On the Radio with Pat Sloan

This afternoon I am quite excited to join Pat Sloan on her American Patchwork and Quilting radio show! Pat is a force in the industry and such a joy to talk to. I only wish we would have our chat over an afternoon walk. Join us.

Tune in online live or download the podcast later. The show starts at 4 pm Eastern.

We'll be talking A Month of Sundays, low volume fabrics, and a lot more.

Shucked (Weekend Reads)

Have I ever told you that my five year old - The Evil Genius/Death Wish - has a thing for oysters? Raw oysters. And preferably the East Coast varieties.

She tried them once when we were out for brunch. Hubby and I were sharing a dozen so we doled a bite out to the girls. The One Bite rule, right? They were both rather meh about them so we didn't think anything of it. Another trip to the same brunch spot a month or so later and she asked for one more. We're generous folks and don't mind sharing, especially with the kids, but before I had a chance to have my second oyster she'd had 6!

From there she went straight to eating dozens, literally, at a time. Taking her out for dinner or brunch is getting expensive!

So when I saw this book on the shelf at Anthropologie, of all places, I had to grab it. Purely for parental research, you know? Shucked: Life on a New England Oyster Farm is the personal story of a food and lifestyle writer in Boston. Erin Byers Murray is feeling jaded and bored and without too much thought decides to take a year off and work on an oyster farm. She describes her brutal, cold first days  - cleaning and culling just harvested oysters on the frozen Duxbury Bay, Massachusetts. Then summer comes and the work is backbreaking but thrilling. There are the challenges to her marriage with her now an oyster farmer at the mercy of the tides and her husband the bartender. There are also the highs of food festivals and post work beers and new relationships. Behind all that is the story of an oyster from seed to table. Not to mention all the farmers who make it happen.

My five year old is too young to read this book just yet, but I'll be keeping it on the shelf for her. And I predict she'll read it round about the time she starts paying for her own oysters.

Friday Favourites: Honesty

Go read this post. Mary is honest and I love that. She is also a wicked bundle of energy and such an inspiration.

And I love the message. Word hard, but let it go. Cut yourself some slack. And be honest above all - in your efforts and your results.

Ring Tutorial

In my Craftsy class: Inset and Applique Circles by Machine I had a request for a short tutorial on making a ring, instead of a circle. It's an effective design and a great adaptation of a single technique.

1. Gather Your Supplies
Paper scissors, sewing scissors, compass, freezer paper templates, fabric glue, and fabric for the background, ring, and inner circle.
I've made this a 12 1/2'' by 12 1/2'' block. So my background fabric is cut to the same size, as are my freezer paper templates.

2. Make Templates
For this ring I've used an 8'' circle and a 4'' circle. You need two separate templates. From your 12 1/2'' by 12 1/2'' squares draw and cut out your circles.

3. Insert The Circle
For this block we are using the Reverse Circle technique reviewed in Lesson 3. This technique achieves the look of an inset circle with no headaches and consistent results. Use the first template, the 8'' circle, to start the block.
You can see in the photo above that I haven't trimmed my excess circle fabric after sewing it in place. Do so before you move on to the next step.

4. The Second Circle
Apply the template for your smaller circle to the block of the block, after trimming, from Step 3. Prepare for sewing the same way your did the first circle: cut out and opening - leaving seam allowance, fringe the seam allowance, press back, glue, apply fabric, then sew in place. Only this time your background is actually the first circle.

Here is what it looks like from behind, before trimming.

And after trimming.

What a great effect, right? Don't hesitate to adapt this technique. You could try off center rings, circles within ovals or vice versa, and maybe even multiple rings. The design possibilities are endless!

Love the example, but want to learn more about the technique? Don't forget you can sign up at any time for my Craftsy class: Inset and Applique Circles by Machine. Access it on-line, anywhere, whenever you want!