Permanent ink on quilts

Writing on your quilt is like giving it a tattoo.

Traditional Baltimore Album quilts had copper plate calligraphy on them. There is a cool video on you tube (short clip) that gives you an idea of how the real artists make these beautiful letters.

I did a pseudo-wanna-be version of this that works on fabric w/ an example of how to do calligraphy on fabric in an earlier post.

The above is a little bag I made for Zegi who won the give away contest.

First, I took some fabric and wrote a letter to my coming-soon baby boy on it, using my own 'copperplate calligraphy' and a pigma pen.

Then I made it into a little bag, place some adorable taupe-blue dots on there, and used a clover zipper (the ONLY kind of zipper to use on bags!!).

The letter says:


May you have health and love in your life; true friends, and passion. Take comfort in the blessing of family. Find joy in every day and appreciate the beauty of nature. Work hard and find pleasure in learning. You are an amazing gift to the world.



So this is my wish, for my yet to be born son, and to all of you as well since these are the things I find to be the most rewarding in my own life.

This technique of writing not only makes for a very interesting treatment on fabric in general, but is perfect for making quilt labels too. (Label example from earlier post).

It's a Boy!!

Well, with twice as many girl guessers as boy guessers...I have to admit the odds of winning the give away were slighly in favor of those rooting for the blue side.

The lucky winner of the give away is Zegi of Quilt Bug Blog - congrats to you Zegi!!

Thanks to everybody for the well wishes and comments.

Truthfully, I'm thrilled that we'll have a matching set of little boys, and I really cannot wait to meet this tiny one.

He's certainly a lively baby, kicking around quite a lot!

Above is a quick shot of the almost-done item for the give away....final picture next post.

Boy or Girl? You guess....you win!

Today was a HUGE day in our household, we had our big ultrasound, and we found out the sex of our newly expected arrival.

I wanted to do a little give-away for all you rockin' blog readers, so here's the deal:

Make a comment, take a guess - is it a boy or a girl? - sometime before midnight PST on 4/26.

To all those who guess right (and no cheating, my sister cannot play since she already knows) I'll pick a lucky name out of the hat and send a little surprise gift your way.

Thanks for sharing in our joy....oh, babies....I honestly don't know of anything better in the universe.

ps - do NOT click on this link if you are trying not to buy more fabric. I just broke down and bought a yard! Cuteness alert!!

Chevron scarf

Joelle Hoverson's book (owner of Purl Soho) Last Minute Knitted Gifts really lit a fire under me to put some effort into learning how to knit.

So...I took some lessons, and classes, and as a quilter that is terrified of knitting, very timidly started this Chevron Scarf from her book.

I'm using red and green Koigu yarn, and these are as pretty as any yarn I've ever seen.

Unclear if I will ever finish this, even though finishing by next winter would be a stretch goal for me. It seems that many others coming before me have actually finished one of these - wow, some cool inspiration here - Chevron Scarf flickr group

I got my poor friend Sharon to make one too, because I'm too scared to make one alone. Thanks for the knitted moral support, my dear.

And if you don't have the energy to start one yourself, and are looking to somehow occupy your time, I would recommend this URL: Paper Throw - beware, addictive!

Papa visit

This weekend my husband is off at a photo workshop, getting inspiration in Big Sur, California and getting inspiration from his instructor, Eddie Soloway (amazing photos here).

My dad, affectionately known around here as Papa, flew in to give me a hand and serve as 2-yr-old entertainment. He's amazing, and the two of them are like peas and carrots.

I'm sure it will be a fun weekend, but will include a little visit to the photo school to see Daddy for dinner, so likely not to get much quilting in.

Some of you out there are still getting a lot of sewing done. Alex, of Moonstitches just made this to-die-for Mexican Pinwheel quilt block. The beauty does sometimes lie in the details, in small tiny pieces fitting together, just so.

You know you're crazy when...

...you try to make ketchup from scratch.

I have this cookbook that has a recipe for turkey meatloaf that I wanted to try, but in order to make that, you first must make your own ketchup.

This was no small endeavor, and I ended up with no small amount of it either. (live in the California bay area, and want some?)

Is this because I'm pregnant and am predisposed to do, make, eat odd things? Perhaps, I'm trying to keep an open mind here.

In any case, the ketchup is awesome, though not sweet, and is being well-received by all. Even non-ketchup eaters have turned over a new leaf.

Lastly, the above picture is of the hair decoration that I got from Atelier Kanawa's Etsy shop. Wow, pretty pretty, and even has bells.

Doll quilts

The Doll Quilt Swap is on again, after taking some time out for maybe about half a year.

Looks like there is a new host, and lots of folks signed up to eagerly create those tiny quilts to warm the laps of teddy bears and curly-haired dolls around the globe.

I'm not in the swap this time because I was afraid I wouldn't have the energy to finish it on time. I am not sure how you ladies bust through your pregnancy and continue to turn out amazing crafty works....if you have any tips on where to find some extra energy, please send them my way!

The quilt squares above were a gift from my mom, when she visited last week. Not sure where I will use them yet, but they are all from Japan, and each is so very pretty.

It's twins!

Oh my goodness, we're expecting twin babies! Isn't it amazing!

I had an appointment w/ my OB this afternoon, and she was looking at the ultrasound and found that we will be having twins!

She really wants us to come back in another 2 weeks to verify that it isn't actually triplets.

Oh, and my friend forward me this link to a USB-based pregnancy test that plugs directly into your computer. Is this too geeky or what? Ah, and I used to think she was so "cool" - just kidding Sharon.

Ok seriously, I'M NOT HAVING TWINS, it's just April Fools' day (this lovely thing we celebrate here in the US).

Have you been fooled today? (probably not by little old me!) Tee hee....