Monday, December 14, 2015

A Note From the Soggy Northwest

A Note From the Soggy Northwest

Just so you know, it’s not currently raining here.  Also, the guy who hit the news floating atop his keg is not related to me.  I  consider it completely possible that my back yard could be declared a National Swampland.  If there were such a thing.  Which I’m pretty sure there’s not.  Basically the back yard is a soggy mess.  On the bright side, there is likely ski-able snow in the mountains.
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Last Thursday I came home from a visit with my mom on this.
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It was a bit like Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride.  Luckily, it was a pretty short flight.  Later, we had thunder hail.  There was a lightning strike a few blocks from here that blew out windows of the house next to the tree that was struck.  It shook our house like an earthquake.  Then it hailed and hailed.  Never a dull moment.
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What kind of gift are you hoping for this season?  I have quite enough “stuff”  to last me.  What I would really treasure is extra time at the cutting table or sewing machine.  Like a really big hunk of time when I don’t have to go to the store, run a load of laundry, fix dinner or let the dogs in or out or in or out.  (Toby and Ella excel at wanting to be somewhere they’re not.)  But here’s the big question:  how well would I use it?  And secondarily, would I really want to find out?  Now that I think about it, maybe it’s better that I don’t know.  Still, a girl can dream.
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“It doesn’t matter where I am.  I just want to be someplace else.”
I’m making a new “Santa Says Hi” runner for after the holidays.  January here is pretty bleak and some bright colors and hot tea are just what a person needs.  It’ll be perfect for when the holiday decorations come down and the house looks kind of dull.
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 Since there’s not really a hard deadline on this, I can do it in spurts when I need some quiet time.  It’s actually a sanity maintenance kind of project.  I can only make so many cookies, clean up so many spaces for guests and organize so many presents before my brain needs a break.  It’s easy to get to the point where you never take a deep breath and relax throughout the whole month of December.  I have to put those time-out moments on the schedule and stick to it and I heartily recommend doing it.  Just like quilting, the holidays are supposed to be fun.
So enjoy this holiday season and get a little extra sleep.
Quilt for Fun!
Candy

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Friday, November 6, 2015

Perfectly Fall

We’re having a beautiful fall day.  I’m surprised there are any leaves left on the trees after the storm we had last weekend.  It was a bummer for the trick or treaters as it was rainy and windy.  We had the fewest kids ever and now there is candy in my freezer.  I’ve eaten my favorites out so it doesn’t call to me.
It smells like fall outside this afternoon.  The damp and leaves and just a hint of smoke which surprises me as it’s been illegal to burn leaves for years.  Someone must have a fireplace going.
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These mums and some volunteer lobelia are all the non-green colors in the vegetable garden.  Most of the greenery is California Poppies.  It’ll probably be too cold for this bunch to bloom, but I like the fluffy leaves.
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I love these leaves even though they only have color on one side.  I suspect we’ll have some clogged storm sewers in our future.
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Some cool light and shadow stuff going on here.  This is what fall looks like in many parts of the west.
I started my “Finished List” the same day I blogged about it and I’m really getting into this idea.  It’s perfect for me as I’m a great starter and an intermittent finisher.  As in , “I started Christmas shopping,” because I ordered one thing.  Sweet Husband’s goal is to be finished by Thanksgiving.  My goal is to not buy anyone anything stupid.  The list sort of goads me into finishing something, no matter how small and that feels so good.
A week ago Wednesday I took a class from Pat Pauly.  She spoke at our guild Tuesday night, which was very entertaining.  The class was on her New Leaf pattern. I like the idea of this more than I like what I did.  I have never brought all the right fabrics to a class.   I finished the top by the weekend and while I’m not crazy about some of my fabric choices, I will quilt and bind it before starting a leaf of my very own.
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But first, I will quilt this Christmasy runner and get the pattern up on the Shopping Page.

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 This is the perfect time to finish last year’s projects that didn’t quite make it.  And yes, the runner was pieced last year.  A couple of weeks ago I took it out and found a mistake, fixed it and now I’m ready to quilt it.  Thankfully, I had the foresight to cut the binding and pin it to the top.  I have many regrets about not thinking to do that in the past.
If you finished last year’s projects (and I would be very impressed by that) and you haven’t gotten fabric for a new project, you’d better get on it sooner than later.  It’s such a downer to find the perfect fabric but there’s not enough on the bolt and the shop isn’t getting any more.  I really hate that.
Quilt for fun, because it would be silly not to.

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Saturday, October 24, 2015

Fall Days

There are too many fun things to do and not enough minutes to go around.  Just needed to get that out there.  Thank you for your patience.
For many years I’ve made lists.  Shopping lists, to-do lists, a packing list, Christmas list,  a list of the stuff that I forgot to write on another list.  Even my lists have lists.  Sometimes I mark stuff off and sometimes I just throw an old list away.  Usually they help me and other times they are a testament to what didn’t get done.  What I have not done is made a list of all the things I get finished.  Even if things get marked off, I can usually think of two things to replace it.  As we come up to the time of year when the lists get even longer, I’ve decided that I need a list of what I finished.  Just a date and what it was, like a quilt block, a blog, a book, a chore.  I think it might be uplifting to see a list of what I did in addition to the list of what is still undone.  I’ll let you know how it goes.
It’s the time of fall when the mornings are foggy and the afternoons warmish and sunny.
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While I’m not a big fan of dark and dreary days, there’s something quiet and mysterious about fog.
I have two “volunteer” tomato plants that are just now making tomatoes.  I’m not sure how great the ripe tomato will be but the green ones will be fabulous fried.  It certainly adds some color to a faded garden.
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Because I went to the International Quilt Show in Houston last year, I didn’t go crazy for Halloween.  This year I’m attempting to make up for it.
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This tree is about finished for the year, but the leaves that are left are the most beautiful colors.
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And here are a couple of our quilted Halloween favorites:
Fall Into Halloween
The quilt above is called Fall into Halloween.  It goes together pretty quickly and is big and snuggly.    The two dark stripes are pieced but two pieces of cool dark fabric would make very fast and easy.
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Harry’s Halloween was a fun way to whittle down my Halloween scraps.   Okay, it hardly made a dent.  I have enough Halloween fabric to wrap up the whole state.
Check out our shopping page at www.mobquilts.com for more Fall and Halloween ideas.
Quilt for fun.
Candy



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Tuesday, October 13, 2015

Try, Try Again

It’s a beautiful, cloudless fall day, the kind that makes me think, “We don’t need any cold, wet winter.  Let’s just do this until spring.”  Okay, yes, we need winter.  But I’m going to enjoy the heck out of this while I can.  Also, sunny days make me more energetic so I need to take advantage of that.
On that note, I remade the very marginal winter cabin I put up last week to some thing I like much better.  It involved buying fabric because even though I have a big stash, it doesn’t always have what I need.
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So far it’s only been fused and I’m looking forward to adding some detail and quilting it.  The ultimate plan is to put a house block on each end of a runner and have the center be the fabric on the border of this block.  This way I won’t hide a block under the candles or flowers or whatever the centerpiece of the table might be.  It’ll probably be a week or so before this is finished as I have a couple of Halloween projects to finish.  I’ll show the block as I go along.
For those who are spider phobic, stop reading now and go to our Shopping Page at www.mobquilts.com.  We’d love for you to make one of our patterns and show us your work so we can show it on the Gallery Page.
So here’s the deal:  it’s fall and we have spiders.  They use my garden decor to anchor their webs and catch lots of bugs that I don’t really want in my house.  (It’s still warm enough to leave doors open for the dogs.)  The spiders are industrious little guys and there’s always the possibility of getting a neat picture of a web on a damp morning.
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This one has caught some dinner and seems to be doing a little repair work on the web.
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This big boy’s (or girl’s) web shows up a little better against the bricks.  Nothing currently caught in the web, but he doesn’t look like he waits to eat.  This concludes the bug portion of the blog.
Thank you for indulging my “Nature Moment.”
There’s still time for an Autumn themed quilt and we have some ideas for that on the Shopping Page.
If you have an idea for a quilt pattern you’d like us to create, let us know at www.mobquilts.com or motheronabroomstick@gmail.com


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Tuesday, October 6, 2015



Sew Fall

Monday, October 5
As I write this, it’s sunny and about 80 degrees.  A bit later I will go out and water the flower pots mostly just to be out in the sun.  Oregonians don’t like to waste sun.  The veggie plants are all out (except for the lettuce, which is doing wonderfully well) and some mums will go in that space later this week.  I didn’t have the heart to tear out some California poppies and a few tough lobelias and the volunteer tomato.
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I also have some dahlias that don’t give up until it turns cold.  I like these guys.
 Last week I went to Southern Oregon to visit my mom (The Matriarch).  On Tuesday it was 88 which is pretty warm even for there this late in the year.  It’s also been very dry.  That part of the state usually has cool nights by now, but 79 degrees at 8:30 pm is pretty balmy.
Flower pot watering here usually lasts from sometime in June to about the middle of September.  This year we started in May and we’re still at it.  There comes a point when I don’t care as much as I did in the spring.  Then I turn on the TV and poor South Carolina is floating away!  Prayers for them that they dry out quickly.
Most of my Halloween decorations are out.
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I’ve had this lantern a long time and it always reminds me of a few episodes of having a bat in the house.  FYI:  An open door to a dark room in September is an open invitation to a juvenile bat.
Sweet husband cut out the witch several years ago from plywood.  Her cauldron will be out there soon.
And the new quilts are up.
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Sew Scary, above, is a panel with some cool borders.  I like it because it’s a bit steampunk and also because there are those who think I am sew scary.
The quilt below is an older one made of fun panels set into twist and turn blocks.  Just right for snuggling up to Halloween.
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The weather says,”no, no, no,” but the calendar says “get with it” so my goal for the week is a Christmas/Winter block.  It took me a while to figure out how I wanted it.  I was looking for the fine line between same old Christmas red/green with a Santa and a winter scene that could be anytime of winter.  It’s not that I don’t love Santa and traditional colors.  It’s more that I have a ton of Santas and Christmas colors.  Maybe something a bit more subtle.
Which reminds me that the Starshine Runner is great with Halloween prints.  One of its earliest incarnations was this small Halloween runner.  It would also be great with some general fall prints.  Please don’t ask why one thing reminds me of something completely different.
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And finally, if anyone knows what the behavior below is about, please pass it on.  Ella goes out the open half of the French door and then stares in through the closed one.  It must be interesting inside her head.
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My name is Ella Bella Poodlehound and I like to stare at you through the glass.

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Saturday, September 26, 2015

Officially Quilt Time

It’s officially fall, which is a beautiful time of year in the Northwest.  It’s cooler, of course, but often sunny with comfortable temperatures up around 70.  We have lots of trees that turn amazing shades of red and gold, mixed in with the evergreens.  This last full weekend of September is also the Northwest Quilt Expo, here in Portland.  We spent some hours there on Thursday and my feet are still tired.  As always, it was worth it.  I have to show off the entry from my small quilt group, Quilters on the Edge.
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It’s called “Glories of Oregon” and each small quilt was made by a different member of the group.  Because it was not supported in the middle, and it’s heavy (each small quilt is about 18″ X 24″) it didn’t hang straight, which was a bummer.  I might also add that I forgot my good camera and used my phone, which I’m not very good at.  It was a fun project that challenged all of us.
This show has a bit of everything.  Modern . . . love the colors.
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Realistic . . . he could’ve just jumped out and scampered into the woods.
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Landscape . . . very seasonal and cool.
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Hard to classify . . . but SO classic.
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Amazing quilting . . . and use of fabric.
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My head is swimming with all that great inspiration and some new ideas.
Of course the vendor mall was fun and I had to use all my self discipline powers not to buy one of each.  All in all, it was such a fun show.
It’s about time to close down the vegetable garden.  I learned a few things and will do it differently next year.  I’m even making some notes so I remember what not to do next year.  Some of the plants loved the hot, dry summer.  Others not so much.  Sadly, I can’t magically know in April what the weather will be like in July.  It’s a gamble every year.
I’m working on a block for a Christmas runner which I hope to show in about 10 days.
Please visit our website at www.mobquilts.com and comment back to us.  
Do a little handwork while you watch football if you’re a fan.  If not just go to your sewing space and QUILT FOR FUN!
Candy
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Thursday, August 20, 2015

Quilt for Fun – Late Summer

Every year at about this time, I say the same thing:  Why does summer go by so fast?  One minute it’s fireworks and parades and the next it’s back to school.  The list of what I wanted to get done “this summer” is still, largely, just a list with but few check marks.  I did finish a couple of UFOs and “Halloween Housing” needs only to be bound.
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I took a class from Karla Alexander at the end of July and just couldn’t rest until the top was finished.  The pattern is called “Red Onion” from Karla’s book, “Stack a New Deck.”  My version is  “Onion of a Different Color.”  Karla is a great teacher and the class was a lot of fun.
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This summer I’ve seen so many new fabrics and techniques that I love, it’s hard to choose what to do next.  I have lots of ideas for new projects and find myself annoyed when I have to go shopping, plan dinner or throw a load in the washing machine.  We went to see the Minion movie a few weeks ago and I think I need some Minions to do housework and weeding and laundry.  Also, errands, grocery shopping and cooking the boring stuff.  Wouldn’t that be cool?  I even saw some Minion fabric.  “Bello!”  I would even make them their own quilt.
The whole Northwest has had a hot, dry summer.  Please remember our firefighters in your thoughts and prayers.  Portland has had a record number of days over 90 degrees.  The good news is that the veggie gardens are having a banner year and the fruit has been terrific.  The bad news is that the glorious sunsets are partially due to smoke in the air and fire season is far from over.
No matter what I’m working on, Ella is always good for some commentary or reminding me when it’s time for a treat.
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She never, EVER forgets treat time.
“Halloween Housing” will only be on sale until the end of August.  When you next see it, it will be part of a double pattern.  Turn to our shopping page ( www.mobquilts.com) for more details.
Quilt for Fun
Candy