Treat Yourself Like a Little Kid

A new year, a new calendar, some people say a new decade. One thing I am sure of. For me, here, it is a new day. I wish all of you a Happy New Year, full of hope and possibilities and magic. I have long made resolutions and kept many of them in my quest to grow and learn. Finish up projects that have been in limbo. Start new projects! Have more fun! Ainsley says to treat ourselves like little kids, have a snack, a warm drink, a snuggle and a rest. Be kind. Smile more. Don't take myself so seriously. Sew more! Eat the good chocolate! I am finishing up a Hanukkah Star quilt, a little belated but still apropos. It is from a pattern I found in QNM, 12/2000, called Rachel's Star. It is a 29" x 33" table quilt, made with paper pieced diamond log cabin blocks and triangles. Luminous, timeless, classic. I started this little quilt as a thank you gift for a cousin who has helped me with family history for a book I am writing. She, however, is at the age where she does not want any more belongings. So, I sent her a photo and regifted it to my son-in-law. He and some other members of my family and friends are Jewish. I used Indigo Shibori fabrics designed by Debbie Maddy for Moda. I also used some muslin dyed with onion skins for a curry yellow tone. The yellow diamond centers symbolize the candle lights of Hanukkah. The border was serendipity, as it has snowflakes which are six pointed like the star. Some of the shibori print has six pointed stars as well. Pure grace. For the back of the quilt I chose a fabulous red and chartreuse bird print by Kaffe Fassett. During Hanukkah this past week, I attended a dinner party with friends and family and found this lovely version of the same pattern: Historically the symbol became representative of the worldwide Zionist community, and later the broader Jewish community, after it was chosen to represent the First Zionist Congress in Israel in 1897. The Star of David was yellow badge that Jews were forced to wear in Nazi-occupied Europe invested the Star of David with a symbolism indicating martyrdom and heroism.

Eat Dessert First

   The recurring feeling I have is too much to do and not enough free time. Even though I am retired and my days are my own I still feel this way sometimes. As I was writing my Morning Pages I listed all of my to-dos. Then I wrote about wanting to do some fun sewing as a reward for doing the chores. But wait! I thought. Eat dessert first! Do the fun stuff first and then the chores. Who is the boss of me anyway?
   So here is a recap of some of the sewing projects I have finished since my last blog post. It will look like a lot because I haven't blogged in forever.

Rose Garden lotto blocks from the quilt club. I added a few in tones with a touch of yellow to push the color perspective. 

Bugss in the garden. I LOVE bug fabric. This is Cotton and Steel from my sister. 

I am donating the Rose Garden Quilt to my quilt guild's annual Quilt Auction. A portion of the money goes to our tiny community.The rose garden blocks were a UFO from several years ago.

Angies Butterfly Get Well Quilt.

The Butterfly quilt above was made for cousin Angie who battled lymphoma, and beat it into remission. The center big butterfly is made with golf fabrics. That is a nod to my cousin Angie's favorite hobby. My sister and I made the blocks, I put it together, and then Pam quilted it. It is 84" square, made from a fun Elizabeth Hartman Pattern.

I made another butterfly quilt to raffle for my son-in-law's fund raising efforts. He had a liver transplant 3 months ago for a fatal liver disease, PSC, and is recovering very well. His transplant was a partial liver from a living donor.  The donor, Rachel is completely recovered and both have regenerated full livers.

Don't Quit Before the Miracle Happens

This quilt was sewn with all Moda batiks and the colors are so pretty. Pam is quilting this one as well.

Other quilts I've made were for my aunt Sonja who is my prime fabric enabler. She sent me the fabrics and I did the fun part...sewing.

Pioneer Spirit panel and disappearing 4 patch blocks

Hidden Kittens, a Moda kit.

I modified the eyes and nose on this quilt. the pattern had tiny eyes too wide set. I found the repetitive piecing and machine applique a bit tedious, but the overall effect is modern and fun.

8 weeks old.

A kitten after my own heart, in the fabric

6 months old, still petite at 5 lb.

And our new family member, Rootin'Tootin' Raspberry. She is a sweet independent cat who likes to spend most of her time outside running Nascar laps around the 3 acre property. Mr. Thimblepie named her after a character we remember from 1962 TV, a pistol packin' cowboy of the same name.

Ahh the politically incorrect  old days. Enjoy your hobbies and eat dessert first.

Screw Your Courage to the Sticking Place

Hope's Nova Star is ready to quilt. I added prairie points within the borders for the baby's textural interest and I love the effect. It is super fun, and adorable. Just like little Nova (or Ralph, as baby's brother Aries likes to call it.)

Here is a little tidbit about the brown border/sashing. I was originally going to set the blocks without sashing, but at retreat my pal Leona suggested sashing to add definition to the stars. So I tried some grey scraps first, just to see.

Hmmm, We were on the right track but not grey. Jody suggested a very dark sash, and picked something black with tiny violet flowers. Not even worth a photo, I said NO WAY.  I had just received a care package at retreat (yes, can you even believe it? at retreat!) from Pam. It included some lovely fun camel brown Moda fabric with childhood primer text on it. I had sent that to her a while back, sharing the love, and she boomeranged it back. And as a sashing it was perfect, made my heart leap.

It pushes the neutrals, a concept Mary Mashuta wrote about where the contrast brightens the colors.  Kind of like the cheerleaders inviting a dull girl to join them in the mistaken idea that they will look better. Well, the neutral is the key, the element of interest. The neutrals are not overpowering but they are absolutely vital to the whole. Because they are true to themselves. Which is what I need to remember when I have self doubt.

In a world where you can be anything, be self confident. What does a lack of confidence come from? Comparison. And where does comparison come from? Old, very old, ancient tapes saying that we should be more like (fill in the blank) or why can't we be more like (fill in the blank.) What do you think all of the fashion magazines sell? SELF DOUBT.  Where was Mr. Rogers when I needed him? Thankfully I can figure it all out with some daily writing. Just be true to myself and screw the self doubt. Screw your courage to the sticking place, as Lady MacBeth said.

And, here is my other quilt top finish:::

The center butterfly is huge. 38.5" x 29.5" huge. The details on this big fat mama are a surprise for the recipient so I won't talk about them. The three center butterflies were sewn by my sister, Pam. We are collaborating on a get well quilt for my cousin Angie who has battled lymphoma into remission with 6 months of grueling chemotherapy. She had asked for a butterfly quilt as a commission for a wedding gift a while back. I pfffft'd and said we wouldn't accept pay. Then with her diagnosis, I told her that the only good news about cancer is that you get cuts to the front of the quilt line.

Here is the complete quilt top, all 84.5" x 84.5" of wonderful colorful loveliness of it. Lots of the fabrics are scraps of favorites from my stash. And lots of my stash is from Pam.The large upper right feller is all bird fabrics with a few of my  most favored china dishes fabric. The fabric that looks like my beloved china that I lost in the divorce. Lower left wide blue feller is tropical beach fabrics to remind Angie of her days being a beach bum in Mexico.  There are flowers, polka dots, stripes, Kaffe, Cori Dantini banners, Lots of Moda, and every color under the rainbow.

It is off in the mail to Pam for long arm quilting magic. She does the most lovely custom work.

I am linking to Let's Bee Social.

Catching a Boomerang

Once upon a time a quilter received a boomerang gift of 30's reproduction fabric and some quilt books. (Ainsley's declutter meets my fabric vortex.) These were my fabrics before they were Ainsley's and in my new style, I don't just want to let them collect dust, but rather use them and challenge myself to something creative and different.

 I took one of the books to read in bed and found a pattern I had not seen before. The book is Scrap Quilts by Fons and Porter, published in 1995. The pattern is Original Star. After brainstorming with sister Pam, I created these blocks using some solids for contrast. I sewed strips before I cut the triangles to use scraps and add to the overall charm.

I chose white background for sparkle.

I have a bag of soft, pastelish 30's prints and only bits of solid in 30's colors, so I am going to make do and push the neutrals. I hope I can do some good trading with my local fabric collectors for more solids. Here are some auditioning blocks:

The text is fun retro catalog print from Moda.

I am heading to retreat in a few days, and having the prep work done will mean I am ready to cook up a quilt top as soon as I unpack. Yay for Camp Trinity Pines in Cascade, Idaho. The forecast is for rain and snow, so all the better for lots of sewing.

Happy to have the Holidays Behind Me

   I did a lot of holiday sewing. Various pillowcases and a couple of minky quilts, some tote bags for hauling quilts, and then pillows, quilts, and more quilts. One project was a cross stitch patchwork angel pillow, the embroidery done by a friend:

I made it to accompany a quilt my aunt asked me to make, using some of the left over fabric. She sent me a Henry Glass flannel quilt kit, and wanted double thick washable wool batting, which made it super fluffy but was like quilting a sleeping bag on my domestic machine, lol.

The individual pictures are very cute.

I then made Mr. Thimblepie a flannel pillow with a pattern from Sew Fresh Quilts. I chose a critter that lives along our Salmon River, a big horn sheep. I used black pleather for the eyes. The pillow fits our cabin home decor perfectly.

And then, I wanted to make something fun to acknowledge the Fiona the hippo craze I have shared with my daughter, Ainsley. Fiona is a baby hippo who was born prematurely at the Cincinnati Zoo last summer to mama Bibi. Fiona is very friendly, having been bottle fed and reared by zoo keepers. When animals interact with people they develop interesting communication skills.

I asked Lorna, of SewFresh Quilts to adapt her hippo pattern to make mama and baby, and she did! Here is my finish, with some tweaks. I added 3-D flannel ears with tiny tucks so that the hippos would have wiggly ears, and again used black pleather to give the eyes shine.

I posed my little Steiff toy hippo with the pillows, and tucked it in the gift bag. That toy is 55 years old and was one of my favorite toys as a child.

This week I am in Seattle. I went to the Seattle Art Museum and spied this hippo mask in the African mask display.

Another fun finish was 2 grizzly bear quilts, each 60"x70" from a Moda Big Sky kit. I had some extra Big Sky fabric, and managed to get both quilts from the combination. I quilted them in wavy lines with my domestic machine. The eyes are appliqued. I gave one to my cousin Marc, as a surprise. He loves to photograph grizzly bears in Yellowstone Park, and has followed one mother bear for years who had 4 cubs a few years ago. The other bear quilt is for my daughter Diane, who chose the name Ursula for her SCA (historical reenactment) persona.

pink and brown minky

NE Patriots, a commission

T shirt quilt, 80"x 90"

 These chintz bags are from an old pattern. I especially like the 2nd bag, with the puppies and kittens on the fabric.

I am still not a wild fan of kits or T shirt quilts, but they each served a purpose, and the recipients were all thrilled. Phew! The holidays are over, and now back to some selfish sewing.

Me Being Authentic

Looking back, I see that my first blog post was five years ago. Mind boggling. Sticking with the blogging is an accomplishment. I have had lapses, but have really leaned into posting at least once a month. Sharing some of my creating struggles and accomplishments has been a great way for me to have a record of my journey. Plus, I try to be upbeat, kind, and look at the bright side. No kvetching, no politics (well, a little bit of each when it is unavoidable.) I have shared the good, the bad, and the ugly. I have shared projects that I still shake my head at; wondering what I was thinking? I have even annoyed other people along the way. That is the true test of authenticity.

One of my most recent projects is going to counseling to learn to be more assertive, and to get to the bottom of my hang-ups. Today's assigned reading is about Authenticity. I know what it means, Originality,  but just how to do it is sort of ephemeral. I think writing a blog post and sharing it in social media is pretty authentic. While I was writing my morning pages today, defining authenticity and attempting to write some measurable objectives, I realized that I was in my yoga uniform: racerback top and matching tight leggings, definitely conforming. Hmmmm.

Authenticity seems to be a mental thing. An emotional thing. A Be True to Yourself thing.  But don't overthink it! Good luck defining it, that really gets twisted. We are all original inside, but there is nothing new under the sun. I mean, for Pete's Sake, there are over 7 BILLION people in the world right now, and lots more before us, so how can there be any originality? Well, we all have unique fingerprints. How amazing is that? That must mean there have been over 10 BILLION different sets of fingerprints in all. Wow. And every one of those sets of fingerprints belongs to a unique person who smiles and thinks differently. Even identical twins look a little bit different. To me, that says there is hope!

When I look at a book of quilt ideas, I love to analyze the colors and overall effect. I like to read the text, and study the pattern instructions. I look for fabrics that I recognize. And then I dream about how to take the ideas, and make my own quilts. My sister gave me a dreamy book for my birthday, Cultural Fusion Quilts by Sujata Shah. It is a melting pot of piecing and fabrics from different cultures. Her work has lots of contrast, and lovely saturated colors. The instructions are ridiculously simple. Her enthusiasm is contagious. When I look at this book, I want to dump out boxes of fabric and start cutting stuff up and sewing it back together. Which, in case you aren't a sewer, is a good thing!

The little quilt in this blog post is based on her quilt, Sunset. She uses blues and oranges to create a tropical sunset over the Arabian Sea. It almost shimmers with breezes, and ripples of water. Her half square triangles are uneven, and graduate from lighter to darker to cause the effect, which I love.

I have been wanting to use some triangles of pastel left over from a baby quilt, and paired them up with variations of celery green and soft butter yellow. I think the effect is like an English garden, very soft and muted. I chose a lavender Kaffe print for the border, which draws the eyes toward the violets in the middle of the quilt. The binding is plum with a flange of grey and silver. The back of the quilt is yellow gingham, like a picnic cloth.

To make this a Cultural Fusion quilt, I thought of Mary Lennox, in The Secret Garden, a little girl who came from India and was able to become free and authentic in an English garden. This is my original version of a traditional pattern. Me being authentic.

Hen and Chicks

Said the first little chicken,
With a strange little squirm,
"I wish I could find
A fat little worm."

Said the next little chicken,
With an odd little shrug:
"I wish I could find
A fat little bug."

Said a third little chicken,
With a small sigh of grief,
"I wish I could find
A green little leaf!"

Said the fourth little chicken,
With a faint little moan,
"I wish I could find
A wee gravel stone."

"Now, see here!" said the mother,
From the green garden patch,
"If you want any breakfast,
Just come here and scratch!" 

My daughter Diane has a most exciting WIP; she is expecting a baby girl in October. Upon hearing the news, I wanted to plan and make the best and most adorable baby quilt. After considering Diane's favorite color (red) and a favorite pet (chickens) I decided on a pattern featuring hens and chicks, found here at  Sew Fresh Quilts. Lorna, the pattern designer, shows several color ideas that are modern and cheerful. I opted for more realistic colors and used some super fun Moda samples I have. I like the technique that Lorna uses, pieced shapes and triangles sewn on the diagonal and trimmed. Easy and precise.

The first two sets of hens and chicks, life size.

I decided on a soft grey background for a modern look and to soften the colors. I had fun looking at different hens and chicks, and choosing fabrics that gave variety and fanciness seen in a flock of chickens.  Here are the blocks, awaiting a few chick heads and rooster legs.

Fancy wings and a big rooster in the center.

The hen on the bottom left has eggs instead of chicks, and the fabric is sparkly. Diane and I talked about a 3-dimensional rooster tail for textural interest. I played around and came up with prairie points. Durable, and fun.

I set my reading glasses under the points to show the 3-D effect.

Yes, a green rooster. His comb and wattle are black. The tail and wattle were my designs.

I set a goal to finish this quilt in time for the Council Quilt Show which has the theme this year, "Feathered Friends." It was good to have a goal, the quilt is finished way ahead of the baby's birth. I used other ideas from Lorna of Sew Fresh Quilts, wavy line quilting, and a flanged binding. The binding is attached exclusively by machine. Here is the quilt at the quilt show:

Ready to welcome baby.

The back of the quilt is a fabric line named, "Babes in Farmland" by Timeless Treasures. I bought 5 yards. 5 yards. Keep in mind, the baby quilt is 40" x 50." That is how I buy fabric.

cute details.

 I also made a challenge block with the same theme, "Feathered Friends," and blue green fabric as the challenge focus fabric. My block is entitled, "Gertrude McFuzz," after the Dr. Seuss book about the little bird with a plain tail, who wanted a fancy tail and ate pill berries until her tail grew too big for her to fly. I used a paper pieced pattern called Teeny Tiny Feather and a bird block from Sophie Junction. The bird pattern is found on her blog. And, the pill berry bush is my improv from a Gwen Marston class.

A bird after my own heart, eating pill berries to make herself feel better. 

How is your summer shaping up?