Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Holiday Wishes

Hope you're having a great holiday season.  Whatever holiday you're celebrating, we want you to enjoy!

This is that week between Christmas and New Years when I like to organize for the coming year.  For one thing, it sounds more exciting than cleaning up the house after Christmas.  Well, actually, almost anything sounds more exciting than cleaning up the house after Christmas.  So what I'm really doing is playing with my new computer and hoping some sweet elves will clean the place up.  Wish me luck with that;  I'll be needing it.

Toby helped with tree trimming activities.  He doesn't usually get free run of the living room as he tends to look out the front window for something to bark at.  He thinks the tree makes him invisible to us.  As if an 85 pound poodle is ever invisible.  Photographing a black dog, however, can be a challenge.



Ella's looking a little shaggy here.  They were groomed before Christmas.  She spent Christmas Eve smacking the tree with her tail until the little Santas began to fall off.


In the next few weeks, we'll be upgrading the website.  When I say 'we' I actually mean my son who graciously volunteered and surprised me at Christmas with a preview of our new look.  It'll be easier to look at and navigate and we're looking forward to that.

By the end of January we'll have a pretty new spring quilt pattern available.  We'll also have some close-up photos and hints on the blog.

Okay, so now I think I'll do a little cleaning up and organizing.

Seriously.  I will.

Check out quilterblogs.com  Always some good stuff there.

Candy

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

New Pattern - Starshine Runner

 Starshine Runner is ready to go.  It's an easy, two block quilt that creates a fun secondary design.  The neat part is that it appears to have curves, but actually, all the seams are straight.  I love that part.


For another look, more rows could be added (and no triangular ends) to make a wall hanging.  Or use less blocks and make a place mat.  The larger one is about 50 inches long and the smaller one is 33 inches.  The pattern includes cutting directions for both sizes.  It can be ordered from the "Patterns" page of the website (www.mobquilts.com).

 If you send us pictures of your completed quilt (any pattern), we'll post it on our gallery pages.


 Two questions for you:

 1.  If the house is the same temperature it always is, why am I freezing today?

 2.  If I run downstairs to let the dogs in and out 18 times a day, why am I not  thinner?

If you know the answer to either of these questions, I'd love to know.

Candy

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Tuesday, November 29, 2011

A Little of This; A Little of That

This would be catch-up week.  The to-do list is long and full of a lot of little things that take way longer than they should.

We spent Thanksgiving at my mom's in Southern Oregon, where there was actually some sunshine, which always lifts my spirits.  It was really great for all because there was nothing we HAD to do.  That's when new ideas and some clarity about the old ones happens.  We ate good food, watched some football, got caught up on family stuff and I knitted a pedicure sock.


Now that I'm home, I finished the top of the Wreath Quilt.
This is where I was last week and I must admit, I was feeling pretty good about it.  Then I made the triangle border.  Then this happened:


Those two edges on the right were supposed to line up.  (Please insert your preferred unladylike comment.) The scary part was that I cut and sewed all the pieces at the same time and yet one side fit perfectly and three others did not.  I think I now know where head-bangers come from.  Many seams were ripped out, trimmed 1/16th of an inch and re-sewn. 

I could've measured and analyzed just where the problem had happened.  However, I want to finish this year, so I just fixed it without delving too deeply into the whys and wherefores.  I'm pretty sure it wasn't the pattern as the measurements are right.  More likely I cut or sewed when I was tired.

So now I'm up to here:

The pattern calls for another green border.  Sadly, the last minute substitution of wreath fabric means there isn't enough matching fabric and of course it's an older one.  Never let it be said that I don't know how to quit when I'm ahead.  Will it be just like the pattern?  No.  Will it be mine?  Yes.  Is that a problem?  Nope!  If you noticed, the top wreath block is missing a berry.  That I will fix.

This is what November looks like from my studio door.  It's never too foggy for poodles to check out the neighborhood.  The wind a couple of weeks ago uprooted some of the pansies.  I wonder if I can still buy a few to fill in.  In my spare time.  (Insert maniacal laughter.)


A hint from Mother:
If you haven't started a to-do list for the holidays, do it now.  Then go back and cross at least three things out.  Arrive at the holiday sane.  Do a bit less.  Enjoy it more.


As always, thanks to QuilterBlogs.com
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MOB

Thursday, November 10, 2011

The First Quilt of Christmas

Autumn is turning chilly here although we still have lots of leaves on trees and the occasional warmish, sunny day like today.


These days really energize me and while I was out doing errands, I took a bunch of pictures like the one below to remind me of the colors I love during the gray days of winter.


Now that the Halloween stuff is all safely packed away (mostly - found a stray bat hanging around this morning), it's a good time to get a head start on Christmas.  We went to the mall last weekend and bought one gift.  It was a three ring circus and that was just parking the car.  I will be shopping online, if for no other reason than valuing my sanity.

With that brilliant maneuver behind me, I found myself charmed by the Berry Wreath quilt on the cover of the current issue of "Fons & Porter's Love of Quilting." Since I'm not so traditional, I looked for fabric that was a bit more funky and found "One Crazy Christmas Eve" to substitute for the large floral. Then I got some batiks to go with it.

This quilt will either be neat looking or really horrible.  This is a test to see if imagination and reality exist in the same universe.


The first five blocks look pretty good.


The wreath blocks proved to be a little more problematic.


It looks like a game of "Where's Waldo."  Can you find a wreath in there?  And I just love the light green and coral fabric.  Barb gave this fabric 'the look' when I first showed her, but she didn't say a word.  She was right and graciously chose not to gloat.  Clearly this wreath is not going to cut it.  The fabric will be saved for another project, but it was back to the old drawing board for wreath fabric.  And the stash came through!


Now that's more like it.  Not the most exciting, but at least you can see it.  What really kind of surprised me was how much the addition of the berries changed it.



Today, I'm sewing these blocks together and starting the borders.  Sadly, some of my day will be spent cleaning house.  When I can't find stuff, it usually means I've let the mess get out of control.  I like to think this is because I'm creative and focused.  I have been advised that this may not necessarily be the case.  But creative and focused is my story and I'm sticking to it.

I'll be back with borders in a few days.

By the way, Toby's back to his usual self.  He took it easy for a few days and took his doggy ibuprofin like a good boy.  



HAPPY BIRTHDAY U.S. MARINES!



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Monday, October 31, 2011

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween!  This is my favorite holiday.  Big surprise.  I love the colors, the sense of silly and of course, the chocolate.

I have bunches of quilts that celebrate All Hallows Eve.  Some are traditional.

Some are cute.

I love the fabric.


And the decorations.



Which is why my logo looks like this.


Toby would definitely prefer to fly tonight as he's been limping since last night.  My guess is that he and Ella were roughhousing and he pulled something, so we'll get the word from the vet tomorrow. 


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Wednesday, October 26, 2011

I have decided to let it be fall.  I actually really like fall, but I hate to let go of summer.  In summer I can leave the door open and Toby & Ella can go in and out at will.  Please believe me when I tell you that they have a lot of will.  Now that it's really chilly outside, letting them in and out is actually a part time job.  Jingle bells hang on the back door so they can call me when they need to go out.  Sometimes they ring them just to see me come downstairs and see if they can get a treat.

The really cool part of fall is the color.  The trees here don't give as spectacular a show as the northeast and midwest.  However, we do have our moments.



Now that the nights are actually working their way down to cold, it's time to pick the last of the tomatoes.  The flavor of home grown tomatoes is a whole different thing from supermarket tomatoes.  And fried greens are always a big hit around here.  Yet what really speaks to me are the colors.



I'm not sure what I would do with a tomato quilt.  Not that this is an issue that's ever stopped me before.  Still, those orangey reds and bright greens and deep green stems are trying to tell me something. 





At least I know what he's trying to tell me - "I want to go out.  I want to come in. I want to gossip with my friends.  I want to lay over the threshold of an open door.  I don't think 40 is cold.  It's not my fault that you don't come with your own fur coat!"

Spend some time this week enjoying the season.

Candy

Friday, October 14, 2011

Time or the Lack Thereof

In the last three weeks life has just whipped by.  Family wedding (beautiful), house guests (fun) and selling for two days at a quilt show (and all the preparation) have just filled up the time.  And I do have to sleep, eat, and occasionally drop in at my day job. When I get desperate, I throw a load in the washer.  Ironing?  Surely you jest.

Yesterday I was coming home from a haircut, a drive that would normally take about 25 minutes.  This trip took over an hour.  As I was ripping down the freeway at an exciting 20 miles per hour and wondering what the heck all these other people were doing on the road at 3:30 in the afternoon, I couldn't help but whine to myself about all the wonderful quilting I could be doing instead of crawling down the interstate.  In my own mind (and make no mistake, this is a fantasy) I'm thinking that I could've cut and sewn an entire quilt top in the time it took for this traffic to move 10 miles.

I've come to several conclusions:

1.  I have not got enough minutes left in my life to do all the things I want to.  Quilting, travel, occasionally making dinner.

2.  Everything takes approximately twice as long to accomplish as I think it will. I'm going to just zip over to the grocery store to pick up some bread and milk.  Then I run into an old friend.  Fifteen minutes becomes an hour.

3.  It's always something.  Like the "Service Engine Soon" light on my dashboard.  A dog with an ear infection.  There are no eggs in the refrigerator.  You know the drill.

4.  I wouldn't trade the time spent with family and friends for anything.

Apparently this is an ongoing discussion in my subconscious.  The last two quilts I've designed are of the quick and easy variety.  The patterns are now up on the website.

The first is Lemonade Stand

 I've talked about this one before.  It's easy, summery and with a change of color can be Margarita or perhaps Blue Hawaii.

The next is Fall into Halloween

I like this one because it's fast and easy and also because it's great for medium to large allover prints and the other fabrics that go with them.  You can start this one and be napping under it in a weekend.

One final question:
Is there ever enough time?

I'm pretty sure the answer is no.  Just get over it and do what you can.

MOB

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Wednesday, September 14, 2011

The Coming of Fall

Here in the Pacific Northwest, we've had a generally cool and damp summer.  Just ask my tomato plants.  In fact, summer just really got started about three weeks ago. And now that the kids are back in school, we're having the warmest week of the year. Really, the warmest, like in the mid 90's.

The mornings are glorious, sunny and cool.  There's a little birdsong and squirrel chatter along with the rumble of school buses.  (Isn't it funny that school buses always rumble.  In my school days, they also rattled, but that's another whole story.)

The afternoons are warm, but in the shade, with a little breeze that whispers of fall, it's perfect for sitting outside, doing applique or maybe a binding.  I've been working on an applique project that seemed pretty basic at the outset.  It's taking way longer than I thought it would.  Yet there's something pretty special about sitting outside, working on a quilt in a comfy chair with a glass of iced tea close at hand.

When I look left, I see this.



When I look right, I see this.



When I look over the railing, I see this.




Then, sadly, I see this.




What was a fairly decent looking expanse of thriving lawn a couple of weeks ago has been invaded by moles.  Please trust me when I tell you that they are busy little guys.  Not to be outdone, our girl, Ella, has been trying to dig them up.  This does not improve the lawn.  It also does not improve the look of my carpets.  Unless, of course, dirty dog prints are in this year. (I'm guessing not so much.)


Ella approaches her work with single-minded energy.  One hole was so deep that I'm convinced that she's made reservations at the Beijing Hilton. She hasn't actually caught a mole yet, which I consider to be good news.  If Ella could just annoy them enough to move out, I'd be thrilled.




Toby is the ultimate supervisor.  He sits on the deck above, she digs.  He lays down on the deck, she chases around through the bushes.  He snores, she investigates.  He comments:


She swats him in the mouth with her tail.









The nice thing about hot days is that they melt into warm nights.  I do miss having it be light until 9pm; I like to sit out and read or sew.  Now comes the tough decision.  Do I come inside to sew or do I sit out and enjoy the last balmy nights of summer? 

Check out other quilt blogs by clicking below.  Lots of fun stuff there.

Candy (aka Mother on a Broomstick)

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Thursday, August 18, 2011

The Dog Days Are Here

Ahh!  The dog days of summer are here.  What better time than now to showcase some DOGS!

One of the fun things about the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show is that there's so much more to look at than quilts (which is wonderful and the whole point), the people looking at quilts (that's a whole other show), and vendors (hang on to your credit card, it's too much fun).  Besides kids and patient significant others, there are the dogs.

Quilt show dogs are special.  They put up with a lot, including kids, strollers and wonderful smells.  Smells like hot dogs, popcorn, barbequed meat, and a couple of amazing bakeries - a regular feast for the canine nose.  Here are a few of my favorites from this year's show.


                      These guys are ready for a sunny day with their little hats. 





Then there are those who simply travel in style.  They also get to see some quilts as opposed to lots of feet.





                             Some are just hanging around being beautiful.






     There's a certain thrill that comes when you can walk down the middle of the
      street.





Not sure if the beagle is looking forward to making a new friend or checking out the kid with the popcorn.






                 There's always one who can't decide which is her best side. 





                                   Some are just looking for a little shade.






                                               Or a spot of grass.






                               Perhaps heading for the odd barbequed rib.






                                  Maybe aiming for the cuteness award.




                             
                              Is this a face that says, "Are we through yet?"






And, finally, one of the many reasons Miss Ella Bella did not attend the show.
Luckily for my walls, furniture and legs, the cone of shame in now off and she's free to be her usual active self.


As always, a big thank you to quilterblogs.com



So
"Are we stylin' or what?"Some