building blocks & baseball diamonds

It was back to the 'drawing board' to get these blocks to fit together without that wonky 3 1/2 in. block & 3 7/8 in. block getting in the way and c.o.n.f.u.s.i.n.g. me. Actually, I don't have a drawing board or design wall & have to lay them out on our bed. For some reason our cats think it is their business to rest their furry little bottoms on each block that I lay out and then scatter them every which way.

So I auditioned the blocks in a billion different positions and *surprise!* when putting them together they formed little baseball diamonds. I did not even try to do that and when I expressed my glee to my husband he replied:

'Ah.......yes dear....it's called geometry.'

'But honey, just look at how these form an actual baseball diamond when sewn together.'

'Uh-huh......it's just simple geometry'

And a stare that he could not believe I did not already know this.

Okay, so I never imagined that math figured into the creative process of quilting. In fact, if I had known that I don't think I would have ever attempted this wonderful endeavor. It would have scared me silly.

But now that I have, I am enjoying this ride. It's exciting. And it's forcing me to finally use the left side of my brain.

out of the ordinary

I am doing something out of the ordinary. Usually I am the one working on fabrics that my grandmother would have worn in her flower garden. Or embroidering those vintage transfers. Or hand-quilting some sort of fabric that could hang in 1950's kitchen........

But something is coming up next month and it involves making a quilt. Our son will be celebrating his 9th birthday. And he has 2 loves. 1) planes and 2) baseball.

That's why I couldn't believe when I found this wonderful piece of fabric. I could not have designed a better piece for him.

So I cut vintage airplane blocks.

And funky baseball blocks.

And will put it all together for one fun quilt. I did find a pattern in a quilting magazine, but *ugh* it involves a tremendous amount of geometry in piecing these blocks. Confusing, confusing geometry. I think I seem to black out, or maybe it's more of a chronic white noise that I hear in my head when faced with piecing a 3 7/8 in. block with a 6 1/2 in. block and adding a 3 1/2 in. border........

So, I am left asking my husband (who happens to be a whiz at math--phewwww!) to help with the rudimentary procedures of trying to get this thing pieced properly.

And yup, he is soooooooo looking forward to that!

simple process

I read somewhere that embroidery is 'painting with thread.' So I went to our dictionary and this is the entry:

.......

Embroidery. Pronunciation: \im-ˈbrȯi-d(ə-)rē\ Date: 14th century
1 a: the art or process of forming decorative designs with hand or machine needlework.

........

So I am slowly 'forming decorative stitches' on these embroidered blocks for this reminds-me-of-1950's-curtains wall-hanging. And of course, I can't believe how just a simple process can bring such beautiful results. I swear, the yellow flowers seemed to pop up in bloom right before my eyes. The smattering of those yellow flowers were so much fun to stitch and so much fun to look at. And as someone who used to only paint, this is by far a better medium to be working with.

teeny, tiny stitches?

I think my reluctance to hand-quilt was due mainly to when I would tell people that I was hand-quilting and it seemed the first thing out of their mouth was, 'Ooh? How many stitches per inch?' Huh? I would then guiltily glance down at my work and see that 3 or 4 was not the answer they were looking for. Wow. This bar of standard seemed ridiculously high and I knew there was no way I was ever going to grasp it or even come close to--what?.....13, 15 or even 16 stitches per inch....so why bother.

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But then I looked closely at quilts from long ago. Just like the one pictured above. My great-great aunt hand-quilted this beauty and *gasp* she's not even close to 15 or 16 stitches per inch....and guess what? It does not detract from the value. In fact, it solidifies that I dearly love her work & her stitches are things of beauty and grace.

(having just finished the feather wreath in the middle of this project, I am just tickled how this cross-hatch is turning out. And I'm not kidding--running your fingertips along these stitches is the coolest feeling...)

In fact at the hand-quilting class that I recently took, many of us uttered the ol' well-how-many-stitches-do-I-need-to-be-stitching? to our instructor, Nadine and she chuckled as she replied:

'It doesn't matter how many stitches you have, as long as they are consistent."

I think I could have just kissed her.

So now I sit, with a smile because I know my stitches will not win any awards for being teeny and/or tiny, but Nadine was right----hand-stitching has been proven to lower one's blood pressure and the rhythmic, simple, stitching is truly stress-relieving & once again I debunk my self-doubt and just enjoy.......

the pattern emerges

Now, whoever thought that you could make such intricate lace patterns with just a simple hook & thread?

Just by yarning over and making a double crochet a pattern emerges.... And this is my favorite part--when you can actually see the pattern appearing.

Right now this doily only measures about 9 inches. The finished size? Only 33 1/2 inches. Only.The picture of the completed doily is so lovely and even tho the rating is challenging...I fell in love with the beauty of such a large crocheted table-top.

Good thing baseball season is starting and since I will be occupying the bleachers at our local youth baseball diamond....well, in between my people-watching, 'woo-hooing' as our son gets up to bat, & trying to clap without upsetting my WIP, I will hopefully be sitting there with a soon-to-be 33 1/2 doily.

simply out of my head

I simply pulled ideas out of my head to put these lazy angles together as a small quilt. Using the vintage feed sack material from my grandma (the red & yellow flowered fabric) and scraps from past projects, I laid them out on my design floor (ha ha) and couldn't believe how well these 2 colors compliment each other.It reminds me of cafe curtains hanging in a kitchen during the 1950's. I just love that era and love to duplicate that feeling.

Simple yo-yos with tiny hand-appliqued leaves and stems will go nicely with the embroidery that I will do to complete the blocks. The iron-on transfers are also vintage and come from my great-aunt. She gets such a kick out of me still using something of hers from so long ago.

I can't wait to get started on the embroidery on this quilt. It's an actual warm, physical feeling that starts to radiate within me. And then I read how she actually puts her fabric on the dashboard of her car when coming home from her fabric purchase and I laugh because that truly is the same passion that so many of us share. And better yet---admit to.

flowers, friends & lazy girls

We spotted this flower in our garden this morning on our walk to the end of the driveway to catch the school bus. The vibrancy of such a simple tulip almost stunned me.

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Something else that stuns me is how nice all of you are....you ,who comment on my blog or leave emails....(I have to wonder if you are really real...) because I have never met such a wonderful circle of women who truly lift me up and oh, make me smile with the lovely things you 'say'. Your helpfulness in finding a thimble is just the beginning. I say to my husband all of the time that I have formed friendships with women whom I have never even met. How weird is that? *grin* Okay. Not weird at all, but please know that I am oh, so fond of you & you are all so, so appreciated.

I bought this Lazy Angle from Lazy Girl Designs to help with my very limited mathematical un-ability to put a block together without a pattern. This ruler makes the calculations for you and zip, zip, sew, sew and wow! a few stitches and you have a block.

I have no idea what these blocks will become yet. Quilt? Wall-hanging?.....For now I am just fiddling around and trying out so many different angles.