This Really Cracks Me Up

Please bark quieter.....

Piece Peace

So on Thursday I popped into Fabricland to buy all my quilting needs.  I got lucky because they are having a 40% sale on right now so I got all my stuff pretty much half price and also they sold a beginner's quilting kit.   I will probably go back at some point and get a bigger ruler, but it looks like what I have got now will last me awhile.

So cutting...cutting, cutting, cutting....VERY nerve racking; I'm far too used to knitting where if you screw something up, you can just pull it out and start over again. So this was a bit, 'aargh'.

I went online and saw how the experts do it and gave it a whirl.  I'll admit I had to do a few practice runs and there's probably more scraps in the pile than there should be, but after a bit I got the hang of it.  I think I just needed to use the blade with a bit more conviction.....like flipping a crêpe,  you can't do it half-hearted or else it will screw up.

I REALLY loved pieces the pieces together;  putting the squares together and seeing how they fit together. 
So, after an afternoon's work (because it was, yes, SNOWING, outside) I ended up with this:

Now, I have some criticism of my work because there  is a bit of puckering on the seam between the two rows.  I'm flip flopping on redoing it.  Normally, I would, but I'm bit worried that I'll make it worse, so I'm going to assume that my skills will improve as I continue quilting.

I'll probably get another row done before I go to D.C. and finish the rest when I get back.   Then it's just the simple task of figuring out how to quilt.  easy peasy.  ;-)

Obama Here I Come!

So in less than a week I am going to Washington freakin' D.C.!

Never been there and am going for 6 days to just check out the 'sitch'. 

Really, last night I got down my yellowed copy of  Democracy in America thinking I'd be all Melanie Griffith in that horrible remake of 'Born Yesterday'.  But calmer heads prevailed when after 3 pages and realizing this time could be better spent plotting out my trip.

Things I'm most excited about:

1. First up I haven't been to the United States (or as I call it 'The Old Country' thanks to a grandfather who gave up a farm in Illinois in exchange for a farm in Alberta) since 1994.
2. Grits, which you can't get here.  I'm going to eat them every day for breakfast and bring home a million packages.
3. Going to the same cathedral the Kennedy's went to for Easter Sunday.  
4. Lincoln Memorial
5. Archie Bunker's chair
6. White House
7. Washington metro which is apparently is super safe
8. Looking for the Obama family grocery bag that I saw someone in Toronto toting about a month ago

So get ready DC, I'm coming!

First Post, First Quilt

So many moons ago in university I took an extra curricular course in quilting.  I made a couple of pillows and really, really dug it.   However, I never had the time/space to really get into it. 

Now I'm going to plunge back into the world of quilting starting with this Patchwork Pets' Quilt.

The above photo is how I'm going to lay out the patches, it only took me an hour to figure out a pattern that would conform to my O.C.D.  Yeah, I'll never quite get into 'crazy quilts' because I'm always looking for a pattern.   Here, I've tried to go blue, rust, white, black and group like patterns together.

I'm going to try to just wing this as I've had experience before with quilting and I surely know how to sew.  Plus, unlike 16 years ago, I have the magic of the internets to guide me if I have any questions about quiliting.

Wish me luck!