BOM 30 - History Repeats

The next free BOM is called History Repeats. It is a foundation pieced block which you can fly through in no time at all. 

The centre reminds me of the sign at the centre of nuclear warning signs. The outward pointing arrows suggest future times and the same design repeating unfortunately reminds me of the possibility of such dire times repeating. Not everyone learns from history.

New Centre Designed

After much humming and haaaa......ing I have decided that the wedding quilt centre does nothing for me and so have finally designed a new centre. 

I'm a lot happier with this and can't wait to sit down and actually sew the new rings. 

First up will have to pick the colours. I'm tending towards multicoloured as I feel that will blend in with everything else. Can't wait to see how it turns out.

Turkish Delight is travelling

WOW Wouldn't it be great to be a quilt. Travel the world and check out new hanger ons at each venue. Received notification that Turkish Delight is off to Chicago. How exciting. Prior to this the only thing I knew about Chicago was it had lots of mobsters. Wonder if it still does? 

Who cares? If you are in the Chicago area and have some time to spare drop in to the quilt show. You will surely be amazed! Oh to be rich and have lots of time to spare. 

Doris' Teapots

Well do I have clever friends .....  or do I have clever friends?

Doris is one of my quilting friends although you sometimes wouldn't realise this when you look at the wonderful things she creates in other craft areas. She has knitted tea cosies for a number of years now and I thought you would love to see some of them. Aren't they great!

Change - Yes / No?

In between making more eggs the inner frame options keep popping into my head.  I'm seriously considering remaking the inner frames with yellow/mustard against the inner circle then red and blue for the taller blocks, with a pale white based outer ring. This quilt definitely won't be ready by June, it hasn't even made it to the longarmer for basting yet! Oh well at least I have plenty of time to keep working on my free motion ditch stitching.

FMQ - Skipped Stitches

Well my FMQ is definitely improving but there is still room for improvement as they say and so I greedily devour everything and anything that might help me. 

A few weeks ago one of the women on one of my online forums posted this link to a site that is just brimming with useful information about FMQ. The blog is written by Cindi Souder, a quilt artist, teacher and lecturer. 

Her post covers many things about FMQ including reasons for slipped stitches, thread, needles and machine preparation. Well worth the time checking it out.

Border Eggs

Yes the borders are progressing. I wanted a curved border with spikes and after much designing came up with this. 

I have to make ten eggs plus the corner sections and then float them into the border fabric. The green looks great here and I keep vacillating between that and the one below. The photograph below doesn't do justice to the red and black option below but that is my choice - green inner and purple outer or red & black inner with purple again as the outer .... hmmm looking at these photos I'm still not sure that I like that purple and red in the middle. 

I think I will simply go off and make more eggs and leave the worry for another day :-)

The Darwin Awards

The Darwins are out!

I am always amazed when these awards are announced each year ... Oh for anyone not knowing what the Darwin awards are these awards are given to people who are helping to improve the gene pool by departing from it through unbelievable methods.

Here is the WINNER:

1. When his 38 caliber revolver failed to fire at his intended victim during a hold-up in Long Beach, CA would-be robber James Elliot did something that can only inspire wonder. He peered down the barrel and tried the trigger again. This time it worked.

And now, the honorable mentions:

2. The chef at a hotel in Switzerland lost a finger in a meat cutting machine. He submitted a claim to his insurance company. The company, expecting negligence, sent one of its men to have a look for himself. He tried the machine and also lost a finger. The chef's claim was approved.

3. A man shoveled snow for an hour to clear a space for his car during a Chicago blizzard. He returned with his vehicle to find a woman had taken the space. Understandably, he shot her.

4. After stopping for drinks at an illegal bar, a Zimbabwean bus driver found that the 20 mental patients he was supposed to be transporting from Harare to Bulawayo had escaped. Not wanting to admit incompetence, the driver went to a nearby bus stop and offered everyone waiting there a free ride. He then delivered passengers to the mental hospital, telling the staff those patients were very excitable and prone to bizarre fantasies.. The deception wasn't discovered for 3 days.

5. An American teenager was in the hospital recovering from serious head wounds received from an oncoming train. When asked how he received the injuries, the lad told police he was simply trying to see how close he could get his head to a moving train before he was hit.

6. A man walked into a Louisiana Circle-K, put a $20 bill on the counter, and asked for change. When the clerk opened the cash drawer, the man pulled a gun and asked for all the cash in the register, which the clerk promptly provided. The man took the cash and fled, leaving his $20 bill on the counter. The total amount of cash he got from the drawer.. $15. [If someone points a gun at you and gives you money, is a crime committed?]

7. An Arkansas guy wanted some beer pretty badly. He decided to throw a cinder block through a liquor store window, grab some booze, and run. He heaved the block over his head at the window. The cinder block bounced back and hit the would-be thief on the head, knocking him unconscious. The liquor store window was made of Plexiglas. The whole event was caught on videotape...

8. As a female shopper exited a New York convenience store, a man grabbed her purse and ran. The clerk called 911 immediately, and the woman was able to give a detailed description of the snatcher. Within minutes, police apprehended the snatcher. They put him in the car and drove back to the store. The thief was then taken out of the car and told to stand there for a positive ID. To which he replied, "Yes, officer, that's her. That's the lady I stole the purse from."

9.. The Ann Arbor News crime column reported that a man walked into a Burger King in Ypsilanti , Michigan at 6 A.M., flashed a gun, and demanded cash. The clerk said he couldn't open the cash register without a food order. So the robber ordered onion rings.  The clerk said those weren't available on the breakfast menu. The robber, frustrated, walked away.  [*A 5-STAR STUPIDITY AWARD WINNER]

10. A man attempted to siphon gas from a motor home parked on a Seattle street by sucking on a hose. He got more than he bargained for. Police arrived at the scene to find a very sick man curled up next to a motor home near spilled sewage. A police spokesman said the man admitted to trying to steal gas, but he plugged his siphon hose into the sewage tank by mistake. The owner of the vehicle declined to press charges saying it was the best laugh he'd ever had.

In the interest of bettering mankind, please share these with friends and family....unless of course one of these individuals by chance is a distant relative or long lost friend. In that case, be glad they are distant and hope they remain lost. 

For more Darwin awardees check out here 

A Bright Winter Secret

 When I was in the midst of making Raconteur I would sometimes travel and wanted a project that didn't depend on having lots of little bits of fabric close at hand. I then had a brainwave that I could make a stitchery and so Winter Secrets evolved. 

This is Margaret Foster's version of it using her own hand dyed woolen threads. Isn't it gorgeous. If you would like to buy some threads or do a workshop where you learn how to dye your own thread her details are here.

Collection 29 - Where Did That Name Come From?

Collection 29	Doesn't the pink fabric in the background remind you of a young girl's Rosy Cheeks?	C29 Algae Blooms
The triangles suggested people sitting on the edge of the space, all scared they would be the wallflower of the occasion.	C29 Rosy Cheeks	Algae Blooms Definitely a springtime block. Are you able to picture the stagnant creek beds where mosquitoes and algae thrive.
C29 Wallflower Fears	The slanted triangles definitely suggest Cats' Eyes.	C29 Cat's Eyes
The chubby baby would peer out from his Baby Bonnet in days gone by.	C29 Baby Bonnet	Flowers bloom and fill our gardens with many delights Before the Autumn.
C29 Fields of Heather	In truth I grew up with fields filled with Patterson's Curse but Fields of Heather sounded a lot more romantic.	C29 Before the Autumn