Happy Memorial Day

Did you notice anything about this quilt. No, not the fact that it doesn't have a binding on it.

Here, look closer.




No, not the irregular stitches and the noticeable stops and starts, what are you, the quilt police?

It has been free motion quilted. Yes, I did that. After about a year, I finally managed. All I did was put the plate to cover the feed dogs, changed my stitch length to 0, and put in the darning foot. I'm sure I did all those things before, but this time it worked. I even used the red thread that didn't work last time. It would have been nice to write something, (the preamble to the constitution, the pledge of allegiance, some interesting patriotic quote) using free motion quilting, but I decided to use a simple stitch for my debut.

I hope it is the start of many more free motion quilted things to come.

Finished

Yesterday, our project finished. It's been going on all month all day and almost all night. It is always so exciting to get the "No Work Available. Contact your supervisor" popup on the computer. Generally we finish the cleanup, take a little break, and then figure out what is needed for the next project, if there is another one.

There is one, and it has more flexible hours. I figured I would do the cleanup and get a nice long break for Memorial Day weekend. I could get an early start on the next project - get things ready, figure out what needs to be done, print out stuff, make a plan, get organized, etc., but not have to do any "real" thinking work until next week.

Seconds after the No Work Available popup showed up, my boss called me on the cell phone. He said, "good news, I know you don't have very much time before the deadline for the next project, so I got overtime authorized for you. It's okay for you to work this weekend, Saturday, Sunday, Monday, whatever you want, in order to get things done on time."

Gee, thanks.

Shasta

Last night, as I was heading to bed, I remembered that I hadn't picked up my mail. I went back downstairs, got the mail from the mailbox. I planned to just leave it for me to look at in the morning, but there was a quilt magazine, American Patchwork & Quilting, August 2010 issue. August! I gave myself permission to flip through the pages quickly - not enough time to dream and plan and enjoy - but enough to know what is coming for me in the days ahead.

I must have been tired, because I did exactly that - flip through the pages quickly. I turned the last page, and there was a shock. It's my name! They've named a fabric line after me. I looked closer, and yep, still my name. Or is that steal my name? Come to think of it, when I was signing my posts, that might have been the font I used for my signature.



Please forgive the shadow. I dropped the camera at the quilt show last year, and flash pictures get the shadow.

Hmm, I wonder when the royalty checks will start coming in.

Right Handed Sewing Machine

Last year, when my nephew got sewed something for the first time, I had a thought. It didn't seem blog worthy, but since I don't have anything to say now, and I want to say something, I figure I might as well share it with you.


Back when the sewing machine was first invented, it was designed for right handed people. The wheel needed to be turned frequently to get the machine to work, it was designed so the right hand which needed to do most of the work would be near the part that needed the most work.

But now, let's face it, the right hand plays a supporting role, to hand fabric to the left hand which does most of the work. Sure, the right hand might turn a knob now and then, but for the most part, it is the left hand that is guiding the fabric and making sure the seams are sewn straight. You would think that new sewing machine models would turn the design so that the open space would be on the right side. Sewing machines today are designed for left handed people.

I'm not asking for a new invention, or a change of the old invention, because my left hand manages just fine, and I don't want to have to relearn stuff. My right hand needs a rest after all the blogs are read and the computer games are won.

But for people just starting out with a sewing machine, it seems to make sense. I think it would have been easier for my nephew to guide the fabric.

Spiderweb Oh oh

Remember this beautiful spiderweb I made earlier in the month? See how beautiful it looks against the black of the office chair?

I got the bright idea that I could finish it up and give it as a gift to the math teacher who helped me figure out how to design the optical illusion quilt. The first decision I made was to applique it instead of trying to figure out the seams. This would also help add another layer on the back so the white would stay looking white. I sewed a piece of white fabric to it, all the way around right sides together. Cut a slit and turned it right side out. So far so good. It looked lovely. In fact, it looked so good, that I thought that maybe I should have added batting and made a multi sided quilt. I thought about adding a hanger and letting the quilt be without batting.

Then I put my shape on top of the gray fabric. The teacher is a big fan of the Ohio State Buckeyes (football team), and the spiderweb kinda looks like an O (for Ohio State University), so I could make a block O quilt without infringing with any copyright issues. It looks much better against black than gray, so I added a black flange around the O for contrast. The plan is / was to applique a buckeye leaf over the whole thing at the end.

Then I ruined it. I decided on straight line quilting to keep things simple, following the hexagon shape. I have this metal thing that can be attached to the foot, that helps guide the size of the seams. It doesn't fit on the walking foot, so I attached it to a regular foot. It caused shirring. A smart person would have stopped at the first sign of shirring, but I kept on sewing. I don't know, I think I thought it wouldn't be that bad, or that the next seam wouldn't have shirring problems. The sad thing is that I think I've had this problem before. Just didn't learn from it the last time around. Hopefully it takes this time.

Now I have to unsew, and decide whether to try again, or move on to another plan.

Fog

I was getting ready for work yesterday when I glanced at my window and thought that something was just not right. I pulled the curtain, and saw that it was very foggy outside. My first thought was you. I thought I should run out and take pictures and share the weirdness with you.

But I was getting ready for work, and I don't have camera time built into the schedule. When I went outside, the pull to stop and take pictures was even stronger, but I had to resist because I didn't want to be late. But I remembered that I had a camera in my bag, and figured I would try to sneak a few pictures in for you during my commute. I got in the car and drove a ways, and all the never ending lights I usually stop at were green. Here I am wishing for a red light just for you.

Finally I managed to get this pic for you. Oops, light is about to change.



And when I got to work, I took a few more. All those green lights got me to work early.

Weekend Update

Twice already, we have hosted a Japanese student through my daughter's high school's student exchange program. Last week, my daughter sent me an email that she wanted to participate again this year. Last year's program was canceled due to flu concerns.

I decided that maybe I should forgo another quilting marathon and do some spring cleaning. I had originally thought I would wait until this project at work is finished, but the program starts right when this project ends.

I have to admit that I think I got more cleaning done in each of my quilting marathons than I did this weekend. Fitting in some cleaning in a quilting marathon is pretty easy. Fitting in cleaning during a cleaning marathon, not so much. Of course it didn't help that I found this book on the library's website while I was looking for something else.

In The Fortune Quilt, a quiltmaker makes quilts that are waiting for a particular recipient she hasn't met yet. When she meets them, she gives them the quilt, along with their fortune. Seems like it could be a series, but it isn't. The fortune and quilt is given to this woman whose life is about to change drastically. The quiltmaker stays in the story, as a supporting role. It's a witty book. It isn't what you would expect from a fictional book about quilts, because most of then tend to be more politically correct. In this one, there is cursing, a Wiccan, a gay couple, a transgendered person, etc. I really enjoyed the book.

I want to order more books by Lani Diane Rich, but I think I'd better wait until I've done some serious cleaning.