April 2011

Now with care labels, white paint

I've needed care labels for some time, so I decided to do something that would work for both new and old quilts alike. I've ordered a yard of quilt-weight cotton to be printed at spoonflower.com with this repeat:

all tags: 
quilts
care label
sewing room

We have a winner!

The correct answer to "How much did UAB bill Blue Cross Blue Shield for Jeff's stay?" was $557,501.66, which means our winner is Susanna Leberman, assistant archivist at the Huntsville - Madison County Public Library. Her guess: $550,013. Well played!

Susanna works on the same floor of HMCPL as I do, and has followed a lot of my quilts from beginning to completion. Since she works in the library archives, she has a strong interest in historical preservation, and says that she didn't get a quilt when she got married ten years ago.

Thank you, all of you, for helping turn $557,501.66 from a jaw-dropping, heartbreaking number into something that has good connotations for me, for Susanna, and for Jeff's family. I could TOTALLY be convinced to do this again when the HealthSouth tally arrives. :)

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quilts
dearjeffie
contest

Consult!

I've set up a page at http://domesticat.net/quilts/consult for some of the questions I get over and over when I'm working on quilts for someone. I wanted to demystify a bit of the terminology and process of making one. I've told people that for te most part it's more painstaking than difficult. You don't have to be a technical master, but you do have to be accurate in your cutting and sewing.

all tags: 
quilts
thoughts

Fledgling

Given away! Fly away home, little quilt! Full story at domesticat.net/quilts/fledglingFledgling ... fledged!
 at Old Oakland, Oakland, California, United States by domesticat.
Date: 
11 April 2011 to 18 October 2011
Photoset: 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/domesticat/sets/72157626355109409

Recipient: 
Charlene and Pat's daughter
Pattern: 
...freeform
Level of completion: 
Completed and given away

It was never my intention to keep Fledgling a secret, but the quilt is out and gone now without much in the way of written documentation -- but there was a reason, I swear!

It's always hard to admit when a project isn't right. I've had that problem before, and I was grateful later that I stopped quickly before I dug myself into a much deeper hole than I had already done. That lesson served me well in this quilt, though it delayed completion by a few months.

all tags: 
freeform
birds
1950s

Cairo Sunset

At last! At last! I can now hand the top over to Jacob, who will eventually hand-quilt it (he's plotting hieroglyphics) and give it to his mother as a present. The finished quilt, and the five-year story of how life (...repeatedly) interfered with the making of this quilt, can be seen at domesticat.net/quilts/cairo-sunsetCairo Sunset: a finished top
 by domesticat.
Date: 
11 April 2011 to 24 January 2015
Photoset: 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/domesticat/sets/72157626479850636

Recipient: 
Jacob's mother
Pattern: 
Mod Mosaic
Level of completion: 
Completed and given away

For nearly four years, the entry for this quilt said: "A placeholder. I'm working on it but haven't written it up yet. Sorry!"

It's time to really write it up, and that requires some trawling of my inbox, eBay records, and archived Flickr photos.

all tags: 
quilt
egypt
egyptian

Calling all catnip-heads

As part of setting up my sewing room, I've discovered that I have a ton of goofy silly fun cat fabric:

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cats
sewing
giveaway

Tenzing and the make-out square...

This is why I love the little catnip squares Heather showed me how to make. Tenzing adores his almost beyond reason or comprehension:

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cats
tenzing
video

Sunfish

Finally, a well-lit photo of Sunfish! Soon, pinning and quilting! Full info: domesticat.net/quilts/sunfishSunfish, ready for quilting
 by domesticat.
Date: 
18 April 2011 to 28 May 2011
Photoset: 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/domesticat/sets/72157626409044299

Recipient: 
Beth and Ian's second child
Pattern: 
Pictures in the Hallway (4-patch + quarter-circles)
Level of completion: 
Completed and given away

Go on, exult with me ... I have a place to play! Sunfish is my first quilt started after getting the sewing room ready enough to go that I could actually tackle projects in it. Jacob was right -- I needed a space to call my own. If Jeff could have a computer room, I could have a sewing room.

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quilts

Tenzing update

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cats
tenzing
medical
medicine

Safe.

An update for those of you who do not keep up with me on Twitter or Facebook. I am alive. Our house is undamaged. Those of you who know my street address will understand why I am broadcasting this message as widely as possible. I was very close to the EF-4 tornado that took out a chunk of East Limestone County as well as the Anderson Hills subdivision in northwestern Madison County.

all tags: 
weather
update
tornado