One Foot in Front of the Other

Good morning, my friends. It's hard to know what to say or where to start. To start, I'll tell you about how my day went yesterday. Like most Americans it was hard for me to concentrate on much of anything, but I managed to get in a little bit of time in the sewing room. Enough happened there to cause me to decide to return to Plan A with the "Mosaic" quilt. For now, I'll tell you about what I learned and how I'll proceed. At the end, I'll say something about the way forward.

Of course, the day started with slow-stitching. I finished up the first of seven small blocks for the Girls' Getaway quilt.

With that one finished, I moved on to the second one...Wine Tasting. I've stitched a little more than what you see here. Probably, this won't be finished until tomorrow.

When I made my way into the sewing room, I was armed with the Kindle version of this book. (Pay attention because this is the last time I'll show the book.)

Starting with the photo I'd chosen as Plan B, I began by drawing a diagonal grid. The book goes into some explanation about this. To make quilts using this method, one works with just one square of the grid at a time. She explained that she likes a diagonal grid because it imparts an energy that straight vertical and horizontal lines do not. Also, it makes certain errors less noticeable. She explained as well that her choice to make the squares 2 inches (2-1/2 inches unfinished) was decided simply because she had some 2-1/2 inch scraps she wanted to use. The grid could be from squares of any size, but I'll stick with the 2-inch size.

If my photo were square, I would have drawn a line from corner to corner. My photo is rectangular, and so I lined up the 45° angle line with the edge of the photo, and then lined up the edge of the ruler at the corner. (Sorry for the blur in this next image. My Panasonic camera is getting a spa treatment right now. I'm using my old Nikon point and shoot, which has always had a problem auto-focusing up close. There is no manual focus, and so sometimes I get a blur like this.)

When I'd drawn lines in both directions, it looked like this.

She also recommended numbering the squares to make it easier to hold your place. Working with a numbered square is easier than trying to remember "fourth square from the left, third row."

Then, I cut 2-inch squares from freezer paper. These will be templates to create each individual square from the image. In this case, I needed 54 squares.

She also recommends using a foam core board as a sort of design wall. I can pin the pieces to the board as I go. (I think I might have a smaller board, and I'll look today.)

Then, starting at the upper left corner, I made the first piece. The freezer paper is ironed to the fabric, and then it's trimmed leaving a quarter-inch seam allowance. The book doesn't mention this (unless I missed it), but I decided to number the pieces there as well. If everything were to fall on the floor, it would make reassembling it easier.

And there we go. The first of 54 pieces is finished.

By the time I got to the third piece, I was already stumped. A suggestion in the book is to cut a 2-inch square from card stock to help isolate the part of the image you're working with. This also helps when choosing fabric. I can lay the card stock down over the fabric to see how it will work for what I'm trying to accomplish.

This technique includes applique, and so I wanted to draw out the lighter bit of green toward the bottom of the square. Since I couldn't see it through the freezer paper, I used a piece of wax paper to trace the shape.

And then I could place that on my light box along with the freezer paper square and draw it from there.

I skipped over the third piece, deciding I first needed to do some more reading in the book. I moved to the fourth square and added it to the two already pinned.

Already I was on pins and needles about the election, and working on this new technique wasn't helping one little bit. I decided to bag it there and do some slow-stitching, which helped to calm my fraying nerves.

As for the rest of the day...well, you know. I did a little more reading in the book after getting into bed last night. By the time I turned off the light, I'd convinced myself to start again with the photo I selected originally. Plan B's photo is a little too difficult to use as a first try. The one below will be easier. And I'm sorry, but just a peek for you.

Okay, and I hate to bring up anything related to current events, but I'm afraid it is filling my psyche today. Some of you are probably happy with the results of our election. I genuinely hope you are right, and that you see something in the man that I don't. On the other hand, I suspect many of you feel as I do: as if someone just set my hair on fire. It's going to take a day or two to adjust our expectations and decide how we're going to get through the next several years. Here's something I know: we only have to get through one day at a time. If a day is too long, get through it one hour at a time.

Mike and I decided this morning to take a break from news of any kind. As the repercussions affect our lives, we'll deal with it. We'll help others when we can. Mainly, it's going to be like hiking uphill. Head down, one foot in front of the other. Keep moving. Do not let despair rule the day, and do not let it paralyze you. Leaning on one another for support, we'll get through this. Face forward, my friends. Life goes on. We can do this together.

One Day, One Block, Two Cats

Good morning, my friends. I'd say it was a slow day here yesterday, and maybe it was. I got everything finished I hoped I would, so it's all good. In the sewing room, I made November's cat for the Cats in Pajamas quilt. All the "filler" pieces were cut at the beginning, and so when I make one of these blocks, I'm cutting only pieces for the cat and the pajamas. They aren't hard to sew together, but it does take several hours...for me, at least. 

Smitty was my helper cat for the day.

What are we working on today?

When I told him we were making a cat, he surveyed all the pieces we'd be working with.

This meant a few warm-up exercises. You want to avoid injury at all cost while sewing.

Before we can purrceed, it's impurrtant to strrrrrreeeeeetch. 

Okay, and then we went to work building the cat. As I mentioned yesterday, I changed my mind about the pajamas. I remembered there was some Oregon State University fabric in my stash, and I wondered why I hadn't thought of it before. Behold November's Beaver Believer cat. The design was printed wonky on the fabric, and that made it hard to get my lines straight.

He'll fit right in with his brethren cats in pajamas. There's just one more cat to go before I can start sewing this into a finished quilt.

That was all the sewing I did yesterday, aside from slow-stitching, of course. I thought I might finish this piece I'm working on, but I didn't. There's still just a little bit left to do, and I should finish it this morning.

Today I'll start the process of making the "Mosaic" quilt from this photo.

I've spent some time paging through the book,

and now I'll use the book to guide me through the steps of turning this into a finished quilt. The author of this book also has a Facebook page I've been following. She does some pretty amazing quilts using this technique.

Probably, I'll be instituting the one-hour rule on this, as I usually do when I'm making an art quilt. I'll work on it for a minimum of one-hour. After that, I can decide to continue or stop. If I decide to stop, I'll start quilting the Beach Bums.

They've been waiting patiently on Eliza's work table while I waited for my wrist to feel better. Using the Bowflex yesterday flared it up a little. I iced it afterward, and it's no worse this morning. Any quilting will be time-limited, and I'll also use a splint. I'm hoping I can quilt without breaking myself.

We've already had our breakfast this morning, and so I'm going to get going on my slow-stitching. It's Election Day, my friends. If you haven't already voted, please do. And let's hope calm can rule the coming weeks between now and Inauguration Day in 2025.

Sit and Stitch

Good morning, my friends. We had a relatively nice day of weather yesterday. It's getting colder though. I donned my winter woolies and got out early to cut back the dahlias. And that brings my 2024 gardening efforts to a close. It's up to Mike now to load the pots into the bucket of the tractor and move them to the garage. (I've never actually tried picking them up, but apparently, the pots are heavy.) 

While I was out, I took a few pictures of our fall color. Just two trees have enough leaves left to make them pretty. There is no color editing on these. They really are that bright.

While I was out, I filled the bird feeders. The jays found the peanuts right away. They can empty this feeder in less than an hour. 

As I walked back and forth, I noticed these little mushrooms at my feet. The largest is about the same diameter as a quarter.

The kitties were outside, and they came in when I was finished. They have a bad case of the in-and-outs right now. They really want to be out, but they don't like the wet ground. Sadie is holding up her wet paw. Ewwwwwww.

It was time for my slow-stitching. Ordinarily, I would do that before anything else, but the weather can change quickly. I wanted to get the dahlias cut back while I had the chance. November's block for Joy in the Ordinary was really a two-day job, but I sat and stitched the whole thing.

From there, it needed borders. With the weather getting colder and wetter, I have plenty of kitty help these days. Smitty took the high road. I had to pixelate that spot where he's sitting. It's the photo for the "Mosaic" challenge quilt. No peeking. You guys are so sneaky.

Sadie took the low road.

It took just a few minutes to add the borders.

And here are all the blocks I have for this quilt so far. Just one more to go.

Next, I took all my supplies upstairs to the dining room table where I could look out the window. It was time to color the next blocks for the Girls' Getaway quilt. These are small, and my plan is to stitch them all for this go-round.

When they were colored, I took them downstairs to finish getting them ready to stitch. Sadie took over the high road after Smitty left.

With so much high-roading and low-roading and wet paws, she was 'zhausted. She ended up settling in there for a nap.

For no particular reason, I decided to start with the Wild Rose Needlework Shop.

While we watched the news, I took the first stitches. Probably, I can finish this one this morning.

So I'll spend some time on my slow-stitching this morning. Yesterday, I was successful in getting myself back on the treadmill. Today I'll return to the Bowflex. I've been avoiding the Bowflex while my wrist heals. I think I'm fresh out of excuses now. Mike is downstairs working out as I'm writing this. If he wants to go early, it's just fine with me. I have other early morning things to do, and we'll stay out of one another's way.

The other sewing on today's agenda is to make November's block for the Cats in Pajamas.

When I mentioned this in yesterday's post, I thought I'd use what remains of the floral fabric I used in Ruth's Legacy. Yesterday, I remembered another fabric...a stroke of genius, if I do say so myself. I'll show you when I finish the block today. My kiddos are going to love it.

As I've been writing, the rain is starting up again. It's another good sewing day. And, thankfully, the election is tomorrow. We probably won't know the results right away. Nevertheless, seeing an end to this contentious campaign has to be something worth celebrating. Who's with me on that? 

Next Steps

Good morning, my friends. When we chatted yesterday, I thought we might get a decent day of weather. Before I could even finish my slow-stitching, it was raining again, and it rained most of the day. Today is looking more promising. I'm wanting to get outside and cut back the dahlias. It's time for them to move to the garage. (My dahlias are planted in pots.) It's looking as if today's weather might be more cooperative.

And, well, rainy days are good sewing days. Of course, nothing could happen until I finished off January's block for A Year in the Garden. 

There's still a long way to go on this project. I might have chosen a brighter background fabric. These blocks are rather small. The backgrounds are cut to 7 x 8 inches, and they will be cut smaller when I'm ready to sew them into a finished quilt top. I'm using a background fabric that was cut from the edges of another finished quilt, and you know how smug using up something like that can make you feel.

Before I could do any sewing, I wanted to finish off my pantry shelves. And...DONE! That's a job I've been dreading for months, and it's good to have it finished. There wasn't a lot to do here except to organize things a little better and dust things off. Also, I cleaned up that corner. The wooden crate was one I purchased with our first CSA share. I used it to pick up our CSA veggies. Now, it works as a handy crate for stowing our reusable grocery sacks. 

Maybe you already know this, but those flimsy plastic grocery sacks that blow all over the landscape have been banned in Oregon. Stores will still pack your groceries into paper bags, but they cost a nickel each. Besides, reusable bags save trees. So enjoy this last picture of my pantry. You may never see it again. Unless I do some canning. Then, of course, you'll see it. There's a linen closet I want to tackle next, but I'll hold off on that. It's a good rainy day project, and with our wet winters, it's good to pace yourself.

After that, I was able to finish off the quilt top for Ruth's Legacy. As I mentioned in yesterday's post, the bottom row of blocks was an inch too short, and so I needed to take out the sashing between two of the blocks and make it an inch wider. Fortunately, I had my helper cat to assist in this purrocess. Ripping out misery loves company.

And then he stood by to make sure I cut it propurrly this time.

And then I went to work sewing the blocks together.

I considered a narrow stop border before adding the final floral border, but then decided against it. Without the border, the blocks appear to float, and I like that. It finishes up at 66 x 71 inches.

Okay, and so with my slow-stitching piece finished, I needed something new for this morning's stitching session. In yesterday's post, I mentioned I was going to be tracing the next blocks for the Girls' Getaway quilt. But then, I remembered I needed to do November's block for Joy in the Ordinary. So I traced that out, and I'll start stitching on it this morning.

That won't take more than a day or two, and so I've also traced out the blocks I'll need for the Girls' Getaway quilt. These are small...about 4 x 4 inches each. They'll end up as the centers for pieced blocks. So, here they all are. Today, I'll get to work coloring them, and then they'll be ready for stitching.

If I can get those finished, I'll start in on November's cat for Cats in Pajamas. He's going to wear what remains of the floral fabric from Ruth's Legacy. I haven't decided yet what color cat he will be.

After that, I'll be starting on the newest prompt for The Endeavourers art quilt group. There is only one prompt left (until we choose more). The final prompt is "Mosaic." I'm going to try a new mosaic technique working from this original photograph. Just a peek for you.

Originally, I'd selected something else, but I changed my mind. This one is better suited to the technique I'll be teaching myself from this book:

So there's plenty to keep me busy. I've been dragging my feet returning to my exercise routine. I was doing pretty well, and then something interrupted my momentum. I forget where I fell off the wagon, but I'm determined to get back to it today. With that extra hour in my day from falling back to standard time, there are no excuses. But first...slow-stitching. Priorities, people.