Is it possible that the Floral Winding Ways quilt top snuck off with the Plaid Streak of Lightning quilt top when my back was turned and reproduced?  How else could 2 projects become 7? It defies logic and probably most known laws of the universe.  At least this is the way it happens at my house…

I’m asked to teach a class at the LQS.  I decide to kill two birds with one stone (probably should have left the bird killing out of the equation) and make a class sample that I can give to my mom as a ...

My Liberated Amish Challenge quilt top is done.  I definitely liberated the colors and the setting.  Hahaha.  Tonya’s challenge was for us to pick a quilt from the book Amish Abstractions or from the photos on the Browns’ website to “liberate.”  We were to add words — done Tonya-style — to the front of the quilt also. After much deliberation, I chose this quilt for inspiration.  As you can see from the photo of the original quilt, there was no matchy-matchy color scheme going on.  What was the original quilter thinking when she put these colors together?  The quilt is crib-sized ...

I’m away again without internet access but don’t worry. . .  I have this

to keep me entertained!

Hmm.  Not quite what I envisioned…

Perhaps a grape intervention?  Or a completely different setting?

Still too wild?

Too dull?

Other possibilities?

Better?

Best?

Time for some chocolate.   And maybe a glass of wine.  Or two…

Okay, I still need 40 Flying Geese units. Using Inklingo to make flying geese units is also very easy. This technique makes 4 Flying Geese units from one large square and 4 small squares.  Using Inklingo I have printed my HST on the red fabric — 4 sets of 2 HST are needed.  Figure the size of the large square by multiplying the size of the HST by 2 and adding 1.25″.

Step One: Place 2 sets of HST on opposite corners of the large square, right sides together.

Close up of HST with stitching and cutting lines printed with ...

Two hundred sixty-two half square triangles and forty flying geese units? No problemo.  It’s easy with Inklingo. Let’s start with the HST shall we?

Step One: Iron freezer paper to right side of lightest colored fabric.

Step Two: Print triangle shapes onto the wrong side of fabric in a contrasting color.  I used a bit darker red than I would normally so it would show a little better in the photos.

Close-up of printed HST

Step Three: Layer printed fabric with a second fabric, right sides together.

Step Four: Sew on all the DIAGONAL DOTTED lines.

Step Five ...

Phase Two is complete. The fabric was moved from my closet onto the shelves I bought and put in the closet in this room.  You can see a few of the plastic bins holding WIPs up on the top shelf.

I moved the dry sink onto the wall away from my design wall.  On paper it looked like it would be a tight squeeze between it and the file cabinet near the desk — like I’d have to turn sideways to fit — but I can fit through there just fine.  I’ve decided to make a pressing board that will ...

1. HST for Blush Bold Streak
2. Flying Geese for Blush Bold Streak
3. HST for Floral Streak of Lightning
4. Chain piecing HST
5. 24 3″ Hexagon Alphabet Fairies for Fancy Hexagons
6. Color of Fruit for Liberated Amish

Also finished but not pictured bindings for Blush Bold Streak and Red, White & Black Bold Streak, recut setting triangles for Plaid Streak of Lightning, and finished sewing HST and piano key border for Liberated Amish.

Be back in a week!

Back in January, Tonya [The Unruly Quilter AKA:  LazyGalQuilting] started on online get together where we were to create a quilt using liberated techniques based on an Amish quilt design of our choice.  Our finished quilts were to include letters somewhere on the front.   [See general instructions here.]

I finally settled on this quilt as my inspiration.  I had some solids from the Michael Miller Krystal line but none of the colors that I had seemed suitable to my design.  I was trying to order fabric online and kept adding more and more colors to my cart; ending up with ...

I, Erin Klein, pledge to talk more about my processes, even when I can’t quite put them in words or be sure I’m being totally clear.   I’m going to put my thinking and my gut feelings out there.

[Trust me, you have no idea how my thought processes link from one thing to the next...  It could be good for a giggle or two.]

Thoughts and inspiration behind the pledge can be found here on r0ssie’s blog.

I leave on Friday to house sit for a week without internet access.  I have a few blog entries ...

So what happens to a person who knows they need to eat a certain way in order to feel well and that same person has instead been eating with reckless abandon?  Well for me, it’s not a pretty thing.  Physically, I’m miserable.  My brain feels like its synapses are firing through Jello.  Aches, pains, brain fog, female issues, misery.  Yeah, not really conducive to being a quilting fool.  Or something like that…  I haven’t felt up to doing much of anything and so I haven’t been.  The question is, do I want to excuse myself so ...

Be back soon.

With all my “road running” I have not spent near enough time working on these this month.  I’m just taking stock and trying to motivate myself for a few finishes as we near the end of the month.

1. Leftovers Again – Untouched.
2. Plaid Bargello – Still just strips. . .
3. Striped Shirt Boxes – I loved the ones I saw everyone making and now that I’ve started one, it’s just not making my skirt fly up.  I guess it’s all the cutting.
4. Crooked Path Table Topper – Finished top.
5. Scrappy Patchwork of the Crosses – First block is done.
6. Nevada – Untouched.
7. Baby Girl ...

See this guy below?  That’s me.  A roadrunner.  Meh, maybe not.  That’s how I feel.  Like a roadrunner.

Or maybe more like a chicken with its head cut off?  I’ll spare you the photo that expresses that thought.  At least I’m not being chased.

I haven’t been home much and when I am all I want to do is veg.  I’m not home right now [house sitting] and I still just want to veg.  I should be working on my Liberated Amish quilt top or at the very least — answering emails.  Instead, I’m ...

You are probably thinking that I’ve gotten lost in my newly arranged creative space and that’s why I haven’t posted.  Well, I do have my space rearranged and I LOVE IT, but I’m doing some temp work with the 2010 Census so I haven’t had time to enjoy my new space.  A drawback?  Not really. It does mean some extra money that I can use for shelving and storage and perhaps even a little extra for FABRIC.  So all in all, I’m okay with it.

Phase One of the redo of my creative space ...

After discovering all the things I didn’t like about my creative space, it was time to figure out if I could do anything about those things. While I was house sitting, I had a chance to read through this book.  It was helpful. The before and after pictures were inspiring. (Yes I know, not much of a review.  My recommendation?  Check the book out of the library to see if it is worth the purchase price to you.)  Working in other quilter’s work spaces while I’m house sitting has given me some idea of things that will ...

I’ve been thinking a bit lately about my sewing space.  It’s suppose to be a creative place but most of the time when I’m in the room, it doesn’t inspire creativity.  For my birthday last year, my sweet DIL got me this wall decal.

The problem is that my soul doesn’t feel very “mended” when I’m in there sewing.  The room is not bringing me much joy…  most of the time I don’t even feel like going in there.

Hmm.  Could this be part of the problem?

I think it’s time to ...

I’m off to house sit for about 12 days without internet access again.  Will post photos of my latest finishes when I return!

Most spam comments I get are deleted by the two programs I have installed to protect against such things. Every once in a while a spam comment sneaks through and ends up in the spam folder. Usually they are from a non-quilter trying to promote their website by commenting on one of my posts. This morning I found these two gems in the spam folder.

XeGemma writes: “I do not guess that every student all over the world has got a passion of comparison contrast essay performing! However, students ,which do not know how to write have to utilize help ...

I have internet access here.  Yay!  Finally a Friday update. This is an EQ6 drawing of Streak of Lightning.  I’m using scraps of plaids from a few FQ collections from long ago and some men’s shirts from the thrift store. I plan to add some applique — funky stars or flowers or something.  I haven’t quite figured that out yet.

Here it is starting to come together.  But wait…  It’s not really coming together.  It looks kind of wonky.  Those large setting triangles aren’t fitting in so well.  UGH.  I did something wrong here, I’m ...

Because I know that I’m more productive in the long run if I work on multiple projects at the same time and taking into account my current need to be more productive, I’m finding it necessary to work round-robin-style on the following projects:

1. Leftovers Again
2. Plaid Bargello
3. Striped Shirt Boxes
4. Crooked Path Table Topper
5. Scrappy Patchwork of the Crosses
6. Nevada
7. Baby Girl Bug
8. Variable Star
9. Plaid 9 Patch
10. Rocky Glen
11. Streak of Lightning
12. Bold Streak
13. Field of Flowers
14. Rose Basket
15. Layer Cake

Beginning this week, here’s to being more productive.  Stay tuned for updates. . .  assuming, of course ...

• Machine quilting done.
• Miles of binding being prepared and pressed.
• Also eating many homemade oatmeal butterscotch chip cookies.