Starting the new year

We still miss our dog, Max, who enjoyed life to the fullest almost to the very end.  He was so uncomplicated but had distinct likes and dislikes.  When we walked past Tom Davis' house, he always stopped to look.  He knew there were treats to be had there if Tom saw him.  We miss Tom, too, taken from us this year, for his incredibly good sense of humor, fairness, and compassion for the needy of the world.  He was definitely one of the nice people to be nice to (#10 above).  I need to be more mindful of that in 2018.

It's been a tough year for some, so I hope that 2018 will be a better one all around.  Samantha and Chris need jobs, Jeanne and Madelyn need health, other family and friends need peace and love.  The world needs a lot less tension and a whole lot more understanding.  I feel lucky to have what I have, know who I know, and live where I live (despite the frigid temperatures right now).

Yesterday, I cooked some gourmet beets and a peach/blueberry tart to go along with the filets mignon we bought for dinner.  It was a great final meal for 2017.  Today we're having leftover lasagna for dinner, and we will start watching our intake as so many do after The Holidays.  (I will be starting a 12 week weight loss activity January 7 through 23andMe.)  I'll take down the tree and do a little more quilting on the string quilt I sandwiched yesterday.  

Happy Christmas!

It's snowing like crazy yet again.  I have the Christmas tree lit and music playing.  Later, Chris will be coming for gifts and brunch, if he can get here.  Can you smell the bacon that I'll be cooking?  The road crews have been busy already today; they know everyone will be out and about this morning.

Today's miserable weather reminds me very much of a funny part in Jane Austen's masterpiece, Emma, in which Mr. Woodhouse gets it into his mind to dine at the Weston's despite the snowy weather.  I may just have to get my copy out today and re-read Chapters 13-15.  You can read about it here:  Jane Austen's Scrooge ends up not being the weather-obsessed curmudgeon Mr. Woodhouse.  And, on the way home through the snow, the plucky but somewhat clueless Emma manages a difficult situation as she rebuffs a proposal from the very creepy Mr. Elton.

However you spend the day today, may you be surrounded by warm thoughts and memories.  May the coming year bring you peace and happiness.  

Looking back at 2017

According to goodreads.com, I've read 72 books this year.  I think there were a few that I didn't finish, but it was a good year for reading.  I discovered a new author I like - Kelley Armstrong - whose mysteries have a lot of suspense and a hint of fantasy.  She is more known for her fantasies.  I read more cozy mysteries than in the past and read the latest by some favorite authors featuring endearing characters like Kinsey Milhone, V. I. Warshawski and Inspector Gamache.   I'm looking forward to Elly Griffiths' new book this spring and have Jennifer Chiaverini's newest - The Enchantress of Numbers - queued up on my Kindle.  It is great to have good books to read when the news is so depressing.

I got a lot sewn and quilted, too, including 14 quilts and lots of littler items.

I enjoyed making a little wallhanging for Cindy's friend Taylor who graduated from Cornell Veterinary School.  While I don't generally enjoy paper piecing, I will do it when necessary!

I was relieved to finish hand quilting my Atlantic Crossing wallhanging after two years and to call a pink scarf I was knitting done, too, after about as long.  Now I'm knitting a white scarf - how long will it take me and will I forget the pattern as I did with the pink scarf?

I learned several new techniques, including David Taylor's invisible applique (done with that icky plastic thread I don't enjoy using) and wool applique embellished with embroidery (I'll be doing more of that).

I sold two bed-sized quilts, entered a quilt into my first art show, and had a one woman show complete with artist's reception and gallery talk.  All were pretty successful.  The two quilts I had for sale at the florist's downtown didn't sell, so I swapped them out for two others.   I'll probably change them out for others this spring.

I wish I could find homes for more of my quilts now that the Parkinsons Quilt Project is no longer giving them to Parkinsons patients.  I did give three quilts - two small and one large - to a family fleeing the hurricane in Puerto Rico.  I know they'll be cold settling in Vermont.

In 2018, I hope to quilt the three tops hanging in my closet and I know there's a t-shirt quilt in the offing.  Drew, Paul's greatnephew, will be graduating from high school and his mother is gathering up all his wrestling shirts for me to put together.  I'd only do this rather boring job for Drew.  I have a couple of round robins and swaps I'm participating in and will again be making a concerted effort to shop my stash.

Wishing you all happy holidays!

Roots/Blockheads sampler

I finished putting the "Back to our Roots" swap/Moda Blockheads sampler quilt together over the weekend and even made the binding.  After I took some photos, I hung it and the binding up in the closet in my sewing room.  I can't decide whether to quilt it myself (it's about 60" x 75") or has Marie to use her long arm on it. 

If I do it myself, I'll need to take it to the Old Labor Hall to pin-baste, and then I'll do every block individually.  With the black sashing and borders, I guess I would use gray thread to do the whole thing.  If I have Marie do it, she'll use an overall pantograph, but she is very careful and likes to pick something that would complement the quilt.  So it will come down to how much time I feel I have.  This makes three quilt tops hanging in the closet which is about my limit.  It makes me uncomfortable to have too many just waiting, although I don't have any particular people or places to give them to at the moment.  I still have to piece backings for all three quilts.

I would like to come up with another name for this quilt, too.  My online swap group is an international one, and every year we do a swap that nearly everyone joins in on.  We started as a group swapping blocks from Jennifer Chiaverini's Sylvia's Bridal Sampler, and some of these blocks come from that group that did a "Back to Our Roots" swap this year.  Some of the blocks not in that book are blocks of the week by designers from the Moda fabric company.  Some of them were quite difficult so I made a few 9" rather than the usual 6".  When I laid the blocks out the three star blocks seemed perfect accents.  Maybe a star-related name will come to me as I give myself a little distance.

My Elna machine is going to be going in for its much-delayed annual service and cleaning, so I am working on a wool applique project for the next few weeks.  My old reliable Viking 100 is good for basic sewing but probably won't fit into my new sewing table.  The holidays will help me avoid work-arounds!

A work in progress

My online Friendship Swap group had a "Back to Our Roots" swap this year, recalling our founding around Sylvia's Bridal Sampler, a pattern by Jennifer Chiaverini.   The group started swapping those 6" blocks some years ago, and occasionally we swap them again.   Most of the blocks aren't too hard, although there are a few appliqued ones with tiny pieces that I have never attempted.  2017 was the year for us to run the swap again, and coincidentally the Moda fabric company also had a free online 6" block of the week called "Blockheads."  Some of these were very complicated, so I made some 9" blocks instead.  The one closest to the foreground was made at 9" just because I wanted to fussy cut a William Morris charm square.

I really shouldn't do blocks of the week because I hate having to get the project box out for a half hour and then putting it away again.  I generally end up doing 3-4 weeks at a time and then get impatient to finish before the year is out.  As it is, the Blocksheads project is still going on but I dropped out several weeks ago.  I'm glad to combine these two projects to get a larger piece anyway.   I combined some Civil War fabrics that my Mom gave me from the Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum with the William Morris charm pack and other scraps from my stash.  The swap blocks were all different fabrics, making a colorful quilt.

Now it's time to put all these blocks together, and I laid them all out over the weekend with a black print fabric for the sashing.  I dipped into my orphan block box and then made a few more blocks to get it all to the 48" x 60" size.  As you can see, the 9" blocks are interspersed and will end up being focal points with a little wider sashing.  Because it's so busy, my plan is to add a smallish print border all the way around instead of adding a scrappy pieced one.  Will have to see when it's all put together.  I have only put the vertical sashing in on about half the blocks so far, and when I finish that process, I'll figure out the size for the cross pieces.  Matching the blocks up so that the rows align a bit of a delicate operation.

As I put it together, I think about how I'll quilt it.  Should I do it in two halves or all together?   Should I do an overall loose stipple (hard for me to achieve consistency) or do a different overall design or quilt each block individually (a little better)?  Or should I simply ask a long armer to do an overall pattern?   

Westview talk

Wednesday I gave a little talk at Westview Meadows retirement community in Montpelier, where I have some quilts on display through January.  They routinely have an artist's reception for their changing gallery space, and I was surprised and impressed that they had coffee, wine, and yummy snacks on hand.  There were about ten people there all together, including Priscilla, who I had shared an office with for many years and who was my witness in court at my divorce.  Also, Katherine, my former neighbor and world famous children's author, attended.  It was good to see them both again.

Talking about each quilt in turn gave me an opportunity to discuss various techniques and materials, including the swaps and round robins I join in, machine quilting vs. hand quilting, where I get my ideas, etc.  They all asked good questions, and in the middle of my talk, Santa breezed through.  I just happen to know him when he isn't Santa, so that was a big surprise.  He's coming to our library this Saturday along with the lovely Mrs. Claus.   I assume the two of them are pretty busy these days.  At any rate, it added an unexpected touch of whimsy to the talk.

I brought another quilt for show and tell, and encouraged everyone to look at the backs of the quilts with the gloves I have provided so that they can see the quilting more distinctly.  (This photo is from that other show)

Afterwards, one woman wanted my advice about finishing and quilting a Grandmother's Flower Garden, and some friends. Almuth and Peter, arrived to support me and see the quilts.  They had the time wrong, but I gave them a personal tour.  It was so nice of them to come.

Looking at the quilts in the show, the Blue Orange Peels, and my current Storm at Sea project, I feel I have used enough blue for a while.  I'm now able to say that I can finally close the lid on the tub holding blue scraps.  In 2018, I'll try to work on some other colors.

Mug rugs

I temporarily suspended my work on Storm at Sea in order to put my walking foot on the machine and make a few mug rugs for neighbors, our yoga teacher, a friend, and a gift exchange at an upcoming party.  They are so easy to make, yet people who don't quilt find them unique.  I always attach a little note telling what they are ("Enjoy your new mug rug!  Add a cookie for a complete meal, or use with wine and a snack!").

Here are four I made using orphan blocks.  One is a test block from Dutch Treat for a friend whose favorite color is blue.  I made another quilt as you go with 2" scraps and chili pepper fabric.  Now on to those Christmas letters!