New Math

No, this is not really a blog about math, but I created a new equation:

D + C = PS

Discouragement/disaster + Creative thinking = Problem solving.  Think about it!

My forever quilt is almost done.  I was measuring and squaring up the edges to make sure that the stitching of my outer piano keys would not be cut off when trimming the quilt.  On one side only the quilting is too near the edge, noticeably.  The photo below is a little wonky, but you can see how the chalk line touches the blue points.  It should be about 5/8 beyond the points.  The red point is supposed to touch the eventual binding exactly at the point.  This will never work and the other three sides came out right.

No caption needed!

Here is the "D" (disaster/discouragement) in my equation.  Redoing the quilting will not solve the problem. No matter what I do it will show up as wrong and there is nothing I can do about it.  Don't know how it happened.  Clearly pilot error somewhere along the line.   I folded it up and told DH that for the first time ever, I was not going to finish this quilt.  I am ready to move on to something else.

Then comes the "C" (creative thinking) in the equation.  What can you do with a brain that just won't let it go?  That's what I live with, and as I worked on other things around the house I had a stunning explosion between my ears, and BINGO, I had the solution.  I don't know if this will be show-worthy, but it will be kind of cool.  It will also be time consuming.  Mostly, it will be fun.

Finally,  the "PS" (problem solving).  I have always been interested in the designs of the Mayan people of Central America.  I have wanted to do something with their ideas, but when it came right down to it they seemed far too intricate, and I didn't want to tackle the complications.  So...now is the time.  I will add a black triangle to the top of the quilt and appliqué a Mayan (or Aztec?) mask to it.  This should detract from my error hopefully.  Then I will bind the quilt (in orange) and add some prairie points to the bottom edge of the quilt.  I have already sized the design and am in the process of drawing it out.  It is nice to be doing something different.

Mask.  This is a drawing without the main quilt or the
quilting that is already on the quilt.

This will be time consuming and I need to get more black fabric, but it is snowing and I am not driving down the mountain canyon to buy fabric!  It will take awhile to do the mask anyhow and I am going to try a new technique, which I will share, whether fabulous or fail.

Sew some happy seams this week.  I wish you a week without discouragement or disaster.

New-To-Me Updates

I loved my Sewline ceramic marking pencil... until it broke and I was dead in the water on my quilting.  The nose through which the "lead" comes out unscrewed and lost itself. I was at a place where I had to mark some curved lines to guide my quilting, and I can't do anything else until those lines are done.  I made a special trip to town (1 hour) to get a new one.  BTW it was not a wasted trip as I got a lot of other things done while I was down there.  Anyhow, it got me thinking about marking so I revisited a blog I did back in 2014 about all the marking methods with which I have had experience.  The title is, "Marking The Quilt," and it is still apropos after five years.  Has it really been that long?

However, I have a new addition to tell you about.  Crayola Ultra-Clean Markers.  They are being used successfully and come in 10 colors.   The only thing I discovered in reading was to be careful with the yellow.  It may not come out as advertised.  I did a brief test on white fabric that had been pre-washed and all marks washed completely out except yellow and orange, which faded instead of completely disappearing.  Here is a website that has results from more serious, more scientific experimentation.  I think this is a great addition to our supply list. 

The caveat, as always, is: 

TEST IT ON YOUR FABRIC FIRST.  

Some say it heat sets, others say not, so be careful with that iron and 

TEST IT FIRST.

I am almost to the place where I will stitch piano keys on the last part of my border.  I am so excited.  I have always done them by marking straight lines about 1 inch apart as guides.  I have gotten pretty good at straight lines by doing this, but they are still far from perfect.  I purchased a Westalee ruler foot, which works on my machine.  It came with a little ruler that will be great to learn with and will also be just right for my 2 inch long piano keys.  I am psyched to try it out and will keep you posted on the depth and success of my learning curve.

Sew some happy seams this week.  I wish you success trying out a new product.

I'm Back!!

Too busy to sew, too busy to write.  I have had a wild several months, but have finally returned to my needle and threads.  It has been strange not to sew, but I have not been idle.

Our summer panned out as follows:
10 days in June traveling to and from Southern CA for the wedding of our granddaughter.

Photo by Summer Rae

....and hiking a slot canyon along the way.  So cool!

Little Wild Horse Canyon, UT

10 days to get things done at home, mostly fertilize the iris and clean house.

2 weeks in MN to help a daughter pack up her home for a big move.

1 week (left the dog in MN) for a family reunion in TN and lovely drives through the Great Smokey NP.  Then back to MN for a day to pick up the dog.

Dixie (photo by S. Mattson)

Home.  Two days after our arrival the first wave of guests arrived for 2 weeks.  The day after they left the next round of guests arrived for 1 week.  Same day they left the third round of guests arrived for 2 weeks.  All family and wonderful to have them here, but busy for everyone.  Our son-in-law built new steps outside our kitchen door and what a joy they are.

Steps by SIL.  Stonework by yours truly.

That took care of the summer.  I did not take my machine to MN knowing it would be in the way of packing boxes.  However, I did take a chair to replace the cane seat just to have something to do during downtime.  Over the summer I managed to cane four dining room chairs and one big desk chair.

Desk chair with new cane seat and back.

Now that we have already had our first snow,  I am sewing again.  Back at work on the endless quilting of the same quilt I have been working on for almost 3 years now.  Talk about quilting a quilt to death!  When I sat down to quilt again I started on a scrap just to make sure that I hadn't forgotten everything I had previously perfected.  It is like riding a bike.  After you have done a lot of FMG the technique comes back quickly.  I will be glad to get this quilt done though.  I am ready to move on to new things, but still have quite a bit of work ahead of me before it is dead.

Sew some happy seams this week.  I hope you all had a wonderful summer.