A Peek Inside My Shopping Bag

So - - - what did I come home with in my shopping bag - - - well, from City Quilter I purchased a yard of this amazing Japanese fabric, isn't it great?

Look at the texture from the nubby weave!
Selvage worth keeping - wonder what it says???
From Purl Soho more Japanese fabric - a yard of Etsuko Furuya for Kokka - I've been wanting to play with this fabric for some time now.
Love the colors and the bicycle - - - it's more of a canvas weight - perfect for a bag.
My last purchase - purse handles - I'd seen these on the Purl Soho blog and decided I needed to give them a try. They come in two sizes - I bought one of each. The package contains the metal purse frame and a paper twine rope.

I love the burnt orange color of the ball.

And, now I need your help - - - here are the instructions - - - yikes!!! No worry - I think Purl has the instructions on line - I'm fairly certain I can figure this out.

Friday in the Big Apple!

It wasn't the nicest of days, chilly and cloudy, but it didn't matter to me - I had a great time in NYC - and it was all about quilts! Nothing says you're in NYC like Rockefeller Plaza!

First stop - the American Folk Art Museum - they are running a number of quilt featured exhibits throughout the year - I took in Part I of the exhibit at the main location on 53 Street (Part II starts April 26). They are also sponsoring quilt exhibits at the Lincoln Square Branch through the end of September.

Here are a few of my favorites - first, this beautiful barn raising variation of a log cabin quilt - it looks illuminated - it included many velvets and satins.
This sunflower quilt is so elegant - I love the long stems of the flowers and leaves.
Amazing and embellished - this quit is a stunner - the details - - -
Loads of beading - - -
Tons of decorative stitchery and a wide variety of fabric - - -
And, livestock!

This crazy quilt interpretation of the map of the US of A was really playful.
Another applique masterpiece - the Bird of Paradise quilt!
I fell in love with this elephant motif.
Glorious tail feathers!
A wonderful pieced example.
I'm sharing this sign with you because I actually like the term Show Quilts - isn't that what an art quilt is - a show quilt?
And the most beautiful patriotic quilt I've ever seen - this quilt is just amazing.
From the museum, I hopped a cab and headed to Purl Soho - now, I've been to this shop before with either my husband or daughters waiting - - - (im)patiently - - - and on a weekend when the place is so jammed you can't get a good look at anything.
Today was my day at Purl - finally. It's a great little shop, but the selection in house is definitely limited in comparison to their on-line presence. That being said - if you're in NYC on a weekday try to make time for a Purl Soho explore.

After Purl I walked - yes, walked back to City Quilter at 25th St. (except I got lost window shopping and actually walked to 35th St - - - oh, my aching feet!!!). I have no photos from City Quilter but I do have BIG news from City Quilter - - - they've doubled in size!!! And, they've started an Art Quilt Gallery in the front section of the new space. Their first exhibit features the work of Daphne Taylor - I love her quilts - her hand quilting defines her style - so subdued. The space is lovely!

And now for the best treat in NYC - the windows of Lion Brand Yarns - - - every time I'm in NYC I head to their window to see what new wonder they have created - - - and they never disappoint! This visit - it was out of space!!! Everything in this window is either knitted or felted!A knitted UFO complete with an alien knitted monkey!
A spinning rocket,
Of course, an astronaut - knitted!
Inside the shop you are welcomed by a whimsical tree growing out of the wall - yes, a knitted tree - providing a perch for cute little birdies,
And a place to set up home in a knitted bird house!
Tomorrow, I'll show you what I bought - not much, but different.

Rip, Rip, Rip

Agrrrrhhhh! I hate to rip seams, but I'm just not finding a happy place with my settings for Jackson's quilt. And, ever notice that when you need your seam ripper, it's no where to be found - - - today I found it stuck to my lint roller - after an hour of looking for it! Agrrrrhhhh!!!

O.K. - here was the first setting I auditioned - by auditioned I should really say that I sewed it together completely - it was a full committal audition - - - and I hated it. That bias pieced sashing would result in years of therapy for Jackson - life's challenging enough.

Here's my second stab - audition - full committal, of course. I'm still not happy - - - there's just simply too much happening - - - where the heck is that seam ripper??? I tried selecting a solid color to use for sashing but nothing is really working. I fear the only way forward is editing some blocks out and relegating them to another quilt - - - I need to calm this blankie down!
One positive note to my day - I found fantastic, comfy shoes, and I love them. A little peep-toe for spring nail colors, and just enough heel to keep my ankle happy (long story short - - - my ankle was restructured using my knee - - - it only likes certain shoes). Comfy shoes are important - I've got lots of walking planned for the weekend!

Daddy's Tie

The fourth and final block for Jackson's quilt is Daddy's Tie - this is such an easy block to put together - one liberated braid surrounded by the feature fabric. The inspiration for this block came from Jacquie over at Tallgrass Prairie Studio - she has a great tutorial on her blog this week for her chevron technique.

Why Daddy's Tie - because it reminds me of a tie. My first go round with the braid included dots, but I thought they made the braid a bit too busy so I decided to stick with solids - they work in the tie!
Sewing a liberated braid is so simple. I started with a heap of strips cut to 1'', 1 1/4'' and 1 1/2''. This photo was taken before I decided to omit the dotted fabric.
This is a liberated braid - no measuring - free styling piecing! Get started with two pieces of fabric and stitch them together. I was cutting my pieces about 4 inches long.
Stitch the next piece of fabric perpendicular to the first seam.
And that is as complicated as it gets! For my tie I selected 6 fabrics - 2 green, 2 orange, and 2 turquoise. I staggered the placement of like fabric so they would not show up on the same side of the braid - look closely at the braid below - the placement of green stripe strip alternates sides.
I had 3 blocks to make (a total of 4 for the quilt - I made my sample block earlier) so I decided to make one long braid - cutting it to size later. Look under my presser foot - see the piece of dottie fabric - - - that's my little pillow. I use it so I can chain stitch my braid. I sew through the pillow first, then keep stitching through the block seam. When I finish the block seam I sew another pillow at the end, then snip off my block, leaving the second pillow under the needle.
Snip off the attached pillow - and repeat. It saves so much thread.
I sewed and sewed until my braid measured about a yard in length. To cut the braid down to size - 2 1/2'' wide - I located the center at or about where the strips meet in the center. Trim one side first, then trim the opposite side - creating a strip measuring 2 1/2'' wide. Then cut into 3 strips 10 1/2'' in length.
Voila!

To finish the Daddy's Tie block cut one strip of focus fabric 2 1/2'' wide x 10 1/2'' long for the left side.Cut another piece of fabric measuring 61/2'' wide x 10 1/2'' long - I fussy cut this piece so that the turquoise giraffe was in the center. Piece the sections together for a 10 1/2'' square block.
Tomorrow - time to put our four blocks together!

There's a great non-political election going on over at Spoonflower - Project Selvage. Your task - easy - pick your favorite little boy's inspired fabric. It's not as easy as you might think - - - there are so many good options. Luckily you can vote as often as you like. Here are two of my personal favorites: Pirate Pete by Mel Latthitham

And Fox Tails by Kelly at Petunia Textiles

NY Times - Sunday Style

On The Street - a mainstay of the Sunday NY Times - is eye candy. A photo montage of the pulse of the fashion style of NYC - what's hot and who is wearing what. I love On the Street, and I'm about as far from fashionable as one can wander - its fun, playful, and never negative!On the Street is the visual column of Bill Cunningham - there's his by-line - who ever he is???
This Bill guy also keeps tabs on the movers and shakers of NYC in another visual column, Evening Hours - snapping pics of all of the important societal goings-on in the Big Apple.

So who is this Bill guy??? For years I have been viewing his parade of pics - never really giving much thought to the person behind the lens. Never really giving any weight to what those photos mean to the world of fashion. Well - meet Bill - - - octogenarian, photographer, style scout, milliner by trade, bike rider, blue coat wearer, NY'er, catholic, single - - - with an insatiable appetite to document trends and styles in the world of fashion. He is the most important photographer to the world of fashion - real fashion.

Last night I saw Bill Cunningham - New York, a documentary based on the work of this living legend. It's showing at the Ritz at the Bourse in Philly. An amazing documentary capturing the life of this brilliant fashion icon. Whether you care about fashion or not, the film, and the life of Bill Cunningham, is captivating - I highly recommend it.