Quilts

Some Friday Finishes

November 15, 2013 Elizabeth E.8 Comments

Working on some Christmas Trees to go around this guy:

I finished up the center, bordered it with red, and arranged and sewed the blocks from my bee-mates in the Mid-Century Modern Bee. I think they look swell.

Krista invited me to the Friendship Cross-X block swap. Or + and x. or X and +. So many names for the same block.

After hours of listening, I have one more hour to go on Catherine the Great. I’m glad I learned about her and her times, but it is a loooong book to listen to.

Finished Rene’s block for our Mid-Century Modern Bee for November. I just realized I forgot to make the signature block (we do one of those for all our blocks, and send it to our bee-mate), so I’ll be slicing open the envelope and sliding it in before I head to the post office today. She used *this* tutorial; these are fun and easy. Another for the I Need to Make That list.

I noticed it’s getting harder and harder to carve out some uninterrupted time in the sewing room, so yesterday’s long day was very welcome. So many things I want to do, people I want to be with, traveling I want to do, and grandchildren I want to see. I was able to help my daughter’s oldest children sew a small project (a sleeping bag for a stuffed animal). I’ll leave you with Riley doing his first stitches:

Okay, back to the sewing. Today is partly errands, mostly sewing, which should continue through the weekend. Monday? The re-grading of the (shockingly bad) second essay. Yep. I made them all re-do it, so now I get to regrade it. Now I know I’m nuts.

WIP Wednesday

November 13, 2013April 27, 2014 Elizabeth E.14 Comments

I seem to be on an Amish trend. First the book announcement and a round-up of my Amish quilts, and then with this WIP Wednesday, news of my Amish With A Twist-2 BOM status. I was sailing through these monthly chapters of fabric and pattern until this one: twenty-eight blocks, all log cabin style.

I got out my trusty swatch/color helper and started cutting. I had to add a bunch to my cards to keep them current, one selvage snip at a time.

At first I was confused, with what they wanted, then I figured it out. They want a TOTAL of 28 strips, in a variety of the colors listed. I did my math, and figured out that would be about 4 strips of each different color, in the dark color way and a different number in the medium color way, so lined them up on the board and started cutting.

And cutting.

I sewed the centers together, then did one complete round of strips. They look kind of cool lined up here, I think.

I assembled them in kind of a log-cabin-block arrangement, just trying to get the visual.

And finally–twenty-eight blocks completed. I have eight more to go in a different coloration, then assemble and finish.

I’m also working on the #friendshipxandplusswap showing up on blogs and instagram; there are quite a few of us who have paired up, decided on the number of blocks, and are going at it. In October I was supposed to send my partner two blocks (we make four and send off half), and in November, four. Well, here’s a part of November’s, I still owe October’s and December is right around the corner. We all plan to blog on the last Friday of the month, so if you are not entertaining a turkey-pumpkin-pie hangover from the day before (American Thanksgiving), and can head back around, you’ll see some more of these blocks.

Next WIP rattling around in my head comes from when Leanne announced the theme for our next Four-in-Art challenge: Structure. So when I was visiting my sister and her husband at Cedar-Sinai hospital this past week, I took some photos to get me in the mood. They have very cool structures there, in terms of modern, angular buildings. But it’s their art on the inside which is swoon-worthy. (That’s another post).

Here’s the Big Kahuna of WIP projects, and the deadline is fast approaching. I have now received all the 12″ squares from my bee mates. Now to find the hyper-overdrive-Christmas-blast of energy to get it done! I’ve not arranged these yet how I want them, but I love seeing them and all the signature squares, up on the pinwall.

I could bore you with more, but I think that’s more than enough.

Linking up with Lee of Freshly Pieced.

Quilts

Santa So Far

October 28, 2013October 28, 2013 Elizabeth E.18 Comments

I received two more blocks from my bee-mates today, and it was a good conclusion to a Terrible, Horrible, No-Good, Very Bad Day in class.

One boy cried, but not because of anything I said or did (horrors! how could he let English interfere with what he was thinking about as he sat in my classroom?) Thirteen of the seventeen students that managed to come to class were unprepared, madly trying to finish up their assignment as they smiled and looked at me. Four students were perfect. I love them. Three had emailed me that they couldn’t come to class with the following reasons: “I have a migraine and don’t feel so well,” “My mom’s stew didn’t sit so well and I don’t want to be running out of class all the time,” and “I have to be somewhere at 3.” (Our class begins at 3:00.)

After trying for nearly an hour to get the class off the ground, I made everyone sit down from where they were crowding around my desk, seeking help, and said, “You aren’t prepared. Is it my fault? Shall we postpone the next essay?” And then I had what one of our teachers calls a “Come to Jesus” moment, when we re-acquaint them with the Truth, which is that not only does the teacher need to be prepared for class, but the students do too. “And today, you are not prepared,” I said, calling for a break to clear the air, dismiss the crying young man (family problems), and figure out where to go next.

So it was lovely to to come home to the two newest blocks, and I arranged them up on the wall, along with the one I’d made to replace Linda’s. She gets a Full Pass on making quilt blocks because three weeks ago her home burned to the ground. They escaped with their cat and their hard drive and not much else. I’ll think of her every time I look at 54-40, or Fight. Makes a bad day at class look pretty trivial, doesn’t it?

Maybe my bad day really began last night as I worked on the block? Don’t worry. I “un-stitched” it, flipped around the row, and put it back together properly.

I can only write about this now because a good colleague interrupted her grading to listen to me whine all the way home.

Of course, she took my side. (Thanks, Judy.) And doesn’t Santa look great, surrounded by lovely quilt blocks made by lovely friends?

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Four more days until we reveal our Four-in-Art Quilts. Come back and see the art on November 1st.

Quilts

WIP: Bits and Pieces

October 22, 2013 Elizabeth E.8 Comments

I’m finishing up bits and pieces, collecting bits and pieces, and am covered with bits and pieces of thread (On Mondays and Wednesdays — my teaching days — I’m always worried I’ll stand up in the front of the class with snips of thread sticking to me). Above is the label, all sewn on, for my recent Schnibbles quilt: America Is A Tune (it must be sung together). Finished that up tonight.

This is the Schnibbles from last month all pinned up ready for quilting.

The blocks from the Mid-Century Modern Bee are starting to come in, and as they arrive, I iron them and smooth them up on the pinwall next to Santa. It’s so fun to see them come in, with their nifty signature blocks (we decided to do a signature block and I’m really happy we did!).

Some Other WIPs:
Lollypop Tree–it calls to me from the guest room closet where it is on a hanger, like a siren song. I ignore it, for the most part.

Friendship Quilt Blocks–I just need to sew them together. What is taking me so long? Our novel for class, Moon Over Manifest, has a signature quilt in the story line, so I took in a few blocks to show the students. As I looked at the signatures of the women, I thought of each of these ladies. This will be a gem. At some point.

Santa (above). I could start working on the houses and trees, I guess, now that I’ve finished up my Four-in-Art quilt for the November reveal. (Suppressed squeal of joy) Come back in a few days and see the gallery. We have eight total now, so it should be a fun blogging/Flickr day.

Friendship Swap Blocks with Krista–we finally worked out our schedule and are ready to go.

I also have fabric for a Halloween quilt — oops! Next year.

Not a WIP: finished my novel Light Between Oceans–loved it. Can recommend it highly.

Linking up with Lee at Freshly Pieced,
if she decides to run it, as I know she’s been very busy with getting things ready for market.