Quilty Update And “Pot Pourri 4” is Finished

I’ve been busy!

Life…happened.

And life has included watering outside as it is again very dry. But our weather has been spectacular for days now. This morning we had a little colder weather, and I needed warmer clothes and slippers on my bare feet.

And life has included that there are a host of quilty projects happening.

The most recent “Pot Pourri” quilt made from the 3 1/2 inch Cotton+Steel/Ruby Star squares is finished. It is “Pot Pourri 4.” There are MORE quilts from these blocks not called by that Pot Pourri name. And…I still have about half a bin each of the colored and neutral squares.

PP4 came out much cuter than I had thought it would be–but what could go wrong? It’s scrappy goodness from great fabric prints!

The backing is a turquoise wideback that works well. I used a kind of light seafoam green thread and a pantograph that was new to me and suggested by Wendy Curry, my Canadian online longarm quilting friend: Rhododendron. It was a fun panto to sew. I used the backing fabric for the binding.

My online class “Blocks 2” with Tara Faughnan has started. The first block with which we are playing is the Hourglass block, also known as “Broken Dishes.” It’s long been a favorite of mine. Tara, as is usual, had dozens of ways to manipulate it–modern, improv, and traditional.

What drew my interest in my current moment of making a series of at least 3 scrappy quilts from the half-rectangle block–using Latifah Saafir’s Hurty Ruler–was Tara’s example of taking that half-rectangle block and making it into an hourglass form.

I set up a palette from my solid stash that came as close to Tara’s palette as I could–though I did limit the number of colors but made sure to have darks, mediums, and light fabrics included. And then I made two quilt versions of the half-square rectangle hourglass blocks I made (3 by 6 inches)–one dark and one light/bright.

Here’s the dark one–which is 18 inches square. I’m hand quilting it with my 12-weight cotton threads–just a simple grid. I pulled threads that match these colors. I might try facing these two little quilts, as I need to learn to do that well. It’s all about play, right? And with the binding on PP4 finished, I was missing night hand sewing. Otherwise, tv makes me so restless.

I got the lighter one sewn together last night and will layer it today. I’ll use the brighter threads to match the brighter colors.

I like both of them, but I have no idea how I’ll use these two blocks–but I do have some ideas. And I think this block would make an awesome bigger quilt. But I’m not going there right now.

I will play with the traditional hourglass block before I break up this palette. Maybe just a few blocks…LOL.

The design wall is FULL!

I’ve got the blocks set now for the second half-square rectangle quilt. The first is on the longarm and is now basted and waiting for me to finish it. I’m using a challenging panto that is new to me, so I’m hesitant I think, but also engaged in these other projects.

To remind you, here is “Arrows” which is on the longarm.

Here’s the second quilt: “Diamonds.” I changed out the bottom row diamond and am making one I like better. The top two rows are sewn together–after days of moving blocks around and trying out more diamonds than originally planned. And, playing with ways to NOT make the diamonds altogether symmetrical. Or, all of the neutral backgrounds symmetrical–as would be typical in a traditional quilt. I wanted the edges to feel a bit…scattered.

PP5: Crosses–is on the right and needs to have its rows sewn together to free up space to finish it–which is not far from being done.

I also know what I’ll do for the third quilt in this series–and am already looking forward to starting it.

I also got tired of pawing through my 12-wt thread spools for the “right” color and put them all into shallow boxes where I can see them all at one glance. I’m loving that!

OK, folks. That’s it for now, and I’m sending all of you my best wishes for a lovely week.

A Gift Idea From Cassandra Beaver

I love Cassandra Beaver’s blog, which I follow.

She is just super creative, especially with modern improv quilts.

Her post today features a “mug rug” that is big enough for a mug and a small plate. It strikes me that a set of those would be a nice gift for…someone.

AND, she features a ruler that intrigues me as well: a Square in a Square ruler. You all who read on a regular basis should know that I adore clever rulers. And this one covers such a basic quilt block task. She used it to make a Snail’s Trail block as well if I’m reading right.

Turn Two Easy Quilt Block Components Into One Adorable Gift!

Enjoy!

There are…Alligators and Snakes!

The hesitations I had about moving to South Carolina were primarily three: heat, snakes, and alligators.

I’ve gotten used to the heat, though I do live in air-conditioning, and I do miss the crisp cool air of Maine where windows can be often open for a lot of the year. Here in the tropics, humidity and moisture is an issue, and the AC does control it, but opening a window is not a good idea.

We see alligators in our ponds off and on. They seem to come and go via the underground water drainage system of culverts so common in this Low Country.

You can clearly see alligators should one venture into your…garden…which is highly unlikely in my neighborhood. Alligators do occupy some places and paths in parks and golf courses where ponds or wetlandsare involved.

Wetlands are all around my neighborhood, and I can tell you that I wouldn’t put one foot into those woods without donning boots and snake protectors on my lower legs. Not one foot. LOL. And I’m not especially snake phobic. I just honor the snakes’ privacy in their habitats.

We do have garter snakes here in the neighborhood. And they are WAY bigger than the garter snakes in my Maine garden. Here’s one in my back door neighbor’s garden. When we touched it with a rake, it COILED, which made both of us back off immediately until it got identified as “garter.” In this picture, one can see that the head is not wide and shaped like a triangle wedge, but we weren’t sure.

Here’s another one in another neighbor’s garden.

Garter snakes actually eat garden pests. I would go so far as to say they signal a healthy garden habitat. Or, one in the making. I rather think it has a cute little face, and it looks at one with curiosity, not malignancy.

We also have water snakes that eat things in the water. At least one showed up here on a road after a long dry spell where the creek from the wetland dried up. It eats aquatic creatures. It was dead in the road, and I don’t know if it was killed or run over by accident. And I’m sure, somewhere, there are the types of “black” snakes–rat snakes–that eat rodents. And I’m sure there are many other types of snakes here as well.

But this one! Which was found on a neighbor’s porch that backs up to the woods and wetland…

Our knowledgable neighborhood snake identifier said it was a Hognose Snake or a juvenile moccasin–and to leave both alone.

“Hognose” is used as a kind of a general term for snakes identified by an upturned nose. They are harmless and eat frogs. They are also more prone to being in woods and not wetlands. Some people have them as pets.

Eastern Hognose Snake

Moccasins DO like wetlands. A juvenile would have a green section at the end of its tail. In the neighbor’s picture, we can’t see the tail. They are seriously poisonous, but are not terribly aggressive unless backed into a place where they don’t feel safe. Or, stepped on.

Their close relative is the Copperhead–and you can see the green tail section of a juvenile in the picture below. They are very orange, not dark like a moccasin.

The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources has good information on snakes and on moccasins and copperheads specifically at dnr.sc.gov. Or just search on SC and moccasins and copperheads.

The natural world is an amazing place, filled with wonders and dangers.

Bits and Pieces, October 2nd

Hello October!

I bought my Halloween candy yesterday at Costco–which was totally jammed by people filling their carts to the brim. I guess I should have bought toilet paper. The final checkout man said the swarm was due to the dock strike AND people buying goods to donate to those in need after the hurricane. Heavens Knows there are LOTS of very needy hurricane survivors.

These dwarf Mexican petunia plants I planted last year are an unqualified success. They bloom for all but the coldest weather and are gradually filling in the areas that need filling in–like where I took out some Mondo grass on the driveway end of this bed.

Look at this gorgeous color–and this plant is VERY hearty.

These petunias come in white and pink too–a light pink. Every now and then one of these purple plants throws out a white or pink plant, so I dig it out and plant it elsewhere. Now I’m trying two of these offsprings in the big blue container on the screened porch that has struggled to grow…anything. The sun hits it directly in the afternoon.

The Mexican sage is, again, dancing in the wind. This plant, too, is new to me. It is especially fun to see through the tv room windows. It may be struggling with a bit of wet roots, due to the 24 inches of rain we got a while back. Three storms ago, was it? Or it is just turning leaves as it is cooler now and the light is different.

Look at these buds on the new camellia I planted last spring. Holy Moly! I can’t wait to see it bloom this winter. The other camellia, gift of Bryan and Corinne for my birthday last March, is on the other side of the house. It’s got buds too, but nothing like this little guy. The gift camellia is a different type of camellia and will be taller and much wider. This one in the picture will be lower and will spread sideways.

This beautiful White Heron (A Great Egret) let me take a good picture the other day while walking. S/he stood, not moving a muscle. I think creatures can sometimes tell if you pose a danger. (Note the black legs.)

Well, this is a fun project, highlighted in the weekly newsletter I get from Aurifil threads. It’s a leaf shaped potholder.

It’s made by Amira Ameruddin, known as amira_little mushroom cap on Instagram. She has a video showing how she made it.

I’ll be making one. For sure. I have…scraps.

A Fun Scrappy Block

I am enjoying Rachel Hauser’s blog “Stitched in Color.”

In recent days she highlighted this block and tutorial from Andy Knowles of “A Bright Corner.”

http://www.abrightcorner.com/2017/02/scrap-bin-geese-block-tutorial.html

Here’s the block Rachel Hauser made–and I love how she used color in it.

Screenshot

And here’s the block I went right upstairs and made out of my cut-up stash of strips and squares–which also instigated a little reorganization in those bins–which included bringing some leftover bagged projects that I can now donate happily.

This block is 12 inches finished–so, hmmmm–maybe it will be my first little quilt to put into the new library kiosk that will happen one of these days.

I also broke down and ordered the plastic templates for the “Glitter” block with which I’ve been playing. I can’t quite let go of it yet. I’ll be interested to see if these templates make a difference in the cutting and sewing.

I finally got back to walking and listening/singing with music yesterday!

It’s a Beautiful Day!

You would never know we were worried about a hurricane only two days ago!

The death/damage from Helene inland has been terrible. A dam in North Carolina below Lake Lure broke and devastated a small town below it. Tennessee has also been hard hit. I am feeling so, so lucky this morning.

I got “Arrowheads” off the design wall last night–which opened up room for the other projects trying to happen. The arrowheads run from the top right corner to the bottom left corner. Some are more subtle than others, but they do form a line for the eye to hunt for and follow. The “left” or “right” rectangles shift on either side of the arrowheads. Perhaps the line should have been from right to left as that is how we read…but I also wanted this arrangement to be subtle.

I love this quilt top–all made out of fun and not subtle fabrics just sitting around in my stash. I think there may be a series in the making with this large half-square rectangle block made with Latifah Safari’s Hurty ruler.

I put the leftovers on the design wall–just to get them up so I can see what I have and what needs to be cut and sewn. None of these blocks will stay this way–but I do want to play with diamonds mixed into rows. Clearly I need to cut and sew more blocks–and to employ better color mixtures than what’s on the wall now. And I’m anticipating LOTS of moving of blocks around.

The “glitter” blocks to the left are a challenge–and I’m not having fun with them. I can’t get the points at either end right–so that there is 1/4-inch beyond them. I’ve measured and redrawn the pattern several times now. It’s a different and exciting block, but… I’ll make one more, sew these together, and call it a day. I’ll probably hand quilt it??? I’ll see what it looks like sewn together. Maybe it will become part of an improv quilt.

The “crosses” leader/ender top made from the bins of 3.5-inch squares (Cotton+Steel/Ruby Star Society) in light and dark colors is growing. I can sew together the row in each block, but not the whole block, so it looks a bit “off” right now as most of it is pinned. The bins ARE SLOWLY going down.

AND yesterday, I made a new pin cushion, using scraps and ground walnut shells for the filling. The shells came with a packet of powdered “emery,” which is an abrasive mixture of some form of alumina. (Emery used to be ground rock. Emery is used on things like stair treads and fingernail boards.) Directions said to make an extra little bag for the emery and to put said bag inside the pin cushion–among the walnut shells–and it will keep your pins sharp.

I recently started pinning my quilt tops on the longarm, rather than using the red snappers–using new-to-me pins (Magic pins). The ones made for using on a longarm canvas are quite sturdy–and mine are now in a pin cushion made and gifted to me years ago in Maine by Linda Satkowski. (It’s going strong Linda!). I used hers as a model for how to make my new pin cushion, which now holds the pins for the design wall. I think the combo of walnut shells and emery I bought on Amazon were too pricey–and not enough of the walnut shells is leftover if I want to make another pin cushion to gift to someone. Well…maybe if I make it smaller???

Yesterday I roasted my first fall butternut squash–with garlic, dried herbs, olive oil, and salt. I didn’t use the rosemary in my herb garden which I would prefer for this dish as Mount Pleasant is still spraying for mosquitoes. That spray is said to be GRAS–or “generally regarded as safe,” which means only that no one has done any searching for problems. Here in the USA, we allow thousands of chemicals in our food that Europe does not allow. My take is if it kills insects, it can also kill us or make us sick.

Except for the butternut squash and the fruit, this dinner was from leftover “assets.”

Have a great weekend!

We Dodged a Hurricane Bullet

Hurricane Helene hit the Florida coast as a Category 4 storm. But the main part of the cone went mostly a bit to the west of us here in the Charleston, SC, area. There was a hurricane warning in the early morning this morning, which I didn’t hear as I had my phone in airplane mode. My neighbors were NOT happy with me as they worry about making sure I’m ok in the night. And it is good to know that airplane mode stops these warnings.

Younger son and family lost power in the night on Isle of Palms, so they came early this morning with the three granddaughters so they could do their online homework.

This storm is HUGE!

Here is where it is right now:

I don’t want to set up a jinx, but this is the second storm we have dodged in recent weeks. We got 5 1/2 inches of rain yesterday and last night, so I’m happy about that “just right” amount.

Before the rain started in earnest yesterday afternoon, I grilled a beautiful flank steak and air fried a small potato into French fries. I was able to sit on the porch with my meal for quite some time before the wind sent the rain onto the porch and I had to bring cushions inside. The second dish was for supper, so I had time in the afternoon to sew.

And now, we get back to “normal.”

Hurricane Helene and a Rainy Day

Hurricane Helene is hitting Florida as a category 2 hurricane. As you can see, here in the Charleston, SC, area, we are on the outer edge of the track, which as of right now, is projected to curve west and away from the coast.

But, tornado warnings are out, and hopefully we will get some rain but not too much. It is very dry.

For me, it will be a rainy day of sewing and some cooking chores.

It’s been a busy week so far–with the two monthly quilt meetings I attend happening right together, one at night and one the next morning. What a gift these meetings are!! Both are so full of energy and ideas and very nice people.

Here are SOME of the postcards we recently did at the Charleston Modern group–and mailed to the member whose name we got. Once again, the creativity soared. (I did the red churn dash with the little sheep in the middle, and I received the wonderful modern orange and green one on the lower right.)

I LOVE improv quilts, and I really loved this one shown at the modern group. It’s BIG and so fun. I really have to get out my box of orphan blocks and play with them on the design wall. There just isn’t enough time in every day!!!

I should take more pictures at these meetings, but I get involved emotionally with each and every quilt and think about taking a picture too late. Both groups put pics on their online group choices. Patchwork Gals is a private FB group, but you can see photos of quilts shown on the Charleston Modern Quilt Guild website if you are so inclined.

I got the binding on Pot Pourri 4, so I have hand sewing at night. Today I’ll work on the big half-square rectangle quilt to finish sewing it together. Then I’ll have design wall room again. LOL.

And now I need to make a quick trip to the grocery store before the rain and wind start in earnest.

The 4th 9-Patch Quilt

…is off the longarm.

It’s a sweet, scrappy, functional, fun quilt: “Pot Pourri 4.”

I have lost count of how many quilts I’ve made from cutting up the Cotton+Steel/Ruby Star Society fabrics about 5 years ago now in Maine. Someday I should do a post on all of them to date. But–the two bins of 3.5-inch squares are each only about half gone now. And that doesn’t even get to all the squares and strips I have.

I quilted with a panto longarmer Wendy Currie recommended to me for another project some weeks ago: Rhododendron. She suggested three different pantos for “Prickly Pear.” I used New Wave and went on to have it enlarged by Urban Elementz and used it for the “Make The Churn Dash Block Modern” quilt I made–which is now bound and finished. So I thought I’d try Rhododendron for this “Pot Pour 4” quilt.

It laid down lovely texture and was fun to quilt.

Now to trim and bind it today–before I leave for the Charleston Modern Quilt Guild meeting tonight.

Then I will have night-time handwork again.

Fall Comfort Food

I cooked on Saturday–roasted veggies to go with the meatloaf I made on Thursday. For this meatloaf, I used a pound of ground bison and almost a pound of beef hamburger mixed with 25% ground organs (liver, heart, kidneys) that I can buy locally.

My basic meatloaf or stuffed anything is ground beef, bison, or lamb to which I add an egg or two, some oatmeal with a little raw cream or whole milk to soften it, some good fat if the meat is too lean, some grated veggie (carrot, zucchini), some chopped onion, some cheese (mozzarella for me), some herbs, and salt. Mix it up and top with some good ketchup (I use Annie’s) and, if you have some, top with sliced sweet peppers. You could also use sliced tomatoes to top the meatloaf, which I can’t do.

Isn’t this pretty?

Here’s everything all roasted. I put in the sliced fingerling potatoes and a stray onion in the pantry and carrots in the oven about 20-25 minutes before the baby bok choy and sweet peppers which only take about 20 minutes or so. Then I usually broil everything at the end to brown up the surfaces–just a few minutes, and keep a sharp eye on the pans.

Yummy food that feels like fall.

The screened porch “outdoor room” is also yummy now that it is cooler–though I did eat out there most of the summer and just left when I got too hot.

Have a great day everyone!