Back to testing--Vol 4

I am excited again to be testing more blocks for the Quiltmaker Magazine.  It was so much fun the first time that I had no qualms about volunteering again.


Last week the mailman delivered a thank you gift; a coffee mug with the blocks from Vol 3 printed around it.  Later that day the UPS man arrived with two copies of Volume 3.  I could hardly wait to sit down and browse through it.  I found my name on page 7 listed with the other testers.


Today the editor sent me this fun brag button to display on my blog or Facebook page.  (I'm going there next)  The fun just keeps on rolling in.  Along with the button email came news that a collection of fabrics will be sent soon for me to use on the new test blocks or to save for using later.


I'm so busy trying to finish up some of the projects I've started so I haven't used any of the block designs I've tested.  I'm thinking of using a couple of them in a baby quilt for my friend's newest grandchild expected in October.  My editor tells me I can submit photos of any of my projects from Quiltmaker patterns to a show and tell gallery at Quilter's Club of America, http://www.quiltersclubofamerica.com/,  I can post my pictures and have a chance to win prizes. I think I'm going to check out my quilts and see what I have.  Maybe I can win a new car or boat or trip to Hawaii.  Golly, my thoughts are just running rampant!

This Friday my first testing blocks will arrive by email and I'll have two weeks to complete them and submit my reports.  I already know that I'll be on the road heading to Canada for some of them so it'll be a challenge for me to complete my assignments while I'm on the road.  This is going to be fun!

My Thank You mug

Life in a Dead Zone

Spring is my favorite time of the year.  I love watching for the first signs, robins on the lawn, the flowers of the crocus by the rain spout and the daffodils in the gardens.  I can't wait to email my friends and family in the north to brag about the arrival of spring here while they are still under of a cover of white for the next two months.

The robins were here a few weeks ago and then it turned cold and they went away.  The crocus bloomed, but they often do that even when snow is still on the ground.  The leaves of the daffodils have pushed their way through the ground and even formed their buds.  But still I wait for them to bloom and shine their yellow faces towards the sun.

It's been very rainy and cold this spring and I thought our blooms were slow in showing up. On my way to do some grocery shopping I noticed that everywhere outside our valley daffodils and jonquils are blooming.  Along the highway I saw ornamental fruit trees and magnolias all in flower, looking beautiful and glorious.  Yards are full of blooms of every kind.  Clumps of daffodils are blooming furiously along paths and woods that were once tended but now grow in a natural state.

It was as if I'd stepped into another world.  As I returned home I wondered if I'd find our flowers and trees in bloom.  Maybe it had all happened while I was away, maybe today was the day spring finally popped and I'd witnessed it first along my travels to the store!  Alas, upon my return home there were no masses of smiling, yellow daffodils to greet me, just a single one here and there.  I'm beginning to think our valley is a dead zone.

 I must be patient and wait for Mother Nature to get around to us.  I'm keeping an eye out for the robins to return.  That could be a sign that spring will be returning to our valley.  I'm hoping she hasn't forgotten us.

A Rewarding Request

Summer's backpack

Who would have thought that a little girl's request for a quilted backpack like her friend's would lead to such profitable quests.  I was so pleased with the backpack I made for my granddaughter, Summer, that I had to brag to my friends.  I shared photos and even gave them the internet address where the pattern could be found.

That bit of information squeezed the creative juices of a few quilting friends in Fort McMurray.  They, planning a sale to clear away some of their stash, decided to package a kit for making backpacks.  Then they asked me to contribute a few finished ones to be sold.

I first thought I had lots of time.  It was last week when I learned the sale was planned for May 1st.  Taking mailing time into consideration I realized that I had to get moving fast!  For the last few days I've been working my production line, not a big one mind you, trying to finish 3 bags on schedule.

A quilted flap 

Choosing bright fabrics that complement each other was lots of fun, yet challenging.  The pattern instructed to use narrow strips to create the body of the bag but with a little substitution I found that I could make a more interesting bag quicker.  I resorted to using my changes which included alternating wide and narrow strips.

The back with bright orange straps

Many times I ran out of material to complete a part.  At that point I searched around for another scrap that would go with the colors I was using and yet make
it look like it was all planned and not patchwork.
While that step is time consuming it was fun and fulfilling.

Additional striped fabric completed the bottom.

Among my supplies I found labels to add that said,"Made with Love."  The perfect touch to finish off the completed project.  I was so pleased with all of them and found it was difficult to send them on their way to Fort McMurray.  I hope the customers at Nat and Pat's sale fall in love with them.

An exercise in design

Garden Spot
A block design with great potential.

The other block I spotted on the cover is called Garden Spot.   I found this one exciting and full of possibilities.  My test block was quite pleasing to look at in person, however, I noticed in the photo the pink triangles should have been a higher contrast to the other colors.  It would have made the block really "pop."  

What I really like about the design is when more blocks are placed around it the corner triangles will create a second design in the finished quilt.  It fools the eye of the observer to thinking that the making of the quilt is far more complex than it actually is.

Today the mailman delivered a surprise thank you gift from Quilmaker magazine; a coffee mug with a print of the cover of Volume 3, 100 Blocks.  Later in the day the UPS man delivered my two free copies of the book which has my name listed on page 7 as a tester for this volume.  Right now I'm waiting for the editor to send me patterns to test for Vol. 4 and hoping to get started before we pack up and head north.

Look for Volume 3

The Star of Glory
A beautiful block, very attractive with lots of motion.

Soon quilters will be able to pick up a copy of the new Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks, Vol. 3. at their favorite quilt shop or magazine stand.  I had a grand time working with the editor during the first few weeks of the year.  My job was to test the instructions for making some of the blocks found in the book.  It will be exciting to see the magazine so I can pick out the ones that I worked on.

The Rubberband Ball
Great use of scraps

I've already spotted two of them on the cover.  The first one I spotted was the dreaded paper piecing method.  The method that is my least favorite, the one that taxes my brain.  Perhaps my personal need to use scraps efficiently is my downfall.  For some reason I always just miss the target mark I'm supposed to cover.  That causes me to redo and redo that step until I'm ready to give up.  I was hoping that my testing duties would teach me how to cope with this method.  I made this block two times before I was happy with it.  There will never be an entire quilt made by me using this pattern; so don't even ask.

Another paper pieced block was less daunting for me and makes use of lots of smaller scraps.  This one I found less stressful because I really didn't have to stick specifically to the paper.  There are two parts of the pattern sewn at right angles to each other.  All I needed to do was make the two parts, sew them together and then cut the shape using a pattern template. Four blocks sewn together create a ball.  It simply an enlarged Drunkard's Path pattern with a twist.  I was so into this block that I was half finished when I noticed that I was making it in reverse.  That of course could be another option.  While my block looked good in person, now that I see it in a photo I realize my background choice doesn't work well with a check design.  It's a great opportunity to use up lots of little scraps.

Experimental Turkey

What do you do when one of your Christmas gifts is a turkey deep fryer?  You wait for a nice warm spring day to invite friends and family over and then do the deed outside for a fun feast, Thanksgiving revisited.

That's the way we like it.

If it's the first time using the fryer you designate someone as the co-pilot.  Someone who enjoys reading manuals and can navigate you through the steps.  While the turkey is in the hot tub, drinks are served and lots of conversation ensues.  When Turkey Tom finishes his bath he will reappear in all his glory, looking brown and delicious.  Yumm-mm

Turkey Tom's appearance is the signal for all to gather and admire the results, for the carver to sharpen his knife and the array of side dishes to be delivered to the table.

Anxious faces

Lots of good food and seconds all around.

The only time it was quiet was when our plates were filled and we concentrated on our feast.  The weather was perfect, nice and pleasant and there was lots of room to get up and stretch, walk around and make a little more room for another trip back to the buffet.

For at least one of us there was no room for those servings of potatoes, salads and greens.  The main course and naturally desert were the focus of the meal.

This kid took the prized piece--Yumm-o!

Next time we'll take the cover off that pool and dip our feet.  Maybe we'll do another turkey and how about those deep fried Snickers bars.  Hmm, 

So good, but not good for you.  A thought we'll ponder after we try it.

One Block Wonder

Last year my friend Nat gave me a heads up on the beauty of the One Block Wonder, a unique and one of kind quilt.    I was anxious to give it a try, ordered The One Block Wonders book by Maxine Rosenthal and began studying instructions for making myself one.  I bought 6 yards of fabric with a black background and bright purple, orchid and yellow flowers.  However, the more I read about the process, the more I understood that my choice of print was not the best.  I should have chosen a print with more design in the background.

My triangle pieces

Still determined to at least give it a try I continued with my material.  I took my supplies with me to the cottage and followed instructions for lining up the six layers of fabric.  I cut the first strip of six aligned layers and then cut equilateral triangles, making little piles of them, ready for the next step.  Each set of triangles is unique and when sewn together will produce a kaleidoscopic design. Over the summer I managed to produce 12 blocks (only they were hexagons.)

Sharon's One Block Wonder quilt

I had many other projects on the go last summer so One Block was set aside and came back home unfinished.  However, I did introduce the pattern to my summer quilting friend Sharon.  She loved the idea so much that she finished hers and it hangs in her home in Saskatoon, SK.

Recently, in my attempt to clear away a few UFO's, I returned to working this project.

Sewing hexagons

Once all of my blocks were complete I couldn't wait to begin the part where I decide on the placement of my pieces, the part where my design becomes like no others.  I laid out the blocks on the floor of my room and spent the next few days studying them and tweaking them into something I was happy with.

Placement of hexagons--Final decision.

Now that I was pleased with the placement I 

began sewing pieces into strips--and that's when the FUN began!  The hexagons are sewn together in strips using just half of their blocks.  When two strips are put together they should match up with their other half making that block complete.  Just how difficult can that be if I paid very close attention?  Duh, somewhere along the way I'd lost my focus and things were just not lining up the way I'd planned them.  So "Day 2" was spent undoing what I'd done on "Day 1."   "Day 3" was less stressful and at last my One Block Wonder is coming together.

It truly is unique.
And of course there's still more to come--borders and backing.

Recipe : Upside-down pizza

Just inside the entrance of our grocery store is a shelf full of ready made pizzas. Thinking we hadn't had pizza for a while we mulled over the idea and searched through the selves for one to our liking.  After changing our minds several times we settled on a plain jane combination--cheese.  We thought we'd pump it up by adding our own toppings, perhaps some mushrooms, maybe some ham and if Patrick wasn't looking I thought I could add a few onions.  That part of the pie would be exclusively mine and I'd relish and savor the addition.

This evening we prepared our plain, basic pie, adding our variety of toppings (and yes I slid in the onions).  Strange instructions suggested putting the pizza in the oven without a pan; just place it on the shelf.  Placing a large pizza in the oven is not so easy a task.  It flops and bends threatening to drain off any goodies that have been added, including the pound of cheese that came with it.

With a bit of luck and some fancy work with the oven rack and a pot holder I was able to place it according to the directions.  Finally when the pizza was ready to be removed from the oven I was confronted with the challenge of taking a hot circle from a hot rack without the aid of a pan.  Just how to you approach that task?

I grabbed the cardboard circle that came with the pizza and slid it under.  Next I used a fork to slide it further onto the board.  Yep, this was working fine.  I then moved it to the counter top to set it down.  On second thought if I left the cardboard underneath it might affect the quality of the pizza, maybe it would lose its crispiness.  I set the pizza on the counter and gave the cardboard a quick tug in order to make the pizza land on the counter. That was a good plan, but a miscalculation in the force of the tug applied to the cardboard caused the pizza to slide to the edge of the island counter where it continued to sail past the brink.  Thus the pizza made a ninety degree turn and landed face down on the carpet.

Quickly, with the 10 second rule in mind, I grabbed a pancake turner and rushed to the dining room side of the counter and began to shovel up our dinner.  Thankfully our dogs were napping and weren't available to help.  While I worked on scraping the cheese from the pile of the carpet Patrick took over rearranging the crust, cheese and toppings to make it look like what is expected of a pizza pie.  He did an admirable job.

Right side up or upside down?

Crispy pizza

CONCLUSION: 1.   No pan under the pizza causes the crust to more than brown.  2.  Upside down pizza tends to rearrange toppings, thus onions are basically unrecognizable.  3. There is a potential hazard for burns which is not noted on the instructions.  4. Over browned crust makes a pizza more consistent to cheese and crackers  5.  Dogs love to lick pizza from carpets.

QUESTION:  If the pizza was good how are we to know if the added touch of carpet first did or didn't affect the final result.

This is a test for Consumer Report or maybe Myth Busters.