Cleaning up

My brother R and his wife L are coming for an overnight on Sunday, so I need to clean up my sewing room.  They are easy guests, but I still like to make things tidy.  I had asked my niece E if she wanted my Viking Classico 100 machine, and yesterday I packed it and its various auxiliary parts up to send home with R & L.   She had asked me a year or so ago what to look for in a machine but hadn't gotten around to buying one (she's in graduate school).  

I think something basic like the all-metal-parts Viking will be a good starter.  And it drives me crazy when I need to use it as I have gotten very spoiled with the automatic cutter, the needle up/down, and all the features of a computerized machine.  I still think about getting a Singer Featherweight for travel, but I also think about a new computerized model that does a better job at free-motion quilting.   Decisions, decisions!  Not to be made swiftly!

Meanwhile, I also put away all sorts of stuff - a pile of backing fabrics, orphan blocks, Christmas gifts I've bought or made, etc.  I can actually see the top of the guest bed now!  

I took six orphan blocks and made two small insulated table runners.  I need to do a fall change over of my stock at the florist shop anyway, so today or tomorrow I'll take them and 3 regular-sized table runners there and bring home any summer stuff that's still there.

With everything picked up, I'm at a loss for what to tackle now.  In the closet, there are five quilt tops waiting to be quilted.  Most of those are destined for Bags of Love (for foster kids) along with some knitted hats and a scarf (in progress).

Today may be the day I start an appliqued block for Jen Kingwell's Green Tea and Sweet Beans.  Stay tuned!

Summer's end

It's always a bittersweet time of year, isn't it, the end of summer.  Time for school to start again, sweaters at the ready, and leaves beginning to turn color and fall.  Here in Vermont, RVs head south and tour busses galore roam the state.  Road construction seems to speed up, and pumpkins and mums appear on doorsteps.  

My impatiens, which bloomed profusely this year due to all the rain look a bit out of control and spent.  I'll be taking the window boxes and planters in for the winter soon.  Will there be time to plant some more bulbs?

This summer was odd due to the flood and its continuing clean up.  Roads are being fixed and a second Green Up Day has already been held.  We are looking forward to delayed Heritage Days at the end of September, and there are several more big events to look forward to.  What are the highlights of this summer?

- my little On the Patio quilt won an honorable mention at the Gypsy Moth Quilt Shop.  I sold a quilt (Hunter's Star) and finished at least five others, including a little house medallion mini (above).  I have just a few lines to quilt on a white-on-white piece that I've been working on (and mostly off!) for 20 years.

- quilters around Vermont mourned the end of the Vermont Quilt Festival and wondered if it can be resuscitated.

- we attended a few plays:  The Addams Family musical, Popcorn Falls, and Ms. Holmes and Ms. Watson:  Apt. 2B, all at different venues.  We made plans for a few more fall activities with our friends Pauline and Bob.

- I celebrated my 75th birthday with an open house for neighbors and friends, along with dinner with my two dearest men.

- we grilled between frequent rains on a new-to-us grill we got at a yard sale, and I tried to master a new artisanal bread recipe with mixed results so far

We are looking forward to our Colorado trip (here's Mom at age 98 - three years ago!) and, then, in mid-winter a return to Alabama for a few weeks.

Breezy with sun

The last couple of days have been what we always hope summer in Vermont could be all the time - temperatures in the low 70s, low humidity, breezy, sunny - in a word, perfect.  Nights have been cool, which a former TV weatherperson used to call "good sleeping weather."  I baked a loaf of bread yesterday and cookies today because I knew I wouldn't swelter (too much).

Yesterday I finished a small sampler top but didn't get a chance to take a picture.  I will when it's all quilted.  Right now there are three quilts waiting for quilting.  That will happen in late September, I hope.  We are heading for Colorado in a couple weeks, so I decided to put together some hand sewing to take along.

Last fall, my friend Soni did a demo on Manx quilting at a guild meeting, and I have been meaning to try it ever since.  Apparently, the ladies on the Isle of Man traditionally used their hands and fingers to measure the pieces for the coverlets they made.  The strips are torn (I cut mine) and folded, making a fairly heavy piece that doesn't have batting.   

I think this sort of block is also called a "folded log cabin," but I like "Manx" because I've been reading some cozy mysteries set on the island.  I enjoyed making this block while watching TV yesterday and started another one today.  It should be a fun thing to work on while sitting on the porch with Mom in a couple weeks.  I'm a little fuzzy about how to put the blocks together, but I can ask Soni when I see her at the October guild meeting.

Drizzly drive

Yesterday, Paul and I drove through a persistent drizzle to the southern part of the state, about 2.5 hours each way, to meet friends for lunch and go to a play.  We had an old banjo to take to a luthier along the way and did some driving over back (dirt) roads to get to his house/workshop.  We'll have to return sometime to pick the banjo up, but at least now we know the way.  Had to make a few turnarounds in strangers' driveways, unfortunately.

Dorset is an historic town that just oozes New England charm.  Too much charm for me, but it is nice to visit anyway.  The bakery was delicious and had both inside and outside seating.  I had a panini with brie, turkey and bacon while Paul had a curried chicken wrap.  Both came with the best home made potato chips ever.  After lunch, we gals went across the street to wander in a pottery shop while the guys headed up the street to the historical society (closed) and the library (open and having a book sale).

The Dorset Playhouse is just a block from the town Green and has a reputation for excellent theater with professional actors.   Ms. Holmes and Ms. Watson - Apt. 2B turned out to be a fast-moving, comedic take off on the old Sherlock Holmes mysteries with women featured in the major roles.  While we've seen better plays, this was a nice way to while away a summer afternoon.

We'll need to return when the banjo is finished, and I hope we can visit Hildene, Robert Todd Lincoln's house and gardens, at that time.  After over 40 years of living in Vermont, this is one major site I have never visited.  It's located in Manchester, VT, the town just south of Dorset, and an even bigger tourist destination.   I like driving down in this part of the state.  It's very cozy between the mountains, even on a drizzly day (hence the lack of photos - sorry).

A couple more finishes

I managed to put the binding on and photograph two quilts yesterday.  Lest you think I'm really productive these days, quilts in progress hang around for months here, and then sometime in August I realize the year is flying by.  I get busy and finish things, and then I start a whole new batch in September or so.  I already have some in my "mind's eye."  And then there's the never ending Modern Dear Jane!

I made Rainbow Log Cabin (previously Floody Log Cabin) during the flood July 10-11 and its aftermath.   While our house wasn't affected, many others in the area were, and roads were washed away.  Our favorite pizza place decided to close up for good after being nearly crushed by the pandemic and then the flood.  The lake outside their building in the middle of town was unbelievable.  

Nervous energy helped me finish this quilt, made of "strings" for an overflowing basket.  Every day, I'd work with a different color. I quilted it last week, very simply going vertically and horizontally about 1/2" either side of the seam lines.  It's an airy quilting design but with the Australian fabric on the back, it's very soft.

Next, I turned my attention to the older UFO that I spent about a month quilting in two sections and then adding some hand quilting and embroidery.  I started the Hankie Quilt last winter and used vintage hankies, a set of curtains, an embroidered tablecloth, and a little shirt I think my mom made and mended when I was a baby.

I'm happy with the way this quilt turned out.  It will be staying with me since there are mementoes in it.  And there is a section I had to repair after catching the walking foot in it, and then putting my finger through the resulting hole.  It will be a cozy throw at the bottom of our guest bed.  Someday, if Chris ever marries and/or has kids (seems unlikely at this point!), I'll pass it along.

I'm sorry these photos are so blurry.  It was a day when the sun and clouds fought for attention.  I made a loaf of bread, took a walk, and read most of the day.  Today it's raining (what else is new?) so I'll be in my quilting room playing with fabric once again.  Life is good!

Honorable mention!

The small quilt I entered into the Gypsy Moth Quilt Shop's summer contest won an Honorable Mention this week!  Today I hope to go over and get a look at it and the other entries.  Like a few other quilters I know, I wasn't thrilled with the fabric we needed to use - the floral that I used for the flower's center and the aqua that I used for the flower pot.  So I'll be curious to see what others did with that pesky fabric.

Also on the schedule today are a trip to the bank, baking a cake for tomorrow's guild board meeting, and baking another loaf of bread using the "5 minutes a day" method.  (This takes a lot longer than 5 minutes - 40 min.. to shape and rise, 40 min. to bake, and 2 hours to cool before cutting.)  In between I do a little more quilting on the "Floody Cabin" quilt.

Taking a breather

The best laid plans go awry, don't they?  I've only sewn down 1/4 of the binding on the hankie quilt and set it aside Friday so I could put the binding on the cakes on stands quilt.  It's done!  There was a spot that didn't quilt right on the long arm that I had to fix with my Elna; I did that before sewing the binding on.  

It is ready now to give to "Bags of Love" along with three knitted hats.  I have more yarn for more hats, but I'm working on a scarf right now.  It's a TV watching project.

I wanted a break from big projects, so yesterday I got out the Lazy Girl "Lily" pattern and made a small purse - in just 5 hours!  It felt so good to accomplish something on the same day I started it.  I used some fabric from a big fat quarter bundle Mom and Jenny gave me for Christmas so all the parts coordinated.  

I'm thinking of making another one now that I am comfortable with this pattern which is quite detailed and written for someone who has never sewn garments before.  The pleats and darts were no big deal for me, having made clothes since age 12.  I made the necessary pattern pieces out of freezer paper so I can use them over again as I do more cutting.  I need more interfacing for another bag and would normally buy it at Joann Fabrics.  

Unfortunately, the shop was flooded along with others in the shopping center (and many other places) on July 10.  They are still mucking it out and rumor has it, they aren't reopening.  My alternatives are Walmart, the evil Hobby Lobby (anti-gay, Christian nationalist), Joann.com, or Amazon.com.   Paul had things to buy so we went to Walmart, and it wasn't too busy.

Today I hope to gather the fabric needed for bag #2 and maybe work on a nametag to wear at various guild meetings.  I saw a cute one that uses selvages, and I have lots of those.  Small projects are so gratifying!

Making quilting progress

The Friends of the Library book sale and my birthday got in the way of my quilting last week.  Then on Sunday, we went to the movies to see Oppenheimer.  Some years ago, I started to watch an opera based on his experiences at Los Alamos, but I just couldn't figure the story out, except for the fact that he smoked incessantly.   The music was very atonal, so I turned it off after about half an hour.  Oppenheimer smoked a lot in the movie, too, which was about the beginnings and workings of the Manhattan Project as well as the guilt and concern he experienced after the dropping of the bomb.  Three hours flew by, and, while one reviewer complained there was virtually no science in the film, that was a plus for me.  

But I digress!  Tuesday morning, I had a tutorial in using the long arm quilting machine at the Gypsy Moth Quilt Shop here in town.  Mary carries more modern fabrics which aren't always to my taste, but she does have some fun activities, including Quilt Bingo nights.  She also rents time on her Sweet 16 machine.  Now that I've taken my course, I can make appointments to use the machine even though I don't feel all that confident yet.  I hope that will come with time.

I took a small quilt to work on and managed to finish the quilting in a couple of hours.  There is one spot I need to redo on my machine and then I can put the binding (all ready to go) on.  Mary seemed surprised that I chose a fairly modern quilting design, but the Cakes on Stands seemed right for it. 

I haven't taken a photo yet but will soon.  Here's one of the blocks, made by my friend Susan from Washington state.  I worried about quilting on top of the rick rack, but it was no problem at all.

Yesterday I put the two sections of my Hankie quilt together, added the borders, did a little more quilting, and cut out the binding.  Today I sewed the binding t the front and started hand sewing it to the back.  I have just a few more spots to hand quilt, but you can see that most of the quilting is done.  

It's a fairly large throw and a little fragile.  While quilting, I got the walking foot caught in one of the hankies and then, to add insult to injury, poked the hole with my finger.  I have to figure out how to mend that spot.  Even if I never give it away, I risk making the hole bigger as I handle the quilt.  I'm thinking of embroidering some cross stitches at that spot, but I might also do a little sashiko.  I'll keep thinking about it as I sew that binding down, probably a side per day.

75 Feels Fine

 

I had a great birthday on Monday!  I had invited about 20 old friends and neighbors for an afternoon "tea."  Two batches of cupcakes, one gluten/dairy free, were decorated and were accompanied by cookies, a cheese board, fruit, punch, and iced tea.  

I had asked for "no gifts," but Donna brought her famous cheese dip and a funny button for me to wear.  Carol, from two doors down, brought the sweetest little bouquet from her garden.  I see her out there working all the time while I do practically nothing outside.  It is obvious that her hard work pays off - and I should do more!

Bill wrote a funny poem which he read to those assembled, and he also worked hard at getting people who didn't know each other to talk.  "Tell me how you and Marianne met," he asked, and everyone chimed in with a different story.  Karen arrived with another bouquet which is still looking very nice on our dining room table.  Pam's bouquet is on the mantle.  How lucky am I!?!

Earlier in the day, I had phone calls from Paul's sister Pat, my mom, and my sister Jenny.  During the party, Marty, husband of our dear friend Yve who passed away in 2018, called as he always does.  Birthdays are a time to reconnect as well as a time to look forward.  As I told my brother Rob, who  celebrated his 66th birthday four days before, "75 feels fine."  I have lots of things left to do, plenty of books to read, and quilts to make.