Irina Dress, and Pot Luck

I'm a reader/follower of Bernina's "We All Sew" website. In May, a free pattern was offered to make an "Irina dress" designed by Anna Hicks. A Sew Along was offered, starting June 3, and I joined, even though the whole event, and prize-winners, is for makers in Australia and New Zealand. 

Still, lovin' the idea of having a new loose-fitting, casual dress, I'm sewing along. I bought linen checked fabric from Fabric Wholesale Direct, luckily managing to make my online purchase during the Memorial Day Weekend sale. 

After printing the pattern, taping together pieces, marking my size (converting cms to inches), adding ⅝" seam allowances and cutting out pieces - so much prep work - I'm following each weekly assignment.

Week 3 focused on adding decorative machine embroidery designs to the bodice. Not having an embroidery feature on my Bernina 770QE (though I have lots of decorative stitches), I decided to hand stitch chicken scratch on the bodice. It's been decades since I've done this type of embroidery - an apron made as a 4-H project in junior high school - but it proved easy to pick up again. 

I backed the bodice front (and back) with white muslin which is a nice lining and provides stability for stitches. Thread is three strands of DMC embroidery floss.

I'll add chicken scratch to both sleeve hems too. Though I considered putting it on the skirt hem, I won't. I don't have enough DMC embroidery floss color 826 for that, and who wants to drive 15 miles to a JoAnn's for a skein of embroidery floss? Not me.

Other handwork has included moving forward on the Pot Luck modern potholder group quilt. About two weeks ago I completed hand-stitching together the blocks. Then I entertained the idea of adding more to this 48" X 48" quilt. 

I first tilted the design to audition different color possibilities. I didn't want all the colors, but needed to see them to decide which I liked best. 

A few days ago I settled on the Painter's Palette color Aruba. It hasn't been easy to work out the angle to cut, and how large to make the pieces. The smaller ends of the wedges are going to be a bear to bind... if I even figure out how to do that! But, I've plunged in by cutting approximate wedges, and piecing inserts of Pewter solid to connect the quilt center to each wedge. 

I've sandwiched and hand-quilted the top wedge. It's ready to be bound, but I've been putting off actually doing it, feeling very uncertain about the outcome. (Deep breath.) But I'll try. 

I'm also adding, bit-by-bit, more hand quilting to the Minimalist, Ha! quilt (Could I really give it that name?!) 

So far his month, with so much quilting and hand-stitching happening, I'm not using-up fabric as I try to do. In fact, I'm adding to my stash due to a recent purchase from Heather at Quiltachusetts who has a sale going (through the end of June) on Painter's Palette solids - my favorite! I'm restocking four yards: Oyster, Aruba, and French Blue - the latter color is to make Amy Friend's newest pattern Bibliography - a design with selvages. I have a few of them to use!

Book Recommendations

This Time Tomorrow, by Emma Strauss follows 40 year-old Alice who's single, working in the same private school she herself attended, and living among many of the same people she's known her whole life. Alice is still close to her best girlfriend, and Alice's daily routine includes visiting her 73 year-old dad who's hospitalized, in a coma.

As she observes friends with families, children, and different lifestyle choices than hers, Alice wonders how her life might have been different. One morning she inadvertently finds herself back in her 15 year-old body, in the home she shared with her dad, still retaining what she knows about the past 40 years. Confused, yet wanting to see where her younger-self opportunities might take her, she experiments to change her future, and especially that of life for her dad.  

I've always enjoyed reading books about time travel. The Time Traveler's Wife was the first time-travel book I read. This is one I thoroughly enjoyed too. Linda's score: 4.2/5.0

In The Last List of Mabel Beaumont, by Laura Pearson, Mabel and Arthur are in their 80's. Having been married for more than 60 years, they're comfortable with one another, even if love has never felt real to Mabel. When she unexpectedly finds herself alone, she begins to wonder whatever became of her best girlfriend, Dot. As Mabel thinks she must adjust to living by herself, a caregiver comes into her life. Their friendship develops and Mabel determines that with the help of several new friends, she will find Dot.

While the story seemed pleasant, I don't care to read about this subject.
Linda's score: 3.0/5.0

For those who are interested... I have not been making Quilt Your Life blocks on a daily basis. As of today, I've made 25 blocks, and I'm 10 blocks in arrears! Sheesh. You know what I'll be doing this weekend. Linda

Piecing, Quilting, and Sarasota

I'm 14 days into my 100-days of Quilt Your Life, and I've made 22 blocks! Jiminy!

It feels like I've spent hours making blocks, and I have! But I'm committed! I had to revise my spreadsheet to make it easier to track and count blocks. Besides this spreadsheet on my computer, it's also available on my iPhone through the iCloud, making it easy to record while I'm beside my cutting table and sewing machine.  

I've made a little progress on quilting the "minimalist - ha!" quilt. I've gotten into a pattern of machine quilt for a while, and then pausing to add hand quilting with size 8 perle cotton. I'm very happy with how it's looking.

Unfortunately, it hasn't been easy to quilt by hand. I'm guessing it's the batting that's making it a little more difficult. This is the first time I've tried to hand quilt through Hobbs Cotton Wool. I'll remember that the next time I'm choosing a batt. My favorite, go-to batting will always be Quilter's Dream Cotton Request. 

Book Recommendations

Last week I listened to The Women by Kristin Hannah. I've been unable to stop thinking about it.

The story begins in 1966 and follows Frances (Frankie) McGrath, a newly-trained nurse living a wealthy lifestyle in California. She has idealistic dreams about helping people, and in spite of her parent's' desires for her, what better place to begin than as an Army Corps nurse on a tour of duty to Vietnam?

Frankie becomes a combat nurse, learning quickly by trial, while forging enduring friendships. She's a "good girl" who experiences first-time love, yet each day faces severe injuries and death caused by war. The toll is both physically and emotional.

After her tours of duty, Frankie returns home to a country that literally spits on veterans, and refuses to acknowledge the critical role played by women who served. Even when Frankie seeks help, she's turned away. Living through Frankie's experiences with her was more than frustrating. 

Perhaps this story is fascinating because, though I lived through this time, I didn't know anyone in the Vietnam conflict. Years later hubs and I were in a Bible study group with a couple who became good friends. He, Larry was a P.O.W. at the Hoa Lo Prison ("Hanoi Hilton") for seven years. Larry was always open about his experience there, even to describing the tapping code prisoners developed to communicate with one another. So I felt Larry's story through Frankie's experiences.

Admittedly, I have been naive about this sad time in our country, but through Ms. Hannah's book I have a better understanding of it. This book is a must-read for anyone who can't imagine what it was like to experience war, and the return from Vietnam. I have never been more moved by a book, and the score I'm giving it reflects that. Linda's score: 4.8/5.0

Another book I recently finished is The Holy Spirit by John Revere. I chose it to provide me with a greater understanding of who the Holy Spirit is, how He is present in my life, and how to communicate better with Him. I don't want to score a book that's meant to edify one's faith, so I'll just say it was a very worthwhile read. I'm already revisiting particular chapters.  

Sarasota

We took a side trip this week and spent two nights in Sarasota, Florida. We enjoyed eating out - seafood one night; Amish food (Der Dutchman, a chain based in Ohio) the next - did a little shopping, and enjoyed going to The Ringling.

The Ringling estate abuts the Gulf of Mexico, and is where John and Mable Ringling - he of the Ringling Brothers/Barnum and Bailey Circus fame - built their winter home called Ca' d'Zan. It's now owned by the State of Florida, and valued at $200 million.

Banyan trees cover the U-shaped drive to the front door of Ca' D'Zan

Ca' D'Zan

Inside, from the main living area looking toward the ocean.
Light in this room, reflecting off the ocean and through the glass, was amazing.

From the side of the house, see the outdoor spiral stairs that leads to a viewing cupola on the roof?

Oceanside patio with stairs and dock

Also on the property is a 21-gallery museum Mr. Ringling had built to house his extensive collection of huge-sized 15th century paintings, as well as two rooms of the Astor mansion he purchased in New York City before the home was demolished in 1912. He had those rooms - including enormous fireplaces - moved and installed in two custom-designed galleries of his museum! Words can't begin to describe the art he amassed. and the special building he had designed to house it all. Incredible! It was all bequeathed to the State of Florida in 1936, when he died, though the art was stored in warehouses while the estate was held in probate for 10 years!

Note the Gulf of Mexico at the back of the property. 

The museum also offers special art exhibits. These two pieces were in the "Skyway" exhibit, and caught my eye.

Time and Place: Egmont Key - Indian Territory - LA - Oklahoma by Tony Tiger, 2019. It's "acrylic on panel." I see modern. And transparency. 

I don't know the title of this curtain but it was made by Rachel de Cuba of Sarasota. It's knitted white plastic bags! 

There's also a circus museum on the grounds. Among other items, you can see the 1896 custom-built Pullman railway car - The Wisconsin - that the Ringlings often traveled in between New York and Sarasota. It is totally luxurious with wood paneling throughout, plush furnishings, and toilets in several of the sleeping rooms.

We spent about 4½ on the grounds, but I would love to go back and peruse it again.  

The advantage to going to a place like this at this time of year is that we practically had the museum of art to ourselves - just us and a docent in each gallery. And not many people were touring the circus museum, mansion, and property. The disadvantage is that it was hot outdoors (90+F), between buildings, and we had to do a little rain-dodging.

But gosh, the place is so amazing. Mr. Ringling is a story himself. His financial downfall came during the Depression, and when he died in 1936, he had only $311 in his bank account. From the museum shop I bought a book about him, and look forward to learning about the impact he made in Florida. 

A midweek get-away is nice. I'm feeling refreshed and ready to return to my usual activities. Linda

100 Days Blocks

It's funny. Now that I've committed to making quilt blocks for 100 days (beginning June 1), and one of the 10 activities for which I make a block is posting to my blog, I'm thinking twice about posting. 😊 Ha! Writing this post means I need to make another block. 

But I also want to document the 5" X 5" blocks I'm making. After spending several days making them by trial and error, I've made notes about fabrics, how to cut them, and machine settings. I decided not to put any handwork into these blocks. 

If you recall (last blog post), the 4 F's I'm making are Faith + Friendship + Fitness + Fun

These are the two yellow/gold Faith blocks. 

On the left is the scrappy block I'll make each time I attend Bible study. Because we meet on Zoom, I thought this 25-patch represents us when we're on-screen. Each time I attend worship at Lutheran Church of Hope I'll make the block on the right. 

My worship block design was inspired by the "o" in Hope's logo.

Two orange-ish blocks represent Friendship.

Since many of my friends (but not all!) are quilters, Big Cypress Quilters, a chapter of Quilting Guild of The Villages (QGOTV), is represented by Flying Geese found in the QGOTV logo. 

Likewise, I spend time with quilty friends in Central Florida Modern Quilt Guild and the Orange Peel design, made with a Classic Curves Ruler, represents that logo.

Three pink/raspberry Fitness blocks represent (top) power walking which I do along curved streets, so it's improv-pieced; (left) doing aerobics with hand weights that look very similar to this one; and (right) line dancing in straight lines which is mostly how line dancers move. 

And lastly, these are my aqua/green Fun blocks: (left) represents my ukulele's sound hole using the same print that's my ukulele case; (right) is my blog; and (bottom) is a book read. 

In case you didn't noticed, the color bar is in my custom-designed blog header. 

I would have preferred to piece a long bar of patches like this, but just couldn't work out how to make it fit in a 5" space. So, the six colors are stacked.

I intentionally decided to create a cluster of colors for each of the four F's. Hopefully they'll be cohesive when it comes time to design the layout. 

Faith + Friendship + Fitness + Fun

Now to keep up! As of today, day 6 in June, I should have nine blocks made!

Book Recommendation

My ukulele-playing friend, Laurie, recommended Someone Else's Shoes by JoJo Moyes and she didn't steer me wrong. Previously I've read other books by Moyes, so I shouldn't have been surprised about how much I enjoyed this one. 

It all begins in a women's locker room, in London. Two seemingly identical bags - one haute couture and the other a knock-off - are mistakenly picked up the wrong women. Samantha, a Brit whose presentations to clients are crucial to keeping her job, finds red, four-inch Louboutin heels that she must wear. Nisha, a snobby American, picks up the bag with discount store slacks, and worn flats.

What follows are a series of situations and incidents that are funny and sad as each woman's real lives become apparent. We learn that Sam's husband has fallen into depression since the death of his father; and Nisha's wealthy, influential husband has, after years of marriage, blocked her from her clothes and money. When the two women meet there's going to be hell to pay! Moments of connection and understanding, and a twist that takes everyone by surprise, make this an engaging story. 

It's been a while since I enjoyed a book this much. Put it on your must-read list!  Linda's score: 4.4/5.0

Linda

100 Days

Kitty Wilkin's @nightquilter Life as My Improv Coach lecture at QuiltCon ($14.40) was one of the most inspiring lectures I've attended at QuiltCon. During her presentation, Kitty explained how she documents occasions and moments in her life by choosing colors and shapes to represent each one. The concept is sorta like making a temperature quilt, but using one's own life and activities to create a quilt. 

I've been thinking about her concept since that lecture. When I returned home from QuiltCon I bought Kitty's $15 Quilt Your Life ebook. It's a guide to create your own life in a quilt, and includes instructions about how to choose parameters (blocks, sizes, color), and blank pages for journaling. 

Today, June 1 is my start date for tracking 100 days of my favorite activities.

This quilt will document four F's:

Faith + Friendship + Fitness + Fun

Faith - yellow and gold colors

1. Attending a worship service

2. Attending bible study

Friendship - orange colors

3. Central Florida Modern Quilt Guild meetings and activities

4. Big Cypress Quilters meetings and activities

Fitness - pink and raspberry colors

5. using weights

6. line dancing

7. power walking

Fun - blue, aqua, and green colors

8. ukulele-playing

9. finished audiobooks

10. blog posts

So every time I engage in one of these 10 activities, I'll make a quilt block to document it. That should give me about 12 to 13 blocks a week. With blocks being 5" X 5" finished, I'm estimating I'll end up with between 175 to 195 blocks for an approximately 65" X 75" quilt. 

Using Kitty's tracking page as a template, I created an Activity Log in my MacBook Numbers program. This way I'll be able to track activities on my computer or iPhone. I included an empty check mark box where I can check-off blocks made.

I have a rough idea of different blocks for each activity such as: a 25-patch block for bible study because our Zoom screen has a Brady Bunch layout; a flying geese block for Big Cypress Quilters because flying geese are in the guild logo; and improv-cut curves because power-walks take me along curved streets. Some blocks will be pieced, and several will be appliquéd either by hand or machine. 

As well, I went through solid scraps to pull a variety of hues and values that I hope to include. The lower right print is what's left of the fabric I used to make my ukulele case, so that's the fabric I'll put into the ukulele-playing block. 

I'm going into this 100-day commitment fully aware that activities could be side-tracked, or another might be added; or a block design won't be doable; or my color choices aren't quite right... but I plan to be flexible. It's a life quilt, after all, and life doesn't always go according to plan.

Whether you call it "quilt your life" or a "milestone quilt" or a "100 days project," this post is my commitment to making blocks for 100 days.

This is my story, and I'm sticking to it! Linda