Let the binding begin!

There is a gob of stitching going on right now in the realm of the internet.  I am glad to see people can still come together and do something.  I think this is a long lost art.  We only come together in bad times.  Perhaps this is an awakening.

Onto the quilty side of life, not much has been done here.  I did get frolic finished on the longarm, it is quilted.  My hobby allows me to stab something a million times, and it is not a crime, but is considered art!  When life gets tough, we therapeutically stitch.  Knit.  Sew.  Quilt.  Tat.  Hobby.  And that motor running on the machine I swear is part of my heartbeat now.  🙂

Because of my odd work schedule now, it appears stitching will only afford on the weekends.  So, I am going to try to bind two of my large quilts this week.  My poor middle finger that pushes the needle through the layers of binding seams is already sore.  I will be using the dreaded thimble.  Those of you that quilt, do you use a thimble?

I find the thimble a necessary device, but I cannot find one that fits.  The best one I have found is made by clover and is plastic.  It is open on one side, which allows for stretch because, apparently I have quite a large stub.  I really like to touch and feel, and with a thimble I cannot.  I feel clumsy.  It impedes me to hold the needle, and to pull the needle.

I have tried the adhesive pads with the metal.  Those work.  But after you use six of them up, you have to buy more.  I don’t like that part.  I am the type of person that once I make the purchase, I am stuck with it forever.

Let the binding begin!!!!

These are the two I have slated for the binding process.  I have already rounded one corner on frolic.  I am binding that with the backing fabric and chose to cut the binding to make the striped edge cut perpendicular to the stripes for a neat undulating affect on the very edge.  I am adding just a bit more noise and busy-ness to the quilt.

I showed a few people the quilt this weekend.  I had one person swear (the one who gave me the backing fabric.  She was mad that she gave the fabric away.  it is pretty fabric, she liked it very much).  And I had two more people ooo and aaahhh over the back too.  I guess I got the backing right LOL.

I am also going to bind the disappearing pinwheel quilt with the leftover from it’s backing.  One of these quilts is queen sized.  I think the other is full size.  This is going to be alot of stitching with the thimble on.

And the temperatures have finally started warming up.  Warming up enough that I will probably have to do all my stitching on my lap either early in the morning or late in the evening.

I saw where Danielle Stout from Cozy Quilt Designs is giving away a mystery quilt free pattern.  I think I may do this.  Her quilts are beautiful and thoughtful.  Very wise with fabric and templates.  And the pattern is free.  If you are interested in the Sew Quester quilt along, click here for step one.  And click here for step two.

My 356 blocks are getting further behind.  This year because of all the problems in the world, there are glitches.  People are not getting the pattern sent to them in the email as a subscriber.  I have not even checked mine.  I am too far behind to care if two days did not get sent.  I will catch up eventually.

TOGA was rescheduled for MAY.  I hope all this blows over so I can go.  I still need to work on those pinwheel blocks.

It has been a bit difficult to concentrate on things.  Focus has never been a problem.  But in the last two weeks, work suffered.  People talk.  People worry.  And misery loves company.  And then they say what they say, and then you kind of dwell on it.  And you worry enough about it, that no matter how hard you try, you cannot focus.  Your mind keeps that weird scenario going, like a bad dream.

Being by myself at work was a very good thing.  I could actually accomplish and was productive.  All the energy around me, feeding me really did create a problem.  Working this weird shift is not so bad.  I no longer have to get up with the alarm clock.  I either wake up on my own, or wake up because the children are up.  It is nice to drive to and from work and not feel so drained.  This is working for me.

What hasn’t worked is a laundry schedule.  Before I would wash a load or two during the week, and everyone else at the house would wash what needed to be washed while I was at work.  But now that I am home, the laundry facilities are usually full of everyone else’s laundry.  This is just a wrinkle and it will get ironed out.  🙂

Cooking is a bit more erratic.  I cook at 2:00 in the afternoon.  I make supper for the house, and then don’t even to make a meal for me.  Go to work, and then eat at 7ish.  I need to change that because I am not really eating much of a lunch because when I should be eating lunch I am in the shower!  It is just all weird right now.

I do have a long weekend ahead of me combining two weeks worth of weekends into one.  That is nice!

March came in like a lamb, and that probably means it will go out like a lion.  I dread Monday and Tuesday.  I hope no one is sick.  I hope there are no tornados, or car accidents.  I hope the whole extended family is hospital free and healthy.

The trees are leafing out, much has bloomed and the blooms morphed into leaves.  The winter wheat is amazing right now.  The rains we have had have really greened it up.  It is a lush green carpet you just want to take your shoes off and walk in it.  Soft and cool, green and alive.

The momma cat had babies, or I should say baby.  Only one Kitten, oh boy is that kitten going to be spoiled.  There are no favorites amongst 5 others babies, there is only one to choose from, and he is everyone’s favorite.  The right name is so close, but yet still to be determined.

I hear the cardinals, the robins, blue jays, squirrels, and for the last 15 years the night owl in the neighborhood who is really a mockingbird.  Yeah, he does his calls and starts this at about 4 a.m.  His call is really beautiful, and they do mock very well.  I recall a time that bird could make the sound of the chirp of the alarm on the car.  That was quite annoying at 4:00 a.m.  But he is a neighbor that I have grown used to.  I did not hear him for a couple of years.  As I write this, the door is open it is 1:46 a.m. and he is doing his calls.  I wonder where he was for those few years.  Kind of glad the old friend is back.

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Well this old bird is busy with her nest.  I apologize in advance for upcoming infrequent posts.  Life is happening faster than the speed of life.  The blog is bound to suffer.  But let me tell you this, I enjoy my readers, your thoughts, your likes, you are the wind beneath my wings!  Thank you for stopping by and reading my blog.

The Bar is gone!

The little sewing that I did manage this week was on frolic.  I have half of the bottom border to quilt and half of the last half row.

My mom fell yesterday and broke her shoulder/arm.  She has already done this to the other arm this year.  Ladies, quilting can be dangerous.  If you have a large hoard of fabric, when you decide to sift through it make sure you are not alone.  She fell off the step stool and could not get up.  Laid there from just before 11:00 to past 3:00.  And the ambulance driver asked her if she sewed alot, my mom’s reply was, “You Think?”.  So her and Dad visited the hospital.  For those of you who are oblivious, they are doing “crowd” control at the hospital.  Only 1 visitor and you are escorted, in some instances, you are escorted by police.  Not because of anything you or yours have done wrong.  I figure the hospital stuff is all made in China and they are controlling potential looting before it is a realization.

I am going to work the graveyard shift at work to minimize my contact with the 6000 other pea-tree dishes that I work with.

This blog may go silent for awhile.

Sunday, I took the belly bar off my quilting machine.  I was always floating tops and only using the leader to keep my quilts square.  Two hex head screws and now it resides on the garage floor.  This may make camera access at a better position, for future youtube quilting videos.

Before, the belly bar.

After belly bar removal.

In looking at this photo, the portion of this hanging down, only half of it is left.  I am almost there

I lack one side from having this bound.

Because the weeks to come are so sketch, You may or may not see any progress on my blog.

I am looking at getting the “circle thingy” it is kind of a hartley fence for the quilting machine.  For those of you who do not know what this is, I am including a video that shows it.  Basically it is a gyro spiro-graph like attachment for the machine.

Mine will make spiral circles, if I get it.

Toodles, and thank you for reading my blog!

Life is short

Life is full of anxiety right now.  It is much like going through a divorce and not knowing your wack-job spouses next move.

Abundance is prepping.

………….and for some a sin called gluttony.   For those of you who have toilet paper check to see where it is made.  For years I was under the assumption it was made by Kimberly-Clark here in the states.  But after toilet paper-gate, if you read the package, it is made in China!  No wonder there is a shortage.  Thanks congress and NAFTA!

I presume everything is a month out, meaning the ports where Chinese shipping containers once were never ending, are completely empty.

If you live in the States, you are rabbits down the hole, waiting for this Alice in Wonderland scenario to stop.

Due to the demands of my job, I am working.  For those of you who read this and think, oh she is so lucky, think again.  I work in a plant with 6000 other people and we were all told to continue to show up for work.  So I go to work waiting for the announcement that I will have to go into quartantine.

My anxiety is high.  I am a home body, and work has always been a necessary evil.  But now it is like a double edged sword.  There is always the reality that a family member can be taken from me, and you dwell and worry to yourself.

I assume anger will be the next emotion.  My employer constantly puts out emails stating “our employees health and safety are important to us”.  I decipher this  as, My 401k stipend on my ceo salary has fallen in huge numbers.  Since part of my pay is through stock dividends, I must keep them up.  By keeping the numbers up, I am therefore, personally, more valuable.  By keeping them working, I will still have a job so I can pay for the jaguar and the million dollar home.

For those of you without money problems, now is the time to invest.  I foresee oil a great place to start since there is so much overproduction right now.  A little economics class in high school taught me about the law of supply and demand.

Now is also the time to place hedge bets against companies.  Those who were weak before this, will go belly up in less than a month.  I foresee JC Penny saying good bye.  Who do you think will tank?  Walmart?  They rely too heavily on China.

Because it is so hard for me to focus/concentrate, minimal sewing happened this week.  I was kind of down that I am continuing to work, potentially incubating and spreading for two counties that I work and live in.

I am uncertain if you would consider this a rant?  Whatever you want to call it, it is what it is.

Photo by Vlada Karpovich on Pexels.com

 

 

 

Zero, Zip, Nada

Well, as my last post stated I was torn about attending the Dallas Quilt Show.  The mayor called the show off at 11:59 p.m. after all the vendors and quilt displays were set up and ready for the quilt pilgrimage.  All of those involved, what a disappointment.

I am disappointed but I will see many quilt shows in my lifetime.  I understand.  I wish they would have called it off earlier on Thursday so those setting up would not have been out so much effort.

So, Friday on my way home from work, I thought I would support my LAQS and stop in to show my support.  They were silver sponsors of the event.  And they were mad.  And the shop is usually a calm tranquil, quite place.  Because they were working towards unpacking everything they had set up and their frustration was on the high side, it was loud, and angry.  And I understand.  I felt sorry for them as they had cut a bunch of fat quarters that would sell there, but they were trying to find places for them in their shop.

No raffle at the show, no pamphlets to give out (can you imaging just the expense of printing the pamphlets?), no added tax revenue, no best of show, no quilters eye candy, no fabric to pet, no quilting machines to play with, no featherweight booth to visit.  I am uncertain how much revenue the Dallas Quilt Guild brings in for just themselves, this will hurt their coffers.

I am kind of glad that I chose not to put one of my quilts in the show.  I now forget the theme of the show, but the quilt was perfect for it.  Stars upon Thars was a no show.  I would have put me out a bunch of effort, and I just could not see myself doing it so far away.  I think something closer appeals to me more.  This decision little did I know was for the best.

So, let me get out of the Zero, Zip, Nada attitude and show you some good ole quilter info and quilt tops.

As promised, here are the three tops I made in the past week.  One is at the binding stage.

One is at the top stage, but needs pressed.  Jelly Roll terrarium by Elizabeth Hartman.

And one top is pressed ready for backing selection.  Flight by moda fabrics.

Goals for the upcoming week:

• Finish quilting Frolic (if you didn’t catch my videos posted on how I am quilting each section, please visit my youtube channel and get up to date videos to help you quilt your #FrolicQuilt)
• Finish hand sewing the binding on the dusty rose baby quilt
• Find a suitable backing for the blue HST quilt
• Quilt the HST quilt
• Blog about quilt lighting for longarms and how to deal with leg ache
• Purchase fabric for this yellow jelly roll race quilt

Life seems to be at a cusp right now.  The normal eb and flow is getting disrupted.  I think life is going to be interesting in the coming weeks.  Things you thought would never happen probably will.  I seem to be anxious about it all, but will refrain from being too worried.  If I have ever learned anything in my 40 plus years, it is that worrying gets you no where.  I will cross the bridge as I come to it.  I will become smarter because of it, and if my grandparents can eat onion soup for all their meals 2 weeks straight and live to tell about it, so can I.  My big girl panties are on, if only I had more toilet paper.  HA!

Thanks for stopping in and reading my blog!

 

Let the Quilting of Frolic Commence!

My daffodils bloomed beautifully.  Their gnarled blooms almost look normal this year.

And here are Mom’s daffodils.

Been a productive week, this is going to be a big post.

I got the center medallion made, turned out great, and enjoyed the bigger pieces.  365 is on the back burner until further notice.  I will have no trouble of catching up as needed.

Made a baby quilt, sewed two charm packs together and to make a long story short, I need to bind, tis almost ready.  Want to see a quilting video Free Motion?  Click the link to see the machine in action.  

It was nice to get this out of my stash, and to get rid of this dated dusty rose I reckon from the 1980s.  *Disclaimer* it has only been in my stash 2 years.  🙂

I sewed another jelly roll race, not pictured, and aim to have it done soon too!

Started another baby quilt, am still piecing this one and it will reveal itself as a top hopefully this weekend.  A gob of manic sewing!

And I got the itch to quilt.  Got it so bad, that I just pieced some backing.  It ended up being two pieces sewn at the selvages and then I was just short a few inches in length, so I added a strip of pink.  The backing is loud, but complimentary of the top.  Let the quilting of Frolic commence!!!

I have uploaded videos of how I am quilting each design.  I have one for the borders, one for the star and one for the secondary block.  I am about halfway done, quilting a bit each night.

Here are the closeups of the ruler work and free motion.

The Dallas Quilt Show commences this weekend.  I Have my ticket purchased, but am weary about going with all the COVID-19 speak.  I am not afraid of the flu, I am afraid of bringing it home to my loved ones.  I was planning for Sunday, still thinking.  I will re-evaluate the situation when the time is here, nothing to worry about now.   I want to pet pretty fabrics, and have a craving for replenishing the stash.    The weekend is almost here, and after a week of this dang daylight savings, my biological clock wants normalcy and to sleep a tad longer.

Overtime has been announced, so I suspect the crickets will be chirping in my next post as I will have nothing to show.  I will get something for your quilting eyes to feast themselves upon.  Until then, thanks for stopping in and reading my blog!

Lamb Light

Each week when I write my post, I have to come up with a title.  This little task can be a struggle.  Today’s two words represent the week marvelously!

OMG, it is March already!  It came in like a lamb, and as the saying goes, it will go out like a lion.  This little algorithm in nature is pretty accurate.  Where does this saying come from?

This is a pagan belief about balance.  And here is a quote from Farmer’s Almanac:

Those people often believed that bad spirits could affect the weather adversely, so they were cautious as to what they did or did not do in certain situations.

Those beliefs often included ideas that there should be a balance in weather and life. So, if a month came in bad (roaring like a lion), it should go out good and calm (docile, like a lamb)

So pagan belief was much like Karma as I read.  I am not pagan by any means, but I do believe what you put out there is what you get back.  I see too many people become victims of Karma.  What can I say?   The ancestors were wise.

Steering to the quilting corner now, the teaching is over, LOL.  My goals for the week are met and exceeded!  My goal was to work atleast 2 weeks worth of blocks for the 365 challenge, catching up.  I am now on the start of the center medallion.  Which is the last three days of Feb.  I sewed almost a months worth of blocks!  I am still behind, but am not quite so far in the hole!

A sampling!  With more pictures to follow.

I had decided to show you the process I go through making each block at 3 1/2 inches.  Some blocks like the one in the lower left have much more work and preparation.

First I start by petting the fabrics and see what I can come up with.  The pattern may call for Dark, Dark Dark, Medium, Medium Dark.  This is the tricky part.

I selected my fabrics.  My mom graciously made me some alphabit-ies, which keep the confusion to a minimum.  I mean who knew 3 1/2 inch blocks could have so many fabrics and pieces that you could get confused?

After fabric selection and alphabitie assignment, I then cut my BOM for the block.

Sometimes I re-write the BOM instructions because of the rulers I have making my HSTs accurate.  Or sometimes subcutting happens according to the directions.  Then a seam and some finger pressing.

I never iron until the block is complete.  These two HSTs look wonky, but it is an optical illusion.  The flaps are just closer to the camera since I finger pressed to the dark side.

Those two HSTs came together for a diagonal cut and two more seams and became two QSTs.  In making these blocks the tip I have taken from quilting is spinning the seams.  When the back of this block is all seams, spinning those seams is wise!  There are no pressing instructions, so you go with your gut.  Press to the dark side and spin those seams.

All miniature blocks then are checked for accuracy and cut to instructional dimension.  It starts to come together.  And now the 9 patch appears!

And finally the block cometh together!  A press with the iron, and then a overall size check on the mat.  Sometimes, another trim happens to make the block 3 1/2 inches true.

And before you know it, you have lots of little blocks with many pieces.  Not all blocks are created equally either.  Some of these 3 1/2 inch squares have more than 30 pieces.  That is why this is called a challenge, and I am loving every block.  Nice to have a simple one, and nice to have a challenging one.

Now, let us go back to the title of this post for a bit.  Light is the keyword.  This word is used highly in patterns for quilting, the 365 block challenge is no exception.  Light represents value and color and is an integral part of my hobby.

This is also an integral part of life itself.  This weekend is the dreaded daylight savings!!!!!  In life the friggin’ time continuum loses an hour.  The older I get, the more frantic I feel.  That one stinkin’ hour lost, takes me weeks to to find peace with the bastard called time.  I am hungry an hour earlier for every meal.  I have to get up earlier everyday.  But because my internal clock is still on old time, going to bed earlier does not compute.  This fragment of time each year is something I dread and will never get used to.  Here it is again….

And some spring time news from my front yard, the daffodils made it!  Blooms happened!

My goals for the upcoming week:

• Go to the Dallas Quilt Show (will I see you there?)
• try out the tripod I got for the quilting machine and the video camera
• try out the anti-fatigue mat I got for the quilting machine
• start piecing 2 baby quilt tops and hopefully have these finished
• sew the center medaillion for the 365 block challenge
• quilt one of the baby quilt tops I have on hand or better yet one that I starting to piece
• Make reservations for hotel accomodations for TOGA this year!

This is quite the list for someone whose ass will be dragging due to the time change.  Will I make it?  We shall see…..

Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog!

 

The Census

This week I heard you could go back 72 years and read census material.  So I have delved into the past and am reading all about my town.  Lots of names in this small town are still around.  Streets have been renamed over the years.  1940 was prewar.  No VA hospital, no Armory, no Sam Rayburn Drive, it was fittingly called Fourth Street (between 3rd and 5th LOL) . No MKAT rail line.  I was shocked that this railroad ran less than two blocks from my house.  This rail went belly up during the great depression.  All of the rails in town were taken up, and progress happened.  My house incidentally was built during WWII to house soldiers training in the airforce at our local airfield.  Lots of the town has changed, but much of it is the same.

I am intrigued by names, and salaries, but what is most interesting is the jobs.  Lots of WPA workers.  You know the new deal after the great depression gave the poor jobs.  There was way too many of those in town.  Their salaries meager for the year.  We had broom makers, car salesmen, seamstresses, rail road workers, as well as clerical for the courthouse and the city.

I am romantically involved in reading all of the information, looking for names I may know.  Having conversations with others in present time about this, it truly is fascinating!  More to come on that.

When I wasn’t reading, I was sewing, and have accomplished my goals for the week!

• Customer quilt completed!This quilt is not yet finished in the pic, but I took advantage of the sunshine on Thursday after work.  The embroidery hand work is exquisite!  I love the penguin, the elephant, and the frog, sew cute!
• My 365 blocks are done through Feb 2nd.  Here is a sampling
• And some framed pinwheels happened too.  I found a shoebox full of leftover hsts from my antique wedding ring and so, I am going to slow down on these a bit.  They go together quick!
  

  

  

   

   

  These were my priorities, and I have accomplished my goals.  I am still behind on my 365 blocks, and so my plan is to start catching these up with extra sewing each week.  I just love selecting fabrics and making them matchy matchy, or not!

And the daffodils are fully budded!

But we had a severe frost.  These were taken the afternoon after the frost, the buds no longer look right, and will probably not “hatch”.  Darn, another dafodil-less year.  In the 26 years I have lived here, I have only had them bloom 4 times.  I think whoever planted the bulbs, they are too deep.  I guess I will just have to enjoy those I come across elsewhere.

Goals for the upcoming week:

• Focus entirely on the 365 blocks and advance by at least two weeks.

Because all of these small pieces are on my table I am going to refrain from trying to bind my basket weave quilt.  It will just have to wait it’s turn!

Well the weekend is before us, and I feel like a hamster let out of it’s cage!  I am glad to have the freedom to run amuck!  But I will keep it to a brisk walk, but I will sew petal to the metal on the featherweight!

Have a great weekend, and thanks for reading my blog!

 

Framed Pinwheels!

I have met my goals for the week!

I have made two framed pinwheel blocks with my scraps left over from the woven baskets quilt and frolic.  These will be my swap blocks for Treadle On Gathering Academy block swap exchange in Texarkana.  We call it TOGA for short.

I have started work on the customer quilt, almost a top.  I aim to have this finished by next weekend.  Sorry no pics as it is for the customer which is a gift for someone else, you understand eh?  Eventually it will show itself.

I have worked a few blocks for the 365 quilt block challenge.  Even thought it is a few it is better than none!  Would I have liked to have accomplished more?  The answer is yes!

Still on the dark side of this, am ready to introduce some light!  It will come in time.

And my best achievement of the week?  I successfully quilted the disappearing pinwheel basket top.  I decided to use the lockers on my machine for the first time.  The key to having this work is a very true and square quilt top.  With mine being biased edges, I kind of bit my fingernails with each pass.  Turns out the blocks themselves were not true, but the loading and edges of the quilt were, which translated to even parallel lines at 90 degrees to one another.  This is a tedious process of walking behind the quilting machine, back to the front, over and over and over again.  Removing the quilt top, and then reloading on the opposite edge.  This simple grid took me right at 6 hours with no break.

There are a couple of unseen lines that I have to get my seam ripper after.  I forgot to lock the locker and then all of sudden the lines were not parallel any more.

And for a little more drama I doubled my batting.  I rather like the effect, and will probably do this with all of my quilts that I do for me and my family.  Just look at the shadow the grass is making with relation to the sidewalk.  Some neat photography trick, totally unintended.

I was worried I would not get to post this weekend as work was wanting me to work overtime all weekend, but that got axed yesterday afternoon with the marvelous team work and speed of what we did together.  I just love hectic days at work where humans come together for a common purpose.  In the wake of disaster, the human condition rises above and I am in awe of my work mates and how compatible we are when working together.  So here the post is, not delayed.  And this will afford me some time in the sewing/quilting dept for the weekend.  YAY!!

Goals for the upcoming week:

1. I want to have the customer quilt completed.
2. Catch up on 365 blocks, meaning getting more than a weeks worth done.  I would like to accomplish around 14 blocks.
3. Work a few more framed pinwheels.  Perhaps I will use this as a leader ender as I sew my other blocks?
4. I would like to rip out the 2 places of error in the basket weave quilt
5. I would like to bind the basket weave quilt.

I have placed these in order of precedence.  I am doubtful I will get all of this list done, but the first three I would like to call mandatory, the remaining would be a bonus!

Spring is starting to peak out, the daffodils are up with unopened blooms.  I expect in the next week they will make their goal of showing their beautiful yellow selves.  They are so short lived, but oh so beautiful.  I noticed in some areas in the neighborhood they are already blooming.  My front yard is by the road and concrete which probably keeps the bulbs cooler and tricks them into thinking it is not yet time.   Used to grow at the base of a willow tree.  Willow trees in Texas are notorious for not achieving full maturity without problems.  Plus it weeps sap, so we took it down shortly after we moved into this house.  The removal of that tree was 24 years ago.  My my, where has the time gone?

Well laundry and dishes are saying “do me, do me”.   Lucky me eh?  Thanks for stopping in and reading my blog!

The Photo Op

Well another week has gone buy with a whooosh!

My goals from last week are met 100%!

• Got the dream big panel bound and I opted for a scrappy binding from the leftovers of the homemade backing.
• The weather permitted for a Frolic photo opportunity, say cheese!  You can tell spring is on its way.  While spreading this out, I Had to stop as I stepped in fire ants, they were running slow, but I still got bit.  I chose to wear my slip on sandals to just get out and snap these.  My foot feels itchy and on fire!  But, alas the picture is taken as wrinkly as can be LOL.
• The pot holder is bound, sorry no finished photo
• And I have worked about four of the 30 blocks I am behind for the 365 challenge.  Now that my sewing space is a bit more free, I will be starching some fabrics for this and using my scrap system called an old wooden clothes dryer to hang everything on and use as I need.  (it has worked for all the mystery quilts in the past)

Last week I showed you some vintage fabric I picked up at the antique store.  I have done a little reading and asking others.  This is definitely block printed fabric.  There was an insurgence of this type of fabric back in the 30s during the discovery of the ancient Egyptian tombs.  Although this is not Egyptian, I believe this may be block printed in India.  All of this tells a story, just not sure what.  For a while I thought this was African, but it is too folk artsy for that.  I am still waiting for this to speak to me just a bit more so I can glean the right information from the right source.

Goals for the upcoming week:

• I have been asked to commission a quilt for a coworker.  She will be supplying me with fabric and as soon as I get this will start piecing.
• I will be working towards my TOGA swap blocks                      
• And I aim to start quilting this I have trimmed all the edges and backing, ready to load.  Instead of doing custom work on this, I think I am just going to quilt a grid.  I will make my lockers on the machine do all the work.
• And do some more catch up work on the 365 blocks

This is quite a lot for me to accomplish.  I find if I set goals I check them off one by one, it makes it less overwhelming and helps me see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Enjoy your weekend, and thank you for reading my blog!

DONE!!!!!!!!

It is 4:15 PM on Feb 9th, and……

I am done piecing Frolic together!!!!!

It has taken me three weeks to sew all 3400 pieces together.  They are now together forever.  As big as this project is/was, I am glad to move onto a smaller project with more instant gratification.  This just kept lingering, taking up space, preventing me from really working on anything else.

Today is not the best day for photos.  Drizzly, dreary, and too damp with a chance of showers for most of the week.  A photo op will happen, but probably not before my next posting.

I will be working my 365 blocks as now I am over three weeks in the hole.  This will be a welcome sew time each day again.

I have a skirt planned to make for my oldest daughter.  That will not take long.

In the meantime I will be dreaming about how to quilt Frolic.  It deserves a custom quilt job.  But I have spent enough time on it, I do not want to showcase the quilting, I want to showcase the piecing.  My mind will brainstorm until the right thought hits the cloth.

Yesterday, I wanted to quilt.  I went through my quilt pile and found an orphan block from this.

I pastorally quilted this.  Made a basket with a lone flower and some leaves.  This was an excellent way to try quilting on for size with the orphan block.  I doubled the batting, and it will be placed on my Grandma’s vintage 40 inch 1951 stove that I use every day.  An extra large potholder it is!

This is a disappearing pinwheel block.  All the raw edges in this are bias, hence the uneven edge, which is my fault for not blocking it correctly on the longarm.  I will make sure to avoid this in the life size version.

I visited some antique stores this week.  I love looking at the old textiles.  I came upon this.

It was marked vintage red fabric.  When I picked it up and felt it, it did not have the vintage feel.  But I bought it anyway because I like it.  This looks to be block printed fabric.  But with block printing, usually it is the same block over and over.  This is not like that.  Each square repeats but at quite a distance.  It almost looks like vintage cheater cloth.  I really think this is old and handmade.  I figure it will bleed severely.  But it looks like it has already been washed by the frayed edges.  I will be doing a bit more research on this.  The color is right for it to be about a hundred years old.  Perhaps this is African fabric?  If anyone knows, please leave your wisdom in the comments section.

Yesterday was a glorious day spent with my son and my parents.  It doesn’t happen this way enough.  I should be ashamed and make this happen with greater frequency.  A good day spent quilting in the morning, antiquing in the afternoon, and eating a meal out with family.  Puts a little more gladness in the heart!

During the antiquing, I found a Fireking swirl jadeite bowl (my reproduction bowl broke a few years back and I have been looking for its replacement ever since, how I have missed that bowl!)

The bowl was purchased for a measly $25.  I thought it was a repro.  Got home, compared it to the known repro I have.  And I’ll be danged it is the real deal!  I paid more for the repro new at the dept. store than what I paid for it’s antique counterpart.  I am very happy.  But am a little afraid to use it, because I know it’s value.  I bought it to use as a popcorn bowl for our Friday nights (how the last one was broken).  But gosh, perhaps I will only use it for special occasions.

I am going to set some goals for the upcoming week:

• Bind the potholder basket block
• Bind the Dream Big panel
• Work on the 365 blocks that I am now three weeks behind on.
• Make a skirt for my daughter

Life is full, this makes me happy!

Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog, I would love to hear from you.  Please leave a comment in the comment section.