No Posts for a long while....

While I was never great at posting lots, I did post and manage to have quilt related information. But time has come in my life, that things need to take priority, and quilting and blogging at the moment have feel to the wayside. 

There is a lot of personal baggage that is making its way into my life.  Either from people that I love, or have loved, or from being distracted when I should have not, which has all mounted into one large situation that needs to be dealt with in a way that only I can do.  Its time for me to reevaluate what is important at this time in my life's struggle and face these challenges face on.  Its time for me to grab the bull by the horns and take control of my life back, which for sometime has been, for lack of a better word, out of control. 

Things in the past week have changed, both who I am, and what I want to do with my life.  I have realized that life is short, and life needs to be fun.  I need to do what I want to do, and if that means telling people how I really feel, and moving on, whether it hurts or not, this is what needs to be done.

Never fear!  I will be back, in time, I need to heal and work through some things.  The healing process has already started.  It also means that quilting will play a role in my healing and dealing with what my life choices have caused, it also means a new direction, a new artful direction.  More painting, more sketching, more ART.  It's what has helped me this far, and what will continue to help me grow, as a person, as human, and as a person who is learning to love again, loving myself for who I am, sickness and all. 

Latest Quilt Lecture

Here is a quick snap of me giving a lecture to The Friends of the Library at their annual meeting.  The quilts pictured are from my private collection.  Please ignore the gentleman in red, he was conducting information about the annual book sale, but I like the view of my quilts and the way they were displayed.

WAYWO

What are you working on?  Since I just got my 301A all tuned up and purring like Winnie, I have finished 52 nine patch blocks made from vintage 40's and 50's fabrics.  The note with the fabric says I need 27 blocks pieced and 27 alternating blocks, or for a big one a total of 72 blocks.  This note is dated 1953.  The template is a receipt Mrs. Krouger got for selling eggs the day after Christmas in 1952.  She had eight dozen of Ex. Large A eggs and was paid 31.5 cents a dozen for them from Shaffer and Sons in Lebanon, Indiana.  I cannot quite remember where I got this box of pre-cut quilt blocks from.

I am also working on some postage stamp blocks. These are made from 1 1/2 inch cut squares.  They are quite fun to piece and work up quickly as long as I am not wondering how many blocks I need!  I am also working on a scrappy quilt made with 2 1/2 inch squares alternated with cream muslin.  Those are fast and fun too. 

I found these three boxes of cut pieces while attempting to clean out some other space in the house.  Instead of cleaning, I have been piecing. 

I will try to post photo's when I locate the missing camera, which might be at work!

Double Nine Patch

I have been teaching the class at the library, and last week we worked on making Double Nine Patches.  If you would like to see pictures of students' blocks, just click on the great new button, made by Henrietta, and you will be directed to the blog with the info about the classes. 

Here is my block that I used to teach them handpiecing with for the Double Nine Patch.

Gypsy

The perfect movie for a cold and snowy day, along with some homemade chicken and noodle soup!

Snow, Snow, and more Snow!

We really haven't had much snow this year, unlike last year, but alas, I think the time has come that we will get some snow.  Since  I live northwest of Omaha, and northeast of Lincoln, we have the potential of seeing 15" inches plus of snow from today, until tomorrow.  I might not be able to go to Lincoln tomorrow as planned, we will see.

There really is no title for this blog post.  I just want people to reflect a moment of thought for the families of the victims, and for the family of the person who did these deeds.  We will never know why, but it affects a lot of people, and those are the ones that will be in my thoughts.  I would appreciate it if you would think a kind thought as well.

For those who don't know, shortly after noon on Wednesday, a Millard South High School student, shoot and killed his Vice Principal, and severely injured his Principal, he then left the school and took his own life.  MSHS, is located about 25 miles from where I live, but we have several students who attend MU, that use the library, that are from MSHS.  It can happen any where, any day, any time, and we will never be prepared.

2011: The Year of Quilting Dangerously

That's right, I have declared 2011 the year of quilting.  I have a lot of tops and blocks that need finished, and I think this is the year its going to happen.  I really want to get into the swing of things and start getting quilts finished and on the bed, no sense in the tops and blocks being stored, they aren't very warm that way, and besides, I want to regain some closet space back. 

I am also going to being teaching more this year than I have in the past, and most of it is going to be local, which is going to be very nice.  I actually started a hand piecing class tonight, based upon the sampler quilt from the book, The Quilter's Apprentice.  Several of the students are quilters, but not hand piecers, so that is exciting for me that they are willing to try something new.  This is a 12 week course. 

After that class, I will be teaching sock knitting, and reading a knitting related book, that has yet to be determined.  This is also a 12 week course. 

The third class will be another quilting class.  And I am not fond of the Elm Creek Quilt series by any means, not that I don't think they are ok books, they are, just not my style.  I tend to prefer something more a long a mystery.  I am toying with an idea of reading The Persian Pickle Club by Sandra Dallas.  It's set in the Coffeyville, KS area during the depression, and relates to a group of hand quilters that are at the root of a mystery.  Its a pretty good read.  I think it would also be a perfect book to get people introduced to quilting styles of the Depression Era and scrap quilting.  I found out tonight that many people want a really color controlled quilt.  I think a Dresden Plate quilt would be fun, with the quick piecing of the wedges, that are made like a facing.  You get a wedge that is pointed and ready to be appliqued all at once.  I think this would be fun to have each student bring 10 long quarters of fabric, and they trade, so the wedges are all scrappy.

And since I am doing all the piecing for these classes, I hope that makes me not want to piece at home and quilt.  And something very strange happened to me this week.  I gave a friend a quilt.  They liked the quilt because of sentimental reasons, but their spouse didn't.  The quilt was returned to me, and the person was quite upset about it, since it was a gift that had meaning to both of us (the spouse didn't want something crafty in their modern home).  I told them I wasn't upset at all, and I am glad that the quilt wasn't destroyed or given away.  I told them that I would keep the quilt until they wanted it back.  I am just relieved that they thought enough to give it back to me.  My feelings were not hurt.  I am sure other quilters would feel the same way.  I feel so much better knowing that this quilt is stored at my house, than being used as a pet bed at theirs.

Not to much other stuff is going on, I am just getting over another nasty cold.  It seems I got it double this year!  No goals have been accomplished, nothing! 

I really need to get some stuff mailed to people!  I hope to do that Friday.  And, Henrietta, since Lori might be coming down this way, this month, I think that's what she said, should we save the postage and let her take it home with her.  That is if you could trust her with this fabric!  LOL.

Oh, by the way if you are interested in following along in the Quilter's Apprentice book / quilt a long, click the cover of the book at the top of my blog.  The HTML under it will also provide you with a button to the quilt a long.  Though this is basically hand pieced, it can be machine pieced with ease.  If you are interested in following along, I will see what I can do about posting full size templates of some of the more challenging to draft block components.

The quilt at the top is the sampler quilt from the class, just because a blog post without photo's is boring I think!

This is for you Lori...

No I haven't fallen off the face of the earth...not quite.  None of my goals have been accomplished, I am working to much, its getting to cold and I am getting grouchy!  But I am still here and I haven't touched my sewing machine since before I left for vacation.  Part of the problem is I can't find it...there is to much crap piled on it.

However, I have been preparing quilting lessons for handpiecing that will be offered at the library where I work.  We are doing a Read/Quilt along.  We will be reading the The Quilter's Apprentice by Jennifer Chiaverini, and will be learning how to handpiece the same sampler quilt that the central character is making in the novel; the blocks are integeral to the story.

Every week, there will be photographic instructions, as well as a brief synopsis of that part of the book that we have read posted to the library's blog.  So if you want to join us, leave a comment and I can point you in the right direction.

Other than that, thats be my life in a nutshell...

Have a wonderful Holiday Season, I even forgot about Chanukah this year!

Goals for this week

Well I am back from vacation, I got back on Monday, went to work Monday morning, and am now just getting a breather to update my quilt related goals for the week.  Vacation was great, and now back to normal!

Goals for this week are going to be very easy, I hope!

1.  Mail the blocks to Roma.
2.  Mail the huge box of fabric to Henrietta
3.  Deliver the huge boxes of fabric to Quilts of Valor in Lincoln.
4.  Work on 80 flying geese units for a green and white Dolly Madison Star blocks.

Hopefully these will all be complete by next Thursday!

And thanks everyone for the Birthday wishes.