She-Cave Activities

Long Distance Quiltmaking
Granddaughter Celina and I have spent several hours on FaceTime as she begins to make a small quilt for Curated Quilts. The magazine/journal's latest challenge is Youth Mini Quilt Challenge. A newer/younger quilt maker is to work with a more experienced quilt maker to design a 10" to 16" square quilt using designated colors and a theme. The challenge concept was meant as a collaborative effort through quarantine.

After discussing possible themes, we settled on "distance" - she lives in Kansas, attends college in Colorado, and I'm in Florida. Then she drew a couple designs. When the fat quarter bundle of fabrics arrived at her house she colored the design we liked best - roads across the miles between us.

Since the design definitely had an improvisational feel to it, that's how we started. She's sewing in Kansas on my old Bernina 153 that I gave to our daughter after I won my Bernina 440 for Best of Show in the 2012 Machine Quilter's Showcase.

I've been sewing along on my side of the computer too. I'm cutting background fabric, and inserting strips along with her, thinking my block will work into the improv piece that's on my design wall.

Through FaceTime, the curves have proven most tricky, especially as I've had to explain how to line-up the raw edges, rather than pick up her fabrics to show her how to slide and manipulate fabrics edges to make them align. It's been a bit frustrating!

Still, she's remembering some of her first quiltmaking lessons when she was eight years old. The difference now is that she's not sewing in a straight line. We'll get through this!

When the mini top is done, she's sending it to me for layering, quilting and facing. She's already pointed out where I am to add big stitch hand quilting in navy-colored perle cotton.

My Quilty Stuff

As for what I've been doing, I needed to get a couple quilt tops sandwiched - Villages, and Scrap Snap. Because I've been out of large batting, and thinking to piece some of the dozens of batting leftover I have, I bought Batting Seam Tape, by Bosal from my local shop, Sew Together. Usually I've sewn batting pieces together, so this was something different for me.

It worked very well, but after I'd pieced four batt pieces to make one quilt, I ran out of tape to piece together eight batts for the other quilt. 

That's when I pulled out some Pellon interfacing, SF101, that I cut into 1-1/2"-wide strips. It worked just as well as the tape, so I know what I'll be using in the future. 

I'm so glad that about 25 years ago I bought a Kwik Klip to close these one-inch safety pins, as pinning two large quilts, one right after the other, can be hard on the fingertips. 

My Villages quilt will be given away, so it didn't take much time to decide I'd walking foot quilt the whole thing. Using silver-colored YLI polished polyester thread, I started quilting at 1/2" intervals on the "building" parts of the houses, reminding me of concrete foundation blocks. 

Next, I used Bernina stitch #719 to quilt a scallop along the top of the house, where the roof meets the building. And finally I quilted the roofs/sky with serpentine stitch #4. Quilting took only two days to accomplish.

This is the backing fabric, and a diagonally-printed black and white stripe, by Henry Glass, for binding. 

My improv quilt blocks continue to languish on the design wall while I occasionally move around blocks, piece another improv block, and take another small step toward what this thing is gonna look like when it's finished!

Sunday Online Worship

Lutheran Church of Hope sermon, One in Ten, was especially meaningful and effective as Pastor Mike began with a clip from of Mr. Roger's Neighborhood. In episode 195 Mr. Rogers invites Mr. Clemmons to take off his shoes and join him in a wading pool to cool his hot feet. 

Scripture accompanying the message was Luke 17: 11-19, the story of Jesus healing ten lepers of their leprosy, and only one of them - a Samaritan, no less! - returning to thank and praise Him for healing. 

Pastor Mike concluded with a reenactment of the same episode.

Valley High School (West Des Moines, Iowa) Principal David Maxwell and Pastor Mike Housholder

And what does the Lord require of you?

To act justly (Are you fair in your dealings with people?) and to love mercy (Do you show mercy to those who wrong you?)

and to walk humbly (Are you learning humility?) with your God - Micah 6:8

I certainly need to hear and follow-through.

Audiobook

I've not much been in the mood for book-listening lately, but managed this one in the last week.

 

The Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler is mostly a compilation of insights about the six characters - five women and a man - who belong to the Jane Austen Book Club: two best friends; a school teacher; a talkative woman; a lesbian; and a single man. Each character has a story - about how they know one another, and their current challenges. Some characters bored me.

If nothing else, this book made me realize... I don't recall ever reading a Jane Austen book. But I've seen every movie based on a Jane Austen book! My favorite is Emma with Gwenyth Paltrow. Now I want to read Jane Austen and have begun with Emma. Happily, many classic titles can be found on RBDigital through my public library.

Linda's score: 3.5/5.0

Away From Home Activities

In post-quarantine news, our local recreation centers will reopen the week of July 6, but with limitations. Room capacities have been lowered, and no drinking water will be provided as it once was. While you're expected to wear a mask into the building, once you're in your room, masks are no longer required but may be worn at personal discretion. This means my twice-weekly line dance class at 7:30 am will begin with 30 people permitted in the room. No masks required.

As Florida Coronavirus cases are increasing, including a few in our county in the past week, I think I'll  decide the day before line dance class whether I'm going the next morning.

In addition to weekly Zoom get-togethers with Big Cypress Quilters, next Wednesday Big Cypress Quilters are gathering at the rec center to spend 90 minutes together outdoors. We're to bring a lawn chair, drink and bag lunch for a social distancing lunch. I'm looking forward to actually seeing quilters IRL!

Linda