time for a quickie....

I don't know about you, but every so often it's refreshing to make something that can be finished in minutes, instead of days ...or weeks....or months.
Much of my pattern design is a long multi-step process, as are the memory quilts I make for clients.
A lot of thought and stitching goes into them and it takes attention, concentration and commitment.
So, as a treat I really enjoy those quick, but darling, little projects that are done and done in a jiffy and don't create a large quiltnado in the process.

This is a little Christmas table runner I made for my Sister-in-law, don't worry she's already seen it.  I've already gifted it to her so she can put it out ahead of Christmas. It is the "ten minute table runner" that has been around for quite some time, but it is so fun to make. See the link below for PDF instructions if you need a quickie......

As you can see in this closeup, I added red  jumbo rick-rack to each end of the runner.

This pattern was written by LaRae Brunnell Clark and the pattern was shared by the Utah State University Weber County Extension. here is the link.
http://delawarequilts.com/10-minuteTableRunner.pdf

Oh no, a Quiltnado

First there was Sharknado, and if that wasn't scary enough, now there's this ....

beware, this perilous phenomenon could be headed your way! 

It can strike without much warning and leave behind a massive trail of debris. 

 my recent category 2 quiltnado 

"Quiltnado"

noun \'kwilt -'n ā - dō\

definition:
A very intense squall consisting of fabric, thread and sewing tools.
Known to strike suddenly, very often coming on the heels of a quilt related activity such as
a guild meeting, fabric shopping, or blog hopping.

example:
"I was going to do some laundry, but before I knew it, a very intense quiltnado hit."

Intensity ranges:
category 1  - Mild, generally only lasts 1 hour or less and leaves behind a very small debris field.
category 2 - Moderate, can last anywhere from 1 to 4 hours and usually involves a combination of newly purchased and stash fabric. A moderate debris field that includes many fabric and pins.
category 3 - Severe,  a quiltnado in this category can easily last a day or longer. The debris field is very widespread and may include candy wrappers, coffee cups, ignored family members, backed up text messages, massive amounts of fabric, pins, empty spools and pizza boxes.

origin:
www.thistledownblog.blogspot.com
www.thistledownquilts.com 


There is not much you can do to ward off a large quiltnado. The best course of action is to make sure you have plenty of supplies on hand,  (including chocolate) then hunker down behind your sewing machine and ride it out. WOO HOO!

When was the last time you've been hit by a quiltnado? What category was it ?

save your favorite tops and t-shirts from this terrible fate......

Surely, I am not the only one that has had this wardrobe tragedy befall them.

Have you noticed small holes that mysteriously appear on the front of your knit shirts? Especially t'shirts or tops that tend to be more closely fitted? 

At first I figured it was the quality of the fabrics in the shirts I was buying, and to some degree that is true. But still....why are all these little holes appearing toward the bottom of my knit tops and t-shirts?

See here.....

 and here....

How annoying!
I finally figured it out, maybe you have already and I've just been slow on the uptake.


In a perfect world, this is what the waistline of jeans and shorts should look like......
nice and smooth and flat.

But most of mine, and most likely yours too, look like this next picture. The top corner by the button- hole curls over and sticks out.  That's when I finally said A-HA,  there's the culprit that is ruining all my shirts prematurely. The stiff, curly corner on my jeans and shorts are wearing little holes in the shirts!

Grated if I spent more than $20.00 on a t-shirt it would take a lot longer to happen but eventually those tiny holes would appear I'm sure.

so here's what I did....  I took my rotary cutter (you could use a scissors) and lopped off that stupid little corner. It won't hurt the buttonhole.   I hardly ever tuck anything in, and if I did a belt would cover it. So why not just cut it off? So I did.

Then I set my machine to a dense zig-zag stitch about .5 length and 3.0 width. and stitched along the raw edge to finish it. One down and many more to go.
Hopefully this solution will be helpful to you and your wardrobe of tops and t's.

Save yours now, before it's too late.

Thankful Thursday on Friday

I've already confessed that I'm a Pollyanna, right? So every cloud has a silver lining, blah ,blah, blah, I just can't help it. I am thankful for any silver lining I can find.

Well, Tuesday morning on my way to work my back tire went flat, flat, flat. By the time I was able to pull over safely , it was coming off the rim. Not a good thing...
Thankfully,  I hadn't forgotten my phone, and I put in a rescue call to my dh. He headed my way and came to the rescue. I stood and watched as he effortlessly proceeded to jack up the car and  put on the spare. Thankfully, it hadn't started raining yet. After getting the ruined tire off the car he found a big honking screw in the tire. Who knows where we picked that up. Thankfully, I wasn't on a super busy road or the highway when it happened.  He got me back on the road with a kiss and a wave. Thankfully, I have a sweet super hero husband. By the end of the day I had a new set of tires on the car. Thankfully,  they were on sale.

Wishing you some silver linings in your day....sometimes you just have to look a little harder than others.

Yes, I know it's Friday. Apparently blogger doesn't work as seamlessly on my ipad, as it does on my desktop. Happy Friday to all.........

Oh-oh

An eye on Spring and quilts

Are you seeing signs of Spring where you live? We just recently said goodbye to huge flocks of Robins that migrate through south Florida. We would awake to hundreds of Robins in our yard for about 2 weeks. It was looking like Alfred Hitchcock's movie The Birds, but they have since moved on and are making their way north once again.

Robin on nest in Wisconsin, last Spring

 Spring also means bunnies, right?
These little cuties were at our local County Fair this weekend, there were 8 babies in all and if you look to the left the runt of the liter is snugged up behind it's siblings. 

Some of the other signs of Spring in south Florida are the last of the quilt shows in Florida until Autumn approaches.

I went to the Broward Quilt Expo this past weekend with dear friends Karen and Fran, along with a whole busload of quilt friends. WOO -HOO  road trip!

Fran, Karen, & me...... at the Broward Quilt Expo

We had a great time of course and we were all re-inspired by the fabulous quilts on display.
There was a nice mix of traditional and non-traditional quilts and a nice selection of vendors including my friend Mary with Giftsforquilters.com

                         The best of show was a stunning non-traditional quilt by Helia Ricci

The Garden by Helia Ricci

here's a closeup of a portion...

a closeup  "The Garden" by Helia Ricci

here are a few other quilts to enjoy....

closeup of traditional clamshell quilt....a labor of love

This friends quilt is very cool

WOW - these are some BIG yo-yo's  this was in a vendor's booth. 

Nice assortment of fun, contemporary fabrics.

What a fun pineapple quilt!

Lovely traditional sampler

This really caught my eye too

By Molly Waddell

That's all for now....I have to go stitch on some of my stuff... you should go stitch too!

My bff entered her lovely quilt in our local guild show this past week. She made this for her hubby and named it..... Red, White and You. I love the quilt and the name she gave it.
It's a pattern by Minick and Simpson -  Chippewa nine patch. 

Karen added a piped binding that I really like.  She was very brave to try piped binding for the first time on a quilt this size, of course she did it very well.

I think her hubby was happy to finally get his quilt returned to him after it's public showing.

Congrats Karen, on another beautiful quilt finished!

This week we are took a free motion class with Betty New.  We are super fortunate that she lives here in our city, though she does travel to teach as well. She is an amazing award winning quilter and an awesome teacher as well. She really shares her knowledge in her classes and does make her students feel inadequate. She is very encouraging and kind. I took a class from her last year and was very happy to be able to attend this one Will show you what I accomplish...

Chippewa 9 patch ( Minick and Simpson) made by Karen Harris

piped binding - very nice!

manatees and DST

okay.....are you or aren't you a fan of DST ?

Don't know about you, but I love Daylight Saving time. Probably because I am not really a morning person and so I don't mind if it's dark when I wake up.
I think the weather also plays a part.  This time of year in Florida, the weather is so beautiful in the evenings that having it stay light, longer, will be really nice.
The drawback to that is dinner gets later and later too.
We find ourselves puttering in the yard (or he in the yard and me in the studio) and before I know it, it's 7:30 or 8:00 and then I'm scrambling to get dinner on the table. Oh well, after a few weeks of disorder things get back into rhythm.

We recently had family come to see us, my sister-in-law and her hubby were here for a visit and we headed to Manatee Park in Ft Myers.
It was a very chilly day ( no really) and lo and behold there were lots of manatees at the park. The manatees frequent the area because it is the waterway that the power plant discharges warm water into. The manatees gather there for warmth when the other waterways get too chilly for them.

Just think, sailors long ago mistook these as mermaids. Just goes to show you how society's perception of body image has changed over the centuries....and I guess they didn't mind bald mermaids at that. Must have been out at sea a very long time.

Enjoy the extra daylight.....