Dirty little secret:

I serge my quilt sandwich before I baste. That way I don't have to worry about 4 layers, only 2, and I don't have to trim after. Fast, simple. (quick, dirty).
What's your secret tip?

Daily kitten fix, tute preview

Ok, so the cathedral windows quilt is by far the most difficult and therefore awesome thing I've ever made. Just looking at it makes me happy. Add in some fluffy orange goodness (times 2), and the happy-meter practically explodes.

Case in point:

also, after the kiddos go to sleep tonight, I'll show you how I made these REALLY fast (like under 10 minutes) shorts for the Bean out of an old tank top of mine...

Hand quilting demo?

I'm working on a big baby quilt right now, and I'm quilting inside each shape. I'm certainly no expert, but I was wondering if anyone would be interested in either product reviews (like "DON'T use the gold Fons and Porter thimble or your finger will turn green. Do use the cheap Dritz one on your middle finger to push the needle, and a super cool rubbery one (Japanese, Little House brand) on your thumb to help pull the needle" etc? ); or a tute on how I hand quilt? As a self-taught quilter, I can tell ya ALL the wrong ways to do things, and maybe help a little....
Anyway, let me know....

a "u" seam?

it's sorta hard to see, but I love how well it came out....
see the owls in the top left? it's 2 pieces! I set the corner piece into the block, because the green and owl parts were too small...

you can SORTA see it here on the back, but not really.

I'm super proud of how smoothly it went in....

A quiver for Robin Hood!

math.

486 4" blocks (18x27), each made from 9.5" squares of Kona Espresso (that's roughly 35 yards of Espresso)

11 spools of Guterman Silk thread, 1 skein of white sashiko cotton thread, 1 spool of white silk button hole twist, 12 seams per block= 5832 seams (all the white thread is hand stitching).

2 charm packs of Kona Solids (the Dusty colors), plus, um, at least 4 yards of Kona White, cut into 2.5" squares.

no mojitos, but LOTS of television. and books on tape. LOTS. (TV: Covert Affairs, White Collar, SYTYCD, ANTM, Burn Notice, Bachelor/ette, The Tudors, BOT: The Other Queen, The Alchemist's Daughter, The King's Mistress, Thimble Summer. And LOTS of podcasts of This American Life)

72x108 makes this perfect for my Cal-King bed, as it's too heavy to fold over the top/hang off the bottom without falling off the bed entirely. it's almost like a "bed scarf," albeit a very large and heavy one.

it's MAYBE my favorite quilt ever. I especially love the personal meaning...
Now I've just got to finish embroidering my name/date on that one lone white square in the top left corner, and then it's actually really and forever done.
soooooo many hours.
so worth it.

WF Wednesday!

its Works FINISHED Wednesday!

Aneela Hooey did this awesome QAL earlier this year, and I loved it. (she calls it pickledish, but here in the USA, it's a double wedding ring, and a pickledish is a quilt with triangle-y pieced rings, so I never know what to call it)... Anyway, I made like 2 rings, and then quit, because I couldn't keep up....

but then C went to Alaska for several weeks, and I was going nuts, so I pulled all the pieces back out, and whipped the entire top out in 2 weeks!

It has been steadily used, while being hand quilted at parks, and keeping me warm at night, and going to picnics, etc...
because I added the sashing, it's a whopping 110" square (sorta square, as I randomly curved 1 corner of the quilt. not sure why/how I did that)
It's ALL from stash. Konas and reproduction feedsack prints, and other random stuff, cotton and linen and blends...
I forgot to take a pic of the back, but I will do so soon, and post that too, it's got a few little pieces in it to make it slightly more interesting...

Cal-king Cathedral Windows, DONE

Eeeeek!

So, I've had this silver thimble for a while, it's fine, CHEAP, and easily replaceable.... BUt I've been doing a lot of hand quilting lately, and so decided to buy a backup... I bought this Fons and Porter gold-colored (brass) one. Today, I used it all day, in lieu of the nice silver one... 

LOOK WHAT HAPPENED TO MY FINGER!!!!!

It's GREEEEEEEEEN

Dish soap and water does not remove this horrible green tinge from my finger. (Does any one know what I can do to get it off? I assume it's a chemical reaction of some sort?)

So, uh, be warned. Buy the cheap one. It won't stain your finger. 

Spiderweb

Here's another one... (these things are SO addictive!!!)