Monthly Archives: April 2013

Test Block, Part Two . . .

A few days ago I made a test block for a new quilt, using the classic Burgoyne Surrounded quilt block and a fresh floral print from Fig Tree’s Tapestry line for Moda Fabrics. I made a second block, added it to the first, stepped back to admire my handiwork, and took a photo.

Oops. Little problem there. Do you see it?

2013-4 Burgoyne blocks, ooops

It seems so obvious to me now but it wasn’t until I inserted the photo in this post that I noticed it:  at the top of the block on the right, the middle strip is upside down. Isn’t it funny how you can look at a block over and over and not notice until much later that something’s wrong with it?

Here it is, fixed . . .

Burgoyne, fixed

. . . and here are a few more faux-kaleido 4-Patch Wonder blocks:

2013-4, 4-PW Burgoyne blocks

 

This fabric has a very small repeat — only about 6″ — so there’s not a great deal of variety in the blocks. Still, I still find them very pleasing, especially against that wonderful butterscotch-y background fabric by Moda.

 

 

Posted in 4-Patch Wonder, faux-kaleido quilts, update | 3 Comments

Bathroom Reno, Week 5

The tile is down on the bathroom floor. Here’s a view looking south . . .

wk 5, looking south

. . . and northeast:

wk 5, ne corner

 

Setting the 20″ x 20″ floor tiles on the diagonal — on point, as we say in the quilting world — was an easy design choice. I use that setting in many of my quilts.

Here’s another view looking north:

wk 5, looking north

 

The 2″ x 2″ tiles on the shower floor are the same product (Century Darwin porcelain tile in the Floreana pattern):

wk 5, shower floor

 

A few things had to be done before any tile could be laid. More prep work on the floor of the shower . . .

wk 5, Monday, shower floor

. . . and on the bathroom floor:

wk 5, heating element

Do you know what those curly things are? You’re looking at one of the splurges in this remodel: an electric heat mat. I think the investment will be well worth it on a cold day!

The heating mats were covered by some of that self-leveling compound:

wk 5, heating element covered

 

Next up: white subway tile wainscoting on the shower/tub side of the bathroom.

If you’re a new reader, you can catch up on previous posts relating to the remodel by clicking on the links below:

March 16: Happy Birthday, House!
March 27: The Bathroom Remodel Begins
March 31: Bathroom Reno, Week 1
April 8: Bathroom Reno, Week 2
April 15: Bathroom Reno, Week 3
April 21: Bathroom Reno, Week 4

Thanks for stopping by!

 

 

 

Posted in bathroom remodel, update | 1 Comment

Test Block

Yes, I know. I should be working on those UFOs and WIPs instead of creating new ones. But I just couldn’t resist trying out an idea for a new quilt. I’ve made just one 15″ block so far:

2013-4 test block 2

 

It’s a riff on the traditional “Burgoyne Surrounded” block. What do you think?

 

 

Posted in 4-Patch Wonder, update | 5 Comments

Bathroom Reno, Week 4

The most dramatic change in the bathroom during Week 4 of the renovation occurred in the northwest corner. We went from this . . .

2013-4, nw corner, sheetrocked

to this . . .

nw corner, wk 4

I can’t wait to see what it looks like at the end of Week 5!

The subflooring has been covered with cement board in preparation for porcelain tile. The floor area under the windows on the northeast side is being filled in with a self-leveling liquid, as it is significantly lower than the rest of the room. Here is Theo exploring the area:

ne corner, wk 4

This half of the bathroom was originally a sleeping porch, measuring about 7½’ x 8′ and accessed by a door (no longer there) on the west wall. When we bought the house in 1981, this room had exterior siding on the two interior walls you see in the photo above. The sloping cement floor and ill-fitting windows rendered the room unusable, one of the reasons we incorporated it into a larger bathroom during the first remodel in 1985. (Oh, how I wish I had taken “before” pictures!)

Now that all of the open spaces in the walls and floor have been covered up, it’s safe to let Theo have a good look around:

nw corner, wk 4, Theo investigating

I hope you’ll come back next week for a good look yourself!

 

 

Posted in bathroom remodel, cats, update | 2 Comments

Full Circle . . .

Full Circle table runner

. . . that’s the name I gave this table runner because every single fabric — even the strips and binding — has circles in it. I didn’t pick up on that until I was casting about for a name.

The pattern is Full Moon Rising, my first pattern, with a few minor changes. Most of the fabrics are from the Neutral Territory Line by Donna Becher for P&B Textiles. On the back I used a half-yard cut of different fabric from the same line, filling in the rest of the back with the black and metallic gold dot used for the moons on the front:

2013-4, Full Circle back 800

(That solid black fabric at the top is a sleeve for hanging.)

The circles on the front of the table runner were set in while the ones on the back were made separately and attached with fusible interfacing. There’s no batting in this particular version of Full Moon Rising, and the only stitching holding the layers together is around the circles and in the ditches of the strips between blocks.

 

 

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Bathroom Reno, Week 3

The walls in the White House bathroom are looking good. All of the open spaces in the walls have been filled with sheetrock, and the only lath and plaster you can see now is in the area where the shower will go. After the walls had been mudded and were dry, the crew sanded and vacuumed. They did such a careful job that almost no dust escaped into other rooms in the house. Now, after priming, the walls look almost good enough to hang pictures on!

south wall and sw corner, sheetrocked
South Wall and SW Corner
ne corner, sheetrocked
NE Corner
2013-4, nw corner, sheetrocked
NW Corner

 

The work this coming week will focus on the shower area, above, beginning with building the shower pan. Then the tilework begins!

 

 

 

Posted in bathroom remodel, update | 2 Comments

Birthday Party

Of the six women in my quilt group, the Quisters, three have March birthdays. We all lead busy lives so it wasn’t until yesterday — well into April — that the six of us were available to celebrate together. We congregated at the Portland White House for lunch, laughter, gift-giving, and dessert. (Dessert was so good it deserves a special mention: Lemon Sour Cream Pound Cake served with Blueberry-Lemon Sauce and whipped cream.)

Now I can show you what I made for the birthday girls. For Lee and Peggy, I made iPad Mini covers. Here is Lee’s:

Lee's iPad Mini cover, front and back
Lee’s iPad Mini Cover, Front and Back

The three elastic strips on the back hold the iPad in place on a padded surface when in use. The elastic strips also wrap around to the front, holding the outside flap securely in place when the iPad Mini is being carried around.

This is what Lee’s cover looks like on the inside:

2013-3, Lee's ipad Mini cover, open
iPad Mini Cover, Open

 

Here is Peggy’s:

2013-3, Peg's iPad Mini cover (2)
Peg’s iPad Mini Cover

 

This is what Peggy’s looks like on the inside:

2013-3, Peg's iPad Mini cover
iPad Mini Cover, Open

 

It’s a little hard to see in the photos, but the iPad Mini covers have an accessory pocket on the inside to hold earbuds and a stylus.

For Deborah I made a custom sewing machine dust cover:

2013-3, Deb's sewing machine dust cover, side view
Deborah’s Dust Cover

 

It’s hard to get a good look at the lining fabric so for the next photo I turned the dust cover inside out:

2013-3, Deborah's sew mach dust cover inside out
Almost Reversible!

 

I’m working on patterns for both the iPad Mini cover and the sewing machine dust cover, so if you’re interested in making one for yourself or a friend, please check back with me.

 

 

 

Posted in iPad cover, Quisters (Quilt Sisters), sewing machine cover, update | 6 Comments

On the Sewing/Quilting Front

While electricians and plumbers were working their magic last week in the bathroom that’s being renovated (see previous posts), I was at work down the hall in my sewing room. As planned, I quilted two baby quilts — but the quilting didn’t go as planned. I wanted to do free motion quilting (FMQ) using a large-scale boxy geometric design. Alas, it was not to be. My up and down lines looked fine but I lacked control on the side to side lines.

After several attempts, each of which was followed by picking out stitches, I gave up on the FMQ and resorted to quilting straight lines in both directions using a walking foot. I randomly spaced the lines from three to six inches apart. It wasn’t necessary to mark the quilts as I used the straight lines in the print fabric and the seamlines as my guides.

You may remember that Nancy Stovall of Just Quilting basted the quilts for me on her longarm machine. The big red basting stitches were extremely easy to remove — but even so, it took a bit of time to remove the thread.

2013-4, thread nest
A Nest of Thread

 

My friend Pam Raby, who blogs at Quilts and Paws, suggested using water-soluble thread next time. Brilliant! I’ve already passed the suggestion on to Nancy.

Bound, labeled, and washed and dried, this quilt is ready to be delivered to its rightful owner. Here’s a photo of the back of baby Nehemiah’s quilt:

2013-4, back of Nemo's quilt
Baby Nemo’s Quilt, 46″ x 47″

 

I also found time to work up a wall hanging using my own Full Moon Rising pattern:

2013-4, FMR 900
In Progress: Full Moon Rising, 16″ x 57″

In addition to four metallic fabrics from the Neutral Territory line by Donna Becher for P&B Textiles, I used a beige circle fabric from the Earthtones line by Norman Wyatt Jr., also for P&B Textiles — those two lines are a match made in heaven! — and a Marcia Derse scallop print for the end pieces. The strips between blocks, which I’ll use for the binding, are from an Andover blender that I have in several colorways.

And finally, just because it’s spring — my favorite season — and I’m rejoicing in every blooming thing, I have to show you what’s on display in front of the Portland White House:

2013-4, April showers, tulips
Tulips in the Rain

 

2013-4, April showers, hellebores
Hellebores in the Rain

 

 

 

 

Posted in baby quilt, bathroom remodel, free motion quilting, update | 2 Comments

Bathroom Reno, Week 2

At the end of Week 2, the northwest corner of the bathroom is looking more like the future site of a shower. The sheetrock has been removed from the north wall and the water lines are in. The plumbing has been inspected and approved.

2013-4, week 3, nw corner

 

On Friday the wallpaper was removed. It turned out to be quite a task because of the glue that was used on wallpaper back in the 80s.  A whole lotta scrapin’ going on!

2013-4, week 3, east wall

 

I was a little sorry to see that wallpaper go. I really liked it:

wallpaper 1

wallpaper 2

If it were a fabric, I think I would have some in my stash!

 

 

 

Posted in bathroom remodel, update | 3 Comments

On the Docket

I’m gearing up to quilt two baby quilts this week. I had them basted in February by Nancy Stovall of Just Quilting, and they languished the entire month of March. I usually pin baste my small quilts but decided to have these basted on a  long-arm machine, thinking it would spur me to action. Alas, March came and went with no quilting.

Now here it is the first of April, and no fooling: I’m going to get them done. Here is one of the quilts, basted by Nancy:

2013-3, basted baby quilt

It almost looks like it’s been quilted instead of basted, doesn’t it? Nancy used an allover pattern with very large stitches. The thread is red, so it most definitely won’t pass muster for quilting. Here’s a close-up of the back:

2013-3, basted baby quilt back

The stitches are ¼” long and very easy to remove, I’m told.

Also on the docket this week is a project for the Pine Needle Quilt Shop, using these luscious fabrics:

2013-3, PN project fabrics 3

Some of these prints are from the Neutral Territory line by Donna Becher for P&B Textiles. So beautiful! I’m eager to get started.

Speaking of beauty, the daphne in our backyard has been in bloom for a few weeks. I couldn’t resist importing a few sprigs into my sewing room. That heady fragrance — the essence of spring!

Daphne, March 2013

 

 

 

Posted in update | 4 Comments