Tunisian Crochet ----> Yard Sale

I started out planning to write about the latest trend in crochet, Tunisian Crochet -- but then one of my neighbours dropped by to give me this...

So that sent me off in a completely different direction!

For awhile now I have become somewhat disillusioned with my fabric stash!  Over the years I have made purchases of fabric - very lovely quilting cottons -- at least that's how I felt at the time!  Sometimes just a fat quarter and sometimes 3 meter lengths, but rarely did I buy a piece of fabric with a particular project in mind.... So now it has come to pass that pretty much everything that I make is "SCRAPPY" even though it is not scraps that I am working with!

So the announcement of a yard sale for our whole townhouse complex seemed to be the exact motivation to clear/sell some of my stash so that I might plan and purchase the exact right fabrics for my next quilt.   I want a quilt that doesn't have a dozen shades of various colours!  I want to make a quilt that has maybe FIVE perfectly coordinated fabrics.  I don't know yet what that quilt will be but that is my ultimate plan.  I want to PLAN each quilt, work on it using fabric that was carefully chosen, then when it is finished, think about the next quilt...

I think it might be what is called SLOW QUILTING now.  I even want to get back to hand quilting the quilt!   

So this Saturday I am going to have for sale a good portion of my fabric stash.

I have even thought about why I want to get back to slow quilting!  I find that I don't have alot of people who I need to make a quilt for, so if I make one quilt from start to finish in a year that should be quite fine for my closet space!

Another reason I want to make this change is I want to make something special for just me.  I have made too many small quilts with basic blocks. Those kinds of quilts are not particularly challenging to me anymore. They are sort of like working in a factory and doing the same thing over and over and over.  They just serve as a project that I would have to force myself to finish.

So, a fabric stash project is in progress!  Sorting and measuring fabric and stapling a tag with the amount of yardage and the price I want on to each piece of fabric.  I am going through some of my drawers and boxes and deciding which of the other sewing/quilting things can be cleared out too!  I have some acrylic rulers that are duplicates, I have dozens of embellishments, purse making things, zippers, doll eyes and " so much more"!  Every one of them can be sold off !  Oh!  I am hoping for empty drawers and boxes!

Its a big job, and it requires a heavy hand, because I keep coming across "special" fabrics that I think I might keep!  The keep pile is growing too fast, tho! I think I have to re-evaluate that keep pile!

One of the dilemnas about this project is that I want to start my plan to PLAN a quilt, but that means selling alot my fabric, but if I don't sell the fabric then I have to keep making scrappy quilts that I don't really enjoy... What is the saying? Six of one and a half dozen of the other!

I think I shall be happy with either outcome, tho!  Shall I see you on Saturday?

So, I will get back to my Tunisian Crochet project after the Yard Sale, I think.

Linking up with the Needle and Thread Network this week...

Cooking in Hot Weather

When the temperature goes up around 30C cooking for a couple of fellas who are resistant to green things on their plate, becomes even more difficult and requires some creative or unexpected ideas...

The choice here if my husband were to be in charge of the meal would be to turn on the oven -- to like 450F to cook a "quick" lunch of  Frozen French Fries and a Pre made Frozen burger...  forget the green!

So, some of the things I have come up with over the years to avoid turning on the oven is first off to pay attention to RAINY DAYS...  For meat lover men, Meat is a requirement, so if there is not some cooked meat ready or close to ready, they don't hesitate to turn on the the oven and create excessive kitchen heat...  So I try to cook ahead and freeze things like pork sausage, "minute" steaks, pork chops, even chicken breast.

So, how to make "meat and potato" type meals without turning on the oven and increasing the heat in the house?
 

 My saving grace for this turns out to be my very old 1970's waffle iron! (but if you want to test out a couple of these ideas I am sure a more recent waffle maker would do just as well) I make those OVEN fries right on the waffle maker  -- I turn on the waffle maker to its highest heat, then I just layer the fries on the iron, close the lid and give it about 3 or 4 minutes (check your fries progress on your waffle maker because there can be considerable temperature variation).

The fries come out a bit flat but crispier than when done in the oven and to me, tastier because they have a crispier finish!  Much quicker than when done in the oven and causing much less heat in the kitchen!  How about thin slices of potato done in the waffle maker?  Peel, or not your favourite type of potato, layer the slices on the waffle maker, close the lid -- a couple of minutes makes interesting CHIPS...

Oh, I should mention, some waffle makers are non stick and some like mine because of its age are 'tempered' cast iron so perhaps a spray of Pam or similar cooking spray would keep these foods from sticking and making clean up a messy problem.

This wonderful "olden days" appliance is a tool that works not only for making waffles on Sunday Morning.   

Now since having the bright idea of making squished waffled fries, I have gone looking for other ideas that might work with this amazing appliance.

How about cookies?   Check out this You-tube video for making cookies using your waffle iron?  It has the whole process start to finish!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhETXR3USps

I haven't tried these, but will be very soon!

Hey! how about fried eggs in the waffle iron?  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhETXR3USps

Now if you think of your waffle iron as a version of a Panini press (it is a bit of a stretch!) but how about a grilled cheese sandwich?  This I have tried.  Just butter the bread, put one bread slice down on the waffle iron with butter/margarine facing down, plop on your cheese - whether processed or REAL cheddar or your favourite cheese - then put on the second slice of bread, buttered side up.  Close the lid, wait 2 or three minutes and voila`!  Grilled Cheese Waffle Sandwich!

A few other things that I have thought might work on the waffle iron would be to cook weiners -- they would be almost like being done on the bbq, I think -- but I haven't actually tested that out.

I would not do burgers on the waffle iron because they have considerably more fat run off and the waffle iron does not have a 'drain' to get rid of the fat, like a "George Foreman" Grill, so best to keep away from fattier meats and things.

So just a bit different way to do your cooking on a hot summer day!

Do you have an idea or suggestion that might work or that you have tried using your waffle maker for? Leave me a comment!  I can use all the help I can get when trying to cook for a family who just prefers no green things!

Tutorial Update to Sidy Blocks Quilt

Quite awhile back, at least 1/2 a year, I switched my blog to connect with Google Plus and Google Friends.  When I did that, something went 'haywire' with all the photos on my blog posts...

Well, I have not managed to fix them all, but I have corrected the problem with the Tutorial I did for the Sidy Blocks Quilt...

So If you want to check that out you can either click on the tab at the top of my page where it says Sidy Blocks -- and I have no idea why they are called that, or you can just click on this link http://susanbeingsnippy.blogspot.ca/p/blog-page.html

This quilt idea is great for an I Spy project or as a Theme quilt, especially if you collect a particular theme such as cats or football logos or maybe even christmas fabrics....

Hexagons-- Hand Pieced Long term Work in Progress...

Summer is not really the time to sit inside the house and sew quilt blocks together or to manoeuvre a quilt sandwich under a home sewing machine to quilt hearts and flowers or straight or wavy lines!  But to keep a quiltmaker from working on a quilt just because it is HOT inside and out, is alot to ask!

I have had "in Progress" a variation of a Hexagon with triangles and stars for going on 7 years!  And I am still just piecing the blocks together...  It has been such a long time since I first saw this pattern and cutout the pattern pieces that I have lost the original measurements of it and I have forgotten the name of this block, too!

The Hexagons are not too small, each side measures at 1 3/8 inch, but then you come to the diamond shapes and the other long pieces (they are called a parallelogram, I think) that form the outside edge and they do get a bit tiny.

I made myself alot of the little shapes so that whenever the spirit moves me, I can cover the shapes with the fabric in order to sew the pieces together accurately...

Sewing Hexagons together was pretty much my first exposure to sewing and quiltmaking -- I think, roundabout the time I started into grade school.

My grandmother first showed me how to sew fabric scraps to the cutout pieces of newspaper or magazine pages.  She would take the scrap of fabric and fold one side over the paper and hand sew a few stitches through both the paper and the fabric, and she would do that for each side of  the hexagon...

Some time ago, I learned a slightly faster but still as accurate way of making those little fabric hexagons.  Now I use cardstock -- which I got from my son who works in a Printing Shop.  I just tack the corner of the fabric and don't even sew through the cardstock, just a little double stitch at each corner of the pattern piece...

PS, do you notice those lines or "x's" on the cardboard pieces? Those are to mark the backside of the shape, especially for the parallelogram pieces, because if you sew the piece the wrong way, it will not fit in the block...  So make sure you mark them so they all go in the same direction!

Now when the pieces are done in this manner, after they are sewn together you remove the cardstock  just by slipping it out and the pattern piece is ready to use on your next block or two...

Those cardstock pieces help to hold the shape of the block and make it so you sew accurately along the edge.   As I progress I take out the center pieces, but until I sew the blocks together I will leave the parallelograms in place.

When I don't feel like doing the whipstitch to join all those bits together, I paw through my scraps trying to figure out what fabric goes with what other fabric...

It is kind of like digging through a box of buttons trying to find the ones that match!

For each block it needs 6 diamonds of a dark or bright and 6 of a light, it needs one hexagon for the center which I try to do as a fussy cut, and six of the white parallelograms.

I put the matched up pieces together in a little 'snack' size ziplock bag so the pieces are ready for me to sew together when ever I am sitting on my covered bench swing in the backyard on a warm summer afternoon...

Every Summer I manage to make a few more blocks for this eventual Heirloom Quilt....

It will be nice to someday see a finished quilt from this project but I am enjoying the process of hand sewing these blocks  and choosing the fabrics.   If it never actually gets finished -- I think I may be just as happy that I kept my hands busy on the hot summer days that you just don't want to do too much active 'work'...

Do you have something that can fill those summer days that gives you satisfaction?

Now, I do know that some quilters want the quick satisfaction of seeing a completed project, so I am, as usual for me, going against the trend.

If you are interested in learning more about hand piecing hexagons or other shapes.  Here is a You Tube video that explains how to sew the hexagons together, the WAY MY GRAMMA DID IT...

and another way to put the hexies together...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRY3IRB_ELY which is really the most difficult and convoluted way to do it....

And this last video is the way that I do it.   This really explains the process VERY well!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JseWMYdMtDs&list=TLfuCgYtcxSK9mhSGF91abRtTouGN75dUA

There are also a multitude of videos that explain how to machine piece hexagons.  There is even a Hexagon pattern that is sewn as half hexagon shapes and it makes it so that there is no inset seams, every bit of it is straight lines -- quite ingenious actually!

Hexagons were 'trending' a few years ago, so maybe if they didn't grab your interest then, now might be the time for you to make a few blocks... Or even just one block that you can sew on a cushion to show off your Hand sewing expertise!

Enjoy!

He Ain't Heavy....

Well actually he is getting there...

I am overweight and have been for a long time, my husband is overweight but he gets alot of exercise in his job and taking our Border Collie, Pearl for 3 or 4 walks a day.  My son is beginning to show signs of weight gain, even though his job requires alot of walking and lifting...

 My family tends to gain weight, we are not thin athletic people -- tho I certainly loved to run just to feel the wind in my face when I was 'young and cute'!

So lately my son who lives in the same house as myself and my husband has been asking for lighter meals or meals where he can perhaps shed a few pounds...

But there is a major problem that I see no way of solving except the generally accepted principles of weight loss.  That being fruit and vegetables!

Now, how to get over that hurdle?  At this stage of life, the men I cook for usually make their own choices and 99% of the time that choice is meat and something white, like potato, rice, or pasta.   Putting chunks of zucchini in the pasta sauce only means I will clear plates off the table that have been licked clean with a pile of zucchini on one side.

I know that the men in the house should be able to accept the idea that vegetables are GOOD for you and that it is their choice to eat them or not, but they keep telling me to cook something good but that will help them loose a few pounds...

Got any ideas?

I watch the Food Network almost everyday and sometimes I come across things that might work.  In General tho one of the greatest difficulties with TV cooking today is that almost all those shows are silly competitions that really have nothing to do with cooking and everything to do with making people feel like loosers!

Quite a few years ago I  bought a Stock Pot and it has been one of the best things in my kitchen.   Who loves the convenience of a  cooked Rotisserie Chicken from the Supermarket, picked up on the way home from work?   I gotta say it is one of the most useful fast foods anywhere.  Forget about stopping at a "FAST FOOD" Burger place!  In my house -- three adults here -- a chicken is two days of supper... And then a potful of chicken stock!

CHEAP and USEFUL

My Stock Pot gets filled with 3 Rotisserie Chicken carcasses about once a month -- I put the bones and skin into a freezer bag and freeze it --- 

And that pile of "junk" or "leftovers" becomes the basis of quite a few recipes...

So, you need a big pot, three chicken carcasses, three stalks of celery, three big carrots, about 1/2 an onion and some salt and pepper if you like...  Put as much water in the pot as it will hold without boiling over, turn on the heat to boil then turn the heat down to the hotplate's lowest setting and leave it for at least two hours...  Strain out the bones and veg and find some jars or containers to put the broth in, cool down, put in the freezer til you come across a recipe that says Chicken Broth.

This STILL leaves us with the dilemna of getting my family to absorb vegetables and/or fruits...

I suspect since it has taken quite a few years of exploring food that will make them happy but also help them maintain a healthy body, this search will be ongoing.

So, Fridays are For Food.

 For myself I found a very interesting and delicious GREEN soup at Skinnytaste.com

I used my homemade chicken broth as the basis of this soup and I love it!  But it is GREEN and the men of the house will not even consider it!

Now in this search for healthy choices for my family there is not only the criteria that fruits and veggies not really look or taste GREEN, but that the cost remain low (because honestly we are a family of working poor) and the making should be relatively uncomplicated and able to be made in a reasonable length of time. (unless it is done in the slow cooker)

So I don't want to make this so long that you get bored reading, so suffice to say, that I am going to dedicate Friday to the Food Journey in my household and maybe I can find some ways for you to improve the way your family eats too...

I am going to name names, so you can find healthful recipes or ideas and provide links with useful things - but I am NOT doing this for a reward other than it is a journey for me and I just have to tell somebody about it...

So.  Lets try to eat an Apple or an Orange or a Banana Today!

Evolution...

My blog has been evolving.  As all things should and do.  I know you can see my superficial changes -- the header, the background and the fonts.  You will notice that I no longer have links to various other blogs and blogs that have "link-ups".  I hope to develop a few new connections over time.

It is all part of the evolution of my writing and of my personal interests.   I have changed much of my daily focus to a more varied range of subject interests.   Now, don't get me wrong, CRAFT still occupies a good percentage of my life, but I have decided to diversify!

Diversify, a big business word!  I am certainly not big business though, but I do find myself talking to the strangest things -- the Television, especially commercials and a variety of documentaries.  I talk to news articles in the newspaper in both their print and online versions!   And I even attempt to talk to my dog, who listens very intently but rarely offers a alternate opinion unless it has to do with food - she has said emphatically she does not like vegetables unless they are cooked and have some chicken scraps buried amongst them -- Just like my Husband!

So, What does that mean when it comes to what I will be writing about?

Well, first, I do not expect ANYBODY to pay for  my writing -- tho of course it would be nice, but I don't expect it, so what I write is my OPINION.   Now because it is an opinion I am quite willing to admit the occasional wrong thought process -- which doesn't necessarily mean that my opinion is wrong, just that I am open to having my opinion changed if you can teach me something that will give me more options.   I am quite open minded and willing to learn, BUT I am generally a LIBERAL and mostly a SOCIALIST and I do not believe in a higher being that is concerned with what we humans do in our everyday life.

Some of the things that I plan to write about -- Things Around My House - often HOW-TO's,  which includes successes and failures in my garden, in my kitchen, in do-it yourself projects, with relationships whether it be human or with my cats or dog...

One of the things that has been on my mind quite a bit lately is FOOD....

Yep, there are hundreds or thousands or maybe even hundreds of thousands of blogs and product sites all about Food....  So, I shall try to find a slightly different niche when it comes to food...

I have my own little online shop, so now and then I am going to tell you about some of the things that I sell, perhaps some of my discoveries and sources of finding things to sell in my shop...

And every once in a while I may get a bit political, but by no means am I an expert in the political atmosphere or of the issues that appear in my neighbourhood, city, province or country, or even the world, so those little discussions are just an opinion!

So, Susan Being Snippy is changing and it remains to be seen if or how it will be received.   Ultimately tho, I plan to remain a bit snippy. ( from the urbandictionary.com Snippy - n): A term commonly used by authority figures, parents, and teachers to young children meaning something close to 'sassy' or 'short'; having attitude)

So come back and perhaps we can learn about the world around us in a completely new way!

Thanks for coming by and lets plan for a fulfilling day!

WILD! How I made a tray feeder for wild birds...

This morning my niece posted on Facebook about a type of feeder that she wanted to order from Wild Birds Unlimited

and I had been thinking of a similar type of feeder for my back yard because the BlueJays and some of the other larger birds could not access the round tube feeder that I have there....

So, as you know, I occasionally go off on a "tangent"!  Well this was definately a tangent! And took me less than an hour to put together, including locating the 'elements" or you might call it the materials and supplies...

I used things that I found around my house, yard or basement.  I spent not one PENNY!

I had an old office magazine holder thingy that I took apart to use the mesh screen of it for the bottom of the 'feeder' so that rain would not puddle in the feeder and ruin the seeds...

the wooden box is one that I picked up along with some other plant containers just to use in my garden....

an old electrical extension cord that for some reason didn't work 

The Tools: a screwdriver and pliers to take apart the magazine holder, heavy duty scissors for cutting the pug ends of the extension cord, my father-inlaw's electric drill from the 1950's that still works -- but you can use a newer one if you want!,  and a hammer to bash out the bottom of the wood box...

First I took apart the magazine holder thingy but didn't bother to cut or change its shape as it fit nicely to the bottom of the box and allowed a kind of ledge on the outside edge...  And bashed out the bottom of the wooden box, which was pretty easy to do as it was actually water warped and a bit rotted...

Did I mention the staple gun and staples?  I used the kind of staples that they use for upholstry, not the kind for paper... much stronger!  staples in the corners and two on each side edge...

 Once the bottom was on - I put the bottom on so that it would make the box a bit stronger so that it wouldn't go off square when I drilled holes beside the corners...

Then I cut the plug ends off the extenion cord and pulled the two long plastic coated wires apart so I had two long and strong cords to put thro the holes in the side of the box -

tied the 4 loose ends up into a knot and hung the thing on a bracket on my fence....

Hanging on the bracket with seeds in it...

took barely 15 minutes and the first visitor arrived -- a chickadee!  I think he was a regular visitor to our tube feeder so he knew where he could find LUNCH already!

and another chick-a-dee a few minutes later 

The last two photos are taken with my canon power shot at 14x zoom from the second storey balcony on our house.

Now I am going to have to keep an eye out for the blue jays and maybe some other of the larger birds in our neighbourhood...

Thinking Ahead! - Work in Progress

To be honest, I am the type of person who is always looking ahead and am ready with contingency plans long before they are actually needed!  My father instilled in me a sense of "being ready for anything" and I do wonder sometimes how anyone is caught unaware that a situation is developing or approaching!   I am the consumate ANT of the fairy tale The Ant and the Grasshopper !  (for the full story click on the story title)...

But then again...  Crochet does lend itself so very well, to making winter accessories, doesn't it?

At the beginning of our Victoria Day Weekend (in the USA it is Memorial Day Weekend) I had no travel plans or even any chores or work around the house to do so I decided to start on a project that I actually had meant to do a few months back...  Now, this is where procrastinating translates into preparedness -- if you wait long enough, what was late can actually appear to be early when you wait til next year!

So Leg Warmers...  and a Slouchy Hat.  The pair of leg warmers are complete -- they were actually a test to create my own design/pattern and they have actually worked out quite nicely -- mind you a few rows were 'frogged' a few times but now they are done and I am started on a matching Slouchy Hat.

I used a yarn of "unknown content" that I got in a thrift store, so even tho I plan to write the instructions and a tutorial for these leg warmers I am going to work them up again with a 'brand' yarn to make it easier for anyone who might like to try out this pattern.

I actually was inspired to create these because I was leafing through one of my books and found a stitch pattern that I thought would suit leg warmers nicely.  Do you think so?

So today, I am off to my local yarn shop to see if I can find a similar 'branded' yarn to reproduce this project and then write up the pattern instructions...

  

I am linking up with Merry Messy Life and the Needle and Thread Network  today.

PS.  If you are wanting the instructions for these leg warmers, please sign up to receive email notice of my blog posts (near the top of my sidebar on the right side) as I cannot promise exactly when I will post the instructions for this pattern -- hopefully within the next couple of weeks -- because it did not take me very long at all to work up this pair of leg warmers!

Work in Progress and Runaway Days

Yes, I am still working on the Jane Austen Family Album blocks (check the link in my side bar) I was away for a few days so I only worked on the one block and that one was quite simple and quick!  I did not layer or quilt last weeks block "page" so I have a bit of extra to do this week!  In the instructions on Barbara Brackman's site, she suggests two different methods for making this block -- I chose the easy -- fewer pieces version,  not because I didn't want to sew a few extra pieces together, but because I found a scrap piece of fabric that I felt suited this block very nicely!

Large print strawberries on a black background, with the corners in a hot bright pink!  This block is done similar to the earlier one -- the Cross within a Cross  with the centre square being set 'on point' and using the tip where you crease the centre square so that the four corner units are sewn on perfectly centered...  and be sure to read the entire post, because there is an update/correction of the 'variation' of this block!  Because I have not done the variation, I am not commenting on how or what to do if you choose the fussy cutting version!

Barbara calls this block Village Square and uses it to represent Jane Austen's oldest brother James.  He is the 'favoured one" in the family and the one who inherits what ever his parents or other relatives have to bestow upon him...

I did not get a whole lot done in the crafty department, even though I did have some extra time...

This past week - 3 days of it anyway -- I went on a little ride with my friend over the mountains, from here in the Fraser Valley, over the Coquihalla Hwy and the Connector (Hwy 97C) to Kelowna BC.

Now as much as I love quiltmaking and crochet, I love to ride as a passenger in a car and look out the window at the swiftly passing scenery!   I would rather go on a car ride than just about anything else!!

Now, once arrived in Kelowna we checked into a very nice hotel/resort -- Manteo Hotel and Resort....  My friend was in Kelowna for some meetings and business so I was left on my own for the daytime hours.

So contrary to my usual habit of sewing or crochet -- I walked...

There is a boardwalk along the lake front that makes for very easy strolling.  A private beach for guests, a marina, a putting green, a library building and a outdoor pool and even a small theatre all within the complex.

I watched some teenage boys practice their putting skills and wondered why they were not in school on a weekday.   And best of all, I walked and sat on benches all along the boardwalk totally  peaceful and simply enjoying the gorgeous spring day!  This early in the 'season' I suspect it was much quieter than would be usual in June, July, or August.  And I loved the quiet comfort!

Soon tho, it was time to head home and the drive over the high mountain passes heading west to home was a bit more gloomy than it was getting to Kelowna.  It is pretty high up and there is still snow on the hills, tho the highway was dry and clear.

I cannot describe how much I enjoyed this little 'holiday' -- it was unexpected but felt so good to be away from the everyday things at home.  I think I would have gladly spent another week away!   Do you ever get to go away for no reason whatsoever with no obligations or plans?  Not often, I would suspect -- there is not much in my world that can beat this kind of little runaway adventure!!

Works In Progress - Block Book 4 and a Crochet Tangent

Many years ago the words to a popular song grabbed my heart and I sing that song in my head whenever the things in my life seem to be matching the words to that song...

I've got a song, I ain't got no melody
I'ma gonna sing it to my friends
I've got a song, I ain't got no melody
I'ma gonna sing it to my friends

Will it go round in circles?
Will it fly high like a bird up in the sky?
Will it go round in circles?
Will it fly high like a bird up in the sky?

Read more at http://www.songlyrics.com/billy-preston/will-it-go-round-in-circles-lyrics/#jgmD877kY7IWjBmm.99

or you can check it out on You Tube at http://youtu.be/yGQZXA54gjU

It doesn't seem to be a song that 'everybody' sings to themselves, it's certainly not You are My Sunshine, or one of those early Beatle tunes that are always popping up in one's head at the most inopportune time...

Now, what does a 44 year old song have to do with quilting and crochet, or with crafts of any kind for that matter?

Well, its the listener I think, me, the song comes upon me when I realize how motivation, interest, desire to accomplish something, replaces a period of almost depression -- little interest in a project or not being able to find a reason to create something.   "Will it go round in Circles" just always seems to me to signify the way life goes round, how sometimes you actually in a weird way enjoy the down times, but realize when it comes around again, the good times, the times you want to work and achieve and just plain do 'stuff'

I have got to say that this project of creating a Real Representational Page Turning "Book" -- even if it is only one copy and that it is just for me -- has got me on a tangent!  I do love TANGENTS - its an adventure that leads from one thing to another and each step is a learning experience and in itself is motivating to go onto the next step...  Did I say I love Tangents?  Do you know what I mean?

The 'page' this week for my Block Book again comes from Barbara Brackman's Austen Family Album  36 part block series where she tells about Jane Austen's family and the time they lived.  This weeks block is called Thrifty and represents Jane's mother -- click on the link on my side bar to get the full story along with the instructions for putting together this versatile beginner quilt block!

I also discovered that The Quilting Gallery has begun a series of Quilt Block Tutorials! Check out this new series if you are a bit impatient and want to do more than one quilt block a week...  Quilting Gallery Block Library  

I suspect I will be incorporating a few block from this series into my Block Book...

Another element to my current TANGENT is a crochet project that has expanded as it progressed.  On April 10 on this blog I talked about a scarf pattern that I decided to start work on. ( see Jumping off  a cliff...  )  It is a pattern from Interweave Crochet -- their magazine Crochet Today Spring 2007 (and they offer a kit on their website) for the Boteh Scarf by Kathy Merrick.

Well, I certainly didn't expect to get so involved in this pattern!  I started out using sock yarn to follow the pattern, relatively close to what the instructions were saying.  I used Red Heart, Heart and Sole to start...

And that's when I went off on a TANGENT...  I opened a draw in my bedroom and came across two and a half balls of Lion Brand Wool Ease and even before finishing the first scarf, started a second!   

The same pattern, but my what a difference!  It makes me want to try out this pattern at least one more time with another yarn!

I am thinking and wondering what this pattern would be like with a 'soft' acrylic.  I have some Loops and Threads (Michael's exclusive yarn) Soft and Shiny that I am thinking will feel really nice and look great!  How 'bout in burgundy?  

"I've got a song, I ain't got no melody..."

How 'bout you?  What are you excited about this week!

Kitty, Kitty, Kitty!

It seems like a natural pairing... Quilts and Cats.

Little cats and big cats, orange cats, black cats, grey cats and even blue cats!  I don't think I have ever heard of anyone who makes quilts and does not like cats!

And I certainly never heard of a cat who didn't like a quilt!

I recently acquired from quilting friend of a friend (thats pretty much how I get all my fabric now, since I am on a fabric buying diet -- but doesn't mean a friend can't give me some fabric!)  a small bundle of mostly fat quarters of CAT fabrics...

Nice.

Fun, too!

Most of these are a few years old...

Well, more like 20 years since they were on the store shelves...

But does the allure of cats ever fade?

Is there a colour or a classic cat shape missing from this selection of fabrics?

One the best things about cat fabrics is that you can enjoy cats, even if you don't really like real cats!  My gramma did not like cats, neither did one of my best friends, but they both did not mind cats portrayed on fabric!

Now, what to do with all these?

Well, thats a start!  The paper pieced cat above was also given to me, but made and in a stash for many years... now with the cat fabrics, I am making a few -- cat nap mats for a cat carrier, or maybe they are place mats for your kitchen table, or maybe if it is loved alot, it could be put in a frame and hung up on the wall.

This one - and a few more will be in my etsy shop in the next few days with part of the sale proceeds going to my local SPCA...

Oh and by the way...

Walter

is three years old tomorrow!

Happy Birthday Walter Kitty!