Dribs and Drabs

Dribs and drabs - this and that has been the way of the past week. I'm fluffing along. 

I put my hand-piecing project on the design wall to arrange more Starfish units, and gray background pieces, clipping them together with Wonder Clips. It's about 53" X 55" now.

I've also EPPed more Prudence medallions. The holes are where striped X units are needed. I have a long way to go on this quilt, but that's what I like about it.

Maria Shell's Improv Patchwork book arrived and I've spent hours looking through it.

Since I purchased the book directly from her, it included the best autograph I've ever seen! That's some great creativity, isn't it?

I sure liked her tips. One really jumped out at me, validating my propensity to fix mistakes. Maria says, "When you see a mistake, fix it." I find it impossible to do otherwise. 

So maybe you'll get a chuckle from the error I made in my improv quilt. NO ONE NOTICED IT! Neither on my blog post, nor on Instagram! Can you spot it?

incorrect

correct

I didn't notice this piecing mistake for many hours, but I'm glad I took a photo because that's where I could "see" it! The upper-right section was turned 180-degrees the wrong way! Of course, I immediately took it apart, pressed it, and put it together again the right way. "When you see a mistake, fix it!"

I've begun to develop ideas for the next improv quilt I want to make, but won't allow myself to start until this one is finished. 

When making the quilt sandwich, for the first time I used black plastic clamps to hold the quilt along the edge of the table. I don't know why I waited to buy them because they were only $7 each from Lowe's. Batting is Quilter's Dream "Puff."

When I finished pin-basting the 45" square top, I machine-stitched ⅛" from the edge of quilt sandwich, a trick I learned from Amanda Murphy's book Ruler Work Quilting (see previous blog post). I think it helps keep the quilt flat during quilting. And with all the seams along the edges, the stitching helps hold the top together.

I started free motion quilting with concentric circles in the center. Then I did ruler work using a Sariditty brand Paradigm 60° triangle-shaped acrylic ruler. It's clear, like all quilting rulers, so it's difficult to see it in the picture. But I'm really liking the dimension that Puff batting gives! Those quilting lines really show up! Thread is 50-weight Aurifil on top, with 100-weight Wonderfil poly thread in the bobbin. 

It's been a long time since I've listened to a book that left me feeling flat, as Normal People by Sally Rooney did. It's about Connell and Marianne, (high-schoolers) who are in my opinion weird and over-sexed. They're both highly intelligent (he's a football player) live in Carrachlea, Ireland, and later attend Trinity College in Dublin. All of their relationship is based on a mutual desire for sex. Their mothers don't care; fathers aren't in the picture. The whole story goes from their failed relationship to another failed relationship, all built on sex, without ever completely resolving Connell and Marianne's inability to recognize affection for one another. Connell's most frequently-used words were, "I dunno." I plowed through the story because I expected something to happen - a resolution or explanation for their unusual behaviors. Call me a prude, but I dislike such a graphic, offensive story. I hope the characters' behaviors aren't what the author considers "normal!" Listening was a waste of my time. The only bit I enjoyed was that the narrator spoke with an Irish lilt! 

Linda's score: .01/5.0

Florida wildlife have been active lately, and these lovely creatures were walking through the neighborhood! This is a great white egret. 

This group dance of four sandhill cranes strolled up the street, not even pausing to nose a garbage bag awaiting pick-up. I determined that two cranes were adults (red skin on their crowns), very likely the parents, and two were juveniles (gray and rusty brown), their children.

Sandhill cranes are tall, and elegant-looking creatures, but wait until you hear them! There's nothing elegant about the way they call: loudly!

Our Coronavirus lives are gradually beginning to change. Big Cypress Quilters can now meet in the rec center, with 15 quilters permitted in our assigned room (we have 69 members). The first week nine were in attendance; on Tuesday 15 attended. Each quilter has her own table, six feet apart, and masks aren't required unless people are closer than six feet. Still, as usual I met up with Big Cypress Quilters on Zoom. One quilter who was at the rec center joined our Zoom call, so we chatted with several of them. Unfortunately we observed quilters who were less than six feet apart, not wearing masks. This is the behavior that concerns me.

Beginning October 4, our recreation centers are all re-opening with these guidelines. Personally, I'm still apprehensive about going into an enclosed space with a group, and will continue to sit out for a while. Linda