Sunday, March 17, 2024

Cutting and Piecing

Happy mail this week was this Hobbs cotton wool batting which was my prize for being among eight winners in the Modern Quilt Guild's "Use It: Quilt Back Challenge." Winner's list including pictures of backings.

Winners were told we'd receive our batts in February, so while at QuiltCon, I thought to stop in the Hobbs Batting vendor booth, say thank you, and offer to take the batt home with me - saving their shipping cost, I thought. However, I was told that because there had been an October 2023 fire at the Hobbs facility in Waco, they were behind in order fulfillment. They had to scrounge to come up with sample batting packages to display in their booth! So, I feel extra grateful that they sent me this batting. 

With only 27 more blocks to make for my Glitter quilt, I've been motivated to cut out and machine piece all the remaining blocks, in readiness for hand-piecing. (I'm hand-piecing the four outside corner pieces for accuracy of the Y-seam.) 

I've also begun making a quilt for a special friend. The design involves pulling out each of my color-sorted shoeboxes of solid scraps, improv-cutting and piecing bits together, and then using a Hex N More ruler to cut 60-degree triangles.

The quilt pattern is called Floating Pyramid. I'm delighted I can use scraps to piece these shapes. The finished quilt will be cute!

Book Recommendations
The Irish Boarding House by Sandy Taylor is about Mary Kate, a young woman in Ireland who's destitute. Her mother abandoned her at birth, and she was raised by her loving grandparents. After their passing, she's forced out of her tenant row home where happy memories were made, and into a world not meant for single women. 

Ready to end her misery, Mary Kate is saved by an unexpected inheritance that allows her to fulfill her dreams. She restores an old house, and fills it with women and girls in need. She creates her own family, finding the good in others, and in a life that can be happy in spite of trials. 

This was a refreshing book to listen to. I appreciated Mary Kate's genuinely generous nature, and the fact that a story can be told without swearing, brutality, and murder. A charming story with a touch of faith... just the sort of book I like.

Linda's score: 4.5/5.0

Only the Beautiful
 by Susan Meissner takes place shortly before and during WWII. Part one focuses on Roseanne whose parents and brother have died in an accident. The family has lived on the property of a California vineyard, where her dad was employed. With no other family, Roseanne is taken in as a ward of the owners, and employed as domestic for the family. 

Roseanne is taken against her will to a facility for the mentally insane. She has a condition, later identified as synesthesia, that deems her unfit. Not only does she have no family, but she's unwed, and pregnant. During five difficult years, her life is unalterably changed. 

Part two focuses on Helen, the sister of the man who owned the vineyard. Helen has never been married, but has lived a fulfilled life in Europe as a nanny to several families. While in Nazi-occupied Vienna, she and the family she cares for face a new, unbelievable reality - children with disabilities are being medically tortured and killed in a program called Operation T4. Helen goes to Switzerland to help disabled children escape Austria. Following the war, she returns to California to her brother's vineyard. 

The author makes an excellent correlation between these two stories - comparing US eugenics laws in the 1930s to 1970s, to Nazi race purification crimes that euthanize children with mental and physical disabilities. 

Linda's score: 4.2/5.0

Travel Insurance
As some of you know, in late January I was to have traveled to the Holy Land. My sister and I had planned to go to Israel and Egypt for two weeks with a group led by a bishop from the ELCA (Evangelical Lutheran Church of America). What happened on October 7, 2023 changed all that. 

The Atlanta tour company we planned to travel with returned 100 percent of the monies each person had paid to that point, and provided a letter indicating that the tour company itself had cancelled our trip. The letter was given so we could each obtain a refund for travel insurance. 

Last July, through IMG Insurance I purchased travel insurance for $438. In November, by email I requested a refund and provided proof of trip cancellation and my refund check. When I didn't receive a response from IMG, I called and spoke with a representative who told me I could not get a refund. Instead, I have two years in which to use the insurance; and I cannot transfer the insurance to someone else. I was promised (in December) a phone call from an IMG supervisor to discuss it. I haven't heard anything since.

In the meantime, my sister has received a full refund from TravelEx for her travel insurance purchase.

I'm cautioning every travel insurance buyer... beware be aware of who you select to do business with. 

Linda

Monday, March 11, 2024

Other Things

Back to a few more things in my sewing room... 

I continue to pick up Glitter blocks (a pattern in Jen Kingwell's book Quilt Lovely) to hand stitch whenever I have a few moments to sit. I can be especially productive while talking on the phone! I've now pieced 108 blocks of the 152 blocks needed to make a quilt that's 67" X 73". I'm getting my hopes up about this being a possible 2024 finish. 

In June 2023, I finished embroidering this "Milky Way" Dropcloth Sampler. The unfinished sampler is not only printed with the embroidery design, but it also has a color washed background. I embroidered with Wonderfil size 8 perle cotton. It wasn't until last week, when a Big Cypress Quilters member came to our weekly meeting with a few embroidery hoops to give away, that I was motivated to finish it. 

I cut the selvage off yardage of Painter's Palette Pale Aqua, and used it to wrap the outside ring of the 6" wooden embroidery hoop. Then I hand basted around the stitchery to draw it into a ring, and trimmed the fabric edges with pinking shears. 

In the same manner, I cut a 6" circle of cardboard and a circle of fabric, hand-basted and drew-up the fabric around the cardboard. 

The fabric-covered cardboard is glued to the back of the hoop, It dried good and flat under a heavy fabric bin. 

I already had the hoop prop which came from The Craft Table Orlando, so it wasn't long until the finished piece was set on top of my fabric bin cabinet, alongside my Lego sewing machines. I like it. 

Book Recommendations
For much too long, posting about QuiltCon instead, I put off reviewing audiobooks I've been listening to. So, here's a catch-up of the last four books I read.

The September House
 by Carissa Orlando is about a retired couple who finally find the Victorian home of their dreams. It's up-to-date and at an affordable price that's difficult to believe. Hal and Margaret soon begin to understand why no one lives in the house for long. It's haunted.

Margaret comes to anticipate blood flowing down the walls from the bedrooms and down the stairs. She expects the former inhabitants to not only keep house, but show up in other ways - trying to strike a match to burn down the house; to bite her; and to keep both Margaret and Hal out of the basement.

Having had enough, Hal leaves. Months later, Margaret doesn't know where he is, and their daughter, Katherine, is determined to come for a visit (for the first time), and find him. Now Margaret has to get the ghosts to behave, and not reveal the house's secrets. 

This story is entirely unbelievable. It sort of wanted to be light-hearted, yet it also wanted to spew blood and gore like a horror story. Neither effort settled well with me.

Linda's score: 3.4/5.0

After The September House, I thought I was listening to another haunted house book when I started The Housekeeper by Valerie Keogh.

This story focuses on a large vacant estate home in England that has been neglected for years. For Cassie, recently of London, it's the perfect place to invest a recent influx of money. She plans to update the home with ensuite bathrooms in each bedroom, open the kitchen by removing tiny storage rooms that block the light, tame the overgrown grounds, and end up with a lovely countryside bed and breakfast.

Yet even though the electrical system has been replaced, and Cassie has verified that everything is in working order, the lights strangely go out when she's alone in the house at night. Accidents happen - she trips on a rock and realizes she's fallen on a gravestone; a floorboard has been intentionally sawed, and Cassie falls through. And there's the sudden eerie feeling she gets when she's in the dark kitchen, and thinks about those little storage rooms in the back. 

Yet Cassie is determined that nothing will chase her from the house. She befriends an elderly woman who shares some of the house's history with her. And the man she's hired to overhaul the house is more than friendly and accommodating.  

Linda's score: 4.0/5.0

The Librarian of Burned Books
 by Breanna LaBuskes is a story that spans two World Wars, taking place in Germany in 1933 at the beginning of Hitler's chancellorship; in Paris in 1936; and in New York City in 1944 as WWII has begun.

Three women each have a key role in the telling: 1) Althea, an author who's invited to Germany by Goebbels. She changes her opinions about Hitler after experiencing the harshness of the Reich, discovering herself in the process; 2) Hannah, a beautiful, wealthy woman who, with her brother, follow their beliefs. She ends up in New York City, maintaining a library of banned books; and 3) Vivian who, since the death of her husband in the war, is instrumental in provide paperback books to servicemen, in spite of political intervention by her senate nemesis, Howard Taft.

No doubt, much of the history around this fictional story is true, but that's it's only redeeming quality.

Linda's score: 3.5/4.0

The Teacher
 by Frieda McFadden, is another of her engaging stories, this time about a married couple who are high school teachers. Nate is drop-dead handsome, a charismatic English teacher whose female students are in love with him. Eve is a plain no-nonsense math teacher with a fetish for four-inch stiletto shoes. 

This school year, 11th-grader Addie in each of their classes. She's the girl who, the previous school year, spent alone time with a well-meaning, affable teacher who was forced to leave his position because of Addie. Eve resents that this teacher, who was her friend and mentor. is gone because of Addie. Nate just wants to help Addie, and sees a special talent in the poetry she writes. 

Eve is trying to keep their marriage alive, in spite of Nate's increasing neglect. She finds solace in her shoes, and a shoe salesman. Nate is trying to help Addie who went through the death of her alcoholic dad, and is now alone and friendless.

I like Ms. McFadden's skill in weaving a story. I didn't see what was coming, and especially the "gotcha" in the last chapter. What I learned when I listened to the author's note (at the end) was that her own mother never "gets" those "gotcha" bits!

Linda's score: 4.2/5.0

I know I said in my last post that I was done sharing QuiltCon stuff, but then I came across another on-line review of QuiltCon quilts. These are quilts made with Aurifil threads.

My Feelin' Groovy maximalism quilt is included!

As is my Polka Dots and Moonbeams, in the Super Scrappy Challenge category. It's heart-warming knowing others enjoy seeing the quilts I make. 
Linda

Thursday, March 7, 2024

QuiltCon Raleigh - Part 5

I hope I'm not beating a dead horse, so to speak, by posting more photos from QuiltCon. 😄
But in fact, I have a few more to share. Most of these aren't award-winning quilts, which I often prefer to quilts that QuiltCon judges like.

If you expected to see your QuiltCon quilt in one of my posts, and you didn't, it's likely because I missed seeing it at the show! While I was certain I had walked through every aisle, I apparently did not. The show this year was that big.  So, in random order... 

In the Super Scrappy Challenge was Nightlife made by Laurice Earl @allaboutcolorquilter. It's 82" X 66" and was longarm quilted with wavy lines.

Linearity: Points and Counterpoints is 16" X 16" (Small Quilts category) and was made by Karla Miley @mileykkm. 

It was domestic machine quilted. 

Also a Small Quilt is Don't Take the Straight and Narrow by Bridget Pasternak. 

It's 23" X 35" and was domestic machine quilted. Obviously. 😊

My South Florida MQG friend, Sarah Muslim Lefebvre @sidestitchesdesign had three quilts in the show. Triangular Waves is 26" X 36". It was foundation paper pieced and domestic machine quilted. No surprise; it sold. 

Speaking of quilts sold... none of mine sold this year, perhaps because I valued my quilts more highly this year than last. I made the decision to up prices after attending a lecture on just that topic - valuing your work.

Still, overall, I don't think quilts sold as well this year in Raleigh as they did last year in Atlanta. I tracked the 176 QuiltCon quilts that were for sale in Raleigh, and at my last look (in the QuiltCon app) before the "Buy a Quilt!" section was taken down, only 28 quilts had sold. Most of them were in the $500 or less price range.

In Handwork was U-Turn, a 42" X 50" quilt made by Debbie Shives. 

Debbie said she longarm quilted wavy lines and then filled in between with hand stitching using wool thread. 

I showed this 23" X 53" Scrappy Manhattan quilt in an earlier post, but I'm sharing it again because Clara Stoikow @bimbambuki_blog was creativity ingenious with how she made it. One of the judge's noticed it too because Clara won judge Stacey A. Watson's "Judge's Choice." 

Clara hand appliquéd cording as main roads, and curved roads and tunnels are made with elastic. It's domestic machine and hand quilted. Clara does amazing work!

This quilt was easily recognizable as the work of Emilie Trahan @mili.tra whose quilt Blooming won Best in Show at QuiltCon Together in 2021. This is Live Stream (what lies beyond the physical world) in the Piecing category. 

It's 69" X 80" and was line-quilted on a domestic machine. 

In the Maximalism Exhibit was United Stripes by Karen Duling @karenbduling. 

It's 36" X 46" and was straight line domestic machine quilted. 

I've been a long-time fan of Sophie Zaugg @lunalovequilts designs because they're always colorful, and very graphic. This is Positive. 

In the Modern Traditionalism category, Positive is 39" X 39" and was domestic machine straight line quilted. 

Also in Modern Traditionalism is Colosseum, a 60" X 60" quilt by Michelle Wilke @ml_wilke

It's another quilt that was straight line domestic machine quilted. 

My friend Patty Dudek @elmstreetquilts had three quilts in the show, and this one, The Twist, was in the Small Quilts category. It's 22" X 22" and was creatively assembled by making two identical quilts, cutting a circle from one, and appliquéing it to the other. Patty domestic machine quilted it. 

Pop! by Nikki Woolsey @nikkidwoolsey is a 60" X 60" quilt that was in the Windham Fabric Challenge. It was straight line longarm quilted.

You might recognize this distinctive piecing style as that of Maria Shell @talesofastitcher and you'd be right! Hulabaloo was in the Modern Traditionalism category, and features lots of her patterned improv piecing. 

Hulabaloo is 55" X 57" and was one of three quilts Maria had in the show. It was longarm quilted with straight lines. 

The CatBird Quilts tagged me on Instagram to let me know they included my Maximalism Quilt, Feelin' Groovy, in their YouTube review of QuiltCon 2024 Maximalism and Improv Quilts, if you'd like to take a look.

And so... I will leave QuiltCon Raleigh behind for now, and look ahead to projects of my own. 

As much as I admonished myself to NOT participate in any BOMs or Alongs in 2024, I find myself making blocks with the Seattle MQG @seattlemqg. Their member, Louise Wackerman @imfeelincrafty designed Like, Totally Quilt and have invited others to join. It's free.

Though I'm using five solids, all my background pieces are low volume and neutrals from my stash. These are the five February blocks. 

And here are the eight March blocks. 

I'm also moving along with domestic machine quilting (Bernina 770QE) Prudence, my long-term EPP project. The quilt center has been walking foot and ruler quilted - concentric circles were ruler-quilted. What remains to quilt are borders. 


On Wednesday, my friend Jody and I went to the movie theater to see the last two episodes - numbers 7 and 8 - of Season 4 of The Chosen (not yet released for free to the general public). I shed tears at least four times.

In the last scene, two disciples have just brought to Jesus the unridden donkey colt that He mounted and began riding into Jerusalem as Passover was being celebrated. His disciples and followers trailed after Him. Very poignant.

The Chosen series will conclude with Season 7, so many more poignant scenes are to come. Linda

Tuesday, March 5, 2024

QuiltCon Raleigh - Part 4

Improvisation is a QuiltCon category of quilt that I enjoy viewing, and that I've had ZERO success in having a quilt accepted into. Improv continues to be my most challenging, and success-elusive quiltmaking method. 

These are a few of the QuiltCon Improv quilts, many of which are simply straight-line quilted, as we saw a lot of at QuiltCon this year. 

Project 8 is a 56" X 64" quilt made by Laura Lowen @quiltfortco It's straight line domestic machine quilted in a grid pattern.

Lido is 56" X 56" and was made by Patricia Heath @mysterypoppy and straight line longarm quilted. 

Ode to Yellow was made by Carolina Oneto @carolina.oneto and is 51" X 41". It's straight-line domestic machine quilted.

Oquirrh is a 90" X 90" quilt designed by Ashelyn Downs @urbandwellstudio and longarm quilted in a straight line diagonal grid by Jen Ostler. I took a picture of this one because I was interested in Ashelyn's work. 


That's because I took Ashelyn's Large Scale Minimal Improv workshop at QuiltCon.

I learned after registering for the workshop, that she's been quilt making for about two years. Since I've been making quilts for 45 years, it probably isn't surprising that I didn't learn anything new to me.

Except for 15 minutes of instruction, and a review of this lovely booklet/handout she prepared, students spent 2¾ hours pressing fabrics, rotary cutting, and piecing components at a Brother sewing machine. 

These are the fabrics I'm using in my quilt - eight linens (on the right); nine quilting cottons (on the left); and a few denim scraps (at the top).

These three components are what I accomplished during the workshop. I have quite a way to go to make a quilt!

These are some of the QuiltCon quilts in the Piecing Category.

Escape Room by Hillary Goodwin @entrophyalwayswins is a 56" X 67" quilt.

It was densely straight line domestic machine quilted. 

Sock Hop, a 42" X 42" quilt was made by Lee Zuk @vernerific. 

It was domestic machine quilted. 

An excellent example of transparency, Notes to Self is 56" X 64" was made by Sarah Ruiz @bysarahruiz

It was straight-line quilted on a longarm. 

While I'm generally not a fan of T-shirt quilts, I appreciate the way Mac Barnes @macbarnes.art creatively pieced this 72" X 52" YMCA T-Shirt quilt. 

It was straight line quilted on a longarm. 

Intersectionality is a 53" X 63" quilt made by Heather Ackerberg @gladhand_sews. It was straight line grid quilted on a longarm. 

Forthcoming Quilt was made by Holly Clarke @holdmyseamripper. It's 63" X 63" and was straight line domestic machine quilted. 

Broken Trellis was made by Michelle Wilke @ml_wilke whose lecture - Idea. Design. Create. Quilt. - was very informative. For the first time I heard it said that "Improv means designing as you go." I always thought it was only creatively rotary cutting (without a ruler) and piecing. But improv is also figuring out a design as you go! That was my biggest take-away from Michelle's lecture. 

Anyway, Broken Trellis is 48" X 60" and was straight line longarm quilted. 

I think by now you've worked out that straight line quilting seemed to be predominant at this year's show. So when I saw Cosmic Curves by Ben Darby @huntspatchquilts, I appreciated seeing his creative domestic machine quilting.  

Cosmic Curves is 58" X 75". Look at that quilting!

As long as we're looking at creative quilting, how about this quilt? On the Verge was in the Minimalism category and made by Tara Evans @taraleequiltery It's 70" X 76". 

On the Verge was longarm quilted. Check out those little "inchworm" satin stitches in the quilting. Very creative. 

I could go on and on, but I'll save more QuiltCon pics for another post which will likely be my last on the topic of QuiltCon. In the meantime, if you'd like to see some fantastic pictures of QuiltCon quilts, check out this blog post by Leila Gardunia. She's a Missouri quilter I first met when we both lived in Iowa. 

Leila has a lovely online review of 52 quilts she liked at the show. My Feelin' Groovy quilt is first among them, though I'm sure that doesn't mean anything.

I recommend taking a look. Her excellent quality photos really show off the quilting.



Instagram is still popping up lots of QuiltCon pictures.

I was surprise when this picture came up. Love seeing my Feelin' Groovy maximalism quilt being perused by someone who is obviously a quilter herself!

There were dozens and dozens of quilted jackets being worn at this year's show. Linda




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