Chicken and the Egg

So, which came first? The chicken or the egg? In my case, was it the quilt or the bike?

Talk about life imitating art! Hubby bought me a bike for my birthday last week. I'm not allowed to ride my mountain bike because of my still bad knees, but a cruiser was given the OK by my physiotherapist. We walked into the bike shop and I knew immediately which one I wanted.  Thankfully it actually felt pretty comfortable to ride.

But if I didn't know any better, I would have guessed I made the quilt after I got the bike!

The only problem is that I don't think my yellow helmet with bongo playing skeletons is much of a match for the bike.

I am ridiculously happy to be moving on the bike.  I rode in the evening sun, drinking in the colours and smells of our neighbourhood - a riot of spring. Movement has never made me so happy.

Belated Easter Treats

How very Martha of me. Not that I dyed Easter eggs using cabbage, beets, onions, and turmeric. Not that I also decided to dye some fabric. But the colours are all Martha. And if you look around this site for about five minutes you'll see that I don't generally work in softer colours. Like I always say, it's good to change things up a little.

We dyed eggs with friends on Friday. I was totally enamoured with the colours, and very surprised from that orange from just a few onion skins. So I left all the eggs with our friends, but took home the rest of the dye juices. We dyed a few more eggs but that liquid colour looked too good to throw away. I already had all my scraps out so I grabbed some pieces of white on white and threw them in the bowls. The orange is from onion skins, the yellow from turmeric, and the purple measuring cup contains the liquid from boiled red cabbage.

This is the fabric as it came out of that red cabbage juice. Such a lovely purple. It clearly turned the eggs blue, so this was a bit of a shock. But a good rinse in cold water and some air time to dry and the fabric all turned the same soft blue/grey as the eggs. Perhaps a little less blue.

These are the turmeric stained fabrics right out of the dye water. So yellow! And even though I rinsed and rinsed they stained quite bright. And point of fact: turmeric dyed fabric will smell like turmeric long after it is rinsed and dried.

Look at my strips drying so nicely together!

And here are the eggs and their associated fabrics. In truth, they may be Martha colours, but they really are softer versions of the colours already in our house, namely turquoise and orange.

So I took all the scraps, trimmed them into strips, and started sewing. I went for the silly a little, in making an egg shaped placemat. This was easy to do. I simply created an egg shape out of paper so I had something to compare to as I sewed. You could also use it as a paper pieced project. Then I sewed the strips together. Once I knew I had my desired size I trimmed the top, cut out backing and batting and sewed it all together with right sides together.

Full disclosure, I screwed up twice when sewing it together. That's what I get for rushing to get it done during naptime. But I got myself sorted out and finished it off after turning it all right sides out and sewing that last seam around the edge.

There is a peak of the backing fabric. I put on something bright and fun so that if/when the top gets wrecked/runs I can use the other side for springtime. And there is my Smilosaurus checking it all out.

Giveaway Winner

Wow, such great responses to the Sew Mama Sew Giveaway!  You are a committed bunch. Even for those of you with a great desire for my scraps you have to remember that in itself is a commitment. Those two, frenetic beauties are my reasons to commit to the future.

Some of the highlights of your commitments out there:

• Eating less meat and growing your own veggies (Did you know that meat and rice production, worldwide, is one of the most significant sources of greenhouse gases?)
• Choosing to be one-car or car-less.
• Turning down the heat and using those quilts and handknits.
• Choosing when to cook and bake to take advantage or avoid the extra kitchen heat (I totally do this!)
• Actually using washable sanitary napkins or the reusable caps (wow, that's commitment!) 

As we struggle through a home reno I am constantly thinking of ways to renew our own commitments. Number 1, we are making the place as efficient as possible in terms of the infrastructure like furnace, insulation, water heating, windows, and electrical. We aren't replacing everything, but we are almost starting from scratch in the basement and all our choices are thinking about the long-term (for us and the girls) and not just the short term budget. Those decisions will affect whether my sewing studio gets drywall or not, but I'm willing to make a few sacrifices.

And number 2, After having to clean out sort, and move all our belongings at least 3 times in the last few months I am getting really sick of our stuff. Every time a few more boxes go to Goodwill, recycling, or garbage. I am at the point where if anybody buys me anything this Christmas I will lose it.  I just don't need anything. I need some quilt batts and time, lots of time.  But that's it.  Someone tell my husband.

Okay, time to stop the rant and get to the news you really want: who won? Using random.org I picked two numbers.

120

Meg wins the quilt. She uses t-shirts and upcycles them into her love's clothes.  That's a lucky baby!

192

Elizabeth wins the selvages.  Check out her site, I think she'll make good use of them.  And I may have to rethink my new more stuff attitude.  Did you see her aprons?

I've sent emails off the winners, washed my hands of the basement dust from tonight, and will indulge in a hot bath before bed.  It warms me up before I turn in and the thermostat goes down for the night!

Thanks again.  I hope to see you all back soon.

When I Turn My Back

There are two school of thought on welcoming your kids into your quilting habit.  On one hand you can have a sewing room with a closed door and they are not allowed to touch your fabric. On the other hand, you can let them play with the fabric and make a giant mess.  I will fully admit that some days I wish I had a design wall and a door to close (and lock). But most days the girls are knee deep in scraps and helping me pick fabric.

This is what happens when I turn my back on a pile of fabric.

Where do you stand on kids getting involved with your quilting habit - the process, the fabric, the inspiration? I'm working on an article on creating and quilting as a family, so I'm curious as to your habits.