Back Up and Running to The River!

Our computer has been down this past month, the mother board burned out and so we have had to replace it.  Ah technology!  It seems that it changes with lightening speed.  I am sure that this amazing laptop will be obsolete tomorrow morning.  It makes me reflect back to a time at my Gram's house when microwave ovens were first coming out and how she swore up and down she would never have one in her home.  Well, she was given one and I think that became her preferred way to cook for the remainder of her life. So funny, my little English grandmother, boiling her peas on the stove until they were that lifeless graygreen color and then nuking them in the microwave before she brought them to the table.  She was an amazing woman, an artist, world traveled, well read, she could do just about anything, except she never mastered cooking.  I loved her and ate her food with a smile, enjoying her conversation and the gathering at her table.  It was always interesting, even if it was not the culinary delight!

Yesterday my sweet friend Brenda Allen, who has Bella B Photography, and I took the GIMQ quilt down to the river to take some beauty shots of the quilt.  She took her fancy camera gear and I had my little iPhone camera along for some quickies.  We drove in her four wheel drive down to Yankee Jims Bridge on the North Fork of the American River.  Following the rugged one lane dirt road that meanders down a very steep canyon, past several beautiful falls, we parked at the bottom and walked down a wooden railroad tie stairway to the river.

Brenda shoots her photos using our abundant local resources.  Visit her website by clicking on her name above and you can see how beautiful her setting selections are.  Anyway, we layed out my GIMQ in a number of different "poses" and generally had a ball.

Here is a little excerpt about the history of Yankee Jim's from geneaology trails website.

YANKEE JIM’S – About 18 miles northeast of Auburn is the old mining town of Yankee Jim’s which was settled in 1850. The name comes from an Australian criminal with the nickname “Yankee” and who held stolen horses at the site before the discovery of gold there. During its history, Yankee Jim’s was one of the largest towns of Placer and the leader in many enterprises, such as hydraulic mining, large fruit orchards (trees shipped around the Horn from Philadelphia), and some of the earliest newspapers in the county. The Democratic Party Convention of 1857 was held in Yankee Jim’s, in fact. By the early 1880s, the town supported a post office, two general stores, a hotel, a saloon, a doctor’s office, and a carpentry shop. The eventual decline of the town is not attributed so much to the failure of the mines as to the building up of adjacent towns, such as Foresthill and Todd Valley, in its day. The post office that was first established in 1852 was discontinued in 1940. Today, all that remains of Yankee Jim’s are a few residence

It's winter time here, early spring...there should be a great deal of water coursing down this river but we have had several years of drought and there is not much in the way of a snow pack this year so I expect there will not be much water in the river bed in a few months.  Should be great for the gold seekers...easier access to the riverbed without having to wear a wet suit.  The state no longer allows slucing so miners must dig their dirt and pan it at the riverside like the old days.  It's very hard work for not much return. Fun if you just want to spend the day at the river enjoying the water and the possibility of a treasure hunt.

Brenda is like a little mountain goat, she just kicks off her shoes and she's climbing up on anything and everything to get her shot!  I will be anxious to see her photos, these are just the little ones I snapped with my iPhone. 

Everything is so green right now, little flowers abound and the redbud and wild lilacs are blooming in full beauty!  It won't be but a few weeks if we don't get anymore rain this year, that the scenery will change to our summer browns.  I remember moving from the east coast as a little girl and being stunned by how brown everything was in summer, it's just the exact opposite on the east coast.  Our green time here is winter and spring, spring especially.  

If you ever get out this way and have the time, take a day trip out to Yankee Jims, you won't be sorry.  Take a picnic lunch, plenty of cool drinks, bring your bathing suit, some good walking shoes, a towel to spread out and lots of sunscreen.  AND YOUR CAMERA!

Evidence of the old gold diggings abound and the old suspension bridge from the 1930's over the river is picturesque.  You can pick up a gold pan in town at the mining store with lots of pointers on how to use it, it will be a nice momento and if you get a flake or two, well all the better!  

Today, I'm going to finish up this quilt, I actually only have about two feet left to quilt and then  I'm going to do a little piecing on some connector blocks for the one below...

I'm using a block pattern from this book...

And the fabric I am using is from this line of Moda...

I hope you are having an enjoyable day!  I'll be thinking about you!

Easter is coming and I am scouting some fun ideas for a table topper and some cute Easter Basket stuffings.  Check back...now that I am back up and running I am springing into action!

Start Your Engines! The Grand Illusion Mystery Quilt Has Begun!

It's that time of year!  Bonnie Hunter has just launched her latest Mystery Quilt, the Grand Illusion.  And yes, I am playing along!  I hope you are too, they are lots of fun.  I will be posting my progress here after each clue. 

 

In her introduction, Bonnie had us pick out our fabrics using her color samples shown above, here is my spread.  Most are from my stash, I am cleaning out and making room for new.  But, with that said, I did not have much yellow and very little grass green, which required a trip to the quilt shop!  I know, we hate that right?  

No Lowe's in our town to get copies of the paint samples, but we have a Home Depot and I think these come pretty close.  I tend to gravitate toward the jewel tones.  So my colors are probably more on the deeper end of the spectrum.  Yellow is a stretch for me but that's what I love about Bonnie Hunter Mystery Quilts, they can push your boundaries in a good way!

I ended up switching out my Blacks and Whites for a constant called Contempo Bellissimo.

Mystery Part 1!

First thing to do is make HST units.  I want a scrappy look but I don't want to use the ruler (which I have) and strips so I pulled out my stencil from Sunday Best Quiltworks and got busy.  Each time you use it you make 32 HST units which makes it very short work when you need to make a lot!  Plus by switching up my fabrics each time, it will give me that scrappy effect I want in the finished quilt.  

With right sides of my fabric together, I trace the stencil, using a permanent marking pen.  They have lines for the quarter inch seam allowance, but I don't mark those, I can sew a quarter inch seam.  If you need them you can trace them, but I would use a water soluble marker for those as they will not be in your cut line.

Once everything is traced (it just takes a couple minutes, literally) then you stitch as shown in the photo above.  Two rectangles in opposite directions.

When you are finished stitching, give the whole thing a good steam press to set all your seams at once!  Then using your rotary cutter and a ruler, cut it apart, on the straight lines first and then the diagonal lines between your stitching.  BAM!  32 PERFECT triangles.  NONE ON THE BIAS!  This is important for beginning quilters.  Bias raw edges can just make a mess when you are learning to quilt.

Trim off all the little dog ears now.  It only takes a few minutes, then press them open to the dark side.  I like to finger press my HST's open first, then use the iron.  One of the most important things you can do in quilting is to press carefully and properly. Don't Scrub with your iron as it will distort your work.  Just press. If you will finger press your work open first, you will make sure that you open your seam all the way.  Sometimes a new quilter will think they are off in their measurements or their seam allowance, when all they really need to do is properly press their work. Remember:  Get your seam open and press, don't scrub.

No extra trimming required, each one is a perfect 2.5 inches!

Here is a little video of the technique by Sunday Best Quiltworks.

Now, normally, I would never mix these fabrics up like this, but Bonnie has taught me that if you cut something small enough it will work.  And you know what?  She's right!  Not only is she right, but I have found that it creates a lot of interest when you are actually using the quilt, you notice little fun things here and there.  Don't be afraid to try her methods.

There is something just so enjoyable for me when I am chain piecing.  A rhythm develops and it allows your mind to wander.  I find it restful and refreshing.

There is a satisfaction in seeing each step completed.  

Watching as your piles of completed units start to stack up.  You can see the simple satisfaction of completing this one portion of your task.  It's the process of eating an elephant...one bite at a time.

And before you know it, all your broken dish units are neatly stacked before your eyes!   A warm feeling comes over you as you realize that you have tackled the 1st clue successfully!  That elephant doesn't stand a chance!!!

So I am a zip-lock bag freak!  I put my components as they are finished into zip-lock bags and then I put those bags into a working tub that contains my fabric and my pattern.  Everything is in one spot so I don't have to go searching for any of it.  Here is the link for Part 1!  Mystery Monday Link-Up Part 1

Can't wait till Friday Bonnie!!!

If you are not making the Grand Illusion Mystery Quilt...I hope you will jump in.  It's not too late.  Each week Bonnie will be posting clues and they will stay up for a while giving you plenty of time to catch up.  Details can be found on her blog at Quiltville.com  Just look for the tab titled Grand Illusion Mystery Quilt.