Sashiko--A Flimsy!--post one

Progress in January

I posted about picking up an abandoned project in a January post. It was a sashiko project that I began in a Sylvia Pippen class I'm not sure why I stopped working on it other than Sycvia's stitches were so even and beautiful. My stitches are not even and beautiful!

February progress

By the end of February, I had made more progress. I had wanted to add the applique in time to share at my March book club meeting; but, I didn't get the project to that point!

Finished flimsy

I was close so the first part of March I managed to finish the sashiko and added the appliqué. My stitches were uneven to the end; but, I like the piece. I'm not sure how I will quilt it. I did enjoy the handwork and I look forward to having a finished project!

Getting it to the flimsy stage was goal number two on my March list. Linking to Oh Scrap, Slow Sunday Stitching and Sew &Tell.

Here's they why I had time to finish the handwork. . .I was visiting my daughter and granddaughter in London for three weeks. I attended lots of activities including my granddaughter's fourth birthday party! I returned on Friday and am working on getting over the jet lag.

Reflections--A 2011 Project

Label, facing and back of project

Our Thread Tales book club read "The Glassblower of Morano," by Marina Fiorato. The opening scene of the book was where I was inspired to make this project. The character is looking at water with the night lights shining on it and thinking about how much the reflections resembled the colors of glass as it is heated.

I had a piece of marbled fabric that reminded me of molten glass. I added a couple of borders and free motion quilted around the various elements of the design using Sulky thread. I faced it, again using Vicki Pignatelli's technique.

This project is an old project that I'm documenting in this blog. From time to time, I'll post about a project that I wrote about in my previous blog.

I'm continuing to make progress on "Frolic," "Unity," and the butterfly which I'm calling "Buggy." I hope to have a Frolic update soon. I'm also gearing up to start four new projects! I'll be posting about those projects in the coming weeks.

Last Friday, the Clark County Quilter's virtual guild show opened. Please come and enjoy the show. Pour yourself a

Finished project

cuppa and stay awhile. The link is: https://quiltfestnw.org. My granddaughter's first quilt is featured in the youth 5-7 year old category. I have a number of entries listed there as well.

Woodland Flower -- A 2010 project

Detail of Woodland Flower

In January 2010, I took a two fabric applique class from Nancy Lee Chong. Nancy creates patterns using two fabrics  and the needle turn applique technique. The "Woodland Flower" was her in class pattern because it has straight edges, inside corners, outside corners and points. She was an excellent teacher. I learned how to tackle those sections of applique. I had always wanted to learn needle turn applique. My efforts to learn the technique on my own, while admirable, were less than pleasing! 

The previous March, I was rear ended in a car accident and my car was smashed into the car in front of me. The car behind hit my car a second time and smashed me again into the car in front of me. I walked away from the accident. My five month old car had to have the front and back replaced. The car frame was even cracked. My air bag didn't deploy which surprised me. 

The following August, I had neck surgery to fuse cervical vertebra five, six and seven. The surgery helped my arms from falling asleep when I tried to fold laundry and to address an envelope. The surgery wasn't the cure all. While I was better, I wasn't as good as I was before. 

Label

When I explained to Nancy that hand sewing caused me pain after a few minutes, she gave me the pointers that I employ to this day! Rather than hold the work in my lap, or on a table and look down to applique, I hold the work up at eye level. I also sit in a chair with my feet up. I can't applique for hours; but, I can applique. I am thankful I took her class for that body positioning information! I have several hand projects that I need to work on. I miss having an evening project to do while watching TV with my husband.

I had to give up gardening.Talking on the phone is difficult--my arm/hand goes to sleep holding the phone to my ear.  Holding a hard bound book is still uncomfortable. Some days are less painful than other days. I still get neck spasms. I can only work part time. I was fortunate to have supervisors who have given me accommodations to be able to continue to teach a few classes. I changed how I cooked and cleaned.  Truthfully, I actually do little of both. I am thankful for my husband who does most of both! I feel blessed to be able to continue to produce a quilt entirely by my hand.

I quilted this piece with silk thread in the brown areas and sulky thread in the batik fabric. I used Vikki Pignatelli's method of facing the project. I shared this project in my old blog. I'm posting about it again because one of my goals is to document my earlier work.

Back of quilt

Regarding COVID:

Worldwide: 45.9M cases; 1.19M deaths

United States: 9.16M cases; 230K deaths

Oregon: 44,388 cases; 677 deaths

The number of positive cases are rising at alarming rates almost everywhere. More people are hospitalized. Again, the issue of available beds and equipment is occurring. A number of European leaders have locked down or imposed severe restrictions in their countries as they did earlier in the year. Friday, there were 600 cases reported in Oregon which was the highest number since reporting began last March.

In Multnomah County, it was reported that last year there were 365 court cases. This year, that number is 89. The reason is that social distancing requirements during COVID limit where the cases can be held. It is unknown how long it will take before judges and juries can hear back log of court cases. It is going to be a long time before we recover from the damage COVID caused.

Front of quilt

Regarding the protests: One night this week, three groups of protestors demonstrated in three different areas. One group marched to the North police precinct building. One group met at Arbor park in response to black lives matter and marched to commissioner Dan Saltzman's house demanding action toward defunding of the police department in a city council meeting the following day. One group met at the Justice Center and held a candlelight vigil for the man killed in Philadelphia. 

Last night, 150 protestors gathered to protest capitalism in the northeast Lloyd District. Protestors smashed windows of at least 10 businesses. Police declared a riot. Across the river in Vancouver, protesting and vandalism occurred in the downtown sector too. Protestors were protesting over the police shooting a black man that happened Friday night. Police had approached the man after catching him selling drugs. The man ran and then pulled a gun. When the man pulled the gun, three officers opened fire. The man died.

The granddaughters showing their pumpkin art

Regarding voting:According to the BBC, more than 85 million people have voted. In Oregon 52% of the votes have been cast. Tuesday may be Election Day; but, it is doubtful that the results will be known until weeks later.

Yesterday was the end of the month. I assisted 59 people earn their American Heart Basic Life Support CPR certificates. It was also Halloween. I saw a photo of the granddaughters in their Halloween costumes. They dressed up and watched movies at home. Earlier in the week, they drew the designs on their pumpkins for their dad to carve. He did a good job at achieving the design they drew!

Woven with Love--A 2010 Book Club quilt

Quilt Label

 "Woven with Love" is a quilt that I was inspired to finish in 2010 after reading the historical novel "The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society." The book is about how residents coped with the German occupation of the Channel Islands during World War II. Author Annie Barrows lets us glimpse life though reading letters the residents wrote.

There are a number of characters in the novel and their story lines are interwoven. The interwoven theme was my inspiration. I decided to make a woven quilt. Imagine my delight when I tuned into an episode of "Fons and Porters Love of Quilting" show to see Marianne and Liz stitching a top with a woven quilt pattern! I looked for the pattern in their magazine; but, I wasn't able to purchase it. 

Fortunately, a member from The Quilt Show had a copy of the magazine and generously gave me the magazine. I had drafted the pieces. I was pleased to learn that had I not had the pattern, I would have been able to make it anyway!

I purchased the outer border fabric as well as the larger circle print. The circle print went on the back. The remaining fabrics came from my stash. I had the corn cob print fabric for many years and didn't find a use for it. This was the perfect project to use it since in the book, food became so scarce.

Close up view of quilting

Making the top went well and having the actual directions was great! Yes, it involved partial seams to make the blocks. When it was time to quilt the project, I thought about the friendship circles that were made. I decided to quilt circles across the quilt. Then I thought about how to draw circles. Once day, while I was emptying the dishwasher, I decided my plates, cup and saucer would make great templates! The large circle is the dinner plate, the medium circle is the luncheon plate.

I used a chalk pencil to draw the shape and eyeballed placement. I quilted with a variegated polyester thread using my walking foot.

When I had finished, I thought that it would make a wonderful gift for a baby. On the label, I included care information as well as leaving some space to insert the baby's name and birth information. I'm still waiting to gift the quilt; but, in the meantime, I get to enjoy it!

Back of quilt

For the backing, I pieced it using leftovers from the front. With this project, I started making a pillow case out of similar fabrics to store the quilt with the project. The pillow case also makes great gift wrap! For storing quilts, the pillow case makes it easy for me to pull the quilt that I want to display.

I wanted to bind the quilt with the teal green fabric; but, I didn't have enough. I remember realizing that I had exactly half of what I needed. At a small quilt group gathering, one of the members shared a binding technique that was one fabric on the front and another on the back.

I took notes on how to make the binding and that was how this quilt came into existence! In every quilt that I have made, I've tried something that was new to me. Sometimes there have been several new to me tries! 

I'm thankful for being part of the quilting book club group because I've stretched myself in ways I could not have imagined. I've learned techniques that I would not have attempted.

Finished quilt

I've become more confident with trying different techniques. I've also become better at figuring out what to do with the tries that failed. I've read books that I wouldn't have read on my own. I've participated in wonderful discussions about writers, plots and twists!

I'm posting this project now because I stitched it before I had started this blog. One of my goals this year is to document my book club quilts.

I'm also linking with Rebecca and longarm quilting today. I'm not a longarmer; but, Rebecca has encouraged domestic machine quilters to join her link. I'm learning a lot of tips from those that participate in the link up each week! 

The Secret Place--a 2010 Book Club Quilt

Kitchen chair and rug

 Our book club read "Loving Frank," by Nancy Horan in 2010. Horan tells the story of Mamah Borthwick and her love affair with Frank Lloyd Wright. The passage in the book that inspired me to make this project was Mamah as a young girl. She made a secret place amidst the tall grass. She would sneak away to be on her own. She'd have to wait for the grass to grow tall enough for her to hide in it! She took a rug from the kitchen and a chair to her place.When her family had to move, she left a note under the floor boards in her room to alert the next occupant about the secret place.

When I was a kid, I used to build forts all of the time. If I was inside, I'd use blankets and sheets which I draped around the furniture. (My mom was not happy that I'd unfolded the clean sheets and used the clothes pins off the line to make my creations.) If I was outside, I'd use hay bales. For a while, I even had a place in the willow tree where I'd read or pretend the tree was a big pirate ship. I could relate to Mamah's secret place!

To create this piece. I started with the kitchen rug. The fabric that I chose for the kitchen rug was a scrap leftover from a vest I had sewn for my oldest daughter when she was

Label

 about 13. I loved that fabric and she wore the vest often so she liked it too! I thought it was perfect for this project because it sort of had that braided rug look to it. I hand appliquéd it to the background.

I found free clip art on line that I used to make the kitchen chair. This was the first time that I used clip art. I also hand appliquéd it. If I were making this quilt today, I'd probably try to draw the chair. 

For the background, I had a piece of green fabric that had a subtle grass print in the background. When it came time to quilt the piece, I used a light brown-gray thread to outline the print. It was also a 40 weight Floriani polyester thread. I like the sheen this thread has.

I added the butterflies using machine applique to adhere them to the quilt surface. I've had that butterfly fabric for many years. Originally, I planned to make a blouse out of it; but there wasn't enough. I cut a few butterflies of various sizes and used a narrow zig zag stitch to hold the butterfly in place. I used thread that sometimes contrasted with the butterfly for more dimension. I was pleased with how smoothly the Floriani polyester thread stitched around the butterflies. Using a thread that showed was a new choice for me to try and I liked the results.

Detail of machine appliqué

For the border, I pieced a braid. I had wanted to try piecing a braid. I cut some scraps and Martha gave me some blue fabrics because I didn't have enough variety. She was right about my scraps. I fussed over the corners of the border. In the end, I trimmed them to fit. I remember that I liked piecing the braid; but, I haven't pieced one since!

This project was also one of my own designs. I was excited that I was able to bring my idea to a finished project! I'm sharing it now as I'm documenting projects that I finished before I started this blog.

Since this is the last post of the month, I'll share my teaching numbers. I assisted 64 people in earning their Healthcare Provider CPR certification.

Detail of braided border

Regarding Covid:

Worldwide: 25M confirmed; 16.4 recovered; 843K deaths

United States: 6.01M confirmed; 3.16M recovered; 184K deaths

Oregon: 26,293 confirmed; 454 deaths

In Oregon, this week there are still 252 cases reported each day. Our case rate is 43 cases/100,000 people. (This is below the 93 cases/100,000 people national average.) Positive test percentage is 3.8%; nationally the percentage is 5.8%. Some counties of Oregon have rising rates and the governor may require those counties to go back to closing bars and other businesses. Tomorrow, my daughter begins her school year. She will begin the year as 

Finished quilt

she ended it last year--teaching online. She reports that there are so many unanswered questions. I hope that what isn't clear will be clear soon.

Regarding the protesting, it continues. We are now in the 13th week. It also continuous that at some point, the protesting turns violent with items thrown at police and fires started on awnings or in trash dumpsters. No updated figures for the cost of the damage have been released nor has additional information regarding money spent for the police to cover/respond to the protests. 

This past week, pro police groups begun nightly protesting to stop the destruction. Members of the BLM group attacked members of the pro police group using rocks, bats and fists. It was reported that there wasn't enough police on duty to intervene. Last night, the residents of one of the areas that protestors have hit each night, went on camera and stated they wanted to sleep and to stop the destruction. A third group which supports the Trump/Pence ticket held a rally. The rally formed at the Clackamas Town Center and the group drove to downtown Portland. There was a clash with BLM members. One man wearing a patriot prayer hat was shot in the chest. He later died. Details of what happened are unclear. What a mess!

Who's That--A 2010 Completion

Current Lexi

This post is about documenting a past book club quilt project. We read "Remember Me" a book by Sophia Kinsella. The main character Lexi wakes up in a hospital bed after a car accident. She doesn't recognize herself. Turns out she is missing about three years of her memory. It was the author's description of the character looking at herself in the mirror viewing coiffed hair, plucked eyebrows, svelte body and straight teeth that she doesn't recognize that was the inspiration for this quilt. 

I created the scene with the character looking at her reflection. I had to cheat on the reflection because I would only be showing the back of the Lexi my character's brain remembered and I wanted to show more of the character. My friend Martha gave me the metallic "mirror" fabric. I thread painted myself in the mirror. This was my first trial at thread painting. I had tried a sample figure where I had used a typical threads--green hair for example to create the figure because I wanted to play with the technique.

A photo of myself helped me with work through the shading of the face and hair color. It was a challenge to make the mouth and the nose! The rouged cheeks weren't as subtle as I had imagined; but, the spirit of the svelte women is visible!

The Lexi the character remembers

I had fun creating the overweight, wild red haired gal that Lexi remembered herself being. I used layers batting to create the figure. I had the most fun creating the hair. I used about six different types of threads to build a base. What makes the hair special is the Razzle Dazzle Superior thread that I used in the bobbin to create the curls.

Over her shoulder you can see the tiny hour glass blocks that I interspersed in the background. In the story, time to figure out the issues was limited. You will have to read the book to determine if she was successful!

Sunflowers also figured into the story line. I had several pieces of sunflower fabrics; but, the fat quarter piece of the one I wanted to use was too small for the border so I used the batik fabric instead. I quilted around the sunflower print in the batik which worked well for me! The other piece of sunflower fabric became a part of the back.

My friend Martha helped me audition lots of fabrics for the mirror frame. None of the ones I auditioned next to the mirror were "it." One day when we were stitching together, she shared that pink fabric with metallic thread. It was a fabric that would be in my stash as I'm not into pink and gold thread isn't too exciting to me either.

Label

I had to admit that the fabric was "it." What I didn't take into consideration was that the additional batting to "trapunto" the figure would cause the piece to hang wonky. 

In spite of the lumps and bumps, I still like this quilt. The grandkids thought it was so funny that I used past photos of myself to draw myself. They showed me how easily they drew themselves and encouraged me to do the same!

I sure wish that I had that same confidence in my abilities; but, I don't. I am practicing drawing figures and I can see improvement. I do like drawing and sketching. I didn't draw as a kid though!

Regarding Covid--

Worldwide: 11.2M confirmed; 6.03M  recovered; 528K deaths

U. S.: 2.89M confirmed; 872K recovered;  132K deaths

Oregon: 9,930 confirmed; 213 deaths

This week there were so many more cases of Covid. One child care center in Milwaukie had 28 positive cases. Statewide, there were many

Finished quilt

more cases. The last three days in a row 300 or more cases of covid were reported. The governor froze moving to a new recovery phase for 60 days and she made an executive order that throughout the state we all must wear a face covering in a public place.

Regarding the protests:

They still are happening nightly. This week a faction broke the windows of the justice center building in downtown Portland. Police had to use tear gas to disperse the crowd. The previous day, the city council had voted to ban police from using tear gas unless officer safety was at risk. There was a lot of discussion regarding whether or not the police had not followed the new protocol. 

Yesterday, Amanda and family came for a social distance barbecue. They brought drinks, dessert and buns. We provided the burgers, deviled eggs, potato salad, baked beans and chips. Bob smoked bacon basting it with maple sugar and brown sugar. He made guacamole for the corn chips; but, mostly for the burgers. 

Miss J loves bacon. Traeger smoked bacon is my favorite method of cooking bacon now. It was delicious as was the apple cake the girls

New mask styles

made for dessert! I liked my beer--Amanda selected it specifically for our tastes. She selected another that fit James and Bob's taste better. 

We watched the granddaughters kick soccer balls all over the property. We could tell that they have been practicing their footwork skills. I enjoy hearing their laughter. K told us about opening her restaurant--Keira's Restaurant. She served her favorite foods. She cooked the foods, made actual menus, took the orders, served the entrees, provided entertainment and cleared the table. She was open for lunch and for dinner. Lunch was steamed broccoli, salad and drinks. The sides cost a $1 and the drinks cost $2 with free refills. Drink options included pinot noir and Chardonnay wines with one wine coming from Johan winery. (Her mom's favorite Oregon vineyard) Dinner was pizza with toppings of pepperoni, olives, kalamata olives and a couple other items I couldn't remember. Dessert was ice cream; but everyone was too full after pizza to eat dessert. Pricing for dinner was higher.

She said she had to pay the sous chef (her dad); but, not the dishwasher (her mom) and that she needed to pay her supplier for the foods that she ordered for her restaurant. She felt that she

Modeling the Ithinksew mask

made some money on her venture. Kudos to her parents for indulging her in her restaurant trial. What a great way to practice science skills, math skills and writing skills in addition to all the planning and organizing!

I made some new to me patterns for face masks. Friday, I went to Quilting Delights and picked up a few yards of 1/4 inch elastic. The pattern I made for the granddaughters came from a Leah Day YouTube tutorial. The pattern I made for the adult masks came from the Ithinksew website. Adjusting the elastic is the key. I'm still working out that detail. 

The patterns are free. I liked that the kids' mask had a place for a removable filter. I liked the coverage of the adult mask. I also liked the wide area to slide in an additional filter if wanted. It was easier to make casings for the nose wire in both of the patterns. Both patterns took less time to make than the ones that I made using the Craft Passion pattern. The Craft Passion author has updated the mask pattern to include a vinyl area for the mouth for people who communicate through lip reading.

I plan to make another couple dozen masks for friends and family. This time, I'm sewing a few as I sew other projects. I used 3/4 yard of stash fabric for these masks which brings my total fabric stash use to 50 1/2 yards.

The Village--a 2010 completion

Applique figures

The book, "Baking Cakes in Kigali" written by Gaile Parkin, inspired me to make this quilt. It was a Thread Tales or book club book and quilt. 

The story was about Angel who baked cakes for members of her community. She kept an album of cakes that she had made. Angel created each cake specifically for the recipient. Angel was a creative artist! 

I had nine random blocks that I "won" in 2008 from the guild block of the month. We were supposed to bring any block that was set with Sharyn Craig's twist and turn sashing technique using Christmas fabrics as the sashing. 

Sharyn was coming to the guild to teach a workshop and the BOM committee chair wanted to get us ready for Sharyn's visit. We were to choose a block that was a leftover from another project or one that didn't make it into a project. Sharyn believed that one could take any grouping of blocks and turn them into a quilt. These blocks were a challenge to turn into a quilt!

Close up of houses in the village

Two of the nine blocks were my own. One was the basket block and the other was the modern looking block that had a "window" in the center of the block. The basket block was a practice block for a retreat that I attended and the modern block was a leftover block from a previous guild block of the month.

Quilting of trees in border

I had the privilege of being a participant in one of the last classes Sharyn taught before she stopped traveling to teach. Her class opened my eyes to so many possibilities that I hadn't considered. I started asking myself a lot of what if questions. If you don't recognize her name, I suggest that you google her as a quilting author. You might recognize some of the many books that she wrote. Some of which, like "Setting Solutions" and "Great Sets" are in my personal library.

But, back to the story of building this quilt! The blocks reminded me of album pages so that was my "start." I set the blocks with pieced sashing that made a star. I liked the gold print fabric. This fabric was in my stash for a long time; but, either I didn't have enough of it or it wasn't quite the right fit for the top I had in mind. For stars, however, it was the right fabric! I knew that I wanted to use it for the binding and the back too.

There are kids in the story so I looked through my books for an applique pattern of a kid. I found a boy and a girl. I cut out enough applique to span the width of the quilt. Stitching a narrow zig zag along the edge of the shapes, I appliquéd the pieces to the background.  My original thought was to use white thread so that the figures represented cookies. After making a sample, I decided, black thread was less obtrusive. When it was time to quilt this section, I used black thread to quilt some simple lines in the figures. 

Close up of the extra and practice blocks

I wanted houses to represent Angel's "community." I used scraps to "build" the houses, windows, and doors. I had fun choosing different fabrics for my village. I also wanted the windows to have light coming from inside the houses so I chose yellow fabrics. I stitched in the ditch to quilt the houses. I liked how the yellow made the houses "glow."

Pieced back of the quilt

At the end of the story, Angel talks about traveling from Rwanda to a place where pine trees grow so I chose to piece a border of pine trees. Again, I used a variety of fabric scraps to represent pine trees. When I quilted these, I used the edge of my free motion foot to echo quilt a curved line in the trees.

I quilted the background with stippling. I pieced the back with the rest of the gold print and the rest of the background red print. I even used my "practice" blocks because I needed more fabric! I still didn't quite have enough so I used a chunk of the black that I had used for the applique. It was a good way to use that gold fabric that I liked; but, hadn't been able to use in a project! 

I completed this project in August 2010. It measures 52 inches wide by 64 inches tall.  I think Sharyn would agree that I did well not only completing the challenge of incorporating these "anything goes" blocks into a quilt but also using red, green and gold fabrics to make a quilt that didn't speak Christmas holiday even though there are Christmas themed fabrics around the blocks!

June 26 was my five year anniversary of writing this blog. For the most part, I've consistently posted on Sundays and Wednesdays.  Many of you have read each of the 475 posts I wrote! I thank you for reading and commenting! Blogger updated their format and the last couple posts I've written have been using the new format. It is supposed to be easier for people reading with phones and tablets. 

Since it is the end of the month, I will list my training number which is 32 people that I trained in Healthcare Provider CPR.

Regarding Covid 19:
Worldwide: 10M confirmed cases; 5.08M recovered; 499K deaths
United States 2.56M confirmed cases; 783K recovered, 

Label of finished quilt

127K deaths
Oregon: 7, 818 confirmed cases; 202 deaths

News from the U.K. is that researchers have developed a Covid vaccine that is now in the trial testing phase.

In the U.S., there are about 21 states which are seeing an increase in Covid cases. The media reports that these are due to people not following social distancing guidelines. Going out in groups, singing in church, drinking in bars appear to be the biggest instances. The media has not mentioned protesting as not following social distancing guidelines or being a cause of the increase in Covid cases.

The age of a Covid positive person is 30-40 instead of over 65. People with underlying health issues continue to be the hardest hit.  There are reports of some people not feeling well more than 100 days after having the virus.

This week in Oregon, the community center opened for fitness programs; but, the pool, showers and locker rooms remain closed. The governor issued an executive order to people living in seven counties within the state requiring people to wear a face covering when in a public place. These are the counties where there is the most increase in covid cases. My husband said he saw a couple people turned away from entering the grocery store because they were not wearing masks.

The Seattle, Washington Mariners baseball game that my husband and I had planned to attend in July to celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary was canceled. Our London daughter reported that a friend who is British; but, works in Boston, Massachusetts followed the isolation guidelines. The first day that he went out when it was "okay" for him to do so, he contracted Covid. He is recovering.

Finished quilt

I continue to miss reading, cooking, sewing and hugs from the grandkids. I miss face to face encounters with my friends and quilting community members.

Regarding the protests: Late Thursday night and into early Friday morning, a group of several hundred protesters set fire to a police precinct in northeast Portland and barricaded the exits while people were inside. 

Protesters set fire to area businesses as well as vandalized others. The outer wall of a salon was scorched. No other business were burned. Other businesses now have broken windows and graffiti painted on the walls. A number of these businesses are black owned.

I am thankful that no lives were lost and no injuries were reported.

The current Portland police chief stated that the demonstrators have cost the city 6.2 million dollars. This figure does not include the straight time of officers that were pulled from other jobs to cover the demonstrations. (Last week, the city council voted to cut 16 million dollars from the police budget.)

I have no words as I continue to stay as isolated as possible.

Bangkok Nights--An Oldie

View of the fabrics

I'm working on documenting my older finished quilts. This is the story of one of those quilts!

My oldest daughter helped me pick the fabrics for this quilt in June of 1998. It was one of the first projects that I picked my own fabrics for the project. (Usually, I went to the local quilt shop and picked a couple fabrics and had the staff help me choose the rest!) My oldest daughter was a great sounding board for the fabrics!

The project was a class at the local quilt store. I had hoped that the project would be for my oldest daughter. She however, did not like the orange and purple fabrics.

I thought that the purple was the perfect background for the night stars. My daughter did not like the gold stars. She really didn't like the orange fabric which was my favorite fabric in the grouping! I had chosen the colors/fabrics to coordinate with the batik that I used in the long star legs.

Looking back, I didn't get the value quite right. The tan background was too similar to the star points for the pattern to be easily seen. I do remember walking around and around the fabric store for several hours trying to choose just the right fabrics!

A full block

The pattern was a Cheryl Phillips pattern called WedgeWorks. I used templates to cut the pattern
pieces. As an aside, I've since made another Cheryl Phillips pattern; but, didn't realize it until I was writing this post!

In the four hour class, I remember stitching a small portion of one block. Over several years, I would work on the project. I had a hard time keeping the blocks circular. A friend, that I sewed with, convinced me that I would be able to quilt out the lumps. (You probably know where this post is going.) I decided that I was too much of a perfectionist and I decided that I needed to loosen up. I tried to be unconcerned about the "lumps" and the "bumps!"

What intrigued me about the pattern was that the star legs are three dimensional. I liked how the block looked. I kept sewing bits together until I had sewn all the blocks. The last step was to applique the star on top to cover the hole in the center of the block.

Borders of the quilt

I fussed a bit with the orange flange that I placed around the block and then I set the circle into a square frame. That took a lot of doing because my circles weren't exactly the right size! Eventually, I managed the sewing and I stitched the blocks together.

The pattern had unique to me borders so I stitched them in place. I was excited to pin baste the quilt and begin to quilt it on my domestic sewing machine. I had about two thirds of the background quilted with a fairly small stipple when I decided I really couldn't quilt out the lumps and bumps. I also decided that I disliked the stipple. I put it aside for a while. Later, I decided that I would rip out the stippling and start over.

Label of quilt

It took me several years to rip out the stippling. I didn't work on the quilt often. It was difficult to rip the purple thread and tiny stitches out of that purple background! Eventually, I succeeded.

I opened some seams and eased the fullness out of the top. I hand those stitched the seams closed. I echo quilted a circular pattern around the rings. I liked that quilting much better!

The backing is more of the background fabric. I had a lot of that fabric as it is also the binding! It took me more than six years to finally finish the quilt.

I named it Bangkok nights because it reminded me of the colors in some Thai costumes. In the early days, I used the alphabet in my machine to embroider the label. It took a long time to make the label!

Most of the quilt

In the end, I was happy that I had made the effort to change the quilting. I stored it thinking that perhaps it might make a good gift for a niece. I later learned that the niece wasn't interested in a homemade blanket. I kept it. When the youngest daughter was in college, she said she would use it, so I gave it to her. When she her job took her to London, England the first time, the quilt returned to our home.

She was saying how cold she was so when we visited in December. I took it to her. It goes well with Zellie, her zebra from Africa that hangs out on the floor and it goes well with Ellie, her elephant wall hanging from India.

Perhaps, all along, this quilt was made for Nicole. It just took us both some years to finally see the picture. I believe quilts end up where they are supposed to be!

After we had arrived and unpacked, Nicole tried out her latest acquisition. She seemed to be able to easily nap. . which is a great test for a quilt! I'm glad she has it and I'm glad that she is using it!

Evidence of testing the napping qualities of the quilt