Blue and green should never be seen!!!!

I was in sixth grade. I remember distinctly what I wore that day - blue and white striped shorts and a green T-shirt made from a terry cloth type fabric.  Let's face it - there are moments in our life that we would LOVE to forget yet each detail is forever etched in our brain!  My class was walking back to the school from a local field trip. One of the girls said to me - "blue and green shouldn't be seen".  I was mortified. Keep in mind - I was a country girl. Grade six was my first grade in the TOWN school. Prior to that I went to a one room school house with a total of 15 kids!!!    And while I wasn't fat, I wasn't skin and bones.

That comment has remained with me for all these years and for the longest time, I never wore green and definitely not green and blue together. As I got older and bolder and SMARTER, I realized - look at the trees - look at the sky - DUH!!!!!    Why did I let some catty school girl comment create such a big deal for me?

By today's standards, that comment was very TAME.  Imagine the insecurities that people carry because someone made a supposedly casual or intentional comment.  We need to be careful in what we say to others and I apologize if I have left anyone with an insecurity because of something I said to them.


We'll get back to the blue and green in a minute.

First - look what got done yesterday!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Celtic Soltice - last year's Bonnie Hunter mystery - DONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OK - so it is NOT my quilt and the quilting was not done by me.  That is Helen Anne's quilt and she quilted it yesterday.  She did a super job on it as well and went home very happy.   Yeah!!!!!!!!!!!! I wish I could say that mine is done or even close to done, but at least the components are together - the blocks need to be sewn. Some day!

Ask me if I am going to do the Bonnie Hunter mystery this year????   NOPE - NO - NADA - not touching it!!!!   I have so many things that need to be done and there is no time to get them done let alone starting another quilt. Some of my other reasons?  There is a LOT of work in Bonnie's mysteries - a LOT of repetition and you have no idea whether you will like the quilt in the end.  So - no I am going to put my time on something that needs to be done, that won't be so repetitious - is faster and won't have such a crazy deadline. Her quilt comes out at Christmas.  Do you think I have convinced myself NOT to touch it???  I sure hope so.

I do want to wish good luck to those that do take on this year's quilt.  Send me pictures!!!


OK - so here is the blue/green situation.  I am teaching a beginner quilt making class at Sew Sisters. The ladies are enthusiastic and raring to go.   They are busy cutting and sewing this week.  There is a sample of the quilt at the store, but I thought I would give it a whirl - it is very easy.  I grabbed the baskets of blue fabric and right away I have a problem.  Many of my blues are dull, greyed down and boring!!!!!   I bypass them every time I go into the basket.   Yes - I need to group them - make a quilt and give it away!

I managed to snag six brighter blues. Hmmmm - where are the rest of my bright blues??   OH shoot - that is right - I cut everything up a while back and made a couple of Hopscotch (The Quilt Patch) quilts.

I know - they don't look that bright in the photo - but this quilt top is hanging in a dark corner

As I started to cut and lay out - I had SIX different blues and the block had EIGHT squares so off to Ruti's to get two more.

So while I managed to get rid of a couple of small pieces of blue - I still have this left..............

Leftover blues!!!

However then I had to choose another colour to go in the quilt.  The original had red in it. Red - Hmmmm - nope - don't want red. How about orange???   Nope - no orange.  Hey what about GREEN!!!   And of course that whole story surfaced in my head again!!!!!!!!   Green it is. I had to search for BRIGHT greens and couldn't really find any in the stash.   AH - I remember - those bright greens are in another project.

Project box in the closet - labelled of course

There are those bright greens

So I cut and sewed and cut some more and sewed some more and VOILA - here are the first two rows of the quilt done.

First two rows DONE!!!!!!   

The only problem - when I got this much done - I thought how cool would it be with a bright red row and a yellow one and purple and so on.   However that is NOT going to happen on this quilt since I had already made the other blocks and the rows.

Here they are - they just haven't been sewn together yet 

The original quilt does NOT have a border on it. However you know me and my generous lap quilt size. This quilt is only 45 inches wide by 63 long.  ACK - I know it would be OK like that, but I want it to be wider and it could stand to be longer.  My generous lap size is 60 by 72 inches. So now the dilemma - what to add for borders.  I have a VERY dark blue (on the left) or the next border could be white (on the right)

Hmmm - blue border or white border

And then what if I added something on the outside of that first border. Do I have anything that is blue/green????

DUH - this project sitting right on the sewing table - lots of blue and green fabric there!

I pulled that deep green from the project that was on the sewing table and look at that gorgeous blue/green fish print

Even found a blue/green stripe - but not enough of it and not quite the right colour. 

I am tending towards putting on a three inch white border and then a piano key border of the deep blue and the deep green. I will alternate the two colours. So if border one is 3" and the next one is 6" - that would make the final quilt - 45 plus 6 plus 12 = 63 wide and the length would be 63 plus 6 plus 12 = 81.   Hmmmm - a bit long, but that is the nature of this quilt. OK - I think that is what I will do.

Oh yes - I should say that while I was sewing, I as trying to think of how to quilt the quilt.  Oh yes -I have a couple of ideas and excited about them both!!  You see when we are done the beginner class - we are DONE with the quilt. Labelled, bound  - the whole thing!!!!

And the ideas just keep coming in - I have some orphan blocks on my wall that Mary gave me since she was going to throw them away.   I just found a concept that I can use to make a quilt with some of them. I am so excited, but WAIT - when will I find the time??????  


While I was sewing, I ran out of bobbins. Remember I wind FIVE bobbins and when they are used up - I clean the machine and change the needle.  Since I have been running around using different machines, I am always looking for seam rippers, awls, and snips.  As I was cleaning the machine - I opened the drawer beside me and whoa!!!!   Now I know where everything has been hiding!!!!

LOTS and LOTS of tools.

Now there is a set by my sewing machine, a set in the AWAY sewing basket and on the tray that I use with the testing sewing machine.  The extra went back into the drawer. And now the trick is NOT let those tools wander from their respective locations!!!!


I am working on another absolutely ADORABLE project but I won't share that with you until the actual book comes out and I can complete the project.  NO - it is NOT my book.  Just wait - it is cute cute cute.


Speaking of books - I posted on Facebook last night that my book is out. Well it has been out for a while!   If you want to check it out - you can download the first half of the book on QUILTSocial web site. There is a link in the top right hand corner. You sign up for their newsletter and get the free download. If you want the rest of the book (eBook or hard copy) - then you will get the link to purchase either and if you get the hard copy - you also get the eBook for free and can download it right away.  I just need to figure out how to put it in my library?????  



So what is the book all about???




In 2002 I did the Block of the Month at the Mississagua Quilt Guild. As part of the program and to encourage people to sign up, I wrote a series of tech tips on various aspects of quilting. Those tips became a sort of quilting bible for a lot of people.  Some people still have all those handouts saved and still use them.  Anyway - fast forward to about 2009. I spoke to Carla - the editor of A Needle Pulling Thread magazine. I told her about my tech tips and we decided that it would be a good additional to the magazine. I rewrote the articles and added pictures. Now A Needle Pulling Thread has put the tech tips together in a book along with one of my patterns. Isn't that EXCITING!!!!!!!!!!!    The new tech tips are way better than those original hand outs because there are PICTURES!!!!!    Anyway - check out the link  - get the book!!!!!   Right hand side of the QUILTSocial web page and scroll down slightly. There is a slight glitch - if you are already on their mailing list - you won't get the link. Let me know and I'll see how to get it to you.

On that note - another busy day - two classes - but I am packed and ready.  OH my - hour and a half down time.  Hmmm - what can I get done in that time?????


Have a great day!!!!!!!!!!!


Ciao!!!!!!