Well...since I spend copious amounts of time each day reading blogs, and loving it! I thought it might be time to visit my own. The trouble becomes, when failing to blog for so very long, where does one begin? Okay, so to begin with, I was able to move several items from the "what I'm working on now" widget to the "Completed" widget. That feels really good! Even if no one else reads here, I can look for myself to see what I've accomplished. Nia's dress was a little too big, but she'll wear it, I hope, this spring. Madison's blanket wasn't quite as wonderful as I envisioned it - I have hoped to somehow afix little roses's around the perimeter, her middle name is Rose. But, I finally succumbed to the reality that by the time I teach myself how to do such a thing, she'll be having a baby of her own. Having taken nearly two years to finish it up, I'm hopeful that instead of storing it away with all the other lovely baby gifts I'm sure she received, that she drags it around with her dollies and really enjoys it.
But those 3 quilts! oh man what a learning process. The first, a wedding gift for daughter # 4. It's only a year late and I hope she thinks it's worth it. She says she does. She also told me that her son Brad, my third grandchild, calls the dolphins, "Fishes" and that sometimes, she puts the quilt on his bed because he wants to sleep with the "fishies." She's promised me photos of it on her bed which I will post as soon as they arrive. Might serve me right if it takes her a year, eh? Then there's Fran's quilt (daughter #6). It sure looks beautiful for all the mistakes and ripping out. I started it ages ago, inspired by a photo I'd seen on the Prairie Quilts blog. I so love reading that blog - she's so inspiring! And, she so very kindly sent me a kit to make a small quilt when I asked for directions to the dragonfly quilt on her blog. I'd asked because Frannie collects dragonflies. Despite my learning curve, and the oh so many mistakes, it looks beautiful. I can't wait to work on the littler kit, it'll be beautiful on Fran's wall matching the quilt on her bed.
Then there's Charlie's quilt. I wish I could find a way to add the very deep sigh that bursts each time I think of this quilt. I'd seen a television show (much more dangerous than photos on a blog!). That drunkard's path curved block looked sooooooooooo easy! Now I'm laughing. Not one of those squares came out a perfect nine and a half inches. No, not one of them! And, I even asked some of the experts at my design school, where sewing is taught! to comlete some of them. There were so many times I almost chucked it (heh! A quilt for Charlie almost got chucked, I'll have to tell him that some day!). But, I persisted and then, there were how many rip-outs during the putting together of the top. Do you ladies who are real quilters have a word for that part of the process? I'd ask everyone around me to stand back and examine the layout as each strip was put together and confirm for me that I was faithfully following the pattern. Usually I was assured that I was, until sometime about 8 strips into it, I wasn't. I lost count of how many times we ripped and started again and how many times I wondered if Charlie might really rather prefer a CD for Christmas. My partner oh so patiently ripped (which I thought a bit fair since he was one of the crew assuring me that the pattern was being followed...hmm?). I mean, even so, isn't that pretty wonderful for a man to help rip out sewing? And, too bad for him, he's a much more efficient ripper than I am! He might be sorry someday that I know that.
Now, these three quilts lead me to my next blog topic. Referring back to another topic when I wondered if it's even fair to call myself a knitter when I've really knit so very little. Some might argue that it's not quite fair to say I've finished three quilts, either. Why? Because I took them to someone else to be quilted. Is that cheating? Someday I hope I can actually quilt a whole quilt by myself, but for now, I needed that leg up and took the quilts to a long-arm quilter. I'll be offering her massages for the rest of my life I think in return.
But! I need to speak a word or two about this lovely woman. She's delightfully funny, dry and quite pragmatic which is unusual for such an artist. When I arrived at her home with each quilt, I apologized for the poor workmanship and hung my head. OH! She was so encouraging and lovely about the whole thing. We sat, she showed me how to properly make and attach the bindings, and a whole host of other little tricks. I pointed out all my errors to her and she explained them away....some she said were just a matter of time and experience, others, she showed me little tips. Well, except for the curved piecing - she just smiled about that and said that, I'd chosen such lovely colors that perfection didn't really matter. I had to laugh; she glossed over this and implied so very sweetly that it's nearly impossible to get those squares to match up. It took several visits before I noticed that she had many curved block pieces hanging on her walls, and let me tell you, all her squares match up just right fine! Maybe I'll try this one again someday; I hope so. Even those the squares don't meet, it's still a really pretty quilt. I forgot a photo of this one too and will ask Charlie so that I can post it.
Then there's the trip to Indiana after Christmas. I met my newest grandson, Thomas. He looks just like his father and is the juiciest baby I can recall (I'm sure I said that about all my grandchildren in turn). Maggie (daughter #5 but only by 7 minutes) is going to have a baby at the end of February. I spent time in the cold with all my girls and grandchildren. I DO have some pics of that which I can post. Let's see if I can remember how to do this. Hmm, that's it, up at the top, I guess I'll practice next time getting it in the body of the post. Daughter #2 is missing in this photo - I sure miss her! Her middle name is also Rose and I thought of her constantly while working on Madison Rose' blanket.
I suppose, since I've called this blog, "Librarian Lee" that I should speak a word or two about my library. I've currently no assistant and so I've spent a great deal of time at the beginning of this quarter, covering books and shelving. I find these activities somehow quite comforting. What is it about covering a book with mylar that is so fulfilling? It's neat, it's orderly and it's simple! And shelving books gives me this sense of order and perfection. For my school's library, I've also begun adding the new books I acquire onto "Library Thing." I hope any who read here will explore this little 2.0 gem. That's another post though.
Of course, I'm not nearly caught up. But, I suppose that's enough for now. Off to Saturday chores and then maybe some fabric postcards which I am raring to try. Perhaps I won't get so lost in the process that I forget to post the results.
Lee
This lovely card arrived in the mail last week. Kate, of Kate's Quilting so very generously sent this card. I had asked Kate if she might sent a postcard so that our textiles students could see a a REAL card instead of my own beginner attempts. Kate very kindly obliged and sent two, the second below.
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