Kaffe Bouquet

For this month's fussy cutting I also cut the flowers out of two dozen or so Kaffe Fassett fabric, getting rid of the backgrounds and layed them out in a bouquet of my own. I really liked the way it made an entirely new piece of fabric.

Polaroids

For Modern Quilt Group this month we worked on fussy cutting. I jumped on the polaroid craze and finally got to use my gray stash I've been building all year. Still rolling my eyes that my kids don't know what polaroids are . . .

Fall Fabric Sale

Muriel Cook's semi-annual fabric sale is coming up. Here are the details:

November 3rd 8am-1pm
November 5th 3-6pm

11086 N 5650 W Highland

Last Quarter Book Reviews

I have been on a book-reading frenzy lately and haven't taken time to review all of them, but these are the ones worth passing on:

The Beekeeper's Apprentice, Laurie R. King
The Teacher's Funeral, Richard Peck
The Dressmaker of Khair Khana, Gayle Tzemach Lemmon
The Lord God Bird, Tom Gallant
I Capture the Castle, Dodie Smith
Half Broke Horses, Jeannette Walls
The Glass Castle, Jennette Walls
Hotel on the Corner of Bitter & Sweet, Jamie Ford
And Only To Deceive, Tasha Alexander
The Invention of Hugo Cabret, Brian Selznick
The Life List, Olivia Gentile

US Map & Dots

US Map by Quilts by Elena via etsy. I used polka dots, because that's our fabric exchange focus this session. And no, I have no idea what the border will be like.

Bohemian American Flag

Just collecting large florals this summer made me happy. Here's a version of the American flag I came up with to use them in. Now what to do with the scraps . . .

Z's For Zoe

Modern Log Cabin

Cleaning out my softer scraps, using Modern Log Cabin Quilting, by Susan Beal. I'm sure I'll get it bound one of these nights, if the Olympics would quit being so dang exciting.

Granny Square Exchange

I have this daughter. She's six years old now. She's strong. She's tough. She's sassy, and not in the good way. She makes a lot of mistakes. We all do. She gets down on herself. We all do. 

Recently, in an effort to help her self-confience, she and I have been talking about happy accidents; when life doesn't go the way you wanted it to, but the result was better than you had planned. A happy accident. It happens in quilting A LOT.

Later, I was trying to get this quilt done in time for our modern quilt group's class on group exchanges, and it was hot and the kids were running amok, when I got one of the blue chevron sashings backwards from the others. I spread it out on our wood floor and when I realized what I had done, I let out a meagre cry of shock and frustration.

From the other end of the house, she came running, shouting, "Mom! This is so exciting! Is this a happy accident?" Dang. Now I was going to have to leave it that way. For her.

So Zoe, this is for you. So that you can see that happy accidents do happen. Sometimes we just need a friend to point it out to us. Thanks, I love you.

Book Review: Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet

When I was young, we drove past a few grocery stores to get to one owned by an extended Japanese family in Portland. My memories are of the same kind man behind the butcher counter, his taller brother always arranging the bananas, a wife or sister at the check out. They doted on me as a child and I loved the small selection of Japanese candy near the front.

I don't remember how old I was, maybe 9 or so, when I learned about Jewish concentration camps at school or somewhere. I brought the subject up as my mother and I loaded up to go to the grocery store. I told her how shocked I was that one race could decide another should be herded into camps. She sat and listened, and then explained about our Japanese friends at the grocery store, and how this family had been sent to internment camps in the 1940's. It was the '80's and Reagan had recently given them some money as restitution and they had started this grocery store. That's why we always gave them our business. I could not believe it. I couldn't wrap my brain around our country doing something like that. When we went in, I looked at them as if we were now conspirators of some great secret and I finally got to be a part of it.

Homer & Leah 1990's

When I was in junior high I had a WWII project of some sort to work on, and I was asking my dad's dad about his experiences during the war. By the '90's my grandparents lived on the coast and Grandpa was perpetually referring to anyone Japanese as Japs. When I was old enough to notice my mother wincing I asked her about it and she explained to me about Pearl Harbor and why Grandpa felt the way he did, and how some things just don't change for a person over time.

During the war years, before enlisting in the Navy towards the end, Grandpa built fake, lit-up cities for the Army in the middle of nowhere to draw Japanese bombers attention away from populated areas. At one point, and I'm fuzzy on the details, he was near an internment camp. You have to remember that he was part of the generation who never discussed the war, so for him to tell me anything was amazing. I do remember vividly that when he told me this, he got very quiet, and I can even picture the way the words came off his lips when he told me that he would pass cigarettes through the barbed wire to the prisoners. And sometimes food. Again, I was shocked.

Leah, my dad, and Homer - 1946

This was growing up in the Northwest, many years after the war. And so Japanese WWII stories have always interested me. The Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, by Jamie Ford, which has been read by nearly everybody but me until now, is a strong book, a snapshot of that era. The way one man broke the chains in childhood where he could, and into adulthood, where it was harder. Many things have been said about this book, so I'll just add that it was clean, picturesque, and I'm glad I read it.

Book Review: The House at Tyneford

The House at Tyneford, by Natasha Solomons, is also a historical romance, although not as clean.  This story is also set during WWII, and based on the writer's Jewish family who sent their daughter from Vienna to England to be a maid. Just when you think you know all the exciting bits of WWII, here comes another trend worth studying. Many Jewish bourgeois young adults from Europe escaped Nazism by getting visas to work at large English estates before the fighting got hot. I did not know that. What a humbling experience! Of course if they knew what was going to happen in the next five years to their people they might have felt better about leaving early. But hindsight and all that.

Elise arrives with their family jewelry sewn into the seams of her clothes, and her father's latest novel hidden in a viola. Again, an evolution into the person life means for you to really become. She finds that she has to live differently and love differently and be a different person after all, eventually even changing her name to something less European and more British. There is love and beauty and great writing, and then nearly to page 300 the f-bombs let loose. 5 of them all together. Lest you think me prudish, I don't enjoy hearing or reading that word and I'm not telling you not to read the book based on that, I'm just letting you know. Also there were 2 rather descriptive, short love-making scenes. 

This novel reminded me of Downton Abbey but with less characters to keep track of. I have found myself thinking of these people after I was done turning the pages, so that's always a good sign.

Book Review: The Magic of Ordinary Days

The Magic of Ordinary Days, by Ann Howard Creel was just the ticket for me this summer.  A young woman, through a series of tragic events, gets shipped off by her father shortly after her mother's death from cancer, to a farming community in Colorado where she is to marry a man she's never met. And if that's not enough of a teaser, it's during WWII and there's a Japanese internment camp nearby. I loved watching Olivia's journey as she readjusts her expectations for her life and sees that sometimes the waves of life actually carry us to where we were meant to be all along. A clean historical romance, which I have just found out was made into a Hallmark Hall of Fame movie with Keri Russell. I loved it anyway. And this from the gal who couldn't sit through Sense & Sensibility: book or movie.

American Stripe Exchange

Happy Fourth of July! I wanted to wait until I quilted this to put it up, but since the holiday is here, there's no point waiting.

The Modern Quilt Group exchanged any kind of red, white, or blue striped fabric in 8" blocks during our last session that's just ending this month. (Incidentally, next session we're exchanging any kind of polka dot, if you're interested in joining us.) I made this quilt up using a wood butcher block tutorial of sorts we found online. The details can be found in this post on the BMQG blog.

Hope you have a safe and fun Fourth!

Book Review: Ella Minnow Pea

This one's going to be short. I recommend Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn to anyone who loves books for the words, and not for the characters. This fictional island off the Carolinas is known for a resident who came up with the pangram (a sentence containing all 26 letters of the alphabet) "the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog." A statue was erected in his honor, and then the letters start falling off one at a time, signaling to the government there that they should all cease using those letters both in speech and writing. It's an extremely verbose, humorous take on fascism's quick undertow and the ending is simple and brave and it was a fun ride.

Book Review: She Got Up Off the Couch

If you've read A Girl Named Zippy and craved more of Mooreland, Indiana, you've been saved. She Got Up Off the Couch is Haven Kimmel's gift to anyone ready for a laugh. The book is the continuing story of her mother, who in Zippy, lived on the couch most of the sad, poverty-stricken days. And now she's up and Zippy is telling the story of those transforming years through the eyes of a pre-teen, with all of her hilarity and scars. While the mother is the inspiration for the story, Kimmel is also telling us more about the people in Mooreland, as well as her siblings and father. I found that after reading this and then Okay For Now in the same week, I wanted the dads who were dragging their poor families down to be villainized and removed from the families that were trying their best. After all, if they're not, why should they be allowed to stay with these other great people who are? However, upon reflection and learning and doing some mental sorting, I have decided that's not very Christian of me and the point is, try your hardest and see if that example can't bring someone else up by their shoestrings.  Assuming their shoes have strings, of course.

Book Review: Okay For Now

Okay For Now, by Gary Schmidt is an instant classic I think every 8th grader should read. And me.  It's a truly wonderfully written story told by a boy who has just moved into a new town in New York, because his alcoholic dad's hot-head has gotten him fired yet again. He meets Audubon's plates and discovers his need and then talent of drawing. Each event in the boy's life is compared to the next bird portrait. The beginning was emotional because the writer wanted to really show you how bleak this boy's home life was, so that when art sets about changing it, you'll know how far he's come. I really, really enjoyed this book and recommend it to anyone over 12.

Book Review: My Grandfather's Blessings

My sister has this book on her to-read list, and I'm so thankful, because now I've been treated to it myself. I admit I checked it out last year and let it sit for three weeks on my nightstand willing myself to read it, but not wanting to get into something too cheesy for the soul. I guess I wasn't ready. And now I am. I'm half-way through and loving it enough to put out my review now. 

My Grandfather's Blessings, by Rachel Naomi Remen, is a fantastic book of very short chapters written by a cancer doctor who moved into therapy when she could see that healing souls was part of healing cancer. That dealing with all kinds of loss and pain needed to be addressed holistically. Her grandfather was an orthodox Jewish rabbi, and she sprinkles powerful lessons he taught her from her childhood over stories from her own life of growth, and moments in her clients' journeys as well. I am planning on buying this book to mark up. For me, it's very thought-provoking and emotion-provoking and I guess it's just what I need right now.

Book Review: Pretties

I promise I don't like every book I read. And I have been not finishing several books lately, mostly for subject matter or language. I find that infidelity isn't as romantic to me in these post-Bridges of Madison County days, not that that storyline sat well with me either, even in high school. So what I'm saying is, please don't judge me by my to-read list on goodreads. They're to-read because I haven't passed my own judgement yet. Also, I won't review a book I didn't like or didn't finish. I think most authors who are published are brave and amazing and until I publish one of my own, I have no right to condemn someone else.

Having said that, onto a book I DID enjoy. Pretties, by Scott Westerfeld is the second book in a trilogy about a futuristic world that is "saving" humans from growing old and judging each other by race or economic standing, by giving everyone a pretty surgery on their 16th birthday. Tally decided in the first book to fight the power, and she's still at it in the second one. I had heard the trilogy peeters out after the first book, but I really enjoyed this second one as well, and plan on reading Specials soon. I think the plot is brilliant and captivating and the teenage-speak Westerfeld uses is unique and draws me in. But then again, I couldn't get past the first Hunger Games book, so what do I know.

Fall Session of Modern Quilt Group

Geat news! Our fall Modern Quilt Group is open and we'd love to have you! This time in August we'll be starting with half-square triangles (HST's). This is the sample of what I did with mine. It's called The 75 Quilt, because it has 75 different fabrics in it. Each quilter who joins will recieve her own bundle of 75 - 6" fabrics to see what she can make of them. JoyLyn and Syd are busy with their creations, too, and I can't wait to see what they come up with! I cut my squares four ways to give me 3" squares, a little crazy, I know. If you'd like to read more about joining our group, check out our blog.

Sunday Morning

For several years I've had these fabrics from my sister, left overs from a beautiful quilt she had made. The fabrics are Daisy Kingdom-era beauties that she tea-dyed and used color remover on, making them so cool, I was afraid to use them. However, when I saw the Sunday Morning pattern in the new book of the same name, I knew I had found my solution. My blocks turned out to be rectangles, not squares, because I didn't have enough fabric to add an extra strip to each block. I love the idea of having the other part of a quilt Tracey made, plus her extra care with the fabrics makes it feel more loving to me, too.

Little Apples

Here's a design I came up with for a sample at Broadbents, using Little Apples. It's got this really beautiful white minky on the back.



Z's for Zoe

Here's what I'm working on for my daughter lately. I loved the Z's in this pattern, and it also works as a great example of HST's for our fall Modern Quilt Group. I'll post a better pic when I get farther along. Most of the fabrics are sweet little Danish pieces I bought at American Quilting a few years ago and didn't know what to do with. I love all that quilting has taught me. One of the biggest lessons I've learned is: if you don't know what to do with a fabric, put it away and let fate take it's course.

Mini Quilts for Teachers

Book Review: The BFG

How did I get this old and never read The BFG, by Roald Dahl? The Twits was one of my favs growing up. How did I miss this one? I'm sure you've already read it, but since I loved reading it aloud to my children, and adopting some of his redunkerous language into our home, I will just say that I highly recommend this one to read or reread right now. I mean right now.

Book Review: I Am Nujood

My reading eyes have come back to me this year. Maybe 2012 is my year after all. Plus, our local library is finally starting to get some of the books on my to-read list, either paperback or digital. Hooray!

Recently I read I Am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced, by Nujood Ali & Delphine Minoui. I was nervous that there would be too many details of this young girl's tragedy, but I found that the book was inspiring and eye-opening, in a safe way for me. I read about her story last year in a National Geographic issue with child brides on the cover. I had remembered hearing about Nujood when she was in the news a few years ago, so the article particularly appealed to me. And the book even more.

It's not a long book, and the chronology is broken up in an interesting way that keeps the storyline clean. As a mother of a daughter, it was difficult to imagine this far away culture and the damage being done, and the co-author does a great job of not criminalizing an entire country for a rural tradition. I found myself wondering if I or my daughter would have had the courage to do what she did and be the first girl to leave and say no more. I truly hope more of them do.

Granny Squares

Well I keep seeing them online everywhere, and JoyLyn demoed them in our Modern Quilt Group recently, so when a group invited me to exchange blocks, I was excited to try this new-to-me block. And it was fun! Here are my three, eight of each to exchange next month.

And here's the tutorial we used, from Monkey Do.

Birding in CA

There are tons of good places to bird in California, mainly because it's so big and diverse (kinda like the people. In fact Rory told me at the end of one day, "I saw this really freaky lady today who wasn't a lady at all!). While in the LA and Bay Area last week, Paul and I had the opportunity to go to some cool birding places and added 15 new life birds. Here is where we went that I would recommend:

• Hayward Shorline Preserve
• Oyster Bay Regional Shores
• Mines Road, Livermore
• Oakland Zoo
• Deukmejian Wilderness Park, La Crescenta near Pasadena (my fav)
• Descanso Gardens, La Canada
• Huntington Gardens, San Marino near Pasadena (my other fav)

Stonemountain & Daughter

While in the Bay Area last week, I went to Stonemountain & Daughter Quilting and Fabric store in Berkeley. I'd heard about it, and wanted to check it out. Here's me in front of their notable button wall. The store is large, with a lot of Japanese imports and Asian inspired fabrics. They did have some organic too, which was fun to indulge in. Since I've been finally building up my stash again with new fabrics, I really let myself go here. 

Aside from quilting fabric, they do have plenty of clothing weights and an upstairs sewing room that was humming. The only thing I didn't like was how they cut my quilting fabric. They didn't use a ruler or grid on the table, and didn't give any extra, so you got what you got.

Things You Don't Say To Your Wife

Check out this YouTube link, for a funny, musical list of things no wife wants to hear. Ha!

The Zookeeper's Wife

I just finished reading The Zookeeper's Wife, by Diane Ackerman, 2008. It's the story of a very brave and risk-taking couple in Warsaw during WWII who used the zoo they managed to strengthen the Underground and hide Jews for several years. Their story is beautiful and harrowing and almost unbelievable, except that we have already accepted all that came with the Holocaust, and that makes their story even more rich.  

Ackerman is a successful nature writer, and she was the perfect author to write the story of the zookeeper's wife, Antonina, who did talk with animals and could calm the animal in people, too.  The book is peacefully written with lots of scents of flowering trees and details about animal fur and feathers, mingled between the family's events and timelines.

My favorite line in the book is a quote by Arthur Schopenhauer, "If I maintain my silence about my secret it is my prisoner, if I let it slip from my tongue, I am its prisoner."

I also love this Yiddish saying, also quoted in the book:

You should own a thousand houses
with a thousand rooms in each house
and a thousand beds in every room.
And you should sleep each night
in a different bed, in a different room,
in a different house, and get up every morning
and go down a different staircase
and get into a different car,
driven by a different chauffeur,
who should drive you to a different doctor
 - and he shouldn't know what's wrong with you either!

LOVE, PRAY, HOPE, GIVE

Here are some shots of recent finished quilts that I bound while in St. George last week.

Brown & Blue Zig Zag

Wonky Diamonds

First of March

Wonky Log Cabin (made mostly by Zoe)

LOVE, PRAY, HOPE, GIVE

Aunt Evelyn's Table Runner

Paul's Aunt Evelyn asked if we could trade our trades last fall, and I'm so glad she did! I made her a quilt and she has made me probably the most beautiful heirloom we now own, a long table runner. Here are some of the pictures she sent during the very long and tedious process, and the finished product in our home for all to enjoy (except my kids, who are NOT ALLOWED to touch it ever). Evelyn has a really amazing talent and has a special personality to be able to stick to a project this involved. She lives in Colorado, and I wish I could have seen some of the steps in the process first hand. There was weaving to do before she even began weaving. We're so thankful for her!

Broadbents Modern Quilts Display

For the month of April, Broadbents is displaying some of the beautiful quilts made by members of our Modern Quilt Group. Feel free to come on in and be inspired! And remember, it's never too late to join us.

Modern Snail

 

From Boo Davis' Dare to Be Square Quilting book, with border. I also recently flipped through Sunday Morning Quilts, by Amanda Jean Nyberg and fell in love. She's brilliant. Also anxious to get the book Quilts from the House of Tula Pink in my hands. . .

Rouenneries

Never did post a pic of this from years ago. French General's first line, done in a snail's tail pattern. Left the four corners cut off.

Brown & Blue Zig Zag

 

A fun take on the zig zags everyone's crazy about right now, out of mostly stashies.

 

Jungle Cruise

We're hoping to head to Disneyland soon, and so I thought I'd finish this quilt for my oldest son, in honor of the Jungle Cruise ride we all love. He is the child of Planet Earth and National Geographic, and I love it. When he was smaller, I collected the jungle-african-safari prints that were so popular, and decided recently to put them together for him. (Read: finally did something with it so there's room to buy more.) I complimentarily designed after this much more beautiful quilt on flickr by kelbysews. I used a medium brown firestone on the back, and I'll bind in the green solid.

First of March