Sunday Sundry - Vol. 18

Oh, the weather outside is frightful...
What's your local forecast today?  Does it include the word "blizzard"?

Actually, it doesn't look too bad out there right now.  Maybe it'll miss us...or perhaps the worst is yet to come. 

 

Let it snow, let it snow...and I'll sew 
I have gotten a fair amount of sewing done this week, although there is some quiltus interruptus going on as well.  When you've got multiple irons in the fire, that's bound to happen.

I made a backing for the whirlygig Christmas quilt, which took some  mathematical calculations and a pencil sketch to make it all work.  The backing fabric came in three separate pieces from fabric.com (but it was on clearance and the last bit left, so whaddaya want?), plus I had ordered a panel from this line on a whim, and that proved to be a good thing.  I used every bit of the turquoise snowflake print with only a teensy bit of scrap left over.  There were also some ornaments on the lower part of the panel that I think I'm going to fuse and machine applique randomly to the backing.  But then, in order to baste the thing on the only hard surface large enough to do so—my kitchen floor—we're going to have to go to the home supply store and see if we can find some new casters for our antique dining table, so we can roll it out of the way without cutting up the new floor.  We've tried the furniture sliders already and it didn't work.

Winter Sunshine
The mail lady delivered a box of sunshine this week when I received this wall hanging from my buddy Michelle over at The Prairie Quilter.  It's just gorgeous!

And that's the name of it too, Winter Sunshine, which is so perfect!  Look at the feather quilting, so beautiful! 

It went right up on my wall here in my office.  She also sent along a fun Big Bad Voodoo Daddy CD.  Thanks so much, Michelle!  I love it—especially on a day like today!

The Blessings of Friends
I have been reminded often this week of what a precious gift it is year round to have wonderful friends.  Long-time friends who understand you and share your ups and downs, as well as your sense of humor and whimsy.

New friends you my have not met yet in person but with whom you share a special bond nonetheless.  Quilting, sewing, crafting, music, thrifting, collecting.  Those are just conversation starters.

Friends can give you a fresh perspective on a situation.  Sometimes it's just a subtle shift...

...but then you see things differently through them.

Friends are such a blessing, and I appreciate each one of you in so many ways. 

Thanks for visiting, friends—and stay warm!

Late Bloomer

Shortly after I finished my first quilt, I started making another. I had bought a book called Learning to Quilt: A Beginner's Guide, by Leisure Arts.

It walked you through the quilt making process step by step, and the end result was a sampler quilt. You learned and built on techniques, and the blocks got a bit more challenging as you went along.

That was the idea, anyway.

As with many undertakings, I didn't work through the book in a linear manner. I hopscotched my way through, making about half the blocks suggested and skipping the rest. Instead, I checked out books from the library and substituted blocks that I found more interesting from those resources. I just made sure all the blocks finished the same size.

My mother had given me some calico scraps left over from her many craft projects, and I used those. The background fabric was plain, unbleached muslin. In a short period of time, I had made almost enough blocks for a finished quilt.

Then I shelved the project. For over a decade.

Putting it aside was probably due to a combination of factors--raising a family, going back to work full time, and maybe boredom with the sampler as well. Around that time, I was really getting into genealogy, and my brother and I had started publishing a family newsletter. Then we wrote a book on our family history in conjunction with a big family reunion. So there was that.

Oh, I did a few small craft projects in the interim, including a couple little wall hangings. That was about it.

Sometime in the second half of 2007, having quit my main job and with my daughter off at college, I got the quilting bug again. In December '07, I dug out the sampler quilt project and assessed the situation. I needed just two more blocks to make a lap size quilt. I sewed a maple leaf block and a churn dash, reworked a basket block with too generous seam allowances, and found a fabric that worked for sashing and borders.

The project finally came together.


My mother's birthday was coming up near the time I was finishing the top, and I thought it would make a nice gift. It seemed fitting that the one who had taught me to sew and nurtured my love of creating with fabric should be the recipient of this quilt. I also thought she might enjoy seeing some of her fabrics from years past. But with a self-imposed deadline, I needed to find a way to get it quilted in a hurry. So I found a machine quilter on eBay.

In hindsight, I do not recommend this. Live and learn is all I'm saying.

At that time, however, I was saying Git 'er done.

The quilt did get done, and I shipped it off to Mom for her birthday. She was delighted!

I named it "Late Bloomer."