Fiber Arts Festival

 Today as well as tomorrow the Heart of New Mexico Fiber Festival is taking place in our little town.
It was cold and somewhat blustery when I ventured over there this morning--although I was told that it was even worse at the park last night.

 There were not a lot of producers and artisans in attendance.  That did make shopping a bit easier, but I do hope the festival grows by leaps and bounds in future years.  (Next weekend is our bit-more-famous Pinto Bean Festival, but the big Taos Wool Festival is next weekend.  And for competition the world famous Albuquerque Balloon Festival opens next weekend too.)  I doubt that I'll be able to go to the Taos Wool Festival, although I'd like to.

First picture featured both skeins of yarn that I purchased.  Second photo was a close-up of the lace weight.

Third picture is a close up of the sock yarn I purchased.  These were spun and dyed by Robin Pascal of Edgewood, NM.

There are quite a few batches of roving, both dyed and undyed, for sale  as well as some lovely yarn (but not sock yarn) from the Mora woolen mill--Tapetes de Lana.  Mora used to be the poorest county in New Mexico; now Torrance County is.  The woolen mill there now has 13 employees and has helped people move from welfare to paying jobs.  I'll try to post more about them later this week.

I hope y'all are getting to quilt or knit or something equally creative!  (Our jugband--we have only one jug, really--played and sang for a wedding this afternoon.  Fun!)

Happy quiltmaking,.....

Quilting, Patchwork, Knitting, etc.

First I want to let you all know that although my little town received so much rain that we still have some puddles, to my knowledge there is no lingering damage from flash floods.  We do have a lot more green stuff growing than we've had in years--although technically we are still in a drought.

 This is the first quilting that has happened in ages--and I managed that only because yesterday was the monthly meeting of our prayer quilt ministry, Victory Quilters.  This is a wonderful star quilt pieced by Judy; however, it's going to be a while before I can show you the rest of it. I was gifted a Necchi BF (straight stitch) sewing machine that I took to the church; it was nice not to have to lug a sewing machine along when I went there yesterday.

 I just tossed it over one of my treadles so that I also could show you one of the wonderful lights from Ikea that my young friend Kim Larkin picked up in Dallas and mailed to me.  I've wanted one for years, but Ikea doesn't ship them.  They are available on Amazon for about three prices.  I'm thinking those of you who do live within shopping distance of an Ikea store might want to pick some up as gifts for your relatives or quilting/crafting friends who would have to drive hundreds of miles to get to a store.  The lamps have a heavy solid base and are very easy to assemble with nothing more than a screwdriver.  (I sent one to NM Tech for my daughter.)

The respiratory virus/infection that has had me down for three weeks or so did not prevent me from making some other acquisitions.

 Dillard's is selling these Southern Living Christmas Cookbooks for $10.  In Albuquerque the funds go to Ronald McDonald House; I'm not sure if that is true in all markets, but these would also make good gifts.

 I've acquired this purplee lace weight yarn thinking it will make a nice scarf or shawl.

 These are the socks I've been working on.  I started the toes months ago but couldn't decide on a pattern. This pattern was called an eyelit rib--it's free on Ravelry, but I just searched and couldn't find it.  In any case, it was a top down sock that I'm doing toe up.

 I've started this sweater with some of Auracana Chilean hand-dyed yarn rather than the Cascade in the directions. Download Here. (Yes, I easily spend hours and hours on Ravelry--to the detriment of blog reading.)

 These are a few of the wonderful Bow Tie blocks I received in the recent Treadle On Block Exchange. The block on the left was made by an educator in Gallup; Gallup was the first place I lived in New Mexico 25 years ago!  I haven't yet met her in person--but I'm thinking I should!

This is the 3S Shawl showing the first picots I have made in knitting. (I've made more than a few thousand in tatting!)  It's not yet blocked; I just tossed it over the back of the loveseat so I'd have a photo.   I thought it would be larger, but I had only 100 grams of yarn.  It will be plenty big enough to wear as a neck accessory or in the collar of a coat.  (I have another on the needles in a dusty pinkish red color which will be quite a bit larger.)

I've been keeping very, very busy; you know I've been just trying to ward off loneliness with Sweet Teen away at college.  I can see that I could end up being very, very busy but not enjoying things if I don't give some more thought and editing to my activities.  I would love to start a little needlework/handwork group of four to six people who could meet in my home one evening every couple of weeks.  I'm not sure I know enough people to make that happen.

I did get home Friday evening and miss Sweet Teen--but Netflix had arrived so I got to re-watch Tuck Everlasting as well as another film that's not worth recommending. The truth is that I just love the music in that film--and the Edwardian dresses. I'm coming home from school really exhausted--and am looking forward to another special ed teacher coming on board soon so that I can have a reasonable sized caseload instead of about twice as many students as I should have.

I'm really missing my blog reading--I get so spoiled over the summer.  I even have magazines I haven't had time to read!

Happy quiltmaking.....

Fireworks, Indulgences, Celebrations

Yesterday, after helping to make pies that were then frozen and will be served in the Methodist Cafe at the NM State Fair in September, I ran some fairly quick errands and came home with these.

Sweet Teen took old towels to college, which I appreciated.  She just loves polka dots, so when I saw these towels on sale, I bought a couple.  The owl mug was another sale item, and whether she uses it for pencils and pens, or beverages, I'm sure it will cheer her up at some point.

I also brought home a splurge for me.  Now I just need to be efficient with my time so I can enjoy reading them!  I really have a thing for print media, and regardless of how many blogs are on my Bloglovin' list, I continue to love the paper stuff.  Why is that?

As I was remaking my bed with fresh sheets last night, someone in the neighborhood was setting off fireworks, and I was finding the pop-pop-pop anything but pleasant.  So as I went to another bedroom to close the window I was greeted by a genuine firework display that was bigger than most small towns put on July Fourth.  Because of our intense drought, our town, for the first time in memory, had no display and allowed no aerial fireworks.  We've had a few weeks of off and on showers since then (a big deal for us, although cumulatively less than most places in the U.S. receive in just one rain shower) and had a 5 minute rain shower earlier in the evening.  I stood there and watched until it was over.  Because of the low clouds, I could hear a lot of what people were saying although they were three or four blocks away.  They were celebrating a birthday.  Despite the fact that they were sending an astonishing amount of $$$$$ up in smoke, I really enjoyed that fantastic display!

When I signed in to write this post, I discovered that the Blog Reader is still there.  What is with that?  Interesting, but now that I've been reading on Bloglovin' and find it so much more convenient, that old Blog Reader doesn't even compare.

No, I haven't stitched anything.  I do have a pair of slacks I'd like to get hemmed.  We'll see.....

In general, I'm just celebrating milder temperatures (with any luck we've had our last 90+ degree day) and am enjoying all the green as well as blue skies and gorgeous clouds!  There are a wide range of celebrations occurring accross New Mexico the next few weeks, although I don't know how many I'll be motivated to attend.  I'm just such a homebody!

Happy quiltmaking....

Candyshop Completed, etc.

Yes, I finished Sweet Teen's college quilt.

 I did not, however, manage to get a photo of it completed.  The glorious meandering feather in the outer border is sort of visible.  We repeatedly said we'd get a photo of it in her dorm room, but didn't do it.  She took this photo with her new phone.  (I'm trying to learn to use her old one!)

I also made a sleeve for her computer.  We used bits and pieces left over from her quilt.  My friend Claudia graciously agreed to make the panel with her initials, since she has an embroidery machine and I don't.

I neglected to take a picture of that too, so she sent me this one, but forgot to photograph the other side.

It feels very strange to know I'm now living here without her--despite the fact that she will be home for Labor Day weekend.  Just as growing old isn't for sissies, neither is leaving your child at college (although I admit I've shed tears at every transition).

Happy quiltmaking,..

Candyshop: Two Borders Quilted

The first two borders are quilted.

 The tricky thing about borders is that they really do consume much of the area of the quilt.
These first two borders have continuous feathers.

 The yellow border has a single spine--mostly because I started the second side of the feather without remembering to double the spine.  However, since that border is narrow, a single spine worked out just fine.

The second border is five inches wide, and I did remember to stitch the second side of the spine.

We spent much of the day in Albuquerque taking advantage of the tax-free weekend to pick up several items of clothing, school supplies, and items for Sweet Teen's dorm room.  We had set out in the morning hoping to avoid the worst of the crowds.  Of course, we hadn't realized that one of the places Sweet Teen wanted to shop was opening early, so by the time we left the mall, a good portion of the state's population was there!

After yesterday's off and on rain showers, we were hoping for more today.  We've had several hours of thunder in the distance, but no rain.  Still, the clouds do help moderate the temperatures.

I'm hoping that tomorrow I'll be able to complete the third [8.5 inch] border and move on to binding.  After the noisy crowds today, I really noticed how quiet the treadle is.

Linking to Sarah's Friday Linky Party

Happy quiltmaking.....

Candyshop Update: Treadling Away

Treadling, treadling, treadling.
I am having so much fun free motion quilting on one of my treadles.
I just tossed the quilt over the loveseat and snapped a few photos of some more of the blocks I completed.

 So they are not the greatest photos, but they do show the fun I'm having.

 Sweet Teen did a great job of choosing fabrics for this quilt over the last several years.

 The green dotty background in this block is the fabric scraps left from that dress I made back in the 80s.

 I have quite a few of these little four-inch strips, both flying geese and four patches, yet to quilt.

I think I have only one eight-inch block left to quilt.
So I will soon be moving on to the borders.

Esther Aliu shares some wonderful applique patterns with her readers.  So please hop over and take a look at her blog and the work her readers are sharing today. (She's sharing what could also be categorized as a quick sewing misadventure today too--the kind of thing of interesting, unexpected results many of us have encountered in our decades of sewing.)
Also linking to Lee's WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced.

Happy quiltmaking...

Candyshop: Quilting the Blocks

Treadling along on the quilting....

 I'm using a variety of Glide threads...

 and fairly consistent quilting designs with subtle variations in similar blocks.

 I like to make quilts that have differences in piecing or quilting because I think it makes them more interesting.

 So far I've quilted with gold, turquoise, antique brass, peony, violet, lavender, and probably a few other shades.

I'm using a Hobbs 80/20 batting and did have to change to a 100/18 Jeans needle.  A regular 100/18 needle would probably have worked, but I found the package of Jeans needles first.
Also, I switched the stitch plate on my Necchi BU to the one without the feed dog openings since the feed dogs are down and it's cutting down on the amount of lint I need to clean out with each bobbin change.

This is so much fun to quilt.  Sweet Teen wanted me to enter it in the upcoming county fair, but since her departure for college conflicts with the fair, I think it's more important for her to have the quilt with her in her dormitory.  If I couldn't get back to the fairgrounds on time, I'd lose the quilt since fair officials have the right to dispose of things not picked up as they see fit. That would not be cool.
Since my school year begins next week, I'm really working to get this done.  (Remember when schools used to start the day after Labor Day and end before Memorial Day?  Oh, yes, that was before Sputnik and Diane Ravitch, and politicians deciding they'd be in charge, although they decline to attempt to pass the 3rd grade tests they mandate.--Sorry, just a teeny tiny vent right there.)

Time to go look at what some other quilters are working on:
Judy's Design Wall Party
Connie's Free Motion By the River
Happy quiltmaking....

Candyshop Ready for Quilting

I've spent a lot of hours on this quilt this week.

 This was either the end of the day Wednesday or the beginning of the day Thursday.

 I just love the exuberance of all these different fabrics and the combination of different block patterns.  It reminds me of those wonderful mid-twentieth century scrap quilts made from all the leftovers from making clothes--except these have more updated colors and the polka-dots and stripes theme, of course.

 Since I was sewing at church during VBS to save many, many miles and much time commuting, it was a perfect opportunity to use the wonderful silver spoon pincushion made by my friend Harriet--and can give Sweet Teen a little bit of Aunt Harriet in her quilt too.

I spent Thursday making the backing.  I added a row of 18-inch piecing between the two widths of the backing fabric to make it long enough for the 79 x 96 inch quilt.  I thought I'd taken photographs of that, but guess I must have forgotten--so will get shots of the back later.

 I need to remind myself that it takes at least an hour to cut the batting to the quilt size and get the three layers stacked.  I had to go buy a batt because I did not have one of the proper size.  I bought a Hobbs 80/20, so we'll see how that works.  I had stopped using Hobbs 100% cotton a few years ago because I had to clean one too many batts of too many pieces of trash.  This 80/20 batt looks like a big improvement.

Quilt tips:
Use a large ruler to smooth hard-to-reach portions of the top to keep it absolutely flat and aligned.

Many quilters use painter's tape to tape the backing down so it will stay absolutely flat.  I was working on the tables at church and quickly realized that if I didn't want to deal with tape popping up, a second piece crossing the first at a right angle would prove invaluable.  I didn't have a single instance of "popping" tape.

My fingers are still tired from all those stitches, but it is sooooooo much faster than inserting and closing safety pines.  It took a little over two hours to do all that basting all by myself.

Now I get to do the fun part:  quilting!

One couple attending one of the meetings at church came in to tell me the story of the prayer quilt they recently took to his brother who has been diagnosed with lung cancer. He really liked it (meaning they chose well), but after they'd been home a while they received a phone call from him saying how much it makes him think of their now-deceased mother and the quilts she used to make.

In other news, we received another half-inch of rain last night.  (Of course, that means I'll need to spend part of tomorrow taking care of weeds!)  Nice to have the monsoons back, even if we're not getting the amount of rain that's falling in a lot of other places.

Am linking to Sarah's Whoop, Whoop and Amanda at Crazy Mom Quilts where you can see what other quilters have been up to.

Happy quiltmaking.....

Candyshop: Dots and Stripes Update

Just a quick shot:

Here is most of the body of the quilt tossed over the sofa.  [No, I don't have a "real" design wall."
This part is all together and after a bit of pressing will be ready for borders.  I need to check my EQ file and see what size I decided on.

I did drag Sweet Teen to a shop yesterday so we could choose a backing--which will still need some more pieces added.  Since I get to spend some time waiting for her this week (she's one of the teen leaders at vacation Bible School), and since yesterday we got the cabinet for the Necchi Leila moved to the church (of course it was one inch too big in every direction for my car), and the machine re-installed in it, I hope to get a lot more piecing done while waiting for her. It would be lovely if I could get the borders on, get the backing pieced, get it layered and basted, and start the quilting this week.  After all, the quilting is the fun part!  Of course, that now means it won't be made 100% on a treadle, but at this point, that's not important to me anyway. After all, Sweet Teen's mama sews on all kinds of machines, so that may be even more important to her.

She also wants to  get some portraits of us together this week.  Isn't that sweet?  There is not one picture of my parents, siblings, and me together unless somewhere on earth there is someone who kept a snapshot.  No way were my parents going to pay for professional photography.  That seems kind of unusual to me since I have dozens and dozens of professional photos of my grandpa and his generation and the one before, although most of them are from before the depression.

Okay, back to quiltmaking and then, some lovely summer reading.

Happy quiltmaking.....

Linking to:
Judy's Design Wall Monday
Connie's Free Motion by the River

Another Update for Dots and Stripes

I love to quilt.  While I like to piece, quilting is a lot more fun, and I'm getting impatient to get to that point.

Here are the next blocks, although it's possible that I did miss some of the most recent finishes:

Those purple and turquoise/gold triangles and squares were cut from the same batik--just a small piece I'd picked up somewhere.  The lovely purplish hand-dyed fabric used for the background on the two squares in the center row was a "clean up and see what happens" with what was left of a dyeing exercise probably close to twenty years ago.  Of course, I have lots of beautiful hand-dyed fabrics; I always told myself to clean up and dye some more--usually by blotting up different colors or by dumping some of the colors together to see what happened.  But I should have done yards of that to be sure I ended up with a lot of neutrals--and I never did enough.

I thought I'd do some more dyeing this summer, but I haven't.  My rash decision to buy an HE washer makes rinsing out dye a major production.  I'd love to have one of those old wringer washers like my grandma's generation had!

I also pieced a lot of checkerboard squares but forgot to take photos.

I did decide I have to have a printable plan so I designed this custom set in EQ7.

I used gray tones for the plan.  I have more than enough blocks but may need to piece some more four-patches or more flying geese.  At least now I can print, count, and finish piecing. (I need more practice using custom set; it's really hard to get everything perfectly aligned even with the grid; but it's only a plan, and I can see where each block and strip goes.)


Happy quiltmaking.....

Wednesday Piecing Update...Dots and Stripes

Still piecing the college quilt....

 Here are the new ones.  I added strips to the outside of the little Lincoln's Platform in the lower right hand corner to bring it up to the eight-inch size of the other blocks.  Originally, I'd thought I'd have both six and eight inch blocks, but I've changed my mind.

 Since I still have stacks of flying geese, I'm thinking I'll use some of them for single windmill blocks.  That won't happen to all of them because I don't have enough of some of the backgrounds since I used them in multiple blocks.

I'm working in a very different way than is usual for me.  I cut most of the fabrics into two and a half inch strips and am using triangle rulers to cut into triangles and squares as I go.  My rulers are Omnigrid rulers that I've had for a couple of decades that they don't make anymore, although I know other manufacturers makde similar ones.

Even when I've worked in this fashion before, I've worked in EQ to plan layout, how many blocks of each pattern, etc., and I'm not doing that this time.

So many of these are starting to look like candy.  I'm thinking that's appropriate since as a child Sweet Teen loved to collect candy although she liked eating it a lot less.  Every approaching holiday was preceded by cleaning out a drawer or shelf in preparation for the next collection!  I'm thinking this quilt will last longer than those bags of candy.

We've had three days of amazingly low temperatures and enough clouds to make me homesick for the Smoky Mountains,  Lots of moisture in the air; not so much reaching the ground.

Joining some linky parties:

Lee at Freshly Pieced

Esther's Blog

(These links are in my side bar.)

A lot of pretty things have been posted ahead of me.  Enjoy.

Happy quiltmaking,