I got a call from my Grandson asking if I knit. Hmm. I can. Do I? Not so much. He asked if I could KNIT him a creature from a video game. I got the name of the game from him to see if I could sense what he was talking about. Luckily the site had instructions to make this creature. AND EVEN MORE LUCK! It is yarn wrapped around armature wire! The trick will be in making the form, even with good instructions.
make-yarny-guide
Really detailed instructions are on the site. I headed to the art supply store in town and bought the wire and yellow yarn (he wants it in yellow).
Although I did lay out & pin columns for the wedding quilt back, Yarny is a priority for the day.
Mine is yellow as requested and mailed.
I've been working on the quilt back (RAINBOW BABY) for the wedding quilt and extended it quite a bit from the pattern so it would be a bit larger than the top. Additionally, I am listening to the 2nd book in the series for Miss Peregrin's Home for Peculiar Children titled Hollow City.
Both activities are soothing to my spirit after that trip to the Remington Hot Springs about an hour from here. They are built next to the Kern River. First the hottest water flows into the smallest tub, which has a small overflow into the medium tub, which in turn flows into the largest tub next to the River. It is the coolest. I guess someone emptied all the tubs the night before so the water was pristine and heavy with healing sulfur and other minerals. The River is low so one can be in the middle of it and less than waist high. Thing is, it is a LONG walk down from the parking lot and an even longer walk back up. Temps were above 100 and the altitude was hard too. Guess its the Mighty Blue Pacific for me. The hard part of that trip is the 3-hour-plus drive. However, the Hot Springs are one of life's greater pleasures... to have been there as many times as I have gone. While the minerals heal the body, I wonder if it is all taken away by the heat and walk.
Its a piece of this for a peace of that.
When I first started quilting, my lessons came from one of the fabric store owners in town. Her story is probably similar to many others who open small shops. She loved quilting and had money to buy whatever fabric she wanted. Yet, like most of us, she could not quilt as fast as she built up her stash. It was overwhelming her home. The only thing left to her was to open a store. She could quilt all day, and even got deep discounts on fabric. Yet, even with this perfect set-up, some fabrics did not get sold and she could not quilt fast enough. Her method of making quilt backs was pretty standard for quilters of this era who seemed to have unlimited funds to buy and buy and stash and stash.
It takes at least 4 yards for smaller quilt backs. And a bolt, while it says it holds 10 yards, usually is closer to holding 9. One needs at least 10 yards to make a larger quilt.
how-to-quilt/finishing/preparing-quilt-back I researched quilt back construction and couldn't get a comprehensive history on it. Some folks I know use muslin. Others look for extra wide fabrics. Many, myself included, bought enough fabric to piece it and yet have it look like a solid finish using the method shown in the link above.
Then, quilters created ways to use larger leftovers of coordinating fabrics. I've used this method too, especially when I had so many larger leftovers. And then as my scraps began to dwindle as I made more and more quilts, my backs became a simple series of random squares.
I had started cutting my leftovers into certain size squares such as 10", 8", 6", 5", 4", 3", and 2.5". At first I went through the 10" squares to make a back, and then kept using them as I could. I found a way to use 2.5" strips. While I took photos of all my quilts front and back, they are somewhere in cyber space between releasing my IMac and embracing this PC. (Well, not quite embracing!)
Now, I am actually making easier quilts and using them as backs. This RAINBOW BABY pattern will work for backs on the wedding quilt and the MN WILD quilt. When I say easier, I mean that the pattern calls it easy and for a beginner. I guess they are, yet they still take time and energy to make. There is cutting, pinning, piecing, pressing many times until it measures just a little larger than the top.
And they are time consuming because there is an art to being random. One needs to think in terms of color, contrast and coordination. Just like the example above, to look good means planning. To be good takes work. To think good takes living with value.
And while I did a bit of piecing already, its time to head out to the Kern River and Remington Hot Springs.
I took out the back part of the project that was started for the MN WILD quilt, thinking I could use those pieces for the wedding quilt I am making. However, the wedding quilt top has specific colors where the other one is scrappy and can stand up to a more scrappy back. To that end, I went through my scraps, colorized and trimmed where needed to get 4.5" squares, and cut a solid white for the background.
After pinning everything, I started the piecing process until I ran out of neutral thread, switching to a black and going onto another machine quilting project. There is enough batting to finish those two scrappy/rainbow quilts and then larger leftovers of batting to do the remaining two quilts on my list for this year.
I worked for quite awhile on the Hallows projects for my Grandchildren and took the jars to the next level. They are filled, labeled and ready for a ribbon around the lid. The goal is to ship them out next week, so they are a priority to finish.
Monday is an hour-long trip the the Remington Hot Springs rather than the 3-hr-plus trip to the Pacific. Not even on the map, it is a long walk down from, and up to, the small parking lot. Its relaxing being in the three-varying heats, and so close to the Kern River.
Returning to the MN WILD quilt, there was more than one concern to deal with. Even though I laid these blocks out, numbered and pinned rows, as I pieced the blocks together, I wondered about my memory. Each row has two pins. One is the row number. One is pointed to the top right corner so I would remember to join the blocks from this side in order that they were stacked. Did I remember the code?
It seems that I have always questioned my memory which is why I work hard at being organized, and with quilting, including notes-to-self. This first row is joined, with a whole basket holding the other rows, the template and instructions in a blue file, along with leftover fabrics. I have little choice but to piece on at least another row to see if it is done correctly with four rows to have the swirl show.
It
took awhile to fussy cut the directional print border for the wedding quilt.
My big thing right now is to find something in my closet bins that works. Both
borders were from leftover fabric used on other quilt backs. Amazing
that they work and do not distract from the heart blocks. Guess there is
truth that the more fabrics one uses in a quilt, the less you have to
worry about them all matching. I am starting on the back and will attempt to make it match the rainbow effect on the topper and at the same time use up more of those wonderful scraps.
The back for the MN WILD quilt also uses this RAINBOW BABY pattern so I plan to make two of them and can concentrate on just making these blocks for awhile. (Pictures to come as soon as they are not simply stacks of fabric)
I
found the little receiver for the wifi channel changer to the
SmartTV/Tower. My memory held true that I had put it in a container. The
container was a candleholder. So funny how relieved I was. It freed me
to pick up all the piles of fabric spilled out of bins. For some reason,
I was taking comfort in the chaos at the time. Maybe my subconscious didn't want me
to hunt for the little receiver and having a big ol' mess immobilized
me.
I am not really a fan of the Spool block, and yet am following the pattern so made it as suggested.
Of course, my first one didn't turn out because, while I thought I was following the pattern, At least I am learning enough about how I read them that I can pay attention. I misunderstood what was written, even with the picture. Luckily, I made another block so it wasn't that big a challenge. I also took the time to join some of those 2.5" squares in a checkerboard fashion, which means, simply that it is a light/dark rotation. I actually like three of them put together though I only stitched them two together for now. The notion that ripping is an option seems like one to avoid. Probably, the sides could go on with each month, but that is not how the author is having us do it.
I worked on more paper crafts, one of which is a Day of the Dead altered cigar box. It is meant to honor someone close to you who has passed. This keeps the original boarder paper and has some card stock on it and a bead pull. The inside wood will be left yet the inside top is also papered. I don't want to go much further with it until I know who it is for. Usually, I grieve and honor a person at their passing so as not to have unresolved issues.
After basting my Friend's quilt at the clubhouse, I really thought I was finished quilting for the day. However, after some time, I was back at it.
I finished the August ROM, and did add another row of the 2.5" squares to make it three rows for that first border. I am not sure if that will make it too busy but there is always the ripper if it doesn't look good. My machine does the deco stitches a little strangely and it is what it is and will be fine. The author of this pattern calls it SEASONS and this one is her Winter. I've selected fabrics for the September row and like them next to August.
I was able to join the heart blocks and add the first border, which is white. I am still 'auditioning' for the second one, and am looking at fussy cutting a directional print for it. That might be a challenge to make it look right. And if it works, then the dark blue for the third border and binding. The binding will work with the back too.
The most time consuming project was the Prayer Flag for the Sorceress archetype. The flag was easy, it was the research that took time. I came up with a few conclusions: 1. People of all genders are afraid of Her power; and 2. Women, part of humanity, for the most part do not claim their personal power and by the time they get to this stage in their lives, they have co-opted most of their identity, turning unresolved issues into personal illness or accidents; 3. Because of the fear we all have there are no positive role models for us to see ourselves.
I did discover that Galadrial from The Lord of the Rings tale is called 'The Sorceress of the Golden Wood' and was the only one I found who was not an evil witch or crazy lady. Yet, there was a sense of her power that the movies didn't tap into. We do get it. I spent a fair amount of time looking for movies and books but was sorely disappointed in what is there.
It made me look within and do some writing about it elsewhere. Suffice to say, that small quilting project has gotten to be quite deep work.
