Category Archives: Quilts

A Monday Ramble ~ 18 March 2013

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Just a few rambles for this March Monday ~ 18 March 2013

I decided to finish my Denyse Schmidt quilt I started a month ago. Started out with a pile of charms I received from a Denyse Schmidt Charm Swap and with a few cuts from my own stash I went from this:

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To a 60″x72″ quilt top ready to be sandwiched, quilted and bound.

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But first I must wait to spring my new machine out of layaway prison (should anyone have any money burning a hole in their pocket…she’s sitting at Windy Moon Quilts! ;) ).

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Last week on Facebook I saw this MEYER LEMON LOAF recipe on Mennonite Girls Can Cook.

Oh My Word! It’s very tasty! My husband and I have almost polished off one loaf…I stuck the other on in the freezer.

My loaf isn’t as pretty as theirs…the pan I used was a bit bigger than what they suggested. Use the smaller loaf pan, it’ll look bigger. LOL!

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Over the weekend we went to SWAN LAKE, in Lemmon Valley, to see if we could spy any birds. I walked along the Marsh boardwalk, but it was sorta of disappointing. Besides the sparrows and finches…we saw Mallards, Northern Harriers and Canada Geese. That’s it. I’ve been there before when there were quite a few swans and other water fowl.

Canada Geese

Canada Geese

Such a pretty birdie.

Such a pretty birdie.

Northern Harrier

Northern Harrier

Northern Harrier

Northern Harrier

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Headed up to Frenchman’s Lake too…we like the little day area below the dam.

Creek below Frenchman's Lake.

Creek below Frenchman’s Lake.

Slushy ice behind the dam.

Slushy ice behind the dam.

Older guy fishing. Looked like everyone was pulling out some fish that day.

Older guy fishing. Looked like everyone was pulling out some fish that day.

For Today ~ 14 March 2013 ~ Simple Woman’s Daybook

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FOR TODAY … 14 March 2013

Outside My Window… High grey clouds, birds on an empty bird feeder, huge (10′ high 30′ wide) pile of mulch.

I am thinking… a certain vindictive family member really needs to reflect on who it is that actually has the anger problem.

I am thankful for… once again and always…my friend April.

From the kitchen… I steamed artichokes last night…not really sure what I’ll make tonight.

I am wearing… Jeans, tennies, olive green cotton shirt.

I am creating… I have all 30 blocks of my Denyse Schmidt quilt finished and 20 of them are sewn together (top four rows). I have two more rows to add before the quilt top is complete.

Top four rows all sewn together...have 10 more blocks to sew together into rows.

Top four rows all sewn together…have 10 more blocks to sew together into rows.

I am going… dig through a few more of my craft books and put them up onto ebay.

I am reading… All Roads Lead to Austen: A Year-long Journey with Jane by Amy Smith…still reading this. Up to chapter nine now…am enjoying this read.

I am hoping… that the neighbor who left on Monday morning comes home soon. He left his alarm on so it comes on EVERY MORNING at 3am and doesn’t go off until 4:15am.

I am hearing… the traffic outside. Train going by.

Around the house… the trees are starting to bud out. We set a record high yesterday (77F).

One of my favorite things… Pretty fabric. New music. Old books. Good friends.

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week… Keep on quilting. St. Patrick’s Day parade.

Here is a picture thought I’d share with you…

Truckee River in the McCarran Ranch Preserve.

Truckee River in the McCarran Ranch Preserve.

For Today ~ 4 March 2013 ~ Simple Woman’s Daybook

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FOR TODAY … 04 March 2013

Outside My Window… Blue sky…not a cloud up there (at least facing north). Sparrows and finches on the bird feeder. People going to work.

I am thinking… Why can’t it be nice and sunny for the weekends?

I am thankful for… For not being sick this winter…hopefully I didn’t jinx myself for spring.

From the kitchen… I made a Buffalo Chicken pizza last night (chicken, Frank’s Buffalo Wing Sauce, gorgonzola cheese, celery and green onions). Tonight I’ll probably bbq some chicken and have a salad with it.

I am wearing… Jeans, tennies, grey long-sleeve blouse.

I am creating… I have three quilts I’m working on. I’ve been hand-sewing hexies for a week, but had to take a break for a few days as my wrists are killing me. I have 31 flowers finished now.

Batik Grandma's Flower Garden

Batik Grandma’s Flower Garden

Yesterday while it was raining I was working on a quilt with my Denyse Schmidt fabrics. I have 12 finished blocks and 8 more blocks 3/4 way finished.

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((Had a question on that mug…we bought it when we stayed at the Featherbed Railroad Bed & Breakfast that I blogged about HERE.))

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I am going… resize some pictures I took on Saturday down in Genoa area for tomorrow’s post.

I am reading… All Roads Lead to Austen: A Year-long Journey with Jane by Amy Smith.

I am hoping… That the coming snow stays up in the mountains…and that we’ll have a nice weekend.

I am hearing… Someone walking really really loudly out in the hallway.

Around the house… The condo is cleaned. Kitchen was cleaned, floors vacuumed, laundry washed and put away, clean sheets on the bed…CLEAN!

One of my favorite things… Hearing it rain while falling asleep.

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week… Keep on quilting. Hopefully pick out a movie that my husband and I both want to see…we still have movie passes.

Here is a picture thought I’d share with you…

Mule deer in Genoa front yard.

Mule deer in Genoa front yard.

Tree blossoming out at the Mormon Station State Park in Genoa.

Tree blossoming out at the Mormon Station State Park in Genoa.

Kitty pin cushion that I bought for $3.75 at a Minden/Gardnerville antique shop.

Kitty pin cushion that I bought for $3.75 at a Minden/Gardnerville antique shop.

I put a sewing machine on layaway ~

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After a lot of brain-storming with my friend APRIL, I visited three local quilt/sewing stores, in Reno, over the last few days. My last two machines have been Janomes and I really loved them…but thought about a Baby Lock and a Necchi.

The first quilt shop I stopped off at sort of pissed me off. I went in asking to see her line of Baby Locks, specifically the Melody.

Baby Lock Melody - Quilting Sewing Machine

Baby Lock Melody – Quilting Sewing Machine

When I asked how much, and received an $1,800 answer, I about spewed. I paled and may have let slipped that I can buy a Janome 6500 for that price and have enough left-over for another sewing machine. Or as April stated…LOTS OF FABRIC. I don’t think she was impressed that I wanted to stay under $1,000. Told me to go look at the other machines on my list and come back to her afterwards. Wouldn’t even let me test drive the machine.

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The next day I went to the second quilt/sewing center and had a very pleasant hour or so test driving four machines. She spent time asking what level I was at, what I wanted to do with my machine, and how much I was comfortable to spend.

I really was impressed with the Baby lock Melody…nice stitches, easy to use, very very quiet motor. It was $300 cheaper than the first shop and she would knock off even $200 more on top of that.

Next we moved onto the Pfaff Ambition 1.0.

Pfaff Ambition 1.0

Pfaff Ambition 1.0

All I can say is WOW…those Germans sure are great engineers! Just WOW! LOL! $999 was the price she would give me on that machine. No auto thread cutter, and it scared the crap out of me on the first stitch (growled)…I thought I broke it, but very very very nice handling. Loved the stitches on that one too. It has a built-in walking foot that is to die for!

Scooted down a few machines to the Pfaff Expression 3.0 after I told her my goal is to be pretty dang good at FMQ’ing. The asking price was $2079 but would come down to $1,699, with 25% down and 4 months to pay it off.

Pfaff Expression 3.0

Pfaff Expression 3.0

I sighed when sewing with it. I actually FMQ’ed…AND IT LOOKED GREAT! But I knew full well I couldn’t afford that fine piece of German machinery, even with the discount and layaway plan. I would need more time than 4 months. I still asked for the quote and told her I’d get back to her by the 2/29 deadline. If I had the money, I would buy that machine in a heart beat…should I ever fall into money, after paying off all debt…that baby is coming home with me. :)

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Onto my last stop where I wanted to test drive the Janome 3160 QDC, Necchi EX30, and the Brother NX-800. I was eyeing the Janome 3160 as it’s a popular quilting machine.

Janome 3160-QDC

Janome 3160-QDC

The Janome had a $1000 price tag on it, but with new pricing I think it was $200 off. I wanted to try the Necchi EX30 as it’s the same machine as the Janome 3160 (built by Janome with a Necchi body and name) and at $700 it’s less money. And let’s face it…I love the buttons. LOL!

Necchi EX30

Necchi EX30

April suggested looking at the Laura Ashley Brother machine…so I googled and came up with the NX-800, but she meant the NX-2000 (another machine that I can’t afford). When I saw the Brother NX-800 I did a double take as it was the EXACT SAME MACHINE as the Baby Lock Melody! EXACTLY! I was told at the shop that Brother makes the Baby Lock, just as Janome makes Elna and now Necchi.

Brother Laura Ashley Innov-is NX-800

Brother Laura Ashley Innov-is NX-800

The Necchi was a great machine. Easy to use, good basic 30 stitches, light weight…would make a great machine to haul to classes (12 pounds), and stayed put when sewing.

Ultimately I picked the Brother NX-800. While I love everything about Janome…I enjoyed sewing with the NX-800. Nice stitches, quiet, you can do lateral stitching, auto-thread cutter, ease of bobbin winding, great accessories.

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Can’t wait to pay off my layaway bill and bring her home.

Quilting Work-in-Progress WIP Projects ~ 4 February 2013

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After moving to the east side of Sparks (from west side of Reno) to a smaller but sunnier condo, I’ve finally unpacked most of my quilting supplies and fabrics. Set up a small part of the second bedroom with my table and an old bookcase in the closet to house fabric. On one wall I put up the design wall…thank goodness for 3M Adhesive strip hooks!

My small work space...that Princess Feather block was pieced by my GGGrandma in Nebraska.

My small work space…that Princess Feather block was pieced by my GGGrandma in Nebraska.

One half of my fabric stash.

One half of my fabric stash.

I left a big box of civil war reproduction fabrics in the box and tucked it in the back of my closet…another box is loaded with prints of various colors.

My $1 chair I bought over the weekend from a garage sale.

My $1 chair I bought over the weekend from a garage sale.

Now onto the Work-in-Progess quilts ~ (minus a quilt top I made with Kate Spain fabric that I forgot to pull out).

Left: Triangle rows out of Frolic. Need to add a few onto each row and make it longer. Right: English paper pieced Grandma's Flower Garden out of batiks.

Left: Triangle rows out of Frolic. Need to add a few onto each row and make it longer. Right: English paper pieced Grandma’s Flower Garden out of batiks.

Cut Frolic triangles.

Cut Frolic triangles.

Hexie wall-hanging made with Lauren & Jessi Jung Flora charm pack.

Hexie wall-hanging made with Lauren & Jessi Jung Flora charm pack.

Farmer's Wife quilt blocks that I'm hand-piecing with Denyse Schmidt's Hope Valley.

Farmer’s Wife quilt blocks that I’m hand-piecing with Denyse Schmidt’s Hope Valley.

Farmer's Wife 'Cut Glass Dish' block that I have with me now to stitch together at lunch.

Farmer’s Wife ‘Cut Glass Dish’ block that I have with me now to stitch together at lunch.

Holiday Craft Fair ~ Sparks Christian Fellowship ~ November 3rd, 2012

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Hey all local folks!

I’ll be sharing a booth with two of my friends this Saturday, November 3rd at Sparks Christian Fellowship’s Holiday Craft Fair.

FREE ADMISSION! Last Sunday we were told there will be over 75 vendors.

9 am to 4 pm.

510 Greenbrae Drive (for all us “oldies” it’s in the old $1 Movie Theatre)
Between Pyramid and 4th Street.

I’ll be having 4 different cold processed soaps; about 6 quilts; lots of leather wrapped bracelets; hammered copper bookmarks; earrings and pendants; made some of my photographs into notecards…my friends have made lots of jewelry (silver, copper, swarovski Christmas trees and snowmen).

We’ll take your hard earned cash and credit cards! :)



Farmer’s Wife Quilt Update ~ two more blocks finished

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Finally getting back to hand-piecing a few blocks of my Farmer’s Wife quilt after setting it aside to make the Nevada quilt and to move.

With the new place unpacked, and most of my fabrics back on the book-case, I pulled out the ziplock baggies that I had 3 blocks all cut out waiting to be pieced.

Contrary Wife ~ Block 21

Hill & Valley ~ Block 46

Am working on Cut Glass Dish, Block 26, right now…lots and lots and lots of tiny triangles, a bugger to hand-stitch, especially when you have cts in your right hand. I was going to save it for last, but am going to just get it over with! :)

I’m using Denyse Schmidt’s Hope Valley fabric line, Kona solids, and Moda Bella solids to make the quilt

Eight and 1/3 blocks down…102-2/3 blocks to go!

Finished Nevada Quilt and Leather Bead Wrap Bracelets

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Well…I finally finished the quilt I designed for someone my sister knows. I’m pleased at how it turned out, even if it was a bugger to put together. :)

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Am taking a break from quilting now…dug out my leather cords, beads, buttons, thread and needles!

And making a bunch of these:

Still working on the Nevada quilt ~

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A while ago someone my sister knows asked if I’d make a quilt for her, not being of sound mind, I said yes. :) I lost my mojo on it, but have jumped back into the swing of things.

This is as far as I got when my quilting mojo ran far far far away ~

Parts of the Nevada Quilt…back in April 2012

Let me tell you! It’s been a bugger of a quilt. I threw the pieces up onto the design wall and sat back just staring at it…then sitting on the couch, with Lucy and Luna, pondering how the hell am I going to attach all those together?! All I can say is Thank God quilting and a wash will hide some of my mistakes. :)

Piecing the bugger together.

After bouncing off some ideas on my friend’s head, I decided it did indeed need something else up north of the State of Nevada. So I started making wee stars. Will make two grey and one blue. Still need to add some strips here, stars over there…that sort of thing…but am hoping to get the top finished and ready to sandwich by the weekend.

ALMOST THERE!

Lake County, California Quilt Trail

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Before heading over to our Clear Lake’s Featherbed Railroad Caboose stay I goggled for things to do and saw Lake County had a QUILT TRAIL! How cool is that?! I’d like to go back in September during the Pear Festival and get pictures of all of them.

I printed out the map and crossed my fingers that I could find them along the way.

I saw two of them…with my head swiveling and the car going 55 mph. Big sigh. Those were the Grape Basket in Glenhaven and the Tulip in Lucerne.

Here is what I did find ~

In Kelseyville (where most of them are!) I found 4 while walking around a few blocks on Main Street.

Martha’s Vineyard on the Wildhurst Vineyard Tasting Room.

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Around the Corner on the Lake Family Resource Center.

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Berries and Blossoms on the second floor of LuLu’s Ice Cream Cafe next to the Studebakers Grocery.

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My favorite ~ Blazing Sun on The Brick Tavern established in 1872.

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Just north of Kelseyville on both sides of 29 ~

Square in a Square on the Hill Creek Ranch barn, the ranch grows organic Sauvignon Blanc grapes and olives.

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Full Blown Rose on an 100 year old hay barn on an early Kelseyville pioneer ranch.