WTF?!?

WTF?

So it's not like I haven't been sewing... Well at least I was sewing up until about Thanksgiving. I had huge plans. Huge! I even blogged about them. I had a totally awesome, totally picture filled, totally wordy post all about sewing. Then my stupid blogging software went on a literary rampage and ate my post. And that is not a fancy of blaming my lacksadsical writing on someone other than me. I was seriously peeved. Apparently the software did not appreciate the iOS upgrade. According to their site, they were getting right on that update...um right. Anyway, I finally gave up on them and bought some new software. Eh voila! Here we are. 

Sew Anyway

I did finish The Gift and delivered it in early November. So pleased with how it turned out. I used a new stencil with my chalk pounce to mark it and it worked out quite well. 

In other news...

Also managed to finally get three quilts basted, Istanbul and the two basket weaves. Have I told you lately how much I love Kate Spain? (not to be confused with Kate Spade, though I love her too) My son took the picture below as I put on the borders.

The dueling basket weaves were interesting. It's quilt as you go, which was interesting. I basted all three base layers then set out to weave the top strips. Three hours and very sore finger tips later, I had both blankets set up for quilting.

Quilting was easy... Straight line raw edge appliqué. Got the binding put on at the November guild meeting and fully intended to finish both on a Thanksgiving car trip. As of today, January 1, I have one finished. Second one is about 1/4 finished. I'll post pictures of the finished one next time, along with a photo of the quilting on Istanbul. 

Sent from a wireless device. Please excuse typos.

We want pictures, not a belly itcher!

So I promised pictures last time. I've been working on Istanbul semi-diligently. One of these days, I'll learn to really look at patterns before committing. I love the big blocks of appliqué flowers, but failed to grasp that there were really 24 pieces to each flower block, times three flower blocks equals lots of pieces to trace, cut and appliqué. So much appliqué that I was worried I would run out of thread (you laugh, but I am serious... I only purchased one spool of coordinating thread per color. Totally against my better judgement.) Once I got through that, the piecing of the top went quickly, helped by the fact that I absolutely adore the fabric. I am so glad that I plan to keep this one because I don't think I could part with it. Am now at a screeching halt as I failed to notice that the pattern called for a thin border of the cream. See, this is irritating because this is the second time I have run out of this particular fabric and I have not been able to find it in my local stores, which means waiting for another fabric delivery. The problem is that I started the pattern by making use of a large number of Moda snow layer cake squares I had left over. They weren't big enough for the appliqué blocks, so I had to order more yardage. That's where I failed to notice that I needed even more for the border. Oh well, FQS will be happy to see me again, I am sure.











It was a tough week in my little quilting world. I had the top done on a gift that just didn't look quite right. I hemmed and hawed and then ripped the borders off and fixed it. Now I heart it again. (no pics yet, the recipient may stumble across this blog and then the cat is out of the bag) The search for backing was time consuming, but the fabric's in the mail...

Speaking of backing
What happened to all the cute flannel? A girl can't catch a break. I compromised on backing for Istanbul and The Gift. I couldn't find flannel I liked for either, so settled for cute cotton that was extra wide. I am also on the hunt for cute flannel to back two baby quilts. I have the most delicious set of fabrics for a darling basket weave pattern that am curious to try. Normally backing would not stop me from getting started, but this particular pattern is quilt as you go, which means that I need to baste all three layers before I can start. Doh! Backing...




In other news, I bought a craft magazine with holiday projects (unseasonably early for me, I know!). The Wee One and I have some felt projects to make together, but these little trees spoke to me. I made one in traditional Christmas colors and one in funky retro colors. They are fun and pretty quick to make.







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Adios

No, I am not saying goodbye to quilting. Adios, the literal translation being "to God" is the philosophy that I have adopted with regard to parting with my quilts. Somber topic, but wait, there's more. I had a dream last night about my dad and a bunch of UFOs (unfinished objects). To understand how these tie together, I should esplain you Lucy.

A few years ago, I decided to make my dad a quilt for his bed. He was living far away at the time and I thought he needed a reminder that we love him. He seemed pleased enough with it and I was happy that he had a physical reminder of us. Fast forward a few years. I have never seen that quilt again. I've thought about asking, but am afraid of the answer. If he doesn't have it anymore, my feelings will be terribly hurt. By not asking, I am making myself practice Adios, or letting go.

In my early quilting years, I gave my quilts to anyone who wanted one. People I barely knew scored hours of my painstaking labor. This was before I had The Wee One, before I knew the difference between cheap and nice fabric, and the joy of sewing on a really nice machine. In other words, it was just a little hobby. I wasn't even taking photos of my quilts at that point. As my hobby grew more consuming (of time, money, etc), I started to get a little pickier about the recipients of my quilts. The projects became personal, each taking on a life of its own during the process. I realized that the recipients could hardly be expected to ever be fully aware of the time, effort, money and love that gets poured into each quilt. If I was going to give a quilt, I had to give it freely, without any expectation of true appreciation. I have to let it go with God.

So back to my dream. It was very vivid. I was walking thought my dad's house (not his current one, but somehow I knew where I was) and I came across a chair piled high with what looked like blankets. As I started digging through the pile, I realized I was looking for the quilt I made him. But every blanket in the pile was actually an unfinished quilt and I never found his quilt before I woke up.

I'm not a dream interpreter and tend toward the most literal interpretation when I attempt. I currently have a number of projects going on in various states of completion depending on fabric orders. This could explain the pile of UFOs. I didn't realize I was feeling anxious about this, but some of them are gifts, so that could be the case I suppose. The part about my dad suggests that I am not as zen with my Adios as I would smugly lead you to believe. I guess it is a work in progress.

Thanks for indulging my mental meandering. I have been sewing and loving my current projects. Will have pictures next time.


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Continuing the trend

What Trend?

That would be both the sewing and blogging trend. As usual, I find that doing too much of one precludes doing too much of the other. I don't know why I've got the sewing bug of late, but am taking advantage of the energy.

SuperNate

Am very happy to report that SuperNate was delivered and received with excitement. The label has my favorite Shel Silverstein poem on it. It seemed made for SuperNate.






I <3 Kate Spain Well at least her fabric lines. And I am serious, this is love! OCQ gave me a jelly roll of Fandango for Christmas. I knew at once that this would be a quilt for me in a way that my living room quilt never was. The fabric is delicious. I almost think I could be sustained for a while just by that fabric. You think I am a raving lunatic (probably right, but thats a topic for another day), but seriously, this fabric is so awesomely fantastic that I didn't even mind the cutting and ironing. And you know how I loathe ironing. And the pattern I chose has loads of ironing. Bt each pressing session gave me more time to fall in love with the fabric. Not a bad one in the bunch. But I do have my favorites. Yummy.



Am also totally and completely obsessed with her new line, Terrain. My layer cake arrived just as I reached a stopping point with my Fandango quilt, heretofore referred to as Istanbul (not Constantinople). I drooled over it for a week before I cut into it for another new project. I am counting on the siren like call of the fabrics to ensure these two projects don't end up in my UFO pile...

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

What? Blogging? But August starts with an "A"!

But it's OK, because I meant to post this in July, only my clumsy typing on my iPad caused me to delete a half written post. I had a temper tantrum and refused to blog for awhile. Or went on vacation. Whatever.

Dino-Mite
Sew, speaking of said vacation, I promised the Wee One that I would finish his dino quilt before we left on vacation. I spent a lovely birthday day with OCQ sewing most of the day. I got most of the quilting done on the dinos. It was kind of plain jane (in the ditch quilting on the big squares and then just echo quilting around the applique) and I felt badly, like my baby wasn't getting my best, even though I used glow in the dark thread to add to the cool factor (totally worked, BTW. Wee One thinks it is "awesome". And it really does glow). I had two spools of the glow thread (are you really surprised?), so I decided to add some loops to the small border. As I was getting loopy, I started added in words like "cretaceous" and "stomp" and eventually added in all of my label information. It took some concentration to link my letters correctly, but it turned out super cute. That was so fun that I added dino foot prints to the big border, also in glow thread. Got it bound and washed the day before we left on vacation.







Is that a body in your batting or are you just happy to see me?
Sew I mentioned a birthday of sewing with OCQ. Our day also included a trip to the fabric store with a coupon and sale. The nice 90" wide cotton batting was on sale for a RIDICULOUS price, so we of course bought 20 yards of it to split. Wanna know what 10 yards of batting looks like all rolled up? Looks like you are hiding bodies.




Moving on
Well, the birthday sewday was busy! While I was sewing, OCQ gave an awesome present and cut my fabric for my latest project, SuperNate. My cousin's 2 1/2 year old son was recently diagnosed with neuroblastoma, a fairly rare childhood cancer. The prognosis is good, but he needs chemo to complete the treatment. They are far away, so we can't do much but pray and send food. Thought a quilt would be a little bit like sending a hug. With the awesome cutting assistance combined with some hubby travel time, I got that sucker pieced, layered and quilted within a week. Finishing the binding, hopefully this week.