The perfect fabric (posted by Lorri) December 26, 2012

The good part about hanging out with other quilters is that you learn new things from them.  Several years ago, several of us were working on a quilt for a friend's daughter's upcoming wedding.  It was a quilt pattern with fairly large blocks that featured a big center star.  The perfect kind of pattern for a group quilt project.
We were all at the quilt store together, choosing fabric for this quilt.  While we didn't have any problem choosing different color fabrics for the main part of the quilt, we were rather puzzled about what fabric we should pick for the center star.   Kate showed us the fabric below, and told us it was the perfect fabric for the center star.  I recall looking at it thinking, really?

So, we went back to Debby's house and started working on the quilt.  We got to the part where we added the star, and sure enough, the gold fabric above was EXACTLY what we needed.  It looked perfect!  Hence, the perfect fabric was born.  It pops up now and then in other projects.

Notice the center star?

After a number of years of quilting with Kate, I have decided she has a true gift for choosing fabric. 
And, on to other fabric, my sister Kay and my mom brought me back some different fabrics from the Houston quilt road trip.
Check this out:

Isn't this fabric great?  This is my inspiration fabric for the quilt I am making to go with our new living room furniture.  I love the colors in this fabric.  There is just something about touching fabric that makes a true quilter smile.  You know who you are out there. 

Merry Christmas from Captain Vomitar! (posted by Lorri)

I added a new word to my vocabulary at work last week.  The word is "vomitar", which means "to vomit" in Spanish.  Thank you Google translator.
I learned this new word in preparation for a home visit. You can just fill in the rest of the details on your own.

Anyway, back to the new addition to my vocabulary.  Did you ever hear a new word, and for some unknown reason, it strikes you as funny?

Well, apparently the word "vomitar"was one of those words for me.  I thought it sounded like a super hero.  Consequently, Captain Vomitar was created.

Of course, things deteriorated from there.  It's been a bad year for the stomach flu.  Kids throw up; sometimes they don't make to the desired destination.  It's okay - no one WANTS to have the stomach flu.  Fortunately, I can handle vomit. 

I've noticed over the years of being a nurse, that people seem to have some type of body fluid "line in sand", so to speak.  Some people are squeamish about the sight of blood or needles.  Doesn't faze me, although I'll admit I prefer that the blood or needles don't involve me as a participant.  I prefer the old adage, It's better to give than receive - especially when it comes to needles. I have found one common body fluid that most nurses (including myself) prefer to leave to other professionals. 

Any guesses?  Find a nurse and ask.  It's loogies.  Or hawkers.  But, I digress.

I was explaining to my husband about the new word I learned.  He knew I'd been seeing lots of vomit at work for awhile.  He actually though the Vominator might be a better term.  Perhaps. 
Then, we stopped at a local convenience store in our small town one evening.  As he got ready to get out of his side of the car, guess what was on the pavement right outside his car door?    At this point, I think he started to think IT was following me around.

Oh, if he only knew. 

A few days later, I actually became Captain Vomitar.  At home.  I don't know why I get surprised when I get sick - I see so much of it at times.  The big surprise is that we (school nurses) don't get sick more often.   I'm feeling much better now.

My Christmas wish is for someone to develop a vaccine for the stomach flu.  I'll be first in line.

I had really been planning on this blog entry being about fabric, but I'll save it for next week. 

So, I wish you all a vomit-free Christmas!

Kay's Prairie Pinwheels

These quilts remind me of the old fashioned fabrics from the pioneer days.  The small quilt was made recently and is made with fabrics I purchased recently.  The larger quilt is made from fabrics that I probably bought in the 80's .  Back then all you could find in cottons was old fashioned calicos.  I used tea dyed muslin and these calicos.  I made it several years ago and gave it to my sister to machine quilt for me.  After several years of it sitting at her house she gave it back to me.  She just didn't have time to quilt it.  After it sat around my house for a while, I finally decided to go ahead and try to quilt myself.  I quilted it on my sewing machine using a walking foot and I quilted it diagonally through the corners.  It isn't perfect,  some of my stitching isn't that straight.  I reminds of the prairie every time I look at it.  I love everything about the prairie especially the  wildflowers that bloom there in the spring and summer.  I think everything about the prairie is fascinating and enjoy reading books about the prairie that are set in pioneer times.   I think I will be making more quilts in this prairie style because as usual I cut out way too many pieces for these blocks.  At work I usually work on my sewing on my lunch hour and my co-workers usually make remarks about what I'm working on.  When I was working on some redwork one co-worker told me that was not  right, I should use several colors instead of just one.  Another co-worker told me that one of my doll quilt was ugly.  This quilt everyone stopped and remarked that they really liked it.  They liked the colors especially.  I was surprised, I thought that I was the only one who would like this old fashioned quilt especially since I used those different colored blocks in the outside blocks.  I think I will keep this one for myself!

This week I will show you some Christmas decorations that family members have made for me over the years.  This first picture shows a counted cross stitch stocking that Sherry made for me.  The other one was made be my Mother when I was a child.  I don't know how old it is,  maybe 50 years old? 

Here is a closer picture of the counted cross picture.  The first Christmas that I celebrated with Heather she wanted to know why I had 4 stockings and she only had one.   I had these two plus one they gave me from work and then I bought stockings for all of us.  I didn't know I had so many until she pointed it out.  I now have 5 stockings because Jeff bought me a Snoopy stocking to go with the rest. 

This one I think Jessica made for me. 

Lorri made this for me this year.  Isn't it cool?

Lorri also made this for me.  I have it out all year around.  I made the Christmas doily many years ago.

Lorri made this snowman wall hanging for me. 

Here is  something  I made.  Pumpkin Bread!  I can do a little cooking or baking!  This is about the only thing I can make that isn't from a box.!   Merry Christmas!

Kay's Doll Quilts

I have been having fun making doll quilts for the Little Balkans Quilt Guild's project to make doll quilts for the Salvation Army .  The doll quilts we  be given to a child along with a doll for Christmas.  I managed to get a dozen quilts done.  I made two of the blue and pink ones at the last minute because I was determined to get all 12 quilts done.  I started on the last two the day before we were to turn them in.   I was sewing the binding on my lunch hour and then I worked on them after work so I could finish them.  I stayed up late to finish them getting hardly any sleep that day ( who needs sleep when there is quilting to be done!).  I got to the meting at 7:00 just in time as they were giving them away when I got there. 

The Love block for the love quilt was by Tonya Rucci and was found in an issue of The Quilt Life magazine.  The rest of the quilt I made up as I went along from scraps I had lying around.  Sometimes I really love the Love quilt and sometimes I don't.  Next time I might try the love block in a different setting.  The star quilt was made with left over blocks from another quilt project.  The pinwheel quilt  is made out of the triangle leftovers from some farmer's daughter blocks I was making.  It has a mistake in it.  Can you see it?  I was going to rip it out and fix it but decided I was too lazy. 

I call that my Prairie Pinwheels quilt because it reminds me the old fashioned quilts that they made back in the late 1800's.  Now I am working on some more dolls quilts to give for Christmas gifts.  I already made another Prairie Pinwheels quilt for a friend that quilts.  I  am also trying to made doll quilts for my nieces.  So far everything I have tried to make I have not been happy with.  So back to the drawing board to try to think of some other patterns to try!   Next week maybe some more doll quilts, maybe not.  We'll see.