Who Nose Best?

Clearly, not me. The trouble began when a litle roughhousing with Tucker went wrong. He's got claws like a cat and sharp little teeth to match.

And he seriously needs to grow into his legs and ears. Right now he looks like a little fawn.....a snaggle-toothed fawn with a taste for blood. (I will not be taking him to see Dark Shadows next week.)

Injuries aside, it's been a week for finishes. Anxious to get started with my new indigo Sashiko projects, I had to finish up the non-indigo Sashikos that I've been carting around for the past two years.

These two were finished by Thursday. They will likely become pillows, though I can't say for sure. For now they hang in the studio closet with the one I completed (below) when I first boarded the Sashiko train two years back. At some point I am sure inspiration shall strike.

I've got a class with Mimi Dietrich on Sunday and yet another month has passed with no Baltimore progress. What's been holding me back was trying to remove the pencil outlines from the last 3 blocks that I thought I had wanted to do, but changed my mind when the other 10 blocks hit the design wall.

I tried the old standard applique recipe for removing pencil....mix water, rubbing alcohol, and a drop or two of dish soap and apply with a toothbrush. I scrubbed one block for about 30 minutes with that darn toothbrush and all it did was fade the pencil a bit, but not enough to make it invisible.

Not sure of how much fabric I would have left over after making the borders and setting triangles, you can understand that I just didn't want to cut three new blocks...what if it left me short? I had to remove the pencil.

So I set about 'sperimenting in the lab (formerly known as the guest bathroom). Do you not love the raspberry walls?

The highly flammable 'Goof Off' intimidated me. It's been a warm day, and pretty hot upstairs, I didn't want the shower curtain to combust, so I slide that one into the 'desperation' pile.

The Grandma's Spot Remover did remove the pencil, but it took a lot of brushing, and that teeny tiny bottle you see there sells for a whopping $3.99. Figuring I'd probably have to run out and buy 2 more of them, I voted that not the most economical solution, and it joined the Goof Off..

Then I squirted a little hand soap (because I forgot to bring up dish soap or liquid laundry soap) on the toothbrush and brushed it on the pencil of one block. After that I dipped the toothbrush in the big bottle of ammonia and went to work with the brush creating a chemical reaction I hoped would evaporate the pencil. Eureka! The pencil disappeared with a light brushing, BUT I've got to say I was starting to feel a little light-headed from the ammonia fumes and wasn't sure I could make it through 2 more blocks without passing out and cracking my head open on the marble vanity. I've already got Saturday morning booked for 'blood removal from carpet in family room' (thank you Tucker), so I really didn't want to add additional chores.

I happened upon this solid Resolve stain stick in the grocery store today, while looking for the elusive bar of Fells Naphtha soap that supposedly removed pencil. (I gave up the quest after two grocery chains had no clue what I was talking about). Anyway, I was enjoying that this stain stick looks EXACTLY like a deodorant--added bonus of providing hours of  pranking fun if it didn't pan out in the stain removal department--so I grabbed one. It glided on that block like butter, and I started brushing....the pencil disappeared almost effortlessly. Hooray!  I probably could have just tossed the pretreated blocks in the washer and skipped the brushing, but I didn't want them to fray any further than they had after I washed them the last time, so I brushed them all and hand washed. Done!

So now I've got no excuses...tomorrow I must pull together something Baltimore for Sunday's class. I skipped another weekend at the beach with the ladies for this (she says, vying for sainthood/martyrdom) .

But first....a celebration was in order...Blue Moon (or three) with an orange slice, and catching up on the Merry Mayhem mystery quilt I had yet to begin. Part 5 of 7 just released,so  it seemed like a good project to tackle.

And WAH-LA, we are all caught up.

I'll spend the rest of the night prepping the next Aurifil Designer series block. It's a cute one. Almost as cute as last month's, but not quite. Look for that to post early next week. After that, it's time for a tutorial and a giveaway to finish out the week.

Something big gets underway next Saturday (did someone say English Paper Piecing?--stay tuned!).

Have a great Saturday! Whatever you do, make it fun! (And keep your face away from tiny dogs with razor sharp teeth and cat-like claws.)

Countdown to Christmas (which is on Thursday)

This is a very, very good week. The GO! arrives on Thursday, and the UPS guy and the Mail Gal are doing their best to distract me.

I'm working my way through quilt books at our public library and recently found two that I could not live without in my own library. The Quilters Catalog: A Comprehensive Resource Guide hits it out of the park for hints, interviews with famous quilters, websites, how to advice...it's a wealth of information.

All About Machine Arts is fabulous, It's got everything (with corresponding projects). Great information on technique, machines, and materials. This is going to be a well-thumbed go-to book in my studio.

A little software can be a dangerous thing. Well, it could be, if I knew how to use it. The EQ7 upgrade for EQ6 (which I have never used yet) arrived this afternoon. Somehow I need to divide my time between the GO! and EQ7. Maybe I should get my Daytimer out and pencil in appointments for everything:

Oh wait, that won't work, I have to actually work during the day....unless I win the lottery this week then we're good (at least I wrote it in pencil).

Fortunately, I picked up a little something at quilt show this weekend that I can do wherever I am. Not that I know how to do Sashiko, and not like I can read Japanese, which is what these instructions are written in. I'll figure it out...at least I hope I will.

This is so not me. But combined with.

My 1930s feedsack repro fabrics, I think I've got the makings of a quilt. The backing and border fabric was 40% off this weekend at one of the shops we hopped. And I also bought a Dresden plate template at another shop, so I'll be piecing something together eventually. I've never done a Dresden but I think it's a cute way to use these prints. Live and learn! 

(We interrupt this blog for a moment....the hubs just came home from softball and summoned me downstairs through the dark family room, out to the backyard to look at the fireflies that are perched 50 feet up in the trees, blinking their little hearts out. Pretty neat Even neater that the hubs has stopped to admire the fireflies...which he probably thought were UFOs as he came up the street.)

Favorite fabric saved for last. I have not been a Halloween decorator since my daughter was young. I switched to Fall....don't have to put it away, only have to change things out once. Well, I couldn't resist this fabric, found at yet another shop we hopped on Sunday. Half yards of the three prints, a yard and a half of the gingham print for backing and border. It will make a cute table quilt. (And I shall now be forced to pick up a little something Bethany Lowe to set upon it). In case you want to run out and pick some up for yourself (and I highly recommend that you do), it's Boo by Bonnie Sullivan for Maywood Studios.

Is it Thursday yet?