December recap

Desserts at high tea

Happy New Year! I wish you all good fortune in the coming year. I've been thinking about what I want to accomplish in 2020. First, I need to recap what happened last month.

I listed seven goals for myself in December. Of those goals, I decided not to do one. I amended one goal. Instead of having a sew day with Miss K, we had a sew afternoon. Making the amendment instead waiting for a whole day meant we made progress on her project which was the end goal. I completed two goals and made progress on two other goals. Anytime I make progress, I deem the month a success!

Teaching wise, I taught 26 participants in health care provider CPR.  I helped train eight Water Safety Instructors and completed a lifeguard instructor review for seven people. Three of those participants also renewed their lifeguard cards so I trained a total of 44 people this month.

The breakdown for teaching in 2019 was:
Bloodborne pathogen training 18, Lay Rescuer CPR 68, Lifeguards 17, Lifeguard Instructors 48, Water Safety Instructors 8, Swimming lessons 147, Babysitters Training 34, Healthcare Provider CPR 334 and Inservice Training 22  for a total of 696 people for the year. 

For the quarter, I had two finishes for the Finish-A-Long program. I'm okay with two finishes. I finished two book club quilts-- A-B-C quilt and Trio of Sisters. This month, I'll get back to the projects and again begin making a dent in my project list. The Finish A-Long program has helped me accomplish more finishes so I plan to continue participating.

A container of Chex mix and fun sock gifts

What made December fun was partying, lunching and sewing with friends. My friend, Pat, who lives down the hill from me, hosts an annual Christmas party. I caught up with three friends I hadn't seen since the last party which was great! The potluck dishes were delicious and the dice game we play for the wrapped ornament present was hilarious.

Mid month, I went with a special friend to lunch at the Mountain View Golf Course near where I live. I've never been there. Service was great, the tomato soup was delicious. I will have to go another day!

I took a drive to The Dalles with a friend who had business to conduct. We chatted the whole trip planning what classes we will be teaching together in 2020. We also got together to watch the last basketball game of Miss K! (I sent my friend the wrong time so she arrived after the game; but, we still snuck in a short visit!)

Leaf quilting detail

At the end of the month,  I met up with two coworkers at Cafe Yumm which offers a variety of vegetarian and vegan menu items. This restaurant is also located close to where I live that I've not tried. I had a Yumm bowl which was good. We try to get together every couple of months to catch up. I do miss working with both of them!

Also, mid month, I attended a tea with two other friends. Not only did I get to catch up with them; but, the retreat center where the tea was held featured a quilter. We looked at about 120 quilts of her work. Tea, quilts and friends are a great combination!

I participated in two sew days with the Mystery Mavens. This is the group that I formed to play along with the Bonnie Hunter mystery which is "Frolic" this year. It is so much more fun to be sewing along with a group!!!

I am so fortunate to have such a wealth of friends!

Before the haircut

Progress on the leaves quilt is coming along. I have quilted backgrounds on nine of the 24 blocks which represents about 31 hours of quilting. While I was sad that I was unable to finish this quilt in time for my daughter's birthday, I am excited that it will be finished in time for her birthday next year! I have found that I can quilt for about three hours in a day. I cut the hour into 15 minute segments. I stretch at the end of each segment and then I do a different activity for about an hour. The stretches and activity changes sure help my body endure the quilting.

I am enjoying the quilting process and there is something to say for quilting the same filler in the background. Not having to think about what comes next has allowed my mind to think about other projects as well as planning the next section of quilting that beast!

After the haircut

The actual name for the quilt is "Leaves" but, I affectionately call it "The Beast" because it is 100 inches by 108 inches which is a huge project to quilt on my domestic sewing machine!

On a personal note, a hairdresser cut about six inches off of my hair. I hadn't had a haircut in almost two years! I had considered growing it to donate it; but, didn't do more than consider when the other gals in the "donation" group decided not to donate. They cut their hair at the end of summer.

Shorter means that it takes less effort to wash and to dry. My hair is still long enough that I can pull it all into a hair tie. Having it this length makes it easier to keep my hair under control when I teach swim lessons. About 40 years ago my hair reached my waist. This time it reached the middle of my back. I don't miss the length!

Tea Room Quilt--post 1

Sign--letters made from ultra suede scraps

"Major Pettigrew's Last Stand" written by Helen Simonson is the inspiration behind this quilt project. The first time that I read the book, I picked the fabrics and the pattern. The pattern is from JoJo's "All Things Through My Hands" blog post. You too can make your own variation!

It stayed on my FAL list for years. Last August, I volunteered to be the leader for the next book for our book club. I decided to re-read this book. Rereading gave me the opportunity to savor the details that Helen included in the story.

Cup ready for application

In the leader role, I contacted Helen and she consented to FaceTime the group during one meeting. We thoroughly enjoyed the insight she provided to the story as well as her humor.

In terms of the project for the book, I tackled the sign board first. I cut out the letters using ultra suede scraps from Martha's stash. Martha would have approved of me using her ultra suede scraps as letters for the sign board! My plan is to secure the letters during the quilting phase. I haven't used ultra suede before
so this is one of the "firsts" in this project!

Next, I stitched together the elements for the cup and then for the tea pot. In the story, the major is quite particular about his tea. I chose a cup that might have been one of his favorites. I had chosen a lighter brown fabric because I wanted the illusion of milk in his tea. Unfortunately, there wasn't enough contrast and my eye couldn't see the contents of the cup unless I was almost nose close to it! The tea is a richer blend now that it is a dark brown!

Tea pot beginnings

After constructing the cup, I selected fabrics for the tea pot. The design on the tea pot contained a bird. I was challenged to add elements to the tea pot so that it looked like it was part of a set. It was also challenging to select fabrics that had enough contrast for the background of the tea pot and the main background.

Auditioning the various elements

I decided repeating a couple fabrics in the tea pot would be a good way to make the pot and cup look like a set. I also cut a motif from the cup fabric to become the decorative top to the pot.

Next I pieced in a hanging post, auditioned placements of the elements and thought about border fabrics. The post needed to be positioned with some background fabric around at least three sides.

I cut off a section of the background and applied it to the top of the post. I liked the positioning better. Needle turning some of the elements, raw edge appliqué preparation for other elements and choosing the fabrics took about 10 hours.

Merry Christmas

Cross stitch on linen 

Merry Christmas! I hope you are enjoying family and friends today. This year, the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas evaporated!

My friend, JoJo, will be moving to Alabama by the end of next month. I am so going to miss being able to run by her house to pick her brain for ideas to challenges. I will miss the awesome lunches she prepared, the laughter we shared and all the Bowdee adoration! (Bowdee is her dog who took a special shine to me!)

JoJo stitched the ornament which I will cherish as a keepsake. I can't imagine cross stitching on linen. She included red which is my favorite color and yellow which is her favorite color. She stitched the words in French because I love France. She included a special button from her collection. She included sewing motifs because we both enjoy quilting and stitching.

Earlier this month, I pulled out my "Christmas" clothing. I used to add an item each year; but, in the last ten years, I've reduced my inventory to three favorites. I have a couple sweaters and a sweatshirt that I look forward to wearing during the season. Because they are "seasonal," these items have been around for a long time.

Thirty one years ago when the kids were in elementary school, we took a trip to Disneyland.  My dad's mom lived in Morro Bay, California. We spent a couple nights visiting with her. She enjoyed shopping and sharing what made the area paradise to her. She loved the variety and uniqueness of the shops in and around Morro Bay.

One evening, we went to dinner and in a store window near the restaurant, I saw a sweater that I loved. The store was closed so having a closer look wasn't an option. Her agenda didn't have a trip back to this location. The following day, she altered her agenda. She drove us back to the store, where I bought the sweater. It wasn't on sale. Rarely, do I purchase clothing that isn't on sale. (I figure any savings means more fabric and thread buying ability!) I remember that the sweater cost $30.

The sweater is a deep pink with pearls embellishing a white leafy design at the neckline. I was attracted to the neckline because it reminded me of  the edges of a snowflake. I was also attracted to the pearl embellishment! Over time, I lost some pearls. Now that I have done a little beadwork, I understand the importance of knotting the thread so that if it were to break, one wouldn't lose a bunch of beads.

In my husband's grandmother's bead stash were some pearls that were about the right size and color for the sweater. I added them and restitched each pearl to the neckline. These will be in place for years to come!

The free standing lace embroidered snowflake was the ornament that I won at Pat's Christmas party earlier in the month. My friend, Martha, loved snowflakes so getting it at the party was extra special.

Now, I'm off to make some more memories with family. Life is good!

October Embroidery Lesson

Some of the practice motifs

The October embroidery lesson was fun to work through. Again, the lesson focused on manipulating letters. I thought that I had followed the directions in the software. I did a trial run of the stitch out in the software and then. . . I was surprised to find my stitch out had issues!!!

Splat motif

Rather than try to fix the issue in the file, I opted to redo the lesson. The second time around, the lesson went faster and when I stitched out the various letters, each resembled the diagram in the printed handout. Success is nice!

Initial with fill stitch in appliqué

I have opted not to complete the November lesson. I've reviewed the lesson and the emphasis is on different file formats which is good information to have; but, not information to use in a design. I practiced many different lettering techniques this year. Some, I would like to add to future quilt projects. Let's see how that goes!

"Frolick"ing with the Mystery Mavens--post 2

Ann reviewing the directions

Denise selecting fabrics; Heidi stitching

Pat cutting strips

Our Mystery Mavens met on Monday. It was our second "formal" meeting. Truly, the only formality about our group is the date, time and place that we meet! Once again, we giggled and we even accomplished some stitching!

Laura stitching the first clue

There was cutting, stitching and pressing. Some finished their clue. Some dropped by to say hi. Some stitched on another project. Some helped others move forward on their clues.

Jane used a different method of making HSTs

The group is such a treasure!!!! I enjoy the camaraderie. I love that people tried the second method of making HSTs that Bonnie shared in clue #3.

Sometime, I am going to try that method. My chunks were not ten inches square. I loved that people made HSTs other ways too.

Ruth pressed my HSTs and a lot of Heidi's too

We talked about the pros and cons of the various methods. The consensus seemed to be that it depends on the number of HSTs you need, what you are working with (scraps or yardage) to make the HSTs, what methods that you are comfortable making to determine which one works best for you or for your project!

Julie working on another project

Some people are caught up. Some are catching up. Some are enjoying the journey while some are eyeing the journey! Some share their progress on our private FaceBook page. It all works.

I feel so fortunate to be part of such a supportive and giving group. I hope that we will be together a good long time.

With Ruth's help, I've completed clue number three. Bonnie releases clue number four on Friday. I see more fun and fellowship ahead. Oh. . .yes, there will be stitching too! Are you "Frolic"ing too??

Gone Crabbing

Close up of the wording

I was looking at my pile of quilts and had a thought. I haven't featured my earlier quilts in my blog. I need to document them. Next year, I'll make the documentation more of a priority! The post today is about one of those early quilts.

Every quilt has a story. The story behind this quilt involves memories at the beach. My husband's aunt, Mar, owned a cabin at the beach in Florence, Oregon. When our girls were small, we went there several times a year. Often, my father-in-law, Bill,  joined us. More realistically, we joined them! Sometimes, Mar's sister Mary came too.

I have many fond memories of the coast house. The girls learned to play pinochle there. We had some long games. We'd start with four people playing and as someone tired, another person took the retiring person's place. A pinochle game could last from after breakfast to before dinner with a break for lunch! The game would resume after dinner and last until people went to bed. The following day, we would start a new game!

Many Labor Day weekends were spent at the coast house. We had a number of Thanksgiving dinner's there too. One of my father-in-law's fun activities to do was to go crabbing. We would set pots, motor about, then come back and pull the pots. A pot full of crab is heavy! Once we had our catch, we brought it back to the coast house and cooked the crabs on the back porch.

An early quilt gifted to my father-in-law

We would spread newspaper on the picnic table and crack crab. Later we would have crab omelettes, crab salads, crab cakes. . .well, you the picture! Some crab we each took home; some crab we gifted to the neighbors. Many hands always made light work.

The cabin was about a five minute walk from the beach so it was easy to take the girls to build sand castles, walk the dogs, look for shells and watch people fly kites. My favorite time to walk on the beach was in the morning when the wind was less likely to blow one over!

There was a radio at the coast house; but, no tv. It was a good place to visit, read a book and do some handwork. In 1999, my local quilt shop had a class to make a sampler wall hanging. The class fee included the fabrics for the project and dinner!

The sample wall hanging sign read, "Gone Fishing." I knew, I wanted it to say "Gone Crabbing." One of the part time employees hand lettered the the words for free if you finished your top. That was good incentive for me to finish the top!

It was the second class that I took of many from that shop. When I finished it, I gifted it to my father-in-law. It hung above his guest bed for many years. He appreciated the memories of the coast house and the crabbing excursions that the wall hanging represented. This one doesn't have a label. I wrote my name on the front and dated it. . .December 1999!

He's been gone for 13 years this past Thanksgiving. I still miss him.  I usually hang this quilt in September to honor all those Labor Days we spent together.

Two Weeks To Go--Leaves post 4

Beginning the leaf filler stitches

I did finish ditch quilting the leaves yesterday. It took me about 12 hours to complete the ditch quilting. This time, the back is tuck free!

Detail of the leaf quilting

Today, I started quilting the 24 printed blocks. My plan is quilt around the print and to fill the background with smaller leaves.

I have no idea how long this part of the process will take. It took me about two hours to quilt one background on a large block. I do like the leaf filler quilting as it fits well with the printed leaf motif on the fabric.

I do plan to add some dimension to the flowers and the leaves. I'm thinking pebbles would be right for the center of the sections of the flowers. I quilted one block of the leaves outlining the greenish stripe in the leaves.

First background quilted 

In a couple weeks, my husband and I will be taking a trip to visit our youngest daughter in London, England. This project is supposed to be her birthday present. I've two weeks. After quilting today, I doubt that I can finish this quilt in that time frame; but, I do plan to quilt as many hours as I physically can to see how far I get.

Had I not lost those days to repinning the quilt, I would be closer to the finish. I'm happy that I stopped, reassessed and rebooted the project. At the very least, I will get it finished before her birthday in 2020. My husband has been doing the meal preparation and planning to allow me more hours in the studio. Thanks, Bob! The best quilting journeys include lots of support. Who supports you in your journey?

Leaves--a reboot post 3

All hands on deck to help with pin basting

I started quilting in the ditch. The quilting was going okay. Although pushing and pulling the mass of fabric through the harp of the machine irritated my ongoing neck and back issues. I had completed about three quarters of the ditch quilting. I took a good look at the back. . .I hadn't realized how I neglected to keep the back smooth during the pin basting process. I now had tucks in the quilt back.

Finished pin basting

I spent Thanksgiving weekend and the week after ripping out all the stitches. I then separated the layers; I re pin basted. My dear husband, Bob, as he does every day, asked what he could do to help me. I replied, please help me pin baste. The look on his face said he would rather clean toilets than work on the quilt; but, his lips said "Really?" Followed by, "Are you serious?" I assured him that I was serious.

He was a trooper and closed pins for me. In a few hours, we had finished basting that monster for the second time. This time, I laid the quilt on the floor and checked the back to see that I hadn't pinned in any tucks in the back!!! I hadn't.

Although I again started the quilting in the ditch, I used a monofilament thread and a walking foot. The reason for the change was the walking foot would feed the fabric and my body wouldn't get as sore pushing and pulling the fabric. Using the monofilament thread meant I wouldn't have to change thread until I was ready to begin the free motion quilting.

Below is the photo of what 108 inches of quilt looks like going through the harp of the machine. It sure isn't pretty! Moving that mass, however, is doable with lots of breaks!

I doubt that I will finish this project in time for my daughter's birthday which is in 12 days. I have no doubt that I will finish this project before her birthday next year. Perhaps, she will make a visit to Oregon and take it back with her!

The mass ready to be moved through the machine at the start of the day

The time I spent ripping gave me plenty of time to consider quilting designs in the blocks and sashing areas. Once I get start quilting the sashing areas, I will progress quickly. If I had a longarm, I imagine I would have had it quilted by now!