Wonders of magnets

I have a magnetic bracelet that my sister gave me to wear for a troublesome wrist.  Surely you’ve heard the stories of how these bracelets are supposed to help ailments, aches, and pains.  Well, magnets are also well known for attracting metals.

Here you can see that magnetic bracelets can help “attract” loose pins.

 

Now that can be a bad thing, if you are not careful, because you can get stuck.  But… it can also be a good thing; handy for picking up pins without having to stop and get your magnetic bowl.  You be the judge… Good thing?  Or, bad thing?

Adding Flanges

I really like adding a chiseled edge to my quilts.  I’ve been adding piping to several of my quilts and I do like it.  However, I’ve been wanting to just put a bit of color and separation in there without the bulk of piping.  I am so glad that my friend, Tina, posted a tutorial about adding flanges.  As you look at her pictures, you can see how just that little bit of “separation” makes her blocks “pop.”  You can find her tutorial here: http://backporchquiltworks.blogspot.com/2012/08/adding-flange.html.    I am now going to have to try this!  I love the way it looks so much better than with piping!

 

Deja Vu

Since the reason I went to Quilting on the Square yesterday was to get back that feeling I had when I lived in a small town, I thought I’d share with you some of the pictures of our house in a small town in Indiana.  Our house was next to the county library and a block from our own town square.

The courthouse sits in the middle of the Town Square (photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)

This house was built around 1893.

And, this is what it looked like when we lived there a few years ago.  Needless to say, we had lots of Trick-or-Treaters on Halloween.

As they came up to the front doors, they found 2 very tall doors that would open wide for large items to pass through.

Just on the other side of that door, was a lot of original woodwork and the charm of the Victorian era.

  

Barrel (curved) walls and original parquet floors in the entryway…  You can also see 1 of the 3 fireplaces in the front parlor.

The other 2 fireplaces are in the dining room on the left and the back parlor (living room) on the right.

Old houses are not all glam and glitz.  There is a lot of work and expense with upkeep.  I stripped 3 thick layers of flooring off the kitchen and laundry room floors to get to the original pine flooring.  When we bought the house, it was in good condition, but we added a lot of work and money to put the charm back into the house.

The monster, killer rosebush.  I hated that thing.  It was beautiful, but its limbs and thorns were so thick – you certainly did not want to get caught in its “grasp.”  See the tree face up yonder?  That’s on one of those original “stick” trees in the black and white picture of the house above.

I had 15 rose bushes, several flower beds and lots and lots of Hostas.  Hostas lined the other side of the garage and the front porch.  We also had 3 arbors.  Clematis was growing on this one, and Wisteria was growing on the third arbor.  Little did I know how invasive Wisteria was!

I could get anything to grow in that black soil.  This sunflower was the tallest I’ve ever seen; it towered above my garage.

Anyhow, I hope you enjoyed your visit to my old house.  You never know what’s inside of those old, scraggly looking houses.  Like old people, old houses may be weathered, but you may find some jewels inside and well worth the visit.

Quilting on the Square

This has been a particularly rough week.  I’ve been working my tail off this week, doing volunteer stuff for 2 quilting guilds.  By Friday night, I was nearly in tears.  I was so dog gone tired and my body hurt all over.  So, in spite of how busy I know I am right now, I decided to take a break.

I used to live in a small town in Indiana.  I loved living in the small town, away from the hustle and bustle  and rat race of busy city life.  We moved to the Kansas City area 3 years ago to be near family, and we moved into a house that is far enough out from the city for me to be okay and close enough in to the city for my husband to be okay.   So… my way of taking a break yesterday was to get far enough away from the city to feel like I am in another world.

Have you ever been to Quilting on the Square in Holton, Kansas?  I have been meaning to get there, but never had.  Yesterday I got there.  Quilting on the Square is a quilt store that is located on the corner of Holton’s town square.  Holton is a charming little town that is like being in fairy tale world of days gone past.  It’s close enough to Topeka, but it is far enough out to have that small town feel.

Mark and Mary Pfeiler, Quilting on the Square’s owners, took me on a tour of their newly extended store.  They also showed off their new room for their longarm quilting machine and business – I was envious!  For whatever reason, I was transported into another world as I gazed open-mouth like a child in a candy store at their fabrics, etc.  They have it all arranged so colorfully well, that you feel like you are having an out of body experience  as you put bolt of bolt of fabric on the counter to be cut and taken home.  There were so many fabrics that I love.  I don’t know what happened, but I left there with more fabric than I think I’ve bought in the last year.  But, you know what?  As I drove home, I was at peace.  I was at peace with what I’d spent, and I was at peace with the shared experience with Mary, Mark, and their assistants.  If you haven’t been there, you need to go!!!  I warn you, though, to take your SUV, van or truck, your debit card and credit card and all the cash you can stash.  You’ll be glad you did.

 

Do you know who Hollis Chatelain is?

I am shocked when I find out people do not know who Hollis Chatelain is.  To me she is a rock star.  But, really, she is a quilter.  She is an artistic quilter, an award winning quilter, and she is known internationally.    When people see her quilts, they gasp.  They stare in wonder, trying to figure out how on earth she does what she does and where she gets her ideas.  She is my hero, and when I grow up, I want to be just like her.  Or… I want to have her artistic quilting talent in my next life.

So, the 2 quilting guilds that I belong to (Blue Valley Quilters Guild in Olathe, KS and Mo-Kan Machine Quilters Guild in Overland Park, KS) are co-hosting Hollis the first week of September; just 2 weeks away.  I feel so fortunate to be able to meet Hollis in person and to see her quilts in person.  I get to go to her morning lecture, “The Relationship Between Drawing and Quilting” on Tuesday morning, Sept. 4th.  Tuesday evening I get to attend her lecture, “The Emotion of Color.”  And, I get to take a couple of workshops with her as my teacher: all day Wednesday and Thursday (Sept. 5 & 6) I’ll be learning “Painting Images with Dyes” and on Friday, the 7th, I will learn about “Quilt Line as the Third Design Aspect.”

Take a look at her website at http://hollisart.com.  Eleven of her quilts have been part of a traveling exhibition called Imagine Hope.  You can find out more about that at http://imaginehopeworldwide.org/.  But, I think you will especially enjoy hearing her speak about her work and experiences at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3uBoH1xt-E.  And, if you ever get a chance to see the movie, “Stitched” with her in it, DO IT!!!  If you are a quilter, you will really enjoy it.  To buy the DVD, contact Jena Moreno at http://www.stitchedfilm.com/home.html for more information.

Hollis’ quilt won Viewer’s Choice Award at the International Quilt Festival’s show in Houston, Texas; November, 2011 – yes, that “picture” behind her is a quilt that she quilted on her domestic sewing machine!  If you ever get a chance to see this up close and personal, look for all the other little people within the stitching of the face.  I guarantee you will walk away from it with a new perspective.

*Note: pictures are from Hollis’ Facebook page and Imagine Hope’s Facebook Fan Page

FOR MORE INFORMATION on any of these events, please click on the “Contact Me” tab at the top of this blog page.

Sneak Peak

I haven’t been posting too much lately, because I’ve been up to something…  I am making the Opportunity Quilt for one of  my quilt guilds for 2013, and other than taking care of necessary life requirements, I have been working diligently on this quilt.  I can’t let anyone see the completed quilt until its unveiling at the guild meeting in either December or January.  But, I can give you a sneak peak so you can see what I’ve been working on.

 

Can you tell what kind of quilt it is going to be?  I mean, what “style” is it going to be?  This/these has/have been appliqued and then embroidered.  There are 4 of these that will go at the top of a bed quilt, where the pillows are tucked under.  Here’s another one…

 

The rest of the quilt is already pieced together.  I just need to add these to the top and then layer the “quilt sandwich” of backing, batting, and top and then quilt it.  I will give you a peak of the quilting later.

What have YOU been up to?

Traveling Pin Cushion

I saw this blog showing how to make a traveling pin cushion and thought, “What a good idea!”  http://www.rileyblakedesigns.com/cutting-corners/2012/08/03/traveling-pincushion/ This is soooo cute.  For us lazies who are okay with a plain cushioned top over a container, though, this can be adapted.  You could probably get one of those paper boxes at a craft store, cover it with fabric and then cushion the lid.  You could also attach a pin holder to the inside of the lid.  It would safely keep your items together and would be great for us who like to do handwork while we are out or traveling.