Quilting - More quilts, just not for babies.

I really planned on getting some of my UFO's (unfinished objects) completed this year.  That was before all the babies showed up.  But I did get this one finished finally.

I believe I started it in 2006, but it may have been 2005.  The pattern is by Pat Speth, and is called Star & Hourglass.  It's made from tons of different reds, blues, and off white fabrics.  Here's a close up of the blocks.

When I cleaned out the quilting cupboard and found out this just needed borders and backing, I decided it was finally time to complete it.  (of course, that was six months ago and I just finished it yesterday.)  Now I have something to hang up on 4th of July.

I was actually full of energy this weekend.  I cooked for hours and I  got to work finishing up the quilt above, and another one that was actually a gift for someone and needed to be completed before today.  This pattern I call Filmstrip.  I can't remember the actual name and I can't find the pattern to the one I made years ago, so I just guessed at what I needed and I think it came out pretty good.

Here's a close up of the quilting pattern I used.  I hope you can actually see it.

Next up, I bought a new quilting frame so I can get these queen size quilt UFO's  I have hanging around the house finished.    (I'll be selling my old frame once the new one is up.  More details to follow in the near future.)

Quilting - Boys - 6 / Girls - 0

As I mentioned before, I've been busy this year with baby quilts.  Luckily, my sister will finally have a granddaughter come January.  YAY.   Who knows what I'll create for her.

The most recent family addition, baby Andrew, received this quilt while I was in Illinois for our nephew's wedding.    Here's the front (or at least it was supposed to be).

Sometimes, when I find I have a bunch of "focus fabric" left over, I use it for the backing.  I can't help myself.  I just have to make it look good and I end with with two quilts in one.   Here's the back.

I did send a quilt to our Tuscon niece and nephew when their son was born, and Ted was nice enough to send me a bunch of pictures since I forgot to take them before mailing it.   This one was made from "nine-patch" blocks that I then sliced up and turned around in different directions.  It was fun.

Of course, it looks much better with cutie JP on it.

Next up, MORE QUILTS, can you believe it?

LIFE - READING - The End of Food by Thomas F. Pawlick

I'm not very good at book reviews.  But, despite my review, I think this very scary and somewhat depressing book is important to read.

It is about what changes have happened in our food production over time, but mostly since the 1980’s.  The alteration of our food, whether by selective breeding or by genetic modifications leaves us with food products lacking in any nutritional value.  Food that is more harmful to us the good for us.   It delves deeply into the world food market, and how, as a planet, we are destroying the very soil we need to grow food by the fertilizers that are now being used to force larger, more abundant crops from fields that are already too overworked.

All of a sudden, those heirloom seeds we bought are looking more and more valuable.  Looks like we are going to have a winter garden this year.  And buying from local farmers is a must.  And no, I’m not kidding myself into thinking that our government is really keeping our food safe at our local farmer level.  The government hasn’t got the resources.  But supporting the big corporations in the food industry is only perpetuating the continued alteration of our food only for the sake of profit with no consideration to our health.   It’s important to support our smaller farmers.  We don’t want them to disappear.

Life - Swimming Lessons - Another Crutch Gone

Yesterday was my first real swim lesson.  It was rather scary, frustrating, exciting, and exhilarating.  There was so much to learn and remember all at the same time.  But, I was able to keep my head in the water and breathe properly even though I found myself holding my breath as long as possible so I didn’t have to go through the process of thinking about blowing out air before it was time to lift my head.  As I said there was so much to learn, and I kept repeating it all in my head as I swam.  Along with learning freestyle, I also learned the breast stroke, though I do need a lot of practice in it.   But, I think I could learn to like that one.

Way back, when I was still a kid, at some point I was given a nose plug to wear in the pool and all of a sudden I wasn’t afraid of putting my head under water.  Well, it became a crutch for me.  I wouldn’t put my head underwater without either the nose plug or a full snorkel mask.   Fast forward to 2012.  I’m taking my swimming lessons very seriously.  So Kate and I went to the gym so I could get some practice in before tomorrow’s class.  I purposely did not bring my nose plug to the pool, even though I did wear it at the lesson yesterday.  For some reason I really wanted to give it up.   It’s amazing what you can do when you put your mind to it.  I was so surprised that I didn’t drown, or even get water up my nose.  Sure, I did swallow some pool water in my attempt to not inhale it.  But that was OK.  I was swimming without a nose plug.  It may not seem like a big deal to you.  But it’s impeded me from getting into pools and especially from getting into the deep end.  Of course it is going to take a lot more practice before I’m truly comfortable with it.  But I know I can do it now.  I’ve just not been willing to try before.

Writing this makes it all sound so silly.  But believe me, it wasn’t silly to me. 

And, I’m so glad my honey listens to me and finds ways for me to reach my goal even when I’m not even looking for ways.  This whole “learning to swim” is really a big deal to me.  I used to love the water when I was younger, and I’d like to enjoy it again. 

Quilting - Boys-4, Girls-0

Well, it’s about time I got back to blogging. 

I’ve been sewing a lot of baby quilts this year.  So far it’s Boys – 4 and Girls – 0, but there are still 3 more to go, and at least one of them is going to be a girl. 

So I thought it was time to post some pictures.  I was very surprised to discover I didn’t even take any pictures of two of them once they were completed, and had to go back to the Mom’s who received them to ask for a picture. 

Nowadays I tend to design my own quilts, and play with fabric placement.  It’s amazing what fabric placement can do to change a quilt.   I made this 1st quilt for my sister’s third grandchild.  I started with the focus fabric and designed around it.  

Then, when I needed to create a quilt for a coworker, I found another great focus fabric and started playing with the same pattern, and ended up with a completely different look.  

Interestingly enough, we bought the fabric (yes, Kate helps pick out fabric) without knowing the colors my co-worker had picked for the baby’s room, and it turns out yellow green and brown were exactly what she had selected.

I have also been creating my own pantographs for about two years now.  A pantograph is a pattern I follow when I put a quilt top, batting, and backing together on the quilting frame and sew a design into the quilt.  Here’s a picture of the back of this quilt showing one of my quilting patterns.  I call this one “puzzle pieces”.

More quilts to follow.

Crafts - Cleaning out the sewing closet

My quilting guild is doing a UFO Challenge this year that I decided to sign up for.  I've agreed to complete 5 of my ufo's with one being due every other month.  When I came home and told Kate about it, we pulled out all of the UFO's I could find, took out the ones we really didn't care if I ever completed, and picked out 5.  Of course, there were more I wanted to get done too, but maybe next year, or not.

Anyway, here's the first of my UFO Challenge quilts.  I started it at a guild workshop with Karla Anderson, made about 12 blocks and put it away.  I wasn't sure I was going to like the finished quilt.  Boy was I wrong. I really like how it came out.

So while I was pulling out my UFO's I also found this quilt top that had been around for quite some time.  I think I dyed the fabrics in 2002 or 2003.  Then they sat in my fabric stash until the end of 2005 when I made it one of my cabin projects, decided on the yellow brick road pattern, and put the blocks together.   Boy, was it bright.  I wasn't too happy with it.

I had already cut out the borders, batting, and backing and then left it sitting in the linen closet pretty much for the last 4 years.  After pulling it out with all of the other UFO, and even though this isn't one of my UFO projects, I decided it was just time to finish the quilt already.  And here it is.

A bit loud, isn't it. But I think it might actually spend some time on my bed.  I am so tickled to have gotten this done.

It feels so good to be quilting again!

Life - The shock of working again.

I wasn't really prepared to go back to work.  I was very ready to to be retired.  But, we had decided this would be a good thing, so back I went.

Mind you.  I have worked from home full time for 5 years, and part time for 5 or more years before that.  So, I was very concerned about the noise of working in a cubicle farm.  I'm used to being the only one around.  No one making any noises but me.  Now I know I should really have been afraid of the silence.  This place is creepy quiet at times considering how many people work here.  No one is on the phone, everyone talks in whispers to each other.  Maybe if they realized I don't know how to whisper they might not have hired me.

Of course, there is one place where it's no holds barred, and that's the kitchen.  You walk in there and everyone is talking all at once, very loud and animated, in at least three different languages.

There are the other things that I have to deal with, like "coming out" to everyone.  Best line yet - "you don't look like one."  I just smiled and told her we come in all kinds of shapes and sizes, and smiled.  We're daily lunch buddies now.

Then there are funny things, like IM'ng each other even though we just have to look over the 3 foot cubicle wall to see each other.  I am not kidding.  My lunch buddies and I sit three in a row, and we have these long conversations each day without even uttering a sound.   Some days I just want to laugh out loud.

I've also made it through withdrawals.  I am living without getting on the internet for any personal reasons and it's no longer making me crazy that I can't check my email.  (No, I haven't entered the world of 3g or 4g phones, but I did finally add texting to my phone.)

This week the thing that got my attention had to do with aromas.  Monday, the ladies room smelled like Double Bubble Bubblegum.  The problem with that is that I can no longer handle sugary smells.  Yuck.  Then yesterday someone walked down my aisle with a very sugary pastry.  I didn't see it, but I sure could smell it.  OK, I can deal with the silence better than the sugar smells.

The one thing I'm not adjusting to is the loss of "me" time.   Our evenings and weekends had been ours to do with as we want for the past two years.  Now, that time is when we get all the chores done that I used to do during the day.  At least I was able to change my hours from 8-5 to 7-4.   But I'm still not making it to the gym, or getting much sewing done.  Of course, tonight was really the first night we didn't have to do anything, and I'm sitting here writing this blog.

So on that note, I'm off to do something for me in the 1 1/2 hours I have left to my day.