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Tuesday, December 31, 2013

O M G

My last hexagon motif:
Now to choose what color to join them with.
Black?
A light print?
Here's what the print looks like close up:
Tea dyed muslin?
Or light muslin?
Mom, you tell me.
And here is an example of what I do in my spare time:
Blanket the water heater. Exciting huh?
It is 9 p.m. on New Year's Eve and I am in my pjs watching (after I finish this post) the entertainment on TV. I am all about risk avoidance. I hope everyone stays safe so we can all enjoy 2014. Hawk tooey to 2013. I won't miss it.

Thursday, December 26, 2013

Holiday Happy Day(s)

I'm getting back to a little sewing. I'd like to make some progress on this hexagon center medallion. I started it at Mom's house back in August. Sewing is not a priority since I started practicing golf. (It's not an obession if you only go to the driving range once or twice a day. Right?)









 Only one more hexie-block to go! Next I have to decide if I am going to do like the picture in the book and join these blocks with unbleached muslin hexagons or black ones. I'll post pictures of both to see what they look like.




My yard project is coming along 
weather permitting. The ridiculous amount of rain Atlanta had this year put outdoor activities at risk of failure (like the 2013 tomato crop). The whole project began as I searched for someone to correct the horrendous drainage problem in my back yard. Now I have underground drains, steps to access my upper yard and the beginnings of dry creek beds. 
The trees came down.
The overgrown shrubs were yanked out. And that was the front yard.
The back yard was similarly de-foliated.
Ada Yuen of Eastern Redbud conceived the design. She wanted the storage building gone, but the boys talked me into keeping it, so she will work around it.
I love the steps! Finally easy access to the upper level of the yard. What you cannot see is the network of underground tubes to guide the water away from the house. This was phase one; the phase two plan is on its way to me.

My bed is covered by a quilt Mom made; I cannot wait to hop in and get a good night's rest.
One more thing before I go: Family, friends and neighbors may need us, and sometime we may need them too. Let's get our priorities straight and give each other a hand.

Monday, September 2, 2013

Long Time; Long Post

I have been staying busy-ish.
 I got the little girl's quilt back from the quilter, so I bound it.
 My quilting friends liked the back more than the front.
 The pink fabric I found at a garage sale, plus the quilting design, made the quilt adorable. Kali liked it, and her mother sent me a photo of her, via text message, curled up on it.
 At Mom's house I started a new project that involved a bunch of little squares (you may have seen them in a previous post).
 The center motif is made up of seven florals surrounded by hexagons. I have nearly three done. 

 Atlanta has had a woefully rainy summer. That's why we don't have any locally grown tomatoes this year. People told me gardening was an exercise in futility. I have such awful water problems in my yard. Below is a photo of the gutter I banged on with a broomstick while standing in the rain, on a table, in an effort to dislodge a clog. Epic fail. (update: months later--landscaper Ada found a tennis ball stuck in it). 
So today I am trying to turn 12 placemats my Mother's friend made for her, out of Brannock-Patek Moda fabric, into a quilt.
 After sewing 8 inches, and then ripping it out, my Bernina started making a grinding sound. Fail again.
The night before last I dreamed my husband didn't die and he was standing in our closet wondering where his clothes went. And last night I didn't fall asleep until 3 a.m. because I was scared I'd have another haunting dream.
This afternoon I think I will go to the gym and beat the holy hell out of the heavy bag.

Sunday, August 18, 2013

It's a pleasure to sew again

After I finished Mom's Sunday Sling (pattern by Amy Butler), I was able to start a new quilt project.

As we chose fabrics and I stitched the pieces together, I started to get really excited about quilting again.
Mom and I did a lot of talking, and it really helped me to talk about my loneliness and distress over how my husband, AC, died.
We pulled a lot of fabrics out to see what we wanted to use.
I believe this is what we settled on (minus the pillows and rug on the edges of the photo) for my new quilt project.
I really, really like these rosey pink and soft greens, but I don't think these two made it home with me. I brought back so much I can't remember.
Today I need to pull weeds while the Georgia clay is still soft from all the rain. Rain, like serious, forever rain.

Friday, August 16, 2013

Quilts from Mom

As I promised, pictures of the quilts Mom (Linda Brannock) made and I brought back to Atlanta with me. I uploaded them as a batch, so I will explain them in the order they are and not try to rearrange them.
 This is a kitty quilt for my kitty-loving son, Andy. 
 It has bright yellow kitties on the back. I'll have to ask her who this coin-stacks type quit is for. The fabrics are lovely. (You can click on the photo to get a larger version of it.)
 This log cabin is detail from the photo below it. There are stars and trees too. The background is string pieced, but Mom says she did not do the string piecing on a foundation.
 Mom has a great sense of the use of color, and she has really gone bonkers on this one. You (I) cannot stop looking at it.
 The turtle quilt below is destined for my wild child, Adam, once he settles his life down. Right now he is at a music festival somewhere in the US, but I would have to consult Facebook to get an idea where. Mom has made this quilt before too, and you can see it here (the original turtle quilt), but you have to scroll way down in the post to see it. Wait a minute; I will have to call Mom. This may be the original.
 Now we come to the quilt I believe was made especially for me. I love these colors and could live in an entirely aubergine home. I slept under it before I packed it in my suitcase.
 Detail of the quilting and fabrics.
 Mom did two bow tie quilts, and I don't know why I have only one photographed.
 My son, Eron the paramedic, requested a red, white, and black quilt (it's a firefighter thing). And this quilt is especially great. The colors are totally outside Mom's realm of use, but it is a wonderful quilt.
 This is my other favorite favorite of all my favorites.
Bright and cheerful; what I am striving for in my life.
This week was especially challenging for me. I had a dream the other night that I tried to catch AC as he was falling out of bed, and he turned to ashes in the blanket. I am taking sedatives to help me sleep, since I have been spending too much time crying (on the way to work, and the way back).

Then I found the autopsy results were in my mailbox when I got home yesterday. That helped me relive the whole hospital experience as the medical examiner advises we engage the services of a malpractice attorney.

I am so tired. Today is Thimbles, so I am off (after another doctor appointment) to sew with friends. I love that my kitties keep me company here at home. Stroking their soft fur helps calm me.
Karmen

Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Uh-Oh! Mom's gonna be mad.

I just got back to Atlanta from spending time with my parents in Independence, Missouri. I love visiting them. My Dad is a fabulous cook (more in a later post), and my Mom has a sewing studio, a three story sewing studio. Yes, I have studio envy. One of these days I will get my sewing "area" organized. In the mean time I will satisfy myself with occaisionally wrecking havoc in hers when I get a chance.
Mom has been asking me for an Amy Butler Sunday Sling like the one we made at her house before (see here). My artsy son took that one when he moved out. The next one went to a friend (see here and scroll down). And my replacement bag (here). So I brought the cut out pieces with me, and, once she got busy doing something else, I started ironing the stabilizer onto the straps.
Uh-oh. Mom's gonna be mad.
I was able to peel the upside down strip off, and  there didn't seem to be any ill effect from the gluey stuff on the ironing board cover. She didn't even know I'd made a mistake (and I ain't tellin).
Here is the bag with handles attached; and the side pockets. 
I like the inside fabric best.

  The little pocket inside is called a cell phone pocket, but it is just right to keep lipstick handy. I'd purchased some lip plumper at Ulta (by Two Faced), and I tryed to trick Mom into trying it. You know that stuff feels just like you kissed a shot of lidocaine. Mom didn't go for it (I thought it would be funny and I could post the video on You Tube).
 Anywho, I didn't have much fun at Mom and Dad's house until I got this darn bag finished. I swear I'm not making another one.
  But I already have it cut out. 
Dang it.

Sunday, August 11, 2013

Food at Mom and Dad's

I love going home for a visit.

It will be 50 years, next summer, they have been in this house. I started first grade that fall (1964).

Now I go back a couple of times a year. I timed it right this year. Dad's tomatoes were ripe and ready to eat.

I ate my weight in tomato sandwiches. Mom had never had one, and she was surprised she didn't miss the lettuce and bacon. We put a thick slice of peeled ripe tomato between two skinny slices of white bread each smoothed with a bit of mayonaise; don't try to slip any damn Miracle Whip in there. See? Easy and delicious. No bacon needed.

Dad made pizza one night, salmon the next.

Dad ended up making two cherry pies while I was there. I was on a diet. A cherry pie diet. 
  I am very sorry I don't have a photo of the grilled okra. Dad impaled individual okra on bamboo skewers, brushed them with clarified butter and grilled them until roasty. Man, oh, man, okra heaven.
 Bird houses are everywhere you look in the garden. When Mom and I walked out back to the studio, we were stalked by a very angry wren.
 She was scolding us and flitting from place to place. We never figured out where her nest was (although I did find a nest, she didn't ever go near it).
 She can certainly take her pick of bird houses.
Next week I will post photos of the quilts Mom sent back to Atlanta with me.
Karmen