Reflections

2024 is almost finished and 2025 is about to begin.  Isn't amazing that we're a quarter of the way through the century that just seemed to begin a few years ago?  So much has happened, yet there's so much left to do.  

This year, I finished my usual number of quilts - 14, several given away to various charities.  One was most significant because I started it back in the 1980s.

It was just a simple white on white piece, not even 18" square, and pre-printed.  I unearthed it in 2023 and began taking it to the Calico County Quilters monthly meetings.  I enjoyed working on it while chatting and admiring other people's work, including Wendy's intricate hexie quilt made with Tula Pink fabrics.  Hanging over my desk now, this little quilt makes me proud!

The quilt I least enjoyed working on was the Laura Heine collage, Birch Street, which my mom enjoys seeing in her family room.  

It was an intense project, and I doubt if I'll ever make another.  I just don't enjoy following patterns.

My favorite quilted items were two table runners using "Snowflake" Bentley fabric.  I can't find a picture of either one; I gave them away to neighbors for Christmas.  Gale, who lives next door, says she loves the way it looks on her table, and that makes me very happy.  Her husband Alan is Jewish, so the blue of the snowflake fabric works well at their house. 

I knit a number of hats for kids going into foster care, and now I'm working on a scrappy scarf made of knitted squares.   My sister gave me some lovely fingering yarn that I am dying to start working with, so I will probably set the squares aside for a while.   

My hand quilting project to take to Calico County is a sashiko piece I finished embroidering last fall.  It's black thread on charcoal fabric, so Dee's classroom where we meet is the only place I can actually see well enough to hand quilt.  But I'm sure it won't take me 40 years to finish!

Happy New Year to all - may 2025 be a good year for you!

Row E

My new Dear Jane variation will be called Accepting My Limitations.   When I worked on The Quilt years ago, my fingers were nimble and allowed me to applique some tiny pieces.  Now I feel I'm all thumbs and have had to resort to using fusibles for some parts of the small blocks.  When I put my mind to it, I can make a row of 13 blocks in a week, which I did last week.  Here's Row E.

The next to the last block (purple with fruit) will receive a little embroidery rather than a fusible bit in its center.  Then I'll put the blocks away for a while as I quilt the Birch Street collage and head south for a few weeks.

Yesterday, I basted the collage together using Misty Fuse, a product I'd never used before.   The muslin back is wrinkly but, since it's a wall hanging, shouldn't be all that noticeable.  The quilting, in straight vertical lines is going pretty well so far. 

 I'm using polyester thread, and Paul helped me move my machine out from the wall in order to allow the stiff collage to drape onto my ironing board behind the machine.  

A few small pieces popped up while handling, so I'm sticking them back down with a little bit of glue.  I hope that after quilting, that problem will be eliminated.  I worried a bit about marking, but I have been making vertical lines with a water-soluble pen every 6" across to make sure that I keep the quilting fairly as I go across the quilt.  I'm actually liking the piece more with the quilting.  That will be what I do most of the next few days.

Ready to quilt

I got so involved finishing up the Birch Street collage yesterday that I forgot I had clothes in the washer.  They never got put into the dryer, so now I'm running a quick wash before doing so.  Such is the way of the quilter:  when we get really involved, all signs of "life" fall away.

After talking with Marie at the quilt shop on Thursday, I decided it was time to put pedal to the metal and finish up.  She made me feel better by saying that it took her 6 months to finish one of her collages.  And here I had been complaining that I started mine in October.  But the collage UFO took up most of the guest bed, and that's where I lay out quilts to be put together and/or quilted.  It was impeding my progress.

Yesterday, I added the "grass," the road in front, a few embellishments (including the tiny bicycles), and the border, and I ironed everything down with steam.  It is now ready for simple quilting which I will attempt to do with my Elna.  I've ordered some Mistyfuse to help me sandwich it with muslin backing and a pieced batt I've been saving.  

Big question:  how to "mark" the beginning center line?  I'm afraid to use painters tape for fear it will remove pieces (a window already fell off while I was putting the border on - glue to the rescue!).

Meanwhile, I will work on blocks for Dear Jane and Green Tea and Sweet Beans.  I want to get a few kits made up to take on our trip south in February.

Short row knitting

I spent yesterday morning making real progress on the collage but being hunched over was tough on my back.   We took a walk in the morning which helped get the "kinks" out, but I'll give the collage a rest today.   I hope yoga later this morning will help, and I'll work on either something else in the quilting room or knit some more on my wave scarf.  The latter is looking good!

I haven't memorized the pattern yet but hope this will come in time.  Right now I'm holding the pattern on my lap while knitting.  It is going faster, though, as I develop a rhythm.  Using #7 needles helps.

I want to turn my attention to making some placemats for Pauline.   She was hoping for something in dark greens, burgundies, and blues, so I bought some fat quarters and a jelly roll in the Winter Flurries line by Holly Taylor.    It's way more than I need for the project, but I can use the excess in other projects, too.  

I have a lot of Waverly fabric in the same colors for the backs.  It's really upholstery fabric, but I think it will soften when washed.  I used it to make a few shopping bags to give as gifts and still have a couple of yards.   In addition to this project, I have two quilts to bind and two more to machine quilt.    The collage will require quilting when finished, too, so I don't think I'll be at a loss for projects this winter!

Precious Ramotswe

I think I have read all 24 of the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency books, and I just started #25.  There is something so comforting about checking in with Precious and the gang when outside it's Stick Season and gloomy.  While the stories are simple and the writing so repetitious that I want to scream sometimes, I do like her wit and wisdom.  

Yesterday I cut out more flowers for the collage quilt and found I need even more.  I'm awfully glad Marie suggested putting some light blues behind the flowers to fill in gaps, too.  Today I'll move The Beast from the ironing board so I can do a little more fusing.  I may sew a little with my machine.  I haven't touched Dear Jane since June.

I know the collage is going to take quite a while to finish, but I really need variety in my quilting.  I'm not the kind of person to work on one project at a time.  I'm looking forward to my hand sewing group meeting Saturday - miss the fun chats we have.

The yard has been winterized.   The grill and hoses have been put away, and my bird feeder posts are ready whenever the bears finally go to sleep.  A big, noisy project is about to happen behind our house, courtesy of the power company which will be cutting down a long line of white pines that is beginning to die.  Our HOA will be replanting in the spring after the area is cleared.   Meanwhile, our backyards will be more exposed to traffic and passers-by.

A day off

Life has been so busy lately, that it's been a while since I last blogged.  I've been involved with the Friends of the Library annual meeting, the state quilt guild's fall meeting, and getting ready for the Genealogy Fair this coming Saturday.   Paul's brother Jim was here from Alabama all of last week, so we did some sightseeing and got together with family members twice.  Yesterday was, finally, a day "off" for me, and I enjoyed it immensely.

The morning started with fusing and cutting some more items for the collage quilt.  I have a lot of floral fabrics to cut for the treetops and am so glad to have those new padded Karen K. Buckley scissors.  I have some of the pieces scattered over my piece, but it will be a while before I am sure where everything will go.  Today I'll drive over to A Quilter's Garden to pick up the scissors I left behind after class.  We were all borrowing items from each other during class, and I couldn't find them when I was packing up.  They are quite sharp, so I was glad when Marie let me know I'd left them behind.  While I'm there, I may end up with a teensy bit more floral fabric, too.

Yesterday morning also found me finishing up the details for posters about the Friends' Light Up the Library project and its accompanying A Christmas Carol play.  They have been sent to the library for artwork and copying.  I wanted to get things out early as the staff is busy training the new director who I had lunch with Monday.  She seems very enthusiastic about our various projects.

After lunch, I made a big batch of oatmeal cookies for Saturday's genealogy fair.  They're to fuel the energy of the volunteers who'll be tabling (yes, that seems to be a verb these days).  We'll have tables for people to find out more about searching for ancestors from various countries and ethnicities, as well as learning how to use online resources.  I'll be introducing our special speakers and filling in at various tables for breaks and lunches.

In the late afternoon, while the furnace man was busy cleaning and getting us ready for winter, I finally found time to read the latest mystery, Home at Night by Paula Munier, a Vermont author who features Mercy, a veteran of the Afghanistan conflice and her dog Elvis.  This one takes place around Halloween so is just right for now.

Collage class

I took a day-long class in Laura Heine collage Saturday.  It was fun but intense.  Six people came, and our instructor, Marie, spent the day running between us, guiding us in making the collages of our choice.  One young woman had never made a quilt before, while others were seasoned quilters.  We all had different patterns, too, and plans for our pieces.  

Most of my time was spent filling in the background of this massive (38" x 50") quilt, Birch Street.  This is the pattern so you can see that much of the background gets partially covered by other things.  There's a lot of layering that goes on in these quilts.

Some people used a solid fabric for their backgrounds which seemed more difficult to me as the center motif had to be cut away to reduce bulk.  I made a scrappy background of black on white prints and managed to get one tree trunk down before leaving at around 2:30 pm.  My feet and back were tired from bending over the table most of the day.

I haven't used a lot of "Steam a Seam" before, so that was an adventure.  I think (hope!) that building the houses and trees will be fun going forward.  I watched other people in the class cutting out lots of flowers for their central motifs.  Kathy had a cat; Jen had water lilies.  I'll be curious to see how theirs turn out.  In some ways, I wish I'd chosen a mini for the first project as my quilt could take a year to complete!  It's always fun to learn something new and different.