Splice

A quilt for a new mama friend.

The best I have for a wide shot. It's Oregon, the lighting is terrible until July. And then we go nuts and hang the quilts outside.

This quilt was born of a failed project that I had cut into pieces in disgust. Doesn't Bonnie Hunter say if you don't like a fabric, use a smaller piece? I figure maybe that applies to patchwork too. When my friend declared grey one of her favorite colors I immediately thought of the languishing little strips, and the quilt started assembling itself.

I started by putting strips on the wall. My process relies heavily on having a design wall. I don't know how much I spent on this old tablecloth and the thumbtacks that hold it up, but I have certainly gotten my money's worth.

I quilted the pebble ribbons first and filled in with the wavy lines afterward.

I recall reading one quilter's perspective that a quilt should hold something of interest at three distances: across the room, nearby and in your face. I think of that advice often when I'm working on a piece, and particularly when planning the quilting. What is there to discover up close? In this case, I left some quilted words of encouragement. 

This is my first quilt since the baby was born. It came together in just over a week. I had motivation, but still, wow. Something has shifted. Several somethings in fact.

As I stitched I was thinking a lot about my work as a quilter, as an artist. Thinking about how I keep poking at the same things over and over. Shapes in negative space. Strips. Things sewn, cut, and then sewn again. A bit of light, movement, sparkle. This quilt really brought to the forefront of my mind that I have a visual vocabulary. I have something I do. I have a process, a method, a style. 

It feels good to see this pattern. I can respect it, and let it work. Love it and let it grow into the Next Thing. I can be kinder to myself, see that I just have to make my art in my way, and not worry about how it fits in with anything else. So that's my meditation right now. To just keep making the quilts, to do the work without the worry. Easier said than done, for sure. But worth it to keep trying.

Safe Asset

Here's a little iPad pouch for my grandma. She's so cool. She's a great quilter to know. Grandma was telling me about shot cottons five years ago. About sewing with selvages ten years ago. Also, she has an iPad! This totally tickles me.

Grandma loves Kaffe Fassett's fabric. Made-two-quilts-out-of-just-his-fabric loves it. So I had to use some in this project. Thanks for sharing your fabric with me, grandma!

Orange is my new favorite color. If only I'd had orange thread when I went to quilt this.

P.S. Today my post title doubles as a public service announcement. Kaffe Fassett rhymes with safe asset. So if you've been calling him Coffee or Calf or Cough, you can stop now. Safe asset. Just like grandma's iPad.

The best kind of distraction

Hi Mama!

Can I use the brush?

Can I sew with you? Let's make a scarf!

Put to good use

I enjoyed the stabilizer I reviewed in my last post so much I wanted to try it on something without batting. This time I photocopied some ginkgo leaves and embroidered some kitchen towels*. Love!

I did one denser than the other. I like the denser one better.

When I do free motion stitching on something that doesn't have batting, I find I need something on the backside so the stitches won't make the fabric pucker. I use a wash away stabilizer called Paper Solvy. I just cut the size I need from a sheet of paper, so one pack goes a long way.

Now the towels are being used in a happy new home. I love to see something I've made getting used. So much better than waiting in a drawer or on a shelf until it goes out of style. 

*photocopied in the fall when leaves were around, but not stitched until the new year. That's the sort of timeline I'm on right now! You understand.

Experiment

Objective: To quantify frustrations encountered with using a commercially available, sticky backed wash away stabilizer.

Background: The author's previous experience with a similar sticky backed product resulted in skipped stitches and grumbling. The author hypothesized that all sticky backed stabilizers were a terrible idea for free motion stitching and were for those people with embroidery machines.

Methods: Using a home printer, leaves were photocopied onto one sheet of the stabilizer. Leaf shapes were cut out and removed from the paper backing, then affixed to a quilt sandwich. The author stitched along the outlines and veins of the leaves, going over each line twice or more in a loose, sketchy manner. Skipped stitches and grumbling events were recorded.

Outcomes: Much to the author's surprise, no skipped stitches were encountered. The only grumbling happened when the author's child began her own experiment involving a paper bag and some water. The author's child eventually enjoyed matching the stitched versions of the leaves with their originals.

Discussion: This Wash Away Stitch Stabilizer* can be used without skipped stitches. The author sincerely recommends this product to sewists who like to finish things in a good mood. This study should be repeated using better fabric now that the author knows it won't be a disaster.

*C&T sent me the sample, but they didn't ask me to review it. I just wanted to share my good experience because who knows when you'll need something like this?

Get your patchwork on

Well, hello!

Is it true that the internet still exists? And sewing machines? And digital photos? That's super, because, whaddya know, I have a quilting blog!

I also have these two magnificent imps who keep me busy from too-early until too-late-thirty. It would be inappropriate to blame my absence on them, however. It's been some rough months folks. Wow. I come out of it knowing I am one pretty tough lady. That, at least, feels good.

So, I've excavated my sewing space. First priority was to complete this baby wrap. It's called a podaegi. Don't worry, the patchwork isn't holding the baby's weight, it's just appliqued on. The wrap was so simple to sew. I used osnaburg (from the home dec dept) because it has a little give. Not as cushy and gorgeous as a handwoven wrap, but much more affordable. I used these wrap-pod instructions to get me started. And of course that is Piece by Number's lovely circle of geese.

I love the versatility and symmetrical support. I love that there's no buckles. I love that it will fit him until I stop carrying him. It's our favorite wrap, and that's saying something for a babywearing zealot like me. I prefer to wear him on my back, which he generally loves. The front suits us fine too, though. And I must have knocked over my bottle of sleepy dust when I sewed this because he falls asleep right away almost every time I put him in it. I love the feeling of his little head resting against my back as I go about the house. Happy baby, happy mama.

I still feel disconnected from the online quilting world, and haven't really gotten back to reading blogs again. Sometimes so much is happening so fast, it makes me feel panicky and it's better for me to just stay in my family cocoon. But it's nice to know my sister and brother quilters are out there. I've been reminded that we have all gone through hard stuff and made the decision to keep going. Not only that, but made the decision to make a world with beauty in it. A world with meaning and purposefulness. I'm so happy we all decide to do that. Happy quilting folks, and hope to see you soon.

Wee heavy

Finally, finally this ginormasaur came out to live with us. Nine and a half pounds. Nine days past my due date. Great nurser. Snuggly and loud and already giving me some three hour stretches of sleep at night, bless him. He even flashed me a waking smile today, the little charmer.

We are enjoying some new words: "our son", "our children". It's like when we were first married and giggling over the words "husband" and "wife".

I feel he is a wise creature. He knew when to stay inside and then he picked the perfect day to come out. A slower labor, and another peaceful home birth, with our beloved midwife.

That's the happy news. We've also had sadness. In timing nearly too cruel to comprehend, my mother died a few days before my due date. Loving family came to me, friends brought us food, and over the next two weeks I regained my center and remembered how much I wanted to meet the little one I was carrying inside.

I think about her a lot. Doing all the things for him that she did for me. Wishing I could send her the birth announcement. It has been a time of great sadness, great remorse, great anger, great doubt, great emptiness.

And it's also a time of great joy, great wonder, great tenderness, great love, great growth. Never has my heart been so stretched. Life has a way of surprising us.

I am well cared for, we are all thriving. We know we are so blessed. I feel us finding our new balance together. I'm grateful to have my fabulous husband, sweet children, the warmth of summer, the compassion of friends, and a few months of maternity leave ahead of me.