Making Kaleidosopes

I have never written about the time I spent with Paula Nadelstern last month when she visited the Museum Quilt Guild.  I was thrilled, after all these years of admiring her work- and missing other chances, to be able to take two classes with her!  She is very sweet and funny, and an excellent teacher! 

On the first day, we learned the magic of "Simple Symmetry"

You take a piece of fabric like this.




Cut squares like this

 And end up with blocks like this!

 Of course, eventually you end up with fabric like this.  :-)

 These are the blocks I made in class- you get three of each following the pattern Paula gave us.

And these are the second set I made.  I am still working on laying them out to use  as many as I can.

On day two we learned how to make the "Sixty-Thirty" block.  Easier than it looks, once you get the template making down!











I had brought along some of my collection of Jane Sassaman fabrics, so my block was a bit different from the rest, who were using Paula's .

I  cut out a second block the evening after class.  I hope to have enough fabric to make a bunch of them.










So, what to do wityh the little scraps you end up with?
Mary Lee showed the ArtCGirlz a ball she made using the template she found here.

I had the reduce the size of the pattern to make it the right size for my scraps.
( Sorry- the auto-rotate thing rotates pictures even when you rotate them and save them in a new file name and format!!!)

This is about 3 inches across. Maybe the right size for a very small boy to play with?  

 Here is something I hadn't thought of until recently: the effect of climate change on our pets.  My cat goes outside for short periods of time.  I know there are some who think it's terrible, but I count on her to help me with chipmunk control in the gardens around the house.  Until recently.  Twice within a week, she came in with ticks!  I was able to remove them, and have seen no sign of illness, fortunately.  But for now, she is not allowed outside, until there is a sustained cold to kill the ticks, at least.  It has been warm here for November.  I know one year isn't proof ( last year at this time, Buffalo got 5 feet of snow, remember?)  But I will be asking my vet about treating her for ticks before next summer!

I am grateful for:
The second round of my cold was much shorter than the first.
I found the boots I had been searching for.
Meditation
Some good sewing time this weekend
I get to go spend the afternoon with Jonathan!