Progress!

So far this week, I've been making all kinds of progress.  I finished a book and started another one.  And on Monday, I finished machine quilting the third of four sections of Dear Jane.  I'm pleased and want to work on the final section and work on the borders soon.  

But I also want to get the month's Rainbow Scrap Challenge blocks finished so that I don't fall behind (as I often do!).  This month's color is "pastel," which is a little vauge and presents a bit of a challenge.   I have a lot of pastels, but I'm not sure how good they'll look with the blocks I've already made.  I decided to combine some colors, so yesterday, I made a couple of Traffic Jam blocks in pinks and purples.  

Then I made an Improv Houses block in light blues.   I added the houses to my RSC list last month because (a) I love making house quilts and (b) I have plenty of scraps.  I have yet to make the log cabin blocks for the month and hope to get to them today.

Yesterday morning I made a stop at the Vermont Historical Society library with a bankers' box full of the archives of the state quilt guild.  I had been sifting through several tubs all year, with turning the files over to VHS for safekeeping the ultimate goal.  I was so glad and relieved to be able to finish this long term project.  The tubs had been languishing in the former historian's basement and garage for ages.  Now they will be preserved, indexed and available to anyone doing research.

Naulakha

On Saturday we drove two hours south to Dummerston where British author Rudyard Kipling lived for a time back in the 1890s.  His house and outbuildings, "Naulakha," are open to the public one weekend a year for Rhododendron Weekend.   The rest of the time the space is reserved for overnight guests in a sort of B&B arrangement.  

The highlight for visitors on this particular weekend is the rhododendron tunnel as long as a football field.  Once inside, it is amazing!

It was an overcast day, which means it was a little humid, but it didn't rain until the afternoon when we were well on our way home.  We had a tour appointment for 11:00 and found that only about 25 cars fit in the parking areas down the hill from the main house.  It was all very well organized with volunteers directing traffic,

All three main buildings were open for view and all are available to rent during the year.  The main house sleeps 8 and all of the bedrooms looked comfortable and inviting.   I took this photo from the upstairs balcony.  The views of the mountains were very nice.  The main house had a billiard room on the top floor, which was impressive considering how the staircases wound upstairs.

People were encouraged to bring picnic lunches, and drinks (water and seltzer) were complimentary.   Of course, everyone ventured into the tunnel.  I took this photo about halfway through.  We have a rhododendron at home, but it is much shorter than these which must be as old as the house.

There is a pavilion area at the end of the tunnel which must have been a nice spot for cocktails in Kipling's time.  We could see a tennis court down the hill from there, and we heard voices in the woods behind.  We couldn't find a path to walk out there, however, and I thought it was a bit buggy.  June is black fly season for Vermont, so I didn't want to attract any, having already been attacked in our yard a few weeks ago.

We enjoyed our visit very much and talked about renting the house some time with family.  It has the potential for a peaceful, fun weekend.   After about an hour, we had seen it all, so we ventured back toward Brattleboro and stopped at Panda North, a delicious Chinese restaurant, for lunch.  

Now that we're home, we are still curious about why Kipling was there.  He wrote several of his more famous books there, including Captains Courageous.  Paul ordered a book, of course!

Orchids and more

Several Mother's Days ago, my son gave me an orchid plant.  It bloomed for a long time and then nothing happened for a year or so.  I transplanted it into a larger pot, and it immediately bloomed.  After the blooms were finished, maybe 6 weeks after beginning, maybe even longer, I snipped the stalk near one of the "elbows" (or whatever they are called).  Finally, that branch began to grow and started blooming.  There is still one bud at its end.  

Much to my surprise, another stalk appeared and now has some fairly sizeable buds.  I'm amazed!  My other orchid plant looks awful even though I water it just the same (minimally) and it sits right next to this larger one.  Orchids are fickle!

Our kitchen and dining room were painted during the last three days.  Our painter is just wonderful - very neat, precise, quiet, hard working.   She's a pleasure to have in the house.  Prior to Monday, I moved everything off the kitchen counters and everywhere else I could.  We moved the dining table into the living room and a large antique sideboard into the middle of the dining room under the chandelier. 

The kitchen bench was stashed behind the couch and paintings were stored in various places.  This morning I rehung curtains, removed a slight film of dust here and there, and started moving stuff back into the kitchen.  This afternoon, Chris is coming by to help us move the bigger items back, and life should return to normal, albeit much cleaner and brighter.

Quilting Dear Jane!

I put the last stitches in block M-13 of Dear Jane Friday, and Saturday I sashed the row and added it to the Rows J, K, and L.  Sunday I sandwiched that section and have one more section left to sandwich.  It feels so good to make progress! 

I cut my sashing 1.5" instead of Jane's 1" (or less) because I think that makes each block stand out a little more.  Of course, that makes the center bigger (about 73" square) which is OK since I'm not adding the triangle border on Modern Jane.  I have been cutting pieces for the 3" wide piano keys border when I have gotten a chance, and I'll continue to do that off and on as I quilt.  

Yesterday I quilted the grid of this section, and today I started on the individual blocks.  Each one is being done a little differently, just as it would be if I were hand quilting.  Meanwhile, downstairs, the painter is working hard on our kitchen and dining room.   Our house is a bit topsy turvy this week.

Everything from the kitchen counters is either stuffed into cupboards (watch nothing falls when we open them!) or in some spot in the living room.  We moved all the dining room furniture into the living room except the big sideboard which we left under the chandelier.  My Oma's big painting of Lake Como is covered in and resting on two old quilts in the front hall.

We went out for pizza last night, but I plan to cook tonight.  Actually, it will be a salad topped with left over chicken.  The good news is that she's almost finished, after just two days on the job!   It will probably take a few days to get things back in order, but that's OK.  It's nice to see everything looking bright and clean.

 

Row M has begun

I finished blocks M-1 through M-5 yesterday for my Modern Dear Jane, including the dreaded M-3 which can include quite a few Y seams.  Rather than piece M-3, I decided to applique the pieces which worked OK but required a little hit of Fray Check here and there.  ome of these final blocks seem quite intricate - and difficult!   M-7 looks like it will need to be fused, but I'll worry about that when I get there - maybe today.

Lately, email ads and blogs have been touting patriotic themes as the 4th of July approaches.  I understand and honor the writing of the Declaration of Independence, but today's USA is in such turmoil that I just can't get enthusiastic about celebrating.  I won't be joining others in making anything patriotically quilty this year.   It just makes me uncomfortable.

Here's a quilt I made in 2018 that has the typical red, white, and blue color scheme (which I like very much).   It includes an old UFO center block along with several Dutch folk fabrics from my stash.  It's one of the first quilts I quilted myself using my old Viking.  I'll be changing the quilts I hang at the library soon and think I'll take this one to display along with Cornucopia of Thanks.  

Row L is finished!

This morning I appliqued Dear Jane block L-13 and that leaves only one more row to make!

Tomorrow I will sash these blocks and attach them to rows J and K before I move on to Row M, which has a mix of foundation pieced and appliqued squares.  I think Jane might have been running out of fabric by this point because some of these later blocks are very intricate.    

Once I finish Row M, I will attach it to Row L and perhaps add the bottom border.  I have several sections to quilt before putting all the sections together into one quilt.  This should take me quite a while, and then I'll add borders to the sides.  I've been cutting piano keys sporadically lately to try and get a jump on the borders.  I have a lot of black and white scraps by this stage in the process.

Wednesday, I worked on the "block of the month" for one of my guilds.  Each person received a baggie with some scraps, and we are to make something quilty with them.  Having just enjoyed making a quilted postcard for Diane and Bill's anniversary, I decided to make another post card.  I need to get some stiff Pellon in order to finish it. 

This measures 4" x 5.5", so the pieces are about .75" square.  It was fun to make.

Happy Memorial Day, everyone!

Spring planting

The last few days have been just beautiful - warm, sunny, breezy - perfect for getting the gardens in shape.  My aging knees have been put to the test, but they seem to bounce back fairly well if I don't overdo.  Saturday Chris helped me plant the flowers that I had bought earlier in the week, and yesterday I did a major weed of the garden beds in the front yard.  I planted a bunch of impatiens in a shady spot.  I also now have two garbage bags full of weeds to give to the compost guy when he comes to pick up next week.

Today's plan is to plant some lettuce in boxes out front and some geraniums in a pot.  I decided not to put out flower boxes this year because our windowsills have just been repainted.  I'd hate for Nate's work to be spoiled by the mess of boxes make.  

If I feel up to it, I'll work in the backyard, but if I don't, I'll worry about that flower bed manana.  I have wave petunias to plant there and want to reduce the size of the shasta daisies.  They like to take over.

After my session with the Maze of Mystery Saturday, I decided to take a break and just read yesterday afternoon.  Maria Semple's latest book, Go Gentle, has been highly anticipated by critics but I'm not loving it.  The plot zigzags in time and seems very disjointed.  If it doesn't improve (and I am now 37% into it), I'll set it aside and start reading a mystery set on the Isle of Man.  I halso ave a haircut scheduled and a Zoom gathering with state library retirees, too, this afternoon.