More Blocks

 

The past four Moda Blockheads 4 blocks.  If you can't imagine how all these blocks can possibly all work out together, I'm with you.  I feel like I'm traveling on faith.

But now I just took a picture of my design wall, with the blocks in no particular order.  And I can see the possibility.

And so, we'll see.  Really, though, it doesn't matter, the point for me was trying different techniques and learning to be more precise in my piecing.  I'm using fabrics that have been laying around, except for the white, so it's not like I'm using precious fabrics.  I've learned about different designers and their thinking processes. 

So, my project has already done what it was supposed to do.  There is about a month to go.

Bitty Box

 

Bitty Box pattern by Bodobo Bags.  I thought it might be hard because it's so small, but it was really very easy.  Try it out, it may just be addictive.  I'll be going to Joann after church for more Soft and Stable.

Babies

 

I didn't actually make this whole bag - my friend started it and needed help putting in the zipper and finishing the bag.  She did the tedious piecing of all those little rectangles.

We had the most glorious rain this morning, not too heavy for the most part, just a nice long rain.

Sad update on the three baby possums - none of them made it.  They were just too little.  The rehabber has two more little possums now.  Their eyes are open so they are a little older.

And everyone here is celebrating the zoo's new baby hippo.  Mom's first baby, Fiona, was premature and needed a lot of extra help to survive, including help from nurses from Cincinnati Children's Hospital.  Everyone loves Fiona and is happy for this new full term baby.

You can read about the baby hippo here. 

  

Baby Quilt - Little Ducklings

Baby quilt for the new baby down the street.  Pattern is Corner Play.  Actual fabric color is deep yellow, not beige.40" x 40".

Sarah was here this weekend and spotted a dead possum baby on the street beside its dead mom.  She discovered three live babies still attached to mom and took them to a rehabber.  So far, the three are doing ok, taking possum formula.  Each little possum (they are called joeys) weighs just under one ounce.  The little ones are in an incubator.

It took awhile to find someone to take them.  The recommended person lives outside of Knoxville, on Sarah's way home.

It's good to remember that there are kind people in this world.  I hope the little ones make it.    

Nicely Caught Up

 

Caught up with my Moda Blockheads blocks.  Some of the participants are noting that their fabric options are getting limited, and that's true for me too.

That block in the upper right - I did not like the piece of 10" x 10" fabric AT ALL.  Strange birds.  But cut up into sixteen small pieces, I really like the way it looks.

That block in the lower left - there isn't enough contrast in the two darker fabrics (one with blue, one without) to showcase the pattern but I like it anyway.  

I am definitely going to need to put sashings between these busy blocks.

Embroidering Today

 

I put off this monogramming for way too long, just because it's been way too long since I've embroidered anything.

The things that I used to do so frequently and so easily needed to be considered.  How do I use my software to make the design.  What kind of stabilizer should I use?  How do I get the fixing stitch around the embroidery?

And then there are the changes - change the foot, change the needle, change the throat plate, change the kind of bobbin thread.

Even - what button do I push to get started on my "new" machine.

But now, I'm excited to embroider something else.  I remember getting some new designs a month or two ago.  And doing the embroidery is so easy, now that I've given myself a little refresher.

Feeling grateful for this exercise, and I think my customer will be pleased.  

Knotting

 

I spent a pleasant morning with a friend in the church basement knotting this comforter.  It will go to Mennonite Central Committee's relief work.  According to their website, 45,767 comforters were sent out last year, in the US, Canada, and to foreign countires.  That's a lot of comforters.

When I was very young, I remember being at my grandmother's house when actual hand quilting was done by friends around a quilting frame.  As I grew up, my mother and grandmother would knot quilts.  It's pretty much like it sounds, a needle with cotton crochet thread is pushed down through the top, batting, and backing, then up again and the thread is double knotted.  A quilting frame is still used.

Knotting is much faster than quilting, which I guess is the point.  And, it's kind of zen.  It's the physical handling of the needle, plus the knowing that this has gone on for many years and through many generations.