Some cook, I sew and write: creativity brings joy

Even though I haven't been showing any sewing, I have been productively engaged in quilt making. Some time ago, I began piecing quilt blocks from the Craftsy 2012 Block of the Month.  It's a free course taught by Amy Gibson of Stitchery, Dickery, Dock , and I learned a number of new-to-me techniques.  I have decided I much prefer watching videos showing how to construct something and then referring to directions for specifics.  I guess that means I'm primarily a visual learner.  Anyone else like me out there? My daughter held up the quilt top but my phone was slow to take the pictures.  After several tries, I actually got one of the whole quilt held up straight, but I much preferred this one. Missouri Star Quilt Company had directions for an inside out block and I had the plastic template so I tried this too.  It isn't quilted yet but I found the dark purple outside fabric at JoAnn Fabrics so that will be the back and binding.  Orig...

My hexagon block is finished for the Amy Gibson modern quilt .  I'm not a big fan of doing hexagons and I have one more quilt block using them.  I suspect paper piecing will be something I'll do when I have to do it.  It takes considerably more work although Amy's video instruction makes it simple.  I used regular copy paper for templates and can see the advantage of buying pre-made hexagons.  Mine weren't perfectly sized either but it worked.   This year we finally bought an emergency kit of food for our family.  120 entrees while they were on sale.  We've often put in 72-hour kits using regular canned food but that food takes more space and doesn't keep as long.  Now to figure out where to store water. I found a new recipe for Hamburger Stew.  Originally I used radishes instead of potatoes to make it THM friendly (which I liked but my husband did not), and then I made it again with potatoes.  The Pioneer Woman d...

I'm also on BlogLovin now: <a href="https://www.bloglovin.com/blog/18313149/?claim=j9n4n6k9uuw">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a> Today I spent more time on a Christmas present that I will not be able to reveal until after Christmas, and I'm bursting to tell!  I am quite excited about it but I can't tell yet. Yesterday my son and I spent some time together at the Krohn Conservatory for the 2016 Holiday show to see the Christmas decorations.  I enjoyed touring it with him, and then we hit Five Guys for lunch.  Yummy! Steven in a train carved out of a tree trunk: Pretty cool, huh! Finally a view of part of the holiday scene.  The buildings are miniatures of buildings in Cincinnati, as is the train that circles throughout the whole thing. And finally, some quilting!  I cut out 13 hexagon shapes from paper for my modern quilt from Craftsy's 2012 Block of the Month by Amy Gibson, and 13 3 1/2" squares.  Here's decis...

I've been a slow comer to the world of modern quilting, but Amy Gibson's Craftsy 2012 Block of the Month (BOM) quilt has roped me into the fun of it!  The class is labeled as a beginning class, and that's because Amy carefully explains how to do each step.  She shines at encouraging the viewer!  I made my first Christmas quilt from a tutorial on her blog because she made it seem so simple.  Otherwise, she teaches fairly complex skills.  I just completed the foundation piecing lesson and am getting ready to learn to make paper-piecing blocks. The first foundation-pieced block made a square: I love the looks of this block.  I followed her directions on this one for experience even though I had watched the next block where she showed a different technique of cutting away the foundation piece.  This block has the strings (strips) sewn directly to the foundation piece, making it a little thick. First, I had to cut strings between 1 1/4" ...

One of the challenges I have struggled with in quilting is trusting myself to choose fabric that works together.  I suspect, given the number of blogs, videos, and classes, that many others struggle with it too.   As a result, I have chosen colors and fabric lines pretty much as directed by the pattern designer. And that's okay. But this time I can't.  This block of the month quilt was created back in 2012, and whatever fabric line was sold with it at the time is no longer available.  So I began exploring my stash possibilities.  Not being happy with that, I purchased a set of Rowan from the Kaffe Fassett Collective.  It opened up many possibilities for me but I still wanted to use other colors and designs I already had. The first thing I did was consider already-completed blocks. Then I started choosing colors and patterns I liked that I thought might play together well.  I really wanted to use the abstract fabric at the bott...

Have I ever mentioned that I love Amy Gibson from Stitchery, Dickery, Dock ?  She is so encouraging!  She's doing a Sugar Block of the Month this year, but I picked up Crafty's 2012 BOM by Amy to do earlier this year.  Can I just tell you how much fun it is?  I'm really excited because she leads the viewer through all kinds of blocks, including a few I've not had the courage to try on my own. Amy has also published a book, The Quilt Block Cookbook , that I'd love to have! Go to her site and follow her Quilt Block Cookbook Blog Hop to see why. That was a long preamble to say that I've finally made the third block in the Craftsy 2012 BOM.  I've been concerned because my first block was made from cool colors and my second from warm (hot) colors.  My third block, the Balkan Puzzle block, married both color schemes together. The first one, the Asterisk block, is in cool tones; the second, the Wonky Pound Sign, is rather hot; and the bottom one is the ...