One of the vendors at the Pajaro Valley Quilt Show had racks of them. Took me a long time to decide on these two, and it took a lot of self-restraint not to buy more. But really, I have lots of buttons and lots and lots of glass containers for them. Just need to "do this" if I want more!
Hmmm... might be something to think about doing with some of Himself's glass. I know there are salt and pepper shakers, just don't think any of them are clear.
On to my first FO of the month! Technically this should go in the Feb. list, because it was all done but the washing before I left for Asilomar.
Ragg quilts are fun to make till you get to the snipping part, and then it helps if there is something semi-interesting to watch. Not too interesting, of course, because then attention has to be paid to the screen and not to the quilt! When that happens, it's all too easy to snip a finger instead of the flannel...
Anyway, this one is for Debby, aka Middle Kid/Second Daughter. I had sent a smaller version of this to her granddaughter, Paige, and the request came back for one for her too. So here it is, and it will be off to Vegas as soon as I can find a box for it.
Not only was my printer giving me problems, I came home to a mostly-dead computer. (This is being typed on the laptop. I said a couple of weeks ago that I don't like blogging on the laptop... I guess the Universe heard me and is saying, oh yeah, see how you like this!) Anyway, the desktop has been dismantled and delivered to a friend who is very very good with that sort of thing, who will conduct an exam--hoping it won't be an autopsy!
Quilt came out nice and soft and snuggly--just what they need for a Vegas winter!
This is a big rock that sits between the NB and SB lanes of the 101 at Pismo Beach. There is a name for this kind of formation--Morro Rock is another one, though much much larger--I knew the name once upon a time but haven't been able to remember it for years now.
So this was our lunch stop. The sky was a glorious blue and the clouds were pretty amazing.
Looking out over the beach, it was cloudier and greyer. I do still love this drive, or at least the parts of it that skim the edge of the ocean.
The interior part of the drive was good, though, since it's just coming on spring and the hills are green and the fields are full of sprouting plants.
The grapevines--and vineyards have sprouted up everywhere--are still dormant. There were a few fields where new vines were being planted, and it was fun to see those.
Closer view of the rock. It's no wonder they built the freeway around it!
So, backing up to the seminar at Asilomar, here's a couple of pictures of my project for the week.
First up, my Flying Geese strips. There are 8 of them and this is two full days' worth of sewing. Even with chain piecing, it's a lot of sewing.
The teacher for this session, Judy Niemeyer of Quiltworx, is quite possibly the most organized person I have ever met! Her patterns are meticulously drafted, her methods are simple and logical.
My mind is neither simple nor logical, but I was able to do this! You may have seen my pictures from before I left (if not, they're on my Flickr page) where I had cut all the pieces out using the templates provided, and put them all in bags labeled to where they would go.
That made it so easy when it was time to start sewing! Judy had some cool tricks for keeping the pieces lined up in the order they'll be sewn, and using a fabric glue pen to keep long thin slices from moving around.
See those long thin points? Yeah, those pieces are VERY long and all cut on the bias.
Don't worry, I'm not going to go over the whole method with you. I'd say, if you ever feel as if you'd like to do one of her patterns--and they are beautiful, and well worth the time and $$ investment--try to get a class with her or one of her Certified Instructors.
Yeah, that whole certification system? Brilliant. One of the women in my group (Hi, Marilyn!) is in the process of being certified. It isn't a quick easy process, but it does mean that if you take a class from one of them, you might as well be taking it with Judy herself.
Well, except for her wit and warmth.
These "spikes" were the first things I sewed. A day and a half.
You can see some of the setup we had: Louise and I each had our own table, with my folding ironing pad/cutting board on the far left edge of mine. We both used the pressing surface and the little travel iron--which I love, and which was $10 at Target--and I cut on the board. She had her board set up just to the right of her machine.
This is what Louise had on her board for the Thursday afternoon walkaround--most of a completed wedge, and the front of the pattern.
You can click on the picture to see more.
By the time we packed up on Friday, she had one wedge completed, and all the components ready for assembly of the other 7. I had the pieces you see above, plus about two rows done on those light-colored sections between the geese and the spikes.
If it hadn't been for unpacking, and fiddling with the ded computer (not to mention cleaning out my "file" drawers where I toss all the disks and documentation for all my computers, ipods, etc etc, so I could find the installation disks for the ded thing. Hey, it works, I found them...) I might have been able to sew a little more on this.
Maybe today.
I'll leave you with a picture oof sunrise at Asilomar. I miss it already.
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