Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Lancaster AQS 2010… part 3

Tired of looking at gadgets?  This is the last post of what I accumulated at the show…

Lancaster 10 033I picked up Deb Tucker’s Wing Clipper Ruler… neat ruler (including cheat sheet with cutting sizes) to trim up flying geese from 1” to 10” wide…  her demo was great, she had a board prepared that showed step by step how to make the flying geese using the modifications she uses in the process, then she showed the trim up method using her ruler.  I can probably screw it up – but she’s really tried to make it fool proof… I’ll let you know how it goes when I use it.

I picked up George Siciliano’s new 12” Triple Duty Seam Allowance Guide.  I don’t do a lot of Paper Piecing but recently was frustrated with some efforts in testing something out… so I’ll give this a go.  I expect it to resolved the issues I encountered.  Have you ever watched George sew… amazing the small, teeny, tiny blocks he puts out and he makes it look so easy.  I’d like to take a class at some point in the future… you know… when I have nothing else to do… LOL 

I also brought home a Binding Tool – it will be nice to have a set procedure for connecting the ends… I always seem to fiddle with it – often not leaving enough of a tail or not enough or too much space between… My only question (which I only thought of after the fact) is what size binding (2 1/2” or 2 1/4”) does it work with or does it matter?  I’ve sent an email to the company I purchased it from… hopefully I’ll hear back soon – I suppose I could always just make a test myself...

And another set of templates… because hey… can we have too many templates?

Beyond that I joined AQS… so came home with 3 spools of thread and a magazine.  I also spent a few minutes chatting with Eleanor Burns as she signed one of her books for me… A Quick Trip.  I picked up a simple pattern/fabric kit for those wine glass coasters and a Snap Happy pattern by Stitchin’ Sisters for a small bag that uses the metal ruler tape as a closure.  Cute, cute, cute…

My husband may not let me go to any shows again… ever!

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Lancaster AQS 2010… part 2

I was definitely the gadget girl during this show.  And for what ever reason… curves really spoke to me.  I could easily called this post… Going round in Circles.

I finally purchased a ‘Curve Master Foot’ from Just Curves after watching the creator Sandra Chandler do the demo at the show.  If it is as easy as it looks… it will open a whole new world of quilting for me.  I’ve done some easy wavy curves where the blocks don’t have to match up – but nothing that required any accuracy.  Lancaster 10 032Apparently, secure in my soon to be curve sewing talents, I also picked up the Just Curves small Drunkard’s Path Template set (I love Drunkard’s Path quilts). That purchase was followed by a bottle template from One-Patch Quilts – one of Pat Yamin's Come Quilt With Me templates.  By the way – Pat is a lovely lady and I’ve always enjoyed chatting with her when I’ve seen her at the Nashua show in years past – so I was happy to see her here.  I finally found the Perfect Circles by Karen Kay Buckley (now I can finish that machine appliqué I’ve been working on – like that was the only thing holding me up… ha!) and I picked up an OLFA Circle cutter.  Since that didn’t quite seem like enough circle making capabilities for any sane person… I also picked up a ruler for drawing circles… because the compass I have only opens so far.

Also pictured above are the tools that came with the Curve Master… a roller and a pair of tweezers.  I picked up a small clip on LED light (clipped to the Curve Master Package) and (just in case it takes me a few tries to become an expert) a surgical seam ripper that you can change the blades on.  Knowing me and knives that should be good for a trip to an emergency room at some point in the future… it has been awhile since I’ve needed stitches for some self inflected wound… LOL

Part 3 later… yeah I was that bad!

Monday, March 29, 2010

Lancaster AQS 2010… part 1

Well that was fun!

So much fun that I can’t put it all in one post… because I talk too much…

First let me say that the best thing about any quilt show is the opportunity to get together with other quilters who have come around to enjoy the experience also.  Over the past several days I’ve had the pleasure of not only reconnecting with folks I’ve met before – but to also get to know some that I’ve only known in this wonderful ‘virtual world’ of the internet.  More on quilters later…

I want to talk about the “Retail Therapy” - an important feature of any good quilt show.  And since I haven’t been to a quilt show in a very long time… I had some catching up to do… LOL

I didn’t get much in the way of fabric… after all I do live in Lancaster county and work part time in a quilt shop… but I did pick up a couple things.  One was a package of some Daiwabo Taupe nickel squares from Pinwheels – they will go Lancaster 10 030nicely with a set I snagged a few years ago at the Nashua, NH show.  Photos of these fabrics just do not do them justice.  I later found a small Jacobean style panel that has all the colors I love and it will be fun at some point to plan something around it – it was $1.50 so I actually snagged 2 of them.  I also picked up a package of 5” strips – 7 different prints cut the WOF in nice vintage blues from the same vendor.

There is one special project I’m planning that needed something special… and I believe I’ve found it in the hand Lancaster 10 029dyed products by Cherrywood Fabrics.  Ooooo they are  wonderful colors - soft and cozy feeling colors… comforting colors.  Because I need a little bit of a lot of colors I purchased 2 of their grab bags which have approx. 2 yards of fabric each in 7” x 10” pieces.  The picture above is all the fabrics sorted and combined.  I’m looking forward to cutting into these…

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Sirens… and Quilts too!

Sirens… local volunteer fire department sirens.  The fire station is just down the street and around the corner – probably only about a mile away… if that.  So we hear sirens on a regular basis during the day… and usually they are just part of the background noise of daily life.

But at two in the morning those sirens sound like they are in my back yard… right outside our bedroom window - why is that?

At two in the morning those sirens wake the dog… the dog that is afraid of sirens… the dog that hasn’t figured out the difference between the fire department siren and the quarry siren.  She hears a siren and thinks the ground is going to go boom and rumble… she doesn’t understand and doesn’t find it as cool as I do to feel the rumble. 

So at two in the morning I head downstairs to shoo her back into the kitchen because she’s pushed her way through the gate that keeps them contained to the kitchen and laundry room.  It’s not so much that it keeps them in the kitchen/laundry room as it keeps the fur and dirt they track in out of the rest of the house.

Anyhoo… so I put up a second gate - because 2 gates are better than one… at two in the morning… when sirens are whaling… and a silly dog is freaking out… (yeah I’m sympathetic like that – at two in the morning)

And when I return to my bed… the siren sounds again… six tones… six long tones… up and down… and up and down again… emphatically calling the volunteers… and scaring the dog… because the siren is literally right outside our window… or so it seems at two in the morning.

So what was the problem?  Big factory fire… spreading quickly to other buildings in the high winds… lots of toxic smoke… we were evacuated… it was quite the scene getting all that we would need for us and the dogs… not sure if we would have a house when we returned… 

At least that’s what happened in my dream… the fire and evacuation – the sirens were real…

I have no idea what really happened… because there was nothing mentioned during the local morning news… no mention of an accident or fire… nadda, nothing, zip!

OH WELL… today will be a good day anyway!  The AQS Quilt Show is in Lancaster this week!  Lots of quilty friends have come to town and I will be meeting up with them later today!  I’m actually picking one lady up at the airport this afternoon and I’m excited that I actually get to meet her in person as I’ve known her only ‘virtually’ for many years.

Good Friends and Fabulous Quilts… yeah it’s going to be a good week… and sirens at 2 in the morning aren’t going to make me cranky today… well, ok… not too cranky!

Friday, March 19, 2010

Apply Brakes Here…

I know we’ve all been awaiting Spring… but I’m not nearly ready for time to go Marching along so fast… slow down some already!

So what’s been up with me?… Well - I’ve made a couple of unplanned but necessary road trips.  My mind isn’t quite organized (which is a normal state for me usually but trust me when I say it’s worse than usual… LOL).  My house isn’t back in order and it’s starting to bother me (and I’m usually pretty flexible about stuff like that… LOL).  I’ve got tons of quilting stuff to do – too much to make a list.  I’m making a pair of fingerless gloves for sale for a co-worker of my daughter… about half-done and not something I can procrastinate on. 

I need to take care of some home issues – like updating a quote on windows, throwing around some grass seed and putting up some fences to keep the dogs out of the areas, trim up the grape vine (a little late but what the heck) then there is the garden to plan… and, and, and… the list is too long to think about.

The Lancaster Quilt Show is next week and I’m soooo looking forward to seeing a bunch of quilty friends – some I’ve only known online – so I’m excited to actually get to know them in 3D.

Oh and exciting news on a personal quilty level… I’m designing a quilt for a shop-hop!  Can’t discuss details but I’m excited that they liked my design and I need to get on about the business of writing the pattern up and testing it.

Then there is a July (?) Quilty Gathering to set a date for…

So - if you see what looks like a small tornado in Lancaster County… it’s probably just my head spinning off…

Monday, March 8, 2010

It's about time...

I finally changed out that holiday background on this blog...

Now all I've got to do is get the Christmas train set put away (the little boy loved it and I just couldn't put it away while he was still here!) and I need to finish stripping the lights off the little trees that were in the middle of the train platform (I figured it would be easier to put a new set of lights on than replace all the burned out bulbs - although I could be wrong LOL)... oh and yes those are still a couple of holiday-ish wreaths hanging around... and no my holiday dishes have not been put away... LOL

They all left a week ago Sunday... the day after the Tsunami didn't devastate Hawaii.  Whew!

I miss them... the songs, playing, hugs and snuggles.  I miss watching them - kids are so much fun to just watch.  I'll be glad when they live back on the mainland and we can see them more often.

In the mean time I am soooo far behind on quilting stuff I need to get done it just isn't funny! 

I got a Wii for Christmas... we used it a bit while they were here but I'm back to using it daily... ouch - just a tad out of shape.

And it's actually starting to warm up a bit... which reminds me that I need to plan out what I want to put in my garden.

And I can hear the paint cans in the basement calling my name - they were totally ignored last summer after I fell over the gate... if you can't raise your hand you can't paint. 

I'll be back... really!