This and That and a New Baby

August 7, 2013April 2, 2024 Elizabeth E.19 Comments

While the rest of us have been having a summer, my son and his wife have been having a baby: they flew to Iowa (sweet corn country) to pick up their newest son, making four in that family, and number eleven grandchild for me.

We had the older boys stay at our house, and here they are doing a little corn shucking of their own with grandpa.

Somewhere in here, I finished the quilt for Charlie, this newest grandson.

I love love the back of this fabric: Backyard Baby, and so instead of a formal label, I scattered the information within the breezy trees. (That little white dog, with its ears blowing backwards, cracks me up every time I look at it.) While I finished it up a couple of days ago, I’ve learned to write the birth month on the quilt.

This is quilt #120 on my 200 Quilts list.

But summer is always slightly ADHD with going here, going there and not staying home to clean out the garage, don’t you think? So here’s a bit more this and that:

Kris, of Duke Says Sew What, is doing another Polaroid Swap, if you want to join in. I’m slow to post this, so hurry over to her blog and leave a comment to let her know you are participating; you have until August 26th to mail in your blocks (domestic — the international mail-in deadline is a bit earlier).

Several nights this summer, my husband and I have streamed down Endeavour, the newest detective series on our iPads (we have an Apple TV), a prequel to Inspector Morse and which I like better. The star, Shaun Evans, is an interesting mix of loose ends and brilliant thinking. It also helps to have one of these to get into the mystery:

And finally, finishing up this peripatetic post, is notice of a

I attended the Long Beach Quilt Show last weekend and picked up a couple of fun things to giveaway to my readers and followers, knowing that the end of summer is coming and we can’t say good-bye to its crazy days without a little fun. Giveaways (I have more than one!) will be posted at the end of this week, and I’ll pick my winners next Monday, the 12th.

Have a nice end to your summer!

Quilts

Pins and Needles, in New York City

June 1, 2013 Elizabeth E.23 Comments

I’ve been in New York City for a week, and while there I discovered a new quilting/fabric shop, on the upper East Side, a few blocks from the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It’s called Pins and Needles.

Ring the buzzer, and they’ll let you in. Head up the stairs to the second floor, and their door is on the left. It’s like going up to fabric heaven from the gritty bustle of the streets.

I am standing at the window overlooking the street, and photographing toward the back. It’s not a big shop, but it has such a variety of modern fabrics and ideas and even a little classroom area, that I felt it had a lot to offer.

The classroom and looking out the window. There are basically three fabric stores that cater to quilters and home sewists in New York City: City Quilters (midtown), Purl Soho (Soho, or lower third of Manhattan) and now this gem of a shop.

I was immediately welcomed by two very friendly women: the owner Rachel Low (on the left) and Lauren Rucci; Rachel gave me permission to take photos. She also maintains a Facebook page for the shop, if you’re interested, as well as a blog.

Though compact, it felt spacious. They have a wide variety of modern fabrics, well-edited, and I could see lots I wanted to take home. But since I had practically sat on my suitcase that morning to get it closed, I was constrained by space.

While most of us diehard quilters approach fabric with a fair amount of gluttony (unless you are sitting on your suitcase to get it closed), in the shop Lauren has taken more of an arts and crafts approach, as opposed to quilting, even using the term “patchwork,” as their clientele is more geared toward sewing. Smart move, as you can learn to do the quilting after a good knowledge of fashion sewing has been established. One of the most successful things a shop can do is to know who their customer is.

I loved their wall displays. Rachel has worked in the fashion industry, including a two-year stint at Prada, so the shop incorporates these themes into their decor.

I loved their wall with fashion pictures, fabric swatches–so many ideas! I have noticed the trend towards sewing; many quilters are trending towards making dresses and clothes not only for themselves, but also for their children. I just happened to do it the reverse, majoring first in Clothing and Textiles, then discovering quilting later. I say, no matter how you come to it, sewing something for yourself or for your home is extremely rewarding, and this shop brings all of those ideas together.

Crafting table. They hold several classes for children’s crafts.

I loved the window overlooking the stree, with a comfortable banquette with cute pillows.

And what did make it into my suitcase? Three cuts of fabrics, some Itty-Bitty Scissors, all done up in a very cute bag. These scissors are about 1 1/2″ inches long, have a point cover; Rachel says her customers have been successfully taking them on airplanes to do their stitching. I bought an extra, and would love to share it with you.

Leave me a comment below and I’ll choose a winner on Tuesday morning. In your comment, tell me where you’ve traveled recently and have needed a pair of teensy scissors, as well as which color you’d prefer: turquoise or pink. And if you are not a winner, I’m sure that Rachel of Pins and Needles would be happy to ship you your own. Contact her at her Etsy Shop, or by email (rachel@pinsandneedlesnyc.com).

Giveaway · Quilts

Christmas Lollypop Tree Wallhanging

April 17, 2013April 17, 2013 Elizabeth E.15 Comments

I finally was able to stitch down the petals, dots and branches of my Christmas Lollypop Tree Wallhanging, figure out the borders (I referred to the antique Lollypop Quilt for ideas) and get it all stitched together. Lacking: quilting, and a border, so it looks a bit incomplete, but like I always say, it’s nice to be at this point! I think I’ve cornered the market on red and white and kelly-green and white fabrics. Funny how our stashes will tilt one way while we’re working on a quilt, then veer into another direction when the next project comes along. This is one thing I’ve been working on for this Works In Progress Wednesday Post, hosted by Lee of Freshly Pieced. Thanks, Lee!

Another thing that has been in the works, but couldn’t show before is the little earbud holder. I used Dog Under My Desk‘s pattern, and it went together pretty quickly. I gave it to a friend, for she and I have what we call “sushi therapy,” where we get together and vent about our students (she’s a professor, too). I think between the sushi and the venting, we maintain our sanity (but this semester is really trying our patience!).

I fussy cut out a bit of fabric that has a piece of sushi saying “You’re really really rice” and appliqued it on to the inside bottom of the pouch. My friend laughed.

And I made her a bag from my favorite pattern by Grand Revival: “Practical Bag,” with some book fabric that she gave me (I’m such a nice girl, that I’m sharing!). I’ve made this pattern a ton of times. I made it in New York fabric for my sister who lived in New York for 18 months on a church mission, so she could carry her groceries back home after shopping. I made it for a friend who came to visit from Iowa and whose husband is a pastor (BTW, they just got a call to move to Brisbane, so she’ll be joining all my Australian friends very soon). I’ve made a couple for me, and a bunch for I don’t know who else. I originally purchased it for my daughter to make and traced off the pattern for me in case she had questions. But soon, I bought my own and an extra. What will I do with this?

(They are much better at styling their photo, I think.) So. . . I think I’ll drop it into the mail to one of my readers! As usual, readers get one chance and followers get two chances, but leave a comment if you’d like me to mail you my extra pattern. But to qualify, tell me what you’ll make your bag to hold. . . or to who you’ll give it away to if your idea is to make it for a gift.

I can make this bag up in under an hour, and it holds quite a lot of groceries, or sewing for a doctor’s office trip, or snacks for the kids, or things to return for your errands. I’ll use the tried and true husband-pick-a-number method of selecting someone (although if you’re very clever in what you say, I might have to override him). Giveaway will end Friday morning when I drag myself out of bed, so make sure to leave your email so I can contact you.

And if you want to know what I’ll be doing while you write interesting things? I’ll be quilting my Christmas Lollypop Tree and grading Drama tests (grading is NEVER done). Thanks for reading, and Good luck!

Giveaway · Quilts

I’m Featured on the Name Game!

April 8, 2013April 10, 2013 Elizabeth E.28 Comments

Today Cindy of Live a Colorful Life is featuring this blog on her series titled, The Name Game, where she highlights a blog whose name she likes. I’m more than happy to be one of her Featurettes. So, please, head over there and see what she has written (you can bet I’ll be looking, too, as I don’t know what she’s said yet, either!)

And leave a comment below if you’d like to win that fun button and the boy-themed fabric.

Or you might want this one (see previous post for more info on both).

If you are a follower, you double your chances of winning, so feel free to enter your email and follow me, now that Google Reader is disappearing (sigh). At any rate, Cindy and I will draw from our comments and will choose some winners–two from each blog. Remember to indicate which button is your first choice.

We’ll close the drawing on Wednesday at 5 p.m. Pacific Standard Time, and announce the winners. Leave your comment below and good luck!

Update: Drawing closed and I will post winners shortly (like, after dinner). Thanks to all who left comments and entered our giveaway. You’re the best!