Month: April 2018

Turkey Tracks: I Am Officially In Love

Turkey Tracks:  April 8, 2018

I Am Officially In Love…

…with my little Brother serger.

Once cut out, knit garments sew up very quickly on the serger.

Look what I made Easter weekend—after a marathon pattern making and cutting out on Friday.

The knit skirt only has two seams, a waistband with elastic, and a hem.  I’m learning that different weights of knits can make a larger or smaller garment.  Thin makes larger; thick makes smaller.  I’ve just made a thicker black version of this skirt that came out beautifully. I went up a size for it, which worked perfectly.

All the tops are Cotton+Steel knits bought on sale 30% off from Pink Castle.  (PinkCastle.com)  These knits feel like butter on the skin.  They are so soft.

The big top, longer in back than in front, is flattering and easy. It works well with both skirts and tops.  I want to make it with the scooped neckline variation.  It’s Simplicity 8529.

Paper Cuts makes the Rise and Fall turtle necks.  Fall is meant to wear outside and has the larger turtleneck.  Rise is more fitted, longer, and meant to be tucked in.  Love both of these shirts.

I am having so much fun!

 

 

Turkey Tracks: Roasted Veggies

Turkey Tracks:  April 5, 2018

Roasted Veggies

I roast winter veggies frequently.  And when I do, I roast a lot so I have another meal.  Or, two.  (I have to be careful as leftovers grow histamine as they age.)

But aren’t these gorgeous?  I drizzle with some olive oil on top and on the bottom before I throw in the veggies.  One could toss the veggies around to more thoroughly coat them.  Sometimes I even do that.  I dress with salt and dried herbs.  I often add chopped fresh garlic.  Adding mint I dried last fall gives these veggies a subtle, but deep sweet flavor to the roasting.  One could also add something like curry powder or other Indian spices.

This time I tried beets (red and orange) in the mix.  I just washed them, cut off the ends, peeled them with a carrot peeler and cut them into bite-sized pieces.  They were so sweet and delicious!

Turkey Tracks: A New Stash Management Plan

Turkey Tracks:  April 5, 2018

A New Stash Management Plan

Tori Manzi asked if any of the Mt. Battie Modern quilters would like to pull some fabrics from their stash as she was going to send fabrics to a group of young quilters (teenagers, I think) in California whose quilts were on display at QuiltCon this year.  I pulled some, yes.  And I assume she’s mailed what we collected.

But that pulling for her started a hurricane of stash pulling.  There are just so many fabrics that I am not using.  They’re beautiful fabrics, but my tastes have radically changed.  I’m working with lighter, brighter fabrics these days.   And I’m a bit tired of guilting myself about not using…this:

 

I bundled what I pulled into color bundles.  And I am playing these bundles forward.  Two people who are just getting—or getting back—into quilting have raided these bundles.  And that makes me happy.  I’ll take some to Mt. Battie and will put some in the Coastal Quilters auction this fall—assuming there are any left at that point.  What will be, will be.

Cotton+Steel also makes me happy too.  Here are my March blocks for our Mt. Battie Modern “Long Time Gone” challenge.  Those little churn dash blocks will finish at 3 inches, and THEY ROCK!  They are fun to make and are so darn cute.

I’m not as fond of the crosses/star block.  But it is DONE.  On to the next.

Turkey Tracks: Mt. Battie Modern March Show and Tell

Turkey Tracks:  April 3, 2018

Mt. Battie Modern March Show and Tell

New member Anne Bargetz shared some more of her work.

Here she used Tula Pink blocks to make this small wall hanging.

Becca is now working on a neutral and grey spider web using selvages.

I showed my finished Tula Pink 100 Modern Blocks quilt—which was a challenge out of both Mt. Battie Modern and Coastal Quilters.  I will show pictures when my granddaughter has it in hand.

Here are our February “Long Time Gone” challenge blocks—A Jen Kingwell design.

We had such a fun meeting—it was so filled with creativity and color!