Fiber and Pulp

Finishing

Apparently this is a good time to be finishing things. I completed rosette number eight for my Millefiore quilt (shown above). I tried to update my quilt layout pic but I can't remember how (blush!) ... will have to review the software to find out. :)

I also finished another word strip for the charity quilt we're making with the Baltimore Modern Quilt Guild. We selected a text only quilt design and assembled a huge set of words about Baltimore (I did 'Preakness' before). I also drew 'Baltimore album qulits'. I've been dithering over just how I wanted to make this set ... but the deadline is looming large so I finally fell off the fence and made it up. :)

I used reverse applique (which I learned from Mimi Dietrich during one of my Baltimore album classes) with a 'modern' twist. The theme of this charity quilt challenge for ModCon is 'improv with intent' ... so instead of looking up some kind of traditional font, I wrote out the lettering free hand myself. I guess you could call this 'Primitive Linda' font? LOL. Also, instead of doing the applique by hand, I did it by machine.

Years ago (I _think_ it was in 1997, but don't hold me to that) I attended Quilting By The Lake in upstate New York to take a five day design class with Erica Carter (one of  my all-time favorite quilt makers). I ended up designing one of my favorite quilts that I've made (which my daughter now owns) which made heavy use of raw-edge applique shapes cut from fabric freehand with a rotary cutter (by me:). I also took two days of 'studio' study and spent that time exploring every method I could dream up of executing raw edge applique by machine.

One of the ways I dreamed up is now pretty common in some circles (I'm not claiming that I originated the idea - there are some ideas that just seem to occur to several people at about the same time, I guess ideas whose time has come? - and I just happened to be one of them) ... and has been sold by someone clever as 'Herky Jerky Applique.' Basically, you free motion embroider the edges of the raw edge shapes with a zigzag stitch so that rather than the even smooth edge you get with satin stitch, you have a hugely energetic jagged edge to the shapes.

Here is my word strip:

We were given a palette of colors/fabrics to use ... you might not be able to tell from this photo but the 'baltimore' is red on a gray background, 'album' is green on a yellow background, and 'quilts' is yellow on gray. I did the stitching around all the words with a medium gray thread. Here's a close up of the stitching:

I like the energy and vibration of the jagged edge stitches ... hope the committee does, too. :)

I've been knitting a set of winter goodies for my grandson, Baby O, this past ten days or so. I took apart a hat I had knitted that I didn't like - but the yarn was too pretty to waste - to make this set. I knit him a crown hat (he is 60th percentile for head size:), three mittens (you always lose one:) and a cowl.

(what do you think of that snazzy black and white doted lap board I used as a background? :)

I don't know if Eva will want to retain the buttons on his cowl - she can remove them if she wants though I don't think he'll be able to chew them off (I sewed them on very securely). I made fringe on the cowl 'cause she said he likes to play with fringe. :) I guess I should search for some mitten clips since I didn't make a cord. I didn't have a pattern for any of this, just approximated the sizes I _thought_ he would be now ... hope it all fits! :)

Anyway, finishing up things. Time to think about other tasks that need finishing, too. I owe several people birthday presents. :)

:) Linda







 

Charity Sewing

Today was an interesting (but tiring) day. Members of the Baltimore Modern Quilt Guild (including myself) volunteered to sew for the House of Ruth (abused women and children's shelter in Baltimore City) - they have a B-More Bags project to raise funds for the shelter. Volunteers sew various types of bags in their workshop (or at home, after training) to sell in the House of Ruth consignment shop and at fundraising events throughout the year. Wine bags, tote bags, weekender bags, credit card cases, infinity scarves, etc., are all made using donated materials from many business and private donors across the region - the funds raised (about $5000 annually) go to support the programs of the home.

Today was our first training/sewing day. The headquarters are on the Morgan State University campus on the north side of Baltimore....eight or nine of us (I did not count heads:) met and sewed from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. today, learning to make the standard tote bag they sell. I carpooled to get there - Phyllis C. volunteers regularly at the center and knows how to find her way through the maze of streets and driveways on the campus. Rose and I were grateful to be able to ride with someone in the know when we saw how hard the place was to find! :)

The photo above shows the bag I made today (which will go into the consignment shop). The design of the bags is quite sturdy - the red band section and the green print areas are both made of very sturdy canvas type fabric and the handles and lining are from a lovely silk-look green solid. The bag has an inset zippered pocket on one side inside and a sectional pocket on the other ... and there is a pocket behind the red band beneath the big button closure. Very nicely constructed. There were oodles of different fabric selections made up into kits and then bags...something for every taste. :)

I had not sewn a set-in zipper like that for years (it isn't hard, just a bit fiddly to get lined up nicely). Also, five hours or so of machine work was a lot for my knee which was very grateful to get home around 5:30 and be propped up. :)

One of the guild members brought delicious scones (ginger apricot _and_ chocolate chip ones:) ... also watermelon wedges. Yum! Some of us brought lunch and some ordered out pizza from Little Caesar's. 

I think I will take up sewing regularly for these folks ... I brought home a tote bag kit to make up here at home and will probably do some others (once you have been 'trained' in the workshop so you understand how they want the kits to be made up, you are free to make as many as you'd like to volunteer for at home). This is a good organization and they do good work, well worth supporting.

:) Linda

Row by Row Shanendoah

I have definitely been in a stash enhacing mood this week. After my fun trip to Blue House on Saturday, my friends Barbara, Patty and I went out on another Row by Row adventure on Tuesday. We drove out Interstate 70 to Traditions at the White Swan in Hagerstown and then took I81 south into the northern Shanendoah Valley section of Virginia to visit shops on the Row by Row list.

As always, I enjoyed visiting the White Swan - Dick and Wendy Shenk are such nice folks and I have not seen them for some time. :) Wendy was at home sewing like crazy to finish the shop's Quest quilt (in time for the meeting in September) but Dick was in the shop and his usual friendly self. :) 

I really like this year's Quest palette (sunrise colors:) so I'll be happy to see Wendy's free pattern (I know it includes applique:). I don't remember everything I bought on our journey Tuesday but I do recall buying a glow-in-the-dark panel of a skeleton for Halloween at the White Swan .. and petting a lot of really pretty wool applique samples. :)

We hit six quilt shops on Tuesday and I did not take a photo of any of them (just plain did not think of it). I can only plead that the weather was so glorious (mid-70's, sunny) and the scenery so pretty (lots of really lovely countryside) that I was agape. :) Here is the list of the rest of the shops (I _think_ this is inclusive) we visited (not necessarily in the order we saw them): 

    Scrappy Apple in Winchester, VA; The Cloth Peddlar in Stevens City, VA; Liberty View Quilt Shop in Cross Junction, VA; Webfabrics in Purcellville, Va; and All About Fabric in Martinsburg, WV

The Liberty View shop is a combined antiques and quilting shop. I liked their rbr pattern - a field of flowers with watering cans, made to honor the shop owner's recently-deceased mother who loved to garden. I did not buy any fabric at that shop but I did pick up the quart sized antique mason jar shown in the photo at the top of this post. It has 'Atlas Strong Shoulder Mason' embossed on the front and uses a very old style 'zinc' non-separating lid. I looked it up on EBay when I got home and was pleased to find that the asking prices were higher than I paid - and the buttons were a fun benefit. :) I think I have enough old buttons now to consider making a few little dolls with string-of-button legs and such. :)

Here is the rest of my swag from the day out (I was proud of myself that I managed to limit my purchases to the average or less at each shop - but it did require discipline a couple of times:).

I am always on the lookout for gray-on-white or cream prints to use as backgrounds (so much less harsh than black and white ones:). Brown and black prints nearly always set off my 'tribal' love tastes. :)

This particular haul came from Scrappy Apple. It was so good to see the owner, Kelley - another super nice person. We compared knee replacement scars. LOL! I got to see her newly-finished Quest quilt (I love it!), too.

My friend Barbara found the Jen Kingwell book you see above - there are several designs in this book that I'd like to make. The little florals were too cute to leave behind - I think they might end up making a Sew Together pouch. :)

Again, Barbara found the manineko (waving cat) print for me. Those strange dark bars are excellent quality wallet frames from Cloth Peddler.

OH, actually I picked up this row of fq's at Springwater Designs today (when I went there to teach my monthly Gravity class). The combination of sewing motifs and the colors caught my eye immediately. :) Again, I think these might make good sewing pouches.

More goodies from Springwater (clearly my 'buy things' switch got turned on during our trip:). More pouches - I think I have gifts in mind. :)

Some Halloween goodies. The left-most print is a really elegant collage of pumpkin shapes that I think might make a good border for my glowing skeleton. :)

I was exhausted by the time we got home last night but we had soooo much fun! We ate dinner at Magnolia in Purcellville (just down the street from Webfabrics) .... delicious! I was pretty adventuresome and had Shrimp and Grits with Okra (I _thought_ I didn't like okra, but it was tasty) ... and _the_ most decadently delicious chocolate dessert I've _ever_ eaten (called The Chocolate Story). After I finished, I was sorry I had not taken a photo of it - a true work of art in every sensory way. :)

My class went well today ... and the weather was again lovely. We are having heavenly niceness outdoors this week - a very rare event in Maryland in August!

Tomorrow I have my first out-patient physical therapy appointment after my quilt guild meeting in the morning. I think it will all go well.

:) Linda

Happy, Tiring Day

I had fun today on my first day back in 'normal life'. :) I decided to go visit a brand new quilt shop that opened last weekend in Westminster, MD (since I am now allowed to drive myself:).

First I went to my local quilt shop, Springwater Designs, to say hello and let Dawn know that I could teach my class this coming Wednesday. I have not been in a shop in five weeks, so it was truly wonderful to step into the bright color and happy surroundings. :) I am subscribing to the Enchanted Garden block of the month program this year, so I picked up my July and August block bundles ... and a 2016 calendar with beautiful Sue Spargo embroidered wool designs ... and a cool piece of Halloween fabric from Timeless Treasures (you can see it - the black yardage - in the picture at the top of this post; my b.o.m. packages are to the upper right of the photo and the Spargo calendar at the top center).

My sense of geography is, um, vague at best if I have not studied a map (and recently at that:) ... so my mental idea of how far it was to drive to Westminster and the actual time it took me were quite a bit divergent (like, it was twice as far as I thought it would be). LOL! Good thing I decided to go early in the day. The drive itself was lovely - I chose to get there by going west on Interstate 70 and then north on (I _think_) MD97. Very pleasantly rural and winding. The weather was beautiful again today, which added pleasure to the trip. :)

The new shop is called Blue House Fabrics and is right at 410 East Main street, in the historic downtown section of Westminster. It is literally a blue house with parking in the back...very nice front porch...lovely refurbished insides. The shop is small (there used to be a hair salon in the space apparently) but the owner was friendly and fun. The fabrics were limited, as yet, but beautiful. She has most (and intends to carry all) of the Kona Cotton solids as well as a number of 'modern' quilt fabric lines, a nice selection of batiks, and some very cute holiday prints.

I bought (see photo above:) a cute turtle/beach print, some nice orange coral fabric, and two 'low volume' background-y prints that I really like (one has math figures and the other equations on it). I saw other things I would like to buy later but I did have to restrain myself. :) Apparently there will be plenty more new goodies on delivery over the next month or so (only half of what she ordered to prepare for the opening actually arrived - the story of every shop owner's regular business headaches).

I came home via a different route (around the Baltimore Beltway and down MD 29) which was much more tiring driving (higher speeds and much more traffic). By the time I got back, I was ready to sit with my leg up and read a while!

I did manage to add some more hexes to my rosette #8 ... but have a few more to go tomorrow. Oh, I almost forgot ... one of the things I saw while I was at Springwater was a new block of the month she will be starting in October called Amish With a Twist III that looks quite like an updated Amish-style medallion quilt...was very appealing to me. Hmmmm. Hard to restrain myself but I do keep saying I need to tackle my ufo piles. Hmmm.

 

:) Linda

Lovely Day!

It has actually been a busy week for me, despite my home-bound status. :) Yesterday a friend picked me up and I went to quilt guild for the first time in five weeks. Was wonderful to see everyone!

Several of us went out to lunch afterwards (meeting is 10 a.m. to 12 noon) at a place that was new to me (Shannon's Saloon on Rt40West in Ellicott City) - food was really good, service was incredibly slooooow. I suspect someone(s) did not show up for work as the place was packed and the wait staff was working really hard to keep up. :) The food was good and moderately priced so I think I will go back there ... just hope their staff is more numerous next time.

Today I had my four week post-surgical appointment. It went really well - I am healing even faster than I did last time and, as my surgeon (Scot Silverstein) said, I'm an 'old hand' at getting well. :) He cleared me to drive (if I felt safe doing it)!!

We (my husband took me to the appointment) stopped at the post office on the way home so I could mail fluffy Chthulu off to Baby O ... and my home care physical therapist came around 1:30 for my last session and to discharge me. The doctor wrote a prescription for outpatient physical therapy and I made an appointment for next Thursday (and I can drive myself, so any time during the day is fine - *happy dance*:).

After all that settled, I took my poor PT Cruiser out for a spin for the first time in 4.5 weeks - got a real laugh out of the cobwebs all over it. We have an exposed carport, not a garage, so the car had spider webs and pollen and bugs and leaves all over it. LOL!

First thing that happened after I turned the ignition key was the dinger for 'gas needed NOW' started ringing ... so I drove down the block to our local gas station (about four blocks, really, maybe 3/4 mile away from my house) to fill the car up. I don't usually buy gas in town 'cause it costs 30 to 45 cents more than from the surrounding area stations ... but I didn't want to venture far so I thought it was was worth the extra bucks today.

Once the car's tank was filled and I had thrown out all the trash (always clean the car of trash when I stop for gas), I drove to the other end of our circle to the local public library to practice in the lot there (mostly empty during the day while school is in session). I realized pretty quickly that I can drive better and stop more quickly now than I could right before surgery ... so I think I'm at least as safe to drive as I was before. :)

Don't think I'll do any long-distance ventures for a month or so (my stamina is not up to snuff, yet) ... but I feel good for trips of less than an hour. The weather was nasty yesterday - mid90's with roaming thunderstorms, high humidity ... but today is lovely: high 70's, low humidity, wonderful breeze. As you can see from the photo at the top of this blog (taken right outside my doctor's office), the grasses are going to seed and things are late summer-y here.

I think I'll take a spin out to Westminster (20 minutes away?) tomorrow to visit the new quilt shop there (Blue Moon Fabrics??). Supposed to have a heavy emphasis on modern fabrics. Will be fun to see! :)

I went back to working on my Millefiore quilt earlier this week. I had ordered more glue stick refills for my gluepen and some new rotary cutting blades. What a difference a new sharp undamaged blade makes!! I always do this to myself - wait way, way too long to replace my blade when it gets nicks in it or dulls out. Why do I do that to myself? Cheap, maybe. LOL! Anyway, working on my rosette number 8 has been fun. I expect I'll finish it this weekend. I have to teach next week so I plan to spend Monday and Tuesday back at the grindstone, finishing background diamonds in shades of gray. :)

All the fabrics I used for this rosette are the same value (medium) so there is only color contrast in this motif. I like it a lot but I think it is a good thing it is one of the smaller ones. :) I put it together in a different orientation than Katja did hers, but I like this. Can't wait to get the next/last hexes on it and see how it works with the ones around it.

I'm still getting lovely heart applique blocks from guild friends - so wonderful to get them, they really brighten up my day! Got five hearts this week - going to be a nice little quilt sometime.

:) Linda

 

PS I've linked this post to Nina Marie's blog.

Sunday Pleasures

I got my second goodie package from Cherrywood Fabrics in the mailbox yesterday (I made a second pledge to their Kickstarter project). Lovely, lovely hand dyed fabrics. Hmmmm. Have to think of something really nice to make with these!

Today was Sew & Tell monthly meeting and my friend Barbara B. drove me to the meeting at Genie's house in the western part of Howard County. The day was hot (-ish, at mid-90's) and sunny ... very good day to enjoy the country scenery and sew indoors. :)

Barbara brought me my share of a bundle of 30's prints she and I bought while we were out Row-By-Rowing last month...I think these are such cheerful prints!

We've been collecting 30's era prints together for some time ... and I have at least two ufo projects using them .... got to get  at least one of them out to finish! :) Just the kind of cheerful, perky fabrics I need to see today (have been feeling a bit house-bound with my knee limitations; such a draaaag, not being able to drive myself places). :)

She also brought me a Kumihimo kit to make braided jewelry which I am eager to start (always love to start new projects:).

I managed to spend my sewing time at the meeting finishing up my Chthulu plushie for Baby O - I used four different 'minky' pile designs to make this guy. He was fun and I think he turned out adorable ... but I want to make him again (maybe using quilting cottons). He's a bit .... um .... wonky, as such toys go. :)

I think he a looks a little like an Einstein Chthulu ... or maybe a Mad Bomber one. LOL! That shaggy pile I chose for his back is luscious soft and furry but a bit wild. :)

I definitely would recommend this designer's toy patterns - well written, easy to sew, cute results. :) Nerd's daydream. :)

:) Linda

Warming Up

I've been doing more Take a Stitch on Tuesday embroidery. Still not caught up to the prompts, but getting closer. ;) Above you can see my Buttonhole Stitch effort. The purple button does indeed go through a hand finished buttonhole in the green checked wool square. Been a long time since I actually made a buttonhole (I don't sew garments much anymore:) but it works fine. :)

I also finished my Feather Stitch sample; first I did some uneven feathers (one side bigger than the other):

Then I did zigzag feathers:

Then I managed a few irregular feathers (also known as 'my hands are getting tired':):

Here is the entire row - done on a dark purple wool rectangle:

I enjoy surface stitchery but I'm taking a break today and tomorrow to work on a goodie for my little Baby O (who is not so very little; he's starting to pull up to stand, having completely conquered crawling:). I had ordered some Minky fabrics in four different pile designs (I got the stuff from Fabrics.com; who knew there were soooooo many different patterns of Minky?:) - all in a 'silver' gray. Today I started working on the stuffed toy I want to make with them - a plush Chthulu from this site (free pattern).

It has been a while since I made any stuffed toys - I had almost forgotten how much fun they are! This pattern is very well made and the sewing together has been easy. The worst part of the entire process is the cutting -- my sewing area looked like an explosion in a stuffing factory for a while this afternoon! LOL! WHAT A MESS! Soft little bits of fuzz every where. Grin. One of the prints (that's not quite accurate since this isn't a printed pattern, it's a pile pattern - some cut long, some short) -- looks kind of like Yeti hide with long silky fur. Luscious to touch but messy-bessy to cut up. :)

Hopefully I willl finish the little guy tomorrow so I can share him here. :) After that, I have to go back to working on my Gravity b.o.m. quilt since I _can_ use my sewing machine (at least for short periods of time).

My 'traditional' guild has a nice sunshine program that I am benefitting from right now. We send applique heart blocks to members who are 'down' - surgery, deaths in the family, health issues, etc. I have gotten a number of them in the mail over the past few days and they really DO bring sunshine in the door. Makes a huge difference, here in my house all alone most of the day, to know my friends are thinking of me. :)

Here are two collages to show my blocks so far. I am eager to make something with these soon as I get them all together!

 

My color request was 'bright pink on any background' - I think this will be a fun little quilt. :)

In my 'modern' guild, the membership average is much younger. Our sunshine there is to make baby quilts for members. :) I managed to sew a block for someone special earlier this week. I quite liked this "kiss" design:

At this moment I cannot find the url reference for this block tutorial. It was very easy to make. That background music print I used was a very soft fabric - I think I probably should have starched it before I cut the pieces (that might have cut down on the slight puckering). I think all that will quilt out fine, though, so I'm not agonizing over it. :) Should be a really cute baby quilt!

I managed to do my exercises without any issues today and even went outside for a short walk late this afternoon. Was really nice out - warm but not hot and not humid. Pleasant summertime. :)

My physical therapist is coming tomorrow ... and I have to make an aggrevating phone call for Mom's estate stuff. Otherwise, I intend to sew.

:) Linda

 

Excitement on My Scale

Today was pretty exciting (by my recent standards, anyway:). I took my first outing since I came home from surgery on the 23rd of July. I needed to send a fax so I could deal with some more details of my mom's estate, so I carefullly walked out to the car (stopping to talk to our next door neighbors on the way - they were cleaning out their garage, prepratory to painting it:) and Skip drove me to Staples. Sadly, the fax line for the company I was sending info never got 'unbusy' so we'll have to try again on Monday, maybe. :P

We also went to the bank (so I could get cash for the savings pot my son and I are accumulating) but that did not take any physical exertion on my part since Skip was driving. :) By the time I walked back to my comfy chair at home, I was really tired. Whew! The Baltimore Modern Quilt Guild's monthly meeting is tomorrow afternoon (Arbutus Public Library, 1 - 4 p.m.) and I had been thinking to go ... but I'm clearly not up to it, yet. Sigh. Next month (fingers crossed).

I have been doing some hand work as I sit around getting my knee flexed and extended by the CPM machine. At the top of this post you can see the second of my efforts with embroidery on birch bark. This design came out of my sketchbook, too. I used three or four shades of green thread and some white to create one of my favorite wildflowers - Queen Anne's Lace. I guess this will represent 'summer' in my collage? :)

I got really stir crazy this afternoon, after resting from my Trek for a couple of hours, and started on the August rosette for the Millefiore quilt along. It is for just a small section of the quilt (#8 spot) so I decided to use some stronger colors than in the big rosettes. Here is my first round:

This hex is about 6" across (point to point) and it took me about an hour to make. 30 minutes of that was the actual machine sewing ... which, as it turns out, was much like several of the exercises they have me doing for my knee, so I'm counting this as applied physical therapy. :) I could not sew for any longer, though, as it really took the last oomph out of my knee muscles for the day! Tomorrow I'll try to work at least for a while on the next hexes in the motif. 

Tiny baby steps in recovery ... but my fabrics are keeping me friends all the way! :)

Linda

Weekend

This is a photo of the members of Mimi Dietrich's Grad Class who went to Indiana together on a bus trip to attend Mimi's induction into the Quilter's Hall of Fame. Many of these folks are friends and most are former customers of my shop. I would like to have been on that bus, too, but my body prevented. :) Wanted to put this photo here so I would not lose it in my unorganized archives. :)

I spent today in the usual way .... some napping, some exercises, some knee workout on the CPM machine. I did decide to quit using the walker (it makes too much noise as I move around and my husband slept in this morning - a rare event; I didn't want to wake him up as I moved around downstairs). So far, using the cane is working out fine. I'm much steadier and balanced when I walk - clearly practice improves perfermance. :)

I did manage to do a tiny bit of embroidery today as I sat strapped into my machine. My daughter has a lovely birch tree in her side yard and I have been hording a few small pieces of shed bark, thinking to do embroidery on them. I went through my sketchbook and culled a few designs that I drew myself...today I did the first one.

You may not be able to see that this is worked in two different shades of blue-green thread (cotton, size 12 and 14). The bark works very much like paper to sew onto but is a tiny bit more fragile. I had to be very careful not to use too much tension or the thread would tear the bark. I am thinking to do a number of small motifs that can be assembled into a collage later ... probably with a nature or seasons theme. :) I have already chosen the next design from my sketchbook but I ran out of muscle control and decided to work on it tomorrow.

Tomorrow morning both the PT nurse and the visiting nurse are coming to see me. The visiting nurse has promised to remove my staples - I am sooooo excited! Getting the staples out of my incision means I can stop wearing these compression stockings (my skin hates them) and take a shower (YEAH!). :) Looking forward to that for sure.

:) Linda