sewing room Saturday

 Thanks to all of you who supplied the names of those patterns from the antique quilts: brain is on vacation. While I was cleaning up the sewing room, dusting the sewing machine and sewing some strips, I found another bag of orphan antique blocks. Sigh... there are many of these.

Two more of these but not with the corners.  And zillions of those arrowhead-shaped cutouts in ugly fabrics.

There are numerous of this particularly egregious block.  I will lose no time in cutting them up and making them unrecognizeable.  I already tackled the first one, which was pink and green in this same pattern.

 It's looking better but not good enough.  It has a way to go before it looks like something else.

 

 Then there is this remnant of a hexagon quilt.  Nice selection of 30's fabrics.

It was sewn by machine - quite poorly, I was happy to see.

 I spent most of the day doing this stuff while I waited for Jane and her friend Mike to slog their way through the traffic between Connecticut and New Jersey.

Worth the wait!   We sat on the deck, had tea and cake and (she got to see my woods in person and even heard the wild turkeys barking, although they never did show their beaks)
Don't we look happy to see each other?  We're working on another date for me to teach in Grand Junction in 2011.

After Jane told me that she and Mike had ironed 300 yds of fabric for a church banner project, I suggested she buy a mangle.  If anybody has one to sell, let me know and I'll pass the info along to Jane.

On the subject of teaching - I will be in Bethesda, MD for a family event the weekend of Nov 12-14. If anybody wants to organize a workshop while I am already there, I'll be happy to stay for two or three more days and let my husband get a ride home - LOL.  E-mail me for a list of current workshops.

Ditto for Chicago first weekend in March 2011.  The other Illinois guilds meet later in the month so the schedule doesn't work, but if you want a workshop while I'm in the area let me know.

Huh?  My camera clicked all by itself and caught this lonely chair.  Waiting for Elijah?  Ilove the way the shadow of the roof leaves its mark in color on the chair.  It was very beautiful and peaceful out there today.  Tomorrow, I sleep late!

dateline: Bloomington, IN

Yesterday's class, Cinderella Quilts:Reinventing the UFO was great fun. At the end of the day, the question "can't we please have another day of this?" was heard all over the classroom. It really is a two-day class but today I am scheduled to teach gelatin printing.
 
Nonetheless, everybody got started on something and had a wonderful time!  (So did I).

Jean came with several blocks like this, which had been put together into an unfinished top. 

This is what the block above looked like after she had cut it up and redone some of it.

Kathleen, in the throes of moving, had packed all her fabric into storage and then decided to take the class.  Everyone was very generous about sharing fabrics, so she started a block from scratch - sewing strips together and going from there. Not only did she make these blocks,she put them together into a small quilt top.

Later, Donna gave her a block to redo and they each revised the same traditional block ( made in different colors). Here is Kathleen's redo

and here is Donna's version.

Julia has cut these wonky 9 patches up and is now puzzling over the next step.

And finally, Bara's finished top which she created from some leftover blocks and lots of strips.

Those were all the pictures I was able to get yesterday, but I'm off to teach again and I'm sure there will be lots of gelatin prints and more fun today.

More UFO fun!

Yes, I'm home.  Bleary-eyed and off to speak at a meeting today, which means getting out the door all-too-early.  Happily, my friend Aleeda is going with me so she can navigate and kick me if I start to fall asleep as I drive.

Last workshop was one I love to teach - and it was not printing!

Diane Shink,AQS appraiser and collector of wonderful antique quilts, came with a pile of vintage blocks she was never going to use. Here she is, auditioning them with her African fabrics and having a great time creating something completely new.  I can't wait to see what she does with all of them!

Here are Randi's new blocks from her fabric collection and I expect her end result will be fabulous, too.

Finally, Dianne Robinson's small piece, which she actually finished in the one-day class.

This should really be a two-day workshop but everybody at least got started on a new way (for them) of working -- and they loved it!

Off to make coffee, get on the road, and hopefully, will have some time to catch up tonight.

I've got takers

So far, four five people have asked for one of these 1970's Ohio Star visions of loveliness to deconstruct/cut/paste/rescue.  I'm sitting with my seam ripper, separating them and have four three more I can part with if you wanna play.

A few guidelines (I don't do rules, as you know).
1.  Do not try to put it together after midnight when you have had a long day.  You will have to take it apart again. Ask me how I know.

2.  The blue is a 65/35 poly-cotton  blend so don't bother overdyeing it.

3. You don't have to use every tiny bit of the block (although if you do, it would be nice) but use enough so we know it's in there someplace without having to get out a magnifying glass.  Otherwise, up to you what you do with it or combine it with.

4. Send me a jpg by April 27 -- drop dead date when I post is April 30th.

I'll keep the seam ripper out in case anybody else feels either creative or desperate for any excuse to procrastinate what you should be doing instead.

P.S. don't use a really hot iron.

longer days ahead

Hooray - spring ahead tonight!  Of course, there is a roaring rain and wind storm out there, with 60 mph winds predicted.
Branches down when I went out late this afternoon to see my mother -- and some flooding.  I was supposed to go to an art opening tonight but once I was in, I was IN.  And the town has cancelled tomorrow's St. P. day parade due to weather.

All this talk about UFOs made me think I should open the trunk next to my chair and see what was in there.  AHA! Just as I suspected - some pieces filed under "What was I Thinking??"  Oops - now that I've unearthed them, I can't ignore them. Early 1970's era calicos and poly/cotton that smells vile. Are you ready??

                        notice how my toes blend right in.

I either stopped before I finished or decided it was so ugly I should take it apart.  The blue is the offending blend - can you see the shine?

But WAIT - there's more!!  A Log Cabin that I started to take apart (oh,all that work:-(((.  I must have gotten a real bargain on the bright blue poly/cotton. 

   What, indeed, was I thinking??? Now I'm thinking - can these UFOs be saved? And is it even worth it to try?

I am turning the clock ahead so it is after midnight and will try for a night's sleep  Tomorrow, I'll show you some of the good things I found in the trunk.