Calamity Kim

For the Love of Gnomes

Here is an update on my Row 10 quilt. Remember when I explained that I was doing a quilt row swap with 10 friends from Flickr and we started a group to share the pictures and discussions in?

Well, I finished my own row and received two more and only need the remaining 3 to have them all and begin quilting!

I love the red and aqua together and it looks so happy together all laid out on the bed. It's pretty amazing that the colors go so well together- from 7 different sewing room stashes- that's so cool! I imagined I'd have to use some sashing and I still might- some black and white polka dot maybe to have a tiny break between rows or maybe just white?

I love it that everyone used the gnome and mushroom patterns by sonjaartisania or was inspired by them and free pieced- it was a difficult challenge to make the snails too- Check out Sonja Callaghan's Blog here and look for her free (awesome) patterns if you want to try your own gnome and mushroom making skills! The snail pattern is by Jennifer Ofenstein and you can check out her blog with awesome patterns here.

The funniest story is by Tia (campfollower baglady) who had a dream about gnomes, Michelle Obama and Michael Jackson and Michelle stealing her rice the night before she started working on her row for me and so she included them as gnomes and it just makes me laugh every time I look at it! Thanks for such a creative and funny story, Tia. She also used some Heather Ross gnome fabric that was printed up over at Spoonflower- I find that the most wonderful thing that heather would add her gnomes and mushrooms and other designs to Spoonflower so that we can purchase them- they are so expensive and hard to find on eBay or Etsy.

So I'm off for a day of adventure- gonna go learn how to train a dragon- a girl's gotta keep up with her skillz- right? Have a Happy Easter tomorrow btw- I am celebrating with a new juice machine- so here's a carrot/apple/melon smoothie for ya!

Love and marshmallow covered eggss!

Calamity Kim

The Ugly Duckling Quilted Book Cover Story or how it takes me forever to create the visions that dance in my head!

This is a tricky post to write because I don't want to spoil the surprise, but I want to show you what I'm working on!  I think it's so cute and I know you will too.
A long time ago I bought a book for "Petunia" because I thought that the ugly ducking would be precious made from a yellow wool blanket that I had felted.
So, time came and went and I made the duck.

Lynn of "The Little Red Hen Blog" was going to be in Fl, visiting in Tampa and after several emails, she and "Petunia" came and spent the day with me and we made some paper dolls.
I gave her the book and the wool duck but kept the book jacket, to use as a pattern for a quilted  cover.
 I had been thinking about it for so long and I had drawn a picture and then started working on it.

More time came and went and I finally am quilting it.
I wanted to make a bed for the duck on the front of the book cover and have a quilt and use some embroidered linen for the sheet- counterpane? I used the drawing as a pattern- cutting out the posts and head board and foot board and then ironing the fabric around the pieces. Then I appliqued it down, adding stuffing as I went until it was sewn to the base fabric. The embroidered linen is sewn like a lined pocket and then stitched down as well. Now I am hand quilting it together and then I will bind the edges and make the inner flaps to fit over her book. Once she gets it I can share pics of the duck "in the bed". Now, isn't that too stinkin cute?

It turned out better than I had expected!
This shows the fairy quilt and foot board underneath the embroidered sheet.
Hopefully it will fit the duck just fine and he'll be all cozy between play times.
The pillows have pillow cases and I am just going to lightly tack them down so Lynn can cut them off if Petunia wants her too- I like the idea of being able to move them from the bed and play with them but hate to use velcro or snaps.
It's a very smurfy day when projects get near completion and there hasn't been a calamity for days!
yee haw!
 have a smurfalicious Tuesday!
xo, calamity kim

It's what I do

Jude has given me an idea.
I love crayons and she suggests using them to make rubbing's on fabric over ornamental metal objects here on her other Blog, called What If?
Her first Blog, Spirit Cloth is about the quilt she is making for her Brother.

I have blogged about her awesome quilt before and hope one day that she will show a picture featuring the whole thing.
Each tiny bit is like a piece of a puzzle that is missing it's box.
I am trying to put the puzzle together but I have no idea what it will look like when finished!
I am intrigued beyond words.
I am patient but this is a stretch.
Actually it is probably a great lesson for me.
To practice patience in the grocery store line is different from the patience I allow myself to feel when hand quilting.
I have to mentally prepare myself by taking a deep breath and letting go of the clock. Telling myself that the time is not wasted.
It is being put to good use.
In todays fast paced society where everything is about time and money, handiwork is the opposite of that.
When I pick up a needle and join it with cloth I am nurturing that creativity dwelling deep in my soul.

The difference between me and the random stranger in line behind me at Best Buy, who compliments me on my quilted bag.
Her eyes  open a bit wider (shock? disbelief?) when I say thank you, I made it.
She doesn't sew.
She has always wanted to, but she works too much.
"You should sell those", she sweetly suggests.
"I try to. It's what I do".
That's my feeble retort.
It's what I do.
  I woke intermittently last night sleep-dreaming-wake visions of projects fill my head.
I have an assignment that I am working on and I am getting there.
The deadline is approaching and the juice is notching up. Ratchet. Crank. Strain. Click.
I have other projects, once again pushed back, until this is done.

They run and caper around the perimeter of my brain- flash-lights- flickering an SOS. Work on me! Don't forget me! maybe you can do this: [idea} when you GET TO ME!!!!! I am taking part in Bitter Betty's Fat Quarter Swap- where you take some fabric and put your own designs to it.
Stamping, painting, printing...now Jude has made me remember a gorgeous piece of brass, etched with a design I found at a thrift shop.
It looks like a door plate- some kind of decorative metal thing that had no purpose for me until now. I had to rescue it though. 1.99

I can put the fabric down on it and do a rubbing with crayon. Genius!
When I get all these projects wrapped up I will show you folks.
But for now, let it be a lesson in patience for you as well.
Take a deep breath.
Shut your eyes.
Breath again.

Give yourself this one moment, in your busy day to allow yourself to calm. ahhhh....smell those crayons.....remember...now color with abandon.
Sort of like the movie I forced Fred to experience last night. The Curse of The Golden Flower. Not sure what it all meant, but it sure was "purty" as my Dad would say.

Splendor in the Sunshine & Shadows

This is the back of a quilt that my Brother found at our local Thrift Shop.

It appears to be hand sewn and each block looks like it is quilted and then sewn to the next block.

It is inspirational to me because it is so unique and vibrant and the choices of fabrics are so varied and yet it all works together.

There are strips of velvet, polyester, cotton, satin, and corduroy. It may be that she used her own clothes, like my Grandmother used to. Each block has a vivid and striking sun and shadow...they juxtapose beautifully and the tactile appeal is wonderfully strong. I want to reach out and touch each log of fabric....

I had to take it ouside to photograph on the driveway because it is HUGE!!! Probably a king but when I put it on my Queen it dropped to 3" away from the floor. I am going to enlist Fred's help in measuring it. Did I say that it was huge? And heavy! Thick and comforting. He wants me to list it on eBAY. So after I measure it and do a bit of research I am. Regretfully. I would love to keep it myself, but he need the money for some upcoming travel expenses so like a good sister(wink, wink) I am doing it for him...plus i get to take lots of pictures and he knows that if I ever make a quilt this fabulous- I will rise up from the grave and come after anyone who carelessly gives it to the Thrift shop....It is approximately 104"x108"....wish I had a loft to hang it from or a staircase....Here's the link for Ebay

The binding will finish it

I am so excited!
The Doll Quilt is almost finished for the Doll Quilt Swap that Lisa is hostessing!
I wasn't sure about having enough time to hand quilt it, so I chose to machine quilt it.

I am quite certain I would have missed the mailing deadline- so I hope I didn't make a huge mistake.

I prefer hand quilted but my stitches can only be described as Primitive and so I don't know.

I just did my thing....

The fabric collage thing...

The Name of this quilt is: "Story Time on What A Jolly Street".

As I am cutting and auditioning fabrics I try to think of a story, something that ties all the images together.

I love the children in this new fabric I picked up at Alma Sue's- it is made by Moda and designed by Sandy Klop.

They remind me of vintage children's books and I hope to buy several more yards before it disappears.

Some fabrics are like that- you assume they will be around for awhile, but man, it's like Goodwill- if you even think you might want it, better get it and stick it in your stash (or buggy) until next time cause at least that way you will have it!

I have had a hard time finding more of Heather Ross's Lightning Bugs line and have paid dearly for some more gnome yardage on Ebay...anyway, this little quilt is a visual tale of Story Time and ...what you could imagine...and the "what a jolly street" part is from my old 365 bed time story book that my Grandmother used to read to me.

I  am getting ready to do the binding and then the label and it will be finished!

As I sew I usually don't stop until I have to.

Like if I run out of full bobbins ( I always load 3 or 4 full to start) or if Sadie Mae brings her Frisbee in and plops down on the floor with a sigh.

She is so dramatic for a golden retriever!

She is smart though, she will lay right between my chair and the ironing board, knowing that I won't step over her many times before realizing that she wants to go out.

So she is my timer...or Fred...as he calls out to me from the other room where he is playing a song or something to see on the computer (today he put some lava lamps on the desktops and I am not sure but I think my curser changes into a hand shooting a bird every now and then) which makes me giggle and think of him. silly man.

Todays post could also have been titled:

5 Great Ways To Chase Off The Jehovah's Witness's

1. Put out mat that says "GO AWAY" ( got one from Basketville)

2. Cling Sticker on Door that has Brian from Family Guy that says: WARNING! BAD DOG!!! (got one from Lexi-it sure intimidated the mail carrier)

3. Crack the front window to release the smoky odor of burned pan from sauteed potatoes & peppers ( see, they stuck to the bottom of the pan while cooking breakfast and I added water and turned the stove back on to heat and thereby loosen the stuck stuff. However 30 minutes later as I was happily sewing away on the doll quilt I smelled something really bad- burning--omg! the pan! so it had boiled dry and then really burned BLACK...neither Fred nor I had a clue...but the house did start to fill with smoke and the dog's nose was offended in the worst way I am sure. She was nudging my elbow- I didn't know why....obviously I shouldn't turn on the stove then leave the room- but I needed to work on this.....) The smell should be offensive enough to detract any visitors.

4. Drive both vehicles to the Post Office parking lot and leave them, thereby giving the appearance that no one is home, and so don't answer the door.( might do this next weekend)

5. Go to the door wearing boxers and wife beater tank at 2:30 in the afternoon and say no thanks, and shut the door.

Now, Fred is a very funny man. He can just politely say no thanks and walk away while I have been known to stand and answer questions and discuss religion and church and God and all of that very private and personal stuff with these people (I almost typed zealots- well, they are enthusiastic).

He said next time he is taking the Carmen Electra Workout Video with him and will make sure they see it real good.

Or he's just going to say he is a Devil Worshiper or something equally as heinous.

  The problem is that I put in a mosaic on the front doorstep area last year and it is quite the conversation starter! Every Tom, Dick or Harry that comes along has to comment on my stones...Every time without fail- oh, hello, Mame, I am Harry and I'd like to show you this awesome cleaning product...wow! Did you do that??! That's awesome! I have never seen a mosaic like that before...it's really cool...

THEY MAKE ME CRAZY!!!! I did the mosaic because I fell in love with some I had seen in a book and did not stop until I had tried it. We call it the threshold of pain cause you don't want to try standing on it barefoot. Anyway, that's been my day.

Breakfast, Sewing, Burning, Frisbee, Coffee, Bobbins, End of the World Prophesies, Fabrics, Finally getting dressed and Blogging.

getting LoSt

Just started quilting this tiny one by hand last night...during commercial breaks of LOST. I don't want to spoil it for anyone if you haven't seen it, but, each week I am on the edge of my seat a bit more...pretty soon I will be sitting on the floor!!! Today I am going to try to work on several things and get them completed. Still need some more suggestions on what to do with that rotton uterus and I will be doing show and tell on the doll very shortly...and the apron...and this mini doll quilt...they are addictive...I have two more started...and the sun is shining and the flowers are blooming and my grandbaby Hayden just turned 1 yesterday and I missed it! Hopefully there will be pictures on Flickr, but I did well and sent the easter Box ahead of time and totally forgot the birthday! I am a cRaZy GrAnNy!!!! I will have to go to Target (oh, darn!) and get a gift card. Here's to another fun filled day! Yee Haw!! Get to stitchin!

Early Morning Inspiration

I have posted before about Jude and her quilt but I have since been reading her blog regularly, you might say I was hooked! I  am so intrigued with this quilt and this process she is sharing.  I had to post about it again.
Here's the story: Jude is making a quilt for Walter(not his real name) who is family and has bought a new house and it is beside a river.
Walter is a botanist and a backyard gardener.
She is creating this wondrous quilt  by hand, square by square, layer upon layer, steeped in symbolism and meaning.
It will have another quilt that attaches to it , covering the lava,  that can be removed  as  needed.
It has a forest/woodland theme on one side and a water/lava theme on the other. The pictures I posted in January showed the hole she quilted in and the hands .
I love all the applique and then the stars with needle sculpted faces and the trees-or moss men, as she calls them.
She started the blog to journal the process, like a video diary.
I love that she takes me to Never land, Narnia, Oz, Wonderland  and  The Secret Garden.
I love the why- the meaning of the stitches or hidden layers  and what inspired them. I want to make some fabric rocks to send her.
I want to applaud!
I want to watch!!
I want to sit by the fire and sip tea and touch this beautiful-quilt story-love-letter.
I want to send an email to Lark Books so that they can send someone over to sign this great book deal with her!!
I would love to see a book of this with the finished quilt at the end.
For now I will just happily go along for the ride (she quilts on the train).
I will add her to my sidebar and  visit as often as possible.
Especially on the days where I don't feel much  of the muse...for Jude  has much spirit to share.

Romantic Notions

I have post-poned the journey by at least one day, due to the weather and the swearing in of a new Gov. in Tallahassee. I really prefer the best possible driving conditions and traffic in the rain sure aren't at the top of my list. Fred wants me to wait until next week, even, but M & D want that tree down yesterday!! Hahaha. Whatever. I am going to get the oil changed in the hemi beastie then do some grocery buying then some more laundry and think about it. Would rather stay home on line or sewing in my pj's if the truth were to be told.
I love the folks but wonder if I'm pushing my luck by attempting another visit so soon. Oh well, at least I got our decorations put away. Sadie kept watching me and I think she knows things are different. All the big bins and stuff moved all around. She is constantly right where I am. It's comforting to have a dog and after so many years without one.  I really do love to brush, pet, hug and play with her!  She is a leaping, joyful, full-charge Frisbee champ!! I want to take her with me but I'm scared that Charlie the black demon poodle will teach her some bad manners. He loves to run off with socks, shoes, hair doodles, pens, anything that wasn't supposed to be gnawed on- he grabs  and runs  away with! Then he growls like a feral dog when I try to get them back!! Sadie has never growled at me and I'm not sure what I would do if she did. Bad dog Charlie.

So I wanted to post about this really neat site that I found. It's called Vintage Collage and Quilts and is written and maintained by a Wonderful Lady named Sandy Berry of Berryvine Designs. She is a quilt pattern designer and digital collage artist. She has a book titled: Quick & Easy Romantic Quilts  I have enjoyed browsing her site filled with some wonderful links to even more wondrous places. I imagine walking down a quiet little shady lane with tall oak trees all around and roses and flowering wildflowers surround the path. Then I come upon a beautiful little cottage with lace curtains at the leaded glass windows and I am drawn to the porch where the rockers and hanging baskets filled with flowers suggest happy relaxed moments. When I peek in the window I find quilts and teddy bears and books and sewing baskets filled with embroidery waiting to be finished. I walk in and am offered tea and fairie cakes and a chair by the fire. I pick up a book lying on the table next to me and begin to find page after page of wonderful, romantic, shabby dabby do vintage collections of things. This is how I feel when I check out her site. Maybe my imagination makes it better than it's reality but I don't think so. Then I find The Curious Sofa on her blog roll and I am even more content.
I can be lost for hours.
Then Sadie nudges me with her nose, or the phone rings or the mail-lady is at the door and I'm thrown back to the reality of dirty dishes and dog walking! So check  out Sandy's site. She has some killer T-shirts with quilt/vintage themed stuff for sale at Cafe Press and I'm going back for another peek at her patterns.  I have started collecting fabrics for a blend able quilt- like the one pictured on the cover of her book. I seem to have a lot of whimsical novelty fabrics in my collection and not many flower prints required to do this sort of thing. I know, another  trip to the quilt shop, oh dear!

Over at Tie One On the theme is Valentine's Day and it's on for two months, Jan & Feb so I may actually have time to come up with an apron and sew it!!
I have been collecting hearts for a while.
I guess  it started because my birthday is the day before Valentines day.
I have in my collection: a clear glass heart with cracks inside, a wooden heart, a puzzle piece wooden heart, a silver metal heart, a cat's eye heart, a battery operated fortune tellers heart that answers yes, no or maybe to a question. I have a wooden heart box that twists open to reveal a hidden compartment. I have a beautiful red leather heart. Rocks shaped like hearts. A tiny red glass heart. I have books on hearts and I want to find a sailor's heart. I have a wooden folk art heart, too. One of my favorite hearts  is a quilted picture with a tattered heart that says:" Love is the thread that mends worn hearts".  I have always been keen on the condition of peoples hearts. Whether they were cold, worn, pierced with cupid's arrow or just broken. Mine is usually worn on my sleeve and anyone can determine the condition it's in. Some people hide their's so well that even they don't see how the tiny cracks are veining and spreading. Like a pebble thrown at a windshield, unseen until it begins to expand, spreading till it reaches all margins. I've had several windows replaced in my time and they always say to act quickly, before the cracks spread too big and you have to buy a whole new windshield! So maybe that's the focus of this post after all. If there is someone you know that has a fractured heart then reach out to them with kindness and help them heal before the cracks get too big to repair. If it's your own heart then take some quiet time to search inside for what it is that will fix your damage and move forward into healing. This is a new start and another chance to grow into the best human being that you can possibly be.
oh boy.
I just love the way my writing meanders around from subject to subject!
Ol Granny is on her soapbox again, spouting out on aprons, art, quilts and new starts!
I pause and read back and wonder what to delete. All?
Nothing?
Whatever.
Get started now.

Above pic "borrowed" from: Bubbles La Mar at Bittersweet Soap Co. You must go check her shop- full of delightfully decadent wonderfully Shabby Dabby Do Delights! She also has a great Clip Art DVD for sale....worth a peek or two.....

Ruth B McDowell, an inspiration

Sometimes I see quilts and I know that I am learning something. The Artist Quilter transform fabrics into literal objects that look so real and full of life that I'm sure they will momentarily jump off the page and gallop around the living room. One such Quilter is Ruth B McDowell. She paints with fabric and creates such beautiful works of art I am blown away. These pictures are from her website. I have been a fan of hers for many years and have several of her books. Now I see where she has her own line of fabric coming out, too. It's called Magic Rabbits by Andover Fabrics. I love her work and admire how she has grown and kept her work fresh and fun. Her newest quilts are really happy and bright and are even more lifelike while somehow being more freeform and abstract. She suggests animals and forms without being consumed with tiny details, letting the fabric choices do all her work. With the quilting lines lending detail and focus as well. I would like to quilt like her. I know she has been to our Quilt Guild to teach in the recent past and is coming again in the next year. I am so excited and hope I can grab a spot in one of her classes. I would love to use some of my photographs to create a quilt of Sadie Mae like this. Or one of the grandbabies, blown up and abstracted. Something to dream about. Something to hope for. Something to achieve before I die. These quilters take it one day at a time and just sew and sew and never stop making quilts. Then they enter them in Quilt Shows and just never give up. I think I may have enough competitive spirit but I need to focus so that I can work on something towards it's completion. That's my biggest problem. I start a hundred things and then get bored with it before I finish. May have to make that a Resolution for the New Year. Enjoy some of Ruth's work and look for her books. She has a new one from C & T Publishing called Ruth B McDowells Piecing Workshop that looks really interesting. Stock up on some freezer paper, I think that's what she uses. Maybe I can start with a pillow or a small lap quilt. I would love to do some Folk Tales like Little red riding hood and then Peter Pan and Capt Hook. I wish I could design fabric that would be perfect for robots and rocket ships. Sometimes finding the right fabric is the most difficult thing to do! Before you can design it you have to have the right fabric. I think that's why so many Quilter's start dying and painting their own fabric. I like the way Jane Sassaman designs her fabrics also. I can't wait to see what kind of turn Ruth's quilts will take when she has a few fabric collections behind her.

Debra Danko's Quilts

Debra Danko's Quilts, originally uploaded by calamity kim.

First: Skip down a few posts till you get to the beginning of this story!

So, if you ever want to make a quilt like this I suggest you cut precisely on the line. First you trace on the wrong side of the Wonder Under - the rough side, not the paper side. Then you cut it out. Then you fuse it to the wrong side of the fabric. Then you cut it out. Be precise. If it goes under a petal then make it somewhat larger. If you put too much fabric you loose your design if you don't have enough then you shrink your design. I put my pieces together too closely so that when I got to the final pieces I had shrunk my design. Oh well. I did learn something, didn't I?
Then you fuse edges together overlapping the sides of the petals. Then you have a big flower you can pick up and then fuse onto a piece of muslin. Then you sandwich it with batting and another piece of backing fabric. Then quilt it using the lines and veins in the flower as a pattern. Then throw a little paint on there just to define and highlight contours of the flower. Then you're done.
Got it? Good.

big_petunias_sm

big_petunias_sm, originally uploaded by calamity kim.

I am taking a class today taught by Debra Danko. This is one of her art quilts. Go see her stuff at:  www.debradanko.com I'll let ya know what I learn!

Turtle Run Shop Hop 2006

So sweet, originally uploaded by calamity kim.

Click here for slideshow  Last month I went on a Quilt Shop Hop to 8 local fabric stores and I met up with three gals from Tampa that I met through Flickr. This is part of the shop hop on a slideshow. For the rest you'll have to click on the above "so sweet" and you should find the rest! It was a wonderful way to get saturated in Quilting Goodness!

stitchseries

stitchseries, originally uploaded by bevcraigwhite.

This is the whole little work of art

stitchseries details

stitchseries details, originally uploaded by bevcraigwhite.

This photo and art quilt is by Bevcraigwhite on Flickr. I hope she doesn't mind me bloggin her work cause I'd like to stand on a chair and YELL to everyone: HEY!!!!LOOK OVER HERE!!!!! This is just one example of her awesome quilting power. Go check her out at: www.flickr.com She made this using a photo transfer with tulle net over it and then machine quited. i love the bugs.

more fairly recent quilts

more fairly recent quilts, originally uploaded by bevcraigwhite.

This is by Bevcraigwhite on Flickr.
I just had to include it.
In My Gypsy Quilt Barn Quest

textile textures

textile textures, originally uploaded by bevcraigwhite.

This is from Bevcraigwhite on Flickr- I hope she doesn't mind. I thought it was amazing! It's all piped!! Yikes, what a lot of work but what stunning results!