ahead of Irene

Eve, returning from Shanghai, got to her dorm last night at midnight, just ahead of all closing down for Irene.
Photograph is from her trip to Hong Kong.

graduation

The University of Chicago gets pomp and circumstance down well.
A beautiful day at Rockefeller Chapel with the Carillon, Bagpipes, Widor's Toccata on the Skinner organ, and Paul graduating. We are very proud of him.

tip #4 change your blade

Change your blade.
Right now.
You know you need to and have been putting it off.
You will thank me immediately.
You are welcome.

more plaids

Adapted from Bonnie Hunter's first book. I made the sashings a bit narrower.
I really like this quilt.
I love the little children in the Japanese fabric used on the back.

old quilt

My mother found this old quilt at an auction--washed it up and it now belongs to my newly-wed cousin Mark and his bride Shirlee.
Very thick cotton batt--may have some wool in it too.
Whisker guard on the top.
Tied--faded but in remarkably good shape.
I love the block. Sort of an inside-out Jacob's Ladder.

food pantry quilt

Our block party has a fundraiser each year--this year we raffled my Cowboy Crumbs quilt to raise money for the local food pantry.
Crumb blocks finish 6 inches. Made with larger sized crumbs from shirt pockets and cuffs. Quilted by Suzette Fisher.

luau on LeClaire! Block Party 2011

Hula Girls as the Block Heads throwing out candy, waterslide, frisbee golf, and the neighborhood pickup band. All went well once the lighting strike during the morning storm was over!

more from Hickory Hills

Fishing and canoeing, knitting and sewing, puzzles, archery, visiting bison and elk, cooking and baking and grilling and eating.

Sixty Tulips

In celebration of my parents' sixty years of marriage.

Quilt is about 78 by 78 inches, batik fabrics, wool batt, quilted by Sue DiVarco.
Celebration at Hickory Hills near Waterloo, Iowa.

tip #3 ugly quilts happen

They happen. Sometimes you can talk yourself into them being charming. My friend Pat and I referred to our ugly quilts as "sister-in-law quilts" (sorry Katie!*), a quilt you can give to someone out of obligation without any pain of separation.

Just get them out of the house and let them be someone else's joy or problem.

*disclaimer--Katie has NOT received an ugly quilt

60 years

Henrietta Scholten and Leroy Dykstra
August 1951

tip #2 buy good thread

When I first started quilting I bought some cheap 99 cent thread. As I was doing a final press of a crib quilt top the iron melted the thread and all the pieces started to fall apart.
I cried.
I put the quilt on the shelf. It took me a few years to finally throw it away.
And I have always used good thread since.

tip #1--flip your mat

Blades are very expensive and if you find you are having to replace them more frequently, try flipping your olfa mat. These are two sided though many people think you only have the side with numbers.
After a few years the plastic self healing mat becomes not so self healing anymore and can interfere with your blade.
You will have a fresh surface that may make your cutting much easier and more accurate.

When both sides are no good, do not hesitate to buy a new one.

6 years of blogging

In honor of my 6 years of blogging since August 2005, I will give tribute to my grandfather, Jan Scholten, who is responsible for the title of this blog. My Scholten cousins are gathering in August so this seems timely. Watch for a picture of nearly the whole dozen of the klein meisjes!

I also plan, for the next year, to blog a tip each Monday. There is so much we do as quilters that is second nature, and we don't acknowledge that we had to learn them at one point. Many of you will say, "I do that all the time," but you had to figure it out somewhere. Watch for simple things, complex things, and things that make you question just what kind of mind I have.