Author: Cathy

Let Summer Begin!

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Okay, maybe wishful thinking as I sit here in my long jeans and long sleeve tee, but it is Summer. The tomato plants are doing surprisingly well on the porch – we actually have tomatoes! – the kid has gone to her first carnival of the season, and the doors are open most days. It seems I am out more than at the work table some days, which I’m sure is a good thing. There’s still almost 2 weeks of school for the kid, so I am trying to cram some good work time in and look at scheduling what is easier to do when the house gets busy.

I set aside the Criss Cross quilt partly due to a frustrating “how do I…?”, more about that later in this post, and began some other projects. Happens too often. Although I’m much better about going back to finish projects, I am working on just getting them done and not set aside at all. When I would teach classes at church, I would find that I had put so much work into creating and preparing that I felt done with the class when we were only half way through.

I took time to make a couple of can caddies, pattern from SewCanShe.com. I need to stay creative and productive even if it’s not on a current project or during a busy time for life things. It’s something I’ve come to push for in my life. It is what keeps me off the streets and out of trouble. Okay, really, because I can easily get lost in thought and nothingness.

I love organizing tools. Some work, some don’t, but these can covers seem to be helping! The pattern was surprisingly easy and I like the result. I’ve kept some little, often used tools on the table by my chair in the fabric bins I made before, but the can cover let’s me keep more handy and easily accessible and even neater. Guess you can tell which sits on the sewing table. Don’t want much on the table since it serves in so many ways, but we will see if this becomes a help or hindrance. It has lightened the load of what is in the drawers under the machine, since I put the marking tools in it, some sticky notes, the tape measure and such. Love having the extra pin cushion too and it has been helping. – It was make that or develop a new habit of moving the thing when I went from pinning to machine. Such a tiny annoyance, so easily solved.

Only half stuffed at this point but almost ready to use.

Here’s another spur of the moment project that seemed would be helpful….

Odd looking? Yes. The kid is thoroughly enjoying her karate class, but I was not enjoying being her practice dummy. I gave her a choice of three fabrics we had in the house and she picked this one. I think she picked it because it has blue, more colorful than the other choices, but didn’t realize it has plates. I teased her that she is breaking plates when she uses it.

I made a round pillow that has heavy plastic pellets (left over from making a weighted blanket a couple of years ago) and a second with ground walnut shells. Those are in the bottom creating a weight so it isn’t just flying around when she hits or kicks it. We had some medical tubing that I made a circle with to hold some shape in the bottom. I wrapped it three times on itself to give it support yet it isn’t going to hurt – too much – if she comes in contact with it. I put sleeves in the top in case we want the tubing in there too, but after stuffing, it seems stable enough.

I had saved plastic shopping bags that I planned on making into “plarn” to use to crochet shopping totes, but they were perfect for the stuffing in this! They pack enough for her to feel the hits, but still have give! We stuffed it to the top, pulled the drawstrings and hung it up where we had yoga trapeze silks hanging in the basement (good place to swing, or get some physical activity in during the long winter). She has a interlocking play mat under it, almost like her own little gym. Sidenote – the trapeze was great til she maybe fractured her arm and was in a cast a few weeks. I was a bit nervous after that. And, the basement environment here does not improve.

It wasn’t too bad for a while, I set up to work in the large space, but has never seemed warm or dry since the second flood – but we’ve talked before about the problems in this house. Anyway, it gives her a place to practice. I am content to go down with her as I do laundry or go through more stuff to clear out – mostly leftovers from previous occupants. This started another rant on the landlord, and the situation with this house here which I deleted. It’s done, and we have stayed here anyway due to lack of resources. It’s been another lesson. I do much better owning a place I can put energy into and improve, or even an apartment with a decent maintenance crew. Soon.

I’ve been working on the CC quilt again. Part of putting it aside, which I mentioned earlier, was “how do I get this trimmed to the size called for in the pattern?” One of those questions that tend to halt my progress. So when I pushed to get back to work on it, I decided to fold the columns in half and measure the cut from each side from the ironed crease. MUCH easier than worrying if I am cutting too much from one side and making it wonky. Moving along on that one now. So, one top ready to baste and quilt and another almost. Then there are always the three tops that were already here and the one I had pieced several years ago and the panel I have kept in my fabric stash…… And this is why I have dreams of a long arm…. lol.

The table has another job now, too. I decided to get serious with some creative ideas that have been floating around for way too long. I’ve got a graphic tablet I set up and then put the laptop on the mini ironing board. I am learning how to use the tablet along with a graphic program. I used to LOVE creating things in old computer card programs, like printmaster, and it fits with my background training in Commercial Art, which is outdated today. I reminded myself of that when I was caught in the fear of taking on something I perceived as difficult for my computer skills and my age. It was like a mini light bulb that I would simply be adding to what I already know and got out of the negative, down-playing trap. (Think there is a talk or class in there.) We’ll see where this goes! Some times I have to rein in the wonderful ideas and select what I think would actually be helpful or beneficial. But, this is where I am now.

I’ve got to go. My beloved side kick has to go to the vet today. One thing on her list is getting her nails clipped and for her comfort and safety, and ours, she has to be heavily sedated. Then, I get nervous. Oh well. Daughter is going with us, since she is able to hold Moji dog better than me to get her shot, and stays calmer on the medical side of the dog being knocked out and monitoring her.

I hope you have at least one great plan for this summer! Even if it is simply enjoying some time in the sun.

Love you!

Cathy

This and that… and that and…

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It’s been a good and productive week, mostly. Daughter is settling into a work pattern and studying for her big tests – hopefully, she’ll get the score from the practice test this week and can schedule the real one. Kid is loving being outside, finally. And me, I am moving between sewing, quilting, planting, digging, sorting, sketching, even a bit of painting. Yep, that about covers it. And, at the end of this post, I want to share a personal note of why I make a big deal of finishing tasks and more.

The sun is coming out more and the weather warming up has been inspiring. We went and bought some tomato plants, even though I haven’t had much luck with them in the past. We have a tiny porch, and it became our garden. I had a quilt top, the second of the angles quilts, ready to be laid out on the table and basted, but the weather turned cold again, so I brought the plants in and the best place to put them was on my work table (mentioned in last post). Instead of getting frustrated that I couldn’t move to basting and finishing the current quilt project, I got excited that it was necessary to pick my next project based on it being something that would fit in the tiny space left on my table. I started on a jelly roll quilt I had in my stash that meant I didn’t have to wrangle larger cuts of fabric. And, it’s almost together! The plants are back outside, so I’ll finish this top and get to the quilting soon, maybe on the other one, maybe the new. Choices! Sometimes, I think I’ll set one back as a practice piece for when I get a long arm machine. Which basically means it would be placed in the quilt coffin with the tops that were here when we moved in and the one I need to do a little correction on, and the one I made several years ago. But now that I’m finishing projects, and having a long arm is still an idea WWAAYY out there, I don’t want to set a good top aside. So, more to finish. But I’m thinking that binding may have to be set aside for summer. It’s nice to have a quilt in my lap as I do the hand finishing… when it’s chilly. (Too funny – just checked the weather as I am proofing and preparing to post this and the temp is going to be dropping through the day, down to about 40 degrees! May sneak some more binding work in.)

As usual, she tried to make the dinosaur the star of the show.

We recently went to two activities, unrelated, and a week apart, that gave us little evergreens. One, from a funeral home at an Earth Day event and another from a nursery, where it was the prize for a kids scavenger hunt. The Earth Day tree was one long stem, less than a foot tall. It has been a fun one to watch as it’s little new growth bristles emerged. That’s the one she’s holding. The second is a taller plant. She picked an odd shaped long needle one that I wasn’t sure was healthy, but it was her pick and it’s doing well. If you look at the background picture, you can see one branch goes up and there is another peeking out from under her pic. It has one long arm that shoots off to the side. She loves it and I’m getting kind of fond of it too.

We’ve been digging and trimming in the front yard this week. I looked the house up on Google Maps hoping to see what it looked like when the Master Gardener lived here. Well, let’s just say, I am no longer embarrassed at the current state of disorder and lack of beauty. What I saw was the horseshoe shaped rock wall covered in tall and wild grasses, it all looked unkempt. Not what I had imagined anywhere in the tiny yard. And, by the way, if anyone needs some garlic, I have plenty dug up, along with a few green onions. It smelled like an Italian salad every time the kids ran through, and ours is the main yard they play in. The neighbor kindly mows the small flat patches of grass on either side of the walk, but he wouldn’t get near anything else due to the overwhelming smell when he cut it. I cling to the hope that someday I will own a house again, or live in one my daughter owns, that I can fix and freshen to my heart’s content – oh, and have room for that long arm machine!

I’ve been sketching this week, too, which always feels good. I go through spells with that. I like doing faces and working with what I consider spiritual words, or words that inspire me. I finally got brave and decided to play with color on one of the more whimsical child-like faces I did a few months back. I used acrylic paint in the past, but switched to other supplies this time. It was fun and I want to do more. I have a couple of sketches I’d like to paint on fabric and quilt. It’s on my list, but there are three projects ahead of it, until I decide otherwise. Maybe that’s what I’ll do till it is binding season again.

The new quilt is another bright one. Again, it is something I purchased during a sale with the idea of it being fun to practice on. I want to quilt different patterns in the lines. The columns are done, shown here as I checked arrangement, so it is trimming and sewing them together.

I took a morning break from the routine stuff to make another pin cushion in a can. I wanted one for the area where I put pieces together, and by the sewing machine where I take the pins out. Yes, same table, so not a big deal to move the pin cushion I have but I don’t think about it til I have started sewing and come to that first pin, so I took care of it! I love when minor frustrations are easily eliminated. They compliment each other in looks, but the old one has steel wool and stuffing, while the new one has a pillow of ground walnut shells covered with batting scraps.

Not necessary, but in the interest of deep sharing with you, of process and tools, I take a daily pill that helps with focus. I have long known there are cycles of creative thought and process, then there are times of working it out. That pill can also cause some confusion when everything is more clear. – Wow, that didn’t make sense. Try again… the ideas are crisper and more well thought out as the brain works faster, but in a creative cycle, the list can grow, making it difficult to pick a direction. One thing that has helped, is having the bullet journal. Creative cycles have great ideas, but they get lost in tiny notes jotted down wherever I happen to be. I needed something more like Pinterest where you can keep boards with ideas from the internet, but for my own thoughts and the ordering of them. With the bullet journal, I have a calendar, pages of post it notes to move around and other pages that are indexed so I can find the idea again, like a page of fiber art ideas, or bathroom decor, then I can add to them as inspiration strikes. Even the kid has a page. She has started reading a book series and is keeping track, in my book, of which numbers she has. Then, we have it with us when we go thrifting, or I can send a pic if she is with mom. A sticky note idea of clay ornaments I want to make has moved from the sticky note Possible Project Page to the November page as I remain interested in that project and we’ll see how it fits in when we get there. It has taken a few decades to get more real about time and what projects will add to my life rather than just take up brain and work space. That’s why sometimes I tell you how pleased I am when I finish a project or can fine tune one. I haven’t always been on top of that or some other basic to do’s. Age (experience and understanding), the pill for focus, and the bullet journal are my tools.

There is one other piece. Several years ago, my daughter was having some lab work done and it was discovered she was hypothyroid. They told her it is genetic and, sure enough, I was found to have it also. Getting that treated, another daily pill, cleared up some brain fog itself! It explained why I appeared depressed but didn’t feel depressed. Hypo is lack-of, but I wasn’t showing the usual signs, in fact, when I told a doctor friend I was going to get checked, he said he’d eat his hat is I had that condition. Ended up I had it, significantly. I have never been one to rely on medication, even as I moved from spiritual energy healing to work to the medical field as a nurse (with the misguided notion I could blend them). But the two pills I take every day have allowed me to embrace, order and accomplish more.

I do believe what covered and “treated” the lack of focus and energy was meditation. As I moved away from that being a huge part of my life, the thinking became more muddled and a bit inharmonious. What a journey! I truly hope you will embrace yours in all it’s magnificent colors and flavors. And if something feels off, find what puts it back together. Myrtle Fillmore, who founded the Unity Movement with her husband, said, “First to God, then to man as God directs.”

Love always. Take care of yourself. Drop me a line if you have the time!

Cathy

Mailed It!

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Yeah, I know, the current phrase is “Nailed it”, but for me, getting that package on it’s way was a big deal. For example, I had a popcorn popper ready to return, with labels, in the trunk of the car for a year before I moved it to the stash of giftables we keep tucked away. But then, it wasn’t as important as the stuff I was sending.

I kept track of the box and let my daughter know when it had arrived, since it wasn’t at her actual home address. I had suggested she wait to open it til she was with our aunt since it had something for both of them. She didn’t appreciate that, especially since I told her I hoped her curiosity would get her to Aunt’s sooner. I have not heard anything. Wonder when I will. Lesson learned – get the address of the person and mail direct. I’m sure she doesn’t realize how interested I am to know how it is received, while at the same time, not wanting to be invested in something I told them to feel free to pass on if they don’t want the item. I have not seen this aunt in many years. There was a break in family relationships, and I simply haven’t been in her area, exacerbated by distance in our moves, and tight funds during med school. I tell her happy birthday on facebook, and this year she said she missed me. I miss her, too. A quilt doesn’t make up for the personal, but it is, to me, a very special gift for her. I wanted to wrap her in love.

I have memories of my grandmother working on quilts on a wood frame she would set up in the living room. I have her treadle machine tucked away till we have a place to put it. I remember when the families got together, it was common for quilts to be put on the floor as beds for us. Our “pallets” they called them. A line of cousins on quilts. It was fun to look at a quilt and recognize a piece of an old dress or shirt that had been worn by one of us. Occasionally, she would purchase a special fabric, like in one quilt I ended up with that has a name and the state of Texas. – Think there was a divorce so somehow I got the quilt instead of the person. If you know anyone named “Marilyn” from Texas, I have a quilt they might be interested in.

This week has seemed different. One thing, daughter is finished with clinical rotations. FINISHED!. Now is focus for practice comp test this week. She is studying. She also worked three night shifts this week. And really exciting—- the kid stayed healthy and in school all week! She is in a blossoming stage again. I always thought she would like Karate, even though dance, soccer, and cheer leading… did not work for her. She was younger. She didn’t want to wait her turn with the ball, or stand in line to learn a step. Well, she started a free Karate program a couple of weeks ago and loves it. It goes slow, so I am surprised, but she is excited and engaged, and taking practice punches at me – her favorite part.

I was down to the last two rows on the first angles quilt, when I decided to make a dress. Let me tell you, I have often given into the desire to make clothes for me and it has rarely worked out. I am trying to follow a class, but first thing, I didn’t want to make the version of the pattern that they are making. I want the one with sleeves, which I’m sure will be a lesson in some other class. So, anyway, I am running the class in the background for anything I can learn, but I am off on my own tangent. I was a bit more comfortable taking on the challenge now because of the bolts of fabric that were in the basement when we moved in. I’m using a nice weight cotton that I have washed a couple of times,not a color or pattern I would usually select for a simple dress for myself, but I am kind of enjoying this one, since I can see it fitting with my slightly boho, modified cowboy boot, style of the moment. But I am ssslllooowww since it is always such a trial and having to think about it all. Sizing is almost always a problem. I miss my quilt time.

I will get back to it soon. The angles quilt was a bit of experiment too since it became more than it started as (see previous post) and I am using a poly batting for loft, when I normally use cotton. I wanted to try it. This was the perfect quilt for it.

UPDATE: I wrote all that above several days ago…. Since then, the gift quilt has been delivered to my Aunt and she was “thrilled.” Daughter had already opened the box, but didn’t tell me she likes her sweater till she could finish the job with aunt. Then, she went and first visit aunt was asleep, then she was eating. I asked that my daughter hang out and give it to her. In the meantime, I told her about the “love you” hidden in the quilt stitches and she was tickled when she found one. She sent a pic of my aunt with the quilt on her lap, confirmation I guess, and it was a new feeling to see her and to see the gift quilt with someone.

Plus, the dress is done but cannot be worn as is. I will probably try to figure out what to do, since I seem to love a challenge more than shopping. The neck is a Vee and is too low and gaps open too much! I may even cut it to have a skirt and over-shirt/jacket type thing. Or I may decide I have much more interesting projects to move onto. Can’t stand a waste of fabric though, so something will be done with it.

All of the machine parts of the Angles #1 quilt are done! Binding is on and ready for the hand sewing of finishing. Here’s a picture, but again, the Michigan sun is not cooperating.

Speaking of weather, I guess I ought to mention that we went and got some tomato plants, hopefully patio friendly since our sunniest spot is on and next to the front porch. The kid has wanted to have something and we love tomatoes. She had fairy garden thing and we sprouted seeds, but they were not going to survive where they were planted, so we moved those, and some seed balls she made on Earth day, to planters. BUT, the weather turned very cold and rainy again, so, they are inside on the sewing/craft table since it is the closest spot to the window yet, safely away from the dog favorite viewing spot. But I have plans….. I have picked my next quilt adventure on what will fit in what cutting area I have left, since the weather will probably stay this way all week. So much for that planting excitement!

Side story on the tomatoes… I said I had tried before without much success and Indigo started laughing. She remembers when I put them out while we were living on the island. They were trampled by sheep and goats that were hired to “mow” the yard. And by the cows who came to visit. This picture was shortly after we had moved in this place, before the “mowers” visited. The owner would build a little when he had funds, therefore the outline of another building, island style. Pumpkins grew abundantly on it’s foundation. And to the side there, is a star fruit tree and a mango tree.

Since I showed you the backyard, let me share the view from the front porch. That is the lovely Caribbean Sea. This isn’t my most colorful picture, but in many of the beautiful sunset shots, the Sea begins to blend in to the sky.

I miss it. I had considered returning someday, but the school and the community I knew there is gone. In the States, we hear about Hurricane Maria, the category 5 that devastated Puerto Rico, but it hit Dominica first, full on, before it ever got to other islands.

Well, enough writing and reminiscing for now. Looking forward to getting into the fabric that is waiting on the crowded plant/sew table!

Love you! Trust all is well with you.

Cathy

Yes, another one

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Most of the time, I say I am tired of dinosaurs. For years now, we have been surrounded with dinosaurs. We went to the San Antonio Zoo a couple of years ago. It was a larger family outing with plenty of people keeping an eye on Indigo. She had wandered quite a ways ahead, in my opinion, and wouldn’t respond when I called her name. So, I instead called, “Dinosaur!” She stopped on a dime and spun around looking for a dino. She is still mad at me for that, and I still laugh out loud thinking about it. I tried calling her Dinosaur, and even Dino, a couple of times since then, but it doesn’t go over well. Then why am I adding another to the collection? Well, it’s not a plastic or stuffed toy, it is something useful – I hope.

I posted pictures of the project in progress – the spur of the moment drawstring backpack, with a dinosaur on it. Last post was the “art” work. I finished it! Finished it on Tuesday before Easter, and it is cute.

All from stuff I had in my stash. What you can’t see well in the picture is that I put a bit of stuffing in the dino so it really stands out. I had wondered what I’d do with that swampy fabric. I used some last year to make a little pillow for a chair in the play area, but there was still plenty. I hope to get happy pictures of her wearing it on adventures through the summer.

So, that is done. It made a great Easter basket! She wasn’t excited, making me think she had already checked it out. But, she was sick again too, had to go to the ER on the day before Easter. This has been a tough winter/year for a relatively healthy family! I’ve said I’m ready to move. That did not go over well. Obligations for being here are done as of last Friday, so I’m ready. We’ll see. It is another year before they have “match day” for medical students to find where they will do their residency, if they match somewhere. There are a couple of big tests to get done, and applications and interviews before that point anyway.

Back to the present…. I finished Hopscotch and washed it. I am pleased with it’s crinkly yumminess, but wish I had been a bit looser with the quilting. That’s okay, a lesson learned gently instead of through some disastrous, traumatic error, like an errant slice while cutting or quilting with the backing tucked under resulting in ripping out inches of otherwise great work.

I finished a little bird to go with it. I had cut out and started it when I was making the pincushions. It doesn’t really have a purpose, just something else I wanted to try. I put a tiny pouch of heavy pellets in the bottom so it sits pretty. Then, I added another little pillow of crushed walnut shells scented with essential oil. I thought about making two for each quilt I finish – one for me and one to be gifted with the quilt. Might be nice to have a shelf of special birds.

So, that will be sent out Monday.Since it is going to my daughter, to be taken to my aunt, I tucked in a gift for her, too. I had crocheted this long, open weave cardigan last winter. Not a great picture, it was just to show her and ask if she’d like it. So glad she did! Always fun to give projects away that will be well loved and used. Darn, think I’ll pull it out to the box to wear one last time. It’s a good church sweater.

The Angles quilt… you may remember that is the one that takes one layer cake, but through some poor cutting by the company, Bluprint sent me a new pack after I asked for their advice of how to compensate for the problem. I tend to get hung up on making certain decisions. On the Angles quilt. I didn’t want to fight with a large quilt, which is what it would be if I put ALL the blocks together. So, I messed with “what to do?” for several days. Which I used to explore and do other little projects to try to remain productive instead of stuck in the problem.

I laid it out as three small, like baby size, pieces, but decided two that end up about 43″ x 50″ are more practical. And I will have a couple of block rows left over that will extend the backing I already have so it works perfectly. YAY! I thought it was going to be tight and a bit of a challenge, but then, as I was cleaning up to iron and get the backing pieces done, I found several more blocks hidden in some flannel I had been experimenting with to make a design wall. Geez…. I think that was an otherworldly form of pay back. Often, the kid will say she can’t find something and I remind her I usually find what I am looking as I am cleaning up not just shoving things around, and that is what happened. Love the extra blocks.

In the meantime, the sun is shining more this week. The temp is staying above freezing. The trees actually have buds and my daffodils are delightful. Life is good. It’s healing time. Back to work!

Love you,

Cathy

Why Don’t I…?

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I am thrilled to be able to say that the Hopscotch quilt is off the table and the binding is almost done! I am excited about sending it to my aunt, so I will be putting more time into finishing it. I hope I will still be excited when it’s washed and I get to see it in all it’s crinkly goodness. That will be a first, a true start to finish quilt, from cutting and piecing, to binding, to crinkles. I’ve done several projects, but not with all the steps. Then, even though I had a project plan, I started on something new for for the kid. One of those, “why don’t I….?” things I try on a whim.

This one may work out. She loves to go to the little fairs and festivals around here. Sometimes we go on nature walks or take the dogs out. I’d like her to carry her water and whatever she may need, like a snack, rain poncho, etc. Thinking about that, SewCanShe.com has an “easy peasy drawstring backpack” pattern and tutorial I kept being drawn to. I partly like the idea because the kid has a drawstring bag now and is used to the idea, but it isn’t sized to her.And, it’s not something she can grab and go because it currently has the job of keeping her swim gear together, ready to go, making it a good and handy storage place, too.

The thought process continued with how to make it appealing to her and encourage her to carry it. That is almost a no-brainer, put a dinosaur on it. The add-on bonus here is the timing for Easter. I’ve collected a few things for her basket (no dinosaurs!) So, this is going to be her basket! I think I’m even going to have a little plant sitting in it, she’s been wanting one, and it will further the illusion and represent “Life”at Easter. Pictures to come, I hope. Some plans do not look as good in life as they do in my head.

I took some scrap material, of course, and cut the pieces for the bag. Then, I looked through one of her dinosaur books for ideas and adapted one for the project, keeping in mind I did not want to deal with tiny claws or teeth. I covered a small cookie sheet with plastic, and taped that down along with a white fabric scrap. I outlined the dinosaur in pencil and used Derwent Inktense Blocks to color it in (shown in the picture above). If you use water on the color, it will bleed into surrounding areas. That may have been okay here, but I wanted to control the blend, so I used aloe vera gel to wet it. I cut it out with needle-turned-applique in mind. Yes, this may work!

On the quilt side of things, the lesson of the week is to not buy a cheap quilt kit for practice. I know my intention was good. It was cute enough, I wanted to do some smaller pieces that would be easier to manipulate in the machine, like baby quilt size, and it was on sale. It’s triangles, mostly, so that was something new and appealing for practice. A bit bigger than baby size, but okay. So, the thing is, I like the colors (which are much brighter than pictured), but, I am not thrilled with the fabric patterns.

I had pieced all the triangles and had only three pairs left that were to be pieced as four patches when I found one piece a half an inch short. It was late. I knew some of the earlier pieces were off and kept thinking, “just trim to the smallest one”. But, when it happened so clearly on the last set, I was flummoxed. I wrote the company and told them about what I’ve told you here. As I said, it was late and I apparently wasn’t thinking well, or I would have simply realized I could trim it to the size and match the others, IF it could match. Anyway, I asked them what I could do and they sent me a new layer cake to replace the one piece! I just wanted guidance. Maybe because I told them I knew others were off? I was impressed. So, that project had been on the shelf til the new pieces came, and longer, as I got involved elsewhere.

You know me, I always have other stuff going so waiting on the replacement was good. I worked on the quilting of Hopscotch. When it came off the table, the triangle stuff was back. Part of my frustration is deciding what to do! I don’t want a bigger quilt of this, I wanted smaller to practice with. I don’t want to put my craft budget into buying more backing and binding. At the same time, I don’t want these spare pieces hanging out in my scraps space – they don’t “spark joy” to reference the de-cluttering guru’s guiding phrase. (Marie Kondo).

So, I am putting them all together anyway, as three smaller quilts. I had already laid out and arranged the first group when I decided to use the rest up. We’ll see. As a new quilter, the decision process and figuring out the math is difficult and frustrating for me, hence my penchant for kits. One of the great things, well, two, that I have realized with this… one, I am getting faster at getting it together and, two, I am willing and able to finish what I started – something that in the past I may not have done.

I think I’ll be pleased in the long run. I’ll have at least a couple of extra quilts for kids, picnics, dog pads… I’ll let you know as it proceeds. Praise to Bluprint for simply sending a replacement pack when it was obvious this quilt was not going to meet the specifications due to poor cutting on the company’s part. I deserve praise, too, for using what I’ve got come to think of it! I’m pushing now because I want to get the quilt for my daughter-in-law on the table! After, I finish the Dino backpack. Oh, and all those trimmings from squaring up the bright pieces I’ve been working on? Those are going to be the “grass” in the basket.

I haven’t mentioned another huge project I’m working on. It’s a book/planner based on the “The Twelve Powers of Man” by Charles Fillmore. So many people I know choose a work they want to keep in front of them for the year, a practice I also embrace, and often let slide through the year. I love exploring this information and find it warms my heart to be putting it in practical practice format of words to lean into and grow spiritually with. That work will stay behind the scenes for now, and I may find it is one of those things that ends up being for my own learning, not sharing. That happens with Spiritual teachings sometimes. You find you are very excited about a piece you suddenly “get” and are confused that others don’t share your excitement. Well, friend, that piece was meant for you, for now. It happens, I accept it. That’s Life.

In my for now, it seems I need to get back to work! There was a time so many projects, along with regular life stuff like dishes, laundry, sweeping…. would have been overwhelming. I am grateful I can get excited and pick the next direction. While that may not be holding true as I take in ALL I want to accomplish in the next couple of months, it is as I look at what’s before me now.

Back to work. Love you! Take care of yourself!

Cathy

Almost

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Seems I’ve been thinking for a long time that the Hopscotch quilt is almost done. Well, I’m saying it again!

Today, as soon as I finish this, I will be putting the last of the binding on. See!?!

When I decided to seriously start quilting, I knew I wanted to send my first quilt to my aunt. I practiced on orphan quilt blocks that I found in the house when we moved in. The dogs have a few very nice pads for their beds and the floor now (that I’ve posted before). Then, I started a beginner class on Bluprint, after I got tired of spending too much time searching out tutorials, for a start to finish Friendship Star quilt. I bought backing, but I think everything else came from my stash. Alas, I got part way through the quilting part and put it away in frustration. I will go back to it. I think I know what to look for now.

There were a couple of other projects I did for practice and to put off doing this quilt. But when I saw this kit on Bluprint it reminded me of my grandma’s quilts. It is not done perfectly. There are many places I would like to pick it out and do it better, but the problem is that I would pretty much be doing the entire quilt! I am going to accept it, and I am going to send it to my aunt as is. She is one of the kindest, most accepting people I have known in my life and I don’t think crooked free motion quilting will change that. Some of the little errors are funny to me, like when I am so focused on keeping steady as I sew and the dog gives out one sharp warning bark to some unknown she sees out the window. There is an eighth to quarter in jump in needle placement when that happens. Messes with my straight, wavy, line of relatively even stitches every time.

Another disclaimer, this time on how long this has taken. I am still learning time frames, and the incredible amounts of thread, it takes to quilt something. And, this is not my only project. This week it is spring break, painting an old chest of drawers to be loved and used again, and the usual other stuff. So many wonderful ideas I want to act on that I have been making notes and checking resources, which leads me to tutorials…. when ends with time passed at the computer, again.

I know I am not a fast hand binder, but I am excited about getting this shipped. It is still cool here so pleasant to have a quilt on my lap in the evenings. Sadly, she will get it in time for summer in Oklahoma, but hey, it’s not a treasure and can be a picnic quilt, table cloth, or on the floor for pets. It’s hers and I hope she feels all the love. I could not think of a better way to honor her, and my grandmother, and wrap this person in love.

Short and sweet today. I want to get this quilt off the table. I’ve got another almost ready to put together that I have been piecing when quilting seemed too big in time, focus and space. There isn’t much I love about the next one, but I got the kit at a great price and wanted the practice. I might even get that chest of drawers moved up today!

Love you. Take care of yourself!

Cathy

2 busy weeks

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When it is heavy on your mind that you haven’t written in two weeks and your browser opens to the “write” page, twice, you know the universe may be sending you a message. So, here I am, glad to be here with you so let’s get started…..

Two weeks. I finished the class that had the free motion quilting blocks. It wasn’t necessary and I had other things I wanted to do, but it is important to me to finish things, to a degree, and I wanted the practice. I like the blocks. They are no where near perfect! Not in the cutting, piecing or quilting, but I picked colors I liked and being at the machine is always good.

I enjoyed this exercise, even though part of me was wanting to move on. It did help me to improve my stitch consistancy, learn how to move around on the machine and play with new patterns. I also got to see how much improvement I can make with cutting and piecing. Not sure yet what I will do with the practice pieces. It won’t be anything fancy unless I go back and clean up some of the work. Nope.

Then I decided to get distracted by my desire/need to have better pincushions. I did some research and got supplies, like crushed walnut shells which I re-bagged and scented with a variety of essential oils. I had also found a cute little bird pattern and decided to make it to go with the hopscotch quilt to give to my aunt. I may be odd, but I don’t like the idea of sticking pins in an animal, but it will complement the gift. It’s almost finished, just the hand sewing to attach parts and close, but I’ll share that when done.

I am quilting the hopscotch quilt!! Over half way through. I gave up for a while – hence the pincushions and birds – because, again, the kid was home or I was waiting to hear I needed to get her. All I can say is that we do not winter well. She missed a lot of school last year too in the dead of winter. What I don’t know is if it is a winter thing, or being in the house thing – there are some issues with where we are living and maybe some underlying problems affecting out health, but did move here after years in hot places. On that note, we said we would stay where she could continue at the same school til my daughter was matched for residency (in March 2020), but not necessarily in the same house. I am practicing all my spiritual principles of prosperity and gave up lack and limiting thinking for Lent, but that’s a whole ‘nother subject!

I am using one of the pincushions I made as I remove the basting safety pins as I work on the quilt. it was pretty easy to tuck them in the case in the drawer as I went, but I noticed I was struggling with some that weren’t sharp enough, hence the ground walnut shells. I have another I made some time back that has very fine steel wool surrounded by batting, but the humidity here had me questioning how long that would be clean and neat.

The long ones are based on a pattern from the book Pin Pals by Carrie Nelson. The other was from a pattern for three from Craftsy/Bluprint. I think I love them all! I packed that thing pretty tight – oh! and yesterday a video from FatQuarterShop.com was posted with Carrie herself giving guidance on turning, filling, stuffing and finishing! So fun.

I began to wonder how usable this was going to be. There are a lot of overlapping fabrics with tiny patchwork, and then the batting and close quilting and how packed it was for shape. I was pleasantly surprised that the safety pins went in pretty smooth. I may have a new obsession and use for tiny scraps! If only there were people I could share them with – no one close sews. More for me and maybe decoration for the craft room I dream of, which is a consideration for what to do with those practice blocks! The long pincushions are the same fabric as the practice blocks with some pink added to brighten them up. Hmmm.

But for now, it is the quilting on Hopscotch! There have been a couple of places I picked out some messy stitches, but for the most part I am accepting that even though it is to be a gift, I am still learning and it is okay to not be perfect – otherwise, I would not be able to complete anything. I’ve got a quilt top in my stack from maybe 18 years ago waiting for me to be able to do it right – no more. Anyway, want a peek of Hopscotch in progress?

Went with consistent patterns rather than having to make decisions of what to do next with each section, which could have brought me to a halt with overwhelming choices (that I would have to get right). In the meandering swirls are occasional flowers, butterflies and even a few “love you” scrolls.

I had to let my wonderful daughter-in-law know her gift would not be finished in time for her birthday, but sadly, that is almost expected from me. I love that I am getting better at figuring time frames and getting things done and won’t wallow in befores. I also know that when the kid is home for weather, power outages or ill health, that is priority and I can’t be focused on the next stitch, speed of machine, placement of hands, gathering of bulk, AND deal with a bored, not feeling well beloved child. Little projects, like the pincushions, are great to toss in here and there. She’d rather I was making coats for her stuffed animals and has great creative ideas, like someone else I know. Oh – her school had her book parade the other day. The kids are to dress as a character from their favorite book and walk the halls and in front of the bleachers of parents. She stuck with her same thing from last year, the dinosaur tail and mitts to go with her dinosaur facts book. I guess I didn’t post that before so here you go – last years pic….

Not great pictures and the little corner one is there to block out part of the mess of our living/creative area. Almost embarrassed to say, I had everything I needed in my stash. It took ALL the batting I had at the time so I told her it was just holding it til I needed it. She took me seriously and kept the tail hidden from me for a while.

I went to her classroom after the parade to see if she was going to stay for after school play or had had enough. She is still recovering and generally won’t push health wise, especially since the after school care wouldn’t let her call home earlier in the week – and she was visibly ill, as in poor color, swollen throat and so on! In the classroom, the teacher’s assistant, I think she calls her the para, says across the classroom, “Are you her grandma? You are the best grandma ever!” I am an introvert, a hermit. Yes, I was a church minister and in front of and with people a lot, but that was with that grand purpose and many years ago. Now I live very quietly, so it was awkward and pleasing all at once. Then I remembered she is the one that wants a zebra hat! And, of course, Indigo wanting to give her one adds to the “grandma make me….” list. One of the kids asked me if it took months to make that tail. I wish I could make one for every kid there!! I even researched the cost and it’s the stuffing that makes it unfeasible for us right now. Wondering about alternatives that would be light enough if you have any suggestions! This is a very poor area and little things make a difference. The teacher told me that same day, (I felt like a star with all the attention) how much it meant that Indigo had taken a bag of oranges in to share a few weeks back.

But, no dinosaur tails today. Today’s agenda is finishing laundry so we are ready to start a new week, putting a second coat of paint an old chest of drawers (yes, there are projects that don’t involve a sewing machine) and QUILTING! Listening to prosperity classes as I sew has been great. It’s the weekend, the kid is home today, but so is mom and she is awake since she didn’t work last night. I know other things will pop up today like, oops, groceries, but hey, I got my time with you! Yay!

Love you – take care of yourself and I’ll be back next week.

Cathy

avoidance

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I am doing many projects. The dog pad and a class learning to free motion quilt are great, useful, productive activities but they are avoidance. What I really want to do, is quilt the Hopscotch (Bluprint) quilt top I finished sometime back. The problem is, I want to do it WELL. I am stopped by my old perfectionism and fear I will mess it up. Do you know that one? So much better to dive in, but I haven’t. So I play around and practice, or not.

To me, this quilt is special, I want it for my beloved aunt. I haven’t seen her in a long time and a quilt seems like a good way to wrap her in love. I want it to be done well because it will be critiqued – and as I write that, the light bulb flares. I know two things, one, only one person will be looking at it unfavorably and that person probably won’t even want to touch it. Second, IT DOESN’T MATTER what anyone thinks. If my aunt doesn’t want or need it, she is welcome to pass it on, after all, it’s a gift for her. I really don’t have an attachment to what happens after it’s in her hands. I will have done it and given it in love. I had planned on giving her the first one I did from start to finish, but it isn’t finished! My thread kept popping. A bit of research, after rethreading, changing needle, etc, says that I may have basted too tight. Someday, I will visit again.

So I practice. This is the dog pad/practice sandwich I played with for several days. the squares are what I want to use on the quilt. I love the feathers! Fun to do, but they won’t really fit in. Look close and there are flowers, leaves, butterflies and it even says “love you” at the top. Funny though, it hasn’t made it to the dog bed. It sits in front of the loveseat and they are often on it. The kid occasionally drops down on it to try to follow a line.

I have two more cut and another pin-basted, but switched gears to play with another Bluprint class. This one is Free Motion Quilting Essentials. (I’m glad I got the Bluprint year when it was on sale. I tend to jump to what interests me or pertains to what I am working on.) This class is by Christina Cameli. Her style is gentle and guiding. I actually put her practice pieces together, which I’m sure upped my cutting and piecing skills. Sadly, it was another way to use time instead of just getting to work. PLUS, I had gone to Joann’s for the fabric to make something I liked instead of totally from the stash, thinking I will do something with them, like hang them. She cut the last piece and the computers went down. There was a checkout line, waiting for the registers to come back up, so I left my pieces with the clerk, and went to the grocery store next door. When I returned, the store was closed!
It was a couple of days before I was in that area again, but they still had them. Yay! (In the meantime, I started on another practice quilt, but I’ll save that story for another time!)

Somewhat related, we’ve needed to pick up the kid a couple of times lately due to not feeling well. The surprise pick up this week was another due to weather, but not snow or ice! The power went out. We had warnings of high wind possibly causing outages, but I was surprised anyway since I hadn’t noticed particularly bad wind that morning and I had been on the road. The text from the school said, basically, “Power is out and we can’t feed kids and have not heat.” There was no option but to close. Our house was on, for a while. I picked up Indigo and two others. We went to the store, which had been my plan before this detour, then lunch. As I walked in the house, I noticed things on, normal things, like fish tank, light on sewing machine. Then they weren’t. Yep, that fast and with such timing, our electricity was off. Stayed off for almost 4 hours. Kid thought it was best day ever – so I’ll be turning off the internet more often!!

These are the project pieces for the class I mentioned above. Several identical sandwiches are made and with each set, the skills get more fine tuned and added to. As you can see, I still l have a few lessons/openings on this first set, but it has been fun. I knew the Ribbon Candy would be difficult for me (in the middle on the top and the large blue border on the bottom). I have several pages of attempts to doodle this one that still wander off the path. I tried telling myself “lazy S’s” on these and it seemed to help.

Fun practice, but come Monday, I am going to focus on the one I WANT to get done!

So, til next time, love you always,

Cathy

Slow week?

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I was thinking I’d had a slow week. the kid was home sick, but she didn’t miss much since there were more snow days that closed schools. Ironically, one of the days was supposed to be a staff day, but had been changed to a regular open school day as a make up for the number of snow days already this year. I get behind on everything when others are around, but wouldn’t trade it – except maybe for a well child and some warm, play-outside time. I know opportunities to be around her will change some day. I think that is easier to know and remember when you have already grown several and been through the rough times enough to enjoy the better days. When I looked back on the week, I was pleasantly surprised with what had been done. And it worked out well that she could take a large corner of the work table for a project of her own.

This was the big one. The kid loves animals. We think she may have developed a thing for the parrot hat because it is an acceptable way for an animal, a toy, to go everywhere with her. This one, named Zeb, has already been to school, but the next day the parrot was on her head again. Her mom is a bit sad because her lovely curls are not only hidden but she is having definite bad hair days after the wool blend yarn has tamped it down restyled it.

I’ve started a giraffe, but I’m not telling her or I will hear, “how’s it coming?” once or twice a day. If you are interested in the animal hats, these adorable patterns can be found in Vanessa Moonie’s book, Crocheted Animal Hats.

In the midst of getting set up to work on the giraffe, I realized that another small project bin (like the one I use when binding a quilt, shown in the last post) would be great while the crochet project is by my chair. Of course, that was after I picked up the crochet hooks (keeping 3 sizes handy) and tiny scissors for the fourth time, twice having fallen into the folds of my chair and which then had to be shaken to the floor, and the chair lifted so the hook could be retrieved. So new bins were on the work table. I took advantage of the project to attempt free motion feathers. Eek! Another pleasant crafting surprise for the week.

Still have a lot to smooth out as I sew, but it was more fun and easier than I thought it would be. I finished two bins. I put the mouse in the smaller one for size and because I am going to try to build a new habit of keeping the mouse in a safer location than the arm of my chair since it falls off, often.

The larger one, not shown, is a bit narrower, but long enough to easily accommodate the crochet hooks, a small metal ruler, stitch markers, snips and so on. It is already in place and in use.

And next up are the quilt sandwiches I put together just to practice on, but don’t tell the dogs since they think I make them just for their beds. I dug up the courage to start stitching on them after a couple of days jumping from one free motion quilt video to another, and stopping a couple of times to lust over a long arm or two. Haha on the scary stitching project – the first part was to mark off lines 4″ apart to have some stability and guides. The first quilt I am practicing for has 2″ squares making up a nine patch with 2″ borders and corners. So while I am still having a great time with feathers, I am trying things for that particular quilt.

Can’t wait to show you! I have several lines filled in already. I’m hoping to be able to do a self binding thing to finish it. (The dogs don’t need to know I took the easy and fast way to finish a practice piece.) I didn’t cut it specifically for that, but since it is to be a pad for the dog bed, I’m sure I can fudge around with the size.

In the meantime, hope all is well with you. Very much looking forward to getting the hopscotch quilt off the hanger and on the table to quilt for you!

Love you!

Cathy

Dino done and loved

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I started quilting the dinosaur panel, purchased at Joann’s, with lime green thread. I thought it would be cute. Dino child was so unhappy she didn’t want the panel. I had only done a little in the green and was unhappy with my stitches so I was okay with ripping much of it out. We settled on basic black, after I refused to do it in red. I am glad to say it is done and she is VERY happy with it. I put it on the floor of her play area and noticed in a short time there were little dinos all over it.

She said they were eating the grass with the others, but I think there were some battles involved too. The next day, I was in the kitchen, I know, rarely happens (I wish), anyway… heard a bit of a crash. She had flipped the toy dinos off the quilt so she could put it over her as she watched TV! (Very glad the floor had been cleaned before the mat went down. Oh, correction, before the lap quilt was on the floor.)

It was a fun, light project. While I don’t think it is her favorite thing ever, I am pleased that she is using it. One thing that made this a bit easier, especially since I was moving around and working on several things while she was home, was the little bin in the top right of the picture.

That is one of the little box bins I made last fall. I put the tools for binding the quilt in it so easily had the supplies at hand when I had time to work on the project. It has the thread, which is already running through a thread wax so I pull what I need and it’s ready for the needle. It has snips, yes, they are the scissors found in medical kits and they are sharp with tiny points and I love them for sewing. Clips hold the binding down ahead of where I am working and make corners easier. Rounding it out are the seam ripper and a couple of needle threaders. I put a lip balm in there because well, it’s Michigan and it’s cold. Also note the little bit of batting under the bin for catching threads. Was an extra little thrill to find it naturally sticks to the bottom on the bin.

Added the pictures of the island rescue dogs for joy. They appreciate the raised beds and being close to where I am – when they are not in the bedroom where the bed is further off the floor and even warmer.

Speaking of the kid’s favorite things… for Christmas a year ago, I made her a parrot hat from the pattern book, Crocheted animal hats by Vanessa Mooncie. She wore it once in a while through the winter. Suddenly this winter, she is not only wearing it, she is sleeping with it. This has been going on almost three weeks. So I gave in and ordered a bit of yarn to make her a another one. Based on the yarn I had, we decided on a zebra and a giraffe. Oh my! I’ll keep you updated on that. Fortunately, you won’t ask every day as she does.

I mentioned in the last post that she had only had a couple of days of school that week. The next week, last week, she didn’t have school at all! It got so cold, they were not going to take a chance on someone getting frostbite, which could happen in a few minutes, or worse.. Our school doesn’t have buses, so no waiting at the stops, but just getting out could easily turn into a tragedy. It was so cold, they canceled mail delivery! This week started well with two full days, but last night they put out the call cancelling today due to an ice storm. Did you know we are in Michigan only so my daughter can finish med school? She will be though the physical school part in a couple of months, but it will be a year till we know where she is to do her residency. Times like this, I would like to be back in the warmer climates we are used to, but it would mean uprooting the kid this summer and again in a year. While we may change houses, I think we’ll stay close to her friends and school for now.

We recently joined the Y and she got in a lot of swim time during the break. Mom doesn’t care for swimming, but found she could study while the younger plays in the pool. Her schedule had her at the hospital very early but only for a couple of hours. Worked out well for them and gave me a little focus time. Still feel projects are going slow, and changed some around to be more flexible. And the table shows it!

On here we have the art idea I have carried around for a year. The crochet hooks are out in preparation of the new animal hats I will be working on. (learn more in my next post – hopefully!) Under the ironing board is a fabric I found in the house. I don’t care for it, so I am going to use it to practice free motion quilting, and make the dogs some bed pads, before I take on the quilt top waiting in the wings. Top and bottom are remnants of the dino panel project. Almost forgot, the cardboard box in the back, holding up the art piece, has the blocks for the quilt-as-you-go kitty blocks. Only a few are finished, as in quilted and applique done, but I’m not in a hurry. I knew it wasn’t going to make it for Christmas, and Valentine’s it out of the question since she has been home so much. Maybe housewarming when we move? Haha. I do hope to move out of this house soon, so we’ll see.

Such a long post! Guess it is easy to tell my head has been busy even if I’m not getting things done as I’d like. Here’s hoping for great things to share with you next time.

Take care of yourself, you are much loved.

Cathy