Going Japanese? Start with your nail polish

When I was picking up soy sauce (after I picked up my latest copy of Quilts Japan) I could not resist getting the most immature sparkle nail polish I've ever seen at our local Japanese market.

It's by pa and it's amazing. I know that you can only get away with these sorts of nails if you are either an actual Japanese person or a 10 yr old American girl and I don't fit either of these descriptions. Oh well, life's too short - right?

This weekend we have some big plans - berry picking! I can almost feel a pie coming on. Can you make something similar to gooseberry fool by using either olallieberries or blackberries? Hm...maybe we'll give it a shot.

And yes, if you're wondering, I'm still making star blocks! An oddly, still enjoying it all. Have a great weekend.

Daddy Dearest

Some dads don't mind helping out with the children.

Some dads actually enjoy it.

Then there's the dad of our boys - he pretty much lives for it.

For Father's Day this year we went to Point Reyes National Seashore which was so beautiful. We took a small hike to the beach and the baby got a real kick out of his hiking backpack.

After getting half way back up the hill I was wishing that I would fit into that thing.

I did knit a little in the car on the way there, so fun to get a little something creative done.

Here's to all the dad's out there.

For my husband who is the ultimate father to our children, and for my dad who was always there for me as a kid and still is for that matter.

Check out my sister's blog for some really funny-cute photos of her with our dad.

I'm still at it here.

I'm still at it with my reproduction signature quilt. Lots more work ahead but I got some squares started last night during our knit night which is progress so I'll take it.

We found out that our friend in the group, Sharon, who I mentioned in my last post, is having a baby girl. Oh...finally! A baby girl will be around. What a blessing to our little circle off friends and the universe in general (especially if she's half as smart as her mommy).


Life has been so busy lately that I will confess that my creative endeavors are not progressing at a very fast pace. I'm going to chalk it off to the ebb and flow of things.

Because it's been a little on the busy side, I will break a couple of blog traditions here for you. I never post more than one picture, and rarely any of myself. Well, here goes. Just keeping it light. Sorry, it's a little corny.

Found it!

Just a quick note to let you know I cleaned off my desk, and yes - there is still a desk under all that clutter. Good to know.

Also a recommendation that you check out my friend Sharon's newly completed shawl - WOW-Beautiful. She's an actual knitter, I have learned so much from her.

In case you are planning on going to Pacific International Quilt Festival in Santa Clara, California...it takes place in October and the class schedule just came out yesterday. I'm thinking I'll sign up for the Hawaiian quilting class. It's very short, and I have wanted to make a Hawaiian quilt for a long time.

I also wanted to volunteer to assist Deb Roberts in quilt appraisal this year, but she already has several folks wanting to assist her so unclear if I will end up doing that or not. Well, I'll keep my fingers crossed I guess. Still trying to further my education in quilt appraisals.

Shirtings make me tick

I could write a sonnet about shirting fabrics.

I collect them, I use them in my quilts, and I am always hesitant to use one of them up 100% just in case I need a small piece for a charm quilt or something.

Probably that's a crazy idea, but I only ever use 90% of any of my shirtings leaving at least a 6 inch wide piece left in my collection. Maybe my niece will make a quilt out of them someday long after I'm gone.

My signature quilt is coming along. Of all the star blocks I need to complete the quilt I am exactly 74.8% done with those, but hey - who's counting?!

For some cool photos of a baby quilt - check out on Mariruru blog by Mai. She hand quilted it and it's pretty darn adorable.

Temptation is making me think about creating a toddler quilt for my little one since he's getting too long/tall for a baby quilt and could really use something a bit larger.

(insert wrist slap here)

Stay focused! Finish the signature quilt!!! Sigh...........ok.

ps, it looks like Kathie loves shirtings too.

2001 Nouveaux Modeles de Patchwork by Chuck Nohara

The Sarah Johnson quilt requires 172 'star' blocks such as the above and I just made just over 100 of them so far.

That puts me at the 60% mark. Time to turn on the gas pretty soon and bust the rest of these out.

I didn't to much quilting this weekend since we were on the go and had basically a kid birthday party on each of the weekend days.

My mom was visiting us last week and she gave me her recent copy of Quilt Mania Magazine. This is such a cool magazine - Originally published in French, translated to English but with a clear focus on Japanese style quilting.

There was an ad for this book: 2001 Nouveaux Modeles de Patchwork by Chuck Nohara in the issue I was reading. You can even look through it for a few pages if you check out the link.

This is a reprint of Chuck Nohara's book that she published ages ago that includes her new twist on 2001 traditional quilt blocks.

Looks like Quilt Mania sells the book and ships anywhere, so I have the feeling my copy might just arrive this week. My husband ordered it for me when he realized how excited I was about it. Really, I almost fainted when I learned it was reprinted.

Getting Out of Jail

This weekend was a holiday weekend in the U.S. but I'm not sure it was as relaxing as we were planning it to be.

Our little one decided to perform what shall hence forth be known as "The Great Escape" from his crib. The older one never figured out how to get out of his crib on his own. This baby is so clever.

This prompted us to convert his crib to a toddler bed, so he can come and go as he pleases now which presents it's own new fun and games in our house.

I did get some quilting done of my wedding signature quilt. Just cutting out all the pieces takes a little while, but working with all the pretty fabrics sure is fun. I have finished blocks to share with you as well next time.

Janet from Quilts A Lot blog gets my award for cutest blog post that I found this weekend. Her crochet flowers are adorable. I want to make some.

I also had a near-life-altering experience after reading a quilting magazine my mom gave me. I know - it's a cliff hanger....until next time!