Thursday Work - Finishing Up on Triangles

Court yesterday was odd.  I sat for more than 4 hours watching the dregs of humanity parade their odd clothing and behavior in front of this very patient judge.  In the cruelty case I was there for, his atty asked if he could plead guilty to attempted cruelty, and the Asst DA an I were not happy.  There was no "attempt" at cruelty, it was pure base anger and hatred.  So his atty asked for and got a continuance.  I guess he needs to concoct a story and come to court.

Frank picked out these wonderful kleenex boxes for McGee to eat next.  I wonder if the different colors taste different flavors?  Looks like luscious fabrics to me!

I have one more set of triangles to go for the Taking Names quilt sets.  These are the red/black/white ones.  And I can do those this afternoon and see about getting to the post office tomorrow to mail them off.

I finished the two that had greens as their major color.  One was a batik green and brown and the other was to be earth tones.  I really don't have much of either but I made do.  I think I sneaked in a couple that really didn't go, but I was just being creative!

Check them out.

I really like both of them and realize the need to get more brown and green batiks in my stash.

Remember, there are 8 other people doing 12 triangles each and these will be mixed in with theirs.  I have 5 sets of my grey triangles, so I am waiting on doggy toes to get a crack at them.

Doggy toes?  Well, I figure if Carl Sandburg's Fog sat on little cat feet then I am waiting on doggy toes!
Look how pretty we can sit! All those stories mom makes up about us being so bad.......huh, did you hear that?


Oh wait.......was that a squirrel?

Green to Dye For

I am posting this on Creations by Nina Marie, go by there and enjoy what others are doing!
http://ninamariesayre.blogspot.com/2013/03/studio-pegboard-for-off-wall-friday.html

A couple of months ago, I purchased a bolt of white, or what I thought was plain white muslin fabric, from Mia's.  It was cheap enough and had been washed due to a leak in her front window that occurred during a hurricane.  When I used a piece of it, I realized it has some sort of a pattern on the front, and had actually been wrapped inside out back on the bolt.

I kinda forgot about it, and tore a strip off to do the green thing with yesterday.  So soaking in the pot, scrunched up was this piece of what I thought was plain white muslin.

Swirled mess

To dye this I wanted to try do do snow dyeing, but of course, we have no snow.  I used ice cubes instead.  I scrunched the fabric up with my fingers and place it into the pot.  I wanted a small pot to contain the fabric, since it was just a small piece.  And I tossed in a number of ice cubes and sprinkled my powdered dyes on top of the cubes.

The Procion Dyes I used were blue, yellow and red.  I put the blue on first, then the yellow and added the red as an afterthought.  What exactly I was thinking escapes me now, but red was added.    I then put the pot outside on top of the recycle bin to keep it away from basset noses.

About an hour later, Frank brings the pot in to me and is swirling the melted ice water around. After berating him for moving MY STUFF, I put it carefully back on the recycle bin and left it out there overnight in the rain storm.  A really bad rain storm.  It was under the car port so it shouldn't have gotten any wetter than it already was.

Wet is always much darker than dry

At some point, I did think about having all those dyes swirled together like that, but was unable to affect anything at that moment, so I ignored the thought.

When I poured the dye water out this morning, I thought I had a nondescript green mess.  But when I laid it out on the trees to dry, I noticed the red parts, and decided it might have been a good idea to have that in there.

When it dried, and for some reason the dogs didn't bother this at all (I am totally amazed at that!), it looked very very interesting!

The front of the fabric had these stupid flowers on it, the ones I had forgotten all about.  But the back......oh my.......the back was incredible!






I saw leaves all over the back, in real leaf shapes, like a dense jungle of bushes and trees 




Large leaves and small leaves.......LEAVES!













I think I am seeing my green piece for the Fiber Group, baby!  You bet!

Dyeing To Get In

LOL.  Remember that old cemetery joke, they had to put a fence up around the cemetery because people were dying to get in!  LOL

I got another of the Taking Names sets done.  This one is Mint Green with scrappy.  I used a lot of blue and green pieces and just love it.  It is not one I would have chosen but it is looking fabulous.

We are not heading for the Red Stick today, too much to do.  I hope to get a look at some backings for the two baby quilts.

I really need to complete the quilting on the Southwest quilt that is on the frame and get some other stuff going.  Like the baby quilts.  I want to do Baptist Fans on the Baby Steps quilt.   And straight yet wavy lines on the Baby Bricks quilt.

I have some dyeing going on.  I am trying to get a nice green for my Fiber Group.  But I am not sure how it is working.  I am only rinsing once so the effect should be darker than if I totally washed the dye out of everything.  It will be a small piece and not washed or put into a larger quilt so it should be OK.


Not so appetizing, huh?  We shall see.  Oh, yes, it is drying high on the top of my nandinas because of the Idiot Child Who Eats Fabric.  Need I say more?

Baby Steps

What a great name for this quilt!  I put it together this morning while it rained outside.  it is about 42 x 48, just the perfect size for baby steps!

On Sunday, we had lunch in Hammond with the family of Maylee and delivered her the quilt and the little doll quilt.  Her eyes got huge when she saw the tiny quilt!  It was so funny watching her.  I think it ended up with ketchup all over it because she wouldn't let go of it all during dinner!

The accord drove beautifully and got 37.8 miles per gallon, and that car is loaded with all kinds of stuff.  Technology is really improving.  He works in the oil and gas field and it was a bit distressing to see that, but on the other hand he was totally amazed by the staggering figures!  I think he loves that car.

Frank spent the morning with the two "little girls" who work at the dealership and assist old people with setting up their phone and iPod and XM stuff in the new cars.

He called me and said he needed the Really Really Remedial Course and they told him he could come back as many times as he needed to.  

We shall see what balance his male ego has with his eye for young cute blondes who giggle and help him.  Hmm......maybe I should have gone with him!

But then again, I think having lunch Sunday with Maylee's dad (who is his age) will keep him on the straight and narrow!  LOL.   Yep!

design Wall Monday 4-25-13

I am so out of the time loop thing.  I had no idea it was the 25th already!  I am older than I thought.  On Wednesday I have the court date for the guy who tossed the dog Jimmy over the fence at CAAWS.   I really hate going down to the courthouse for these things, but I go at least once a month for those women who dumped the 100 dogs over the year period.

My working goals this week are:

1.  Find a back for the two baby quilts for Carrie

2.  Get the second baby quilt put together for Carrie

3.  Finish the Taking Names sets.  I have completed 4 and have 4 to go



AND.........

UFO - Ami Simm's Halloween

4.  Choose a UFO and begin working on it

Stash Report and New New New Car

Yesterday was such a dreary day and today dawns without a cloud in sight!  We are heading to Hammond to deliver Maylee's quilt to the parents and have dinner at our favorite restaurant Brady's.  We lived outside of Hammond for 7 years just prior to moving to Baton Rouge 28 years ago.  And Brady's had the best huge-est plate of Nachos and the best Reuben Sandwich I have ever eaten!

We were sitting on the back patio sipping coffee, and the woodpeckers were hitting the power line poles pretty hard.  There were three of them.  I took a picture of the poles because in one month you will not be able to see them with all the leaves.  I also took some pictures of the tree trunks in the yard hoping to do some tree studies in quilts.  Maybe a series.  I have a lot of trees in my collections of vacation pictures having been fascinated by them for many years.  this design class has spurred me to thinking about them again.

And I took a picture of the new baby in the sun, that Gunmetal Grey still looks bland, but it is truly a beautiful vehicle and he is soooo happy with it.  It doesn't need a key, you push a button to turn it on.  I am really good at pushing buttons, so this should be a breeze if I ever need to drive it!

I have finally put together a stash report for the last three weeks, like all of February   And you will be pleased.  So this is 6, 7 and 8.

used this week	-11
Used Feb	-14.25
added this week	5
added Feb	5
used YTD	-31.5
added YTD	8.5
stash reduction	-23

What I Did On My Saturday Afternoon

I'll bet you woke up this morning saying, I wonder what glen is going to do today.  I am here to tell you, it was very interesting.  And I did it with another man!

 


This guy.

His name is Michael and I have known him for like a thousand years.

I had lunch at TJ Ribs, which is right across from the friendly Honda place that knows us so well.  We have purchased, oh, 5 vehicles from Michael.  He sold me my beloved little red sports car, the Prelude many years ago.  And took it in trade in 2006 for my CRV.  Not so beloved, I still miss my red beauty every day!  But that is water under the bridge.


We said, lets just go look at the new vans, Frank has run this one for 291,784 miles in 6 years and is ready for a new one.  The Odyssey before this one ran for 278,000 miles in just less than 5 years.  I bought the Prelude when he bought the first Odyssey and traded it in at 60,000 miles and now I have only 30,000 on my CRV in the same amount of time he has traveled over half a million miles!

Half a million miles.  Wow.

So just looking, mind you, walked away four hours later with me writing a check for a new Honda.

You are going to be surprised at which one, though!


The Accord survived the test drive, we did take a van for a spin but he was lusting in his little heart, which needed its medication by the way, for the Accord. I could see both the heart thing and the lust thing going on.

And this vehicle is for Frank for the next 300,000 miles.  I wanted to make sure he was liking his new ride.  Here he is waiting for them to detail the car so he can get home and let the dogs out

And here it is, at home for the first time ever.  It has so many new bells and whistles and buttons, and lights and sounds.  The dealership has two little girls about 14 years old to come out and teach you all the electronics and phone and Pandora stuff.

He is a happy boy.  Even the car seems to be smiling!

Friday Finishes

Oh, you HAVE to go see this Hey Girl!
http://ellisonlane.blogspot.com/2013/02/top-5-hey-girl.html

I just died laughing!

Well, this is not really a true finish finish, but a finish of sorts.  This is the 4th of the group of 8 people's Taking Names I have completed.

See that pink swirl?  That is the background on this one, and she wanted any fabric in a color that appeared in the swirls.  That opened it up to purple, orange, blue, white, pink.

Her final quilt will be interesting.  I used the light light blue in there, see it in the center, I am not sure it is a favorite of mine, but I am sure others will pick out that light blue.

We each make 12 and there are 8 people in each grouping.  And with the set she makes for herself they will be one of 108 triangles.  I am sure it will be fine.  If not, she can change it out.

We are meeting the Maylee and family of Maylee's quilt and Maylee's Doll Quilt fame this weekend.  I should have some photos of that hopefully tomorrow.  The people who have seen it say it is really so much better in person, but aren't we all!  (well, there are SOME people who are better NOT in person!)

I am getting there with getting stuff done.  Slowly but surely!

Yesterday's Work

I spent the afternoon doing these beauties for the Taking Names Group.

I have one more set of Black and White but this time with a bright red.  I thought I would love one over another but they are all wonderful.  I love them all.  Now I don't want to send them back!








More today, I have to finish the B&W and Red, and then a batik and a green and a few more!

The need to go out by March 5, so I am still OK.

And I got one group of my Shades of Grey back.  Here are mine co-mingled with Eva's.

Looking good!

50 Shades and an amazaing video

Judy sent me a video this morning, so creattive, all sewing notions as they dance!

http://vimeo.com/58893010


The group is small.  And we work small.  8/5 by 11 page size.  And one was missing because her hubby was ill.  But the pieces we showed were fabulous!

Mine was The Thin Red Line = the thin line between love and pain.  It is a fractured piece that I wanted to see just how thin I could get that line!  Turns out, pretty thin! And I could not find, on short notice, variegated grey thread, so I went with three shades of grey threads.  It is stark and plain and that is what I wanted.  You can also see that as the relationship progresses, in the 5 to 7 year range is where the trouble occurs.  To put the relationship back together requires effort and change.  Cool!

Printing on Foil

Michael showed his 50 Shades of Greyhound!  Love it!  His is such a talented artist who has inspired me for so long in the quilt world.

Judy had an interesting piece where she printed on tin foil, like Reynolds wrap!  So creative!  Who would have thought to do that?

Renee had her small piece, and imagined it larger and more colorful!  So she placed it on a canvas and extended her ribbons into the "frame" in bright color.  Her ribbons were intriguing and the piece had so much movement.

50 Shades of Grey Piece For Tonight

I have established some basic facts today.

1.  I work well under pressure!









2.  McGee will not stop doing something just because you have asked him to a thousand times.






3.  DiNozzo does not like crotons.

Just in from Guild and Red Stick Sewing Day

This is for Patty, I know she is eager to see what I did today.  

I have a second one that needs to be put together, I can do that tomorrow.  The fabrics are the same but the pattern is a bit different.
This one measures 42 by 48.

I bought a really cool back for it, and told Carrie,  to which she replied. no, i want plain white.

Can you kill someone through the text message?

This is my own pattern, made up as I went along.  I measured nothing.  I wanted the baby quilt to be at least 35 by 40-ish so I took some painters tape and made some rough outlines on my design wall.  The design wall is that foam insulation board just nailed up on the wall.  I really need to put some batting or flannel over it, but never have.  I just use a million pins!

glen:  see my mountain goat who poses as a dog?

Heading out to Red Stick

Come on by and quilt with us!  And do lunch with us!

I guarantee the dogs won't bother us there!

glen

To Accomplish on Tuesday

Ann and I will be at the Red Stick Shop tomorrow working, if you want to come by and set up with us.  We generally eat lunch at Exchequer, cheap and fast and mucho deliciouso!

I need to get two things done tomorrow.  I know, you are very tired of hearing about the low volume bricks and the 50 Shades piece.  But I do need to get the 50 Shades piece done for Wednesday night.  Aughh.....queen of the last minute, I sure wish I could find my original piece......

Darn, I looked again tonight, nowhere.......

So I did get this done today, while I was looking for grey variegated thread!

To accomplish on Tuesday:

1.  Put the strips of the low volume bricks together and complete the top

2.  Complete the 50 Shades piece.

Just know that the low volume bricks top is not as bright as it appears.  I did use a light adjustment for the photo that made it way too bright   I had a hard time figuring out which was the right side of the fabric!  I ripped quite a few times there!.