Something New: EPP

The quilting world loves English Paper Piecing. I wanted to try it to see if I would, too. 

My first attempt. 

For those of you who may not be familiar with EPP (English Paper Piecing) Craftsy has a good article and how-to here. 

Basically, it's a method of hand piecing most used for small or intricate blocks or designs. It involves precisely cutting paper and basting fabric to it before sewing the fabric together for more exact piecing. Many people use basic shapes that are small and may be harder to hand or machine piece without some stiffness and stability. Hexagons are one of the most popular shapes to use.

EPP is known for it's portability. 

The method is to precisely cut (or buy pre cut) shapes, cut fabric slightly larger, and baste it on to and around the paper. One you have a bunch of basted hexis (or what ever shape you might be using), you put them right side together and sew along the papers edge. You join the fabric covered papers like this, until you have the size and shape you like. Then you can remove the basting stitches and pull out the paper before finishing the piece by quilting, making a pillow, etc...

I had been wanting to try this method for a while bc many people swear by it. EPPing is known for being portable, small, and unwieldy, so I thought I might enjoy it. 

A pile of Octi and some that pieced together already. 

I'd waited before starting an EPP project, bc I had the idea that I would go and buy some paper templates. As weeks went by where I would look longingly at other peoples EPP projects, I realized I was never going to find time to buy the supplies I needed. So I found some stiff paper and some scissors instead. 

The very nature of EPP is to be very precise, my very nature is to be not very precise at all. 

But I forged ahead and cut some very wonky octagons. And then some very wonky squares to go with them, and set to basting. I basted as many as I could stand (like 6) before sewing a few together to see just how it worked.  After doing this a bunch more times, I found out how I preferred to baste the octis and how I preferred to sew them together. Although I had to make many adjustments as I went bc the shapes were not at all uniform, I eventually got into a rhythm. 

A lot of octis and squares sewn together. 

As with all my quilts, I didn't have a plan or sketch of what I wanted to do. I just made it up as I went along. And as always,  a vague plan started formulating. A pattern emerged and when it was time to stop, I stopped. After about a month I had completed the major part of the EPP project, and now it's set aside to decide what comes next. 

What I am about to say might shock and dismay some people. 

I don't love EPP. It's an interesting method, and I can see where it would be very useful. I didn't hate it but I found it achingly slow, and a little boring. Maybe it's bc I hand piece all my quilts already and this method is more for people who are used to machine sewing? I know I could have pieced the whole thing way quicker, and possibly neater, without the paper basting aspect. I also felt quite bad about all the fabric that was wasted. When I quilt there is rarely any unusable scrap left over. It kinda broke my heart to throw away so many tiny triangles. I found that as the piece got bigger it got harder and harder to handle. The stiffness of the paper became unwieldy and maneuvering became annoying. 

My favorite part is definitely cutting the basting threads and pulling the paper out. I like to see the patchwork all hard and stiff before, and then soft and subtle after. 

The back side of all those octis! You can see on the top left the papers have been removed. 

I was also not sold on EPP's portability or ease for travel. I pretty much always take my sewing on the go with me, and rarely find it overly cumbersome. But with EPP I had tiny scrapes everywhere, paper templates popping out all over the place, not to mention the scissors, needle,  and thread. And I had to have a special bag to carry it all in. Usually I just stuff all my sewing in my purse, but bc there are so many pieces of fabric and templates, etc... I needed more organization and therefore more stuff to carry. I was lucky enough to snag one of my husbands first zipper pouches, which did work wonderfully for the job. 

Library Card zipper pouch. 

I will definitely finish the work. I liked the process and the result enough to make this one project. But bc I didn't like it a lot, I'm not sure what the project will end up being. Only time will tell. 

You just can't put black, purple and gold or orange together without it looking like Halloween. The bats don't help, I guess. 

I'm linking up with a blog I love to read, Kathy's Quilts, for her Slow Sunday Stitching.

September in Review

In stark contrast to August's slow lazy, relaxing days, September was a whirlwind of work, visits from friends, stress, vacation, change, seeing family, making plans, and more work. 

For the last 20 years or so, I've been away for Labor Day, returning only after the school year is in full swing. In my experience, school starting up signals the real start to a new year. Back to school means back to work, back to Winter and back to waiting for a new Summer. 

1) Prospect Park Zoo's peacocks have refined tastes. 2) Busy bees in Cape May Point. 3) Watcher Dog hanging out. 4) Watcher cat being sneaky off the 15th Street circle. 

Every other year, I come home after the first week of September and it's Fall already. The weather's cooler, the leaves changing, the hustle and bustle already begun. But this year I got to watch the slow change of hot end-of-Summer days to the mild leaf swirled mornings and chilly dark nights of Autumn. It's an interesting sea change to experience, much more lazy and drawn out than I had expected. 

In the beginning of September, friends visited from out of town and we got to visit some of our favorite places, eat giant pretzels, sew, and go to the beach. We stayed Down The Shore, house hunted, met new cats, enjoyed some September Swims. 

We had some sad news when we found out the our truck was too expensive to repair, and we had to let it go. It's been a long time since I've lived in the city without a car, so part of this month was about getting used be being driven, taking the train, or staying put when we might rather be driving away.

At the end of the month we took a family vacation, so we could relax away from the city a bit. We headed down to Cape May, the site of long past visits and more recent stays. We beachcombed and bird watched, checked out the North American Sea Glass Festival, ate at our favorite restaurants, and visited old haunts, we wandered into Critterfest, light house gazed, read, and talked a lot, before heading back home, back to work, and back to a new month. 

1) Strange times, 2) stranger's cat, 3) strange 'Kat, 4) strange name for a bird (Mango). 

Although fun times and adventure were woven throughout the month, September was mostly about work. It was a month for change, getting serious, and getting down to business. It was stressful. It was hard. 

I think of it as a harvest. The work we put in during this month will reap growth, and plow the way to rewards in the future. To me, that is what September is about. Starting again, working hard, making new, getting ready for real Winter. And waiting for Summer to return. The long wait begins in September.

If September is a last harvest, plowing the fields, tilling the soil, then I hope October is the last feast before Winter. October, I'm setting the table. 

August in Review

This is the first full August I think I've ever spent in Brooklyn. It seems that the gods were smiling on me to make it pretty darn awesome. 

The cafe was fairly calm in August, which is normal for NYC. And it gave me the opportunity to concentrate on life outside of work. Quilting was priority as well as seeing friends and family, beach combing, watcher spotting, and eating well!

I finished a quilt in August which has not be able to happen since February. The quilt had a lot of firsts for me and was a joy to work on. Finishing a quilt is so immensely satisfying. I wish there were some way I could do it more often. Because of my methods, quilts are very labor intensive, and mentally intense, too. It makes it hard to work on quilts and job and life all at the same time.  

I had a happy surprise in August by winning a gorgeous pour over set from Martina Thornhill! I rarely enter giveaways on instagram, bc I try not to reblog or have any content that isn't my own on my feed. Her contest was perfect bc it asked for an original photo (of my morning coffee routine) to accompany her tags. I was so delighted that I won, I started using the set as soon as I got it! 

1) Using my prize, along with my vintage coffee carafe. 2) August didn't disappoint for flora and fauna. 3)A not yet finish. 4) Summer moon over BK. 

We tried to make the most of the end of Summer by going to the beach as much as possible. Pretty much any spare day was spent Down The Shore. We also tried to spend some time visiting family. I got to play cards with my brother and niece, eat clams on the 1/2 shell with my father, and do some antiquing with my mom. 

1) Surprised by Super Moon. 2) Hanging with the locals. 3) Slightly over-cast weekdays are always best. 4) Obsessed with sea glass.  

Thinking back on it now, there isn't that much to tell about August. Except that it was nearly perfect. Work, cat sitting, far away friends visiting, the beach, home with our cats, watcher spotting, good news for the future, calm days, new projects, great food, wonderful weather... Awesome sums it up. 

1) Pit is really concentrating on my next quilt. 2) Patriotic watcher. 3) I found out that the 11th Street cat's name is Tiger. She was less than thrilled that I was taking her picture. 4) Beach cats have it best.  

August was lazy days and temperate nights, but Summer's close signals the start of new adventure. So September, where are we headed?

A Finish in August

Finally!

Stars for NFG 2014 (quilt for Crimson)

Front detail.

My last finish was way back in February of this year, and that's too long ago!

The back. 

Back detail.

Stars for NFG 2014 (quilt for Crimson) is my version of a baby quilt. It's quite large but I forgot to measure it! I'd guess it was about 55" square, so large enough for a lap, or small throw, but great for a baby mat or snuggly small child blanket. 

I knew this quilt was for a baby boy, and although none of my quilts are gender specific in my opinion, I tried to make it a bit more boyish. I'm not sure it worked, exactly, but I like how it turned out. I also felt like my usual more muted tones would be too drab so this is my attempt at "bright" colors. 

Center star front

I'm going thru a traditional quilt block phase, and this is my first completed quilt using a classic block.  I believe it is a variation of a sawtooth star, but quilters, correct me if I'm wrong.  I made the four large stars first, then used the scraps to create the middle small star. And then I realized that if I didn't add some neutral solid fabric the quilt would just look like a messy jumble. I used one of my favorite go to grays (Connecting Threads Charcoal). to balance out. 

Besides the gray, there is a mix of new and vintage fabric in Stars For NFG. All the gingham is vintage from various places and finds over time, as well as the light blues, rich green, and purpleish strips. The green dots and deep purple are from the same great ebay lot. All the bright greens, blues and teals, are parts of FQs from my favorite quilt shop in VT.  

The vintage gingham had some flaws and one became a tear. I patched it using a smaller piece of the same fabric. 

The back is mostly vintage green gingham with a diagonal patten using deep purple, rich green and charcoal gray. The purple and green backing is a nod to my favorite band who I've been to see with the baby's uncle.  

Back of center star. 

I used a new cotton batting and dark blue cotton thread, doubled, for the quilting. I stitched in the ditch for most of the front of the quilt, except inside of some of the stars and the borders.  The back really shows the quilting bc it is light colored and mostly one solid piece of vintage green gingham fabric.  

I rolled the back over and quilted one line of quilting to make a sturdy binding. I have used this rolled method before, which is slightly different than the fold over method in most of my quilts. I wanted the backing to show only a little on the front as to not add too much more busyness to an already busy quilt. 

Stripy binding and quilted border. 

This quilt has a lot of firsts. It is my first traditional block quilt, my first finished commission, the first quilt that I have sold, and my first quilt that has a label. 

I used a stamp I had recently made and more of the gray fabric for the label. The stamp is a mad cat, a portrait of Flounder. I used sharpie for the quilt title. I sewed the label on the back of the quilt thru all the layers of the quilt the same way I did the gingham patch on front. I like that it gives it a bit of a punk patch feel, like the ones I used to wear on my jackets. 

It was hard to get the detail of the patch label. I pre washed the label and it faded a bit, but I like the results. 

This quilt had a quick time line going from request to finished quilt in three months (May 13 - Aug 8th). I haven't kept track but it may be the fastest I've made a quilt. Bippi was most helpful on this quilt, sitting under it on even hot Summer days. This quilt also did some traveling as I took it along on a few trips to the beach in order work on it. 

Stars for NFG top hanging out at the beach in NJ!

July In Review

What to say about July... July was wonderful.

I hesitate to say it out loud, I hesitate to utter it, but, this whole summer has been wonderful.  Hot, sure, but not too hot. Busy, yes, but not so busy that I couldn't enjoy myself. 

Although a longer month, July went by so fast. We barely left Brooklyn, heading Down The Shore only a handful of times. But the month felt low key. A good time to catch up via email, or over a cocktail. A few brief family visits were sprinkled throughout. Watchers sightings were scarce but special occasions. 

1) Crabby crab on Sandy Hook in NJ. 2) Sneaky spider in Asbury Park. 3) Daredevil watcher in Park Slope, Brooklyn. 4) Safe and sound at home in South Slope. 

A personal goal was to eat and drink of Summer's bounty as much as possible. Watermelon every night for dinner, corn, tomatoes! My go to Summer cocktail is still the Lime in the Coconut from Lucey's Lounge. 

1) Physics of grapes. 2) Lights in the City. 3) Cotton cloud formations. 4) Geometry of watermelon. 

July was a great time for art and craft, both personal work and inspiration. This month I finally started feeling back on track with quilting! It feels good to get close to finishing some things! I tried some printmaking, with mixed results. Gotta keep practicing.  Art was all around: at work, during a visit to the museum, and walking by natural beauty every day.   

1) The 4th was spent with gingham stitches and sushi dinners. 2) Urban mermaids. 3) Paper-cut seas at the Swoon show. 4) Summer spent under quilts. 

"And we'll remember this when we are old and ancient 
Though the specifics might be vague "

                                       - July, July -The Decemberists

1) Bodega kittens need their rest. 2) Bippi's over Summer. 3) Tom's classic "diver". 4) Beach cats have it best.  

July, your days were long and sweet. Your breezes as fresh and soft as a kitten's snore. Will August share your catlike lightness, or are the dog days on their way?

More Modern Art with my Father

Earlier this year, we took a trip in to The City with Stephen, my father. We went to the MOMA to see some modern art. A few Sundays ago, he came to visit and we decided to visit the Brooklyn Museum. 

There were two modern art exhibits up that we had been wanting to see and we got to explore both; Ai Weiwei and Swoon.

Ai Weiwei crabs. This room also had two huge bowls of pearls, which were begging to be touched. They had a guard to keep peoples fingers out of the pearl pots.  Pardon the blurry picture. 

Ai Weiwei's work is very political, often criticizing the Chinese government and practices. His work sometimes seems light hearted and whimsical, but often has undertones of loss and violence. 

The last Ai Weiwei room we visited was right before the next exhibit we were there to see and blended perfectly, having many pieces made from reclaimed wood. 

In a lot of the work we saw from Ai Weiwei, He used found objects, or reclaimed materials. Some from earthquakes, some from destroyed temples, but all things that impacted the people of China's lives. 

This giant tree created from paper mache, dyed fabric and paper cuts, was the center of the Swoon exhibit and served as a dock for two hand made boats from a previous art piece.  

In contrast to Ai Weiwei's deeply political, world wary work, Swoon's art seems to be about creating new worlds by taking the leftovers from this one.  Often using found objects or NYC garbage, she has created floating cities and strange spaces. 

A room and resting place besides the tree dock invites you to sit among bees, wasps and their nests. 

Swoon reformed the gallery space by painting the walls and creating an organic feel using wood, cloth and paper. 

Swoons first inspiration and applications as a street artist were increasingly delicate and detailed paper cuts pasted to walls and buildings using wheat paste. 

Having followed Swoon's street art for practically all my years in Brooklyn (who else remembers The Splasher?), it was wonderful to see a show of hers in a major museum. Although she has been having such shows for a while, it was a first for me. 

A familiar sight to the Jersey Shore bred. Reminds me of this work by fellow New Jerseyan, Mermaid Trousers.

In both these artists work there was a mix of the grotesque and the gorgeous. Both seemed to be about creating beauty from the fallen or forgotten. 

As usual it was nice to see art and hear three different perspectives on it. I'm sure there will be more modern art trips for our family this year!

June in Review

June flew by. July is half way over. I've fallen quite a bit behind, but lazy Summer days will do that. 

1) Prospect Heights neighbor says hello. 2) hand stitching in a very traditional manner (for me). 3) Pit helps me with a commission. 4) Tom contemplates great thoughts. 

I was busy in June. The usual mix of work, work, and work. But work can be so many things!  I worked for my job, I worked for my quilts, I worked to keep my family happy and healthy. June was about maintaining a peaceful balance of all the work that goes into life.

1) The sky and sea captured in a Jellyfish. 2) Nighttime walking. 3) Room with a view (sorta) at the at our favorite beach hotel. 4) Our version of hotel living with beach colors. 

In Brooklyn, the weather was perfect. But Down The Shore, it was better! We took as many beach trips as our schedules allowed. In some ways June was uneventful, as we just ping-ponged between our home and home away from home. But those early sunny Summer days were rejuvenating and much needed after the long and grueling Winter and the hectic startling Spring. 

1) 6th Ave, Between 10th and 11th Streets, a two faced watcher sits. 2) In Ocean Grove, NJ, this watcher might have an ocean view from up there. 3) Lazy Summer days for watchers on 8th St. 4) This watcher is happy to have the windows open in Prospect Heights. 

Watcher spotting was mixed in June, as many windows were over-run by air conditioners, and many kitties lounged in cooler spots. Sometimes we chose to search for seaglass, instead of watchers. But, thankfully,  in every season there are some watchers waiting to be found. 

Hot Summer days are not the most conducive to quilting, but progress was made. I am hopeful that there will be finishes to share soon. 

June was even, balanced, bright and sunny. It was refreshing and inspiring. It was sweet and strong, like Summer should be. July is feels much the same, so far, but it's not over yet. Are we ready to find out how July's story ends?

May in Review

May was a great month. Lots of flowers blooming, lots of hard work, some travel, some visiting family, some great food, some change, and some new projects. 

During the first week of the month we took a trip down to Cape May, NJ. Our hotel was a gift from our friends, the weather was perfect, the timing for a break was just right. It was the first real beach trip of the season and we quickly got used to taking many more. So, May was filled with drives down the shore, and relaxing by the ocean whenever possible. 

1) The Doctor surveys. 2) A new friend Down the Shore. 3) Cape May lighthouse on a perfect day. 4) Back to work in time for a ramen meeting.  

We headed down to NJ to visit family for Mother's Day. We took a trip upstate and visited Storm King Sculpture Park just as the weather was turning hot. We stayed home and visited some of our favorite local haunts. 

1) New tattoo. 2) Greenwood Cemetery butterfly. 3) Library days. 4) The art in ashes. 

May was hectic, bordering on insane at work, but looking back, I remember the calmness, the oncoming of summer and the warmth of things you love. The familiar feeling of getting tattooed, mixed with the excitement of something new and permanent.  Returning to places you haven't seen in years, the anticipation of what will be waiting, and finding them, more or less, just how you remembered leaving them.  

I guess May is always like that. Fresh and new, but pretty much exactly how you left it last year. 

1) Eager Watcher Dog. 2) New work. 3) Pretty stoic in Park Slope. 4) Pretty sneaky on 8th Ave.  

It should tell you something about how the months are going when I say that I started this post 2 weeks ago. It may also tell you something that when I made the photo mosaics, I labeled them all "June".  I have and have had many posts in mind. But no time to post them. My free time is spent sewing, traveling, or sleeping. My non free time are 12 hour work days, putting out fires, walking to and from work. At least the latter allows me Watcher Spotting time. 

May, you came and went like your famous flowers, opening slowly, bursting with life, fading away but replaced by new growth. June, you already have the sweet smell of Summer, like fresh squished mulberrries on the ground. What other sights and sounds and smells await us in you, June? 

Art and Nature at Storm King, NY

For Memorial Day Sunday, we trekked out to Storm King Arts Center to see some modern sculpture. 

We took some winding backroads and ended up at the overlook on Bear Mountain. 

The weather was pretty perfect, but we were in a lazy mood and only saw a fraction of what is there. We mostly stuck to our favorites. 

Several Serra slabs were imbedded in the hillsides. 

We are always lucky to find our favorite artists. 

The last time I had been to Storm King was when Andy Goldsworthy was just starting his winding stone wall. I was fairly shocked to see it had be completed in 1998. 

Goldswothry's wall starts our straight and conventional, but ends up winding around trees, dipping down into a lake and snaking up and down hillsides. 

Walking barefoot in the sun was an added bonus. But we visited some indoor exhibits, too. The main being a look at Zhang Huan, who has a large outside piece as well. 

Huan creates sculpture using ash from Buddhist temples. But I was more drawn to these jars containing ash and remnants of the incense fires.  Reminds me of our house; full of jars. 

I greatly enjoyed this marble piece that sat on the floor of the gallery, but didn't catch the artist's name:

Cape May Getaway

Cape May is a resort beach town that sits at the southern most tip of New Jersey. It's known for it's brightly colored Victorian houses, dripping with gingerbreading, and classy but casual beach atmosphere.  Like almost all Jersey beach towns, it's a mad house in the summer, attracting tourists from all over, particularly Philadelphia. Despite getting very crowded, it's less of a wild party town than neighboring Wildwood. Cape May has gorgeous beaches, fancy B&Bs, and a more conservative nature.

I grew up visiting Cape May with my mom in the off season, and know it as a quiet, pretty town, with some hidden gems. I recall there being cats everywhere, in every shop and on every stoop. My mom and I often dreamed of writing a children's book staring the feline population. We used to go there quite often, but I haven't been back in more than ten years. So I was pretty delighted when our friends gave my husband and I a gift certificate to one of the most prominent hotels in town. Congress Hall is steeped in history and is quite luxurious by NJ standards (and by our standards, too!). 

Built in 1816, burned in 1878 and rebuilt the same year. 

I had always seen the hotel on previous visits, but never entered and certainly never stayed there. Congress Hall's expansive creamy yellow building with white columns, and tidily manicured grounds are iconic in Cape May.   

The rooms are equally manicured with pastel blue and yellow details, the hotels signature colors. 

The bathroom in our room was almost as big as the living room in our Brooklyn apartment. There is a nice bar, The Brown Room, and a decent restaurant, but sitting on the balcony or taking a long soak in the tub was more our speed this trip. 

I had to sneak in some time for sewing, of course. 

Although we explored the town some, we were more interested in the beach as the weather was practically perfect. We saw dolphins, horseshoe crabs, many birds, and many stones and shells. 

Dead sand shark. 

Beach and sky.

We particularly like the southern most point of town where you can walk a rocky beach, picking up Cape May Diamonds and exploring the lighthouse grounds. 

The lighthouse has a great little nature museum and Purple Martin hotels. 

Light house impression. 

The brief trip yielded many great treasures. Cape May Diamonds, smashed pennies and a fossil are just a few things we took home with us. 

Fern fossil, coral found at Sunset Beach, Cape May Diamonds, pink rocks and sea glass in a jar, and an enamel pig pin from The Blue Pig. 

We did manage a trip to the Cape May County Zoo and the ferry, but were not able to see some of the interesting nearby sights. We can save those for another trip.

There's something about shore towns that speaks to us. Something about the ocean, and the people who have chosen to make their lives near it, that's soothing and inspiring. Shore towns are relaxed, but hard working, calm but diligent, very much like the waves hitting the beach. I will always visit them. 

April in Review

April was another month filled with work. Interesting and fulfilling work, but all consuming. I'm still loving my job, and I did get to balance it out with sewing, trips to the beach and zoo, and dinners at friend's houses. 

Blogging unfortunately has taken a lengthy ride in the back seat with only 4 posts in the last two months. There are some new posts in the works, but I'll need to find the time for creating them. Unfortunately, it hasn't been a priority recently. Luckily, April had the hopefulness and energy of Spring, Making me think all things are possible. 

1) April finally saw some real signs of spring. 2) Mushrooms and other veggies are popping up at the farmers market. 3) Brooklyn streets are blooming... 4) And the dogs are contemplating the possibilities of warmer weather. 

Although I started several new quilts, and worked on some current projects, April is another month without a finish. I hope May will be a more dramatic and dynamic sewing month. 

1) Flounder enjoys the sunny windowsill. 2) A very fancy duck. 3) Lunch time at the Prospect Park Zoo. 4) THe beginning of a quilt. 

One of our favorite things to do Brooklyn is to go to the Prospect Park Zoo and we were lucky enough to make two trips in April. We even alerted the zoo keepers to an injured peacock! 

1) The most manicured flower patch in Prospect Heights. 2) Lost limb at Sandy Hook, NJ. 3) Magic hour on the Outer Bridge Crossing. 4) A golden life at the Library. 

April had a good amount of visiting with family and friends. Steak dinners, walks in Brooklyn 'hoods, drives to NJ beaches, Easter dinners. Discussions of chess, flowers, birds. Watcher spotting is an obsessive, but relaxing, pastime. 

1) Alert Watcher, keeping an eye on the neighborhood. 2) Stephen's chess game, Mother's flowers. 3) Exotic zoo friends. 4) Sneaky peepers. 

The weather finally broke in April. People are shedding their winter clothes and attitudes, and heading out to see what Spring really has to offer. By the Library, Grand Army Plaza is booming, Prospect Park is blooming, and my little life is chugging along right in the middle. For next month I'd like to see some finishes, some giveaways (only 19 followers on instagram to go!), some organizing, reducing, repurposing. Both in quilting and in life. 

April, you showed us once again that Winter doesn't last forever, that hope springs eternal. Through rainstorms and renewal, budding and growing, April put us at ease and started us off to another Summer Season. May what do your blooms hold?

Sunday

Sunday Stash #4

Last week I received some vintage fabric to add to my stash. Some of it was immediately dogeared for current projects. 

This is only part of what arrived!

Ordering "vintage lots" is a tricky thing. Most times there isn't much description given, and I often just go with my gut. I'd say 9 times out of 10 this works. I've only ever had a few that I was really disappointed with. This was not one of those times. Although old and musty smelling, these five are my favorite from the lot. They will wash nicely, I'm convinced, and be ready to use in no time. The far left red dots and flowers reminds me of the blue flowered fabric from another Sunday Stash, which I adore. The black and white will go perfectly as a backing for a quilt top that is almost complete. The green dots are just right for a friendship star quilt I'm currently piecing. 

I have been waiting for sunnier days and simpler times to post a shop update. Here is a sneak peek at some amazing Library Card felt jewel rings:

Needle felted gems. 

These oversized felt cocktail rings are soft, comfortable and come in a wide range of colors and sizes. The rich jewel tones and shapes contrast perfectly with the playful textiles and tactile nature of these hand made accessories. I can't wait to get them in the shop!

March in Review

Starting a new job at the end of February made March mostly about work. Which is fine, when you like what you do! The past month was about working, learning, and adapting. About settling in, and looking forward. And as wonderful as that can be, it leaves little time for other things. 

March saw little relaxing at home or seeing friends, less sewing, and no travel. I spent most of my time at work, or walking to and from work. When you work in the Central Branch of the Brooklyn Public Library (opened Feb 1st 1941) and your daily commute leads you along Prospect Park (ground broken by Olmstead in June 1866), that's not time ill spent. 

1) Sunset view from the arts section. 2) cryptic symbols and mythic creatures. 3) A fiery eagle watches over the Central Branch 4) I managed to get some real work done...

One of the great things about a new commute is plenty of new watchers!

1) Corner of 7th Ave and 9th Street who I haven't seen since they erected the scaffolding. 2) Alert at 7th Street nearing Prospect Park West. 3) So sad at the corner of 9th Street and 8th Ave. 4) Really intent bird watching on 8th Street. 

Although March 20th saw the first day of Spring, Brooklyn is slow to thaw. 

1) Some Spring greens. 2) Big Sky. 3) A burst of teal. 4) Isaac's new bones.  

In past years, I have found the old idiom about March to be true: In like a lion, out like a lamb. This year, March is not lamb-like at it's end. It's almost as bitter and cold and grey as when it began. The tress are reluctantly budding, flowers are only timidly peaking out of the earth, the sky is reserving it's finer blues for warmer days. I'm hoping that April will have few showers, and we won't have to wait until May for the enticing greenery. But if March is an indication for the year, I may be disappointed. 

March, you were a mainstay and a game changer. April, what's your story?

Busy Being Busy.

March is flying by and Mad Cat Quilts is suffering slight neglect. Life will do that to blogs. 

This is what life has looked like, lately. 

The end of February was still snowy. 

My new commute is pretty wonderful. 

Prospect Park West. 

Crisp, clear, chilly mornings....

The Arch from afar. 

Great light in the evenings...

Hustle and bustle on Grand Army Plaza. 

Purple Arch. 

Stunning sunsets...

Iconic Brooklyn images. 

And hidden details. 

Snakes in the park. 

Perks of taking the elevator. 

My quilting has suffered a bit, too.  I see myself getting back on track soon. In the mean time, I'll try to enjoy being busy. 

February in Review

Oh February! I have this recurring want/wish that February isn't dark, cold, short, and brutal.  Every year, I fill it up with fun things. My birthday! My anniversary! Friends! Adventure! But as much as I try, as much fun as I have and good things there are throughout the month, it's still cold. February is cold, there's no getting around it.  

This month was a whirlwind. Snow storms, traveling, art, dark days, new jobs, work, sewing, ideas, great friends, even a hint of the promise of Spring.  

1) A cold day at the beach is better than no day at the beach. 2) A special date in the Nation's Capital. 3) A gate way to air and space. 4) A stern artifact. 

It was quite a busy month with a lot of change. Change is good, right?

1) Magic. 2) Finally displaying some of our feather finds. 3) Pit Star has bedroom eyes. 4) Beautiful birthday with fabulous friends.

I wasn't able to able to do as much sewing as I would've liked. But I rarely can. I was able to have one finish at the beginning of the month. Hopefully once march has settled down a little, I can regain my sewing momentum. I have important things that I have to finish! I'm getting close to 1000 followers on instagram, and close to my first giveaway! 

1) A chilly beauty. 2) Flounder's sick of the winter!! 3) Snow, snow, snow. 4) Stash. 

February changed things up. Let's what March has in store. 

Modest Goals

Although 2014 seems like it will be a very exciting year, I'm trying to keep my goals and aspirations to a minimum, to take things as they come, and with an open mind. 

2013 was a big year in many respects. Many things changed in my life and work. All positive, but sometimes stressful. Sometimes it was hard to not be discouraged, to keep going until the positivity showed through. Quilting helped me along the way. Not only was it a personal goal I set out to achieve, but it was a way to de-stress, stay calm, and meditate. By the end of the year, I had made quite a few things, and started the Mad Cat Quilts website officially. I tried to make items that I could sell, but I also worked on gifts for friends and family. It felt wonderful. It was wonderful. 

In the first few days of 2014 I realized that I did not have a quilt that I had made for myself to own. All the quilts were for other people, or for the shop. I decided to keep one for myself. It is so satisfying to see it on my bed at night. It feels like the first time I saw one of the quilts I had gifted being used by it's recipient. This is what quilts are for! I love seeing them rolled, or folded in cute, colorful piles, but when they are bunched up and used and loved, it's even better. I started working on quilts that friends had asked for. Not commissioned, just requested. It felt good to be making things with certain people in mind and not even think about putting them in the shop. I started thinking of people whose birthdays were coming up, or who might need something to cheer and warm them this year. The more quilts I make, the happier I am, it seems.

I know a lot of quilters pick a word as a mantra for the beginning of each year. I've seen a lot of these words quilted, or incorporated into quilts. Some words I might choose for 2014 would be Make, Calm, Productivity. 

Tavis Smiley enjoys a gift. 

January and early February have set the stage what seems like a banner quilt making year. The latter half of February has surprised me with some unexpected change. Not unusual. Although I might have less time to sew, I think good and exciting things are a foot and I cant wait to take my quilts along for the ride. 

Sunday

Stash #3

My mail delivery is really becoming a problem. I lost a package of vintage fabric this month. The post office says it must have been stolen... but somehow I'm not convinced. 

Not the best lighting, as I took this picture at night, but I received some vintage fabric this month!! I adore the bright blue and orange on the end. I have also recently come to grips that I'm addicted to fine calico of all colors. So the blue on the right is wonderful to me. 

The Bismuth is so shiny and iridescent! Hard to capture in a photo. 

Two treasures we picked up in DC, a perfect pyrite cube and a bright piece of bismuth. Again, not the best lighting, maybe I will try for more pics another time. We are thinking that we need to re think our over all gem display, especially for small pieces like these. One day it will happen. 

6th Ave in Park Slope was lovelier than ever. 

Brooklyn has seen so much snow in recent weeks. Some of the prettiest I have seen in the city. 

It has gone from beautiful and crisp and clear, to wet and icy and horrible and back again for several weeks. 

I'll leave you with another ill lit pic; My truck, completely buried.

There's another 2 foot wide, 2 foot high wall of snow between it and the road. 

Art and Nature in Washington DC

During our recent trip to the District of Columbia we made time to see some great art. Nature was a little harder to come by. But our first stop was the National Museum of Natural History which is pretty much a combination of nature and art. 

A statue/idol from Easter Island who greets you as you enter the museum...

But this guy in the lobby is more iconic. 

I hadn't been to the Smithsonian Museums in many many years, and my husband had never been to visit them, so it was a great adventure. He was very keen to see the Hope Diamond, which I had forgotten is blue. I didn't get a good picture, unfortunately, so you will have to visit it for your selves!

We loved visiting the big gems and meteorites! I hope, one day, to own one! Can you imagine owning a piece of outer space?

There was a great live bug exhibit that culminated with a butterfly garden. We skipped the butterflies bc it cost extra and we were short of time. I love a good bug zoo, so we fully explored the other bugs. They were fascinating, interesting, and not a little creepy. We left feeling a bit itchy. 

Gorgeous colors. 

Armor plated. 

We popped into the National Gallery of Art and saw a few favorites. 

I think Seurat and I would've gotten along. He seems to love the Shore. 

This is a detail from The Wind by Felix Vallotton. I had never heard of him before but really enjoyed this painting. It seems like he is someone I will have to research. 

I always love Wyeth's muted tones, bleak but beautiful. 

There's an underground passage way connecting the two wings of the art museum. The highlight of which is an amazing light walkway. I'm not sure who the artist is, but it was clearly a fan favorite judging by all the people snapping pics.

One of the things that I find really thrilling about all these museums is that they are free. The ease  of entering is a shocking contrast to doing just about anything in NYC. Bc one doesn't pay to get in, there is only a small security table, only for checking larger bags, etc... It makes it quick to enter but it also makes it feel so much more accessable. I could certainly picture people popping in on their lunch break, or walk home. And it must be spectacular for people with kids. All of the education, fun and excitement of the museum in an easy and affordable way. I sometimes marvel that families can pay what it takes to go somewhere like the American Museum of Natural History in Manhattan, where one trip for a family of four might cost upwards of $100. 

One of my IG friends recognized this spot in a photo from all the way in Cleveland, OH. It leaves an impression. 

Something that I was not thrilled with was that a lot of museums, exhibits and exhibitions seemed to be closed, some permanently. Upon entering the Modern wing of the Gallery of Art, we realized that there were only a very few pieces on view and these only in the lobby. All the galleries were closed.  

The few things that were on view were pretty great, though. On display was work by some of our favorites, including Serra (not pictured), Ernst, Calder, and Goldsworthy.   

The largest Calder mobile was sadly tied and not allowed to turn. 

We are fans of Max Ernst's paintings and print work and were happy to discover this sculpture. 

It's pretty rare to find Goldsworthy's work in galleries or museums. I always feel lucky if I stumble onto it. Unfortunately you could get no closer to it than this as the doors out to the patio were locked and the windows to look down on it were very dirty. 

Walking out on the National Mall is very similar to being in a sculpture garden or museum bc of all the monuments and memorials. I covered some of what we saw in a previous post about this trip, so I won't go into it again. But it was also nice to see some "wildlife" on our walk as well. 

One of the things that I really really wanted to do was go to the National Zoo. We ran out of time for it on this trip... So I guess we will have to go back!

Bottoms Up Bunny Quilt

My second finish for 2014 started way back at the end of last Summer in Vermont.

I still haven't figured out the best way to photograph quilts in my house. This works for now... At least you get the idea!

The Bottoms Up Bunny Quilt actually started as a quilt back. When I was making Peach Sideways Cities I had gotten a yard of this Windham Fabrics retro print that I thought would be perfect for the back. And I made the back... but ran out of the fabric before completing it. Wanting to see PSC mostly done before I left Vermont, I put the bunny back aside and created a whole new one. It was similar in design but, of course, not quite the same. The more I looked at the original incomplete back, the more I enjoyed it and realized that it could stand on it's own. I had fallen in love with the bunny fabric. 

A lot of hand stitching went into this one.

Back in Brooklyn, I tracked down the fabric. It wasn't easy as it had been discontinued. I only managed to get a yard and a half, but that was more than enough to finish the front. (I used some for the back, as well, and still have about a yard left. Yay!). But I didn't pick the quilt up again until January 2014. 

Bottoms Up Bunny Quilt has a cross type design for it's front with the bunny fabric as negative space. I quilted three lines down each fabric in the cross and then quilted the negative space diagonally. Some of the lines get a bit wonky, as I didn't use any markings. The body is quilted using vintage embroidery thread. 

This quilt differs from most of my others bc it uses almost entirely new fabric. Only the small pink and peach dot fabric is vintage. The back is peiced with material from the front cross, new orange stripes, and of course, some bunny from the front as well. 

I actually like not marking my hand quilting lines. It's great exercise for me to try and get my lines straight. 

It was bound with my fold over method that I use for most of the quilts I make. The binding was mostly stitched with plain white cotton thread. But where bunny meets bunny I used teal embroidery thread. 

I thought the blue went perfectly with the inside of the flowers and that it would break up the bunny on bunny a little. 

This quilt measures about 43 1/2" x 43 1/2" and is almost perfectly square (ha!). My cat Bippi sat under this quilt pretty much the entire time I was hand quilting, so she thinks it's a great couch or lab quilt. I think it would be great for a baby, or play mat, as well. 

I'm linking up with Kathy's Quilts today. Check out her blog!

A Monumental Anniversary

This past weekend we headed down to Washington DC to celebrate our One Year Anniversary. Hey, it's my blog and I can name the posts any corny thing I feel like. 

Our hotel was only a few blocks from all the monuments, so right after checking in we set right back out to see some sights. 

I haven't been to DC in many years. It was a warm clear night when we arrived and it was great to get right out and walk down to the Mall. It took me a while to become oriented but luckily our hotel was right in the heart of town. 

It seemed like 2 in the morning, partly because the night was so black, and partly bc there were very few other people out. We were lucky to have the Mall to ourselves. 

Everything there is so BIG! When I was young, walking between sights seemed to take forever. I remember the Mall being enormous! Upon returning, it didn't take that long to walk from one place to another... but the whole city still felt gigantic.  The streets are so wide, the buildings so large! It didn't help that there never seemed to be anyone around. It felt like the opposite of Manhattan, which always feels like it's wall to wall with people and buildings.  

Some things were exactly the same as I remembered them. 

For only being there a very short amount of time, we saw so much! We were able to see three (really four but one of them had only a few permanent pieces on view but no exhibits and therefore doesn't count) of the museums, many memorials and monuments, and walk around to several different areas of the city. We decided to stay close to the hotel this trip and not go where we couldn't walk to, which worked out perfectly. 

The second day was rainy and chilly so we mostly stayed indoors visiting the museums. The last morning was warm again, although overcast. We took the opportunity to see a few of the monuments and memorials in the day light. 

I was very surprised that several of the museums had no exhibits, or were currently closed. The biggest shock and disappointment was that the National Aquarium is closed for good. It was the oldest public aquarium in the nation and closed last Fall. I don't remember ever going there, and was sad not to able to on this trip or in the future. It seems very sad to me that they closed such a historical site forever. 

This pic makes it seem that the White house is in some rural location, but it's right in the heart of downtown Washington DC!

It was a shockingly easy and fast trip down (we took the bus!), and hopefully we will make it back before too long. Some things that I would really enjoy seeing next time include the Jefferson Memorial, the Potomic River, the National Zoo, the Textile Museum (which was open, but currently had no exhibits??), and the Post Office Museum.  

We collected many squished pennies!! If you are a fan of these souvenirs, DC is the place for you!