On a roll

I may have come out of the quilting doldrums for a while. Maybe it's the Olympics. I find I can disappear unnoticed for a while and get down to work, and not miss anything. Maybe it's me working through subtle mind stresses at work and home, and losing myself in the process of creating helps with that. Anyway, I took the easy way out and worked on simple things first. This is a second Project Linus top made from a kit provided by that guild committee. My goal was to work on consistent seam allowances so all those corners joined well, and except for three major adjustments, mission was accomplished. And those adjustments were because someone else cut the pieces wrong.



So I finished early last night and took time to pick the next projects to start. Again, something easy. I have a block using fusible applique, a PumpCat pattern designed by Helene Knott, for which the fusible templates were ready to go, and the fabric had been selected. So that will be fused tonight. Maybe an excuse to visit the Story Quilt Store on-line and order my next (fourth) block in that series then. I'm thinking about the artichoke one: Le Arti-chat.

July 2012

I've had a lackluster summer so far this year. I consciously avoided my quilts, and turned to reading some non-fiction and fiction. Just needed some space. Then finally felt the pull to the basement, and I'm doing better now.

I finished up the top for a baby blanket for just arrived Merrick Schuett. I found some great soft cuddly fabric for the back, and will get that layered soon. We will travel in September to see our grand-nephew and Colorado family so I have a deadline for this.

These adorable dog blocks are from the pattern Gone to the Dogs, by Judydidit Designs. I chose to use just 4 dog blocks so it will be crib sized.

Then I felt the need to declutter a bit by getting some small projects done. I did a quick kit for our Project Linus committee, and a second one that is a bit more complicated is on the design wall now for piecing this week.

My goal is to have three tops ready to pass off the that committee a week from Thursday, and that will be three projects off my work space floor, off my list of things to do.

Soon I'll post the great progress made since March on Mitchell's cat. About to get her label done, and the binding on.

And I call myself a quilter!

Which is hard to do, unless I actually quilt! Any progress I've made has been with great reluctance, and primarily because I have friends who quilt with me once a month.

I spent some time since the March post quilting the borders on Rosemary's t-shirt quilt, and now I hate the way the borders look. I plan to rip out the offending stitches that introduced unwanted ripples. I just had to put it away.

I have finished the quilting/thread work on Mitchell's cat, and bought fabric in the closest brown to put for the frame per Mitchell's original. I think I do like this one. I meant to take it with me for some sewing with friends yesterday, but I forgot to pack it. Drat-it most likely would have been done except for the label and binding.

So instead I quilted a cheater panel I'll donate to the guild, and a friendship star block for a grieving friend.

It really seems like making myself do these projects is WORK, when I want it to be fun, or relaxing, or inspirational.

So I need to step back and recount all the changes and non-quilting events going on that had me preoccupied:

Both girls graduated
I had three round trips to St. Louis in seven days
A nephew got married
I entertained my office for a going away party
I had international guests over for a fun dinner
Rosemary got her first full time job
Amanda is gathering for her college experience: computers, bedding....
Two funerals 

What's still pending: 
Decision on a trip to Colorado: how, when??
A serious visit to my sewing space to spruce it up and decide on what I want to work on instead of what I need to work on.

Marilyn

Spring has been around early...

And it was the right time to make sure this cheery flower quilt got done. It was one of my priorities at a recent guild retreat. I also did a ton of machine quilting on Rosemary's t-shirt quilt, but that is for an April post. I still have those borders to do.

The blocks were four patterns for which I'll have to add the authors later. I promise. I used those as inspirations for the two clusters of flowers in the corners. You can see a peek of one of my great birds, Warren, in the corner.

I'll next finish up Rosemary's quilt, and then look towards two baby quilts for soon arrivals of two nephews. I'm thinking dogs, and have some fabric bought and cut for those blocks. While I might miss one arrival, I'll work to get these done over the summer.

Strategic quilting

Why strategic? Because I'm in the mood to do anything but what I should be doing these days. I think I need to have my quilting sneak up on me. I'm gearing up for a guild retreat on March 16. I'll touch down at our local airport that Friday after 2 days working in DC, drop off my bin of work supplies at the office, and then grab my sewing supplies and head off for a retreat. So I have next week to get the projects ready to go. Both the work and the quilting supplies. I don't want to waste any time on the 16th packing for retreat.

So I'm reluctant to do work on the projects I want to address at retreat. The major ones include: quilting Rosemary's t-shirt quilt (though I'll layer it this weekend), thread painting Mitchell's cat, adding borders to the batik flower wallhanging. I'll throw in some small projects to start in case inspiration or progress doesn't go well for these bigger projects. I went searching the blog for where I left off on the cat wall hanging, and it isn't to be found. Curious. I'll be sure to take a photo before the thread work begins. It is all fused down at this point, and layered. It's been over a year since I worked on it and I feel it calling to me.

So in the mean time, I put the blocks from a 2010 class with Karen Echmeier up on the wall and played with the layout. I think I have the center where I want it:

I will add an inner border twith some more orange and white four patches to have the diagonal line run out and be complete. Then I think a border of white and an orange binding. I'll proof read the layout a bit, to see if I can get the star centers going in a consistent, pleasing direction. It may be a challenge to get all the intersections to join neatly.

Otherwise my weekend will be dull: doing taxes, filing FAFSA for student loans for my youngest, and house cleaning. I think it will be a great distraction to work on this top and sort what I'll need for a productive and fun retreat in 2 weeks.

February Ending; will my heel dragging end too?

I'm having a difficult time being productive. I have my work, quilting, and home lists of things to do, and I don't want to do any of them. At least I don't when I'm where I need to be to do something. So I thought I'd throw up some of the photos I took while in Nicaragua earlier this month that were meant to be moment captures of 'oh, isn't that neat!'

In small towns, it seems that cobblestones and sidewalks were interesting:

Most places we visited had crowded, small homes, built right along side the highway. The highway was equally shared by cars, trucks, taxis, pedestrians, pack animals, motorcycles and bikes. One long stretch was cobblestoned like the image above, and had the long continuous yellow stripe down the center. Passing zones were where you decided to pass. Every now and then, there would be a break in the long stripe where repairs were once made to the road (though you couldn't tell there was once damage). Then there would be a scattering of yellow cobble stones about 10 feet of either side of where the center line should have been. Cool. Kind of like blowing the fluff from a dandelion head.

We stopped a a roadside potter who had ceramics in varying stages of being done. I loved the stacked bottoms he has here and the simple way of wrapping 



This vendor at a Masaya market didn't let anything go to waste with their chickens. Those are real taxidermied chickens adapted into baskets.back the top edge to make a handle.

Finally, Granada had the most interesting architecture if you want colorful and tourist sites. These shingled roofs were everywhere, unless they had been replaced by corrugated sheets of metal.

It looks like I'm scheduled to go back to Nicaragua in the next 6-8 weeks. I'll see more of Managua, and probably head south and east to visit more of the departments and their schools.

Should be interesting.

Something to remind me spring will come

I took out the batiks and started doing some fusing to make four flower blocks from patterns I've had around a while and always meant to do. I'll add the designer when I get a chance. I liked the results so they are going into a spring wallhanging for my office. This is what I have so far.

I'll add that light fabric for a 3" final border, and add applique flowers and leaves on that border. First I think I'll layer and quilt what I have so far. The fusible tends to loosen up as I work with the blocks. I suspect this is because I prewash all my incoming new fabric with the household clothing, so it gets fabric softener too. So I think I'll cut the backing and batting to the final size of the quilt, layer, and quilt the center. This will secure the applique, as I'll edge stitch as I go along. Then I can do the last border quilt-as-you-go style, adding the border applique as I go.

I'm also reinstituting the monthly self-challenge. It's been a while since I did this, but I want to knock off more UFOs from my list. So each month I'm allowed to work on three projects: one almost done, one at least started, and one just an inspiration of pattern or fabric. I have 30 days to work on these, and then they must be packed away for 30 days. This worked about 3 years back for me and I way my UFOs dwindle.

So I know I'm already half way through January, but my three projects to work on include:
This flower wall hanging (the started)-layer, quilt, and see how far the last border gets. I can focus on this at the sewing time I have with friends and guild on a Sunday afternoon and Saturday this month.
Project Linus blocks and a mug insert (the not started) -I know cheating already with two here, but they should be simple and quick work
Rosemary's t-shirt quilt (the almost done)-I still need to add framed t-shirts to the backing fabric, then baste layers. I want to quilt this on the March guild retreat

I'll post how far I get at month's end.

Rosemary's t-shirt top is done

You'd think that with almost two weeks off from work over the holidays, I would have a lot more done than just getting this top finished. I didn't really even do that. I had to wait until the weekend of Jan. 7 to see this done. Where does the time go. I have about 6 more t-shirt pieces that just did not make the front. I'll put them on the back though because I just can't bear to not include them.

So the next steps are to piece the back, layer, and quilt. I think my target is to have it ready to machine quilt for my March 17 retreat. So I really want it ready be March 1, somewhere between two trips I'll make for work that will take me away and preoccupy me.