A focus on UFO's

Yes, there is a chair under those piles of projects  and hubby's shirts that are waiting to be ironed.  George was keeping me company as I worked the other day.  It didn't take her long to find the coziest spots in the house!  I'm happy any time she isn't chasing the threads as I try to sew.

The One Block Wonder I showed last week is coming along.  I'm doing more of the "Dream Feathers" on it and having fun doing it.  Hopefully it will be done Wednesday.  I have pieced three OBW's.  This was actually the first one, so I'm happy to be crossing one UFO off the list.           I'm hoping to get to at least one other one this weekend!

This one has to be at least five years old, probably more like  7 or 8.  It's a Betty Alderman pattern. The Guild had her come teach a class at some point and this was the class project. It's the satin stitching that has held me up on it.  I started doing nice stitching on it, so I can't leave the rest of it now.  ( can I?)  So this one will need more than one weekend to finish.  But I still  like it well enough to finish it.

This one is only a year or so old.  It's a technique called Illusionary Bars.  Fun way to use one of those big prints I like!  This will be a table runner.  I'll shape the ends around the fused appliques.

 
 This one is probably my oldest UFO.  It is a very old JoAnn block of the month- maybe even their first one.  (there's a prize for anyone who can tell me what year that one was originally sold)  The original kits were done in blue, but I didn't like the blue, so each month I used the pattern provided to make my own. I'm going to hand quilt this one over the winter when it's nice to have a quilt over my lap in the evenings.  It has a flannel back on it, too.  Extra cozy!


(sorry about the spacing on this post- blogger is behaving badly today)


Being "Green" at the office:
1- Print only what you HAVE to.  Use narrow margins and both sides of the paper when ever possible.  These simple steps could reduce your papre usage by up to 60 %
2- Pack a litterless lunch by using reusable containers, a lunch bag or box, reusable cutlery and a reusable water bottle or thermos.

I am grateful for:
The change in the weather that has allowed me to be more comfortable the last week or so>
Thirty years with Guy.
MASH still makes me laugh.
Weird fungus in the garden.
Meditation

Counting down to the "Big Show"!

The Museum Quilt Guild, of which I am a member, holds a quilt show every other year. The Next one is ONLY FIVE WEEKS AWAY!  (Oh, sorry, I panicked there for a second)
I registered three pieces for the show which were not finished at the time. I never do that.  I work well with deadlines, but not under pressure.
The piece on the machine is the last of the three.  It's actually the first of three One Block Wonder quilts I pieced.    I struggled with this one, because I  just couldn't find a layout I liked for the blocks I made from this fabric.  The final solution was a layout from the second book, I think. Make two separate panels of the kaleidoscope blocks! 

Then I had to decide how to quilt it.  I turned to Leah for help, as I often do.  The pattern she calls "sunflower seemed to look like the flowers in the original print.  So that's what I have so far.  I hope to do some feathery things in the purple parts.  Stay tuned.







This piece is the last of three "Mosaics" made from a techniques Kathi shared with us at art group.  I have been playing with random piecing and more free form sort of settings and this is the result.  The quilting is meant to look like the sun shining on the lower parts of clouds.  It also looks like fire. Maybe that was done subconsciously as there were wildfires in the news that week.





Once I get finished with the deadlines, I'm going to do something just for fun!  I've been reading Robbie Joy Eklow's book.  She tells how to design an art quilt from free motion quilting designs. But I'm thinking this "zentangle" tile might make a really interesting quilt!

Thinking "Green" this week allows me to tell you I have made the digital switch.  When I renewed one of my magazine subscriptions, I chose the digital only version.  Saves me some money and reduces the burden on our resources on two ways:  No paper used to print the magazine, and no energy required to deliver the paper copy to me.  If I want  pattern or picture to use in the sewing room, I can print ONLY that page!

I am grateful for:
Some cool nights where I can sleep under lots of covers!
A new recipe soon to be a favorite.
Time spent with a friend.
A call from one son and a visit from the other!
I think that young cardinal found his way out of the garage!

Hanging the Monthly "Quilt Show"

September Calendar Quilt, by Kim Schaefer

I am lucky to have a wonderful space in my upstairs hallway to display my quilts.  I try to change the display every month to reflect the change of seasons, and so they all get a chance to be out of the closets!  (most of them anyway) 
 By the way, the monthly calendar quilts I'm doing this year are for my office.

So I started today by changing the display for September.
This process actually takes me about an hour every month. I have some of the quilts rolled or stacked in order of use, but not all of them.  So first I have to decide which quilts I am using for each month's display.  This month I had some help.

George decided none of these were right for this month!

 I don't take everything down, I sort of start with one I know I'll be using then go from there.  It ends up being a bit like hanging a quilt show, since I have to find the right "fixtures" (dowels) for each quilt.  The hangers I have are based on the first set of quilts I hung here, never realizing I'd be changing it so often!

The flower in this picture is a sort of giant "Kanzashi" flower I was inspired to make when I  made the sunflowers for the quilt show. 



It hasn't found a permanent home yet.  It just sits in this pitcher- part of a very old set from a "commode"/ washstand in my grandmother's house.  ( I even have the chamberpot!)

The final display.  Not the most interesting display I have throughout the year, I admit.  But even the designer's of calendar quilts can only come up with back to school for September.
The cat in the quilt here represents my Liza, who I lost last spring.  This piece was made for a Museum Quilt Guild challenge.





To save the Earth this week, I will remind you to use the smallest appliance or utensil needed for the job.  Use the microwave for small items, instead of heating up the oven for one baked potato.  Your crock pot can make a great pot roast and will use a LOT less energy.  Heat up a piece of pizza in a frying pan for a crispy crust, rather than the oven.
How can quilters can use this idea? Do you have a clover mini iron? Use that to press one or two seams rather than heating up your full sized iron!

I am grateful for:
A kitty on my lap again. (I hope she outgrows the love of chasing my yarn when I knit though)
Loving and supportive friends
Football season starts this week!
Potato salad for dinner
Putting things in perspective

Back to the Garden

 The weather has been pleasant enough this past week or so for me to get back out to my gardens.  They have been quite neglected since the heat arrived in late June! 
I allow many annuals to self seed, but usually try to contain them to the beds.  This year, they had invaded the walkways so enthusiastically, I couldn't bear to remove them.

This is the front walkway filled with snapdragons and asters, along with the odd Johnny jump-ups.

 This is the back stairway to the porch (or "veranda" I am told, since it goes around the corner of the house).  Pardon the cord which powers the tools building our new garage.  The artemesia of a sort I have forgotten, and the blue ajuga have filled in nicely between the paving stones. The snapdragons have made their way here as well!

 These are two of my favorites- all volunteers! - the purple is zebrina malva and the blue is convolvulus.  Don't they look lovely all blended together?















We have our annual visit form a neighborhood frog to the rain barrel.  I cannot imagine where they live near us as there is no water near by and this summer has been exceedingly dry. Yet, there he was this morning.  And a good thing, too since the rain barrel is filled with mosquito larvae.






Thinking green this week gives me a chance to mention the paper that can be saved by receiving bills electronically.  (with apologies top the postal service!)  If just 20% of American households switched from paper to electronic bills, we could save 1,811,275 trees and avoid 2 million tons of greenhouse gases.

I am grateful for:
My sweet new kitten, George- who is finally adjusting to her new home.
The peace I find in the garden.
Comfortable routines.
Sleeping under a quilt with the windows open on cool summer nights.
Fresh, crisp and juicy apples!

I love to colorize!

I was the kid who upon opening a new box of crayons would take them all out and rearrange them so they were in their proper color order.  When I worked at Joann, I was obsessed with keeping the calico wall in it's proper order.
 And now I arrange all of my supplies by color as well.  Today I put my rayon threads into their new organizer- by color of course. 
Oh NO!  That grey one is in the wrong spot- how did that happen!!!) I'm sure if that must say something about my personality- even if it's just that I'm anal-retentive.




Last week a friend who I had helped with a knitting lesson thanked me with a big box of chocolates from Oliver's candies.  I never accept payment for things like this, but told her I never say no to chocolate- thinking of a bag of Hershey kisses. 
It's true- chocolate is the cure- no matter the 'illness"
(except maybe my a-r/ OCD- above)





I have nothing new to show this week since I had absolutely NO sewing time!  Imagine- a whole week without even sitting down at my sewing machine!!!!  I don't remember doing anything wrong, but it felt like punishment.

My Green Tip this time is a simple one:
Remember to unplug the chargers from the wall.  These small devices can be "energy vampires".
 Actually there are many things you should unplug.  I can hear a faint hum from the speakers of my cd player if it's plugged in when it's turned off- so obviously it's drawing power! 


I am grateful for:
George is settling in little by little.
Having something to offer
Hugs- which I heard once called an "emotional Heimlich"
The people who adopt the kittens I fostered.
The relaxation techniques which helped me at the dentist today

A busy if unproductive week

The new Queen of the castle.

This is George. SHE is one of the kittens I was fostering, who decided to stay.  George and her littermates, all girls as it turns out, were VERY shy when I got them.  It hardly seemed a good way to get them to trust me to root around under their tails first thing. But they all got names based on their personality. Tim was timid, Boo played peek-a-boo with me, and George was curious- the first to come over and inspect me.  I don't usually adopt kittens, but she wormed her way into my heart.  So here she will stay.  I'd like to get a better picture of her if she ever sits still long enough.


Three of the other kittens went to the shelter last week and I am happy to report two of them had found homes within 5 days of arriving!  The last of this batch will go in this weekend, then I may be starting over with a new batch- tiny ones!
I took my sewing machine in for its 10,000 mile check up the other day.  I probably take better care if it than I do my car!
This morning I actually went out to the garden and cleaned up a section or two.  I had left it since it got so hot and dry. Nothing was growing and even if there were weeds, the ground was like bedrock!  Now that we've been getting rain, it's pretty "lush" out there. (Nice words for weedy, huh?)

These flowers are part of the decorations for the Museum Quilt Guild show coming in October.  One of our members designed them.  The stem is a yardstick!  Isn't that clever? I can't wait to see the 50 of them she estimates we will have around the bases of the quilt racks!




On the subject of cats and kittens, did you know clay litter is not actually earth friendly?  It's the process used to acquire the clay that is the problem.  There are alternatives at your local pet store!  Give them a try.

I am grateful for:
Being part of an incredibly caring group of ladies
A best friend who gave me a day of her precious time
A new kitty in my life!
Cooler weather, especially the nights
winning the boss lottery

Just plain miserable!

This summer has been brutal for a person (me) who is not a summer lover.  I like spring- once the mud is gone.  Once the temperature goes over 80, I am uncomfortable. Over 85, I'm miserable. I'm not sure the daytime high has been under 85 very often this summer.  It's a wonder I haven't been arrested.  That's how miserable I am.











Apparently this succulent plant has a different opinion.  It lives on the screen porch every summer, and has never blossomed before. Not the most impressive blossom, but interesting in its own way!

I did manage to spend enough time in the sewing room- on the second floor where it gets much too hot to work by 2 pm most days- this week to finish the portrait quilt I started last year in a class at the Museum Quilt Guild.  (still need to get the chalk washed off- sorry)

This is my husband and my older son.  Guy was about 10 months old here.  I was working full time and this picture was tacked up above my work station.  I can't recall what was happening when this was taken. Our house at the time had one big room- living and dining room.  The couch sort of divided the space. I was probably folding laundry at the table when the men peeked over the couch to say "Hi Mommy!"- the name I gave this piece.
Now I have to find a picture of Lucas to do....

My green tip this time is to remind you the local farmers have been working hard to get fresh produce grown for us in western NY.  There are farmer's markets everywhere, nearly every day of the week- and roadside stands.  Don't buy fruit that has to be transported across the country, using valuable resources and producing tons of greenhouse gases, when you can get it fresh off the tree! 

I am grateful for:
Sewing time
Great authors and the talented people who perform them on audiobooks
Sleeping with the windows open enjoying fresh cool air
Frozen desserts
My grill has a burner so I don't have to use the stove at all on hot days!