Author Archives: Dawn

The Rest of the Story

by Dawn Posted on December 17, 2023


For those of you who commented on my last post, thank you so much for your sympathetic and encouraging responses to my tale of woe. As bad as the water damage was to our home caused by the rainstorm late Friday, Dec. 1, it could have been worse. You see, I was awake much earlier on Saturday morning than I normally would be and thus discovered the damage sooner.

On that same Friday my twin sister Diane, here from Georgia for a month-long visit, tested positive for Covid. She had started showing cold symptoms — a cough and sniffles — on Wednesday. Her symptoms continued and by Thursday evening all she wanted to do was go to bed. That was when I began to suspect she might have more than a cold.

The first home Covid test on Friday morning was negative so I waited a few hours and gave her another. That one was definitely positive. As an out-of-state visitor, the only way she could be seen by a physician (and presumably get a prescription for Paxlovid) was to go to a hospital Emergency Room. We decided to do that first thing Saturday morning.

At bedtime I told her to call me on my cellphone as soon as she was awake, even if it was really early in the morning, so we could get to the hospital when fewer people would be waiting to be seen. I think her call came around 5:30 am. And that’s when I discovered the water coming into my home. As it happened, my contractor was out of town for the weekend so I called the roofing company and left a message explaining what was happening. In fewer than 3o seconds, I had a text message reply: “We’re on our way.”

So off Diane and I went to the ER, where she was indeed the only person in the waiting room. By then she had a temperature of 100.8. The ER doctor ordered an X-ray of her lungs, which showed some congestion, and he did prescribe Paxlovid. By midmorning we were back home, prescription in hand, and Diane was back in bed.

She quarantined in the guest room in the basement for the next week. (Although the Dear Husband and I are both up to date on our Covid vaccines (as well as vaccines for flu and RSV), Diane wanted to keep her distance from the DH since he’s in a high risk category due to his age and a heart condition.) It took two full days on Paxlovid before Diane started to feel better but every day after that she showed some improvement. Of course she had to delay her departure till she tested negative. I had the pleasure of her company for an extra week, which was a bonus for me.

During Diane’s time in the sick bay, I felt so sorry for her that I allowed Coco to visit her in the guest room, although that has always been off limits.

A pattern of green and yellow colors with white background

Do you think that was a mistake?

 

 

 

Posted in cats, family, update | 8 Comments

In Case You Were Wondering . . .

by Dawn Posted on December 16, 2023


Two weeks without a blog post! Are you wondering if I’ve gone on an extended vacation? Given up on quilting? Abandoned my blog? No, no, and no.

But here’s what has happened: Late at night on Friday, Dec. 1, a fierce rainstorm swept through Portland. We were in the process of having the front and rear dormers on our house reroofed. (Late in the season for roofing, I know, but there were extenuating circumstances.) The roofers weren’t quite finished with the rear dormer by the time it started to get dark, so they covered the unfinished part with tarp and left for the day.

When I got up in the morning, it was raining inside my house! The wind was so strong it had literally ripped the tarp in half, giving the rain an opening to enter our house uninvited. The ceilings in the master bathroom, hallway, and sewing room — all on the second story — were damaged, and some of the water traveled down to the main floor and damaged the kitchen ceiling, too.

So far the roofing company and my contractor have been wonderful in dealing with the repairs, which couldn’t even be started until the attic and all of the ceilings and walls were determined to be dry as a bone. Industrial strength fans were strategically placed to help with the drying out; they ran for days. Everything in the master bath and linen closet had to be moved into either the master bedroom or the Annex, the name I’ve given to the other second-story bedroom I’ve claimed as a second sewing room. Everything in my sewing room except the cabinets and sewing tables had to be moved into the other rooms as well, of course.

Several years ago I had the ceiling in my sewing room replastered. Our home was built in 1913 so the original lath and plaster was covered with another coat of plaster. The water damage from the Dec. 1 storm resulted in part of the second coat of plaster separating from the original coat. This is what my sewing room ceiling looked like a week after the storm, when everything was dry and the roofers had removed the plaster that separated from the original layer as well as the original plaster ruined by the rain:

A pattern of green and yellow colors with white backgroundThe solution we all agreed on was to fill in the lath and plaster area with plywood to level out the ceiling and then cover the entire ceiling with drywall. This is what the room looks like now:

A pattern of green and yellow colors with white backgroundBut a temporary halt has been placed on finishing all of the ceiling repairs until some serious structural issues in the attic have been dealt with. (Part of those extenuating circumstances I mentioned in the second paragraph. . .)

My world is feeling very topsy-turvy at the moment. I am doing my best to maintain my equanimity but I do confess to moments of feeling overwhelmed. Tomorrow I’m going to try to rearrange the things that have been moved into the Annex so that I can at least get to my sewing machine. I know without a doubt that creating something with beautiful fabric will cheer me up considerably.

 

 

 

Posted in family, update | 14 Comments

Going Places

by Dawn Posted on December 1, 2023


Happy first day of December! I’m just popping in to tell you thatDiane’s Car Quilt has a new and improved name:

A pattern of green and yellow colors with white backgroundAfter seeing my post of November 25 with pictures of Diane’s finished quilt, I heard from Sandy P., a mutual friend of Diane’s and mine. Sandy said she liked the way the Flying Geese look like arrows pointing in different directions and suggested Going Places as a possible name. How clever of Sandy! It’s the perfect name for a car quilt, yes?

 

 

 

Posted in family, quilt labels, tutorial, update | 4 Comments

Disaster Averted!

by Dawn Posted on November 26, 2023


I ended my last post with the breezy statement that after binding and labeling Diane’s Car Quilt, I was going to pop it into the washer and dryer to achieve that soft crinkly effect. Little did I know what was in store. . .

Into the washing machine the quilt went with a few clean rags to even out the load and a couple of Color Catchers, those ingenious paper-like squares that trap excess dyes in the wash water. I washed the quilt in cold water on a delicate cycle, something I have done many times with other quilts being washed for the first time. Imagine my shock and disbelief when I pulled the quilt out of the washing machine and saw blotches of red and blue all over the yellow fabric. My quilt — excuse me, Diane’s quilt — had bled! The dyes had even traveled through the batting to the quilt back.

Diane and I were in a panic. I’m one of those quiltmakers who wash and iron all of their fabrics before cutting into them. How did this happen? I have a theory, which I will tell you about shortly. Our first course of action was to spray Shout, a laundry stain remover, on all of the offending places. We filled the stationary tub next to the washing machine with cold water, plunged the quilt in, and let it soak. While that was happening, I started searching the Internet for remedies.

I remembered reading about quilt bleeding before and recalled that Dawn dishwashing liquid was involved in solving the problem. Sure enough, I found several references. There were variations in the approach but most recommended soaking the quilt in hot water with Dawn.

We washed the quilt again in cold water to remove the Shout. I wish I could say it came out perfectly but it didn’t. It was definitely better but there were still offending blotches all over the quilt. This time I applied Dawn liberally to each remaining blotch, filled the stationary tub with warm water, and put the quilt back in to soak. I just couldn’t bring myself to use hot water as most sites recommended.

Fast forward to a happy ending. After a soak in the warm water and one more trip through the washer using warm water, the quilt came out with nary a bleed spot in sight. Whew! Into the dryer it went, and it dried beautifully. It did shrink a bit more than I expected, finishing at 40½” square.

So . . . this is what I think happened: my washing machine is the kind that adjusts the water level to the size of the load. First it releases a little water into the drum, spins the load a bit, adds more water, spins again, and finally lets the remaining water in before the agitation begins. I think the bleeding happened in the initial stages of the water filling the drum, when the fabrics in the quilt were only slightly wet and were rubbing against each other as the load was spinning.

It didn’t occur to me to take photos of the bleeding for my blog. I was totally fixated on trying to eliminate the blotches. You can bet that the next time I wash a quilt, I will immerse it in water in the stationary tub first and transfer it to the washing machine while it’s soaking wet.

And now I am both relieved and delighted to show you my sister’s freshly laundered car quilt. As you can see, Coco has claimed it, albeit temporarily. Notice not one but two proprietary paws:

A pattern of green and yellow colors with white backgroundAll’s well that ends well!

 

 

 

Posted in bleeding fabric, cats, family, update | 11 Comments

It’s A Wrap: Diane’s Car Quilt

by Dawn Posted on November 25, 2023


Finally! My sister Diane’s car quilt is bound and labeled. I wasn’t able to come up with a clever name for the quilt but Diane is quite content to have it identified as her car quilt. Here’s a look at the front so you can see how nicely the ½”-wide binding frames the quilt:

A pattern of green and yellow colors with white background
Diane’s Car Quilt, 42″ Square (2023)

Here’s a look at the back:

A pattern of green and yellow colors with white background

The blue and yellow prints pulled from my stash work very well with the French provincial border fabric on the front.

Here’s a close-up of my signature round label:

A pattern of green and yellow colors with white backgroundIt was made using a compact disc as a pattern. You can find my picture-heavy tutorial on that method right here.

A couple of you asked about the pattern. I didn’t use a pattern; I designed this very simple quilt for a beginning quiltmaking class and it became my class sample. I started with alternating Nine-Patch and Rail Fence blocks. The blocks finish at 6″ square so the strips were cut 2½” wide for both blocks. Then, to give my students some additional options, I replaced some of the blocks with Flying Geese units; two units make a block that finishes at 6″ square.

This is the initial design rendered in the software program EQ7 and colored to match the palette of Diane’s quilt:

A pattern of green and yellow colors with white background

If you look carefully at the center of the quilt, you’ll see that the center block is a simple Nine-Patch. Notice that the corners of the block are navy blue. The addition of navy and yellow Flying Geese units around the center block creates the illusion of a navy diamond. I really like the effect and feel that it adds visual interest. With the right combination of fabrics, even a simple design like this can make a quilt sing.

If there is interest, I will write up my measurements and directions in a future post. The priority now, though, is to pop Diane’s Car Quilt into the washing machine and dryer for that wonderful crinkly effect.

 

 

 

Posted in family, quilt labels, Quiltmaking 101, tutorial, update | 4 Comments

First Glimpse of Diane’s Car Quilt

by Dawn Posted on November 8, 2023


A pattern of green and yellow colors with white backgroundI was so excited to pick up my sister Diane’s car quilt today from my longarm quilter that I took this photo in my car with the quilt on my lap!

Here’s a look at the whole quilt after I got it home and trimmed it:

A pattern of green and yellow colors with white backgroundI made this 42″-square quilt top as a class sample back in 2017 when I was teaching a beginning quiltmaking class (“Quiltmaking 101”) at the Pine Needle Quilt Shop. The top hung in the closet of my sewing room until I pulled it out recently after realizing it would make a lovely car quilt for my twin, matching her blue Subaru Forester. (A couple of years ago I made a car quilt for my own Subaru Forester that I wrote about here.)

In choosing an edge-to-edge quilt motif for Diane’s quilt, I was looking for something with curves to soften all those straight lines. I also wanted a rather simple design so as not to compete with the gorgeous French provincial print in the border. Karlee of SewInspired2Day suggested a whimsical loopy design called Ginger Snap by Urban Elementz that fills the bill perfectly.

Here are a couple of close-ups:

A pattern of green and yellow colors with white background

A pattern of green and yellow colors with white background

I am really enjoying the texture the quilting adds to the quilt and the way the pale yellow thread stands out on the navy fabric and blends with all the other fabrics.

In the photo below you can see the two fabrics I pulled from my stash to make a simple pieced back:

A pattern of green and yellow colors with white backgroundThe plan is to bind the quilt with the same navy used in the interior and to make it finish at 1/2″-wide rather than the 1/4″ finished width I normally use. I think it will frame the quilt very nicely.

 

 

 

Posted in family, Quiltmaking 101, update | 8 Comments

Color My World

by Dawn Posted on October 31, 2023


With the onset of fall, accompanied by shorter days and lots of rain, working with bright fabrics in my sewing room has been bringing me cheer. I’ve starting sewing blocks together on my second version of Sew Kind of Wonderful’s Chic Diamonds pattern:

A pattern of green and yellow colors with white background

Each block contains four blades, with each blade containing two prints, so each block contains eight different fabrics. The blades have been on my design wall in their almost-final layout since August. As I neared the end of laying out the blocks back then, it became apparent I would need to make a few more blades to get the balance of color and value I was seeking. Plus I have a self-imposed rule of not using the same fabric twice in a block. My plan was to make those extra blades and then finalize the layout.

Other projects took precedence, as they often do, but last weekend I gave myself permission to sew just a few blocks together. That was fun! I also pulled out a very colorful 42″-square quilt top I made several years ago because it occurred to me it would make the perfect car quilt for my sister Diane’s blue Subaru Forester.

Here’s a glimpse of the fabrics in the quilt top, along with pale yellow thread to show you the color I have chosen for the quilting:

A pattern of green and yellow colors with white background

In no time at all I made a simple pieced backing for the quilt. Both top and backing have already been delivered to my longarm quilter.

My world is also brighter — literally! — because I’ve recently had cataract surgery on both eyes. After the first surgery was done, I realized I had been seeing everything through a yellowish haze. I can see clearly now. Hey! Isn’t that the name of a song? Why yes, it is. I Can See Clearly Now by singer/songwriter Johnny Nash was a big hit in 1972. If you are “of a certain age” (like I am), you probably remember it well.

 

 

 

Posted in update | 5 Comments

“Open Sesame”

by Dawn Posted on October 28, 2023


A pattern of green and yellow colors with white backgroundI’m always tempted to utter those magic words when my Junior Billie Bag (#12) goes 3-D. With the side panels/bottom unit pinned to one of the front/back panels, it’s easier to envision what the finished bag is going to look like.

And what about those pockets?! I count 14 in the photo above. When the other front/back panel is added, the inside pockets will number 19. And then there are four outer pockets. All of the pockets are sized to hold my essential tools. Anything that won’t fit in the pockets will go in the middle of the bag.

(If you’re new to my blog, you may not know what a finished Junior Billie Bag looks like, inside and out. Click here to see photos of JBB #9, finished in May 2019.)

I still need to make the binding but right now I’m going to head up to my sewing room and spend the afternoon working on a project I set aside several weeks ago. Bye for now!

 

 

 

 

Posted in Billie Bag, Junior Billie Bag, tote bags, update | 3 Comments

One of These Days . . .

by Dawn Posted on October 22, 2023


. . . I’ll get back to the business of quiltmaking. For now I seem to be in an extended home dec phase. Between making valances for my stepmother’s home and continuing my construction of Junior Billie Bag #12 for the class I am teaching, the quilt blocks on my design wall have been unattended for weeks. I will get back to them. All in good time.

It was work on my current Junior Billie Bag that interrupted quilt progress. When I posted about the JBB, I included a link to the Gingham Foundry fabric line I was using. Little did I know the link would lead me down a rabbit hole!You see, Montavilla Sewing Center, where I teach the JBB class, carried part but not all of the Gingham Foundry line. When I included a link to the entire line, I spied a fabric I could not live without. (You know what I mean, right?)

It was the main focus fabric in a background called “mist,” a pale blue gray. I knew in a heartbeat that I needed to get some of that fabric to make a pair of pillowcases for the Portland White House. Why? Because I could so clearly see the text print with lyrics to the song “What a Wonderful World” as the band at the bottom of the cases and the “mist” focus print as the body of the cases. Surely you agree!

Lucky for me, I found what I was looking for at an online quilt shop in Texas. The fabric arrived a few days ago, and this is what I have to show for it:

A pattern of green and yellow colors with white background

“What a Wonderful World” is one of my favorite songs. I am especially fond of the renditions by Louis Armstrong and Israel Kamakawiwo’ole but I also love the duet by Tony Bennett and k.d. lang. Is there another version I should know about?

 

 

 

Posted in Billie Bag, home dec, Junior Billie Bag, pillowcases, roll-it-up pillowcases, tutorial, update | 2 Comments

Whale Watching

by Dawn Posted on October 16, 2023


A pattern of green and yellow colors with white backgroundThis might just be the world’s smallest valance!The window it’s made for — the guest bathroom in my stepmother Shirley’s home — is only 12¼” wide so the spring tension rod inside the valance is set for that width. The valance itself is 8¾” long.

I just mailed the valance off to Shirley in Bend, Oregon and will wait for her to send me a photo of how it looks before I make valances (out of a different fabric) for the two windows in her master bath. The fabric for this one is from the “Icy World” line designed by Gareth Lucas for Windham Fabrics.

Other fabrics from “Icy World” starred (literally!) in my Arctic Stars quilt finished last December. I’d not seen this particular print from the line until my sister Diane and I spotted it at the Quilt Basket on our trip to Bend in August and decided it would be perfect for Shirley’s guest bath.

We’ve gone quite a bit inland for whale watching!

 

 

 

Posted in family, home dec, update, vintage quilts | 2 Comments