Sewing clothes

You have seen my output with my quilting. One project after another. Sewing clothes has been a different matter.  First of all, with a cold winter, there is less for me to sew. Then when I make something it’s just not that great. With spring around the corner, dresses and summer tops will be on the docket and I’ll be back to having fun.I bought this fabric at The Fabric Store, I had enough fabric to make a dress, but it’s more winter colors. I don’t wear many dresses when it’s cold.  I could have made my standard button down shirt, I went for this loose tunic pattern instead.It has a pleat in the back. It is a very simple pattern, which means it was easy to make, but…..  either the style is just too loose or it lacks some oomph.Which I realize is A OK, not everything I make has to be a winner. It is pretty, it is comfortable, I’ve just used a fabric I’ve had for a few months.Us creatives, we can be so hard on ourselves.  Meanwhile, look at my Meyer lemon tree! After nine years it is producing a ton of fruit. I have already made one batch of marmalade this season, clearly, I need to make more.I also just use the juice in my cooking, even if it is sweeter than a regular lemon.Here you go, the vanity shot of the lemon!

Leah

A visit to Palm Desert, without many pictures

A friend invited me to visit her in Palm Desert. I jumped at the chance, especially this winter when it has been very cold and rainy.

I had a fabulous time, but I didn’t take a lot of pictures. My pictures of the snow covered mountains around the Coachella valley were all out of focus! Boo-hoo!On the way down I pulled into Redlands to visit the university. I had heard it is a lovely campus. No in depth visit, but love their church.… and that deep blue sky!Took a nice walk on El Paseo, unfortunately, a lot of shops are closed, but the public are in the median is fun.Since the desert surroundings are pretty stark, it’s no surprise that people here love bright colors.Isn’t this an adorable display? An old stove painted bright orange.  This one is for my friend Becky, she is always on the lookout for orange.Cute handbags, I noticed that the flowers are all the same, the bags are different colors. A fun way to display flowers.  Talking about flowers I have to add something that has nothing to do with my trip.

I am really enjoying my Instant Pot, I have already shown you some of the things I cook, there is another benefit to this pot.This supermarket orchid sits right near the Pot’s vent. I have never succeeded in getting any orchid to re-bloom. Shortly after I got the pot I saw flower buds!This is what I came home to!  An orchid bloom!  All that steam led this plant to believe it was back in the tropics, and it is now producing flowers! Yay! I will probably fill the window sill with some more.

Leah

A quick sew, or how I’m using my new rulers

I’m off to the desert for a few days, I realize that I should make my hostess a little something.

Ok, it’s not so little.  I picked up some of Deb Tucker’s ruler at Road to California. I’ve seen her videos, seeing her demonstrate in person was even better. I bought some rulers and got a pattern thrown in as well. I chose this  Carolina Lily pattern. This pattern uses the flying geese ruler, and it was fun and accurate.  I was so involved I didn’t take any pictures until I started quilting. There is some applique involved, this time I used matching thread rather than using the monofilament. Just because it was right at hand.Here I was working with the special ruler foot, it wasn’t going very well. I know it looks fine, but the thread kept breaking and the machine was skipping stitches like crazy.So I’m back to the standard quilting foot that comes with my Juki, and I use the ruler on the back and side. Where that doesn’t work, I just lay in near the foot, not up against it, so my line are somewhat straight. A quilter has to find what works for her!I think it took me maybe two hours to quilt this, I forced myself not to cover every inch!Ruler work the whole way through! Even on the borders.  Working on a small project is so much easier. I didn’t have to wrangle a large quilt and there wasn’t any drag.Putting on the binding. We have had a few glorious days of sunshine! So my outdoor photos are a little bright and washed out.Put on my label.I
So what is this? Just a miniature quilt?I was thinking more of a table topper.  My friend gets to choose what she wants to do with it.  And now, off to the desert!

Leah

Los Angeles Weather

I don’t buy into global warming, or climate change or whatever they are calling it these days. To me, it’s all weather, in some ways it’s predictable, in others it’s not. What has been happening these last few years in California is predictable and following a pattern.

Simply put, we get rain in the winter, then we get a few years of drought, we always have fires, but at some point, we have massive fires all over the state. The following winter we will have an abundance of rain and snow, then come the mudslides. Maybe back to regular rain for a while and then the cycle repeats.

So this year is the year of massive rains.Capturing rain on camera isn’t easy, believe me, it was pouring! I was supposed to give a tour to high school students. We planned on meeting in Pershing Square. I stayed across the street under the overhang at the entrance to the Starbucks in the Title Guarantee building.  We all huddled there until the rain cleared a little and then it was off on a tour. Most of the tour was fine, towards the end the rain started again.Thanks to the rain, there wasn’t a line at Eggslut in Grand Central Market. I finally had my chance to try thier famous sandwhiches. My verdict? Meh. Not worth the wait. It was a fine egg sandwich, I’m glad it’s off my bucket list. Sure, if there isn’t a line I’d get another, but it certainly isn’t worth the hype.The first picture was taken at noon, this one at 2:30. Ah, LA Blue skies!  Now, you have to understand, photography is all about how you frame the image. the the left and behind me there were still gray ominous clouds, which later that day dumped more rain.  But this is the sky we are famous for.A few days latter and I’m on the northern rim of the San Fernando Valley, in a neighborhood called Porter Ranch. Hiking with a friend, enjoying exercize, good company and great views. The haze over the valley is haze, not smog, within the hour it had lifted.The first part of the walk was on city streets, we looked down over this horse path, our hike was a circle, so coming back would be on this path.And here we are. The hill sides are still covered in the old dead chapparal, but a lot of new growth is happening because of the rain.Look at the size of the boulder that fell from the hillside. We saw a lot of evidence of mudslides. Most dragged down the litter that people have thrown, this one brought down some rocks and a large boulder.See, the haze lifted, back to our glorious blue sky!

Leah

Finishing the quilt top for checkered Dresdens.

I’m usually one to make complicated intricate quilts. When it comes to a very large quilt, that is not a good idea. I’m so glad I’m making these 20″ blocks. What a relief, especially after all those 6″ ones I’ve been making for the Spendid Sampler.Time to chose the background. I went to Michael Levine’s, they have a good selection of Kona Solids. Ended up choosing three shades of green as well as a few prints. I also met a nice lady named Mary, here’s hoping she comes to the next LAMQG!I cut 20.5″ background squares, glue basted the tips down, then for extra stablizing, I put pins through out the center of the blades.Using Superior Monopoly thread and a hemming stitch, I got to work sewing down the plates. This is a close-up image. Otherwise, it is practically invisible, with quilting, it will be completely invisible.All the centers are made from this fabric. Put a bird on it!  Another reason to go to Michael Levine’s. This is from a juvenile line, the colors and the size of the birds are perfect, white background is great. I couldn’t have found a better match.I am loving the result! Yes, as I look closely I can see seams that don’t match exactly, who cares! It all works, no one will ever get that close to be able to see the tiny details. A quilt is the whole package and these Checkered Dresdens look wonderful.I have 12 blocks, so 4×3. My two center blocks are on the lightest green. Surrounding them will be the medium green. At Road to California, I showed this image to the people at the Missouri Star quilt company booth. They were thrilled! It is always fun to show the designer what I’m doing with their concept.Best advice from Irene put the quilt on the bed, see how it fits. Rather than working off set measurements, work in the real world and see how it fits on the bed.Crumpled top on the floor.Here is the top on the bed, The length is fine, I could have added to the width.I didn’t because this thing is going to be sooo heavy. As you can see, I had leftover sections, I threw them onto the outside border, which is the darkest green.At the moment the backing is much larger and fits better. I bought much more of the medium green than I needed for the top, not a problem, use it for the back. Add other large pieces from my stash. One of these days I might buy and extra wide fabric for backing, today was not that day.

After 5 days of rain and clouds the sun is streaming through, I like sunshine!

I will be quilting this on my friend Ruth’s new longarm quilting machine. We had to cooridinate a time that works for both of us, and that is a few weeks away. On to other projects while this becomes a WIP.

Leah

Road to California

Quilt shows are a wonderful thing. We used to have a few in Southern California, these days, the one big one is Road to California in Ontario.

I ended up going on my own, which was just fine, by own pace, my own interest. I bumped into many other quilters I know, which is always fun. I bought some interesting rulers, more on those later. For now, I’m including pictures I took.I love everything about this, the subject, the use of tumbling blocks in different size. Incorporating them into Raggedy Ann. And who doesn’t love Raggedy Ann! The applique, the quilting, this was one of my favorites.Capturing a photo in fabric. Not something I ever do, but this is why I go to shows – to see what others are doing.This was in a category named put a bird on it. I’m in love.

From here on out, it will be in  segments, not whole quilts, because that is the mood I was in.Two examples from the Tent makers of Cairo Egypt, these wonderful applique examples were meant to be hung on tent walls. In my opinion,    they are suitable for any wall. Related but different. This is a quilt, called Isfahan. All hand work, applique, and quilting. An example of the wonderful tile work in the mosque in Isfahan, Iran. Many of us look at another medium and say to ourselves – that would make a great quilt. This woman went ahead and did it.Paint and embroidery. Stars and mandalas. One of the award-winning quilts, great paper piecing, fine detail in the quilting. Both women came from Illinois, a real honor for them.I have plans for a double wedding ring, always happy to see how others interpret it. Applique, something else I admire without wanting to do myself.

And finally, I love owlsBut this chicken is just too adorable not to include!

Leah

Splendid Sampler X and some embroidery

I have hit a wall, I am so over this year long project. There are a few reasons for this, there was a break for Christmas, so being out of the habit makes it hard to come back and make two blocks a week.This block is by Latifah Safir, a wonderful quilter I know personally. It represents an airplane. So I went ahead and changed the colors, I think the airplane still comes through. This is the last block I enjoyed making. It was the last one before the break.This one may have been a bonus before the New Year, or not, it was alright.Everything is wrong with this block. The instructions were to cut half square triangles and sew them together. No, I wasn’t going there, but then  there weren’t the dimensions for the final square or flying geese blocks. So it looks wonky and the burn out is setting in.

I skipped two blocks, embroidery, and fussy applique. Just no.So I made my own off center log cabin block. I’m too close to the end to drop it all, although I will need a break before I put the quilt together. This block was a combination of simple piecing, applique, and some embroidery. Let’s just say I really simplified the applique and skipped the embroidery.  Only eight more blocks to go, either I will do them or others of my own choosing.

And now on to something that isn’t painful at all. Embroidery. You’d think with my complaints about the embroidery blocks, that I don’t like this craft. I actually love it, just not on a 6″ quilt block.  Many of my quilt labels are embroidered. It’s that final handmade touch.This is the label for my son’s quilt, an elk of course. The pattern is a transfer pattern from Sublime Stitching. I love the whimsey of these designs and I bought a few packages at Quiltcon last year. The needle keeper is one I got in a gift exchange, nice to use my gifts.This was called a deer head, not an elk, but elk are just bigger deer. There are no stitch instructions, so I have fun pulling out embroidery books and trying different stitches.I made the decision to put the year and my name but not to name the quilt. In the discussion about art and quilts – I fall on the side that quilts are beautiful craft. These days I find no beauty in contemporary art, so feel no need to call myself an artist. I will happily sign my work, but it doesn’t need a name. The image of the elk is name enough.I usually use blanket stitch, I got creative and it didn’t work out so well. Not so bad that I’d tear out the stitching, I’m sure my son and his family will never notice, the elk head is so impressive.A close-up of the embroidery. I love it! I’m so glad I am able to incorporate it into my work.

 

Leah

A Quilt for my own bed

The very first quilt I made was for our bed. We used it until it fell apart. It was completely made by hand, so that may have had something to do with it’ demise. Since then, I haven’t had a quilt on my bed. I have one on the bed in the guestroom. It’s a scrappy quilt, using many fabrics I’ve had for a while. I kept thinking that the one I make for my bed has to be super special.

Then I got over myself and decided it was time. I have been watching The Missouri Star Quilt company tutorials on YouTube. So far I’ve made a baby quilt. As fun as they are to watch, I’m not looking to make a quilt in an afternoon. Then along came The Checkered Dresden Quilt. I would have moved on, but Evildemondevildog went ahead and made his version. I gave in, I ordered the ruler and a jelly roll of bright colorful fabric.Recently I won a half jelly roll, the colors close enough, yet different enough. So I set to work.Sew four strips together, mixing and matching but not thinking too hard.Bright, fun and plenty of contrast.Next step, cutting all those strips into wedges. I normally don’t work like an assembly line. But I followed instructions here.

The next step was to sew the top of the blades in order to create the point.At this point, I went back to my own comfort zone. I built each plate individually. The instructions were to sew pairs, then groups of four and then using five groups of four, create the circle.  Couldn’t do it, I found it easier to pay attention, so I wouldn’t get a red next to red, or brown next to brown. After a while, I realized that was futile, so I just made sure there was contrast. These plates are so bright, colorful and scrappy, it’s the overall impression that will matter, not the details. Which means that yes, I tried to make sure the seams match, but where they didn’t, they didn’t.

And then it was off to Michael Levine’s to find the background fabric. In the tutorial, the background is white, with a print border all around the quilt. Also, from one jelly roll, you get nine plates since I added twenty-two more stripes I will end up with fifteen.  I don’t want a square quilt, so I will be working with twelve blocks and might incorporate the remainder in the outer border.This is what I came home with. Soon I will show you how I plan to put this all together.

Leah

LA in the rain

My niece and nephew came for a visit. They are from Israel but have been studying for a few months on the east coast. It was time to show them LA, but what do you do when it rains for three days?We started out at the Griffith Park Observatory. A beautiful Art Deco building with great views of the city. They had to trust us on the views – clearly this is all we saw – grey.There is something magical about being inside a cloud. We arrived two hours before opening time, so it was on to find other Iconic landmarks to show off.For myself, I can’t get enough of these Art Deco elements.

Where else does one go but to  Hollywood Forever Cemetery?

It is such an unusual unique cemetery, very representative of the city. I don’t care about the celebrities buried there, I don’t care about celebrities period.  It’s the overall crazy feel of the place.Paramount Studio was built on the property owned by the cemetery and many of the original studio heads and stars are buried here.  Mel Blank is on the edge of the Jewish section, called Beth Olam – eternal home.I have no idea who Mama Irene was, but she was perfect.Probably because she was Italian.Over 100 years ago, the tombstone or monument would be very impressive. But little information was given. At the time everyone knew who Griffith J. Griffith was, his name was all that was needed. He did donate the land that is Griffith park to the city. He probably did so because he felt it was too hilly to develop. No idea who Hart, Wheelock or Randall were. Why someone left those figurines is also a mystery to me.Today if you are famous, you spell it all out!  In one hundred years, who will remember Johnny Ramone?Or even Toto, he was buried under what today is the 101 freeway right by my house. Someone cared enough to errect a memorial to him.There is a large Russian population being buried here, and boy do they go overboard. I just had no idea that Stalin is here. The name is in Armenian, but you can understand my confusion.This is why I like this place so much, Were the Koran and Armenian married? Is it just by chance they are buried side by side?A visit to Thailand, this section is smaller than the rest, yet is quite authentic.Some peacocks have taken up residence, I hope they keep their numbers under control, unlike the LA Arboretum that is over run by these fowl.Big birds, big mess, but boy are they pretty!

We went on to Hollywood BLVD, even midweek in the rain there were plenty of tourists around taking pictures. I had to share the LA every tourist see, not just the hidden gems.Then onto Venice Beach. Our guests were duly impressed with how wide the sand is, anywhere else and the buildings would leave a small board walk and even a smaller strip of sand.

Speaking of birds, these are residents of Venice Beach, not as colorful but equally messy. The neighbor has some fake owl, keeps them off his property, but they roosted right next door.Of course they even managed to see the rest of the family. Notice how interested Cameron is in that glass of wine…  no one shared with him.

Leah

Sock weather

My friend Vivian dyes some beautiful yarns over at Hillviews Yarn, I didn’t take a picture of the skien, but I sure had fun knitting the socks.We are having real winter here in So Cal, I am wearing wool socks every day. My kids are dropping hints that one pair of hand knit socks just isn’t enough… As you can see here from the picture, one never knows how the yarn will knit up.  In one sock we have stripes and pooling, in the other, mostly pooling.Foolish me, I should have just knit a plain stockinette sock, but after the heel turn I decided to knit the leg in a rib stitch. Ribbing takes too much time! To frog back to the heel would be too difficult, so I didn’t. No one is going to get close enough to my foot to see that one sock has a little bit of ribbing….… and the other doesn’t. They both fit well and are cozy warm. They are also both beautiful, there is a time and place for perfection in knitting, socks are not that time or place.Here we have a closer look at stripes vs. pooling. Who knows why that happens? I saw a chart somewhere, an engineer figured out how many stitches would create each affect. It was a fun thing to read, but both these socks have 60 stitches and the yarn behaved differently. This is the beauty of hand knit socks – as well as how warm and cozy they are.

I mentioned another sweater, this yarn is Malabrigo. for some reason I don’t have a green sweater, well shortly I will. Also, look how bright green the grass is, what with all that winter rain we are getting.

Leah