Sunday fun

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Originally uploaded by aviva_hadas

Even more of what we did on Sunday.

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Sorry, I will eventually learn to shot with the camera horizontal.

More of what we did on Sunday.

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(Sorry, I may never learn to hold the camera horizontally.)

What we did on Sunday.

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What we did on Saturday.

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Kaffe prints

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Perfect border - need I say more?

blue circles

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Another blue quilt. Most if not all of these prints are Oriental. Once upon a time, I thought about doing something like this with my cat prints...

scrappy & bright

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This was on a vendor's booth - in retrospect, I should have gotten the pattern, I really like this.

scrappy

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I have this as a UFO - mine would use one cleadon green background with scrappy Oriental prints...

blue

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I mentioned the other day my affinity for blue quilts, right?

Shadows

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I am feeling the shadows...

Irish Chain

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I couldn't use enough words to express how much I like this quilt. (I especially like that it is symmetrical.)

Applique

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Originally uploaded by aviva_hadas

Simple 4 blocks - I might need to do something like this with my Baltimore Album blocks...

Typically Maryland

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Our flag is red & white/black & yellow.

portraits

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Very Nice execution.

Cathedral Windows

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Take a look a the stick pins to get an idea of the scale. Seriously the whole thing might have been 6 inches by 4 inches!

eat you veggies

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Originally uploaded by aviva_hadas

Very fun quilt. The appliques are made with fruit & veggie fabrics, as are the backgrounds!

Argh 2 - & some quilty goodness

This morning was 180 degrees better than yesterday. No cranky baby, no cat yak, no traffic snarls. YAY

I've started to cut on the CW repro checkerboard quilt:

Wellllll my helpers have - THANKS A BUNCH!
Now you can take out the light double pinks & insert the dark ones:

Speaking about the Civial War, we are going to Corbit's Charge Commemoration: Battle of Westminster on Saturday. & Those kinds of events keep me going back to the CW repros & shirtings...
My big helper made himself cozy while I was cutting the black & whites for my Newspaper quilt.

I hope you enjoyed a small sampling of the quilts from one of the two local shows that I attended recently. I think the next ones that I show will be those where I took close-ups...

ZING

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Originally uploaded by aviva_hadas

WOW the visual impact of this quilt still grabs me!

One Block Wonder

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I am probably never going to make one of these, but this one is particularly nice - I really like the borders!

Simple yet effective

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Not my colors, but I DIG the concept! I can see this in florals, novelties, black & whites, Orientals, cats & Maybe even Taupes!

How can you see it done?

T-shirt quilt

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Originally uploaded by aviva_hadas

I have collected (probably far too many) some of my sons onesies in hopes of making a keepsake quilt. I really like this pattern (the shadows) & that red border! I also like how there are circles & small squares interspersed with the big squares.

PURPLE

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Originally uploaded by aviva_hadas

I love quilts that ar not shy about color! & those squares & rectangles - shows that you can make a beautiful quilt with simple shapes...

Stripes...

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I hope to do something like this with stripes some day...

I SPY

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1. I am always on the look out for new ways to use Novelties/make I SPY quilts.
2. Solid gray :o)
3. This one without looking at the novelty prints (for say cars & sporting equipment) screams "BOY."

black & white & lime all over

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I love (& always have) Black & White quilts!

Cat Quilt

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One of the few (if not the only) cat quilts... Love the use of black & whites & that houndstooth - AWESOME.

ABC Quilt

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1. I am always on the look out for how to set ABC quilts.
2. I have that panel...
3. See number 1. - this is so darn cool in execution on this theme.

Cars

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Well, with a son, I am drawn to boy-ish patterns... I also love brights & those buttons - too cool! (& The tessalation isn't bad either.)

Autumnal Octagons.

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I guess that these are snowballs too... (Or they could be.)
These are not my colors - though I do have an Autumnal UFO...

I loved the background & the way the very darks & very lights play on this quilt.

blue & white snowball

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Originally uploaded by aviva_hadas

Anyone who know me, knows that I like blue & white quilts. (If not, I do.) & Yet, I can not quite explain why I have not made one for my self as of yet. I have started 1 (or 2) & planned several in my mind...

I also liked the borders on this one - especially the fact that there isn't a plain spacer between the blocks & the HTS border.

Where to start?

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How about not worrying about that & just starting!

Anyone recognize this pattern? Yeah I thought so. It was a Bonnie Hunter (Quiltville) mystery. I think she called it Tobacco Roads.

Agrh

At 8:09, I have officially already had a horrible morning.
Now if I had checked my e-mail before I left the house I would have seen this Alert...

I270 is closed in both directions at Rt 124 (Exit 11) because of downed power lines. It is expected to be closed for the next several hours.

Yes, that is the highway that I take to get to work & yes, that is my exit. While I found out right before the point of no return, I did not find out in time to make the most expeditious choice... I got to work 45 minutes late. I guess it could have been worse - no one was injured, it wasn't stinking hot yet, etc. But still...

The copier/scanner/fax in my office is "broken."

& all of those lovely cranky baby/cat hairballs/cooking dinner in a crock-pot issues just piled onto the misery pile.

So I am going to go back in the way back machine & post some quilt show photos today. (1 by 1 in flickr.) So check back - often.

Playing with fabric! (Those wil become pieced letters with black on white lights as the backgrounds)

Playing with fabric! (Those wil become pieced letters with black on white lights as the backgrounds)
Originally uploaded by aviva_hadas

He has played this game several times!
I have a bunch of fabric on a shelving ststem next to my bed - so I sort on the bed with him on the bed.
For a while he will read a book or play with his cups - but he eventually helps mommy.

Newspaper

Once upon a time ago, I shared how my crafting style is much like that of a dandylion. You know once they turn to fluff & the slightest breeze sends them everywhere - at once.

Well here is another exhibit. (I am not in the mood to press & cut all of those CW repros & shirtings yet. And I am mulling over an option 4 - making 4 patches that match instead of those that are scrappy - probably not because I will be miffed when I create otherwise unusable pairs via this method...)

But I apparently was in the mood to sort, choose, & cut for my "Newspaper" quilt.
Evidence:

12 reds, 63 total in uneven amounts. I may look for a darker red & substitute. (I like the 7x9 layout.) Mostly Konas, but there is bound to be a Bella Solid & a couple by P&B in this mix.
Some black on whites - these will be used in an ABC quilt as the backgrounds & at the very least the actual newsprint fabric will be in my newspaper quilt as well.
As an aside, this is the book that has the ABC quilt pattern... Sorry, he isn't showing the cover - so I can't share the title/author's name....
This pile includes my newest pieces "BLAH, BLAH, BLAH" & the trees...
Cats... But as I was sorting these out of the others, I said, "I am missing a few..."
& so I was...
I have in excess of 40 cat black & white prints. (I have given some of them away already - so once upon a time ago I had more....)
I will use 63 different prints & am trying to use about even cats & non-cat prints. In general, if it has words, it is in. Also if it is already smaller than a fat quarter, it is in. (& I have set aside a few to share with a friend. Although the actual determination for what gets shared is nebulus - long & skinny = shared... So I am using up some of these!)
half of the back (I have under 4 yards, but more than 3.75 yards...) as modeled by my other male helper. (The quilt size will be about 66.5 x 85.5.)
And the binding - perfect huh?

As you can see, I have my reds cut out (I am making bow tie block by the way) & I have started to chop off roughly 5 x10 or from the skinny pieces two 5 x? pieces, so that I can later have more manageable pieces to trim & so that the bulk can be put away - now there is a novel idea!

Father's day was fairly uneventful:
Jacob helped with the unwrapping & had more fun with the boxes... (but you probably guessed that, huh?)

Fabric stores are fun!

Fabric stores are fun!
Originally uploaded by aviva_hadas

One of my local fabric stores had a scissor sharpening event to day. & while my Ginghers can use a good sharpening, I am not 100% sure where they are... (Bad quilter - I know.) Meanwhile I know exactly where my knives are & They could use a good sharpening too. So I added this stop onto our weekend errands list of things to do.

While in said shop, a little one (under his father's supervision) tried to wreck the place. He tried to take rulers off of their hooks, threads our of their cabinets & bias tapes out of their bins. I missed the threads episode - I was buying solid reds for a Black & white & red all over quilt. But bias tape packages are perfect fun for an almost 19 m.o. toddler!

So I sat him in this chair - that was conveniently set up next to the Minkie, hoping that he would want to feel the minkie... He felt it a little. All he really wanted to do was run around!

So I went to pay for my reds & then hoped that the knives would be done so that we could leave the store in one piece. (They were - yay.)

Advice

Caveat - Yes, I probably should be able to figure this out on my own, but don't you like the give and take of asking questions & getting answers?
The facts:
1. I have a collection of CW Reproductions (I know many people find this hard to believe - myself too on occasion.) & shirtings that are just about even at 75 pieces (generally fat quarters) each.

2. I want to make a checkerboard quilt where the squares started out life as 2.5 inches cut.

The ideas:
A. Cut "X" number (I have no idea how many, really - I should have started there, right?) of each and sew them together 1 by 1. I have some 5 inch charms included in my collection that I would really like to use.

B. Sew 1 light strip to 1 dark strip, sub-cut ever 2.5 inches & then make 4-patches, etc. until the quilt is big enough.

C. Sew strata of 6 (light, dark, light, dark, light, dark), sub-cut every 2.5 inches & them make 36-patch blocks.

The question(s):
Which is wisest, A. B. or C. (remember the charms that I want to use & that while some are fat quarters, others are not & several of those fat quarters are missing bits...)?

If I go with C. (& Perhaps make a couple extra 6 piece strips using the charms & other extras that might be found after cutting for the strata to add in) will there be enough Variety in the piecing? Or will I (you) see the dark flag fabric next to the striped shirting all the time?

Using the 2.5 inches cut as a given, how many of each would I need to make a quilt that is about 80 inches square when finished? How many 36 patches would that take?

Do you want to see the collections?

Everything from poison green to chrome yellow. Are my double pinks to light? Am I missing any color/theme?


Do you have any scraps/strips that you would like to add to my collection?

Would anyone want my leftovers?

Any other advice?

Hope Valley Tumblers

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Originally uploaded by aviva_hadas

So on Monday night, our toilet decided to back up. Yuck - I know! Trust me I know. I had just cleaned the shower & was now bailing toilet water into the clean shower....

Luckily we have a second bathroom. No frantic after hours calls to the plumber. Instead we called my Father in law who is fairly handy. He suggested getting a mid-line snake... So that is what I did yesterday. & I fixed the toilet!

So I rewarded my self with some sewing time. Here are the results. Those are the flower pot sized tumblers. The bases are about 12 inches across. I used all 24 prints from the Hope Vally fabric line + one solid.

For those of you with a design wall & who use it regularly. My hats off to you. Granted I did not start shuffling until I had rows sewn, but I rotated & flipped & moved each of these rows so many times that I lost count.

Quilt show & quilting

So how do you want me to share almost 300 quilt show pictures?
What about what I am up to? Yes, I am "working" on stuff.
I am back to working on my woven taupe quilt. I want to have the top done by the time I go to Hershey in just over a month. I need to trim the selvage edge & square up 72 squares & then I can start to sew. This was the one that was supposed to be dark/dark medium... It started out life as a flower pot sized tumbler quilt & then I messed up with my preliminary cuts & changed it into a squares "zen" quilt & there it sat for a while as I was "mad" at my mistake. (& I did not want to make any more mistakes with those pricy bits of fabric.) Where I left off, I needed a few more pieces of fabric - so I pulled my lights down & played with them on Sunday during my sew-n-tell group meeting.
I could probably find an old photo of this project, but...
And at my sew-n-tell group gathering, one of the gals in the shop where we meet brought in quilt (Japanese included) magazines for us. YIPPY SKIPPY - I brought home just about as many as I could carry - too many actually - My shoulder hurt carrying that bag!

Yummy!

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Originally uploaded by aviva_hadas

This sums up the next couple of photos in one shot. :o)

I hate to wear a hat.

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Originally uploaded by aviva_hadas

The tie versus velcro or nothing has finally foiled the boy who would otherwise rip off his hat - over & over again. In this photo he is yanking on the strings...

Berry "picker" eater (edited)

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Originally uploaded by aviva_hadas

Two weeks ago (I know I am behind - I have 2 quilt shows worth of photos to share too.) we went berry picking. Jacob picked the leaves & walked around - fairly oblivious. Then he found out what we were doing. After that point, momma picked Jacob ate = in that order.
(Yes the stains came out.)
I made a strawberry cobbler with our plunder - but believe it or not, I used too many strawberries...

This past Friday after work, Jacob & I picked English Peas. I shelled most of them at the field & then went out & picked some more. Jacob was fine with the whole experience until I decided to pick some more - by then he was DONE! (I should have been done too - but I could not visualize how many peas iIhad picked.) (The ice cream to cool us down afterwards hit the spot.)

We ate spaghetti & eggs with peas, sloppy joes with peas & tonight we will have butered peas with salmon. Yeah, I picked a few peas.

Round Robin on Display

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Originally uploaded by aviva_hadas

I participated in a year long bloggers round robin. It started with the photo transfer. There were size rules for the next several rounds. Then there were applique something type rules. Then there were baste/quilt/bind rules.

I love the result so much that I have already put it up on my wall.

picking flower petals

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Originally uploaded by aviva_hadas

Most of the photos look like this. Who cam blame him - they are so easy to pick & so pretty....

Pretty flowers, pretty baby.

Pretty flowers, pretty baby.
Originally uploaded by aviva_hadas

That bush is right outside of our condo. I had to grab a shot (or several) before we went to a picnic. My camera seems to be taking longer & longer to click - so those cute smiley pictures are fewer & farther apart. :o(

He loved the bounce house!

He loved the bounce house!
Originally uploaded by aviva_hadas

Anyone going to QU?

What is QU you ask? QU is Quilter's Unlimited of Northern Virginia. Their annual show starts today & goes through Sunday at the Dulles Expo Center. Yes a local guild has a show big enough to use an Expo Center annually. (& Yes in my opinion it is that good too - on occasion I have preferred it to some of the National Shows that I have attended.) I will be headed down tomorrow afternoon with Quilt Show Baby.

The following Saturday, I will be going to the Annapolis Quilt Guild's quilt show.

& Then Quilt Odyssey in Hershey at the end of July. (Birthday Present for my Husband - chort, chuckle, tee hee...)

YUMMY!

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My baby eating a baby cone.

The mess on the bib is from the fruit he had earlier for lunch. The ice cream on the bib came later!