Rookie Mistake

Remember that longarm that arrived just before Christmas?  

I finished one practice baby quilt and started another small Christmas quilt when tension problems caused me to abandon that one.  

Then life got in the way.  First, Christmas and a New Year party, then a retreat, vertigo, a trip, more vertigo, church committee meetings, and fear.  I vowed (to myself) that I would get a quilt on the frame and get back into a routine before the end of this month.  I had taken the stitching out so decided to start again on that little Christmas quilt.  I also changed the bobbin thread back to the original thread that came with the machine.  

I got the back pinned onto the Take-up and Back leaders -- no problem.  I got the batting smoothed out on the back.  The top was loaded on the Top leader and I pulled it up onto the batting.  It was time to baste the three layers together ... I couldn't remember how to turn the machine on!  I'm not joking!  I looked and felt everywhere I could think there would be a switch.  

So, I was finally back in business!  Cruising along until ...

I forgot to check if my batting was long enough for the top!  Oh, well, another day. 

Almost Famous

At least that's how I felt when one of my projects showed up in a Google search!  Here's the back story:

At Devo and Sew on Tuesday one of our newer members who is a pattern designer and teacher was leading a  workshop using Deb Tucker's Studio 180 rulers.  Part of the block of the day was what some people call a square-in-a-HST.

I know that block by another name and when someone after class asked for further direction on how to make them, I started to say "Just Google M..." when I realized that the teacher (who was sitting at my table) might prefer to make a sale so I bit my lip.  Until she said, "Go ahead; I'm always looking for alternate solutions."

So we Googled "Mary's Triangles" and photos from my 2014 blog appeared! (Thankfully, they were appropriately attributed to my blog.)  Not only that, it said there was a tutorial on my blog (June 11, 2014)!  

It is such a versatile block.  This is the quilt I was working on at the time -- nothing but MTs:

And this is the lucky recipient who has since passed away from metastatic breast cancer.  Her husband told me how much she treasured this quilt.

I told the story in this post (December 15, 2017).

Pardon the Interruption

I was ONE seam away from finishing the wall hanging flimsy that I teased you with in Sunday's post. 

Then DrEaMI (drop everything and make it) popped its pretty head into view by way of Julie/Julie's Quilts and Costumes.  She had made a sweet small quilt using the pattern "Around the Twist" by Trudie Hughes from her 1986 book Template-Free Quiltmaking.  

I have always wanted to make that quilt.  I pulled three fabrics, started cutting, and three days later I have this to show.

I used two fabric remnants from my stash that limited the size I could make.  It is 41" x 50", a nice size for a wheelchair quilt.

A Somewhat Busy Week

When I last left you, I thought I had resolved the churndash dilemma for Cynthia's block drive.  
Well, sad to say, after all that I went through, my blocks were still 1/2" too small!   

I debated about making more of that same size for her to use in a single quilt.  Then I thought, "nah!" I'll just make the remaining 4 mini-dashes into the correct 12-inch finished size.  And as long as I'm at it, I'll make more of that size to go with them.  

That occupied a good portion of my early week.  Tuesday was Devo day and I took my latest two batik projects for show-and-tell.  I am still auditioning border options for Granny's Stars (begun in 2016), but I think a light yellow batik (not shown) is the winner.

I did a quick repair of a hole in Zinnias (begun in June 2022) and got the last two columns attached in time to show.  I will add a narrow white border on each side to stabilize the seams and that will probably be all as it is already 72" long.  

While at Devo day, I assembled the rows on a third batik project, Driftwood (begun January 2023), but didn't have enough time to get the rows together.  That will be on the docket again in a couple of weeks.

After a morning with the Devo gals, I headed to my last physical therapy session for vertigo.  I had been vertigo-free for over two weeks so I was released.  I have to admit I was one of those patients who rolled her eyes (literally and figuratively) when PT was recommended, but I'm SO glad I went through with it.  The Epley maneuver did the trick.

I was in and out the remaining days of the week, but did manage to spend some time in the studio every day.  A lot of that time was just cleaning up the mess down there, but I also managed to make good progress on a new wall hanging.

Stay tuned for future developments!

Another One of Those Days

Do you ever have a day when 6th-grade math escapes you and the simplest detail makes a mountain out of a molehill?  

I'll go back to the beginning.  Cynthia Brunz/Quilting is More Fun than Housework periodically collects blocks from other quilters which she assembles into compassion quilts for specific causes.  This spring she is requesting red/white/blue churndash blocks in two finished sizes, 12" and 6".  I was happy to contribute some blocks leftover from a previous project.  Rats, my blocks were labeled 4-1/2".

I could frame them out to be 6-1/2" unfinished but, wait; the center of a 12" block calls for a 4-1/2" square which I could replace with my mini-dashes!  So I proceeded to use the measurements in her pattern for the side pieces.  I cut 2-1/2" strips, stitched a white and red strip together, and cut them into 4-1/2" segments.

Oops, apparently my 4-1/2" label meant finished size.  So I made another stripset, cut into 5" segments.  Then I made corner units, again using measurements in the instructions.  Except I forgot that there were TWO 2-1/2" strips in each set.

Duh!  It was about that point that I realized I needed to reduce the strip size to 2-1/4" to compensate for the larger size of my center square which meant my corner HSTs should be 4" unfinished.  To make sure my math was correct, I made a test corner.

Good thing I only made ONE of these because they were supposed to be blue and white! 

Whew!  Success, at last.

PS:  That first photo is the second block.  It doesn't pay to get cocky!

Retreat Wrapup

I made it home safely and DH helped me unpack the car.  I still have lots of stuff to return to the basement sewing room but that's a task for another day.  It was a great retreat, though a much smaller crowd.  Of those that stayed home, one had Covid, one had the flu, and one had an ailing husband, so the remaining nine of us could really spread out in the very spacious sewing room.

Ruth spent her entire time making a HUGE commissioned T-shirt quilt -- so big I couldn't get the whole thing in the photo! It contains pieces of nearly 40 T-shirts.  Talk about heavy!

Nancy finished her French Braid quilt she began in a 2010 class.  She debated about adding the outside borders because it was already quite big, but she was pleased with her decision once it was done.

My second almost-finish is Granny's Stars, a pattern by Nancy Mahoney.  According to my paperwork, the pattern appeared in a 2009 issue of  Fons and Porter magazine.  I took this class with her in 2016.

I was curious if the block had a name, so I searched in Judy Martin's 1998 The Block Book  and she called it Blackford's Beauty, except her block doesn't have the little white strips.  Personally, I think that's what "makes" the block so interesting.  

Working on an older project has its own set of problems.  I started this project on a different machine and I think I have improved my quarter-inch seam over the intervening years so it was a bit of a challenge getting things to fit.  Thankfully, all the pieces were cut and many of them had been clipped together in blocks.  Still, it was a challenging puzzle and I'm pleased with the result.  

The pattern calls for a 6-1/2" border with LOTS of applique.  Not my cup of tea.  I do think it needs something so I will be looking at what batik I might  have that would be appropriate.

What's Happening

I'm going to take a few moments to show you what the other S'mores are working on. 

Donna has been making curtains and pillow cases for a cabin on her property, but she has also taken time to put the binding on this years-old beauty.

Kim assembled her version of chandelier beads.

Nancy has been busy.  She put the finishing touches on her variation of a Cindy Williams design.  We're calling it Green With Envy because none of us are that creative!

Nancy is currently assembling the French braid columns we made in a 2010 class.

Sena finished Shuriken (I forgot to photo) and is now working on what some of us call Blackford's Beauty.  

I say "some of us" because I am currently working on blocks that Judy Martin also called Blackford's Beauty in her 1998 The Block Book which I will be showing in my next post.

Mary finished the center of this captivating design and is now thinking about border fabric.

Lots more has transpired in the first two and a half days that I didn't photograph.  I'll try to do better in the next two days.

What Would You Do?

So I arrived at retreat by lunchtime on Monday and got myself situated.  We've had so many drop out due to Covid or flu that those remaining have three tables!  Talk about luxury!

My first order of business was to finish the Women of the Bible sampler that I started last year with the Devo and Sew group.  All I needed to do was add two borders.  I made note of the finished block size and the finished sashing size and did the math to see how long to cut the long side inner borders. Then I measured the top and amazingly it matched my calculations!  I repeated the process with the top and bottom inner borders and everything was spot on.  That never happens.

BUT I cut them one inch too short!  What would you do?  I had enough fabric that I could cut some more but, instead, I trimmed 1/2 inch off each side.  Who (other than youall) would ever know?  

I did much better with the outer borders.  So here's the finished product.

Spring Has Sprung

I'm still recovering from the California trip, tackling two weeks-worth of laundry, and clearing off cluttered surfaces around the house.  I did take advantage of the laundry by throwing in the new fabric I brought home along with some other pieces that had never been washed.

The little bits I put into a mesh bag, but the larger scraps I figured would do fine.  BIG mistake!

Car service, physical therapy, and meetings have occupied much of this week.  I'm hoping to get new tires installed today.  Then I can pack for a quilt retreat!  So look forward to lots of quilting news next week.

As my headline says, Spring has indeed sprung here on the Plateau.

Lenten Roses a/k/a Hellebores

Daffodils

And as I write this, it is spitting snow!  Weather whiplash ...

The ONE

Leanna/Not Afraid of Color posted this prompt of Valentine's week:  how did you know your mate/friend/pet was "the one"?

Actually, mine is the Second ONE ...

My divorce from the first One was finalized on a Friday 45 years ago.  That night I slept on his sofa.  On Saturday I set out in the rental truck with most of my worldly possessions and by Sunday all was unloaded in the next abode in my old home town.  

On Monday morning I reported to the new job I had secured a few weeks earlier as a spec typist at an architectural firm.  The Office Boy stopped by my cubicle that day to invite me on the firm's canoe outing that weekend.  

I declined because I needed to finish unpacking.  The next week I invited him to go camping with me and the two boys (then 8 and 11).  He declined because he was helping his sister move to Savannah, GA that weekend.

I never went out with another man, but it took three years for us to be sure it was the right move to get married.  I have never regretted that decision!

Oh, and that Office Boy?  He ended up buying that firm many years later!

Disoriented

I have spent most of my life on or near the Atlantic Coast.  I know that the ocean is on my right when I am facing North.  It's the exact opposite on the Pacific Coast and I am SO confused!  I can't tell you how many times I have sent DH in the wrong direction on this trip.  

BUT, I have radar when it comes to a quilt shop!

So this morning we wound our way along the 17-Mile Drive through the Pebble Beach vicinity and along the rugged coastline, stopping to admire many gorgeous vistas ...

... and stopping for lunch at Sticks at Spanish Bay Inn.  After we dropped SIL off at that inn which will be her base for the next two days, I suggested we hit a quilt shop while we were on that side of the peninsula.  Back Porch Fabrics was about 3 miles up the road (or was it down ...).

A little fabric therapy made this camper happy.  Some background with soft colors ...

... a great diagonal print for borders or who-knows-what (maybe to go with those FQs) ...

... and corks to line a wine bottle bag.

Back Porch Fabrics is a small shop but a lovely selection of fabrics, particularly on the modern side (no repros).  If you are ever in Pacific Grove/Monterey, CA, drop in to visit.

California Dreaming

We spent two early days at the AT&T Pro-Am.  If you saw three people walking on the wrong side of the 4th fairway on Friday, that was us.  Once we were committed, we couldn't turn back and thankfully we weren't arrested!

The Pebble Beach course is even prettier in person than it is on TV.  

Above is the 7th green that sits on a bit of a precipice as does the 18th tee below.

The fairways are lined with beautiful homes. We joked about putting in an offer on this one!

When we weren't walking the course, we could bide our time out of the elements in this beautiful pavilion, the Palmer Club at 18.

On Friday we did the touristy things in Monterey, visiting Cannery Row and Fisherman's Wharf.  

There is a lovely paved pedestrian/recreation trail that connects the two, but if you're not into salt water taffy and T-shirts, well ...

On Sunday we ventured down to Big Sur to see McWay Waterfall but the park was closed so we stopped for lunch at Nepenthe, known for its stellar views.  We stopped into the restaurant's high-class gift shop after lunch and amongst the gorgeous Navajo silver jewelry, woven blankets, and inspirational books I spotted this:

I passed on the opportunity.  Since the tournament could not be completed on Sunday due to weather delays, we can go back today for free, though without the luxurious accommodations we had earlier in the week.

SAHRR Prompts 1 and 2

OK.  I admit I was late getting started on Prompt 1--spools (see my last post) and then Prompt 2--stars was announced.   I have a very busy February with a limited amount of sewing time.  What's a girl to do?

Why, check what everyone else is doing, of course!  That's when I saw that someone (sorry, I don't remember who) had used what looked like dancing spools on fabric as a border for prompt one.  YES, I had a fabric with spools -- granted they were very old-fashioned spools -- so I fussy-cut several 3-1/2" squares for a test run. 

In the meantime Prompt 2--stars had been announced.  Dare I use the same crutch and look for a star fabric?  Well, wouldn't you???

So I cut some 3-1/2" squares of star fabric and alternated them with the spool fabric.  That sounds like a win for me.

Pretty dreary, if you ask me.  But timing is running out, I'm going to be out of town and away from the sewing machine for a bit, and I'll be way behind when I get back to sewing.  So here's my plan:  I will make traditional 3-inch spool blocks and the "spool" part of the block will be the star fabric!

SAHRR - What Was I Thinking?

Note to self:  Make more notes to Self!!

When I saw the prompt for Round 1 of the Stay at Home Round Robin, I was less than inspired.  I wanted to try something "out of the box," but my vertigo-head couldn't wrap itself around what it would take to accomplish my idea.  Then I saw Julie's (Quilts and Costumes) pretty blue spools and decided I'd just go with the obvious.

I could see that the block could be constructed as a 9-patch, but finishing at my desired 3 inches, that would be a lot of little pieces and seams.  So on Sunday I devised a plan to use 1-1/2" x 3-1/2" rectangles with flip triangles for the four HST corners and immediately set about cutting all the pieces.  I even cut the corners for one block so that I would be sure they were going in the correct direction.  Then it was time to leave for church.

That sermon must have been pretty good because by the time I got back home and had lunch I totally forgot what my plan was!

I reckoned that I had reversed the fabrics for the flip corners so I cut more.

But wait, how is this going to finish at 3"???  OK, stop laughing.  I cut the center section down to size and nothing matched up, not to mention I was back to almost a 9-P with little pieces.

And, yes, that's a wine splash in the corner.  Lots of little purple dots all over my Kona Snow 😒

I finally realized my original plan was to use the white rectangle with flip corners on the SIDES of the dark rectangle.

Success!  But by then it was Monday and Prompt 2 was out.  I came up with a new plan; stay tuned.