Keeping Them Talking

There was a time, not too long ago, when I could sit beside my son's bed at night and tell him the same stories over and over and each time they would be received with the same enthusiastic giggles, gasps and smiles.  It's a warm, comfortable and satisfying emotional place to be when you're a parent and your kid still hangs on your every word.  The young years when you can calm their concerns and fears and they truly trust all that you say.  You are their rock, a superhero there to shine the flashlight under the bed and scare all the monsters from the closet.  Then they start to get older and there is school, friends and activities and all of a sudden you are not the only influence on them anymore and the focus of their lives start to change.

Oh, don't get me wrong, I still stubbornly tell my 10 year old the same stories, mostly for my own nostalgic and sentimental reasons.  Sometimes he humors me and listens politely and we laugh together as we once did, while other times my stories are received with what I call a 'teenager-in-training' style response complete with rolling eyes and a smerky grin.  Occasionally I even get half-hearted complaints;  "Mom, yes I know.. and when I was born, there I was with my big round face and a head covered in black curly hair and the nurse handed me to Dad and he took one look at me and said 'Hi Meatball!'.. yes yes.. you already told me that story about a thousand times!"  Those stories are more for my benefit than his at this point.  I suppose now I'm just happy that he's still letting me in to tell them.

Lately I find myself being more of an investigative journalist than a Mom when we talk trying to pry information out of him about his school day, what he's feeling and what might be weighing on his mind.  It's easy to fall into that; "Me : How was school?".. "Him : Fine." conversation rut.  The important task that I'm faced with becomes keeping the conversation going and not giving up, and it can become a bit of an interrogation; 'What was your favorite part of school today?', 'What was your least favorite?', 'Who did you hang out with at recess?', 'Are they your best friend these days?', 'Are there any kids who you don't get along with?', 'Do you feel confident and secure about your school work?'.  There are dozens of questions in my parenting arsenal.  Sometimes I get answers, other times eye rolling and grunts, but I'm dedicated to the asking none the less.

The thing is, kids grow up fast, and as a parent I feel a real challenge to stay relevant.  You've got to skate on that fine line of remaining involved, fun and interesting yet let him grow up and represent his own personality and be himself.  This is a difficult balancing act as you want to protect them from failure and pain but at a realistic distance.  So you guide and teach them then hope that all you've instilled in him is enough.  I compare this feeling to that day when you stopped running next to him and let go of the bicycle seat and stood in the parking lot helpless and nervous while he feverishly pedaled that 2 wheeler for the first time.  I remember the feeling I had that day, knowing he'd probably fall and maybe there will be tears.  I told him flat out; "Buddy, you will probably fall, everyone does.  If you can persevere, believe in yourself and keep trying you will be so happy when you can just get on that bike and ride... it's the best!"  He was nervous.  I could see it on his face and a few times he started to say that maybe he didn't want to learn to ride after all... but we encouraged and he tried it.. and there he was, riding all day on 2 wheels with a giant grin on his big round face.

As they grow up each age and stage has its challenges.  As a parent I find myself standing aside watching and hoping that I'll recognize when it's time to jump in and lend a hand and when he'd be better off if if I let go and allow him to either fail or succeed on his own.  I'm sure I'll be a bit sad on the day when being a teenager means that he shuts his door on our conversations and he feels that I'm out of touch or no longer a source of realistic guidance for him. I hope that day doesn't come, but if it does all I can do is pray that over time he'll realize that he can always sit and talk to me and get honest answers, experienced insight and caring advice.  Every parent wants their kid to feel confident and comfortable talking with them about things in their lives that excite, encourage and concern them.  I never want him to feel as though he isn't able to bring any concern to me.

During recent conversations with my son I began to observe in his demeanor at times that he has doubts and can lack confidence and self-esteem.  I wanted to find a strategy to apply to our conversations.  Something to pull us out of the "How was school today?" question routine and maybe elevate our discussion a bit to more relevant topics.  I wanted to offer him support and guidance without simply telling him that I think he's a fantastic kid.  You see, each day I tell my son three things; that I love him, that I'm proud of him, and that I believe in him.  I'd like to think that you can't over-do those three points.  However, one recent morning on our drive to school we're talking and I tell him to remember those three things while he goes through school that day and his reply was; "Mom, you're proud of me for everything.  You're even proud of me for being born and I didn't even have anything to do with that!".  This conversation made me think .. is it possible that I've watered down my praise of him by using it too often?  I was shooting for letting him know that no matter what, he's got my love and support.  Perhaps, that's not enough at this age and stage.  I started to think that maybe it was time that I trust that he knows those things and focus on some real situational guidance.  So, I began to search on-line and came across this book, 'Chicken Soup for the Soul - Think Positive for Kids'.  I wrapped it and put it under the Christmas tree, to him from me.  Being a typical 10 year old boy, he opened it, saw it was a book thanked me with a bit of question in his voice and set it aside.  He had that face on, the one you see when a boy opens a gift of socks or maybe a sweater vest.  Later that day he asked me, "Mom, why did you get me a cook book?"  I laughed and explained to him what it was; "It's a book made up of various stories told by kids for kids.  Some of them will make you feel nice and others, maybe not as nice."   He reluctantly agreed that he would try it out, but no promises. 

This book is broken down into sections with titles such as; 'Being Responsible', 'Making Good Choices', 'Developing Self Esteem', 'Handling Bullies' and 'Making Real Friends'.  Some of the stories are a bit corny and others, especially the ones about kids bullying other kids, are a bit sad, but they all have a positive message.  Each night at bed time he and I have been selecting a few of these real-life situations and stories written by the people who experienced them.  The messages and morals taught in these small snippets aren't anything new to him, we've discussed these types of things before, but that's not really the point.  The point and the wonderful reason that I love this book is that it has been acting as a conversation starter for us.  A way for me to be relevant again and discuss with him topics that he has a real chance of facing every day without it seeming like a lecture or a check list.  We'll read a story about a boy who was always picked last for the basketball team in gym or about a girl who someone spread false gossip about at her school and we'll talk about those situations and he will share his perspective on how he feels he'd handle those types of things if they happened at his school.  A few times he's asked me to make up some situations so he can tell me what he thinks a constructive reaction would be.  I can really see the cogs turning in his head while he contemplates each situation.  This book has really given me a fresh approach to getting to know how he thinks and that he's been listening to all those preaching the 'right' vs 'wrong'.  I'm going to milk this book for all I can and hopefully down the road I can find a way to once again inject myself into his conversations when his age and stage of life turns from kickball to more grown up topics like dating, first jobs, college and future aspirations.  Although, I can't promise that I won't still be the embarrassing Mom who hides sticky notes in the pages of his text books with encouraging sayings on them or that I won't cut a baloney sandwich into a dinosaur shape in his lunch in the 10th grade... I'll always be nostalgic for the days when it was easier to make him feel how much I love him, am proud of him and believe in him.

It's A Two Dog Night

Cinder and Wiley

Everyone gets old, an unfortunate fact of life, it's one thing that doesn't discriminate it happens to the best of us.  However, imagine if for every year you lived you aged exponentially, as if you've lived for 7 or 10 years.  That's just what the experts say happens to 'man's best friend' and it's happening right now to two of my best friends, Wiley and Cinder, our family's dogs.  It is a common thought that 1 human year is equal to 7 dog years.  I've found from a bit of internet research that the comparison of a 1 to 7 year ratio is no longer very accurate.  This is due to the realization that dogs reach adulthood within the first couple of years. I've found a new formula on the internet that canine experts feel is a bit more accurate.  Of course this is subjective as it is derived by judgement and experience as no one has been able to get any dogs to show them the secret dog conversion chart on such things.  However, the formula that I've been able to find is: 10.5 dog years per human year for the first 2 years, then 4 dog years per human year for each year after.

This calculation places our canine family members Cinder and Wiley at 55 years and 67 years old respectively.  Now, that doesn't seem so old when you look at the numbers, but consider the stress and strain that dogs put on their bodies; chasing a Frisbee, catching tennis balls, roaming the yard for just the right scent to roll in, keeping the sofa warm for the humans who never seem to appreciate the effort, not to mention spending each day tirelessly mooching near the dinner table waiting for a small morsel of food to fall... all of that is quite a lot of work as you can imagine takes its toll.  With only 16 hours of sleep a day, there's no wonder our dogs feel the effects of aging on their bodies!

Along with all the usual wear and tear that a 67 year old can expect our friend Wiley has also had more than his share of injuries and illnesses along the way.  Without making myself cry from all the money I've spent at the vet for surgery and procedures to save this old friend we'll just say that if he was a cat he'd be nearing life number 9.  So, it's no surprise that in his old age he is now facing some uncomfortable days.  Living with terrible arthritis, especially when the cold New England winter comes around, makes for a fairly unhappy dog.  So, just like any other older member of the family it's important to me to try to ease his pain if I am able.  So last winter when I started to realize that Cinder had more white fur on her face than she does black and when Wiley started to refuse to go out when it was snowing, raining or too cold that perhaps I can  help them be more comfortable.  I figured I can at least keep them warm and dry which might just help their aching arthritic hips feel a bit better in the cold weather.

I realize that I can easily just go buy the dog a coat, but you all know... that's just not my style!  So I started with Wiley and by taking a few measurements.  He's is a bit of a tall lab, a bit taller than breed standard, so I wanted this to be specific to him and make sure I cover his hips to keep them dry.  I measured where I felt necessary and drew a sketch of what I thought would be a logical starting point.  Once I had an idea of the shape that I'd try to create I then transferred that to paper and made myself a template.

A Quick Template

 From there it was fairly simple, just a quick quilt of a nylon wind-breaker type fabric with a polar fleece lining.

Nylon outer shell joined with polar fleece lining

Joined the two layers with some simple quilting.. used tailor's chalk as a guide..

I then joined the neck, this will slip over the dogs head.  I finished the edge with double fold quilt style binding using a contrasting color of fleece.

Added some Velcro closures.  This was measured to fit Wiley specifically as he's got a very deep chest.  I'm thinking for future projects like this I may rework the closure to fit any large dog.

One finished doggie coat.

A funny bit about my special friend Wiley is that his face does tend to show a lot of emotion and I may be imagining it but he seemed a bit unhappy wearing his coat.  If I didn't know better I'd even say he was embarrassed.  He will wear it, especially in colder or wet weather but I always wonder if he could talk if he'd give me the old.. "But Mom, my friends might see!!!" when I put it on him.  In contrast, his sister Cinder LOVES it and when we put it on her she parades around the house wagging and showing off, but that fits her silly personality perfectly!!  I bought fabric specifically for her and this winter will be making her one of her own!!

Wiley sporting his new coat and matching collar!

This being a prototype of sorts I will be updating the template a bit to cover more of his shoulders, but it does fit his length and chest well.

Cinder parading around in her brother's coat, wagging her tail like crazy!

A Father's Greatest Gift

Carmen and Jerry

As the month of June hits and summer comes into focus we get around to celebrating our Dads for Father's Day.  Beyond the 'neck ties', 'kiss the cook BBQ aprons', 'Whale of a Dad ice cream cakes' and the silly cards with pictures of dad's mowing the lawn and polishing their mid-life crisis sports cars, what else does this day mean to us?  This Father's Day I thought I'd ask you all to consider, what is the greatest gift that your father has given to you?  I'm not talking about money or the antique lamp from your great granny, I mean a gift in the form of his legacy.  What has your dad imprinted upon you that made you a better person?

I first began to think of this subject of the greatest gift my father had given to me, a few years ago when he passed away.  Some things he had given to me are obvious; my sense of humor, my logical way of thinking; my big round face; my love of mathematics and that bite of the gambling bug that I feel when I think of the sights and sounds of the inside of a casino.  Of course there are also intangible things he taught me.  Little pearls of wisdom, that even though I may have rolled my eyes at him as a kid and a teenager he was right to teach them to me and I now understand their lessons.

Here are only a few of them that I fondly remember and laugh about often;

It's important to check in with those who love you and to always be truthful.  He had one rule, call home periodically when you go out at night and let him know where we were. He used to say; "Kimmy, I don't care what you're doing or who you're doing it with, I just need to know you're okay so I don't pace the house all night waiting to get a call that your car's in a ditch somewhere.  We can talk about the rest in the morning." I always called and was never afraid to tell him the truth about where I was or what shenanigans I was into that day.  Many times I walked through the door and just flat out gave myself up; "Dad, I skipped Sunday school and instead my friends and I were smoking cigarettes behind the rectory", "Dad, the big orange construction saw horse with the blinking light on top wasn't put int he driveway behind your car by the DPW, my friends and I stole it and put it there for a joke last night."... believe me, it was always better to tell him up front and face the consequences than to have him find out (he always found out) and then you'd be in trouble for what you did PLUS double trouble for having lied  to him.

He taught me to be prepared.  No matter how cheap your car is there are things you don't skimp on; tires, brakes, a good battery and changing your oil every 3000 miles, for those things you spend as much as you need to so your car is always able to get you home. 

Math is literally every where!  When I was a kid he'd quiz me in the isle of the super market holding up two cans of beans, one small and one gigantic; "Kimmy, quick look at these two cans of beans, how much is each per ounce and which one should we buy?".  I'd laugh because he'd tell me that "even if we throw the extra beans away, you have GOT to go with the best value!"  he was right and I remember this lesson when I choose most every big purchase I make.

Sometimes you have to be grown up enough to make the tough decisions.  When I was learning to drive he used to sit in the passenger seat tap the dash board twice and say; "Kimmy, when I do this you slow down", he'd then tap the dashboard twice again the very same way as before and say; "Kimmy, when I do this go faster."  When I looked at him to question what he had said he'd interrupt me and say; "It's up to you to know which one!"  Today I am an awesome driver and I'm not afraid to make a confident decision.

All these things are just memories, lessons learned from a parent that taught in his own way, with his own style.  At the time, while I was busy huffing, puffing and rolling my eyes I didn't realize that he was doing a great job at teaching me and although I didn't know it then, he was getting his point across.  Is this a legacy?  Do these things add up to the greatest gift that my father left me with?  If that's not it, what is?  Then all at once the answer hit me like a ton of bricks in the days leading up to his death. 

In 2008, 82 years had passed for him and this once larger than life man with the booming voice was a fragile old man, his wife had been deceased for some 26 of those years, his health was failing.  We got the call that he had been taken to the hospital with kidney failure and that it didn't look good.  When I got to his bed side I asked him if he was in any pain and if he needed anything. He said "No Kimmy, I feel fine".  He then looked right at me and said, "Kimmy, I think this is it for me."  He and I have always been very honest with eachother, and there was nothing wrong with his realistic and rational mind so I said, "Well Dad, it just might be your time, are you ready?"  What he did and said next is something that I'll never forget.  He said, "No Kimmy, I've just got to call my friend.  Can one of you kids get me a phone and dial your Uncle Jerry's number?".  Jerry and Mary Aquino and their family are one of those families that were always considered uncle, aunt and cousins even though they were not related by blood.  Jerry and my father had been the best of friends for 60+ years.  We handed him a phone and listening to their short conversation   He said "Hello Jerry?  It's me Carmen.  I'm in the hospital again and this time it looks like this is 'it'.  You've always been a wonderful friend to me and I wanted to tell you I love you very much and I'll be waiting in Heaven for you when you get there."    All of us in the room just stood there, speechless.  In those short moments in my mind I realized all the years that these men spent together, sharing weddings, births, deaths, successes and failures, a whole lifetime of true, honest friendship.  They talked for a few more minutes and then he hung up.  I never asked him what Jerry said on the other end of the phone but I could see the expression on his face, it wasn't sad or stressed it was peaceful and calm, it was an expression that said to me that he just checked off a box on that invisible checklist inside his head.  At that very moment I could see it, I knew what he left with all of us, what he instilled in all of us, what his legacy and his gift to us was.  This was a man who made solid connections, he was loyal and honest, sometimes to a fault.  When you were his friend the line got blurred and you were folded into his family.  I remember when my  mother passed away him saying that she was the social one and that it wasn't his thing to be social.  That wasn't the case at all.   His rough, hard, blunt speaking exterier really did have a soft inside.  He kept a special place in his heart for friendship and he passed that trait on to all of us.  He continued to talk and visit with each of his children, grandchilden, siblings and friends over the next three days leading to his death.   We all got our last lectures, talked about memories and and his honest assessment of what we've all done right, what we've done wrong.  This man, who died with virtually no money and nothing of any monitary value, surrounded by his family and friends was rich beyond his dreams.  He was rich in the loyalty of the friends he kept and in the family that surrounded him and if we're lucky we're all just a little bit like him.  I think I am.. I hope I am.  I think about my 5 siblings and myself and how we all have "family" and "friends" at the top of our priority list.  I think of how all 6 of us have life long friends, childhood connections that have lasted all these years.  This is his gift to me, his greatest gift, that he taught me to make connections, be kind and generous with my friendship and keep these bonds forever.  With any luck I will pass this gift off to my son who I look at each day and in his big round grinning face I see my father's face looking back at me.

Rainy Day Fabric Comes In Handy

Sometimes the plan and design comes before the fabric, and other times the fabric is something that catches my eye at the fabric store and I can't leave it behind.  As was the case with this bit of fabric, I just couldn't leave it behind I knew it would fit just right for some project on the horizon.  So I bought it and saved it for the proverbial 'rainy day' project.  The fat quarters that you see in this photo were presented in a pack of 5 ranging from light to dark in a variation of white, gray and black floral prints.  Alone each one of these would easily fit into many quilt projects, however I was determined to keep them together.  When I purchased these fat quarters they had displayed next to them the two additional fabrics, a bright yellow geometric design that held all the colors in my 5 shade stack as well as a floral with the same shades plus this same vibrant, bright yellow color, obviously from a designer's pattern family.

For literally months and months when I finished a project and my quilting table was empty waiting for the next I pulled these out and looked at them, moved them about on the table, imagined a design to use them in, but nothing came to mind for these.  I just couldn't find something that I wanted to use them in.  Then while scrolling around some images on the internet I stumbled across a quilt done with log cabin blocks that had various black and white fabric designs within the log cabin squares while the center square of each block was a bright red print.  The red was used just as an occasional accent, I was inspired.  I got the pile of fabrics out, my extra long pad of graph paper, colored pencils that approximated the colors that I had to work with and off I went.

Since I kept the design fairly simple this project went together extremely fast.  This photo is blurry because it was taken with my cell phone and a lot of times I don't realize it but I'm taking pictures through finger prints on the camera that is on the back of the phone.  This is about half way through the center portion of this quilt top.  Not certain you can tell from this but most of the way through I followed my quilt plan and used the map as a guide.

As I often do, I attempted to calculate my center field pattern of the quilt to fit the width of a twin sized bed.  That was the design, but I had taken a gamble that the fat quarters that I had for the shades of white through black prints were enough to finish the project.  They were literally just enough, but not without a little re-positioning of a bit of the design map I had made.  Once the quilt top was complete, before it went up onto the frame it got a dry run on Jason's bed to make sure my placement of the quilted field appeared correct.  It appears here as though the center extends beyond the mattress top boarders but when quilted it will loose an inch or two on either side.  Should fit a twin bed nicely.

 When this one came off the quilt frame I had prepared two different colors for the binding; gray and black.  I thought the gray would lighten it up a bit as there is a lot of black in this project, however the gray seemed to fade away and just wasn't bold enough.  I went with a black binding and I think it ties the fabrics together.

This project will be one of two that will be donated to the Salem Christian School spring auction this year, hopefully it will earn a good amount of money for the school.

The binding, backing and quilting.

The finished project.

Great Expectations

I know, this doesn't look like my usual color pallet, more like a color wheel exploded all over the quilt room.  These fabrics were selected by a client of mine who had hired me to create a quilt for her.  This quilt was a gift for her first great granddaughter due to be born this May.  She knew just what she wanted, picked out and purchased all the fabrics ahead of time and even selected the pattern / design.  All I had to do with it was piece and quilt it. The pinwheels came together very quickly and were a lot of fun; check out my previous post and tutorial on the process I used for putting them together <HERE>.


The in-process photos of this B&S quilt project.  This was a fun project for me because the lady who hired me chose a full sized quilt pattern and wanted her version of it to be a crib size.  It sounds simple to do, but when the dimensions of a pieced design need to be shrunk it all has to be done .. every dimension of every shape.  Good quilt math practice for me, my 10th grade geometry teacher (Mr. Cataldo) would be proud. :)

Colors chosen were bright and vibrant and off set by  a contrasting fabric called 'confetti', named for the specks of bright colors through it.

Quilt top complete and awaiting backing, quilting and binding.

 

A bit of an up close photo of this quilt top.  As I mentioned, a little more of a a busy design and colors than what I usually use.  However, the purple in this pattern (along the boarder and in the lattice design) match the color in the baby's nursery.  For a little girl's room this should fit right in.

On the quilt frame...

 

Had some extra fabric so the client asked for a small pillow to match...

I had some fun with this one, quick project to put together that was really appreciated by the client who ordered it.  Hopefully the baby that it was made for will enjoy it for years and years.

Pinwheels In A Flash

Need to make up a lot of pinwheels but hate piecing fabric triangles on the bias?  Me too... So, I had found a tutorial a long time ago in a desperate search for ways to make half square triangle piecing easier.  For those of you who may not know what that is, a half square triangle is just simply a square made out of two right-angled triangles.  A traditional way of making these is to cut your triangles and then sew them together via the long side of the right triangle.  The problem I have with this method is that it is often my experience that the small point of the triangles at the beginning of your seam tend to get all stuck and  bunched up in the machine, not to mention the fabric stretches along the bias cut of the triangle.  I needed a faster, more fool-proof method; and that just what I found.  Since you're reading this now, now that's also what you've found.

In this project the pattern called for 12 large and 12 small pinwheels.  This method creates 8 half square triangles which in-turn will make 2 pinwheels which makes this prep work a really a fast method for pinwheels.

Step 1  - Create squares of fabric that will make up your pinwheels.  For this project I have solid colors with a white 'confetti' background fabric.  The squares size will depends on the finished size of your pinwheel.  Mine is an odd size here as the final project is a quit for a crib that is slightly larger than the crib mattress size.  You would need to measure is the size of the triangles needed for the half square triangle pieces and work that into determining the size here.  Like I said, mine were a odd size so the squares I've made are approximately 10 inches square.

 

Step 2  - Lay your fabric squares together, right sides of the fabric touching. 

 

Step 3 - Draw lines on the lighter color of fabric in the pair.  Here I've drawn a line from corner to corner, then the other corner to corner and then pencil lines in the center of each straight side.

Step 4 - Use the diagonal line(s) as a guide and sew your 1/4 inch seam on either side of ONLY those diagonal lines.  I've flipped this example over here so you can what this looks like so far.

 

 Step 5 - Cut along the pencil lines that you drew in step 3.  This step will leave you with 8 pieced half square triangles.

Step 6 - After pressing your seams all you need to do is assemble the final block.  For the project I'm working on with this fabric it's pinwheels, but you can use the half square triangles for any pieced block that calls for them.

Rudolph The Red Nosed Throw Quilt

Each year for Christmas I try a new quilt pattern or design.  I get out the giant bin of holiday fabric and start digging and then usually spend a few weeks in the quilt room.  Only thing is, with me when it comes to quilt patterns (and fabric for that matter) I'm like Steve Martin's character in the movie "The Jerk" in that scene where he's picking up the *only* things he needs and the list just keeps going and going... "The ashtray, this paddle game, and the remote control, and the lamp, and that's all *I* need."  It's almost to the point of a sickness.. I can imagine the scene now.. me and a room full of old ladies with eye glasses that have those decorative chains on them so they can take the glasses off and hang them around their necks like my high school homeroom teacher Mrs Smith... then I gingerly step to the podium and say.. ".. Hello.. my name is Kim and I'm addicted to fabric and quilt patterns.. " to which they all respond "HELLO KIM!" and then clap.

The reason is easy, for me, the Christmas pattern designs are festive and colorful and since they're given away as gifts you haven't been sitting there looking at them all year getting tired of them.  Also, I still enjoy making each of the designs I create during the holidays, so I don't want to give any of them up and keep them in my project list and then add a new one each year.  A few  years ago the Christmas project was the Bethlehem Star, which I'm sure you're all sick to death of since it's become my go-to project.  I'll admit it.. I love sewing stars.. so sue me!  Then last Christmas I did a star and added a wreath wall hanging.  and this year the wreath became a throw and I added a new pattern, a 'twisted Rudy'.  I know what you're thinking, 'sounds like the name of a cocktail from an awkward Mary Tyler-esk dinner party'. Yeah, but it's really cute and turned out to be super fun to make.


I had looked online and in some books for ideas for this year's new Christmas quilt pattern.  I wanted something that I'd never done before.. something interesting.   So I stumbled upon a 'youtube' video for a ruler that makes Twisted Squares.. looks like a helpful product and for $8 it will make creating twisted blocks fast and easy.  A twisted square is a square made from a 4 patch block where the seams are set on a 30 degree angle.  Now, I enjoy a good quilting gadget as much as the next person... but $8 plus shipping for a 4 inch square of plexiglass with a few lines printed on it just wasn't going to happen.  Some might even choose to use the word "cheap".. I'll stick to frugal and maybe crafty.  Well, anything to save a buck.. or possibly 8 bucks!  To add insult to frugality, the pattern for this quilt could be downloaded, but wasn't free.

I had some fabric that I felt fit the project well and who am I to let a good pile of fabric go to waste...  so.. if this quilt was to be made I was going to need a pattern.  That's where my nerd meets quilter's brain came into play and it was time to reverse engineer the Twisted Rudy design.  Not real hard to do, about an hour, some graph paper and my son's Crayola colored pencils and whalla.. I had a plan.

I cut this project with the help of a ruler that I already had in my quilting ruler stash that had many triangle markings on it, including a 30 degree indication.  It wasn't as fancy as the special one that only does one thing, but didn't cost me $8 either.  The finishing of this project was done by machine tying the quilt with a double polyester batting which made for a really fluffy warm little throw blanket.

This twisted Rudy was donated to a very worthy cause, a fund raiser to raise money for a family who has a baby girl who was very ill and the Mommy had lost her job after having to be at her daughter's hospital bedside.  Since this is a Christmas project.. and Christmas brings about the spirit of giving, I figure donating it is somewhat fitting.

This was a fun project, I'm also thinking that perhaps I'll do a few other "twisted" block projects and perhaps a tutorial on this 'Twisted Rudy'.

Click here for a link to photos of this and other Christmas 2012 projects .