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Streak of Lighting - Back on Track

I'm so glad I have help when I'm stitching away. Yesterday Raisin found her safe cave under my sewing table.

The Streak of Lightning quilt I'm working on is one of those that are outside my comfort zone. I rarely create projects that require perfect 1/4" seams. The other thing that makes this quilt challenging is that the nine-patch blocks are on point which puts them on the bias. The setting triangles are cut as quarter-square triangles so the vertical edges are straight of grain. Nonetheless, the vertical columns are stretchy. None of this is uncommon for quilting and I'm confident the quilt will be just fine.

Look how much the seams take out of the design layout. The left side is sewn together. The wall was covered top to bottom, but with the seams sewn, the quilt is already about 14 inches shorter.

Yesterday I had a major setback and I'm sorry I didn't take photos of what happened. These images give you the idea of what happened. The columns are piece as shown at left. There is a setting triangle on each side of the nine-patch block set on point. While I was piecing one of the columns, I accidentally inverted one unit (see red arrow) which led me to subsequently invert the next 8 or 9 before I realized what I had done. Because of the color layout, there was no simple fix. I had to unsew those units and get everything situated properly.

I don't like unsewing!

Today I have to pack. Tomorrow morning we drive to Socorro, NM to do a two-day seminar. The weather already feels like fall and the trees are hinting that they are resisting changing colors.

I'm thinking I might square and bind Deadwood today - but it's just a thought at this point.

History 2 is teaching me How the Earth Was Made: Tsunami Science. Mother Nature sure has her dark side.

Speaking of nature. My western slope peaches are mmmmm-good. Try this: slice fresh peaches into a bowl. Pour some milk over them. Add a splash of vanilla latte coffee creamer. OMG! I'm just sayin'...

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The Crappy Scraps Winner Is...

Dianne Gale, winner of my Crappy Scraps, followed the news up with this picture showing where on her design wall these bits and pieces will go.

It's always a very tough decision when everyone is clamoring for one bag of my Crappy Scraps! I read every comment and it's exciting to be reminded about the outpouring of charity that goes on throughout the quilting community. I'm also touched by the things you make for your children or grandchildren and of course I'm a sucker for what you do for your pets. I love the creative ideas about coasters, book covers, bags, etc and I know that all of you would be doing happy dances if I picked you. Thanks for playing - it means a lot! There were not enough scraps to divide among friends and far from enough to make any quilt of substance.

The winner of my scraps is Dianne Gale. Here is the winning comment:
Hi when I saw you in Rochester you suggested creating the quilt on your design board instead of mapping out what I want to do before hand. I am going to put your bits and pieces on my design board and see what the fabric tells me to do.

Dianne is referring to my recent Ricky Tims Super Quilt Seminar in Rochester, NY. If you read my recent blog you know how passionate I am about using a design wall. Dianne did her homework (I told everyone their homework was to make a design wall) and I know she will be able to create something fun by just letting the fabric offer the ideas. Dianne has promised to send a photo of her finished project. I want to see what the fabric say to Dianne and I'll be sure to share the results with you too. Stay tuned. I'm sure there will be more Crappy Scraps in my future.

Here's Diane's reply to my email telling her the scraps were coming her way:

Dear Ricky,
WOOT!!!!! Thank you soooooo much. I have to tell you that your seminar in Rochester was THE greatest learning experience of my quilting life. That and "The Quilt Show" have taught me so much. So much great information there as well. So far I have made a convergence quilt, and I have bound 2 quilts using your piped binding. That is my new binding method and I will never use anything else! Also my friend and I were inspired to dye fabric. All thanks to you.

I think I need to start another quilt. I like giving away scraps. I'm just sayin'...

7 comments

Peach Cobbler - Yummy!

Well, other than the fact that 250 of you want my crappy scraps (seriously crappy scraps from making Streak of Lightning - not my stash), many of you also wanted some peach cobbler. Well, I can't send everyone the scraps but I can offer the peach cobbler recipe. It was featured in the August 2011 issue of The Quilt Life magazine. I don't have my Granny's exact recipe, but this is the one I found that comes closest. I will say, the magazine recipe called for 1 cup butter, I meant 1 stick (1/2 cup) so use this version unless you really like butter - lol. It's so easy.

Ingredients:

1 stick of butter (1/2 cup)
2 c. sugar, (divided in half)
1 cup all purpose flour
1 T. baking powder
Pinch of salt
1 c. milk
4 c. fresh, peeled and cliced, juicy peaches
Ground cinnamon or nutmeg (optional)

Melt butter in a 9" x 13" baking dish. Combine flour, 1 c. sugar, baking powder, and salt; add the milk, stirring just until the dry ingredients are moistened. Drizzle the batter over butter (do not stir).

Bring the remaining 1 c. sugar and the peach slices to a boil over high heat, stirring constantly. Pour over the batter (do not stir) distributing as evenly as possible. Sprinkle with cinnamon or nutmeg, if desired.

Back at 375º for 40-45 minutes until golden brown. Serve cool or warm, but warm with vanilla ice cream is pretty awesome!

Speaking of The Quilt Life, my copies arrived yesterday of the October 2012 issue - and I LOVE this new cover. The issue is all about architecture (including the spider web pattern that I made from my parents 50th wedding anniversary in 1998). Spiders are architects too!

So today I had some office work to do. I also drove to Walsenburg to get new tags for my new Volkswagon (whoo-hoo, 28 mpg). This afternoon I began putting together the columns of my Streak of Lightning quilt and I'll report more on that in the days ahead.

Oh - and it's been raining and raining. Slow and steady! Whoo-hoo!

I'm glad I'm in my warm studio staying dry - after all, I'm so sweet I'd melt. I'm just sayin'....

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Want Some Free Scraps?

COMMENTS ARE CLOSED _ WINNER OF SCRAPS IS POSTED HERE.

Success!!! I've finished quilting Deadwood! It's my first longarm quilted project. It is currently enjoying a bath, after which I'll block it and prepare to bind it. I'll post a photo of the finished quilt very soon.

In the meantime, it was time to clean the studio. I had been working on the Streak of Lightning quilt as well as the Deadwood quilt an so the bits and pieces laying around the new studio were getting out of control.

I know how some of you are, my trash is your treasure. Here is a photo of the bits and pieces of fabrics I have collected from the trash that were used in the making of the Streak of Lightning quilt. If you want theses scraps just add a comment and tell me what you will do to turn my trash into your treasure. There are a LOT of little pieces, and some midsize pieces. If you are selected I'll hold you to your answer in a follow up future blog. I'll send this bunch to you free of charge (USA only, seriously, they came out of the trash). Comments are moderated so be patient. I will post your comment when time permits. I'll choose from the replies on Tuesday, August 22, 2012.

I get to pick up 20 lbs of Western Slope peaches today. Yum. Anyone want peach cobbler? And, I'm heading out to Autumn Rock to enjoy a relaxing afternoon looking for bears! I'm just saying'....

263 comments

A Quilt Show and Rachmaninov

Today I left early and drove four hours north to Loveland, Colorado to visit the Rocky Mountain Quilt Festival. The show is only a few years old, but growing every year.

My main purpose for going was to see the debut of a new exhibit of Route 66 quilts. Pat Blair and Kelly Gallagher-Abbott curated this exhibit that will travel for three years. If it comes to your area don't miss it. The quilts are fun and nostalgic - as they should be! Pat Blair worked her airbrush and quilting magic to create several panels with a map of the entire Mother Road from Chicago, IL to the Santa Monica pier in California. The quilts are interspersed over the Route 66 panels. I took the photos below on my iPhone so they are not the best quality - and it was a whirlwind trip. I apologize that I don't have the names of the quilt makers except the Magnolia quilt. It was made by a quilter I know from Arroyo Grande, CA, Gigi Kandler.

My stereo was blasting Rachmaninov piano concertos performed by Andre Previn and the London Symphony Orchestra all day. If you ever want to spend a day listening to heaven on earth, get the entire set of four concertos. The OMG parts for me are:

1. Concerto No 2, second movement (sheer heaven)
2. Concerto No 3. the last three minutes of the final movement - OMG - ecstasy.
3. The entire Rach 4 is a technical masterpiece.

Van Cliburn won Moscow's first International Tchaikovsky Competition in 1958 which propelled him to international fame as the best pianist alive at the time by performing both the Rach 1 and the Rach 3 piano concertos. The contest was designed to demonstrate the Solviet's cultural superiority. It's worth reading the Van Cliburn link to understand the magnitude of what an American winning this prize in the Soviet Union during the cold war meant on a global cultural stage.

Speaking of sheer heaven, you can still sign up to go with me next summer on Route 66 - Click here! I'm just sayin'...