Curb Sailing

Turtle Bug

When you live in a heavily populated metro-area with lots of students, in a town with a high turnover rate in apartment living, you can end up ideal curb sailing conditions.

Curb sailing is a little like garage sailing: but better. Goods procured from the curb are free.

Sunday afternoons are prime curb sailing time in Brookline: folks have taken out the trash and anything else they want to get rid of in their apartments for the week, and it's not too dark to make the grave mistake of picking up something you really shouldn't.

Late this winter I went downstairs to drop off some trash and I was faced with the rear of a solid wood dresser. The back was unremarkable except that it was solid wood, no press board or gaps, so I hurried around to the front to see if there were any knobs or pulls I could pilfer in the name of scavenged art. You should have seen my mouth drop open when I saw this:

By the Wayside

At first I just wanted a photo. But then I thought...I could get it up the stairs with some help and use it in my living room. It looks like something you might find in the basement of Anthropologie with scarves spilling out of it, no?

After a frantic phone call to Crystal we got it up the stairs and found it a new home:

Folklore Dresser

Someone else's trash is my treasure, for now. The beauty of curb sailing is that it's guilt-free--I didn't pay for this piece, so when I tire of it someday, I'll just haul it down the stairs and send it out into the Universe for the next scavenger to pick up.

Some other items I've found out and about:

~*A ridiculously cute-shabby-chic-mirrored-gilded plant stand:

Plant Stand

~* A space-saving-shelf for the radiator:

Radiator Shield

One important rule of curb sailing: one item in equals one item out. Bon voyage, blue velvet wing back chair!

Bye Bye Big Blue

XO TEREZ

Half Square Triangle: Fussy Cut DIY Template

Fussy Half-Square Triangle

This morning I popped out of bed with an idea of a quilt I wanted to cut up. It was 6:30. I had today off. Why the rush? Most of the fabrics I wanted to use were pre washed, but three important pieces were not. And I don't have laundry in my building. And it was 16 degrees outside.


Too the bathtub I went!

To the Tub

I tossed in half-yards of some Lizzy House, Amy Butler and Sandy Gervais. Woolite. Warmish water (to help with the pre-shrink).

No dryer? No problem! The radiators were on and toasty warm. A fan helped circulate the air. About 90 minutes later, I was in business.

Dryer Dilemma: Solved!

I was ready to cut. And cut. And cut.

Peach and Pink Palette

When I got to the Sandi Henderson Meadowsweet, I knew I wanted to be verrrry careful. For this quilt I've challenged myself to tackle the half square triangle block. For most sewers, it's pretty basic. I'm intimidated by the bias sewing and a bunch of other jazz.  And I want to control exactly what appears on the triangle when the seams are sewn and pressed. Because you lose a half inch of the square, diagonally down the middle, when you sew it up, it's not as easy as imagining the square folded in half to get what you want.

"I need a custom ruler," I think to myself.

Well of course, I'll just make one!

Do It Yourself

First I traced out a 5 inch square on some template plastic. Then I drew dotted lines down the diagonal center, both directions. I wanted to know what part of the image would be lost by the center seam, to I drew a line 1/4 of an inch from the center line on either side.

Seam Allowances

I then drew a 1/4 inch boarder around the whole square--so I know exactly what fabric will be lost in the other seams.  I traced out my template with water soluble fabric marker like this:

Tracing the Square

See how the solid red diagonal line goes through the center of the flower? That's what I wanted. The top left triangle, when matched with a solid, will press open and look like a sun rising. That does mean the bottom right triangle will look different when pressed open, but that's ok. I'll save it for another project.

Bordering Brilliant!

So now my half yard of "vintage paisley" looks like Swiss cheese--if Swiss cheese was orderly and had sharp cube shaped bubbles. But it worked! Stay tuned.

XO Terez

Disappearing 9 Patch

Disappearing 9 Patch Draft

This year I was certain I would make Christmas gifts for most folks on my list. It seemed like a good idea in September, but not such a good idea on December 23 when I was sewing the wrong-side-to-the-right-side of some complicated items. I had to walk away, fly home, and finish the little guys on my parents' Pfaff at the last minute:

Pin Cushion Cut-astrophe

They are darling pin cushion caddies from Anna Maria Horner's Seams To Me book. In the end I was able to save them, and give them, but for now perhaps should stick to straight lines and two dimensions. You'll notice on the lower right of the photo above a half-finished pin cushion that I was making for my sister-in-law, Michele. I loved the red-white-blue combo and started playing around with some fabric I had left at my parents' house combined with pin cushion scraps. I started sewing random 16-1/2 inch 9 patch blocks and came up with this:

9 Patch-Patch

I knew all along while sewing these delights that I was going to put them under the knife, like this:

Split Patch

I also knew I'd be doing this:

Cut Into Corners

Which let me do this:

After walking away from it, and packing it up, and hauling it back to Boston, I still love it. I need to add some more darks and I have a few more patterns and solid to blend, but I'm off to a good start. I'll keep you posted.

XO! TEREZ

Golden Afternoon

Golden Afternoon Selvege

The Chez Terez studio's state of affairs has been in a sad state indeed.  My workroom, lucky enough to contain four Northwest facing windows, is flooded with full-sun from June to September and it's simply to hot to work in there. Instead it has become a repository for every craft supply I've bought or scavenged and after a terrible attempt to move large pieces of furniture by myself yesterday, it looked like this:

Buried Treasure

I was in the middle of moving that metal drawer of paper crafts and I was too lazy to move the Scrabble dice game to safety, and well, you can see how successful that was.

Solo Stretching

Mid-clean spree, I decided to put the extra leaf in my work table. Alone. I re-enacted it in the photo above to give you the full experience.

After four hours, the place was back in business. Tonight every craft item is sorted and with its proper neighbors. Stamps with stamp pads, fabric sorted and folded, beads and pliers stacked neatly, printmaking inks stored properly, rulers hung on the wall. It is a thing of beauty.

I started working on a star quilt:

Start of Star Quilt

I still don't have a proper design wall. I found a piece of white felt, some clothespins and a spare curtain rod and rigged this up:

Star Quilt Test

Which worked great until I knocked into it while rooting around in the closet:

Star Quilt Fail

That only strengthened my resolve. What good is one star quilt when I could be making three at the same time? But forget the design wall, I'm back to basics: a freshly made bed will do just as well to test the layout:

Star Quilt Redo

Stay tuned. I should have a spectacular constellation to show and tell next week.

XO TEREZ

Anna Maria Horner Out of Print Jackpot

Out of Print Anna Maria Horner Jackpot!

Before I left for the great Cape Escape with Angela-Girl, I did something I'd been putting off:
Cataloged all of my fabric.

Making a List, Checking It Twice

After two years of collecting I now know that there are two lines that are my favorites (and why, oh why didn't I know this when they were in print and easier to come by?). Anyone who's been to my home or read this blog for a while can guess what they are: Anna Maria Horner's Garden Party and Good Folks.

Garden Party and Good Folks Rainbow Pre-Cape

I cataloged all of my fabric...not just those two lines, but also my AMH Little Folks Voile, Folksy Flannels, Sandi Henderson's Meadowsweet, Sandy Gervais, scraps, etc., etc. Gave me a hand cramp and made me realize with all the time I spend at a computer keyboard, my handwriting is really going downhill. I filled my red Moleskin with chicken scratches and notations in preparation of my much anticipated visit to Tumbleweed Quilts in West Barsnstable on Cape Cod!

Poor Angela-Girl isn't a fabric gal, so she relaxed in the air-conditioned rental car with the latest New Yorker while I oohed and ahhed inside the adorable (and huge) shop.

The staff was incredibly helpful, and when they told me they didn't have too much Anna Maria Horner, mostly older bits and some in the clearance room, I could hardly contain my glee! Filed in with the other Freespirit designers and stacked in the back clearance area, I found my own personal jack pot:

AMH Festival in Tangerine, Fortune in Chocolate,
Table Cloth in Brown, Mingling in Rose,
Dance Floor in Burgundy

The Table Cloth and Mingling were on clearance, $5 a yard, so I had to buy four of each, of course. And when I found the Festival in Tangerine, I could have cried: I have been coveting that print for months and have been unable to find it anywhere--Etsy, eBay, etc. I snagged what was left on the bolt: just over four yards. I'm thinking of trying my hand at garment sewing--I think the pattern would make a cute summer sun dress or skirt.

Another item crossed off my list: starting a stash of Kona Cotton Solids:

Kona Cottons: Grass Green, Kiwi, Jade Green, Emerald,
Eggplant, Rich Red, Bright Pink, Pomegranate, Orange,
Corn Yellow

I did jot down the colors as they were cut but I'm not entirely sure which is which so please don't count on my caption above to make any certain purchases. I had a sample of scraps from my AMH collection that I used to figure out which colors I wanted to start with. I've been looking on the web for recommendations on Kona Cottons to pick up to use as blenders for Garden Party  and Good Folks and haven't seen any lists, so here's mine for any who are interested:

~*Grass Green
~*Kiwi
~*Jade Green
~*Emerald
~*Eggplant
~*Rich Red
~*Bright Pink
~*Pomegranate
~*Orange
~*Corn Yellow

I'm learning the power of solids and neutral blenders--I have some Fat Quarters coming in next week from the Michael Miller Ta Dot line~I'll keep you posted on how that works. I'm off to the cutting table and the Lady Singer...more to come!

XO Terez

A Quilt for Grandpa-Grandpa on the Occasion of His 90th Birthday

One More Row to Go

Yesterday I spent some quality time stitching in the studio with the Norwegian Knitter. Now that the new window treats are up it is so much cooler and enjoyable to be back there this time of year and it's really hard to pull myself away.  For all of the hours I spend in there,  I can never seem to finish anything because I am too distracted/discouraged by the Black Hole Craft Closet.

This abyss holds all of my fabric...and most of my beads...and most of my carving materials...and all of my holiday decorations...and all of my empty shoe boxes I might need someday...and three unused yoga mats...and a broken Hello Kitty sewing machine...you get the idea.

At 7:30 a.m., after an hour of birding, I was fed up with the looming closet.  I was getting sucked in by the magnetic-color-wheel-explosion-pull and order needed to be returned.

I pulled everything out of the closet and was determined to regoranize so I could actually get to my fabric stash. That left me facing this:

Reality

What a mess! I post this to show you I am not Martha by a long shot.


And then I unearthed a real treasure.  Something I had started last summer.  Something that I had been meaning to finish and never got to after Hello Kitty gave out:  A Kaffe Fasset charm quilt.  I had five nine-patch blocks finished and just needed to complete four more to have a finished top. I dusted off and oiled the Singer 301 and got to work.

One More Row II

I kept sewing and sewing...and guess what? I came to the conclusion I am not a great sewer...yet.  My seams are crooked and I have no idea how to nest properly when I iron, but once I got the top up in the window to take a look, I was thrilled (big reveal in a moment).

I love how the colors and the prints play, and the way the rows trickle down like the seasons--pale winter/spring bursts at the top, failling into bright spring/summer patches and finally the saturated summer/autumn tiles complete the cycle.

I was pretty happy with my 81 patches. And then I got to thinking...Grandpa Grandpa is going to be 90 years old next Saturday. If I added one more row of nine patches, I'd have 90 squares. And I have been wanting to make him a lap quilt.

Bam! Brilliant! Of course--this will be a lap quilt for Grandpa-Grandpa on the occasion of his 90th birthday!

I got to back to work. Brewed a pitcher of Passion iced-tea for sustenance. Ate some yellow and chocolate cake. Got back on the sewing machine (oh how I have missed her!)

Passion Tea

A few more pins, seams, tucks and 'oh shoot' s later, I finished this:

Grandpa Grandpa's Quilt

Now: I have to beg Mamacat and HH to back and bind the thing, because I have no idea how to do that...yet. I've got to get to the Post Office and Priority Mail this sucker! I'll keep you posted. And for the record, I hauled down about 20 cubic feet of junk to curb-cycle, and it's all gone. But the studio is still trashed, and that's ok.

XO Terez

Chez Terez 101

Good New Bears

Good News! 

I can hardly believe this myself, but we've reached the

~* ~*101st post of *~*~
~* ~* Chez Terez *~*~

{!!}

I wasn't keeping watch for it myself, the milestone sort of snuck up on my when I was reviewing the stats for the LollyCake Ladies write-up. Not only is the LollyCake Ladies my number one most read post of all time, it happened to be post number 100!

Floss Box

For those who have been with me for the splendiferous ride: thank you. For those who are new to the color-wonder-creative-blogspot that is Cherz Terez, I bring you a 101 course, and encourage you to scroll through back posts. As my friend Marielle said, it is a wondrous thing when you come across a new-to-you blog and can spend the day browsing old musings.

Chez Terez is my blog, myself being the one Miss Teresa Marie, a jewelry/embroidery/stitching/knitting/baking/apartment gardening/cooking/hostessing/birding extraordinaire.

Windowsill Horticulturist

I love things green and growing, feathery and flying, colorful and sparkling and I love to make things in my little studio and to see things on my rambling walks and share them.

Spring Wire Work

Writing this blog has blessed me beyond measure. It has helped me to slow down. It has taught me to take the time to take a look at what is around me and see the shapes and color. It has shown me the beauty of taking a detour to explore the insides of buildings so I can see the sun shine through colored glass.

Architectual Detail

This blog has given the opportunity to collaborate cross-country with my dear parents, Mamacat and HH, and to share with dear friends including The Norwegian Knitter, The Singer, The KimKitch, Grandma Rue, The Other Mother Quilter, The Chicken Lady, Angela-Girl, and others.  It helps me stay in touch with my dear creative sisters-in-law and their little flock of my beloved nephews and niece.

Fabric for Fussy Cut

I love a little bit of trivia so here are some fun facts:

The top five most popular Chez Terez posts of all time are:

1. LollyCake Ladies
2. Re-Upholstery
3. Last Day of February
4. High Tea at the Heathman with Mamacat
5. HH: Renaissance Man

Easter Earrings

Chez Terez has welcomed readers from across the U.S. and from the UK, Japan, Canada, Malaysia, Germany, the Netherlands, Russia and France.  Unbelievably, yesterday, I had my 4,000th hit!

Mamacat Cross-Country Collaboration

So welcome, bienvenidos, willkomen, bienvenue, tak! I'm so glad you are here. And thank you.

XO TEREZ

Meet Me on the Equinox: Spring Super Inspiration Sunday

Apartment Gardening

Test Eagle II

Bead Boxes I

Yellow Bloom Boom

Bead Boxes II

Bluebird Colorburst

Backyard Hawking

Super Moon Rising