June 5, 2018 by Tu-Na Quilts, Travels, and Eats

Tu-Na Quilts: This One’s for Velda

I was anticipating baking a wonderful cake in May. I spent the first two weeks thinking about what kind it should be.

I knew I would wait to make it until I was back in ND when I’d have more time. Once I arrived, I opened my fabric pantry and proceeded to pull out various ingredients to search for just the right combinations.

I settled on whipping up a chocolate cake. To help me create the most perfect one, I asked Mr. Google for some guidance.

I found a recipe for Red Wine Chocolate Cake. The recipe taunted, “Give in to two of your guilty pleasures with this double whammy of naughtiness.” That must mean the wine and chocolate or in Velda’s case, fabric and thread.

Red Wine Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

Then there was The Best Chocolate Cake described as, “A blend of dark chocolate and strong coffee making the sponge deeply delicious.” I wasn’t so sure about the coffee addition but I thought the fabrics sure looked rich.

The Best Chocolate Cake frosted with Creamy Homemade Chocolate Frosting

I found a recipe for a Chocolate Oreo Cake. It looked mighty delicious and fun.

Chocolate Oreo Cake with Classic Vanilla Bean Frosting and Sprinkles

Maybe, Velda would like a classic white cake with a chocolate frosting and colorful sprinkles.

: White Cake with Dark Chocolate Icing and Sprinkles

Making good food, just like good quilts, can’t be rushed. I arranged and rearranged and then something quite unexpected happened; May turned into June. My hunt for the perfect recipe combination continued.

An Andes Mint Chocolate Cake might be an interesting choice for Velda’s delicious quilt. I could definitely see these fabrics using one of the patterns with multiple layers of cake and frosting. It would be sew pretty!

Andes Mint Chocolate Cake topped with Chocolate Ganache

Hmmm, this was good but maybe Velda’s bakery needed something that was worthy of a prize. Continuing on my search, Sandy claimed, “One bite and you’ll see why this velvety beauty was named ‘the best chocolate cake recipe’ and won first prize.”

Sandy’s Chocolate Cake with Whipped Buttercream Icing

It sure looked good and was very colorful but was not quite what I thought Velda might like. Besides that, I for sure, and probably Velda, didn’t know this Sandy. I continued to scroll down the list letting Mr. Google show me a few more winners. The Love at First Sight Chocolate Cake recipe insisted, “It will please the biggest chocolate lovers.”

Love at First Sight Chocolate Cake with Creamy Chocolate Frosting and Non-Pareils

I wasn’t exactly sure how big of a chocolate lover Velda was; I suspected she liked it from her comment on this post. But then I saw a picture of a cake I once had made—a checkerboard cake. It was fun to make and actually looked like a checkerboard when it was cut, at least that’s how I remembered it.

Chocolate and Vanilla Checkerboard Cake with Cocoa Buttercream Frosting

After much deliberation, I finally decided on a perfect recipe. Velda, your cake will be on it’s way to you in tomorrow’s mail. I hope you enjoy it.

German Chocolate Cake with Creamy Coconut and Pecan Frosting

See Velda’s post here for information on where to locate this free cake pattern. She asked us to make her a cake and name it. Oh, what fun this no-calorie splurge was!

What I Learned Today:

I know what most of you are thinking—Karen has too much time on her hands.
I know what the rest of you are thinking—Karen has a lot of fabric.
In reality, I have difficulty making decisions.
I like to put fabric combinations together.
Now, I want to make a cake quilt, a chocolate cake quilt. After rereading this post, I think I have almost all of the blocks already planned.
Chances are pretty great that I’ll still be arranging and rearranging them.

Question: How do you eat your chocolate? I like mine in any form: liquid in the form of chocolate coffee creamer or dark chocolate shakes, semi-soft in the form of Chocolate Mousse, and solid in the form of Ritter Sport Chocolate Bars (they have a large variety of chocolate ones; I’ve been to the factory in Germany).

If you enjoyed reading this and would like to read more of my adventures and even follow me so you won’t be left out, please see my blog Tu-Na Quilts, Travels, and Eats and subscribe by email, WordPress, or Bloglovin. I’d enjoy having you join my family of blog readers.

Thanks for stopping by and do come again.

Karen, Tu-Na Quilts

Linking to:

Main Crush Monday at Cooking Up Quilts

Monday Making at Love Laugh Quilt

Linky Tuesday at Freemotion by the River

Let’s Bee Social at Sew Fresh Quilts

Midweek Makers at Quilt Fabrication

WIP at Silly Mama Quilts

Can I Get a Whoop Whoop? at Confessions of a Fabric Addict

Finished or Not Friday at Busy Hands Quilts

April 12, 2018 by Tu-Na Quilts, Travels, and Eats

Tu-Na Quilts: For Paige and Jennifer

Obviously I didn’t learn my lesson well enough in February (read #1 of What I Learned Today found on Tu-Na Quilts: An Hour to Spare) which means that I was behind, again.

But have no fear, Jennifer’s cute little Shamrocks are expected to be in her hands on Saturday.

I said to count me in for three. But I got to making these and they practically sewed themselves so I made four.

That same day Paige will be jumping for joy as she opens her envelope from me to get her blocks.

Oh, dear, this is not one of her blocks.

And neither is this one.

Ahh! Much better!

Tu-Na Helper and I were visiting (not shopping since I didn’t buy anything) some antique stores and happened upon those cute little sock monkeys. I couldn’t help but photograph them as I had just finished making Paige’s blocks.

Paige is making a quilt for a teenage girl. When I found the sock monkey fabric, I knew I just had to include it. I know a teen would love it.

However, I knew she would be orientating them the long way so now her quilt will have…

They were just too cute not to include even if they are lying on their sides.

a tower of sock monkeys!

What I Learned Today:

I must have some British blood. When I checked the correct usage of orientating or orienting, Mr. Google said orientating is “a British thing. Orientating is the typical British usage, vs. American “orienting”.” (Yahoo) I prefer orientating.
Mr. Google is wrong. I have German blood.

Question: What are your roots? Heritage, I mean, not the hair variety. Catherine the Great invited my ancestors (and their neighbors) living in Germany to come to Russia and teach the locals how to farm. They went and settled in the Odessa Region for a long time until the welcome mat was rolled up making their exodus necessary. They made their way to America. All I really know of them is that they knew how to work hard and took pride in doing a good job.

If you enjoyed reading this and would like to read more of my adventures and even follow me so you won’t be left out, please see my blog Tu-Na Quilts, Travels, and Eats and subscribe by email, WordPress, or Bloglovin. I’d enjoy having you join my family of blog readers.

Thanks for stopping by and do come again.

Karen, Tu-Na Quilts

February 2, 2018 by Tu-Na Quilts, Travels, and Eats

Tu-Na Quilts: A Cookbook Shelf for Emily

Emily, your block is finally finished! I hope you can use this shelf of cookbooks for your quilt.

These food novelty prints traveled back from ND with me after the holidays in January.

Emily’s a librarian and a mom and a wife and a quilter who blogs at The Darling Dogwood. She asked for this block in December. Yes, I realize it’s February. Artwork just can’t be rushed.

I’ve made several leaning books before but this one had to lean the opposite way than all the others I made. I got it right the second time.

When Emily asked for a shelf of books, I knew right away what I wanted to do. Yes, it became involved and grew and grew. You know that’s how it is with cookbooks; one just can’t have too many.

I had to add a strip of this wonderful fabric because everything is better with butter!

I added a mixer as my shelf extra. Sitting amongst the “cookbooks” it actually looks like a new mini version. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could actually own a mini KitchenAid that’s just the right size to whip up some cream for two people or even four. I don’t know about you but I need to whip at least a pint in my real KitchenAid so that the beater is effective or else it ends up just whipping up air.

Tu-Na Helper called this mixer a digital version since it was missing the lever but I think some things just have to be left to the imagination.

I trimmed this cute little mixer block down to 7 3/4″ x 8 1/2″ and set it on top of some “cookbooks.” After all, if you owned a mini KitchenAid, wouldn’t you store it on your cookbook shelf?

In the end, this block measured 13″ X 29″. Yes, it’s longer than she asked for in her tutorial here but on our Facebook page she said it could go longer if we wanted. And well, there’s no stopping Tu-Na from adding more books to the shelf, especially a cookbook shelf!

I just had to add some more books to the other side of the mixer for balance. I couldn’t resist adding the strip of selvage for a label on the cooky book. That selvage came from the fabric with the stick of butter.

Tu-Na Helper thought I should add more labels to the books but I thought you could do that if you wanted to. His suggestion is The World of Pickles. I think I would have put Everything’s Better with Bacon, Betty’s Pies, and The Joy of Ice Cream. If I knew how to operate the embroidery alphabet on my new machine, I’d do it but that lesson comes next week. Since this block is so late I thought I shouldn’t wait another minute. I’ll get it in tomorrow’s mail and it’ll be on it’s way to you.

What I Learned Today:

This mixer block was fun but putzy. You can find the free pattern here and the pattern for leaning the books here.
I might have to sew up a mixer block for myself. But I sure don’t need another project right now. I just confessed that I suffer from MPD and DSD on my blog here. This block is just one of those blocks one has to make at least once but I’m not going to say I’ll never make another one.

Question: Do you use cookbooks or are you prone to searching the internet for a recipe? I do both but I have a huge collection of cookbooks. I used to read them as books.

If you enjoyed this post and would like to read more about my journey or follow me, please visit my blog, Tu-Na Quilts, Travels, and Eats. Thank s for stopping by.

Karen, Tu-Na Quilts

Linking to:

Can I Get a Whoop Whoop? at Confessions of a Fabric Addict

Finished or Not Friday at Busy Hands Quilt

Show Off Saturday at Sew Can She

June 30, 2017 by Tu-Na Quilts, Travels, and Eats

Tu-Na Travels and Quilts: Day 8 in Paris and Assembling the Poodle

We started the day early as our museum pass was about to expire and we still had more things to see. Here’s a few of the highlights of the day.

I thought street performers were found only in New York. This one amazed me since I thought he was a sculpture.

We visited Sainte Chapelle, Notre Dame Cathedral, and a modern art museum. I’m not sure where I found my energy to keep going day after day.

About 1/5 of the stained glass windows were covered with scaffolding on the inside of the building; they were being cleaned and restored, if needed. Even so, the place was magnificent. There are 1,113 stained glass windows with each one depicting a different story from the Bible. Next time I go, I’m taking a pair of binoculars to see them closer.

We stopped for some crepes at a cute little Creperie right outside the modern art museum.

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In the modern art museum, we saw art works by Matisse, Picasso, and others. Here’s just a sampling. Click on each pic for more info. There were some really nice pieces as well as some that were, well, interesting.

Portrait de Greta Prozor by Henri Matisse

Le guitariste by Picasso

La Toilette (Femme au miroir) by Spiegel

La liseuse by Picasso

And some that were really off the wall.

Yes, that’s a chair hanging on the wall. There was another one: a fold-up bag chair but I figured you all know what one looks like .

What I learned today…Mercredi April 23, 2014

French onion soup tastes much better in France than at home.
How to eat a real French crepe: First, eat some of the extra filling. Second, spread the remaining filling. Third, roll it up. Fourth, cut it in half to share with husband knowing he’s doing the same with his.
Six consecutive days of a Paris museum pass was a lot to do. We visited the Louvre twice, the d’Orsay, Rodin, modern art museum, Notre Dame, St. Chappel, Notre Dame Crypt Archeological museum, d’Orangie, Invalides, Army museum, Napoleon’s tomb, Arc of Triomph, and Palace at Versailles. I think we got our money’s worth. There were only 47 other museums listed on our pass that we didn’t get to. We tried our best.
Shoe shopping in Paris should be easy; every other store in the Chalet and Les Halies sections are shoes stores. Good to know if I need to buy more shoes.
The half-size dishwasher in our furnished apartment is just the right size.

Poodle Block Tips:

Now onto Part Huit (8) Some Assembly Required. This will complete the poodle block. (You will find links to Parts 1-7 at the very end of this post.)

Using Sally’s tutorial for her right facing poodle found here on The Objects of Design or my tips below, let’s begin arranging the pieces. Think of it as putting a puzzle together. Hint: Use a large flat tray, design board or cutting mat that you can move closer to your machine, unless you need lots of exercise.

I will begin assembling this pooch one row at a time. Let’s think of it as a row by row. A picture follows each row description. If you laid out the frame already, you’ve already got some pieces in place. I’ve enlarged the labels only in that specific row to further help you. Be prepared to be amazed and amused as your playful puppy begins to grow right before your eyes, kind of like they do in real life.

Row 1: Top left corner, top of head, top right corner

Row 2: Tail, Extra tail piece made in part 7, Above back, Ear, Eye, Nose

We’re using one of the unlabeled pieces from part 7.

Row 3: Behind rear under tail, Body, Chest

Row 4: Lower left middle, Under Belly, extra front leg piece made in part 7

Here’s the other unlabeled piece that was made in part 7.

Row 5: Bottom left corner, Foot poof, Bottom middle, Foot poof

Extras to add: Add the Right side under muzzle piece to the right side of the block and the two pieces labeled Foot to the bottom of each Foot poof

That should be all of your pieces. Now the fun begins; bringing life to this little fella by using needle and thread.

You might be scratching your head, hopefully with your hand and not your foot, and wondering where to begin. There’s a logical sequence that makes it come together quickly. Just follow the pictures below and the list of seams to sew in order and you’ll be well on your way to petting this playful pup. The red numbers on the pictures below correspond to the number of the seam that you will be sewing. I’ve listed it out here for you too. Start with number 1.

Hints to remember: Check the two pieces that you will be sewing to see if you’ll be sewing two flip triangles or seams on top of each other (it will get a bit bulky). If so, just flip one to the other direction. Doing so will also help you nest those seams tight. But it’s not the end of the world if it just doesn’t work out; don’t go ripping it all apart to make it lay down. Just say, “I did my best” and let it roll over you.

The First Seams (Sew right sides together 1/4″ scant seam allowance for all the seams, press to the side—I found that most pieces had a natural tendency to lay to one side or the other)

Top left corner onto Top of head
Top of head to Top right corner
Eye to Nose
Chest to Ear
Extra piece to Under belly
Foot to Foot Poof
Foot to Foot poof
Lower left middle to Behind rear under tail
Extra piece to Tail
Above back to Body

Now let’s see what we’ve got!

You can see there is progress as there are less labels. I keep at least one label on each section while sewing so I don’t get confused.

We are getting closer to done with each seam and this little guy will be ready to play.

Next seams to sew: The numbers correspond to the seams in the picture below.

Nose to Right under muzzle
Right foot poof section to Bottom middle
Bottom left corner to left foot poof section
Tail section to Behind rear under tail
Back/Body section to Ear section

Now let’s take a look at what we have.

Just a few more seams to sew.

Left foot section to the right foot section.
Under belly section to Above back/body section.

Now your pampered pooch should be looking something like this:

Just four more seams and he/she will be begging for treats.

Sew the last four seams:

Tail section to Body
Feet section to the body section.
Muzzle section (that would be his mouth/eye/nose section) to the body.
For goodness sake, sew on the top of his head so you can pet him!

Voilà! Meet Cherise, my newest, darling, little poodle. She’s not only playful and perky but she’s also a little bit on the wild side. I caught her hanging out with the boys: Marcel, Odie, and Tigg. I’ll have to sew her in the middle of the quilt so she doesn’t escape.

This is a 14″ unfinished block which will finish to 13.5.” Mine was right on probably due to my squaring up each of the pieces while prepping them and watching that scant 1/4″ seam.

What I Learned Today:

Writing this specific post was very difficult. I kept getting the pictures mixed up. Let me know if you have questions or if I’ve made a mistake.
When taking pictures of lots of pieces, make sure there is space between each piece so they can be seen as separate units and not a mess.
I learned how to use more features in the photo editor program, Paint. It was a real time-saver or I would have had to remake this block. Maybe, someday, I’ll show you the bloopers.
I’ve run out of days to post this month. I’m heading to the lake tomorrow and I won’t be back for a week. To my American readers, have a Happy Fourth of July! To all of my other readers, have a Happy Day!
No more poodles arrived today. I’ll post when they show up.
Homemade macaroons taste wonderful. I will be sharing about that experience when some of those poodles arrive.

Question: If you were to give a French poodle a name, what would it be?

If you enjoyed this post and would like to read more about my journey or follow me, please visit my blog, Tu-Na Quilts, Travels, and Eats. Thank you for visiting Bee Inspired.

Au Revoir

Karen, Tu-Na Quilts

Here are the previous poodle posts just in case you need to catch up to figure out what is going on this month at Bee Inspired. We’ve all gone on vacation—don’t we wish—to Paris. Well, maybe at least in our minds and imaginations.

Tu-Na Quilts: All Aboard. Fasten Your Seatbelts. We’re Taking Off for… You will find the pattern link for the poodle block in this post as well as why I chose this block.

Tu-Na Travels: Day One in Paris which includes Part un (1): Pattern and Fabric Selection.

Tu-Na Travels: Day Two in Paris and Poodle Block Cutting Tips which includes Part deux (2): Cutting and Anatomy Labeling.

Tu-Na Travels: Day Three in Paris and Prepping Those Furry Pieces which includes Part trois (3): Prepping the Furry Accent Pieces (Foot poofs, Tail, and Ear).

Tu-Na Travels: Day Four in Paris and Prepping the Poodle Body Parts which includes Part quatre (4) Prepping the Poodle Body Parts.

Tu-Na Travels: Day Five in Paris and Prepping the Background Pieces which includes Part Cinq (5) Prepping the Background Pieces.

Tu-Na Travels and Quilts: Day Six in Paris and Building the Frame Around Our Pampered Pooch which includes Part Six (6) Building the Frame Around Our Pampered Pooch.

Tu-Na Travels and Quilts: Day Seven in Paris and Finishing the Leftovers which includes Part Sept (7) Prepping the Last of the Extra Pieces.

Linking to Can I Get a Whoop Whoop? and Finished or Not Friday.

June 23, 2017 by Tu-Na Quilts, Travels, and Eats

Tu-Na Travels and Quilts: Day Six in Paris and Building the Frame Around Our Pampered Pooch

Today we returned on foot to the Louvre to see many paintings by some very well-known masters:

Vermeer

Rembrandt

Renoir

We saw lots of other paintings including some with lots of hands

and some with really pretty faces.

We left the Louvre and began our walk to the Arc de Triomphe. Along the way we saw a very interesting concept which we think the cities where we live should use—at least we haven’t seen it yet.

Again, maybe it doesn’t take much to impress us, but we were very intrigued with this sidewalk vacuum. Do you have sidewalk vacuums where you live?

Finally, we reached the Arc.

One more trip past the Eiffel Tower made the end of a beautiful day.

What I learned today…Lundi, April 21, 2014

Crème Brulee and coffee in an outdoor café makes a delicious Parisian lunch.
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4.80€ for a small cup of coffee without refills is a bit expensive, so is a bottle of water at 3.50€. No water is served unless you pay for it.
Paprika Pringles are very tasty. I sure hope I can start buying them at home.
There are 284 steps in the circular staircase leading up to the top of the Arc de Triomphe. Going down was much easier.
Looking down from the top.
The Arc de Triomphe sits in the center of an intersection of 12 major streets coming together with a round-about (circle). Luckily for me, I wasn’t driving or I’d probably still be there (I am a timid driver).
A view from on top of the Arc de Triomphe. Note the tree lined streets coming towards the Arc and the Eiffel Tower in the background.
Went back to the Gloria restaurant and verified that it is the best Italian food we’ve tasted.
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The app on my husband’s phone read 27,863 steps today or 10.99 miles. We both had dessert this evening. We earned it!

Poodle Block Tips:

Now onto Part Six (6) Building the Frame Around Our Pampered Pooch (You will find links to Parts 1-5 at the very end of this post.)

Handy Hint: I highly recommend laying out these frame parts on an extra cutting mat, corner of your sewing table, large cookie sheet or tray, piece of cardboard, pool table, large design board or whatever flat space you can find where you can let them stay while you finish the block or easily move them all contained without messing them up. Just in case you get distracted, you can easily come back and pick right up where you left off.

Use Sally’s Tutorial for the Right facing poodle found on her blog The Objects of Design or my picture below to lay the following pieces in the correct orientation. Moving clockwise, lay them in the following order:

Top left corner (refer to number 1 in pic below to help you find it)
Top right corner (2)
Right side under muzzle (3)
Bottom middle (4)
Bottom left corner (5)
Lower left middle (6)
Behind rear under tail (7)

The names on the labels were so small so I put numbers here to help you identify the piece.

You will also need the following Extra pieces: three 1.25″ square body pieces, one 2″ body square, and one 1.25″ x 2″ body piece. Follow Sally’s tutorial or my picture below, lay the pieces right side together:

Top right corner (piece 2 in picture below) needs a 1.25″ square body piece on the left bottom corner.
Right side under muzzle (piece 3 in picture below) needs a 1.25″ square body piece on the top left corner.
Lower left middle (piece 6 in picture below) needs the 1.25″ x 2″ body piece sewn to the right side (shortest side). Might as well go sew this one with right sides together 1/4″ seam, press to the dark.
Behind rear under tail (piece 7 in picture below) needs the 2 ” body square placed in the upper right corner AND a 1.25″ body square in the lower right corner.

I’ve drawn in the sewing lines. We won’t be using all the pieces for this part.

Now flip those corners (draw a diagonal line from corner to corner, stitch, trim to 1/4″, press). (Refer to Part 3 Prepping those Furry Accent Pieces if you need to see how that is done).

Did I make an extra bonus half-square triangle block using the 2″ piece on the Behind rear under tail piece? It’s not required for this block but it might be useful for a future project. I sure did! Did you?

This is not required for the Poodle. But you can make a bonue block for a future project. See Part 5 if you need an explanation of how to do it.

1.25″ might be useful for a future project.

To ensure the finished block will be close to the correct size, I like to square each piece now to the following sizes:

Top right corner squares to 2.75″
Right side under muzzle squares to 3.5″ x 9.5″
Lower left middle squares to 3.5″ x 2″
Behind rear under tail squares to 3.5″ x 5″

Now stand back and look at your hard work.

Coming soon as we near the finish line: Part Sept (7) Prepping the Last of the Extra Pieces

Finally, we break through the ribbon and finish with Part Huit (8) Some Assembly Required

What I Learned Today:

I still can’t find paprika Pringles around here (in North Dakota). I’ll have to check in Arizona this winter.
June is going fast.

Question: Have you run in a race? What does it feel as you near the finish line? No racing for me since I’ve been out of school but my 8 year old grandson ran in one in Duluth. I can’t wait to hear about it when we see him.

Au Revoir

Karen, Tu-Na Quilts, Travels, and Eats

If you enjoyed this post and would like to read more about my journey or follow me, please visit my blog, Tu-Na Quilts, Travels, and Eats. Thank you for visiting Bee Inspired.

Tu-Na Quilts: All Aboard. Fasten Your Seatbelts. We’re Taking Off for… You will find the pattern link for the poodle block in this post as well as why I chose this block.

Tu-Na Travels: Day One in Paris which includes Part un (1): Pattern and Fabric Selection

Tu-Na Travels: Day Two in Paris and Poodle Block Cutting Tips which includes Part deux (2): Cutting and Anatomy Labeling

Tu-Na Travels: Day Three in Paris and Prepping Those Furry Pieces which includes Part trois (3): Prepping the Furry Accent Pieces (Foot poofs, Tail, and Ear)

Tu-Na Travels: Day Four in Paris and Prepping the Poodle Body Parts which includes Part quatre (4) Prepping the Poodle Body Parts.

Tu-Na Travels: Day Five in Paris and Prepping the Background Pieces which includes Part Cinq (5) Prepping the Background Pieces.

June 20, 2017 by Tu-Na Quilts, Travels, and Eats

Tu-Na Travels: Day Five in Paris and Prepping the Background Pieces

Today was the day of selfies. As I was looking at our vacation photos, I discovered more selfies taken this day than all the other days in Paris combined. Probably because we had to stand in line at the Palace of Versailles and the lines moved slowly.

The lines were long and we had to wait almost three hours to enter. Once inside the gate, we had to wait again to enter the Palace and once we were finished looking inside, we had to wait in yet another line outside to enter the palace grounds.

Here we are with King Louis XIV

and Marie Antoinette.

I could show you about 50 more of us, but since this is a quilting blog, I want to keep it at least a little bit about quilting. I wonder if you’d like to make a quilt for this bed?

Or maybe this one pictured below? The sign said “Queen’s Room.” So does that mean the one above is the King’s room? I don’t remember.

This is just a very small part of the grounds which included many ponds and fountains.

Here’s one of them.

After a long train ride back to our apartment, we dined on this light supper which included some fruit, a sandwich, some good and expensive cheese, paprika Pringles and, of course, some French wine.

What I learned today….dimanche, April 20, 2014

Do not go to the Palace of Versailles on an Easter Sunday. About a million other people decided to do the same. Lines were long and moved very slowly.
We did a lot of standing today: standing still, standing in line, standing around, standing and smiling—we never knew whose photograph we might end up on.
We did not see it all (Palace and grounds). We will have to come back.
French Kings sure knew how to live in luxury. The Palace and grounds were very beautiful.

Poodle Block Tips:

Part cinq (5): Prepping the Background Pieces

We will work with only five pieces for this part. But we are getting one step closer to being done. Aren’t you so excited? Don’t you just love the way I’m prolonging this block? Especially, if you are sewing along. No, really, I thought that by breaking it into manageable steps, it is doable for even the beginner sewer (or is it sewist?).

Sally refers to these pieces as “white” in her right facing poodle tutorial on The Objects of Design blog. Adding to the confusion for you, I will refer to them as background (just because it is less confusing for me and well, maybe for you, too).

Find the Above Back and Under Belly background pieces and two 1.25″ square body extra pieces plus one 2.75″ square body piece. (Note: This is one of the corrections from Sally’s tutorial as she asks for a 2″ piece but you will need to use the 2.75″.)

Now place one 1.25″ body square on the bottom left corner of the Above Back piece as pictured below.

Place a 1.25″ body square on the top right corner and a 2.75″ body square on the left side of the Under Belly piece as pictured below. Now flip those corners. (Draw a diagonal line, sew, trim seam to 1/4″ and press.) Refer to Part 3-Prepping the Furry Accents for a step by step explanation of how to do this if needed. The next four pictures will show you how to make a bonus block with half-square triangles.

I draw a line diagonally from corner to corner, and because I also don’t want to waste fabric, I draw another line 1/2″ towards the outside corner on these bigger pieces. I sew close to these lines, not on them but a needles width to the right of the line towards the corner. (This picture has been edited to show the correct corner to flip on that large square).

Then I cut between the seams (each will have a 1/4″ seam allowance).

After pressing the seams, I square my bonus block. This one will square to 2″. I love doing this.

And there’s my bonus block for another project! Did you make one too?

You may ask, “Why didn’t you do that on all the other corners we flipped?” Since I am a visual learner and you may be to, I thought I’d show you what happens. There is a point when it just doesn’t pay. And those small squares would only give you a block that squares to 1/2″ unfinished. Now I don’t have any sewing projects needing that small of blocks because there would be nothing left after sewing it as it would all go into the seam allowance.

There’s that little half -inch square. Cute but worthless.

After pressing all your seams, square the Above Back piece to 3.5″ x 5″ and the Under Belly piece to 2.75″ x 6.5″. Now stand back and admire your hard work.

This picture has been edited to show the correct larger flipped corner. If your piece doesn’t look like this one with these corners flipped this way, you’ll be needing to recut the pieces and reflip those corners. It took me a bit to discover this mistake.

That’s it for part 5. Coming soon: Part six (6) Building the Frame Around our Pampered Pooch. It’s coming along nicely.

Tu-Na Quilts: All Aboard. Fasten Your Seatbelts. We’re Taking Off for… You will find the pattern link for the poodle block in this post as well as why I chose this block.

Tu-Na Travels: Day One in Paris which includes Part un (1): Pattern and Fabric Selection

Tu-Na Travels: Day Two in Paris and Poodle Block Cutting Tips which includes Part deux (2): Cutting and Anatomy Labeling

Tu-Na Travels: Day Three in Paris and Prepping Those Furry Pieces which includes Part trois (3): Prepping the Furry Accent Pieces (Foot poofs, Tail, and Ear)

Tu-Na Travels: Day Four in Paris and Prepping the Poodle Body Parts which includes Part quatre (4) Prepping the Poodle Body Parts.

Coming soon: Part six (6) Building the Frame Around our Pampered Pooch

What I Learned Today:

Pictures do not do justice to the beauty found in and around Paris.
Some things just have to be experienced.
Don’t waste my time making bonus half-square triangle blocks on every corner I flip. Only do the ones that would give me a respectable and useable finished piece.

Question: Have you visited a unique place where people live or lived? Where?

If you enjoyed this post and would like to read more about my journey or follow me, please visit my blog Tu-Na Quilts, Travels, and Eats. Thank you for visiting Bee Inspired.

Au Revoir

Karen, Tu-Na Quilts, Travels, and Eats

June 6, 2017 by Tu-Na Quilts, Travels, and Eats

Tu-Na Travels: Day One in Paris

I set foot on Parisian soil for the first time in mid April of 2014. My husband and I were on a month long voyage to Europe with stops in Germany, Paris, and London. We had just taken the TGV train from Stuttgart to Paris. During my stay, I wrote in a journal about the things I learned and I want to share them with you.

This sign welcomed us at the TGV station in Paris.

But first a little story about some good-looking French men.

Our travel agent had secured an apartment for us two blocks from the Eiffel tower. I was so excited hoping that I could draw back the window drapes and have a view every morning of it.

There was construction happening at the tower. Part of the floor was being replaced with glass.

Anyway, after debarking from the TGV and dragging four suitcases (two for each of us) plus our personal packs (backpack for my husband and a large, very large purse for me), we walked to the subway station entrance so we could travel to that apartment. I peered down, down a very long steep set of stairs leading to the underground station. As I was about to start hoisting my two bags down all those steps, I heard a voice.

“Mademoiselle, S’il vous plaît.” He repeated it again. This melodic sound came from a tall, dark haired, good-looking, French man who was now standing right beside me.

O.K. So this is a recreation of the moment but those are the same suitcases, although a little more worn than then.

“Oui, oui, Merci,” I feebly uttered with the accent of a frog as he grabbed one of the suitcases and bounded down the steps. I stood at the top just watching him for a few seconds while another handsome French man grabbed the other suitcase and trotted down those steps as if he were moving on level ground.

I was still standing at the top mesmerized by what had occurred as my two suitcases were gently placed side by side at the bottom and the bearers quickly disappeared into the crowd. They had sailed past my husband as he struggled to navigate those steep stairs while heavily laden with more weight and bags than we should have brought.

I hoisted my purse on my shoulder and hopped down the stairs while my husband, mouth opened, looked up at me in utter amazement wondering what had just happened.

My first impression of the city was that young French men are very helpful.

What I Learned Today….Mercredi April 16, 2014

The TGV’s (train) top speed between Stuttgart and Paris was 320 kph. Do the conversion. It was a very smooth ride! We made the trip in 3.5 hours. No conversion needed.
How much I miss Germany: the clean cities, the quiet streets, the three-ply soft toilet paper.
I’m feeling 30 years younger. I had three hot French men in their 30s call me “Mademoiselle” and offer to carry my suitcases up and down the stairs at the train station. Of course, I let them!
One can’t always trust their travel agent. Our apartment 2 blocks from the Eiffel tower takes us 25 minutes to walk. Obviously it is more than 2 blocks. I wonder what conversion we should have used.
I can’t escape from McDonalds, Starbucks, Burger King, Ford and Chevrolet even in Europe! They’re all over. Our apartment is four floors above a McDonalds and there’s a Starbucks across the street.

I hope you enjoyed today’s little memory about my first day in Paris. I’ll be back with more as I have a hot date this afternoon with my sewing machine to make another French Poodle since, now after writing this, I’m feeling in the mood.

In addition to sharing some other Things I Learned during my Paris trip, I plan to pop in and out this month with some tips and tidbits about the Poodle block I’ve chosen. So if you are feeling like it is a bit over your head, rest assured more info and pics are coming. But if you are confident to tackle it on your own, go right ahead as I think most, if not all of you, are seasoned quilters and I’m probably doing this only for my benefit.

Part un (1): Pattern and Fabric Selection

I covered this on my first post so check it out here (Tu-Na Quilts: All Aboard. Fasten Your Seatbelts. We’re Taking Off for….) on the Bee Inspired Blog if you missed it. Basically, I am asking for blacks and whites. But if you have an elusive black with only pink/wine/burgundy/raspberry/white or white with pink/wine/burgundy/raspberry/black that might make a good body. Let me know if you have questions.

I wrote a post about the poodle block on my blog Tu-Na Quilts, Travels, and Eats and we are having a fun game naming groups of things. Did you know that a group of dogs is a pack or kennel and a group of giraffes is a tower? So pop on over here (Tu-Na Quilts: A French Poodle for Moi) to be part of it and comment with the name of a group of something. I wonder who came up with some of those names.

Here’s my fabric selection for this new poodle.

The black with white flowers shown on the bottom left will be the background. The Zest for your nest (middle) fabric will be the body and the white with black swirls shown on the right will be for the furry accents of ear, foot poofs, and tail.

Coming soon: Part deux (2): Cutting and Anatomy Labeling.

What I Learned Today:

Memories are so sweet and pictures help jog it.
I miss Paris.
Maybe it’s time for a new set of suitcases. No, maybe not, as these have too many memories. Besides that, after one trip on the airlines, the new ones would be looking very close to these anyway.

Question: Have you been anywhere fun? Do you have a memory of that trip you’d be willing to share?

Au Revoir,

Karen

June 1, 2017 by Tu-Na Quilts, Travels, and Eats

Tu-Na Quilts: All Aboard. Fasten Your Seatbelts. We’re Taking Off for…

Paris! Oui, oui, s’il vous plaît. Mes chers amis quilty, un voyage au beau Paris serait tellement merveilleux.*

I apologize for the blurriness. I was in a hurry as we were leaving to head north and remembered to grab a couple of pics. My husband took these pics and we had them made into prints. They are displayed in our guest room.

It was always a dream of mine to visit Paris. Three years ago, it became a reality. I thought you might like to go too.

I have a number of fun and funny posts planned for this month so I hope you’ll check back here often so you won’t be left behind.

My inspiration for my quilt block comes from several sources. I’ll share one now and another on another post. Early this winter my mom and I were shopping for fabric (well, we were just looking) and then I spied this.

It would be perfect for a quilt in our guest room in Arizona. So I bought all that they had which was about 2 1/2 yards because…why not? I think it would be perfect for the sashing.

“What kind of quilt are you going to make?” asked my husband (who is also lovingly refered to as Tu-Na Helper).

Since Velda had already taken my bird idea, I had to come up with another plan. So I looked closer at that fabric and spied this cute little poodle.

Do you see that cute little poodle? The background is bright white although it looks bluish here.

I don’t have a dog but if I ever did it just might be a poodle, a French Poodle. A French poodle block would be perfect to go with my Paris themed guest room.

I found this wonderful addition to our guest room at a thrift shop. In fact, the headboard, each of the two identical lamps, side tables, and the mirror with hooks as shown in the picture above were all found at different thrift shops.

I thought a French poodle quilt would add some whimsy and warmth to our guest room. So that’s going to be our block that I invite you to make for me.

Isn’t she adorable? Although, I think I’ll make it again and use the dots for the body and the swirls for the furry accents.

Pattern: You can find the tutorial and pattern for this adorable poodle here on The Objects of Design blog. You’ll be making the right facing poodle. I am also in Stash Bee Hive 9 and they will be making left facing poodles for me later in the year.

Fabric selection: You will only be using 4 different fabrics (one for the background, one for the poodle body, one for the furry accent parts, and a solid black for the eye and nose).

Background possibilities (referred to as White in the pattern tutorial): Please choose one fabric (not scrappy).

white on white
white with black
white with dark gray
black on black
black with white

Poodle Body (referred to as Light fabric in the pattern tutorial): Your poodle should be the opposite color of your background. Here again, choose one fabric–not scrappy. Example: If you select a black background, then choose a white fabric for the body.

Body possibilities:

white on white
white with black
white with dark gray
black on black
black with white
white or black with pink or wine or burgundy but no other color except gold or silver (I don’t have any samples but thought I’d throw it out there just in case someone has something like that as I think it would make a great poodle body or furry accent.

amb_47 Light wine American Made Brand Fabrics has a wine color (AMB 47 Light wine) that looks like it matches nicely (but then I am just looking at it online and not in person). I included it here to give you a color sample.

Furry Accent (referred to as Dark fabric in the pattern tutorial): Please select a complimentary fabric to your body selection. If using a white fabric, find one that is also white but has lots of contrast that will make it stand out or read as a darker version of your color choice.

Nose tip and eye: Solid black

My quilt will not be all black and white. The cornerstones will be pinks and wines and burgundy. There might be a pink or burgundy flange binding too.

Here’s some pinks and wines with one burgundy/gold that I have that I thought would make nice cornerstones. What do you think?

I am using the picture on the wall in that guest room for inspiration.

If you have a 4.5″ square of pink, pink/white, white/pink, wine, or burgundy fabric that you’d like to include in the cornerstones, I would really appreciate it. I would also love to receive a 1.5″ square of each of the fabrics (except the solid black) that you use in this block so I could include it in my postage stamp quilt.

Hints: I dabble in small pieces and there are a fair amount of small pieces in this pattern. To make things a bit easier for you, I made up some labels in the pdf below. Just print, cut them out, and lay them on the anatomical parts so you don’t get confused. Believe me, without labels, when you come back to your sewing machine after your lunch break, you won’t know the ear from the rear.

Clover clips help keep those labels in place

My next hint is to use a scant 1/4″ seam. Measure and trim as needed. The block will be 14″ unfinished.

Hint number three pertains to pressing seams. The block will be sashed so I won’t have to worry about nesting seams. However, I prefer the seams in the block to be pressed to the side, usually to the dark side (I just finished watching episode 1 of Star Wars so I couldn’t resist putting that in). But there will be times that doing so will make for a very bulky seam so you will need to watch for that and press in the direction that makes the most sense so as to avoid that bulk.

Lastly, read the tutorial through before starting. Note the corrections as I have listed them below. There are a lot of steps. But the poodle comes to life quite quickly once all the pieces are cut and prepped. I’ve prepared a cutting check-off list for you as I found that to be helpful for me and have included it in the pdf below.

Pattern corrections (these will make more sense if you locate the section in the tutorial and note it):

Cutting Dark fabric: Cut one 2.75 by 4.25 rectangle rather than the 2.75 by 4.75

The caption of the picture that shows the squares for flipping the corners for the dark (furry accent parts) should read: For ear: (last line of caption should say) “on upper (not lower) left corner.”

When making the Under belly, the square should be a 2.75″ light (body) not 2 inch as listed.

When sewing the Lower left middle: sew 1.25 by 2 inch light (body) strip to shortest side.

Extras: One 1.25 by 2.75 in background rectangle with light 1.25 flip in lower left.

Here’s the pdf label and cutting chart for your convenience.

Right facing poodle cutting checklist and labels

Do check back again as we explore Paris together. I will show you pics of things I saw, tell you funny stories of things that happened to me (“Oh, why do things happen to me?” Tu-Na laments as she touches the back of her hand to her forehead.), present more poodles as I sew them, and entertain you while you sew for me.

*yes, yes, please. My dear quilty friends, a trip to beautiful Paris would be so marvelous. (ok. This was from Google translate. My French vocabulary consists of oui oui and merci).

What I Learned Today: