Why Can't Carolyn Count?

So, back to the Arkansas Cross Road blocks and project.

From this layout of all the pieces . . .

. . . I carefully sorted everything into two piles, making sure the blocks with the bright orange squares were equally split between the piles. It doesn't look like it here, but the bright orange really flashed out to me in person, and I didn't want them all grouped in one border or area.

Broken Cross Check

That sounds like a reference app that's on the fritz, doesn't it? What I've really been doing is checking potential 36-patches for an inadvertent swastika image. I put up pairings for 20 blocks on the design wall, then took a photo and gray-scaled it for simplicity.

As long as there was a definite light frame around the center four dark squares, there was no danger of offensive misunderstandings in the blocks. Here's how they look in color:

Much more fun, yes? These are all "half pinwheels", in that there are only two pinwheel blocks used, paired with two plain 9-patch blocks. I have scores of plain 9-patch blocks already made; not so much with the pinwheel blocks, so in the interest of time I've opted to use what I've already got.

Just another Sewing Sunday

I've been wondering lately: why don't we use the term "sewyer" to describe our craft/hobby/skill set? I usually use "sewist/maker", but the -yer suffix is used to describe people who saw wood, people who make bows, people versed in law. Shall we start a movement?

I was moved to start pinning another quilt sandwich yesterday. In my "pile" of frankenbatts (all both of them; I got bored with that project and did something else rather than make more) I found what seemed, on paper, to be the perfect size. But when I did a dry run the edges fell short in several places, so I had an impromptu frankenbatting session right then and there, sewing a couple of long, thin batting cut-offs to two sides.

ta da

Pinning! Yay!!

I made sure to include a peek at the backing--I'm very pleased with how that came out.

Starting a session of pin basting always seems so overwhelming that I find myself repeatedly thinking, "You're doing it, Peter!"* in order to keep my spirits up and interest keen. In reality it's a 5-hour process, which includes breaks and lunch, so it's really not the day-long procedure it always seems in my imagination.

Glitterati

"Glitter is the herpes of the craft world." John Heffron

There's another expression along the lines of 'If you want to find a Sweet Adeline, just follow the trail of glitter and sequins.'

These days, that trail will lead you straight to my dining room.

Vacation starts

Today was the first day of my 3-week chorus-free "vacation". No singing commitments, no rehearsals--just free Monday nights until we start rehearsing again on the 8th of January.

The world and all my other commitments still roll merrily along, of course, but it's all in one's perception of time and how it's allotted, isn't it?

After a luxurious sleep in, I spent several hours today in my studio. The biggest accomplishment was going from this last month . . .

. . . to finally this:

Back in Oregon

I brought a project with me to Oregon this time. Although I'm still doing much of the cooking, and maintaining my mom's daily exercise and PT regime, and doing all the driving, there's more down/me time. I knew there would be, so I came prepared.

My hoop did not get broken in my luggage, so I was able to get right to quilting. Because I'm using a Baptist Fan pattern, and I had basted the top, I decided to start at a corner and work my way across one edge. It's awkward right now, but I'm encouraged by what I've managed in the last 3 days.

Steve's Ts

While technically not vintage, this project has been lurking around for literally half my life.

Vintage repairs

I last blogged about this in May and June 2019, and its turn has finally come around. I gingerly took it down from the hanging rack and carefully opened it. Two shattered squares had already been replaced, probably back in Spring 1998, and another square removed as well as a shattered maple-leaf block.

21 years later...

... and the quilt my mother made for our 11th Wedding Anniversary is finally out of its box and in a place of honor. My mother Lois, her sister Elsie ("Ots"), my 1/2 brother Donald, and various other relatives (depending on who dropped in while it was being worked on) hand quilted this beauty.

You can probably see why it's never had a home before: 1) it's too precious to put on a bed and be worn out, and 2) it's HUGE!!! Once I broke the self-imposed barrier of thinking the ceiling had to be a stopping point, I suddenly had much more room with which to work and decorate.