I learned a few things from the first of these book-panel-conversion-to-quilt. One important lesson was that the pattern calls for 13 blocks and there are only 12 to the panel. I spent a fair amount of time 'auditioning' fabrics I had in my closet bins to get a look that would satisfy me. While there were no notes-to-self in the container for it either, I had already started the piecing process before putting it away. It was easy to understand because I had just worked on the first one.
Effective, creative quilting takes practice. Quilting well is a matter of practice, hard work and acquiring skills. I post photos of my finished quilts at the end of each year after the recipients have them and some folks think I just whipped them all up in the last week or so. Hah!
This second book-panel-conversion-to-quilt is a lot brighter than the first one. I might have gone shopping for a better center square but am content with this green that has red ornaments on it. That batik red. I know this quilt will get pre-washed before giving it. With all that white, if the color isn't set, its almost certain to bleed and come out pink.
I'm in no hurry to finish this one either, so it was enough today to select that center square. Tomorrow is always soon enough to work it to the next stage.
This baby book conversion into a baby blanket has been interesting. I am almost finished with the first one. As I think about the season, it becomes another one of choice in my opinion. I chose not to get overwhelmed by the flow of holiday shoppers. I chose to smile and be jolly. I chose to enjoy the traditional music (even though I do not celebrate that tradition). I chose to have a sense of joy and wonder with anything that comes in the mail. I chose to have a glad heart.
And I chose to keep quilting. This is the first of the baby quilts. It needs a second border, top stitching, and then the back pieced to fit before putting it back into the closet.
Like the legend of the gift bringer, Santa, I will be making a shopping list. I plan to use poly batting to make it have that fluffy feel. As I worked on this, following the pattern, what it assumed was it would be made from 13 pages from the storybook and there were only 12, so I had to improvise. I am not going to take it apart because it DID look ok when I laid it out.
When I look at the photo, it reminds me of all those times that I did something that ended up not quite right. And then I think about the joy I see in photos sent to me that are taken when the youngest of the children open their boxes. Usually all I have sent, really, is my love. The boxes are wrapped with lovely ribbons, and the contents are simple and inexpensive.
Over the years, I have witnessed how these little baby blankets with a holiday theme have become treasures. Eventually whomever the child receiving this one is, they will love the look of it, see the charm and feel the warmth and love. I will finish it up so that the next step is getting the batting. And I will move along to finish the second little conversion.
Heaven knows how I feel about it all this morning.
Sigh. I am not sure how 2016 will go as I finish projects started, some maybe several years ago. The projects might go quickly or they might give me trouble. Some do not have those famous 'notes-to-self' on them and it will mean struggling to find the next steps.
The first thing I did this morning was to cut a lot (13) 6"x12" pieces that I packaged to send someone who wants to do the monthly prayer flags but does not sew nor does she have fabric. I included a small spool of thread and a needle, plus a simple instruction for her to do a running stitch. These will serve as prayer flag foundations and any work she does on them will be her own interpretation.
Then I turned my attention to one of the two panels meant to make a fabric book. I found a pattern in one of the old magazines I have that makes a baby quilt out of the panel of book pages. The black and white small edge on it will have to be removed in order to have the 2.5" squares fit as borders. More trimming.
I spent time laying it out and machine appliqued the pine cone pic to the center of this one to cover up the book plate piece.
There is a second book-page-panel that finishes this project. My plan (and I need to write that note-to-self) is to finish them up to the stage of adding poly-batting, and leave for another time to do a simple tie to them rather than quilting. I might re-enforce the top with top stitching but will not do regular quilting on a baby/kid's quilt. They have to stand up to a lot of dragging around and laundering.
Everything in them seems to be scraps I pulled together to match the panel. Some were cut and ready to piece. Some waiting for borders or backing. I am not sure at this moment. The challenge is that there are scraps in it, AND no note. Although there is no family baby coming any time soon, what my goal for these is to make them ready for me to finish if enough time passes and my skills wane. Tying will make it so very easy. And easy works.
I finished the top for this project and now it goes into the bin to finish with batting and a back for another day. It looks to be a new year coming that is about renaming any self-defeating, possibly even neurotic quilting behaviors I developed. I would like to change those kinds of behaviors by working on ones I like about myself such as conservation, or re-purposing fabrics by simply shopping from my own closet first.
I would like to make creative backs to go with quilt tops I make, such as this one. What I might have done in the past would have been to go out and purchase a fabric in a white print with something more patriotic. When I finish it, the back will be something from my stash.
I would like to find and make use of quilting tips like this one a quilter friend of mine gave. She discovered that the top of the Gutterman spools pops out and will fit in the larger spools so they fit on the sewing machine. I have a few of them that have been sitting in my thread box that I can use now! I am so excited because it means I can shop from my closet FIRST!
The rest of my day needs to be spent inside the house, cleaning, setting up Solstice decorations and trying to figure out what the heck is going on with the outdoor lights. They work and then they don't.
Not that I need reminders. However, I love the Prayer Flag swaps in Swap-bot and joined for December. Then, I have a WTA (winner take all) for Solstice. "Be with me. Take my hand. Protect those I love. Thank you for all I have." Prayer takes many forms.
Sometimes when I make a prayer flag, I let the fabric speak for me and include a note as to my intention. This black background is perfect for Winter Solstice-longest Night energy. On the swap flag, I wrote 'Sing with Joy' and am not sure if I will include the plastic & string snowflake on the top. The one with the 2 birds for the WTA is perfect.
I love prayer flags so much that I asked if I could do a 12-month swap using the archetypes women go through in their lives as the theme for each month. January starts with the Daughter. I'll work up a commentary with suggestions and see what happens. I'd like to hang mine on my new wrought iron arbor in back over next year.
Whatever comes my way in these prayer flag swaps is always just what I need, just what I want to pray for or about. It is a connection to community and the divine, flying prayers.
At the core of my being, I want to remember people in the world for whom family is lost or something they never had.
I spent another day running errands. Its best for me to get into the stores early before the crowds come each day, because my empathy kicks in and I get home feeling so stressed I climb the ceilings. I pick up on sensations of deprivation and want, of confusion and terror. While maybe other emotions are there too, they are minimal at best.
For many years, I used to volunteer at kitchens to feed the hungry or sort and wrap gifts for kids that were collected by various organizations. Tehachapi is small and if those things happen, they are run by church ladies. Not me.
I found an ad for the Humane Society here. We have one that is open one day of the week. They usually have a fundraiser selling baked goods in front of KMart, and say its where they get their biggest donations from towns-folk. This year, I saw the ad in time to volunteer and am set for it Saturday, 12/12.
I also stopped to buy some baking ingredients and items (baggies, paper plates, etc.) to lay what I make on to bring to the tables. I came home to put everything away that I bought and ran a bath. Then I sewed the binding on the three mug rugs so that I can hand sew them tonight while watching the Dancing With the Stars Finale.
Elsewhere in Southern Cali, people were shot. Their families are forever changed. Just like that. And my guess is that there were more events around the world not so close, and just as tragic. Although my lights are electronic, a candle is lit on my altar tonight. Just because. Its December and there is much and more to love here on Earth.
I can start on the various projects now that 2015 is done, so I found a FQ that I had 'won' in a game at the guild several years ago. Its a Valentine print. Then I cut 4 mug rugs out of it and laid 3 of them on batting, plus another scrap that I also batted. No note to self so I didn't know what my plans were, but it is an easy enough project to finish.
What I did was to echo quilt around the sweet little images. Three of them are ready to bind. The fourth one wasn't ready with batting to take to the next step and so I added it to the GYPSY ORPHAN box for that quilt. I don't remember why I stopped this project. Maybe I missed the holiday. These will be finished with enough time to send them off to someone.
The most important part of it, the charity-beginning-at-home part of it, is that I am working from my closet and making something from what I have. It is the acknowledgement of my need for my own charity. It is a good goal to have and will be the lesson for 2016.
