It's A Mystery

I just got home from my first mystery class at Glad Creations . . . what a blast! It was like a mini retreat except that you get to go home and sleep in your own bed. People even cook for you (at local restaurants).

I would love to show you some of my finished blocks, but they need to remain a mystery for everyone else who will be attending the class or doing the mystery by mail.

What I can show you are the bright, happy fabrics I used. The background fabric is called "Giggle Feathers". (Eat your heart out, Georgia.) They all came from my stash, so that makes me even happier.

I had so much fun sewing and visiting with old and new friends that I think I'm going to have to make Glad mystery classes a habit!

I Get By With A Little Help From My Friends

I'm finally making progress on my Sylvia's Bridal Sampler quilt. And only because Nathan pushed me to continue when I stalled out. He did it by making some blocks for me, printing a sheaf of paper foundations, and putting together a bunch of kits with the pieces already cut and ready to sew.

I got help from other quarters, too. Nancy pieced several blocks for me in exchange for appliqued blocks from me. And then at quilt club, folks helped me out by tearing out paper foundations.

Whew! What would I do without great friends like that? I'll tell you what. Go without a Sylvia's quilt for the New Year's show at Glad Creations, that's what!

Seeing Stars

I have a passion for Lone Star quilts . . . . I just love making them! I've been making one after another this year, which might explain why I haven't posted anything for a very long time.


I am so thrilled to have won a blue ribbon for this Lone Star. I created it as a tribute to the first residents of Minnesota.
This quilt features a morning star sacred to the Lakota and floral motifs used in Ojibway beadwork.

Judy Remiger's machine quilting pushed this quilt into first place at the Minnesota Quilters show in June.

A closer look of Judy's quilting reveals many Native American motifs, and enhancement of the appliques and printed beadwork.

My passion has in turn led to teaching others my little tricks for making Lone Stars. I am a perfectionist, but a lazy one, and that has allowed me to find streamlined techniques for creating a Lone Star that lays flat and has all it's points matching.

Here's my latest Lone Star. This time I used batiks and added a bit of piping between the star and the first border.

As you can see, it's a work in progress. I just finished marking the top for quilting and have pin-basted it. I'm excited to see how this one turns out.

This fall I will once again be teaching my favorite techniques at Glad Creations. It's so much fun to see all the amazing looks we achieve with different fabrics. I can't wait to see the new crop! My next Lone Star class starts in a couple of weeks, so come join me at Glad Creations!

Bosca's Got a Brand New Bag

Isn't it cute? I whipped up this little bag for Bosca so that she can carry her plastic "clean-up" bags. It's about time she earns her keep!

This comes from a Lazy Girl pattern called "Maggie" that I got at Glad Creations. This is the larger of the two sizes offered and may be a bit big for Bosca. I'm going to make a smaller one just like it that will still hold four newspaper-sized bags.

The tiger print is perfect for Bosca's coloring (and sometimes her temperment). Since she loves cats, I lined it with a matching cheetah print.

Now I want to make her a backpack. Hey, Lazy Girl, got a pattern for one of those?

I'm Scared

My sister-in-law sent me this photograph of coffee beans. Supposedly, if your right brain is developed enough, you can see a man in the beans. For real.

If you see the man in less than three seconds, your right brain is more developed than most people. If it takes you up to a minute, your brain is normal. Between a minute and three minutes? That means your right brain is operating slowly, and you need to eat more protien. If it takes longer than three minutes, you need to start challenging your brain with more of these brain puzzles. All according to real doctors.

I've been staring at these beans for hours, and I still don't see the man. I've squinted, covered one eye, stepped back for distance, examined up close, looked away for a while and spun back quickly to catch the man in the beans. I've tried emptying my mind of all expectations of what he should look like. I've considered that my sister-in-law is putting me on, but she wouldn't do that.

Once in a while I think I see a mustache, but then it disappears.

What does this have to do with quilting? EVERYTHING! Creativity flows from the right brain. I strive for creativity in my quiltmaking. What does my creative future hold if I can't see that little jerk in the beans?

(Does anyone else see him? Everyone?)

I've Joined a Another Gang

We have a new club at Glad Creations. Actually, it's been meeting for some months now. We're making six-inch blocks from the book, Sylvia's Bridal Sampler, which is depicted in a novel, The Master Quilter. Both books and many others (all quilt-related) are authored by Jennifer Chiaverini. "Sylvia" groups meet all over the country and all over the world. Some groups even meet on-line.

As a rule, I'm not a joiner. For weeks I proudly and publicly resisted the snowballing Sylvia frenzy at Glad's. Then one day I walked past a fabric collection piling up in my sewing room and realized it would be perfect for a Sylvia quilt. I caved. My capitulation was so sudden and complete, it surprised the Glad's crew and humbled me. I didn't rest until I got Nathan to cave, too.

My collection of black and white with red is so pretty that for several more weeks it sat in a basket just looking tantalizing. It sat there so long that the parade of Sylvia blocks at the shop left me in the dust.

It sat there so long, in fact, that I bought companion fabrics to make little quilts with the Sylvia leftovers that have yet to make their appearance.

But I'm on the band wagon now. I've completed my first five blocks and am finding that it is a lot like eating popcorn, just like everyone is saying. I can't wait to make the next five!

There are 140 blocks in Sylvia's quilt, but I plan to make just 48 of my favorites and set them into a Glad Creations pattern called Lone Star in Ohio.

Meanwhile, if you have been following Nathan's blog, you know that he as passed me by miles and miles as has almost everyone else. I'm trying not to let that panic me. I've got two more years to get 'er done!

Giving Thanks

This Thanksgiving I'm thankful to the generous people in my life who have donated fabric and other quilting supplies to the sewing circle at Little Earth. (I wrote about the sewing circle last month.) We were thrilled to receive these gifts.

My friend, Nathan, donated yards and yards of beautiful fabric. His gift will be used to create many star quilts that will in turn become gifts to others. Give-away quilts are an important tradition in the Native American community. We're saving these special fabrics for our first star quilt class. (Thank you, Nathan.)

Roy, who lost his wife two years ago, was finally able to part with Betty's stash this summer, a portion of which also went to Little Earth. One little girl is using pieces of Betty's fabric in her first "blanket". We had run out of pretty pastels with little flowers. (I wish you could have seen the joy on her face, Roy.)

When Roy mentioned that Betty liked to buy fabric on their travels but hadn't made all the quilts she wanted, I decided it was time to give back. So with a small collection of batiks that I pulled from her stash, I made a small rail fence quilt. I added fabric from my stash for the borders and binding. I hope this quilt always reminds Roy of his beloved Betty and of his own kindness.

Happy Thanksgiving, everybody!