Friday, January 22, 2016

Friday Finds - TV, Movies, Books, and More


It's not constant quilting on Main Street!  Here's a recap of a few non-quilting things I've been enjoying lately.

Movie:  Spotlight - a great ensemble cast and a moving story about how reporters at the Boston Globe uncovered the story of the cover-up of child sexual abuse among Catholic priests..  I hope it wins some awards.




TV/Netflix:  The Affair, Season 1 - this series got off to a slow start for me but I was interested enough to keep watching and got hooked around the third episode (originally aired on Showtime but I watched on DVDs from Netflix).  The story is told from the point of view of each of the two people involved in the affair, for interesting perspective



Books:
I Am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes - absolutely riveting espionage/thriller novel; it was an Amazon Best Book in 2014.

The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin - She was happy but thought she could be more happy so Gretchen Rubin spent a year making little changes in her life - an easy read with practical advice I can see actually implementing.

The Secret Life of Violet Grant
Tiny Little Thing
Along the Infinite Sea
A trilogy by Beatriz Williams with the stories of three sisters.  Each contrasts the story of a woman in the present day (mid-60's) with that of a woman in an earlier time.  I liked all three books and have been a fan of Beatriz Williams ever since I read her first work, Overseas.

Eating:  Panera's Thai Chicken Salad - my new favorite lunch, it is packed with vegetables and under 500 calories.  Great for the post-holiday, eat healthy resolution.

Personal Care:  Nuxe Facial Cleanser with Rose Petals - I bought this in Paris and absolutely love it.  It is a very gentle cleanser that does the job while smelling divinely of roses.  Fortunately, I found it on Amazon as well as Nuxe's own US website,  Target.com sells some other products in the Rose line and may even have them in stores.


Back to our regularly scheduled quilting discussion next week.

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Tuesday, January 19, 2016

La Passacaglia - Another Large Rosette

I finished Big Rosette #3!



One more big one to go, plus a few smaller rosettes and LOTS of connecting stars.  I fussy cut the fabric for the inner star and also the green striped fabric I used in the center ring of white stars.  Fussy cutting adds a lot of impact but it takes so much longer, so I limit it to the parts where I have either five or ten pieces to cut, rather than 20 or 30.  

My next step is to work on the connecting stars so I join more rosettes together and get them attached to the main piece.  


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Thursday, January 14, 2016

Quilting Goals for 2016

My goals for 2016 are to accomplish the goals I set in 2015, that I promised I'd do in 2014, that seemed like a good idea in 2013, that I aspired to accomplish in 2012.  
(seen on Mandypegs Instagram)

Because I am a list sort of person, I like to have to-do lists.  For quilting, I especially like the visual list that making a board on Pinterest represents. so I renamed my board Quilts To Make in 2015 to Quilts To Make in 2016 (I know, so original) and edited it to more accurately represent what I want to accomplish this year.

So here's what's on my quilting to-do list for 2016:

  • Laundry Baskets Little Butterflies quilt - I finished the top in early 2015. It has been sitting, all sandwiched and basted, ready to be quilted.  Must do it!

  • Stars In A Time Warp - remember that sew-along?  I have a few made, need more, and will make them into a wall hanging for my kitchen.

  • Something creative and modern with hexies, likely incorporating a rainbow of colors.
  • Woven design quilt - I've been wanting to do this ever since Thelma of Cupcakes N Daisies made a quilt using a Moda Bakeshop pattern with a woven look.  I have a few jelly rolls in my stash earmarked for this project.  
  • Orange Peel - another bucket list project, I have an image in my mind and need to execute it!
  • Clam Shell - giant clam shell quilt, mini clam shell pillow - not sure which, but one or the other.
  • La Passacaglia - Must finish the quilt that takes FOREVER!  My goal is to have the top done (not quilted) by Christmas, 2016.
That's probably as much as (or more than) I can accomplish in one year.  To get the visual impact of my quilting to-do list, visit my Pinterest board.


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Tuesday, January 12, 2016

More Progress on La Passacaglia

I can't claim to have done a lot of quilting during December.  I prepped pieces for La Passacaglia and took them with me on my trip to France but worked on it four hours max over the course of the 10 days I was traveling.  Once home, I focused on the binding for Floating.  But then on New Year's Day, I returned to EPP and made a few more rosettes.  I



Three new small rosettes and I am at work on the third (out of four) large rosette.  I need to make many more connecting stars so I can get them all joined together.  Whipping together the connecting stars is the more mindless part of this project; I think I need some TV to keep me company.  Miss Main Street recommends Master of None, Strange Empire, and Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries on Netflix.  So you watch TV while you sew?  If yes, any recommendations?


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Thursday, January 7, 2016

Red & White Quilts: Infinite Variety

Another Christmas gift, Red &White Quilts:  Infinite Variety covers the 653 quilts in the Infinite Variety show that was in New York in March, 2011.  You may recall it from photos of the stunning way the quilts were hung.


I've mentally kicked myself for not making the time to attend the show in person.  We live close enough to NYC and it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.  The book is like a catalog of the 653 quilts that were in the show.  As the show was being developed, each quilt in the collection was photographed and cataloged.  (The owner, Joanna S. Rose, did not even know how many quilts she had until they finished the photography.)  The photos are presented in the book, organized so similar quilts are together, along with a few essays about putting on the show.  It is very inspirational for a quilt maker; I've already got a few designs mentally marked down for my next two-color quilt.


Thank you, Mr. Main Street, for adding Red &White to my quilting library.



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Tuesday, January 5, 2016

3 Quilt Books

With the help of Amazon Wishlist, I received four quilt books this year for Christmas.  They are all books I had my eye on, without ever seeing them "for real," and I am very happy with all four.    Here's the first three:


A feathered star quilt has long been on my bucket list.  I saw a quilt made using the Star of Chamblie pattern by Marsh McCloskey at a quilt show last fall and thought it might actually be do-able for me.   This book (booklet really) has detailed instructions for the feathered star blocks with a variety of center designs, plus instructions for putting the blocks together as shown.  Finished as shown on the cover, the quilt is 67.5" square.  



Tributes and Treasures is by Paula Barnes and Mary Ellen Robison of Red Crinoline Quilts.  I think most, if not all, of the quilts in the book were previously published as individual patterns.  For example, in 2012, I made Boughs of Holly from a pattern called Crossroads that is in this book.


However, the other designs are new to me and first on my list will be this quilt below, called Plantation Road.  I just need to find a toile print that coordinates with fabric in my stash.  All the designs in Tributes and Treasures are consistent with the designers' Civil War reproduction aesthetic, though they can look very different when made in non-reproduction fabrics.



The third book, Simply Color Green, is closer to the modern end of the quilt design spectrum.  The author, Vanessa Christenson, has authored a series of six with each book focused on a different color. Each book covers color theory, with a few projects.  

 I'll be back in a few days with a post on the fourth book I received.



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