Math Impaired and Design Dilemma

The most difficult part of quilting for me, is math.  Ever since I had my worst flare of MS in 1990, math is gone from my brain.   It took me 8 years to re-learn to use a calculator.  And quilting has helped me re-learn lots of math…just not enough!

So I started this Feathered Star in a class at MQX a few years ago.  (The pattern is Ronda Beyer’s Spanish Rose) I got so frustrated with the center that I came close to throwing the whole thing away.  But I loved the fabric too much.  Today I pulled it out to see if I could problem solve my way through it.

Here is the problem:

Nasty puckers.  Why you ask?  I was SURE it was because the pattern was wrong.  So I took a larger seam, trying to make it fit, which created puckers.  Why?  Because I wanted to hurry up and get on to the next part.  sigh… and it just doesn’t work.

So today I ripped out the whole center block, pressed and measured again.  Yeah.  I was wrong, not the pattern.  Because I stacked (as in Stack n Whack) the center 4 squares and used the wrong damn measurement.  Once I trimmed down the 4 smaller blocks, re-sewed it together and put the center back where it belonged, I was happy.  It is flat now and has no puckers.  Now I feel good about proceeding.

So now I have a design dilemma.  Actually, it is just a fabric choice dilemma.  The pattern calls for the print to go next, around the center star.  But I have enough to use the solid instead.  I realize you don’t have the benefit of having the pattern in front of you, but here is a photo of it: Ronda’s Spanish Rose.

 

Be sure to click on the photo below to see the whole thing.

I know exactly what I am going to do, after discussing it with my favorite design consultant.  (Steve)  But until we talked about why we liked each fabric, I didn’t know for sure which way I was going to go.

So tell me, do you have a preference?  If so, please tell me why.  I am sure there is no right or wrong choice, only personal preference.

Checking in and out

A quick check in…. and back out.

We got another new calf… a girl this time.  She is doing well.  Her Mom is an excellent Mom.

I have spent several days this week sorting thru another quilter’s “stuff”.  She is not doing well physically, and not able to sew anymore.  Not sure what the next step will be.  Still working on it, and the family is making the decisions.

I am excited about MQX.  I have a boatload of classes lined up… things I am really interested in.  Have my laptop loaded with software, charged up and ready to go.  Camera charged and ready.  Clothes packed, leaving some room to be able to bring home some quilting goodies for the business.  Thread for sure, templates probably and I am always a sucker for books.

I hope to be able to load photos to the laptop and have time to share some here from New Hampshire.  No promises, as I dont know how my body will hold up to classes, show, lots of friends old and new, and still fitting in some blog reports.

Maybe when I get home it will be spring???

Stimulating the economy

I did my civic duty today, and helped to stimulate the economy.  I went fabric shopping.

These are for a feathered star quilt.  I will be taking a class at MQX on how to do it.  Ronda was supposed to teach, but she is recovering from a total knee replacement.  Linda will be teaching instead.  Tomorrow I hope to start cutting.  I have to have “homework” done before I go to the class in April, so want to be sure I get it done before hopping a plane to New Hampshire April 12.

Worse before better

They say it gets worse before it gets better.  That was true today.  I really should have left for the day, but couldnt.  Somebody had to be here to take care of a couple clients.  And Steve was way too dirty for that today.

The heating/plumbing guys came this am, bright and early.  They dove right in… not realizing what all they had to do.  Ugh.  I bet they said more than just ugh.  Actually, I think we all said more than ugh.

No pictures of the heater or a/c for the addition.  But here are some pics of the process in the old part of the house.

Yep, that was black mold.  He said they find it everywhere they ever pull out an old tub.  EVERYwhere.  Not just at my house.  Somehow, I took comfort in that.  So the black mold is gone.  GONE from my house.  YAY!  And so is that little tub. YAY!  YAY!

Yep, that was a jackhammer he was using to remove bricks that were under the wall.  The whole wall will be moved about 2 feet to make room for a standard sized tub/shower.  But he had to get through the brick to make room for the plumbing under the tub.  And the existing plumbing under there had come DISconnected, so the tub drained right into the gravel and down into the dirt….and tree roots.  So that is all cleaned out too.  YAY.  And new plumbing will make the shower water drain INto the septic tank.  YAY.

This is the expanded hole.

They also decided to rip out the ceiling and redo the existing ductwork.  YAY.  The fan is there to dry out some of the floor where it got wet and where they cleaned up some spilled fuel oil.

So…. I quilted today.  Quilted through the smell of fuel oil, the sound of jack hammering, the dust and filth of removing partial wall and ceiling and tub, and guys in and out.  And I survived.  YAY.

And best of all?  Tomorrow I might have a new tub installed.  YAY!

The other best thing?  We found a guy to lay the tile AND paint the inside.  YAY! YAY!

——————————————-

We are on baby watch… I have bets on tonite, since it is a full moon.  This will be Chrissy’s first calf.  We are hoping all goes well when the time comes.

——————————————-

Artistically, I have been immersed in Laura Cater-Woods new book “Idea to Image: Tempting Your Muse”.  I am also starting a class with her this weekend.  I am looking forward to it.

Doors

Steve put in a new door in our bedroom on Monday. The new one replaced a door that was probably 70-100 years old. How do you date a door? This one locks with a skeleton key! I used duct tape on one side of it last winter to keep it all together. It literally blew in one of the wooden panels. So the new one should really help prevent the bad weather coming in!

Here is our new door.

and here is the old one. Like much of our house, it has “character”.

If it is true that when one door closes, another opens……. is it also true that when you get a new door you get new opportunities? I hope so!

I do have an opportunity this week. Saturday I will be speaking about art quilting and taking my trunk show to the College Club of Sharon, PA. They are all college educated women, much like the group AAUW. I expect about 40 women will be there.

I love doing these trunk shows. Everyone is always attentive and considerate. And interested. They love to ask questions after my talk, and I always invite them to touch and feel the quilts afterwards too. I often get asked to return to do classes after they hear me speak and see what kinds of things I do. That is more likely for quilt guilds. I don’t expect that to happen Saturday.

———————————

It snowed yesterday and today. Didn’t stick though. After I ran errands in town (big town of 2700) I came home, put my jammies back on and finished a project. It feels good to finally get something done.

———————————-

I have had a couple people mail me packages to send on to their Secret Sister/Quilter from MQResources. It always makes it a little more mysterious, no?

——————————-

The CMA’s are on……. damn, I love Brooks and Dunn!

And Jennifer Nettles from Sugarland too!

May you open a door to something new in your own life…..

Gayle

Reading and Other Stuff

I finished But Inside I’m Screaming by Elizabeth Flock last week.  I still haven’t decided how much I liked it.   It is a story of a young news anchor who is severely depressed and ends up in a mental institution for a time.  Having experienced depression in the past, I found that it truly captured the essence of depression…. which was depressing!  But it was also insightful, funny, sad, and elightening.  There were several profound statements sprinkled in, but many more just so so pages.  I guess it was good enough to finish, but not good enough  to get excited about.

Then I started A Thousand Splendid Suns.  Oh my!  I just can’t seem to put it down for long.  I have gotten very little done this week because I have read almost half the book.  I bought it thinking I should read it just because it is a best seller and so popular.  (similar to why we watch the Steelers….. sorry all you huge Steelers fans!….. you know, just to be able to know what the buzz is about)  I never really thought I would get into the story because it is in Afghanistan and I know so little about that country.  I am learning alot.  And loving the book.  If you have read the book, don’t spoil the ending for me please!

We went to the bookstore again today.  I went to pick up a book that Chet had recommended and I ordered several weeks ago.  Why is it impossible to walk in, get ONE book and walk out?  I was glad Steve was with me to carry the very heavy bag out!

—————————

Quilting…… I have done very little.  My class is way frustrating to me.  I finally had to put some stuff away and will go back to it later.

I am getting projects ready to take with me to a quilting retreat Oct22-25 at Pymatuning with the Undercover Gals (my sewing group).  3 cabins, 6 women in each cabin. (if you are interested, scroll down on that link and click on the 360 views, kinda fun)  Lots of sewing, eating, sharing and very little sleep.  I really should finish some UFO’s, but will probably concentrate on my new piecing project.

Then I come home for several days to recover, repack and go to Houston.  I can hardly wait.  I am going to Quilt Festival to shop for a longarm machine of my own.  Yes, I use Steve’s.  But that means I can only quilt when we don’t have client work to do.  And I want to quilt more often.  Space is a problem, which means I will either quilt in the kitchen or we will add on again to make a bigger studio.  Getting a contractor here to assess the situation is a different frustrating story…..

Hope you all have a good weekend!

Class Project: Water

Here is a class project update.  The fabric that I painted is the background.  I am learning to make waves and foamy water.  I have a LONG way to go.  Some of what I tried works.  Some doesnt.  I have tons of sewing left to do on it before it is ready to be quilted.

The point is, I have learned much.

And just for Jan…… here is a close up of the batik that I burned the edges of to get jagged rocks.  Some of my batik worked pretty well.  Others didnt work at all.   This whole class is an experiment!

This week:  FIRE!  (no, not because of burning batiks)

———————————-

And this is the quilt I have been trying to get done for a client:

Those sashings would be easier to do if the quilt was in a straight set, rather than offset rows.  I think I got it figured out so it is passable.  Not great, but ok.  Pretty colors huh?  Wonderful batiks and metallics in this one.

Fredericksburg

While we were in VA, we went to Fredericksburg to tour some Civil War sites.  Gary (my first husband, and Neil’s Dad) was so generous to pick us up and take us on a tour of several places.  First he took us to Chatham Manor, the beautiful home of the Lacy family which was used  by Union troops  during the Civil War.

As you approach the house, you actually come to the back door through the back yard.  This is true of most houses that are on a river in tidewater Virginia and Maryland.  Is that true elsewhere?  I don’t know.  The “back yard” was stunning.  Much prettier than the “front” in my opinion.

The picture below is of a part of the front yard.  It has been way too long since I took an architecture class in college.  Help me out here Cinda…. whats this dome thing called?

I have always liked dormers on houses….. had to get a shot of them.

All three of us were fascinated by these trees.

Gary took us to the Confederate Cemetary too.  I thought my quilting readers would enjoy this photo, since the gate looks like a quilt design.

The cemetary was a moving experience to me.  I never knew anyone buried there.  I didnt have to.  The spirits of so many souls surrounded me….. I felt them.  Their history is OUR history.  I know them.  We all should know them.  They are our brothers and uncles and fathers and grandfathers.  They are our sons.  They lived before us.  And for us.   They fought for their families and their country….. for their freedom and for their beliefs.  They died before us.  They died for us.  And they live on through us.

———————————————————-

On a quilty note….. today I burned the edges of batiks, painted and melted cellophane and used angelina for my online class.  JudyL asked where I was taking a class.  At Quilt University of course!  I have taken quite a few classes there, and only disliked one.  I think that’s a pretty good track record.  The classes are reasonably priced and I get to take them in my jammies.

Little Man and New Class

Finally! Here are some pictures of that cute little man in VA. William is certainly a cutie! Here I am, holding him on the front porch.

And here is Steve, holding him too.

Neil, Elizabeth, William and Yvonne. All are Steelers Fans.

And this picture of Elizabeth is one of my favorites. She was at the table with her Mom, making one of her “craps”…. a “scary bat” made of foam and beads. The look on her face is the one she (and her Dad and I too) makes when saying or thinking “but I dont wanna” or “I dont understand”… at the earliest point of frustration. I KNOW this look. I DO this look. I get this. Which is why I love it so much.

As for the rest of the trip, it was great.  We got to spend time with the beautiful family you see here, as well as do some tourist things.  We saw several Civil War sites in VA, Lee’s home, Washington’s home, and the Berry Farm that had goats to feed.  We took a trip to St Mary’s City, MD to see places I lived, where I went to college and to do a tour of the historic sites there.  On the way home we spent most the day and a night in Gettysburg.  We stopped at a round barn too, which was impressive.   I took several hundred pictures and will share more in the next several days…. and maybe weeks!

On a quilting note, I started a new online class this week.

Today I started my homework.  It is the first time I ever painted fabric.  This is just the start.  Doesnt look like much huh?  And probably wont be either.  This class  teaches how to use all kinds of STUFF that I have wondered about.

Painted with Setacolor transparent, Jacquard, and Lumiere paints.  I had only ever played with Setacolors, so this was a fun experiment.  This will hopefully be the “base” for a class project.

Here it is still wet.

And now it is dry.  I wondered if it would dry lighter, like wall paint, and it did.

Hope everyone had a great week while I was gone.

A New Experience

I am enjoying a new experience…… participating in a Secret Quilter exchange on the MQResource Forum. I have never had, nor been, a secret quilter before.

Today I got my first gift from my secret quilter. THANKS! It is a gift certificate from http://www.joggles.com. How thoughtful. And appropriate. And timely.

I start a quilt art class online Saturday and some of the supplies I had not been able to find elsewhere are at joggles. Yippee! I don’t really NEED any of the things I am ordering. But I sure do WANT them! This feels almost criminal……

sure hope my other secret quilter…… the one I send to….. feels the same way.

How do I distinguish between the two? The one I receive from and the one I send to? Is one number 1 and the other number 2? One is R for receiver and on is S for sender? hmmm, words are so darn complicated.

But these words arent…. THANKS!

and I’m going SHOPPING!