Make Pillows!

Yay, I'm glad I'm not the only "free-spirited" (ahem) quilter out there! So, you know when you learn some new sewing trick, and you just can't wait to do it and so you drop all other projects that you really SHOULD finish to do the new thing? Yeah. Check this out. Seriously, immediately had to drop everything and make a patchwork pillow.This one has already been given away to someone whom I owed a pillow, but I am going to make more. What I haven't decided though, is whether to put them in the shop. I feel like it is a bit of an ethical dilemma, because, yeah, I know Alicia Paulsen (who, by the by, is the reason I started reading craft blogs, and then started my own craft blog, and is a minor deity in my eyes) didn't invent the patchwork pillows, and I know mine will be nothing like hers, and I know that probably I won't even sell any, but I feel WEIRD taking something someone else sells, and showed me how to make, and then trying to profit on my own version. Is this kosher? Is that sentence even remotely understandable? Opinions?

Anyway. I loved making this, I loved picking out and arranging the squares, I loved quilting it (though I think I might do some wilder quilting on my next ones,) so I am a happy happy crafter. Pillows!

Production!

I pieced it! It was hard.I don't know if I've mentioned this before, and I am too lazy to check and see if I have, but I am a sloppy, sloppy quilter. Or, anyway, a sloppy quilt-piecer. I don't really cut anything super well, I never square anything off, and I never, ever use pins. I used to, and then I got lazy and decided that if I couldn't pull it into place it didn't deserve being there. Or something like that. Really, I'm just lazy. But anyway, all this is fine and good, until it comes time to shmack the whole giant quilt top together, and then, my friends, I pay the piper, all day long. Anyway, I wish I could say I learned my lesson, but I seldom do (learn lessons,) and I am sure it will be the same next time, but kiddies, remember this tale, and heed my warning:
Uhm. Do things right, and your back will hurt less than mine does now.
I like to play ghost with my giant quilt top. Doesn't everyone?

On Licorice, and Taking Photos in Public.

Licorice, that sounds much better. I mean, not to eat, it's still disgusting, but spelling wise. Oh, wait, are Twizzlers supposed to be licorice? Because I do love me some Twizzlers. But be careful, licorice lovers! According to the BBC, you can OVERDOSE! (See Rachel's comment on last post.) Dangerous stuff.So anyway. Today I was at the post office, which I hate, I hate hate hate going to the post office, which is why I did the Click and Ship thing, and was then told by friendly usps.com that they would NOT pick the package up at my house, totally negating the whole clickanship POINT! but, whatever, so, I was at the post office. Which I hate. But I realized, while I was there, that I am actually really lucky, because, "my" post office (the one geographically closest to me, not the one I own,) is really pretty. It's the one inside Union Station, and it's just fancy, so I told myself to stop being a whiny little baby and enjoy it and take some pictures. Which, was supposed to be the point of this post. Hm. Brevity, soul of wit?Anyway. In college I took my camera everywhere, I was a student and I had an excuse, and so I have about a million pictures from back then, and I like that. But at some point after college it became embarrassing to carry around the camera all the time, and heavy, and I lost my nerve. I think one of the contributing factors is that if you have a small, easy camera, it is easier to do, but I have silly, bulky cameras, and so I feel not only like I look like a dork, but also that the expectations are that I might actually be taking "good" pictures. Which I'm not. Is this going anywhere? No, not really. But I'm going to try to take more pictures, even if it is only in the Costco parking lot.
Crafts?

Necessary Business.

So. The Allsorts* quilt has yet to be pieced, but I have moved onto another, more pressing project: teaching the dog to run next to me while I ride a bike. Yesterday I gave him a haircut (1st picture to 2nd picture...can you see a difference? Probably not. I didn't say it was a good haircut.) and today we were outside for an hour with me trying to emphasize the importance of the "RIGHT!" command. Meaning, "Stay to the right of the freaking bike, or you will get runned over, hard!" but that is too long for a dog to understand. Anyway, at this point the poor dog is probably wishing I was back to being somewhere else during the day, so he could just sleep in his crate without being harassed and haircutted. Oh, summer, what will I do with you?*Thanks, Evelyn! All the suggestions were awesome, but I remember those bags of liquorish, too, even though I never ate them because, ew, liquorish, gross. It doesn't seem possible that that can be the correct spelling for the word, but blogger says it is, and who am I to question blogger spellcheck? Nobody, that's who.

To Do List.

So, today is the first day of what I will refer to optimistically as "summer break" but what is, in actual fact, glorified unemployment. Thus, hopefully the beginning of the end for all the projects I have started during the school year but left unfinished, citing not enough time as the excuse. There's all the time in the world, now.(EDIT: Before I fixed it, I had used three quotations in this paragraph. Raych, please forgive me.)As you can see, the quilt that I had been making the blocks for (It has no name yet... usually I am a quick and lazy quilt namer, but I haven't come up with one for this yet. Suggestions?) has been laid out, and now needs to be pieced, which, mneh, I am not looking forward to. See all those blocks? I know everybody else on the internet does awesome , ridiculously time intensive stuff with teeny weenie blocks and strips, but I am used to slapping 25 blocks together and being done with it. Gulp. The quilt will also have a white border around it that is the thickness of the blocks.
As you can see, the recently pieced Big Stair (See? Quick and lazy quilt name.) is still waiting on ye olde flannel board to be sammiched and quilted. The beloved Viking better get herself prepared for a workout.I aim to please.

This is for Rachel. And my Mom.

I Am Starting Quilts

...so much faster than I am interested in finishing them. The newest big stair is pieced and ready for sammiching/quilting, but am I doing that? No, I am starting another quilt top. And, I have a new quilty obsession: Kona Premium Muslin (in natural). It makes my heart go pitter pat. And I know that probably there are many good reasons why muslin is usually inside quilts, (or maybe there aren't? I don't know, I haven't googled it,) but I am using this stuff on the outside, because it is gorgeous and silky and thick and creamy and I want to take a bath in it. Sigh. It is dreamy. I bought 4 yards, and at FULL PRICE! ($8.99, JoAnn) Because it is so fabulous. Also, did I mention 108" wide? And I took pictures of it. Muslin. I took pictures of it, and I will probably make wallets and walk around showing everyone that I meet my beautiful muslin that is waiting for me at home, folded over the chair, where it is slowly getting covered it cat fur. Whatever. So worth it. Ok. So, as you can see, the new quilt is a bit rainbow-tastic, but it should calm down when it is laid out because it won't be put together in color order. The husband is consulting on this one, as it is BIG, and will actually be a functional house quilt. It should be around 70x77 when finished, which is the biggest quilt I have ever made, and I am semi-terrified of the process. However, this is the LAST WEEK OF SCHOOL, so I should have lots more time for quilt finishings right around the corner.