Ruminations and Fabrications

Well?

2009-11-16T03:11:02Z

It's still a little tentative, but 'outlook favorable' that we are over the flu. No fever since Friday, coughs going down steadily, appetites coming back - it's back to school and work tomorrow, my ducks!

While we've been tending sick kids, both my husband and I have started *huge* digital projects (he's writing on the lap-top, I'm scanning hundreds of old family photos from the Civil War to 1987). It's completely got my old genealogy itch going again. A couple of years ago, before Tovey was born, I did masses of work with Rootsweb and Ancestry.com, and then I downloaded a bad GED file from someone, and lost masses of work. It was too depressing to pick right up again, and I've learned better skills/habits since. Also, the technology has advanced again, and now there are even better on-line data system (hello Geni!) I am eying. Of course, most of them are still ultimately subscription based. And the software I bought 6 years ago will not run on our latest CPU. Really, if it's not printed out, there are times when it's not actually recorded.

I have tons of writing on old 3" disks for circa MACs 1995, including my senior thesis on looking at quilting as a way to find non-dominant voices in American history. Luckily, I do have a paper copy of that kicking around somewhere - maybe I should have it scanned back in to text, and then I could edit it, lay it out properly, send it to Lulu.com, and have an actual bound copy. That's not really such a wild idea, actually. Great. I just talked myself into another huge project. *eye roll*

Maybe tomorrow I'll sew instead of sit at the computer (within easy reach of both bedrooms, no matter how softly they might call me). That would be nice.

November is for Linus

2009-11-14T01:59:32Z

Every year our guild makes quilts for Project Linus. Over the course of the year, various orphaned blocks, fabric sales rep samples, left-overs from making class kits, donations, etc, wind up in a big square tub marked 'Guild Fabric". In the fall, we have a meeting to process as much as possible from the tub into quilts. What doesn't get done that night gets taken home by eager/gullible/ambitious/generous guild members to make more. Here's what I came home with on Monday:

Going clock-wise from lower left:
A 'big block', but I don't know which one yet
Something sweet and artsy and tween/teen with mermaids
A cheerful 4-patch
A hip log cabin
The ones in the middle are waiting for a green from my stash, and then I think they'll be a streak-of-lightning, or something else really simple.

And that's my plan for this month.

Battle of the week!

2009-11-11T02:10:51Z

7 AM
Ok, Monday. Let's do this

10 PM
Yeah, Monday, I think we understand each other now. Three sick kids and STILL got everything done I needed to do today. Tuesday, I'm looking at you now. Why don't you just roll over and play nice?

10 AM
I have coughing in 3-part harmony, with fevers to match, upstairs; a sink full of dishes; a couple quilt commisions, and a massive data entry project. What else ya got, Tuesday?

9 PM
So here's where we stand: kids tended through the day and safely to bed - point for me. Clean dishes put away, but more dirty - let's split this one. Quilt commissions - two out of a possible three points for me. Data entry project - solid headway made, point for me. Also, brushed out and washed Elliot's hair with no complaints from him - bonus point for me. On Tuesday's side, my fever is now hovering just shy of 101 - massive point for Tuesday. My 5.5 to Tueday's 1.5, call it 2.5 because the fever thing is really lousy and has the value-add of sinus pressure. Still, I come out way ahead.

Wednesday, you don't count; you were going to be a day off anyway.

The shoe has landed

2009-11-09T03:14:00Z

Anyone else nervous about H1N1? I've been worrying about it for months - vaccinate the kids or don't, isolate ourselves or don't, assume it's all going to be ok or don't - and it was really getting to me. My kids are 13, 9, and 3, and therefore right in the age bracket most susceptible. Worry, worry, fret, fret.

Well, worry no more! It may not be H1N1, but we've got you fevers, your chills, your sore throats, and your delicate stomachs! Tovey came down with 102.8 fever yesterday, Elliot's at 99.7 and chills today - I'm keeping Sebastian home from 7th grade as a precautionary measure tomorrow. Let's just hope that what ever it is, H1N1 or not, it moves quick, and spares at least one parent at a time, so we can all recover soon.

Ooowwoowwwoowwwwoowww!

2009-11-06T18:41:32Z

Ok, so I'm *tremendously* glad that my dentist appointment today went so well. She's a great dentist, even doing breath coaching to help with the novicane injections. I was pouring a lot of energy into that tooth just needing a big filling, not a root canal and crown, and that's exactly what she did, without a word from me. So Happy about that.

However.

This thing where the novicane is wearing off, and she had to do a really deep filling because it was really big? My whole face Hurts! Pain in my jaw, radiating to my temple and neck. I know it's just the muscle stress of having an hour-long dental procedur, but yikes! Time to go down a handful of arnica and find a good book to read by the fire till I feel better. Maybe I'll design a couple more quilts.

Study & Design2: Discharge Dying

2009-11-02T15:28:13Z

It's two weeks till my next S&D meeting, and I'm in desperate need of some dark blue denim. Our challenge this week is to make a piece using discharge dying, also known as bleaching. I've made a stack (well, three) test blocks. I've used different techniques for each test so far, and I think I'm on the right track for what I want.

My vision says there could be a cool new thing here for me, and I just have to try. Thank goodness it's warm and dry enough to do the bleaching outside. That way I can take some good pictures, too. See you later, and wish me luck!

Commissioned repair work

2009-10-31T19:42:55Z

A week ago, I got a referral from a seamstress friend to do a quilt repair. The client had a small quilt, about 4'x5', that was in tatters in places. She wanted it fixed, but didn't want to spend a lot of money on it. The quilt is a 4-patch, with the center blocks dating back to 1900, easily.Double pinks, a few half-mournings, some neat little shirt prints and stripes.

Someone added a border of squares in the 1930s, but missed the 4-patch pattern. Someone added a border of squares in the 1930s, but missed the 4-patch pattern.

The top was sewn like a pillowcase to a plaid wool blanket, and tied at the corners of the 4-patches (I'm guessing by a third person, because the tier obviously saw the 4-patches, and if it was the same person as the one who added the border, they would have done blocks). At some point, someone did some repair work, but didn't really kn ow what they were doing. It probably kept the quilt from falling apart much earlier, though, so it was serviceable, if not skillful.

I did two estimates, one to restore:
I estimated there were 15 squares that would have to be removed = 3 min per
Then the time to replace each, including cutting a new patch and stitching it in place = 15 min per
Then the various loose seams and the time to repair each, figuring on at least 15 seams = 3 min per
Then the time to re-tie the quilt as originally tied = 96 ties at 1 min per
And totaled it to 6+hours.

I also did one to maintain the quilt at it's current state, basically just stopping the damage:
Remove the 15 damaged squares = 3 min per
Stabilize 15+ loose seams = 3 min per
Utility quilt it by machine in Xs across blocks = 1 hour
And totaled it to 2.5 hours.

The client went for the eaiser option, as I knew she would. I started by pulling out the damaged blocks.

I could have stopped there and just stitched down the edges, but I Just Could Not Stand leaving the plaid backing showing through. Sooooo, I started pinning in replacement patches. I *knew* I was letting myself in for a lot more work than I was being paid for, but it was just such a shame to see the gaping holes, and I happened to have a whole stack of pre-cut patches right there, that would work perfectly.

So I'm giving her a better deal than she's expecting. I'll be sure she knows it, but I'll stick to my quote. Who knows, maybe she'll be so pleased she'll up the bill.

I envy my cats.

2009-10-28T12:55:21Z

They get to stay home by the fire today, while I get to run around in the drizzling damp. Lucky cats.

No, we did not get that tiny camp chair just for her, but she thinks we did.

I am the mother of a teen age boy

2009-10-25T14:11:40Z

As of 12:58 PM yesterday afternoon, that is, when my oldest turned 13. It's kind of great and kind of scary. He's the best kid ever, along with his brothers. I'm looking forward to what this year brings.

Getting to know you. Or me.

2009-10-24T05:25:53Z

Got something to ask...ask away

The problem with LJ: We all think we are so close, but some of us don't know much about one another. So I want you to ask me something you think you should know about me. Something that should be obvious, but you have no idea about. Ask away. Bonus points if you share a little known fact about yourself to me also!

Then post this in your LJ and find out what people don't know about you.

1) Where do you live right now? Do you like it? Where would you be living right now if you could chose another place?

2) I have an image of you in my mind, if I have not already seen a picture of you, but I may be wrong. Post a written description or photo of yourself *optional*

3) Tell me Who Do You Love! Are you married/in a long term relationship? If so, how long? Do you have children? How many children?

4) What do you "do for a living"? Are you happy doing it? If you could do anything else, what would it be? (this is the adult version of "what do you want to be when you grow up?" question)

5) List five of your Favorite Things.

6) List three (or more if you chose to do so) of your favorite hobbies.

7) How long have you had your LJ? What does your LJ name mean, and why did you chose it for yourself?

8) Tell me what you consider your best personality trait, and what you consider your worst

9) Got pets? What animal meant the most to you, of ones you've had?

10) Did you vote in your most recent state or local election?

Tedium

2009-10-22T18:51:58Z

I'm supposed to be quilting a top for an acquaintance. The design of the piecing is fine, three different sizes of pieced stars, appliqued on a dark blue mini-dot background. The stars are already quilted, really nicely. What's left to me to do is the Most Tedious part: long lines of hand-quilting, radiating from a central point, evenly spaced apart and adding new rows as needed to maintain a reasonably close quilting. It's So Boring! Plus, it's really hard to quilt slightly skewed lines on the grid formed by the mini-dots. She asked me to do it when I was pregnant with Tovey - who turns four in December. I'm half-way done, but I'm also so sick of it I want to hand it back - "Here, I got it a bunch further, now it's back to you!" *Sigh* Why is it that I have projects I want to do, like my oldest son's Buggy Stars, and instead I have this thing in the frame? It's a perfect example of when a design that's beautiful in theory (and it really is!) is just dull beyond bearing in execution.

Use the Force, Elliot

2009-10-19T15:54:04Z

The top is now complete! I took it to show+tell at my guild last week, and I was surprised to find myself shaking a bit when I showed it - I guess I'm more proud/nervous about it than I thought! I am now wrestling with how to quilt it: I have ideas for the X-wings, because they are big open patches of fabric, but the PP blocks are a whole different kettle of fish. Ideas? Oh, and the whole thing is now 60"x78".

The Unexpected Mermaid - my Blogger's Quilt Festival entry

2009-10-15T15:15:40Z

My entry in the Blogger's Quilt Festival is really quite recent. I thought about other quilts, and even took some out to look at, but this one is the one. This quilt started as a challenge to my guild from a local independent clothing design house, to make quilts using their (mostly rayon) scraps. I was late in getting started, due to a)joining the guild late in the challenge and b)not getting fabric until July 16th, for a challenge due in August. There's a tag on the side just for Mermaid, if you want to see the progress.

This quilt is filled with new things I'd never tried - faux chenile in the sea-weed on the lower left, seriously padded applique on the figure, the needle-lace shiksa mirror, and this is the most surface texture of any quilt I've made so far. It's also filled with things I've loved and had kicking around my studio for years, like the fish bead, the bit of coral-colored velvet ribbon, and the blue-green cut-glass beads in the upper right.

Lastly, this quilt is full of my grandparents and great-grandparents. My great-grandmother made the lace doily that became the anenome at the lower center. My great-grandfather and both great-grandmother's button collections are represented in the mermaid's tail. All the little metal findings came from my grandfather's work in the aeornautics division of Bendix Corp. I know exceeedingly little about his working life, and he died only two years ago. I'm glad to have these bits of what was common-place to him turn into the unexpeced on my quilt.

Blogger's Quilt Festival

2009-10-12T14:57:19Z

A quilt festival for bloggers??! Rock on! I'm entering my mermaid quilt. Or my Ace of Wands quilt. Or maybe my Windmills quilt. Hmm.

Study & Design1, UtF, & etc

2009-10-12T14:46:50Z

I finished the S&D project! Overall, I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.

The angles of the yellow were off from what I intended - cheap compass, I blame you!
Next time I'll trace around a plate like my great grandmother would have. I got a little
puckering in the purple stripe, so I might go back and re-do that. I think I was rushing it a bit.

For almost 20 years I've avoided doing bindings, settling for the 'magic flip' method that results in a pillow case edge. Perfectly workable, and no complaints, but I've been wanting to get the hang of a binding I didn't Totally Mangle. Lo and behold, September's guild lesson was on bindings, by the best binder in the bunch. After the lesson, we each were sent home with an 8"x10" piece of batting, a binding strip, and homewrok to finish the job. It's simple and lovely, and I did it!

I couldn't see just putting the binding on a piece of batting, so I had to make a mini-quilt. The following Thursday, Tovey and I went for a walk and he collected a handful of beautiful leaves.

I used double-sided tape to hold them in place, scanned them into my computer, sized the image for the 8"x10" piece, printed them on white fabric, and bound that quilt! I'm pretty pleased with the results, and totally sold on the method.

I'm debating going back in an adding some machine stippling - another thing I've never done - but that will probably wait until after guild tonight. I have a few other things I have to work on today, though. First, I have the last border on Use the Force to put on; all the blocks are together, and I want the top done for tonight, because I'd love help figuring out a quilting plan. I'll edit this to add a pic when I'm finished with that, but a pic of just the blocks feels silly when I'm so close to a finished top.

Love in a time of flu

2009-10-11T12:49:23Z

I'm really wrestling with the idea of getting H1N1 vaccinations for my kids. I usually am very cautious about vaccines, we delayed all of the kids vaccines entirely for two years, then put off any we could until school age. I understand the reasons for them, I just also understand the need to develop a healthy immune system. So this post is not about the vaccinate/don't vaccinate argument, because I can have that anywhere and I've had it everywhere.

I'm scared. I'm seeing the swirl of hype on both sides, the fear-mongering on both sides, and I wish I just could get a clear picture, an honest answer. I want my kids to be well. I want my pregnant sister to be well. I want all your kids to be well. This flu is starting to touch me; a friend from college is recovering slowly on the west coast, and a friend from high school is nursing her very sick little girl through it right now. We've been stock-piling 'flu food', things that are super-easy to make and highly tolerable for ill people with touchy stomachs. (Nausea IS being part of this flu, which is atypical.) We've been teaching Seb (13) and Elliot (9.5) how to make rice, how to make ramen, how to make soup, how to deal if we are too sick or too busy to help them much. We figure if any two people in the family are ill, the care-taking needs to be as easy as possible.

I like to rely on my body, trusting it to tell me what it needs and get me through so long as I listen to and respect my needs for sleep, food, movement, etc. I want to believe the side that says 'wash your hands, get enough rest and enough fluids, and you'll be ok', but I'm scared of the side that says '28 pregnant women dead out of 100 cases; 90 percent increase in hospitalized kids'. What is the right thing to do?

I know the kid's school has hand sanitizers outside every classroom, and I know there's a plan in place for closing the school if need be (and I'm not skittish about keeping them out anyway), but I don't know what will happen. I want to know what will happen. I want to wrap my loved ones in bubbles and hibernate until spring. I find myself second-guessing gatherings: is JiffyCon a disease vector? Should I stop going to quilt guild? What about game night? It's like an invisible weight and I'm dragging around this chain of low-grade background anxiety, concern, tension. It's not doing me any good, yet I can't shake it, because it just rattles around in my head.

Trying to figure out which is the most loving thing to do, to trust our bodies, have faith that it's just a bad flu year and not vaccinate, or to listen to the clamoring voices, assume the worst, and get the vaccine, is troubling. I know how to love my kids. I have even, after years of work and practice, learned how to (mostly) stop myself in the middle of a tirade and remember that everything we do as parents is out of love for our children, and refocus on that love. I just wish I could be sure that my love, this year, this season, is enough.

Study & Design1: Use a fabric I hate

2009-10-08T13:41:48Z

So, my S&D group has started up for the year. We've got some strict constraints -
-Time constraint: finish each assignment in time for the next month's meeting
-Size constraint: each piece is 8"x10" - leave it unbound so it can be set with the rest at the end of the year
-Design constraint: focus on curved lines and straight lines - aim for precision
-Theme constraint: choose a theme to work with for the year
-Monthly constraint: each month we'll learn a technique that we will incorporate in the next piece

At the first meeting, two and a half weeks ago, we had a big bag of donated scraps to paw through and find something we really disliked. It was tough because there was fabric we *did* like in there too, so we got to choose some of that as consolation. I have to use a fussy, muddy big floral. Ick. It's probably the only Kaffe Fasset that's just awful. I've had it for two and a half weeks, and I've been beating my head against it. I can get behind the yellows and greens and rusts, and even the deep purple, but the bubble-gum pink in there too?? *sigh*

Well, the first thing to do was re-assemble an actual usable shape. Luckily, the repeats worked out in my favor.

I wrestled with various themes, because anything I could think of for the fabric (fussy cut? slice and dice in tiny pieces? use the back?) didn't work with any theme I could think of (my kids? ripples? generations?). FINALLY I hit on an idea two nights ago: buttons. I can totally get behind this fabric as a super-close up of a cool printed button. I think it's going to work.

Those little white freezer paper crescents are the inside edges of the button holes, which you can *maybe* see drawn in pencil on the block. I had to resew the print+yellow curve at each end, because I'd drawn it too tight and it was cupping. This is my very first time machine sewing curves in 20 years of quilting. (OK, not very first, but the Butterfly Quilt was too big to count)

Quilt of the Day

2009-10-03T01:59:36Z

Hey, I made another baby quilt. Two points if you can guess which baby it's for.

Happy October

2009-10-02T20:39:30Z

The quilt is called 'Fiendish Glee', and it's a stack-n-whack variation. I fell in love with the Edward Gorey print a few years back, and had to have it. Now, if I knew how I wanted to quilt it, maybe it could go on the wall before the 31st. Any ideas?

The Best and the Worst

2009-10-01T18:34:32Z

The best part is making something beautiful with my own mind, my own hands, on my own time.

The best part is the community of like-minded creative people, who may not share political views, religious affiliation, or even aesthetics, but who really understand the joy in creating.

The best part is sewing away at the table, with my 9 year old son working on his 9-patch blocks nearby while my 3 year old son makes a 'quilt' of 1" fabric squares pasted to paper.

The worst part is *knowing* I have the fabric I want, but not being able to find it in my stash.

The worst part is when there's a quilt just begging to be tended to, but I must tend to everything else instead.

The worst part is artist's block, when there are no ideas and everything looks dull and tired and boring, and I'm afraid I might never have another decent idea.

How to make an ATST in 17 eazy steps ( a UtF quilt update)

2009-09-28T17:28:23Z

Hi folks! Today I'm going to tell you all about how I made the ATST block for my Star Wars quilt. It's quite a process,
so I'm putting it behind Ok, now for the steps

Step 1: Get a good picture of the ATST. Or whatever complex shape you want, and adapt as needed. I used a LEGO catalog I had handy.

Step 2: Make some full-sized sketches. My block has a finished size of 9 inches. Don't think too much about lines or piecing yet, just get the shapes down. Also, sketch on tracing paper, because it's very helpful to have multiple layers later on.

Step 3: Clean up sketch. This means use the ruler to get the lines straight, and think about making sections and lines tidy lengths, like 1/2 inch instead of some wacky fraction thereof. Also, I made some edits here, like moving the the whole thing a little to the left in the square, smoothing out the angle in the 'chest' line, and making the 'ear' an actual geometric shape instead of a random collection of lines and angles.

Step 4: Start looking for natural piecing lines. This can take a bit of figuring until you get something you like. Use different sheets of tracing paper over your clean lines until you get one you like. I'm going to cheat here and show you one photo-shopped pic with various piecing lines, instead of the three different sheets I did before I got one I liked.

Notice all those red lines? They make sense, or could make sense, but I don't like them. YMMV, of course. Two big things to notice though: the yellow circles indicate really ridiculously tiny pieces - maybe find a different way to do those? And the black circle is at the point of a shape that couldn't work for paper piecing unless I added the vertical lineup from that point. Some of these lines I like fine though, so that's why I made *another* tracing paper layer, with the lines I actually liked.

Step 5: Decide on piecing lines that work for you. Notice I used many of the blue lines from the step above, just made everything pleasing to me. Also, there are some unexpected lines, like the diagonal from the top right corner of the block. Weird, but it works because it gives me the angle I wanted on the back of the head, plus it intersects with the chest at a point, which gets rid of the yellow circles and the black circle from above.

Step 6: Find your subsections. There's no way to piece all that in one section, so find out where it naturally breaks, using yet another sheet of tracing paper. If you can't number the pieces in order all the way through, break it into subsections until each subsection CAN be numbered in order all the way through. It's very helpful to have a sheet that has all the sections clearly marked.

Step 7: Use tape to keep everything in place and Remember to Flip the Pattern Over if it's not a symmetrical design.

Step 8: Here's a big secret that's not a big secret anymore: Even though it's called paper piecing, don't use paper. Use a super lightweight NON-fusible, NON-stretch interfacing. That way you can see through it, sew through it, and leave it in place when you're finished, instead of having to pick out all those tiny scraps of paper. Who has time for that? So, take your flipped and taped pattern, and lay a nice big chunk of interfacing over it. This is where you'll add the seam allowances to the subsections. Remember to add seam allowances to the Outside Of The Block as well as. The green photoshopped line is my piecing line for that part of that section.

Step 9: Because you have two layers of tracing paper, one with the piecing lines and one with the sub-sections, you have the piecing lines right there. Using your ruler and a super-fine sharpie (or a mechanical pencil), mark the piecing lines on the interfacing. Number them in order. This does three things: it distinguishes the front from the back of the interfacing pattern (very helpful if you're doing patterns in between other projects), it checks to see if there are more hidden sub-sections within that shape, and it reminds you of the piecing order. I usually make notes about which fabric goes where, too.

Step 10: Do Not Skimp on the subsections. You will save yourself a world of aggravation. Just add seam allowances to the edges, and mark the piecing lines. Here I've got the section lines, with the subsections broken out and labeled, so that the pieces go in order. Then I have the subsections drawn nearby as their own little patterns. Also, Do Not Skimp on interfacing. It's cheap, and it's a pain to have to re-draw a section because it's too cramped.

Step 11: Color! Lay another sheet of tracing paper (yep), on top of the pattern, right-way up. Color it in so you know what color everything is meant to be. Choose cloth accordingly. This will help when you are labeling the pieces. Some folks might want to do this first, but I like to focus on the lines first.

Step 12: Sew! I sew from the back, looking at the interfacing pattern. I put my 1st fabric piece on each section, line up the second piece right sides together with the first, so that there is a 1/4 inch seam allowance, and sew along the piecing line on my pattern. Using super-lightweight interfacing means I can usually see both my pieces through the pattern. This gives me pieces Exactly Where I Want Them :) So I add pieces according to number order. After each seam, flip the patch over, unfold the most recent fabric, and iron the newest piece in place properly.

But what happens when I have a piece of fabric I know will fit, but I don't know the proper angle to place it so it sews right? I'll show you.

Step 13: My sneaky fold-back method of making sure it fits. First, use a scrap of fabric that's logical. I know this one will work just fine for the next piece.

Step 14: Working from the back, fold along the piecing line. If the folded back pattern for the piece that needs adding next is all the way on the fabric, it will work!

Step 15: Pin the new piece. Carefully unfold the pattern, and pin the loose fabric to the finished parts of the pattern Without Moving Anything. Now you have the fabric in exactly the right place,and you can sew along the piecing line.

Step 16: Pin the sub-sections together Perfectly. Using sharp thin pins, go Straight Down through the points you want to match up, then shallowly across the patch to secure it in that place. Practice makes this easier, and re-doing a seam is worth it if it's going to bug you forever.

Step 17: Assemble the various sub-sections and sections, iron the block, and you're through! This will work for any complex shape. Or even simple shape. Try it. it's lots of fun!

I'm having a crappy day

2009-09-21T19:54:44Z

It's gorgeous out today. The perfect day to walk to the library, or the post office, or the market, all of which I need to do. However, my mother called last night to say she'd be over in the late morning or lunchtime, so we could spend the afternoon cutting out new quilts and sewing. It's now 3:45, and not a sign or sound from her. I'm pretty pissed. When will I learn to rely on my 38 years of first-hand knowledge, and stop trusting my mother to show up for me when she says she will?

Meanwhile, I'm fighting a frustration-induced head-ache while Tovey remains cheerful and does his level best to engage me. We've read a ton of books, watched an episode of Sesame Street, and done a stack of puzzles. What I want is to have followed my very first instinct this morning, and had Vincent drop Tovey and I off in town on his way to work at 8. We'd have done the library, the market, and probably a park by now, and I'd be a happier person. Alas.

I sure hope someone checked the answering machine at the boy's school and got the message to them that they have to walk home. Did I mention I was stressed by that, too? Mom messed up my ability to get my kids, because I foolishly assumed she'd be where she said she'd be, when she said she'd be there, so I planned to use her car. Big mistake, and now my kids are getting the same lesson, that their mother lets them down, or fails to show up, or changes the plans without telling them. Ergh. I hate this. I want to be enjoying this day, but right now, it kind of sucks.

If it can go wrong...

2009-09-14T04:34:52Z

Ever have one of those days?
I was working on Use the Force, trying to get *something* accomplished, even though didn't feel great. The blocks were the light sabers, which are super straight forward, and therefore need little pressing between adding new pieces.

Each light saber has a layer of cotton, then a layer of organza on top for sparkle. That went fine.

But when I took them to the ironing board, I was sorely dismayed to find that the side I'd sewn to was covered in glue! Ick! How on earth did I wind up with a fusible, when I'd specifically asked for, and checked the bolt for, NON-fusible?!?! Gunk all over my iron! At least I didn't fuse the block to my ironing board! After some choice words, I figured I could finger-press the one little 2 inch seam, then add the two big side triangles, then press the whole thing and it wouldn't matter if I'd got fusible or not. So that's what I did.

Except when I didn't.

Three blocks needed a bit of the seam ripped out and re-sewn. *sigh*
By this time I really should have figured out I was too ill to sew. But no. I just wanted to finish up these five blocks, and all they needed now was ironing. Guess who's ancient iron decided to give up the last shread of temp control remaining?

Yep.

And that's when my darling husband said "Hey, the Turtledove (our three-year-old) and I are going to Amherst to get yummy Asian food. Wanna come along and get a new iron while we're out?" I do love that man.

Little bits of my day

2009-09-09T03:51:39Z

After a long 16 hours of vomiting three-year old, we're back to normal . Hurray! I felt trapped in the bedroom, and my sewing was so far away, calling to me. Oh well, I got my clothes sorted out, folded, put away, and culled out a stack of stuff to pass on to the survival center. Why do I hold on to jeans that I don't like? And how did I wind up with 5 different green long-sleeved Ts / turtlenecks?

My sewing room is a wreck. I hauled EVERYTHING out, looking for a certain piece of fabric that I've finally figured out what to do with. I was starting to be concerned I'd gotten rid of it (gasp!) when I found it at the bottom of a box of scraps from an old project.

I took my mermaid quilt to the fair! It's the first time I've ever entered any sort of contest. It's kind of exciting, and I'm wishing I'd entered more categories. I love the fair!

Abundance

2009-09-04T18:00:46Z

This is a picture of our pear tree.

It is heavy with pears that are green-skinned and crisp, full of juice and sweet pale flesh. In the cool of the evening, we hear the slide and soft thump as a pear falls loose and tumbles through the leaves to the grass below. We can't pick them up fast enough, and wasps circle stupidly, drunk on pear wine. A few days back, Seb found a slug the size of his thumb. We have great plans, for pear tart and pears in puff pastry, pear sauce and canned pears in honey and ginger. I hope some of those plans come to be. I imagine rows of glass jars, full of preserved sunlight against the winter ahead, and I'm filled with happiness.

The reality is somewhat less rosy. Life is already full, with the kids back to school and next week my year starts up again. When do I have time to pick pears from the tree, much less keep up with the overripe ones that fall with a bump in the night? I fantasize about a big garden, full of food we enjoy all summer and store for the winter, but when would it get weeded and watered? Our lives are so full, so much travel and so many projects, not to mention the heat and how little I know of practical gardening - my mother did most of it when I was small, and we moved away from fertile soil about the time I started to understand what that meant.

I often feel, at this time of year, like my life is backwards. Instead of pulling in my harvest and preparing for the long house-bound days ahead, I'm gearing up for the school year, looking over my curriculum, thinking about this year's classes and who my clients will be, already dreading the pouring-out of energy needed to get through November and December, not to mention January and February. I want to curl up with my quilts and my jigsaw puzzles, a pot of tea and my home-made pear sauce and hibernate. I want to gather pears and tomatoes and the rest of the beans, trim down the iris and sunflowers, and rest. I think I'll grab a book ( I have on right here), and go out to the hammock. I bet there's a good pear or two out there, too..