What to do with the Black Tissu Indienne ?

Make a trop beau sac !! Merci mille fois encore Françoise for this beautiful thoughtful gift.

Who Shot the Couch?

I tend to stay away from wearing prints of any kind. It all started about 16 years ago when my then comedic pre-teen age son remarked on one of my new flowered blouses with a, “Who Shot the Couch?” I think it’s time to accessorize all those solids with a few new purses. Here’s the first of hopefully many.
I found the following tutorial on line for a great closure mechanism.

“You can use a retractable metal tape measure as a closure for your purse! Pull out the full length of the tape and cut. Measure the width of the top of your bag without seams and cut the appropriate length - be sure to round off the edges as this could eventually cut through your fabric.
Cover the cut metal tape measure with duct tape. Make a casing to hold the tape including the seam allowances. Stitch this casing to the wrong side of the purse and see only one side to the seam. Insert your tape measure and then sew up the remaining open side of the casing - you now have a "clicker" purse closing!”

I added two pull tabs on either side, but for the next one I am planning on adding the Velcro to the lining before I put it together. I also think it will be easier to add the handles before it’s lined. It’s hard to maneuver once the metal tape is in place.

"Oh, yes, it is a happy day, Mammy. The happiest days are the days when babies come.

I'd have to say it's a close second when the dang quilt you've been working on for over a year is finally finished,and hanging on the fence to be photographed. Don't you agree?

Facing Gorillas but Forgetting Defaults

I started my Dear Jane as filler, a palate cleanser between other projects. I love to paper piece, so why not do a block once and a while. No one warned me how addicting they are. Okay I thought. I’d face the gorilla in the room, tackle a few triangles, know I was up for the challenge and surely she’d let go of me. I could stop whenever I wanted to, and go back to other projects.

I printed 13 triangles, but it wasn’t until I completed 5 of them that I realized the size discrepancy. The default had been set for a 4.5 inch square; I failed to check the box, “size from quilt”. Oh well the squatty triangles are kinda cute, and the finished quilt will now be 74x74. It will be easier to hang.. Oh Heavenly Day don’t you just love when mistakes become problem solvers? I will remain optomistic about the cattywompus bend the rows are taking. It will all quilt out.....

In For a Penny

in for a pound. Okay Jane, two rows done, I'm hooked. But really, I'm behind in my batik challenge, and I only have some feathering yet to do on the 6 inch oriental border so I really can't start another row just yet......but as we speak I'm printing out the patterns for the first row of triangles.....darn you Jane.

Funny Story

So I'm watching Fons and Porter, and one of them says, "CARDINAL RULE: You should make a habit of only ripping a block three times and if the points still don’t match up...."
Here's where I finish the sentence in my head with a...."Just run with it, life's too short."

WRONG, their advice "after three times make the entire block over or it will be stretched out of shape beyond recognition.." I guess that's why they have a TV show and I line blocks up on my rug to post on my blog.

But then again who's to say who’s happier?

It Works!!!

I‘ve been apprehensive about sending freezer paper through my printer, but with the daunting task of piecing an entire Dear Jane, I thought what the heck. What’s the worst thing that could happen? A major paper jam…
I even planned on purchasing precut sheets. (30 sheets for $8.95). When I brought them up to the counter to pay, I asked the woman cutting my fabric if she had used them. With a big sigh, and slight hesitation she said, “No, but she’d been told they would work if you ironed a regular piece of 8.5 X 11’ paper ever so slightly around the edges onto the freezer paper. This gave each sheet the proper weight without the slippery feel."
I decided to cut my own sheet from the roll I had at home and give it a try. I returned the paper package to its hook and was on my merry way.
It worked like a charm, NO MORE TRACING!!! (Well at least for the DJ blocks because I use EQ’s DJ software)
One Roll of Reynolds Freezer paper (75 sq.’) is $2.69. It will give you 106 sheets per roll, which if you cut the entire roll saves you $28.62. 2 cents per sheet vs. 29 cents per sheet if you bought the fabric store package.
This only works on an inkjet printer, hope it helps someone and Happy Quilting!