Some days are like that

It's an exciting day in the neighborhood... for some.  People are sawing wood across the street somewhere, the masons are moving their equipment to work on another chimney, and the people across the street are getting a new driveway.  I guess after all the time we've spent at home over the last few months, jobs accumulated.  Now that workers can be outdoors, they are, with back up beepers going all over the place.  

It's going to be an unusually hot day today - 90 degrees and humid - so I have shut most of the windows to keep it relatively cool.  I also watered all the flowers this morning so they won't wilt.  The black flies are out in full force, too, making it wise to stay inside and read.  We haven't put my AC unit into the sewing room window yet; these sorts of heat waves usually moderate in a day or two.  So I won't be sewing much.  Besides, I need to move the blocks for The Avenue around until I like them and then trim them to a universal size before putting them together.  Some ended up as much as 1/2" off width- or length-wise.  There is sashing between the rows, but not the blocks, so they need to be precise.

My Selvage Sampler quilt has been accepted in a virtual  show at Studio Place Arts, beginning June 1!  We took a few better pictures so that they would have higher resolution than they do with my phone.  I think they are going to take my Outer Space Ohio Star wallhanging for the next virtual show beginning June 17, too.  These shows are to replace the in-person shows they usually have, and the focus of each is to highlight what artists have been doing in this Stay Home - Stay Safe time.  Will post links when I know what they are.  I'm curious to see what else is in the shows.

A few places are open these days, and I did go to my local quilt shop late last week for a few things.  They are all set up for social distancing, but it was still good to see a few other quilters.  I miss seeing people beyond our little neighborhood.  We did play croquet with neighbors Saturday, and everybody brought their own drinks and chairs for a little social time afterwards.   I guess this is our "normal" for now.

Making headway

Yesterday, I got the hang of machine piecing the curved blocks for The Avenue and really started sewing more quickly.  It took a while!  The templates came and are easy to cut as long as I remember to cut the "C" part of the Drunkard's Path a little larger and then trim when sewn to the "D."  The rest is easy.

I still need to get some more black and white background fabrics, but have been judiciously cutting what I have in the meantime.  I was in a quandary about colors when I first started, but the more scrappy trees I make, the more they blend in nicely together.  The stems are hand appliqued, which is nice in the afternoons when I can sit and watch TV or sit on the porch.

My other UFO is still in the "looking at it and wondering what to do" stage.  A friend of my Mom's, Julie, a Colorado quilter, gave me a little batik some years ago.  I shuffled it around and forgot about it until I did a little cleaning in the sewing room.  It's time to make something.  It feels like there's rayon in it, so I'll use some fusible interfacing and keep it small - wallhanging size.  I'll use the tie dyed fabric for a small border or just the binding.  All suggestions welcome!  It is crying out for some hand quilting, too, which will be nice.

I have been knitting about 4 rows a day on my light brown wool sweater, and it's not photogenic, but I am making good progress.  Because it's knit in the round on #4 needles, each row is quite long, and I think I'm on the 4th ball of yarn.  Maybe I'll finish in time for fall.

Today I'm facilitating the genealogy club meeting via Zoom.  It's our first attempt.  We usually meet on Thursday mornings at the library which has been closed for over two months.  We normally take the summers off, but if this works, we may just try to get together once or twice.  Everything (theater, Heritage Festival, library programs, etc.) is cancelled this summer, so it will be nice to see folks again.  I haven't done a lot of data collecting recently, but I have been going through a lot of family photos and writing some family stories which have been really fun.

Quilt rack

My cousin Jeanne's husband John made me a lovely oak quilt rack.  The arm swings out to make it easier to change the quilts.  Chris came today and helped me and Paul hang the rack on my sewing room wall.  We used some new hooks called "monkey hooks" that the guy at the hardware store said are all the rage.  Hope it stays up there!

Now to think about what I will put on the shelf.  I have several quilty candidates - which to choose?

May is flying by

While March and April seemed to drag on forever, May is racing along.  We get outside more these days, aiming for three turns around our neighborhood.  That's a mile.  We stop to pet dogs along the way and sometimes talk to their owners at a distance.  I've done a little sewing - Village house blocks to add to a swap and a book-related tablecloth for the library.

I started a new quilt yesterday but discovered I need plastic templates to cut out the Drunkard's Path-like blocks accurately.  My home-made plastic is too flimsy and required cutting with - gasp! - scissors.  It's another Jen Kingwell pattern called The Avenue.

I like the scrappy look of this quilt and plan to use a black and white background for mine, too.  I thought I had lots of scraps but not as many larger pieces as I'll need for this.  The blocks are 9" wide, and perhaps 11" tall?  I'll need to measure my finished test block to see.  I didn't realize the stems of the "trees" are appliqued on, but that will be nice.  I plan to chip away at this during the summer.

Our LQS reopens Tuesday to only two customers at a time, wearing masks.  I'll go sometime to pick up a few more black and white fat quarters.  I need white Aurifil thread anyway as I have just about exhausted my supply.   I also need backing for the pink and black granny square throw, which will also be quilted with white thread.  I have missed stopping in at the place "where everybody knows my name," but I did talk on the phone with Marie this week so feel a little more connected.  I seem to go to the shop on Thurs. a lot when she's there.  We are both anxious to get our guild block robin bags back soon.  There should be 12 blocks made by others waiting for us, and I have been making some each month to add in.

Meanwhile, the week flew by partly because I read the first two books in a new mystery series, The Writer's Apprentice, by Julia Buckley.  Then I started another book Friday.  Not sure if I like it...

I also started writing a story about my great grandmother and her seven month trip around the world with her second husband, a well-known journalist.  Paul found some news articles from that time - 1937 - and it seems they made the society pages in New Jersey and Vancouver.   Here they are visiting the Sphinx and pyramids, where every native wanted "baksheesh" (tips, bribes).  My great grandfather wrote that it was amazing how people immediately knew what nationality tourists came from and even spoke a few words in their language.  In the picture, he has a tweed suit on which must have been very hot.  Yet they look very cool on those camels! 

Having worked on my genealogy for several years now, it's high time I started doing a little more story writing and a little less data collecting.  I do miss seeing the folks in my genealogy club each month and hope we can get together sometime, maybe via Zoom.  I imagine they all have lots to share after this time at home.

Mothers Day 2020

Happy Mother's Day (or is it Mothers' Day?) to you!  We have all had mothers, and mine was one of the best.  She has always been a role model - strong, resourceful, optimistic, funny.  At almost 98, she has tremendous recall of events in the past.  I wish I had written down all the stories she told me of her youth and the war years in Indonesia.  But of course her stories were often told spontaneously, especially when I was small.  I cherish the stories she did write down, and just recently she has begun writing more down, including a piece on "Why I Don't Like Monkeys."  I'm a character in it, but of course I don't remember because I was just a newborn, riding along with her in a jeep through the jungle.

We moved around a lot when I was a kid because we outgrew houses or Dad changed jobs.  Whenever we moved, Mom would explore our new surroundings, often with us four kids in the car.  We'd get lost, but she would say it was a good way to learn about where we were.  We always made it home eventually.  

In my career as a library consultant, I drove all over the state and also got lost finding local libraries.  I didn't panic because Vermont towns are pretty small (I did cross over into Canada a few times by mistake), and I had grown up learning my way around. 

Here we are in 2006 at Dad's 80th birthday party.  I surprised him by flying in for the weekend.  He's been gone six years now, but Mom still lives in their house, plays cards and Mahjong, and keeps incredibly busy.  I've talked to her quite a bit in recent weeks because she's actually home.  With the two hour time difference between us, it's usually hard to connect.   I will give her a call again today, and I suspect my son Chris will stop by, too.  Paul gave me the bouquet of tulips yesterday and said that folks were flocking to our local florist who had a curb-side stand set up outside under a tent while it was snowing.  Yes, snow on May 9!  

May RSC20

We have had masons on the roof and down below for the last couple of days.  Their scaffolding is right in front of my sewing room window.  The chimney is being rebuilt in advance of a new roof which should be installed soon.  (I actually thought it would be installed in July but perhaps the contractors' schedules are a little more open due to COVID-19)

Anyway, it's been noisy and a little distracting.  I have spent more time in the basement away from the noise by shredding as much as our recycling bins would hold.  Now I have an empty bin and stuff waiting to fill it again.  It does feel nice to get rid of stuff.  Happiness is an empty moving box!

I did find time to make my four RSC20 blocks, although I didn't make them in the dark green as suggested.  I didn't have that much dark green in my stash and wanted to clean up my purples.  I also made a couple of blocks for my monthly black and bright quilt, and I finished and mailed house swap blocks earlier in the week.  This weekend I will try to pin baste and start quilting the Corona Cabin baby quilt.  Looking forward to a little peace and quiet after a busy couple of days!

Easy seems best

I have been shuffling around a pattern by Victoria Findlay Wolfe all winter and now into the spring.  I love the way it looks and it doesn't seem difficult, but I know picking the right colors will be a challenge.  So I keep setting it aside.  Meanwhile, I am working on some easy house blocks for a swap.

Moda posted the pattern and it's been shared here and there online.  My online swap group picked it up as a project to do while we are all staying home.  This week we're signing up and next week we'll get a list of people to mail to.  

I decided to make a few trial blocks, and see that the charm pack I have won't work.  I only have one of each charm (French General's Chafarcani) and the spot over the door needs to be the same as the sides.  The pattern calls for a window over the door, but we didn't want to make those.  The block on the right is too small so I'll add a coping strip somewhere.  Actually, it might be fun to make a few smaller ones with grass.  I will keep these for my own quilt and try to make ones to swap in the correct size and color.

So far, this is a very easy pattern, so I have made a bunch already.  I will keep going even if there are only a few people to mail to because the more colors, the better for this scrappy pattern, I think.  The houses are mostly touching.  If I feel I want to move onto another project, I'll make a table runner.  It's a nice, easy project for a rainy day.