New addition to the family

Jojo (left- new family member) Maddie May (right- doggy daughter)

I haven't posted much recently and that is due to a new addition to the family. 

Last year my husband and I adopted a special needs dog named Maddie May. Over the last year we have all worked hard to help ease her fears and teach her that the world isn't as bad as she thinks it is. 

A couple of weeks ago we were taking her for a walk when a very friendly dog ran up. He had no collar or tags and no sense of traffic so we took him in before he would meet up with a car the hard way. The following day we took him and had him scanned for a microchip and he had one! Yay! 

I called the owner who lived across the street and two houses down. He came and picked up the dog that evening and we thought that was the end of it. How wrong we were. Once he had met our sweet little girl it was love for them both. Every chance he got he would find a way to get out of his harness and out of the yard and make a bee line for my house. This went on for a couple of weeks with the owner doing all he could to keep him in with no luck. 

Then, last week I received a text from his owner telling me that again he had gotten out but this time animal control picked him up. He said that because they have tried everything to keep him in with no luck at all they wouldn't be going to get him. 

The husband and I talked about it that evening and made the choice to go and get him. Who are we to stand between a canine Romeo and Juliete?

We had no clue what we were in for. The dogs are more bonded than ever but he is a handful and has no training. He also developed a case of separation anxiety within 24 hours which makes it impossible to leave my house. The three of us have started an intense training schedule which includes a behaviorist and trainer and hours of work at home. 

All of this has left little time for quilting or blogging hence my absence. 

I hope you all understand. I will be back to my old blogging self ASAP. 

Happy quilting. 

Shop Hopping

On Wednesday my wonderful mother came to visit so we could go shop hopping. I had plotted out 8 shops starting in Gilroy and working our way back towards home. It was ambitious to think we could go to all of them but I had high hopes. I didn't tell her where we were going and as much as she tried to figure it out or fish for clues I kept it a secret. I wish I had photographed all we bought but sadly I didn't. There are a few eye candy photos though.

 I have lived in the bay area my entire life except for a brief period of time in my early 20's but I have never been to Gilroy. Nimble Thimble is a wonderful little shop located in Old Town surrounded by little shops and cafes. I wish we could have spent a little more time just walking along the main drag but we were women on a mission. Nimble Thimble has a little bit of everything. When you first walk in you will find pre-cuts and patterns galore. There is a huge selection of Bali pops, Moda Jelly rolls and an entire wall of patterns ranging from modern to vintage. It is a small shop but they have made a great use of the space with their fabrics peppered around the front and then concentrated in the middle. At the back of the store they have a cutting table and an area for classes. When we were there a woman was working at one of the back tables and picking her fabrics as she went from the store stock. One thing that I just loved was they had entire lines of fabric, not just one or two. In all of my quilt store travels I hadn't seen a shop that had all of the S'more love by Moda line, but they did. I bought a few fabrics for the Poe quilt I have planned. The owner was very helpful and as we were leaving with our purchases we asked her about other quilt shops in the area. Originally our next destination was going to be Morgan hill which is a bit closer to home but she suggested we try San Juan Bautista and even told us of a place that we must stop for lunch.

Off we went to San Juan which was a bit out of the way but we were on an adventure so why not? Family Threads is a good sized quilt shop with a huge selection of batiks. In the back they have a large class area and there was a class in session while we visited. If I lived closer I would definitely be taking a class or two here. There is a decent selection of novelty fabrics and their patterns are all together in one small room.

Now we went back to the original plan and headed back towards Morgan Hill. In this town there are two quilt shops fairly close to each other the first we visited was Sew Bee It Quilting. This is a small quilt shop with a large selection of Batiks and Novelty fabrics. It is a fairly small shop with a good selection and if you're in the area it is worth a stop.

Quilts and Things is the other Morgan Hill shop. It is bright and well stocked. They have a decent selection of blenders, a good sized class area and many patterns. One of the classes I would have liked to take was an appliqued felted wool block of the month. It was such a cute pattern and I am on the waiting list to see if they can send the blocks to me instead of having to travel to the store each month to buy the block.

At this point in our trip we had run out of time and knew that we would have to fight traffic so we headed for home. We hadn't visited all of the shops we wanted to and knew that there would be a shop hop part 2 in our future. The need to do part 2 came quicker than we had planned. I have been applying and interviewing for jobs this week and it is looking promising that I will have a new job soon. Due to my mother working weekends and me potentially working weekdays we had to plan the next trip quickly. Yesterday was the day.

Our first stop was a small shop in San Carlos called Laurel Leaf Quilts. This shop is located in Old Town San Carlos and has a huge selection of vintage patterns. They also had a couple of unusual polka dot batiks that my mother bought a couple of yards of. This is a small shop that doesn't carry entire lines but if you need some coordinating fabrics it is worth a stop.

Now it was time to head to Campbell and Golden Gate Sewing Center. Again, this shop is small but if you like Kaffe Fassett, this shop is for you. They have an entire section with every fabric he has out and always replace what they run out of. They also have a small selection of Japanese fabrics including textured. This shop is where I was able to find the elusive Roxanne Glue Baste It. Believe it or not this stuff is just plain hard to find unless you buy it online but it is worth it. I will tell you what I have recently used it for in my next post about the two classes that I took this week.

Wish by Valori Wells from Intrepid Thread

                                                   Enchant by Cinderberry Stitches 2013 From Intrepid Thread

Intrepid Thread is a shop that I have written about before but it is a must visit shop. They have entire lines of modern fabrics and I could spend my entire mortgage here if so inclined. It is a bright quilt shop with very helpful staff and the selection is unbeatable. If you are a modern quilter then run, do not walk to this shop.

Kimberbell "Home is where the haunt is" Pattern

Next shop on the list was Prairie Queens in Campbell. This is a big shop that from the outside seems much smaller. They have a huge selection of Civil War fabrics and a large section for wool felt supplies and patterns. They also specialize in kits and have kits available for many of the quilts hanging in the shop. I picked up a kit myself for a fun Halloween quilt called "Home is where the haunt is" that I am excited to start.

 "Plug & Play" by StudioRK for Robert Kaufman

Last but not least on the hop was The Granary. This shop is located in Sunnyvale and I am so glad we stopped here. The selection of 1930's repro fabrics is huge and they have Novelty fabrics galore. There is one small section of Civil War fabrics and an entire wall of blenders. This was one of my favorites as I found fabrics here that I had never seen before including "Plug & play". I had to have it since my darling husband is a computer geek and I want to make something special for him soon.  They also have a selection of Sarah Rose patterns. If you don't know who she is I am sure you will soon enough. Definitely check her out. 

So, That is the shop hop. I hope that if you are in the area that you will visit one of the shops that we did.

Happy Quilting!

Key

Busy Bee

This last week I have been a very busy bee and have yet to post about the shop hop I went on with my mom. I will get to this I promise. I also recently found a few more beautiful but stained old tablecloths that I can't wait to show you all. This weekend I am taking two workshops and will hopefully have something to show from those too. Bear with me, I will be back and back to my old blogging self soon.

Happy quilting all.

Effervescence for Robert Kaufman

I picked up a couple yards of this at the Pacific International quilt show in October. It is called Effervescence for Robert Kaufman designed by Amelia Caruso. Ever since I have been trying to find the perfect pattern to use with it but I am still at a loss. Do you have any ideas? Have you used it and want to share what you've done?

Adding to my stash

I briefly mentioned in a prior post about a little place I visit to find vintage quilts that need some love. Well, the place which shall still remain nameless also has fabrics both vintage and new. It isn't a typical quilt or fabric store where you pretty much know what you will find but rather you are limited to whatever they happen to have that particular day. This last Saturday I made a trip over there and hit the jackpot.

 I spent about an hour and a half going through all of the new arrivals of fabric narrowing down my selections. To reel myself in and stop myself from buying anything and everything in the shop I give everything what I call ''must have test". Will it be something where I am haunted by the fact that I didn't buy it? Will I have to call the shop and have them put it aside for me and have to make a trip back? Will I end up regretting I didn't buy it in the store and have to buy it online? Asking these questions usually stops me from buying those things that are on impulse alone.

As I said this last weekend I really did well. 

This beautiful fabric with floral sprays and ribbons will have to be fussy cut but I think whatever the results are will be amazing.

I fell in love with this fabric the minute I saw it. The selvage states J. Gutcheon The American Classic Line. You can read about and his contributions to the quilting community here .

This fabric has a wider weave than a traditional cotton quilting fabric. I think it will be a wonderful backing for a civil war quilt I am collecting fabrics for. The colors are a creamy tan and dark blue and there is no writing on the selvage. 

 

I also came across a stack of tie satin remnants. I have had in mind to do a satin quilt for a long time but the intimidation factor is huge. The fabric slips and slides and frays and I can see myself in for some frustrations once I begin. These remnants have inspired me to keep collecting away until I build my stash. The colors range from champagne to blue to purple. All in all I think they work very well together and I am getting excited about this project again. 

Thank you all for letting me share a few of my recent finds.

Vintage tablecloth into a quilt

Vintage tablecloth into a quilt? It seems like an odd idea but it works! Have an old tablecloth that belonged to your mother or grandmother with stains of family dinners past or holes from age that you cannot seem to part with? Make it into a quilt.

In addition to my affinity for vintage quilts, fabrics and notions I also collect tablecloths. Many of them are riddled with holes and stains and are no longer suitable to use on my dining room table. I keep thinking that one of these days I will find a use for them and today I have. I will show you how I have taken a beautiful and neglected tablecloth and made it into a beautiful lap quilt. I hope this will inspire you to rethink some of the old linens that you can't bear to part with.

I started with this beautiful pink tablecloth that I have had stashed for years. Even though it had some stains an pulled threads I just couldn't part with it. I knew at some point I would find a use for it and I have. 

This is one of the worst stains on the tablecloth. It extended from the outer edge all the way into the pink and the flowers. There was also some discolorations on the pink center but they didn't show up very well in the photos. 

The first step in this quilt is to wash and press all of your fabrics that you plan to use. This is an important step if you plan to ever wash your finished project. Chances are your tablecloth has been washed at some point in it's life and you want to avoid any shrinkage on your finished quilt with the unwashed fabrics.

Once it has been washed and pressed you get to have some fun picking out fabrics to go with it. I was lucky enough that there was enough usable fabric in the tablecloth that I only had to add some black fabric to make the pink and flowers pop. 

Next came the design phase. I use two pieces of cardboard cut into L shapes. I placed them on the tablecloth to decide how big I wanted to cut the blocks that had the flowers. For this tablecloth the flowers are so pretty I didn't want to cut blacks that were too small. 

Next, is the cutting. I cut off the white border and then cut the center solid pink portion leaving me with just the flower border. I decided that I wanted to have a large center to the quilt with the pretty flowers so I cut the corners off into blocks and then the remaining border fussy cut into smaller blocks. 

I sewed the 4 corner blocks together so that I had a pretty center to build off of.

Because I really wanted the center to pop, I bordered that in black and then added the white and pink border from the tablecloth after the black. 

Then it gets a it more complicated. I had to go through and figure out how much usable tablecloth fabric I had left and plot what I was going to do. I find that at this point graph paper is my best friend. I take colored pencils an make each square on the paper 1''. Measure your center piece and mark that on your graph paper and build off of that. Since there really is no pattern you can let your imagination run wild. For my finished quilt I had plenty of the flower border left, some of the white and as much black (not part of the original tablecloth) as I needed.  The one parameter I was working with was the size of the flower border so I used that as the size for any other blocks I would make. Once all of the blocks were made and attached I added a black border to the whole quilt and this is the finished product...........

 

I cannot wait to get this quilted up!

Do you have old linens that would work for a project like this? Did you make something spectacular from linens that most people would simply throw away? Please share them.

Vintage Grandmothers Garden Quilt

I have a great affinity for all things old and this is especially so when it comes to quilts and fabrics. I  hoard them like a crazy lady collecting cats. There is one shop, which shall remain nameless, where I find these wonderful little treasures. I can almost always guarantee that when I enter though its doors that I will find at least one gem but more often a whole basket full. I was there a month ago and picked up a few that they had. Then, I visited a couple of weeks ago and they had more. The woman that works there knows me quite well and knows of my love for all quilts that need some fixin'. When I saw the two or three they had out I started drooling and this is how my conversation with my friend went.

Me: There are a couple of quilts over there that I think need my help.

Her: Yea, we just got those in. Aren't they beautiful?

Me: They are (heavy sigh)

Her: Key, you can't save them all. You have enough projects on your plate so back away from the quilts. 

Me: I do have enough to keep me busy for a while. Thank you for grounding me. Is there a 12 step program for quilting?

Her: No but there should be and you would be the leader.

 The quilts I end up with I always have grand ideas of replacing the disintegrated fabrics, repairing the broken threads and replacing the bindings. Sadly, with all of the other 43 projects I have going at any one time I rarely get to them. They all sit in a lonely stack just calling to me to make them beautiful again. The vintage fabrics are a different story. They too sit in a stack calling my name but in their case I cannot bring myself to cut them. They are just so pretty as a whole and cutting them in my opinion would just be a tragedy.

Today I have been looking at those stacks of quilts and fabrics and wondering just what I am going to do with them. I have the idea that I am going to make a quilts that keeps the vintage fabrics in large enough pieces that they retain their integrity. The quilts to fix, well, those will have to be a project for another day and time. The hours I will spend seam ripping and removing thread bare fabrics then replacing them seems a project for a rainy day. I did however want to share a few of them with you here. I will start with a vintage Grandmothers Garden in need of love.  

 What a beauty! This sweet little quilt in pastels with splashes of primary colors is from the 1930's. There are some issues with it which I will show you later but all in all it has held up very well. 

These fabrics are just wonderful don't you think?

As you can see there is some staining and some of the fabrics have rips and holes in them. This is where I will have to spend the time seam ripping and replacing hexagons. I have some quilts that are considered cutters just for projects like this. I remove pieces and use them in other quilts  to keep the integrity of the quilt and keep it authentic to the time period. I simply cannot bring myself to use new fabrics on vintage treasures like this. 

Due to improper storage there are some areas of sun fading. 

This is one of my rainy day projects. Do any of you have quilts that need love? Quilts that you have fixed? Updated? Please share them with me. I would love to see them and possibly post your quilt and it's progress (with your permission of course).

Retro Clean

I wanted to take this opportunity to tell you about a wonderful product called Retro Clean . Normally I wont push a product and I am not getting paid to do it now but this one I have to show you.

As I will tell you in a post I am in the process of composing, I collect vintage fabrics and quilts. Often when I receive these they are dingy an dirty from improper storage. I have tried everything, Woolite, dry cleaning, Dreft and on and on but nothing got them very clean. Yes, they might smell less musty and some of the grime might get removed but they never seemed truly clean. I stumbled upon a product at a local quilt shop and figured I had nothing to lose but a few dollars. I followed the directions and was amazed at the results. The whites were bright and it seemed to pull out age stains that no other method had. There have been some stains that even this product couldn't get out but on average it does a fantastic  job. If you have an old quilt or piece of fabric that needs some love, go get you some!

Treasure Map of Quilt Shops That I Love

Living in the beautiful San Francisco Bay Area I am lucky to have access to some great quilt shops. If you are from this area or plan to visit, here are some must see shops. I also do a bit of traveling out of state on occasion and at the end of the California list I am adding two from my recent Missouri trip. If you are an owner and  don't see your shop listed here and want me to list it in a future blog post, then please send me the info and I will pay you a visit. I always love to explore and tell people of my travels.

New Pieces Quilt Store and Gallery This is a fun quilt shop nestled in Berkeley with a very helpful staff. They have all of their fabrics organized by type an pattern. Are you looking for that perfect fabric with fish? Chances are they have it in the animal section. Be sure to check out their area of Japanese fabrics.  They have a wide variety of classes and have samples of the quilts you can create hanging in the store.

Intrepid Thread This quilt shop was a huge surprise. From the outside you wont expect much but once you enter you will be in heaven! They specialize in modern quilting cottons and are happy to help you audition fabrics for the perfect quilt. Last time I visited with my mother we must have pulled 3 or 4 dozen fabrics for a project and they didn't bat an eye. These ladies are incredible!

Stone Mountain and Daughter This Berkeley shop has it all and is huge! This place has quilting fabrics, garment fabrics and even boat upholstery material. Give yourself some time to navigate your way through this shop and don't forget to visit the upstairs section. Their quilting fabrics are organized according to theme and line which makes it very easy to find coordinating material. They always have classes but they are primarily for clothing makers but sign up for their newsletter.

Eddie's Quilting Bee In Sunnyvale this is a pretty big shop with a fairly good selection. Their fabrics lean towards modern and are arranged by theme and color.

In Between Stitches A lovely Livermore quilt shop with a HUGE selection. Civil War, 1930's reproduction, moderns, and patterns galore. I only wish this place was closer to home for me. I think I would have to set up a tent right outside the front door and take my mail there.

Always Quilting Another must see shop in San Mateo. I could spend hours here. All of the fabrics are organized according to color and shade which I love. This is where I purchased the orange fabric for my Phyllis Quilt. The only downside is the lighting, they really do need to improve it. I found myself having to take my selections to the cutting table where the lighting was better or outside the front door.

Ladybug's Quilts This sweet little shop was a real surprise. It is small but the woman that works here is very helpful. They specialize in repro and civil war fabrics and have a huge selection of patterns.


Here are the two shops I was lucky enough to visit in Missouri last fall.

Appletree Quilting  A fantastic quilt shop in Columbia Missouri. They have a huge selection of 1930's repro fabrics. I would have loved to have spent hours here but the road was calling my name and my travel companion (not a quilter) was getting antsy. I ended up purchasing a 1930's repro fabric that I just cannot find here in California.  The staff is wonderful and they are happy to help you with any questions. They also do mail order, so awesome! I will be coming back here towards the end of the year.

The Quilted Fox This out of the way St Louis shop was wonderful. The selection is huge, the women that work here are helpful and the fabrics are easy to find. I bought a jelly roll here and am kicking myself that I didn't buy more.

Phyllis' quilt

Many years ago when I was in my early 20's my mother and I had the pleasure of working with a very special woman names Phyllis. What made her so special wasn't what she had or didn't have but it was her spirit.

She was born in the 1930's and upon her emergence into the world the prognosis was grim. The doctors at the time only gave her 3 years to live because she had Cerebral Palsy. I guess at the time little was known about it and the doctors didn't hold out hope for her to have a decent quality of life. How wrong they were! I guess they hadn't ever encountered people like her parents who were determined to raise Phyllis as a strong and  independent woman. Although non-verbal Phyllis had a voice as loud and in your face as her personality. While Phyllis couldn't care for herself she lived a full life writing copious letters with the assistance of a special shoe and typewriter her father and engineered, she traveled, she was an advocate for herself and others with physical disabilities, and above all else she was an amazing friend. Sadly Phyllis passed away some years ago but she is still with us in so many ways. What does this story have to do with quilting? Read on.......

A while back I purchased some fabric with a cream background and a gray and orange design.

Usually orange is one of those colors I rarely use but for some reason I had to have this fabric. I stashed it away as quilters are wont to do and didn't give it another thought. Just last weekend my husband and I were having a lazy weekend around the house and I got the itch to quilt. I went through my fabrics and found that weird orange fabric that I had forgotten about along with a complimentary fabric I had the foresight to purchase at the same time.

I wanted a simple pattern to showcase the fabric and because I truly wasn't in the mood to worry about precise corners, or perfect points I decided on a snowball block.

When I was finished I sent my mother a photo of my latest creation. She asked me what I was calling this quilt and I had no answer until she reminded me of something that made me smile. Phyllis' favorite color was orange.My mother has since claimed the quilt as hers upon completion. So now I present to you a quilt with a personality as bold as Phyllis was. "Phyllis' Quilt"

I started by cutting squares of the patterned fabric 6 1/2'' and squares of the orange fabric 2 1/2'' You will need 4 small squares for each larger square. For this tedious task I used one of my favorite tools the Shape Cut by June Tailor. If you do not have one of these, get one!

Once you have all of your squares cut it is time to mark and assemble.  I use a very light colored pencil for this step but you can use a disappearing fabric marker like this one made by Dritz.
Take your ruler and mark corner to corner with your fabric pen on each of the 2 1/2' blocks.

 Once marked you are ready to sew. Place the smaller square flush in the corner of the larger square with right sides together and sew corner to corner along your diagonal line.

I really should have used a thread with more contrast so it is easier to see but hopefully you get the idea. You will then add small squares to each corner of the larger squares until you have a bunch of blocks that look like this 

Now it is time for some cutting. I use a 1/4'' seam allowance and place my ruler along the diagonal stitched seam

As you can see the ruler is placed so that once cut you will keep that 1/4' seam. Do not cut on the seam itself or you will end up with a big old fabric mess. Now it is time to cut off the corners

You will have a bunch of small triangles left over like I did but I have saved mine for a project I have yet to think up.

You will now have a stack of blocks that look like this and it is time to press them. I always run my iron over each of the seams to set them prior to pressing the fabric open.

Once you've set your seam fold back each corner triangle and give it a good run with the iron. This is what you will end up with

At this stage you will square up the block using a 6 1/2'' ruler. Sadly at this stage I forgot to take photos since I was so excited to see the finished product. Once all of your blocks are squared you can sew your blocks together into strips and sew those strips together to make your quilt.

I have yet to have this piece quilted up but when I do I will be sure to post pics. 

Choose your own fabrics and make this quilt for yourself. If you have any questions at all feel free to leave a comment or shoot me an email.

Happy Quilting!
Key