WIP

Believe it or not, mailing that quilt is still a work in progress. I was going to send it off via UPS, but that proved to be a very expensive proposition. What's with UPS and Fed Ex charging $90-$100 to mail a trackable package across the pond? So, that left crawling back to the post office with my tail between my legs. Except Monday was Columbus Day and the post office is closed in solemn remembrance of this important holiday( my apologies for the sarcasm to all who value Columbus Day). OK, that brings us to Tuesday. I awoke with every intention of getting that package off ASAP. But, Rachel needed to go to the doctor and then, another one, and then to get an ultrasound on her leg. Before I knew it the clock read 5:00 and the post office was closed. My plan today is to actually mail that quilt to it's destination. I am a little nervous because last night on NPR I heard that there's a postal strike in England.
Another work in progress is this quilt. It's heavily influenced by that courthouse steps log cabin quilt I mentioned yesterday. It's made from the leftover fabric I batiked and dyed for the Do Over quilt. I'm still debating the rotation of this quilt. I tend to make pieces that have a vertical orientation, but I'm also strangely committed to not altering a quilt's rotation after I've pieced it. Having just written that down, I realize what a stupid notion that is, but feel that it would be somehow dishonest to present the finished quilt differently than the way I originally constructed it. Sort of like it's orientation was a haphazard afterthought. Oh my, I probably need to get over that.

Just, just

Just wanted to post a few thoughts that have been floating around in my head lately.
I've owned this book for a long time, but can't begin to count how many times I've "rediscovered" it. It's once again sitting atop the stack of books on my nightstand, available for regular infusions of inspiration. I hear(really read) a lot about the influence the Gee's Bend quilts have had on a host of quilters, and while I love those quilts, this book predates the Gees Bend exhibits and books by at least a decade. Yet, I don't hear much discussion about the quilts pictured here or in Eli Leon's terrific compendium of African American improvisational quilts. Why is that?
Check out this wonderful image.
...or this beauty. And the scale on these quilts is large. They are bed size pieces which means that each one of these log cabin blocks is like thiiiiiiiis big.
Leafing through this book lately has been so wonderful. What really amazes me is how I continually see new things in these quilts. This book was probably one of the first quilting books I ever purchased and is now one of many in a crowded bookcase, but it still makes great bedtime reading.

Do Overs

Does this piece look familiar? It's not the same one I pictured in a post in July. It's a recreation. I've mentioned before that I'm not big on making the same thing twice. This redo was inspired not by artistic curiosity, but by the United States Postal Service.
I listed this quilt in my shop and was happy when, in early August, it sold to someone in England. I made my way to the local post office, filled out a customs form, and shipped it off via international first class. Several weeks passed and the buyer contacted me and told me that the quilt had never arrived. I made inquiries here; she made inquiries there and we came to find out that the quilt probably never left the US.
At one point in the search I was informed by a postal official that I was, "out of luck." In other words they didn't know where the package was and they weren't planning on looking for it.
At this point I emailed my patient customer and told her that I'd make her another quilt like the first and send that out ASAP. So, here's my redo. It goes out today, but this time via UPS.

Expectations

That, by the way, is what E is for. I struggle with expectations as I suspect everyone does. I expect myself to post on my blog more, way more, than once a week. But here I am; it's Friday and this is the first time this week that I have put fingers to keyboard. Part of that is beyond my control. This is a very busy time in the Jewish calender. Having just celebrated Rosh Hashanah and survived(not an exaggeration) Yom Kippur, we set up our sukkah for that holiday. On the one hand, I really like Sukkot. It's definitely a holiday best celebrated with lots of people and copious amounts of food. On the other hand, prepping for the multitudes who will come over to help in the merrymaking takes a fair amount of work. And the completion of that work is not helped by digressions(that was last weeks post?).
I felt compelled this week to replace our already existing, handmade challah cover with a new, handmade challah cover. Why? I'm not sure, but I think using up the ric rac had something to do with it.My expectations that I add new items to my shop every week meant that I had to finish dyeing and boiling out these fabrics. Could this have waited until next week? My suspicion is yes.
Getting it all done, plus home schooling my kids, and allowing for a few digressions that had me sewing a new top for myself and working on Abi's much delayed ripple blanket, all while trying to get ready for Sukkot was pretty stressful. But, like I said, I've got these pesky expectations. And little to no self control. It all adds up to a head to head match up between what I want to do and what I need to do.

D is for

Digression. Yes, this is my lame/clever way of getting around whatever ambiguous rules there may be to this alphabet thing and do what I want to do. I want to show off Abi's latest creations.
Abi's been making softies for a while now, but lately she's been interested in making them to sell. So, I told her we could photograph a couple and that I would put them in my Etsy store. She's very excited about this and I'm pretty jazzed as well. Really, it appeals to me on multiple levels. First, though I have three wonderful girls and each has amazing talents of her own, Abi is the only one that seems interested in sewing, knitting, etc. Secondly, As a home schooler, I see this as a fabulous learning experience. Not only does she have to design, cut and sew the animals, but she's got to figure out what her( really my) materials cost, how she values her time and what she can reasonably price things at. She also has to help with the photography, a great opportunity to learn about that, and describe( in written form) her creation. This is not just a teachable moment, its got to count as at least a couple of hours.

C is for:

C is for coasters. I love making them. And the funny thing is I don't even own great furniture that I long to protect from sweaty glasses. I have a couple nice pieces, but on the whole, most of our stuff would probably be more visually interesting with a few well placed watermarks. Nevertheless, coasters make me smile. I think it's for the same reason I like making pillows. They're a perfect opportunity to try something without committing to a lot of time and effort. And there's that instant gratification thing as well. In an hour, I can have 4 pieced, backed and quilted coasters. That's pretty hard to beat. I'm thinking this constitutes the little things making a difference in my life or I'm just not getting out enough. Anyway, here is my latest but certainly not last set of coasters:
Plus some detail shots because c is also for camera(and close up).

B is for:

Batik. I've been doing quite a lot of that lately. What's that? The batik tutorial. Uhh... haven't been working on that quite as much though I have shot a few pictures. Mostly, I've been making fabric, which, frankly would be the ideal time to take pictures for the tutorial. I'll have to keep that in mind.
Some of this fabric has already been turned into finished objects and there's actually even more completed fabric than pictured. Dyeing has been big around here lately.
These shots are the front and back of a tufted(that's a real word, right?) pillow I made with some of the fabric.

B is also for break of day.
Every morning(well, five mornings a week), I wake up before the crack of dawn to swim. Luckily, I'm on a masters swim team, so I have some company and coaching during these wee hours. Every time my alarm goes off, I grumble, but after I'm done and I'm driving home, I relish the opportunity to greet the day this way. And, I almost always see the sunrise.

B is for baking, especially bread.
Abi and I baked challah together today. We made special round challot because tonight we'll celebrate Rosh Hashannah. It's not uncommon for us to bake challah on Fridays, but on Rosh Hashannah, I use a special recipe that calls for vanilla and lots of sugar. We hope it will make for a very sweet new year. Just in case, though, we eat plenty of apples and honey.
Shanah Tovah U'metukah!