Paul's Quilt

I began this quilt shortly after Christmas. The batiks were purchased the day after Christmas at Eshter's Fabrics on Bainbridge Island.  Love this shop!

I had wanted to work with the Dresden Plate pattern, but something really fun.  Not too girlie.  Not overly traditional. So I used a black batik as the background fabric.

And I had this crazy idea for the back using some of the extra 'blades' from the front.  I love how saturated the colors are.

I used a wool batting.  I wanted this to be a super toasty warm quilt as it was going to a very special person.

It is a "lap/take a nap with room to tuck in" blanket.

I am especially fond of the back.  Seems like a party!

Because it always is!



Great Day

Today was a great day!

I won the laundry war!  By 3pm.  Holy smoke.  I am totally bad ass.

The Kidlet returned to school after spring break.   Which was sad.  But I got my office, my workroom, my studio back.  Which was great.

I had a chance to work in the garden.  Alas, the weeds are winning.  Even though I have been cleaning up the garden for weeks.

It started to rain.  Again. So I went inside and began work on a quilt.  A Dresden plate pattern, but in batik.  Fabric I picked up after Christmas at Esther's Fabrics on Bainbridge Island.  This is a bucket list pattern for me.

A couple of weeks ago we went and saw a band called Rat City Brass - A Herb Albert and the Tijuana Brass cover band.  They were great and everyone in the audience had a silly smile plastered across their faces.  It was like going back in time!  Today, Gary made a mixed tape of their greatest hits.  It was so much fun to listen to while I worked on my quilt.  I knew almost all the songs

Then I had a chance to go back outside with the camera and capture some snaps of spring in the Northwest.

Have a great week!

Chair Covers - Part 4

This never fails.  I have a plan.  Let's call it Plan A.  And in my mind it's wonderful - sometimes for a few minutes, even sometimes for a couple of days.  Then there's a new thought that creeps in and before you know it, there's Plan B.  I love Plan B.  It's better than Plan A.  And then another thought or suggestion creeps in... and you can see where this is going, right?

I am still working on seat covers for the dining room chairs, but the plan seems to have changed a tiny bit.  Here's the first image (which is right in line with my original sketch).

Then the Sweetie says, "Are you goin' to make them all the same?" 

"Sure.  This is what I sketched out, remember?  It's mimicking the wallpaper. Remember?"  Little did I know that the Plan B seed had been planted.  Sneaky little bugger.

I began to lay out the leaves for the second seat cover... and I start to think, "It might be boring to work on this project if all of them are the same."  Whammo!  Plan B!

Plan B was all sandwiched together and I begin the third.   "Hmm, should I do two patterns or three?    I have two different chair styles so two patterns would work.  Or... I have six chairs.  There could be two of each if I do three patterns."  KaPow!!  Plan C!

Now you know that can't be the end of the story.

Plan D.  Bamm!

Plan E.  Zammo!  (I have no idea why Blogger has decided this image should be Portrait rather than Landscape.)

Plan F.  Crash!

I may need a cocktail when I finish quilting Plan F.  This one certainly has more twiddly, fiddly little pieces than the others.  And none of the pieces connect.  Heck, I might need one just for cutting out all of those twiddly, fiddly pieces.

Now should anyone ask why I have six different chair covers I will reply, with my readers low on my nose, "I decided to explore the pattern possibilities using a simple shape and two colors.  They are simple repeats, based on the original idea of 'wallpaper'."   Gah!  What a snob! 

But we will all know the true answer is has more to do with the power of suggestion, a short attention span, and boredom with Plan A.

Chair Covers - Part 2

One focus of this blog (aside from being a socially acceptable means to talk to myself) is to try new things.

For the chair project I am using batiks, khaki, and machine applique.

Many fabric stores have big sections devoted to batiks.  Lot of quilters are devoted to these fabrics.  Until now, they really have not called my name as I walk past.  But here's what I have recently learned.  They are a tight weave.  They hardly fray at all in the wash.  No, snarly gob of threads at the cut ends!  They appear to be the same on the front and back unlike most print fabrics.  Hmmm, all of these folks have figured something out and I am just late to the party.  Typical.  A blue and green found their way home with me from the shop.

Next, I am using khaki.  Not one of my go-to colors - which is blue, for all things.  I'm not even sure I own a pair of khaki colored pants - or if I do, they don't fit.  But this Carolina Chambray was just the right color for the dining room.  I'm game, I guess.  I was cautioned that this fabric does fray and I would be wise to do a quick fold over hem to keep that under control.  Good advice.  I will also zigzag around each piece before I start quilting as this is my base fabric.

Next, I've been wanting to try machine applique.  I've been eyeing some of the cool quilts and pillows at the Don't Look Now blog.  She is a master at this style of quilting and her stuff is seriously cute.  She offers a tutorial on her blog, but I was chicken to start this technique on a big project.  A chair cover is not big, so it seemed like just the right sized project 

Next, I had to lay out my design and figure out how many leaves I would need to applique.  Um about a gazillion.  No, seriously.  By my math, there are 96 leaves per chair, time six chairs.  I think I may be ready to be institutionalized at the end of this project!

Check in for the next installment for the answer to "Is she working from home or the local funny farm?"  I can assure you the Sweetie thinks I should already be tucked into the funny farm!

New Quilting Project - Chair Covers

Hi.  Me again.

I've recently begun a new project to create seat covers for the dining room.  When the Sweetie asked if they should be called chair cushions.  I said, "Sure, but I'm not sure how much cushion there is."  The Sweetie is skinny and may be looking for cushions.

We have ladder back chairs we purchased shortly after we moved into our house 20+ years ago.  They have rush seats, which is essentially twisted grass.  Surprisingly, they lasted 20 years.  But after the Kidlet, cats, many dinners, and years of homework at the dining room table, they were starting to wear out.  It would be really bad to have someone fall through (pause to visualize), so we had them re-rushed (not sure that's a word, but I'm goin' with it).  The cost to have them repaired was nearly as expensive as the original purchase. Yikes!  I have no plans to do that again any time soon.

Yes, we know we have two different chair styles.  Our decorating style can (ahem) be best described as eclectic. But I digress.  Hey, but don't those  new rush seats look nice!

The Unusually Helpful Helpers (Jupiter and Max) discovered shortly after the chairs returned from the shop that these were fantastic scratching posts.  I just don't think so.  Our short term remedy (um, nearly a year now) was to place old napkins over the chairs.  Presto!  This worked.  The Unusually Helpful Helpers weren't interested in them once the rush was covered.

The napkin trick worked, but once you leave the table they frequently look like this:

And more frequently like this:

Not exactly projecting the swanky high class establishment vibe we've been going for.  Just kiddin'.  

So I drew up a design (I just love graph paper!), which is loosely styled after the wallpaper above the chair rail.  I calculated the yardage needed. 

And head off to the fabric store where these lovelies were just waiting for me to pick up and take home.  Funny how fabric just jumps into your handbag!

I'll keep you posted on my progress.