Short Story Long

When I was a very young wife, I spent a bit of my free time delving headlong into quilting.  I made a bunch of mad blocks before I realized that I really prefer a bit more order, and I started some blocks for this quilt, generally, before I knew what it would be in the end.  Those blocks, all red, blue and brown, are still floating around in my stash, somewhere.  Some of them were sawtooth stars and some were Job's Troubles, and all of them were pretty scrappy; it was going to be for my dad, who served in the military, including a bit at Arlington National Cemetery.  While I was still sorting out my style, back in the 00s, I spotted a quilt on a blog or in a magazine, called Stepping Stones, or perhaps Stars and Stones, and I knew that was what I was working toward.  I have long since lost the location of that image but it is an easy concept, especially having a few of each block done.   The oldest digital picture I can locate is from February of 2008 ...

Like many crafters, I have lots of projects in the works.  One of my current projects is a personal little photo essay, if you will, on artists and craftsmen.  This involves finding such people, and then convincing them they should be photographed.  (This has proven a little more challenging than I had expected.  I think many artists have a difficult time sharing or explaining their process.)  The idea for this project came simply from my appreciation of all the people I've encountered over the last five or ten years who, like me, enjoy making things with their hands.  I've met everyone from dyers and spinners to car fabricators, wood workers, painters, and more. Of course, I am not the first person to think of this.  Check out the Craftsman's Legacy  for a fascinating video series on everything from handmade clocks to long bows. I'm working a little closer to home, though, with Jessica, a quilter.  Jessica heard about my ...

A weekend with my favorite girl, including a tea party, dance recital, and swinging at the park:  Here and there in downtown Denver: ...including Denver Comic Con and lots of fascinating cosplayers. The best date-week with my husband, whom I just adore to the moon, with breakfast at a cute little diner in the Berkeley neighborhood, Kyle's Kitchen; we loved the mismatched mugs. While the kids were away at camp, I had a little photo session with another artist-craftsman, Jessica, a quilter.  I was definitely inspired by all her beautiful work.  Just maybe, I will get back to quilting sometime soon. Wrapping up the month with a beautiful wedding in Longmont.  Perhaps more on that later?

My first applique, I made this little wall-hanging for my mom ten years ago!  Just thought I would share it with you while I sort through my project pile and decide what's next...  Happy October!

Here are more pictures of the quilt blocks I've been working on.  This quilt is called Star Power and was in the April 2009 American Patchwork and Quilting .  If you go to the link you can see the original on the table.  I liked the fabrics and colors in the original.  The brown sashing in the original is not my favorite.  I don't mind the colors but it changes the shape of the block.  In order to use the two reds I left out, I had to incorporate a few more fabrics, which means some are now duplicated.  And can you believe it, when I was done, I found another fat quarter.  Honestly!  Some gnomes must be rummaging around in my sewing room, rearranging the stacks!  So at this point, I have fifteen 11-inch blocks, and if I used some scraps and the other left out fabric, I could make two more.  I think it is kind of busy.  Are those bias stripes making your eyes go wonky like they do mine?  I am thinking of blue s...

This month has been weird for me.  I have kind of had a craft / art funk, and those really throw my brain off track.  I don't know why this is happening.  BFJ thinks this is the cloudiest January we've had in many years, so maybe that has something to do with it.  If you don't live around here, you might be surprised to know that Colorado ranks pretty high with days of sun per year.  This day has been no exception with the ups and downs including this minor set-back...  My head is jammed up lately with knitting thoughts, so I thought I should give quilting a go.  And as someone recently pointed out, this is a quilt blog.  Yesterday, I finally figured out where I had left a quilt pattern I wanted to try, and I got to work on it.  This afternoon, I finished all the blocks!  Or so I thought.   Somehow, I had left out two fabrics, and it's one of those patterns where you stack and cut them all at the same time, and the...

This is my favorite holiday. Along with Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas, the significance of this day is beyond compare. I think one of the reasons that I like the 4th of July so much is because my dad was an Army chaplain for many years. I'm glad I have had the privilege of attending funerals at Arlington National Cemetery , seeing a bit through his eyes, and getting a behind-the-scenes understanding of some of the traditions there. Thinking of the Arlington Ladies still chokes me up. We do live in the greatest country in the world, a country that cares about the freedom of the rest of the world, too, and is willing to do something about it. Zoom recently checked out a video from the library, (exercising his independence and his very own library card). His favorite movie is National Treasure so when he spied an autobiography of Benjamin Franklin , he wanted to borrow it. I had seen ads about the museum's Ben Franklin exhibit implying that he was a nudist, so I fel...

...so off to Golden we went. While I was busy buying some Sandy Gervais Crazy Eights fabric, the boys went next door to the Windy Saddle and ordered two pieces of Blueberry French Toast Bread, with powdered sugar and syrup. Here's the bottom half of one piece: We also passed a Mountain Fest on our way into town, but by the time we got back to seeing what it was all about, they were folding up tents. We walked back to our car through the park where everyone stopped to climb the dragon. About then, it started to rain again, so we really did head home! And about the time I was getting ready to check out at the quilt store, I realized that I had been wearing my shirt backward. All day.

First, we stopped at Metro State College of Denver, because I had to meet with someone real quick. This was really the "purpose" of the trip, but I know how BFJ likes the city, so I coaxed all my fellas along for the ride. While we waited for the meet-up guy to find us, we enjoyed the architectural details of the campus. Next, we drove into LoDo for some lunch at Illegal Pete's . We parked a few blocks away, and on the way to our destination, I spotted many quilt designs such as this grating around the trees: After lunch, we walked a little farther down to the Tattered Cover bookstore, which at one point was "the biggest bookstore west of the Mississippi." I don't know that this is the case anymore, and we were sad to note that the top floor is no longer open. What's so great about this store? It's not the prices; it's the creaky floors and the ripply-glass windows, the wonderful little chairs in Children's Books and everywhere else that...