YOU are the best!!!

I want to thank all of YOU for reading my blog. I've learned so much and located many things from my readers and I truly appreciate that!

Here's what's happened lately. I got a taker for the teal fabric. The fabric and her address are sitting on the ironing board. I hope to make it to the PO today.  I've got a ton of stuff to do today so I might not make it. Thanks to Terri for offloading that from my stash.

From Laura, I got an e-mail about two specific properties in New Orleans. One that was owned by a friend's brother and was sold to Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. After looking at the map, it's two blocks from the LaLaurie mansion (that awful house of torture!). I must have walked right past it as I was in that area.

Here's a link to the map of the French Quarter in case you're as obsessed as I am about the place. And I said I would never go back! Now I want to go back!  Shoot, as I look at the map, I realize that one of the cemeteries was within walking distance of the hotel!!!  DARN DARN DARN!!!!!

Laura also mentioned that their friend's brother lives in the baby wedding cake house in the Garden District. I can't find pictures of the baby wedding cake house, but here's a link to the REAL wedding cake house. It's pretty impressive. Let's just say that real estate in New Orleans isn't cheap and these houses are HUGE. The baby wedding cake house was built for the daughter of the owner of the big wedding cake house. If you Google the address (6300 St. Charles Ave.) you'll see a picture of the house. It's not a good picture, but the best I can find.

And if that isn't enough, Kate just revealed that Emilie Richards (the author of Wedding Ring) has written three books that are based in New Orleans.  Just checked, the library doesn't have any of them. That's on the must find list.

Just in case you're wondering, I do have the Ann Rice books (that were set in New Orleans and she was from there) on hold. OK - so just the first one is on hold.

I'm sure there'll be more about New Orleans that pops up from time to time as it's a fascinating city with a very interesting past.

I think I have to admit that I've got a head cold and the darn thing is sapping me of my energy. I'm quite content to sit in a chair and read rather than be working. But I managed to get some quilting done yesterday on the long arm and I almost finished another project.

Now here's a dilemma and I think we just have to make our own rules about it. Here's the almost finished project. I stitched the binding to the front of the table runner.

The binding is on this table runner

I had to make a label for a project that was leaving the house forever and while I was in the process, I decided to make labels for some of the table runners that I've worked on this year.

Now here's the thing. What projects need a label and what projects do not? And how much information should be on a label?  I've been using these little tags for my work and they are great. They have a bicycle logo on the "front" of the label with my name, blog address and phone number on the underside. 

The little label that I use to identify my work

That information makes the item look more like a "store-bought" item than a traditional quilt label on the back.

But - what about the pattern or the designer's name? What about who made it and where and most certainly the year it was made? Now all this information may not be important, but yet it is.

Here are two instances where I'd like to have all of the information about a project. When I'm doing a trunk show, the labels are very important because I don't remember all the details and certainly NOT the year the quilt was made. Actually, when I bring out a quilt that I haven't seen in a while, I love looking at the label, especially the year the quilt was made. NO WAY - that wasn't done in 2013???? 

The other instance is that you're given something or you win something (like the mini quilts at guild shows), I love to know the name of the maker and the year the item was made.

I can appreciate putting a label on a big quilt or an item that has a really neat story behind it or a quilt that was made for a specific person or for a specific reason. Then all that information should be put on it.

But here's the thing - a lot of what I work on these days will never be included in a trunk show, will never be used as a sample (I have TONS of stuff for show n tell) and will likely be sold off at some point or given away. Many items were made ONLY because they were needed for a sample for the class.

So do those things require labels???  I don't know and I've been marking stuff off my list as DONE when some of them did not have a label stitched on. So while I had to make a label for that project that was recently sold, I made some labels for the table runners that I've made over the past few months. I simply put the name of the project, the designer's name, my name, where it was made and the year. That's all that really needs to be on these projects and I'm going to hand stitch them on as I get the projects completed. All the labels have 2018 on them, so I'd better finish this year!!!!

Fabric labels printed on the inkjet printer

Actually, as I got to looking at some of the projects, there are several that I did as blog posts on QUILTsocial and those would be good with the larger label that I created yesterday to reference the technique. Since I'll use those for samples, it's good to have all that information on the label. I'll be making a few big labels and stitching those on. I've already counted those projects as done, so I have to work behind the scenes to get that label on before anyone knows about it!!!!

What I would love to do is go through all my quilts and see if an additional label is needed (as in I acquired the quilt from somewhere) to keep up the provenance of the quilt or perhaps it never got a label. I think that's important and I should schedule a week in the future to make that happen.

I think I'm going to wing it for the labels. Some will get a label and some will not - depending on what the purpose of the item.

Don't forget about the CreativFestival this week (October 11 - 13). Remember this is NOT a quilt festival. It never has been, it never will be. But if you're in the market for a sewing machine (and I know for a fact that Husqvarna Viking and PFAFF has some amazing new machines), or you want to check out a new hobby or just an overall view of what's happening in the market, this is the place to go. There's FREE parking, you get a chance to win a $10,000 sewing room (wouldn't that be amazing!) and you can come and meet me in the Husqvarna Viking booth - I'll be there all three days. Don't forget that there are classes - this is a great place to learn about new techniques and tools. Check it out!!!!!  There's also the Project Creativ Catwalk where the local design schools make an outfit. I love that event!!!  Even if you just came for all the FREE stuff - the lectures and demos and make and take it projects - it would be worth the price of admission. Make sure to check out the BROCHURE to get all the scoop on the FREE stuff and the classes that you have to pay for. And come by and say HI!!! 

On that note, I'd better get myself in gear. I had an amazing sleep last night and I don't feel so bad this morning. But I'm hours behind as I slept in and I really slept in. The girls are NOT happy.

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!!

Zipping along..........

Yesterday was certainly a very productive day, but I had such a crappy sleep last night that I'm not sure I can be as productive today. I hate when that happens. My sinuses caused some of the problems and then my throat was dry and then I had to get up for a bathroom visit. Just one of those nights. If I need a nap today, well, that's OK.

I did make it back to the grocery store and asked about my missing almond milk. Yep - they had it recorded that some idiot customer flew out of the store and left the milk on the counter. And then I still had to go back later because I had forgotten to buy cranberries and you can't have Thanksgiving dinner without cranberries!

I had to start the day by tidying up some stuff so that felt good. A lot got put away in their respective homes and the rest is still sitting there waiting to be finished. These are items that are nowhere near getting on the finishing list, but no place to store them either.

In case anyone wonders if people use mug rugs? I do. Thanks to Katheleen for this one. I had a hot chocolate (the light version with reduced sugar). I don't want that hot cup sitting directly on my cutting mat and besides, the cup was wet on the bottom. Problem solved with the mug rug!! These make FABULOUS (and personalized) Christmas gifts. You can never have too many mug rugs!

Mug rug in use

Not content to have one sewing machine going, I had two. One was set up to join strips of batting...

Joining strips of batting

 And the other one was set up to make fabric tubes from batting and fabric strips.

Making fabric tubes

 I started out with this mess - 40 fabric strips and a whack of batting strips that I had cut from the leftovers after trimming quilts.

Fabric strips and batting strips

 Of course, I could have taken the easy way out and purchased a roll of this batting but I only have one roll and that's not enough and I like to use up leftovers so I'm good to cut those strips from the batting. Yep - I mixed black and white and various weights and thicknesses. In the grand scheme of things, I don't think it's going to make a huge difference.

Prepared roll of batting

I'm trying to use up! I had four pieces of orange and once I had cut my 40 strips, I had this piece of orange leftover. Since it was all that remained of the collection, I decided to cut it up into strips as well. I got 8 more strips for a total of 48.

The last piece of this fabric collection got cut up

 In case you're wondering, this is the Orange colorway of the Northcott Artisan Spirit Nature Studies. I used the teal colorway (of the same collection) in that rug that I made a couple of weeks ago. It's very pretty, but what the heck was I going to do with it. I'm not sure I have enough of the teal left to make a complete rug - anyone interested in the leftovers? You can find something to go with it or you can always buy more of this collections as I saw it on on the internet. Do a Google search.  E-mail me if you want it - I'll try to post a picture of what's leftover. I don't want it.

This is what I had leftover for batting after making my 40 fabric tubes and since I had that one piece of fabric left, I decided to go ahead and make those extra 8 fabric tubes.

Leftover batting

 And I have this piece leftover as well, which is going to be the binding. There were a few scraps but those got put away in the scrap bucket. I love it when I can "file" everything away or use it up.

The binding fabric

 Here's what I had at the end of the day. 48 fabric tubes. Now you have to wait to see what I do with them. I've already started, but I'm not going to share that with you until it's completed.

48 fabric tubes

This is how many batting strips remained after I had made the 48 fabric tubes. Still quite a few. It's now in the bin with the remainder of the teal colorway of Nature Studies (that I'm getting rid of!) as well as the blue colorway. My goal - use all of the Nature Studies UP!!!

Batting strips leftover

No worries, I still have another bag of batting strips to go through and cut into 2 ½" strips. I'm thinking that I'm going to have enough to make two more rugs. Which is good - maybe that'll use up all that fabric in the bucket.

Bag of batting to be sorted through

In the future, I plan to keep the bag of batting under control. As I trim a quilt, I'll cut the 2 ½" strips and the pieces that are too narrow will go into pet mats.

When I got bored of working on that project, I decided it was time for another finish. I had to sew the binding onto the front of this wall hanging. I also hand stitched the corners of the binding as well as made a sleeve which is also hand stitched in place. This is finish number 59!  I wonder where Diane is with her finishes? I know she was away last week but it wouldn't surprise me that she found a way to finish something.

Floral wall hanging

 I put my usual little fabric label on this one, but it will also be a sample when I wear my educator (Husqvarna Viking) hat, so I labeled it to death. Since I had stitched out the embroidery and all the piecing and quilting were done as blog posts for QUILTsocial, I took advantage of that and included all that information, including the links on the label.

Now that's a quilt label!

I had one more label like this make so I made it at the same time and they both turned out awesome.

I got a quilt loaded on the long arm so I'll be working on that today and hopefully, it'll be completed by tomorrow. It's a big one and some custom work on it so I can't set the machine and leave it. But I know with my sinus issue that I don't want to work on it all day.

I managed to get a couple of things written in my TO DO book, but not all. If I don't get myself together, I'll start to forget things so that is going to take priority this morning.

And I have a couple more projects that are very close to being finished. I have to maintain pace with Diane!!!  I might work on a binding or two this afternoon for a change of pace.

Oh before I leave, I have to share two more New Orleans links with you. They are creepy so if you're not into that kind of thing - DO NOT go to them. I'm not kidding but I seem to be fascinated with this stuff. I'm just weird - totally fascinated yet scared to death at the same time. Now, why is that? And do not say that my sleep issues are related to the creepy New Orleans ghosts. I don't buy that.

The first is about the house that was used in the movie? TV series? American Horror Story. It's about the LaLaurie Mansion. We heard the same story from our tour guide - does that make it right? No idea, but the place is now owned by someone from Texas and the place is rarely used which is a shame since it looks like a gorgeous place from the outside. The house was owned by Nicolas Cage at one point. It's huge (20,000 sq feet) although it doesn't look like it, I guess they are counting all the back part of the house which was likely the servant's quarters. Well so to speak.

It's amazing how you can look for something and not find it. But the short video above referenced a book and I searched for that and came up with a whole pile of other books of hauntings in New Orleans. Now I can search for those. I know - I'm morbid. Now I want to go back and tour the cemeteries. THAT would give me sleeping issues. They are super creepy!

On that note, I'm out of here.

Have a great day!!!!


Ciao!!!

Recovery day!

I had a great class in the morning at the Hobby Horse. A few unruly girls, but they know that so we're all good. The bottom line is that everyone got all the information they needed to finish the project and they're well on their way to getting it completed.

My sinus continued to bother me for most of the day and I have to confess that I was in recovery mode. I really didn't have the energy to do much. I did make it to the grocery store where I had forgotten one thing the moment I placed my items on the check out counter. How many times has that happened to you? Only to realize this morning that while I was charged for the item, the cashier must have put the item in a separate bag, not my basket, and I left it at the store. So I have to go back today to get my item. I hate when that happens.

Went to another grocery store for something else. Both places were a zoo. I know - the day before Thanksgiving - what was I thinking?

Then I have to confess that I spent the rest of the day curled up in a chair with a quilt and a book. I didn't even make it downstairs to the studio - other than getting my pattern for the morning class which wasn't right on the cutting table, but it was easy to find.

I started and finished an entire book yesterday. I was OK with that. I guess I just needed some downtime.

Oh - I should mention that I went to the library as well to pick up my two books that had come in and I couldn't help myself - I walked out with more than two books. That made 26 books on loan. ACK! How did that happen? Thank goodness borrowing books is FREE. Well, I'm happy to report that when I finished that book and went looking for another one to read, I realized that I had a couple of books that were out of sequence in their respective series, so I returned four books this morning.

Then I spent some time this morning logging in the books I've recently got my hands on or that I've read. So I'm pretty much up to date in my book managing. I need to have a list so when I hit a used bookstore, I have something to look for. How sad is that? That takes a wee bit more time since I will only buy a book if the library doesn't have it and that takes a bit of time to check out the library catalog. I'm done with book managing for today. I have work to do.

Today my goal is to drink LOTS of water and at least get that list of TODOs put together. If not, then I'm in huge trouble.

I promised some pictures and so here are a couple of pictures from my trip.

The first one is a picture of Kim (from Kimberbell) and myself with my completed journal cover. She is such a bubbly and fun person, you can't help but like her. OH - yes - I'm going to be working on my Hello Sunshine quilt and you're all going to be jealous!!!

Me and Kim from Kimberbell Designs

I think this is the FIRST time in the entire week that I removed my black sweater when I was in the hotel. It was super cold in the hotel. Apparently, because of the humidity outside, they just crank up the A/C. No thought to using dehumidifiers. That's a bit weird.


When I was at the airport, I popped into the bookstore to see if I could find a book about New Orleans. Nope - no books on local anything, but I found this in the magazine section. Should I have purchased it to get myself up to speed on all the lingo?

Cannabis Now magazine

I talk to some people about the upcoming legalization of cannabis. OK - so my parents - they think the world is going to hell in a handbasket the moment this happens. Well, Mom and Dad - hate to tell you but the stuff has been around for years  - just not legal. I hope I have a more open mind about things when I'm older. Heck - I could start using the oil - hmm - for what? I'm pretty healthy. Oh - I could find a reason, but not yet!

I'm sure you've seen tons of pictures of the architecture of New Orleans, but it's truly spectacular to see in person. Here's a snap of one building with two beautiful wrap-around galleries.  They are NOT called balconies.  The wrought iron work in the railings is amazing.

Two rows of galleries on a New Orleans building

Many of the houses in the French Quarter have windows (or technically doors) completely around the building on the ground floor, which can be opened up for ventilation. I think people used to sleep on the galleries in the heat?  I'm making that up!  But it's humid - there's no question that it's humid there and we were there in October - imagine what it would be like in the summer.

None of the houses have basements because of the extremely high water table so any bad stuff like torture usually took place in the attic. It's a pretty creepy place to be sure!  And of course, all the people buried in the cemeteries are in above ground vaults, not in a grave in the ground. It would have been neat to make it to one of the cemeteries, but that'll have to wait for another trip.

That's about it for today. I must get my butt in gear and get downstairs.

Have a super day!!!!!


Ciao!!