Building the Empire

Booth Trial

I leave for International Quilt Market

in just about 2 weeks so I decided to do

a test set-up of my booth in my gazebo.

Some of my stuff is on it's way back from

the big quilt happening in Paducah last week.

But I think it's all going to fit.  Of course there

will be drapes and lots more patterns but it

looked like rain, so this is just a quickie set-up.

These are just a few quick peeks for those

of you who won't be going to Market.

For those of you who will~ I'll be in

Booth 739 ~ stop by and say hello!



Redbud 2012 Block of the Month ~ April

Flying in Circles

This is the April Block of the Month

for the Redbud Quilt Guild.  Each month

I will show how I made my block.

This makes a 12 1/2" unfinished block.

Fabric Requirements:

Fabric A: Tone on tone white or beige

2 - 4 1/4" squares - Mark

a diagonal line on back.

32 - 2" squares - Mark a

diagonal line on back.

Fabric B: Blue swirl print with green

1 - 6 1/2" square

2 - 4 1/2" squares

Fabric C: Dark green

8 - 3 1/2" x 2" rectangles

Fabric D: Medium gold

8 - 3 1/2" x 2" rectangles

Make Half Square Triangles:

Pair Fabric A and Fabric B 3 1/4"

squares with right sides together.

Sew 1/4" away from each side of

drawn line, cut on drawn line and

press to the darker fabric.  Square

to 3 1/2". 

Make Flying Geese Units:

Place 2" Fabric A square on left

side of 3 1/2" x 2" rectangle and

sew a thread width above drawn

line.  Press seam to the corner

and trim back 2 layers of fabric.

Repeat to other side of rectangle.

Square to 3 1/2" x 2".

Use all Fabric C and Fabric D rectangles.

Make Outer Center Units:

Layout units as shown and sew together

taking care to keep points precise.  Press

outer seams to the inside and center seam

open to reduce bulk.

Square to 3 1/2" x 6 1/2".

Make 4.

Layout units as shown and sew

 together in 3 rows.  Press seams in

rows 1 & 3 to the outside and seams

in row 2 to the inside.

Sew rows together and press final

seams open to reduce bulk.

Square to 12 1/2".



I Walk Around the World Taking Pictures

and that's awfully tough on shoes.

The second pair of Borns I have

ruined in the past year...

Happy Birthday

Frederick Law Olmsted

Today is the 190th birthday of one of

the designers of one of my favorite

places in the world.

Central Park!

Whether you are taking an

Amble through the Ramble...

or strolling through Scholar's Walk...

or enjoying Bethesda Terrace...

or climbing up to Belvidere Castle.

Just be sure to go and enjoy this

breathtakingly beautiful place.



Chock-A-Block Wednesday

Laurel Wreath

This is a block from the 1930's

that is also known as North Carolina.

Fabric Requirements:

Fabric A: White

4 - 2 1/2" squares

12 - 3 1/4" squares - Mark

a diagonal line on back.

Fabric B: Red

4 - 2 1/2" squares

1 - 4 1/2" square

4 - 3 1/4" squares

Fabric C: Green

8 - 3 1/4" squares

Make Half Square Triangles:

Pair 3 1/4" squares with right sides

together in the following combinations:

4 - A/B     8 - A/C

Sew 1/4" away from each side of drawn

line, cut on drawn line and press as follows:

A/B - press to the Fabric B

A/C - press half to the Fabric A

and half to the Fabric C

Make Corner Units:

Layout units as shown and sew together

in 2 rows.  Press seam in row 1 to the left

and seam in row 2 to the right.

Sew rows together and press seam to

the top.  Square to 4 1/2".

Make 4.

Make Outer Center Units:

Layout units as shown, paying attention

to the arrows showing which way the

seams have been pressed.  "Lock" the seams

together before pressing, this will make

your points very precise.  Sew together in

2 rows.  Press seam in row 1 to the left and

seam in row 2 to the right.

Sew rows together and press seam to

the bottom.  Square to 4 1/2".

Make 4.

Layout units as shown and sew together

in 3 rows.  Press seams in rows 1 & 3 to

the outside and seams in row 2 to the inside.

Sew rows together and press final

seams open to reduce bulk.

Square to 12 1/2".





What is the Craziest Thing You've Ever Done?

My daughter Kate attends Purdue University

and each week she has dinner with a faculty fellow

and other students.  This week the faculty fellow's

question of the week was,  "What is the craziest

thing  you have ever done?"  Kate won.

Her answer?  Steering a bamboo raft down a river

in a monsoon.  And I was along for this ride.

We were in the jungles of northern Thailand, we

had just spent the morning riding elephants and

had a lovely lunch when we went to ride a raft down

the river to meet up with our driver.  As Murphy's

Law would have it, as soon as we got on the raft

the monsoon hit.  There were 7 of us on this little

bamboo raft, in torrential rain.  They gave us these

goofy yellow party hats to keep the rain off us and

everytime we looked at each other we burst out

laughing.  And the ride went on forever...

Pure unadulterated joy!

I hope to experience many more crazy

adventures with you Kate!

Mrs. P. Pierce

Who Are You?

Okay, I admit it, I have a problem with

thing for silver.

I'm always on the quest for another

interesting piece for my collection.

I have LOTS of silver polish because when

I travel and find something new, I have to

polish it up to see the treasure beneath.

Someday, I'll wise up and bring along some

polish in a little travel bottle.

Does it bother me if someone else's

monogram is on it?  No, not at all.

That just makes it more interesting.

I never buy things at some chi-chi antique

store ~ that's no fun!  I want to rummage

through old boxes and bins at a flea market

or thrift store or garage sale.

It's all about the treasure hunt.

And that's how I found the Mrs. P. Pierce

spoons.  I was on my way to a quilt show

in Marion, IN, about a 1/2 hour from my

home and just as I was pulling into town

I spotted a huge sale at a church.  I had to

go!  Now I had $10 dollars in my pocket,

it was the cost of admission to the quilt

show.  I found a box filled with silverware.

It was the box that a case of soda would come

in,  when I asked the price they said it was

whatever I wanted to give.  I asked, "$10?"

So much for the quilt show....

But I've never regretted it.  I find this monogram

to be so strange, it is so specific.  Wouldn't it

be more common to just have a "P" or even 3

initials?  Did Mrs. P. Pierce have many sets of

silver and she needed something different on

this set?  I guess it's a question I'll just have to

ponder.  But in my house, you are an honored

guest when you get the Mrs. P. Pierce spoons.

My Mum always gets one with her tea.

And whenever I eat ice cream, I use one of

these to eat it, it just makes it taste better

somehow. 



Sunday in the Park with Ahmet

It was Easter Sunday in a country with no

jelly beans or Easter bunnies.  We planned

to go to church but couldn't find it.  We

probably should have taken the Bosphorous

cruise since it was such a beautiful day but

my never-ending quest for old stuff came first.

I had heard there was a great Sunday market at Ortakoy.

I had to go.  I was imagining old keys, some old

Turkish plates, maybe a few pieces of silver.

We were told to take the bus to Ortakoy and

we made it to the bus station which is really

just a ticket booth and outdoor lanes where

the buses pull in to load.  We were lost.

We couldn't find our bus and that is when we

met Ahmet.  He is a young lawyer, visiting Istanbul

for the day and he could speak English ~ yeah!

Ahmet walked around with us trying to find

the right bus, asking this person and that.

We would never have found this ourselves.

Finally we found the right bus and Ahmet

came along with us.

Unfortunately, the market at Ortakoy was

a bit sleepier than I had anticipated.  It was

mainly the scarves and jewelry and food

stalls that we had seen already.

No old stuff.

So we decided to head back to a park near

Topkapi Palace to see the tulips.  On the way

we talked and talked, comparing our countries

and our lives, Ahmet taught Ellen how to cross

the street in traffic ~ I'll never get used to that!

We spent the afternoon in Gulhane Park,

sharing drinks and big circles of bread

covered in sesame seeds.  We watched the

world go by on this lovely Sunday.

The afternoon somehow turned into an English

language lesson.  Ahmet & I both happened to

be reading The Picture of Dorian Gray, so we went

through the book and we tried to explain the meaning

of words or phrases Ahmet did not know.  I would

pronounce words and he would record me on his

phone.  I even sang a song!

What fun we had ~ we only left because we had a

planned phone call with our family back home

since it was Easter.

And Ahmet ~ here is a video of the song I

sang, sung by people with better voices...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVmU3iANbgk

Quilt Class: How to Make a Hanging Sleeve

If you make a quilt for a wall or for a bed

you may need a hanging sleeve.  For a wall

hanging you need it for obvious reasons but

if you plan to enter your bed quilts in a quilt

show or exhibit you will need a hanging sleeve

so the quilt can be hung for the show.

First measure the area inside the binding

on the top back of your quilt, add 1 inch.

I like to use fabric that matches the backing

fabric of the quilt if possible, cut a strip of

fabric 9" x the measurement from above.

You may have to piece this strip if you have

a very large quilt.

On each 9" edge turn under 3/8" and press,

turn again and press and stitch along the edge

using a 1/4" seam foot.

Bring the two long edges together with

right sides together and stitch using a

1/4" seam.

Open up the tube as shown so the seam is

in the center and press open the long seam.

Press the edges gently.  Turn the tube out to

the right side and press along the edge lines.

Place the sleeve evenly between the 2 side

bindings and just below the top binding,

with the seam in back.  Pin in place.

Take a few small stitches on the back of the

quilt to hold the knot, then bring the needle up

through the very edge of the top of the sleeve

and put the needle down just on top of the

sleeve.  Do not put needle all the way through

quilt, you want to just skim below the backing

fabric and catch a bit of the batting in the stitch.

Bring the needle back up 1/4" away and repeat.

As I am stitching, I keep my fingers of

my left hand on the front of the quilt

to be sure the needle does not come

through to the front.  Continue stitching

all the way across the top and make a knot

at the end beneath the sleeve.

Now here is the magic part of this process.

If we were to just stitch the bottom part of

the sleeve as it is, it can make your quilt hang

strangely.  So, pull up the fabric on the bottom

and fold about 3/8" below the pressed edge.

Just be sure the sleeve does not go above the

edge of the quilt.  Press this new edge.

Then take a ruler or a yard stick and

get the top edge nice and even, then

press this edge.

Pin both long edges to keep the

sleeve even and in place.

Sew the bottom edge the same way

as the top but this time fold the top

under a bit so you can still use the

fingers of your left hand to make

sure the needle does not come through.

I also sew down the back sides of the

sleeves.  Remember you most likely

will not be hanging your own quilt at

a quilt show and if someone just slides

the rod in the space between the backing

and the sleeve then your quilt will not

 hang as nicely.  So take the few extra

 stitches to make it just right.

And you are done!

Now don't forget to add a

quilt label.