Saturday, February 2, 2013

Quilting....Ooooops!

 Southwestern Sunrise, Sunset Quilt....
Ooops....and this is after I had already started frog stitching!
 This big fold was actually stitched in by several rows of cross hatching.
Time for a nice cup of green tea....
and more ripping...
I like to use those pretty Asian-style toothpicks to un-pick stitches.
Lots of unpicking, hopeful that I could work in the fullness.
Right now the quilt is on the ironing board having been steamed and smoothed less than successfully. I've sprayed this area and am hoping more fullness is taken up as it dries.  I was very careful when I basted so I have no idea how this much extra fullness accumulated in this section of the quilt, so I'm welcoming tips.

Karen Marchetti, one of my quilting heroes, recently showed a fold that happened in one of her quilts.  (She's a prize-winning long arm quilter based in Florida.) She did a fantastic job of fixing her four-inch fold.  I hope I can do as well fixing my six-inch fold, but I'm not sure.  (Of course, this may be why she is a successful, prize winning quilter on a long arm, and I'm just a busy mom quilting on an antique treadle machine!)

School is very busy, and I'm very tired by the time I get home, and I'm getting so little quilting done that the lack of progress makes me sad.--Of course, I could have gotten more done if I hadn't had to sit in Manzano Medical Clinic waiting almost 2.5 hours on Thursday for a ten minute appointment with the physiatrist!!!!! [A physiatrist is a rehab specialist.]  He says he can see that I'm still making progress in my brain healing [from the student assault last March], but when I'm struggling to remember names, feeling dizzy and/or nauseated, and longing for a good night's sleep minus the horrendous nightmares, I fail to see a lot of the progress he notes, so I certainly hope he can say the same when I see him again in two months.  I am very, very grateful that the headaches are so much less severe (since we never found a medication that dulled them).  Of course, I'm also very, very grateful that I'm now working at a wonderful, nurturing school that eliminates half my commuting time too!

Also, our Friday Knit-Tea Nights have begun and are a wonderful way to let down the stress of the work week and to fellowship with others.
I'm also missing reading blogs and commenting and posting my own blogs. I manage to squeeze in bits of times to read, even less for commenting (and confess I often just give up on commenting if I I have to go through that whole squiggly letters & illegible numbers verification process). If it takes longer to verify a short comment than to write the comment, it doesn't seem worth it.  If those of you who read my blog ever see that verification stuff appear on my blog for posts less than two weeks old, please let me know. (Sometimes blogger changes things without warning.)

Happy quiltmaking,.....

12 comments:

Auntie Em said...

Can't imagine how that sneaky fold got in there, but the quilting is beautiful!
Glad you are still moving forward in your recovery. Hope each day brings you better health.

Dora, the Quilter said...

Sadly, I do know how that fold got in there! Sweet Teen was anything but sweet the day we basted this! Despite the fact that the purpose of this quilt is to help her raise funds for her trip to Washington, DC, she resented helping to baste, she refused to baste close enough together, and refused the keep the quilt flat enough. I should never, never have backed off--because now I'm paying the price, and it will be tragic if I can't fix this well enough to raffle the quilt.

Lurline said...

Popping in to say hello! Do hope you have luck with your quilt - then again, I have seen prize-winning quilts with little folds at the back, does it take from the beauty of the quilt? No!
Big hugs - Lurline.

Rosemary Dickinson said...

I bet you'll fix that fold! I have faith in you. It does sound like you're recovering nicely even if you don't always feel it. Hang in there!!

bunbear said...

Dora, give yourself a break. Don't let this quilt stress you out. If you can, put it aside for a day or two, telling yourself that you cannot work on it for that time.

O'Quilts said...

sooo sorry about the picking thing...Maybe you could do a picking exchange. It is better to take someone else's mistake out.(: I do think that no one will notice but you. It is just one more stress. Glad you like your new job so much..that kind of peace is just everything.

Gwen said...

It's good to see you blogging some more! But so sorry about the crease--I'm sure you'll be able to fix it to at least "good enough," if not perfection. I'm glad to hear your headaches are better; I think the pain of a headache is one of the worst pains to have to deal with. Good luck at getting this done!

Lynn said...

Glad to hear new job is better, that helps with the healing! So glad to see more blogs from you, always a high spot of my email, you are an inspiration in so many ways!

joyce said...

a supportive school makes all the difference? doesn't it? I'm at a new one this year and it is so much better. I hope the therapy helps for you. I don't manage to get any quilting done. I had two surgeries this summer and did no sewing. Am teaching my sixth graders to sew and four have so far completed quilted placemats. They are having a good time.

Christine said...

Glad you're making progress in your therapy...I hope your quilt fold turns out okay!

Pokey said...

Except for the ripping out -bummer!- it is good to hear about your new job. Busy and tired seems to be the way of life for me, too....
:-}pokey

Shannon said...

So sorry about the dreadful fold!! I had one of those in my nativity quilt last fall and it made me so frustrated! Good luck getting it flattened out!

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