My Hug Bug

That's my youngest daughter.  When she was about 4, she LOVED to hug people.  Loved it.  Sadly, I had to sit her down and somehow explain to her that she couldn't just hug everybody she met.  Just people she already knew, and to check with me, her Mummy, if it was okay.  I'll never forget running into my hairdresser in the grocery store a short time after this talk, and chatting.  Suddenly I felt a tug at my clothing, "Mummy?  Is it okay if I give her a hug?"  She'd judged that this was a friend, and she wanted to hug her, but knew that she should double-check, as this was someone she didn't know.  Aww.  So I said okay, and she hugged, and there were smiles all around.  Wouldn't it be incredible if the world could be more like that?  She was a cuddler, a snuggler, a round little warm pudgy adorable body of a 4-year-old.  She still melts my heart every day.  (And no, she's no longer pudgy, or round, but beautiful, willowy, and perfectly proportioned.)  Her hugs are not as frequent, partly because we live 30 miles apart, but also because she has changed.  Mostly, it's becoming an adult (she's now 25, egad, my baby is 25) and it's also because of society's norms, but it's also due to some not-so-hug-buggish life experiences.

She connects with me on so many levels.  She loves my quilts.  Always has done.  I'd go away to a quilt retreat, and every single quilt in our house that she could get her hands on (and there were many) would be on her bed.  And she would have slept under them the two nights I'd been gone.  She once came with me to a charity quilt bee and made a quilt top; she made me a cover of fabric for my favourite quilting book to keep it nice.  She'd leave me notes:  I found one just last week, inside a book, telling me she thought the pattern on that page would be good for my 9-patch exchange blocks - it was from 13 years ago!  She always asks if any given quilt I'm working on is for her, (she's always hoping) and when she moved to Windsor in 2010 to go back to school, she had but one request, that I make her a new quilt for her new city.  And I did.  She even helped pick out the colour scheme.  She still commandeers several of my quilts, that 9-patch being just one.  I've sneaked a couple back, because I'd like to use them a little....  But she says, and rightly so, that since I'm in Florida for the winter, SOMEONE should be using them so they will most likely find their way back once again to her house!  She respects and supports my passion for yoga; she has even begun her own practice, following YouTube videos, and sending me the links.  We share a love of Pitbulls, well, all large dogs, as well as cats, a love of music, and of fitness.  She listens to me, offers me sound advice, as I try to for her when she comes to me with problems.

And today, the hugs she does give me still take me back to those days, when she was just 4, and she is back in my mama-bear heart, safe and loved beyond measure.  To the moon.  No, to Pluto and back.  No, to the next universe.

Her Windsor Quilt - Summer 2010.  From the book Stack A New Deck by Karla Alexander

Update on Seaside Rose

So here is the progress!  I'm hoping to have her off the frame by tonight or tomorrow morning.  I have a baby quilt that needs to get on there and off again very fast, as I'm planning on taking it with me on my trip to Alberta next weekend.  No pressure.  No.  Did I mention I work well (and my focus goes waaay up) under pressure?!

Think I mentioned that since there are 8 rows of these on-point 9-patches,  I'm doing 2 different designs per row on 4 rows, and then repeating that sequence for the remaining 4 rows, if that makes sense.  Here are two more designs of Leah's that I used on the 9-patches:

Poseidon's Eye

Beaded Curtain

 This is one of Angela's, from her Free Motion Quilting book:

Sunray

And this one I developed from an appliqué pattern in the magazine, "American Patchwork and Quilting".  I added the swirlies (adapted from a flower of Leah's) to fill in the open space in each petal.  I like how it turned out; makes me think of a soft ice cream cone!

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So I"m on the last 2 rows of 9-patches, and I'll post this, so I can get back at it!

Seaside Rose WIP

So here is the progress so far on the quilting of this quilt!
I am loving putting into practice the feathers in Angela Walters' Free Motion Quilting With Feathers Craftsy class.

I can't believe I freehand quilted those babies.  My swirl waves in the blue triangles of the prairie points need to be rounder at times, but the pebbling is looking good, and it IS tricky in those squishy areas.

Technology - ugh! & Menopausal stupidity strikes again!

So I'm about to phone Apple to get them to help me.  Yesterday I got a notification that there was a new iOS for my MacBook Pro.  Okay.  No surprise, as I've already downloaded and installed the new iOS on my iPad and my iPhone, so I figured there would be one coming for the laptop.  I'm learning to be okay with the new iPhone and iPad iOS but there are some things about this new system that annoy me, and the biggest is that I just want to be told when I first start using the system, how to do some simple ordinary things that I do on a daily basis, like close a flippin' app or switch from camera to video when I want to take a video!!  The first of these two major frustrations I figured out thanks to googling it:  a very nice, also frustrated with day-to-day actions such as these, girl had posted how to do the 3 most common actions that had now changed.  All you do instead of hitting the home button and closing the little x when it shows your open apps, is now hit the home button and then swipe up with your finger to close apps.  I'm a freak about closing my apps and saving battery.  Probably too much of a freak, but oh well, this phone is 2 1/2 years old and I've not had a problem with it yet, no dings, no scratches even, and I don't have a screen protector.  And, I use it 24/7, yes, as it's my alarm when needed.  Anyhow.  Oh, to switch to video I figured out by a fluke on my own:  just swipe with your finger rather than tapping.  Speaking of freaks, I probably looked like one if anyone noticed me, getting steadily more annoyed (menopause was kind that time; I didn't just blow and huck the damn iPad across the room, although it crossed my mind), tap-tap-tapping the screen trying to make it switch from camera to video function.  Ugh.

No, NOW I'm more than annoyed because when I downloaded the new iOS, which is called Mavericks, no more cat names apparently; this is from a rogue wave for surfing I believe.  I did find out when searching for issues with the system like I am experiencing, that Mavericks get their name thanks to a German Shepherd who was having so much fun swimming alongside his surfing owners, that he had to be tied to a tree for his own safety.  Guess the dogs now have their time in the Apple naming of systems world.  God, I'm going off on many tangents this morning; welcome to the menopausal world in my melon.  BACK to the topic, Sandra... After downloading the system, I discovered that I now have a whole new desktop on my laptop, without any of my photos, movies, documents, music...in short I thought I'd wiped my laptop by installing this new system.  Heart attack.  Freak-out.  The second for yesterday.  The first? Being a ditz: thinking that the warning to move the see-through vinyl upon which you're  tracing the border to try out potential designs OFF the quilt BEFORE you start using a permanent marker, is for dummies.  I no ME, I won't be THAT dumb to go off the vinyl and make a mark on the quilt with my permanent marker.  Yup.  And, dummy, menopause is to blame here for sure, IDIOT that I am, I did it not once, but twice.  Ya.  I tried hairspray on a test piece and it lifts a lot of it off, but it also tends to make the line fuzzy and fatter.  Haven't tried milk yet.  Yes, google it!  Or rubbing alcohol.  So mad at myself.

And I've digressed again.  This post is now two main subjects: frustrations of technology and frustrations with being an idiot.  And it's way longer than I intended.

So the good news is that I found out, by a fluke again, that I didn't lose all of my life.  I now have two desktops on my laptop.  One completely fresh, and one the old one with everything in it.  However, the old one will not bring in my ".me.com" email anymore, no matter what I try.  I am getting email from that address on my iPhone and iPad though.  So I'm thinking I might just use my gmail address and be done with 2 separate emails.  Actually I have 3, as I use a different one for much of my American stuff.  Good grief!  And I need to get Apple to help me combine both desktops into one.

So, all is not all warm fuzzies in my world all the time.  A couple of days ago I was in love with technology, thinking about FaceTime with a good friend, Skype with my grandson, another lesson in my online quilting class with Angela Walters, and today?  I'm just ticked.  However, I did just have a most enjoyable, albeit a tad brisk at the outset, walk with my darling Rocco.  My daughter wants me to muse about him, which I definitely intend to, but the walk reminded me that I have to muse and proclaim my love for more than just him as I was so enamoured all over again with this beautiful area, the southernmost town in Canada, where I am just so very very happy.  There!  Turned an "UGH" (and other bad words that almost rhyme with "ugh" that I will confess I said more than once yesterday, but which I will refrain from typing) into a "MMMMPHH!" of love and utter happiness.

I Love Leah Day! :-)

So back in March of this year, I decided to write to Leah Day to tell her how very much I appreciate her website, her generosity, and her passion for sharing Free Motion Quilting, FMQ, as well as to let her know how much of an impact she has made on me.  I had started a blog, but didn't write a thing, or have it public, until just last month, so this email to her was really the beginning.  Now that basically no one except my sister and my daughter are following it, (ha ha), I thought I should really go back and publish those beginnings of quilting on my Avanté Longarm, aka LA.  After I sent her the email with photos, I read NOT to do that (gulp), but to provide a link for her to view photos!  Oops, and a huge sorry.  As I mentioned in a previous post, I've bought one of her books, I'm taking her tote class on Craftsy, and I tell everyone I can about her terrific website.  I want to support her in any way I can!

Here is basically what I sent to her:

I have FMQ-ed since 1996 I think, first on my Elna and then on my Bernina 180. I’ve done everything from tiny wallhangings to bed quilts, including one king-size. I have wanted a longarm for a LONG time, and finally, after years of saving, I got an almost-new one, like 6 weeks old, off eBay! I got some good quality muslin, sliced off two 1-yard pieces and started playing…then I found your website, and OMG, I LOVE it, and so I started practising some of your designs. This led to me setting out 6” squares and then going along in posted order (I love order and organization) and doing a few each day to practise. What a learning curve going from a DSM to a LA.

These 3 quilts are my very first projects on my new-to-me Avanté 18.

So this is the second practice quilt. I thought I’d bind each one and give them to my two dogs…but I really like the way they’ve turned out. so... :-))

I tried Gutermann beige cotton (horrible for lint in the bobbin, so ix-nayed that), then researched threads, and got The Bottom Line both for bobbins (bought several pre-wound ones) as well as the top thread, and love that thread. I have ordered some Isacord through a local dealer here in Sarasota, (Leah recommends it). I also have used a fair bit of Fufus rayon on these two quilts and really like it. I had so much fun, well, a little frustration at times too, but it just takes practice, practice, practice. I keep reminding myself of how my first FMQ was on that first snowman quilt way back in 1996…

So even though I wasn’t very good, especially at feathers, which I love, and can do pretty easily on my DSM, (sidenote: wow, did my feathers improve with just the first few lessons of Angela Walters' class on Craftsy!) I decided I’d just jump in and start quilting on this “Perky Purse” quilt I made last Fall (long story but I hadn’t been in my sewing room since January 2012, and this was the kickstart I needed to dive into my stash and feel the buzz once again). It’s out of a Layer Cakes book by Pam & Nicky Lintott.

Here it is in progress! I decided to stipple the background (I know, yawn, but I needed to really feel confident with stippling) and in each bag part of the purse, do a different one of Leah's designs. There are 25 purses.

This is the only one of the purses where I did my own design…but I can’t claim to be the originator, as SOMEWHERE a LONG time ago, I saw this little loops and 5-pointed stars meander, and I like it a lot. Besides, the star fabric in this purse was just asking for it!

The tree bark design showed up quite nicely on this purse fabric. I used King Tut variegated cotton on the whole quilt. Beautiful thread.

Love this tree bark design

I learned that even with a beautiful variegated thread, detailed filler designs do not usually show off your work if used on a strong print fabric…duh. Here I used Matrix, Tree Bark, Gentle Flames, a leaves and loops one, and a Leaves filler that’s kind of like the feather filler…hmm, it might be out of her Beginner FMQ book. I used a few out of it.

Detail of five blocks.

This is Flame Flower with Pebbles. I like how mixing 2 designs on a skinny purse worked out so well here!

I think I saw this on her Goddess quilt, or perhaps in "Express Your Love".  GREAT idea to mark the horizontal lines for registration marks! I’ve done that with feathers sometimes with chalk to help me get them more uniform.

Flying Geese design

Circuit Board

All quilted!

It’s approximately 42”X 60”. It didn’t have a binding on it yet in that picture.  I put on a solid black.

And here is what I wrote to her, and it came from my heart at that time, as it does this very minute that I'm posting it for all to see:
"Your generosity in sharing all of your creativity is truly amazing to me, and I find it uplifting. The time you spend to develop new ideas, film the How-To videos, take pictures, upload them, write a blog, do your newsletter, etc. etc. is really really appreciated by me, and many others like me, judging by how many are following you on flickr (me now, as of tonight…maybe I will post some pictures eventually!) on FaceBook, on your website….wow. Thank you. Thank you for your generosity, for your candour, for your honesty, enthusiasm, inspiration, and words of wisdom. I feel such a connection to you! I hope to meet you one day. I’d love to attend the Paducah show, not sure if I can this year, but one of these years…

Sorry for going on and on, but I want you to know that you are amazing! I truly mean that, and I have told several of my quilting and non-quilting friends to check out your website. And they have. And they all are amazed and impressed.
Thank you!"

So if you haven't, and even if you aren't a quilter, you should check out Leah's website.  Just gazing at her gallery of quilts is a feast for the eyes.

Fuzzy Love Quilt

So the friends post I did yesterday is a good segway into the next quilt post!

This past May we drove the nearly 2000 miles out to Alberta (man, that is one long-ass trip!)  Okay, that is a phrase of my husband's, and they are creeping more and more into my lingo. I should say that is one "sore-ass" trip!!  But I digress.

We were gone for two weeks.  We took our two dogs with us, as they LOVE travelling anywhere with us, but we left my darling cat, Bella, here at home in the excellent care of my aforementioned Moon Buddy (I can't take credit for that name; it's hers) who lives next door.  Well, to say that Bella was pampered is an understatement.  A gross understatement.  That feline got dressed up to go to New Orleans, (see below) tried her hand at cards, modelled a bunny costume, got a little out of hand at a party one night, got brushed and petted, and watched movies, and sunbathed, all within the safety of our home, never fear!  We got regular updates on what she was doing, along with photos.  Not only did she get all this extra-special treatment, but she also was treated to my Moon Buddy bringing her life over to my house, as in doing some food prep, or watching some TV in the evening here, Bella by her side, just to give her some human company.  Wow.

So I had to make this wonderful woman, who, over the past couple of years, has become such a good friend, a small quilt, just a lap quilt, something to throw over her legs maybe in the cooler evenings of Fall when watching TV, as a very small token of thanks for ALL she did (and her husband was a huge help too).

It is the first quilt I designed entirely on my own.  It's SUPER SIMPLE, no big fireworks need to go off in the design world, but it is a first.  I've come up with a unique quilt design a couple of times in the past, but I've started with someone else's and modified it or adapted it to suit my needs.  This one was planned out on a blank piece of graph paper!  I've heard they are making EQ7 for Macs... I am looking forward to that release.  I wanted an overall floral, sort of shabby chic feel to the quilt.  I had some of Nancy Halvorsen's "True Friends Collection" fabric left, so it was perfect for this!

Anyhow, Bella helped with the quilt.

Well, she was a bit more of a hindrance than a help.  She loves bindings!

One of the pawprint blocks.  I quilted it on my Avanté.  Of course, I used several of Leah Day's quilting motifs again.  I'd thought of keeping the quilting simple, so as to finish the quilt sooner, but Leah's designs are so beautiful, and so addictive, and I wanted to take the time to make this little quilt special rather than mundane with simple stippling.  I used one of the Sulky Blendables in 30 wt. and it quilted up beautifully.  I did Wandering Clover, from Leah's book, From Daisy to Paisley in the background.

 This is Star Flower Bands.  I love this one.  I plan to use it again where it will show up better.

 This is one from Angela Walters' book Free Motion Quilting.

My own flower design.  I think I saw this incorporated into stippling years ago in "American Patchwork & Quilting" on a quilt.  I've used it several times.

 Here is Bubblewand.

Flame Flower.  I think.  The petals don't look right, so maybe it is a different design!  Again, doing these designs on printed fabrics does not show them off as well as needed.

 Checkerboard

And Miss Bella, perched on "our" quilt!  It shows off her gorgeous blue eyes, no?!  For some reason, she really loved this quilt, and would roll on it, curl up on it, sit on it...it was like she knew it was from her as well.  I cannot thank Leah enough for so much inspiration and such generosity in using her designs.   :-)

I Am So Blessed

For multiple reasons.  But a huge reason is for the wonderful friends I have at both ends of this country.  I received another email from a very dear friend in Alberta a couple of days ago, and the warmth of her words to me literally leapt off the screen, giving my heart a metaphorical big hug.  Then when I realized that a couple of days prior to that email, another dear friend in Alberta had sent me a similar email that glowed with excitement about getting to see me next month, I started to feel this incredible swelling of emotion in my chest: I am SO blessed to have several really really good women for close friends.  I am loved.  I am cared about.  Mmmm.

I reflected on this for a couple of days, and more examples of the caring friends I have came my way.

Another dear friend here in Ontario called me last night to let me know our "Full Moon Date" would have to be cancelled, as she'd made a mistake with the moonrise time and could no longer make it.  However, I was to go outside right now, she said, and take a look at that beautiful glowing moon.  And I did.  :-) Today, I got a text from a close friend in Alberta, telling me we hadn't chatted in far too long, and she was sending me happy thoughts, and asking to FaceTime on Monday.  (I love iPhones!)  Yet another really good friend here in Ontario had asked and encouraged me in the summer to do a couple of yoga sessions for Sparks and Brownies this morning at their Fitness Day at camp (SUCH a rewarding and fun time THAT was too!)  Even though I've never done yoga with kids, and I was a little worried about just how to go about it, she believed in me, and figured I'd be fine, and I was.  So much so, that I'd do it again!  And, our doggies are getting looked after (and VERY well-looked after I might add) tomorrow while we are at the Lions football game by super good friends of ours.  They adore our dogs, and our dogs adore them, and they love looking after our dogs, so we won't worry at all about leaving them alone for several hours.  How amazing is that?

It is a heart-warming, soul-hugging feeling to know I have this level, this quality of friendships both here at home, and there, back at my old home, 2000 miles away.  Knowing I have people who genuinely care about and for me does wonders for my self-esteem, my psyche, and my sense of well-being.  It's like I've been given a spirit massage.  I am truly blessed, and I am so thankful for each one of them.  And these aren't all of them either!  I have two other very good friends here; we shared tea/coffee just a couple of weeks ago, and we get together and have much-needed heart-to-hearts on a regular basis. Out in Alberta, I have several other good friends, one of whom has got our group of about 8 together to catch up with me on both of my last two trips out West.  So thoughtful.  And so good for the soul to have those evenings, to live in the moment and visit, and then have that evening to look back upon and get that inner glow again.  The glow of knowing I mean something to others.  That others care about me.  I am loved!