tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21823234584779754852024-03-13T07:03:53.549-05:00Miss Stash Would"Give me an occupation, Miss Dashwood, or I shall run mad."Lynnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00653638027545802163noreply@blogger.comBlogger32125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2182323458477975485.post-71895909062270535112014-01-02T10:43:00.000-06:002014-01-02T10:43:04.505-06:00Some other things that happened in 2013.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Since my last blog post was some <u> ? </u> months ago, thought I'd try to summarize the rest of 2013 for you in pictures. It was a pretty quiet year, so it shouldn't take long.</div>
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Made a few bags:</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OGQbhB6ZEF8/UsTqDYVI_aI/AAAAAAAABV0/n-tHxM_Lad0/s1600/IMG_0126.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OGQbhB6ZEF8/UsTqDYVI_aI/AAAAAAAABV0/n-tHxM_Lad0/s200/IMG_0126.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WYOOSiK9RyE/UsTp7-ndIAI/AAAAAAAABVo/fyyJscz_TKs/s1600/IMG_2457.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WYOOSiK9RyE/UsTp7-ndIAI/AAAAAAAABVo/fyyJscz_TKs/s200/IMG_2457.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_vIY-tQcNJs/UsTqDJjb0iI/AAAAAAAABVw/2xH7FjX9DAs/s1600/IMG_0974.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_vIY-tQcNJs/UsTqDJjb0iI/AAAAAAAABVw/2xH7FjX9DAs/s200/IMG_0974.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tZT4bR9zzhE/UsTsGUFFOxI/AAAAAAAABWQ/z65CrBRY6bw/s1600/IMG_2471.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tZT4bR9zzhE/UsTsGUFFOxI/AAAAAAAABWQ/z65CrBRY6bw/s200/IMG_2471.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
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Watched lots of this:</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yF0zuzOp7u8/UsTrAQg2LHI/AAAAAAAABWE/PgegOPusE-c/s1600/IMG_1590.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yF0zuzOp7u8/UsTrAQg2LHI/AAAAAAAABWE/PgegOPusE-c/s320/IMG_1590.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Built a cell:<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_O-AEV5iUS0/UsTtVi2pfVI/AAAAAAAABWc/TGjCv4jwO8E/s1600/DSC_0020.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_O-AEV5iUS0/UsTtVi2pfVI/AAAAAAAABWc/TGjCv4jwO8E/s320/DSC_0020.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Stitched some charity blocks:<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rRL7QVfVvJo/UsTzwoJTZzI/AAAAAAAABXQ/RgaSqol6Drk/s1600/IMG_1557.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><img border="0" height="176" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rRL7QVfVvJo/UsTzwoJTZzI/AAAAAAAABXQ/RgaSqol6Drk/s200/IMG_1557.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HBICNYHr8rA/UsT0eruF5mI/AAAAAAAABXg/s3-fAI8lk2M/s1600/IMG_1526_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HBICNYHr8rA/UsT0eruF5mI/AAAAAAAABXg/s3-fAI8lk2M/s1600/IMG_1526_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HBICNYHr8rA/UsT0eruF5mI/AAAAAAAABXg/s3-fAI8lk2M/s200/IMG_1526_2.jpg" width="182" /></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rRL7QVfVvJo/UsTzwoJTZzI/AAAAAAAABXQ/RgaSqol6Drk/s1600/IMG_1557.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zEaNz6JttVQ/UsWU6EAQnFI/AAAAAAAABiQ/U7wRZGUCxlw/s1600/IMG_2051.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zEaNz6JttVQ/UsWU6EAQnFI/AAAAAAAABiQ/U7wRZGUCxlw/s200/IMG_2051.jpg" width="150" /></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tLfCkl6-C-o/UsT09q87xRI/AAAAAAAABXo/4bjvEyGoBwY/s1600/IMG_0223.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tLfCkl6-C-o/UsT09q87xRI/AAAAAAAABXo/4bjvEyGoBwY/s200/IMG_0223.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LShlxyG5SJA/UsT1A8ZnUpI/AAAAAAAABX4/RUj83Uhq4R4/s1600/IMG_2649.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LShlxyG5SJA/UsT1A8ZnUpI/AAAAAAAABX4/RUj83Uhq4R4/s200/IMG_2649.jpg" width="150" /></a></div>
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Lit some candles:<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-makcWNZlxoo/UsT4Giw8QcI/AAAAAAAABY4/livSP01KNAA/s1600/IMG_2315.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-makcWNZlxoo/UsT4Giw8QcI/AAAAAAAABY4/livSP01KNAA/s320/IMG_2315.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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Joined the 21st century:<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nPcG_pmrKwo/UsT7LgBx6HI/AAAAAAAABZM/eKuZzQWIIUk/s1600/IMG_2353.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nPcG_pmrKwo/UsT7LgBx6HI/AAAAAAAABZM/eKuZzQWIIUk/s320/IMG_2353.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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Designed my first quilt block:<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MMUNf44OJWg/UsT7ypz2RzI/AAAAAAAABZY/axQ0OeWXLsU/s1600/IMG_2382.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="308" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MMUNf44OJWg/UsT7ypz2RzI/AAAAAAAABZY/axQ0OeWXLsU/s320/IMG_2382.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Made a last-minute gift:<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TV_sXNYTf7g/UsT8p0cHrMI/AAAAAAAABZo/JxsAyrTqfaE/s1600/IMG_2519.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TV_sXNYTf7g/UsT8p0cHrMI/AAAAAAAABZo/JxsAyrTqfaE/s200/IMG_2519.jpg" width="150" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MFn99y9oagM/UsT8qC1rF1I/AAAAAAAABZs/GOyeI9VDbik/s1600/IMG_2520.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MFn99y9oagM/UsT8qC1rF1I/AAAAAAAABZs/GOyeI9VDbik/s200/IMG_2520.jpg" width="150" /></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kW1HgTFscG4/UsT8kui-v7I/AAAAAAAABZg/DnPBF9yF0Kc/s1600/IMG_2521.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kW1HgTFscG4/UsT8kui-v7I/AAAAAAAABZg/DnPBF9yF0Kc/s200/IMG_2521.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
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Or two:<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uorvbtWMsRk/UsT-GN7wDKI/AAAAAAAABaM/i3uGdBo1YwU/s1600/IMG_0152.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uorvbtWMsRk/UsT-GN7wDKI/AAAAAAAABaM/i3uGdBo1YwU/s200/IMG_0152.jpg" width="150" /></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SvrI0SGQgqk/UsT-DdgGmfI/AAAAAAAABaE/H_m4oLpAUcE/s1600/IMG_0159.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SvrI0SGQgqk/UsT-DdgGmfI/AAAAAAAABaE/H_m4oLpAUcE/s200/IMG_0159.jpg" width="150" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ogXWQ4X9tfA/UsT974nCYwI/AAAAAAAABZ8/8vSXdmcbyq8/s1600/IMG_0164.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ogXWQ4X9tfA/UsT974nCYwI/AAAAAAAABZ8/8vSXdmcbyq8/s320/IMG_0164.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Met Jacquie Gering (!):<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1aEjXBQ1G0Q/UsT-9zKZnUI/AAAAAAAABaY/s-oPsA_x9PI/s1600/IMG_2615.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1aEjXBQ1G0Q/UsT-9zKZnUI/AAAAAAAABaY/s-oPsA_x9PI/s400/IMG_2615.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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Caped three superheroes:<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-D1JSrBnep04/UsUCNayDnRI/AAAAAAAABas/MtrMv6fVyhY/s1600/IMG_2494.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-D1JSrBnep04/UsUCNayDnRI/AAAAAAAABas/MtrMv6fVyhY/s320/IMG_2494.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Ate <i>waaaay</i> too much of this:<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vuv-pQ_G9LM/UsUB2mnjJCI/AAAAAAAABak/24BRSO3EQLo/s1600/IMG_1765.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vuv-pQ_G9LM/UsUB2mnjJCI/AAAAAAAABak/24BRSO3EQLo/s320/IMG_1765.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Lost a kindergartner. Gained a teenager:<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-C02a0oX3T_4/UsUDpyrg5-I/AAAAAAAABbI/_nNOGQ3lokM/s1600/graduation+2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-C02a0oX3T_4/UsUDpyrg5-I/AAAAAAAABbI/_nNOGQ3lokM/s320/graduation+2.png" width="240" /></a> <a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1F7yQy44JnI/UsVz4hl35tI/AAAAAAAABbY/RrLnChsxlik/s1600/IMG_0297.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1F7yQy44JnI/UsVz4hl35tI/AAAAAAAABbY/RrLnChsxlik/s320/IMG_0297.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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Sent a swap package to Australia in June:<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-r0Cu65Mqcp8/UsTyEci977I/AAAAAAAABW8/moMEhtbXDNU/s1600/Australia+1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-r0Cu65Mqcp8/UsTyEci977I/AAAAAAAABW8/moMEhtbXDNU/s320/Australia+1.png" width="240" /></a> <a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HlqAFi9tRDU/UsTyqYiOMfI/AAAAAAAABXE/uJ-rOmknLhE/s1600/IMG_2452.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HlqAFi9tRDU/UsTyqYiOMfI/AAAAAAAABXE/uJ-rOmknLhE/s320/IMG_2452.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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Got it back in December:<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Mdh91gw-6Tk/UsV07bIfadI/AAAAAAAABbo/DQby-56C2tE/s1600/Australia+2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Mdh91gw-6Tk/UsV07bIfadI/AAAAAAAABbo/DQby-56C2tE/s320/Australia+2.png" width="239" /></a></div>
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Got a little CRAZY:<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IzkmqgmkcR4/UsV1h-q4xwI/AAAAAAAABb0/2mrMPKmbZ5M/s1600/IMG_2317.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IzkmqgmkcR4/UsV1h-q4xwI/AAAAAAAABb0/2mrMPKmbZ5M/s320/IMG_2317.jpg" width="240" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1KSmgf78ifs/UsV1js227MI/AAAAAAAABb8/_WfHjWy8wXs/s1600/IMG_2335.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1KSmgf78ifs/UsV1js227MI/AAAAAAAABb8/_WfHjWy8wXs/s320/IMG_2335.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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Got a little SPACEY:<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9FTupKd7vos/UsV2kt8e0nI/AAAAAAAABcY/l3VCNZtXlvg/s1600/IMG_0562.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9FTupKd7vos/UsV2kt8e0nI/AAAAAAAABcY/l3VCNZtXlvg/s200/IMG_0562.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5GOS3DiqiU8/UsV2fwUQNlI/AAAAAAAABcI/zedzmI871r8/s1600/IMG_0600.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5GOS3DiqiU8/UsV2fwUQNlI/AAAAAAAABcI/zedzmI871r8/s200/IMG_0600.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xyBiciB6HJI/UsV2imQHuBI/AAAAAAAABcQ/bblWiFvSJpc/s1600/IMG_0567.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xyBiciB6HJI/UsV2imQHuBI/AAAAAAAABcQ/bblWiFvSJpc/s200/IMG_0567.jpg" width="150" /></a> <a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-J1QCxmQnvuM/UsV2z-BvyKI/AAAAAAAABcg/0aclNO4_xTE/s1600/IMG_0608.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-J1QCxmQnvuM/UsV2z-BvyKI/AAAAAAAABcg/0aclNO4_xTE/s200/IMG_0608.jpg" width="150" /></a></div>
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Ate <i>waaaaay</i> too much of this:</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LFntslUDPgU/UsV4FAz1euI/AAAAAAAABcs/Is0I2pJAHuk/s1600/IMG_0921.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LFntslUDPgU/UsV4FAz1euI/AAAAAAAABcs/Is0I2pJAHuk/s320/IMG_0921.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Made it through the storm:</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VcJx-xhT7aw/UsV8wB4Tj1I/AAAAAAAABdo/lGXMPTos0WU/s1600/DSC_0034.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VcJx-xhT7aw/UsV8wB4Tj1I/AAAAAAAABdo/lGXMPTos0WU/s200/DSC_0034.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qhN4-RdO-m4/UsV85EvGRUI/AAAAAAAABd4/lIUICre4SMU/s1600/DSC_0050.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qhN4-RdO-m4/UsV85EvGRUI/AAAAAAAABd4/lIUICre4SMU/s200/DSC_0050.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-e_kgwtG_25U/UsV84Cy4P_I/AAAAAAAABdw/Jp3_V8hT_Wc/s1600/DSC_0058.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-e_kgwtG_25U/UsV84Cy4P_I/AAAAAAAABdw/Jp3_V8hT_Wc/s200/DSC_0058.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AhJEnfEtvbw/UsV9UXFcAUI/AAAAAAAABeI/3ZTWCCnZ05g/s1600/DSC_0099.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AhJEnfEtvbw/UsV9UXFcAUI/AAAAAAAABeI/3ZTWCCnZ05g/s200/DSC_0099.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-A-3Rpca2ai0/UsV9mZCc4wI/AAAAAAAABeY/Km0iuScnb9I/s1600/DSC_0102.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-A-3Rpca2ai0/UsV9mZCc4wI/AAAAAAAABeY/Km0iuScnb9I/s200/DSC_0102.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CkebrknLbWk/UsV9cB1csdI/AAAAAAAABeQ/NHsgGv-BVT8/s1600/DSC_0104.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CkebrknLbWk/UsV9cB1csdI/AAAAAAAABeQ/NHsgGv-BVT8/s200/DSC_0104.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yFBg-6N5Bvw/UsV95oPqxTI/AAAAAAAABeg/yfIoMZNk2uw/s1600/DSC_0124.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yFBg-6N5Bvw/UsV95oPqxTI/AAAAAAAABeg/yfIoMZNk2uw/s200/DSC_0124.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iyIvrRv4IVs/UsV97uqwIiI/AAAAAAAABeo/17WPX6utOjU/s1600/DSC_0131.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iyIvrRv4IVs/UsV97uqwIiI/AAAAAAAABeo/17WPX6utOjU/s200/DSC_0131.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
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Designed my first fabric:</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WxEO4oCYyog/UsV5KHN4AqI/AAAAAAAABdA/R_hpuFS1UDI/s1600/IMG_0283.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WxEO4oCYyog/UsV5KHN4AqI/AAAAAAAABdA/R_hpuFS1UDI/s320/IMG_0283.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Traded my basement office...</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QzsX9ovZja8/UsV6DefKZjI/AAAAAAAABdI/OeT1pvE-tCI/s1600/IMG_0192.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="137" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QzsX9ovZja8/UsV6DefKZjI/AAAAAAAABdI/OeT1pvE-tCI/s640/IMG_0192.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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For a bright new space:</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-za79x-vo6mA/UsV6etSGajI/AAAAAAAABdQ/ELSf3PlyVKQ/s1600/IMG_0236.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-za79x-vo6mA/UsV6etSGajI/AAAAAAAABdQ/ELSf3PlyVKQ/s320/IMG_0236.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Determined by double-blind taste test our family's favorite yogurt:</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sQq-PbJxeNg/UsV7cCI_N7I/AAAAAAAABdc/jJBKDV5_VS4/s1600/IMG_1909.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sQq-PbJxeNg/UsV7cCI_N7I/AAAAAAAABdc/jJBKDV5_VS4/s320/IMG_1909.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Sent some love to Boston:</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-G1L9PJbtTSU/UsT3y0FuBhI/AAAAAAAABYw/RM5-V0sfHE0/s1600/IMG_1987.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-G1L9PJbtTSU/UsT3y0FuBhI/AAAAAAAABYw/RM5-V0sfHE0/s320/IMG_1987.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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Then sent a little more:<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oYmKsNjJCis/UsV0gF1PG9I/AAAAAAAABbg/6jT2bmM-czE/s1600/IMG_2137.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oYmKsNjJCis/UsV0gF1PG9I/AAAAAAAABbg/6jT2bmM-czE/s320/IMG_2137.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Watched an awful lot of this:<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WhN12mT1No8/UsV4l7S4F7I/AAAAAAAABc0/Nv1cVfCXjr8/s1600/Sherlock.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="229" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WhN12mT1No8/UsV4l7S4F7I/AAAAAAAABc0/Nv1cVfCXjr8/s320/Sherlock.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="text-align: justify;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="text-align: justify;">And did <i>waaaay</i> too much of this:</span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-W7OOBqtazoo/UsWI_4YkyGI/AAAAAAAABhg/GR3awVdVM1Y/s1600/IMG_0926.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-W7OOBqtazoo/UsWI_4YkyGI/AAAAAAAABhg/GR3awVdVM1Y/s400/IMG_0926.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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Orphaned<i> lots</i> of blocks...</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1bGBiI0LGH4/UsV_nGLS39I/AAAAAAAABe8/yVVGIFBd9tc/s1600/IMG_1467.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1bGBiI0LGH4/UsV_nGLS39I/AAAAAAAABe8/yVVGIFBd9tc/s320/IMG_1467.jpg" width="240" /></a> <a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZWIYJXBt6Ek/UsWAAfSMW6I/AAAAAAAABfM/w5fdAXKmZNs/s1600/IMG_2465.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZWIYJXBt6Ek/UsWAAfSMW6I/AAAAAAAABfM/w5fdAXKmZNs/s320/IMG_2465.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AAGwshZJSR4/UsV_eI9odXI/AAAAAAAABe0/4YkCgv0ZmeM/s1600/IMG_1811.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="159" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AAGwshZJSR4/UsV_eI9odXI/AAAAAAAABe0/4YkCgv0ZmeM/s320/IMG_1811.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lTsIFkF_oHg/UsV_7GShW1I/AAAAAAAABfE/9W8DyvJW_mc/s1600/IMG_2435.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"> <img border="0" height="150" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lTsIFkF_oHg/UsV_7GShW1I/AAAAAAAABfE/9W8DyvJW_mc/s200/IMG_2435.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eNdpwI0zODw/UsWAUS7mcGI/AAAAAAAABfU/MXiqrLC9Ebw/s1600/IMG_0799.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eNdpwI0zODw/UsWAUS7mcGI/AAAAAAAABfU/MXiqrLC9Ebw/s200/IMG_0799.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
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In lieu of this...</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WNpPIb_r3Bg/UsWBVwtptSI/AAAAAAAABfg/rY4uJBzh3Bs/s1600/IMG_0436.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WNpPIb_r3Bg/UsWBVwtptSI/AAAAAAAABfg/rY4uJBzh3Bs/s320/IMG_0436.jpg" width="240" /></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iKzKxRiTaZ0/UsWBVKcccmI/AAAAAAAABfc/-mKvIM8kkmw/s1600/IMG_0438.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iKzKxRiTaZ0/UsWBVKcccmI/AAAAAAAABfc/-mKvIM8kkmw/s320/IMG_0438.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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And this...</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ePgX9kdXm6U/UsWCP0GLZpI/AAAAAAAABfw/75m-M0rDmFw/s1600/IMG_2293.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ePgX9kdXm6U/UsWCP0GLZpI/AAAAAAAABfw/75m-M0rDmFw/s200/IMG_2293.jpg" width="150" /></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hu0Jl-WTxAQ/UsWCQKvs6XI/AAAAAAAABfs/ehU7A0IfX0s/s1600/IMG_2311.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hu0Jl-WTxAQ/UsWCQKvs6XI/AAAAAAAABfs/ehU7A0IfX0s/s320/IMG_2311.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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And this...</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-szqt2_cDfLw/UsWDj74nVMI/AAAAAAAABgE/ytXw-cCMisQ/s1600/IMG_0020.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-szqt2_cDfLw/UsWDj74nVMI/AAAAAAAABgE/ytXw-cCMisQ/s400/IMG_0020.JPG" width="400" /></a> </div>
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Met our gorgeous niece:</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-T6AvWVAzpbY/UsWC6sx00mI/AAAAAAAABf8/LYZFp77YaKY/s1600/IMG_0144.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-T6AvWVAzpbY/UsWC6sx00mI/AAAAAAAABf8/LYZFp77YaKY/s320/IMG_0144.jpg" width="240" /></a> <a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eYTJnSzGXOc/UsWHh2aUrQI/AAAAAAAABhA/8UWqkwUx9L8/s1600/IMG_0165.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eYTJnSzGXOc/UsWHh2aUrQI/AAAAAAAABhA/8UWqkwUx9L8/s320/IMG_0165.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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Took back the Frisco Bell:</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--1i4z1o0_o0/UsWHwjUTMUI/AAAAAAAABhI/u9Ur2sazB7Y/s1600/Frisco+Bell.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--1i4z1o0_o0/UsWHwjUTMUI/AAAAAAAABhI/u9Ur2sazB7Y/s320/Frisco+Bell.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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Made it 1-for-4 in the LouBee Swap (three IOUs to go):</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xAmT20LYt28/UsWIWlI_3aI/AAAAAAAABhQ/khSXRyrsbqk/s1600/IMG_0750.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xAmT20LYt28/UsWIWlI_3aI/AAAAAAAABhQ/khSXRyrsbqk/s200/IMG_0750.jpg" width="193" /></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-N11DyOddAjg/UsWIhZtKfEI/AAAAAAAABhY/1cM59HxIK9k/s1600/IMG_0755.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-N11DyOddAjg/UsWIhZtKfEI/AAAAAAAABhY/1cM59HxIK9k/s200/IMG_0755.jpg" width="196" /></a></div>
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Made a little pillow:<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0PdURaqK5lM/UsWFuAyTLKI/AAAAAAAABgg/ZZiCDc_KIyc/s1600/IMG_2115.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0PdURaqK5lM/UsWFuAyTLKI/AAAAAAAABgg/ZZiCDc_KIyc/s320/IMG_2115.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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Then, made a couple more:<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-taW_JB8pcbY/UsWGPOnh61I/AAAAAAAABgo/0E_I_lnNZew/s1600/IMG_0378.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-taW_JB8pcbY/UsWGPOnh61I/AAAAAAAABgo/0E_I_lnNZew/s320/IMG_0378.jpg" width="240" /></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gCnUN-kqhv0/UsWGVTVJ0ZI/AAAAAAAABgw/y8l_uQntyiU/s1600/IMG_0393.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gCnUN-kqhv0/UsWGVTVJ0ZI/AAAAAAAABgw/y8l_uQntyiU/s320/IMG_0393.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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And then some generous friends joined in, so we made a couple more:<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2HJNdSUZNz4/UsWLLKhwYAI/AAAAAAAABhs/C8dCP2Zl4KQ/s1600/Pillow+Bomb+progress.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2HJNdSUZNz4/UsWLLKhwYAI/AAAAAAAABhs/C8dCP2Zl4KQ/s1600/Pillow+Bomb+progress.png" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Before the kids woke up on Christmas morning, I spent a quiet hour in bed giving thanks for all our many blessings. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">May 2014 keep us safe and strong.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Peace, hope and happiness. </span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EqOGZQnNIOQ/UsWNb9maM5I/AAAAAAAABh4/tNGQ7svg49Q/s1600/IMG_0491.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EqOGZQnNIOQ/UsWNb9maM5I/AAAAAAAABh4/tNGQ7svg49Q/s320/IMG_0491.jpg" width="240" /></a> <a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Rz_9-2Pyioc/UsWN1DJJIuI/AAAAAAAABiA/kCyhPLGP5Po/s1600/IMG_0195.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Rz_9-2Pyioc/UsWN1DJJIuI/AAAAAAAABiA/kCyhPLGP5Po/s320/IMG_0195.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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Lynnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00653638027545802163noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2182323458477975485.post-69448705448564533282013-06-27T16:37:00.000-05:002013-06-27T17:21:37.667-05:00I love you. I want you. I want some tea, please.For years, I never carried a purse. I'm really more of a keys-and-ID-holder type. But, now I have kids, and, kids require <i>stuff</i>, particularly when you're out in public: tissues, sunscreen, clarinet reeds. <br />
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(Wait. That's just <i>my</i> kids?)<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZD5QOaK6iPQ/UcpSvbRKj0I/AAAAAAAABTk/mJb8JfZbW6Q/s1600/IMG_2502.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZD5QOaK6iPQ/UcpSvbRKj0I/AAAAAAAABTk/mJb8JfZbW6Q/s320/IMG_2502.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Standard-issue ID holder. (Black)</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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With the litany of new Scrip cards and library cards, I barely have room for my collection of VIP membership cards to the local fabric stores, which has forced me to upsize from my trusty ID case to one of those clunky old checkbook jobbies the size of a Birkenstock. (Just happened to notice as I sit here lamenting my un-moisturized heels that my clog and my wallet are effectively the same size).</div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-p1fnXHUTHAI/UcpUH1krYzI/AAAAAAAABT0/LGH6Om268GA/s1600/IMG_2508.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-p1fnXHUTHAI/UcpUH1krYzI/AAAAAAAABT0/LGH6Om268GA/s320/IMG_2508.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">New(ish), clog-sized wallet. (Black)</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
Add this to our recent upgrade from "dumb phone" to iPhone, and it turns out the $4 purse I bought at Michael's last year on a whim just won't cut it anymore. To give you an idea of how dire my accessory dearth is, the only two purses I own are this black one, and the <i><u>beige</u></i> one<i> <u>just like it</u> </i>I bought at the same time: </div>
</div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PpNWdG1LubQ/UcpVmJ7QuPI/AAAAAAAABUE/1wlMtbcgOZk/s1600/IMG_2506.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PpNWdG1LubQ/UcpVmJ7QuPI/AAAAAAAABUE/1wlMtbcgOZk/s400/IMG_2506.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Sad-sack Michael's purse. (Also black, shown here with its beige buddy).</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
So, I got to thinking... Why not MAKE a purse? I've got all this beautiful fabric stashed away in my sewing room. Surely, I can find a pattern for a purse that I like! Right? RIGHT???</div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
Um, no. Actually. Not so much.<br />
<br />
I don't like floppy purses. Tote bags, yes, but purses, no. I want my purse to have structure. Enough structure for me to snatch my clog-wallet in and out without issue. Enough structure that the OtterBox case my husband bought to ostensibly protect our new phones won't also simultaneously maximize its adhesion to <i>every possible surface under the sun</i>. <br />
<br />
Also, I want a zipper. Maybe a magnetic closure, but even that's a little too "peek-a-boo" teaser for me. If I'm carrying private stuff, I'd like it to stay private. <br />
<br />
Finally, I want a shoulder bag. Not a handbag. Not a clutch. If I wanted to inflame my arthritic "hot-dog fingers," I'd just carry my crap around in my hands, the way I used to. <br />
<br />
So, I know what I want: a structured shoulder bag, with a zipper, big enough to hold a clog-wallet and smart phone. I narrowed and narrowed and narrowed my search, and eventually landed on THIS. <i>WITH</i> tutorial (bonus!):<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mH43OGv-a4U/UcyhYPBafqI/AAAAAAAABUU/08dByyCeMG0/s537/Russian+bag.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mH43OGv-a4U/UcyhYPBafqI/AAAAAAAABUU/08dByyCeMG0/s320/Russian+bag.png" width="213" /></a> </td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Cute, right? (And, GREY! Branching out a little, yes?) Bag and tutorial by <a href="http://arinarasputina.blogspot.com/2012/04/blog-post_11.html">Arina Rasputina</a>. </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<span style="text-align: left;">Which I LOVE. Super-cute, somewhat conservative, and I can customize the strap length so I can wear it over my shoulder but tuck the body of the bag under my arm. Discreet, not too showy, and big enough to lug around all of my goodies from home. There's only one problem.</span><br />
<br />
The tutorial is in Russian.<br />
<br />
(Of <i>course</i> it is).<br />
<br />
Now, it turns out, I speak a little Russian. VERY little Russian, and unfortunately <i>none</i> of the sewing variety. I can say, "I love you." "I want you." And, "I want some tea, please." But somehow, phrases like, "Insert the exterior right-side-out into the interior, right-sides-together," never came up during my Russian-speaking phase. <br />
<br />
So, Google Translate to the rescue! (Sort of). Translating metric units to English was no problem. I use metric for a living. Working out the mathematical ratios used to determine the size of each pattern piece based upon desired measurements of the final bag was a <i>tad </i>trickier, but I managed. Unfortunately, now that I've arrived at the meat of the tutorial-- construction of the body of the bag--I'm kind of at a loss:<br />
<br />
<i>"Add up the details of the basics and wrong sides of the padding,
glue the middle of a spider web, and in places fillets.</i><br />
<i><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></i>
<i>Note the four sides midway parts combine, cutting away.
Durable double thread sew details over the edge.</i><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>!Joint width should not exceed the size of the allowance,
or after grinding parts on the outside of the car will be visible hand stitches!"</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I don't know about you, but the exclamation points lead me to believe that this is KIND of a key passage. And, I clearly don't want my hand stitches to be visible once I'm finished grinding parts on the outside of the car. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
?!?</div>
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<br /></div>
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Thankfully, there are a number of photographs to go along with the text, which are quite useful, until you come to sections like this:</div>
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<!--StartFragment--><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><i>"Turn inside the bag, stripped by hand, wrapped in a towel. :) (unfortunately this process is impossible to photograph)."</i></span><!--EndFragment--></div>
<!--EndFragment--><br />
The smiley face translates. The fact that this process is impossible to photograph translates. And, yet I'm pretty sure this woman didn't complete her bag wrapped in a towel after stripping by hand. <br />
<br />
*Sigh*<br />
<br />
So. In light of my stubborn streak, I will likely continue to chip away at this until I work it out, one way or the other. In the meantime, if anyone knows of a great tutorial for a structured shoulder bag, with a zipper, big enough to hold a clog-wallet and smart phone: <br />
<br />
Я люблю тебя.<br />
Я хочу тебя.<br />
Я хочу чаю, пожалуйста.<br />
<br />
;)<br />
<br />
<br />
<span id="goog_1922003541"></span><span id="goog_1922003542"></span><br />Lynnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00653638027545802163noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2182323458477975485.post-23950316799838748622013-04-21T11:54:00.000-05:002013-04-21T11:58:09.844-05:00No more hurting people.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uIrN5HUBbBI/UXQNvEQANyI/AAAAAAAABRs/rB2BawDbDdM/s1600/to+Boston+with+LOVE.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="397" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uIrN5HUBbBI/UXQNvEQANyI/AAAAAAAABRs/rB2BawDbDdM/s400/to+Boston+with+LOVE.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Fill the world with beauty...</span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oazeKQx_U7c/UXQVzcsMh-I/AAAAAAAABR0/wwl6XLtv9-0/s1600/IMG_1987.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oazeKQx_U7c/UXQVzcsMh-I/AAAAAAAABR0/wwl6XLtv9-0/s640/IMG_1987.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">...till there's room for nothing else.</span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6vKDFze6gdc/UXQW0I-t9TI/AAAAAAAABR8/vb3v-gDefhw/s1600/IMG_1992.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="490" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6vKDFze6gdc/UXQW0I-t9TI/AAAAAAAABR8/vb3v-gDefhw/s640/IMG_1992.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
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<h2>
<i>The St. Louis Modern Quilt Guild will collect pennants for Boston at our May meeting. For more information on how you can help, please visit the <a href="http://vancouvermodernquiltguild.ca/blog/2013/04/to-boston-with-love/#comment-25667">Vancouver Modern Quilt Guild website</a>.</i></h2>
</div>
</div>
Lynnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00653638027545802163noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2182323458477975485.post-23398828380913071992013-03-23T03:49:00.002-05:002013-03-23T03:49:38.658-05:00I Spy... Bad karma (chameleon)?I finally pulled some solids for Aidan's "I Spy" quilt. They're a little "rainbow" for me, and I'm not sure how many will end up in the final product, but Aidan really likes them for now.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--z3edtpdpI4/UU1F6O8RrUI/AAAAAAAABQU/jVa7HUZhNmE/s1600/IMG_1797.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--z3edtpdpI4/UU1F6O8RrUI/AAAAAAAABQU/jVa7HUZhNmE/s400/IMG_1797.JPG" width="363" /></a></div>
<br />
For the first time in my quilting life, I'm (thinking about) making BIG blocks: 13.5" finished. I need a quick way to cover a full-sized bed with minimal quilting so that the end result is soft and fluffy. <a href="http://craftyblossom.blogspot.com/2011/03/wordless-wednesday.html">This quilt</a> by Erica over at <a href="http://www.craftyblossom.blogspot.com/">Craftyblossom</a> is my inspiration. I LOVE the Echino, and her understated color palette, but Little Man likes to be "all colors of the rainbow." :) I estimate that her blocks are ~11.25" across (Echino glasses ~9.4 cm, or 3.7"), and I do like the scale, so I may end up shrinking mine to that size if things feel a little too sparse once the blocks go together.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tzSYXjufjW0/UU1Kx1F5TlI/AAAAAAAABQc/HW_66tIgPG4/s1600/Craftyblossom.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tzSYXjufjW0/UU1Kx1F5TlI/AAAAAAAABQc/HW_66tIgPG4/s400/Craftyblossom.png" width="265" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Linen/Echino quilt by Craftyblossom.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
I auditioned these two tonight, but I'm still undecided. I need a few more on the design wall before I make up my mind.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vSxi17UGjL8/UU1MirbZ_MI/AAAAAAAABQk/wngkXkjFBmk/s1600/IMG_1788.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="314" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vSxi17UGjL8/UU1MirbZ_MI/AAAAAAAABQk/wngkXkjFBmk/s640/IMG_1788.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
One thing I did spot was an unfortunate fussy cut:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XDVsF0KbLOY/UU1NIe4AstI/AAAAAAAABQs/nsPNYEEVPL0/s1600/Bad+karma.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XDVsF0KbLOY/UU1NIe4AstI/AAAAAAAABQs/nsPNYEEVPL0/s640/Bad+karma.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
It's actually "1999," but it suuuuure doesn't look like it. I'm not particularly superstitious, but I don't think I can bring myself to sew this into his quilt. Can't you just see him at show-'n-tell?<br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"I spy with my little eye... demonic numerology!"</i> <br />
<br />
Nice.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
***</div>
<br />
<br />
I've also had to fire up the flux capacitor this week to get ready for the "<a href="http://www.flickr.com/groups/1638330@N20/">I *Heart* the '80s Swap</a>" underway on <a href="http://www.flickr.com/">Flickr</a>. You've probably seen a few of these pieces floating around Blogland: the <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/mindboggld/5948800165/in/photostream/">Billy Idol quilt</a>, <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/natalieleppard/6009072295/">"Save Ferris" pillow</a>, and <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jennofalltrades/5839534408/in/pool-1638330@N20/">Mix Tape Mug Rugs</a> (<i>genius</i>). For me, the '80s were about TV, movies, music and <i>bangs</i>. I'll spare you the bangs (for the moment), but did put together a quick mosaic of some of my '80s favorites:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LLl03P0WSM8/UU1bCYAF83I/AAAAAAAABQ8/-_M7sGbfFGY/s1600/I+heart+the+'80s+mosaic.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="636" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LLl03P0WSM8/UU1bCYAF83I/AAAAAAAABQ8/-_M7sGbfFGY/s640/I+heart+the+'80s+mosaic.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
Unfortunately, my partner was... Less specific. She said only that she was <i>born</i> in 1984, so "late '80s might be best." That narrows it to... What? Boy bands and Ninja Turtles?<br />
<br />
I tried stalking her blog, to no avail. She likes "Geocaching," (which--if I understand correctly-- is basically a GPS-assisted, world-wide scavenger hunt), but the only crafty items I found were a few small embroidery pieces, none of which had anything to do with the beloved decade of my youth. After weeks of digging, I <i>finally</i> found her on Pinterest, along with one of my favorite cartoon quotes of all time, which I promptly stitched up...<i> Disco style</i>:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xlGub7tkik0/UU1cMb_kzAI/AAAAAAAABRE/OBSyDj-SZEE/s1600/IMG_1782.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xlGub7tkik0/UU1cMb_kzAI/AAAAAAAABRE/OBSyDj-SZEE/s640/IMG_1782.JPG" width="412" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
I know it doesn't exactly scream '80s, but Calvin first hit the funny papers in 1985, and his euphoria-demanding stance fits right in with that Alex P. Keaton Reaganomics mindset we all know and love. Besides, anyone born in '84 is <i>really</i> a child of the '90s. She can't possibly remember Lloyd Dobler's boombox serenade, <i>Magnum P.I.</i>'s Hawaiian shirts, David Addison's boxer shorts. And, <i>I</i> couldn't pick a boy band out of a lineup, let alone a Ninja Turtle. So when in doubt, stick with the classics. :)<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CW3PpjqsXh8/UU1ffzFPr-I/AAAAAAAABRM/Z2YHHQtIfD4/s1600/IMG_1782_2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CW3PpjqsXh8/UU1ffzFPr-I/AAAAAAAABRM/Z2YHHQtIfD4/s640/IMG_1782_2.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
As for this guy, I'm not quite sure what to make of him. I was going to frame him up in a small hoop, but I'm kind of digging the giant field of "disco dots." Maybe a small pillow 'bedazzled' with friendship pins? Or back him in fleece as a giant legwarmer? Regardless, I'll have to hit the thrift shop later this week for some gen-u-INE '80s memorabilia. Otherwise, the only memento I can send with my package is a Christmas Ball pic, circa 19__.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
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<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UFuFN3FgFcg/UU1loR8U1xI/AAAAAAAABRc/NbzVzQzBoMQ/s1600/Christmas+Ball,+19__.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="418" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UFuFN3FgFcg/UU1loR8U1xI/AAAAAAAABRc/NbzVzQzBoMQ/s640/Christmas+Ball,+19__.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
And, <i>nobody</i> wants that. Lynnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00653638027545802163noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2182323458477975485.post-15589134663044808752013-03-22T08:42:00.001-05:002013-03-22T08:42:23.074-05:00Follow my blog with Bloglovin'For whatever reason, I can't get the Bloglovin' link to post as a link. Nonetheless, the Bloglovin' website claims this will work if I leave it as-is. (Seriously? Talk about buying into something sight-unseen...)<br />
<br />
So,I'm drinking the Koolaid. Could someone please let me know if this works in any way?<br />
<br />
<a href="<a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/4975889/?claim=wzqxkd3uk2m">Follow">http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/4975889/?claim=wzqxkd3uk2m">Follow</a> my blog with Bloglovin</a><br />
<br />
Thanks!Lynnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00653638027545802163noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2182323458477975485.post-49185986018782786542013-03-17T00:13:00.000-05:002013-03-18T18:37:05.579-05:00Best laid plans...I'm a planner. Always have been. Big plans. <i>Grand</i> plans. My in-laws mock me. "Gotta have a <i>plan</i>." Still. A plan is important. A plan gets you out of bed in the morning.<br />
<br />
I've been planning spring break since... Well... Since I caught this crappy teaching assignment. Since before then, actually. Since LAST spring break, when both of my offspring got stomach plague. So, yes. I had a plan for spring break. You could say I had an <i>uber</i> plan. <br />
<br />
But then, the fever hit. Two, actually. Little man for a couple of days, then Em... <i>For a week</i>. Not just a fever, mind you. An <i>uber </i>fever. A 104-degree fever. A "quick, get her into the shower" fever. The kind that leaves you shaking and weak in the knees, and you're not even the sick one.<br />
<br />
Still. I was grateful. It wasn't a stomach bug. I told everyone I knew, "Yeah, I had plans." And, "Sure, it's a shame. But at least it's not a stomach bug."<br />
<br />
The stomach bug hit yesterday. And, today. And from the looks of it, will likely stretch well into tomorrow. If it's just the one. If we've managed to effectively wash and bleach and quarantine everyone and everything in our tiny domicile before the OTHER one's exposed. <br />
<br />
So.<br />
<br />
In lieu of planning for the <i>next</i> spring break-- exercise in futility <i>that</i> is-- I think I'll cover life since my last post so that next week-- when the biosafety level has dipped back beneath a two-- I'll (hopefully) be ready to post some real progress on something.*<br />
<br />
<br />
*...provided I dodge the stomach bug.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Pretty Little Pouch Swap: Made </span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-f1oMnBhM0n0/UUUQoqtOXCI/AAAAAAAABKY/w1R_9gW608A/s1600/IMG_1671.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-f1oMnBhM0n0/UUUQoqtOXCI/AAAAAAAABKY/w1R_9gW608A/s640/IMG_1671.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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For Cindy (Flickr name: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/84398862@N00/">yayaquilter</a>) who blogs over at <a href="http://cindysdaisydays.blogspot.com/">Daisy Days</a>. Cindy loves hand embroidery, paper piecing, birds, linen, green and blue. I spotted a pillow on the internet with this little guy on it (can no longer find the source), and managed to work out the paper piecing. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Anyone recognize this? I'd like to credit the source.</td></tr>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gUI4KqK6Ic4/UUUPVGt0lKI/AAAAAAAABJ0/lw3lleBkjHc/s1600/IMG_1653.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gUI4KqK6Ic4/UUUPVGt0lKI/AAAAAAAABJ0/lw3lleBkjHc/s640/IMG_1653.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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I ran a little short on lining fabric, so I left Cindy a secret message for the pouch interior. I like the end result.<br />
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The font is my latest love: <a href="http://www.fontspace.com/kimberly-geswein/janda-someone-like-you">Janda Someone Like You</a>, by Kimberly Geswein. </div>
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After tucking a few goodies inside, I managed to get this into the mail only a day or two late, which is "early" given my history in swap participation. :)<br />
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<b>Pretty Little Pouch Swap: Received</b><br />
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Green? <i>Love.</i> Essex yarn-dyed linen in black? Scrappy patchwork? <i>Love.</i> Many thanks to Gabriela (Flickr name: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/french_luster/">Lilac and Rose</a>) who blogs over at <a href="http://ten-things-i-love.blogspot.com/">Ten Things I Love</a> for this super-cute zipper pouch. I'm already using it to tote along an embroidery project!<br />
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<b>You are My Sunshine </b><br />
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The first time I sang <i>You are My Sunshine</i> to the Little Man at bedtime, he cried. He said the whole song made him happy, except the last line. "Mommy, I won't take your sunshine away. Can we sing it different next time?" Since then, every night when I tuck him into bed, we end the song with the phrase, <i>"Won't you be my sunshine today?"</i><br />
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I thought it might be nice, for the occasional nights I can't tuck him in, that he have a small pillow with the lyrics stitched on it. It's a simple improv quilt-as-you-go using bits and strips from my yellow scrap jar. The inspiration pillows <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/wickdsmaht/8456562324/in/pool-1633419@N20/">here</a> and <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/wickdsmaht/8331072837/in/photostream/">here</a> are two of my all-time favorites, by Cori over at <a href="http://letseatgrandpa.com/">Let's Eat Grandpa</a> (LOVE that blog name... Punctuation saves lives). :)<br />
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The question that remains: How and where do I add the lyrics? Do I...<br />
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(a) spiral them outward from the white "sun?"<br />
(b) stitch them as "rays" projecting from the white sun? Or...<br />
(c) stack them as typical stanzas on the bottom-right-hand side of the pillow?<br />
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><b>LouBee Sampler: Pincushion Block</b></span></b><br />
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This year, the <i>Lou Bee</i> girls are making a sewing-themed sampler quilt. Each month, one member chooses/designs a paper-pieced block for each of the others to make using fabrics from their own collections. We have some pretty great blocks so far: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/41966066@N06/8569984102">sewing machines</a>, <a href="http://stlouisfolkvictorian.blogspot.com/2012/09/lou-bee-sampler-swap-tutorial.html">spools</a>, <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/foxcox2/8343610186/in/pool-1716762@N21">fabric</a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/splendorfalls/8421015380/in/pool-1716762@N21">stacks</a>, even a sexy <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/37360130@N07/8421512476/in/pool-1716762@N21">boot</a> puttin' the pedal to the metal (which I will surely alter into a bootie sock, as I'm hardly hip enough to pull off the sexy boot action). ;)<br />
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Although this round began back in August, I'm a tad behind, so I've only just managed to pull my fabrics:<br />
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It's mainly Tula Pink <i>The Birds & The Bees</i>, but there are a few pieces of Anna Maria Horner (<i>Field Study</i> and <i>Little Folks</i> voile) along with some Joel Dewberry (<i>Aviary 2) </i>and Robert Kaufman (<i>London Calling </i>cotton voile in sorbet). The current plan is to pair these up with grey and white, although at the moment the overall layout is still highly, highly negotiable.<br />
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March was my month to contribute a pattern, so I decided to try my hand at a paper-pieced version of a pin cushion. My first attempt was WAY too big, but after scaling it back a bit, I think it should finish close to the preferred size of 15-18 inches once I add some negative space. <br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ku6ZInwKHxA/UUUo9QxNTFI/AAAAAAAABLc/uCT0wEok3CY/s1600/pincushion+inspiration.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ku6ZInwKHxA/UUUo9QxNTFI/AAAAAAAABLc/uCT0wEok3CY/s200/pincushion+inspiration.png" width="199" /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; color: black;"></span></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-clUFbtclDr8/UUUpG0pxZDI/AAAAAAAABLs/6OpqQJ_RaPw/s1600/LouBee+Pincushion.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="304" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-clUFbtclDr8/UUUpG0pxZDI/AAAAAAAABLs/6OpqQJ_RaPw/s320/LouBee+Pincushion.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;">I tried to finish a sample block in time for our last guild meeting, but sadly, that fell at the end of spring break :/ I did manage to complete half of the wedges, though, and hope to finish the rest soon. I'm not crazy about the letters I've pieced, but the ladies assure me they will do. Provided things come together as planned, I hope to mail the paper templates out by the end of the month.</span></div>
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<b>In other news...</b></div>
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I gave Em her first sewing lesson:</div>
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And picked up a machine for her to use this summer (thanks for the tip, <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/vespamitch/">Rene</a>!):</div>
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Repaired my collapsed fabric shelves (see background of above photo):</div>
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Reorganized my fabric (solids get their own shelves):</div>
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Commissioned a snow man:</div>
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Discovered a <a href="http://www.janielouquilts.com/">new quilt shop</a>:</div>
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Pulled fabric for the <a href="http://www.flickr.com/groups/modernshemade/">Modern She Made Swap</a> (will likely become a New York Beauty):</div>
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Picked my next two applique projects:<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> OSHA-approved safety glasses <i>will</i> be included.</td></tr>
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And survived two significant milestones:</div>
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Imagine what <i>next</i> spring will bring.</div>
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Lynnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00653638027545802163noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2182323458477975485.post-58944019467398509292013-02-13T03:53:00.000-06:002013-02-21T22:04:03.065-06:00Madrona Road Turtle<h4>
<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">(Chelonoidis Madronas)</span></i></h4>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I reached milestones this week on three distinct fronts: land, sea, and sky.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The first (sea) was Darwin, my entry for the STLMQG's Madrona Road Challenge:</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 16px;">New species: <i>Chelonoidis Madronas. </i>Charles Darwin's observations of giant tortoises in the Galapagos Islands helped to develop his theory of evolution. </span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">After <a href="http://www.missstashwould.blogspot.com/2013/01/mental-siggy-road-block-party.html">several failed design attempts</a> working with this line, I finally came up with a plan. I was browsing through my file of PDF patterns when I came across the <a href="http://www.modabakeshop.com/2012/02/star-flower-pillow-front.html">Star Flower Pillow</a> from Moda Bake Shop by <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/61597071@N03/">Aylin Öztürk.</a></span></span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8od3zH6w1D0/URs5XkX9a8I/AAAAAAAABBE/y0aS2ZV2UE4/s1600/Star+Flower+Pillow+front.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8od3zH6w1D0/URs5XkX9a8I/AAAAAAAABBE/y0aS2ZV2UE4/s640/Star+Flower+Pillow+front.png" width="478" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Star Flower Pillow front, Moda Bake Shop.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I liked the angular patchwork of the dodecahedron, and the scalloped chevrons around the edge. I thought at first I might just make a pillow, plugging in scraps of Madrona Road along the way. But the more I stared at this photograph, the more familiar the pattern seemed until I realized what I was seeing: the angular, top-down view of a Galapagos tortoise.</span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3zph2qOjAVg/URs8b-4AbSI/AAAAAAAABBs/83iZwJKhTEM/s1600/Galapagos+tortois.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="482" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3zph2qOjAVg/URs8b-4AbSI/AAAAAAAABBs/83iZwJKhTEM/s640/Galapagos+tortois.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image borrowed from <a href="http://www.sending-postcards.com/2010/02/charles-darwin-research-centre.html">here</a>.</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Having never earned a structural engineering degree, I had no idea how to build such a lumpy, three-dimensional object. A quick Google search revealed plenty of turtles, but none that I liked as much as <a href="http://www.makeit-loveit.com/2011/06/stuffed-fabric-turtles-with-pattern-pieces.html">these cuties</a> designed by Ashley over at <a href="http://www.makeit-loveit.com/">Make It & Love It</a>:</span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-L4HBC3UkURY/URs92lWaSRI/AAAAAAAABB4/6FpvaPEQHJg/s1600/turtle+cuties.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="330" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-L4HBC3UkURY/URs92lWaSRI/AAAAAAAABB4/6FpvaPEQHJg/s640/turtle+cuties.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image borrowed from <a href="http://www.makeit-loveit.com/">here</a>.</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Ashley generously offers a <a href="http://www.makeit-loveit.com/pattern-pieces/turtle-pattern-pieces">free PDF</a> of the pattern with paper templates on her website. The dome of the shell is constructed in quarters, the pattern for which is placed on the fold prior to cutting such that it represents one-eighth of the total area of the shell. By bisecting this pattern with an arc and adding in patchwork, I hoped to achieve an angular, 16-sector hexadecagon similar in design to Aylin's pillow above.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">After sketching in the approximate pattern for paper piecing, I enlarged the pattern pieces to 250% at the local copy shop, and <a href="http://www.missstashwould.blogspot.com/2013/01/on-road-again.html">auditioned fabrics for the patchwork</a> on the design wall.</span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SpiVR4psj24/URtBwBFO3YI/AAAAAAAABC8/AhCb7b-97O0/s1600/IMG_1570.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SpiVR4psj24/URtBwBFO3YI/AAAAAAAABC8/AhCb7b-97O0/s640/IMG_1570.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-s40I6rWHbWo/URtERbTJVbI/AAAAAAAABD0/NU6rvoFRpg0/s1600/IMG_1569.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-s40I6rWHbWo/URtERbTJVbI/AAAAAAAABD0/NU6rvoFRpg0/s640/IMG_1569.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I stacked each segment of patchwork in numerical order to keep them straight. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-atqbXPnJoT0/URtDq7aJq_I/AAAAAAAABDs/lSR8rSYwrUE/s1600/IMG_1589.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-atqbXPnJoT0/URtDq7aJq_I/AAAAAAAABDs/lSR8rSYwrUE/s320/IMG_1589.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One stack of fabric per sector.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-B8f9xjmTMpA/URtDmUfab4I/AAAAAAAABDk/tF-jJLQW5zg/s1600/IMG_1575.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-B8f9xjmTMpA/URtDmUfab4I/AAAAAAAABDk/tF-jJLQW5zg/s320/IMG_1575.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The first sector stitched together.</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Once the first four sectors were stitched, I lined them up side-by-side and started to get excited. Seams were matching up, and things were starting to look the way I'd imagined:</span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gFZuVxVK14o/URtFJlV9JgI/AAAAAAAABEA/tqHHY4DrG-I/s1600/IMG_1582.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gFZuVxVK14o/URtFJlV9JgI/AAAAAAAABEA/tqHHY4DrG-I/s640/IMG_1582.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">First four sectors side-by-side... Looking good so far.</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">It's this moment, I think, that first drew me to quilting. That moment when you successfully transform a rough idea into a tangible reality holds much appeal to me. My problem is that once that light goes on, I sometimes have a hard time drumming up the will to chug through the tedium to the finished product. Thankfully, there were still enough unknowns about the construction of this thing to keep my curiosity piqued. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I managed to finish up all sixteen sectors, and stitched together the first individual quadrant. </span><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yefts0p9ilQ/URtJ7V9XuEI/AAAAAAAABEo/qg2VMPxO4u4/s1600/IMG_1601.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yefts0p9ilQ/URtJ7V9XuEI/AAAAAAAABEo/qg2VMPxO4u4/s640/IMG_1601.JPG" width="620" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GTKSvNu498k/URtKAQmSCOI/AAAAAAAABEw/pWKixORJgzE/s1600/IMG_1603.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GTKSvNu498k/URtKAQmSCOI/AAAAAAAABEw/pWKixORJgzE/s640/IMG_1603.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Fortunately, the seams all lined up correctly which helped spur me on to finish the other three. Now, I could finally move on to the extremities. The Little Man was more than happy to help me stuff:</span><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4MJ661xStwg/URtLWeBZbbI/AAAAAAAABE8/tR-dVp1QdUY/s1600/IMG_1607.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4MJ661xStwg/URtLWeBZbbI/AAAAAAAABE8/tR-dVp1QdUY/s640/IMG_1607.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_F2NFn2SIhY/URtMVL5U7eI/AAAAAAAABFo/F7x218jwVv4/s1600/IMG_1611.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_F2NFn2SIhY/URtMVL5U7eI/AAAAAAAABFo/F7x218jwVv4/s640/IMG_1611.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Once the head, feet and tail were attached to the shell, I cut out the base prior to final construction. That's when I remembered that the challenge rules required each project to have some quilted component. (@#$%!) With no simple option for quilting the shell, I slapped the base onto some Warm 'n White and free-motioned a quick floral design. It was just a last-minute formality, but I think this little detail serendipitously turned out to be one of Darwin's most charming traits. :)</span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WSbjSufeBKw/URtPNEi3u_I/AAAAAAAABGQ/15QTmM3D_kc/s1600/IMG_1614.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WSbjSufeBKw/URtPNEi3u_I/AAAAAAAABGQ/15QTmM3D_kc/s640/IMG_1614.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Two twenty-ounce bags of Poly-Fil later, and <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Chelonoidis Madronas </span></i></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">was born:</span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-a845AycXJxg/URtSoWR8zlI/AAAAAAAABHA/iImFcWhnNp4/s1600/IMG_1623.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-a845AycXJxg/URtSoWR8zlI/AAAAAAAABHA/iImFcWhnNp4/s640/IMG_1623.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HNeOjqe1spY/URtSl-E5xMI/AAAAAAAABG4/pJI34Co-_pk/s1600/IMG_1622.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HNeOjqe1spY/URtSl-E5xMI/AAAAAAAABG4/pJI34Co-_pk/s640/IMG_1622.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Top-down view of Darwin's shell, perched on the seat of an office chair. </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Though not nearly as large as his Galapagoan predecessors, Darwin's size does leave me somewhat concerned about the inevitable propagation of the species. Perhaps we'll start out with a few tiny offspring, and see where we go from there. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">In the meantime, I doubt he has much time to be lonely. He's keeping some very good company at our house, and serves as a pleasant reminder to us all: "Slow and steady wins the race." </span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1HwDw7nzfNM/URtWBqzOLlI/AAAAAAAABH8/GAzFKmfe_sY/s1600/DSC_0035.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="428" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1HwDw7nzfNM/URtWBqzOLlI/AAAAAAAABH8/GAzFKmfe_sY/s640/DSC_0035.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-k5rdPdNxwmY/URtWCkxjvNI/AAAAAAAABIE/puH0PG-GoZY/s1600/DSC_0036.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="504" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-k5rdPdNxwmY/URtWCkxjvNI/AAAAAAAABIE/puH0PG-GoZY/s640/DSC_0036.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I hope to check in later this week with additional (land and sky) updates.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Happy Wednesday!</span></div>
<br />Lynnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00653638027545802163noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2182323458477975485.post-42869569646910441502013-02-05T23:57:00.000-06:002013-02-21T22:07:24.384-06:00Bazinga!<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">She beat me to it.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Have you seen this quilt? Genius, right? (Literally).</span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-h8uFfNL2y40/URHdN6ieQ3I/AAAAAAAAA6A/qpyh4Av3t3U/s1600/Sheldon+Cooper+quilt.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-h8uFfNL2y40/URHdN6ieQ3I/AAAAAAAAA6A/qpyh4Av3t3U/s640/Sheldon+Cooper+quilt.png" width="616" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brilliant Sheldon Cooper quilt by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/32493215@N07/8438334493/">Candy Coated Quilts</a> (Flickr photo by Candy Coated Quilts)</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The stellar creative mind behind <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/32493215@N07/8438334493/">Candy Coated Quilts</a> posted this piece of pixelated perfection earlier today on Flickr. <i>And, I LOVE it</i>. Sheldon was one of a long list of folks I'd considered 'pixelating' for my quilting pleasure. I'm not sure how the artist came up with her design, but here's how I'd do it:</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<a href="http://www.pic2pat.com/index.en.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Pic2Pat.com</span></a><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">It's a photo-to-cross-stitch converter program you can use to transform any pic you have into a cross-stitch pattern (or in our case, pixelated patchwork). </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Here's a photo I found online of one Mr. Don Draper (swoon):</span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7uaGmjqGCXU/URHfmhafU8I/AAAAAAAAA6s/riV8p3ybxF0/s1600/Don+Draper.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7uaGmjqGCXU/URHfmhafU8I/AAAAAAAAA6s/riV8p3ybxF0/s400/Don+Draper.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Once you upload into Pic2Pat, you can choose how fine or coarse you want your pixels to be (for us quilters, that translates into how many squares we want to piece) by adjusting the number of stitches per inch and the overall size of the pattern. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">For example, your virtual quilt can range anywhere from vaguely reminiscent of your favorite ad-man...</span><br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_EcXKQ6BpdQ/URHiWFRdaFI/AAAAAAAAA7U/GyKMfcrQ-o0/s1600/Don+Draper+8+stitches+per+inch.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_EcXKQ6BpdQ/URHiWFRdaFI/AAAAAAAAA7U/GyKMfcrQ-o0/s320/Don+Draper+8+stitches+per+inch.png" width="246" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">8 stitches per inch, 4.5x6 inches, 28 colors</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hpd1e3BrUGI/URHi7jlC4rI/AAAAAAAAA7c/O2J9tR5Twko/s1600/4.5x6+inch,+6+colors.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hpd1e3BrUGI/URHi7jlC4rI/AAAAAAAAA7c/O2J9tR5Twko/s320/4.5x6+inch,+6+colors.png" width="237" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">8 stitches per inch, 4.5x6 inches, 6 colors</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">to "For God's sake, Peggy. Your hands are bleeding!"</span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2K-bVUZkOkk/URHjsMeEGLI/AAAAAAAAA7k/aUJR5ABpF4U/s1600/18+stitches+per+inch,+18x+inches,++colors.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2K-bVUZkOkk/URHjsMeEGLI/AAAAAAAAA7k/aUJR5ABpF4U/s320/18+stitches+per+inch,+18x+inches,++colors.png" width="291" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">18 stitches per inch, 18x24 inches, 28 colors</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The best bet is likely somewhere in between:</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZzF8TSSV6gM/URHkUQ0DLyI/AAAAAAAAA7s/DLyfZlAC33Y/s1600/14+stitches+per+inch+6x8+in.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZzF8TSSV6gM/URHkUQ0DLyI/AAAAAAAAA7s/DLyfZlAC33Y/s640/14+stitches+per+inch+6x8+in.png" width="476" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">14 stitches per inch, 6x8 inches, 28 colors</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Highly recognizable from a distance, but not so daunting as to leave you feeling like "One minute you're on top of the world, the next minute some secretary's running you over with a lawn mower." </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">(Season 3, Episode 3... Not that I'm counting).</span><br />
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<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Aside: For you cross-stitch types out there, it will even give you a brand-specific quantitative listing of the skeins of floss you'd need for the number of colors you choose.</span></i><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Alas, now that Sheldon's been plucked from the ether, guess I'll have to choose from some of my other favorites:</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">(I seem to have drifted from "brains" into "brawn...").</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">What pixelated people would YOU like to snuggle with on a cold winter's night? :D</span><br />
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<br />Lynnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00653638027545802163noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2182323458477975485.post-25156666122946141082013-01-28T01:57:00.002-06:002013-01-28T01:57:27.153-06:00On the Road (again)<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The Madrona Road is back on the design wall. This time, in smaller bits:</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Slow and steady, but it's progress...</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">My plan for these little snippets looks NOTHING like the current layout, which is a shame, because I'm kind of grooving on the whole "sunburst" vibe. As it is, the geometry of arcs and radiating sectors escapes me at the moment, so I think I'd better stick to the original (and by that, I mean the <i>third</i>) plan. :) Stitching will hopefully commence tomorrow -- it's getting too late tonight. I'm hoping things will start to take shape here shortly.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">In the meantime, I'm off to read a chapter before bed. Although I <i>love</i> books, the older I get, the more I realize how limited my exposure to literature has been (as a chemistry major, I tested out of English altogether). Every once in a while, I try to make up for lost time by picking up a book the literary world considers a "classic." This week, it's Jack Kerouac's <i>On the Road. </i>Guess I'm in the mood for a little adventure.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">How I will likely spend the remainder of my evening... <i>Instead</i> of grading. :)</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">What are <i>you</i> reading tonight? Any favorite "classics" I should add to my list?</span>Lynnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00653638027545802163noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2182323458477975485.post-70543838137895315012013-01-24T02:52:00.004-06:002013-02-21T22:06:33.150-06:00Cat. Y Wonkus. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I managed to finish a keychain zipper pouch for Emma's friend just in time for the party Sunday. I used the <a href="http://www.noodle-head.com/2009/10/tutorial-lil-cutie-pouches.html">Li'l Cutie tutorial</a> by Anna over at <a href="http://www.noodle-head.com/">Noodlehead</a>, which is one of my favorites (all finished edges on the interior... I love everything that woman makes!). I couldn't force myself to go with black and dark blue... It just felt too serious for such a young girl, so I went with a cheery aqua instead.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I wanted to embellish the outside with a little something to give it character, and this sassy cat seemed just the thing. I found loads of cat images to peruse on <a href="http://www.masterfile.com/">Masterfile</a>. Not only do I like the silhouette on this one, the tail is reminiscent of a "J" for her initial. Of course, I had to add red glasses because Joy wears red glasses. (Although, hers look a lot less 'Sally Jesse Raphael' than my version). The cat and glasses are "faux-appliqued" using No-Sew Heat 'n Bond, with fluorescent-green eyes and lining for good measure. I hope she likes it. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Front panel of Joy's keychain zipper pouch. If you look closely, you'll notice that the cat's eyes glow a fluorescent yellow-green. (Cat design based upon Masterfile image found <a href="http://www.masterfile.com/stock-photography/image/400-04657383/Black%20cat%20silhouette%20for%20your%20design">here</a>).</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I've had a few other projects kicking around this week. I finished a second wonky quarter-circle block for Val's Heroes Helping Heroes Quilt. This one is a tad wonkier than the first, but not quite there yet. For some reason, I struggle with the wonkus. Must be the chemist in me. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span">I think she's up to ten blocks received so far. I'm anxious to see how these all come together. </span><span class="Apple-style-span">If you'd like to join in the cause, there's still time to make a block or two before the deadline. All the details can be found on Val's blog posts </span><span class="Apple-style-span"><a href="http://howaboutpinkplease.blogspot.com/2013/01/heroes-helping-heroes-quilt-take-two.html">here</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span"> and </span><span class="Apple-style-span"><a href="http://howaboutpinkplease.blogspot.com/2013/01/wonky-improv-circle-block-tutorial.html">here</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span">. </span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Finally, I stitched together my first-ever boxy pouch. I used Libby's tutorial from over at <a href="http://www.trulymyrtle.com/2012/03/box-bag-tutorial.html">Truly Myrtle</a> and some pre-quilted scrap fabric I had laying around for practice (so I could skip the interfacing). It's a good thing, too, because my practice version turned out all catawampus. Instead of the 9" x 4" x 4" dimensions of the sample pouch, mine came out 12" x 4" x 2". The astute among you will see immediately what I missed: I inadvertently swapped the length measurement with the width during construction.</span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Iel85TakOUI/UQDwXHyG5nI/AAAAAAAAA3E/wP3mHmsb_-g/s1600/IMG_1550.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Iel85TakOUI/UQDwXHyG5nI/AAAAAAAAA3E/wP3mHmsb_-g/s640/IMG_1550.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I have to admit to feeling a little cranky while sewing this one. I get a little grumpy with tedium. Still, the minute I turned it right-side out, the grump was gone. This is a nice little bag. Fully-lined, with finished edges on the interior (unfinished edges are a thing with me). I need to go over the math once (or twice) more to make sure I've got it all straight, but I think with the right fabrics, this could be a great little toiletry bag. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Which would be nice, since I can't seem to conquer <i>unfolding</i> my Weekender pattern. *Sigh.* </span></div>
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<br />Lynnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00653638027545802163noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2182323458477975485.post-44785572849498076932013-01-20T05:19:00.003-06:002013-02-21T22:05:59.637-06:00Mental-Siggy-Road Block Party. <b>Mental Block</b><br />
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Emma has a birthday party later today for her good friend, Joy. I promised to make her a present, but I'm stumped. Is there a quick-- but <i>COOL</i>-- gift tutorial out there for an almost-twelve-year-old girl? You know, something all the other girls will envy (that won't get Emma laughed out of the party)? Here's the sum total of what I know about the guest of honor:<br />
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- She's a girl.<br />
- Tomboy.<br />
- Likes to read.<br />
- Favorite colors: black and blue.<br />
- Considers herself to have a "dark side." <br />
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At 12. <br />
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Oh! And, she likes cats. <br />
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(?!?)<br />
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She's a nice kid, and she and Em are pretty good buddies, but, we're T-minus 13 hours and counting now, and I've got nothin'. SO... <i>Ideas please???</i><br />
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While you're thinking about THAT, here are a few other blocks I've been working on this week:<br />
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<u>Heroes Helping Heroes Quilt - Wonky Circles</u><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My (first?) block for Val's Heroes Helping Heroes Quilt. Hope it's wonky enough.</td></tr>
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Val from <a href="http://howaboutpinkplease.blogspot.com/2013/01/heroes-helping-heroes-quilt-take-two.html">HowAbout Pink Please?</a> is working on her second charity quilt for the <a href="http://www.heroesfoundation.org/">Heroes Foundation</a>, a non-profit organization based in Indianapolis that serves and supports the local cancer community. Several of my friends from the St. Louis Modern Quilt Guild contributed to last year's offering, a <a href="http://howaboutpinkplease.blogspot.com/2012/02/shes-done-done-what-started-out-as-one.html">gorgeous string quilt</a> that raised $1000 at the foundation auction. Val's looking to repeat last year's success with an improv circle quilt inspired by <a href="http://kitchentablequilting.blogspot.com/2012/12/just-for-fun.html">this beauty</a> from Erica of <a href="http://kitchentablequilting.blogspot.com/">Kitchen Table Quilting</a>. She's off to a good start, but her numbers are down since last year, and she could use a few more volunteers. If you have an extra minute this week, hop on over to her blog and check out <a href="http://howaboutpinkplease.blogspot.com/2013/01/wonky-improv-circle-block-tutorial.html">the wonky circle block tutorial</a>. It's a fun block to make, and there's plenty of time to squeeze one in before the early-February deadline. I hope to finish at least one more myself. The first block is in tribute to my best friend, who has Stage-4 metastatic breast cancer. The second will be for Jon Stephen Smith, the brother of an online friend, who passed away this week of complications after a long battle with glioblastoma multiforme. Hope you can join us.<br />
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<b>Siggy Blocks</b><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Siggy blocks (edited to remove personal information).</td></tr>
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Just sent off my signature blocks for the latest round of the <a href="http://www.flickr.com/groups/2119833@N23/">Modern Siggy Swap</a>, generously hosted this time around by Karin of <a href="http://www.cascadequilts.com/">Cascade Quilts</a>. I'm trying desperately to grow <a href="http://missstashwould.blogspot.com/2012/06/ring-around-sun.html">my collection</a> of these fun little guys (tutorial: <a href="http://www.psiquilt.com/2010/01/siggy-block-tutorial.html">p.s. i quilt</a>), but we only had 33 participants this round. :( Our numbers were down this time, I think, after a series of delays receiving our blocks back from last round. Those things never bother me-- I appreciate anyone who takes the time to organize such a thing-- but a few of the ladies were pretty hard on our last swap mama, who seems to have quietly stepped down as a result. My thanks to Karin for stepping in this round, and to our last swap mama for all of her hard work on our behalf. <br />
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<b>(Madrona) Road Block</b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zf-r3ADw04Q/UPuxT269Z9I/AAAAAAAAAyw/H0pmS-6nP1w/s1600/IMG_1490.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zf-r3ADw04Q/UPuxT269Z9I/AAAAAAAAAyw/H0pmS-6nP1w/s400/IMG_1490.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Madrona Road Challenge fabrics.</td></tr>
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Despite loads of planning (<i>and</i> a few fabric purchases), I've hit a definite snag on this one. My initial thought was to make one giant quilt block (below, unintentionally wonky corners courtesy of PowerPoint). Although quite the geometric achievement, when I start pairing the actual fabrics together, the overall look is pretty drab. <i>Definitely</i> not modern. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xcDWMTpFgds/UPvBQo99UKI/AAAAAAAAAz4/wqL9i_c1zH4/s1600/Madrona+Road+plan.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="316" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xcDWMTpFgds/UPvBQo99UKI/AAAAAAAAAz4/wqL9i_c1zH4/s320/Madrona+Road+plan.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Road block #1.</td></tr>
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Then I thought I'd be brave and finally try my hand at Amy Butler's Weekender Bag. I recently fell in love with <a href="http://www.ohfransson.com/oh_fransson/2012/09/quilted-weekender-bag.html">this version</a> by Elizabeth Hartman using her quilt-as-you-go method. <i>Oh, how I covet this bag!</i> With most of the interfacing left out, I could finally scrounge up the confidence I needed to take this puppy on. I even stocked up on Advil for good measure.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4ftNALMFeEI/UPvKIOJo66I/AAAAAAAAA0g/2NpV-v__9Vo/s1600/IMG_1528.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4ftNALMFeEI/UPvKIOJo66I/AAAAAAAAA0g/2NpV-v__9Vo/s400/IMG_1528.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Final preparations underway for commencement of the Weekender bag.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
But once I sat down with the fabrics and started piecing panels, I realized it wasn't going to work. If I'm going to put a fortnight's worth of effort into a bag, I want to pick and choose from all of the fabrics in my stash. If I only get through one in a lifetime (and, let's be honest, the errata alone may kill me), I don't want to be locked into this fabric line. I like the line, I do. But, the "ocean" colorway feels a little flat to me. I think you either need to break it up with loads of white, or combine it with the warmer tones of the "citrus" line (great example <a href="https://studioloblog.wordpress.com/2013/01/16/onwards/">here</a>) to really brighten things up. <br />
<br />
So, what now? Apron? Coasters? Industrial-sized oven mitts? Whatever I choose, I've got a deadline looming, a gift to make, and very little in the way of inspiration. <br />
<br />
Think Joy would like a box full of fabric? :)<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Lynnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00653638027545802163noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2182323458477975485.post-89210694745728829692013-01-13T18:17:00.000-06:002013-02-21T22:08:16.153-06:00Lime 'n the CoconutMy Aunt Nan just celebrated a milestone birthday. When I was growing up, she lived eight hours away, so it was always a treat to see her. She was the "Cool Aunt" who did exotic things, like put pineapple in her cottage cheese, and toilet paper in her hair. My sister Maggie and I would sit side-by-side and admire her from the doorway as she pedaled her Exercycle to Englebert Humperdinck. She's a pretty lady with a big heart who takes very good care of herself, and others. <br />
<br />
And, it shows. <br />
<br />
She has thankfully moved back to the area, which means I get to see her on a regular basis. Unfortunately, that also means she's away from her girls-- and their families-- whom she misses greatly. So, Maggie and I thought a little birthday celebration might be in order. After dinner out at a local restaurant, we went back to my Mom's for ice cream and cake. <br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WdOD-DZU4DM/UPMCMHQBCFI/AAAAAAAAAuc/xMBGo62kr30/s1600/IMG_1117.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WdOD-DZU4DM/UPMCMHQBCFI/AAAAAAAAAuc/xMBGo62kr30/s640/IMG_1117.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Happy Birthday, Aunt Nan! With wishes for many, many more. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
My gift for Aunt Nan was a tote bag she can take to the beach. Each year, she and my Uncle Tom visit Emerald Isle with her girls and their families to sip margaritas and soak up the sun. Uncle Tom (who has a nickname for everyone in the family) calls her "Spunky," hence the applique. <br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-I9stE1LBi3o/UPMK4kcK6UI/AAAAAAAAAvA/0efsoe9oI4w/s1600/IMG_1101.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-I9stE1LBi3o/UPMK4kcK6UI/AAAAAAAAAvA/0efsoe9oI4w/s640/IMG_1101.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Spunky beach tote for Aunt Nan.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
For the patchwork, I cut into my <i>Lucy's Crab Shack</i> layer cake, a perfect fit for this project with its "Carolina" text print and built-in "Exercycle." I even fussy cut some of my Heather Ross <i>Goldfish-in-Bags </i>as a nod to "UT" (<i>his</i> nickname, from niece, "Big Bum"). <br />
<br />
Maggie, the zany sister, went another way. She got Aunt Nan a Maxine Hula Wobbler, complete with grass skirt and coconuts. Aunt Nan took one look at Maxine's mantra and just about lost it. <br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OoEQW3_fWIA/UPNJ5gxrclI/AAAAAAAAAxQ/3Sjbgs8fd-A/s1600/nan2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OoEQW3_fWIA/UPNJ5gxrclI/AAAAAAAAAxQ/3Sjbgs8fd-A/s640/nan2.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The best gifts of the night, though, came from Little Man and Miss Em. They each created handmade cards and gave her biiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiig, birthday hugs.<br />
<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-44EPzr3nT3Y/UPNIj1ucz7I/AAAAAAAAAws/hy5H1yifm54/s1600/Aunt+Nans+birthday+2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="344" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-44EPzr3nT3Y/UPNIj1ucz7I/AAAAAAAAAws/hy5H1yifm54/s640/Aunt+Nans+birthday+2.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: right;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
And, she drank 'em both up. </div>
Lynnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00653638027545802163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2182323458477975485.post-28524898666352314642013-01-10T17:42:00.000-06:002013-02-21T22:05:05.732-06:00Copy and waste<br />
Coach and I sit screen-to-screen across the kitchen table like the MacBook version of <i>Battleship</i>.<br />
<br />
<i>Tap. Scroll-scroll. Tap... </i><br />
<i><br /></i><i>Grunt.</i><br />
<br />
"What's the matter?"<br />
<i><br /></i><i>"</i>Nothing<i>."</i><br />
<br />
We both go back to work tomorrow. He's a little fussy.<br />
<br />
<i>Tap. Scroll-scroll. Tap... </i><br />
<i><br /></i><i>Grunt.</i><br />
<br />
I flick my eyes across the bough of his laptop. He just glares at the screen.<br />
<i><br /></i><i>Tap. Scroll-scroll. Tap...</i><br />
<i><br /></i><i>"@#%*&^!</i> Mac."<br />
<br />
"<i>HEY! </i>Not in <i>my</i> house!<i>" </i><br />
<br />
It's not the word that bothers me. You just don't diss the Mac. <br />
<br />
But for Coach, whose school district just made the switch? Evil incarnate.<br />
<br />
"How come when I copy THREE pages from one document, it becomes FIVE in another?"<br />
<br />
Mental eye roll. <br />
<i><br /></i><i>Seriously?</i><br />
<br />
"Is the font the same?"<br />
<br />
"Yes."<br />
<br />
"Are the margins the same?"<br />
<br />
"<i>Yes.</i>"<br />
<br />
"Did you click on that little clipboard icon to preserve the original formatting?"<br />
<br />
Wait for it... Wait for it...<br />
<br />
"What?"<br />
<br />
Ha!<br />
<br />
"My work here is done."<br />
<br />
I shut my laptop and strut to the sewing room feeling pretty good about myself. The sun is shining. The birds are singing. Right up to the moment I flick on the light.<br />
<br />
<i>Damn.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>Judge not, my friends. Copying is harder than you think.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
***</div>
<br />
At Christmas, my Mom gave me a bag full of clothes. Mostly polyester pants and sweatshirts with birds on them. But among the mess was a dozen or so shirts from her days working at the courthouse. Mom loved her job at the courthouse. Typing out warrants for the district attorney, she was right in the thick of things. All the gossip, the murder, the trials and intrigue. Mom had a front-row seat. She couldn't wait to come home with the latest dirt to pre-empt the Fox2 News. <br />
<br />
"You'll never guess who was arrested today!" <br />
<br />
Unfortunately, a mild stroke (and a hefty dose of cliquish ageism) forced her to retire a few years back. As a result, she has fixated on that point in time. She scours the paper for names we should recognize. She cranes her neck in church to spy on the judge. She treasures anything that ties her back to that life. So you can imagine my surprise when she presented me with her entire collection of casual-Friday workwear, "State's Attorney ~ County of St. Clair" embroidered on the chest. <br />
<br />
"I can't wear these, Mom. They're two sizes too small." <br />
<br />
"I know," she says, "but I can't give them to charity. What if some drug dealer buys them all up and sneaks into the courthouse?"<br />
<br />
See? I told you. The Mama with the Drama.<br />
<br />
The shirts are a combination of fabrics: pique, fleece, knit. In decidedly less-than-modern colors. Like chambray blue with antique gold embroidery. I thought I'd like to make her a quilt, a way for her memories to literally keep her warm. But, not some floppy t-shirt quilt. And, how to hide the fabrics? <br />
<br />
Then I remembered <a href="http://www.filminthefridge.com/2012/10/23/rainbow-plus-scrap-quilt/">this quilt</a>, by the amazing Ashley of <a href="http://www.filminthefridge.com/">Film in the Fridge</a>, and thought,<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tc1bVhIc6AU/UO4TYMpEjII/AAAAAAAAAqQ/Wp_stpHHr-Q/s1600/rainbow+plus+scrap+quilt.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tc1bVhIc6AU/UO4TYMpEjII/AAAAAAAAAqQ/Wp_stpHHr-Q/s400/rainbow+plus+scrap+quilt.png" width="375" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rainbow Plus Scrap Quilt, by Ashley of Film in the Fridge.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
"<i>YES!</i> I have a plan." <br />
<br />
I should say right off the bat: I. Love. This. Quilt. It's everything a quilt should be. Crisp, yet subtle. High-contrast, without feeling stark. Happy. I love the way the gradations in value give the plusses a three-dimensional feel. I love the transparency of the piece, the movement, the richness in hue. Everything about this quilt feels right to me. Right down to the wavy stitches. So, I set out to make Mom a scrappy quilt of her own that would incorporate the logo from each of her work shirts.<br />
<br />
Shouldn't be hard, right? Look at this stash:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4Ic-iAz_sSQ/UO4yvNoaZDI/AAAAAAAAAsw/QwnxC6q-UoQ/s1600/IMG_0786.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4Ic-iAz_sSQ/UO4yvNoaZDI/AAAAAAAAAsw/QwnxC6q-UoQ/s640/IMG_0786.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
That, my friends, is a fat lot of fabric. Surely I can create enough scraps to replicate this beauty. I say "create" scraps, because I don't really have any. Of any decent size, at least. So, one by one, I pull fabric after fabric-- some of them my treasured favorites-- and cut pile after pile of individual squares. My whole winter break. Between baking the cookies and wrapping the gifts, every spare minute. Pull the fabric, press. Cut, fold, repeat. Working through my Excel spreadsheet of requisite blocks, one plus sign at a time. They look happy together, my little stack. Cheerful and gay. They even camouflage the work shirts. Everything seems headed in the right direction. <br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
Until I put them together.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HDvQhoZVeqk/UO5gAA_sy1I/AAAAAAAAAt4/TH7ycI8rE-o/s1600/Grouped+quilt+photo.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="341" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HDvQhoZVeqk/UO5gAA_sy1I/AAAAAAAAAt4/TH7ycI8rE-o/s640/Grouped+quilt+photo.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Wow. </div>
<br />
I mean, <i>WOW</i>.<br />
<br />
How is that even POSSIBLE? The lights were on, I wore my glasses. How can it possibly be <i>that bad?</i><br />
<br />
I can't even LOOK at it, I get so mad as I compare it to the original. <br />
<br />
First, the scale. Ashley's blocks are 2" square. Mine (would) finish at 4. Her quilt measures 36-inches on the <i>longest side</i>. Why-oh-why do my idols insist on teasing me with baby quilts? I am not a baby. I do not <i>have</i> a baby. When I fall in love with a quilt that I absolutely must make, why does it turn out to be the size of a bathmat? I'm a big girl. I married a big guy. Quilts should be <i>functional</i>. Keep your feet warm AND cover your head. Or heck, I don't know. Maybe cover a <i>bed! </i>(My regrets, Dr. Seuss, but I <i>am</i> seeing red). <br />
<br />
Changing the scale, of course, means that even in cases where I used the same FABRICS, they'd never FEEL the same as the ones in her quilt. Prints that read graphic and bold for her become flat pseudo-solids in larger proportions. <br />
<br />
And, while we're at it, can we talk about the fabric, please? If I'm going to reproduce a quilt, I want an <i>exact replica</i>. "Designer" fabric and all. But, honest to God... Who can afford it? I'm not an uber-blogger. I go months without writing, have no delusions about striking it rich with my pedantic ravings. So, how come it chaps my hide when "complimentary" bundles of the latest lines seem to <i>rain down</i> on the rest of the world? "Look what Anna Maria Horner sent me today! Her entire spring line, <i>and</i> keys to her Prius!" Hyperbole Police, I know, I know. But, STILL! I'm a good Catholic girl. I try not to covet. But Flickr and Blogger and Twitter and Pinterest tease me... They <i>lure</i> me in! The more I see, the more I want. Not to <i>create</i>, mind you. To copy. It's embarrassing, really, how many bundles of fabric I've bought in the past year in the hopes of <i>recreating </i>someone else's quilt. <a href="http://ahhhquilting.blogspot.com/2012/02/central-park-kaleidoscope-quilt.html">This</a> one. And <a href="http://www.meamomblog.com/2010/11/early-birds.html">this</a> one. And <a href="http://www.annamariahorner.com/Patchwork.Prism.Quilt.pdf">THIS</a> one, too. When did "my own thing" cease to be enough? What exactly has happened to me? My answer came last night while prepping my lecture for nursing chem:<br />
<br />
Evolution. <br />
<br />
It doesn't seem that long ago that I stocked up on fabric at Wal-Mart super sales. Not because I liked it. Because it matched. That Wedgewood blue floral that "went with" Dad's equally-sad recliner? As a chemist with no innate color sense, "match" was a very big thing for me. <br />
<br />
Next came Hancock, Hobby Lobby, Joann. Then, an honest-to-God quilt shop. It was about that time I discovered the Modern Quilt Guild. No chapter in St. Louis, but I lived vicariously through everyone's early favorites. When we finally got The Guild in town, my very first meeting introduced me to the <i>Who's Who</i> of <i>designer</i> fabric. <br />
<br />
I had no idea. <br />
<br />
Once in the guild, the stalking began. Not just the big names. My fellow members, too. I liked to sew, but these women were amazing. So much more productive than I was. Soon, quilting wasn't enough. There were pouches and mug rugs and aprons to make. Blocks-of-the-month and online swaps. I realized pretty quickly that the big names became big names primarily by starting blogs. That day, Miss Stash Would was born. <br />
<br />
But, alas... Life is hard. My job is hard. Or, at least, hard for me. I work a LOT outside the home. Most nights-- truth be told-- I work there, too. I can't keep up with the big-time bloggers. (I can't keep up with my dishes). I can't homeschool my kids as they set up forts beneath the fantasy long-arm in my basement. Still. My type-A personality rears its head, whispers, "Maybe, just maybe, if you play your cards right, you could start something new and change your life." People online do it all time time, right? But now, I know more, and a blog won't be enough. You have to host a giveaway and force people to follow so you can "up" your burgeoning readership. You have to get sponsors. You have to get MORE sponsors. You have to write a pattern. You have to write three. Then print some cards and go to Market. Publish a book. A magazine. Teach for Craftsy. Start an Etsy store and design for Spoonflower and create a ruler that ends up as Oprah's Favorite Thing and before you know it, your children (Fons and Porter) are writing a tell-all memoir outing you for missing their dance recital because you were so strung-out from your all-nighter hand-stitching your binding to the back of a quilt no one ever asked you to make in the first place that you fell asleep in your macaroni and cheese at the office Christmas party. <br />
<br />
I know I'm not alone. I know it's a continuum. I see friends gear up, get published, close brick-and-mortar stores and venture out online. I see friends with active blogs slow down over time when they decide other things are just more important. I know it's human nature. All part of evolution. But some days, I look at them all, and feel like I'm failing. It's hard to resist that rush of excitement when we briefly brush shoulders with those names that we recognize. Maybe we all crane our necks in church to spy on the judge from time to time. If we're lucky, the thing about evolution we never forget is that it can't happen without change. If you flawlessly copy that one single gene over and over again, nothing new would ever appear in this world. Just a single point mutation is all it takes to change and make us new. Simply put, we've got to do our own thing, never mind what everyone else is doing. Otherwise, we forget all the unique, individual traits we bring to the gene pool.<br />
<br />
So, enter and exit the race as you see fit. You'll get no judgment from me. For me, it's time to stop moving the goal posts and just enjoy making things. Write about the not-so-modern pillow I made for my friend. Buy fabric at Joann, "real" Kona or not. And someday, when I'm feeling up to it, redefine Mom's quilt. Not as a flawed and garish copy of something I love, but my own interpretation for some<em>one</em> I love. Just one more step in the evolutionary process. Lynnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00653638027545802163noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2182323458477975485.post-21916428599605549882012-07-15T15:34:00.000-05:002012-07-15T15:47:55.756-05:00YUMMMMMMMMMM-Y! (And, the cake was good, too)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Yesterday marked the two-year anniversary of the St. Louis Modern Quilt Guild. In addition to our regular meeting agenda, we kicked things up a notch with <b>FOOD</b>...</span><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ArGZRoWKSGQ/UAMiscZEfAI/AAAAAAAAAmU/6LipFUU67Eo/s1600/Insert+cake+photo+here.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="446" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ArGZRoWKSGQ/UAMiscZEfAI/AAAAAAAAAmU/6LipFUU67Eo/s640/Insert+cake+photo+here.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">I hear that there was cake... Did anyone get a picture of the cake???</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>FABRIC</b>...</span><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yaFbAw4otxw/UAMhAvmRXgI/AAAAAAAAAmM/i6kC9Xh3cDA/s1600/DSC_0014.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="428" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yaFbAw4otxw/UAMhAvmRXgI/AAAAAAAAAmM/i6kC9Xh3cDA/s640/DSC_0014.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">A sampling of fabric goodies from Bon Bon Atelier's Pop-Up shop at yesterday's meeting</span>.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">And, <b>SHOTS</b>! (Thought I was going to say "Friends," didn't you?)</span><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-y-P85jOIK3o/UAMjsLnSGkI/AAAAAAAAAmc/3tMpsiSweck/s1600/DSC_0012.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="434" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-y-P85jOIK3o/UAMjsLnSGkI/AAAAAAAAAmc/3tMpsiSweck/s640/DSC_0012.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Shot COTTONS, that is... Luscious shot cottons...</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Not to mention, <b>FRIENDS</b>:</span><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-guIH6mPc18M/UAMf59HhKJI/AAAAAAAAAl8/GtwFCeF_oyo/s1600/DSC_0063.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="370" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-guIH6mPc18M/UAMf59HhKJI/AAAAAAAAAl8/GtwFCeF_oyo/s640/DSC_0063.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">2012 St. Louis Modern Quilt Guild - Happy Birthday, Ladies!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Thanks to our NEW friends, Betsy and Emily from <i><a href="http://www.bonbonatelier.com/index.php">Bon Bon Atelier</a></i>, who so generously lugged half their shop with them from Kansas City </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">(in laundry baskets) </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">to help us celebrate the day!</span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7u1UOJITOKE/UAMgKTmX6CI/AAAAAAAAAmE/u2ejgisT5lA/s1600/DSC_0067.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7u1UOJITOKE/UAMgKTmX6CI/AAAAAAAAAmE/u2ejgisT5lA/s640/DSC_0067.jpg" width="428" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Betsy and Emily from <i>Bon Bon Atelier</i>, a great little shop in Kansas City... Thanks, Ladies!</span></td></tr>
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">Here's to another great year of food, fabric, <strike>shots</strike> and friends!</span></b></h2>
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<br />Lynnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00653638027545802163noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2182323458477975485.post-59090072696967575922012-07-11T09:39:00.000-05:002012-07-11T09:39:08.420-05:00The One Where Everybody Finds OutRemember that <i>Friends</i> episode when Joey finds out that Monica and Chandler are... uh... <i>NOT </i>doing laundry together? And then Monica and Chandler find out that Joey knows, but he's not allowed to tell anybody? And then Rachel and Phoebe find out and tell Joey that they know, but he's not allowed to tell Monica and Chandler that they know? And then somebody uses the sentence: "Yes, but they don't know that we know that they know that we know?"<br />
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Welcome to our quilting bee.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6QxYTCLMcgo/T_uAWQlyZEI/AAAAAAAAAhk/ujkIvMUjPqY/s1600/Joey+secret+face!.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="318" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6QxYTCLMcgo/T_uAWQlyZEI/AAAAAAAAAhk/ujkIvMUjPqY/s400/Joey+secret+face!.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You press your seams to the <i>SIDE</i>?</td></tr>
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Not that any of us Lou Bee ladies are participating in any nefarious non-laundry activities (<i>as far as I know... I'm always the last to hear about these things...</i>), but we HAVE had secret projects of late, and it's been relatively tough to keep them all quiet.<br />
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First, there was the <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/42492441@N05/7498280520/in/pool-1716762@N21">house</a> quilt. At a recent Sew-In of the STLMQG, it was secretly decided that our friend Mary Claire needed a quilt. She and her daughter would be selling their house and moving soon, and we wanted to make sure that wherever they'd land next, they'd always feel at home, so the ladies of the Meet-Me-in-Saint-Lou Bee (<i>Lou Bee</i> for short) stitched into action. We quickly created a secret Flickr account [<i>House Quilt for Mary Claire (Shhh... It's a secret</i>)]<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><i> </i></span></span>and set off in search of architectural inspiration.<br />
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I had already spotted <a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/61459877/home-is-where-the-heart-is-matte-finish">this great print</a> by <a href="http://www.jennski.com/">Jenn Ski</a> a few weeks prior on Etsy. I loved the mid-mod feel of the house and e-mailed her for permission to use it as inspiration for my block. She not only agreed, but said it sounded like a fun project and that she couldn't wait to see it. SUPER COOL and generous of her. (I promptly went out and bought a few jelly rolls of her new line, <a href="http://www.fatquartershop.com/store/stores_app/Browse_Item_Details.asp?sid=250123296250&Store_id=499&page_id=23&Item_ID=66550&Parent_Ids=">Ten Little Things</a>, as a show of gratitude... If you haven't seen it yet, be sure to check it out. Very cute stuff). <br />
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Here's my (unintentionally wonky) version of her masterpiece:<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1kBQ0K8U3zc/T_uMTf2uvRI/AAAAAAAAAhw/CFmqK3iYVF0/s1600/DSC_0021.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="568" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1kBQ0K8U3zc/T_uMTf2uvRI/AAAAAAAAAhw/CFmqK3iYVF0/s640/DSC_0021.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My block.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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I used some Anna Maria Horner and Denyse Schmidt as major players (two of MC's favorites), but also added some Kate Spain and a little Sweetwater for good measure. The chimney's a tad crooked (Santa's gonna need some serious scoliosis to get down that puppy), but considering it was the first time I'd ever paper pieced anything, and had to make up the pattern myself, I'm pretty happy with the results. <br />
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Check out the rest of our "neighborhood," courtesy of the talented Lou Bee ladies.<br />
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<b><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/41966066@N06/">Juli Ann</a>'s block </b>(happylifedesigns):<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VQMXJ27JzLk/T_uwEAs4KcI/AAAAAAAAAis/ECZYrvKXXok/s1600/DSC_0008.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="626" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VQMXJ27JzLk/T_uwEAs4KcI/AAAAAAAAAis/ECZYrvKXXok/s640/DSC_0008.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Juli Ann's block.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Wish you could see this block in person. It is <i>pristinely</i> pieced. Juli Ann is our resident artist/perfectionist. Those Ruby roof shingles line up perfectly. She even quilted and bound the final product despite a herniated disc in her neck! (To quote Joey Tribbiani: "Is this friendship? I think <i>sooooo-oh</i>!")<br />
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<b><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/18928060@N02/">Jessica</a>'s block </b>(jessimama):<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-64xdeHQ9Hfo/T_uwefY72EI/AAAAAAAAAi0/3I3wz-c9NHM/s1600/DSC_0010.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="534" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-64xdeHQ9Hfo/T_uwefY72EI/AAAAAAAAAi0/3I3wz-c9NHM/s640/DSC_0010.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jessica's block.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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I love this block! Jessica says she was going for a "candy house in the woods" vibe, but I'm thinking ski chalet myself. Makes me want to curl up next to the fire with a plate full of microwave s'mores. (I grew up in the city and like to save my carbon for nanotubes, not marshmallows). Add a jaunty little zig-zag of smoke from the chimney? <i>Perfection!</i><br />
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<b><a href="http://www.meamomblog.com/">Cara</a>'s block </b>(me? a mom?):<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0fate76iH6Q/T_uwl-CemEI/AAAAAAAAAi8/oG90py16S6I/s1600/DSC_0009.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="548" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0fate76iH6Q/T_uwl-CemEI/AAAAAAAAAi8/oG90py16S6I/s640/DSC_0009.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cara's block.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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So citrusy and fun. Notice the little touches of cherished Heather Ross? Priceless.</div>
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<b><a href="http://xomadewithlove.blogspot.com/">Laura</a>'s block </b>(x.o. madewithlove)<b>:</b><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MYjRsdylsqI/T_uwsU-IjzI/AAAAAAAAAjE/A6IpfhInBCI/s1600/DSC_0013.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="570" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MYjRsdylsqI/T_uwsU-IjzI/AAAAAAAAAjE/A6IpfhInBCI/s640/DSC_0013.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Laura's block.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Both Laura's family and Mary Claire's are big fans of the <i>Kung Fu Panda</i> movies, so Laura whipped up her own Kung Fu palace for MC's quilt. Love how the little "eyelashes" (for lack of a better term) curl up at the corners. <i>Sk'doosh!</i><br />
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<b><a href="http://jamiemueller.blogspot.com/">Jamie</a>'s block</b> (Sunflower Seeds):<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vo_aLLi9FN8/T_uwzU3qsQI/AAAAAAAAAjQ/6oFklWdlUow/s1600/DSC_0014.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="632" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vo_aLLi9FN8/T_uwzU3qsQI/AAAAAAAAAjQ/6oFklWdlUow/s640/DSC_0014.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Jamie's the youngest in our little circle of friends, and a brand-new "Hexy-Mama" to Baby Jared, one of our adorable "auxiliary members" who lunch with us on occasion. Here she shared a few of her precious hexies, and a beloved kitty cat (or <b>two</b>): the one you see appliqued here, <i><b>and</b></i> the one whose dander gave me a last-minute panic attack when I realized MC was deathly allergic to cats! "To Mary Claire, from your dear friends: A quilt, and an EpiPen." Thankfully, Juli Ann graciously washed the quilt when it was all finished, and everyone is breathing easier.<br />
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<b><a href="http://stlouisfolkvictorian.blogspot.com/">Kristy</a>'s blocks </b>(St. Louis Folk Victorian):<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-N0K9WK8oQ-E/T_uw6L3fPJI/AAAAAAAAAjY/50_RA1xba6A/s1600/DSC_0012.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-N0K9WK8oQ-E/T_uw6L3fPJI/AAAAAAAAAjY/50_RA1xba6A/s640/DSC_0012.JPG" width="614" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kristy's block (1 of 2).</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Kristy, our president and founder, donated not one but TWO blocks toward the cause. The first, a wee cottage, a study in "seeds." The second, a double-decker cutie with Marigold Circles from Metro Living on each level. (Unfortunately, I don't have a photo of the second, but you should check it out on the finished product below). Kristy was pinch-hitting for our good friend <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/weezielou/">Grace</a>, who's had a pretty busy time of things lately. Thanks to Kristy, she got to be a special part of our gift, too. <i>Miss you Miss Grace. Hope to see you soon. </i><br />
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In addition to donating a house block, it was also my job to piece the quilt front and back, and to try to tie our individual blocks together with a center square of some kind. After kicking around a few different ideas, I finally got inspired by the work of tattoo artist <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tiffanyharvey/sets/72157611528940004/">Tiffany Harvey</a>. (Considering I won't even write a phone number on my hand, this was complete happenstance). I had come across Tiffany's word art on Flickr using the search term "hearts and names" (I'm nothing if not original). After paging through 20-30 of her individual designs and sketching some <i>rough</i> rough drafts, I finally got to this:<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9a9QoJFmdxA/T_vFBm-cm6I/AAAAAAAAAjw/a5mqKKDFlgU/s1600/DSC_0015.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="428" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9a9QoJFmdxA/T_vFBm-cm6I/AAAAAAAAAjw/a5mqKKDFlgU/s640/DSC_0015.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Original sketch for center block.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Which eventually turned into this:<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vdGzhPWQ3Oo/T_vFfdRb6-I/AAAAAAAAAj4/qk9pf_aeElk/s1600/IMG_0091.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vdGzhPWQ3Oo/T_vFfdRb6-I/AAAAAAAAAj4/qk9pf_aeElk/s640/IMG_0091.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Center block applique pieces, ready to fuse.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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And finally resulted in this:<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dB-TlTnq3IU/T_vFvA86nMI/AAAAAAAAAkA/-Ahbtr6NJ6g/s1600/IMG_0102.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dB-TlTnq3IU/T_vFvA86nMI/AAAAAAAAAkA/-Ahbtr6NJ6g/s640/IMG_0102.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Center block for MC's house quilt.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Put it all together, and you have our Meet-Me-in-Saint-Lou Bee neighborhood quilt:<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LFdPm2zy4Pg/T_u_hfNf7tI/AAAAAAAAAjk/buwH8ZEW2ks/s1600/IMG_0141.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LFdPm2zy4Pg/T_u_hfNf7tI/AAAAAAAAAjk/buwH8ZEW2ks/s640/IMG_0141.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pieced top for MC's house quilt.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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With the front finished, it was time to tackle the back. I had originally planned an entire back in Lou Lou Thi Summer Totem in grapefruit. When the fabric arrived, I was so smitten by the beautiful pattern that I couldn't bring myself to haphazardly join two pieces together. I decided to match up the pattern by overlapping the repeats and joining them together for a seamless transition. (Well, nearly seamless... There was one spot that was a little off...):<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mRTjpbRRkQs/T_vMOfVbnFI/AAAAAAAAAkQ/0S3iXr7OGPU/s1600/LouLouThi+join.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mRTjpbRRkQs/T_vMOfVbnFI/AAAAAAAAAkQ/0S3iXr7OGPU/s640/LouLouThi+join.png" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ratsa-fratsa...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Unfortunately, when you join panels this way, your seam allowance becomes this large, unwieldy, asymmetric chunk of fabric. When I went to trim it down, I measured it, and measured it again, taking care to fold the fabric I wanted to keep off and to the left, and the chunk I wanted to lose off and to the right. Somehow-- and I'm still not clear on how this happened-- one swipe of the rotary blade hacked off 18 inches of perfectly joined backing. (?!?) I nearly threw up. All of this on the day I was scheduled to pass everything off to Juli Ann for quilting. We cancelled our rendezvous, and I took the backing up to my local quilt store, the <a href="http://www.quiltedgarden.com/">Quilted Garden</a>, to confer with Jenice, our resident expert. As I'm standing at the counter discussing what to do next, WHO of ALL people walks in the door but Mary Claire, the intended giftee! Jenice's eyes nearly bugged out of her head as she deftly swept the backing off the glass and back behind the counter. <br />
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Now, I love Mary Claire. I do. She's smart, funny, and I could talk to her for days (and have, actually, on several occasions). But that afternoon, I really needed to get back to my machine. Alas, they use only <i>see-through</i> bags at Jenice's shop, and there was NO WAY for us to sneak five+ yards of LouLouThi-- which, incidentally, she doesn't sell in her shop-- past Mary Claire's keenly-tuned AMH radar. Miraculously, Jenice somehow conjoured an opaque, blue bag out of the ether and sent me on my way. <br />
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There were a few other backing mishaps along the way (including a puddle of unknown liquid on my kitchen floor), but after pulling some fabrics from the stash, and a quick trip through the washer, I eventually managed to finish it up:<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-etQF9N5n5ls/T_zMjY04S_I/AAAAAAAAAkc/jhbqvdP9jgs/s1600/IMG_0255.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-etQF9N5n5ls/T_zMjY04S_I/AAAAAAAAAkc/jhbqvdP9jgs/s640/IMG_0255.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Salvaged back of MC's quilt.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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I pieced together a quick, coordinating binding and set off to meet Juli Ann at our rendezvous point (the local JoAnn's parking lot... We're nothing if not original). :)<br />
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All this time, as the Lou Bee gals had been planning and plotting for Mary Claire, another surprise was brewing in the wings. Our friend Laura, of the Kung Fu block above, is expecting her third little one this month. We were excited to stitch up some handmade goodies for her, but with all of the preparation underway for MC's surprise in June, were kind of leaning toward our July meeting to celebrate. We set up a <i>second</i> secret Flickr account for Laura's shower, only to have Mary Claire suggest that June might be better, lest Laura go into labor early and we miss our chance. <i> (!?!) SO</i>... Laura knew we were surprising Mary Claire at the June meeting. Mary Claire knew we were surprising Laura at the June meeting. And the rest of us knew that unless the June meeting arrived quickly, one of us was surely going to post the right pic to the wrong group and we'd blow the whole thing! <br />
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In the midst of all the craziness, I did manage to piece together a quilted growth chart similar to one I spotted on <a href="http://needlework.craftgossip.com/tutorial-embroidered-growth-chart/2011/05/30/">Craft Gossip</a> not long ago. Laura's signature colors are aqua and grey, so I pulled a load from my stash and fired up the rotary cutter.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DV9kilLn2GE/T_zRVpBeXHI/AAAAAAAAAko/vo2xOdt3pM8/s1600/IMG_0410.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DV9kilLn2GE/T_zRVpBeXHI/AAAAAAAAAko/vo2xOdt3pM8/s640/IMG_0410.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fabrics pulled for Laura's growth chart.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NTKGydJxgaE/T_zR-1Y83UI/AAAAAAAAAkw/Po3grwqShPo/s1600/IMG_0411.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NTKGydJxgaE/T_zR-1Y83UI/AAAAAAAAAkw/Po3grwqShPo/s640/IMG_0411.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Little bits to get me started.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SoOJT6ZSbkk/T_zSF2FhaKI/AAAAAAAAAk4/nV1CVHLP7xk/s1600/IMG_0417.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SoOJT6ZSbkk/T_zSF2FhaKI/AAAAAAAAAk4/nV1CVHLP7xk/s640/IMG_0417.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Straight-line quilting serves a purpose, every vertical inch for easy measuring.</td></tr>
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The final dimensions of the growth chart are 12" wide by 72" tall. The blocks along the column should finish at 1" square so that you can use the horizontal quilting lines to easily measure baby's height and then enscript/embroider the data at each milestone. I guess once baby hits 6-foot-1, he's on his own! :) </div>
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The day of our June meeting finally arrived, and I'm happy to report that Laura was surprised, Mary Claire was floored, and the rest of us were out-of-our-mind relieved that we could finally post a non-private photo to Flickr again because there were NO. MORE. SECRETS!</div>
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At least, for now. ;)</div>
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How <i>you</i> doin'?</div>Lynnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00653638027545802163noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2182323458477975485.post-70214818112556452712012-06-28T00:17:00.000-05:002012-06-28T02:57:32.214-05:00Ring around the sunIf you were outside in St. Louis this weekend, you likely caught a glimpse of an atmospheric phenomenon known as an "icebow," or ring around the sun. I decided to use my design wall to mark the occasion using my first-round goodies from the Flickr <a href="http://www.flickr.com/groups/tcbsiggyblockswap/">Modern Siggy Swap</a>. <br />
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With Round 2 blocks heading my way later this summer, this version is just like the icebow: fleeting, but pretty while it lasts.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Inside...</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: right;">... Out. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">(<i>Photo borrowed from NewsChannel 5, KSDK.com</i>).</span></td></tr>
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Round 2 starts this weekend. It's not too late to<a href="http://www.flickr.com/groups/tcbsiggyblockswap/discuss/72157629995119060/"> sign up</a>!</div>
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<br /></div>Lynnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00653638027545802163noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2182323458477975485.post-5327240530323449112012-06-26T05:02:00.004-05:002012-06-28T00:46:03.995-05:00Not in Kansas anymore<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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To say that I don't get out much is a euphemism. I tend to stay home. Partly because I get lost. (More often than not, actually). Partly because I panic. When we built our house in Mansfield, the neighbors stopped by to welcome us with a plate of cookies. I couldn't answer the door. It isn't that I don't like people. On the contrary, I'm fascinated. I just function better with one at a time. More than that, and I prefer to observe them from afar, in their natural habitat. Like Marlin Perkins, with a (slightly) thinner mustache. <br />
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When I learned that our guild would co-host the Modern Meet-Up at Market this spring, it never occurred to me to go along. But as the strain of the semester stretched my nerves into taut, pulsating fibers, all I could think was, <i>"Mama needs some alone time."</i> Coach, noting the return of the left-eye twitch, offered to send me to Kansas City for the weekend. A welcome and much-needed break, but me? Travel alone? A 5-hour drive along miles of desolate interstate fraught with construction and detours (<i>and banjo-pickin' hoarders keen to add my '97 Lumina to their backyard scrap-metal heap</i>)<i>?!? </i> No, might be best to let Amtrak do the driving. </div>
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Best. Decision. EVER.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I travel in style: Forenza hoodie, Fashion Gal, circa 1987.</td></tr>
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<i>SOOO</i> relaxing. Coach sprang for business class, so I had a window seat to myself. All the lulling rhythm of air travel, no plummet-from-the-sky. Napped a bit. Wrote a bit. Napped a bit more. <i>Five hours of bliss. </i>I got to KC, and paid a cabbie ten dollars to drive me to my hotel (which, it turned out, was actually ATTACHED to the train station).<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View from my room. See that snake-like, glass tube? Yeah... Leads right to the train station.<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span">I checked into my suite and met my friend </span><a href="http://stlouisfolkvictorian.blogspot.com/">Kristy</a><span class="Apple-style-span"> for a fantastic cheeseburger dinner. I brought along a little something I'd whipped up for our trip. (Didn't want to be the only ones in town without lanyards):</span><br />
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(I'd also printed up some "networking cards," as Kristy called them, but seeing as I had neither products nor services to offer, kept them in my pocket the whole weekend).<br />
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Wild child that I am, I fell into bed before 10 o'clock (first time in decades, I think). Got a GREAT night's sleep, a nice, long shower, then headed to Lawrence to shop for fabric. Without a doubt, the highlight of the trip!</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sarah's Fabrics in Lawrence, KS (known henceforth and forevermore as "Fabric Mecca"). ;) </td></tr>
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Now, <b>I'm not really one to name-drop</b>, but Kristy and I ran into a few fancy-pants while we were there.</div>
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Miss Anna (<i>can you spot the</i> <i>bolts of Good Folks?</i>):</div>
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Tula:</div>
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Lotta, David and Denyse:<br />
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Also, Heather:<br />
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Aneela:<br />
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Lecien:</div>
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Did I mention the Kokka? Echino?<br />
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Or, the <i>load</i> of organics?</div>
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This is just a smattering of what was there, but these were some of my favorites. Truly. An enormous store, with loads of modern fabric: flannel, velveteen, corduroy, laminate, voile, linen, lawn, and pretty much every print EVER released by Kaffe Fassett. A <i>few</i> of these beauties <i>may</i> have found their way back to the hotel with me that night:</div>
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After a quick wardrobe change, we picked up a pile of sponsor donations and left for the Meet-Up. Together with the ladies from the KC guild, we worked to fill goodie bags and set out door prizes. As luck would have it, I was asked to serve as the first <i>greeter</i> of the evening, which entailed standing downstairs at the lobby entrance and directing folks up the escalator, from our original location in the lounge to the gigantic ballroom to which we'd been switched. (Something about a breach of firecode from the evening before??? <i>Rowdy modern quilters, you...</i>) </div>
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Now, while <b>I'm not really one to name-drop, </b>I did happen to see Anna Maria Horner in the lobby that night, as well as a few folks I recognized at the party: </div>
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I brought a few goodies home that night, too. Full charm packs of Kona's new colors, <i>Cotton Couture</i> by Michael Miller, and <i>Bella</i>, the new line by Lotta Jansdotter (gifted by the folks at Windham Fabrics):</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My new favorite solids: <i>Cotton Couture </i>by Michael Miller... Wish you could FEEL this!</td></tr>
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Given the rainbow of fabric I collected over the weekend, my official souvenirs for this trip seem to pale in comparison. We hit a great antique shop before leaving Lawrence. Kristy found an AMAZING vintage quilt, and I bought these little bits for inspiration. The license plate is rusty and bland, but hanging in my sewing room, it reminds me to be brave, to venture out and try new things. <br />
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The card is postmarked April 1st, 1943. April Fool's Day, smack in the middle of World War II. The sender writes on a windy Thursday morning to thank Rose for a package of books. Her garden is plowed (four rows of potatoes), and her muscles are sore. She calls on Ethel (a neighbor? friend?) who "expects to go to the hospital any time and needs her mother." Wilmer writes well of camp food and Navy life. His arms are sore from shots. Beulah has come to visit, and the Haley boy is in Storemont Hospital. An ordinary day in an ordinary life.<br />
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The card is my reminder to JUST. WRITE. You never know where your words may lead you.<br />
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<br /></div>Lynnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00653638027545802163noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2182323458477975485.post-7647672813473766522012-05-21T22:49:00.000-05:002012-06-28T00:46:43.075-05:00Rags to Riches<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mw0ZJVAxnyQ/T7sSXcS_5fI/AAAAAAAAAUs/SCwKBVxXW9g/s1600/DSC_0095.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mw0ZJVAxnyQ/T7sSXcS_5fI/AAAAAAAAAUs/SCwKBVxXW9g/s320/DSC_0095.jpg" width="214" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">This is a rough time of year around our house.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">Coach and I end our semesters in such a
frenzy, I feel like the kids’ school years kind of fizzle without notice.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">Somewhere amidst the piles of papers
and dirty laundry jut errant notes from school about Water Day, Awards Night,
and one very delinquent lunch money fund.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">It’s tough to keep up for most of the year; finals week, nearly impossible. </span></span><br />
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So, when Little Man asked me to make tote bags for his
teachers-- <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">four days before the end of
school-- </i>my knee-jerk reaction was “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Hmnawwwwwwwwwww</i>…” You know, that comatose fugue you get
when all of your neurons fire at once—like keys on a typewriter. I started to kindly make my excuse,
but his teachers were <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">so great</i> this
year, and he looked so excited about it, in the end, I couldn’t refuse. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"> </span> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"> </span></span><br />
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“Okay, Buddy.” I grabbed his spindly shoulders and steered
him toward The Stash. “What fabric
should we use?”</div>
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"I want this." He pointed to a brightly-striped curtain panel I thrifted from Goodwill
last year. </div>
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<i>Uh</i>… The curtain cost $3, and despite being washed and dried twice, may once have hung in someone's window. </div>
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“Miss Kathy's favorite colors are pink, orange and yellow. Miss Cheryl's favorite colors are blue, green and yellow. This one has ALL of those!” </div>
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For a child who can’t decide what to do with his tongue when he spits out his toothpaste, this was a freakish amount of certainty. </div>
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Clearly, this wasn't the vibe I was going for. I was hoping for something sophisticated and subdued, more Barney’s
than Barnum & Bailey. And, what is the etiquette here? Thrifting? Re-gifting? Still,
it was clean, sunny, and of sufficient yardage to eek out two tote bags,
complete with custom pockets and handles.
Given my
work schedule and time frame, I decided to save the moral debate for another day.</div>
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I made <a href="http://grosgrainfabulous.blogspot.com/2011/05/free-pattern-month-day-20-noodlehead.html">Noodlehead's Summer Madras Tote</a>, the same pattern I used for a <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/miss_stash_would/6968390128/in/photostream">recent swap</a>. I wanted to somehow customize the bags, but my silk-screening gear is still packed away in storage. Instead, I used freezer paper to stencil the school crest onto white fabric, and the <a href="http://www.hgtv.com/crafting/pieced-curves-so-simple/index.html">6-Minute Circle</a> to frame them out. </div>
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The circles turned out a bit more 'rookie' than I would have liked, but the ladies seemed to like the finished products. We outfitted each bag with a bundle of gerber daisies and a gift card for the local ice cream shop. It was a frantic race-to-the-finish, with final grades just due and a pending trip to KC to work the Modern Meet-Up, but Little Man and I finally got to deliver the bags the day <i>after </i>school let out. (Why make one when <i>two</i> takes <i><b>three</b></i> times as long?) :)</div>
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We found his teachers hard at work in their tiny pre-school classroom, miniature desks all pushed aside and prepped for summertime cleaning. He delivered each bag so carefully, like a nervous Mommy leaving her little one for the very first time. Then he stopped to study the empty room. <br />
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"You come see me next year," Miss Kathy said, leaning down to hug him. "I'll be right outside my doorway when you're walking down the hall." He bobbed his blonde head in a nod against her leg. "Love you," she said to the top of his head, and he switched legs to Miss Cheryl, who hugged him, too. They thanked us both again and wished us a happy summer as he quietly took my hand and we headed out the door.<br />
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He left school that day so much more than two hugs the richer. The past few years have been a really difficult time for our family. Like so many people, we've faced unemployment, relocation, and 31 months in my in-laws' basement waiting for our house to sell. Of all of these hardships, floating the kids from school to school has been the most difficult to bear. After the amazing year the kids have enjoyed, and the loving welcome by our parish and school, we feel so blessed to have finally settled here. Re-gift tote bags don't quite seem enough.</div>
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As we pulled out of our parking space on the way home, I asked if he was glad the teachers liked his gifts. </div>
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"Yeah," he said softly. "But, I might still cry a little."</div>
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Me too, Buddy. Me, too.</div>
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<br /></div>Lynnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00653638027545802163noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2182323458477975485.post-66376818549173701672012-05-04T21:40:00.000-05:002012-06-28T00:47:54.113-05:00Fabric Friday: First LovesYou never forget your first love. The way your heart skipped a beat the first time you laid eyes on that beautiful creature, and you knew you'd never be the same. Other loves come and go, but the first, the original... Well, there's really nothing like it, is there?<br />
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So you can imagine my excitement when -- out of the blue -- mine popped up at my HOUSE this week! <br />
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It's been a rough few weeks here, end of term and all. Naturally, this called for a little retail therapy. The ever-obliging UPS man delivered this happy little stack to my door about a week ago:<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Packed with quilty goodness</td></tr>
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Swamped with work, I really didn't have time to look through them right away. So, I let Miss Em flip through to see if there were any in particular that caught her eye. My last quilt for her was <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/miss_stash_would/5566370773/in/set-72157626244134683">the "Wicked" quilt</a>, and I think she's feeling a tad neglected... Like those cobblers' kids, who have no shoes.<br />
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Anyhoo... She asked if she could fold over the page corners for the ones she liked.<br />
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(!?!)<br />
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Once my speaking voice slipped back to within audible threshold intensity, I suggested she use slips of paper instead. I passed her the empty Barnes & Noble box, complete with packing slips and glossy advertisements.<br />
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"Can I tear this, too?" she asked, purchase order in hand.<br />
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"Absolutely." <br />
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What Dad doesn't know won't hurt him, right?<br />
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About a half-hour later, she handed me these:<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I only have to make quilts from the marked pages. :)</td></tr>
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Like mother, like daughter.<br />
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Somewhere between 1,000 pages of organic exams and 1,000 pages of project reports, I managed to squeeze in a minute to peruse these luscious pages. Emma was right: these books are jam-packed with eye candy, one quilt happier and more desirable than the next. As I moved from page to page, I slipped into a sort of bliss, the kind you feel when all of the planets are in alignment and your brain starts to simmer with ideas. You can imagine how jarring it was, then, when I turned to page 17 of <i>Sunday Morning Quilts</i> and found myself face-to-face with this: <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Borrowed from <i>Sunday Morning Quilts</i></td></tr>
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The first. The <i>original</i>. One-half of Amanda Jean's (<a href="http://crazymomquilts.blogspot.com/">Crazy Mom Quilts</a>) duo <a href="http://crazymomquilts.blogspot.com/2009/04/pete-repeat.html">"Pete + Repeat,"</a> a set of twin-sized quilts she made for her boys' beds back in 2009, and the very first "modern quilts" to catch my eye. I remember studying those wonky blocks -- before I knew the word for it -- and thinking, "Those aren't actually <i>straight</i>, are they?" And, the fact that the fabrics didn't all match, well... Just about blew my tiny little mind! What got me more than anything, though, was the binding: Amy Butler's <a href="http://www.fabric.com/ProductDetail.aspx?ProductID=cf8948fa-fb3f-49b9-8870-722e141b5aa8">Lotus Full Moon Dot, in tangerine</a>:<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Love that binding: http://crazymomquilts.blogspot.com/2009/04/pete-repeat.html </td></tr>
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Love at first sight.<br />
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Unfortunately, I wasn't really in a place to do anything about it at the time. Lotus had already flown off the shelves -- not that I had the means to purchase any. Despite many a Google search, I couldn't find a scrap of it anywhere. What I did find instead were the "web-logs" (ha) of modern quilters, with names like <a href="http://www.ohfransson.com/">Oh, Fransson!</a>, <a href="http://www.filminthefridge.com/">Film in the Fridge</a> and <a href="http://www.redpepperquilts.com/">Red Pepper Quilts</a>, all of whom had used the fabric in their own creations. And, just like that, I was hooked. A modern quilter was born.<br />
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Over the years, I have had this fabric in and out of my shopping cart more times than I can count. This week, after years of longing -- and, just in time for our <a href="http://stlmqg.blogspot.com/">STLMQG</a> polka dot swap -- I finally took the plunge:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-act86Z39bvg/T6SOEWkUgWI/AAAAAAAAATE/ysQdp_Kxwn8/s1600/DSC_0023.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="267" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-act86Z39bvg/T6SOEWkUgWI/AAAAAAAAATE/ysQdp_Kxwn8/s400/DSC_0023.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">*Sigh*</td></tr>
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And, they lived happily ever after. <br />
<br />Lynnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00653638027545802163noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2182323458477975485.post-48046170492024349402012-05-02T01:50:00.000-05:002012-05-02T12:14:20.440-05:00Spring Swaptacular - And a plea for clemency<div style="text-align: center;">
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This Spring, I have enjoyed participating in two terrific swaps: The <a href="http://www.stlmqg.blogspot.com/">STLMQG</a> pouch swap, and the <a href="http://www.flickr.com/groups/fortheloveofsolids/">For the Love of Solids 2</a> (FTLOS2) swap via Flickr. </div>
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STLMQG Pouch Swap - <i>Received</i></h3>
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The STLMQG had our secret partner pouch swap last month. Cuteness <i>everywhere.</i> </div>
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My friend <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/41966066@N06/">Juli Ann</a> picked my name and crafted this <i>fantastic</i> patchwork zipper pouch for me. Snippets of <a href="http://www.annamariahorner.com/productfabric.html">Garden Party</a>, <a href="http://www.annamariahorner.com/productfabric.html">Innocent Crush</a> and <a href="http://www.keifabric.jp/">Kei Dots</a> mean there were as many treats on the outside as there were within, where Juli Ann generously hid a few surprises: a fun stack of fabric for my stash and a few sweet treats to boot. To this point, I had never tasted Nutella. Can you imagine? It's all I can do now to keep from putting the stuff in a casserole! <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yummy (literally) pouch swap package from Juli Ann.</td></tr>
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The back of the pouch is every bit as charming as the front. I'm not sure how she did it (some serious Pinterest stalking, I suspect?), but she managed to combine three of my favorite things: navy blue, handwork, and Reunion by Sweetwater. I LOVE the way the navy and grey pair with the subdued reds, greens and golds of this line, and the bunting print is one of my favorites. Thank you so much, Juli Ann. From the beaded zipper pull to the last savory bit of chocolate, I love every bit of it. The special little details, and the fact that it came from a true friend, make it all the sweeter. You are the <i>best</i>. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Juli Ann's pouch (back)</td></tr>
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STLMQG Pouch Swap - <i>Given</i></h3>
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I was very excited to draw as my secret swap partner Miss Nancy, who blogs over at <a href="http://teaandquilts.blogspot.com/">Tea and Quilts</a>. Miss Nancy is an active and treasured member of the St. Louis Modern Quilt Guild. She is soft-spoken and kind, and always willing to share her considerable experience with newbies like me. The profile pic she has chosen for her blog is an example of her excellent handiwork: a darling little redwork embroidery of a young girl sitting in a rocking chair stitching her own redwork. Having subscribed to Nancy's blog for some time, I already knew of her love of <b>red</b>work, the St. Louis Cardinals (<b>Red</b>birds), and several <b>red</b> accent walls in her home, so my color choice for the pouch swap was an easy one. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Miss Nancy's blog icon</td></tr>
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After pulling a selection of reds from my stash and completing a <a href="http://www.missstashwould.blogspot.com/2012/03/practice-pouch-highlights-whats-wrong.html">practice pouch</a>, I got to work on the real deal.<br />
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I started with an embroidery pattern by <a href="http://michelleclement.typepad.com/">Michelle Clement</a>, which I completed on a small piece of white cotton canvas. I then pieced 144 one-and-a-half inch squares into a small patchwork and used this in combination with <a href="http://www.hgtv.com/crafting/pieced-curves-so-simple/index.html">Dale Fleming's Six-Minute Circle</a> to frame out the redwork. The dense, layered seams of the finished patchwork stretched the six-minute circle into a much longer ordeal, but in the end, I was relatively happy with the (somewhat elliptical) results. This finished piece would serve as the front of the pouch. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pouch for Miss Nancy (front)</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Flea market find - good stuff inside!</td></tr>
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For the back of the pouch, I used a Dresden Plate template I pulled from a flea market find earlier that week. The pouch itself was a modified version of <a href="http://ohfransson.bigcartel.com/product/perfect-zip-bags-pdf-sewing-pattern">Elizabeth Hartman's Perfect Zip Bags</a> pattern, the first pattern I've ever purchased, and <b><i>definitely</i></b> worth every penny. With the exception of a wonky gusset on one side of the bag, it turned out largely as I had hoped. Unlike my practice pouch (which tried to <i>eat</i> itself whenever zipped), the lining for Miss Nancy's pouch stayed put, and the zipper worked like a charm. :) I tucked a few chocolate bars inside, along with a box of Nancy's favorite tea for good measure. I'm so glad she liked it! </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pouch for Miss Nancy (back)</td></tr>
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This was the first swap we've held in the guild since we established our new Swap Committee, and it was a HUGE success! The pouches were all so modern and fun. The ladies did a great job. In May, we'll hold our "Polka Dot Swap" for fat quarters of fabric. I'm definitely looking forward to it!</div>
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FTLOS 2 Swap - <i>Received</i></h3>
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Since I first found it on Flickr, I've been dying to join in on the "For the Love of Solids" swap. The craftsmanship of the gifts has been incredible from the start, and the theme lends itself well to my overwhelmingly-solid fabric stash. So, I was really excited to learn that I'd been accepted to participate in Round 2 this spring.</div>
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<a href="http://jmday.com/">Jeannette Day</a> (Flickr name: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jmday/">Sacridote</a>) drew my name for this swap. I'd spotted her project in the Flickr pool a few weeks before, and had my fingers crossed that it might be for me. I'd requested a knitting needle roll as my first choice, in linen and greens, and boy, did she deliver!</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Awesome swap package from Jeannette Day (Sacridote) in the FTLOS 2 Swap. Knitting needles not included. :)</td></tr>
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The linen case is <i>beautifully</i> made, and already chock full of needles. Along with the roll came a fabulous zipper pouch with loads of hand stitching and a crisply-pieced center block from <a href="http://www.freshlemonsquilts.com/?page_id=1534">Faith's (Fresh Lemons) Solstice Stars</a> series. Inside I found a parcel of fabric, a pair of chocolate and caramel lollipops, and (yikes!) an Aurifil sampler pack! SO generous! I've been dying to try Aurifil for the longest time, but I get so distracted by "pretties" in the fabric store, I rarely make it over to the notions. Thank you, Jeannette, for a <i>stunning</i> swap package. I consider myself very lucky, indeed!<br />
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FTLOS 2 Swap - <i>Sent</i></h3>
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I don't know if it's my training as a scientist or the plethora of Agatha Christie novels read in my youth, but I <i>love</i> stalking swap partners. Not to creep you out too badly, but there's something about the thrill of the chase (for the perfect aesthetic) that just makes me tick. So, the minute I learned that Ruth of <a href="http://www.cherrycolouredtwist.net/2012/04/linen-and-leaves-and-public-service.html">Cherry Coloured Twist</a> was my secret swap partner, I whipped out the houndstooth cape and set to work. Ruth lives in the UK, and is moving soon to Sweden. Her taste is hip and very modern, sophisticated in the eclectic, worldly sort of way that I always admire and can rarely emulate, having grown up within a relatively sheltered three-hour midwestern radius. <br />
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The combination of her <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cherrytwistblog/6709931495/in/set-72157628900398313/">inspiration mosaic</a> and a few Pinterest finds <a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/41447259040131452/">here</a> and <a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/41447259040131491/">here</a> got me to thinking about this bag from Target I've been saving for years...<br />
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Isn't it just <i>asking</i> to be a quilt? I really love the original color scheme, but Ruth wanted something with a bit more of a rainbow flare, hence "Linen and Leaves" was born:<br />
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Unfortunately, assembling this puppy took a<i> tad </i>longer than I'd expected. (And by "tad," I mean <i>a</i> <em>month</em>). *Sigh* I could give you lots of excuses about stomach flu and spring break and teaching loads and malfunctioning dishwashers, but the fact remains that I have <i>always</i> underestimated how long it takes to do things. My research advisor used to tell me to take whatever estimate I had in mind, double the magnitude and increase the unit. So, I should expect a project I estimate at one week to take two months. Two months, four years. Four years, eight decades. You get the idea. </div>
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True to form, I sent this parcel out just about one month after the original post date. It was so late, in fact, that the Swap Mamas<i><b> posted my name in the "Have Yet to Send" list </b></i>on the Flickr site. I watched the list tick down from nine names to six, to five, to four... There sat Miss Stash Would, stuck with three partners in crime on the virtual post office wall. :( The package was destined for the UK, so once the initial deadline passed, I figured I might as well try to salvage the situation by sweetening the deal. Hence the tote bag, notebook cover and other assorted goodies:</div>
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Ruth messaged last week to say that she'd received her package, and she seemed (thankfully!) genuinely pleased. I certainly appreciate her patience, and I'm so tickled that she's happy, but I can't help wondering now, if I'm banned for life. Will the powers-that-be decide from on-high that I'm unfit to participate in this swap in the future? Or other Flickr swaps, for that matter? Does the modern quilting community, comprised of all sorts of people, have room for "late-swappers?" Even those of us who (hopefully) make up for our tardiness with beefed-up packages? Doesn't everyone still win?<br />
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Sorry to seem temperamental, but this really touched a nerve for me. I fully admit to signing up for this swap against my better judgment. Like many of you, I suspect, I work an inordinate number of hours outside the home each week, and as a result, have very little time for anything other than work and family. What little bit of free time I do find <i>I have to create</i>, generally between the hours of midnight and three in the morning. Just to say that I've salvaged one, tiny fragment of my day to do something I completely and genuinely enjoy. So, I joined this swap purposefully, in an effort to feel included in something outside my workaday life that makes me feel rejuvenated and happy, like I've made a connection with someone who "gets me." <br />
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Maybe this rant is my preemptive attempt to sway the tide in my favor. Maybe when FTLOS 3 rolls around, they won't think twice about my tardiness. Then again, maybe I'm already blacklisted and all of this is moot. Regardless of my status at the moment, I know a few things for certain. Becoming a part of the modern quilting community has changed my life. Creating beautiful things for people who share my love of textiles makes me feel included like I never have before. So, whether it's an established swap, or one I'm forced to create on my own for reluctant-type-A-workaholics like myself, I think it's fair to say that I will always try to find a way to stay connected to swappers around the world. I can't imagine anything that feels better than knowing you've made something you love for someone who appreciates it. Despite the hurt feelings and blacklists and deadlines and exorbitant fees for international express deliveries, it's a great thing to make good friends from all around the world. <br />
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And, it's <i>still </i>cheaper than therapy. <br />
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<br /></div>Lynnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00653638027545802163noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2182323458477975485.post-39816585538012092152012-03-08T10:22:00.000-06:002012-06-28T00:48:47.141-05:00Practice Pouch Highlights: What's wrong with this picture?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Nothing like <i>Highlights</i> magazine and the smell of glutaraldehyde to really bring back the dental office panic attacks of my youth. Our dentist growing up was a friend of the family. Dr. B was rapidly approaching retirement age. I always thought of him as a kind man, soft-spoken and gentle. Right up until the day he pulled a (<i>perfectly-good</i>) permanent tooth in place of the wiggly-loose baby right next to it. Some mistakes you can fix. Some leave yawning gaps where your second mandibular bicuspid should be.<br />
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So, what's wrong with this pouch? Plenty. Thankfully, most of the issues are small and picky, and happen to be things that I can fix the next time around, which makes me incredibly grateful that I decided to take a practice run in the first place. But, one... Well, one is quite possibly gaping-hole-in-your-mouth serious. I don't really know yet. I'll need your help with that shortly. <br />
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First, though, the process details. [<i>Feel free to skip down to the next * * * if you want the quicker, less-detailed "spoiler" version of the game</i>].<br />
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If you read my <a href="http://www.missstashwould.blogspot.com/2012/03/ready-for-semi-redwork-cheer-up-sleepy.html">post</a> from earlier this week (yes, <i>two in one week... </i>I <i>know</i>, right?), you already know I'm working on a redwork <a href="http://stlmqg.blogspot.com/2012/02/pouch-swap-information.html">pouch</a> for one of the ladies in the <a href="http://stlmqg.blogspot.com/">St. Louis Modern Quilt Guild</a>. The embroidery and patchwork are both finished, I just need to put the pouch together. As a veritable pouch rookie, though, I've been really nervous about cutting into that 144-piece patchwork without a little more preparation, so I (and several of my fellow STLMQG members) have opted to first make <a href="http://www.flickr.com/groups/stlmqg/">practice pouches</a> instead. </div>
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After falling in love with <a href="http://splendorfallsmc.blogspot.com/">Mary Claire</a>'s super-cute <a href="http://www.splendorfallsmc.blogspot.com/2012/03/stlmqg-pouch-swap.html">hexie pouch</a> earlier this week, I decided to purchase a copy of Elizabeth Hartman's <i><a href="http://www.ohfransson.bigcartel.com/product/perfect-zip-bags-pdf-sewing-pattern">Perfect Zip Bags</a></i> pattern from <a href="http://www.ohfransson.com/">her website</a>. I don't usually buy patterns, but Elizabeth's are worth every penny. Her directions are detailed but simple, and after reading through this pattern just once, I envisioned at LEAST 20 variations of these bags popping up on my to-do list later this year. Of course, I probably should have read the pattern <i>more</i> than once, but I'll get to that in a minute. </div>
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My plan for the redwork pouch will require a few alterations from Elizabeth's original pattern:</div>
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(1) Instead of a patchwork square on the front, I want to frame a circular embroidery pattern with patchwork, so this seemed like the perfect time to try my hand at Dale Fleming's <a href="http://www.hgtv.com/crafting/pieced-curves-so-simple/index.html">6-Minute Circle</a>. </div>
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(2) Because my embroidery piece was already finished by the time I purchased the pattern, I regrettably discovered that it was too big to fit on ANY of the pouches in Elizabeth's PDF, so I also had to scale the pattern to fit the embroidery piece. Thanks to some wonky math, I'm happy to report that this part of the experiment seems to have worked out nicely, and I am actually quite pleased with the final placement of the circle on the finished bag. If anyone is interested in the measurements I used, I'm happy to send them along (minus all of the sloppy handwriting and parenthetical derivations): </div>
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With these two changes in mind, I started combing through my stash for something pretty I could fussy-cut as the circular centerpiece. It didn't take long to realize that my mostly-solid fabric collection doesn't really lend itself to that sort of thing, so I needed something else to fill the space. I decided to raw-edge applique some simple text instead. </div>
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I typed the word "quilt" in Microsoft PowerPoint using American Typewriter font (175 pt, bold). I then traced each letter (backwards) onto the paper side of a small strip of sewable Heat 'n Bond using my state-of-the-art light table. </div>
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I pressed the Heat 'n Bond onto the backside of some orange fabric I had laying around, and cut out the letters. After pressing them to the white (interfaced) background fabric, I zig-zag stitched around the raw edges. Unfortunately, I had some tension issues early-on, and it wasn't until I got to the L and the T that things really started to work themselves out, so don't look too closely at those first few letters. <br />
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Once the letters were attached, it was time to try my hand at that circle. According to my math, I was going to need a 7.25-inch opening. Thankfully, one of my small bread plates from the cupboard worked nicely. I traced the circle onto the dull side of my freezer paper template and pressed it to the backside of my interfaced fabric. Next, I traced and cut the inner circle (Quaker Oats lid), and notched the curves as shown: <br />
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I pressed the notches back as directed to form a smooth circle, but I thought the result was a bit too stark, so I decided to add some batting and do some straight-line quilting in the same bright orange. Now, Elizabeth's pattern calls for you to turn the exterior fabric over the edge of your interlining fabric before constructing your bag. Unfortunately, I went ahead and did this <i>before</i> I'd decided to quilt. Assuming I'd be folding that top edge <i>again</i> when I pieced the bag together, I did some lazy-man's quilting, cutting my thread ends instead of burying them, not realizing they would eventually end up right next to my zipper (Mistake #2). <br />
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It was also at this point that I decided to add some hand stitching around the circle for emphasis (why these things don't occur to me earlier is beyond me). That means that after stitching, I now have little tufts of white cotton batting straggling their way through my grey fabric all the way around the circle. Ah, well... Practice pouch, right? (Mistake #3).<br />
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Now that all of the preliminary work was finished, I could start assembling the materials for constructing the bag (don't you LOVE that lining fabric?). Because I had scaled the pattern, I had to custom-trim the zipper, but otherwise, the bag came together just as Elizabeth described. <br />
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Seriously, how much do you LOVE that lining fabric?<br />
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I know. So do I. Which is a good thing, considering we'll probably be seeing a lot of it since I'm <i>afraid to zip it anymore:</i></div>
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Mistake #4: Failure to interface lining. </div>
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Grrr... So frustrating. I was going to interface the lining. Truly, I was. But, then Little Man got sick, and Miss Em needed a volleyball jersey, and yada, yada, yada, I got back to the sewing room, and blamo! The bag was together before I knew it, with two floppy squares of interfacing left idly on the sidelines. </div>
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<i>All</i> of that work to finish a bag that is completely non-functioning. </div>
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I have neither the time nor the willpower to take the thing apart. It's a practice bag, after all, and that would be seriously OCD even for me. But, still... It's pretty damn cute, if I say so myself. I'd like to salvage it if I can. I've already popped a few stitches yanking the hell out of it, and came pretty close to ripping the liner in the process. How do I make it work without sloppily hand-stitching the lining up near the zipper? </div>
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Fatal flaw: Liner fabric (consistently) caught in the zipper teeth. </div>
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Gaping mouth hole, or bridgeable gap?</div>
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The lines are now open...</div>
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<br /></div>Lynnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00653638027545802163noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2182323458477975485.post-3067957467114547392012-03-04T12:59:00.001-06:002012-06-28T00:50:02.727-05:00Ready for (semi-)redwork / "Cheer up sleepy Jean(s)"The <a href="http://www.stlmqg.blogspot.com/">St. Louis Modern Quilt Guild</a> is having a pouch swap at our meeting next week, and I've got some (hopefully) modern (semi-)redwork in the wings for my secret swap partner. I can't show you the stitchery itself, as that would <em>definitely</em> give it away, but here are some of the fabrics I'm auditioning from my stash:<br />
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The plan at the moment is kind of a hodge-podge of techniques: embroidery, patchwork, six-minute circle, reverse <em>and</em> raw-edged applique. Will probably toss in some linen, and maybe a Dresden plate for good measure. Sounds a little manic, I know, but this weekend is the first time I've set foot in my sewing room in nearly three months, and I have a lot of catching up to do. <br />
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Here's what I have on the design board as the patchwork comes together. I'm hoping the design of the bag and the sprinkling of modern fabrics will help swing the feel toward the less-traditional side: <br />
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The squares will finish at an inch apiece, which means my 144 teeny-tiny pieces will finish at about 12 inches square. This would be fine, I guess, if I didn't have plans to carve out the middle of this thing for reverse applique. Because I may want to save the center portion for later, I couldn't bring myself to insert a square of muslin here to simplify things, so a-stitching I will go. Borderline crazy, I know, but it took me nearly the full month to decide what to make for this special lady. Now that an idea has finally settled into my brain, there's no going back at this point.<br />
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In other news, I've enjoyed a little retail therapy the past few weeks. I may not have time to sew, but I find that petting fabric takes no time at all. :) <br />
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A little (or 12 <em>yards</em> <em>of</em>) pezzy print:<br />
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And a few stacks of (mostly) solids:<br />
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Some of these will be featured in a wall hanging I have planned for my <em>other</em> secret partner from the "<a href="http://www.flickr.com/groups/fortheloveofsolids/">For the Love of Solids</a>" (FTLOS) swap currently underway on Flickr. The ship date for international partners runs from now through Saturday, which means I have the potential to miss deadlines on <em>two</em> continents this week, I guess. :)<br />
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Finally, if you get a minute today, pop on over to the <a href="http://themodernquiltguild.com/">Modern Quilt Guild</a>'s website. They've been busy posting their super-great <a href="http://themodernquiltguild.com/2012/01/01/100-days-of-modern-quilting/">100 Days</a> series since the first of the year. TONS of amazing quilts and tutorials to enjoy. This past week's series was called "Using what you have," and somewhere amongst all of the colorful scraps and vintage sheets is a quilt made of-- wait for it-- <em>denim</em>. So, many thanks to the MQG for the kind <a href="http://themodernquiltguild.com/2012/03/04/100-days-week-of-using-what-you-have-featured-quilt-7/">shout-out</a> this weekend. It's pretty nice to be included in such amazing company.<br />
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<em>P.S. I grew up in the '70s, and a huge part of my childhood was spent laughing and singing along with a fun-loving group of guys who just-so-happened to give birth to the music video: <strong>The Monkees</strong>, whose lead singer, Davy Jones, passed away this week at the age of sixty-six. Although I was particularly smitten with Michael Nesmith (the quiet, broody one in the knit stocking cap), I could always rely on Davy and the gang for an honest-to-goodness belly laugh without politics or agenda, which made the days seem brighter to me, and life in general, just a little less serious. I like to think that it's appropriate that a denim quilt was featured this week. Not just in tribute to Davy and his bellbottom trousers, but also as a reminder that just as fabric can be rejuvenated with a little extra effort, maybe life really can be a bit brighter if we'd just take the time to make it that way. As much as I grumbled about trying to make a denim quilt, the truth is, once I threw myself into the project, I couldn't help but feel good about the change I could see taking shape. Have to wonder how much brighter life might seem if I put that much love and effort into everything I do. </em><em>Next time I hear "Daydream Believer," think I'll sing "Cheer up sleepy <strong>jean(s)</strong>," instead. </em><br />
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<em>Thanks, Davy. For everything.</em>Lynnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00653638027545802163noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2182323458477975485.post-19576246760287616262011-12-17T09:28:00.000-06:002011-12-17T09:28:44.833-06:00WHY IS THERE A TIGER IN THE BATHROOM?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-h_zB_Cj1KmY/TuywUCuw1FI/AAAAAAAAAMU/cdtIudEd5hg/s1600/Tiger+in+the+Bathroom.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-h_zB_Cj1KmY/TuywUCuw1FI/AAAAAAAAAMU/cdtIudEd5hg/s640/Tiger+in+the+Bathroom.png" width="640" /></a></div><br />
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Thanks to everyone who played along with my Sew Mama Sew Giveaway post. I'm sorry that I have been unable to respond to every message (I never anticipated 456 of them!), but I so enjoyed reading your comments, and will likely <i>still</i> respond to many of you soon. So many great quotes and books to consider! And so many new friends with common likes and interests! I hope to post a synopsis of some of the highlights soon. <br />
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In the meantime, congratulations to <b>Kasey, visitor #84</b>, who left me this message: <br />
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She blogs over at <a href="http://bombletquilts.blogspot.com/">Stitch. Bake. Run</a>. Air Force wife/mother of two/runner/baker/quilter. And NOW, the proud new owner of 4-1/2 yards of beautiful Amy Butler fabric! I plan to check out her website soon, and can't wait to see what she makes with her new stack of goodies.<br />
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In the meantime, thank you again to all of my visitors, new and established alike (see how I didn't call you "old?"). Special thanks to the new followers out there. This really has been a fun week for me, and has reinforced for me yet again how lucky I am to belong to such a fantastically talented, funny, and generous community of artists worldwide. I will do my best to post more frequently in the hopes of getting to know you all better, and keeping myself inspired by your amazing work. Fledgling though my efforts may be, writing this blog really does brighten my days (to quote Ms. Kasey): <br />
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"... even if I'm the only nerd laughing." <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Lynnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00653638027545802163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2182323458477975485.post-73630615650909236042011-12-11T23:40:00.003-06:002011-12-16T23:26:35.895-06:00"The Butler did it."<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Welcome Sew Mama Sew readers!</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red; font-size: large;"><b>PLEASE NOTE:</b> The GIVEAWAY SIGN-UP DEADLINE HAS PASSED. Entries will be capped at 456. Thank you all for playing! Winner announced at this site soon!</span><br />
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What brings you here today?<br />
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Could it be that you're waiting to hear news about my latest projects?<br />
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Like this...<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_Venn9hdjT4/TsT6vb6kyhI/AAAAAAAAAJc/6Z1Km0WwN-I/s1600/DSC_0001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="247px" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_Venn9hdjT4/TsT6vb6kyhI/AAAAAAAAAJc/6Z1Km0WwN-I/s320/DSC_0001.JPG" width="320px" /></a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Or this (first zipper pouch ever)...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1LDt1h-zC8I/TuWHS2TqTzI/AAAAAAAAAKk/GLbRSP3hF-E/s1600/DSC_0005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214px" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1LDt1h-zC8I/TuWHS2TqTzI/AAAAAAAAAKk/GLbRSP3hF-E/s320/DSC_0005.JPG" width="320px" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This... (<i>Yes, that says 'beryllium'</i>)...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cL9rq-pKNKg/TuWI9vFSImI/AAAAAAAAAK0/tt1MON2pE4o/s1600/DSC_0005.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320px" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cL9rq-pKNKg/TuWI9vFSImI/AAAAAAAAAK0/tt1MON2pE4o/s320/DSC_0005.jpg" width="214px" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9QPTG0oU7Dg/TuWKjGOJ21I/AAAAAAAAALE/Tcpq3o_PDCQ/s1600/DSC_0002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="251px" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9QPTG0oU7Dg/TuWKjGOJ21I/AAAAAAAAALE/Tcpq3o_PDCQ/s320/DSC_0002.JPG" width="320px" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-35JTtgCVxn0/TuWLVygtPbI/AAAAAAAAALM/kBzrgDEvqjQ/s1600/DSC_0016.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214px" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-35JTtgCVxn0/TuWLVygtPbI/AAAAAAAAALM/kBzrgDEvqjQ/s320/DSC_0016.JPG" width="320px" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1LJLRcG_ijc/TuWNlNC4GwI/AAAAAAAAALk/Y95HdDNZPTc/s1600/DSC_0159.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214px" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1LJLRcG_ijc/TuWNlNC4GwI/AAAAAAAAALk/Y95HdDNZPTc/s320/DSC_0159.JPG" width="320px" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Oei9gHcQarY/TuWOFWmvPWI/AAAAAAAAALs/G7qo5gaMWMQ/s1600/DSC_0175.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320px" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Oei9gHcQarY/TuWOFWmvPWI/AAAAAAAAALs/G7qo5gaMWMQ/s320/DSC_0175.jpg" width="214px" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JIR1MbI16Zk/TuWMy0x1XwI/AAAAAAAAALc/rjp9axovHzQ/s1600/DSC_0166.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214px" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JIR1MbI16Zk/TuWMy0x1XwI/AAAAAAAAALc/rjp9axovHzQ/s320/DSC_0166.JPG" width="320px" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">These...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mxinuaw5gI8/TuWMPvE10NI/AAAAAAAAALU/HhrMKuVVLYU/s1600/DSC_0155.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214px" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mxinuaw5gI8/TuWMPvE10NI/AAAAAAAAALU/HhrMKuVVLYU/s320/DSC_0155.JPG" width="320px" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Or, this?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vZOXPQ7nqG4/TuWO75slEVI/AAAAAAAAAL0/PT6nR2KRQIg/s1600/DSC_0185.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214px" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vZOXPQ7nqG4/TuWO75slEVI/AAAAAAAAAL0/PT6nR2KRQIg/s320/DSC_0185.JPG" width="320px" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">No?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Well, then perhaps 'the Butler did it.'</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i>Amy</i> Butler, that is:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-P2kq1DffXkI/TuWPwOUPaJI/AAAAAAAAAL8/cHI2m7LIo_w/s1600/DSC_0030.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="235px" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-P2kq1DffXkI/TuWPwOUPaJI/AAAAAAAAAL8/cHI2m7LIo_w/s320/DSC_0030.JPG" width="320px" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Your prize for visiting my blog during this week's Giveaway event is TEN 1/4-yard cuts PLUS TWO full-yard cuts of luscious Amy Butler fabrics to brighten your holiday season. That's four-and-a-half <i>yards</i>, people! Interested? Just leave a comment below listing (a) <b>YOUR favorite movie quote</b>, and (b) <b>your suggestions for one <u>must-read</u> book to add to my list</b>, and you're eligible for the prize. Winner (as chosen by random number generator) to be announced later this week. International entries welcome.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">In the meantime, for my 15 loyal listeners, sorry for the brief hiatus... I hope to update you on all of the above (and then some) just as soon as I administer <strike>last rights</strike> final exams to my organic chemistry students this week. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">As for the rest of you, remember... Movie quote, stellar book, name goes into the drawing. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Easy-peasy, right?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Best of luck, everyone, and thanks for visiting! </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> </div>Lynnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00653638027545802163noreply@blogger.com453tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2182323458477975485.post-91270165338779485052011-11-24T08:25:00.000-06:002011-11-24T08:25:55.905-06:00I am grateful<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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Hope you all have a wonderful holiday, and GOOOOOOOOO Kirkwood!Lynnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00653638027545802163noreply@blogger.com1