Busy Hands, Happy Hands

For the past few years I have said that I'd like to be teaching quilting. That is definitely happening this fall. Here's my teaching schedule:

Tuesdays in September at The Sewing Room in Lombard, 1:00 - 3:00 - Reversible Baby Quilt

Saturdays, Sept 8, 22, 29, at The Sewing Room, 10 - 12 - Baby Fence Rail (oops, this one was cancelled - maybe later...)

Sunday, Sept 9 - 1 - 3 at Quiltfabric.com in Willowbrook - "Make and Take" Reversible Holiday Place Mat

Sunday, Oct 27, and Sunday, Nov 4, at SusanMarie's - 135th and Ridgeland - Reversible BabyQuilt

These three shops are very different from one another, and it's going to be interesting and fun to get to know each of these shops better. I haven't figured out yet whether this kind of teaching will be financially worthwhile. But I do already know that I'm excited about each one of these workshops and look forward to each experience.

Meanwhile, I'm still plugging away on Cecilia's quilt, thinking about the quilt for the Jim Dandy, and wanting to make up more reversible quilts just because they are fun. There are a couple of new techniques that I want to experiment with. And neighbor Susan and I are going to a quilt expo in Madison, WI, to participate in some hands-on workshops and attend some lecture/demonstrations.

Words I couldn't say for a long time: I really love August and September!

When Quilting isn't Quilting

I've been doing quilting "tasks" but not necessarily with my sewing machine.

In preparation for doing a sampler of the "make-and-take" placement using the reversible technique, I discovered it's not that much more effort to make kits of all materials needed for this placement - the 12 fabric squares and coordinating sashings for the front and back, the batting, and the binding. It's a bit labor-intensive - the cutting, ironing the binding and sashing, the collation. But now I have 10 fabric kits which I'm selling for $20 each for the Sept 9th class at quiltfabric.com in Willowbrook. This kind of preparation is a much different way of spending time in my studio! Also, creating an accurate supply list and tweaking the directions have required some computer time.

Neighbor Susan of "Thursday Night Sewing" and I are planning to go to a Quilt exposition in Madison, WI, next month. Registering for various workshops and lectures required quite a bit of study and concentration. Really! That is finally in the mail.

My new summer quilt, a bigger version of what I made for Mani, needed to go to Debbie, the Long-Arm Quilter. So I took a morning drive to Tinley Park for a drop-off yesterday. When I pick up that quilt in five week, I'm hoping to have Cecilia's King Quilt ready to take. This quilt is in big pieces but we're still making decisions about some of the fabrics.

Meanwhile, I still have the fabrics out for the Jim Dandy project, and they are demanding some attention. Also I do want to do another sample of a reversible baby quilt. And if nothing else, I could certainly spend several hours putting away and organizing my sash. With our Wisconsin Dells vacation over, I think I'm reading to get back into a sewing groove.

My turbinates for a quilt, Part II

My sister and her husband are the soul of generosity. Really, look up that word in the dictionary, and there the two of them are. In my previous entry (see May 1, 2007)) I mentioned that Dr. Den did some work in my throat (Pillar implants) and nose (turbinates) to help my snoring issue. They are both nurturers and encouragers of everyone else in their lives - their children, their siblings, their parents, their church, their office staff, their friends. They share their time, talents, and goods freely and willingly. So it's nice to be able to do something for them. This quilt is for their audiologist's office and made from the scraps of the quilt that hangs in the Main Office.

Getting It Right

It's really fascinating to work on a project for someone else. Individual taste varies so much. Good and necessary friend Cecilia is having a quilt made for her bedroom. We have the palette right. But now it's a matter of getting the design, proportions, and distribution of the fabrics right. It's one thing to see products in a store and decide which one you want. It's entirely different when you can design each aspect of something like a quilt.

My design wall (i.e., my floor) has the body of Cecilia's quilt on it. We know the big pieces. And we're now trying to make decisions on some of the details. At this point I need to be quiet because I'm really to move full speed ahead. But I need to wait and let the process take its own time. Also, I realized today that making decisions based on what we see on the design floor is wrong because the quilt needs to be in its permanent home. So I'll get the bigger bits together and then relay everything out on her bed. Then perhaps the decision-making will be a bit easier.

But let me quickly say that this quilt is going to be stunning. It may take until October to get it all right, but it's going to be fabulous.

Wall Quilt for the Jim Dandy

Using the iris colors from the master bedroom of the Jim Dandy in Litchfield, South Carolina, this project has started. Here's the palette, but I don't know yet what design to use. I love doing little log cabins (see previous project) and may have to use that pattern again. Fran Dunn, one of home's owners, seemed genuinely pleased with this offer. That she knew Dodie will make this another one of my grief quilts. That's a good thing.

Back to Business

We are home from Myrtle Beach. It was a lovely week with fabulous weather and good company. Of course, that Dodie was not there was at the forefront of everything. But being with her family was important - it is all part of moving the grieving process along.

So now, back to business. Cecilia's quilt is on the table although I am still waiting to hear from the Kings Road fabric manufacturer if he can get me a bolt of the critical greenish black fabric that will generously frame the body of the quilt. I'm doing a twin of the quilt that I made for Mani, Dodie's daughter. The colors are perfect for my bedroom, and this will become our new summer quilt.

The house we had in Myrtle Beach is owned by friends of Mani's. John and I stayed in the master bedroom of the Jim Dandy (people in the low country of South Carolina name their houses). This master bedroom has an iris theme, and there's am empty wall just begging for a wall hanging. Should I just make something and send it or should I actually talk to Fran, the home's owner. Hmmm....

Vacation's over - time to get cracking again!

The Decorative Touch

I see Janet Sylkatis (jancmt@aol.com) once every three weeks to work on various body issues. Jan is a massage therapist who specializes in Ortho-bionomy. Several foot and knee surgeries plus a lifetime of inactivity have led me to Janet. By working with her I have developed a fairly normal walking gait and a sense of physical awareness formerly lacking. Some of my issues are occupational ones. Despite paying great attention to the ergonomics of my quilting, spending six to eight hours a day at a sewing machine creates certain issues. And Janet helps me work through each one.

Janet just moved into a new office in Hinsdale. It's quiet and airy and like being in a tree house. I needed to do one more demo piece for my Lawndale Log Cabin workshop and choose this palette of greens and whites with Janet's new office in mind. Shortly before I offered this piece to Janet, friends of hers had told her that all her office needed for completion was a quilted wall hanging. Great minds DO think alike! Click on the quilt to see some of the quilting in gold thread. This wall hanging is my contribution to the sense of peace within the office and within me.

The Reversible Model #1

I love what I am doing in the Studio, but I think I need to be doing some teaching as well. The Lawndale Ladies are fun and rewarding, but it's not enough. So I am going to see if I can teach the reversible technique at quiltfabric.com in Willowbrook and SusanMarie's at 135th and Ridgeland. There must be a model to hang in each store as an example of the technique. I did recently complete one in those lovely greys and ethnic fabrics, but it's bigger than what I propose to teach. So I stole the combination of batik fabrics that Cristina used for her aunt's Barcelona quilt on one side and the other side has fabrics that all have gold in them. The result is stunning. Now I need to make a second one, and I think it will have to copy this one. I'm learning so much by doing this technique again and again and am eager to teach it.

Cristina left for Barcelona earlier this week. Before she left she came over with an envelope. It was $100 gift certificate from quiltfabric.com from the entire family. Woo Hoo! I know I'll spend it all on more batiks. I am already missing Cristina - can't imagine what her parents are feeling.

The Quilt for Myrtle Beach

Mani's quilt is complete. It's very simple in design but has more quilting than I normally put in a quilt. I'll give it to her on Dodie's 58th birthday, July 13, which is the day of of her ash-letting-go ceremony. Virginia has her quilt. I haven't made a quilt for Paul, Mani's brother and Virginia's twin. Someday... Making this quilt has been peaceful. Sad but peaceful. I think that's what the week at the beach will be - sad but peaceful. It was almost a year ago when Dodie and I did her "important" work, writing down what she wanted to have happen after her death. Scattering the ashes at the Turner House on Pawley's Island was part of the plan. I didn't get it at the time, but I get it now: this was her way of getting us all together to celebrate her life - and death.

Cristina - in the old and the new studio

I have a 16 year-old friend. Just as I have difficulty telling my peers about my friend Cristina, she has an equally hard time telling her peers about her 57 year-old friend. Cristina is my neighbor, and she has spent more time in my studio than anyone else. She began making quilts with me when she was in junior high. The quilt she just finished today is her fifth (or sixth) one. Last year she made a quilt for her grandmother in Uruguay. Today she finished a quilt for her aunt in Barcelona which Cristina herself is going to deliver next week. While in Barcelona Cris will have an opportunity to study at an art school. I can't wait to see what she'll be learning!

I'm impressed with Cristina because she has such an interesting eye for design and color. Because of her I have become more adventurous in some of my fabric combinations. When I am stuck for a border or need some input, she's the first one I'll ask. Just recently she introduced me to HTML code as well as some interesting music groups (Coldplay, The Shins, The Cranberries, and Postal Service). My latest reversible quilt uses the same fabrics from her Barcelona quilt. Yes, I copied from her.

My new studio was completed in late December, 2006. My old studio was dismantled in August, 2006. From August until December I was able to work out of a temporary studio at Cristina's parents' home. Although Ana and Miguel were more than gracious about this arrangement, it was Cristina who initiated the idea, both to me and her parents. I was reluctant and thought I could work out of the first floor of our home. John knew that I couldn't and told me from the very first to accept Cristina's suggestion. And so I did, at Ana's urging. In retrospect, I don't know what I would have done without the temporary studio down the block.

At this same time Cristina received her driver's permit and was taking Driver Education. Getting her 50 hours of behind-the-wheel time was difficult. That's when my Quiltmobile and I stepped in. During this past winter we accumulated driving hours after school and on weekends. Our time often included a precious stop at Starbuck's. I am proud to say that Cristina now knows all the local Starbucks, including the drive-thru one in Lyons! But I'm even happier to report that Cristina earned her driver's license this spring and now tools around happily and independently.

We are lucky that our friendship has been beneficial for both of us.

So my friend Cristina is off to Barcelona for the summer. I'm excited for her and can't wait to begin hearing tales of how she is doing and what she is doing.