Crayons, worn down to the nub....

scraps of paper tossed by the wind. Frost on the pumpkin, the haunting call of the geese flying south. More pieces from my scrapbag...and a mind that feels like a hurrican has blown through this week. BUT...Friday night traffic or not, here I am!!A day or two late, several dollars short, but I'm here *VBS*My Finn child, and her brown cotton stockings smiling you back into the 1940's **VBS**(Commercial message inserted here....Ebby's pathetic cries for 'just one more spoonful of the wet stuff Mama'....great pretender that she is, she thinks I don't know she JUST had that one spoonful and will answer her plea) Not gonna happen toots!
Anyway...back to the 40's...just a hop, skip and a jump! Waaaay back last week, or maybe the week before, I was tagged by several of you for the 7 weird things about me me-me...LOL. I could tell you that EVERYTHING about me is weird, but I'd be tellin'...so that won't happen. I've read back through comments but can't find who tagged me.If you are reading this, please tell me it was YOU *VBS* Thanks!
And rather than letting more time pass, I'm just going to lick my pencil and 'do it'.
You remember that pencil licking thing from grade school?? I wonder why we thought we should do that..? Maybe it would write darker or something?? That alone is pretty weird. So here goes, in no particular order....what can I tell you about me that is weird? And that I haven't told you already...LOL 1. I have a birthmark on my right arm, of the strawberry variety. My mom scrapped her right arm,while she was pregnant) from shoulder to elbow on an old trunk lid, and always believed she "marked me". Adults rarely notice it, but children always do and aak if it hurts. It doesn't *S*
2.My blue eyes are not the typical 'round' shape of eyes. They are egg shaped. That alone isn't weird, but mine are also two different sizes. It's the sort of thing you learn when you have cornea transplants.
3. I have to sleep on my stomach...not my side, nor my back. If I can't be on my tummy, I don't sleep...not much fun.(commercial insert: Ebby begging again).
4. This is hard...must be I've already confessed to all my weirdness. Vision problems of one sort or another have plagued me most of my life..and that isn't weird. But the kind of disorder I have is inheired and no one in my family has it but me. Do you suppose the milkman came calling??? THAT would be weird since I resemble my Dad so much...LOL.
5. I sort of like yams(especially raw) but really hate sweet potatoes.
6. I can swallow massive amount of pills without any difficult..freaks my kids out for sure.
7. I'm the one, of three girls in my family, who didn't drink or smoke. Not before and not in college. I've always wondered if maybe that's why I couldn't ever get pregnant? THAT would be pretty weird! But I'm not going back to find out.
7. I've never outgrown my love of crayons. I love, love, love the look of Crayola in the box, all new and shiney and nice sharp points. I love the smell of crayons. I've gotten quite independent about them, just ask my middle sister or my friend Jean. I MUST have pointed crayons. Once the most of the point is worm away I need a new box.
8. A continuation of #7...since I have so very few bad habits, I indulge myself with new crayons whenever I feel the need! I bet I have enough slightly used crayons to supple several school classrooms.
9. I don't like to shop. Period. I put on a happy face and pretend I am enjoying myself when Betsy wants a fabric fix. And I always find something to buy, but there is no real thrill involved for me anymore. I can't seem to feel any need of anything I don't already have. That is weird!
10.I find it weird that nearly all my weirdness isn't really all that weird.
There! Mission acomplished.
I will browse around blogland and see if I can find the rules that are also suppose to be appearing here......AND...as Gypsy Quilter says, this me-me has been floating around the blogs for a while now, so please consider yourself tagged if you want. Thanks God it's Friday, hugs for everyone *VBS*

A tutorial for Anonymous & WIP Wednesday(on Thursday, as usual)....

As the world turns, some quilters are in 'fine form'. For me, it's "Finn Form" and that includes my WIP being one day late...it's getting to be a habit I think...LOL
Anonymous requested that I re-publish the tutorial on burp cloths. For anyone whose done a tutorial, you know how many pictures you take and how much you have to write up and explain....SOOOOOO....I changed the wording on the label. You WILL now find the burp cloth tutorial right under Ebony's picture on the righthand side bar. Just click on it, and it will take you to April 13, 2007 when I published it...hollar if you have other questions *VBS*Now for my latest WIP...an oldie but goodie!! Started this back in the early 2000 somethings. It'a from American Patchwork and Quilting magazine, August 1997. The article showed 4 different layouts for quilts with HST's. This is the one that appealed to me, altho I have to confess to altering the piecing. Theirs was called Homeward Bound, and had 4 HSTs next to the bigger square. I just didn't like that connecting triangle, so I substituted in a 2.5" square of the background color.
I call mine "Country Roads". I've finished making the necessary 64 blocks, and have begun laying them out. The first row is joined up, but that's all so far.
The blocks finish at 8", so I should have a top that is about 64" square. If anyone wants to see the original layout, I can scan my copy of the page. I often make a zerox copy of the page I'm working from and then write in 'my stuff' with a pen. Plus it's easier to have just that one sheet(or more)of paper in the bag or tote along with the fabrics.
Thanks for all the ocngratulations and good wishes on grandson # 10 *VBS*

Grandma Finn's 10th grandson...

and we are so happy to have him here, safe and sound. He's looking pretty good for being medically 'distressed' pre-birth.It's his Mommy and Me picture. Looking good at one day old *VBS* Thanks Auntie S....
You'll have to ignore his slightly pink hat...there was a blue one in the room but no one thought of it....LOL. He's 7#lloz and 21" long.
This is one of the quilts I built for Baby L. It's the only one that is finished and has a nice soft flannel backing.
And a dozen burp clothes in boy colors. If you are interested in making them, they each take a FQ of flannel, so you get 2 from a half yard. The directions are on my sidebar in the Labels section...just look for burp cloths. I've been making them for the past 6 years, they are always warmly received.
Here's the new little man with Auntie S, my oldest DD. She's the one who provided me with the pictures from the hospital. ALL the little boys love Auntie S *VBS*
I have a WIP Wednesday piece to show you today...wonder of wonders, but I'll wait and show it tomorrow. Still cutting, culling and sorting fabric, fabric, fabric and scraps.

Baby on Board....

Blow those horns and pop those balloons! We have little boy #10!!Lots to celebrate today, the safe, altho slightly scary arrival of Baby L. He was tugged into the big cold world about 3 p.m. yesterday. Took an emergency C-section, but he's here *VBS* It always amazes me, this miracle of birth. Back when I was a surgical tech I occasionally helped out in OB and the delivery room. I've been at the foot of the table for baby catching, but also standing by with instruments during a C-section. A natural birth is always amazing to me. A C-section invokes a 'hold your breath' til the baby is out reaction.
Yesterday was no exception...except of course, I wasn't scrubbed in on this one and it was personal. Just one anxious grandma in the wings. Mom, baby and Daddy are doing well. Life just got a whole lot more complicated, but we'll worry about that later. DD#2 is a language aide in a school where English is a second language. I know she wasn't expecting to take very much personal leave....I have a feeling that may be is going to change. She has always been a child with good pain tolerance, but when I spoke with Daddy this a.m., it sounds like she's feeling pretty beat up and overwhelmed..understand for sure.
No pictures as yet, but knowing DD#1, there will be soon *VBS* Oh yes, he weighed in at 7#11oz, and is 21 inches...not much hair! And yesterday was her due date. He's my first February grandchild,and the first one without the last name I use...but that's ok *VBS*

Going nutty....

and a page from my design notebook *VBS* I didn't realize it had been so long since I posted, sorry about that! It's been 'down into the deep freeze again' and I've been avoiding the big bedroom(aka sewing room).A mug of tea and and old movies are what keep my 'nuts' from rattling these days *VBS* But spring will follow, eventually. One season turning into the next...the snow will go and the grass will brighten my window world once more. Until then...I just gotta keep busy!! I got a call from Betsy, last week. She wanted to make a tesselated T quilt for a friends new grandchild. Obviously his name begins with a T. She worked up this pattern a few years back for a nephew but couldn't remember how she got the tessalation. I knew I had drawn out one block of the pattern as I really liked her idea. Sooo many ideas, so little time...*VBS* But luckily I had saved it.
Just ignore the upper drawing, that's a different tesselation I've toyed with making. Betsy's funny little T square was drawn on a scrap of paper and eventually cut out and pasted in the notebook. The neat thing is that it doesn't matter what size block you make. This is basically a 9 patch, with the biggest HST taking up 2/3's. You could do it with 2.5, 3.5 or even 4.5" parts. I'm pretty sure I've mentioned I'm a "parts" person..LOL. That is what I look at when I look at quilts.**the picture will enlarge. And the parts that are looking white in the picture would actually be green also..who knows why I didn't finish coloring it...LOL**
This quilt gets laid out with all the blocks going the same way. The second color forms the other T(reversed, as with all tesselations). I think it's fun to see the positive/negative aspect of these quilts, and they don't all HAVE to be dificult to piece.
This isn't one that would work well scrappy, however, unless you are working with very similar scraps in each color.
There have been quite a few questions about the crocheted rug. Look on my sidebar under labels. There are quite a few posts about making them. And as I mention back in 2006, when I started, it's Darcie's idea. She's under Longarm Quilter and Hand Dyer under places to go.
For Terry, yes, you could use the selvedges you are saving. Use a slightly smaller hook as I did in my second rug, an I hook vs. the K I usually use. I didn't have a pattern just strips of fabric(I have found 1/2 to 3/4" works well) and I just 'winged it'. You may end up taking it out over and over til you 'get' the rhythm of the increasing. Darcie 'slips' her strips together, I sew mine and roll them into balls. I sew them "assorted" to get the really scrappy look of this newest rug. This is the 5th or 6th one I've done. Feel free to email me for more directions.
I've thought about a tutorial on doing the rug, but right now I don't have the time or the inclination. Another person who made one with my help is Angie at Threadcatcher....back in her earliest posts.

Theirs, Mine and the Real Deal....

I'm flunking the WIP Wednesday, enough political ads already! Here's what is happening in my corner of the world.This is the broken dishes quilt in the Prairie Children and Their Quilts book that I showed last Thursday.
And here is my freshly completed top minus borders. They will be auditioned this afternoon. It seemed like alot of cutting, the need for 48 of the scrappy HST's....but I stuck to it and even made extra. I'm quite pleased with how it looks and the fabrics I chose. Some of the scraps I used are from the 1980's and a reproduction line of Museum prints from that era.
And since I'm lucky enough to have found this Orphan block of broken dishes, and quilted it up as a square, I had a good reference of how scrappy this project could actually be and look authentic. What do you think? Do you like what I did?
I'm going to get the borders on, and then hand quilt it. I think a simple cross hatching through the centers, diagonally. I enjoyed it so much, I've selected the Bear Paw as my next little quilt from that book...the colors are richer...hurray for that!!!

Scrap Bag bits and pieces...

and a cool, but sunny February Day *VBS* The scrap cutting continues and for the most part I am enjoying it. I try NOT to think about how many scraps there are that need cutting up..I'd really get depressed about that. An hour a day is do-able, some days I get through the pile I chose, some days I don't. I just finish them the next day. I'm loving the sense of order it is creating.This is the 4th, and last of the small quilts I made a couple of weeks ago. It's future is uncertain, but it will get put to some use or another. I should be busy at work on that needed soon baby quilt for DD#2, but I've been dragging my feet. Yesterday found me elbow deep in flannel, making blue burp cloths for the new baby. A dozen is a nice number to give, I think.
And for those of you who've been reading for awhile, here the latest fabric strips rug I am crocheting. It's for DD#1. She painted her screened in porch floor(a deep wine color) and then requested a "mama-do" rug with wine colors mingled in....LOLx I should have it done for spring and summer use. I'm up to about 26" now, and it needs to be about 36". Time to sew up more strips of fabric.
Katie asked if Ebby was a purr-er...and yes, she is. It takes very little to start her purring, and it's quite loud. She also is a "talker", and yes Paula, I think she's got Siamese blood. She has the very boney, elongated face one see on a Siamese.
I've learned to minic her tone and variation levels as she 'tells' me things, and if I respond to her with that intonation, she talks even more...LOL It's quite entertaining. She's good company and I'm glad to be sharing a life with her, despite her stand-offishness.

Monday Ramblings....

and a question *VBS* And an answer *VBS* Are you wondering about the picture of Ebony over on the sidebar? And why I would put the 'cat who would not mingle' below her picture? There is a story about that...*S* I've been a long time fan of the Kipling "Just So" stories. I know they don't have much popularity any more, but they are wonderful to listen to while you are sewing or quilting. I discovered them 'back in the day' when I used to spin. One of my favorites is "The Cat Who Walked Alone". It's a creation story and tells how the animals came to be mankinds helpers and live with us. The cat, of course, has to do it "his way", and that is the charm of that story.The cat manages to get what he wants from the relationship without giving in to anything he doesn't want.A couple of weeks ago, as I sat sewing, I was listening to a book of short stories on CD. I don't remember the author, but the book title was "M is for Magic". The author, a man, read the stories himself...it was quite good, altho a bit bizarre. What caught my attention was a reference to a cat, in one of the stories, and he referred to that cat as "the cat who would not mingle".
I remember hearing those words and thinking "it's perfect for Ebony". She MOST definitely IS "The Cat Who Would Not Mingle". She chooses to set herself apart from the world. She has developed some trust in the year I've had her, but it's not a "given" on any particular day. The element of 'threat' never seems to be completely gone. She never really relaxes, altho she's getting closer. I can't help but wonder what scarred her to this extent, but of course, I'll never know for sure. She wants to be petted and fussed over, but always keeps herself at almost arms lenght. You have to reach to stroke her head. That keeps her safe from you scooping her up to hug. I do it anyway, if I get the chance,LOL, and she looks completely disgusted when I set her back down. She's no worse for wear, but I've disturbed her fur, don't you know? LOL.....defintely...the cat who would not mingle.

Just for my friend Norma....

Of Random Stitches *VBS* The Christmas card I received from Norma had a FQ tucked inside it. She wrote that she wanted me to have a piece of fabric from her, and it gave her a smile to think about some of that piece in my quilts. Norma, you don't have to wait forever for that dream to happen. I've made up one of the Kitchen Sink units(top one) and will include it in the KS I'm making for ME! The 4 patch(below) will be tucked into one of double 4 patch quilts I'm working on...*VBS* You'll always be there, in my quilt and in my heart...thank you *VBS*
Finn been so very good lately, and soooo very busy getting organized I decided to give her a 'play' day today *S* And this is part of what is happening on the cutting board. Can you guess?
It might just be something from this lovely book I got back in October for my birthday *VBS* I've resisted for so long....
It was hard to choose which one I wanted to make today....but Broken Dishes won! I'm using fabric from my Civil War project box...some scraps I've had since the mid 80's and some I've bought in the past few months. Mine won't be quite as pink, red and blue as the picture suggests. That green just demanded to be used...what's a girl to do????

And so it goes....

the sorting out, the tidying up, the organizing. I'm not sure where this "clean it up" bug came from, but I'm definitely infected!!
I completely forgot to take a "before" picture...LOL, and these are almost an "after".Saturday afternoon found me pulling ALL the fabric in my stash off the shelves and onto the floor. The piles were as high as the seat of my chair(yes, I did much of the sorting sitting down). Ebby came in, took one look at the mess and retreated to the nice warm blanket in the bedroom. I sorted well into the evening, and then again all day Sunday. I was still at it yeaterday, but with some breaks for stuff like Income tax prep, etc.
I've been thinking about the best way to "have" my stash, and I'm not sure this is a forever plan, but I'm giving it a try.
I sorted by color into piles, and then pulled out all the brights. I used computer paper boxes to hold the fabric as I folded it into it's category. I've got all the big yardages(for possible backings or borders) stacked on the top shelf for now. I've put what seems like a bushel basket full of smaller pieces that I'm going to cut up into scrap baskets. I probably should put a "FINALLY" in front of that particular cut up statement. Do any of you have that "last piece of it" complex. I've spent years hating to see the last little bit of some fabrics gone. And I have found that I have had an "error" in my thinking. I've saved alot of small( 5 or 6") pieces suitable for small parts of applique. The problem with that is that I don't do applique...LOL. They work equally well for those great scrappy Country Threads type patterns, but I rarely do those anymore either. Soooooo, with great determination, I'm putting on my brave face, and cutting them into squares, etc. It feels good to have made that decision. I think I've been a reluctant learner when it ocmes to my sewing habits. I love to sew. I love to sew in the morning. I like to sew in my jammies with a mug of coffee right by my hand. All that love of sewing doesn't include love of cutting so I can sew at a moments whim. Well, by gosh, I'm going to be able to as I conquer the scrap cutting...*VBS*
And here an "after" for you, a new day had dawned...bright! Very bright. It's all of my really bright fabrics. Lots of KP Kids in there, some Jan Mullen, but mostly South Sea Imports. the KP Kids line. If I had a shelf over my cutting table I think I'd stack them there just so I could look at them..*VBS*
Thanks to all of you who suggested ideas for being to see what I am typing more easily. I haven't found the perfect for me solution as yet, but I've got ideas to work with now...Thnaks!! and hugs for all of you.

Anybody seen Phil ???

Or any other groundhog? Or maybe even, the sun??? Not me, must be we'll have another 6 weeks of winter. *VBS* My 'scrappy' project is going so well, I thought I'd share more of it with you. I hope no one misunderstood my explaination about how I 'cut up' *S* Bonnie probably does cut squares along with her strips, it's been a while since I read her system. Part of the reason I cut more squares than strips is that I really want VARIETY in what I'm piecing.This pile of cut scraps(which doesn't look like much I know) is the product of ONE hour of cutting this a.m. This is SITTING DOWN cutting. I'm not able to stand for long periods of time like I used to...darn that lower back stuff!. So I've put a piece of that gripper stuff you put in silverware drawers under my smallest mat, and cut sitting at the dining room table.
And this is how I store the cut pieces until they get added to the bigger bins in the sewing room. I made a resolution in January to try and cut for 1 hour each day. I pick a handful of scraps(which I've sort of stacked in piles) and see if I can get them cut in the one session. This mornings work seemed smaller than piles from other days, but some of it was carefully trimming the ravels off already cut strips.
And here's a block that is just perfect for "leftovers". It's made with 4 patches in opposite corners, and HST's sewn into a 4 patch block in the other two corners..
I'm working with 2.5" parts on this one.
There are many ways to lay the blocks out, here is one of them.
And here is another layout where you deliberatly bring the pinwheels together. The block is a nice size at 8.5" This pattern makes up fast and easily.
Those brights are looking good to me this time of year. Why not add some colorful playtime to your day??? *VBS*
P.S. I wanted to add a post script explaining the ever increading number of "typos". It's gotten very hard for me to see what I am typing, as I write the post. I've managed to get the font size to increase in other areas(where reading is required), but darned if I can figure out how to make it bigger while using the "post" option. Anybody have any suggestions? Until then, please forgive my 'hitting the wrong key' problem...LOL