Category Archives: Uncategorized

Jan26

Changed Plans

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It seems like every time I make plans lately they get changed. The surprisingly pleasant thing is that usually the changed plans are better than the original ones! My conclusion is that God’s plans for me are much better than my own.

The most recent change was precipitated by a medical condition. We had to cancel plans to fly which meant we were home to prepare for the impending blizzard instead of coming home just before it started. I’m sure our stress and anxiety levels would have soared had we been away from home! Big blessing!

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Nov1

Time for a change

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Since I had to take the clock down in my sewing room to change the time today, I decided to make the “Quilt in a Clock” kit that I purchased at Quilt Odyssey in July from Dianne Springer Designs. The kit included acrylic sheets cut for front and back, the clock and battery. I found a lonesome quilt block, quilted it and put the clock together. Now I can see a finished project and an enjoyable addition to my workspace! 

 

Oct4

Steamed Eggs

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Who knew! The easiest way to make hard or soft cooked eggs is to steam them. Gil, my sweet husband, found a video showing this technique and we tried it several times. You boil water in a pan with a steamer, add cold eggs, steam 6 minutes for soft, 12 minutes for hard cooked and that’s it! The duck eggs take about a minute less than chicken.

There are several videos on the internet showing the same technique so I’m not doing one. We are going to have some deviled eggs!

Sep1

Morning mist

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This morning we walked toward the mist. It looked like we would enter the mist but it was elusive. The quiet was broken only Watkins8by cicadas and our occasional words. It was a lovely, cool start to a very warm day. As we walked I remembered this little quilt I made in a workshop with Lauren Kingsland. She showed us how to draw the design and couch it with a single piece of yarn. Yes, it is one continuous line. The button in the center is from my great-aunt’s collection. I quilted it with my serger using an overlock stitch. I call it “Healing Meditation”.

Aug26

Spiderwebs

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Most mornings we drive to the local park to walk before I go to work. A few days ago we enjoyed the spiderwebs gleaming in the sun. We’ve seen the webs before, but not every morning. The angle of the sun, the moisture in the air, and I don’t know what other factors affect what we see on the fences. Hard to photograph too. I’ve included a few.2015-08-22 07.16.372015-08-22 07.15.352015-08-22 07.09.07 2015-08-22 07.10.17 2015-08-22 07.09.41 2015-08-22 07.10.52

Hanging on a wall in our house is a spider web quilt I made in 1996 in a class taught by Rose Hahn. Very different from the real ones in nature, but what a fun class with a creative teacher!

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Aug8

Mindfulness

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I read A New Vision in Quilt Making by Mark Lipinski in the August/September 2015 issue of Quilting Arts Magazine. The subtitle summarizes: “Slow down and reconnect with your creativity.” Mark’s “Slow Stitching Movement” fits right in with the mindfulness and single-tasking that I have been embracing. Mark describes his practice of slow stitching and it really appeals to me. Here’s a quote: “Stitching with intent will help you trust your creative instincts and learning through practice, how to be in touch with all your senses, emotions, and the creative muse.” Taking time and effort to create can be really fulfilling, just as slow-food can be really satisfying. I think I will be doing this more, this mindful stitching, putting aside distractions and concentrating on the work at hand–enjoying the process. And then I’ll balance that with the quick projects that give me the satisfaction of getting something done!

May9

Standing tall

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I am visiting my daughter and her family in Santa Cruz. They recently moved from London back to the U.S. Today we visited the Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park. There I saw the tallest biggest trees ever! Here is a photo of my  seven-year old (nearly eight!) granddaughter standing in front of the huge tree that we went inside. Yes, we were standing inside this tree. My daughter showed me how to take this panoramic view–sure couldn’t fit the tree in a regular photo! 

Looking forward to having fun with family this week!

 

Mar5

Ties to the past

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My quilting project this week had me reminiscing about my grandmother who did a lot of clothing and quilt making. I remember visiting when I was small and every time the button tin fell on the floor and I had to pick all the buttons up! Later she showed me how to hook rugs with wool strips she had dyed and cut from old clothing. She also braided rugs and made baskets and trays from the long pine needles she gathered in Florida.

 I used a quilt top from her stash of unfinished projects and reworked it to fit my aunt’s bed. There were enough blocks left to make a pillow sham. 



The bow tie blocks were all hand pieced and machine stitched together, probably on her little featherweight. That’s the only machine I remember she had. It’s now living at my house! 

Lots of memories in those fabrics too–I recognize many of them from clothing we used to wear.

The quilt top, sham and backing are all ready now to be quilted. I could do it myself but there are so many other projects I want to work on so I will have one of my friends quilt it on her longarm machine.

Feb1

Ethel

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Ethel, that’s my mother’s mother’s name. I am privileged to have my grandmother’s well-loved treadle sewing machine. Her serial number was issued in 1910 so she’s over 100 years old. I used to sew on her when I was in high school, about 50 years ago! She’s a Singer 66 back-clamper with “red eye” decals. Recently I bought an adapter so I could use side clamp feet as well.

I decided to use Ethel in making the quilt in my last post. She stitched a beautiful, even stitch. There’s a quiet rhythm to using a treadle sewing machine that’s very relaxing. There’s also the connection to my grandmother and my mother who both used this machine, and probably my aunts as well. It was a pleasant experience that I will probably repeat.

Of course, I will not neglect my modern computerized machines! I enjoy sewing on all of them.

Jan29

Treadling

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Treadling

Along with collecting vintage sewing machines I like to actually use them. Recently, with encouragement from the online Quiltalong group, I made a quilt top using my grandmother’s treadle machine. This is the quilt that I showed a corner of in my last post.

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It’s an easy piece made with 6 1/2″ squares. As I stitched I learned how to control the direction and speed of the treadle. (If it goes the wrong direction the thread breaks.) What a relaxing process! The quilt center had to wait a few weeks until I stumbled across this great striped fabric for the borders. Next step is to find a backing and quilt the layers together.