Really Random Thursday

I managed a few more hours of sewing this week since being released from my "no sewing machine" restriction. I made these two 15-1/2" (unfinished) blocks for Mary in Ohio who blogs at MollyFlanders. Mary's our December "queen" of the Mid Century Modern Bee. She requested reproduction 30's-type prints contrasted with bone-colored and text prints. Hope she likes the blocks she'll be getting from me.

And my dear friend Carla continues to work on her delicious-looking, orange and hot pink Juicy Fruit quilt, one that began when she was the January queen of our Mid-Century Modern Bee. She's randomly including several Churn Dash blocks in another size, so I offered to help grow her quilt with this 12-1/2" (unfinished) block. Her quilt is going to be fabulous - something she routinely manages to achieve. Fabulous quilts, I mean.

In the hopes of being able to take better photographs of my own quilts, I recently bought a quilt display stand. It came from Pals Products in Hutchinson, Kansas. I spoke to owner, Gary, by phone, before deciding which components I wanted. 

Everything arrived in less than a week from the day I ordered it. I set it up and decided to take a picture of Bloom, a quilt that I've been unable to photograph previously because it's so big - 78" X 78".

You can see that the vertical poles are on a sturdy tri-pod base. Each of those three "toes" can be adjusted for optimum support.

Left: On top of each pole is a four-way connector. In essence that means that if you wanted to set up another quilt beside this one, you'd just need another vertical pole and top rail.

Right: Each of the vertical poles is height-adjustable. Just push on that thumb lever to raise or lower the pole to the next notch.

You can choose a rail that's meant for a quilt sleeve, or one that lets you hang a quilt with clips. I chose the clips. Since I didn't buy the Pals Products design wall fabric (I can easily do that at a later date), I'm thinking to try hanging a piece of flannel from the clips to see if that works. I know it won't have a firm back, but for teaching, it might be good enough.

You're probably thinking this sounds like a sales pitch, but it isn't. Gary probably doesn't even know I'm telling you about this. I just think it's a well-designed product, and hope it proves to be a good investment. You want to ask, so I'll tell you. It was $184, and that price includes a carry bag, and the cost for sending it via UPS.

Have you seen this? The 2014 Pantone color of the year? It's Radiant Orchid.

After seeing it, and thinking it looked familiar, I went back to a November 5, 2009 blog post where I put up this photo of a fabric I purchased when visiting Sydney, Australia. It's suspiciously similar to Radiant Orchid, isn't it?  

I specifically remember buying the fabric after seeing this tree, in Five Docks (a suburb of Sydney). This jacaranda tree inspired my fabric purchase. I've never seen a jacaranda since enjoying it in Australia. That country has such a wonderful variety of vegetation. 

Anyway, I was at first ambivalent about Radiant Orchid being the 2014 Pantone color - I was so sure the color would be some variation of navy blue - but it's growing on me. Anyone know which fabric company produces the Radiant Orchid color in a solid? 

No pictures to share about freelance writing, but I've been doing quite a bit of it for American Quilter magazine. At least three articles will be in print during 2014, and I have a couple more in the works. (Hint: Anyone know who Carolyn Friedlander is?!) It's interesting and fun to write about the latest up-and-coming people and activities happening in the quilting world.

It's just too bad that I can't be three people at once:

one who writes about quilting
one who teaches quilting
and, one who makes quilts.

Have you figured out what's my favorite thing to do? Here's a peep at the MQG Riley Blake challenge quilt that the "one who makes quilts" is working on. Free motion quilting is up next.

But FMQing won't happen until I get past another cath procedure recovery. Friday morning a stent is being put in one leg - not sure which! The doc said, "Right." His nurse said, "Left." I hope they get it figured out. Linda