Baker's Dozen

Didn't take much time to sew yesterday or today but I now have 13 blocks with one border. The second border is pieces and I got the strips laid out but not quite done sewing them together.

Block with 1st border:

Daring Greatly - Source of Scarcity

"The world has never been an easy place..."

What I have learned so far from this book is that the goal is to live a Wholehearted life and in order to do this I need to be engaged, show up as myself. To be engaged requires a willingness and ability to be vulnerable.

The author, Brene' Brown, talks about the events of the past decade and how things like 9/11, war, and random shootings have torn at everyone's sense of safety. Rather than engaging with each other to heal this damage, generally speaking, we are taking it out on each other.

I look back at the events in my own life over the past few years and I can see a similar pattern. I used to trust that I was a partner with husband but events and his silence regarding a promise he made me have shattered my foundation for this trust (it hasn't tumbled down completely but it wobbles quite a bit now). As a result, I've disengaged from him and from the idea of us being partners working toward a common goal.

Just from the few pages I've read of this book, I know I have to figure out how to re-engage. I have no interest in living the rest of my life with a man I don't trust and in spite of many attempts, I don't want to live without him. So, I have a few changes to make and I trust the Universe will send me help when I need it to make these changes.

Baker's Dozen

I got  my sewing machine back from the shop yesterday - earlier than planned; how many times does that happen? I sewed the pieces of the Twinkle Twinkle ornaments but they don't look like anything until I get them turned so no pictures.

This morning, I had a familiar battle going on... Michael got up early to go golfing  so my plan was to start piecing together the Baker's Dozen quilt. So as soon as Michael left (that almost always seems to wake me up), my brain was pushing to get up and get started but my body wanted another couple hours sleep. As usual, the excitement of getting to quilt won and I made excellent progress.

There are 13 blocks, each with 4 rows and two borders - sounds like a lot of work but man, they are turning out quite nice...

Row 1 - 3 pieces

 
Row 2 - 6 pieces

 Row 3 - 3 pieces

 
Row 4 - 4 pieces

 
Block rows all sewn together

The first border is a solid dark purple. I got a couple of the sides on before I ran out of energy. A nice day's accomplishment if I do say so myself.

Baker's Dozen

Back in February, I found a fabric series in purple - one of my favorite colors. I hadn't seen much quilt material that was real purple; there was lots of maroon and violet but not royal purple. So I snatched up a couple fat-quarter packs, brought them home and started looking for the perfect pattern. Of course, that same day was when the McCall's magazine arrive with the perfect pattern - Baker's Dozen. I went back to the store and bought the rest of the material I needed and put it into the stack of quilts ready to put together.

Now that the Mother's Love quilts are done and the Old Shirt one is in the hand-work stage (ready for binding), I decided to cut the material for the Baker's Dozen. Brother - there are a ton of pieces to this one and all of them are like just a quarter of an inch different - rather a lot of precision for me. But all the pieces are cut and lined up ready to sew together into a masterpiece just as soon as I get my machine back (which could be today but more likely, not until early next week).

Material picture:

 

As the title implies... there are 13 "boxes" and that's where a lot of the smaller pieces are. Here it is, laid out but there's a bit of sewing needed to make it look like anything.

Gentle Poppies

I'm always impressed by the names people come up with for quilt patterns so I seldom change that when I make the pattern. This is an exception. The pattern name is Peeking Poppies and the quilt is done in dark red, blue and black. What I selected is cream and blues which changed it into Gentle Poppies.

The material is from the Connecting Threads bargain bin but I didn't buy enough to make a very large quilt. Maybe I'll go find something to make another boarder to "grow" the quilt.  For now, the block pieces are all cut and ready to go - this one seems dead simple compared to the Baker's Dozen blocks.

Gentle Poppies material:

Blocks -  the pattern flips the block to create a great visual. Can't wait to get it together so you can see what I mean.

Twinkle, Twinkle

I knew that not having a sewing machine for a couple weeks was going to be a challenge so I spent the first week at Disneyland - such a sacrifice :) and came home with a cold that demanded some attention for a couple days. Then it was Michael's birthday so I spent the day in the kitchen - he's so easy to please, a few dishes from Julia and he's a happy camper.

This morning I woke up with some energy and a longing to do something "quilty". Luckily, the McCall's Christmas issue arrived yesterday and in the first few pages is a pattern for ornaments that looked very interesting. I'm not much of a material hoarder but I do have a stack of 5" squares that I've cut from left over material. And I have some time and energy to cut out a few.

I didn't have any "Christmas" scraps but then not everyone's tree is decked out in greens and reds, right? Now I'm curious to see if I actually put them together or if, once I get my machine back, I'm more interested in bigger pieces.

Daring Greatly

I got to chat with my friend who recommended Daring Greatly to me and we agreed, there is a lot of value here but thinking about integrating the lessons in this book is a bit scary. When I came home and opened the book, it opened to the following quote, "What we know matters, but who we are matters more." Sort'a sums up my feelings so far. I've always relied on presenting what I know and hiding who I am. I'm excited about understanding how to reverse this behavior, I think.

Then the very next chapter is about Scarcity - the cultural messages that I've totally assimilated into my thinking and therefore my self-image of never being enough. For the past couple of years, I've been practicing gratitude but it wasn't until reading this chapter that it occurred to me that my definition of gratitude is partially based in how thoroughly integrated the concept is scarcity is for me.

I've given myself a task to reword my statements of gratitude to eliminate the limitations I see - when I see them. I know myself well enough to know how to get through my resistance to change and am still a bit concerned about the Pandora sensation. But the things I expect of the Universe are never going to arrive if I always assume someone deserves them more than I do, are they?

I love pushing through my own roadblocks and shortcomings but there is always a few moments of hesitation when I don't know exactly what the outcome will be - how can I measure my success if I don't know what to expect. Daring Greatly isn't about expectations, it's about being who I am at the core - about showing up.

Should be interesting...

Magic Withdrawal

We just got back from Disneyland - the happiest place on earth, I totally agree by the way. The weather was warmer than we expected so we both ended up collecting a little more sun than our skin was prepared for. Not a problem, I will gain freckles and Michael will just turn brown. I love being able to just sit on a bench and watch all the people and colors and hear all the different languages. Yes, the rides are great fun but the real value of Disney for me is in regenerating my interest in humanity.

My sewing machine won't be back from the shop for another week so I'm planning to work with my stash and do a lot of cutting. I got to deliver the Mother's Love quilts while at Disneyland - the customer lives a few minutes away. It was wonderful to show off in the middle of the hotel lobby and get such gracious feedback from the owner. She asked if we do another one but was called away on business so we didn't get to go shopping while I was there but she will find material and send it to me - and we'll make another quilt. What fun!

Daring Greatly

I am always looking for a way to know myself better and recently, the book, Daring Greatly was recommended by a friend who understands this about me. the phrase comes from a speech that was made by Roosevelt back in 1910. the book is about learning how to live a Wholehearted lifestyle. Within just a couple pages, I knew this was a book I'd have to talk about and since I don't think anyone is reading this blog, I think I'll put my thoughts down here to review and remember.

In the past few years, I've become more and more aware that in back of most of my decisions and actions is a firm belief that I'm not enough - not thin enough, rich enough, smart enough, etc. the first lesson in the book is about being vulnerable - about being who you are not matter what. Because I don't feel adequate (in any way), what I present is usually what I think people want or expect of me.

It is going to take some more reading and some practice to figure out what I'm going to do with this information. I'm looking forward to lessons and I expect to see more of what I want to be as I learn how to be vulnerable.

A Day without a Machine

Today I went for a Birthday run. The objective is to pick a route I don't use very often and to go further than I think is possible. Mission accomplished :) I went about 8 miles and came up with several ideas for some of the material I have just waiting to become a quilt. Its interesting how pushing my tired old legs up a hill can become easy if I can get my brain to focus on quilts or material or anything other than the pitch of the hill.

I also left my sewing machine at the repair shop today - yikes. It's first check up and my first look at 2 weeks without a machine in over a year. There are other things to do than quilting, right? Guess I'll find out.

Mother's Love Quilts

The past few days have been mostly about getting the three (that's right, 3) Mother's Love quilts done so they are ready to deliver next week. Today I finished stitching down the last of the quilts. I know it is faster to machine stitch the binding but I like the rhythm and the fact that with a blind stitch, you can hide the thread. There's something in me that really enjoys that kind of precision.

So what if I now have a callus on my stitching finger and a bit of a crink in my neck. There are also 3 beautiful quilts - if I do say so myself. Very satisfying.

I'm thinking I might need to take a few photography lessons - I wasn't able to figure out how to show off how nice these quilts are so here's my best effort.

Even though they are all made with the same pattern, the material is so different, even I can't tell.

 

 

V's quilt is pink and green with flowers in the material and in the quilt motif:

E's is all boy - bright orange and blue:

NB's is great burgundy and purple:

Tomorrow, my sewing machine goes in for a check up and Michael and I go to Disneyland. Hopefully, we will all be ready to come back home at the same time.

The Roll and Lean Trick

Once the quilting is done, the binding is sewn on. For larger quilts, it takes a bit of maneuvering to keep the quilt on the table so the binding goes on straight. I've gotten to put binding on three quilts in the last two days. There's something about doing a thing over and over in a short period of time that makes my brain come up with more efficient ways to do it.

Hence, the Roll and Lean trick. Once the binding is pinned on, I fold the quilt in half, roll it from the bottom and then put it into the sewing machine. As I'm stitching, I lean on the roll to keep the bulk of the quilt even with the sewing. By rolling, it's easy to control all that lovely material. This may not be the most elegant trick but it certainly made these three quilt bindings easier than other's I've done.

Both the Mother's Love quilts got back from the long-arm today.

 

 

 

And here's the RCA quilt that got binding yesterday. I have a lot of hand stitching to do now :)

Old Shirt Quilt

Today, I got to hook up with the owner of the Old Shirt quilt at The Quilt Loft so we could work with the Long-arm quilter. We picked out a quilt motif, thread and batting. It's always a little scary to drop off a quilt but since this one was such old material, it took us a little more time than usual to make sure all the seams would service the machine. Bottom line, it is going to be beautiful.

Mother's Love Quilts

I also got to see one of the Mother's Love quilts. It had just come off the long-arm machine. The quilt motif and thread made the quilting nearly invisible but there was a subtle Gardenia pattern all over. I'll start working on the binding as soon as it's ready too pick up.

The other one is in the washer - it's first spin around the tub to verify all the seams are solid and it's ready to deliver.

RCA Quilt #3

I decided to drop this one off to the Long-arm quilter. I could probably have done simple straight-line quilting on it but after going the book of motifs, there was one that really shouted out for this quilt. It's an open heart pattern. I won't get it back until all the others have been done (maybe early November) but it will be worth the wait, I'm sure.

No news from the company I interviewed with last week so I'm going to pretend, for just one more day, that I'm a quilt master.

RCA Quilt #2

I got to do some machine quilting today. Normally this isn't my favorite task - I'd much rather take a quilt to the Long-arm quilter - but in this case, I wanted a simple straight stitch which isn't going to happen with a long-arm. So, I got out the invisible pen, marked a chevron pattern and got to quilting.

I was nearly done - just a couple more rows when I ran out of thread. For a minute, I considered finishing with white thread but the variegated that the customer picked out was really nice. AND, I would know that I'd cheated. The next option was jump over to JoAnn's and get more of the pretty stuff but I hadn't put on any make up, it was after 5 and I was tired enough to know if I kept going, I'd make a mistake I couldn't repair. So I shifted gears and watched a movie.

The perfect way to spend a Sunday.

Low Magic Days

The past couple days haven't been very quilt friendly. I had a job interview on Friday - don't know how I did. I worked on tacking down the binding on the Mother's Love quilt and thought up an idea for quilting the RCA Quilt #2. Today, I put together the back for the Old Shirt quilt and made a pillow case out of the left overs - nothing fancy but it will be nice to deliver the quilt in it's own case.

I keep thinking that if I get this job - which would be a good thing for paying the rent - I won't have much time for quilting. I'd really like to work on one of my own quilts before going back to the work force but that might not happen. I'll just go back to creating magic on weekends and money on the weekdays.

Creative Fun

Yesterday I spent some time in a coffee shop working on a book I've written. I had an opportunity to get the first few pages reviewed by an agent and she gave me some ideas on how to "tighten it up". It was nice to revisit the characters and start to get my head back into the plot. I'm encouraged with what the agent said and the potential for getting this story out there.

I've spent the past couple of days working on the binding for one of the Mother's Love quilts. It's great therapy to just stitch. I love that there is such an immediate result - it's either invisible or I rip it out and do it again - no waiting to see if the decisions I've made are any good.

I hope to get one of the other Mother's Love quilts back from the Long-Arm early next week so need to get this one done.

Quilt Photo Shoot

Yesterday was amazing! I hooked up with my friend the photographer and we took 12 of my quilts to a local nursery where they gave us permission to use the posts and pots as back drops for quilt pictures - as long as we didn't move anything. We didn't exactly adhere to the "don't move anything" request but we always put everything back where we found it.

It took several hours and who knows how many pictures - the power of digital as opposed to film. And several people asked about the quilts. Unfortunately, I am completely out of business cards but it was still quite nice to hear people's reactions to what I'd produced.

When I get the pictures (the photographer will work on them a little before she gives them to me), I'll post them on my Quilt Magic board on Pinterest - for all to see.

Mother's Love Quilt

I got the first of the three Mother's Love quilts back from the long-arm quilter today. It happens to be my favorite - lots of soft pinks and purples. I got the binding on and the extra fabric cut off so now all I need to do is tack down the binding. I do that by hand - very therapeutic.

 

RCA Quilt #3

I found a lovely flannel to use for the back on the RCA Quilt #3. Just a simple back, no piecing.

Hot Ziggity

I have the most amazing quilting space - from my sewing machine I get to look out over the bay, I have an 8 foot cutting table with a window to the forest and there's lots of floor space to lay things out.

And then there's the stair railing. Odd tool for a quilter? Well, this is where I stage the quilts that are waiting for the binding to be stitched down. Look at it - it's empty :) It's the first time in months there hasn't been a quilt waiting for hand work. Of course, this afternoon I got a call from the long-arm quilter that my next quilt is ready to pick up so we won't see the stair rail for long. But isn't is nice to not have anything to stitch - leaves a delightful void.

 

I finished the last quilt this afternoon - Hot Ziggity. Just in time for the photo shoot that is planned for tomorrow.