Crazy for Blue

My take on Fun Quilts’ Call Me Crazy quilt has been over two years in the making. I don’t remember exactly when I made the first block, but I restarted this quilt in April 2011. It was my first introduction to improv piecing, and I loved every minute I spent working on it. I found the colors and fabrics soothing to work with, and the technique invigorating.

 

Sadly, progress on this quilt stalled after I pieced the rows together. I looked upon its incompleteness daily until I realized what the hold-up was: I hate borders! Yes, they look lovely on some quilts, but I thoroughly dislike actually sewing them on. Since I intended for this quilt to be a lap quilt from the beginning, in the end I simply left the quilt without borders and moved forward.

 

I quilted Crazy for Blue with straight line quilting, and used blue Aurifil thread on the crazy pieced blocks and white on the sashing. The binding is 2” binding left over from my first ever quilt. (I inadvertently made double the binding needed for that quilt.) Part of me is sad that this quilt is finished, but the rest of me is pleased as punch to be using it.

Adventures in Quilting: La Conner, WA

 

 

If you ever find yourself in need of a fun, laidback quilty day trip in Western Washington, check out La Conner. Recently, my mom, grandma and I headed there to visit the La Conner Quilt & Textile Museum and had a fun, memorable day.

The museum alone is worth the trip. Housed in a Victorian mansion, the museum itself is beautiful, with a solidity that you seldom find in more modern buildings. When we visited, the main exhibit was “Color, Design, & Inspiration: Kaffe Fassett & Brandon Mably, with Liza Prior Lucy.” While familiar with Kaffe Fassett’s fabrics and books, I had never seen any of his quilts in person before. Sadly, photography was not allowed, although each quilt was tagged with the book it appears in. Turns out that the majority of my favorite quilts in the exhibit can be found in Kaffe Fassett's Simple Shapes Spectacular Quilts: 23 Original Quilt Designs. The helpful lady at the front desk mentioned that the fabric store in town carried Kaffe Fassett’s fabrics, so we headed there after lunch.

Fabric D’eva is a nicely laid out store with a pleasant combination of quilting basics and current trends. I was especially charmed to have my purchases rung up by the burliest man I have ever seen working in a quilt shop, and who engaged me in light chitchat on the merits of Aurifil thread. Another clerk asked if we had been to their Stash Builder sale across from the museum. We had not, so we decided to check it out on our way back to our car, lured by the promise of fabric by the pound. We were not disappointed. There were tables and tables of quilting cottons for $5 a pound! After a stunning display of self-restraint, I walked away with approximately 15 yards of Benartex fabric for under $25. I’m still a little giddy about that!

Delicious Macarons Class

 

I have long been a fan of macarons (not macaroons), but was too afraid to try making them at home, due to their notoriously finicky nature. Luckily for me, it turns out that my local Sur la Table store offers classes on how to make these delectable dainties. Last weekend my mom and I took the Delicious Macarons class, taught by Michelle Mrkota. We had a blast, and came home with three different kinds of macarons: Chocolate with Pastry Cream and Crème Brûlée bits, Pumpkin with Maple Buttercream, and Red Velvet with Cream Cheese Icing.

 

 

I seldom take a cooking class, but was so glad I took this one! The instructor’s obvious experience (two and half years of making macarons daily!) and easy-to-understand tips made every minute of the class valuable. Plus, it was fun to learn alongside my mom, who taught me pretty much everything I know about baking. At the end of the class, we walked away feeling confident about our ability to make macarons at home. I’ll let you know how that goes.