Reflections, Camera Zoom and Cat Heat

Happy New Year!  Soon........

It has been wild around here with the 4 dogs.  But now they are about exhausted and are sleeping. I hope that means that the next 24 hours will be easier!

I have 35 blocks from the Reflections quilt completed.  I worked most of the afternoon when I was not getting up and removing dog's ears from dog's mouths and refereeing free for all runs through the house.  It is cold outside and they go out for a bit but want in pretty quickly.  If the cat goes out they all jockey for position to be the first dog out with the cat......for obvious reasons.

Sorting the fabrics for Reflections was in the high mid level of difficulty because you had to decide if a fabric was light or dark.  Often there was no cut and dried decision.  So you can see that the quilt so far is not totally dark and light.  There are medium blends in there as well.  I have yet to add the very light center to any of the blocks, I think I will get it all together and see what they look like with that stark contrast.  I may want a lower contrast for the center.

Or none at all.  We shall see.

The cat is so cold that she hugs anything with heat.  She has been sleeping with DiNozzo, who is terrified to move once Cali settles in with him.  He knows she is no benevolent tyrant and will take his nose off in a flash second.  Chloe has shown him her cat scars on her elegant nose.  He learns quickly.  Frank also knows not to push that cat off his computer and to use words that do not use letters under her.  She likes the fan port of the laptop.  At night, she curls in his lap sucking his heat into her fur.




I was intrigued to see this new piece of artwork Carrie had in her entry way.  Can you see what it is?  It is Paint Chips!  That girl is really talented.  I wish I had her way with color and invention. I need to copy it in a quilt for her birthday, maybe she would like that.  She has not liked anything I have made so far.  I am sure you have daughters who like your stuff, is that even possible?


Oh, and I wanted to show you some of the pictures with the zoom lens.

 This is the high power wires that mark the boundary of Baton Rouge proper.  We live on the Baton Rouge side but the street beyond the power lines is what is called "the Parish".  Outside of city limits, they have the Sheriff rather than the BR Police but most everything else is the same.

No one lives in the "no man's land" beyond our property to the property of the people in the next subdivision, which is Millwood.

Here are the lines close up.  This is where the red tailed hawks often sit looking for small things to eat for dinner.

 And this is looking out to my deck and Japanese Garden area, now stark and cold in winter.  And this is the closeup of the bird bath and the loon rock.  Pretty sharp!  Nice focus in that zoom shot.  Much better than the old camera!  So it was a good deal to get the new one.

We are waiting for the ball to drop tonight, and I will be sewing!

Have a safe celebration, where ever you are!

glen

Design wall Monday and great dog news.

Boy, these holidays have sure messed me up with days here lately.  I totally forgot about stash Sunday and Design wall Monday.......but here I am, all caught up now!


I want to wish all a Happy and Healthy New Year.  May it be your best yet!  We got great news about McGee.....HE IS NOW HEARTWORM NEGATIVE!  And has walked a mile twice a day and has run his brains out in the yard..........run and run and run and run.  And now we have Grand-Dog Hugeaux with us to weather the scary fireworks tonight.  So that gives everyone a new level of activity!

I am working on the piece I was cutting out yesterday.

And I have several things I need to do some finishing on.

Small stuff like the Parenthetical needs to have the binding finished, it is about 1/2 way done right now.  I work on it in front of the TV at night.

And Gears needs to have the binding sewn down.




BUT MOST OF ALL........I need to totally reorganize the Sewing Room.  That will be my project when Frank goes back to work on Wednesday, for obvious reasons.  I have gotten nothing done since he has been off since mid-December.  Can't wait for that retirement!  Groan!

Final Final Stash Report for 2012

used this week	-1.25
used in Dec	-14
added this week	6.5
Add in Dec	45
Used YTD	-233.75
Added YTD	247
Stash Reduction	13.25

Sorry I am so late with the posting.  I wanted to accurately reflect what I had used and what I had taken in.  Last night I fell prey once again to Ann's wiles.  She texted me a picture of the Reflections Kit from Stitch N Frame in Vicksburg, MS.......where she was serendipitously taking in the sights from the quilt shop.

I fell for the beauty of the batiks and the simplicity of the pattern.  We each got one as the first quilt of the New Year.

So I added 6.5 yards to the total, but used 5 FQs from my stash to add to some of the fabrics that were short in the kit.  Not sure how that happened but both were short.  Needless to say I had plenty!

So I am cutting the two kits out for us to work on the next week.  You use a special curve ruler that I am ready to attempt.  I will let you know how it goes.

So the end of the year resulted in 13.25 yards added to the stash.  I must try to do better next year.  And all those quilts i finished, where did they go?  I had intended for a ton of peopel to get quilts this year, but I am thinking Carrie came in and raided my Gift A Quilt closet.....hmmm.......need to get a bigger lock on that one.

Ending 2012

Tomorrow will be the last Stash Report for 2012.  This is much more dramatic than the Design Wall Mondays which will just report on what I am currently working on.  (which is not much at the present time until Frank goes back to work and I can actually get something done around here!)

But the last Stash Report for 2012 will be the culmination of an entire year of keeping track of what I have bought and what I have used.  I can't believe I am in the red.........That I bought more than I used.  And this happened in two periods.

The first was when Fabric Krazy had 50 and 0% off their stock so they could move to a smaller location.  I went three times to that store.  And I bough over $100 each time.  But I got some great new stuff to mix in with the old stuff from Pat and my mom.  So it was good.  All good.

The second period is the last of the year end inventory sales, all 40 50% off.  And I went to several stores and bought over $100 each time!  LOL.  Mia's shop was the biggest culprit there!  But, again, I got some really great new stuff to mix in with the old.  And there was Houston, yes, Houston...........(she says dreamily)

In 2013 I would like to be in the black, that is to use way more than I buy.  I was pretty good for most of the year, but those whopper sales did get me in trouble!

glen:  hey, this one looks like the ghastlies.......hmmm, maybe I need some zombies

The Hysterical Story of the Knives

Speaking of knives, one of my favorite stories of my adventures is buying the first nice knives for my Mother's Day present.  I love him, but he is cheap and squeaky!

Enjoy this.  If you were with me then, you will laugh again.  If you have joined me since, it will make you laugh!

http://quiltswissy.blogspot.com/2011/05/i-want-to-tell-you-about-my-cheap-but.html

I am having lunch with my lovely daughter and handsome husband today.  We will all have salads.

glen:  although she doesn't need it, we do

PS - I really need to get some current pictures of Carrie, this one is from 2010.........you realize I must have 20,000 of the dogs from just December 2012!  LOL.

Cleaning Day For the Sewing Chair

It is about time to clean the ole chair wheels again.  Even though it looks like I have fallen and can't get up, the chair is upturned so I can reach the wheels.







The wheels are FULL of thread.

And BATTING, too???????

and this is a pile from just one wheel.

And this is a pile from all five of the wheels.  A large pile of thread, tiny material pieces and batting.  All the detritus of sewing fine quilts.

I used every one of these tools, and could have used a few more!

Let's see what you can get out of your sewing room chair wheels.

glen

Matisse Didn't Worry About It

I made all the Christmas presents, I finished all the food I was bringing places and they all have been delivered (except for Cousin Karen and Favorite Son Matt).

Look at those thighs!

I just heard Danielle say the most amazing thing this morning.  She says the mantra for 2013 needs to be

I will figure it out.

Not, I don't know how to do that, or I don't understand that......but I will figure it out.

It makes perfect sense as quilters, not to put limitations on ourselves.  Do you think Bach could have improved?  How about Matisse?  How about Glenn Close?  Could she be a better actress?  The answer is all Yes, they could always be better.  But that didn't stop them from doing what they did!

And it shouldn't stop you from doing what you do.  You will figure it out, I know you will.

And besides, it just sounds so positive when you say it, especially if you smile.  You know, that evil little smile........


glen

A Quick Look at Digital Cameras

I will take up the Artist Statement in the next few days, I want to do some research and find some really nice examples for you.  Then creating one you can use for the rest of your art career will be a doable project.  It can be tweaked to fit a project or be an overall statement of what you do.

But now, I want to answer some of the questions I have gotten about a good camera that is not too expensive.  I am not a camera expert, but I can tell you what I like.

I used to have a full manual camera.  It was a Canon AE-1; the workhorse of the camera world. The array of huge lenses complimented any picture I could see through the view finder.   But it was clunky huge to take along on vacations. for nearly 20 years, I saw many places through the eyes of that camera.

I bought my first digital about 10 years ago. For the next year I lugged two cameras everywhere because I didn't think I could get as good a picture with a mere digital.  I had two pictures of everything.  Then one day I dropped my AE-1 and light seeped through the body.  It still sits in my closet, lonely and desperate.  And I have gone though three digitals.

With digitals you can take huge amounts of photos, delete what you don't want.  I did this with my AE-1 but the film  and processing costs were astronomical.  And you really could not tell what the picture was going to look like prior to processing.  Digitals are virtually free unless you print; and you can print only what you want after you have cleaned it up! Or added effects even.

My first digital was a small Canon.  I outgrew that camea and gave it to Carrie.  She lost it.

My second digital was a Nikkon.  I gave it to Carrie when she left for a 6 week European backpacking trip after college and the minute she got off the plane in Spain gypsies slashed her pants pocket and she lost the camera.  Or so the story goes.

My third digital was the Olympus.  It was in the carry on bag when I got on a cruise ship and the glass in the back got busted.  An odd happening, but I needed a camera and bought one from the ship when we were at sea.  I got a fabulous deal on a better camera.  It was a Sony and it would sync with our Sony TV.  That was the one that just died.

Now I take pictures every day.  And on vacation I take maybe 1000 pictures.  The cameras go with me everywhere and get jostled and sometimes handled roughly.  So I can't complain about how long they last, well, I can if Carrie loses them........but that is another story.

My advice is to get the best camera you can for the money you wnat to spend.

I look for the megapixels - this one has 18.  The last one had 14.2.  That means your picture has more "dots" and gives you more clarity.  If you go 10 or above you will get a nice picture.  However in the link the picture there was taken with 1.4 megapixels.   I'd still go for about 10 or above.

I also look for zoom focus - this one is a 20X.  THe last one was 10X.  I crave the longer zoom lens.  But if you are only going to do family stuff and not so much landscapes, you can go for a lower zoom.  I need to take a couple of zoom pictures for you today and let you see the differences in the longer zoom.

I want to make sure I can carry the camera in my pocket or tote and not lose it or get tired of carrying it, or not have it when I want that special picture.  So size matters!

The next thing I think about is money and quality.  Well, actually is it the first but the other things are important too.  If you buy a Nikon, Canon, Sony or Ricoh, you cannot go wrong.  If you get a bad one it is a fluke and they should accept the exchange.  These are all good solid camera companies, like Toyota and Honda are to cars.  Quality, workmanship, sturdiness, ease of use, all are found in any of these.  In fact, I consider them interchangeable 

Money, figure out how much money you want to spend, and head to the store.  There are a ton of other features but they are all fluff, add to the price and make the camera heavier.  Some are good or fun things to have.  Like the panoramic feature that lets you take a wide wide angle shot.  Or the movie feature, where you can actually take movies as well as still shots.  Both my Sonys had these and they were fun.  I rarely used the movie and occasionally the panoramic feature.

Some cameras put words on the shot, but I can do that in my software (you can too, you just may not know it).  And some auto correct light/dark/exposure/shaky hands.  Just decide what you like and choose from there.

Here is are some wonderful sites that compare cameras side by side:

http://snapsort.com/

http://www.letsgodigital.org/en/camera/specification/compare.html

My camera is a Sony Cybershot and cost $349.  You can get a nice digital for as low as $79 or a really great EOS Rebel cameras (I drooled over one before i made my decision) for $500-700 now.  Incredible to think the EOS Rebel was close to $2500 just 5 years ago.  I was really drooling then, and considering it so that made it in reach now!

I hope this has helped.  I can get more technical but, really, this is what you need to consider when you look for a camera to play with on a daily basis.

Once you do find one you like, take a photography course from your local college, camera club or library.  It will be the best thing you ever did!

glen

A Christmas Experience Through the Lens of the New Camera

Early this morning, I texted 5 girlfriends and said, Merry Christmas, Darling!  I immediately got a phone call from Diane.  But it was a male voice, and Diane has no man.  He was friendly, and said, thanks for the Christmas wishes, how are you?  I said fine, he said, this is Brett and I don't have your name keyed in my phone, who is this?  I said, glen.  He says, I think you texted to a wrong number........and my wife noticed the "darling".  I said, ohhhhh, so that is why a man called from Diane's number!  LOL.  He wished us a happy day.  I hope his wife got over it!

Frank and I started the tradition of just us exchanging presents on Christmas Eve when we finally got out of his mother's claws when it was just the two of us.  We didn't have Carrie for 13 years so there was a lot of years of just the two of us!  And it worked out perfectly to have family presents on Christmas Eve and Santa on Christmas Day after Carrie came along.  That way it was separate in her mind.

So we did exchange presents on Christmas Eve.

I gave him a larger iPod because his smaller one was filled up by now.  And he of course gave me my iPad, I guess the new camera and a Wipeout game for the Wii.  (I love that show!)

The two father in laws

Remember when I had googled Sexy Gifts for Men?  And came up with the smoking jacket like Hugh Hefner?  Well, he took it out of the package, looked at it oddly.  I said, and this was my BIG mistake, it is a Smoking Jacket.  He put his nose to it and "smelled" odors.  That was it for that jacket........sigh.

  At Carrie's house, the table was a work of art.  She asked me to light the candles and I did so.  But I also knocked over a candle, which knocked over another and another......and well, you know what happened -- they took that job away from me.  After a fabulous dinner of brined turkey/corn/potatoes/green bean casserole/spaghetti , we exchanged gifts with Andrew's parents and the kids.  Carrie got me the ceramic paring knife I have been desiring and Frank got a light for his grill.  Last time they were here for BBQ he burned the chicken because he was literally in the dark and couldn't see what he was doing!

Andrew gave Carrie a red toaster.  I can tell you she was not happy.  Not only does she not like red appliances, she was not happy with him wanting to keep it out on the counter top.  Her counters are free of encumbrances (she does not get that from me for sure!)  And he said he was going to make toast every day for the rest of his life with that toaster.  She replied, and you will be sleeping with it too, I hope you two are very happy together.  To which he replied, well, at least it will cook for me!  (Now she gets THAT from me!)

That horrible storm that hit the South passed right over us, whipping rain sideways and rattling the windows.  But on our way home after the worst had passed, we were rewarded with this beautiful sight.

Unfortunately I cannot get the pictures from the camera to load to the computer so you can't see any of this:  the beautiful table, the sky, the candles, the smoky smoking jacket......

I guess I need to read that stupid camera book......

(an hour later)

I finally got the program downloaded, it was a pain in the patooty.  But I was rewarded with the incredible shots of the sky.  That camera really does take nice pictures.  I definitely have moved up a notch with it.  Well worth the hassle.

Illustration mode

And I played with some features on it.

The illustration mode makes the trees look like drawings.  Cool..

This is the original:  See the moon in there?That was cool in itself!

The WAY COOL 20X zoom.  This was two streets over and across the pond!  WOW!  Clear as a bell!


Ok, I am going to play Wipeout and beat the pants off Frank the poor loser!

glen

Merry Christmas To You!

I have friends on the road today, so be careful you don't cause traffic problems and let them get safely to Huntsville, AL.  I am concerned about the weather, though.

We had a burst of strong weather and now we have sun.  But the clouds and the weathermen are ominous in the background and we are under that wild tornado watch.

We are heading to Carrie's beautiful house to be with Andrew's family for a mid afternoon meal.  I just finished sewing the very last seam on Carrie's present.  I didn't take any pictures so I will have to do so and post it tomorrow.

Oh, pictures! My camera!

Yes, Frank was kind enough to take me BACK to Best Buy yesterday and we purchased a Sony Cybershot 510 (I think those are the numbers).  Same as before, but greatly updated.  My last one had panoramic function and this one does as well but allows focusing.  The last one had a video function, this one does as well.

The new one is a very slight bit heavier, but still can be in a pocket of my jeans as we hike or travel.  The specs are a bit larger as well.

Old: 10 X zoom, 14.2 megapix
New: 20 X zoom, 18 megapix.

It has a stereo speaker for the videos, and an on screen help display.  It can be set manually or automatic can prevail.  And some other new fncy stuff.

It feels the same, which is good, and it promises to be a long time friend!

glen:  I will choose a winner randomly tomorrow.....

I

Good Luck or Bad Luck?

I don't know whether to call this good luck or bad luck.

We feed a lot of birds here in the back yard and outside my kitchen area.  I have at least 4 feeders that, during the summer, I fill daily.  I can actually fill them twice a day most summer days!  At an given time I can have 50 to 80 birds either on the feeders or the ground scrounging for the spilled seed or for the larger black sunflower seeds kicked out by the smaller birds looking for the tasty millet.  One day we counted 15 varieties of bird and three varieties of squirrel!

When we went on vacation last year, I had someone come and fill the feeders every day.  But they told me the feeders stayed full after the first day.  Hmmm.  When I got home, there were no birds to be seen, anywhere.

The answer became clear tht afternoon.  A red-tail hawk positioned himself in the tree above the feeders and waited.  He had had free access for 10 days with no interruptions from dogs or people and he took full advantage of it.

Slowly the birds came back but not in as great numbers, so he must have feasted on bird for a while.

Every once in a while I see the hawk in the tree, or in the driveway trees.  And more often than that I will see a pile of downy feathers on the ground.  I once watched an owl get a squirrel dinner on my front lawn!


So when I looked out my kitchen window and saw the foot tall hawk sitting not 8 feet from the house, watching the kitchen feeder, I ran for the camera.  I think it was either a Red Tailed Hawk or a Swainson's Hawk.  Both are spectacular birds.  But they do eat my feeding birds.

You wont' get to see pictures because the camera has given up the ghost.  So I am not sure to call it lucky that it is so close to Christmas and my birthday so I can get a new one, or to say I am unlucky now that I will get a camera for my birthday since it is so convenient.

I can't complain, I have used this Sony Cybershot  across the world, taken 1000s of pictures with it and it hs served me well.  I take pictures every day and carry it in my purse with me all the time.  It sits in my hot car, and takes spectacular photos every time!

On the other hand, you would think that after 58 years, I would be used to having a birthday so close to Christmas, but I am not.  I really hate it.

Because, you know, any other month of the year, I would have just gotten a new camera anyway!

glen

Snow Globe

This is too cool.  What will they think of next?

Carrie loved snow globes when she was a kid.  On this one you just key in your address and see your house in the snow globe.

And I am assuming they don't come later and rob you!  LOL.  So since I did it, all of you have to do it so there are too many houses for them to choose from............

http://www.draftfcb.com/holiday2011/

Merry Christmas!

Drive safely to your loved ones houses.

Don't get angry, don't say something that will antagonize a loved one until Wednesday.  Let them have Christmas Day!

And if you want to make your own snowglobe check out this site:

http://www.snowglobes.com/making/


I am headed off to make 12 pies in a mason jar and some of my dad's wonderful corn casserole for dinner tomorrow at Carrie's house.
glen

Well, The Mayans Were Wrong!

Happy Holidays from our pups to yours!

Oh, I am so excited~!  I got my email from Cotton Robin with directions about creating the first block center for the 2013 Spring Cotton Robin!  I will put my thinking cap on and get it worked on and mailed out to Julie by the 15th.

As usual, everything I have laying around here as an orphan is larger than 9 x 9 or 9 x 6 and it needs to be that or smaller.  So new, I guess it is!

Stash Reports are really bad bad bad, I don't know whether to be glad it is the end of the year where I can start anew, or to be chagrined that is it the end of the year and I can use enough up to balance it out!

I hit those sales, you know, 50% off is a BIG draw! And then there was Mia herself!  Totally sweet.

Anyway, here is the damage in week 51:

I added 4 yards specifically for the Mystery Quilt for River City so that negated itself.  And I am counting it in 2012 because in some convoluted way I figure I purchased it in 2012 and I am cutting it up and sewing it before the January Meeting.

The rest of the adding was more of the sales the day after the original day I went and counted it last week.

I guess it is good, I only added 8 yards over last year, but look at what I did.  I changed out 232.5 yards of old stuff and brought in new stuff I really like!  That is worth the increase.

How did you do?

used this week	-9.25
used in Dec	-12.75
added this week	20.5
Add in Dec	38.5
Used YTD	-232.5
Added YTD	240.5
Stash Increase	+8

Do You Have An Artist Statement?

Dutch Quilt 2005

When I was at my Fiber Art Group meeting on Wednesday night, one of the gals had placed her Artist's Statement on the back of her piece.  I was intrigued.  I had not thought about me having an Artist's Statement, but I immediately wanted one.

Looking at some offerings on the internet, I found several artist blogs who were helpful enough to provide a framework or perhaps even a worksheet to help me formulate my own personal Artist Statement.

Andrew's Quilt 2004

How about you?  Do you have an Artist's Statement?  Are you happy with yours?  What does it say about you?  Do you still like what it says?  Do you want to tweak it, or like me, even write one for yourself?

I can pull together some good things from each of the places I visited and we can see what churns out.  How is that?

Paperpieced Star 2006

Since the Mayans were so obviously wrong, we can at least begin the new year in the most positive veins of all, a perfect Self Identification of all, your own Artist's Statement!

glen:  enjoy the eye candy!  (do you know Frank had never heard that saying before?)

PS:  Since I totally forgot to notice that 1000th post 14 posts back, I will choose a winner from the 1015th post -- This one!

If you leave a comment you are automatcially entered to win some sort of a prize.  Random drawing and all that, you know the drill!

Walking Study and an early Present

I was accepted into the Pennington Research study about walking.  Cool!  So I was at the Orientation Meeting Thursday night.  I am hoping that the Mayans are wrong and I didn't waste the next to last day of the world in a meeting!

I will find out which group I will be in in January.  Obviously the Pennington people are not going to waste any money on testing us unless the Mayans are going to be wrong either.  Maybe they are smarter than me.

Smarter than I?   ( I bet they would know that too!)

And we just got back from the mall where HE bought me my Christmas present.  A new fancy iPad with all the bells and whistles.    And Siri talks  to me!   And the camera takes pictures!!
!  And all my stuff transferred to the new one....by the cute geniuses at the Apple Store.

But, I am posting from the old one, which will become the property of Frank, because it won't post to my blog.  I need to get that worked on.  The blog is way to important to be ignored by the new guy!

I am going to hit the backyard and see how that camera works!

glen

Swissys in the Show Ring

If you want to see some beautiful dogs in the ring. check out the Eukanuba Greater Swiss Mountain Dog Best of Breed Ring last weekend.

I know so many of these people who are showing their dogs, the dogs have all changed since I showed Dutch so many years ago, but the people are still there showing the get of the dogs I knew.

Eukanuba is big league in dog shows.  I have a good friend who took An award of Merit with her borzoi there on Sunday.  They were happy since they were showing against the top dogs in the country!

http://www.dogchannel.com/akc-eukanuba-videos/greater-swiss-mountain-dog-best-of-breed-video.aspx

Congratulations to all my winning friends!


Best of Breed
> GCH CH Derby's Toast With Gusto "Gus"
>
> Best of Opposite Sex
> GCH CH Wildest Dream Midnight In Havana "Havana"
>
> Select Dog
> GCH Painted Mtn Oliver Twist of Fate "Oliver"
>
> Select Bitch
> GCH Sawmill's Nymph of Riverwalk "Daphne"
>
> Winners Bitch
> Carlson's Magnificent Aurora Borealis
>
> Reserve Winners Bitch
> Adanvto Nakoma's Reign "Nakoma"
>
> 1st Award of Excellence
> GCH CH Nox's George Bailey's Irish Creme "George"
>
> 2nd Award of Excellence
> GCH CH Land's End Penzance Of Kismet "Penzie"
>
> 3rd Award of Excellence
> GCH CH Derby's X Marks The Spot "Ditto"
>
> 4th Award of Excellence
> Carlson's Magnificent Aurora Borealis

Down Under Mystery Quilt Fabric

Joni's fabulous 2012 Mystery

If any of you want to do the Down Under Mystery quilt but want to take advantage of the great sales going on right now pre-Christmas and pre-Inventory I will be happy to give you the fabric requirements.  However, I strongly urge you to shop your stash.

The Down Under Mystery is worked in larger blocks than the last, as most will be happy to note!  Those 1 1/2 inch blocks seemed to be never-ending.  And they continued to the very last!

look hard, there is a roo in there!

 This will be an easy variation of the 9 patch (what block isn't) but it will be simpler.  And a bonus will be that since we are using larger blocks, the resulting quilt will be larger.

The quilt as directed in the mystery will be approx 90 x 90.  If size scares you, then be aware.  I guess you can make the patches 2 1/2 instead of 3 1/2 and cut down on size, but I have no idea how large (or small) that will end up to be.  The pattern will not matter, it is a nice flowing and overall pattern.

here they are closer

The pattern lends itself well to a larger print as the focus print.  A print, perhaps, that you don't want to cut up because you love it.  But a smaller calico would work fine as well if that is what you are.  I see it as bold batiks, a Dutch Wax print with complimentary fabrics, hand dyes of contrasts or complements.  Be creative when you look at this.  If you are stepping out to do a mystery quilt, then choose boldly with your heart.  You want your focus print to look good in a 3 inch square.  And it can look different in several squares if your print is large enough.  Not a problem, it will be your overall focus print. Use a 3 inch window cut out of a piece of cereal box cardboard to audition your print.

Not Aussie, but we
walked among them as well

Think of this fabulous Aussie wonder draped across your bed, if you have a king you can add a few borders and you have a new marvel!

For this you will need three sets of fabrics.  A dark, a light and a focus or print fabric.  Choose the focus print first and the dark and light after that.  All you have to do is to make sure they look good together in your head.  The quilt will fall into place if you love your choices.

While you should only have one focus fabric you can have more than one dark and light choices if you work carefully.  Your dark can be 3-5 darks but they need to be the same value.  put them together and walk across the room.  If you see varying shades, choose another fabric.  They all need to read "dark" and "same".  I chose one fabric, but you can make the quilt more interesting by choosing 3 -4 or even 5 fabrics.

Your light is pretty much the same thing as the dark.  Same value, walk across the room.  3-5 fabrics.  Mottles are great.

If you use more than one fabric your quilt will have more interest.  But some people do not care for  scrappy, and that is fine to do all in one fabric as well.  I didn't have that much fabric in one length that would go with my favorite focus print.

1 3/4 yard of your focus print
3 1/2 yards of light fabrics
4 yards of dark fabrics

Any questions, or if you want to send me a picture of your choices I will be happy to mediate and suggest!  Send them to my email at:

obed101(at)cox(dot)net

The Mystery Woman - let me know if you are with me, if not I won't post to the blog!