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. 

Switching Around

 

I started cutting the light triangles for filling in the gaps of the Prism quilt. I've got some polka dots coming for the other spaces.

I washed and ironed some fabrics yesterday morning. Then it got warmer, and the last thing I needed was something to generate more heat, so I switched gears.

I sorted through my pinks and chose one for the border of the as-yet-unnamed pink and white zebra quilt.

I cut the strips, joined them at an angle and sewed them to the quilt.

Now I have to work out the backing. This one will likely be a bit scrappy. After that I have to add enough white space around the edges of the pink birds quilt (Yakkety Yak).

I've been watching a lot of tennis from the US Open and it has been absolutely stellar. Having cut the cord with my cable company I was worried I wouldn't see much, but that has not been a problem.

Speaking of which, I took this photo on my way home from California. That big white octagon in the middle is Arthur Ashe Stadium at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center where the US Open is played. The white box to the right is Louis Armstrong Stadium. that crescent shape is Court 17 and the round blue shape below Ashe is the unisphere from the 1964 World's Fair. Just above and to the right is Citi Field, the stadium where the Mets play baseball. This is probably as close as I am going to get to the US Open tennis, so I was delighted to see it.

Look Familiar?

I took this picture of the American tennis player John Isner playing in a tournament in Miami Florida. Look at his shirt. Does it remind you of anything?

Yeah, I thought so too!

The GOAT

I've cleaned up a bit of the studio and am gradually making headway in the office, which is in danger of being overrun by paper. Taxes are a big motivation there. I have also decided to go back to the "New Hampshire Quilt," a quilt of birds based on people I know or admire, places and things that I love or anything else I decide to add.

If you have been reading for any length of time you know that I love to watch tennis, and that my favorite player is Roger Federer, widely considered to be the Greatest Of All Time (GOAT). Right now the Australian Open is underway in Melbourne Australia. Roger has won the last two years. So naturally I am watching. Roger (he's known by his first name) is from Switzerland, and the Swiss colors are red and white, ergo a red and white bird inspired by Roger.

The musical fabric for the wing, with the stringed lyre, is meant to represent (loosely) a tennis racquet, as is the checkerboard fabric of the beak is meant to represent the strings on a tennis racquet. The letters of the body are a nod to Roger's logo, a stylized RF.

In the past I have always used WOW (White on White) fabrics as the backgrounds for my birds, but I have seen birds made with a mixture of WOWs and some small prints on White or some variant, and I thought they looked good, so I am going to use that idea in this quilt. Not every bird will have a patterned background.

And yes, that little "crown" on top of the bird's head is meant to remind you of a crown.

All these little things just go to show you how much freedom you have in constructing and personalizing your own birds. If you want to make one of these birds, you can get my tutorial here, at my Etsy shop. It's an instant download, so you can get started right away, but I should warn you. Bird making can be rather addictive. It's hard to make just one!

The Big W

The dishes are done. The laundry is folded. The bed is made. Everything is ready.  I'll be watching the Men's final at Wimbledon.  I love Roger Federer, and I'll root for him, but I have always had a soft spot in my heart for Andy Murray. It's going to be a great match.

I'm not going to answer the telephone. I'm not going to be checking my email.  I'm going to watch the Tennis.  I might add the binding to the red sticks quilt if I get too nervous watching the match.

see ya later!

Making it work!

I've finished hand sewing the binding on the small Make It Work quilt. Today I'll be sewing down the hanging sleeve. You can click the photo to enlarge, and click it again for more detail.

I'll be watching the French Open, rooting for Roger Federer.

Solution to a Quandary

I love to watch Tennis. This morning Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are playing in Madrid, and it's being televised on the Tennis Channel. I only get the Tennis Channel on the TV in the living room. So how can I watch and get something constructive done?Set up the ironing board in there, and use the time to press the scraps and bits I've stuffed in the little bins.
Yes, I'm crazy, I admit it.