what's new

Okay, many hours have passed since my last post and I'm pleased to announce that my 2 Hour Dishcloth is finally finished.



I have no clue how many hours it actually took--and I ended up using a different border pattern than the one in the book because after a half hour of trying, I just couldn't figure it out. And who could bear to use a dishcloth that took a whole day to make? I have no idea if it's any good...I haven't been able to bring myself to get the thing wet, let alone use it for cleaning food off of stuff.



I have the original At Home quilt but it really doesn't go with the room colors since new sofas arrived. Believe me, I'm not complaining. There are few things more fun than decorating a room and purchasing the fabric required to do that. I could have done a different quilt--I could probably make At Home in my sleep at this point, but it's so quick and easy and just the right size to snuggle under.



This one is going to be mostly Moda's "Papillon", but I've added bits of "Etchings", some French General and strips of some favorite old Lecien Quilter's Basic. I felt that the quilt needed a bit more red than the jelly roll provided so I added some extra. And while I adore pink, it turns out that SOME PEOPLE have real issues with that color, so those strips were eliminated. Sigh...

Once the quilt is finished, I'll get started on pillows, chair cushions, and who knows what all else.



When I'm not sewing or crocheting at an embarrassingly slow pace, I'm enjoying nature. Sometimes with my striped friend who provides pretty good company.




Wild turkeys and quail are a bit skittish and don't cooperate at all with my plans to photograph them. The deer are a bit better but they ignore my requests to scootch just a little closer.



Finally, I've got a question for any of you who are experienced at this whole living-in-the-country thing. Anybody have sheep? I've been researching the topic and am mighty tempted but would appreciate any advice.

bad blogger

Okay, so much for my blogging resolve. Do you want to hear my excuses? Nah, neither do I.

I'm not going to talk about skiing...it's a bit of a sore subject these days (pun intended) but how cool is this? My brother got this for me from a local antique shop. He figured I just might need it.



I do love getting comments...and Mascanlon shamed me into tearing the twill tape off my tower and jelly roll of Papillon...and she's right. Just like a bandaid, it only hurts for a moment. Now I have wonderful whole pieces of fabric to agonize over. I ordered border fabrics from the best mail order place ever*...and as soon as those arrive I'll get cracking on my new version of At Home. I'm tempted to do a version of one of Pam's quilts as well. I just love Papillon and it's even more fun to throw in a few strips that aren't from the collection...seems to make the projects look older. I mean that in the good way, of course.



What else have I been doing? Well, among other things, trying crochet again. With my new favorite color. Found a book called "2 Hour Dishcloths" and I have to say that the one thing I DO know is that I'll never give a quilt pattern a name which implies how long it should take a person to complete the project. Because 2 hours? Excuse me? I guess I'm totally lame because I've spent 2 hours on the first 10 rows.



Continuing the kitchen theme, I'm back to one of my true sewing project loves--dish towels. Here I've used my new favorite fabric--Osnaburg. It looks so much like linen but is a fraction of the price and is 100% cotton.

Time to get back to work--I have fabric bits to cut out. I've been neglecting blogs and have missed keeping up with Pam's...and now that I'm caught up I'm really eager to make a bunch of those granny square blocks...while dreaming of having a flock of mini-sheep of my own. Of course up here they'd be little puffy hors d'oeuvres for the local wildlife. But a girl can dream.



*Fat Quarter Shop could not be more different from another well known online store...who takes your order, sends you a confirmation telling you that they may or may not actually have what you ordered and then you never hear another peep outta them. Grrr.