Sister's Choice Quilts

Violas in Bloom

I am just so proud of these little block units!  It is just the look I was going for in my mind, with the scrappy fabrics, and each basket/vase having flowers all in one color range.  I will get to making the basket/vase units eventually.  Those will go where you see empty spaces on the design wall.  What you see is the makings for four large blocks, less the fourth unit comprising the vase/stem section.

I had to order more of the light grey fabric the flower bases, so my progress is stalled right now.  My baskets/vases will be in deep black fabrics and the stems of the blooms will be in the light grey.

These blocks finish quite large.  The individual large blocks are made up of four sections-two half blooms, one full bloom and the basket and stem section.  Construction is interesting, as the four units that make up each block are all different sizes!  I will show you more about that in another post.

I have a light work week this week, so I am planning to make some good progress on these blocks once my extra grey fabric arrives.  Meanwhile, I am occupying myself sewing my Civil War Stars in a Time Warp blocks together.

Back in the Saddle with Viola

What a fun project to work on after being on hiatus for over a month!  That project is Viola, a Miss Rosie's Quilt Co. pattern, designed by Carrie Nelson of course.  I am participating in a sew along with two friends, Thelma and Sinta.  I was so worried that my recently sprained hand would prevent me from getting my fabric cut out.  I told myself I would just cut enough to make a test block, but honestly, I was fine.  My hand is still tender but I cut out all the fabric in one fell swoop. One swell foop.

And you won't believe this...Guess what these stacks of fabric are?  The leftovers!!!!  Ha ha, I have enough fabric left to make two more quilts.  I scrounged around and managed to get 58 different prints, and just had to cut a 3 1/2 inch strip of each fat quarter.  I may need to go back and cut a bit more, depending on how my color placement in my blocks works out, but isn't that awesome?  What a great addition to my stash of bright happy fabrics.

Fabrics used are Mimosa (Another Point of View for Windham), Simply Color (V & Co. for Moda) and some leftover bits of Denyse Schmidt and Basic Grey.  

I experimented a bit and did a bit of piecing.  The grey fabric in the photo is not attached.  I have decided to go with a different grey for my "buds and stems".  A lighter grey that will contrast more with the black fabrics of my flower pots will be better. This gives you the effect of what one quarter of a block will look like. In each block, there is another unit just like the one above, only with different aqua prints, then one more full flower until using all eight prints in aqua.  I love the scrappiness of the block, but also am happy that each full block will focus on one color family.  I have aqua, orange, yellow, pink, green, and red.

I had some trepidations about joining in the sew along.  I am still feeling a bit fragile mentally after losing my sister, and was worried that I would not be able to focus.  It turns out the complexity of this project (and I won't lie, you have to pay attention to what you are doing) is helping me get back on track.  I really enjoyed myself yesterday and can't wait to show you what I have accomplished this coming Monday.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Just Thinking...

No sewing just yet.  Hand and wrist sprain are healing and I am definitely on the mend.  Hope to try some cutting today and get started on the Viola project.

I did have to go to work yesterday at the shop and just have to share an interaction I experienced with you all. The shop where I work offers cooking classes twice a month, and we had an (obviously) older lady contact us to sign up for one of the class offerings.  She freely shared with us that she was not only signing up for the class but making the occasion a vacation destination for herself.  She planned to stay at a local hotel (actually the one right across the street from the shop!), and attend the class, and explore our little town. After a couple of days she was planning to visit a nearby town and explore its delights for a couple of days as well.  After the class she made reservations with us and with the hotel to return next year.  

The thing of it was, this lady was in her mid seventies, maybe even eighty.  She didn't have a husband.  I somehow surmised that she was a widow, but at any rate, she was determined not to let being alone in the world stop her from having a vacation, experiencing some fun or having an adventure.  She told me she had driven all the way to our town on her own, and planned to make the vacation an annual occurrence.

She thoroughly enjoyed the class, and purchased two cases of our products to experiment with at home when she tried out the class recipes on her own.  

I so admired her for not just throwing in the towel and staying at home in her senior years just because she had no one to share things with anymore.  She was brave and intrepid, and determined not to let age and her single status dictate that she should stay at home and throw in the towel.

She shared with me that she planned to buy some new tee shirts, do some wine tasting, eat out at restaurants and ignore her usual dietary restrictions. She was planning to moderately kick up her heels.  She seemed totally ok to experience all these new things all on her own.

I admired her, but at the same time, my heart went out to her.  I kept imagining her going back to her hotel room all alone with her little shopping bag, her bottle of wine ( to be consumed alone),  and her solitary plan for the next day.  I kept thinking she needed someone to not just share things with her, but look after her.  What if she fell?  What if someone took advantage of her?  What if she encountered car trouble or some other unforeseen bad luck?

Do any of you know any single ladies of advanced age who are in a similar situation?  Are any of you readers  in the same boat?  How do you feel about doing things on your own?  Do you think you can't go on vacation, to concerts, to new destinations, because you do not have  a partner?  Do any of you have suggestions on how to make our senior years just as full of fun and new experiences as our younger years?  Even if we are now on our own?

Have You Got Yours Yet?

Your first Frivols that is?

Mine came in the mail last week and I could not be more thrilled.  I ordered the accompanying "finishing kit" as well, which comes with background, binding, and any extra fabric required for making the project.  The Frivols is contained in the little tin box with see-through window, and the accessory fabric is packaged separately as you can see.

Here it is all unboxed so you can see what all you get in the tin.  A roll of the fabric collection, the project instructions, and some material on how to make a second project.  It is done very nicely and is so appealing.  

I won't lie though, these cutie patooties are pricey.  The Frivols itself was $37 and the finishing kit was $50.  That is cutting into my monthly fabric budget I can tell you.  My membership in the $40 per month Kim Diehl club may have to be suspended.  Not sure I can do both.  Particularly since I seem to be lagging in keeping up.

Speaking of which...I had a little accident over the weekend that is going to impede my sewing for at least a week.  I fell in the shower and sprained my hand.  It is all puffy and swollen and not particularly usable, especially for rotary cutting.  My right hand naturally.  It was such a stupid thing that I did.  You know those scrubby little things that are meant for scrubbing the dry skin on your heels?  I was lathering away on one foot, put it down and somehow slipped on the soapy residue.  If you have one of those things, use it in the bathtub, not in the shower.  It has been five days now, and it is showing signs of improvement, so with luck I will be able to use my hand again by the weekend and maybe get started on one project or another!

I Changed My Mind

I am still fiddling around with fabrics for the Viola project.  I want those flowers to be really colorful and happy, and wasn't embracing my red/yellow/orange palette so much.  I remembered that I had purchased these fat quarters of a collection called Mimosa by Robert Kaufman from Fat Quarter Shop some months back, and when I took them out of the drawer where they were stored, I decided that maybe I should go with them.  I still have my red, yellow and orange, but there is also that great lime green and the pretty turquoise.  That is more the look I want to go with.

Eight different black prints will do for the flower pots, and I'll use a medium grey for all the stems and flower bases.  Aren't those colors gorgeous?

I am still not ready to do any cutting.  I had to order a brighter white background fabric than my usual Kona Snow, which was too creamy.  I also needed more of the grey for the stems.

Also, and this is so hard for me right now, is that I am going to have to do some figuring before I start cutting.  I am still having some difficulty focusing, but need to do some math prior to diving in.  You see, the pattern shows all the flowers in one color way, and I am using four.  I have to calculate how many half square triangles and other units to make for each flower.  The piecing for this pattern is pretty tricky and I don't want to  mess up.  Luckily I have all fat quarters and the pattern calls for fat eighths, so I have some fabric to sacrifice.  Let's hope it doesn't come to that!

Viola Sew Along

I am excited about a new project I plan to embark upon soon.  The pattern is Viola, a recent release by Miss Rosie's Quilt Co. (Carrie Nelson design).  Carrie's patterns are now being published by Moda, and have a slightly different format.  Same chatty instructions a la Carrie, but the patterns are now in a booklet form, which I rather like.

The pattern is somewhat complex, as it involves a lot of piecing and some appliqué.  I am up for it I think.  I will be encouraged to keep up by two friends with whom I am doing this project as a Sew Along.  Thelma (Cupcakes 'n' Daisies) and Sinta (Pink Pincushion) have decided to do the sew along, and I asked if I could join in.  I am sure others are welcome to participate as well.  

My inspiration fabrics are a new collection by the Japanese company Lecien.  These are so different from the typical shabby chic and vintage styles Lecien is known for, and is called L's Modern Basics, City Sunrise Collection.  I know my flower pots will be in the greys and the blacks, and I want my flowers to be in reds, oranges and yellows.  I have not figured out the stems yet, however.  I started playing with adding some additional fabrics and these are what I have auditioned so far.

Here I have added in some V and Co. Simply Colorful fat quarters in red, yellow and orange.

Green just isn't figuring into my color scheme, so I may end up making my stems and flower bases all a very pale grey.  Still working on that, but I do hope to start the project next week when Eva goes back to preschool.

Hope you are all having a great week!

Surfacing

Hi everyone.  I have to say I am overwhelmed with the kind words and expressions of sympathy I have gotten from my blogging community in the past couple of weeks.  To say that I appreciate it doesn't quite express the level of gratitude I feel towards all of you who took the time to say you cared and had my family in your thoughts and prayers.

I have had a hard time focusing and concentrating on things, but I believe I am getting a bit better.  My new planner/organizer has been a distraction.  I also have gotten interested in paper crafting, and have made a few greeting cards with my sister Andrea's Sizzix machine (on loan).  Honestly, if I got into paper crafting at the same level as I am into quilting I am sure we would be on the dole in our retirement years!  Those are two expensive hobbies!  I will share more about that in a future post.

One thing thing that has snapped me out of my doldrums is that I received two quilts back from Mary of Quilt Hollow, who quilts for me.  These are Mary's photos below.

This small quilt has been quilted with a design of sunflowers all over it.  I can't wait to get this one trimmed and bound and on my porch, or maybe even on my dining room table.  I will definitely share some photos of it when I get it finished and situated.  How awesome is that quilting design? 

 

This is Bow Ties.  I admit I jumped this one way ahead in the quilting queue!  This is my fall/winter cuddle quilt, and I need it NOW even though the temps are around 100.  This is my Bwankie.

The second thing that has me surfacing from my funk is a very tempting new Quilt Along project I am going to do with friends Thelma and Sinta.  I will tell you all about it tomorrow!

For now, so long, and I will be back to share my doings on a much more regular basis.  Thanks again for your support and patience and I get through this experience.

Little Distractions

First of all, a heartfelt thank you to all of you who sent me emails and messages of condolence.  Your thoughts and prayers are much appreciated, not just by me, but by everyone in my family.  This loss was terrible for all of us, and your encouragement and comfort just means the world.

I have found myself strangely numb this past week.  Nothing seems interesting or fun.  Normal activities are burdensome and difficult.  I can't concentrate on reading, I sit in front of tv and couldn't tell you what I was watching five minutes later.  Forget about sewing.  The effort just seems like it is too much.

So, the strangest thing managed to capture my interest.  I was mindlessly surfing the internet and came across a few blog posts by people who keep personal planners (or organizers).   I have always liked the low tech approach to personal organization, and am a list maker.  One particular planner stood out:  the Erin Condren Life Planner.  They aren't cheap, but I went ahead and ordered one anyway.

When you lose a loved one, life seems pretty out of control   I guess starting a new organization system was appealing because it gives me the feeling that on some level I can manage my life in an orderly and methodical fashion.  Psychologically, it seems obvious why controlling anything at the moment would be important.

The package was delivered by Fed Ex three days later.  That is the actual mailing container pictured above.  How pretty is that?

 When I opened the box, this is how the items were presented.  You know how I am about pretty presentations.  This really lifted my spirits.

Here's my new planner, along with a box of colored markers the company tossed in for free.  I thought the title on the cover was quite apt.  "And the adventure begins".  A positive message for a fresh start.  I spent a few hours trying to figure out how I was going to organize the planner, and got out some pretty and fun stickers which I used to decorate the upcoming weeks pages.

This may seem like a fairly mindless pursuit, but honestly, it is all I am good for.  And those blank sections are full of possibilities.  I will get through this week.