Slow...

The border piecing is moving along, going smoothly, Y-seams and all.   Interesting that these units have a right and a left to them, and two borders are the opposite.  At least, I think that's right, otherwise I'm in for a shock and some wasted cutting.

I hoped to do more yesterday, but I spent several hours doing alterations on a dress I bought at Macy's for a wedding this weekend.  I took in the gaping armholes.  That's simple, but the dress was lined, with the lining beautifully top stitched around the curve of the armhole and tacked to the dress in several places, so undoing all that careful work and putting it back made a tedious job. All I can say is I have lots of respect for Calvin Klein's Vietnamese garment workers, and hope they're well paid, with a safe building to work in!

Ironic that I did this, since it's unlikely I'll wear the dress without a jacket.  Even though lots of workout time has given me muscles in my arms, there's still that old looking skin.  I guess I'm expecting either a miracle in the look of my arms or such a hot day that I will have to go sleeveless!  Or maybe I could try the increasingly popular upper arm surgery...

A Cute Gadget

It's a brooch.

It's a magnetic pincushion.

I found this little thingie when I went to pick up my sewing machine from servicing a couple of weeks ago.  The young Mennonite salesgirl was wearing one on the capelet of her dress, and of course the shop was selling them.  It's handy, since I usually end up carrying my pin container from sewing machine to table, and leaving it in the wrong place.  This would also work well on the sleeve I think.

In other news, all the blocks on the vintage reclamation project are sewn together, and I'm ready to take final measurements, do some math, audition some fabric for the inner borders, sew them on,  and then start piecing the outer border.  I hope it goes smoothly.

The weather is so beautiful here right now that it's hard to stay inside.  I hope everyone else is enjoying spring too!

Another Hiatus

I wish I had more new work to show, but I'm helping out at my sister's for a week, and don't have any quilting. Before I left home, I sewed together all the rows for the vintage block quilt and started putting the rows together. Here's one corner, done correctly this time. I've also made a plan for the border and final layout. Although they're not final, it's what I'm thinking about now. There's lots of piecing, but I think it will be worth it.

I'm now a total believer in Judy Martin's point trimmer tool. The blocks I made with that are so much more accurate than the earlier ones! When I reach a series of those, it's like being able to breathe freely--they fit together perfectly. No fiddling required. There's also less bulk to make the Janome stall at the intersection. And speaking of that, how can a machine that has trouble going over bulky seam allowances call itself a good quilting machine? Does anyone have a secret solution for this problem?

Oops Clarified

I had comments from people who didn't see my mistake yesterday.  That's understandable since the blocks faded into the white design wall.  So here it is in all its glory.  I hope this doesn't happen again, but it's tough to keep the orientation straight with a long row, and they will get longer.  The weird triangle has been ripped and turned and all is well. I do like the way this is looking so far, so I'll be doing more today.

Oops!

I finished the side and corner setting triangles, laid the blocks out on the bed, and started sewing them together.  I foolishly thought they would be easy to put together, but I find that I have to press the seams open because of the bulk where the blocks come together.  What a pain, especially on something large like this.

After two hours, I happily sewed two rows together, put them on the wall to admire, and  you see the result.  Grrr. Time to rip.  Fortunately, it's trivial.  Carry on.

Hiatus

I'm finishing several days of Nanny duty with my grandsons today, and hope to be back in the routine tomorrow. It's been fun. I find that I can relax and enjoy time with them without impatiently thinking of other things I should do or want to do, as I did with my own boys. Possibly one should regret having the slightly scattered approach to motherhood, but actually, I don't. I think it's inevitable. Mothers are busier, and part of being a grandmother is a clearer realization of how precious childhood is.

Before leaving to come to Chicago I took my sewing machine for routine maintenance so that it would be ready when I get home. I finally worked out a border design for the vintage block project, all the blocks and most of the side triangles are pieced, so I hope to plow through and finish it quickly.

In other areas its busy too. My husband is retiring soon, and we're planning next steps. As an emeritus he can keep an office, write, and keep involved. He wants to do this, but we are also thinking of buying a place in Chicago. The question is whether to make the move immediately, or have two places for a while. Problems either way, as you can imagine. I'm trying not to stress.

Meanwhile, here we are at Easter brunch. Not a good picture of anyone really, but we're happy! It was a great day.

Blendoku

Quilters should enjoy Blendoku, a terrific game for Apple and Android devices that teaches about color.  I first read about it on Dena Crain's blog, downloaded it, and have been playing it quite a bit since.  You can see a screen shot on Dena's blog, or at Googleplay.  It's also at the Apple app store.

The object is to move colored squares so the the colors blend smoothly.  It starts simply, using different values of one color or different tones of the same color, then moves to analogous colors. Then it becomes more difficult, asking you to move across the color wheel to blend two complementary hues, using the grays and browns in between.  If anybody is familiar with Jinny Beyer's old book, Color Confidence for Quilters, you will recognize the process.

I found it fun, and it has to sharpen my eye for those strange grayed colors that I have trouble with.  Take a look if you've got the right kind of device for it.  One suggestion: the developers have tried to jazz it up by putting in the competitive element of trying to beat the "world average" time.  I think it's better to ignore that, take your time, and try to see the concept at work.  I also like to study the finished product a bit.  But then, I may be just a nerd at heart!