Needle in a Haystack

 

I'm finally working on the binding of the Needle in a Haystack quilt. 

It's much easier when I can "watch" tennis at the same time. I am watching the tennis at the US Open in New York. Streaming it on ESPN means I can choose what match I want to watch instead of being stuck watching the one that is being broadcast on normal television. I am quite enjoying it.

I'm also working on the talk I will give to the Connecticut Piecemakers Guild in a couple of weeks. I'm talking about the kinds of things that inspire me, and how I like to work in series. I'll be showing word quilts, scrap slab triangle quilts, my Zebra quilts as well as examples of quilts I make based on the inspiration I get from simply looking around.

I've never given a talk quite like that before, and I am excited about it. I'm also teaching a bird making workshop the next day, so that's going to be fun too.

I'm feeling a lot better. The congestion from Covid is gone, but I am still building up my stamina. So I am trying to take it mostly easy and not doing too much in one day. 

Sherbet Quilt Complete

 I've sewn up the top of the Sherbet Macnas quilt. This photo shows the colors more accurately.

Here it is all sewn up on the design wall.

I brought it outside to take a photo in daylight, and I think you can see how much prettier it is.

Here is another photo of the quilt outside. Again, you can see how much prettier it is. I like it a lot.

Sherbet update with photo

I'm feeling a lot better. My friend Cherie tells me this variant of Covid is called Razor Blade Throat and I can certainly attest to that. My throat hurt so much I couldn't sleep and one night I got up and found an ice cream sandwich to eat just to make my throat more comfortable. Since it was Covid none of the usual decongestants or other stuff did any good.

Still though, I'm feeling better, and getting my usual energy back, if slowly. I'm no longer in self-imposed quarantine, and was able to go to Urgent Care on Friday to get the stitches in my toe removed. That is healing nicely.

I'm still a bit congested, and I've got the humidifier going. I put it on my little cart (thank you Julie) so I can move it to whichever room I am in, which is pretty nice.

More normal energy means I have got my house back to rights after the painters left and that feels pretty good. I was also able to unpack my suitcase and put away all the extra stuff that traveling entails (extra meds, toiletries, water bottle, etc.) and got caught up with the laundry.

And I've handled all the bills and paperwork that piled up while I was gone and out of commission.

I've worked on the Sherbet quilt and have all the pieces sewn into rows, but I haven't sewn the rows together yet. My laptop is giving me grief about uploading photos again, and I'll deal with it later, so for now, no pics.

I've even pulled out the puzzle board and got started on another jigsaw puzzle.

So life is getting back to normal. YAY!

Upside, Downside

 

I've finished the layout of the pink/orange quilt I will call Sherbet.

I've started to sew it together. I think it's going to be very pretty.

The downside?

Apparently I contracted Covid during my travel home from LA - not a cold. While I am no longer contagious, I am still feeling the effects and am recovering. I have been asked to self quarantine for another couple of days. 

PS, my Darling Granddaughter is NINE today! 

Pink & Orange

 

Believe it or not, the toe doesn't hurt. (At least not yet.) I was able to spend some time in the studio cutting the light blocks for the pink and orange Macnas quilt.

Because the design I cooked up has an odd number of columns, and it's symmetrical, and I have a bugaboo about symmetry, I will have a center column of single blocks and the other blocks will be sewn to it. That will be the most logical and un-fussy way to sew it together. 

That doesn't mean it won't be a bit confusing. My design is a bit complicated, and I am not quite 100% sure I will sew it together the way I originally designed it,  but no worries. I don't sew anything together until I am satisfied with the way it looks on the design wall.

One other thing. I WANT to play with the ambiguity of the orange and pink blocks. I want them to flip flop. And I'm including light, or white or cream blocks that have some other colors (like blue) in them, so this design will definitely not "read" exactly as I designed it, with the pinks and oranges clearly defined.

Of course that might change, but we'll see. I have to cut a lot more pinks before I can make the Macnas pairs and put them on the design wall. Which may take a bit more time as I seem to have caught a cold.

Sigh.

Gravity Rules!

 

The guys are back, and they are painting my dining room. I got a text while I was in California that they would be there the day after I got home. No problem. I knew I would be able to remove the artwork from the walls after I got home.

Now, on occasion I have been known to go a bit overboard. What I SHOULD have done was get home, change into my pajamas and go to bed. I did not. 

INSTEAD I decided to move my artwork. I started with this one, it's a three dimensional piece. It's about 14" x 16" and it's about 2 inches deep. The frame is metal, and the corners are sharp. It weighs just over four pounds. 

I reached for it, and somehow it got away from me. It fell and landed on my foot. It hurt like hell. I looked down ad saw a red spot. The piece had cut a hole in my shoe and my big toe.

CRAP! That's BLOOD!

I'll leave the rest to your imagination. I was taken to Urgent Care where I had X-Rays and three stitches.

Here's the end result. You can see the spiffy nail polish my DGD painted my toenails. Pretty sure she painted some of my toes too, but who cares.

So I got home, took some painkillers and went to bed. 

Just goes to show that jet lag is a real thing and it's important to know when to leave well enough alone.

I'll be sacked out on the couch for the next few days because my foot has to be elevated and kept DRY.

Butterflies & More

 The South Beach Botanic Garden is located not far from my son's family. They love it, so I gift them with a family membership each year.

They had a butterfly exhibit there while I was visiting. Most places now have areas designed for photos. We should all be butterflies!

Not many people were lucky enough to be the landing spot for a butterfly.

This was as close as I got, but it was still fine by me.

They have lovely flowers, an entire bleeding heart garden, and a stunning rose garden, but I find myself attracted to the Cactus garden.

They were in flower, which was really cool to see.

We had some terrific food. Here my DGG is taking a picture of my son and DIL.

While there I read Haroun and the Sea of Stories **** to my DGD. I really didn't need to. She is able to read very well. Once I stopped to take a drink of water, and when I tried to find my place to resume reading, she pointed it right out to me! It's a fun book, and when we got to the end of one chapter and she said, "Do we have to stop? Can you please keep reading?" I knew she liked the book as much as I do.

It's always fun to see quilts I made a long time ago. This is the Petals quilt I made in 2015. I slept under the Dinosaur quilt!

Before I left, I set up my DGD's iPad so she could FaceTime with me with just the push of a button. As you can see she is getting tall. She'll be nine next week, and I'm pretty sure that the next time I see her she'll be taller than me.

I had a grand time.

**** this from Amazon about the book: 

Immediately forget any preconceptions you may have about Salman Rushdie and the controversy that has swirled around his million-dollar head. You should instead know that he is one of the best contemporary writers of fables and parables, from any culture. Haroun and the Sea of Stories is a delightful tale about a storyteller who loses his skill and a struggle against mysterious forces attempting to block the seas of inspiration from which all stories are derived.

“This is, simply put, a book for anyone who loves a good story. It’s also a work of literary genius.” —Stephen King

Not in Kansas

So I am not in Kansas.  Don’t think I’ve ever been to Kansas.

No, that’s the Pacific Ocean.

And that’s my granddaughter with me, having brunch  I had ham and eggs and avocado and I don’t know what else on a croissant.  It was fabulous, and I can’t believe I ate the whole thing. I’ve since had soba noodles at a Korean place and Tunisian food. At Barsha. And I had brunch at Martha’s, which is fabulous.

I’ve been a Penzey’s customer for years but I’ve never been in one of their stores so it was great to visit one. 

It’s kind of a PITA to post on my iPad so that’s it for now. 

Coming Up

I was cleaning up in my studio and came across a stack of squares I cut but did not use in the orange Carnelian quilt. So I cut them into Macnas-sized rectangles.  Once I had those, I had to figure out what to match them with. 

As it happened, I was watching Project Runway, and one of the guest judges (I missed her name), was wearing an orange and pink sweater.  Can you say … INSPIRATION?

So now I will cut some pink Macnas pieces.

Then, when I had a lot of time to fill, I worked up this design on my iPad. It isn’t perfect, but it gives me a place to start. I’ll use oranges, pinks and creams. 

Carnelian Quilt, Finished

 

The Carnelian quilt is all finished. I had never made an orange quilt, so I made this, and I am really happy with it.

Mom Update

 

This photo of Mom was taken in 2017 on our trip to Colorado. It’s one of my favorites pictures of her.

Hi Gang,

First of all, my Mom is good! She just celebrated her 92nd birthday, and she came to my house yesterday to check out the new floors.

She’s good. But she’s 92, and has a host of serious medical issues, which I will not divulge. The doctors would like her in the hospital so they can monitor her closely but she’s having none of it. The hospital is crowded, noisy and, as far as she is concerned, stifling. Stuck in one bed, with often noisy neighbors… she would rather be home.

And who can blame her? The docs are trying to find just the right balance. She would rather be home, where she can live her life in comfort with loved ones nearby. She gets to sleep in her own bed, eat her own food (or M’s) and do what she pleases when she pleases. She says if she feels bad, she can call an ambulance.

I can’t say as I blame her. Her mother spent the last five years of her life in bed, in pain, and in a nursing home. My Mom would rather LIVE the time she has left. She’s happy with M, and she has a reason to get up in the morning. That’s pretty good at her age.

I talk to her almost daily, and see her often. She’s only five miles away. I am well aware of how lucky I am that I have had her this long. Every day is a gift, and every day is OK. I’ve long since made my peace with it. I’m gonna miss her like crazy when she goes, but I’m not going to fret over whatever time she has left.

She could surprise us all. 

Not Mine!

This beautiful quilt was not made by me, but by Julie M, who attended a workshop on the Scrap Slab Triangle quilts I gave to the Rising Star Quilters in MA several years ago. The quilt was displayed in a recent quilt show in Concord MA, and now the quilt will be published in an upcoming book with pictures of the quilts from the show.

I am always so excited to see what students do with my tutorials. I would never have thought to use black fabrics in the side triangles of the quilt, but they work fabulously in Julie M’s quilt.

Thank you Julie M for allowing me to share pictures of this stunning quilt!

This is a Scrap Slab Triangle Quilt. If you want to make one, it’s a great way to use up your scraps. I’ve made 13 of these quilts and they are all different. You can get the tutorial here, at my Etsy shop.