The baby shower is this afternoon down in LA, which is a 2/3 hour drive there and back again, so about 6 hours of travel time.
The fabric bucket has tissue paper tucked in and it looks sweet as a gift. I am not sure I would make another one of these because its pretty time intensive. Of course, the original pattern didn't say to make it this big. I think I went a little crazy using old algebra skills. Luckily, I did have the leftover blocks to use, plus enough leftover fabric for the binding. It was a nice 'stash-buster' project. I do like how it turned out and was also glad to use that odd fabric for the lining on the sides.
I bought some holiday boxes and wrapping paper for the gifts I plan to send back to MN/WI for family. We do have a Dollar Tree store in town, so getting these boxes for a $1 just adds to their charm. I also bought wrapping paper, some stuff for package decor.
Thing is, I might not be physically with them for the holidays, but can make their gifts look special.
The other thing I did was to shift my 'swap' shelves from Hallows and Thanksgiving to Winter Solstice. While many people complain that stores start the seasons too early, because I need to plan ahead to ship on time, I NEED to start now if I am going to budget, remember everyone on my list and get things going. I need to send a lot of things out Thanksgiving weekend or that first week in December for my family to receive them in time to set under their trees.
Yes, that is an empty tissue box. Kleenix is making them in such great colors that it seems a waste to toss them. I take off the plastic opening and use them to stand up all sorts of things. This is my second one from the fall collection. I like having places to store those little small things.
I went to my orphan bin (extra leftover blocks or strips that didn't fit in their original quilt) and found a strip of blues that were long enough to work at the base of the lining for the bucket. It simply got sewn on, turned and then hand stitched.
Not that this part was easy with my really sore left index finger. My good goddess, I am such a baby about pain and kept thinking about people who really get injured and wondered how they tolerate the honest-to-goodness pain!
The final step was adding two straps for carrying and that was easy enough. It stands up well enough with the extra lining and added binding on the top. I am pleased with how it turned out. All it needs to make it a shower gift is to add some tissue paper.
Back to the issue of this minor pain on my finger. I can say minor, but Golly Ms. Molly, it sure hurts! Probably what happened is that some finger tip nerve endings were cut off and then just scream when the finger is touched or touches.
Funny thing is that the metaphysical cause for cuts is given as "Self-punishment for not following your own rules." Now there is a lot of controversy regarding the metaphysical health issues, and I fall on both sides of the argument from time to time, so am not supporting one side of it either way here. I am just saying its mighty interesting considering that when I cut myself, I was NOT following my own personal common sense that night.
What I do like about this particular theory are the affirmations. And the affirmation for a cut is, "I create a life filled with rewards." I do like that. Affirmations are a part of my spiritual practice and belief that we face life and all the experiences we have in it with a positive attitude.
As with any health issue, I still think we are the chief of staff for our own health care. Most of the time, the medical staff relies on lab results, probably diagnoses, and statistical outcomes for issues. My health care providers almost never touch me, and usually stand or sit on the other side of the room talking. I wonder if they really ever listen to me or if I am in a given female category according to my age at the time. Bottom line is that we are responsible for treatment we allow, and so we need to be informed consumers when it comes time to making those choices.
I really panicked with the blood when it first happened and botched up my first bandaging efforts. I did watch for infection and took some pain meds, and made sure I didn't go into shock. I mean, after all, it was just a little cut. And now, I am whining more to myself than anyone else and its healing just fine. Thing is, I dislike having such a wound, and hate how it interferes with my life and what I want to do in a given day. So being better fast is really a priority. If the affirmation helps, then affirm away!
Today its going to be that scrappy bucket. I made it larger than the one in the tutorial. What WAS I thinking?
The outside collapsed because the batting was not enough to hold it up. The tut didn't use anything for the lining, however, I found this odd piece (from Lee's estate) that has been just there in one of the bins without a designation. It is hefty.
Both the front and lining are quilted now. And it has a machine sewn binding at the top to join the two pieces together. The challenge for today is figuring out how the lining will be attached to the base. I am thinking about that blanket strip, however, it doesn't make sense to me at this point just HOW. It will still be a soft-side bucket and will not stand up the way a plastic or wooden or even cardboard container would stand. And there is no way for me to know if the recipients at the baby shower on Sunday will find any value in it. Oh well. I am learning from the process. Not sure what yet, but something.
Its so easy for people to stop what they are doing when they face an obstacle or when things don't turn out as planned. Too easy to throw it out and feel like a failure. Its interesting that this project ends up where it is on Friday, because I am still (somewhat) committed to finishing something on Fridays.
However, first things first. My next door neighbor & I are headed into town to shop. Yup, I know, that will take all of an hour or maybe two if we meander. Being away from home and the workstations here do bring in a refreshing state of mind.
This lesson goes by many names, at least in my life. One is called "Follow the Rules," or "Behave with Integrity," or "Right Use of Will." To achieve success in this lesson, I've learned that I need to listen, read the instructions, to make good choices, and remember that it is never too late to do the right thing.
I started working on another fabric basket to give as a Secret Santa Swap. The gifts will be exchanged at a Winter Solstice event, though mine will be mailed and I might be able to Skype my presence in.
This basket represents my third combination of fabrics, and I like how the others turned out. A couple of nights ago, working under dim lights and being just a little tired, I sliced skin off my left index finger. Did I learn? Well, yes, I am really being careful and its healing but still hurts. But learn about working later in the evening? Mmmmm. Maybe not so much.
The basket project got to the point of pinning lining to the front, and it just would not fit no matter how I eased it. Somehow, I had cut the lining larger than the outside rather than the other way round, and need to re-cut it to have it fit properly. Its not a big deal, but it is a pattern that I selected and once having selected to do a thing, then the easiest way is to follow the guidelines. I could go off-road, so to speak, but some things are easier if I play by the rules.
I used to tell my Sons that their actions always had natural consequences. Oh wow, was that arrogant! Of course there are natural consequences to what we do. Here I am, later in life, still learning that lesson.
I will cut the piece on the left so it fits inside the piece on the right the way the pattern calls for it to fit. Its a matter of refolding it and cutting maybe half an inch off on both seams, then re-doing the seams.
Its interesting that this lesson is still active in my life because it seems like such a simple thing to know and to practice. It might come down to living with metaphysical laws, such as gravity...what goes up must come down; or the law of attraction of like attracts like and what is unlike repels the other. It might come down to chemical combinations like those in baking a cake where you need so many eggs with so much liquid to this much flour, and that much heat to bake. Its not like quilting where you can change the outcome a lot by the kinds and colors of fabric or thread. Certain things cannot be changed or, like this current project, if they are, they might not turn out as planned.
If the goal is to produce art, then anything goes. If the goal is to produce a utility product, then, some things must hold true to the line. I might allow myself one or two UFO's (the dreaded unfinished objects), but more than that, and I really need to look at what I am doing to create projects that I give up on. Its not always about the pattern or the author of the pattern (though sometimes it is). Its about me. I need to look at what I am doing, what I am getting into and how I am getting it done.
Its not enough to let my creative wheels spin over a problem project. I really need to find and bring the solution to the workstation and get it done.
I am learning quite a bit from these blocks. And the learning isn't easy. However, when I am able to finish them, there is quite a sense of satisfaction.
We get our partners for the 6" blocks on the second weekend of every month, so my task was to make up the very easy Churn Dash pattern in blue and white on white. The top two blocks are in those colors and were the last ones I made. The bottom two look better to me but are not truly in those colors. We are to send off two of them, but she will get all four.
When you lay four of these smaller blocks together, they would measure up to be the size of a 12" finish.
My second block swap is the 12" Christmas block and my partner requested either ornaments or trees in blue and white. The ribbons are free at the top so she can decided how she wants to quilt them after she assembles all the blocks on this quilt. I liked this one. Also, the block measures at 12.75" so has some cutting room to fit into the standard size. They will actually lay smooth when finished.
Then I did a tree using 2.5" squares and cutting the pieced blocks into a triangle. They are appliqued onto a piece of white that reminds me of snowfall.
These blocks standing alone aren't as cute as when they are pieced together with others and make the table runners or quilts. The challenge for me, is more getting fabric that works rather than working just with the patterns.
This is where I am still learning. Fabrics seem to be sold in coordinating sections but that doesn't guarantee that they will work well together. And isn't that life too. We find ourselves in relationships with people we work with or worship with or live nearby and think that things will run smoothly. Like building one square, even following the directions, things don't always turn out the way we planned.
Well, for these two projects, I think they are fine. Interestingly enough, they go to the same person in Australia who says she is using blocks from both swaps to make one quilt. When the quilt is a lap size, you would need 12 blocks that measure up to 12" finished, and the 6" blocks would make a nice border around them. Maybe more solid strips as inner borders and then an outer border finish with yet another fabric. It would be quite stunning. They do end up looking like sampler quilts and so her selection of two colors would help tie things together.
Algebra. Yup, needed to use an algebraic formula for this. It called for measuring the diameter of the base circle, mine was 19" x 3.14 + 0.5, which then = 60.16 inches. Who knew I could even remember how to do this?
I am not sure what I expected as I made this patchwork bucket. Whether it was my wounded left-hand index finger or that it was a two-day project, I was only able to make the outside shell of the bucket.
There were 10 blocks leftover from the Butterfly Wings quilt, and the bucket needed five on the outside and five on the inside, so its perfect! I put all the small gifts inside and they are completely enclosed. Now all I need to do is line the lining with something a bit stiffer, add the binding to enclose the raw edges, and add the handles.
I did a grid quilt for the base which was two pieces of a heavy corduroy, and then played around with generic machine quilting stitches for the outside. Luckily the patchwork was done or the bucket wouldn't even be at this stage of work. AND there was just enough batting leftover from the Butterfly Wings quilt to do the 60.25" circumference!
My inner child was squealing with joy. I think that play is the real mission for the child within us, even if she is wounded. Sure sometimes the emotional or psychological wounding is even harsher and deeper than the superficial cut on a fingertip. So that wounded inner child hides out in fear, and our adult selves avoid facing the fear of what they will see when the psychological bandaids come off.
And, of course my adult self decided to take off the bandaid to see what the cut looked like. It stuck and I pulled, and of course re-opened the wound, which bled and hurt all over again. Hmpf. Real life. I felt stupid, and realized I knew better and should have waited until it had a chance to heal more. One day was not enough and the wound went back to ground zero and the healing had to start over. Well, it bled less.
This is what therapy was like for me too. I have always wanted to get to the heart of my issues, bring them out into the light, air them out and get the healing going faster. Like the Ghostbuster's song goes, "I ain't 'fraid of no ghosts!" However, today, I will slow myself down and have declared it a day to heal. There is enough time to work on the patchwork bucket for the baby shower on Sunday, as well as the one that holds my emotional life stories.
Blessed be.
Had to happen. My clear acrylic ruler slipped while I was cutting fabric in the evening under less than optimum light.
I sliced a very thin piece of skin from the tip of my left index finger. It bled like crazy and hurt for hours. This kind of cut is called a Laceration, which is cutting the skin. However, it is also an Avulsion because it cut part of the skin off.
Well, here it is still hurting, but not bleeding. This is the third bandaid. The first two were panic dressings to help stop the bleeding and were put on ineffectively for long term healing. Taking them off hurt, but had to be done. Big thing is not to let it get infected. Funny how the slightest bump feels like getting hit with a hammer. Well, good though, because there is still feeling. And I can move it so its classified a slight injury.
One project for this week is a
-patchwork-bucket. This is my 18" hoop used as a cutting template for the bottom. The bucket is part of a baby shower gift needed for Sunday. The gifts I got were a bunch of smaller things off their Department Store list. By the time I got to the list, that's what was left. Small things. So this bucket will be nice to include rather than a big box.
It calls for making a patchwork for the circumference, and rather than make something new, I reached for the leftover blocks from the Butterfly Wings quilt I just made. If it needs to be taller, there is some of the focus fabric left too. Fun thing is the couple knows its a girl and this will work to hold whatever...toys, dirty clothes, clean clothes whatever!
Safety. Nothing like an accident to wake myself up to it again. Those rotary cutters are viciously dangerous. However, I was working at night under dimmer than usual lighting while watching "The Originals". I was not paying attention and so there was a consequence to my choice. I bent almost to my knees under the rush of blood and pain, stumbling with bandaid covering and trying to remember what to do for first aide. Its easier to do it for someone else than for yourself. And crying doesn't get the job done. I got under my Bee-quilt right away. Such a little thing, but one other safety step to take is to avoid going into shock. I was shivering in no time. I laid on the love seat, with my left arm elevated over my heart level, putting pressure on the small bandaged cut with my thumb. All the while, reminding myself how stupid some choices are. And being grateful it wasn't worse.
