Just Under the Wire!

It's 10:37 pm, June 30, and I just finished my June installment of the Red Thread Stitch-Along. Phew! I did almost the whole thing today, which included accidentally stitching the trailer in red and pulling it back out again. I didn't like the charted color of the car, so I changed it to yellow. Does it look too much like a school bus to you?

Tiny (formerly known as DD) got her braces off today; talk about a happy camper! What a pretty smile.

Really Amazing Theatre

Okay, there's a joke in the title of this post, but you'll have to see the show to get it.

This afternoon I went to the theatre with some of the girls from my knitting group. The show was called "The Male Intellect: the Second Coming." A one-man-show, it was hilarious! Here's a link to what he does: Robert Dubac. Who knew cigarettes were so useful? We had a grand old time.

Thank Heavens for Little Goals

Get the Maurice Chevalier reference? Anyway, I've been making progress on long-term projects by setting little goals:

1. Basketweave Dress: 4 rows/day (more is fine)
2. Girl Scout Vest: 4 patches/day
3. Fiction: read 10 pages/day (more is fine)
4. Exercise: 30 minutes/day (more is fine)
5. Bible: read a day's worth from the Victory Bible Reading Plan every day.
6. One housewifely chore a day. (more is fine, but puh-leeze!)
7. Binding Oriental Quilt: 1'/day (I made that up just now; we'll see how it works out.)

See! The basketweave dress is moving right along!

And I have amnesty. I refuse to chastise myself for forgetting or not getting around to it. That may work for some people, but I've never been a fan of negative reinforcement.

There should be a cross-stitch goal, but it can wait until the vest is done. Only one or two more days on that.

Progress so far on the vest Patches left to sew on

Showers of Blessings!

A dear friend sent me this link from a church somewhere. I guess I'm a little emotional: it made me cry, but in a good way.

Stashbuster alert: at PQM yesterday, a woman named Jan--that's the third Jan associated with quilting for me!-- stopped by and brought us THIRTEEN BAGS of good quality quilting fabric. And it wasn't scraps--it was YARDAGE! We have backs galore! Much of it was coordinating fabric, like small dog fabric, big dog fabric, and dog bones. I immediately put those together for kits. What a generous gift. We could make 100 quilts from this!
Here's the fabric that got my immediate attention: I just love big cities, and this beauty has a little of each! So looking forward to playing!

A Fair Start

Basketweave Dress, side 2

I went to the San Diego County Fair yesterday with DD, who was dancing. She wanted to spend time on the midway with friends, so I just found places to hang out and knit. I watched Mickey Dolenz of the Monkees and a hypnotist (okay, I didn't knit there--I napped) and spent time in the garden area. I got about 20 rows done!

Oh, and DD was terrific! She kept a big smile going and shared the fun with the audience.

Knitter's Paradise

So I've been knitting a lot lately. I finished the back of the basketweave dress for DD and began the front. Of course, it's exactly the same pattern, so maybe I finished the front. Hmm...
Also, I finally cast on the second sock in my Multicolored Sock project. See it there on the right? When I was working on it, another knitter--Gillian--was surprised by the tiny size 0 needles I'm using. They're just a little bigger than wooden toothpicks. She asked, "Do they actually sell those?"

I replied, "Oh, they give them away in restaurants after every meal!"

My new plaything: Ravelry. It's an online site that connects knitters and crocheters, patterns, and their "stashes." I went through most of my yarn, photographed it, and catalogued it. Also, I have a listing of my books and magazines. From this site, I can click any pattern I own or want to own and see how other knitters did with it. Very cool.

My Quilt Story

For eight years, I was on the bead scene. I made and sold extravagant beaded jewelry, taught classes, and went to bead stores all over the country; happily assembling artwork out of color and light. It was fun. It was invigorating. I even took a year-long class that moved me into the artistic world. But something was missing: I didn't feel like I was really serving God; really making the world any better. Sure, I was making it prettier and I was earning money that I could give to good causes, but it just didn't seem like enough.

Now, don't get me wrong. I'm sure people can do beadwork to improve the world; it just wasn't right for me."Lucky Kid" lotto quilt

Then, five years ago, I took a little workshop at a Girl Scout Leader Day. They brought sewing machines, cutting mats and rotary cutters, and piles of fabric. There we learned to cut, piece, assemble, and tie a mini-quilt. I loved it! I went right out and purchased a cutter (I already had a mat and a ruler from another artistic endeavor: making miniature books!), some fabric, and a few hooks to hang my supplies on.

I started taking classes at local quilt shops. I was an absolute madwoman! I wanted to know what thread to use, which way to press my seams, if I should put water in the iron, what foot to use... I probably required more attention than I deserved, but my teachers were patient and knowledgeable. Eventually, my seams straightened and I learned how to follow a pattern.

"Flashbulb" Disappearing Nine-Patch

Nine months in, there was a notice in the church bulletin. "QUILTERS WANTED." Hey, that was me! Someone was starting a prayer quilt ministry. I might have been a baby quilter, but I was quilting. So I called immediately and was invited to the very first meeting. Five years later, I'm still going strong. I'm sure I've made at least a hundred tops! And they're going to comfort people who are suffering. I'm doing good. Yay.

"Miss Mousie" prayer quilt

"Miss Mousie" back

Now Friday has become Prayer Quilt Ministry Day. It's wonderful to be able to go to the church and sew with anywhere between 5 and 15 other quilters! Today I showed up with two quilts that needed borders... and I finished both tops!

The Naming of Quilts is a Serious Thing...

So I've been binding this quilt today. I put it on my schedule and I'm making good progress: I've done 2 corners already! That means I'm halfway done. Hoop-de-doo! As I work, I'm trying to come up with a title. The words that come to mind are

• Oriental
• Eastern
• Asian
• Hong Kong (but probably not because many of the prints are Japanese)
• Garden Party
• Lanterns
• Happiness
• Scraps

I don't know. Something will pop out of that stew.

The Middle is Always the Biggest Part!

The I-Spy blocks were made by entrants in a block lotto. I now present a list of the participants:

• Julie, NE
• Nell, VA
• Sue, AZ
• Sandy G.
• Silvia, LA
• Pat, CA
• Myna B.
• Bonnie, IN
• Lee Ann, UT
• Judy S.
• Amy B.
• Laura, GA
• Michelle, OK
• Kristi, MS
• Stacey S.
  
• me

Thanks, girls! It still has a ways to go, but it's looking good.

Speaking of which, take a look at the knitted dress! If you look real close, you can see that I just started shaping the armholes. I haven't that much more before I can, uh, start all over and do the whole thing again for the front. (sigh)The red thread continues to progress. You'll have to take my word that I finished May's block in May. A maypole--gotta love it! Here's what the whole piece looks like now:

I-spy blocks!

This is a prayer quilt. It's not designated, but God knows who's gonna get it. I won the blocks in a quilt block lotto. The pattern is Snowball and each of the fabrics is kid-friendly. I like 'em all, but I decided to feature a couple below.

Here's one that I made: Here's one that someone else made:

I still have to put on borders and sort out the back, but I really like it so far!

June, eyuh...

Is anyone out there like me? I get the June blahs. I used to call it Spring Fever. Every year, about this time, I get a giant case of what the French call ennui. I don't want to do anything, go anywhere, talk to anyone. It took me two hours to pull three fabrics together from my stash when I expected three minutes! (But I do like 'em.)
So that's my excuse for not blogging much. I'll see what I can do. The good news is that I know this will end. I'll perk up and get back to routine. And three posts a week!