Working Slowly and Happily

When I was an EQL (emerging quilt learner), I focused on getting things done as quickly as possible.  Before I became an ardent hand quilter, I would make fun of hand quilters and remind then machines were so much faster.  Oh, how wrong I was. And oh, how I have learned to slow down.   I also have been focused on function by making only useable things, no art quilts.  And again, to my surprise, I have been wrong.  There's a Windham artisan fabric challenge for the MQG.  You see the six colors at the left.  Generous guild member Rob treated several of us to six fat quarters.  and not to sound like a broken record, but - again - I decided I wanted to play and began to think about what I wanted to do.  And then?  I spent three days looking at various web sites and using my scraps to make practice pieces.  This is not the way I normally work!  But it's been fun. I'm eager to get back to my notes and this project. Fabric manipulation is something that intrigues me but its not practical for quilt.  But I'm tamping that practical side down for what will be an art quilt. 

While I was working on how to manipulate fabric, I was also working on this Park Sloan backpack by Sew Sweetness.  It was a tricky pattern but I love how it turned out.  My niece has this small version but I am also making the same bag in the bigger version.  

Great niece Eloise is the perfect model and will use this as her dance bag.

That lovely set of fat Cherrywood fat quarters is almost a quilt, and I'm thankful for my design wall. It's like instant gratification before I actually sew the blocks together.  I just barely had enough of the light background fabric.  And I was actually two blocks short of fabrics so there are two improve scrappy blocks in the corners.  

Life's rhythms are changing. I'm working differently.  And it's ok.  

Finding My Mojo

Breaking rhythm has always been a problem for me.  Certainly that was true of the school year and summer vacation and then trying to get back into the swing of things in September.  And this has carried over into my quilting life.  On a week- long cruise of the Columbia River in Oregon, I did absolutely no handwork or plotting or planning.  The most quilty thing I saw was at the Maritime Museum in Astoria, Oregon.  These silk pieces, about 20” x 20”, were carried by Japanese soldiers and pilots during World War II and were made by their family members.  Some of these flags/pennants were returned to families, and some are on display here in this museum.  I think these are lovely pieces.

In approaching the studio once we returned home, I’ve been overwhelmed with how poorly I am using my fabulousstudio space and how much stuff I am holding onto that I just don’t use.  So I started to purge.  I came across a Noodlehead Trail Tote kit, complete with Carolyn Friedlander fabrics.  Of course I had to stop and make it.  The piping joining the purse front and back is a great design feature.  

Quilty buddy Lauren gave me a packet of Cherrywood Far quarters last October.  I love these gentle colors and have been pondering what to do with them.  Each colored rectangle is 7” x 9” and will get a bit bigger with the shadowing and neutral sashing.  I love having a project like this going because once the math and cutting is done, the sewing is kind of automatic.  On those days when I am not sure what I want to work on, I know this project is all ready to go.  A full size quilt is my goal.  

One project that has been on my radar for quite a while is the Park Sling backpack, shown below.  Sara Lawson’s projects are always fun to do, and my great niece in Ann Arbor is at a perfect age for this.  Below the pattern picture is a range of fabrics that I’ll be using   To be determined…! 

 

Q

A Lazy Summer

 

 My sewing rhythm has been off.  I’m sure I could come up with reasons why.  But what’s important is just to recognize and perhaps even honor this down time.   My red door is now ready for finishing.  It’s a great napping size.  However, I think this should be a wall hanging.  Where?  Haven’t figured that out yet. I know I want to hand quilt it.  Ohhh, a winter hand project!

Friend Lauren gave me a lovely pack of Cherrywood fat quarters.  And I’ve just now decided what I want to do with them. This project will be a great way to resume a normal sewing rhythm once we return from Oregon on the 16th.  The cherrywood fabrics are wonderful to work with - I’m excited about this! 

So many of my friends are readers and even librarians.  And I’m finding some of the best books. When I had reluctant freshmen boys, Hatchet by Gary Paulson was a pretty sure bet.  Quilty/librarian Beth told me about The War That Saved. My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley. Despite this book being a children’s or YA book, it is just terrific. And there’s a sequel. Quilty 

Eileen just recommended this book pictured.   And I’m eager to start it.  It’s not in audio format, so I will actually have to sit down and read!  Maybe it’ll be my vacation book…

All In Process

Crafters have different working styles.  Mine is to keep several projects going at once and be okay without a sense if completion.  And I’m pretty happy working like this.  The fabrics above are for a challenge sponsored by Windham.  For a couple of years challenges have not interested me.  But this one? For some reason I’m doing it.  My goal is to do some fabric manipulation using a pleating process.  In the middle is a practice sample in reds right beneath the challenge directions. Guild mate Rob Stoller generously bought fabrics and distributed/mailed them. 

My Chicago MQG is working on a charity project, headed by Jane and Omeleye. They came up with these scrappy blocks and supplied us with the background fabric.  Several of us are doing a total of eight 7.5” blocks.  It’s a fun way to approach scraps, and Jane’s directions gave us permission to throw away the scraps of our scraps.  Perfect!  I’m always searching for ways to use scraps, and I liked making these blocks.  I think I’ll use this pattern again.  

Look at the picture below.  It hangs in the Florida house of friends Dorothy and Greg.  The color and the lines appeal to me.  So here is my version of the red door.  My sister asked if I was becoming Episcopalian because they use red doors.  Who knew?  This door appeals to imagination.  What’s behind it? The big issue with this piece is going to be what to do with it.  Meanwhile I will just enjoy the process of working on it. 

And always purses for Sew Powerful.  Here are some from fat quarters I bought at Joann’s.  These purses1 are what give me the sense of completion I need. 

 

No Longer a Covid Virgin…

I can't believe it.  After being pretty careful for so long - including removing ourselves from  family Christmas 2020 and excluding two grandsons Christmas 2021 - I got Covid.  No, I don't know where or how.  And it wasn't horrible - really a bad cold sort of thing and maybe a bit low on energy.  But I did not feel like sewing at all.  So these six purses were really a push to get back into the swing of things.  And we just got back from Atlanta - we had to check our daughter Julie's new house.  We listened to a Karin Slaughter book on the way there and The Lincoln Highway on the way home.  So I'm still trying to reestablish a new normal.

My big news has nothing to do with sewing.  It really is about a family heirloom.  In the late 50's and early 60's my dad drove all over the area to tune pianos.  He was at the home of a church family in Beverly, and this family was getting ready to move to Oak Lawn.  This leader-glass shade was in their garbage pile.  Dad asked if he could have it, and the family said sure.  So he brought it home, and my mom had a couple of brass-polishing parties.  And then it was hung in the Western Springs dining room until they moved to LaGrange in the mid-70's.  Ad then it was in LaGrange.  At some point, perhaps after my folks moved back into the city, they offered it to Paula, who had the space and house in Freeport for it.  When Paula moved to St. Joe, of course the shade went with them.  When they moved from St. Joe to Benton Harbor, again the shade went along.  Paula is moving again and downsizing.  Meanwhile we have this fabulous dining room space.  Paula said she could part with the shade.  We met in LaPorte, IN and transferred the shade to my car.  Our electrician was here Monday.  And here it is...

If I saw this shade in a shop,  I would probably ask right by it.  But the family history - and my big dining room - makes me love it.  And it really does seem to finish off our dining room beautifully.

I must admit I do feel a bit sullied after Covid. Oh, well - I'll get over that feeling. Meanwhile Ive been thankful for my vaccinated and boosted status.

A little kiss block made by Eileen which sometimes holds my threaded needles. 

Scraps, Scraps, and More Scraps

I cannot stand my ever-growing stash of scraps.  Two baskets, a 7-drawer chest, and a plastic tub are all bursting at the seams. At the winter CMQG retreat I worked on the blocks from the quilt above. Scraps strips were cut into 2.5” x 10.5 strips.  So were all my low-volume neutrals.  I even joined up leftover bits of binding.  The batting?  Yep, Frankenbatted. Wait, it gets worse…
 

The backing is all scraps, too.  I had to use the leftover scraps strips and those odd bigger bits of low-volumes.  I like this quilt, and it needs an owner.  Someone will choose it. Maybe…

Frankenstein and Quilting

Perhaps you’ve heard of Frankenbatting.  That when a quilter takes leftover batting bits and sews them together to make a batting big enough for the current project,  I love using wool batting - the texture it creates is wonderful, and it’s perfect for my hand quilting.  Wool bats are expensive, and I am proud of using leftover bits to make a whole.  But it’s a bit painstaking. 

This quilt top went together quickly with a layer cake of fabrics and a wonderful Art Gallery neutral,  I like the herringbone design, but…. This is a noisy quilt.  Too many colors are screaming “Look at me!” 

Somebody’s going to love it.  Just not me.  Below is the backing for this quilt.  The batting was all one piece, but the backing has been Frankensteined.  There’s a middle panel of a black and white detailing all the colors in the world, but I didn’t have enough.  So it’s surrounded by 2 low-volume pieces.  I can’t decide whether to hand quilt this or machine quilt it.  The weather will determine which.

And speaking of weather, I’ve been wanting a summer quilt.  So I took some bits of fabrics I really love that have just been languishing in my stash.  There’s some Yoshiko Jinzenji fabric included.  It took days of seeing whether these fabrics will play together nicely. I’m still not sure they do, but I like this.  A lot.

I am going to experiment with this summer quilt.  I am not going to bat it.  Instead I am going to back it with a sheet and try hand quilting this.  I have already set out my light and dark grey No 8 Perle cotton, my light beige-white, and - perhaps use a bit of red.  To be determined.  If there is ever a project to do some experimental stitching, this is it for sure. 

Reclaiming Normal

I often joke about how making purses for Sew Powerful help me get my head out of my ass.  But it is so true.  With my brother's last few weeks on earth, the calendar and days of the week just melded into one sad period of time.  But his wonderful funeral and knowing he is at peace have helped time resume its normal pace.  And yes, the making of purses are an integral part of how I grieve. 

But so is my hand-quilting.  In the previous post you see the quilt I was working on during the days leading to his death. Janie from Ride Janie Ride claimed that quilt for her solace.  So then I moved right onto the quilt below.

                                  Some of these are so low-volume the hexies seem to disappear.  

               Off-central spiral quilting suits my hand and my eye.  Every stitch was a soothing one.

This label is for the front

I've started hand quilting this one.  It's another "scrap" quilt.  Look at the purses at the beginning of this post.  They are make from scraps leftover from this scrappy quilt.  

An Attempt to Pay Things Forward

The biggest revelation at my brother Doug's funeral was that I just barely knew him.  Of course I knew him well in a family context, and I will say unequivocally that he and I were always there for one another, especially with our geographical proximity.  But the depth of his various friends and social circles was just amazing to see.  I saw one of my brother's friends kiss him goodby on the forehead.  I heard how my brother Al wrangled Doug physically in his final days.  And I am seeing grief for him from his friends that might even be deeper than  my sister Paula and my brother Al's grief.

Two who are grief-stricken about Doug's passing are Jane and Judy.  Sit back:  this is going to be a long exposition.  

My brother's last almost three years were difficult for the obvious reason.  They were also difficult financially.  The pandemic really caught Doug and Kim short in addition to dealing with chemo and its side effects and the mental gymnastics involved with such a diagnosis as Doug's.  Several helped Doug with money matters.  Good friend Kevin Connors started a GoFundMe for Doug, and people were very very generous.  My siblings and I helped as well.  And so did Ride, Janie, Ride - a 501c3 foundation started by Judy for her friend Jane.  Jane was diagnosed with cancer 17 years ago.  To help her friend Judy and her husband organized a motorcycle ride event which people pay to enter.  Other fundraising events are held as well.  Years ago Doug got involved photographing these events.  

Jane's cancer has morphed into different cancers over the years.  As Doug had his infusions, so did Jane.  And they became chemo buddies, FaceTiming during treatments and talking to one another about things that the rest of us may not understand.  Judy too was by Doug's side and made sure that the Ride, Janie, Ride foundation was there to support Doug. I met Judy and her husband in the hospital at Doug's bedside.  Jane sat with Doug and my brother Al in Doug's final days.  

I knew others loved Doug.  But the love of these two women for my brother is amazing.  To acknowledge their love and their grief, I offered to Jane and Judy what a quilter can offer:  quilts.  Jane chose the above quilt - Shuttle, a pattern by Glad Hand Sews - because it was what I was working on during Doug's final weeks.  Every stitch is about him. 

I asked Jane to choose a second quilt, and she choose my variation of Double Plus Good, the quilt by Rossie that hooked me into modern quilting.  It's been hanging on my dining room wall, but I am not sorry to see it go - I tend not to have browns and golds in my house.  And I'm delighted it's going to someone who loves it.  See the Saturday, September 24, 2022 entry for more about the quilt.

                                   

Judy looked over a couple of quilts and decided on this one above.  She asked if it was special.  And it is.  This is the quilt I worked on with my broken wrist in 2020 at the start of the pandemic.  I could cut fabric using my elbow to steady my ruler, and I could use my machine.  Scissors were my big problem.  So was ironing.  This quilt is made of a lot of selvage strips that were overlapped.  You can see my fabric preferences and collection in this quilt .  I love this quilt, but it needed an owner.  And I'm glad it was Judy who claimed it.  I can't think of or write about Judy without thinking of Dodie, my college roommate and beloved friend who died from lung cancer in 2008.  What a fabulous friends Judy has been to Jane over the year.  How special is she.  And she too loved Doug.

Here's how my dining room wall looked until just this past weekend.

And here's how it looks now.  

The Saddest March Ever…

My brother Doug was 15 years younger than me, and he died March 19.  He was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer in July 2020.  We knew his death would likely happen before the rest of us.  Still, the impact of his passing is profound. While sewing rhythm was disrupted with visits, it picked up speed during his final days while my brother and sister, along with Doug’s wife, daughter and friends, tended his bedside. The studio became a guest room.  For future reference, I am not very good bedside.  

I was thankful I had this project - a Sloan Travel Bag by Sew Sweetness - to work on for my granddaughter.  It's a complex bag with outer pockets, inner pockets, and a zippered top.  Preparation and assembly require total concentration, a good thing.   Nikki likes warm and light neutrals so this bag was a challenge and a departure from my cool highly-contrasting palette.  I’m very happy with it.

While there were many hospital and home visits and sibling sleepovers, nightly I returned to my hand-quilting project, Shuttle by Glad Hand Sews. My limited palette belies the beauty of this quilt pattern.  I should say that nightly I had to return to this project.  I get even twitchier if I don’t have another project for hand quilting in my queue.  I finished this one just before Doug died.  And immediately I moved on the next quilt.

My low-volume hexagon quilt was already pin-basted.  Starting with an off-center spiral pattern lets me work on automatic pilot. I started hand-quilting as my parents were dying,  after my mom’s death I found the rhythm of the stitching soothing.  I still do.  I will mourn Doug as I finish this quilt and will continue to mourn him in the next project.  And the next.  And these stitchings soothe my soul.