tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-41904792508214421972011-11-27T16:17:52.208-08:00my quilting and other crafts...and my cats!Playful Quilterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06458896465246815128noreply@blogger.comBlogger281100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4190479250821442197.post-44990223851566588472009-02-28T22:01:00.000-08:002009-02-28T22:19:44.230-08:00

While scoping out some new cat fabrics made by Benartex, I happened upon a non-cat line called 12 Days of Christmas. Many of them look like they were made for my block patterns of the same name, although some of the prints are too large for the tiny 4" blocks. If you're curious, here's a link:http://db.benartex.com/storelocator/FMPro?-DB=collections.fp3&-lay=internet&-max=200&-sortfield=

Playful Quilterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06458896465246815128noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4190479250821442197.post-20158203417634261462009-02-21T15:03:00.000-08:002009-02-25T15:15:16.700-08:00

I just finished uploading Day 12 of The 12 Days of Christmas patterns to my web site:http://www.sundropdesigns.com/projects.htmlIf you're still looking for the other days, check out the Blog Archives on the right sidebar. Links to the earliest days were posted in January.The patterns will be availble for free for two more weeks. On March 8, I will begin removing them as I update the pages on my

Playful Quilterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06458896465246815128noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4190479250821442197.post-70360128187739735812009-02-15T18:02:00.000-08:002009-02-15T18:21:48.581-08:00

I just finished uploading Day 10 of the 12 Days of Christmas patterns! This one had me stumped for the longest time as to what the lord might be leaping over. After weeks of deliberation, I'd decided on frogs (as in leap frog) over candlesticks (as in Jack Be Nimble). But then on Friday, I heard some senator say that he thought no one (as in no senator nor representative) had actually read the

Playful Quilterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06458896465246815128noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4190479250821442197.post-27908786080344944042009-02-12T18:19:00.000-08:002009-02-12T18:31:25.141-08:00

Life seems to be returning to normal around here. I just uploaded Day 9 for the 12 Days of Christmas on the Projects page of my web site:http://www.sundropdesigns.com/projects.htmlFrom here to the the twelfth day, some of the pieces begin to get really tiny. For those of you who don't like working with such tiny pieces, embroidery or fabric paints or pens are a good alternative. Another option is

Playful Quilterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06458896465246815128noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4190479250821442197.post-23440155531023623822009-02-07T11:01:00.000-08:002009-02-07T11:21:29.777-08:00

Just in case anyone missed it, there's a link on my home page to a pdf that has the words to The 12 Days of Christmas. These are the American lyrics. I know the British version is slightly different, but I haven't taken the time to research the lyrics and add them to the pdf. Here's the link:http://www.sundropdesigns.com/I'm still trying to work with only one contact lens, so things are going

Playful Quilterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06458896465246815128noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4190479250821442197.post-24913528834101671512009-01-25T18:09:00.000-08:002009-01-25T18:42:00.033-08:00

We had a mixed bag of weather last week: half icy winter wonderland and half the usual winter temps in the mid-40's. I divided my "warm day" time between sewing in my shed and doing computer work in my trailer, so I only have two new blocks up for you.Day 6: http://www.sundropdesigns.com/bom/bom09.htmlDay 7: http://www.sundropdesigns.com/projects.htmlSince the coming week's weather forecast is

Playful Quilterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06458896465246815128noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4190479250821442197.post-5533404502457047402009-01-18T18:05:00.000-08:002009-01-18T18:16:58.034-08:00

Well, those warm 50-degree days the weather forecasters promised us for last week never materialized. Instead, we got a temperature inversion that socked the valley in fog with temps staying in the 20's and 30's. I spent most of my week sitting by my parents' woodstove crocheting. However, I did get one more block up for you:5 Gold Rings - http://www.sundropdesigns.com/critcorner.htmlTooday,

Playful Quilterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06458896465246815128noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4190479250821442197.post-76181596709523122942009-01-10T16:58:00.000-08:002009-01-10T17:15:10.745-08:00

I'm doing a freebie on the 12 Days of Christmas on my web site, in both applique and redwork. My original intent was to post a new block each day during the 12 days of Christmas, Dec. 25 through January 5. But it's winter and I'm learning that I shouldn't make schedules, or rather I shouldn't expect to stay on any schedule, during the winter. It's now Jan. 10 and only 4 days have been posted.

Playful Quilterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06458896465246815128noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4190479250821442197.post-24761754688795724152008-11-07T23:31:00.000-08:002008-11-07T23:46:12.208-08:00

Carrie of Freckles Galore just e-mailed me the news that she used my Dresden Turkey block pattern to make a wallhanging. You can visit her blog, http://www.myfrecklesgalore.blogspot.com/, to see her turkey.If you'd like to make one, the block pattern is available for free on my web site: http://www.sundropdesigns.com/thanksgiving.html. You will soon find some other Thanksgiving ideas on that web

Playful Quilterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06458896465246815128noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4190479250821442197.post-30331445743647772792008-10-24T12:07:00.000-07:002008-10-24T12:21:20.664-07:00

When I sat down to sew my leaf blocks into a table runner, I suddenly changed my mind! I blame it on those stark, white sheets of drywall that seemed to be screaming for something to decorate them. I decided to make two simple banners instead - one for my shed and one to give to a friend. The scan of a portion of one banner shows the fabrics I used. The other graphic shows a rendering of the

Playful Quilterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06458896465246815128noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4190479250821442197.post-11550608348271433802008-10-21T20:56:00.000-07:002008-10-21T21:14:55.225-07:00

My sister and nephew showed up without warning on Saturday to put the drywall up in my sewing shed. Needless to say, my sewing plans flew to the wayside. It took me the better part of 3 afternoons to get things back in enough order that I could sit down at my sewing machine today and finish the alternate blocks for my Halloween table runner. But the disruption was worth it as the drywall will

Playful Quilterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06458896465246815128noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4190479250821442197.post-80329780345285951112008-10-16T22:50:00.000-07:002008-10-17T00:55:46.183-07:00

I collected fallen leaves from the silver maple tree today. This is my favorite tree on the property because there's such a variety of colors and sizes. Leaves on the other trees generally turn just one color or another, often a dull brown. I chose 4 leaves of various sizes and traced them on brown freezer paper to make templates to keep on hand for future use. They look wrinkled because I

Playful Quilterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06458896465246815128noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4190479250821442197.post-29642884652991485502008-10-07T12:14:00.000-07:002008-10-07T12:30:00.355-07:00

This is the answer sheet to the leaf quiz. How many did you get correct? It's not that easy to identify a tree by just the leaf or a leaf without its tree. After scanning the leaves, it took me 5 minutes to remember what tree or bush the grape leaf was from!

Playful Quilterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06458896465246815128noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4190479250821442197.post-67067794985065949292008-10-06T12:43:00.000-07:002008-10-06T13:11:36.322-07:00

My friend Dena, who sometimes tests pieced patterns for me (oh, how I wish she did applique, too!) came by last week to show me the second quilt she made from one of my new patterns she was testing. She strayed a bit from my instructions on this one, so I can't use the photos for the cover, but her quilt is absolutely gorgeous (and her little niece is adorable, too). Dena chose a striped fabric

Playful Quilterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06458896465246815128noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4190479250821442197.post-4813751479251380672008-09-28T09:47:00.000-07:002008-09-28T10:22:36.416-07:00

I took a walk yesterday to check on the blackberries and ended up stuffing my pockets with a variety of leaves (I stuffed the blackberries in my mouth - mmm, yum!). How many leaves can you identify? Hints: Most of the leaves are small ones, not grown to full size - that way I could get more of them on my scanner. Near the bottom left corner, there are two leaves from the same tree: one shows the

Playful Quilterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06458896465246815128noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4190479250821442197.post-61604378306167108212008-09-25T22:49:00.000-07:002008-09-26T13:30:09.403-07:00

While watching the Olympic games on tv, I kept my hands busy trying various stitches for embroidery on some inexpensive stamped quilt blocks that I bought at a local store. I'm using size 8 DMC perle cotton and love not having to separate the strands!On this block, I tried four kinds of stitches. The rope, the arm, the hat and the bow are done in stem stitch. I'm a little rusty on my embroidery

Playful Quilterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06458896465246815128noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4190479250821442197.post-46552041271125142332008-09-25T01:10:00.000-07:002008-09-25T01:31:02.896-07:00

You can blame one of my 3rd grade teachers (I had 2 teachers that year) for my interest in leaves. She assigned us to collect "pretty colored leaves" for an art project and I've been fascinated by leaves and their changing colors ever since. Today, I found an internet article that explains why leaves change colors and gives a toll-free phone number for the U. S. Forest Service's Fall Color

Playful Quilterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06458896465246815128noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4190479250821442197.post-7424256799586514852008-08-11T17:30:00.000-07:002008-08-11T18:13:07.032-07:00

Summer is here! In western Oregon, that means 2-3 months relatively free of rain. For me that means trying to do a zillion things during those precious dry months that are difficult to do when it's wet and muddy. And I never have enough time to do much more than make a small dent in my list of things to do. So far, I've managed to cross off 2 major items: set up a canopy (so I have a dry

Playful Quilterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06458896465246815128noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4190479250821442197.post-80431582879200264852008-05-14T23:02:00.000-07:002008-12-10T09:53:57.566-08:00

I've been busy this week catching up on a block challenge for one of the Yahoo groups I belong to. The challenge is to make one block for each month that features a cat and represents that month in some way. We had snow in January, so I used yo-yos to make a snowcat and stitched it to a snowball block.February's block features a heart for Valentine's Day and uses a pink fabric that I used in a

Playful Quilterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06458896465246815128noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4190479250821442197.post-11547382237760942512008-05-14T00:17:00.000-07:002008-05-14T00:30:39.535-07:00

It's said that we should try to learn at least one new thing each day. Here's three things I learned today:1. If a grocery store employee is walking around the store with a box of cookies from the store bakery and offering a cookie to adults as well as kids, say "no thanks." I said "yes" today and about broke a tooth on the cookie. I'm guessing it was at least 3 days old, probably older.2.

Playful Quilterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06458896465246815128noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4190479250821442197.post-22153572384300469482008-05-12T00:47:00.000-07:002008-12-10T09:53:59.142-08:00

On TV last Saturday, Fons and Porter demonstrated how to use the basic component of the Twin Star block to make a twisted ribbon border. Like them, this was a new method to me for making this border so I had to experiment. I was watching the show in my studio shed and didn't want to dash to the house to work the measurements out on the computer first, so I picked up some fabrics, cut a 3" square

Playful Quilterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06458896465246815128noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4190479250821442197.post-42205804088795774722008-05-07T22:01:00.000-07:002008-12-10T09:54:03.019-08:00

As I continue to sort through stuff, I find a few surprises. Today, I found some photos of me taken in first or second grade. Black and white photos were quite common back then. :-) And I found some of a litter of kittens one of my cats had several years ago. It's about time for this year's feral kittens to start peeking out at the world, but so far I haven't even heard any tiny meows. Since the

Playful Quilterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06458896465246815128noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4190479250821442197.post-87020639006234760252008-04-25T17:30:00.000-07:002008-04-25T18:34:57.228-07:00

Two years ago, I hurriedly packed my belongings and moved out to my parents' place. The first year, me, my pets and my most essential belongings stayed in a 26-ft. travel trailer. Late last summer, the shed for my studio was built and I had just enough time to put down flooring, get insulation on the walls, and get boxes of fabrics and books and other stuff stashed in there before bad weather

Playful Quilterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06458896465246815128noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4190479250821442197.post-6100973900237498102008-04-16T22:34:00.000-07:002008-12-10T09:54:03.246-08:00

I finished setting my bunny basket blocks last week - thought you might like a peek at how it turned out. I choose to set then on the diagonal with alternate white blocks and sashing. Setting blocks on the diagonal is not my favorite setting option. Working in a small space without a design wall like I do at present, it's easy to get diagonal settings mixed up. But I really liked the garden

Playful Quilterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06458896465246815128noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4190479250821442197.post-84787700621313394892008-04-13T00:54:00.000-07:002008-12-10T09:54:03.494-08:00

Have you ever wondered what inspires quilt designs? Sometimes it's a fabric or collection of fabrics. Sometimes it's our pets or children. Sometimes it's nature at her finest beauty. And sometimes it's just something wierd.This week, I had the dubious honor of undergoing one of our society's initiation rites into the Past 50 Club: a colonoscopy. Those of you who have already suffered this

Playful Quilterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06458896465246815128noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4190479250821442197.post-26986719846147608532008-04-03T22:19:00.000-07:002008-04-16T21:47:26.300-07:00

Today was sunny and warm (mid 60's), so I planted tulips! I know we don't normally plant tulips in April here inthe US. They're supposed to be planted in the fall. I bought the bag of bulbs last fall, fully intending to plant them within a week. But the weather turned nasty earlier than usual so they didn't get planted.I then resolved to plant them in February. Almost every February we get a week

Playful Quilterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06458896465246815128noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4190479250821442197.post-52951347660487965332008-03-27T21:45:00.000-07:002008-12-10T09:54:08.214-08:00

Last week, I began working with the novelty Easter fabrics I bought in February. The bunnies were just too cute to pass up! After studying the fabric for several hours, I decided to go with a pieced basket block idea. I chose what's probably the simplest of all pieced basket blocks, a triangle basket with base and an appliqued handle. But instead of appliqueing a handle, I decided to fussy-cut

Playful Quilterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06458896465246815128noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4190479250821442197.post-18733998448719924782008-03-12T23:05:00.000-07:002008-12-10T09:54:09.118-08:00

I have a weakness for novelty fabrics, especially the cute ones. So when I saw a St. Patrick's Day fabric featuring Snoopy and Woodstock, my favorites of the Peanuts characters, I had to get some. Fortunately for my budget, Wal-mart has great prices on the holiday fabrics. A 1-yard piece of the Snoopy fabric, a 1-yard piece of shamrock fabric (for the back and binding) and two half-yard pieces of

Playful Quilterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06458896465246815128noreply@blogger.com0