating fabric for them. We’ll see, I guess it will be a surprise when I list it. I also need to work on the quilt for my newest Godson, it’s cut out and ready to be pieced together. I just need to DO it! I think I’ll work on that when I get home today. I’m trying to work on something a little bit each day. So far, Regina’s been doing most (read: all) of the sewing for the shop, and although I’ve been buying tons of fabric (the fun part), I also need to contribute to the sewing side. I have some plans to make an ADORABLE little girl outfit perfect for Spring, with a matching hat and ric rac! Well, I guess pictures of these items, or fabrics would be nice wouldn’t they? I will put that on my to do list as well. So, I have three things on my working-on-this-month (and next) list. Oh by the way Somehow I have acquired an affinity for ribbon. Why, I have no idea! But when I was at my local craft store a few days ago, they were having a sale on ribbon, I bought a few spools, and since then I have become addicted! I sure hope I can figure out something awesome to DO with all those precious spools of lovely color. You know, I always have an idea in the back of my head. I just have to figure out where to store it until I have that much time! OK, well, that’s it for now. Please take a moment to visit the Crafty Girls Workshop if you haven’t already and if you like what you see, tell your friends!
Happy Stitches to You,
Anna
Pictures, FINALLY!
Here is a picture of the churn dash block I have yet to sew together, and the double four patch, which I sewed and unsewed and resewed about five times. I am happy with the layout of the churn dash even though it does not match any of the blocks in the churn dash quilt I designed. That’s the fun, right, you can still change your mind at the last minute if you want to! I am trying to balance out my colors. I used all four colors in the churn dash block. It is hard to tell since my “design wall” is a dark blue flannel sheet, but the center square on the churn dash is a dark bluish green color. It is the same as the dark color in the double four patch. I love my design wall, it really helps me put things into perspective, so to speak. I just tacked an old flannel sheet to the wall of my sewing room. It just happens to be a wall that juts out a little from the little reading nook that I have. It is opposite of the windows so there is good light in the day time. I need to finish sewing up my Welcome Autumn wall hanging so I can get it down off my design wall. Also, fabulous news…I FINISHED somebody’s Christmas present! The applique project I was working on is DONE!!! It feels so great to have finished something! I can’t post pictures here yet, but most of you know the other forums I am on so you can see the pics there. YEAH! If I wasn’t so tired, I would be jumping for joy. *yawn* I am so glad I was able to upload those pictures before the battery on my camera died! Here is one more picture of the churn dash block.
Happy Stitching,
Anna
Updates: Search for Igbit and Sewing
Search for Igbit No new information yet. Ruthie (my sis) is just trying to relax as some of her friends from work have offered to help look. I hope she can find closure soon. We are praying for you Ruthie.
Sewing I am going to a beginner’s quilting class tonight. I want to take a class that is very basic so I can make sure I am doing what I am doing correctly. It is the first of six classes, held every other Tuesday for THREE months! Yeah! It is just a demonstration class but I hope it will inspire me to create a quilt and FINISH it! My mom is also going to attend the class with me, and she is extremely new to the quilting thing. I am slowly turning her to the darkside, hhehehe. As I said in a previous post, I cut out the fabric for the Amy Butler Frenchy Bag. Didn’t realize that this bag is curved so that will be an interesting endeavor. Haven’t ever sewn something that is curved before. Luckily, her instructions are REALLY good. Finished most of my applique project for a Christmas present for someone. All the applique is done at least. Can’t wait to show it off at the quilt guild meeting on Thursday.
That’s it for now. Perhaps tomorrow I will have something exciting to share about the quilt class.
Happy Quilting,
Anna
Happy Halloween!
WARNING: This post is not necessarily about sewing or quilting but I will probably figure out a way to relate it back to those points somehow.
I have always loved Halloween (probably because it is four days after my birthday). When I was little, my favorite colors were even orange and black! Now that I am 28 I feel a lot more mature and I am just enjoying the fall weather we have been having here in south Texas. Usually we have one season here, HOT, interrupted by a few cold fronts with LOTS of rain in the winter. But, in the past couple of years, I have noticed it has been cooler in the summers (barely reaching 100 degrees) and wetter. Then, in the winters it has been dryer but last winter we had a freeze for two days that shut down the roads and the schools and EVERYTHING! It was awful for someone who is paid hourly and had to spend the next three days working 10 hours shifts to make up for it (me) while my husband, who is a teacher, got those days off and still got paid his usual salary. Granted, he had to make those days up at the end of the year, but that’s a small sacrifice and the district usually plans in a couple of “bad weather makeup days” for the students anyway. OK, I digress, sorry. As I said, this year the weather has been awesome! All last week we had cooler mornings in the 50s! Then it usually warmed up to the upper 70s by the end of the day. Figures that today the high is 84 degrees! At least the kids can wear their costumes and not worry about freezing their tails off, as I am sure they will do in Bozeman, MT, where my sister lives. This is the first year that my hubby and I will be passing out candy. Last year we chickened out, turned off the lights, and went out for dinner. This year I am looking forward to passing out candy. I think I may even dress up in my Renaissance costume from the Ren Fest. Won’t that be a surprise for the kiddos, they are in costume, but they probably aren’t expecting the person handing out candy to be in costume too! We’ll see how tired I am when I get home. My luck, I will dress up and then all the kiddies will go to the mall for “safe” trick or treating. I did notice last year that most of the houses on my street were very dark. I hope we have kiddos coming this year. Well, I made a graveyard cake, in honor of this spooky day. I took a picture with my camera phone, so I applogize for the quality. I have better pictures at home but I won’t be able to post them until tonight, so I wanted to post something today. The ghosts are just made from white icing I had. It was actually really fun to make. Those are crushed up oreos on the top. And of course, the traditional Milanos cookies for the grave stones. The cake itself is a devil’s food cake. Strangely appropriate. I hope it is as yummy as it is scary!
Now for something related to sewing. I worked on the Christmas applique project last night. Finished one and a half more flowers. Only one and a half more to go, then the leaves, then…oops don’t want to give too much away! I will try to post most pictures of that soon as well. I am starting to feel like I am really making some progress. Turns out my guild meeting is a week from tomorrow! So if I want to have it finished in time for show and tell, I really need to work on it every day this week! I hope to be putting the final touches on it by Sunday, that’s my goal at least. OK, sorry this post was soooo long. Hope you have a happy, spooky Halloween!
Happy Spooking and Sewing,
Anna L.
P.S. Just wait until I have kids, won’t it be fun to make their costumes every year!
Weekend Update
I had a fabulous birthday weekend. The weather was beautiful. I was able to spend a few hours stitching on that Christmas present for someone. I opened my Frenchy Bag kit which I had ordered for myself for my birthday (from my hubby) and it is great! I have already washed the fabric and plan to start on that very soon. I finally figured out a layout for some blocks I got in a block swap between my dad’s six sisters and me (a total of about seven blocks, I think). The problem? None of the blocks were the same size. So, with some visual guidance from my Aunt Debbie who has already assembled the blocks into a small quilt (she sent pictures), I have laid out the plan. I also plan to add the words “Welcome Autumn” since these blocks all have a fall theme to them. I already cut the words out of wool felt and will applique them on. (What was I thinking!? I have not gotten enough of applique yet?) Actually, compared to that Chrismas Applique present I am making, this fall thing I am making should be a snap. Not sure what it will be yet, it’s too small to be a lap quilt, and too wide and short to be a table runner. I don’t really ever hang wall hangings, so who knows! Perhaps I’ll have to make a wall hanging exception if I ever get this one finished. (Oh no, that means figuring out how to hang it!) I am so jealous of those who are attending the Houston Quilt Show right now. It looks so fun! I have decided that next year I am going to ask my hubby to send me to the Quilt Festival for my birthday present. It is always the first weekend of November and that is one week after my birthday. I would be so fun to go for more than just one day. I’ll have to start scheming with my mother in law about it. This year I would be happy to just go for one day, but I am sure it would be expensive to just jet up there for a day. (And I do mean jet, otherwise we would spend half the time driving since it’s a four hour drive, ONE WAY.) If you want to see pictures from the festival, visit The Fat Quarter Shop’s blog, the Jolly Jabber. They have ton of pictures of stuff that is only open to vendors right now. It looks like sew much fun! OK, I think I have rambled enough. I should probably get back to work. Hehe. Thanks everyone for your wonderful comments and for letting me know that you are out there! I thought maybe there was a computer malfunction and only ghosts were reading my blog. Yeah, I am not alone in this, my quilting quest. Until next time.
Stay in Stitches,
Anna
Christmas Project Hints #1 and #2
Here is hint #1 about the applique project I am working on for someone for Christmas. Well, I guess you might think it is hint #2 since you already know that it is an appliqued something-or-other. I know that this particular person is really going to just love this object I am making. What could it be? Could it be a pillow? Could it be a blanket? Could it be a table cloth? Possibly. She will only find out when Christmas arrives. And, if I don’t finish it in time, she will get a photograph of what it is supposed to look like until it is done! How about that? I will post another hint picture when I get home. This one just happened to be already uploaded to my blog and I could just put it right in. I have to say, applique is a LONG process. I usually like to do projects that can be finished in one afternoon. But that’s OK, it’s a labor of love and I can’t wait to see the look on her face when she opens it. Yeah! Well, happy stitching.
Anna L.
The Barefoot Quilter
P.S. I don’t know why this blog thing insists on centering my text. Oh well, go with the flow I suppose.
Found an Awesome Blog
I found a totally cool blog today. I keep finding these blogs and then I feel like I have found a long lost sister! The one I found today belongs to Katie and she is a wonderful writer and crafty person. I especially like that she always puts great pictures up with her posts (which I have yet to do on mine). I have promised myself that I won’t post any more posts (after this one) without also putting in pictures! The funny part is that as much as I love the functionality of wordpress.com as a blog “hoster” I have had a lot of trouble getting pictures to look good in my posts. So, drop me a line to say hi (please), and then go visit Katie’s blog and her Etsy store!
I noticed that I have a few lurkers who like to visit my site, but never comment! I have magical powers and can find out every day how many people have viewed my blog, but I would like to know that you are out there. Always feel free to drop me a note to say hi and let me know if you have a blog (because I love to visit other blogs almost as much as I like posting on my own).
I plan to post some pictures of that mysterious applique project I am working on for someone’s Christmas present. The best part, I am not going to post complete pictures, just close ups. This person, who may be one of those lurkers, will not know what the whole project looks like until they receive it for Christmas! Until next time.
Happy Lurking,
Anna
a.k.a. The Barefoot Quilter
Cooler Weather=More time for sewing, maybe
We returned from our trip to Plantersville and the Texas Renaissance Festival. Turns out, I had NO time to work on that applique project. I was either driving, or it was too dark or I was too tired to work on it. Thankfully, my Dear Hubby drove the ENTIRE trip home (four hours) so I could rest because I had to work today and he didn’t. So, the funny part, this whole weekend was quite warm for mid October, temps in the 80s, I even got a little sunburned! Then, today when I was getting ready for work I opened the door and WOOOWWEEE it was COLD! Only 54 degrees and that was the high! It is rainy and cold and makes me want to cuddle up in front of a fire with a good book or, yes, that applique project. Well, our cable box was messed up when we got home last night so I couldn’t find out more about the weather until I was in the car this morning which means I had to walk to the car in the first place. This always happens. It’s super warm all the way up until my birthday (Oct 27) and then BOOM cold weather! No pool party for me! That’s OK, now it feels like it should be fall, well, maybe more like winter around here but that’s sort of how it goes in San Antonio. This is a very chilly reminder that October is almost over and that means only two more months to finish all those Christmas presents for people! Better get cracking! I will post updates as I have time and hopefully lots and lots of pictures! Until next time, good luck with your fall and winter projects.
Happy Crafting,
Anna L.
a.k.a Barefoot Quilter
Life Update, Sewing Goals, Things to be Happy About
Life Update
I started my new job last week on Monday. This is the end of my second week. I really like the people I work with and have felt like I fit in and am not lost! (That’s a good thing when starting a new job.) I even have my own office, with a phone and an extension, ooooh.
Sewing Goals
We are getting ready to take a long drive up to Plantersville, TX for the 33rd annual Texas Renaissance Festival. This is our 12th or 13th visit and we have never missed a year since we started attending! It’s very hard to believe. So, my goal is to get my DH to drive and to let me work on my applique project for someone’s Christmas present. Unfortunately, probably won’t be enough good light to do this on the trip out there so on the way home, maybe. I still plan to probably work on it at the hotel, depending on what time we arrive.
Here is a quick list of my Things to be Happy About:
1) Protected left turn lights (without them I would never turn left!)
2) Internal air circulation in my car (especially helpful when driving past a field of cows or a dairy farm)
3) Blogs that let me communicate with my family (including my sista‘s blog)
4) Good health, a great husband, and general happiness with life (thanks!)
5) Hybrid cars that get 48 miles per gallon when I have spent most of the last two weeks stitting in bumper to bumper traffic. (It actually gets better mileage in stop and go traffic!)
6) Getting along with my in laws who are always willing to puppy sit their “grandpuppies” for a weekend
7) A wonderful mother in law who introduced me to the world of sewing, quilting and Berninas
8) A wonderful mom who bought me the EQ quilting program which I LOVE.
9) Wonderful, supportive parents
10) The beautiful view of the San Antonio skyline that I see every morning when I go up the stairs to my office (but not on air quality alert days, except today it was beautiful!)
So that’s my list, I could probably add about fifty more things, but I will stop at 10 for now. I hope everyone has a wonderful, happy, productive weekend. (This is my first two day weekend in a month and a half and I plan to live it up!!)
Until next time,
Happy Quilting, Sewing, Stitching,
Anna L.
a.k.a. The Barefoot Quilter
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