Quilting

Except for making the two Australia tree blocks last week, the only activity in my sewing room has been quilting. Depending on my mood, I'm hopping between the same two projects: hand quilting grandma's vintage quilt; and ruler and free motion quilting my 2019 temperature quilt.

It's been slow-going, stitching little pearl cotton X's on the vintage quilt. This picture shows what's been quilted - the space between the lines.

I thought I was making good progress on the temp quilt, until I decided to count how many blocks I've quilted, and how many remain. I'm only 30 percent done. Sigh.

I'm customizing each block by quilting lines in all the concave curves - that's the ruler work - and different designs in each convex curve. Most of the curves are quilted with the use of an echo foot attached to the ruler quilting foot. 

Whenever convex curves connect, I treat them as one design. 

This is taking a long time, which may also be due to changing thread colors often - on both the top and bottom.

This is the quilt back You can see why I'm changing bobbin colors too. This Hoffman wideback rainbow ombré is perfect for a temperature quilt. In case you need to know, I bought it at PineappleFabrics.com.

I was surprised to see this picture pop up on Instagram last week. The Broward Quilt Expo (Pembroke Pines, Florida) has contracted me to teach walking foot and free motion quilting... on Saturday, April 10, 2021, and they've begun their publicity already!  

Another instructor who'll be at the Broward Expo is Alaskan quilter Maria Shell of Tales of a Stitcher. She is extremely talented in her use of color and graphic design in quilts and is teaching a Linear Blocks workshop on Friday, April 9. I hope to squeeze in her workshop for myself!

I've also recently agreed to teach Beginner Quiltmaking again (for the first time since the Lifelong Learning College closed in 2016), through Quilting Guild of The Villages. Classes are April 15, May 20, June 17, July 15, and September 16. I'm updating beginner patterns to reflect a more modern look. 

Today I went to the weekly Big Cypress Quilters group and had to stop to take a picture. How often do you see such pretty blooms on January 21?! Though the high today was only 52, the sun was shining. I'll take it! 

My sewing room arrangement changed last September after Hogan died. He was always a companion, laying on a covered bench in the window. I moved out the bench because I didn't want that reminder that he isn't here anymore.

With that spot empty, and such a pretty view from the bay window, it seemed to need to be filled by a comfy chair. In November I ordered a Four Seasons swivel-glider called "Sarah," and it arrived Monday. It's exactly what I wanted. The entire chair is slip-covered, so fabrics can be dry cleaned, or switched out. I can't tell you how comfortable it is - cushy-soft with reversible seat and back cushions. And check out that fabric color! "Spa Pool" is perfect in this room. 

Last evening I found myself not wanting to move from my Sarah chair as I hand quilted and listened to an audiobook. Watching cable TV, with a dearth of entertaining programs, holds no interest.  

Now I have a couple more audiobook reviews for you.

The Bright Unknown by Elizabeth Byler Younts takes place in Pennsylvania, in the 1940s, at the Riverside Home, an asylum for crazy people and others deemed insane by their parents. A patient gives birth to a daughter, Brighton, who is raised and cared-for by a nurse. When an albino child comes into the asylum too - Brighton names him Angel - Brighton realizes she has a friend with whom she can face the challenges of growing up in such a place. Escape becomes paramount, yet even with escape, the perils of the outside world seem worse for these protected children. I appreciate the story, and though barbaric, a glimpse into formerly acceptable treatments for mental illness.

Linda's score: 4.2/5.0

The Dream Daughter begins in 1970, when Caroline Sears finds herself widowed and pregnant with a baby with a heart defect. The future looks grim. However, a possible solution to her problem comes from an unexpected source - her brother-in-law - and in an unimaginable way. I don't want to give away more, but the supernatural is involved. This is the kind of story I enjoy, though I usually have a difficulties wrapping my mind around such logistics. Caroline's experiences are definitely poignant. Regretful. Sad. I was completely engaged. 

Linda's score: 4.5/5.0

Linda