Vacation and Projects

I have just packed for my trip to Colorado.  Now, I’ve mentioned before in this blog that I usually pack light and take little hand projects with me on my week long vacation trips. 

That has now changed….

I have the Delta Sky miles Amex card that lets me check a bag. 

I generally fear checking bags, because when things are out of your sight is when things go missing.  However, my desire to work on my quilting projects during vacation far, far, outweighs my fear of losing a bag.  I do plan on doing other things on vacation; however the hubby and I are not constant action people.  A large part of vacation for us is being away from the house and just relaxing…. And relaxing often means in front of the TV.  We don’t have standard TV at home, so it’s really part of our vacation routine to explore during the day, back to the resort for dinner (we own timeshare and usually stay with a kitchen) then watch the latest Law and Order, CSI, etc., marathons that always seem to be running on some network.

However, I cannot sit and just watch.  It’s not in my nature… I have to do something.  That’s why I bring hand project on vacation.  When we vacation somewhere that we drive to, I usually bring cutting/organizing projects.  Now, I’m bringing my cutting/organizing projects on the fly in vacation too.

Part of this particular vacation is fetching daughter #2 and some of her friends along the way and they’ll be going us.  We’ve booked a two bedroom “lockout” at the resort.  That means that while we have a two bedroom unit like we usually get (we take friends on vacation a lot too), those two bedrooms are actually two SEPARATE units with a door that locks between them.  There’s an A side which is a deluxe room with a full kitchen, whirlpool tub, large living room, separate dining room, etc, and a B side which – despite having a bedroom that is indeed a full room with a door – is basically a studio.  The B side has a kitchenette, no dining area, no whirlpool.  Guess which part of our group gets the A side? 

There are two sides to my personality when I pack.

Side 1 – the logical side:  I pack a smaller roller bag with everything I need for a week clothes wise.  My laptop, ipad, books and miscellaneous things go into my backpack.  Even my purse is fit into the backpack so that I have two bags – the limit for carryon.  The motto is:  “If I can’t carry it, I don’t need it”.  I have sample sizes of all my cosmetics and other consumables.  If I will have access to laundry facilities while traveling (which I usually do), even less is brought. 

Side 2 – the artistic side:  When I go on quilt retreats, I take everything except the kitchen sink.  If I’m working on a blue quilt for example, I will bring a full grocery bag of additional blue fabrics “just in case”.  I bring every color of thread, the big iron and the hand iron, a spare machine, usually the Juki (the quilting machine) in addition to the Viking (piecing) and the spare, the bin of batting scraps, extra projects, etc., etc.  When daughter #1 and I went on a quilting retreat last fall, there was barely enough room in the minivan for her and her few things.  The minivan is an extended length minivan……

The same logic has been applied to this trip.  I have my backpack, my smaller roller bag with clothes and the LARGE roller bag full of fabrics, patterns, cutting tools, and a cutting board.

Hubby just shook his head…..

I’ve also upgraded the rental car from a standard to a SUV….

In my defense – Art is not exact.  Things come to me; I MUST have choices!  I’m the type of quilter who never plans all the fabrics for a quilt on the front end.  I hardly ever select a pattern and buy all the fabrics.  I buy fabrics that I like, and add them to my hoard stash.  Then, when I have an idea, I go search through the well organized and shelved piles of fabric (organized by type, color, and even broken down into general amounts).  Borders are usually decided after the main part of the top is pieced.  Backing is only selected after the entire top is pieced. 

The Circle Dance Quilt

I took a class at Calla Lily Quilt shop.  I am chagrined to say that I basically failed the class.  The instructor has a technique using a special foot to sew curved pieces without using pins.  I like pins.  I’ve done a lot of garment sewing and learned early on to use a lot of pins to set in sleeves and other curves and how to avoid caught fabric and puckered pieces.

I decided to take the class on a whim after seeing the Stonehenge fabrics and falling in love.  The class requirement was 24 fat quarters, which I bought brand new, non-discounted fabric for...

Ca-ching….$$

The class also needed two sets of templates…..

Ca-ching…. $$

The special foot was even more.  The class materials stated that the quilt shop had the feet and that the instructor would let us try hers out.  I did so, one several blocks and just could not get the technique down.  I did a ton of ripping that night and was quite frustrated.  I declined to buy the foot and just decided to pin every curve.  I did so and I’m very happy with the blocks now.  I had to pin nearly 250 curves, but it didn’t take that much once I got a system down and I’d rather well done blocks than struggling with a technique.  I also think that the time spent ripping would have far exceeded the payoff for not pinning.

So I failed a class.  My quilt class GPA has now dipped below 4.0….. Oh well, done is better than perfect!!!

One of the projects I’m bringing along on vacation is my completed blocks.  I’ve made 120 or so large (7 inch) blocks and 120 or so small (3 ½ inch) blocks out of 20+ different fabrics from the Stonehenge line.  With this quilt pattern, you put four of the small blocks together to make more larger blocks and then arrange all the blocks as you see fit.  The blocks can be put together to make circle, partial circles that form waves, etc.  Each quilt – even if two people use the same fabrics – will be totally different than others.  The biggest step is not assembling the blocks, but rather determining the layout of the pattern.  Click here to see a picture of a sample quilt (not mine).  I predict that it’s going to be:  lay out, * look, move blocks *, repeat steps between stars multiple times until satisfied, then ask others to look and repeat again.

Since Daughter and some friends will be with us, and since we’ll have a large floor space without five cats, I’ve got both a juried panel and the ability to lay a quilt out for more than ten minutes with the blocks retaining their positions.  I figure that even though these 3 or 4 (the number keeps changing) young adults are not quilters, they have eyes and will have opinions – some of which I may listen to.

Twin City Quilting Block of the Month

I’ve said it before – I love doing block of the month programs.  However, I’m a snob.  The BOM programs that I like are the ones where the quilt shop shows all their new fabrics, books, tools, etc., talks about them, has a show and tell, and does a proper “mini-class” on that month’s block(s).  Twin City Quilting does it right, Glad Creations does it right, Fat Quarter Quilting does NOT.

TCQ did a block of the month in two colorways/fabric types – batiks and the “Troy” line.  I chose the Troy line because I wasn’t yet into batiks when it started nearly a year ago.  I’m now into batiks, wish that I’d done them, but also don’t regret doing the Troy line.  The last date for the program is a week from tomorrow, when I will be coming back from vacation.  I’m actually not sure if there’s another block to be handed out or if it’s just finishing instructions.

I’ve not yet finished a block of the month quilt the way it was “supposed” to be done.  Even the mystery that I did in Scrap Tamers two years ago I changed.  That quilt just seemed small, so I added another set of blocks all around the outside.  In fact, a friend of mine who also did the program also wanted a bigger quilt and used my idea (and fabrics!) to finish hers.  The set of blocks was quite fitting with the rest.

The TCQ BOM got the same treatment – not an extra row, but rather different finishing.  We made two blocks a month for ten of the months (20 blocks).  Note:  I’ve talked about the TCQ BOM before in this post.  Each month, we got a block pattern and four fat eighths of different fabrics.  This made a scrappy look to the quilt.  My blocks were even more so as I bought fat quarters and even half yards a couple times in the same fabric line.  Some of the blocks were 8 inches and some were 12.  One of the months (count to 11 now), was spent using scraps from all blocks to frame the 8 inch blocks to 12 inch size.  All along the way doing this, TCQ has stated how many more blocks needed to be made to make the quilt up to a Queen or King.  They also sold finishing / sashing kits in accordance with those plans.  I chose not to buy them; remember me saying above that I don’t choose borders ahead of time?  The same is true of sashing; when I have the blocks done, some fabric will call out to me.

When I had the 20 blocks pieced, and the 8-inchers brought up to 12 inches, a friend who A. knows me well and B. is also an artist type, stopped over.  She looked at all the blocks and said “you didn’t pick the individual fabrics, right?”  It wasn’t an insult.  She knew that it wasn’t something I would have chosen and she was right.  The blocks are well done, they look nice, and the finished top is very nice looking but it isn’t “me”.  The quilt is not something that I feel an artistic need to keep in my stash.  It doesn’t call out to me.  Again, I repeat, it’s a very nice quilt and I think I did a good job.  This friend also declared that the blocks looked more masculine than anything else.  That statement struck me and it told me what to do to finish the quilt. 

My son loves my quilts.  He also really likes flannel fabric – something about the feel of it appeals to him.  I’ve just given him and his SO a king sized quilt for their bed so I figure that a lap/slightly larger than lap sized piece would be a nice thing to have.  They live in North Carolina which doesn’t get too cold, but he’s also male and I’ve seen him sleep on the couch!  I decided that putting the blocks on point would look nicer.  The blocks are busy which gave some challenges. 

First:  Laying the blocks on point created large (along the sides) and smaller (four corners) triangular spaces.  I felt that putting larger chunks of a single fabric in those spaces would look odd against the busy blocks.  Also, 20 blocks was an odd number for a good on point layout.  18 was a good number, but that left me with blocks. 

·         I made three more blocks with my scraps, and cut those blocks and two others diagonally in half.  Those half blocks filled larger triangular spaces.

·         I cut other scraps into 2 inch wide pieces and sewed them side by side.  I then trimmed these “blocks” to triangles to fill the four corners.  While these weren’t a traditional block pattern like the taught blocks, they came out fitting the scrappy look of those blocks.

Second:  Sashing.  I didn’t think that sashing in one fabric would work.  However, using multiple fabrics could have run into an issue with the scrappy blocks not being separate enough to be distinguishable.  To address this, I sashed the blocks with 12 inch (size of block) strips of one fabric and squares of a different fabric at the corners of the blocks.  I’m not sure what you call this technique.  Here’s a not so great picture of my finished top.

The borders – true to my style – were decided after I pieced the top and laid it on the floor.  I thought yellow and asked hubby (not saying color) and he also said yellow.  I had exactly ONE yellow fabric in my stash that was anywhere near acceptable.  That surprised me.  I didn’t think I didn’t like yellow, but I certainly don’t have much of it.  I also thought that the quilt called out for a narrow border between the yellow and the blocks – kind of a stopping point.

Project Update

My list of updates follows.  I am SOOO proud of myself; I’ve been keeping to this list, only doing things on it and trying very hard to get through my backlog of projects.  When I started reporting on this list in this blog, I stated that this is my “Done by the end of January” list.  I think that I am still on track for that.  I got less done this week than I counted on (work exploded), but I think a good weekend at home will catch me up.  I also NEED to get all my cutting/organizing projects that I’m taking on vacation done during vacation.

When I’m done with this list, there are two more steps to my backlog elimination. 

1.       All the projects in the “box”.  The box is a handled box (like grocery boxes but a little bigger with a metal frame), that I started throwing things into for retreat over a YEAR ago and never emptied.  It’s taken on a life of its own and needs to be finished, emptied and returned to the attic WITHOUT fabric.  It’s probably a 3-4 month backlog activity.

2.       The actual project bin.  Years ago, hubby and I bought a wicker chest.  That was to be my project box.  It is a piece of furniture that looks nice in the dining room rather than a cardboard box.  However, it’s currently a dumping ground for things and the “box” took over.  When I’m done with the box, then I will list out everything in the bin.  Some things in there will wind up going to the quilting garage sale at Guild and/or thrift store.  It kind of became the spot for things that I started, didn’t work/look right, and I pretty much decided I wouldn’t finish.  But – one person’s junk is another’s treasure!   I think there’s probably only really 1-2 months in there.

Confession – in looking through the “box” for a missing pattern piece, I pulled out one project and included it in my pile for vacation.  It’s a piece of Asian fabric bound for a One Block Wonder quilt.  That pattern requires six repeats of a fabric and some specific fabric prep and cutting.  Its a couple hours to cut out for me.  I felt it was something that I could add to my cutting pile for the trip.

I’ve also taken bits and pieces for cutting for my Sylvia’s sampler.  I don’t actually count that project in any of my backlogs.  Since its small blocks, cutting intensive and also scrappy, it’s always been a “take-to-meetings” type of project.  There’s no fixed timeline on it – it’s been two years – and will probably be more.  It’s a constant “filler” type of project.

Legend:

·         Strike through = done

·         Red text = bringing on trip

Mariner’s Compass quilt

·         Design layout

·         Print all blocks

·         Cut out/prep all pieces for blocks

·         Assemble blocks

·         Cut sashing pieces

·         Assemble quilt

Curved Piece quilt

·         Finish cutting blocks

·         Assemble blocks

·         Layout quilt/arrange blocks

·         Assemble quilt

Block of the Month – TCQ

·         Frame 8 inch blocks

·         Make current blocks

·         Determine layout

·         Decide on other blocks to complete layout

·         Make additional blocks

·         Assemble quilt

Scrap Tamers

·         Month 1 – Bali Runner (can’t remember rest of name)

o   Finish binding

·         Month 1 clue

·         Month 2 – (can’t remember name at all)

o   Finish binding

·         Month 2 clue

·         Month 3 – Seven sisters baby quilt

o   Determine layout

o   Cut out any additional blocks needed (most are already cut)

o   Assemble blocks

o   Assemble quilt

o   Bind quilt

·         Month 3 clue

·         Month four – just got, haven’t looked at

o   Determine project; project will be a full sized quilt

o   Cut out blocks

o   Assemble blocks

o   Assemble quilt

o   Bind quilt

·         Month 4 clue

Contest entry

See here for the “test” quilt I made for the contest.  The contest is a challenge; I can use black, white, black and white and a green fabric.

·         Determine color scheme

·         Organize fabrics

·         Cut fabrics

·         Piece blocks

·         Assemble blocks

Christmas Scarves and Project Updates

Subject 1 – Easy But Oh So Appreciated

Scarves…. We all have them, and we take them for granted.

What does a scarf really do?  A LOT! 

When I get home in the evening, I come into a house that we keep rather cool.  We heat a couple rooms more than others, since hubby and I are living in only part of the house unless people are over.  When I walk into the house, I walk into the front entry way – a vaulted room, that we don’t add heat too.  I take off my coat, and then my scarf.  Each day I am tempted to leave on my scarf as my neck gets hit with the cool air immediate and I regret taking it off.

So, I have a story about scarves that ties into this blog.  While I mostly discuss quilting, the true subject matter of this blog is creativity and its role in my life.  To continue, however, I must give a lengthy, tug at the heartstrings, background story. 

About ten years ago, I was an employee at a local major company and I (volunteer, not my actual job) ran their involvement with a local Charity.  One of the things I did was organize my company’s Adopt-a-Family program.  I would take the list of families from the organization, dole them out to groups inside our firm, and make sure all details got handled.  The employees of our firm knew me quite well.  If you are unfamiliar with the Adopt a Family program – it is volunteers/donors, provide gifts for a needy family based on a wish list provided.  Things in this program are usually wrapped up (no pun intended!), by the second week in December and delivered to the families well in advance of Christmas.

That particular year, on December 23, an executive in the firm stopped me in the hallway, opened his wallet and handed me a large sum of money. 

Him:  For the Adopt a Family

Me:  Sir, we’ve delivered everything, it’s all done

Him:  Oh, just figure something out…

And he walked away, leaving me holding this money…. Now, I’m a very honest person, but it was two days before Christmas… what can I do?  No time to buy anything, adopt another family, figure anything out… but I can’t hold onto this.

The Union Gospel Mission is an organization that supports and helps men in the community.  I’ve been involved with them for many years on an informal basis.  They are the only place that I know that can take open food, touched food, etc.  We’ve taken leftovers from many a charity picnic to them over the years.  I also used to take all the bakery leftovers from my firm there during a year that we were having many meetings.

Please note, most of the men at the Mission are working, involved in a jobs program, etc.  They have strict standards there that also include church services.  Union Gospel is NOT a shelter in the standard sense, but rather a “Hand Up” place.

There is no Christmas gift program for single men.  For men with children, men in families, etc., but nothing organized like Adopt a Family that gives to single men.  I’ve even seen a Christmas program that gives to single women….

So, I took that sum of money, and went to Target and got $5 gift cards.  I called ahead, don’t worry!  I did NOT hold up a cashier line at Christmas time! 

Hubby, kids and I then took that sum of gift cards and went down to the Mission on Christmas Eve.  We had just about the same number of cards as men who were there that night.  We handed them out, saying “Merry Christmas” and “God Bless”, and got the same in return.  One of the men politely and apologetically asked me how much the card was for.  I told him that it was only $5.  He then said something that changed my life in many ways:

“Now I can buy socks!!”

Socks…

Small, cheap items that many of us take for granted.

Socks….

Hubby and I discussed it throughout the year.  I got online and I did some research.  Now, we buy 30 dozen or so pairs of socks each year.  We put together gifts for the men at the Mission and hand them out on either Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.  One year, we were out of town and rushed back on Christmas day, speeding on 94 from the Dells, in order to get the gifts given out before their lights out time. 

We started out using white paper bags for the gifts.  However, three years ago, Hubby and I each thought the other was buying the bags.  We realized on Christmas morning.  It is NOT possible to buy even 75 brown paper sacks on Christmas day in Minnesota… we tried.   Luckily, I’m a bargain hunter and a hoarder.  I dragged out some of the 100 rolls of wrapping paper bought at Target and Joann’s one year for 90% off after Christmas (I’m exaggerating, but not by much….)  We wrapped up the presents and headed out as usual.  We noticed that the men seemed to really appreciate getting a wrapped gift versus a paper sack.  So, now we wrap them ever year…. Also gives me a chance to buy more at 90% off sales after Christmas J

I’m getting back to scarves… promise….

During the year we were planning this – the year after the gift cards, we brainstormed about different things we could add to the bags that would be useful.  Some of the men are very transient, and many don’t have a lot of space for things.  We had to put in things that could be continually used, and/or consumed.  We finance this on our own, so they had to also be cheap, but not cheap quality.

I hate fleece in some ways… It’s not really fabric, and those fleece tie blankets are not artistic sewing.  However, somewhere along the line, I started making scarves out of fleece.  Nothing fancy, just a single width of fabric cut with a fancy blade on the rotary tool.  I buy the remnants and make scarves that go with every coat.

So, starting that year, I watched the 75% remnant sales at Joann’s and bought a ton of fleece pieces.  That year, and now every subsequent year, each man gets 3-4 pairs of socks and a fleece scarf (and other things) from us each year.  It takes about 2 hours to cut out 75+ fleece scarves.  We try to stick with neutral colors, patterns that won’t offend and use the no pill fleece. 

Mini Stories about the Scarves

·         Every year, at least two people ask us what group, corporation, etc., the presents are from.  It seems to make a huge emotional impact when we tell them “Us, we are a family, we live nearby”.  Each year, someone also asks about the scarves.  I tell them that I make them myself.  That also seems to touch people strongly

·         A few years back, a friend and I were waiting in the minivan downtown St. Paul while hubby ran into a store.  A scruffy looking guy was walking down the street; he spotted the van, walked in front of it, came to my window and knocked.  As he knocked, while I was decided whether or not to roll the window down, he pulled his scarf out of his jacket at the neck and started waving the end of it.  I rolled down the window.  He said “Thank you again, this is the WARMEST scarf I’ve ever had”.

·         My friends know about this program.  Those who are also quilters/crafters, know that I can use as small as 6 inch x width of fabric and often give me their scraps.  A couple of times now, I’ve come home to bags of fleece on my front porch.  One bag, I’ve never figured out who gave it to me!

·         This year, while I was still standing at the reception area at the Mission handing out gifts, one man who’d already gotten his, walked by me with the scarf around his neck, he waved the ends of it and said:  “See, I’m already wearing it!”.

·         Also this year, I glanced back into the community room as we were leaving.  I do try not to use many patterns, but this year I had some Twins fleece and I did cut that into scarves.  One man got one of those scarves and was sitting at the table with it around his neck.

Conclusion

I’m a textile artist.  I quilt in order to satisfy the creativity in myself.  I’m a fabric snob, enjoy complicated patterns, am constantly challenging myself, and have very expensive sewing machines.

However, above all else, $25-35 worth of fleece brings me far more satisfaction than anything else.

Subject 2 – More on Fleece Scarves

Although I’ve already stated that I dislike fleece, I really have to push the concept of the fleece scarves.  There’s a whole world of possibilities out there.

·         As a craft project for younger children, Brownies, Campfire, Sunday school, Christmas presents done at school for parents:  While you probably do not want to give rotary tools to children, these scarves can also be cut with a pinking shears or other heavy duty specialty scissors.  If watched well, even a first grader could cut out a scarf for their parent and “make” a useful gift…. Beats a ceramic ashtray any day.

·         Fundraiser for a sports team at a school:  buy ten yards of fleece in the main school color (use your 40% Joann coupon or hit the 50% sale).  Have the team cut out scarves and sell them to their friends, families, neighbors, etc.  Yard of fleece on sale - $5, cut the scarves 6 inches each, 6 scarves per yard; sell them for $2 each.  At our school, we did a drawing (prizes were donated), each person who wore their scarf to a football game got a raffle ticket, then, at the end of the season banquet, we had a drawing. 

·         Charity program:  it does not take long to cut out scarves.  Shelters, Meals on Wheels programs, etc., are great organizations to donate a large number of scarves to.  I’m giving three bags of child themed scarves to the MN Diaper Drive.  There were all too young (pastels, cartoon characters, etc.) for the men at the Mission and I figure that the Diaper Drive people can give them to the shelters they service.

Subject 3 – I Am Behind on All Projects!!

Ok, back to me and my projects!!!  I promise that I’ve been being good.  I’ve ONLY worked on my backlog of Block of the Month programs and my contest entry as I said last week.  Following is a recap.  It’s the same list as before – I promise I haven’t cheated and edited it; just made a couple corrections, rewording, etc.  The crossed out items are – obviously – done items.  Those in red are things that I intend to take with me next week when I go on vacation.  I cannot take my sewing machine as we are flying, but with the Delta Amex giving me a free checked bag for each hubby and me, I intend to take cutting and organizing projects with. 

The Mariner’s Compass and Contest Entry items are both elaborate paper piecing patterns.  It really speeds things up, and adds greatly to organization while taking away from mess, if I have all the fabric pieces pre-cut and organized.  Each Mariner’s compass block takes about 20-30 minutes to plan and cut.  I have six or seven more of those.  The contest entry is based on patterns from Ra’Nae Merrill’s Spiral books.  There are sixteen main blocks in it.  Eight of the blocks have nineteen pieces each, and the other eight have 65!!!  That’s 634 pieces just in the paper piece sections.  See where pre-cutting will help?  Taking it on vacation will allow me to do that in time that I can’t spend on my sewing machine… see, Time Management skills from my profession in use for my hobby!

The Curved Piece quilt started out with 24 fat quarters (I used the Stonehenge line).  Using the 7 inch Crazy Curves template and the 3½ Small Paths template from Back porch Designs (see here), each fat quarter was then cut into four sets each of the small and large curved block pieces.  The pieces are then mixed and match, and sewn into 3½ and 7 inch blocks.  Four of the smaller blocks are combined to make a large block.  This will give me approximately 120 blocks (I know I messed up cutting a couple).  The quilt from these blocks uses only that one block – so the success of the quilt depends upon the layout of the blocks.  I figure since I’ll be in a resort condo with more open floor space than home, and with more people than at home, I’ll take all the pieces with, and lay them out there for critiquing and re-organization.

Mariner’s Compass quilt

·         Design layout

·         Print all blocks

·         Cut out/prep all pieces for blocks

·         Assemble blocks

·         Cut sashing pieces

·         Assemble quilt

Curved Piece quilt

·         Finish cutting blocks

·         Assemble blocks

·         Layout quilt/arrange blocks

·         Assemble quilt

Block of the Month – TCQ

·         Frame 8 inch blocks

·         Make current blocks

·         Determine layout

·         Decide on other blocks to complete layout

·         Make additional blocks

·         Assemble quilt

Scrap Tamers

·         Month 1 – Bali Runner (can’t remember rest of name)

o   Finish binding

·         Month 1 clue

·         Month 2 – (can’t remember name at all)

o   Finish binding

·         Month 2 clue

·         Month 3 – Seven sisters baby quilt

o   Determine layout

o   Cut out any additional blocks needed (most are already cut)

o   Assemble blocks

o   Assemble quilt

o   Bind quilt

·         Month 3 clue

·         Month four – just got, haven’t looked at

o   Determine project; project will be a full sized quilt

o   Cut out blocks

o   Assemble blocks

o   Assemble quilt

o   Bind quilt

·         Month 4 clue

Contest entry

See here for the “test” quilt I made for the contest.  The contest is a challenge; I can use black, white, black and white and a green fabric.

·         Determine color scheme

·         Organize fabrics

·         Cut fabrics

·         Piece blocks

·         Assemble blocks