Fiber and Pulp

Dragon's Years

Happy Chinese New Year! This is another Year of the Dragon and I am celebrating. I was born in a Dragon Year (I'll let you count backwards on your fingers to figure out which one:) and I have a fondness for the creatures. Especially the Chinese Dragons which are generally portrayed as spirits of the earth, air, fire or water. Theoretically I think I am supposed to be a 'fire' aspect 'dragon' due to the time of year I was born (November). (shrug:)

I did an Google image search for 'chinese new year 2012' and found quite a few nice desktop image dragons - I think I'll use them for a while. :) I can't say I've been doing anything 'dragon-y' lately ... mostly just working hard to keep my head 'above water' at the store.

We had freezing rain/ice Friday and Saturday so I have to deal with when-to-open-the-store, what-to-do-about-scheduled-classes and who-will-show-up-to-work items. :) Here in Maryland, the very threat of snow or ice in the forecast causes near-panic! That is one of the ways I know we actually do live in the 'south' of the USA. (grin!)

I taught two quilting classes earlier this past week - Cathedral Windows (as a make and take) last Sunday afternoon and two patchwork blocks on Monday evening for our Stripper's Quilt-Along series (blocks made from pre-cut 2 1/2" wide strips). I quite enjoy teaching and those went well. Here are my samples:

 

I managed to lose my bank/atm/debit card on Friday ... somewhere. (sigh!) So, had to cancel it ... and have to go to my bank tomorrow and apply for a new one. :P

Guess I'll be running errands tomorrow as long as I am out. I have to buy some underwear, get a board for the Accucut to sit on, get my car inspected (state pollution abatement), and get some drug refills after I go the bank. I hope the freezing rain they are calling for in the early morning turns into plain old cold rain before I have to go out! I am hoping to get to attend my quilt guild's weekly meeting in the evening, too.

:) Linda

Sewing and Typing

I got talked into participating in the Baltimore Modern Quilt Guild's first round robin (I admit it did not take _too_ much talking:). I have been in a number of round robins over the years of several different kinds. This one is a border round robin ... the central block above was the one I drew (random lots).

This is the first round and the assignment was to add a 2" wide or so border made with squares and/or rectangles. :) I pretty much stuck to the three original colors Lainey had used - blue-green, lime-green and gray for my border (2" squares all around).

The reason I was reluctant to join in originally is that I am concerned that I might get too busy with my store and not get the round done in time. So ... give it a priority. :) Just have to sew quickly. :)

I put one of my red and white blocks in for my center/beginning. Another red and white piece should come back to me in four? six? months. Maybe I can work this red and white fixation into a big bed quilt! LOL

Things are kinda crazy at the shop and I still have two more class samples to make. Tomorrow is the beginning of our new Saturday Sampler program and Sunday afternoon I am supposed to teach a  Make&Take class of students  how to sew Cathedral Windows and Secret Garden blocks. :) Gotta make their kits tomorrow!

Monday evening I'm teaching the first winter round of my Stripper's Quilt Along class - but those blocks are already done. (whew!)

Oh, and my husband is still fiddling with my new-to-me office computer so I can't do much of anything with it as of yet. :P Hope he gets that finished tomorrow!

Busy, busy. I'm either too busy or too bored. My life never seems to move along an even keel. :)

Linda

All That Glitters

I don't know why I keep finding videos I want to save here lately - just got my eye out for them, I guess. :) (shrug)

Here is one I love, being a fully credited bearer of the Magpie Gene which causes me to instantly align myself to the nearest shiny item(s). LOL!

All That Glitters: The History of Shiny Things from Etsy on Vimeo.

 

I do know that glitter is often made of other things than metallized mylar - very finely ground glass is what Art Glitter is made from. I also know there was some kind of glitter or glitter-like stuff in Victorian days. :)

Linda

What Will I Do?

This is the pillow top I finished yesterday in my weekend sewing 'retreat' - it's a project from WoolyLady's autoship that I finished sewing a month or so ago. I decided to quilt the backing fabric (a leaf print designed by Jane Sassaman) and yesterday I put in a zipper (_with_ concealing flap:) and sewed up the pillow. Now to go out and get a stuffed form (wonder how long that part will take me?:)

My mother used to tell me that the 'old folks' when she was growing up would tell her that whatever you do on New Year's Day is what you'll be doing all year long. Mom is from the mountains of eastern Kentucky (Betsey Layne, for those of you who know Pike County:) - I wonder if this NYD belief comes from 'over the water' with my earliest immigrant ancestors or if it is new?

Whichever is true, I spent yesterday (the last day of 2011) and today (the first day of 2012) sewing, eating, and sewing some more. :) My friends Barbara B. and Arlene C. and I met at my store and oozed ourselves all over the larger classroom to sew to our heart's content. :) 

The first thing I did was finish my pillow, above. Then I got to work and, I am thrilled to say, added the last two borders AND the binding to my daughter's quilt. Now, mind you, this quilt was supposed to be her graduation from college gift (she graduated in 2003:). I still have to finish the hand work on the binding strips and label it - but it is substantially finished!

This is not a very good photo but I was too sore to climb up the step ladder and hang it on the photo wall (to get a full pic). I actually designed this quilt myself - the patterns were our block of the month program for 2002-03. My quilt is a bit different than the b.o.m. one - my center block is different. I LOVE this quilt and I sure hope my sweetheart will, too. :)

I quilted this thing (queen sized) by the section, each section has a different sashiko-style quilting pattern, and then joined the sections with a method that I like. I thought I had invented this, but found the same method later in Fons & Porter's intro quilting book.

Basically, each quilted section is joined to the next with a very narrow (1/2" finished) width strip on the front and a double folded strip on the back to cover the seam allowances. The quilt ends up flat and tidy and I love the method. It is one of four or five that I use to quilt by the piece - I cannot wrangle a full-sized quilt on my Bernina. :P

Whatever you did today, I hope you will continue to enjoy doing it throughout this year! :)

Linda

PS I decided to treat myself to a subscription to the Stitched video workshop series - 20 fiber 'shops for $89. Sure hope I can sustain the excitement! :)

Happy 2012!

This has been an eventful week for me - we took inventory on Wednesday in my shop. Yes, we had to count every fold of fabric, every package of needles, etc. :)

Thursday my husband and I spent the day doing the computer adjustments necessary to record the inventory. Friday the shop was open and I worked on the sales floor most of the day. Not only are we doing the usual end-of-year work for the store, we are upgrading our point of sale software - which is scary, to say the least. This one is a huge change and we're all holding on by our fingernails, praying that it works! :P

Today and tomorrow the shop is closed and I am SEWING with my friends Barbara B. and Arlene C. at the shop. I am working hard to try to finish my oldest outstanding UFO project (I _think_) which I started in 2002, best I can recollect.

I am finishing my daughter's quilt - I sewed the third border on today and prepared the fourth border for adding before I ran out of 'sew/go' in the late afternoon. :) Photos when I'm done, I promise. :) Oh, and I sewed up my last WoolyLady project as a pillow (ditto on photos).

Linda

Molten Glass and Paper

Here is a video about art making that I just watched and _have_ to share with you! Etsuko Ichikawa is amazingly creative - look at the exquisite artwork she produces using molted glass as her mark-making tool on paper:

 

I am in awe! You can read more about her art here.

:) Linda

For Hunter

The photo above shows a piece of knitting in progress - I am making a penguin for my great-nephew, Hunter, and I want to show him my current progress. :)

I started this softie in April and I need to finish it for him. Hunter is the first child of my beloved niece, Amy, and (I _think_) is now 11 years old. He is extremely fond of penguins and asked me to make this one for him. We found the pattern in a great little independent shop in Olathe, the suburban area of Kansas City where Amy and her family lives - you can read about my original trip to the shop here (toward the end).

The pattern I bought at Knit Wit (wonderful name for shop, eh?:) called for a very fine yarn and needle size. I tried to work Pengie strictly according to pattern but I found rather quickly that my old eyes could not manage such a small stitch size _and_ a dark black yarn at the same time. (sigh) I had to buy new, larger yarn and needles and restart - and have been slogging along slowly ever since, working on Hunter's softie in between other projects, necessary samples to make for my store and trips of various kinds.

I feel rather guilty that this guy isn't done already (originally I had hoped to get him done before now!) ... so I want to show Hunter that I am struggling on with the project and to let him track my progress. :) The pattern the penguin is made with is kind of funny - all the items in the book are knit as if they are made like balloon animals, in long tubes that you stuff and then twist into shape. 

The photo shows a finished head (with beak) and first wing. I just started knitting the second wing. I am eager to see how this all goes together when I get it finished. :) Hang in there, Hunter, I progress!!

:) Linda

Sun Return

With thanks to this site, here is an image that looks close to our local conditions on Winter Solstice this year. We have had a fairly warm fall with temperatures at night just getting down to freezing and in the daytime mostly in the mid-50's. Still, the nights are dark and long this time of year and I have to work hard to stay awake. :P This is a season justifyably filled with holidays featuring light!

When my kids were small, we celebrated Christmas in the usual American tradition - decorated tree, presents, feast. Now that they are grown, we mostly have quiet and peace here chez Schiffer. I'm not a person to coordinate much in the way of 'fuss,' especially at this time of year. :)

I have made and sent the gifts I deem important and now I will rest, knit, watch a bit of video and enjoy my family. :) I wish for all of you a warm, healthy holiday filled with joy!

:) Linda

Quilting Busy-ness

We are having quite a 'warm' early winter here in Maryland - we live in what I like to think of as the near-South of the US (in the same sense that I think of Ohio as the near-Midwest:). There are still roses blooming! Yesterday I saw a lovely plot of yellow iris in full bloom - poor flowers were obviously confused by the warmish weather (mid-50's day; mid-30's at night).

I spent my day 'off' yesterday doing interesting things. In the morning my son and I drove up to Ellicott City to pick up our new eyeglasses. Now I can see to read with my glasses on (I'm very nearsighted and usually have to take them off to read:) ... and Hugh can read the road signs. :)

From about 3:30 to 7 p.m. I was at Deb K.'s house in Baltimore (just off Northern Parkway). She, Heather K. and I worked on writing a preliminary set of by-laws for the Baltimore Modern Quilt Guild. I've been on by-law committees for various groups four or five times in the past and this was by far the most genteel experience. :) Lovely Christmas decorating in Deb's house and yummy cranberry cookies with orange glaze icing. (slurp!)

The only 'down' side to my day was having to drive around Baltimore's beltway. I don't very often go in that direction since we live (and my shop is) between Baltimore and D.C. Lord but people are crazy drivers! White knuckle time for me and it was not even rush hour! :P Good thing I don't let it stop me from driving when I need it. :P

Sometimes our 'quilting' time is spent on non-sewing things that need doing, eh? At least I got to do it in congenial company. :)

:) Linda

Words

I've been thinking about focus and goals and one word ideas for the New Year. What set this off (aside from my usual end-of-year reflections:) is a challenge with the Baltimore Modern Quilt Guild - 'one little word'. The idea is to make some kind of quilted sign for yourself to remind you of your goal for the year.

Many years in the past my word has been Focus - I'm an extremely distractable person and it helps me to make an extra effort to stick to the subject at hand, whatever it might be. :) This year, though, I think I need to spend more time thinking about my physical state and my health. I'm thinking my word might need to be something like 'healthy' - good food, good exercise, good care, etc.

Yesterday before I drove to work I had two store-related errands to do and the doing brought my health very realistically to mind. One of the things I had to do was to stop at BJ Warehouse and buy a new toner cartridge for our laser printer in Manager's Alley. By the time I got there, around 11 a.m., the parking lot was pretty full and the store was busy with shoppers.

I often half-joking tell people I can only walk 'fifty steps' now due to my body's limitations (Tarsal Tunnel in my feet, arthritis and two blown discs in my lower back, an excess weight of 100+ pounds, have had surgery on each knee already,  etc). Without my habitual walking cane, that is pretty literal (that's how I know) - more than fifty steps and I have to stop to rest, bed over, sit down if possible. I was talking to Karen on Monday evening at the store about that very topic so it was fresh in my mind.

I had to park pretty far from the front door of BJs so I decided to actually count my steps and pay attention to my state of body. It took 214 steps to get from my car door to the laser cartridge's shelf place. :P At about 220 steps, on the way to check out, my lower right back started sending up fireworks of complaint and my walking speed dropped by half. :P By the time I walked back to my car (MUCH more slowly than I walked in), the fireworks were bright red and ran down to my knee and up to the middle of my ribs. Good thing I had the cane!

Took me quite a few minutes sitting in the car to recover and drive on to the store. (sigh)

I love being out doors - the day was chilly yesterday (low 40's) with a light breeze and bright sunshine (winter is the only time I actually enjoy the feel of the sun's warmth:). The trees are bare and their branches make beautiful lace patterns against the sky. The 200+ steps going inward were lovely ... not so much the ones going back to my car. No matter how pretty the weather, it is really hard to enjoy when you are in pain.

Now, I'm not tryiing to complain here or whine ... just to illustrate why focusing on 'healthy' might be a good thing for me to do (not to mention losing at least some of my excess poundage). :P I'm still thinking about words, but I'm pretty sure I need to do more than just think about this one!

Linda

PS I just read a fascinating blog post here about Japan's 'One Word' for the new year - Kizuna or bonds/ties (as in family ties, friendship ties, etc). Very cool!