Fiber and Pulp

Treats

Twenty-three years ago Monday, at 9:30 pm, I gave birth to my youngest child, my son, Hugh. It was the only time I was actually in labor (my daughter was born by emergency cesearian) and it _was_ labor -- 56 hours worth! :) He's a dear and a sweet man, now, but gosh what a journey!! :)

I was privileged on Monday evening -- a customer at my store brought in an antique quilt to show me that brought tears to my eyes. I was so overcome, I did not take a picture but I can see it in my mind's eye clearly. It had a label -- was made in 1872 by the current owner's great-grandmother. It was a postage-stamp quilt, made of several hundred one inch squares of fabric with a very nicely pieced thin border of squares on point. The fabrics were a collection of shirtings, mourning prints, double pinks and reds, and the occasional cheddar orange. Very well pieced (all by hand) and quilted. I love scrappy quilts! There was something about this particular quilt -- touching it really felt like touching history. It made me think about all the things I have made ... and wonder whether any of them will be cherished and last like this one has. A very special kind of time traveling. :)

Transportation Woes

Isn't it amazing how much of our lives in this region (DC-Baltimore) is taken up with transportation issues? :P

On Thursday afternoon, on my way in to the store, I failed to stop soon enough and rear ended a Ford Escape SUV on Rolling Road, just at the Wilkins Ave. light. (sigh) The bumper of the Ford was higher than the one on our PT Cruiser and my grill got mashed a bit while the other car just had some black lines on the bumper. Very unpleasant event, though the young woman driving the Escape was very sweet, poor thing.

So, long phone call to my insurance company, set up a date to take the car to some place in Glen Burnie on Friday morning to be looked at by an adjuster. Unfortunately, just as I drove onto I95, barely north of the Glen Burnie/Rt 100 exit, my car overheated and I had to pull over. Now I think probably there is also a crack in the radiator. :P More phone calls to insurance co., towing company, car rental company ... the upshot was a two hour wait by the side of 95 to be towed to Laurel to our car dealer and then to the Enterprise office for a rental. (whew!) This whole adventure took me from 9:10 a.m on Friday until 3 pm!

It was a lovely day here on Friday -- sunny, not too humid, mid-70's. At some point, sitting in the car waiting (several calls to towing company -- 'we'll be there in twenty minutes'), I got too hot and decided to get out and walk on the verge in the shade. Now, I was getting pretty cranky by this time ... a few minutes of green strolling made it all right. What is it about the regularity and order of natural spaces that soothes me so much? The Joe Pye Weed, blackberry thicket canes and thistles were all blooming (blackberry for the second time this year:) ... the bees were buzzing happily, totally ignoring the multilane river of loud, smelly cars and semis not fifteen feet away ... the trees were green and blowing gently in the breeze. Made the whole thing so much easier for me to tolerate. :)

So, now my Cruiser is in the body shop and I'm driving this cute little red Pontiac GT (very comfy to drive). :P Not my first choice of color or type, but it rolls. :)

I taught a class on Wednesday last to make a tote bag/purse from the pattern 'Ashley Bag' -- today I finished my own from that class. I purchased the dark Japanese print indigo stripe at a quilt show recently (maybe at Hershey?) and coordinated it with two navy-on-white prints from my store. This bag is for my beloved daughter who likes Japanese as much as I do:

I got another fiberart postcard in the mail, too. This one is from Rayna in New Zealand:

I think it is a miracle of modern life that a little bit of pretty quilting can come safely and intact from NZ to Baltimore! :)

Today and tomorrow I am working on the sales floor at the store. I'm hoping to start working on my September bead journal page tonight. I've had such great momentum with this project the past three months, I can't let myself get lost -- and September is nearly over!

Linked Squares

I am just back from my Weekend Quiltaway with Rose Hahn and Jane Clark (and about 50 other very nice quilters:). I'm so pleased with my weekend's work -- I took a classed called Linked Squares with Patty Prodovich. I decided to make my quilt using 30's reproduction prints, and scrappy. I got 16 out of 24 needed blocks pieced (12 on Saturday and 4 on Sunday) and learned how to piece the very nice border she designed for the quilt.

Here is my piece, up to now:

Here is a photo of the teacher's sample quilt that shows the border:

Two of the prints I used have little rabbits on them ... and another one has little dogs. I am thinking about having this piece quilted with rabbits -- I have some stencils here in the store with those, or I might trace off the bunnies from the fabric prints and use that design. :)

Running Away!

I am going away tomorrow afternoon FOREVER! Well, no, just for the weekend. :) Robbyn and I are going to Rose Hahn's weekend quilting retreat in PA. I signed up to take a class to make a scrappy 'linked squares' quilt -- I chose some wonderful red and blue prints from my all-too-large 30's reproduction collection. :) With ecru background and navy blue alternate squares, I'm hoping i can tough it out long enough to at least make a lap quilt. (grin)

Photos when I get back, I promise. :)

Catching Up

I managed to spend some time quilting today. Unusual for me, I was actually _hand_ quilting! Some time ago, when I started the hand piecers club at the store, I taught a half dozen or so folks to hand piece by using blocks from the book 'Dear Jane' which features 4 1/2" square patchwork designs from an antique quilt made in the mid-1800's by a woman named Jane Stidwell.

I made seven of these blocks to teach the basics of hand sewing together squares, rectangles, half and quarter square tirangles, eight pointed figures and curved pieces. About a year ago I decided that these were all the tiny blocks I was _going_ to make (very fiddly, these tiny pieces:) and started to assemble the blocks into a small wall hanging. I got it out again last Sunday and finished piecing the setting, then basted it up for hand quilting. I've been quilting it all week, in various small bits of time between customers and tasks. I'm very happy with the way it is coming out.

By no means is this little baby an heirloom job --- but I like it. I will take a photo tomorrow or the next day to post here. :)

I've been very 'down' this week -- things are quite tense for my dear spouse at work ... and that spills over on me. I feel anxious about the current business and political climate in the country, too. (sigh) Sewing is good for me, therapeutic. It gives me focus and a sense of accomplishment. :)

I need to start working on my September chapter of The Mermaid's Tail -- I know what i want this picture to be (it needs to have a really big sea turtle in it), but I have been un able to focus on the task long enough to start. :P Maybe my quilting will help?

Tonight, instead of cleaning house or beading, I've been watching movies from Netflix. I watched a _really_ good Sherlock Holmes movie made in 2004 by the BBC, starring a man named Rupert Everett. Now, my standards for portrayers of SH are pretty high -- I never cared much for Basil Rathbone, for example. I thought he was much, much to 'daily life'-ish. Jeremey (...ugh! dratted memory! can't remember the man's last name) ... (grrr) ... he was an excellent Holmes. I thought he captured the almost tortured essense of Holmes very well. This man Everett did an excellent job, as well. The movie I watched was called "SH and the Case of the Silk Stocking' and was positively riveting. Very, very well written and acted. :)

I seem to be on a mystery 'kick' right now -- have ordered up a number of SH movies of various vintages.

I also watched a fairly recent movie tonight called 'The Last Mimzy' -- this one is a real gem! Totally enchanting and excellently created. I'm surprised it didn't generate more interest when it came out. Definitely worth the time to watch (and, for a rare change, I watched several of the 'dvd special' features; I generally don't bother with those).

So, a little magic, a little science, a little mystery and a little sewing therapy -- life is good. :)

Tired But Happy

The past five days have been kinda tough on me, physically -- I'm worn down. :) Thursday I worked on the sales floor in the evening and we were BUSY. My feet really ached that night, laying in bed. Friday I got up early (for me:) and went to the quilt show in Harrisburg with my friends Barbara Bennett and Patty Stenpeck.

What beautiful quilts! What great vendors! :) The floors were hard, hard concrete ... so, even though I could sit often (they had very nicely placed benches and chairs all around the exhibit hall), my feet and knees and hips were sore that night, too.

I managed to spend a few dollars while there -- the most fun I am having now is working with some antique kimono silk I bought from the Laura Murray booth. I also purchased a pattern for a very pretty, small purse:

I was captured by the models that were in the booth of this bag -- I loved it. :) I decided to use one piece of antique silk to make a small bag for my daughter, which I have in progress. This circular bag has a gusset and a very pretty sliding mechanism to close and open the top (I bought two antique slides, too:). Here is the front of the bag for Eva, so far, with the hand stitches I put along the fabric's print lines:

I think this fabric is elegant in a very quiet way -- and I think Eva will like it (fingers crossed:). When I fiinish the bag for her, I'm going to make a larger one for me, piecing some scraps that I bought together. The silk is lovely to work with, but very contrary -- gotta be bossy to sew this stuff! :) I've been doing it all by hand, so far.

Saturday and Sunday I also worked on the sales floor (more aching joints:) -- so I allowed myself to sleep in this morning to try and recoup. (whew!) Now I'm full of mustard and eager to work.

Next sewing project I have to apply my attention to is assembling our Mermaid's Realm block of the month qulit -- most of the motifs are assembled and glued up and sewn, just have to be put together. Wish me luck! :)