OMG April

Here we are at the end of the 3rd month of OMG2017, and I haven't had a singe finish! Yikes. Maybe I'm choosing too lofty goals. So for April, I'm picking an easy one.  I started this little quilt top using scraps from another top I'm building. For April, I'd Like to finish just the top. 

That goal seems easy enough and I'd really like to get it done. There's no rush on this one, it's not even on my Q2 FAL list, so that should take some pressure off. But I think this will make a perfect little baby quilt some day. 

Here's a rather sad look at OMG2017 so far:
Jan - Quilt Maybe Lyz - Not finished
Feb - Quilt Tom Mat - Not finished
Mar - Finish Tom Mat - Not Finished
Apr - Finish Little Baby Quilt Top - 

Linking up with Elm Street Quilts and OMG, Needle and Thread Thursday, Finished or Not It's Friday, Building Block Tuesday and more!

Simple Swap: Green Tea

I've been trying to make little changes in my life and routines. Going to the gym, eating less bread, using less paper towels, setting cleaning and food shopping schedules, replacing OK solutions with better ones. I'm making some simple swaps. 

Lately, I've been drinking green tea. I dig it. I like the feeling of caffeine without the jitteriness of coffee. Don't get me wrong, I still love coffee and I wouldn't give it up! I like to have my 2 - 3 cups of coffee, then switch over to tea in the afternoon. I also have been having trouble with my knee lately, and green tea is a great anti inflammatory. What an easy simple swap. 

Anyone else out there working on making some little changes?

MCQBOM2017 - March - House Block

My goodness, you guys! It's the end of march already!! 
For the third month of the Mad Cat Quilts Block Of the Month 2017, I chose a house block. I have made a hose block before but not a simple straight on one like this. It was very easy to make. But I made it more difficult by cutting a long strip of the bird background that I didn't want to waste. So I ended up piecing it all together a little wonkily. I'm not sure what I used as reference/inspiration for this block but this is a pretty version. 

If your following along at home, here is the MCQBOM so far:
Dec - 0) Improve Tree Block
Jan - 1) Pineapple Block
Feb - 2) Spool Block
Mar - 4) House Block
April - 5) Four Tree Block - Coming soon!
May - 6) ?
June - 7) ?
July - 8) ?
Aug - 9) ?
Sept - 10) ?
Oct - 11) ?
Nov - 12) ?
Dec - 13) ?

Although not all the months have been revealed there is a vague theme to this year's BOM. Hopefully it's coming together slowly but surely. 

Originally, my husband was joining me with this BOM but he hasn't had much time to sew lately. If anyone else wants to follow along and share, please do!

Linking up with Building Block Tuesday, Main Crush Monday and more!

New Block: The Coffee Shop (Solstice Block 10/25)

The Coffee Shop Block, block 10 of the Solstice Challenge, is pretty similar to other blocks I've made, but bc of it's boarders, I'm still calling it a new block. It's basically a fat plus block (not sure if there's a real name for that) with little boarders, but playing with color really changes this block's look. 

Pat Sloan's Coffee Shop Block.

Look at how Pat made her version so that the borders become a sort of echo (at right). It's hard to believe how different our two blocks look. I might try that next time. I could picture many variations of this block to make a full quilt. 

Since I only eyeball the measurements in quilting, this block turned out quite a bit bigger than the others I have made so far. As usually, I'm not worried about it now, I'm sure everything will fit together in the end. 

I'm linking up with Kathy's Slow Sunday Stitching, Monday Making, Move It Forward Monday, Tuesday Building Blocks and more!

March Plant Update

The beginning of the month was warm and promising for bulbs and shoots, but as it went on we had snow and storms and cold temps. Hopefully most will survive and Marches plants will bloom to April flowers. 

Snow covered shoots. 

The beginnings of a bloom. 

One of the many succulents I bought last month grew a little flower that only lasted a few days. 

My neighbor's daffs get more light than mine...

But not as much as this dude.

Our kitchen tree is going nuts. 

The quality of this last photo is pretty poor and not a plant update, but a certainly a yard update. The Cooper's hawk that visited us last year has returned!

What were your March Plant Observations?

Something New: Spring Capsule Wardrobe Ideas

Despite having read a lot about and taken inspiration from Capsule Wardrobes, I have never actually made one. This Spring, I plan to actually try it. You may be thinking, but it is Spring! I know! Just two days after the vernal equinox I'm testing out some ideas, writing some goals and getting started. I hoping to have my Spring Capsule done and ready by the start of April. 

"What is a capsule wardrobe?" You might ask. Basically, a capsule wardrobe is a an assortment of clothing limited to a few key pieces (usually 33-37 items) that are the only ones you wear for a season. All your other clothes are either given away, discarded, or stored for another capsule. 

There are many reasons I want to try a capsule this year but a major reason is that, although I have cut way down on what I buy (and I almost exclusively buy second hand now), I still have far too much. This is true of several aspects of my life, but with my clothes it's out of control!! This seems especially unnecessary bc I mostly wear the same things over and over. For 2017, I'm focusing on reducing my things and the waste that comes along with having too much. 

I'm trying to make our house less cluttered and more usable. Reducing the ridiculous amount of clothing I have (and don't use) will help that. The space taken up with these could be better utilized and I am sure I can learn to live with less. I'm hopping that I can be more organized and only hold on to the items I really need. This will be a good way to continue to shop sustainably, either by buying second hand or buying clothing made in the USA, or by responsible makers.  

Here are some initial thoughts:
Style - I'd like to have one... Maybe this can help. 
Work clothes - Id like to dress a bit more thoughtfully at work. Why not dress more thoughtfully all the time?
Comfort -  Is paramount.
Things I love - Color, pattern, high wasted jeans, plain t shirts, sweaters, dresses and skirts with pockets, Vans...
Precious things - I want to wear clothes I love, not hide them bc I worry they will get ruined.
Practical things - I want the clothes I wear to be useful in all aspects of my life and not in only one or two situations. I want them to fit well, and make me feel good. 

I have tried some other wardrobe projects in the past, but I'm hoping this one works. I'll be checking in from time to time with more thoughts. I hope to keep a record of this experiments but also to open it up for discussion among my readers. For more info and inspiration on Capsule Wardrobes follow these links:
Unfancy
Be More With Less
The Blissful Mind
Rowdy Kittens
 

Anyone else new to capsule wardrobes? Already have one? What works for you?

New Block: Among the Stars Fraction (Solstice Block 9/25)

For the 9h block of Pat Sloan's Solstice Challenge, she chose a large block, or a small block with many parts, depending on how you look at it. Since I am making all my block around the same size, I didn't want to cut a million teeny HSTs or make an extra large block. Instead, I modified the pattern, using only a fraction of the whole block. 

I LOVE the way this block came out and I could see doing a whole quilt with just these stretchy stars! I also designed a second fraction of this block that I might also make. I think I will wait to see what the finished quilt might look like first before I do, though. I'm holding on to it in case I need extra blocks depending on how I choose to set them all. 

Linking up with Building Block Tuesday, Slow Sunday Stitching, Monday Making, Move It Forward Monday, MCM, and more. 

Honey Pot Bee March + New Block: Echo Fragment

Every month, Molli Sparkles picks two blocks for the Honey Pot Bee BOM. One is generally a picture block and one more traditional. Some months he even throws in some extra blocks or modifications of previous blocks! I love this idea, because it allows you so many blocks to choose from. Make one each month, or all of them! So far, I've only made the more traditional blocks (another BOM I'm doing uses picture blocks). 

But I have to say, now that we are three months in, I'm not thrilled with any of them. I know that this falls mostly on me. Because I hand sew all my blocks and tend to favor simplicity (and ease) I have modified both the Feb and Mar Block. That's fine, I like how both of them have turned out. But overall, I'm just not excited or overly inspired by the direction this BOM is taking so far. 

I'll stick with it. I do like it, I'm just not thrilled by it. Here is my modified Echo Block for March. 

Sorry I cut off the block a little in this photo: I had to include that cute kitty!

I chose this "background" fabric to tie all my blocks together and every time I get ready to sew one I think, why did I do that? It's such s particular brand of ugly. But when each block is done, I'm so pleasantly surprised!! I really like the way it works with all the scraps I've been using. I also really like how light and easy it is to sew. 

Despite my misgivings, I am interested to see what else is in store for this BOM and wonder what the finished quilt might look like. 

Are you following along with The Honey Pot Bee? What are your thoughts so far?

I'm linking up with Molli via instagram, as well as Needle and Thread Thursday, Building Blocks Tuesday, and more!

Art and Nature at Princeton University for Fourth Anniversary

For our fourth wedding anniversary, we opted to skip a larger trip and stay closer to home. We took several day trips over the course of a long weekend. One stop on our list was Princeton, NJ and specifically the Princeton University Art Museum. 

We arrived in town and meandered around a bit, stopping for lunch and exploring some shops before making our way thru campus to the museum. The Princeton University Museum is free and open to the public. It sits in the heart of the campus. 

This little museum packs a lot of punch!! We were quite surprised at how much was going on with it. There were ancient pieces from all over the world, recent artworks, too, and some modern art. The whole way through the museum we were amazed at what we saw and how much there was.

One of our favorite parts (which I failed to get a photo of) was a small hallway where items from greek, roman, and many other ancient cultures were assembles in packed glass display cases. This was specifically designed so that art students (and others) could come and sketch and study the artifacts. 

After quite a long time exploring the museum we went out in search of a Serra piece we had read was on campus. Before coming to Princeton on this visit we did now know that there were so many large scale modern sculptures on campus. The architecture of the school is nothing to sneeze at, either!

I highly recommend the art museum and walk through the university if you're in the area. 

The Prestige

One of my goals in 2017 is to read more. See other books I've read or listened to here.

Many years ago, shortly after the movie came out, I read The Prestige by Christopher Priest. Recently I saw it pop on as a free audiobook from one of my subscriptions so I decided to listen to it. To my surprise, it was read by Simon Vance. 

Hot off the heels of listening to The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo read by Simon Vance, I had no idea The Prestige was read by the same reader when I started it! I really loved his reading style on the last book, but even so, it took me a while to recognize it was him. It was a fun surprise!

Andrew Westley (born Nicholas Borden) is tempted to look into his early life, his life before he was adopted, when he is sent a mysterious diary. Next an invitation to the sender's home reveals yet another dairy and the strange tale of rival magicians spanning over a century. The story of Rupert Angier and his grand father Alfred Borden turns out to be far stranger than he can possibly imagine!

Having read this book over 10 years ago, I didn't remember everything, but I did remember some of the big reveals. I remembered it was very different than the movie and I remembered that I liked it. One of the things I had forgotten that the book consists of the diaries of the two men, and that the history of their rise to fame and sometimes gruesome details of their hatred towards each other is slowly explained via the journals. The Prestige is not your typical mystery but it will keep you guessing until the very end. I recommend this book for mystery lovers, magic enthusiasts, and those who like the diary style of story telling. 

What are your favorite books that were made in to movies?

New Block: Never Ending Love (Solstice Block 8/25)

This was another block from Pat Sloan's Solstice Challenge that called for appliqué. 

And it's another block where I opted to leave that appliqué out. It's still a new block for me without it and I really like this one! I can very easily see incorporating this block into other quilts. For this and the other block that were supposed to be appliquéd, I used an eye catching fabric for the center of the block. I haven't begun to look at the blocks together to see how the ideas I have might fit into the over all setting of the quilt. But I think having two blocks with these fabric as focal points might work nicely. 

On My Mind On Friday Morning

We watched some good movies in Feb and some not so good here are a few one line movie reviews:
The Dressmaker - Tried too hard to be weird. But lovely imagery. 
Self/Less - I like action adventure movies and Ryan Reynolds. If you do, too, this is a good one. 
A Dangerous Method - Interesting and thought provoking, but disturbing,  
Here's a gentleman who knows how to live. And about sweaters. 
I love this article from Reading My Tea Leaves. I am the choir that Erin is preaching to. 
Here's a fascinating video on zero waste living (this and the above link kinda form a theme).
 I want this year to be my Year of the Porch. I'm working at fixing up and cleaning the front porch and spending some quality time out there. Here's a pic I took this morning:

As you can see there's quite a lot to be done. But it's a small space.
Here is a bit of a porch wish list: 
Clean up, sweep
Wipe down table
Get better chairs (2)
More plants
Use coral collection on windowsills
Cat window cage?!
Hang string lights
Trim bushes
More plants and more plants....
Are any of my readers porch people (or stoop people)? Any tips or suggestions for making the most of the porch life?

YOTS2017 / Spotlighting the Vintage

I love to use found, reclaimed, vintage and thrifted fabric in my quilts. I love that these fabrics find another new home with me, and where ever my quilts end up. Some of the fabric become very dear to me. For my 2017 Year of The Stash manifesto, I included the fact that finding and using these materials should be a priority.  

I like to look back and reminisce about them when looking at my quilts. I thought my readers might, too. For this first (perhaps only) installment, I wanted to look back on a very old quilt I made. I no longer have this quilt as it was a wedding anniversary gift, but I dug out some old photos to show. 

Here are the quilt front and back after I photographed them many years ago before gifting. 

Below, the highlighted areas (in yellow) show vintage fabric I used to create this quilt. 

Most of the vintage fabric I used for this quilt came from mine or my mother's stash. I pieced this quilt a long time ago in Vermont and also used new fabric I had purchased there. This is an old style of squares and stripes improve piecing that I don't use too often any more. 

Here the yellow highlight was a vintage square. The red highlight is a piece of fabric that was part of a display at the wedding of dear friends. For this anniversary quilt I wanted to incorporate it. 

Using vintage and reclaimed fabric and participating in YOTS, for me, are both ways to be mindful  of what I'm sewing and why I'm sewing. 

Here's my month Stash Update:
Fabric Added from the Since Last Update: 0
Fabric Added Year to Date: Approximately 13.25
Fabric Used Since Since Last Update: Approximately 2.5 yd
Fabric Used Year to Date: Approximately 6.5 yd

I'm feeling pretty good about my sewing this year so far. I wish I was doing more, of course, but I feel happy about what I am getting done. I have a lot of BOMs and Projects going that are helping me shop and bust my stash. I really like seeing that fabric becoming blocks and quilts instead of just sitting on the shelves. 

Share your Year of the Stash progress in the comments!

Two Special Pieces in Princeton

Last month, for our anniversary, we went to explore some art in Princeton, New Jersey. We went to see the Princeton University Art Museum (more on that soon), but we didn't realize that there were so many large scale works of modern art scattered around the campus. 

Quite unexpectedly, we found two special pieces while we were there. The first we spotted as we drove through campus and it really blew our minds! This Ai Weiwei sculpture, Circle of Animals/Zodiac Heads, depicting huge lifelike busts of the Chinese zodiac, has special meaning for us; My husband and I saw this sculpture on our second date! It was in Manhattan then, and we had no clue it would be in our new home state on our 4th anniversary!

The second astonishing piece we saw was by Richard Serra, one of our favorite contemporary artists. The Fox and The Hedgehog consists of three massive curved sheets of steel, which can be walked through as well as around. We particularly love that aspect of some of his work. For some reason, you get a strange sensation to be inside of his sculpture. As if your molecules are drawn to and becoming part of the art, and you are involved more than observing. 

We are very excited to get another opportunity to return to Princeton and see more of there outdoor sculptures. I highly recommend a visit if you ever happen to be in the area. 

Who is your favorite large scale artist?

March OMG Goal

OK, I'm 0 for 2 this year so far. I'm choosing the same project as last month, partly bc I'm stubborn, but partly it's bc I really want to get this one done. So, instead of only the quilting being added as my OMG, I want to complete the mat. I did work on it a bit during February, but I also flitted about and touched on many projects. 

This mat is on my FALQ1 so there's another reason to get it done. Here's hoping I get Tom's Mat finished this month! Here's my monthly tally:
Jan - Quilt Maybe Lyz - Not finished
Feb - Quilt Tom Mat - Not finished
Mar - Finish Tom Mat - 

Linking up with Elm Street Quilts and OMG, Slow Sunday Stitching, Move it Forward Monday, and more. 

New Block: Tidy Rows (Solstice Black 7/25)

I put off doing Tidy Rows for a little while bc of all the HSTs. But I ended up really loving this new block. 

I have really been enjoying seeing what new block comes for the Solstice Challenge each week. Although one of the quilt settings calls for several different sizes of blocks, I have been making them pretty much the same. I'm not sure how it will look in the end, but I have a feeling that I will really enjoy this quilt once it is all put together.

I'm linking up with Slow Sunday Stitching, Move it Forward Monday, and more. 

February in Review

Oh February, you are generally a tough month. But Feb 2017 was pretty awesome. There were some short days and long cold nights, but also spring like weather, many beach trips and some fun adventures were had this month. 

We visited some new places in NJ this month including Princeton and Atlantic City. Finding new places that we enjoy in NJ is always fun! Our new state is so diverse, it's fascinating to explore!

The beach was stunning for many days this month and it lifts our spirits to live so close. We also joined a health club which has gone a ways to improve our bodies and moods. It will be an interesting challenge to balance these two aspects, but we look forward to trying!

As with every month, we paid special attention to our furry friends. Keeping them heathy and happy is always one of my top priorities. We also got to meet a few new friends in ducks, seagulls, and more. A few #watchercats and #porchcats were out enjoying the nice weather. 

February was fast, warm and full... March what have you got?

MCQBOM2017 - February - New Block

For the second month of the Mad Cat Quilts Block of the Month, I chose a Spool Block. 

All the blocks in 2017 will be picture blocks and this struck me as a common block that I have never tried to make. 

I procrastinated on this block a long time for some reason. It's only February! I should still be stoked for the MCQBOM2017!! But for some reason, I put this one off almost all month. 
Now that it's done, I'm quite happy with it. It's got some very rough edges but I will fix them up later. 

If your following along at home, here is the MCQBOM so far:
Dec - 0) Improve Tree Block
Jan - 1) Pineapple Block
Feb - 2) Spool Block
Mar - 4) House Block - Coming soon!
April - 5) ?
May - 6) ?
June - 7) ?
July - 8) ?
Aug - 9) ?
Sept - 10) ?
Oct - 11) ?
Nov - 12) ?
Dec - 13) ?
Although I have a pretty good plan of what other blocks I'll include, I'm keeping future blocks a mystery for now! I also have some plans for layout and what I will want the finished quilt to look like also under wraps. 

Anyone else out there working on creating their own BOMs? It's a fun exercise!

Linking up with MCM over at Cooking Up Quilts and Oh Scrap! over at Quilting is More Fun Than Housework for the first time today! Also linking up with Monday Making, Move it Forward Monday and more!

New Block: Crosswalk Block (Solstice 6/25)

Another New Block from Pat Sloan's Solstice Challenge. I put off making the Crosswalk block for a while, but I ended up enjoying it! 

That being said, I'm not sure if I would use this block much. I like it in relation with this quilt though, and I can't wait to see the end results. 

Linking up with Kathy's Slow Sunday Stitching, Monday Making, Move it Forward Monday and more!