Removing Bricks

"Zippity Doo Dah" is all quilted, off the rails, trimmed up and ready for binding. This quilt measures 76" X 64" and removed 192 light colored 2.5" X 4.5" "bricks" from my precut scrap bin. That might sound like a big number, but I still couldn't manage to even get the top on the bin; it remained full-to-overflowing. I knew that I could do better. As I posted last week and the week before, the Potato Chip quilt took shape, leader-ender style, as I was piecing a different top. 

 

As of this morning the Potato Chip quilt (on the wall) is fully pieced and measures in at 64" X 80"; a good, usable size. This little endeavor helped to remove 640 bricks from the bin! I'm on a roll, and now, not to be defeated by my own scraps, I'm moving on to another design while still working out of the same bin! Yay! You can see the blocks on the table and how they combine; again, using light/dark contrast to make the columnar setting stand out. I was inspired here; this scrap quilt design showed up in my Pinterest feed and the time was right. I guess this must mean that I'm working on a series~ a first for me!

So, the brick removal continues and with any luck at all, the bin's contents will begin to dwindle. Another 4, 5, or 6 hundred and I should be in pretty good shape, at least I'll be able to place the lid on this bin and hear it snap shut! Oh, happy day!

Sew, what's next?

Life is Good!

Pressed for Space?

Have you ever found yourself in need of a small, portable ironing table; one that you can keep right beside your sewing machine to quickly press open small seams as you go? I have. It seems that I am always up and down, from my chair to the ironing board and back; although it's good exercise, it's less than efficient. I was inspired by Lori Holt's tutorial on DIY ironing boards while watching her YouTube channel. I decided that making my own was the ideal solution, I could tailor the size of my ironing surface to an existing folding table, leaving the perfect amount of space on one side for my cordless iron. Rather than attach permanent feet to mine I recruited Mr. G. to help me design feet that would be removable so that this could be completely flat for storage and/or transport (retreats!) if need be. 

It's handy to have a resident woodworker! He turned me some super-cute little feet on his lathe, added the hanger bolts and placed threaded inserts into the bottom of the half-inch thick plywood base.

I added a layer of heat-resistant ironing board fabric next to the opposite side of the base, a layer of Insul-brite and followed those with two layers of cotton batting; all cut to size. 

From there we wrapped the top, cover fabric over all the layers, around the edges and stapled it to the bottom. That's all there was to it, I screwed the legs in and... voilà! Custom sewing table!

You can see here how it sits up nicely off the surface of the folding table; this provides a bit of extra space for tools or whatever when I am in a retreat situation or wherever space is at a premium.

This worked out so well that I couldn't stop at just one!

Together we made up two more for gifts, each with their own matching drawstring bag for the feet. Inspiration abounds, I'm never lacking for ideas; isn't it great, though, when a plan comes together? 

What is it that has inspired you lately?

Life is Good!

Twixmas?

A blog-reading friend sent me the link to another blogger  who recently had a most interesting post regarding Twixmas. The term was new to me, but once I read the post I understood fully why my friend had forwarded it to me. After that last post regarding the self-imposed "grace period" granted between Christmas and New Year's, I learned that, according to this afore-mentioned blogger, what I was observing was actually called Twixmas!  

______________________

What is Twixmas?
Twixmas is the term used to describe the days between Christmas and New Year (27th-30th December), when – work and family commitments depending – you can take some much needed down time. For many of us, it's time when we can fully relax and spend our days doing nothing.

Why is it called Twixmas?

Twixmas originates from the old English word 'betwixt' which simply means 'between'.

_____________________

Who knew?

My Twixmas was actually extended a bit longer than the strictly defined time period above, I suppose I have taken liberties! It's been a most relaxing and fulfilling week. Along with finishing that "It's A Wrap" table runner I've also binge-watched three seasons of the Holiday Baking Championship (up until this week I hadn't ever watched even one episode), now I'm hooked. Tomorrow this will all come to an end as we step into the New Year. I've been struggling to choose an appropriate guiding word for 2022, one that will follow the past three:  2019's Focus, 2020's Vision, and 2021's Mindful. 

I've finally selected what I hope is the perfect inspirational word for myself.

Stay tuned~ see you next year!

🥳

Life is Good!

Inspiration

Inspiration can come from many different sources and directions, we simply need to keep our eyes, ears and hearts open to receive. I signed up for yet another Chrismon workshop last month. This one, a three-dimensional angel, can stand alone (literally) or join other figures in a nativity set. This was a much more advanced class than those I'd taken previously but I went for it anyway, thinking "how hard can it be, there's an instructor on site if I get stuck." A friend and I set out on the scheduled day and drove on down the road to Rufty's. There were numerous classes being taught that day, the classes coincided with an ongoing multiple-day Open House event.  As we worked, stories were told around the table and we learned about each other through the common interest: how long we'd been making Chrismons, where we were from, and the like; there were two ladies in our class from out of state, they'd come especially for the Open House festivities. One lady told us that she'd only begun Chrismon making the year before, that she'd already made 150 and that she was self-taught from watching YouTube videos. Well, as if that wasn't inspiring in itself -- she was 91 years old! Yes; let that sink in for a minute! Wow. She traveled from Georgia, with her daughter,  just for the class (she was taking another class the next day too) and staying in a local hotel. She had photographs of the fully adorned Chrismon tree that she'd made for her church and was starting on more for a second tree. 91! Committed to learning a new skill during a pandemic while she was house-bound. Self-taught from YouTube videos. 150 Chrismons in a year.  Yes, I came away inspired and awe-struck at her commitment and determination. As a Chrismon-making newbie I thought that my fourteen were an accomplishment, think again! Thinking gets me in trouble all the time. Remember that earlier thought that I had "how hard can it be?"... well, as I was diligently working, finishing up my beaded angel (above), an over-stressed and weakened wire snapped; her head fell off on my palm, she’d suddenly become decapitated! I was completely distraught (thankfully, being in public prevented a total freak-out moment)! But, our fearless instructor calmly took my piece in hand, reassured me, backed out some of the beads, spliced in a new connecting wire and deftly reconnected her head. My blood pressure s-l-o-w-l-y dropped back to normal. And there it was, even more inspiration, this time in the quiet hope and kind consolation given by a stranger; loving assurance freely given to someone working well above their skill level. Grace. I'll remember this day for a very long time; I have a precious, repaired, angel to remind me of lessons learned way beyond those involving beads and wire. Praise God!

 What's inspired you lately? 

Life is Good!

More From the Museum

Another current exhibit at the National Quilt Museum is one entitled: "Southern Quilts".  From the exhibit description: "This is a collection on loan from Mary Kerr and examines the rich history of southern quilts, steeped in tradition and passed down through generations. These glorious designs, colors and patterns are unique to this region of the United States and reflect the influence of multiple cultural traditions brought to the region over the last four centuries. The earliest patchwork quilts came from the traditions in the British Isles; unique designs and interpretations emerged as German, Scots-Irish and other European settlements converged on the American South. Each quiltmaker made her choices based on the styles, patterns, traditions and fabrics available at that time. These quilts have a distinctive look and feel that sets them apart; many are made of heavy cotton and finished with the Baptist Fan or "elbow" quilting. These thick pieces are usually thought of as utilitarian, but many have simply been created from available resources and, since cotton was King throughout the south, this abundant crop was the primary batting in quilts of this region. Southern women didn't shy away from difficult patterns and there are many examples of circular designs particularly those with points, spikes and teeth. Women at that time made do with what was available; across all socio-economic situations the quilts reflect the resources available." 

This is just a small sampling of pieced quilts from the exhibit, it was historically rich and a treat to behold.

This quilt was of special interest, read about it below:

A detail of the World War 1 Scripture Quilt; it's hand pieced, too! Started and completed in only 45 days!! This is an incredible exhibit, I'm going to post tomorrow about the applique quilts in this same collection and how they, and some current quilts borrowing off that tradition have inspired me to pull out a UFO that had been long-shelved and what my plan is to finish it up. Seeing that quilt above that was finished in a month and a half demonstrates that there really are no excuses for languishing!

Life is Good! 

Jackstones

"Jackstones" ~ 63" X 73.5"

Jackstones has finally, officially, made it to the "flimsy" stage. Hooray! 

Begun a year ago and promptly back-burnered, it was inspired by this magazine cover from 2013

and this tutorial (pictured below) from the same quiltmaker.

My version, however, is not paper pieced. My wedges are a bit slimmer, I used a 9 degree wedge ruler and, constructing my own template*, stacked my square background pieces and cut them after marking the cutting line, as illustrated below.

I cut the background squares 6.5" and, after inserting the wedges and the subsequent trim down, (below) ended up with blocks cut at 5.75"; sort of a weird size, but it was all an experiment; one that I loved so much that I simply kept going with it as it was!

It hardly made a dent in my low volume stash and, as usual, have been putting together something else as I pieced this one. I have lots to report, stay tuned. In the meantime I am dreaming of how I will quilt up Jackstones to fully show off the pieced alternate border solid color to its advantage.

*If anyone is interested in a printout of the (albeit sketchy) directions including the template I created, let me know and I will email you a copy.

Life is Good!

DeRailed, With A Bonus

DeRailed  ~ 64" X 80"

All the blocks are ready and on the design wall, I've renamed this one DeRailed. Originally begun to jump-start my piecing, and called "Rustic Rails", this was a fun and productive diversion that has aided in breaking through my piecer's block and clearing the deck for other projects. Those of you who know me will understand that I love precision and rules; I like plannning and control of the project. This quilt isn't about any of those things, it's all about letting go! The pattern comes from Sujata Shah's Cultural Fusion Quilts book, the contents of which include patterns and inspiration for 15 free-form block projects.  DeRailed has actually put me back on track. The freedom found in piecing large blocks combined with an unrestricted cutting approach has been liberating; just what I needed! I hope to get back to a few UFO's here shortly, in more of my typical style. In the meantime, DeRailed has yielded yet another  side benefit: a bonus quilt top! Sewn L-E style while assembling the rails this charm tumbler, TMX2~#2 , will most likely be loaded and quilted next. It joins its sister quilt, TMX2 (The More The Merrier), completed last summer. They are both destined to become car quilts.

 TMX2~#2  56" X 68" 

Take a lesson from me. Are you on track? Does your piecing seem stale and uninspired all of a sudden? If so, you might want to try something completely new and unpredictable. Shake it up!  I did; and, for me, it's made all the difference!

Life is Good!

                                                             

Mountain Day At Last!

At long last, "Mountain Day" is a quilt!  Spurred on by a friend who was in the same class with me (Spinning Stars by Augusta Cole) at Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival three years ago, I have brought my quilt to completion... just as she has done. I used an alternate setting pattern for my blocks. Don't we all need friends like this, ones who call us into action through their own good works? I quilted this scrappy treasure with a lovely gold colored thread. The inspiration for this quilt was an annual occurrence, "Mountain Day", during my college years in Montpelier, Vermont. You can read about that happy memory here; it was quite an event. I can still recall that joy today... having this quilt is a tangible souvenir of those glorious mountain memories, complete with blazing color from the countless Maple trees that dotted the mountainsides. To me, setting the blocks to form peaks upon peaks reminds me of those long-range layered views.

Mountain Day ~ 60" X 72"

Mountain Day ~ the back. Those woodland trees are a blaze of color!

Close up of the quilting on the back of Mountain Day. Timeless Maple Leaf panotgraph.

Hannes... the world's best quilt model; he looks great on every. single. one!

Life is Good!

Inspired

Hello from the ship! We've been back home from our Caribbean adventure for almost two weeks now; but I wanted to share some of the ship-board fun and inspiring sights from our time away with you.
  
This was our cruise routing, sailing out of, and back into, Ft. Lauderdale, FL. The ship was the largest one we've ever sailed on, the capacity was somewhere in the vicinity of 5,000-- 3,500 passengers and 1,500 crew members.  With that many people on board you might think that it was impossible to be anywhere that wasn't over-crowded, that wasn't the case at all; it is a really  BIG boat! The Regal Princess is the newest addition to the fleet and in a weeks' time we explored every bit of her.

At times the corridors outside of the staterooms looked like this...
empty except for the house cleaning cart!

Mid-ship the elegant Grand Piazza dominates the public space; comprising three levels, this is where you will find all of the the on-board shopping, food venues and, at times, musical entertainment.

The Grand Piazza, another persective.

It was in this area that we discovered "Alfredo's", a wonderful Italian restaurant specializing in brick oven pizza and salads. You may think that the quilter in me was inspired by this table. You'd be right, I was.

But then, take a look at this tile wall; can't you just see a fabric version of this in similar-hued batiks?

But, wait; this was the best inspiration of all! I'm already drafting this one up... someday, someday
I'll make a quilt inspired by this wall; the color, shapes and movement appeal straight to my heart!

This was the view sailing into St. Maarten, we docked on the Dutch side. In case you're wondering where all of the ship's passengers were in the previous photos, I'll tell you. When the ship was in any port we would disembark, walk around for awhile and enjoy the local sights and tropical breezes, then get back on the ship and take advantage of the pools on the top decks without the crowds of people; it was nearly deserted at those times and extremely peaceful and relaxing!

This  photo and the one below show the pools, and view off the ship, during peak hours on a sea day.

This was taken on our last evening, at dinner; all good things must come to an end. Our post-Christmas R&R was just the thing to start off our New Year on the right foot with a great adventure and to jump-start those creative juices that were inspired by all that I saw and experienced while we were gone! Now, it's back to reality~

Life is Good!