Quilting Bear

Cranberry Orange Granola

2011-01-03T21:50:00.001-08:00

My friend Nancy's husband Geza calls this "Nettie Muesli". I always bring a batch with me when i stay overnight with them in Bremen. A friend was asking for the recipe, so here it is:

Preheat oven to 350°F or 160°C

1/2 c sunflower seed oil or corn oil or some other kind of veg. oil
1/2 c maple syrup (can substitute honey or brown sugar)
4 tsp vanilla extract or 4 pkgs vanilla sugar
2 T orange marmalade
2 tsp cinnamon
1-2 tsp salt (optional)
1/2 c sliced almonds
4-6 c rolled oats (course, not fine)
1/2 c dried cranberries (craisins)
zest of one organic orange ('bio', auf deutsch)

Heat all of the ingredients except for the almonds, oats and cranberries in a saucepan. When everything is thoroughly melted together, pour the liquid mixture over the oats, stir and keep adding oats until you have the consistency you want. Stir in the sliced almonds. You can vary the ratio of oil to syrup, depending on how sweet you want it to be. The more oats, probably the more health-giving it will be, and the more oil, generally the tastier it will turn out. If you're not concerned about saturated fats, using half butter and half oil will make it even yummier.

Spread the mixture out about 1/2 in (1.5 cm) thick on a cookie sheet lined with foil or baking parchment. Bake at 350°F or 160°C for about 15 minutes and check to see if it needs to be baked longer.

When cooled, mix in the cranberries.

Serve with yogurt or milk and fresh fruit. I'm baking some right now. Will post a picture when i get a chance.

2010-10-22T06:15:00.000-07:00

2010-10-10T22:30:00.000-07:00

The weather has been gorgeous lately, so i went out and took a few pictures downtown.

2010-05-25T12:48:00.000-07:00

Flowers at the Farmer's Market

Ikebana, using lilac and spirea from Dieter's garden.

2010-05-25T12:45:00.000-07:00

Overdue for Spring pics

2010-05-25T11:47:00.000-07:00

Chestnut trees at the Elbe.

Spring has been particularly glorious this year, or maybe it only feels that way, after the longer and colder winter.

Winter Here

2010-01-31T03:36:00.000-08:00

Inside: Dieter brought over a beautiful amaryllis recently.

The view from my front windows.

It's Snowing!

2010-01-31T03:20:00.000-08:00

Not much sewing around here since the holidays, but i thought i ought to post pics of the gorgeous snow. It doesn't usually snow that much in Hamburg, at least not in the decade since i've been living here. Today, went for a stroll with a friend on the Alster, the lake in the center of town. It only freezes over about once in ten years. The lake was crowded with people and dogs, iceskaters and skiiers.

New Year's Fruit Crumble

2010-01-03T04:58:00.000-08:00

The result of much experimentation in efforts to please various fruit crumble lovers of my acquaintance (it turns out Germans love fruit crumble, even though it is not native to their habitat). I'm not completely certain about these amounts. That's why i recommend adding things like flour gradually to make sure it's the right amount. I tend to do this by feel, without measuring anything. This ends up being a pretty intensely flavoured dessert (and more lemony than appley) which is why serving it over vanilla ice cream is crucial, to sort of cut the intensity a bit.

Filling

1/4 cup butter
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract or 1 tsp vanilla sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamon
2-3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
about 1/4 cup orange liqueur, e.g. Grand Marnier
zest of one lemon
juice of one lemon

2 granny smith or other tart apples, unpeeled, chopped
2 pears, chopped
1/4 cup raisins that have been soaked in Grand Marnier for a day or longer

Topping

2 tablespoons sugar
1 tsp vanilla sugar if you have it or 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cardamon
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
4 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup rolled oats

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. You'll need a medium-sized baking dish.

Filling:

In a saucepan, melt the butter, add the brown sugar, cinnamon and cardamon. Stir constantly until sugar carmelizes slightly. Add the flour gradually until you have a doughy consistency. Add juice of lemon and lemon zest, add orange liqueur and simmer, stirring, for another minute or so.

Arrange fruit in baking dish, stir in the boozy raisins* and pour cooked liquid over fruit to cover. Don't worry if it seems to rest thickly on top; it will melt into and around the fruit as it bakes. Bake fruit for 20-30 min. at 350°F or for 40 min. at 200° F

You can have this baking while you're preparing dinner. Smells wonderful. Or do it way ahead and bake the topping just before serving.

Topping:

Warning: this is an unorthodox method, but i find it easiest. Melt the butter, add sugar and spices. In a medium bowl, whisk flour together with baking soda, add gradually to butter mixture till you have a soft dough. Add oats and nuts and mix together.

Spread topping over fruit and bake using the broil function (top-heating element) for another 10 min or until lightly browned. By the way, i do this all in a toaster oven. Works fine and uses less energy.

Serve warm with Breyer's or Blue Bell Natural Vanilla Bean ice cream or "Bourbon-Vanille Eis" if you're in Germany.

*term stolen from Casey Ellis, of drunken cherries fame.

New Year's UFO Resolutions

2009-12-29T04:59:00.000-08:00

Feeling guilty here about having gotten sidetracked again from ongoing projects to make a couple of new quilts. And i can't help noticing how the list of UFOs keeps growing. Sooo, here is a list of UFOs i plan to finish this year:

grandmother's fan
Autumnal Tumbling Blocks
Indigo Star (3 versions)
Amish Dahlia
yellow and blue star for Franny
Sophie's bargello
blue Tumbling Blocks for Amelia
Hidden Ninepatch for Julian

Not-Yet Begun Projects that are tempting me:
a ragtime in muted pinks and browns
a bear's paw
contemporary, simple quilt in Autumnal batiks

UFOs i'm leaving on the backburner for 2011:
log cabin
Sister's Choice for moi me me

2009-12-29T03:26:00.000-08:00

Today, finished sewing the top together. Now it just needs borders. Also, it's found a home! David, an old friend in Austin likes it, so now I will finish it up and send it to him. Funny, how knowing who it's for makes a project more fun to work on.

Revised layout

2009-12-28T08:08:00.000-08:00

The rows are all sewn together now, and some of the sashing. It's close to being done. I'm not really happy with the change of green. Would prefer to use only the darker green, but this is the big drawback of quilting out in the German quilting wilderness: not so easy to run down to the fabric store and pick up more of a needed fabric, even something as basic as this. Even if you were by some miracle to find it, it wd be 2-3 times as expensive, so i generally just use what i have. I always feel i'm channelling my grandmother or my pioneer forebears, when i do stuff like that.

Back to Drawing Board

2009-12-25T22:44:00.000-08:00

So Mitzie finally politely admitted that she doesn't like the pattern below (the hidden nine patch). "Something with more symmetry." I'm not surprised. I only did this because it was so quick, but to be honest, i don't like it much myself. This is actually good news, because now that it's no longer a quilt for Mitzie, i can use green (thumbs down on the green earlier). My plan is to recombine these little blocks with light green sashing, to give it more orderliness and a more interesting palette, and then donate it. My earliest idea was to do something like above with white sashing, but i realized there wouldn't be enough contrast between the white and the lavender. I don't know if Quilts of Valor have to be red white and blue, but if not, i thought the pattern above might be nice for a girl soldier. Anyway, that's the plan.

Mitzie's Quilt?

2009-12-23T06:22:00.000-08:00

A Passion for Purple. I'll always remember my younger sister Mitzie returning home from an outing with our Aunt Ada, sporting a dressy, new lavender wool coat and carrying a lavender bunny rabbit that Auntie Ada had bought her downtown. This was just before Easter and she was about 5 then. It was on that day that she announced that purple was her favorite color. I asked her recently if she still loved purple and she said yes, and that she likes pink as well, "pretty much any color except beige".

After I finished Laura Ann's quilt, i found i still had piles of purple and suddenly felt inspired to make a quilt for Mitzie, so I'm experimenting here. Not sure if she will like this, but if she doesn't i will find another victim for it.

Finished Borders

2009-12-20T05:40:00.000-08:00

Finally finished adding the borders to the Friendship Star quilt. In the end, ironically, i only used a small amount of the original fabric that Laura Ann sent me. I think the outermost border and the thin green checked border were among them.

I used my camera to try out and more easily compare how different combinations looked and finally decided on the one above. If i'd had to decide without comparing different options, i wouldn't intuitively have gone for this one, so the photos and lots of experimenting really helped. Below was one of the combos i rejected.

Can Quilting Prevent Memory Loss?

2009-12-19T08:25:00.000-08:00

I just saw this article on the New Old Age blog.

"At the age of 78, Bob Branham, a retired computer software developer in Dallas, Tex., took up quilting. It wasn’t his idea, actually. He’d never dreamed of piecing together his own Amish diamond coverlet or rummaging around Jo-Ann Fabrics in search of calico prints. But then he enrolled in a trial sponsored by the National Institute on Aging to assess whether learning a new skill can help preserve cognitive function in old age. By random assignment, he landed in the quilting group.

... neuroscientists suspect that learning a challenging new skill — a new language, a new musical instrument — may be even more effective than mental games at keeping the brain sharp. And quilting is more complicated than it may seem..."

Maybe this explains why my grandmother (the galloping horse one) was still as sharp as ever when she died at 97. I wonder how helpful quilting is if you've already been doing it for years. Maybe if you continue to expand your repertoire of skills and keep experimenting, it has the same effect.

Friendship Stars Finished

2009-12-18T23:37:00.000-08:00

Finished piecing the Friendship Star blocks and put them together for a lap quilt for Laura Ann. Work has gotten in the way a bit, but now i'm doing the borders. I love doing borders, because it reminds me of matting and framing a painting, not something i've done that much of, but the possibilities interest me.

Trying to decide now whether to do a pieced border or just keep adding strips in varying widths and shades of purple and green. I'm leaning toward the latter option, because i think it will be easier to make the whole thing harmonize that way. Since i don't have much of the fabric from the stars left, there's a risk of a pieced border in different fabrics fighting too much with the stars.

The colours in this remind me a little of the 70s, like the cover of a book about astrology or wizardry or something. It's a color scheme I never would have dreamed up, if left to my own devices, but that's one thing i like about making quilts for other people: it forces me to discover new things all the time. And I've come to like this, inspite of my initial skepticism.

Berlin

2009-12-01T01:59:00.001-08:00

I was in Berlin over the weekend and saw an exhibition of bears from all over the world. It's an international art project. The Bear is the symbol of Berlin.
Berlin Buddy Bears

"You are entering the American Sector..."

Laura Ann's Quilt?

2009-11-25T23:31:00.000-08:00

For years, I've been collecting purples and greens to make a quilt for my friend Laura Ann in her favorite colors. I was thinking more variety would be more interesting, but then when i showed her a couple of examples, she seemed to prefer a color scheme more like this--not at all scrappy and with orange points. Now i'm worried that what she really liked was a detail like the exact fabric in the border, and not this overall color scheme. It is rather in your face, isn't it? So i'm going to canvas her views, now that i've made a few blocks. The border will of course have various greens and purples and more of the saffron in it, if i have enough left. I'm thinking of doing a pieced border.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-21T02:31:00.000-08:00

Another Autumn bouquet. It cost me about € 7 to make these two bouquets. I figure the larger one would cost about €15 at a discount florist. The most expensive part is actually the greenery. All of these roses only cost €2. So the great thing is i can replace the roses as needed and have fresh bouquets for roughly €2 per week! And with this cool weather, they actually last closer to two weeks.

The Orchid Orphanage

2009-11-08T01:58:00.001-08:00

The Orchid Orphanage
Originally uploaded by nhendricks

It started when I bought a couple of white phaelanopsis orchids at Ikea and mentioned this in passing to a friend.
Friend: "Ah, maybe you'd like to take my orchid! It never blooms." It turned out a number of friends were having bad luck with orchids.
Next thing I knew, i had a windowsill full of orphan orchids. I checked out a book from the library on how to take care of them. It took about a year, but they finally all bloomed.

Another Pincushion

2009-11-08T01:14:00.001-08:00

I didn't manage to take pictures of my favorite pincushions before giving them away, but I can make more with the same fabrics. I like the fabrics in this one a lot, too. It still needs its button. I think it's also time to get cracking on hot water bottle covers again.

Baked Eggs

2009-11-08T00:15:00.000-08:00

I've gotten into making Baked Eggs recently, after a recipe I found in Nigella Lawson's Nigella Express. She recommends drizzling cream over the tops. I prefer grated cheese.

Wild mushroom powder is good to add before the eggs. Also, tapenade. I found mushroom powder available here and here Wild mushroom powder

Put a bit of olive oil in the bottoms of the ramekins. Add freshly ground salt and pepper, plus wild mushroom powder, if you have it. Add chopped basil, an egg and dollops of Frischkäse or herbed cream cheese.

Sprinkle with grated cheese and lay slices of cherry tomato on top. Drizzle a few drops of truffle oil over this and bake at 350°F for 10 minutes. Nigella suggests serving baked eggs for a simple family supper or as a starter at a dinner party. I like to have them on a lazy Sunday morning or as an easy Dinner for One. Since you can bake these in the toaster oven, you don't have to fire up the big oven for this. You can even put bread in to toast with them, if there's space.

P.S. The original recipe is much simpler: just eggs, cream and truffle oil. I added most of these ingredients by experimenting, as Nigella recommends.

Imelda and George

2009-11-01T22:54:00.000-08:00

Aunt Imelda and Uncle George came to visit on their way to France. Here, we'd climbed a hill overlooking Boppard in the Rhine Valley. Can you believe they're 75? They've known each other since they were 18.

Finished Piecing Tumbling Blocks

2009-11-01T03:54:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago, just before my aunt and uncle came to visit, I finished piecing the Tumbling Blocks. Hurrah! I'm going to use this orange for the borders.

Just after i finished, i made 5 pincushions from this pattern at Carpe Quiltem, but have already given away 3 of them so don't have pics of the best ones, but plan to make some more.

Pumpkin Patch Primitives Giveaway

2009-10-25T05:32:00.000-07:00

Pumpkin Patch Primitives is offering a giveaway here

Believe it or not, I actually have some quilty progress to report, just no time to upload the photos. I finally finished piecing Nancy's Tumbling Blocks quilt a couple of weeks ago, and now just need to piece the border, which will be time-consuming. I had visitors from the US recently, and I took them to Amsterdam and the Rhine Valley last week.

Blog Re-Design Service

2009-10-24T01:06:00.000-07:00

I just entered a drawing for a blog re-design at Becky's Creative Blog Design
www.creativeblogdesigns.blogspot.com/

The drawing is open till October 31st. Looks like she does really good work.

Leap of Faith

2009-09-29T00:25:00.000-07:00

I've come a bit further since the above picture. Now I've got about 8 more of those treacherous seams (sewing rows together) to go, then the border pieced to fit the outline. Must wait for additional fabric for that, so finishing the top completely will have to wait, but I hate to stop for fear that i'll lose momentum. This is by far the most difficult quilt i've made. I know, it's nothing compared to applique or paper piecing these blocks, but for me, sewing this together has been a real challenge. I notice, though, that the longer i do it, the easier it gets. You sort of develop a feel for how to sew this accurately, altho i also went through a phase, after things went surprisingly smoothly in the beginning, of being insecure and screwing it up, having to rip out a lot. Like so many things in life, it requires a leap of faith.

Another Raffle Quilt made by Lisa

2009-09-28T11:18:00.000-07:00

Ronnie and Ruthie, two of my elder siblings, taken by our Dad in the 50s. These were the two middle kids out of 8 and they continued to be close after we all grew up.

Below, another raffle quilt to benefit AIDS Services in Austin. My sister Lisa made it in memory of our brother Ron (in the photo above). Beautiful work, as always. Lisa is extremely prolific and very generous with her time. One of these days, she'll have a blog of her own and then, look out!

http://www.asaustin.org/site/PageNavigator/walk_raffle

National Gallery and Pub in Dublin

2009-09-18T21:10:00.000-07:00

Tthe National Gallery is my favorite place in Dublin. This was the one and only picture i took, because the man in the doorway was a guard, walking toward me to tell me you're not supposed to take pictures.

Where we had dinner our first night. A labyrinthine sort of pub, full of nooks and crannies and atmosphere. Touristy, but lots of locals go there too.

Ireland

2009-09-18T12:15:00.001-07:00

I just got back from 4 days with students in Dublin. It amused me that the first thing they thought of when we stumbled upon a spectacular view was to whip out their phones and text their girlfriends about it.

She's Baack

2009-09-17T11:52:00.000-07:00

I just had to report: I've made tons of progress on the Tumbling Blocks project in the last few weeks. I think i finally have enough blocks for a lap quilt--over 200. I nailed a large piece of flannel to the wall, so that i can better lay them out--and leave them laid out. Important bcs they are so small and so varied in coloration. I'd like to experiment with different kinds of layouts.

I also finally got up the nerve to sew a couple of rows together. I'd been dreading this, assuming it wd be really hard, but it went surprisingly smoothly. All the corners and angles matched fine. I think it's been roughly two years since i started this. What's motivated me to finish it is I want to give it to my friend Nancy.

A lot has happened in my life in the last few months. I suddenly had way more work than before, and less sleep than usual, and then i landed in hospital in May, with a heart muscle infection (Mycocarditis). Spent 4 days in cardio intensive care and then another week on the cardio ward. I'd never spent much time in hospital before, so it was kind of interesting, especially the time in intensive care, once i got beyond fearing for my life (they have a way of checking your vital signs constantly and sending troops of doctors to visit you, and generally making you feel you're on death's door). When they sent me to another wing of the hospital for some tests, i snuck a peek at my files and it was kind of funny to read the nurses's observations of me, as if i were an animal in a lab: "Habits: reading." "Amerikannerin, aber spricht perfekt deutsch." American, but speaks perfect German. This is not true of course, but it made me happy to see this.

I'm all recovered now and work will be slowing down soon. The doctor yesterday told me the final results from the MRI are absolutely fine but i am under strict orders to stay home next time i get sick (apparently, Myocarditis is brought on by overdoing it when you're sick), and since i happen to be getting over a cold, guess who got a lot of sewing done today?

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-26T11:20:00.000-08:00

Sorry about not posting much lately. It's been a bit crazy around here, with the painters finishing up just before Christmas. I have a tree this year. Will post pics later. I love how the tree looks with candles. We're taking the train to Leipzig on Sunday, for a few days. Neither of us has been there so it's a bit of an adventure. One of my goals for this little Winter break is to get my workspace back in order so that i can get back to quilting. For now, it's just heavenly having a few days with no obligations.

The Stealth Model

2008-11-09T05:52:00.000-08:00

This one is the stealth version.

The elastic closure is cleverly concealed inside, although this might not satisfy people who are used to the classic shape of a hot water bottle cover. Not sure the world is prepared for this much innovation..

Tweaking the Design

2008-11-09T05:04:00.000-08:00

I made a few more of these yesterday, then a Swiss visitor informed me that some sort of closure really is important, so I ripped out a couple and inserted elastic. Above was the result. I think the next batch will have drawstring closures. Me, I still prefer no closure at all.

This is my first mini-quilt, inspired by Hedgehog's at lifesaquilt.blogspot.com (still can't seem to link now).

Hurrah!

2008-11-07T08:19:00.000-08:00

I don't think i've ever been this pleased and optimistic about an election result. Obviously, this isn't meant to be a political blog, but I just have to say it: I'm so happy that Obama won!

Funnily, I've heard from a number of Germans, both before and since the election, that they don't believe Americans are "ready" for a black president. It must be an opinion that's been floating around in the German media. Must ask a friend if this is so as I don't read much German media, apart from Die Zeit, which tends to be a bit more thoughtful and broadminded (i.e. not immune from but less inclined to facile, knee-jerk anti-americanism).

Hot Water Bottle Cover

2008-11-07T07:12:00.000-08:00

I'm thinking of making a few of these as Christmas presents, with flannels I've been collecting for a while. I'm not sure whether a drawstring closure a few inches from the top is necessary. I personally prefer it plain, as it's easier to change the water more often that way. Any opinions on this? By the way, I have a German friend (you know who you are!) who unaccountably hates flannel.

Tokyo Quilt Festival

2008-10-30T00:45:00.000-07:00

I just ran across this album of pictures from the Tokyo Quilt Festival on Jan's b*muse blog (link in the title--for some reason, i can't seem to set up links within texts at the moment).

It was exciting to look at these quilts from Japan. I lived in Tokyo for 8 years before i came to Germany and I love the Japanese sense of color, the asymmetry and "wabi sabi". Recently, looking for material for a short stories course i'm teaching, I found the Oxford Book of Japanese Short Stories.
http://www.amazon.com/Oxford-Japanese-Short-Stories-Books/dp/0192803727/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1225353026&sr=8-1

It seemed to be just the right time for me to run across this collection. Some of the stories are deeply disturbing and some confirm my bleak assessment of Japanese society, but it's still fascinating to hear Japanese voices talking at eloquent length about their world. While I was living in Japan, I was often mystified by various elements of the culture. Like many Westerners, I also, frankly, felt alienated by the culture and found it difficult to cope with many of the differences. That's why it's good to have a bit of light shed on the mysteries and also, fun to re-encounter Japanese aesthetics from a safe distance (I left in 2000).

Grandmother's Fan

2008-10-29T11:56:00.000-07:00

After several months of woe and intrigue with my Mac, i'm finally wired at home again, and hoping to be better about blogging now. Being offline did have a silver lining, though. It gave me time to finally get started on the Grandmother's Fan quilt for my nephew Marcos. He chose this pattern from a book of historical quilts while he was visiting me a couple of years ago. I decided to use mainly Japanese fabrics.

Mail from Hedgehog!

2008-10-29T11:44:00.000-07:00

This fabulous little quilt arrived in the mail from Hedgehog (aka Jen) in Finland recently. What a wonderful surprise! It's even more beautiful in person than in photos. I love the colors and the composition and the contrasting stitching. It was an entire strawberry package, including: strawberry tea, white chocolate with cookies and strawberries, and even a set of Merrimekko napkins with the same strawberry print as in the quilt. Jen's quilt has inspired me to start my own series of mini-quilts, using Japanese fabrics.

2008-10-13T09:42:00.000-07:00

More Raffle Quilts from Lisa!

A baby-sized Mickey Mouse quilt (38" X 38")
detail of Mickey quilt

A lap-sized batik quilt (48" X 52")
detail

In case anyone would like to enter a raffle to win one of these lovely quilts made by my sister Lisa, the drawing will be held October 31st. Proceeds are to benefit a friend with cancer. Tickets are $1 or 6 for $5. Make checks payable to Lisa M. Hendricks at 12031 Scribe Drive, Austin, TX 78759. If you're in Europe, please email me about tickets: nettie.hendricks@gmail.com

Both are 100% cotton and machine washable.

2008-10-08T08:27:00.000-07:00

Inspiration Everywhere

These tiles are in the entry hall of a friend's house. Every time i see them, i think what cool--if not exactly easy--quilt blocks they would make.
I'm still without my computer at home, and feeling too burdened by "real" work to do much sewing, but next week we're on holiday from one of my jobs, so i hope to have a bit of guilt-free time for creative stuff, finally. I'd also like to take a few pictures around town, while the Fall colours are still going. Autumn tends to segué pretty quickly into Winter here, but at the moment, it's glorious.

2008-10-02T07:54:00.000-07:00

Another tumbling blocks project. This one was designed by my boyfriend Alfred, who is an architect. I'd always wanted to try something a bit more planned, and collaborating with someone who is more interested in planning a design inspired me. Alfred was fascinated by the 3D blocks. They'll be arranged from the lightest at the top to the darkest at the bottom. It's going to be a wallhanging.

2008-10-02T07:46:00.001-07:00

I've also decided to divide the white background blocks further: into those with warm colors included and those that are more just cool colors. It seems to me that northern Europeans tend to prefer warmer colors--maybe to offset the cool grey skies?
I'm planning to finish this one for a Hamburg friend (one of those cool blondes who like warm colors). Many of the blocks in the photo above are Luisa's, which I think she's shown on her blog, but I'll take a picture of her latest ones together. As always, they were lovely, and with inspiringly perfect workmanship.

2008-10-01T09:13:00.000-07:00

I decided to split the stars into those with an indigo background and those with a white background. I can't help asking: which do you like better? Opinions so far seem sharply divided.

Sorry to be so remiss about posting.

My ailing Mac has kept me offline except for work-related stuff for a few months now. Also, the amount of correcting for the summer writing courses was worse than usual this year. Definitely must find other jobs, so I can get back to more quilting. I've also made a few more stars for the swap and finally, finally started on my nephew Marcos's Grandmother's Fan.

2008-10-01T09:03:00.001-07:00

Nachwuchs! I love that German expresssion. My sister Lisa (the one who also quilts) has just become a grandma! My nephew David's fiancée Singer gave birth to Gwyneth Agustina Luján on September 6th. She was an even 9 lbs and 22 in. long. And here she is lying on the quilt that i made her.

I just tie quilted it, but the back is pretty cute, with red knots on a sky blue background and a yelllow Dick and Jane border. More pics coming soon (I forgot to take any, but grandma promised to send some).

2008-04-07T22:28:00.000-07:00

My sewing machine is still in the shop, but I'm in a good mood because Lisa, my fairy godsister, just sent me a care package full of fabric, plus those orphan 10" star blocks I wanted to put together in a quilt for her son, my nephew David, who is getting married soon. She also slipped in an audio book of Lisa Scottoline's Lady Killer. I'm not usually a mystery fan, but love these legal thrillers, I think because their lives are so different from mine. Scottoline is funny, too, so i'm looking forward to this.

Oh, and Lisa also sent her latest set of Stars for the swap. No time to post pics now, but they are beautiful.

2008-03-20T10:09:00.000-07:00

http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.photo.gif

Sunny this morning, so thought i'd try to get a better photo. Somehow, i think ikebana always loses something, tho, in 2-D representations, since a lot of it has to do with space and 3-D form.

2008-03-19T09:00:00.000-07:00

Western Flower Arranging

vs. Japanese

This isn't a very good example of shogetsu ikebana. It's missing some shorter flowers near the base and let's face it, seven years away from Japan, i'm a little rusty, but I thought i'd show you the contrast between Western and Japanese arranging, with the same flowers. Ikebana emphasises lines and requires a balance of empty spaces and fullness. It's also almost always asymmetrical. I remember when i was first learning ikebana, I felt frustrated by the spareness and the asymmetry. I longed to create a nice, full, symmetrical arrangement, but after five years, I began to prefer the Japanese aesthetic, although I also love a mixture of Western and Eastern, arrangements that involve branches and in which each flower is given the chance to shine. Chez Panisse in Berkeley and other chic California Cuisine restaurants tend to feature this kind of arranging, not to mention fancy law firms and department stores, especially in California.

I suppose because Holland is not far from here, and Hamburg is a port city, tulips are really cheap here, so i tend to indulge. I just bought 20 parrot tulips for €8. I will post another picture when they've opened up more.

Thanks again for visiting and leaving comments. I'm still swept up in spring cleaning and hence trying to stay away from the computer and sewing machine, but thought i'd share some parrot tulips with you. It snowed today, even though there are blossoms everywhere--cherry, forsythia, plum.

2008-03-18T08:14:00.000-07:00

My cousin Norma just finished quilting that Sister's Choice I made for my niece Mia! I'm so lucky to have a talented longarmer for a cousin!

2008-03-18T06:44:00.000-07:00

Dresden

I was in Dresden for a day last week. Forgot to bring my camera, but my friend Rick took this picture.

2008-03-18T06:16:00.000-07:00

I've been taking a little internet holiday, so I could get a bit more other stuff done. Since my sewing machine is on the fritz, I have nothing to show for myself anyway, except tidier drawers and fabric stash and bookshelves. Here's a link to a site that sells binder labels like the ones pictured a few posts below.

They don't have that particular picture, but they have one Carl Larsson.
In case anyone wants to google around for these, in German, they're called

selbsthaftende Ordnerrücken

or Ordner Etiketten

Another site that sells them, tho no Carl Larsson, is art-file.de

2008-03-02T01:06:00.000-08:00

Blog-o-versary

I'd been lusting after this little mug and warming stand setup for years. Finally decided to get it for myself for my birthday, back at the beginning of February. I also reached my 100th post a few weeks ago and forgot to mention it. I guess it was partly feeling that i didn't have much to show for all those posts. Really, the 100 mark was a bit misleading anyway, bcs often in the beginning i made several posts for one, bcs i hadn't yet mastered the photo uploading feature. So i guess this is a kind of late blog-o-versary/birthday/and 1st anniversary of when i really started posting on this blog.

Thanks for reading my blog and leaving comments. I'm enjoying getting to know so many fabulous and inspiring bloggers. I'd like to do a giveaway to celebrate (probably some handmade coasters) so if you leave a comment, i'll put you in the drawing.

2008-03-01T03:12:00.000-08:00

Getting Organized (NQ)

My sewing machine has been on the Fritz the last few days, but it's actually good, bcs I needed to spend more time on other stuff anyway, like getting orgenized! Here in Germany, instead of using file cabinets, most people seem to file their paperwork in binders like these and then shelve it in regular bookshelves. I found these cool labels that sort of disguise the binders at a museum shop. I love Carl Larsen, sort of the Swedish Norman Rockwell. Would love to someday build and decorate a house in the C Larsen style. Someone in the Midwest did this, altho he made the house in much larger (American) proportions.

2008-02-27T05:09:00.000-08:00

Just had to post a link to this story on Elaine Adair's blog, in case anyone missed it. Elaine is such a good storyteller and this one really cracks me up.

It's about her great great aunts, crossing the atlantic.

2008-02-25T20:46:00.001-08:00

T.I.F. challenge

I'm old enough to remember:

*when racial segregation was more or less standard in the South
*girls had to wear dresses to school, unless the temperature dropped below freezing.
*even little boys wore hair oil or Brill Cream (one of my strongest memories from 1st grade is walking into school on a rainy day, the smell of Brill Creem (sp?) heavy in the air).
*air conditioning was not yet so common, even in Austin, Texas. It wasn't as hot then as it is now, but hot enough! In the late Spring, fellow students sometimes fainted away during choir practice and in the summers, the only way to survive was to spend every afternoon at the pool.
*those wonderful Mexican bakeries on the border--maybe they are still there? The screen door with the Buttercrust sign would slam gently behind you and there'd be that warm, buttery smell of empanadas and rosquitas and molletes...Mmmm.
*a half pint carton of chocolate milk cost 5 cents at the corner store, 2 cents at school. An Eskimo Pie or Dreamsicle cost 10 cents.
*smoking was still very common. At the university, it was pipes, especially. Summer evenings at the outdoor theater (10 cents), where you'd sit on white wooden benches to watch things like 1,000 Leagues Under the Sea, the smell of pipe smoke contributed to the romantic atmosphere.
*a married woman who worked outside the home was kind of unusual and you wondered if her husband was ashamed that he couldn't support her.
*Drug Store soda fountains. My sister Mitzie and i used to always split a grilled cheese sandwich.
*we wore lace veils to church. My grandmother had a drawer full of them and let us pick the one we wanted to wear and bobbypin it into our hair.
*corporal punishment was still allowed in school.
*if you went beyond "second base" as a teenage girl, you could kiss your reputation goodbye, simple as that.
*as little kids we spent most of our time playing outside, exploring.
*It was possible for a five-year-old to walk across campus unaccompanied (altho strangers usually asked me if i was lost and then regretted it bcs i'd end up telling them my life story--was a fearless and loquacious little kid).
*the Berlin Wall going up--i remember it being all over the news for a few days. There was an interview with a woman whose sister happened to be on the "wrong side" of the wall when it happened. She was crying, as if she thought she'd never see her again. I was only 2 and a half then, about the age I was in the photo above, but for some reason this made an impression on me--maybe bcs i had five sisters myself.

The photo above is of some of my family. The only one I have that includes all eight siblings literally would not fit on my scanner! I'm the one with the inflatable frog. I still remember a particular afternoon/moment, floating around in the sparkling water of Ramsey Pool on that frog, being pushed and pulled around by older siblings, most likely Ronnie and Ruthie.

2008-02-25T01:24:00.000-08:00

The Cousins Club

My cousin Norma (upper left) just unearthed this photo from 1973 when my younger sister (middle, bottom) and I spent a summer with them in Arizona. The things i remember most about that summer are listening to Top 40s (Brandy, you're a fine girl!) and Aunt Livia taking us to the fabric store. Actually, this is the last time I remember seeing these cousins. She says we were all at a family gathering in San Antonio in the 80s, but that I didn't recognize her and she was too shy to talk to me. Her sister Sandy and my sister Mitzie and I were the youngest from large families and around the same age, so we formed a little club we called the Cousins Club. We even designed a logo rather like the Chanel one (ya think they ripped us off?!) We recently reconnected after 35 years and it turns out Norma is a quilter! She's just started a blog. I told her she should have a blogwarming, so you're all invited. Welcome to Blogland, Norma!

2008-02-24T09:20:00.000-08:00

What Punctuation Mark are You?

I usually resist these things, but I ran across the little quiz below on Fairybread's blog and had to try it. I do think I'm pretty comma-esque, although they have a way of making it all sound more flattering than is perhaps fair.

2008-02-24T09:19:00.000-08:00

You Are a Comma

You are open minded and extremely optimistic.

You enjoy almost all facets of life. You can find the good in almost anything.

You keep yourself busy with tons of friends, activities, and interests.

You find it hard to turn down an opportunity, even if you are pressed for time.

Your friends find you fascinating, charming, and easy to talk to.

(But with so many competing interests, you friends do feel like you hardly have time for them.)

You excel in: Inspiring people

You get along best with: The Question Mark

What Punctuation Mark Are You?

2008-02-24T02:31:00.001-08:00

Got bitten by Bonnie's Bargello bug. I started this for my friend Sophie. Took it over to her place yesterday to see if it goes with her sitting room. Since her place is full of gorgeous antiques and paintings, I was a bit worried about the quilt clashing or being too busy, but fortunately, it looked fine. Shows how much time i've spent in her sitting room--i seem to have her color scheme memorized.

2008-02-14T09:40:00.001-08:00

a favorite red fabric.

2008-02-14T08:34:00.001-08:00

An idea for what do to with all those orphan 10" stars. Maybe a wedding gift for my nephew and his fiancée? Maybe too cold and pointy for a wedding gift?
(considering that knives and scissors are supposed to be taboo)

stars10"layout
Originally uploaded by nhendricks

2008-02-14T01:26:00.000-08:00

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

(this fabric has little valentines in it.)

2008-02-13T05:03:00.001-08:00

Another star for the swap. It's called Twirling Star and it's from Marsha McClosky's Block Party. I like this book bcs she shows layouts with different values, so you can visualize how diff combinations of fabrics might work in different positions in each block. She also shows a bunch of whole quilt layouts, combining blocks to interesting effect.

2008-02-13T05:01:00.001-08:00

I made cardboard templates for the triangles here, and put rubber cement on the backs to keep them from slipping on the fabric while cutting (a tip I got from a book), but next time, I think i'll try another tip: gluing sandpaper to the backs, as the rubber cement makes them so sticky that they're then difficult to store.

2008-02-11T12:49:00.001-08:00

I'm thinking of making only one medallion and surrounding it with very wide borders for a baby quilt, perhaps with a very thin pieced border (these same little squares) breaking up the wide border. I didn't follow the pattern Lucy and the others are doing exactly, and ended up bungling it slightly, making the center section too big and not having the center point be a yellow square, but it doesn't bother me that much. At least it's a tad bigger this way. Maybe will add a few more rows to make the whole thing bigger, since i'm only making this one medallion.

2008-02-10T08:20:00.003-08:00

My attempt at the Mennonite Mosaic inspired by Lucy's, altho mine won't look antique--didn't have the right fabrics--and the color scheme is slightly off. Was thinking of making something for a friend, but it's starting to look more like colors for a kid, and I just found out that my nephew is expecting a baby in August! The first time one of us siblings will be a grandparent.

2008-02-10T02:15:00.001-08:00

This is the cushion cover I made out of the Dutchman's Puzzle block below. I set it at a slightly tipped angle, which turned out to much more trouble than I'd expected, but i think it was worth it. The back is just orange (tiny woven stripes, like the pinwheel at the center).

2008-02-10T01:52:00.001-08:00

Step into my humble abode. OK., it's not my only excuse, but one reason I haven't been posting as much is that the kitchen renovations (below) have been making my life a bit more topsy turvy than usual.

2008-02-10T01:30:00.001-08:00

This latest round of renovations inspired me to reorganize the china cabinet. The green boxes are for tossing mail and receipts (one for filing and one for action).
New floor in entryway and kitchen: can you believe this is bamboo?

Only newish: the upper cabinets, installed in 2006. I spent months and months deliberating over which style and how to arrange them, glass doors or not, etc.
I'd been longing for one of these Under Cabinet giant drawer thingies for years. Separate containers for trash separation.
And guess who finally has a dishwasher for the first time in her life? Such luxury!
The lower cabinets are not quite finished, but I love it that the dishwasher blends in with the other cabinetry. Trim underneath also still needs to be installed.
The new counter. Not real wood, but much less hassle than the rotting beechwood counter i had before.

2008-01-25T05:15:00.001-08:00

Hi, there,

sorry i keep neglecting the old blog here. Part of it is due to Sekrit Projects in the works and part of it is that i've been offline more these days, due to various real-life challenges that need more time and attention. For example, my kitchen is being remodelled soon and there's lots to do to prepare for that. If I have online access at home, it's too tempting to procrastinate, so i hand over my modem to a trusted neighbor, with instructions not to return it to me no matter what i say until a specified date. I hope to be back in posting mode next week.

2008-01-15T11:25:00.001-08:00

I ran across a beautiful indigo and orange quilt, here, at the New England Quilt Museum.

2008-01-13T03:41:00.001-08:00

Above are the beautiful and inspiring stars that Luisa sent me, in the cool light of Hamburg (i.e. they look much better on her blog :-). I especially love the one upper left (Fifty Four, Forty?).

Setting ExperimentsAbove: on point

not on point. I'll wait until I have all of them to decide, but it's fun to play. Any thoughts? I'm also considering a colored background, inspired by Luisa. Maybe yellow or cinnabar, but i'm leaning toward cream, so that the quilting in the alternate blocks can add another dimension.

Precision

Feeling virtuous because I spent the last several days piecing more stars and finished 15 (only 3 designs). I've been focussing on cutting and sewing more accurately. It took me several tries to get all the points of this pinwheel to meet exactly in the center, but it was very satisfying when i finally got it right. Some designs seem to sort of sing when they're precise.
I usually make five of each block (4 for the swap and one extra) and I'm thinking of making something non-quilty with this particular block. I like the combination of indigo and orange, which i would never have tried if not for my sister Lisa's inspiration from looking at some Moroccan tiles.

2008-01-11T09:32:00.000-08:00

Ick bin ein Berliner! (sic)

This may look like an innocent jelly donut, but in most parts of Germany, it's known as a Berliner,* which is one reason the Kennedy quote from the days of the Berlin Air Lift brings a sly smile to the lips of most Germans. You can get them with a vast assortment of different fillings. My fave is filled with a luscious vanilla custard infused with Eierlikör (egg liquor).

Sort of like black eyed peas in the States, eating a Berliner on New Year's Day (or apparently anytime within a week or two before or after New Year's) is a tradition in Germany.

(*in Berlin, it's called a Pfannkuchen.)

2008-01-10T03:06:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!

Hope 2008 is starting out well for everyone. It's funny, i never feel a big compulsion to celebrate New Year's Eve (possibly because there is usually some celebration that i'm more or less dragged into joining, so i don't know what it wd be like not to celebrate, or perhaps because when we were kids, our family always went to big NYE parties that were lots of fun, so i've never had the feeling that i've missed out on The Party). However, I do like the feeling of New Year's Day, full of possibility.

Embarrassing to note, I didn't fulfill even one of my goals for Nov/Dec (see List of Shame left). In fact, i did almost no sewing in these months, for reasons i'll explain later. But I want to look forward, inspired by Luisa's post about setting goals.
1) I want to go more deeply into this Sampler project, and try out lots of different blocks. I'm also trying to improve my accuracy, motivated by the impressive craftsmanship of my swap partners, Luisa and Lisa.
2) Finally tackle the Grandmother's Fan quilt (but first i have to figure out how to go about it).
3) Develop more consistent work habits, e.g. take hand sewing with me when travelling; prepare piles of piecing to do when i've only got a few minutes between other things.
4) Organize my workspace and keep it organized (more or less)!
5) Live more consciously, keeping priorities straight, focussing on what a gift life is.

Wishing you all whatever you hope for in 2008!

2007-12-23T12:06:00.001-08:00

Progress on the Star Sampler Swap...

Duck Paddle

Kaleidoscope

Peaceful Hours

Both Lisa and Luisa's blocks arrived in the mail recently. The three above are from Lisa (love the names!) from Marsha McClosky's Block Party. Luisa posted hers on her blog. As you can see, her ochre and rust added much needed warmth to the overall color scheme. These swap blocks are so inspiring, both in workmanship and design. I think the cross-fertilization of ideas and visions is going to make for a much more interesting quilt than I could ever have made on my own. I want to make a double quilt, and perhaps a lap quilt out of extra blocks that i've been making along the way. Haven't decided yet on a setting, but thinking of using a very simple alternate block mainly in indigo, to sort of frame the stars.

2007-12-06T10:03:00.001-08:00

A bit premature, I know, but I felt like posting something Christmasy.

You know those funny names that blocks have? I've always been intrigued by the one called "Hobson's Kiss". It raises so many questions. One can't help wondering who this Hobson was and, if he was such a great kisser, why the quilter wasn't on a first name basis with him? Or was this a legendary kiss someone of her acquaintance had experienced? And if so, what did the block design have to do with the kiss? I made five of these today, just because of the mysterious name.

Still working on the indigo and white sampler blocks, but hesitate to post pics, as I want them to be a surprise for the swap recipients. We finally decided to make them all 9" for this swap, which means i've got about 25 10" orphan blocks(!). If anyone happens to be interested in doing a 10" indigo/ white swap, I'm ready! (You can see some examples of the blocks i've already made below.)

We've also decided to include more warm colors, like cinnabar and ochre to warm up the overall color scheme slightly. I've been laying mine out on an indigo background, thinking i'll alternate these blocks with plain indigo, to make things less busy. I like this layout better than just sashing, as the blocks are so different.

2007-11-18T09:49:00.000-08:00

Hi, there,

Sorry not to post in a while. I've been rather caught up in other tasks and hesitate to start sewing as i know how obsessive i can be about it and there isn't time at the moment...

The first deadline for the Indigo/ White stars swap is looming, though, plus my friend Nancy and I are working on a quilt for her son, and I'd like to get going on some blocks for that. So far, my contributions have been limited to raiding my stash. It's another Hidden Spools, but this one won't be so "higgeldy piggeldy" (as Nancy puts it). We're trying to make it more orderly, which is a bit of a challenge for me, as it will be harder to make large amounts of color go with other large amounts. I find scrappy quilts easier when everything's mixed together in small bits. Her son just started studying Physics at university and we're thinking he would appreciate orderliness and discernible patterns.

Below is a higgeldy piggeldy version of Hidden Spools. We're going to make Benny's so that all of the squares match within themselves, rather than simply alternating light and dark, as I did here.

2007-10-29T20:15:00.001-07:00

More Tumbling blocks, laid out on Nancy's dining room table yesterday after lunch. One was the wrong way round, i notice now.

2007-10-28T00:25:00.001-07:00

How to Make Tumbling Blocks

I used 2.5" strips, but you can obviously use any size you want. You'll need Light, dark and medium. I sometimes contrasted cool and warm, when the dark and medium were only slightly different in value. I especially like using Kaffe Fassett stripes for the mediums, as they add more dimension, without being too loud. For a kid's quilt, you might try using a feature fabric for the medium.

Use a 60° angle template (or the marks on your cutting board, if you have them), for the first cut.

I used a template with inches marked on it, to cut the parallelograms at 2.5" intervals in the strips.
You can make a template out of cardboard, marking 1/4" seam allowances on it and then making holes where the lines cross.

This you can use to mark where your seams should start and stop when you're sewing the blocks together. Once you've done stacks of them, you probably won't need the marks anymore, but it helps to get started.
Sew just one side of a light and dark together.

Take care that the pieces are arranged according to how you want them to be placed in the block. In this case: dark will be lower left, light on top, etc.

Sew the medium onto the light, with a pin to mark where the seam between light and dark is.
Pivot at this point and then sew medium to dark, being careful that the dark remains in the proper allignment when you pivot, so that the seam turns exactly where light and dark meet and the medium and dark pieces match up exactly.
Also, be careful not to stretch the bias cut edges while sewing!

This strip piecing tutorial for Tumbling Blocks looks promising and i started to try it, but then realized it's better suited to a project that isn't so scrappy, i.e. with just three fabrics, like for a baby quilt. Also, i preferred the aesthetics of this method. After all, sometimes the viewer is not galloping by on a horse!

2007-10-28T00:04:00.001-07:00

Take care that the pieces are arranged according to how you want them to be placed in the block. In this case: dark will be lower left, light on top, etc.

Sew the medium onto the light, with a pin to mark where the seam between light and dark is.
Pivot at this point and then sew medium to dark, being careful that the dark remains in the proper allignment when you pivot, so that the seam turns exactly where light and dark meet and the medium and dark pieces match up exactly.
Also, be careful not to stretch the bias cut edges while sewing!

This strip piecing tutorial for Tumbling Blocks looks promising and i started to try it, but then realized it's better suited to a project that isn't so scrappy, i.e. with just three fabrics, like for a baby quilt. Also, i preferred the aesthetics of this method. After all, sometimes the viewer is not galloping by on a horse!

2007-10-25T12:24:00.001-07:00

Finally had time for a bit more sewing. I'd been longing to try these tumbling blocks and had been collecting fabrics for them for a while. Many of these came from Brigitte's shop.

From the campus at Bremen where the semester started last week. My classrooms are all way out in the boonies this time, but the walk there is scenic and good exercise..

2007-10-11T04:57:00.001-07:00

A reversible keyboard cover. Been meaning to make one of these for a while. I used some of my favorite fabrics, things i was tempted to save for more important projects for other people. I decided, hey, i'm important too! Besides, how do i know they would even like these fabrics?

Well, my little holiday from the internet was productive. I managed to get lots done. This week i couldn't resist sewing a little again and started on a new quilt, but it's Top Secret, so i can't post pictures of it. Sadly, I've had to put it aside again until i finish a bunch of work-related stuff. There are a zillion other projects i'm longing to get to as well, including a radio flyer quilt .

2007-09-14T03:06:00.000-07:00

This Bear Needs a Break

Thanks for visiting my blog. Just thought i'd say, I'm taking a mini-break from the internet at home, so may not post here for a couple of weeks. I have some catching up to do and need to prepare for the upcoming semester (the "Winter Semester" at universities starts in mid-October here). Last night i finished piecing the rose and white irish chain for my Aunt Livia. It turns out her cancer appears to be back, so this was good timing. I've been clearing the decks, sending quilts off to be quilted. I'm afraid if i start another new project, I'll be swept into it and not be able to tear myself away to do anything else. I wonder if other people have this problem.

2007-09-06T09:18:00.001-07:00

Last weekend, I visited Brigitte near Bielefeld. She let me fool around on her Bernina and I managed to quilt two of my doll quilts. The last evening, I couldn't hold out any longer, and ended up having a shopping spree at her little fabric shop (see below). Talk about Kaffe Fassett heaven! She also gave me the above charm pack from Fig Tree by Moda. I want to make something really special with it. Just have to figure out what. I'm thinking of saving them for a Tea Leaf quilt I want to make someday.

2007-09-06T09:15:00.001-07:00

The fabrics I scored at Brigitte's

Autumnal hues aren't the sort of colors I usually choose, but they're definitely growing on me. I'm thinking of making a Tumbling Blocks quilt with them.

2007-09-05T10:28:00.001-07:00

My Stars!

Another bout of obsessive piecing for the Sampler Swap (see below). I made seven of these Golden Samovar blocks over the last couple of days. They're from Once More Around the Block by Judy Hopkins.

Some more stars and "stars" I have in mind to make:
Amish Star
Martha Washington Star
Sarah's Choice
Foxy Grandpa
Grandmother's Choice
Continental
Autumn Hues (tho of course not in autumnal hues :-)
Ohio Star
Ribbon Star

So far none of them are foundation pieced, but i'd like to do some down the line. One reason i decided to do this project was just to test out and practice different blocks and techniques.

2007-09-04T00:23:00.000-07:00

Indigo and White Star Sampler Swap

Guidelines

10" blocks (or 9" augmented to 10")

Star or vaguely starlike, i.e. with a pattern that radiates out from the center (see examples above and below)

Each block should contain Indigo or navy and white or cream, but can also contain other colors, esp colors with blue in them, e.g. , greens, turquoise, teal, lavender and violet.

Deadline: December 2008, with mini-deadlines along the way.

Every three months, we will send 3 blocks to other swap recipients individually, which means making a few copies of one block per month. You can choose how many blocks you want to send and receive.

2007-08-27T08:36:00.001-07:00

Some more stars i made today (Chickadee Quadrille). These are actually 9" but i plan to augment them so they'll fit with the 10" blocks. I'm still not sure about including turquoisey blues. I'm sort of inclined to limit it to indigo/French blues, that sort of range. Opinions on this appreciated.

2007-08-26T12:31:00.001-07:00

Star Swap, Anyone?

I'm not sure how to organize a swap as i've never done it before, but I started this one with Norma and Lisa, two quilters in the States who, alas, are not yet in blogland, and i wondered if anyone else would like to join, as i find I'm making way more of each block than i need.

They're 10" indigo and white stars (the background can be light or dark--i.e. the reverse of what you see in these pictures). We've found lots of good patterns in Judy Hopkins' Around the Block and Once More Around the Block, as well as quilterscache.com under 10" blocks. Also, they don't absolutely have to be star or star-like designs. Things like Chickadee Quadrille or Footstool or even Yankee puzzle would be fine, as far as i'm concerned. Overly simple designs like Friendship Star might not work as well, though, since the blocks are rather large.

The Castle Garden below isn't so precise because i made it before reinstalling a 1/4 inch seam guide on my machine. So don't worry, my piecing is usually more accurate than that.

I like this project because you can get carried away with it for an afternoon, making a bunch of one or two block patterns, and then leave it for a while until you feel inspired by another block design. Please contact me if you're interested.

2007-08-25T08:54:00.001-07:00

Doll Quilts

The day after finishing a very long project, i was dying to finish something quickly, and these three doll quilts were the result. Sometime soon, I'd like do some doll quilts with traditional blocks, like Lucy has done.

This "cheating bargello" was an experiment: i cut strips out of striped fabric and then just rearranged them as you would with a normal bargello, like the one above.

2007-08-25T07:17:00.001-07:00

Finally, here are some pictures of the log cabin project Brigitte and I are working on. It was Brigitte's idea and she made this first block (I snaffled it from her when she came to Hamburg).
The two below are ones I made, after finally figuring out a way to foundation piece them on fabric (without paper--paper didn't work for me at all) so the strips wouldn't be stretched out of shape. You wouldn't think log cabins could be so complicated, but these are 12" blocks and the strips were mainly cut across the grain, which made them extreeemely stre-e-etchy.

This bottom one I did without foundation piecing, and you can see the problem a little, although some were much worse.

The latest batch of strips I cut, I made sure to cut lengthwise,
with the grain, even if it meant much shorter strips, just to avoid the stretching nightmare i had in the beginning.

The other big challenge for me is deciding on such a long row of fabric strips to put together for each block, making sure that
a) they all fit our color scheme,
b) there's enough contrast and variation between lights and darks / cools and warms
c) i'm not repeating my favorite fabrics too often
d) i don't run out of certain colors, since many of these hues (e.g. that warm, light red, these soft blues, the apricot) I don't tend to have in my stash.

However, I think this joint project is broadening my horizons in some ways. I admire Brigitte's sense of color, so it's interesting to try to imagine whether she would approve of various combinations.

2007-08-22T22:25:00.000-07:00

Inspired by Judy's challenge to fess up to UFOs, i haven't got time to find and photograph all of them, but here's my list:

some house blocks i pieced by hand (not sure if anything will ever come of them)
Imelda's Amish Dahlia (need to finish appliqué and put it all together)
Franny's yellow and blue stars
log cabins with Brigitte (I've made five and need about 15 more)
blue and white star sampler (a long, ongoing project)
pink and white single irish chain that i just started and am close to finishing.
Sister's Choice for moi me me!
Basil Garden for my guest room

This is not counting the long list of project i have in my head and haven't started yet :-)

2007-08-20T23:15:00.001-07:00

Finally, a few pics from this summer's holiday.The mountains in South Tirol where we went hiking every day. We slept in a beautiful old Farmhouse.
This is at a seminary in Innsbruck, where some friends studied years ago. A current seminarian let us in to look around.

Marlene borrowed my hat as soon as we arrived at the Alm. She and Hans were wonderful hosts.

2007-08-19T08:18:00.000-07:00

This is a lap quilt I made for my sister Lisa. She's made so many beautiful quilts for other people, I figured she deserves a quilt more than anyone I know, which made her a perfect victim for my experiment with the Disappearing Ninepatch.
I've always hesitated to make a quilt for Lisa, thinking it would have to be perfect. That's why I decided to call this "Ode to Imperfection". Many of the seams don't match, partly because I decided this quilt actually looks better the less the seams match.
I like how it turned out. I think it looks especially good in the half dark, when the reds and lighter colors seem iridescent. Lisa will choose the borders, since we both agree she's probably got something that would work (most of the fabrics in this are things she's shared with me). Plus, we already have this collaborative habit of Lisa choosing borders and backings for my quilts, fabric being so expensive here. I figure since it's her quilt, all the more reason for her to choose the border fabric, although i have some ideas.

2007-08-19T08:03:00.001-07:00

Basil GardenI finally finished the first quilt I ever started! It had been languishing as a UFO in my cupboard for years. The motivation for finishing it was Peg, the daughter of old friends in California, who's off to study theater in the Fall. This still needs borders, but i think i'm going to just go with more of the beige leaf that I used for the background. Actually, the very first quilt i ever made, if you could call it that, also happened to be for Peg, the summer she was born 18 years ago. It felt like cheating bcs there was no patchwork or appliqué involved. It was just a white fabric with colorful, stylized clowns on it. I stuffed the clowns' bellies with extra batting and machine quilted around the outlines of the clowns.

2007-08-19T07:55:00.001-07:00

One last picture of Mia's quilt with the borders on. The binding is going to be a dark rust asian toile.

2007-08-17T12:15:00.000-07:00

The obsessive piecing continues: Yesterday i started a new quilt, a single Irish chain in pink and cream for my Aunt Livia. I had the same dilemma with her fabric that i had with the quilt for Auntie Ada, i.e. the rose feature fabric was pretty in such a delicate way that it seemed most patchwork patterns would only detract from it. Even the single Irish chain, intended to frame blocks with roses, didn't work because there wasn't enough contrast. All of the combinations of fabrics and designs that would show up at all seemed too overwhelming. Sooo, i decided to save the lovely rose patterned fabric for another quilt (i already know for whom!) and just make this really simple, with plain cream blocks between the nine patches. Still using the tiny rose companion fabric. I've already got a good start on it and hope to finish it soon.

2007-08-14T21:35:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the last day of my holidays. For some reason, i've been on this sewing jag the last couple of weeks. Maybe because i was longing to work on quilts for a couple of months before the holiday. So yesterday, I finished another quilt top, a lap quilt for my sister Lisa. Since i didn't want this to be yet another project on the list, I decided to make something really easy, that i could finish right away-- the disappearing ninepatch from that tutorial below. It's in batiks, mainly purples, greens and blues, with flashes of red and orange thrown in. I made it in two days, working on it constantly. I'm calling it "Ode to Imperfection." Can't wait to take pics so i can send it off.

2007-08-12T12:22:00.000-07:00

Basil Garden Finished!

I finally finished piecing this quilt i started in 2001 and set aside until last week.

Today, I made three doll quilts in a row, just for the satisfaction of starting and finishing something in one day. One is a bargello with eensy squares. I don't even have any little girl recipients in mind for these. Will post pics when i get my camera back.