Projects: Too Much!

 

a 12" x 12" paper-pieced block from Amy Garro's Paper Pieced Modern

Projects - oh, do I ever have a list of projects.  What is worse - not having enough to do or having too much to do.  Not having enough fabric or having too much fabric?  Clearly, I fall into the "too much" category.  But I am pretty happy about this glut of things I have on hand and want to do.  It's like I'm getting my sewing mojo back.

This is the suggested layout for these beautiful blocks.

This is the preparation for the paper-pieced blocks

These Doe kitted fabrics for a Trail Tote were just too reasonable to pass up.

Same with these fabrics for a Cargo Duffle.

Same with this kit of Jinny Beyer RJR fabrics.  I made one of these totes years ago, and now I want to do one with Soft and Stable as the foundation!

Don't even get me started on what I want to do with this fabric (yes, I have made one bag from this fabric already - what's your point?)

This is a quilt backing.  Quilt front still to be determined...

Maybe from these fabrics.  Just not sure...

Compression hose do make fabulous thread catchers.  Seriously, these threads won't come off, even with masking tape.

Wedding Shower Present for Amber

My White cousins grew up in Indiana.  The youngest is my cousin Kathy, the only White girl cousin.  Her daughter Amber is getting married in North Judson, IN, this Saturday to Derik Lenig.  This belated wedding shower present is an insulated casserole carrier, complete with a 9" x 13" covered pan and a spoon for a carrier handle . But this isn't just any spoon.  This spoon is one made by my cousin Jerry White - Amber is his niece.

The church where Amber is getting married is one I sat in many times when as i child I visited my grandparents Jack and Eloise White.  My uncle Leonard, my dad's only brother,  and his wife Elizabeth were married in that church.  My grandpa Jack's funeral was in that church.

 Making this shower present has put me into a "Circle of Life" mood. A former student and his wife just had a baby. Amber's getting married. A guild friend just last night sat with her father as he passed from this life. For now, I rejoice in Amber's new life as a bride and a wife.

The carrier opened up

The top and bottom portion folded over the 9" x 13" pan

"Almost Normal"

My hematologist Dr. Seghur told me yesterday that I was "almost normal."  Having never been even close to "normal" - ever - I am pretty excited about this.  While he may have been talking just about my blood,  I am choosing to interpret his words at a much broader level!

Finishing Bags

These Mors bags are the last in this batch.  Three of them are going with me tomorrow to my appointment with my hematologist.  As much as I love the Interventional Radiology Team, this doctor - Faisal Saghir - represented my comfort level throughout August.  He even checked in with me on his day off, which was the day after my big procedure.  I am expecting nothing but good news from him! 

I also finished a zippered tote bag.  All the parts were cut out in early August, but then things happened.  One of the generous people during this long summer has been my physical therapist.  Chandra knows my passion for Indian food and several times has dropped off yummy dishes. She needs no more bags, so I proposed making something for her daughter, a play director who lives in the city and uses public transportation.

Lavina is always carrying lots of things, and I know she puts her bags down on the floor.  So I tried using an iron-on vinyl for the bottom of this bag - I have no idea how it will wear.  There's an outer zippered pocket, and there is a zippered top.  However, if she decides to carry marbles, they will fall out.  So I made her a little zippered pouch and attached it to the bag.

A little 5" x 7"zippered clutch

I missed a couple of deadline for two wedding quilts and a bridal shower present.  Fabrics for these three are already in a pile.  And I want to do some fabric key chains.  Oddly enough, these are the same width as the handles I make for the Mors bags.  But before I do any sewing of any kind, I must...

put things right

clean up the various piles

and make everything tidy.

I have a birthday coming up soon.  My present to myself will be a clean and organized studio!

CMQG and the AAMQG Swap

"Woven Glass" by Donna Moscinski, CMQG

Reverse of "Woven Glass"  (Art Gallery Fabric - I am a Maker)

 The Chicago Modern Quilt Guild and the Ann Arbor Modern Quilt Guild made some connections, mostly thanks to Camp Stitchalot
and QuiltCon 2015.  A swap of mini quilts was proposed, and several of us in both guilds jumped all over it!.  My swap partner has not yet received hers - all Chicago minis are in the mail.  I used fabrics from designer Alison Glass and wove them over a neutral background.   I love the back almost as much as the front - it's Art Gallery's fabric "I am a Maker".  The wool batting gives the machine quilting a nice dimension that isn't very visible in these pictures.  The Ann Arbor Guild will receive their quilt next Monday!

"Give and Care" by Brenda Rowley Gray, AAMQG

Reverse of "Give and Care"

Meanwhile, the Chicago guild received their minis at last Sunday's meeting.  My mini- quilt is a "Give and Care" quilt, Brenda Gray's homage to Swiss Army blankets.  Brenda honored my color preference and told me about her uncles who died during World War II.  That my dad and uncles were veterans who survived this war makes Brenda's story even more meaningful. 

Give and Care?  It's what quilters do!

For the Interventional Radiology Surgical Team

 While my doctors are of course important to what I had done, so is their support team in the Operating Room.  Before my five-hour Angiovac, Nurse Eileen was particularly comforting and reassuring, telling me how fabulous this surgical team is and how they work together like family.  I remember smiling as the anesthesiologist gave me his magic drugs.  From the leftovers of the Alison Glass fabrics I used in my swap quilt (see next post which hasn't yet been written), I made this quilted Mors Bag for Eileen. 

 Inside Eileen's bag are 10 more bags, not quilted but absolutely functional.  This morning at my one-month checkup, I asked nurse Ben (this place - Vascular/Interventional Radiology of Hinsdale - hires the nicest people) to make sure Eileen and the surgical team got this package.  I also have another 10 bags in process and asked for a call if these bags are a hit and more of the team or spouses want more.  I dont want to be overly dramatic, but this team saved my life and I would do anything for them.

more bags in process, including some manly ones

 Finally, one of John's beautiful jazz t-shirts got kind of creepy looking in the armpits and neck.  But it's a beautiful shirt.  So we salvaged the good part and turned it into a Mors bag.  I think John will use it as a door prize at the Brookfield Jazz Society.

                                        I am happy to be sewing and to be alive! 

Getting My Head Out Of My Medical Butt

Regaining my sewing mojo?  Easier said than done.  So I revert to an old favorite - Mors Bags.  They are pretty simple to do.  They are great at stash busting.  They provide a great sense of accomplishment.  And now I have a lot of bags all ready to give away.  To be able to focus on someone other than myself is important to me at this point.  I am going to start with the Surgical Team of the Interventional Radiologists - what a fabulous group.  Without being overly dramatic, they saved my life. 

You can see that I am trying to rid my stash of all these batiks, some of which are over 10 years old.  There's a pile in the bottom left that are all part of a demo I am doing at my Chicago Modern Quilt Guild next week.  I still have several more I want to do, especially of bags that are a bit more manly.  (I have run into my knee surgeon a couple of times at the grocery store, sporting one of the Mors bags I gave him).  Since batiks are so tightly woven, I don't line them.  The next batch will all be ones that must be lined.  But whether the bags are lined or unlined, the technique is the same.  The very bottom bag is one that I made months ago, and we truly use it on an almost daily basis. 

Reduce (my fabric stash), reuse (these cloth bags and wash them when necessary) , recycle (by saying no to plastic bags). 

Bit by Bit, Putting It Together...

 

Sondheim, right?  When stuck for words, I go to Sondheim.  This particular song is from "Sunday in the Park with George" and refers to mounting an artist's exhibition.  In my case, the "bit by bit" is getting my life under control after a 13-day hospitalization involving a brutal but successful cardiovac (google only if you have a strong constitution) to get rid of systemic blood clots.  One bit is gaining stamina.  Today I am doing some driveway walking and marching.  Tomorrow I will do more than today, and  I may even drive!  

A second bit is what's on the design wall.  My Chicago Modern Quilt Guild is doing  a swap of mini quilts with the Ann Arbor Modern Quilt Guild.  The Chicago minis were collected at the August meeting and sent to the Ann Arbor girls.    I want to get this mini-quilt finished in time for their September meeting.  All parts are ready for assembly.  I'm calling this "Woven Glass" because all the fabrics are by designer Alison Glass.  And tomorrow I will start to actually sew and begin quilting it.

The third bit is just regaining some normalcy despite a glut of tests and doctor appointments all through September.  I've been home from the hospital for three days and am just delighting in being in my house with John without an IV and without 8-hour blood draws.  Blood thinning medication is an absolute necessity, and I will keep it monitored closely.  Meanwhile John is still recuperating from his second vitrectomy on his left eye. 

Daily I will find joy, and daily I will do something purposeful.  And I am smiling.  A lot.  I'm a lucky girl with fabulous support from family, friends, and a great team of doctors. 

Out of all the patients at LaGrange and Hinsdale Hospitals, I know that I had the prettiest quilted bags.

This quilt was delivered in early August.  Mom Joan Walsh commissioned this for her daughter Caroline, a recent graduate of Lyons Township, and gave it to her for her late August birthday.  

It's August for August!

Here's the back of the baby quilt for August, grandson of favorite client Roberta.  She buys the fabric, designs the layout, does the cutting, and then brings me the "kit."  She waits until her grandchildren are 2 or 3, which I think is pretty wise.  I love working with her.  Here's another quilt she designed.  There's another one, which I can't find right now.  I must get better at labelling.

I love how Roberta finds fabrics for what her grandchildren's parents want.  Waiting until the kids are a bit older makes these quilts special since they go with the child and the bedroom.  These quilts, including this one, are "draggers".  They are meant to be used and dragged around and washed a lot.

This lovely batik on the quilt back enhances the sea theme on the front of the quilt.


I don't know how Roberta found me, and she doesn't remember either.  All I know is that it's a good fit and I enjoy working with her! 

Here's a link to the first baby quilt I did for Roberta.  

A Working Inspiration Board

Without saying too much about what I'm working on, here's my palette.  The bottom left is the look I'm going for.  We'll see...  Meanwhile I'm working with one of my favorite clients - the grandmother who likes to buy fabric and create quilts for her grandchildren.  Except she doesn't want to sew.  She gives me a kit she's created.  And each time she's given me one of her kits, I bump her to the top of my queue because I like what she does.  And I love doing baby quilts.  Stay tuned for this quilt!