Life Well-Lived

So much has been going on that I can't believe a week has past since my last post.

I spent a day taking care of Austin. We went to the hair salon, I took a hesitant breath, and then asked for a "really short hair cut that could be spiked." Doesn't he look like a little linebacker? Thankfully, his parents liked the haircut!

Our neighborhood held a golf cart rally/treasure hunt that we participated in with two other couples. Points were given for guessing clues and then taking a group photo with each of our answers. We guessed the answer to "There are 50,000 of these in The Villages" as "golf balls." We were wrong. It's golf holes! 

My blog-friend Lora and I gave a "What is Modern Quilting?" presentation to Country Road Quilters of Ocala (Florida). After our 50-slide Powerpoint presentation, we had a small show and tell of our own modern quilts. Here, Lora showed three versions of the same quilt, emphasizing her progress in "sewing modern."

Lora and her first of three quilts

I'm not sure what I'm saying here, but you sure can see me. Yellow isn't a color I often wear but I am embracing it as Florida-appropriate. My earrings matched too - yellow stones in the middle of sewing machine bobbins! Appropriate, don't you think?

me

Quilt-holders with one of my quilts - Circle of Geese

The quilt I had been frantically machine-quilting, hoping to finish for the presentation, didn't get done, though I showed it anyway. It still isn't done, but it will be by June 11 for the next "What is Modern Quilting?" presentation Lora and I will give to Bradenton Chapter of Quilting Guild of The Villages. If you're in the area, do come! It's free.

So what did I do instead of finishing that other quilt? I started a new one... of course! Please tell me you too sometimes have those "to heck with everything else" feelings and plunge into something new. 

What I created is my adaptation of Weeks Ringle and Bill Kerr's "Making Waves". The extent of the piecing was sewing strips together - including parchment and orange "Painter's Canvas" by Laura Gunn, and one orange piece from her "Edges" collection - then cutting and sewing a single wave across the top. I spent more time quilting than piecing. Once again, my set of nesting acrylic rings came in handy for marking (with a purple Frixion pen) half-inch apart quilting circles.

I must rave about using 505 Spray and Fix basting spray. This is only the second time I've used it, both times on wall quilts. But oh my! It it does make FMQing much easier! No need to stop quilting to remove safety pins. Though instructions on the can say to spray it onto cotton batting, I used it successfully on Quilter's Dream Request Poly. And I even spray-basted in my sewing room, without any overspray.

As much as I love this quilting design, I'm not happy with the slubs that formed at the start/stop of each ring. That's because I quilted with YLI polyester thread which tends to fray when clipped. This is one of those times when I would have been smarter to take the time to bury thread tails in the batting. 

quilt back

Neither is the YLI evergreen-colored thread forgiving when it comes to bobbles and start/stops.

Still, I like my creation. I've named it "Citrus Wave". It's 36-1/2" X 45" and does hang straighter than this picture shows.

I'm very pleased with the colorful statement it makes, right inside our front door.

Now let me share with you how I can sometimes be good for a chuckle!

When we went to Kansas City in April to visit our daughter and family, I didn't have much one-on-one time with Celina because she was in school or doing homework. But on a Saturday we went to JoAnn Fabrics together to shop for Celina's school (eighth grade) assignment - to make something from a pattern. At my suggestion, we bought a pattern for elastic waistband lounge pants and aqua flannel fabric. Celina has since made the pants and received an "A" for her effort and construction. The teacher told her, "It's a good thing I don't grade on fit!"

You see. Celina's ditzy Nana (me) selected a pattern she thought was multi-sized. Indeed, it was multi-sized - L through XXL! Size 2 Celina can share her lounge pants with friends, or her little brother!

Linda