Most of the time, things happen as they should.
Here is one of the quotes from a book last month's library group read. Some people reacted quite negatively to it and gave a lot of examples of when something happened they did not want. I still believe we draw both good and challenging aspects into our lives that make us who we are, even when I don't like it all. If you open to receive, you open to the good things as well as to what challenges you.
My 12" Christmas Block swap partner & I decided to make and swap house blocks this year. The pattern calls for enough pieces to make 2 blocks, one to keep and one to send. We both end up with two house block quilts at the end of the year.
I've been holding onto this really wildly colored decorated egg fabric and thought there would be enough for two, and unfortunately that wasn't the case. I will make one with tulips for March. And then I want to see how I can make the egg fabric work for April.
AND weather is good enough in the afternoons to get outside and work in my gardens for about an hour. I picked up 3 bags of top soil to fill the hole where the pond was, and started lifting stone over. Its a big project that will take lots of hours. I cut a section of grass, raked it, and then also blew leaves from behind the stones. I need to buy some plumbers's pipe and run it along the back wall for the electric cord to the pond.
As I got a glass of water, I looked out the window and saw a hawk near the bird feeder, waiting. Now I know why there have been feathers on the porch! Not the cat next door. I ran for the camera and zoomed in on it. Soon enough that old railing will be replaced along with new carpeting, and reinforcement of the porch and steps. Definitely, the Heavenly Bamboo plant and the arbor stay.
After basting this next quilt, I am off to the big city to pick up the quilting machine. Looks like it will need replacing before the year is out. He's tuned it up as much as he can. I want it to last through my 2014 projects, yet, will start looking and trying them out for a new purchase within the next few months. I am of a mindset that buying a higher end machine is not worth it even though I use mine heavily every day. I know how I quilt now and just need simple bells & whistles.
As I sit here shaking my head, I know that last year, I had a system where I highlighted what I had done on the project pattern. I really, really thought it would be enough. I am being quite harsh with myself, and only because this whole project seems more than I can understand.
I question my logic. At the time, it seemed logical to highlight the completed steps on the project. Something happened to make me set it aside. Usually its that I hit a wall of understanding or skill. Did I evolve over time to want have a better set of directions or am I being irrational?
Everything needs pressing, counting and matching. I see that I swatched out some of the fabrics onto the pattern, so at least I thought I knew what some of my original intentions for it were. Nope.
And yes, of course, at that time I did not make Notes-To-Self, so it really is not going to be easy peezy to step back into the project. I think this is the last of the ones from last year, and is under the old system of highlighting.
Luckily, the photo on the pattern shows me the general plan. Its got to be one of those projects that goes one step at a time on the machine, stitching borders on and together.
I spent a couple of hours on it now just trying to figure it out. I did press some pieces, but am no closer to knowing what I am doing than before it got unpacked.
If I am my own quilting cop, judge, jury and executioner, I am not going to penalize myself for something beyond my skills and understanding. If I am my own doctor, nurse, therapist, then I will appreciate myself for what I was when I started this project, who I am right now, and how I will proceed.
When this project is finally finished & on its way to my Brother-In-Law, I am going to be the star ballerina wearing red shoes, who understands that when you stumble, you make it part of the dance. No one will know, no one will see.
Yes, I did write a Note-To-Self before putting it away.
Its been said that in silence we listen best, and even our own secrets are revealed when we are quiet. Not sure that I told myself any secrets in my silent moments lately, however, I am quite aware that there is an on-going conversation of sorts when the room is silent. This is one of the benefits of quilting as a solitary practitioner.
I loaded a new rotary blade and finished cutting the strips for the April Quilting Retreat project at Claudia's. I brought home the first page of the pattern so I could start it off by using what scrap fabrics I had here first. Then I went back into the store and bought some complementary fabrics to go with the fabric I had purchased for the border. Its a project ready for one of the April weekends. I still hate not knowing how it finishes. Mysteries! Gahhh!
My next cutting projects were for the two 12" Quilt Block Swaps. Although my machine is still waiting for service, I gathered the fabric requests, printed off the patterns and cut away on both. The red and white is going to be a Disappearing 4-Patch that is quick and is really nice. The other in blue/tan/white is a Snowball block pattern that I've not made. White is 36 squares cut at 1.5". Yikes.
And then, lo and behold, one of Pet Beds is loaded with scraps that would have gone into the trash. This represents only two months of trimming. Before I sew up the opening, I will take out the scraps and re-fill the pillow to pack them evenly.
Sanity wins out for me every time, no matter how it looks to anyone else, or how many times I change the way things look. Its something internal for me. My personal sanity is the ability to think and act on my own, even when it means changing my mind. Often.
Colorizing fabrics was a bust. I sorted all the Fat Quarters (FQ) by values of light to dark, and then put all the other size pieces in bins the way they were cut yesterday, and put the bins back in the closet. I did roll the 2.5" strips by color. That was more than enough. My studio is pretty organized now and everything is behind closed closet doors.
Things started to feel insane once I looked at all the different stacks and piles, the logic of having them all colorized made no sense. Some fabric stores colorize, some group by manufacturer or designer. I don't have that much fabric, and right now, how it is is just fine. It wasn't perfection panic that set in over doing the task, it was no longer caring to be that obsessive.
Then I could hear music in my head. The theme from "Jaws". Its the only movie I cannot watch alone or with a roomful of people, so when the music plays in my head, its a signal that a Shark Spirit Guide is singing, making its way to me. Sharks are in perpetual motion in the ocean-always going forward with curiosity, they powerful, ancient, and are unsinkable by nature. I figure they remind me to operate with the least resistance in my life, and to move forward with my evolution. There are days when I am the swimmer on the surface, and days when I am the shark in the deep.
I am moving along with other quilting projects to cut what needs cutting, to pin what needs pinning. Monday will complete the first week of the machine in the shop. There is still things I can do, and I am moving forward without resisting the goals.
jaws+music
I spent the day cutting fabric scraps into squares (I write this post the night before it goes live). It was another day filled with surprises. Recently, one of my Cousins sent me a box of treasures that I went through again this morning. My Cuz has an eye for the most interesting things. I spent well over an hour just looking at them over and over.
Rex sent me another container of buttons and I love sorting them. My little town here doesn't have access to such unique things. Always makes me wonder what their stories are. If buttons could only talk!
I had won a swapbot WTA (winner take all) in January. If you sign up for it and win, everyone else who signed up sends you something. Two packages came today filled with some amazing blank stationary, fat quarters, feathers, a candle and ribbons. I started to think that people were so generous, and realize that I opened to receive all manner of good things.
As I put together a PIF quilt last week, I realized that all this fabric was taking up a lot of room and could make up more of these simple quilts. Good fabric runs over $12 a yard, so all these pieces make a difference when they join as a utility quilt. I think these kind of scrappy randomly assembled quilt tops will give me an opportunity to practice free motion quilting without feeling like I was going to ruin something.
My quilting without the machine gave me time to cut. The first thing I did was to pull out all the color sorted fabrics from the bins in the closet. This is the key that I discovered...it takes time to cut, to sort, to be organized. Nothing marvelous shows up in these pictures. And come to think of it, none of the movies or TV programs ever show this kind of mundane work. And I know that if my quilting machine were here, I would not be doing it. I don't know, maybe some sort of house elf comes along and does it all.
Many of the pieces that were donated to me could be squared up and sorted. I've been doing this for some time, and I've been averaging 10-15 scrap quilts each year, along with smaller projects.
Its actually great to have a size readily available when some pattern calls for it in some way. These are a goodly amount of the 10", 8", 6", 5", 4", 3", and 2.5" stacks. By the time I turned off the light and the cutting project was done, the stacks were quite a bit higher.
I made two more piles that included fat quarters folded in 4ths, and all the bigger pieces that were squared up.
The plan is to sort them by color and put them back in the clear containers. Right now, they are just piles.
Another container is holding the stack of 2.5" strips. I think my next project for all of these squares and strips is to colorize them. This one needs the strips to be rolled. I go into this box when I need binding, but also whenever I need 2.5" squares and can't find them elsewhere.
And I do think the first pet bed is filled. It is simply amazing just how many scraps filled this pillow. To think I've been just tossing them!
Everything that is flowing into and out of my life is really about ReCycling, RePurposing and ReUsing. All packages that came in the mail were things that folks liked for themselves, but were ok in passing them along rather than trashing them.
Sometimes we have a dream that we will create something really great with what we buy, or what is given to us. Then time gets in the way, or we lose interest. What is so great about everything I got in the mail or all the fabric that has been given to me over the years, is that its not going to the landfill. It DOES get repurposed.
Its quite exciting to be a part of this flow where people's consciousness is elevated at some level where they recognize the value of the Earth, and want to share the beauty that they brought into their lives.
I am grateful for such remarkable people in my life; family members, friends, and strangers who are generous, and creative.
All beautiful things take time, their own time, to manifest. Sometimes it seems like I take a calculated step forward only to find myself stumbling two steps back. I keep forgetting what works for me and have no legitimate reason for impatience.
Grace's Spring quilt is ready for borders, basting, quilting and binding. One cornerstone was missing. I went through all the small scrap boxes and found two of them. It all needs a light pressing before taking any more steps with it. This last row needs to be pieced and added before the borders go on. Once again, I didn't really make good Notes-To-Self, so while there is fabric for borders, binding and the back, all I know for certain is that the back is yellow and still in its package. I don't know what size borders I wanted or which one comes first or second. And I am questioning my choices. Maybe this. Maybe that. Jeeze. So I set it aside for a day when I can think more clearly and just go for it.
In fact, as I pulled many of the quilt projects out, what I was doing all last year was to gather fabrics that would work with the main theme, without really measuring or cutting. And of course, no Notes-To-Self. Wow, it has become a huge lesson of a lifetime!
I have an appointment in the clubhouse on Wednesday to baste one of the completed quilts. The top part here is actually scrappy pieces made like crazy quilt blocks. I hope to use it to practice free motion quilting.
Its almost like having to start from the beginning when there are no Notes-To-Self. Its not that I am forgetting the lesson now, its more that I am cleaning up what I did last year when I didn't even know there was a lesson to learn. This time, before setting a project aside, there are clear Notes-To-Self included with the pattern. Its hard not to be frustrated, but as Dany in Dance With the Dragons says, "If I look back, I am lost."
Here is the beginning of a Hallows quilt that is based on a cute panel I bought a couple of years ago and a pattern, yet without any plan for how to proceed. I've re-sorted fabrics so this represents the ones that fit better with the suggested steps. This is the quilt that will get some of those 12" Quilt Block Swaps done in Orange, Black and White. Clearly, this is a WIP (work in progress) even at the thinking stage. It will be exciting to see the evolution as the 12" blocks come in from all over the world.
With the "Note-To-Self" lesson so clear in my mind, I pulled out all the bins in my studio closets and labeled them with the general contents. It had gotten tiring pulling them all out trying to figure out what was in them even though they are clear.
Maybe its true that all beautiful things take time to manifest. I am not sure why this particular lesson is coming to me now, and I do not mean to say it is for anyone else, just because it is mine. I don't think anyone can push another person into a state of being until they are ready. And only when a person is ready, can they fully manifest what was waiting for them all along.
I have been making two prayer flags each month; one is my practice or test flag that I keep and hang with the others in my garden, and one I swap. Everyone in the swap gets to chose their theme for the flag they make and use whichever skills they have. The only real requirement is that finished flags fly at 6 x 9. I've been adding the ties to mine but haven't always received them from my swap partners.
Ideally the flags disintegrate outside in nature, flying in the winds. Edges are meant to fray, so that when they go down, according to tradition or legend, the prayer is answered.
Winds are pretty strong here in Tehachapi, so I take it prayers are answered faster than average. My January flag went down the other day. Rather than fraying, it was quite faded and came untied from the tree to the North side of the house. It was such a surprise that I couldn't remember my prayer and the writing on the flag had faded. I guess when prayers are answered, you don't have to look back. You just open your heart, mind and soul to receive.
My goal is to have enough of them to string between the two trees in back on the West side.
This month, my first flag is relatively simple so that it can be all hand stitched. I selected a scrap of green that worked for the size and has clovers and pots of gold on it. March is actually named for Mars who was regarded as the guardian of agriculture. St. Patrick's Day is the 17th of the month where the shamrocks and pots of gold themes originate. We did 'take the Irish' when I lived in St. Paul (that means everyone is Irish for the day), and I would often get my Sons out of school so we could go to the parade on the weekdays. There are a lot of other themes for March, and my choice was simply to up the fabric scrap.
I plan to make another one in green for this month and this theme. However, when partners are assigned, I will consider their profile.
As I played with ideas by looking at my scraps, a consideration for next month came from a fabric one of my Australian swap partners sent as an extra. Its an interesting hand dyed piece that was just about 8" wide WOF. It has seven 6" repeats with the figure in the center. I hated cutting into the scrap and ruining the design, yet had no idea how it could be used. This is rather a perfect solution for how to use the panels without cutting into or across them. I need to come up with an idea for its actual construction to meet the size requirements as they are an inch short right now.
Its not that hard to be without a machine, knowing that it is temporary. I am catching up on a lot of things related to my quilting, like sorting the scrap boxes tonight while watching the latest episode of "The Originals". Along with working on these Prayer Flags, I've been progressing on other projects and still have many to go that will need cutting. I have one box of pins left to use on Grace's Spring borders.
The word 'temporary' is key. And also, I've been taking it in for an annual servicing, and remembering to clean it after using 3 bobbins. Nothing was really wrong with it and usually after service, the timing is re-set, and its oiled in places I cannot reach.
This is something I planned to do, which makes it easy to be without. I remember the first time it locked up, which was quite unexpected, so there were no planned projects waiting. I was thrown into chaos of mind. That was when I asked him how I could maintain the machine a bit on my own. He showed me how to take the bobbin case apart and use a Q-Tip to clean dust, and again using a clean one to oil and where to oil. Its all part of quilting.
