Binding Tutorials

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 Becky Goldsmith and Linda Jenkins of Piece of Cake have always amazed me. Not only for their wonderful sense of color and design but also for their itty bitty cording. Yes,cording that is inserted along the inside edge of the binding. It is flawless.
Well my eyes and sewing skills are not “that great” so I am going to show you my
“flat piping”.
This technique works great sewn in between borders 
OR as an edge treatment next to the binding.
The first set of pictures shows piping between 2 borders.
Determine the size of the piping you want to show.
I cut mine 1.5″ for a .125 finished edge.
Cut 2″ for .5″ finished edge.

 Cut and join enough bias strips to sew around your entire quilt top. Sew the strips along the outer edge or in between borders strips as shown here. There is no need to miter or turn the corners with the piping. Sew to the end and cut. These strips will overlap and be covered as the next border is added. 

 The outer border on this quilt is the large green dot shown in the bottom corner of the picture. This border was added next leaving .125 of the small red dot piping peeking through. Once I was comfortable with this I started sewing the piping and borders on in one step. Until then it is best to see the piping in place before adding the next border or binding.

Now I will show you my “FAUX FLAT PIPING”.
I came across this completely by accident. I was having a fabric emergency. I needed to get the binding on a quilt for a gift the next day. Believe it or not I did not have enough fabric for the binding. I dug around until I found something that would work and came strips of the blue check, but they were to narrow.
Binding-blue check cut 1.25 wide, Piping – red dot 1.5. Sew strips together.
Press open.
Fold and press wrong sides together.
Keep in mind, the narrower piece is actually the binding fabric, the wider one shows up as the piping piece.
Add this strip to your quilt top just as you would any other binding paying attention to the color placement. One option, sew the binding to the back of the quilt and bring it around to the front of the quilt top. Stitch in the ditch between the piping and binding fabric using matching thread.

Your Invited- Jan. 19- 26

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Anyone hungry? for fabric that is….

Stash Books and Moda Bake Shop has joined together to create a “filling” book by a few a the moda bake shop chefs. If you are a fan of the the moda bake shop, you will want to join along in the progressive dinner blog hop Jan 19th through Jan 26th. Each day meet 2 of the contributing authors, find out their favorite moda precut,  and learn other tasty bits from each of the chefs. Each chef would love to have you come to their home for an actual progressive dinner, but there is not enough room to park in the driveway. SO, find out how we will be sending you part of the progressive dinners to your home.

Visit the first 2 stops January 19th.

Invite your friends to the Progressive dinner by adding the Dinner logo to your
blog, facebook, twitter. The more the merrier!

TGIF

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Hello to all,

Hope you are somewhere safe and warm with all the crazy weather as of late. I am a bit jet lagged and hope to catch up on my blog posts soon. I have had the wonderful opportunity to travel with the moda designer director for the past week. I hope to catch up on my sleep, sewing and blogging. (laundry and cooking? there will time for that later)

In the mean time I wanted to share this bit of interesting video from 1968. Powers of Ten is a 1968 American documentary short film written and directed by Ray and Charles Eames, rereleased in 1977. It is an adventure in magnitudes and remains truly stunning over 30 years later. A zero seems like a simple thing until you add it to the end of a number.

Could we apply the Powers of Ten to smiles, caring, giving?

Have a wonderful weekend,

Lissa

Friday Funny- White House QUilting Bee

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Quilting knows no political preference….

Now we knows what Larry King is doing in his retirement. This is almost as great as the quilting charmin commercial where they were using knitting needles. DON”T WORRY…. a box of Moda Fabrics is headed to the White House. I wouldn’t want them to sew on that  !$#&%$(^%   stuff from the chains. 

Hiliary shows up…. the way she describes quilting is exactly what my husband said when I first started quilting.

Friday Funny- Happy New Year

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It is the last day of 2010.
Anyone want to do it all over again?
It has been a good year but I am ready for great things in 2011.
You have read stores about my mom, well I am devoting my last post of the year to her.
She has not felt too well and didn’t want to “bother” us. Is this a generational thing?
On Dec 26th she was diagnosed with pneumonia. So I have been staying with her for the past week “doctoring” her back to health. I found an interesting story.here.here.
 An  exert here:
French photographer Sacha Goldberger found his 91-year-old Hungarian grandmother Frederika feeling lonely and depressed. To cheer her up, he suggested that they shoot a series of outrageous photographs in unusual costumes, poses, and locations. Grandma reluctantly agreed



With the unexpected success of this series, titled “Mamika” (or grandma in Hungarian), Goldberger created a MySpace page for her. She now has over 2,200 friends and receives messages like: “You’re the grandmother that I have dreamed of, would you adopt me?” and ” You made my day, I hope to be like you at your age.”

Give or take the 20 something age difference between  Sacha’s grandmother and my mother, there are many similarities.Enjoy the pictures.

“Mamika” (or grandma in Hungarian),
http://www.mymodernmet.com/profiles/blogs/grandmas-superhero-therapy-18

Photgrapher Sacha Goldberger
http://www.sachabada.com/
I cannot believe he has only been a photographer for 4 years.

This picture reminds me of the strength my mom normally has.
This is what she feels like now.
She is eating a little better..

She is resting and taking care of herself.
Soon she will be flying high. ( especially if she keeps drinking her cough syrup).

She is still everyones’ favorite, Gammy.
Now we know who is my mom’s boy friend, Superman of course.
This is what my mom will feel like very soon.
Wishing everyone a high flying superMAMIKA 2011.
Lissa
When I grow up, I am going to be just like my mom.
A few more of these great pics.



Friday Funny- Merry Christmas

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Forgive me! I title these posts Friday Funny only because it is a place for me to post some of my randomness. Today’s post should be titled Friday Interesting or Possibly What Have We Come To.
The Christmas video by Excentric ( an Internet company from Portugal)  is
brilliant
 and
interesting.
It showcases what the story of Christmas would look like in today’s digital world.
While our feelings remain the same, the way we can
 digitally express them has expanded exponentially.
Technology has changed so much of our lives in many ways as this video shows.
Wishing you and yours the best of this
Holiday Season.
Without the Internet I would not have each of you as friends.
 Thank you www.
God Bless!

Friday Funny

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One of the titles for a future blog post WAS going to be  acroynms for quilting and texting.
Then my friend Gene sent me this and thought it was perfect for my Friday Funny.

Since more and more Seniors are texting and tweeting there appears to be a need for a STC (Senior Texting Code).

If you qualify for Senior Discounts this is the code for you.
ATD:
At The Doctor’s
BFF:
Best Friend Farted
BTW:
 Bring The Wheelchair
BYOT:
 Bring Your Own Teeth
CBM:
Covered By Medicare
CUATSC:
See You At The Senior Center
DWI:
Driving While Incontinent
FWB:
Friend With Beta Blockers
FWIW:
 Forgot Where I Was
FYI:
Found Your Insulin
GGPBL:
Gotta Go, Pacemaker Battery Low!
GHA:
Got Heartburn Again
HGBM:
Had Good BM
IMHO:
 Is My Hearing-Aid On?
LMDO:
Laughing My Dentures Out
LOL:
Living On Lipitor
LWO:
 Lawrence Welk’s On
OMMR:
On My Massage Recliner
OMSG:
Oh My! Sorry, Gas.
SGGP:
Sorry, Gotta Go P
TTYL:
 Talk To You Louder
WAITT:
Who Am I Talking To?
WTFA:
Wet The Furniture Again
WTP:
Where’s The Prunes?
WWNO:
Walker Wheels Need Oil
These are great no matter how you old.  Afterall don’t we all have those senior moments?
I hope you never are-
ROFL…. CGU:
Rolling On The Floor Laughing… And Can’t Get Up

Feel free to add any codes you feel are missing, so we can keep the list updated.
GLKI (Gotta Go, Laxative Kicking In)

Hard to get a good picture

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All I wanted was to “re-create” this picture from 1996
“Peas on Earth”

Bo is holding a can of peas sitting on top of a globe. Clever?!

At the time all of my kids lived at home, none of them worked, no one drove or at  least legally they didn’t.
14 years later and some things have changed. They all live here in Dallas so I see them alot. That is nice except for the fact they all have a life and I have to work around “THEIR” schedule. Some of them work, and some are always looking for a job. They all drive which makes them all quite mobile.

The plan was easy. Cook, then spread the word and they would all magically appear for some grub and a photo op. My daughter had other plans- a Dallas Cowboy game watching party- so we had to quickly call the troops and rearrange the plans.

Grant and Bo
It was sunny, cold and windy so we had to work fast.  The oldest and the youngest have to
quote lines from every movie ever seen before getting in their position.
Oops, everyone in the shot but too much sun! Re-group …
Travis– musician and the family dog whisperer.
(Kobie will not be in any other pictures- he had enough)
Grant
Remember we were going to re enact the “Peas on Earth” card but Grant thought the peace logo made a better steering wheel for his big Texas truck. Grant brought along his girl friend, Misty to be the official photographer.
Misty decided to add some other props to our picture to make everyone “Behave.”
R to L: Travis, Jarrod, Jillian, Grant, Bo.
Quick funny story. I call the boys my set of bookends. Grant and Jarrod are 21 months apart. Travis and Bo and 21 months apart. And their sister Jillian is right in the middle of the bookends. I went into labor on my husband’s 30th birthday with her. She was born the next day.

The older kid in each set (Grant and Travis) both have September birthdays, 10 days apart.
The younger kid in each set ( Jarrod and Bo) both have July birthdays, 10 days apart.
They are such a great study for birth order. The Birth Order book by Kevin Leman is a fantastic book. I highly recommend it. When I teach quilting classes I can guess what birth order the students are.

me and DB
(they call him dancing bear!)
Travis is holding Jarrod’s puppy, Chunk. Jarrod is selling him so we won’t
name him. We have named him so he may have to stay.

probably my favorite picture because it shows each of the kids personalities
and then back to the props for a game of tug of war!

Pictures were taken last weekend, but  breaking news in our family is that Grant asked Misty to marry him this weekend.
She said YES! 
 What a wonderful Christmas gift for entire family. 
I won’t be the only Kansas Girl anymore! I love it!

My Great Anne

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I have a great aunt on my father’s side. When I was young, she would come and stay when my parents would go out of town. My parents rarely went on a trip, so the sheer fact that these times are so memorable, speaks volumes for Anne’s uniqueness.  She was full of energy and seemed to easily keep up with my 2 rambunctious brothers, my boy crazy sister and myself, the angel.

Her cooking was, how shall I say, “Lumpy?” One of my biggest fears is to have my mashed potatoes compared to Anne’s at any family gathering! She would mash the darnedest things and add them to pancakes. You know, Waste not, Want not….

Anne would never inconvenience anyone. Not even to phone home to check in with her family in Temple, Texas. She would walk to the 7-11 to use the pay phone, just so my mom and dad would not have to pay the charges. (I wonder if Anne has a cell phone, now?)

I have always thought Anne was one of the smartest women I have ever met, in her own unique way.
Looking back, she did say some ODD things. In her energetic voice, she would say, 
“My oh my, time sure goes by faster as you get older.”

 Now, I will tell you I am a natural blond and often live up to the reputation that brings. But seriously, I would scratch my head and look at the clock T I C K  T O C K.  The clocked looked like it was moving at the same speed for me at 9 years old as it was for her at 59. I literally thought she was cuckoo.
Now that I am closer to 59 than 9, I see what Annie meant. How does that darn clock move so much faster now than it did before?………especially during the holiday season?

I thought I would share this 2 part video as my FRIDAY FUNNY  in honor of my great aunt Anne.

Just think how great it would be to SLOW DOWN the hands of time.
(disclaimer- you only need to watch the first bit of this one to get the point. Then it starts to get creepy and remind me of an old drunk uncle- not mine of course)

I hope you have a wonderful Friday and that you are able to slow down and laugh out loud!!

-lissa

6 degrees of separation

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Bear with me for a bit of factual information courtesy of the world wide web.

Six degrees of separation is the theory that anyone on the planet can be connected to any other person on the planet through a chain of acquaintances that has no more than five intermediaries. The theory was first proposed in 1929 by the Hungarian writer Frigyes Karinthy in a short story called “Chains.”

In 1967, American sociologist Stanley Milgram devised a new way to test the theory, which he called “the small-world problem.” He randomly selected people in the mid-West to send packages to a stranger located in Massachusetts. The senders knew the recipient’s name, occupation, and general location. They were instructed to send the package to a person they knew on a first-name basis who they thought was most likely, out of all their friends, to know the target personally. That person would do the same, and so on, until the package was personally delivered to its target recipient. Although the participants expected the chain to include at least a hundred intermediaries, it only took (on average) between five and seven intermediaries to get each package delivered.

Six degrees of separation became an accepted notion in pop culture after Brett C. Tjaden published a computer game on the University of Virginia’s Web site based on the small-world problem. Tjaden used the Internet Movie Database (IMDB) to document connections between different actors. Time Magazine called his site, The Oracle of Bacon at Virginia, one of the “Ten Best Web Sites of 1996.”In 2001, Duncan Watts, a professor at Columbia University, continued his own earlier research into the phenomenon and recreated Milgram’s experiment on the Internet. Watts used an e-mail message as the “package” that needed to be delivered, and surprisingly, after reviewing the data collected by 48,000 senders and 19 targets (in 157 countries), Watts found that the average number of intermediaries was indeed, six. Watts’ research, and the advent of the computer age, has opened up new areas of inquiry related to six degrees of separation in diverse areas of network theory such as as power grid analysis, disease transmission, graph theory, corporate communication, and computer circuitry.

Okay, now that you did some learning, here is the fun part.

If you do not believe any of the above scientific information, check out  this site. Enter any stars name and it will tell you how that star is connected to Kevin Bacon in 6 “steps”or less.
I gave it a try and plugged in Antonio Banderas. ( My mom thinks he is sexy!)

Let me know who you choose and how many degrees.

The funny thing is that over 80 years from when Frigyes Karinthy first wrote his short story,”Chains”, little did he know of the Social Media Revolution of 2010. They say that with Facebook, Twitter, Linked In, etc. the separation gap has actually closed to 3 degrees.

It actually happened to me today at work. I met a NEW FRIEND that is related to an OLD FRIEND. I will tell you about this in May. But in the meantime, watch this great Kevin Bacon commercial to further prove my point. On a side note, is he embroidering?! Enjoy!

ADDITIONAL INFO TO BLOG POST:
I recieved the following e-mail from Kate Spain this morning.
I asked her if I could share this with you. Small world!
That “6 degrees” theory is totally amazing! Can’t wait to learn what your new friend/old friend connection is! So I went to the Oracle of Bacon site…and this is kind of funny…my Dad had a teenie weenie part in a movie called “Eight Men Out”…so just for kicks, I typed my Dad’s name in there and look what turned up!! -Kate

So Kate’s father is 2 degrees from Kevin Bacon also.
What fun! Thanks Kate for adding to my mindless entertainment.