Confetti Snowflakes at Zion Quilt Top

Snow days are great because one can leave aside the list of things needing to be done and concentrate all the energy and attention needed to quilt something.  Here I've made up a bunch of confetti snowflakes.  They are not sewn together... just laid out for a view.  As this quilt develops I will add more pics. 

It takes a lot of discipline to overcome our sense of regularity, I've learned.  Often I want to square off the misshapen corners and 'fix' bad lines almost by instinct.  Here I worked at not letting myself come up with something too regular.  It is a habit shared by every quilter who has made utility quilts and want nothing to go to waste.  For these shapes it does take a bit more fabric, as you'll be trimming away the excess to get an 8 inch square.

These squares were foundation pieced on regular copy paper.  Fold over a sheet, and cut off the part at the bottom to square it up.  Or to put it another way, cut paper into 8 inch squares and put a stack by your machine, then foundation piece from the middle to the outside.  Here I cut odd shaped pieces of fabric that I had hand-dyed, for the middles.  Add, framing around the edge and use black as your outermost color sometimes.  To give away the ending... I used black sashing to expand the top size and will post it after some more work.

So, having never used copy paper--- or rather so much of it, I was faced with a lazy quilter's dilemma.  How do I peel off all of those backings?  I tried spritzing with water and peeling with my fingernail, but that was a slow go.  So I tossed the whole top in the dryer with some wet heavy towels and that got about half of the backings off.  I threw those away, then tried washing in the washer.  Hooboy.  Don't try that.  I ended up with lint galore on the front of all this black sashing and blocks.  I'm finishing the top borders now, and will want to put it back in for another try in the washer before I spend a lot of energy batting and backing and quilting something that may always look fuzzified.

A series of fun potholders

Recently, I made up a bunch of fun, funky potholders to list on Island Retreat, my etsy site.  You can see the whole collection if you click on the Island Retreat Etsy thumbnails on the sidebar.  They're just joyous little mindless artsy pieces with insulbrite sewn between the layers or foundation-pieced on insulbrite, for kitchen chores.  I use them to take cookies out of the oven, or as a drip pad in front of the coffeepot, because you can toss them in the washer and have a fresh one every day.  This one has pyramids made from prairie points, and Oklahoma in the sky.  Check an earlier blog if you would like to learn how to make prairie points.  They are easy and fun.

Informal Velvet Quilt Piece

Who knows where I got this raggedy piece of velvet quilt.  I only remember that it was sort of grimey and I wondered if I could restore it to usefulness.  I took the risk of throwing it into the washer and the back shredded into threads, so I ripped that off, and along with it came the thin edge on one side.  When it was fresh and clean, I just stored it for years.  Today, its is unlikely to find this sort of cotton velvet which is heavy but not backed with an upholstery texture.  Most velvets have some synthetic content now.  I'd guess it is from 1970 or before-- back then the synthetics were not as likely to be blended and not as likely to be nylon.

See how the triangles were constructed?  Peach and gold were sewn together on one side, and then a line was sewn linking together two such squares.  That way, no one had to actually turn that sharp corner and try to line up the pieces.  For a long time, I was scared of triangles because of the problem of making points, until I discovered that.  (Now, I'm just scared of making triangles because I warp things when I sew on the bias. )

So I am guessing that originally, this had 6 triangle panels, and then it was bordered with various colored velvet scraps of odd lengths.  The common factor is that all the velvet scraps were cut at, ie about 6 inch widths.

Its just a nice old piece of a velvet quilt, waiting to some day be batted and backed as a shabby Anthropology-style throw.  Then perhaps, I'd eventually come along and embroider it lavishly as I sit beneath it on cold winter nights.

The Democratic Revolution in Egypt

The eyes of America have been turned recently on Egypt for a couple of reasons.  One is that Oklahoma and other places have been in deep debilitating snow for a week or more with a few intermittent breaks.  And another reason is that millions of people worldwide have been showing solidarity with the youth movement in that nation, which is calling for democratic elections.  Today's photo is my beautiful daughter Katy and her husband Josh.  For their honeymoon, they flew to Italy and took a Mediterranean cruise, visiting Greece, Cypress, Egypt and Italy in 2009.  It must be ironic for a nation which is so rich in tourist wonders to have violence and unrest over democracy, since they are warning tourists that their safety cannot be assured.  The 'cost' of democracy is a sort of constant flux and unpredictability from year to year.  The value of a stable long term benevolent dictator is predictable sameness, which is an times good and at times bad. 

I read that Egypt is almost globally owned, thus making it highly dependent on international trade and commerce.  Egypt jumped right on the globalism bandwagon and is now seeing the disparity between its own poverty (the average income is just a few thousand dollars per year) and the glitzy flash of the upper class which comes there to see the sites of the ancient world and vacation in one of the most desireable places in the middle east. 

For days, snowed in, I watched CNN and LinkTV interviewing young people on the streets and covering the demonstration.  I watched C-Span where the Egyptian Prime Minister walked the fine balance between endorsing the democratic movement and risking being labelled as an oppressor.

My hope is for democratic elections soon, with transparency and wide participation.  I hope a coalition government emerges which can address the economic frailties of the Egyptian economy, give hope to all classes, and restore confidence in Egypt as a travel destination.  I have never been there, and it is a place with much rich history that I would like to experience.

The Latest News on Milo Piddlewhiskers

Here's a 'teen' pic of Milo Piddlewhiskers.  He was the first of 3 kittens born December 7th and is the handsomest young fellow.  His eyes are turning more golden each day, like his parents.  They are pictured at the link above, so you can see that Milo takes after his father, Route 66 King Arthur of Piddlewhiskers & Snugglesworth.
Milo is a blue Selkirk Rex.  Blue is the name of his color, and Selkirk Rex is his breed.  When parents like his have kittens, about half are curly and about half are straight-haired like a normal cat.  So in developing the curly breed we say he is a "Nonstandard".  However, he is definitely a Selkirk Rex, even though he looks almost exactly like a British Shorthair except his tail is a bit long and his shape is just slightly less cobby.  He's going to be beautiful-- with his father's sleek thick light colored fur and his mother's intelligence. 

Milo is the guy who always comes to peep into the dishwasher when I'm putting up the dishes.  He has a fascination with that dishwasher and sort of listens to it run.  He lets me bathe him gently.  We sometimes find him sleeping on the foot of the bed when we wake up in the morning.  And he to my office to explore and be petted.  Occasionally, he wants to see some place he cannot reach-- the bathroom dressing table, inside the shower stall where Gracie and Arthur's 'big cat' litter box is, etc.  I help him out in getting to places that one day he will eventually be able to reach on his own.  He's a little bit shy and hides when company comes over.  He loves to play around my quilting area and tussles around in the quilting strips or watches the sewing machine intently.

We'd like to get to know someone who would like to have Milo as a permanent family member, an indoor cat who will be neutered and current on his shots when he comes to you.  If you ever decide you cannot keep him, then we would like to have him back because we want him to have a great life.  He's so precious, sweet and cuddly. 

If he takes after the Brit side of the family, he'll be an aloof  king of the house, presiding over everyone and everything, calling the shots and letting you know when he will permit you to pet him.  Actually, his father Arthur is a bit more easygoing and approachable, even coming in to remind me when it is bedtime so he can take his post at the foot of the bed until we fall asleep.   Arthur is intrigued by toes.  He wants to lay by them.  He wants to lick them.  And it tickles.  Thus far, Milo has not developed his father's fascination, although Dudley likes toes.

(Our previous Brit, Shadow, was a bit of a curmudgeon in his elder years and would whip his tail around spatting in displeasure--- either just for fun or if he was offended because the water bowl was not quite fresh enough.  Any number of things would merit his indignation.  But it led to running a tight ship just as he liked it around here.)

Milo is named after my great-great uncle Milo Johnson, who had a brother named Dudley also.  But we've held off on registering the litter so his new family can give him a different name if they prefer.  His champion bloodlines on both sides of the family are just amazing, and he has some famous ancestors.  He is of course trained to use the litterbox, current on his shots and will come to you disease-free and neutered.  We would like to find a family for him who is settled down and can make a committment to a pet for 15 years, and we'd be especially happy if he could end up in a home with one of his brothers or another cat so they could be companions.  Please contact me at 918-696-3175 if you would be interested in becoming his 'forever' family.

Dudley Piddlewhiskers

His name is Dudley Piddlewhiskers, but I've reserved back his registration papers in case you would like to name him.  Dudley's birthday is December 7th.  He's a Selkirk Rex breed, and the son of lines of champions on both sides of the family.  You can see Dudley's mother and father here.  Dudley is a cream curly.  "Cream" is the breed standard name for his color. "Curly" signifies that he carries (and expresses) the gene for curly fur.  See how Dudzer's whiskers curl up?  And he is a sweetheart.  He'll wake up from his nap and come over to be stroked on his cheek or arch his back to get petted.  Dudley has always lived indoors and needs to live in a home where he is kept inside.  This will help to keep your pet healthy.  He is up to date on his shots and is screened for possible diseases that might shorten his life.  By getting a healthy kitten, it helps you and your family to have the assurance that you won't become attached to a new 'family member' that could die young or carry a communicable disease.  Our 3 little kittens have been raised in our home, with social interaction with people and their parents.  Dudley is curious and friendly, agile and comical.  Dudley is sort of quiet, but occasionally calls out to see where everyone else is and what they are doing.  At about 12 weeks, he will be old enough to come to his permanent home without being too lonesome.  He would do nicely with a family with children as the only indoor pet, or with one of his brothers in the home of an older couple.  Our agreement with Gracie's breeder, is that if placed as a pet Dudley will be neutered, and he can only be bred by us.  If you are interested in making him a member of your family, we would just be delighted if you'd contact us at 918-696-3175.