Better Than Laundry

I present here for your viewing pleasure....today's laundry.

There are several shirts and dresses in here, along with some pieces of fabric I dug out of my fabric recycle bin. My "fabric recycle bin" is where fabrics go that I haven't used in ten to twenty years--my fabric graveyard.

I had to soak a few of these pieces in Biz to get the yellow and mold spots out. I guess you could call some of these "zombie" fabrics since they arose from the dead...ha! (You can tell my son is home for the summer. I've watched more than a few zombie films since we put him in charge of the Netflix queue.)

Yep...just a big pile of laundry. But wait!

What is far, far better than folding laundry???

Making a quilt is far, far, far better than folding laundry!

This dress was always too short. Unflattering, too.

It looks so much better as a quilt, don't you think?

So far, I've incorporated six old shirts and two dresses, along with various fabric zombies to make it interesting. I'm having so much fun! This is, by far, my favorite kind of quilt.

Stay tuned. More blocks and sashing to follow....

Update: I'm still waiting for an appointment with a gastroenterologist, so I don't know anything much yet. (I stumped the G.P.) But my lab blood tests were incredibly excellent! So that's good news. Trouble is, we only have one gastroenterologist on the whole island, so I think there's a bit of a wait to see him. Meanwhile, I'm off grains, dairy, starchy vegetables, sugar, and chocolate. Yes, chocolate. If I eat chocolate, my eyes swell shut and I get big itchy lumps all over my head. It would be really quite funny if we weren't talking about CHOCOLATE...which happens to be my FAVORITE THING in the WHOLE WORLD. Sigh....

Just a Bed Quilt

My lavender bed quilt is done.

There's not really much to say about it; it's just a bed quilt. Just a humble bed quilt made from my lavender, seafoam green, aqua, and purple stash pile.

The soft kind of bed quilt that I like so much.

Scrappy and full of memories...

with blocks that Angela and I worked on together...

and my friend Cindy (Angela's mom) sent over some pretty scraps for...

with lots of quilting in soft green cotton thread.

Yep, just a humble bed quilt.
My favorite kind of quilt.
We slept under it last night and we both slept well. I think that's a good sign.

Here's the pattern if you want to make one yourself:

Very simple. Just assemble like you would a nine patch.

Postcards from Hawaii...and a Giveaway!

We've been on vacation now for a few days. Are you missing your friends at home? We should send out some postcards, eh? Postcards from Hawaii!

"Postcards from Hawaii," Lisa Boyer 2009

I'd like you to meet my latest quilt, "Postcards from Hawaii." I wanted to make something very simple and modern-looking with lots of white and lots of quilting. I already had these colorful Hawaiian print 4X6" scraps leftover from a fabric postcard class I taught, so I thought I would sash them up and see what happened.

The texture shot. I wanted lots of simple texture, so I machine-meandered with my Bernina using white Bottom Line thread on top and bobbin. I haven't stippled in a long time! It was relaxing not to have to worry about elaborate quilted daisies, chicken heads or vines.

I love how these postcards all work together. I didn't fussy cut a single one! They're not all centered and fussy--I like that.

Such pretty colors in these prints.

The sashing fabric is Kona Cotton "Snow." It's not exactly white--it's a creamy white. I think it makes the white-white in the postcards sparkle.

Plumeria, surfboards, Birds of Paradise, fish...everything you'd find on a postcard from Hawaii.

The binding.

Even though I didn't fussy cut any fabric, I'm amazed to find that this guy ended up in a perfect little scene:

Forever surfing on a purple wave. I love him!

I suppose you noticed that word "Giveaway" in the title, huh? How about a half-yard of one of my favorite Hawaiian prints ever?:

I love this print! Do you like it?

And I'll throw in these charm squares, too, for a little MORE color.

Leave me a comment on this post telling me who you are (your web name is fine), where you are, and what you are doing today. Something like: "My name is Lisa, I live on Kauai, and today I'm knitting a green and red sock, making chicken chow mein for dinner, and writing a blog post about my new quilt." Make sure I have a way of replying to your email.

I'll draw a winner's name on Wednesday, February 18, 2009 at noonish, Hawaiian time. Remember it's a lot earlier here than where you are...it may be Thursday for my friend Anne in Finland, for instance! (Hi Anne! Happy Day-after-Valentine's Day to you!)

Our trip to Poipu resumes on the next post. Good luck!

Edited on February 18th, 2009 to add: The drawing is now closed. Thanks for all your comments!

Fifty-four Forty or Fight

I'm still Squiggling, so I thought I would pull a quilt out of my trunk to show you. This is my Fifty-four Forty or Fight block quilt, which doesn't have a real name except for maybe, "Little Spaceboy Star" or something like that. I just wanted to play with the block when I started this quilt, but then I had a border idea, so I was compelled to finish it. I made it with a little boy in mind, can you tell? The background fabric has silvery shooting stars. The silvery gray color reminds me of spaceships and robots.

Do you see how I did the border? I just inserted nine-patch blocks at key places in the border to continue the some of the diagonal squares.
I quilted diagonal lines in the colored blocks to emphasize the diagonal feeling of the quilt. The rest of the quilting is just a bunch of little spirals. It's "tacked" between the diagonal lines with tiny spirals.
I really, really like my binding. I used up all the leftover colored squares I cut for the top and alternated them with with black squares to make the binding. It looks a little like a board game, doesn't it? I'm sure a little boy would invent all sorts of games and stories while he jumped his little Lego spacemen from one star to another, being careful not to fall off the colored squares and into the gray void.

Do you know the history behind the Fifty-four forty or Fight block? It has to do with an Oregon Boundary dispute in 1844. You can read about it here: Fifty-four Forty or Fight

On another note, my schedule is picking up tremendously now that Spring has arrived. I'll be teaching more, having Mainland houseguests, my son is coming home for the summer in a couple of weeks, and my email is...oh, gosh, I can't even face my Mt. Everest of email! I don't think I'll be able to keep posting every day anymore, but I will post occasionally when I have something crafty to show you. You'll definitely see my Squiggle quilt finished and posted soon. Thank you to all my visitors and my frequent commenters (I love you guys!), and I'll see you soon....just not every day...so don't worry about me, okay? I'll be here squiggling, quilting, knitting, crocheting, thrifting, and taking pictures of Mr. Squigglesworth....uh...I mean Bigglesworth...

Aloha and A Hui Hou!

Look Marsha, I'm Squiggling!

A few weeks ago, I visited Marsha at her blog "Threadbender" and saw her fabulous quilt, "Squiggles at Night." It was love at first sight. Her quilt is so whimsical and colorful and full of life--I just had to make one like it. I emailed her and asked her if I could use her design to make a squiggle quilt of my own, and she kindly gave her permission. Thanks, Marsha! I am SO enjoying making your wonderful design. I'm squiggling with joy!! These are my first squiggles. Not bad, eh? Let me tell you, squiggling is addictive! All these beautiful colors on black are fun right now. I haven't made a bright quilt in quite some time. Once I started squiggling, I just couldn't stop!
I was squiggling only four squiggles per block, but I decided that more was merrier. Here are the squiggle blocks I've made so far on my design wall:

The alternating blocks are Marsha's design, too. They're sort of wonky and free-pieced using Marsha's formula.

I think I'll name my Squiggles quilt, "Box Jellys" because to me, the squiggles look just like iridescent jellyfish tendrils streaming down from glowing box jellyfish. The "box" part is a little joke because the blocks are square like a box, see? Hee hee. I crack myself up.

I spent the day totally blissed out in my sewing room, wading through my stacks of batiks. I started out with nice color-coordinated stacks, but a few hours in, total chaos ensued: Gosh, they're even beautiful in a big tangle. I haven't worked with batiks in a while; I think I was sick of them for a time. So dragging them out again for a project--and setting them against black--whoo hoo! I'm appreciating how beautiful they are all over again.

And what does one wear if one is planning on spending an entire blissful day immersed in one's sewing room, playing with gorgeous fabric?
Bedsheets, of course! This sheet skirt is the most comfortable thing EVER. As soon as I can get to Wal Mart to buy some more 1/2" non-roll elastic, I'm going to have a whole week's worth of these puppies. I may even make some lounge pants, too.
Mr. Bigglesworth watched me all day from his curtain vantage point. He's probably wondering why I'm wearing my bed.

Kisses, At Last

"Little Boy Kisses" by Lisa Boyer, 2008

I finally finished my "Kisses" quilt. Remember that little boy quilt I needed to go with that little girl quilt? I'm so prepared now!



The fabrics in this one make me so happy. There are a lot of Piece O' Cake fabrics in here, I think. I don't really follow the designers, but I seem to end up with lots of Piece O' Cake's wonderful fabrics on my shelf. What isn't Piece O' Cake in this quilt is stash fabric and vintage, including an old apron. I LOVE string quilts. They're so exciting.







I rely heavily on my imaginary Grandma when I made scrap quilts. My imaginary Grandma quilted in the 1930's during the Great Depression, so she had to make do with what she had. I consult her a lot: "What Would Imaginary Quilt Grandma Do?" She tells me to use up what I already have, don't be too fussy, but don't be lazy either. She cringes when I hand quilt with a length of quilting thread that's longer than 18 inches, for instance (lazy!). She hates when I throw any kind of scrap away, no matter how small (wasteful!). But she loves it when I'm inventive--and of course, she's my biggest fan, no matter what I make.



I used two different fabrics for borders in this quilt. This is because I couldn't decide between them, so I used them both. My imaginary Grandma said it would be okay.


In a planned quilt, I often use the same strategy. If I can't decide between two or three fabrics that are similar and read only slightly differently, I alternate and use them all in the same position in the quilt. I think it gives the quilt more dimension and makes it more interesting. Besides, it saves me having to make a decision. I like that.




Here's the viney berry border I like to doodle:
I make berries when I don't leave myself enough room to make a leaf. Berries are just a little swirl ball. If I have a wide border, I make bigger swirl balls and call them rosettes.
See? You don't have to be an artist, you just have to be inventive with the skills you have. I can't make a rosette, but I can make a swirl ball.


Here's how I make my vine:

I put the quilt in my regular sewing machine and make one irregular wavy line around the whole quilt. This is my "vine" skeleton.
When I get back to the start of the vine "circle", I start up one side making leaves and berries.
I quilt leaves and berries/rosettes all around the quilt on one side of the vine. (This quilt has been rotated--I feed the quilt toward me and over my left shoulder while I quilt. The rest of the quilt is rolled up to the left of my machine.) When I get to the beginning of the vine circle again, I repeat on the other side of the vine, all around the quilt. It doesn't take very long at all, and the leaves can be big, small, short, long...nature is like that, so you can be too. Every leaf does not have to be perfect and uniform. At least, that's what Imaginary Quilt Grandma says.

That was going to be all for today, but I can't stand it when my posts are only one set of colors! So here is (yet another) box bag I made this week as a gift. I tell you, there is something addictive about zippers. They make me feel like a real seamstress.
Zipperific, eh? Oh yeah, and this:

Sweet dreams, kitty.

The Best Laid Plans

I'd been trying to get into my sewing room for days now. But errands, appointments, oil changes, groceries, cleaning projects--the list is endless, as you know--had all conspired against me. So it was with great determination that I called my friend Anne on Tuesday night and asked her to come over and sew with me the next day. I knew that if Anne was here, I would be committed to sewing the entire day! We would do an all-day sew-a-thon! I wouldn't answer the phone or clean anything--I would sit down with Anne and sew for eight hours straight. It was gonna be great. Anne would be over by 9 a.m. Wednesday morning and we would sew straight through until 5:00 p.m. Whoo hoo! I would finish quilting the border on my Kisses quilt! I would finish quilting my UFO Friday flower wallhangings! Perhaps I could start on one of those skirts in my new skirt book!

On the set of Simply Quilts, with Alex and producers

Alas. It was not meant to be. Unbeknownst to me, while I was sleeping, my Simply Quilts episode re-ran. I didn't know it was going to re-run (no, no one lets you know) and it aired across the U.S.A. during my middle-of-the-night. This morning, right before my sew-a-thon was to commence--I opened my inbox to an avalanche of pattern orders!

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE pattern orders. Well, except for the bow part, as you know. But I LOVE pattern orders! It's so exciting that someone is actually reproducing something I designed in Australia or Germany or Tilden, Nebraska! Thank you all so much for your orders--I'll tie bows for you any day! And thanks for all the pictures you send of your completed quilts. They make my day.

Unfortunately, though, instead of working on my quilts or a skirt during my sew-a-thon day, I worked on this:

These were just the orders that came in before noon! Afternoon brought a whole new batch of orders. And as quilters across the USA finally manage to watch the Simply Quilts episodes they taped during the week, more orders will be rolling in, especially this weekend.

The Simply Quilts show is phenomenal. Even though they stopped producing it, the reruns are still being watched and loved by quilters everywhere. We filmed that episode five long years ago, even before I wrote my second book! And yet every time it airs, I get a walloping batch of orders from all over the U.S.

If you haven't seen my slideshow of the filming, you really should click here or on the Flickr link on my sidebar and see some of the behind-the-scenes stuff. All the pictures were taken by my sister, Jane Ann Munroe.

The experience itself? I'm still recovering. When I left the studio that day, I felt like I had been run over by a train. It was all very intense and I felt entirely out of my league, quilt-wise. But I survived, and I'm glad I did it, even though I can't watch it without cringing! Alex Anderson was such a sweetheart--I think the world of that woman.

So my sewing day with Anne didn't exactly turn out like I had envisioned it, but that's okay. Anne got some sewing done while I tied bows and stuffed envelopes. Remember this picture from last week of Anne trying to figure out her Japanese Puzzle quilt?

I'm happy to say that she got it together and added a border:
and she'll be quilting it any day. I, on the other hand, might be tying bows all week. But that's okay. You're totally worth it. But TOMORROW, I am DEFINITELY going to SEW. And tie some bows. But mostly sew. I hope.