FNSI, Very Late, and Lots of Other Things

What happened with FNSI is that I did not even get an adequate amount of fabric cut to take a photo!
Aside from that, a lot has been happening.
Two weeks ago I had a job interview.  One week ago I accepted the job (actually about 5 days).  Yesterday I resigned from my teaching position and asked to be released from the 30 days' notice.
Last night the personnel director reported that the superintendent agreed.
Today I went to work and was told to gather my things and leave.  I had to negotiate being able to tell my students and say goodbye to them.  Interesting, since the district's excuse for so many things is that we have to put the students first.  I did say a very brief goodbye, and my heart aches for the kids who cried.  I wasn't even allowed time to write a note to send home with them.
Tomorrow I will report to my new job--much smaller school [a state chartered school in ABQ].

Because of being sent home early I was able to troubleshoot some computer problems with Wi-Power.  The router was bad, but under warranty, so I'll have a new one in a few days.  In the meantime my computer is tethered by a blue cord (remember those), so the placement is pretty inconvenient and I'll be spending more time doing something else--catching up on some reading, perhaps?

New job means two hours more choices every day since I won't be spending those two hours commuting.  I'll be able to go to bed later and get up a little later (and have more time to see my Sweet Teen), so I hope to have an extra hour for reading, etc., and an extra hour for quiltmaking.
Autumn is here.  Freezing temps every morning.  Mums are barely surviving, but pansies and dianthus have not yet given up their little ghosts. It will be interesting to see how many ghosts and goblins we have this year.  We've had none some years--and one year we had six!

I hope all my readers have a sweet old-fashioned and delightful Halloween!
Happy quiltmaking......

Quilt Progress and More

First the progress with Southwestern Sunrise, Sunset.

 Actually, I meant to post last week while it was still in strips, but just did not manage to do that--which meant I had no post to link to the blogs of some favorite friends.

It was very windy when I took the quilt outside to be photographed--so you can see where the wind was pulling against the pins.  I should qualify that "very windy".  It was what much of the U.S.A. would call very windy.  For where we live, it was a typical autumn afternoon wind.

 For some reason a lone sunflower had grown and bloomed by this building and then fell to the ground from its own weight.  I tried to get the pretty head in the photograph, but it was just too sunny for me to tell if I had it in the pictures, and I missed it. Leaves are rapidly flying off trees around here. 

It's a bit sad that photographs can't capture the true colors in these fabrics--and the angle of the sun didn't help either.  However,  I can see that the quilt has good movement, and I'm eager to get the border pieced and applied so that I can get to my favorite part, the quilting.

And, pictures from shortly before last Saturday's Homecoming Parade...

Yes, skies were that blue.  And yes, the pictures were taken from the non-crowd side of the float--no idea why they did that!
Where I grew up, we built our floats of chicken wire shapes stuffed with tissues.  You can tell we live where it's windy and have to use bales of hay and straw because light stuff will get caught in the winds and blow away!!

This is this year's officer team--I'd say the one young man who is on the team is enjoying himself!  FFA has three advisors, but only one made it into the picture.
It was so cold that a friend and I watched the parade while cuddling in coats and quilts.

I have no pictures of the homecoming dance attendees, and Sweet Teen forgot to ask anyone to take their picture.  The couple was accompanied by two friends who have moved on to other schools--and they had to jump through a few hoops in order to be able to take them along.  Very different from when I was in high school and we invited past classes to the homecoming game and the homecoming dances.  (Kind of sad that they no longer do that. Or, maybe they do that in other parts of the country but just not here.)

This week Sweet Teen and two classmates are competing at the National FFA Convention in Indianapolis and will be joined by most of those pictured as well as other members of our local chapter.  It will seem strangely quiet around my home--but I'll have plenty to wear me out during the day since it's also the week of parent teacher conferences at my school, which will means I'll return home even later than usual each day.

When I get a chance, I'll link to Judy's What's on the Design Wall and Connie's Freemotion by the River.

Happy quiltmaking....

Stitching Pieces & Progress

 Here is one of the the twelve blocks that resulted from today's piecing.....

 along with some others peaking out below it.

I started with this using small pieces of fabric to label the rows I had cut over the weekend--actually finished this part of the cutting this morning.

and progressed to this...

 until I got to these:

The blue green squares for the X across the blocks work just as I had hoped--and I'm looking forward to seeing more "trails" as I get the secondary blocks made.

These are the best pictures yet to show the lusciousness of the fabrics I'm using.

Much slower progress than I had hoped for.  But all this was accomplished with all sorts of interruptions, including, over the course of more than an hour, traveling over some back roads I'd never seen before--from which there appeared to be no outlet. (Country roads are a lot easier in the Midwest where they are set out in squares with no mountains to interrupt them!)

I'm hoping tomorrow will be a good day, but I know it will have its challenges.  My schedule has me teaching as many as four classes at once--I rather doubt that is possible.  Many essential materials disappeared while I was gone.  We have a new principal, and she wants to know which ones I need, but I'll have to get with someone at another school to determine that since I don't remember the names of all the books.  (The sad thing is that there were at least two sets there since the previous teacher had left a partial set and I'd left everything--because those things belong to the district, not the teachers.)  Sadly, I think I'm just in survival mode. It's next to impossible to be sure students are as productive as they need to be with so much missing.  And then there are the headaches and the nausea--so I just keep putting one foot in front of the other.

I'd meant to take pictures of some of the colorful trees in our community--but I left home without the camera.  This is one of the most colorful autumns we've had in years.  If the weather cooperates, there should also be some balloons airborne as I pass through Albuquerque tomorrow morning.  The trick, of course, is keeping ones eyes on the road and avoiding the misjudgements of drivers who watch the balloons more than the road.

I forgot I had this picture of Sweet Teen, taken right after her hair appointment last month.  Yes, she was happy.

This is homecoming week in our community.  And homecoming during senior year is a pretty big deal. Lots of activities--including Friday night football, Saturday morning parade, Saturday night dance, several girls for a sleepover--and then we'll need to be at McCall's Pumpkin Patch to park cars Sunday morning.  (Proceeds to benefit her civics classes' fundraising for a trip to Washington, DC next spring.) I do hope I can get some more sewing time--and another blog post or two.

Linking to Judy's Design Wall  Monday and Connie's Free Motion by the River ).

Happy quiltmaking....

Quilt Progress & Back to Work

 I managed to get these strips and squares cut over the weekend.  I'm hoping I counted correctly.
This is the best these fabrics have smiled for their photos yet.  Taken after dark in the light of an Ott lamp. No, it's not a design wall--just some stacks of fabrics.

I did get the plants watered before dark--but I may have some dyeing pansies.

Today was my first day back at work.  I had to deal with headaches and nausea all day, but I also had lots of hugs from students who were so glad to have me back.  They are still putting more students in my class.  Probably one of the best things that happened to day was that one of those new students told me how much he likes the class already.  Their schedules are a mess.  I'm supposed to be teaching reading, writing, and math at the same time several times each day.  The kingdom is ruled by the "Master Schedule" and with students in first, second, third, fourth, and fifth grade (I hear a sixth grader is coming), there is no doubt that the Master Schedule overpowers common sense and assuring that the programs are delivered with fidelity.  (Guess I should just chill since the teaching materials have disappeared.)

Anyway, I don't think I'll manage even 15 minutes of sewing today since I need to get the various conflicting schedules into one color-coded data base so I can find some solution to the scheduling issues. I'm hoping the job goes quickly because I also need a relaxing bath with a couple of cups of Epsom salts to see if that might help the awesome headache.

I'm going to link to some parties, because who knows how much time I'll have to blog now.  (It was almost 6 p.m. when I got home after having to stop to pick up a few groceries and a prescription. Tomorrow I'll probably have to drop by the neurologist's office because I still haven't received a copy of their release for records, and I need the records.)

For more quilting goodness from other bloggers, stop by to visit Judy at Patchwork Times and Connie at Free Motion by the River.

I'm thinking I'll probably start being late linking up with other blogs--sometimes too late to link up at all.  That won't break my heart--but I definitely will not be so happy about not reading and commenting so often! Also, I love the new-to-me blogs I discover through linky parties, so three hours or so each day commuting will definitely impose some unwelcome limits.

Happy quiltmaking.....

Quilt Plan and the Turn of the Century Home

I've been working on the plans for Sweet Teen's Opportunity Quilt.

 Here is the plan for the quilt.  I decided that due to it's size, I wanted the simpler blocks  in the corners so the quilt will show itself off better on a bed.

 I'm still figuring yardages for cutting since I want to strip piece it and EQ7 can't really provide me exactly the information that I need. This quilt was inspired by a 1903 triple Irish Chain made in the Oklahoma Panhandle that by the mid-1980's was living in East Tennessee.  I made a rather close copy of that blue and white quilt, but I no longer have the quilt.  I'll look for a photo of the original or of my quilt and scan it so that I can share it at some point while I'm making Sweet Teen's quilt.

These are the main fabrics.  The one in the Lower left barely shows, but it has many colors in it, is much more intense than the background fabric, and will show up in the quilt. I think one of the challenges of making quilts is that complicated fabrics don't usually show up well in photos.

I've also been very busy painting in preparation for the likelihood that I'll be back to work on Friday (after I see the rehab doctor on Thursday).

I repainted the fireplace surround in the livingroom and changed the display to seven of the pitchers I've collected over the years.  The one on the left is the oldest--from the days when my grandparents lived in a house without indoor plumbing.

 When we first bought this house, we used the fireplace all the time, and I didn't understand that the reason we were getting smoke in the house was that our chimney just isn't tall enough.  Now we never use it.  It's pretty, but it's just not worth the work and the mess. In any case, the mantle and the surround direly needed painting.

 This is why I'm questioning "The Turn of the Century."  When I was a child I always loved visiting homes that were much like they had been at the turn 19th to the 20th century.  I'm sure almost anyone would say I have just too much in my house, but since I'm not trying to sell it right now, and since my house is definitely my haven, I love being able to see things I treasure.  These boxes are full of yarn and needlework.  The lovely spider plant is one my assistant gave me a start of when she moved last January or February.  Clearly, it loves living in my haven too!

In any case, we may have passed the next turn of the century, but I still have a seventeen year old turn of the century house.

I rearranged another wall in my living room--putting up more plates that need a new home now that my buffet has a "hutch". Two of these plates have been in my family for at least three generations, one is fairly new, and the others were gathered from thrift stores, antique stores, friends, and a flea market over the course of many years.

Although my computer shows the wall color as somewhat lavender, it's actually a pale orchid.  Because the living room is on the north side of the house, blue would have been too cool a color (although I did use blue and yellow in the kitchen).  The orchid shade looks cool in the summer and warm in the winter.

 I really was a Victorian when I rearranged the piano and the wall above it. I will be putting more doilies along the edge of the shelf when they are dry.  I just love the little things I've collected.
The plate on the wall to the right is a commemorative plate from my hometown's centennial in 1954. (My daughter loves that it has a picture of my high school--apparently built from a plan used by many different communities.   Some people bought enough of these plates for a table service.  My mother had a few, but this is the only one I have.

 I love the antique candy dish my cousin Joy gave me a few years ago, and the inkwell is one that has been in my family for many years.  I have no idea what happened to the lid.  It had been a while since I polished the tray it sits in--but it's no long blue and black with tarnish!

 The rose plate at the rear is very old, but I found it cast aside at a thrift store.  The silver birds are a salt and pepper set my mother received as a wedding gift (the salt has corroded the head and neck of one).  The little blue iridescent bird is dated 1990 and was a gift from my Aunt Louise.

This little harp playing angel was part of a set my mother purchased decades ago, but it's the only one left, the others having been seriously chipped and broken over the years.

See?  Lots of little treasures that I still treasure (and which make my daughter crazy).

 And here's the freshly painted "hutch" that is actually an Ethan Allen Nutmeg book case from the 1950's  I bought it because I've been looking for about 15 years for a hutch that matched my buffet.  The irony:  you can't even see the lines at the top that match the bottom and top of the buffet.

I'm going to link to Esther Liu's WIPs on Wednesday and Freshly Pieced, as well as Connie's Freemotion By the River  and will hope that none of my visitors mind seeing the redecorating endeavors.

Updating to add a link to Vintage Thingee Thursday over at Suzanne's blog.


Happy Quiltmaking.....

FNSI and Quilting Mini-Tutorial

I was so happy to be able to take part in the monthly Friday Night Sew In last night--especially since there was so little time for quilting this past week.

As a result, here is a little mini-tutorial of how I'm quilting these blocks.

 This is a four-block section of the quilt I'm working on. I am sure my friend used a commercial pattern, so I don't know the name of it or who published it.  I have to admit that if I were piecing this I would have pieced two different blocks and put them together as alternating blocks.  (However, I also realize that in an attempt to publish "original" patterns, pattern designers and sellers create things that are a bit different in order to copyright the patterns.)

As one looks at the entire quilt top with these blocks set edge, one sees two basic and common blocks.

 Barbara Brackman's Blockbase and Encyclopedia of Pieced Quilt Patterns lists this as Diamond in a Square (as well as a variety of other names).  In Blockbase it's referenced as 2375a.

For purposes of this tutorial, I've used colors in alphabetical order to show the order in which I stitched.  You may need to click on each photo to enlarge it or else view it in the photo viewer.

I began at the dot at the center right side and stitched first the ribbon in the corner of the block (blue, green) and then stitched a curve (violet) over to the next corner, repeating ribbons and curves around the block back to my starting point.  Then I stitched the center ribbon (blue, green).  At that point I cut my threads and moved to a new block or stitched in the ditch to a new block.

 Barbara Brackman's Blockbase lists this as 1262a, Broken Wheel, Pin Wheel, and other names. I began in the center of each of these blocks.

 I used my decades-old tracing wheel and a ruler to mark the center point on each side of the pinwheel. As you can see, the tracing wheel leaves a very faint line that remains just long enough for me to quilt each block.

 I actually use two designs in these blocks--one very minimal design because it's not going to show up against the busy pretty print, and a second more elaborate variation for the the solid pink triangles.

In the following drawings, the yellow portions symbolize the print, and the white background symbolizes the soft pale pink.

I begin at the center of the Pin Wheel block, quilting the print side first, [blue] curve to center, [green] petal shape, then [violet] curve to the outer edge of the block.  The penciled dashes are predicting the next curve, returning to the center petal.

 Then, once again with colors in alphabetical order, blue curve, green ribbon, violet central petal; followed by blue ribbon and curve back to the center of the entire pinwheel block.

 Once back at the center it's time to stitch the next print triangle [blue-green-violet]...

  

 until every section of the Pin Wheel looks like this.

I did cut the threads as I finished each block, but on some quilts it would be possible to just stitch in the ditch to reach the next starting point.

This is being quilted on my vintage Necchi BU in 1919 Singer treadle irons.

In some of these blocks I curved the tiny ribbons toward the central petal, and in some they curve in the opposite direction.  The same is true for the directions in which the ribbons curve on the Diamond in a Square blocks.  I'm doing this because this quilt will go to an elderly woman who has lost a lot of her mobility, and I think seeing the variations in the blocks will be more interesting than if every block were exactly identical.

If you head over to Heidi's blog, you'll find the linky party for the other bloggers who participated in the September Friday Night Sew In.


Also linking to Sarah's Can I Get a Whoop Whoop and Amy's Show and Tell Friday.  (Icons are in my side bar.)

In addition, here is a new-to-me Monday Linky Party:

Happy quiltmaking....

Quilt Fabrics and Free Motion Practice

Hmmm.....less to share than I would have guessed.  So I'm sharing fabrics for Sweet Teen's Opportunity Quilt and a strategy for quilting practice.

 This fabric is what I'm thinking of using for the background; however, I'm still debating and may decide to order something the color of New Mexico sand and dust.

 This fabric has a gold overlay print that does not show up in photos.

 This fabric has a lot of color variation.  Here's one section of the fabric....

...and another.  This fabric also has a gold overlay print.

 This is a contrast fabric for between the rows of the chains.

 This is one of my own hand dyed fabrics with a lot of changes. Since there are so many colors,  I'm guessing I dyed it with leftover dyes at the end of a dye run. But that was many years ago, so I don't really remember the details.

And this is one more fabric that I may use at the edges of a pieced border.

Connie, over at Free Motion by the River has posted about some of her most recent practice quilting pieces.  Her post is here.

A few weeks ago I posted about how I used a batik fat quarter to practice a new-to-me kind of feathers. That post is here.

However, I've never shown my largest practice piece.  It's destined to be a 100% cotton mattress pad (because every time I see 100% cotton mattress pads at a price I can afford, they turn out to be not 100% cotton--and, of course, finding that out always requires at least an 80 mile round trip).

This is my second mattress pad practice piece.

If you want to see the quilting, you'll probably need to use the photo viewer or open these in a new window.

Because it's for a mattress and pad and because we use mostly vintage white sheets, it's quilted in white.

I've been adding to it for several years, so it's nearly done. 

Oops!  I guess I should clarify.  For my first "practice pad" I used a layer of broadcloth, a layer of Warm'n'Natural batting, and a layer of muslin.  For the current "practice pad" I've used two layers of white broadcloth with a layer of Quilter's Dream Request in the middle. Quilter's Dream Request is a thin batting that is closest to the look of antique batts.  At the time I wanted to try it to see how it worked, and now I've quilted many quilts with this batting.  Once it's done I add more broadcloth around the perimeter, cut wide enough to go under the mattress and to accommodate a casing and elastic.  (I may have to replace the elastic in the one I made about twenty years ago, but the rest of the mattress pad is still holding up well.)

A crib or twin-size mattress pad not only provides a chance for lots of practice but also makes a great gift for a favorite young person.  I discovered several decades ago, at the height of the reign of polyester, that when I slept on 100% cotton sheets and pillowcases, I slept sooooo much better.  When I mentioned that to moms and grandmas of toddlers who were screaming at night and they changed to 100% cotton bedding, the children slept through the night.  (Yes, I know manufactured bedding for children must be fire retardant by law--I'm really skeptical about exposure to fire-retardant chemicals.)  A few years ago I was still able to find 100% cotton mattress covers from the 1950's and early 60s at thrift stores, but those finds are rare these days.  So, this is just one more idea for a great way to practice machine quilting.

I'm linking this post up to a couple of parties, because I don't seem to be creating my usual number of posts this week.  (Might have something to do with the headache that is still with me despite huge burdens of stress having departed.)  In any case,  I'm linking to:

Connie's Free Motion by the River

and Judy at Patchwork Times

You might want to check out my sidebar for some more linky parties that I was just too late to join.

Happy quiltmaking.....