Rituals

I have rituals when I begin to sew.  First, I get something to drink, coffee or tea if it is cold outside, water or juice or tea with ice if it is warm.  It is a long way from the kitchen to my sewing room, and I usually don't know how long I'm going to be down there, so I like to be prepared.  When I enter the room, I light either a scented candle or incense.  If necessary, I turn on the lights, but since there is so much southern exposure in my sewing room, I only have to do that at night and on gray days.  Then, I wander around, putting away anything that needs putting away so that I have room to work on the day's project(s).  All this takes just 3 - 5 minutes, but it is a smorgasbord for the senses, getting me ready to be creative.  I've got taste and smell covered with the drink and the incense.  Part of cleaning up is practical, but part is so I can feel the fabrics in my hands and see what is hiding in my fabric drawers as I put things away - touch and sight.  All that is left is hearing, and while I used to always listen to music or a story while sewing, lately, I've been sewing in silence.  I get so much THINKING done while I am sewing, and it is easier to think with less noise.

Do you have any rituals when you sew?

After last night's ritual, here's what I accomplished.

I'm up to three completed Split Stars and 3 completed selvage blocks, but I have another Split Star nearing completion, and 3 more selvage blocks in various stages of completion.

Halloween brings its own rituals.  One, of course, is carving the pumpkins.  I cut the top, the kids scoop the innards, I separate the seeds for roasting, the kids draw on the faces, and I cut along their drawn lines.  It's such a simple activity, but the boys and I always have so much fun doing it together.  Then, we light them and wait for Daddy to come home from practice.  He always takes a picture.

For someone who loves spontaneity and change, I realize I also cherish my rituals.

A first and a second

Riel over at the Q and the U continuously inspires me with all her selvage creations, so I finally bit the bullet and tried a selvage block.  I didn't use her tutorial, but rather Jodi's at Pleasant Home, using some fusible interfacing as a foundation.

The only reason there is only one block here is that I had to come back to town for a Cub Scout committee meeting and a karate class.  Otherwise, I'd have made block after block after block.  It was much easier than I had anticipated, and so gratifying to use the parts that are usually thrown away.  I was momentarily skeptical about having a foundation in there - as a hand quilter, I'm not sure how that would work - but I came up with a strategy that I think will nullify that concern.  Nothing more on that until I give it a try.

While sewing the selvage block, I also sewed my second Split Star for Block Lotto.  I love how crisp and clean these blocks appear in solids and white.  I think I have enough solid white for 2 more blocks.

Lastly, I want to share an experience my children and I had on Monday night.  Several months ago, I met a woman at the Community Festival in my quilting booth.  We talked about quilting and flower pressing (which is her craft and home business), and eventually talked about the Community Table.  The Community Table is a weekly restaurant style meal (complete with 4 courses, waiters in red aprons, white tablecloths and cloth napkins and live music), served free of charge to anyone in the community.  Those who can afford to make a donation at the end of the meal are able to do so as they walk out the door, but anyone can attend these meals and eat a healthy, home-cooked style meal in a collegial, non-judgmental atmosphere.

We went for the first time this Monday, and picked up my new friend from the Community Festival (she is 83 and unable to drive) to bring her along, too.  There were professors there.  There were families there.  There were people from local nursing homes there, out for a meal in town.  My kids saw friends from school.  I saw some quilting friends.  It was AWESOME!  I am so proud of my community.  To me, this is a really ingenious way to feed people in need without segregating them or taking away their dignity.  My family and I will definitely be going back.

When we took my new friend back home, she invited us in to see some things:

• her flower pressing, but also how she has incorporated real snake skins and real cicada wings into some of her creations (she is super talented!) 
• her antiques - including a Victrola hand crank phonograph from over 100 years ago with the THICK records (my kids danced and danced and danced to the scratchy tunes)
• her many motorized chairs (she said she gives driving lessons to young people)
• her chair lift to take her down into her basement (I've always wanted to try one of those!)
• her play rooms that she set up in her basement for her grandchildren where they create fantasy worlds behind the fabric and beads that she has hung as walls

Can I just tell you, my kids were MESMERIZED!  She invited them to come back and play anytime, and they have asked to go several times just in the two days since!  I'm so glad that my kids 1) have active imaginations and 2) don't share the sentiment that so many young people have these days that older people have nothing to contribute.  They recognized my new friend for what she is - a vibrant, interesting, exciting person who is really cool to hang out with!

Playing the lotto!

I have been admiring the Block Lotto blocks I've been seeing over at Julie's Joe Tulips Quilts blog for quite some time.  Here's the post that put me over the edge, making me resolved to participate, but if you search her blog, there are TONS of awesome block lotto blocks on there, and she wins A LOT!  I hope I have her luck!

So here's my first block.  I used up the rest of that greenish teal solid that I bought in WV and then used nearly all of in the world's heaviest quilt block (the Pine Burr block).

I already have fabric cut out for a couple more blocks.  I'm thinking maybe I'll make 4; we'll see.

This weekend was much busier than expected.  Saturday morning, I was an uke (think rag doll/punching bag/test dummy) for a young woman who was testing for her first degree black belt test.  It was actually quite fun being thrown around repeatedly, but boy, was I sore on Sunday!

Of course, that probably had something to do with what we did Saturday afternoon.  The Farm Store had a big Fall Farm Festival day.  There were vendors and tractors and livestock and a corn maze and lots of other things to do.  It's how we spend the rest of the day.

A turkey drive, simulating taking livestock to market - fun for the kids, terrifying for the birds...

Petting animals - sheep and cattle, ducks and geese and turkeys, and pigeons

We spent 2 hours lost in the corn maze before we sneaked out from a path that was near the edge. Jason was horrified that we "cheated" but we had two kids with us who were about to have a meltdown.

Playing on hay bales - they thought it was fun to jump over the rows that made up the maze

But they didn't always make the whole jump!

Even I got into the act!  See the guy in the back looking and me and saying, "What is that fool woman doing!?!"

Thankfully, there was a tractor with wagons to pull our tired bodies back to the parking lot. The kids are calling DIBS on the tractors they want.  It was a beautiful day!

So, a Saturday where I barely saw the inside of my house, I was resolved to stay home on Sunday.

It was not to be.  My oldest, Jason, has been asking if we can go to church.  How do you say, "Mom is too lazy to go to church," while still setting a good example for your children?  For a while, I could put him off because I wasn't sure my beliefs would line up with those of the parishioners at many of the area churches, but I keep meeting some pretty progressive, liberal, and NICE people who go to a local church, and they have invited me time and time again.  So we went to church yesterday.  Jason was so excited, and dressed to the nines again (no hat this time, but a sweater vest and bow tie - forgot to take a photo).  Donald was despondent, and walked in his slouchy "I'm doing this only under duress" way until I threatened him with not being able to watch The Cosby Show with us (that's our new family evening activity - we bought 4 seasons worth!).  I was somewhere in between - mostly just thinking of all the time I wouldn't be able to spend quilting.  Sounds terrible, I know.  I hope I don't lose any readers over that confession.

But church was nice, and afterwards, Donald came bounding out of the enrichment room to show me what he had made and then ran off with a new friend to scarf down cookies and lemonade before playing in the church courtyard.  We'll probably go again.

OK, lazy Sunday afternoon coming up with lots of sewing, right?  Wrong!  My hubby called to see if we wanted to go on a family outing.  Our jobs are both so busy that it is rare that we have time to go out as a complete family, so, of course, I said yes.  We got back at dark.  It was fun, but now I am wishing I had one more day to the weekend so I could stay home and sew!  And wouldn't you know it, my kids don't have school today!  I left the house grumbling this morning, wishing I were still in bed like the rest of my family.

Stepping out

No quilting news.  I didn't even put in one stitch yesterday.  I hate it when that happens!

But I did get to dress up and go out with my kiddos to our annual karate banquet, honoring those who will be testing for their Black Belt this coming Saturday.  It is fun getting dressed up every once in a while!  Well, fun for everyone except Donald.

My kids picked out their own clothes, as they always do.  Jason has a sense of style that I envy, and the confidence to carry it off!

I mean, on election day for Student Council, when the kids had to get up in front of the whole school to give their speeches, he picked out jeans, a white t-shirt, and a vest left unbuttoned.  He looked so COOL!

I love my kids!

Side note: They showed this short 2-minute video at the banquet both this year and last.  I love it.  It rings so true to me.  If you have 2 minutes, take a look.

Journals and Mug Rugs

The Farm Store, a local cooperative where they sell local produce and crafts, is having a fall family day this weekend, with live music, a corn maze, sheep shearing, games and more.  Since I already have merchandise in the store, I don't have to man a booth, but they did encourage us to prepare more inventory since they are expecting to have a lot of visitors that day.  So, instead of hand quilting my Orange Creamsicle quilt or embroidering my new mini quilt, I worked on some more fabric journal covers, since they have been so popular at my last two booths.  I only completed one last night because I spent quite a bit of time (ahem) un-sewing.  I HATE it when that happens!

Anyway, another yo-yo has found a home!  About 30 to go!  (just kidding!  But really, what else can I do with a handful of scrappy, mixed weight - they aren't all quilting cotton - yo yos?  I'm open to suggestions.  I want to use them, but I also don't want to have to make any to supplement what is there.)

Pretty simple fabric journal cover

The un-sewing came about because I thought it needed some machine quilting to jazz it up, forgetting that I SUCK AT MACHINE QUILTING!  On second thought, no jazzing up required.

Close up detail - a striped fabric makes such a neat yo-yo!

The other journal cover I was working on last night isn't done yet, but I hope to finish it today.  Plus, I want to crank out some more Scrabble Tile earrings because they sell like hotcakes!  (Where did that expressions come from?  Where do hotcakes sell quickly?  What IS a hotcake?  A pancake?)

The good thing is, if these things I am making don't sell this fall, I already have some people in mind to give them to at Christmas.  It's a win-win situation, don't ya think?

I'm also thinking of making some Mug Rugs to give, not only because I use mine ALL THE TIME,

Those blue and white things are York Peppermint Patty Pieces, which I recently discovered and fell in love with! And in the cup, water.  I'm trying to drink more of it these days.  And right behind it?  The stand to my new ENORMOUS monitor at work.  Can I tell you, it is so much more amazing to see all of your creations on that big screen than on my tiny laptop monitor!  Not that I read your blogs at work...

but also because they are so fun to make.  But tell me, what is your experience giving Mug Rugs to non-quilters?  We all know what they are, but does a non-quilter know?  Do you give them with a mug and tea bags or coffee beans, or do they work as a stand-alone gift?  Do you include an explanation?  If you've given them to non-quilters before, I'd love to hear what you have to say.

Can you tell I'm done traveling?

Three posts in three consecutive days?  It is a lot easier to do when I sleep in my own bed at night and actually have time to sit and stitch.  I'm not caught up READING blogs yet, but I'll get there.  If you haven't heard from me in a while, just wait - I just haven't gotten to you yet.

I was asked to come in to teach a karate class yesterday afternoon, and while I was glad to help out, Tuesday is usually my "go straight home after work and don't leave until Wednesday" day.  I was determined to sit outside and stitch on my mini for an hour or so, enjoying the autumn sun and warmth, before heading back to town.  But when I got ready to sew, I discovered that I hadn't brought my mini home with me!  I had taken it to work, thinking I'd stitch a bit at lunch time, but of course, I didn't have the time.  I came back in this morning to find it sitting in my window waiting for me.

Yeah, lots of my kids' handiwork in my office

Not to be thwarted, I pulled out my new border stencil that I just bought in West Virginia last week, and marked the borders of my Orange Creamsicle Quilt.  I'll be honest, I've never marked a border with a stencil before, and I was dreading it.  I usually just do something simple that doesn't require marking, like stitching in the ditch or echo quilting, but this quilt has enough straight lines, I wanted some curves.  I was nervous about making it all fit neatly, but I decided to leave a space in the middle of the top and bottom borders for a butterfly stencil that I got from a friend, and on the long sides, I was able to shrink one of the curves to make the stencil fit, and now that I've marked it, I have to really look to see which one is different.  Not so bad, after all.

Then, as I watched the debate (with my boys, who asked if they could stay up late to watch...not sure where that came from, but OK), I quilted.  I try to always quilt when I am watching politics.  I need something to help relax me because the spin and the half-truths and the accusations and the pandering really stress me out.  Bah!

No political talk on here today.  Instead, I'll leave you with a photo I took yesterday afternoon.  I was looking for Jason to remind him to get started on his homework, but he had already started.  In a tree.  I LOVE MY KIDS!

Out of my system

Yesterday, I was so motivated to work on embroidering my little mini.  I put the final borders on, spray basted it to some batting, and took it with me to karate.  After my class, I sat through my youngest son's class, first drawing on some freehand vines, then getting going on the embroidery.  In a perfect world, I'd have gone home to stitch some more, but like a moron, I declared on here yesterday that I was going to make a Pine Burr Block.  I'm too proud and stubborn to not follow through, so that's what I did when I put the kids to bed.

I'm happy to report that I got that out of my system, and can now go back to my mini.  Let's just say, I didn't find making the Pine Burr Block quite as addicting as LeAnn over at Nifty Quilts.  From now on, I think I'll satisfy myself with seeing those beauties come together over on her blog, instead of in my sewing room.  I love the way my block looks, but getting there...whew!  LeAnn obviously has talents (and patience and persistence and vision) that I just don't possess!

I cut my 12.5" square piece of muslin, cut out the fabric I wanted in the center of my block (surprise, I didn't quite follow the directions - I wanted a focus fabric in the center, not the burrs), and cut my first ring of 3" squares to then make into prairie points and set around the center.  I could tell RIGHT AWAY that this block was going to take more time and fabric than I was anticipating.  I immediately trimmed my muslin down to 10.5" square.

A couple rows (and a couple hours) in, as I cut and folded and pressed and pinned and sewed and repeated, I went ahead and trimmed it down to 9.5" square.  I swear to you, if I had left it at 12.5", I'd probably still be working on it.  Holy moly!

And not only is that block a lot of work, it is also HEAVY!  I could rename this post, "The Heaviest Quilt Block EVER!"  Or, I could rename it "Orphaned at Birth," because I feel pretty confident that I won't be making any more of these blocks.  I kid you not, I used nearly a full quarter yard of fabric on just the teal color.  There is probably over 1 yard of fabric in that one little (heavy) 9.5" block!  I can't imagine how heavy a whole quilt would be made this way.  It would smother a child or small pet.  You could use it as blackout drapes.  Folding it would constitute a weight training workout.

IF I were to make another, and that is a huge IF, mind you, I'd go ahead and just use my scrappy, pre-cut 3" squares.  That would reduce a lot of the time from cutting, and would make a nice dent in my precut stash.  Or maybe I'd use larger squares?  We may never know.

For now, I'm going to finish that puppy off into something useful - maybe a hot pad for setting hot dishes on the table?  Or a candle mat?  Or what?  Any suggestions out there in blogland?  After all that time and fabric, that block is going to become SOMETHING!!!