dGS: May

I've returned to the whirlwind life: going to sleep in 5 different places in 6 nights. It's almost glamorous, except for the shlepping of stuff, the digging through the bag for contact-lens solution, and the reacquaintance with x-long twin beds. So maybe a college dorm room isn't glamorous, but my 10-year college reunion (go Ephs!) was delightful and fun, if a tad exhausting. In the past week, I also snuck in a couple of academic conferences and now I have a couple of weeks in New York for research (and play). In each of my previous NYC summer stints, I lived in Brooklyn. This time, my friend and I are subletting an apartment in the East Village, which means--among other things--that I am surrounded by tons of vegetarian cafes and restaurants...pure delight, I must say.

While real life has a funny way of limiting sewing time, I managed to get these blocks together (at the last possible second) for do.Good Stitches. In May, Kelli asked for framed patchwork blocks. I was grateful for a simple block (see: last-minute sewing), and I think these will look great together in a quilt.

Read more...

HST

Way back when, or in January, I started making a quilt for a friend. It was a long time coming and I finally settled on the fabric -- lots of Modern Meadow -- and semi-decided on a pattern. Which is to say I decided to make a lot of HSTs -- half-square triangles -- and then see where that led me. At first I thought I might make a little something like this and then I changed my mind, considering a modified pinwheel along the lines of this. Even as I started sewing, none of them quite felt right. Which ultimately led me to some big flying geese:

I can't pretend me method was precise, frugal, or smart. It was ad-hoc, a tad wasteful, and not-so brilliant. See those extra white flaps on the bottom? Yeah, I just trimmed those off. Because sometimes simple solutions are the best way to cover mistakes uncertainty. Once I got to this point, however, I became decisive. I knew what I was doing and how I was going to do it.

So I did it, at which point I discovered that Denyse Schmidt has a pattern that bears a distinct resemblance to my {clearly brilliant} quilt design. I'm going with great minds think alike, because why else would Denyse Schmidt make a pattern for the quilt that existed in my mind? I mean, her pattern probably uses more logic than my process, but it probably involves a lot more steps and templates and planning and numbers and yardage and whatnot than my, shall we say, intuitive sewing. And I'd show you the whole quilt, but I made the mistake of giving it to my friend and failing to take pictures of the whole front and whole back.

I thought about picture-taking. I thought about it when I plucked it from the dryer and placed it in my backpack. I thought about it when I gave it to Joel. I thought about several nights later when we were both packing again. I thought about it on the plane, after we got on different flights. And I thought about this afternoon as I sat in the Harry S. Truman archives, when I typed in my kickin' wireless login that begins with HST, which makes me smile and reminded me to post. So I will wait, with as much patience as I can muster, until Joel returns from his work trip to Asia and snaps some photos for me.

In the meantime, I'm crossing my fingers that I finish my work quickly enough to sneak in a little trip to the Quilt Shoppe in Stewartsville before I drive back to Michigan.

Read more...

Gentle Curves

Even I can be a delinquent student. The one who shrugs off an optional assignment as unnecessary. The one who figures "I've already done that" so why redo it. The one who prioritizes other things. In this case, the class is Rachel's Curves class and I confess that I waited until the "Rainbow Road" project to do anything more than watch the videos and read the project instructions. Because I don't need any bibs (though they would make a nice gift) and I had already made a scallop quilt, I passed on the first week of projects. Also, I was in Kansas sans sewing machine, which made it somewhat impossible to sew anything.

But I knew I would try my hand at improv curves and this project in particular. Never one to exactly follow instructions, I turned to my scrap bin instead of a rainbow of solids, and came up with this orange and aqua meandering path. I also started piecing the orange and aqua scraps together before the instructions were posted so I constructed each row a little differently, but to no ill effect. I think it's going to become a challah cover once I bind it (perhaps in a reddish-purple?). I also think it will be gifted to a friend, but that's a surprise for now.

This week's classes focus on precise curves -- which I really want to figure out. But I'm reclaiming the sewing slacker label for the next week as I'm off to Utah for research, sans sewing machine yet again. However, I am under the impression that there are amazing quilt shops on every corner of every street in Utah, so please point me to them! I'll be in Salt Lake City for the most part, with a possible day trip to Provo for some material held at BYU's library and special collections. Of course, restaurant, sight-seeing, and other recommendations are always welcome...

Read more...

Greetings from Abilene

It's amazing how quickly one can drive 20 miles of flat, isolated highway when the speed limit is 75 mph. I'm doing research at the Eisenhower Presidential Library this week, but staying about 20 miles away from Abilene in Junction City. What would be an annoying slog in any metropolitan area is no big deal in the fairly rural Kansas plains. The library/museum complex is a half-century old, and its architecture certainly conveys a mid-century modern look. I haven't been to the museum yet, but as a researcher I do get free admission. Perhaps on today's lunch break.

Abilene may be small, but it seems to have 2 quilt shops. One was closed yesterday and I couldn't find the other but I'm going to try again today. I was lucky enough to win a spot in Rachel's Curves class, and since I can't sew anything this week, perusing fabric after a day's work will have to suffice. If I'm efficient enough this week, I'm hoping to have a little time to stop by Lawrence and/or explore Kansas City on Friday before I fly out. Any suggestions for things to do or see while along the eastern Kansas portion of the I-70 corridor are welcome!

Read more...

And Back...

Two Sundays can be kind of cool : one to play (and happen upon a crafts fair and the very adorable Devonport town Christmas parade) and one to travel (lots of hours in planes and airports). The benefits of the international date line....and now it's Monday, and I'm trying to get life back in order.

Which will take awhile! I'm mostly caught up on email (which I checked sporadically while away), and now have plenty of work and regular life stuff (bills, groceries, etc) to keep me busy. And I will slowly whittle away at the 1000+ posts in my Google Reader. This was the first time I was detached from my laptop and regular internet access for 2.5 weeks, and the rest provided a well-needed break from technology, a chance for my brain and body to reset. But I'm also excited to see what people have been up to, making, and talking about while I was gone.

Read more...

Greetings from New Zealand!

Gre

Greetings from New Zealand! It's been an eventful week down here thus far, starting with easy plane rides but lost baggage (or delayed baggage -- I can't quite figure out how my bag needed more than 3 hours to make it from one plane to the next, but it arrived the next day and that's all that matters). As promised New Zealand has been wet, but the beautiful mossy beech forests are one lovely result. My friend and I spent 3 days on the Routeburn trek, 1 dry and sunny, 2 wet and rainy! While walking through the forest area, we commented on how it looked like it could be hobbit-land, only to learn when we finished that we missed running into the filming of The Hobbit by one mountain!

There were loads of Avalanche Zones, many of which were perfectly safe. However, the Department of Conservation required a helicopter ride over one not-so-safe area (see, Mom and Dad, we were careful!). Their rangers and hut wardens are tremendously knowledgeable and helpful, even providing us with some newspapers to stuff into our very wet shoes in the hopes of making them slightly less wet. Because of the rain, we walked across, though, and in many a waterfall. This is the land of a million waterfalls, at least in the spring.

But for stunning views like this, it's all been worth it.

And this too!

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone in the States!

Read more...

Leaving on a Jet Plane

The Setting: Detroit Airport
The Time: Saturday early evening.

TSA Official #1: "Is this your bag?"
Woman: Smiling, internally wondering what on earth has been spotted on the monitor.
"Yes, that's my bag."
TSA Official #2: "Please take your stuff and follow me."
Woman gathers her shoes, belt, jacket, purse, clear bag of 3 oz. liquids and follows TSA #2.

TSA #2: "It looked like there is a bottle in your bag, so I'm going to need to search it."
Woman: Quickly checks to see that empty water bottle is in purse. "Um, ok. I don't think there's a bottle but go ahead."
TSA #2: Takes books, bagged items, scarf, bag of assorted chargers, toiletries, etc out of backpack. "Wow, this is an impressively packed bag. I'm so sorry I have to unpack it."
Woman: "No worries."
TSA #2: "Seriously, this is the best packed bag I've ever seen."
Woman: "I like packing things. It's sort of like playing Tetris."
TSA #2: "I'm so sorry for needing to take everything out."
Woman: Laughing, "it's ok, really. You're just doing your job. Have you found what you're looking for?"
TSA #2: Pulling out a pair of old Chacos wrapped in a plastic bag. "Oh here it is."
Woman: "Oh ok, they're just sandals."
TSA #2: "Yep, I guess the curve just looked like a bottle. I'm so sorry that I'ev totally unpacked your bag."
Woman: "It's fine, I can put it back together really quickly."
TSA #2: Watches woman repack bag quickly. "Wow, I wish I could pack bags that well. You should teach a class."

Perhaps in my next life, I'll teach people how to pack efficiently. "Be a Packing Ninja 101" will, I am sure, have a tremendous audience. In the meantime, there are a couple of tricks to taking 2 carry-on size bags + 1 purse with you for 3 weeks:

1. Pick your bags wisely. There's a sleeping bag and a camping pot in the duffel bag. They fit well because the bag is as spare as can be. It's a rectangle, and the bag itself takes up very little space. The corollary is: use every bit of space. My first-aid kit is stored in the pot along with my knife, whistle, and other little items. (This bag was obviously checked due to the knife and the jar of the peanut butter I tossed in too.) My backpack is large for a daypack but small for a camping backpack. It's almost full now but it can expand as necessary. It has some of the food we'll take with us backpacking, so once we eat it, there will be more space for any items I pick up along the way.

2. Pack lightly. I've always been a light packer, and this trip is no different even though I'll be backpacking (hence the need for the sleeping bag and camping pot, but no tent needed on this trip) for part of it and wine-tasting (nicer clothes required) at other points. All clothes should be interchangeable (pick one neutral color and make sure everything works with it). Shoes should be adaptable (hiking boots are necessary for this trip so I took 3 pairs of shoes, but 2 would otherwise be sufficient). A couple of key accessories can dress up a pair of jeans or a simple black dress. Accept that you'll be wearing the same things for several weeks. It's ok; no one really cares. Bring items that dry quickly so you can easily do laundry as necessary. Take older clothes that are versatile and fit well but can be tossed if they meet a mud puddle or a jagged rock or anything else making them no longer wearable.

I've been in LA the past couple of days visiting friends (including a super fun dinner with Michelle last night), and I'm off to New Zealand for 2.5 weeks tonight. If you have any tips for NZ (my friend and I will be spending most of our time on the South Island, but a little time in Auckland as well), comment away! Any restaurant, sightseeing, coffeeshop, fabric/crafts, etc recommendations are much appreciated. We'll be starting with the Routeburn Trek and moving clockwise around the South Island from there. I'll try to post while away but with (intentionally) limited internet access, I make no guarantees...

Read more...

Solid Stashing

As luck has it, I'm house/catsitting mere blocks away from a fabulous local fabric store: Treadle Yard Goods. I first noticed it on Saturday and knew I'd head over there shortly. And shortly meant yesterday afternoon. And it was awesome.

First, they have an impressive collection of modern quilting fabrics. (They also have a lot of apparel fabrics and are apparently the last local apparel fabric store in the area, but as a not-yet-garment sewer, I sort of ignored those fabrics). Because there were so many other fun fabrics to feel and touch and pet. Tula Pink (Prince Charming is charming), Joel Dewberry (the new Heirloom line in Citrus is calling my name), various lines from Moda, Amy Butler, Anna Maria Horner, Japanese imports....all sorts of neat stuff. They also had a lot of substrates: quilting cotton, home decor weight, canvas, voile, sateen, velveteen, laminate, and oilcloth to name a few.

Second, they're really nice there. I mean Minnesotans have, in my week here, lived up to their extraordinarily friendly reputation. But Treadle did exactly what I think every store should: ask if I need help when I walk in, leave me alone to wander, and be helpful when I requested assistance. And then when I mentioned I was a visitor, they started telling me about all sorts of other fabric places to check out. Apparently there's an amazing shop in St. Cloud that I don't think I'm going to get to, but still: they heard I liked fabric and directed me to other places to look at it.

So I bought the solids above to use in the Simply Solids Swap. I have a few ideas rolling around in my head and need to make some decisions over the next week so I can start cutting and sewing when I get back. I also dug into their remnants and picked up two for me.

The gray print on the left is from Nancy Mims and the print on the right is a piece of oilcoth. I don't have immediate plans for the gray, but it's the sort of print that would be great as a bag lining, a binding, or in a quilt. As for the oilcloth, I've been meaning to make myself a lunch bag for years. I'm thinking oilcloth is smart since it will wipe down easily. I don't know how to sew with it, but that's just another thing to learn. I was pretty responsible with purchases yesterday, but I might need to go back and buy some Heirloom voile. It was just so pretty and would make a beautiful fall scarf. One can never have too many scarves. And buying fabric for a distinct purpose for me falls under "being kind to myself," right? Hmm.

Read more...

Mad Measuring (and Cutting!) Skills

My brother decided to put my sewing skills to use this weekend...by turning me into his drywall cutter. It was a pretty good match for my skill set, and I think I was pretty good at it....as long as he told me where to measure from, that is. There was one piece that I cut a little short because I measured from the top of the new stud rather than the old stud, but it was fixable. I was a little uncertain about the cut-outs for the outlets and light switches, but they actually turned out pretty well. And I preferred this work to grouting, though it might be a tie with drilling holes for wires. I really do like drilling.

Back to the regularly scheduled crafting programming soon....

At the end of the week, I'll pack my car (including my sewing machine and fabric) and drive back to the midwest. I'll have a few days at home to unpack and resettle, before taking off for Minneapolis/St. Paul for 2 weeks of research. Any tips or suggestions about places to eat, fabric shops to visit, and other places to explore in the Twin Cities is most welcome.

Read more...

A Challah Cover in Chicagoland

I had the pleasure of going to Chicago for a couple of days earlier this week. We had a 2-day fall break, I have a lot of friends in Chicago, and some friends from out of town were there. It was a wonderful trip, filled with good times and catching up with friends as well as excellent, excellent vegetarian food. I highly recommend both the Chicago Diner (incredible veggie reuben) and the Blind Faith Cafe (stellar Mongolian stir-fry). I also got to give this challah cover to friends who recently moved to Evanston and bought their first home.

The challah cover combined a partial dresden plate with one of my new favorite fabrics: lightweight dark denim. I picked this denim up when I got the denim I used for Beth's bag. It's a touch darker and much less heavy -- somewhere between quilting cotton and home-dec weight cottons. It's really easy to sew with and looks great with so many quilting fabrics. In particular, Laura Gunn's Lantern Bloom really shines next to it, and I think a quilt may emerge. But I digress...

I had made the dresden plate a few weeks ago and struggled to find the right color to set it on. Denim answered that question, but I was still uncertain about what fabric to use for the center. I tested out quite a few options -- mostly reds, but a couple blues; some solids, some prints. Finally, I realized that this Amy Butler Lotus print (so versatile!) was ideal because it let me put the little flower center in the corner of the challah cover. It took a little fussing with circles to get it right (I still have to work on cutting and sewing circles), but I love the result.

Finally, I had to decide how to quilt it. I hemmed and hawed, debating free-motion quilting, echo quilting, grids, and more. In the end, a few simple lines that created just enough of a stripey look won out. I confess I started quilting thinking I might have to rip it all out. But I didn't.

Since the Lotus print worked so well at the center of the Dresden Plates, I opted to use it on the back. I chose the solid off-white binding because it brought the front together. While it doesn't make the back pop, I think it does its job. Overall, I'm really pleased with this challah cover; I had no idea what it would look like when I started it, and I love the final product.

It is, however, lacking a name. Any thoughts on a good name?

p.s. If you like Dresden Plates, check out Stephanie's. It's amazing, and how she has had the patience for a full quilt of them is beyond me.

Read more...

Awesome Austin: The Stitch Lab

What a marvelous space! Several people suggested that I stop by the The Stitch Lab, and it didn't disappoint. It's a lovely space in a converted bungalow on South 1st Street (and easy walk from the river trail). The staff is lovely -- I arrived when they opened and they even offered me a cup of coffee. If I lived here, I would definitely spend time in this sweet spot. It looks like they have some great classes (including some bag making ones I'd love to take).

 Of course, I couldn't step in and then leave without buying some fabric. I haven't had a chance to photograph my purchases but I figured I could indulge since I was able to take a shuttle rather than pay for a cab to last night's lodging. As a small store, the fabric selection isn't enormous but it's incredibly well curated. They've picked great lines and parts of lines. If I had lots more money, I would have bought cuts of all sorts of fabrics that looked good together.

Read more...

Austin Options

In a little under a month, I'll be heading to Austin, TX for a conference. While the conference has its own merits, I'm especially excited to spend some time in Austin as I've heard amazing accolades about the city but have never been there before (in fact, my time in Texas has been limited to the Dallas/Fort Worth airport). My somewhat voracious consumption of fabric, quilting, and design blogs tells me there is an incredible crafty community in Austin. For those of you who live there, visit there, have heard things about Austin, what should I make sure to do while there? Where should I eat (I am a vegetarian, however, so even the best barbeque is not going to lure me anywhere)? What fabric shops should I check out? Any and all thoughts are welcome.

More quilty stuff coming soon.

And the photo has no direct relation to this post. I figured that the orange was appropriate for Austin, however.

Read more...

Madtown Micro-Tour

I spent a lovely weekend in Madison, WI spending time with friends, eating really well, floating down the river (good minus the inevitable sunburn), and enjoying my old neighborhood. Walking around reminded me of just how awesome it is to be able to walk just a couple blocks to wonderful places. I whipped out my camera and grabbed a few shots of what you encounter just a couple blocks from where I used to live.

There's ye olde co-op, with all sorts of local, organic deliciousness. The grasshopper brownies -- which come 3 ways, regular, gluten-free, and vegan -- are quite possibly the most delicious things on this planet. I recommend buying one, freezing it, and eating it. Also, the fire-roasted jalapeno cream cheese is most fantastic. Joel gave me 2 for my birthday; I froze them and snuck them through airport security. The coop also sells Gotham Bagels, which is very important because they make the best pumpernickel bagels I've encountered in the Midwest.

St. Vinny's is a crosswalk away from the co-op. Occasionally I've found good fabric there, though not on this trip. They have an excellent array of stuffed animals perfect for buying for your favorite dog who will destroy them in short order. On Friday I went in and bought Max a gorilla. The ten-year-old girl watching this transaction expressed some dismay at my selection of a "good" animal for the dog. She thought a hard, ugly doll-thing would be better but I explained he would choke on that so the gorilla it was. The gorilla was gone by the evening's end.

Moving right along, Lazy Jane's Cafe offers scrumptious breakfast, brunch, and lunch options in a delightfully eccentric (mismatched plates, cutlery, chairs, etc + local artists' art on the walls) environment. It's ridiculously crowded on weekends, so I recommend stopping by mid-week.

Just in case you need to get a clock repaired, there's a place for that too. Admittedly, I'm not sure I've ever seen it open regularly, but, hey it might serve a need.

Ha Long Bay is new since I left. But Jenny and I are there on Sunday night and I give it my stamp of approval. I love Thai food and my go-to dish is Panang curry. They make it well, in huge portions, without fish sauce (which some places sneak in to their curries making them inaccessible to my vegetarian self). The service was a bit slow but the food -- which is quite reasonably priced -- made up for it. Elsewhere on Willy St, Laotian food awaits at Lao Laan-Xang. The pineapple curry is no longer on the menu but they'll still make it for you (I always add broccoli).

Also new to me is Batch Bakery which has all sorts of pastries, bread, cookies, and treats. The monkey-bread muffin is stellar.

Although Hans' Sewing and Vacuum closed a few years ago, Gayfeather Fabrics remains. It's a tiny local fabric store with a variety of quilting cottons, canvas, wool, silk, and the like. They seem to be carrying more modern lines and patterns now -- the window display on the left had aprons and bags from Amy Butler patterns. They also offer sewing classes which, alas, I learned about too late for my partaking. And although they are not cheap, I couldn't leave without picking up a little something.

I opted for 1/4 yard cuts of Denyse Schmidt's Hope Valley and Tanya Whelan's Dolce. I'm not sure what I'll use them for, but I think they look quite fine together and thus will try and design something around them.

That covers about 5 blocks of Willy St. If you're ever in Madison, I recommend spending some time there.

Read more...