In which I don't talk about some stuff, but I talk about other stuff

That pretty well sums up the way I feel these days. I've got several projects in the works including a really, really big one that I'll be filling you all in on later in the fall, but I can't talk about them. The funny thing is that even if the powers that make these decisions gave me the go ahead to talk about them I wouldn't because I'm so darn superstitious that I'd worry I would jinx myself.
So what does that leave me with?
This.


And this.


As my grandfather used to say, "vous?"which, by the way, is "what?" in Yiddish, not the formal "you" in French.
Anyway this is the beginnings of a king size version of my Twinkle design. Yes, you heard right, king size. I'm making it for a nice couple who found me through my etsy store. So far I have about 150 of these circles dyed, though not all have been pieced into the nine patch units pictured here. I've done the math people, and I'm going to need around 730 circles for the quilt to measure about 104x96". Luckily I do have until mid-December to complete this quilt and the piecing is pretty easy. I'm not too stressed about the quilting either because when I quilt these twinkle pieces I quilt each individual circle separately. It means that I have to break the thread a lot, but it makes the quilt much easier to handle.
It's already getting to the point where I don't have a big enough wall in the right kind of light to photograph it, but you get the idea.
I'll keep you posted on its progress.

Striped and stripped

I always have a hard time remembering whether the word meaning lines in a row is spelled striped or stripped. It's like the word tomorrow. It took me forever to ingrain the fact that tomorrow has one m and two r's and not the other way around. What does this really have to do with the pictures I'm posting? Uh...nothing. Except I guess that this quilt is striped(right?).


I've made this design before, but I repeated it for a very understanding and patient customer. The first time I made this quilt I listed it in my shop and it pretty much sat there for about 9 months. Then someone who lived nearby contacted me and, having seen it on Etsy, asked if she could just stop by and purchase it rather than go through my online store. "Sure," I said.


So, off went the first version to its new home. I didn't rush to delete the quilt from my store because it had sat there for months gathering virtual dust. I was more than a little shocked when a couple days later someone purchased it from my store. After I got my pulse below 100 beats per minute, I contacted my customer and told her what had happened. I immediately refunded her money and apologized profusely. She was very sweet and understanding and she still wanted a quilt like the first.


So I made some more striped fabric, pieced some more blocks and quilted another top just like the first.


And had enough fabric left over to make coasters.
I'm so in love with these stripes and I've had several requests for striped fabric in my shop, so look for that in the next couple weeks.

I told you I would

I told you I would...and I did. I said I was going to make my new favorite pattern, Burda 7798, as a dress and I did. Here's the proof:


I know I've already effused about this pattern, but I've got to go on some more. I ordered the fabric from Purl with the intent of making this dress, but I didn't get around to working on it until last Friday afternoon. True confession here: I'm not the speediest seamstress in the world. Despite that and probably because of the ease of this pattern and how beautifully it goes together, I still managed to finish the dress that same afternoon and wear it that evening. You were right David, I was going to blog about the dress.


And I'm not done with this pattern. I've already ordered more fabric for another dress. This time in a Denyse Schmidt print. I also have plans to batik and dye some fabric for a third version of this dress. Luckily, I live in Texas where summer temperatures will probably last through September, so I'll have plenty of opportunities to wear my new creations.

In which I do my homework and rescue action figures

I don't think I've mentioned it here before, but I am in the midst of an 8 week online photography class. Every Wednesday I get a lesson and assignment and I'm supposed to upload those pictures within 10 days. First off, I am having a lot of fun taking this class. And I'm learning a lot. And I'm being forced to try new things.
This week's assignment involved adding impact to your photos through a judicious use of camera angles. I've been super busy this week and frankly did not get to taking pictures per this assignment until today. All week I've thought about the best locales to take these pictures. That's part of the fun, going around town like I haven't lived here for twenty plus years and shooting photos. Sadly, a cool location was not in the cards for this particular assignment. So, I was a little stumped as to how I would get these pictures taken.
Then I remembered Aquaman.


This poor guy has been baking outside for several weeks having been forgotten by Abi on the gas line cap.


Amazingly, his incredibly form-fitting tights are as green as ever.


And, based on these pictures, his will looks pretty undaunted as well.
After I took these shots I took pity on all eight inches of him and brought him into the shade of the front porch.


Here he is relaxing for a few moments before we washed him and returned him to his natural watery environs in the fish tank.
I hope this doesn't sound too boastful but I feel like a superhero myself having rescued Aquaman and turned in my assignment.