Snow Day Doll Quilt Rant (beware!)

Hi! Today's snow storm has turned to icy rain! A good day to stay indoors and sew.

I very much admire Ann Champion's quilting blog. Her own work is stunningly perfect and every week she also shares a quilt top from her "quilt cupboard" collection, with photos and historical details. Ann recently began making a repro antique doll quilt, inspired by Lori at Humble Quilts blog.

I loved the idea and thought it would be such a wonderful way to preserve and showcase a collection of antique indigo calico prints that a quilt dealer friend gifted to me. [a few modern ones are in the stack too.]

and a collection of  white ground antique calicos and shirtings from a Cape Cod friend...

I also love cheddar fabrics and have been doling this favorite [second from right] out in bits and pieces.(Why did I only buy a half yard? ) And lastly I thought, "Oh what a fun snow days project! And I can hand quilt it on the beach next summer."

Whatever was I thinking? I have at least three other full sized quilts in work! I totally ignored the fact that Ann and Lori, the woman posting the quilt-along, are very expert quilters who turn out 100% perfection. And here I am, the princess of randomness. And of course any issues and snags in construction are totally to be laid at my door, not Lori's!

This tiny creation is HARD! For one thing I am not used to following someone else's plans. And I don't rotary cut---all those years as a clothing designer, scissors in hand. I find the cut a 3 1/8" square into 4 triangular quarters type info to be very inaccurate....And the method used is not the way I'd go about doing something with lots of tiny points to get perfect. I'd make a pattern! Then I'd work from the center out.

The directions are for the outer parts first...I got these babies together only by copying a correct one at all times. See? I keep the good one right on my machine bed at all times.....

and the Flying Geese bits (so tiny)...

 Well, they just did not go together as planned. I recut half the  precious indigo triangles and 3/4s of the cheddar. I didn't trim yet, below, because I am still afraid my points aren't right.

I hope it turns out and I don't give up!
As I was re-sewing the Flying Geese segments today I thought back to the last time I made a quilt (or, lol,, did NOT!) using someone else's design. A friend and I made a Block of the Month together....It had eight pieced blocks and 4 appliqued blocks (to work on while we waited for the pieced blocks to arrive?).  When all my pieced blocks were done they varied in size from 10" to 12". I was so upset.No two measured remotely the same. And because they were made a month apart each time I stupidly nevr compared them, dumb, dumb---I know! My friend (another clothing designer) said hers were perfect and I asked her how? She was like, Oh well, I made my own patterns, didn't you? I didn't use those rotary instructions, too inaccurate. Her quilt is finished. Mine needs almost all the pieced blocks remade. (sigh). In my defense the BOM vendor later published corrections; my cutting wasn't THAT bad!
So....well, we'll see how it goes. Just don't expect perfection here at the beach! I think the little flaws and foibles add to the charm, don't you? [hopeful grin!]

love

   lizzy

gone to the beach....

A Hint of Spring

Hi! Aren't you all just so ready for some springtime?

Even a January thaw would be nice, hmmm?

Knowing how bleak January at the beach can be, I always plan ahead and stock up on Paperwhite Narcissus when the bulbs appear in the garden stores each fall.

I don't like to use them for Christmas, so dainty! They'd get lost in the shuffle of gingerbread and candy canes...

This year I hid the bulbs in a small Shaker cabinet that is just inside my front door (a cold spot).This cabinet stores binoculars---- and sunglasses, sunhats, and sunscreen in the summer; mittens, warm knitted hats and rocksalt in the winter.

Usually I begin "forcing" them this MLK weekend, a date when I am pretty sure [or at least hopeful?] the Christmas stuff will be put away for another year....

But this year, right after New Years, when I opened the drawer to desperately look for mittens and earmuffs, I saw the bulbs were quite green and growing in their little dark drawer.

I put them in old transferware cups and pitchers...anchored with white beach pebbles and sea glass. Add a litle water now and then....

They grew so fast! They want spring to come early too...see how enthusiastic the tiny bulbs are?

I just love how they make me think of spring in deepest darkest January...

Next I'll have to find some nice branches to force. For more on more on forcing bulbs and branches, here is last year's post.

What do you do for a hint of spring?

love,


                     lizzy

gone to the beach....

Snow Day and Button Sorting...how---fun!

Hello everyone! Yes, we are again having yet another snow day at The Beach! This is very unusual...and disconcerting!--- despite its first-falling white pristine beauty.

Snow becomes tedious when the last drifts are still snarling iceberg-like on all the  streets. And my local grocery shelves are sadly bare. There were only two---TWO!---boxes of spaghetti on the shelf---and no toilet paper at all. (Lucky for us, we went to the big-box store during last week's snow and ice.)

Anyway since my family efficiently dispersed themselves to their snow day destinations well in advance of this current storm, I am home alone with my provisions and a nice quiet bit of time to watch TiVo'd "What Not to Wear" and "Hawaii Five-0" episodes while I sort through a big tin of vintage buttons that was my last flea market buy in December.

I bought the tin for a dollar, on a frigid grey Sunday. The dealer kindly threw in his other two containers of buttons and seemed happy y to get my dollar. I took the tin home and set it in the crafts closet til after the holidays....

Now, as I first began sorting I kinda could see why the dealer was happy enough with his dollar from me: anything "good" had already been removed from this stash of basic, mundane vintage sew-thrus.

I almost decided to toss them all, but sorted again, setting aside the many dozens (very sweet!) of tiny, real mother-of-pearl flower buttons and some doll sized little dark pearl buttons.

 Then I looked again (snowing, you know?) and found some fun color assortments...

in my colors...

And some for clients who like navy or purple tones...
 

And some charming beads [top right], including a mammoth pearl![top left] Two c. 1940s pennies and a German "nickel". And one lone perfect, tiny metal and pave' rhinestone beauty, smaller than your little fingernail.

I use the buttons on my hearts:



white Valentine hearts, on eBay now and etsy soon!

 The rest of the buttons and the tin were listed and sold! on eBay, how fun...much nicer than throwing them into the bin!  Very useful for a home sewer or crafter and I think the price was right.

Lotta entertainment for that dollar, hmmmm? Now if I can just get the tin of buttons to the post office........

love

lizzy

[gone to the beach]