tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-53516292580991437042024-03-13T10:57:28.239-07:00Sue's Quilty ViewsThe blog for FieldGuidetoQuilts.com: Find a quilt block and learn how to make it!
Bracerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04342726035515917337noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5351629258099143704.post-50097371956381142782014-06-15T04:45:00.003-07:002014-07-19T07:24:19.498-07:00Quilting's Worth<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Why does a middle-aged woman spend her days stitch fabric cartoons of happy-faced extinct reptiles and humanoid females in pink? Or appliqué the Tooth Fairy on a pillowcase? Or tackle—and <em>finish</em>—a queen-sized wedding ring quilt?</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Love, that's what. Love is the currency of quilting.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Quilting tradition is all about family. Mother teaches sewing to daughter; daughter, with rotary cutter, quick-construction techniques, and machine quilting, works up quilts faster than her grandmother ever dreamed, and then gives them away to family, friends, and charities. In return, she feels a glow from expressing the love she feels, and sometimes—not always—from the gratitude she gets in return. So is the quilter paid.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Quilt buyers assume that since love is free, it has no monetary value. They accordingly value a quilter's time at zero dollars, and in gauging a quilt's worth, pay only a modest multiple of the cost of the fabric. It's always been that way. In 1930, the <a href="http://www.quiltindex.org/fulldisplay.php?kid=4B-82-CA2" target="_blank">Quilt Index</a> says, 196 people paid 25 cents apiece to put their names on a quilt that sold for $40 as a fund raiser. The pattern was <a href="http://fieldguidetoquilts.com/4Curve/4CCArc/4CC2PetalBlockInfo.html" target="_blank">Melon Patch.</a></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">In the 1860s, a church women's group quilted a full-size quilt for $2.00; Ruth Finley, who wrote about it in Old Patchwork Quilts: And the Women Who Made Them, figured that as a penny an hour. In June 2013, if you use the Consumer Price Index as a gauge, that amounted to 16 cents an hour. If that seems unreasonably low, just take a look at the quilt selling prices on eBay.</span><br />
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We all know that to sell a quilt usually means earning less than minimum wage. We should refuse to sell at fire-sale prices. We don't, though; we make quilts the way an artist paints canvas—again, for love, but this time for the love of creativity.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Now, we use our creativity to decorate our homes. Appalachian frontier women would hang a cloth on the wall and hang their knickknacks on the cloth. We order marble kitchen counters and koi-pond kits, consulting not Mom but Martha Stewart. Daughters no longer learn to sew; they learn to buy.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">In short, it is a golden age for quilt collectors. Today, even exquisite antique quilts go for a few thousand dollars.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Tomorrow will be different.</span><br />
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Bracerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04342726035515917337noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5351629258099143704.post-4438136797253783452014-06-15T04:29:00.000-07:002014-07-19T07:24:35.617-07:00Three Kick-Ass Novels About Quilters<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The headline calls them "Not-At-All Cozy" rather than kick-ass, but they're both. Tracy Chevalier reviewed three novels in an article on June 15 for National Public Radio, posted <a href="http://www.npr.org/2014/06/15/321738365/stitch-this-three-not-at-all-cozy-books-about-quilting" target="_blank">here.</a></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">One book is <i>Happenstance </i>(Carol Shields), about what happens when an art quilter leaves her family for five days to go to a quilt conference. One part is from the husband's point of view -- he's the one left at home with their teenage kids -- and one from the wife's. He undervalues her work, of course. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Alias Grace" class="img" src="http://media.npr.org/assets/bakertaylor/covers/a/alias-grace/9780385490443_custom-900fcf0e37ae6033136efe618e1ed9f0d48e057a-s2-c85.jpg" height="320" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Alias Grace" width="206" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Murderess Grace Marks is a </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">19th-century quilter behind bars. </span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Next, in <i>Alias Grace</i> (Margaret Atwood) a visitor who wants a confession from a 19th-century murderess, who quilts in prison. The quilter bobs and weaves with the help of quilt-block names, including The Letter X and Snake Fence, which Chevalier thinks are "obscure." Wha...? Those have been on FieldGuidetoQuilts.com for years!</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Finally, there's Toni Morrison's <i>Beloved, </i>in which a quilt is a link between daughter and mother, woman and lover. The reviewer quotes: "She gather me, man. The pieces I am, she gather them and give them back to me in all the right order."</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Chevalier is a novelist herself, and this isn't her first book review for National Public Radio. But it's one of the first we've seen that celebrates quilting as part of the literary arts.</span><br />
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Bracerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04342726035515917337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5351629258099143704.post-70533749779113849242013-11-10T14:47:00.002-08:002014-07-19T07:25:26.308-07:00Quilt Festival is over; feet rejoice<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Besides being the biggest yearly convention in the city of Houston and the biggest quilt show on Earth, the Quilt Festival is awfully tough on a photo buff. Standing next to a popular quilt was like being by the rail at the Grand Canyon.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Like most everyone else, I needed four full days to see everything properly and shop too. I walked around all day every day until I had more blisters than I did on my first backpacking trip, and at the end of each day I was, in my stupor, greeting friends with fresh new names they'd never been called before. "Hi, Ginny!"</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">A lot of quilts were for sale, for a few hundred dollars up to $38,000. That's low for a high. Other years, quilters have asked for $50,000 and even $100,000, or so I was told at the information desk. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">One of my favorites was "Cutting Down the Tall Poppies." It was a pictorial of a half-dozen brilliant multicolor poppies with tiny shadow figures trying to cut through their stems. Turns out there's an Australian custom of putting standout people back in their place, and the title is what they call it. The quilter had lots of fans among her neighbors down there. You heard more Australian accents in that corner than you would at an actors' workshop. It was priced at $3,000.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The top prize went to another pictorial quilt showing an exhibit by an artist named Chihuly at a public garden festival. Chihuly piled colored glass balls into small boats and set them adrift on the water there. The quilt showed one on a deep black background, and it was very pretty, but I heard a lot of complaints about it because, really, you couldn't see the workmanship. The pieces were much too small, so you couldn't see what made it a quilt. At least I couldn't. With the ropes, you'd need binoculars to see it up close. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I had my nose three inches from the exhibits wherever the barriers let me. No one touched them. Quilters are all so well behaved. </span><br />
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<a href="http://www.clker.com/cliparts/4/4/4/T/k/W/no-camera-allowed-md.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="http://www.clker.com/cliparts/4/4/4/T/k/W/no-camera-allowed-md.png" height="200" style="-webkit-user-select: none;" width="200" /></span></a></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Photos were another story. SAQA, the Studio Artists Quilters Association, barred photography of its members' quilts. They'd like to make money from their work, but is someone going to go and make kitsch from their ideas? Not likely. You'd have to be too good at manipulating cheesecloth or painting fabric to reproduce them.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Some of the SAQA quilts that were reproducible, though, would make great quilt patterns. Flight Deck, showing skateboarders with their arms raised like birds taking off, was a standout. A couple of quilts were throwbacks to a brassy style that showed grotesqueries representing how the quilter saw the world. Some were a lot like paintings. They <i>were</i> paintings.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Are visitors going to print and post these photos? Would that really be such a bad thing, to bring the artist a bit of publicity?</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Other quilts in the show were barred from photography too, largely the ones from a single South Korean artist and some others in that area of the exhibits. In any case, the quilt guardians just about tackled anyone who took a photo, and then stood there waiting while the embarrassed photographer deleted it. I actually saw a guardian run across the wide walkway that ran down the exhibit hall shouting "Ma'am! Ma'am! You can't take photos there!" so that everyone turned around and looked.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Not that I'd trim those tall poppies of SAQA, but the photo thing did seem a bit giddy. </span><br />
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<br />Bracerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04342726035515917337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5351629258099143704.post-25944442253024113952013-10-09T08:06:00.002-07:002014-07-19T07:25:50.635-07:00A brilliant way to mark 1/4" seams<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The patterns on FieldGuidetoQuilts.com are block diagrams that you print out and cut apart to get pattern pieces. The pattern pieces by themselves don't have seam allowances. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">You can either cut the seam allowances as you go, which is fine if you never make mistakes, or you can do the wiser thing and add seam allowances to the pattern piece.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">We're in awe of Mary Jo of <a href="http://fivegreenacres.com/">f</a><a href="http://ivegreenacres.com/2010/02/16/tools-of-the-trade-add-a-seam-allowance/">ivegreenacres.com</a> for coming up with a simple, convenient, and inexpensive way to do that. Here it is:</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Find two sharp, happy pencils and get them acquainted.</span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bO17q5qha1g/UlVjkGH7QII/AAAAAAAAAGc/WYo_LhCaCpw/s1600/P1090263.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bO17q5qha1g/UlVjkGH7QII/AAAAAAAAAGc/WYo_LhCaCpw/s1600/P1090263.JPG" height="113" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Officiate at the wedding.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-o-xg9BKOwK4/UlVj6M37osI/AAAAAAAAAGk/mG3VI8IvILA/s1600/P1090265.JPG" height="300" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">(That's Scotch tape.)</span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">When the pencils are taped together, the points are almost exactly 5/16th of an inch apart.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mOk6psrs_s4/UlVkskDsb3I/AAAAAAAAAGw/OxpCUpT5rxg/s1600/P1090267.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mOk6psrs_s4/UlVkskDsb3I/AAAAAAAAAGw/OxpCUpT5rxg/s1600/P1090267.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">(That weird ruler is called a pica ruler. I use mine all the time.)</span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Tape your quilt-pattern piece to a bigger piece of paper. Then line up your taped-together pencils with one point on the edge of your pattern piece and one on the paper it's taped to. </span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PkxHsCdH9CE/UlVmnP0xg7I/AAAAAAAAAG8/zTf52mAuiBI/s1600/P1090268.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PkxHsCdH9CE/UlVmnP0xg7I/AAAAAAAAAG8/zTf52mAuiBI/s1600/P1090268.JPG" height="400" width="296" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Draw the lines. </span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-aSDiiSGshLQ/UlVnXFC6YeI/AAAAAAAAAHE/UxItU3w4IAA/s1600/P1090272.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-aSDiiSGshLQ/UlVnXFC6YeI/AAAAAAAAAHE/UxItU3w4IAA/s1600/P1090272.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Cut along the outer line for your new, improved pattern with seam allowance.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Using two pencils takes some getting used to, but remember, for quilters:</span><br />
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Bracerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04342726035515917337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5351629258099143704.post-33011791638153982082013-09-23T08:56:00.000-07:002013-09-23T10:03:20.048-07:00Quiltspeak: Online abbreviations for quilters<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I love online abbreviations. In their way, B4 and gr8 and n2 are tackling the problem of unpredictable spelling that has plagued writers of the English language since before the first Musquetoe bit Merriwether Lewis*.</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;">Acronyms are another story. They can be impossible to figure out. </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px;">I recently saw a list of quilter acronyms that's so useful I just had to share it with you. </span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px;">Who couldn't love SABLE, for "Stash Accumulation Beyond Life Expectancy?"</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px;"> I think </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px;">my favorite, though, is "WOMBAT." </span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;">BOB - Black on Black</span></span></span> </blockquote>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> BOM = Block of the Month</span></span></span> </blockquote>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"> DSM = Domestic Sewing Machine</span></span></span> </blockquote>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"> FART = Fabric Acquisition Road Trip</span></span></span> </blockquote>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"> FOB = Fear of Binding</span></span></span> </blockquote>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"> FQ = Fat Quarter</span></span></span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"> HST = Half-Square Triangle</span></span></span> </blockquote>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"> LA = Longarmer</span></span></span> </blockquote>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"> LAQ= Long Arm Quilter</span></span></span> </blockquote>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"> LQS = Local Quilt Shop</span></span></span> </blockquote>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"> MAQ = Mid-Arm Quilter</span></span></span> </blockquote>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"> OBW = One Block Wonder</span></span></span> </blockquote>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;">OPAM = One Project a Month</span></span></span> </blockquote>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> PhD = Projects Half Done</span></span></span> </blockquote>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> PIGS = Projects in Grocery Sacks</span></span></span> </blockquote>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> PP = Paper Piecing</span></span></span> </blockquote>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> QAYG = Quilt As You Go</span></span></span> </blockquote>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> QST = Quarter Square Triangle</span></span></span> </blockquote>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> RR = Round Robin</span></span></span> </blockquote>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> SABLE = Stash Accumulation Beyond Life Expectancy</span></span></span> </blockquote>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> SEX = Stash Enhancing eXperience (or eXcursion)</span></span></span> </blockquote>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> SID = Stitch In the Ditch</span></span></span> </blockquote>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> SnW = Stack and Whack </span></span></span> </blockquote>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> Squishy = Mailing envelopes full of fabric swaps/gifts</span></span></span></blockquote>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> STASH = Special Treasures All Secretly Hidden</span></span></span> </blockquote>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> TGIF = Thank God It's Finished!</span></span></span> </blockquote>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> TOT = Tone-on-Tone</span></span></span> </blockquote>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> UFO = UnFinished Object</span></span></span> </blockquote>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> VIP = Very Important Project</span></span></span> </blockquote>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> WHIMM = Works Hidden In My Mind</span></span></span> </blockquote>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> WIP = Work In Progress</span></span></span> </blockquote>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> WISP = Work In Slow Progress</span></span></span> </blockquote>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> WWIT = What Was I Thinking</span></span></span> </blockquote>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> WOF = Width of Fabric</span></span></span> </blockquote>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> WOMBAT = Waste of Money, Batting, and Time</span></span></span> </blockquote>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> WOW = White On White</span></span></span></blockquote>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19px;">I'm not sure where the list got started; I got it from a post on <a href="http://quiltinghaven.com/">quiltinghaven.com</a>. </span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Please contact me if you know of any more abbreviations and I'll add them to the list. </span></span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">_________________________________________</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><br /></span></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;">*In fact, I hear that it was John Clark who invented 19 different spellings of the word. </span></span>Bracerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04342726035515917337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5351629258099143704.post-41038237199640741012013-09-20T08:05:00.000-07:002013-09-20T10:38:35.880-07:00This is your brain on quilt pox<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">Ever since Tetris was the only video game that women really liked, I've been wondering if Tetris Pox and Quilt Pox are related.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">Shortly after Tetris was released in 1984, video-game developers figured out that forty percent of Tetris players were women, compared to just one percent for the typical video game. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">In Tetris, little squares would float down from the top of the screen, and you had to grab them and set them in the correct column before they landed. This video from August 2013 will give you an idea of how it's played. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">Game developers leaped into studying the woman question with a hilarious "What hath God wrought?" obtuseness. Women, they deduced, didn't like games that were violent or insufficiently pink. Soon there were rosy, no-kill, wretched games that made the typical woman want to put Hello Kitty's head on a pike. Then there was the "not enough women game developers" phase, followed by the girl-gamer-led "all we want is <i>good</i> games!" backlash. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">There was one sensible comment. "Tetris is different from many other kinds of video games which appeal to boys and men," said one (female) consultant hired by Gameboy. "It's more of a pattern recognition game. It's not a conquest game or a get-rid-of-the-enemy game. Instead, it appeals to women's sense of order." </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DbZLMRZdjLM/UjxXGrUneII/AAAAAAAAAF0/orqoJtCmFMg/s1600/GooseinthePondWhole.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DbZLMRZdjLM/UjxXGrUneII/AAAAAAAAAF0/orqoJtCmFMg/s1600/GooseinthePondWhole.jpg" height="400" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">Pattern recognition and a sense of order: <br />Sixteen Goose in the Pond blocks (1897)</span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">Pattern recognition. A sense of order. What could be more characteristic of traditional quilting?</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">A good scientific study on Tetris and quilt pox could tell us a lot about the hardwiring of women's minds.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">It's easy to see why no such study has happened. As a group, quilters are as far from the video-game marketplace as a flock of pigeons. The only people who have a foot in both worlds are--well, you and me. We don't know many researchers, unless you do. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">Gee's Bend aside, traditional quilting is overwhelmingly the province of aging, middle-income white grandmothers who are focused on their families. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">It's hard nowadays even to find young people who have sewing machines. Their moms lacked the skills too. That's probably because our clothing is made so cheaply overseas. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mYQilJwnPAg/UjxZAkjCGlI/AAAAAAAAAGE/qEO6eiQn06Y/s1600/517339_a_stack_of_sheets.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mYQilJwnPAg/UjxZAkjCGlI/AAAAAAAAAGE/qEO6eiQn06Y/s1600/517339_a_stack_of_sheets.jpg" height="164" width="200" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;"><i>Wired:</i> Playing Tetris is <br />like folding sheets</span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">Still, we quilters can take some of the blame. From the 19th century on, quilting has been awash in nostalgia about mothers and grandmothers stitching away in their little houses on the prairie and so forth until you'd think that no one had ever electrified a sewing machine. Today, a vanishingly small number of Americans can remember having grandmothers who grew up on a farm. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">We aren't fossils yet, but give us time. So if scientists are ever going to discover the elusive link between pattern recognition, quilt pox, and Tetris, they'd better get a move on. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">In 2009, in "This is Your Brain on Tetris," Jeffrey Goldsmith of <i>Wired</i> wrote:</span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">The Tetris effect is a ... metaphor, if you will, for curiosity, invention, the creative urge. To fit shapes together is to organize, to build, to make deals, to fix, to understand, to fold sheets. </span></blockquote>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;">To <i>fold sheets? </i>Grandma, is that you? </span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><br /></span></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><br /></span></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large; line-height: 14px;">________________________________________________________________________________</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><br /></span></span>
</span><br />
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Note: In 2012, women made up 47% of all gamers, or so the Entertainment Software Association said. </span></div>
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Note: In 2009, a bunch of scientists from Oxford, for heaven's sake, suggested that someone who had been traumatized might avoid terrifying flashbacks if he or she played Tetris shortly afterward, although they<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"> refrained from suggesting that ambulances be equipped with Gameboys. </span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #292727;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 18px;">http://www.theesa.com/facts/pdfs/ESA_EF_2012.pdf</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #292727;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 18px;">http://www.plosone.org/article/authors/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0004153</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #292727;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 18px;">http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/1994-05-31/lifestyle/9405281067_1_tetris-video-game-developed</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #292727;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 18px;">http://www.wired.com/gamelife/2009/06/tetris/</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #292727;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 18px;">http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/2.05/tetris.html#previouspost</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #292727;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 18px;">http://www.stlbeds.com/articles/2013/05/23/tips-for-properly-washing-and-storing-your-sheets-and-pillows/</span></span>Bracerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04342726035515917337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5351629258099143704.post-72156763793541385422013-09-17T21:34:00.002-07:002014-07-19T07:26:50.370-07:00How to make the Kansas City Star's Interlocked Squares block <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ml6ObGxKE0c/Ujkt2H21woI/AAAAAAAAAFA/DAPf3wCeB6E/s1600/InterlockedSquaresKCStraced.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ml6ObGxKE0c/Ujkt2H21woI/AAAAAAAAAFA/DAPf3wCeB6E/s1600/InterlockedSquaresKCStraced.jpg" height="200" width="200" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Interlocked Squares block</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Interlocked Squares was published in 1932 in the Kansas City <i>Star*. </i></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I'm ridiculously proud of the diagram below. Reason: I figured out an easy way to make the block, and that's by putting in an extra seam (splitting "3" into "3a" and "3b"). </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eonnabo-jdA/UjkGtf9H2xI/AAAAAAAAAEQ/QQdL_PkBAOM/s1600/Interlockedsquaresdiagram.jpg" height="400" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Interlocked squares diagram" width="395" /></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The simplest way to piece this block is to split one of </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"> the #2 or #3 quadrilaterals into a triangle and a diamond.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Without that extra seam, you're stuck sewing really awkward acute angles where the pieces fit together -- when you join a piece 2 to a piece 3 in the diagram above. </span></div>
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Instead, you can start with the center piece and build it log-cabin style. That way you only have to do one weird-angled seam for the entire block. The sequence is shown in this diagram: </span></div>
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://fieldguidetoquilts.com/9Recbar/9CWoven/9EWovenblockdiagrams.html" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--Yk7W9woMRs/UjklsCLuX7I/AAAAAAAAAEw/R5YQ8wEd2HA/s1600/InterlockedSquaresKCSDiagramSequence.jpg" height="400" title="Interlocked Squares sequence" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Sequence for putting together the parts of an Interlocked Squares block. </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">There's a giant version of the block diagram on <a href="http://fieldguidetoquilts.com/">fieldguidetoquilts.com</a>. There's supposed to be a link when you click on either diagram, but just in case, it's here:</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://fieldguidetoquilts.com/9Recbar/9CWoven/9EWovenblockdiagrams.html" target="_blank">http://fieldguidetoquilts.com/9Recbar/9CWoven/9EWovenblockdiagrams.html </a> </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">You print out that diagram in any size you like, cut the pieces apart, and use them as pattern pieces. You have to add a 1/4" seam allowance to each piece, just as quilters did back in the 1930s. (There's actually a brilliantly simple way to do that, but it's going to have to wait for another post.)</span></div>
</div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Other instructions for the block are on the web in a couple of different variations. They either cost money, which means they don't belong on the <a href="http://fieldguidetoquilts.com/">fieldguidetoquilts.com</a> site, or else they're not quite the same block. Here are a few: </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">• A "cathedral windows" style, which means that there are heavy black outlines around every piece. <a href="https://equiltpatterns.com/Stained-Glass-Interlocked-Squares-Quilt-Block-Pattern">https://equiltpatterns.com/Stained-Glass-Interlocked-Squares-Quilt-Block-Pattern</a></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">• Here's one that uses a special set of templates. <a href="http://dancingstitcher.com/2011/11/18/tip-16-interlocked-squares-12-block-made-easy/">http://dancingstitcher.com/2011/11/18/tip-16-interlocked-squares-12-block-made-easy/</a></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">• Here's one with a fancy star in the middle: <a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/156609821/interlocked-squares-paper-pieced-quilt?ref=shop_home_active">http://www.etsy.com/listing/156609821/interlocked-squares-paper-pieced-quilt?ref=shop_home_active</a></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">• This one is free, but it has a bunch of small blocks in the middle: <a href="http://www.ludlowquiltandsew.co.uk/quilt-block-patterns/interlocking-squares-quilt-block/">http://www.ludlowquiltandsew.co.uk/quilt-block-patterns/interlocking-squares-quilt-block/</a></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">• This one is also free, but it isn't quite the same block, and it has flying geese in the corners. Still, it's supposed to be easy to make. <a href="http://www.amc-quilts.com/uploads/Interlocking_Squares.pdf">http://www.amc-quilts.com/uploads/Interlocking_Squares.pdf</a></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">•••••••</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br />
*The <i>Star,</i> for whatever reason, does not enforce copyright on its blocks, although there are tons of books based on Star patterns at a company called Pickle Dish, aka "Kansas City Star Quilts" (<a href="http://pickledish.com/">pickledish.com</a>). </span>Bracerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04342726035515917337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5351629258099143704.post-8974913268406661852013-09-16T11:07:00.001-07:002014-07-19T07:27:26.626-07:00Quilting, Sarah Josepha Buell Hale, and the Language of Flowers<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Among the many ways Victorians drove themselves crazy was by assigning sentiments to flowers. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: right; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-C6uLm8TGgY4/Ujc11--JiuI/AAAAAAAAACQ/j8tLhaikZS4/s1600/RWS_IMG0193.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-C6uLm8TGgY4/Ujc11--JiuI/AAAAAAAAACQ/j8tLhaikZS4/s1600/RWS_IMG0193.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The unjustly maligned Cardinal flower </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Imagine filling a vase when your choices include the cardinal flower (Malevolence), oleander (Beware!), columbine (Desertion) or foxglove (Insincerity). Not even roses were safe: the "York and Lancaster" variety meant War.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Imagine planning a flower garden that includes only positive sentiments. Imagine a bachelor consulting a book when he picked out flowers to give to a girl. And how fast he'd would forget what the flowers meant when he got married. He might even pick up some York and Lancasters for your anniversary. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">You'd think that nobody would pay attention to such goofy ideas. But remember, these were people who made a big deal out of grape scissors. </span></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WZxzVxJQKvs/UjdCZjeVyKI/AAAAAAAAACs/JF1KZvhKaLM/s1600/SarahJosephaHale.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WZxzVxJQKvs/UjdCZjeVyKI/AAAAAAAAACs/JF1KZvhKaLM/s1600/SarahJosephaHale.jpg" height="200" width="160" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Sarah Josepha Buell Hale,</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">arbiter of taste</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The Grande Dame of the fashion was Mrs. Sarah Josepha Buell Hale, editress of <i>Godey's Lady's Book. </i> Her <i>Flora's Interpreter</i> was published in 1835. It's thanks to her that we send white roses to funeral homes. Hale may not have invented the idea, but she put it on paper and sold it.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Hale was the Grande Dame of <i>all</i> fashions involving female behavior for a good chunk of the 19th century. She was three decades ahead of Queen Victoria in wearing black for the rest of her life after her husband died. Hale may be the single person most responsible for the close-order drill that was Victorian social manners.</span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AP1xq-td8ns/UjdCdc6es9I/AAAAAAAAAC0/SSe8Tv84mg0/s1600/img_7866.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AP1xq-td8ns/UjdCdc6es9I/AAAAAAAAAC0/SSe8Tv84mg0/s1600/img_7866.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">This Sarah Hale for the 21st century will</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">set you back $80 at <a href="http://bobblesgalore.com/">bobblesgalore.com</a> </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Even now, when elegant women ignore a gauche remark in a conversation, they're echoing Sarah Hale. Her <i>Godey's Lady's Book</i> also ignored unpleasantries, including the entire Civil War. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">That was partly because Hale thought that politics was not a woman's sphere. Still, it was a bit much even for <i>Godey's</i> readers. In the years after the war, <i>Petersen's Magazine</i>, <i>Harper's</i>, and <i>The Atlantic</i> were all founded and flourished. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Hale, <i>Godey's'</i> owner, and the magazine itself all shriveled up and died around 1878. More accurately, the magazine was on life support until 1898, when it was absorbed into a magazine called <i>The Puritan. </i> The choice was fitting, because in Hale's view, New England values were the source of all good things. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><i>Flora's Interpreter</i> included 146 flowers and plants, and it was indexed both by flower and by sentiment. Each is memorialized with yompity-yomp poetry. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SOtaX0qg5ec/Ujc4DPcZp1I/AAAAAAAAACc/H4Xp6cQ5K90/s1600/Malbec_grapes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SOtaX0qg5ec/Ujc4DPcZp1I/AAAAAAAAACc/H4Xp6cQ5K90/s1600/Malbec_grapes.jpg" height="265" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Grapes meant Mirth, but it wasn't funny if you didn't</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">know how to use grape scissors </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">In <i>Flora Fortuna,</i> Hale laid out plant sentiments for each day of every month, along with a monthly reminder of the Four Humors that still guided medicine back then. The gloss of science was part of <i>Flora's Interpreter</i> too: The book included the plants' Latin names, class, and genus, not to mention the names for all the parts of a flower. </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Paying attention to these books is like crawling into a tiny cage and closing the door behind you. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Victorian women wore corsets, which is much the same thing.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">We quilters don't. No, not even Baltimore Album fans. That's why, when people bring up the Language of Flowers as if it's a new and wonderful discovery, those in the know say No. </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The language of the flowers isn't cute, people. We should forget <i>Flora's Interpreter</i>, and fast. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">To quote Dorothy Parker, "This book should not be cast aside lightly, but hurled with great force." </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">****************************</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">For Hale's books, click here: </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<a href="http://ia700301.us.archive.org/14/items/florasinterprete00haleiala/florasinterprete00haleiala.pdf"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">http://ia700301.us.archive.org/14/items/florasinterprete00haleiala/florasinterprete00haleiala.pdf</span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The flower interpretations aren't precisely the same as Hale's, but <i>The Flower Vase; Containing the Language of Flowers and Their Poetic Sentiments </i>(1844) is mercifully short. Its author was "Miss S. C. Edgarton." It's here: <a href="http://www.antiquepatternlibrary.org/pub/PDF/Edgarton-Flower_Vase-1.pdf">http://www.antiquepatternlibrary.org/pub/PDF/Edgarton-Flower_Vase-1.pdf</a> and <a href="http://www.antiquepatternlibrary.org/pub/PDF/Edgarton-Flower_Vase-2.pdf">http://www.antiquepatternlibrary.org/pub/PDF/Edgarton-Flower_Vase-2.pdf</a></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>Our sources include: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah_Josepha_Hale; http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/252304/Sarah-Josepha-Hale; http://books.google.com/books?id=Sld1Jj0jM7cC&pg=PA117&lpg=PA117&dq=godey's+Hale+%22The+puritan%22&source=bl&ots=SV8-607afY&sig=uKaxA3CeQKV1uv9De1nkIrWvDCg&hl=en&sa=X&ei=iBs3Ur6zBoaA2wWon4D4DA&ved=0CD8Q6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=godey's%20Hale%20%22The%20puritan%22&f=false; http://www.womenwriters.net/domesticgoddess/hale1.html; Hale's and Edgarton's books; and The Sheffield Directory and Guide (1828). </i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>Photos: cardinal flower by R. W. Smith from http://www.wildflower.org/gallery/result.php?id_image=30936. Grapes: Photographer uncredited, from http://www.extension.org/pages/31133/vinifera-or-european-wine-grapes Hale bobblehead: http://historiccookery.com/tag/sarah-josepha-buell-hale-1788-1879/</i></span><br />
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Bracerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04342726035515917337noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5351629258099143704.post-4765808048932441212013-09-15T16:11:00.000-07:002014-07-19T07:27:47.417-07:00Quilter bazaar bizarre: The International Quilt Festival 2013<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kj_W9AHJ4E0/UjXbYTQt-JI/AAAAAAAAABk/SGfDiKGgM8o/s1600/jazz-dog-by-grace-sim.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kj_W9AHJ4E0/UjXbYTQt-JI/AAAAAAAAABk/SGfDiKGgM8o/s1600/jazz-dog-by-grace-sim.jpg" height="400" width="271" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Jazz Dog</span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">It's less than a week from Autumn, and here in Houston, where it's still above 90 degrees, all quilters can think about is Festival. (Not "The Festival," but "Festival." Don't ask me why.)</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Festival, with its convoys of friends riding $70-a-day scooters, all wearing matching hats, all trundling in single file past more clusters of friends wearing more matching hats. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Festival, filling the George Brown Convention Center's first floor from one end to the other, half its second floor, and who knows how much of the third? There'll be back-to-back classes in back-to-back classrooms up there. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">There will be some amazing quilts. There'll also be gadgets. If it takes two days to get through the quilts, it takes two days to get through the quilter bazaar bizarre.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Every third quilter is fanatical enough to put down, say, $80 for the right quilting or embroidery hoop. We all know that quilting is not for the thrifty. Hasn't been for more than half a century.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The Pin Peddlers will be there for Festival to fill your heart's every need, if what your heart needs is lapel pins from previous Festivals. There are buttons by the each and templates by the ton. Chatelaines. Featherweights. Hand-dyed cottons and silks. Brazilian embroidery thread. Fabric paint. Mini-irons. Vintage kimonos.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-c--VuFoedVo/UjXm5xHKSDI/AAAAAAAAAB8/onYxT2FR-1o/s1600/Nicoleinspacesuit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-c--VuFoedVo/UjXm5xHKSDI/AAAAAAAAAB8/onYxT2FR-1o/s1600/Nicoleinspacesuit.jpg" height="320" width="269" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Put a sweater on <i>this. </i></span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">At last year's Quilt Market, before the Festival, there were patterns for quilted concealed-weapon handbags--just the thing for gun-totin' Texans. Look for it in your local quilt shop.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Meanwhile, Pokey's Pet Postcards are stacking up. For the second year, fabric postcards donated by quilters will be sold to benefit local pet shelters. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The postcard shown above is "Jazz Dog" by Grace Sim, a local quilter whose art quilt, "Fragments of my Childhood Memories [of growing up in Borneo]," is a finalist at the Festival this year. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">In Houston, the first chill of the year is due around the end of October, "So the kids will have to wear sweaters over their costumes," a cheerful friend tells me.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">As far as we're concerned, only one thing happens on October 31: the Festival opens.</span><br />
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<br />Bracerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04342726035515917337noreply@blogger.com0