Cheri Chatter

Cheri Chatter

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Color Class

Last night we finished Session 2 of our Color Basics class at Glad Creations.  Our first session was all about the many aspects and terms of color theory which we applied this week to fabric selection.  We've talked value, intensity, temperature.  We've explored what happens to color with the addition of black, white and gray.  We discussed scale, style, directionality, and color recipes.  We're ready to pick fabrics for our next quilts!



What a fun, smart group of learners these quilters are to work with.  We're looking forward to getting back together in the fall for Color Club!

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Geez . . .

So with the hosta garden organized, I decided to put my garden clothes into the washing machine to soak out the ground-in dirt.  They were a mess.  I settled back on the couch to rest a bit, but within a few minutes I began hearing an intermittent banging that got alarmingly louder and louder.

Occasionally, my washing machine gets an unbalanced load which sets up a terrible racket.  This time it sounded like the machine was bouncing across the laundry room floor and about to tear itself apart.  I raced to the kitchen only to find that the noise wasn't coming from the basement at all; it was coming from outside the house.  I looked out the window, and there was Bosca . . . dismantling the downspout.  Bless her little, pea-pickin' heart.



As you can see, she's quite proud of her work.  Bosca's job in life, apparently, is to rid the world of woosels (her word for any four-legged, furry varmint known to you and I as a squirrel, chipmunk, rabbit, vole, mole, etc. ).  Woosels take their lives in their paws just entering our backyard.  I don't even dare say the word around her lest she get that crazed, serial murderer look in her eyes.

But I do have some fabric picked out for her with woosels on it that I just know she will love as a bandanna when her birthday rolls around this fall!

Monday, May 7, 2012

Organizing the Hostas

Today, I really wanted to be spending my time diving back in to organizing the basement.  I'll have to save that for a rainy day, because I need to plant the hostas that Amy and her husband, Dan, carefully bagged up and delivered to my back yard last week.

Before I could plant them though, I had to dig up the spot where they will live.  I call it my hosta bed because that's what I envisioned for it, not because it had achieved that status yet!


It used to be a pond that was lined with hostas.  Then the rabbits built a warren under it, chewed a hole in the expensive liner, and drained it like a bathtub.  My neighbor and I filled it in with dirt. Other things grew in place of the pond while I mused about what to plant. Every time I thought of planting more hostas, I made a quilt instead.  And then the moment of truth (aka the hostas) arrived.


It took several hours to dig out little trees, grapevines, and other volunteers.  My neighbor, Don, kept offering to help and finally came over to dig a few shovels full.  I don't know if he felt sorry for me or if it looked like I was having too much fun!  Once I finished digging, planting the new hostas took hardly any time at all.  They're beautiful.  Thanks, Amy and Dan!  I've got lots of space in the middle for other plantings.


I would have kept going, but I blew out a tennis shoe.  It was a great reason to stop and, also, to throw something away.  I am getting excited about tossing stuff these days!

Sunday, May 6, 2012

A Rainy Day

We've had a few rainy days in a row in fact. It's been cloudy, interspersed with the occasional downpour, which means I can put off planting hostas a little longer and sew instead.  I'll take it!

The Twin Cities Shop Hop is over, so I'm continuing my 30's project and have completed my first block.  I really like it.  Since there's lots of snowballing involved, I have a pile of leaders and enders.  When sewn together, I will have a bunch of 3/4"  finished half-square triangle units.


They're really small!  Maybe I'll use them as the centers for crumb blocks?

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Taking a Break

I have definitely got my eight hours of organizing in this week.  I just have to take a break and sew.  I've been to the chiropractor this morning, so all my kinks have been worked out.  I'm raring to go!


The weather is beautiful, so I've decided to sew on the porch.  It's all set up.  I wish I didn't have to leave to get my hair done, but that will be a nice break, too.


I plan to start a new little quilt for our block-of-the-month project at South Minneapolis Quilters.  Nathan has his May quilt done, and I will do this one for our June meeting.  I can't show you what it will look like yet, but as you can see, I'm using 30's reproduction fabrics.  It's going to be fun to work on.

The Twin Cities Shop Hop starts tomorrow, so I may not be posting for a while.  Later, gator.

I Can't Get Away From It!



After finishing my laundry room, I went to Little Earth and helped organize our sewing circle's storage closet.    We'll be able to find what we need now.


I can't show you the before picture because I forgot to take one.  I was just too excited to dig in and get it organized, I guess!  Our looked something like this one though.  Scary, huh?

One of our Tuesday friends stopped by to show us the shawl she completed after months of work.  It was so beautiful, I had to get a picture.  She is very proud of her work and will be even prouder when she dances in it.

Another One Down


The laundry room is DONE!! It took longer than I thought it would. I ended up scrubbing the floor and painstakingly vacuuming dog hair off of two red rugs that may end up in the large basement area when it gets finished off. If they are not a fit, then bye-bye!  In the meantime they have a home on top of the stove.


I now have two complete areas done and fourteen to go. Sheesh. It may take me until October to finish!