Makin' Progress

Seaglass quilt #2 is coming right along! I'm having so much fun quilting this 36" X 48" quilt than I did the first! That's because, instead of starting and stopping after quilting each seaglass piece, I'm quilting right across the linen background to the next seaglass piece. 

Quilting this way is much more efficient, and possible because I'm using Aurifil 80-weight thread. It's nearly invisible on the front, against the linen background. I'm also more heavily quilting this time because the fusible doesn't want to stick to linen. Hence my decision to quilt a snail-trail design in each seaglass piece. 

The 80-weight thread was a freebie from Aurifil Thread because I attended the February 12 Aurifilosophy program that Cassandra Beaver presented to Central Florida MQG. The program was interesting and informative, and everyone who attended received their choice of a thread spool. So glad I picked 80-weight beige! 

From the back, where I used 50-weight gray Aurifil thread, quilting is more obvious, and not quite as pretty. But I love quilting like this (not stopping as each piece is quilted) because it's so fast!

On Tuesday the first instructions for the Alison Glass Stitch Club Kantha Sew Along were released. I was ready with my stack of 22 prints and new Wonderfil Eleganza (size 8) perle cotton threads. 

Explicit instructions, with diagrams, were given if you chose to piece patchwork squares, or jelly roll strips. Disappointingly, for improv-piecing there was nothing more than a written description. Not even a picture!

So I got to it on Wednesday, and by bedtime I'd completed this 58" X 76" top. It's a happy mash-mash of colors and prints by some of my favorite fabric designers: Christina Cameli, Alison Glass, Brigitte Heitland, Sally Kelly, Jenean Morrison, and Christa Watson. Also, a special thank you to Deb, my Council Bluffs, Iowa friend who sent me some of her stash/scraps that included two pieces in this quilt top! (See the orange and aqua large scale print in the center, and bright yellow to the left of it.) 

Last Friday I received a good news email, so this is my PSA (public service announcement) to all you solid-loving quilt makers. Paintbrush Studio Fabrics @pbsfabrics will be releasing 42 new colors of Painter's Palette solids! Whoo-ee!

Along with other quilters, we've noticed that the 168 colors currently in the collection have had some "holes." These new colors should rectify that, and will bring the total number of colors to 210.

If you'd like to view the 42 colors, individually, go here. One of my friends has already written her new color shopping list! 

Another friend shared this BBC article with me: How Instagram Opened a New World for Welsh Quilting." Below is a quote from it: 

As far as I'm concerned, Instagram is where it's at for quilters! I've thought that since I joined in February 2013, and I'm glad to know it's as true now, as it was then. All quilters -  traditional, art, and modern makers! - can find information about quilting, and be in the know, through Instagram. If you haven't yet joined, I highly recommend it: https://www.instagram.com

Thanks to a friend in Central Florida MQG who subscribes to The Quilt Show with Alex Anderson and Ricky Timms, I learned that my "Playin' Around" quilt (recently displayed at QuiltCon in Phoenix) was featured in The Quilt Show newsletter that was delivered to email boxes on Easter morning.

 I wouldn't have known anything about it if this email hadn't been forwarded to me!

This is not the first time its happened that one of my quilts has been shown by someone else, and I didn't know anything about it. 

During the pandemic, I came across an in-person/virtual instructor, Scarlett Rose, whose presentation on "Modern Celtic Quilting" includes a photo of my "Shapes" quilt (seen at QuiltCon 2014 in Austin). Scarlett's presentation credited me with making the quilt, though I never have called what I created "Celtic." 

When I nicely asked her about using my quilt design without me giving her permission or letting me know, she replied that she had contacted the MQG who gave permission.

I've since come to understand that once a quilt is entered in a show, it may be publicized as desired. Surprising, isn't it?  But I am grateful that people who share pictures like this are most often giving credit to the maker. But there may be many other instances I don't know about! I sure appreciate those friends who let me know!

Book Recommendations

Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr was a disappointing read for me. Though it has a high score on Goodreads, I found the storyline rather disjointed, and esoteric for my tastes. 

By my count, this book is composed with at least five storylines - some different characters, and some a single character at different life stages. One scenario happens B.C. and is about a young girl who scrabbles for food and knowledge - stealing ancient manuscripts - while her older sister embroiders fine linens for clergymen. Another scenario is futuristic with a few dozen people on a space mission to another galaxy, and a young girl and her parents who experience an onboard plague that isn't supposed to happen. Yet another scenario is present day, of children at a library, rehearsing for a play scripted from an ancient manuscript, while an overzealous autistic teen engages in detonating a bomb to blow up the real estate office next to the library. Oh! And another storyline is about the ancient manuscript/story that all the characters keep encountering!

It's likely a better book than I can credit it with, but it had me missing the simple pleasure of a straightforward story. 

Linda's score: 3.2/5.0

Irish Eyes is the third Mary Kay Andrews book I've read. I enjoyed this one too, though was disappointed to learn after the fact, that it is book #8 in the "Callahan Garrity" series.

Callahan is a single, middle-aged former police detective who, with her mother, runs a small Atlanta house-keeping business called "House Mouse." She goes to a St. Patrick's day party with her former partner Bucky. While stopping at a bottle shop on the way home, Bucky is shot in the head. When the only witness to the shooting disappears, along with the store's surveillance tape and cash; and Bucky is suspect in the case, Callahan's indignation rises. Some police officers don't appear to be as honorable as they profess. She won't leave the case alone until she finds the truth. 

Linda's score: 3.8/5.0

Linda