Finished 2011: Helen's Afghan

Over the next week I'm going to try desperately to catch up with blogging about recently completely projects (okay, 2 of them were finished in say...November...). This is part of my number one resolution for 2012: do a better job with keeping up with posting about finished projects.

So for the first of three unblogged about finished projects, that I actually finished last year:

Helen's Afghan



Made from 20 different granny squares from 200 Crochet Blocks, this throw I literally threw my heart-and-soul into starting in November (as well as made countless purchases of books with different granny square patterns) in order to have in completed in time to be shipped to my in-law's house for Christmas.

It is not a large afghan, but size really wasn't important as putting a bunch of texture into it; including a border that is made from a row of dc, then a row of clusters (each made from five dc), and then a final row of sc. It's also not a heavy afghan, however, it was always a delightfully warm companion to have it on my lap in the evenings as I toiled away seaming the squares together.

And though my fingers ached on most days from the amount of crocheting I was doing at night to get this finished, in the end all that mattered was the thankful text I received on Christmas day from my MIL telling me how Helen (my MIL's MIL) loved it.

Finished 2011: Origami Quilt

I have great news!

My Origami Quilt is back from my long arm quilter aka my momma.



I gave my momma free-reign when it came to quilting the top. So I had no idea what the finished product would be until she shipped it back to me.

As soon as I got it, I called her to tell her how much I love the work she did.



I love the pale pink thread she used.

I love the simplicity of the cross-hatching she decided to do.

During our phone conversation -- okay after I finished squee-ing about the finished product -- I asked her why she did what she did. She told me simply, "I did exactly what I knew you would want. Something unexpected (the pale pink thread) and something simple (the cross-hatch); as well as wanting to highlight the pinwheels."

Wow. I mean, she will always be my favourite long-arm quilter but I have a feeling she will be my only long-arm quilter :)

Anyway...

Many of you asked me about quilting this fabric heavy block and here are choices my momma made:

1. The lightest batting she could find; to ensure that the weight of the quilt wasn't oppressive. I have to agree with her on that. The quilt she sent me is surprisingly light weight that even younger children adore it.

2. She elected not to quilt the pinwheels after seeing the final product; though she had been thinking that since first seeing the blocks during the construction of this quilt...



Ultimately, her decision was based on how much fabric is actually involved in the quilt at certain corners. At the middle of each pinwheel you are looking at 6-12 layers of fabric and batting and the backing.

That being said we both think it is possible to quilt the pinwheels but it may take several jeans-rated needles to do so and you would want to stay way from some of the seams.

On top of that, she said she didn't want to take away from all the hand-work I did to create the curves.

If you do decided to quilt the pinwheels, please let me know, I would love to hear about your experience with it.

3. If you decided to hand-quilt, I have learned that a large frame is the only way to go. The construction of lap frames can't always take the amount of fabric in the pinwheels. I'm constructing an old fashion frame that I can easily move around since my huge standing frame is occupied at the moment. When I get the Florida Version on the frame, I'll be sure to share pictures of my frame.

Last but not least, if you are in the DFW area, I will be teaching this block at the September Meeting of Sew Fresh at Cabbage Rose Quilting & Fabrics on Thursday, September 8.

This will be a hands-on tutorial. And though, we won't be able to sew the seams, you will leave with the confidence to get through the hard part of the block which is the folding! As well as see the quilt above, the Florida Quilt, the Polly Goes to Paris Quilt and one or two more quilt tops featuring this block.

The live-tutorial will feature how to make the Florida Quilt version. To do this you will need the following materials:

*straight pins
*at least 4-6" squares (this will be your back ground fabric)
*at least 4-5" squares (this will be your pinwheel fabric) -- Prior to arriving, please iron these squares using starch. It will make the folds easier but it is not a requirement :)

And that's it.

For everyone else, the hubby has promised to help me make videos of this tutorial in English and Spanish and possibly French. MGO and I have both started back with school but I'm hoping we can get these up by November.

I am also working on writing up patterns for the various quilts I make with this block for everyone's enjoyment. So please check back!

WIP Wednesday: July 27

I missed last weeks WIP Wednesday hosted by the lovely Lee over at Freshly Pieced, because Mi Galego Obstinado took his phone to here...


Las Cies

and here...


Botafumeiro at Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela.

But now he's back as well as his camera, so here is the long-and-short of my WIPs:

Garden of Stars



I have finished piecing the remaining stars...


However, I'm struggling to finish the connectors I need. So far I have this...


Yes, I only have one of them completed. I don't know when I'll get the rest finished, they are fairly boring to work on and anyway I'm under a deadline to finish this...

Arcadian Quilt -- Wedding Gift for a Wedding in June

I have gotten a lot done the past two weeks; though it doesn't seem like much in retrospect. There is a lot of hand quilting involved with this project, so I'm happy to say, I'm half-way through. This is my main focus of work for the next few weeks...



And a close-up...


Blue Bow Quilt

Since both of my major projects are labor intensive, I took some time and played around with my two new rulers (photos coming in the next week), and started piecing this...



Which is made from Kona Black and the left over fabric from my Curtain Call Dress. I'm thinking it will end up being a crib-sized quilt, which is perfect since I still have two more babies arriving this year amongst our friends :)

Object #2: Krewe of Orpheus Poster (1994)

Object #2: Krewe of Orpheus Poster (1994)

Location: Dining Room

Number: 1

Provenance: Wedding Gift 2008 from MGO's older brother and his family.

My husband's family gives the best gifts and this was no exception. I can't remember exactly when we got it during 2008, but I do remember walking into my FIL's living room and hearing my BIL tell my husband he thought we would love this.

I mean, how can a South Louisiana boy and a girl who considers South Louisiana home not love a poster from the first year that the Krewe of Orpheus rolled.

Not only does it detail all the floats that rolled during the inaugural parade...



But it also has this...



This may be one of the coolest wedding presents ever.

Another Broken Dishes Quilt

It took a while but this weekend, I finally got a beautiful day to shoot pictures and MGO was home during daylight hours to help me.

Without further ado, here is yet another Broken Dishes Quilt:



This quilt is different from my last version. Besides being a quilt that we decided to keep no matter what (mainly because MGO loves all the colours), I actually hand-pieced this baby when I was still doing the Fort Worth-Dallas commute sometime between the years 2005-2008.

Because we decided to keep this quilt for ourselves, I splurged on the no. 5 perle cotton I used for this quilt. Instead of using Finca, Anchor, or DMC like I usually do, I visited my local thread shop The French Knot and purchased over-dyed no. 5 perle cotton for Weeks Dye Works which costs about $5.00/20 yard skein. Though my pocketbook winced, I couldn't deny that the choice of this thread made the the fabric pop.



I certainly don't remember this quilt being this bright before I started quilting on it --especially the blues and oranges that really pop now.

The quilting is very simple with different colour threads echoing each triangle that is required for the Broken Dishes pattern:



I also added a little quilting to around the edge of the border using only the threads I had left because I knew I wouldn't be using the thread again on an upcoming project with all the baby quilts/wedding gifts/graduation gifts I need to finish.



P.S. Keep checking back here, I will be having a little give-away as soon as USPS delivers a special package of fabric :)

Update: I linked up with Quilt Story's Fabric Tuesday this week as well.

WIP Wednesday: May 3

I can't believe how much I have finished in the last week!

The dress that MGO started? Finished!

The two quilts that needed the binding finished? Done!
Update: Hand-pieced Broken Dishes Quilt



Now I just need a pretty day to shoot proper photos so I can show you these two beautiful babies.

The origami pinwheel quilt top that I had been screwing around with? Done.



Again, I'm waiting on a pretty day to shoot photos. For some reason, winter made a brief appearance here starting on Sunday -- cold and wet. I'm not suppose to wake up to the outside temperature being 36 degrees Fahrenheit (as it was on Tuesday)...in May...in North Texas.

The Anglophile in me was just hoping that I had somehow broken the space-time-continuum and wound up in London, but alas that was not the case. :)

Anyway...

After all that, the only project I have focused on is my "Pink Texas Stars" quilt that I'm in the process of hand-quilting with no. 12 perle cotton. I've gotten a lot done and depending on the rest of the week and if I have to proctor any exams, I may get this baby finished sooner than later.



And MGO started working on a new dress for me...



Isn't he doing a great job for only his second time sewing? Especially since I had to take over the last dress because it required some advanced skills in pattern drafting.

He is having so much fun with this new skill set he is learning. I just think it's funny that he got me brewing beer and I got him sewing.

Speaking of brewing, here is my current WIP in that arena:



It's Austin Homebrew's Anniversary Porter currently in secondary. We should be kegging it this weekend when the husband brews again.

My Curtain Call Dress 2011

Every year my department hosts an end-of-the-year banquet. The students all get dolled up as we celebrate and recognize our graduating seniors.

Last year was the first year I attended and I felt that I was so, so, so under-dressed for the occasion that this year I was determined to wear a cute cocktail dress this year.

And here it is...



I finished it at 5:15pm on Saturday for a 6pm Curtain Call the same night.

Whoops.

When I blogged about it here, I seriously didn't think I would cut it that close. However, I ended up having to redraft the skirt twice on Saturday because I wasn't thinking when MGO made the first mock-up and again, when I made the second mock-up. We made both mock-ups on 120" muslin which is perfect for a large circular skirt; and a problem if your final fabric is 45" wide.

Major whoops (okay, I really said a lot of cusswords but you get the point).

So it took five hours to re-draft the skirt to include two seams so I could cut the skirt from the 45in fabric and two seams that lined up with existing seams in the bodice.

All in all, after a lot of tantrums and more than a few choice words, I love my new dress. It was surprisingly comfortable and I can't wait to wear it again.

Oh and my puppy approves of it too :)

How I Spent My Easter Sunday...

Or more succinctly - "The Day I Learned that my Mother is a Saint."

Or better yet -- "The Day I Finally Agreed to Teach My Husband How To Sew."

Or in reality -- "The Day I Let My Husband Actually Touch My Bernina."

Anyway...

Mi Galego Obstinado and I realised that we had two items we needed to accomplish today: I needed to brew my Porter (oh have I mentioned I brew beer also? well, that is for another post where I explain how my husband became a demi-god amongst his friends because /I/ brew) and I also needed to start work on a dress for the end-of-the-year party my work hosts for our graduating seniors. And if you have ever brewed beer or had to make a muslin mock-up before you actually sew a dress (damn my measurements), you know that there was no way to do both in the same day.

So, MGO and I decided that he would work on the muslin mock-up.

You see, what I haven't told you is that he has been after me for YEARS to teach him how to sew and draft patterns enough that he can help me make clothes or for him to make them himself. MGO is completely fascinated with the process of how clothes are made. Half of his interest I swear is from him being an engineer and computer scientist but the more interesting aspect of his interest is because his aunts (from here on out referred to as Las Tias -- it's what we refer to them as in the collective) ran a clothing store in Vigo, Spain for years where they sold ready-made and custom clothing. The first time I met Las Tias we bonded over sewing and crafts despite the fact that they speak no English and I speak very little Spanish and Galego.

This all brings me back to why I think my mother is a saint - watching MGO use my Bernina: teaching him how to properly thread my machine, put in a new bobbin, hell- watching him sew with pins in the fabric - led me to calling my mum to tell her this because I literally had to sit on my hands or be fussed at to 'don't help me' in order to let my husband learn. All the things my mother admitted to doing when she started to teach me until she gave up and sent me to work for someone else.

However, at the end of the day, he was able to do this...



I've already tried it on, made mental notes on where I need to alter the pattern to fit my body better; so tomorrow, I'll re-draft parts of the pattern and make up a new mock-up so he can help me tailor it further when he gets home.

It may have tried my patience and sanity today, but in the end, can I say I'm a lucky girl?

And glad I brew beer.

I needed the drink :)

P.S. After much thought, I decided against telling everyone where I got the pattern as it is so poorly drafted that I doubt I could make a dress for my sister without serious tailoring -- and she is a sample size.

Object 1: Mathematical Modeling by Mark M. Meerschaert

Object #1: Mathematical Modeling, 2nd edition by Mark M. Meerschaert (1999)

Location: Husband's Office

Number: January 2001 - 2 copies. Today - 1 copy.

Provenance: Purchased January 2001.

Required text for Dr. Charles Delzell's section of MATH 4024 Mathematical Models in Spring 2001 at Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

During the early weeks of the semester, a graduate student (me) passed a note to the random undergraduate student who sat in front of her and had killer eyes.

Fast forward to 2011, I am happily married to that undergraduate student who is now working on his Ph.D. in Computer Science. The text from that fateful class is kept with all the other texts we own on engineering, computer science, physics, statistics, mathematics, and finance. The only hint that this book may be something more --are the notes tucked in between the pages.