A Contemplative Life

Fabric with dots is Aerial View. The other is Lands End. I like the colour blue. In lots of shades. And pink. In many hues. And I like the weight of Ruby Star Society fabrics, especially for EPP. Put those together, and tonight I have much of another block for my Eden quilt sorted. I also like making blocks that have a center hexagon, lol! Cornflower blocks , Eden blocks; what I appreciate is simply stitching around a basted shape, not worrying if center points meet up. I realized that while making the Cornflower blocks, and it's reinforced with these little beauties. Earlier today I put fabric on the design wall, but I'm keeping this quilt under wraps until it's gifted, as it's a surprise. Not in time for Christmas, but hopefully before February. Large squares will lend themselves to being quickly turned into a top, but as I plan to hand-quilt this project.... It's going to take a few weeks of evening stitching. Yet having completed the design element freed me to ...

  I did try to hang the quilt outside to photograph it, but it was too heavy and fell to the ground. Today my husband held it aloft, and while not the perfect photo, it's good enough. This quilt seems to have had two lives; the English paper piecing blocks have been around a LONG time. Many were done, the fabrics not my faves, then I fully finished them earlier this year or late last year after a big PUSH when I had Covid last summer. While quarantining in my bedroom so said husband wouldn't get sick (not that it worked, but....), I sewed Lucy Boston (LB) blocks because I didn't want to touch/contaminate anything I truly adored, haha! Come to find out, these at times obnoxious, at other times sweet blocks from my early EPP days have wormed their ways into my Kawandi heart. And what's especially precious (not in a sickly sweet manner) is that this quilt is WHOLLY HAND SEWN. No machine was employed in its creation. The back is a flannel twin-size sheet, the front i...

Crystal Manning fabrics (with a Speckled center) from a few years (or more) ago. This will be appliqued onto a light pink t-shirt, once of these days. Gotta fix a cup of Metamucil, then I'll be back to expound upon this ominous title. Okay, so getting used to life without gluten, dairy products, and red meat and NO CHEATING on those edicts has been...fine. Kinda like using Draft2Digital is FINE . It is what it is, and you get what you get and you don't pitch a fit. My eldest granddaughter used to say that when she was little, but now at ten years old, I don't hear it from her much anymore, LOL. I don't mind the Metamucil, although it will be a cold day in hell before my husband drinks it, as it figured heavily in the lives of his elderly parents. It wasn't anything my parents used, and it still tastes like watered down Tang, no big deal. I feel good, have lost six pounds, and my knees don't hurt, so if dairy was aggravating those joints, it's a trade-off wor...

I'd forgotten I had titled this project a quilt of grace. Stitching on it doesn't bother my right shoulder, and it has been an ABSOLUTE PLEASURE to construct, especially when I remove a safety pin. Every one that goes makes me feel, 'Yup, I'm that much closer to being done.' Not that I want to hurry the process, only it's a big friggin' quilt and there's HEAPS left to stitch, and well.... I've had grace on my mind recently, and this quilt on my lap the last several evenings. The previous two I have been SUPER SNIFFLY, so today my husband moved the sofa, then I dusted the windows, then he dusted above them, then he hoovered the living room. The afternoon was sunny and pleasant, so we left open the windows, hoping to air out the space. I just closed them, and have returned to complete this post. Which was originally going to be about Nadia Chicken jumping the run door, cheeky gal! But instead I thought about this quilt, the only cloth item that lives o...

Yesterday's block is now firmly adhered in place. Considered as I hand-applique Lucy Boston blocks early in the morning. (Or, lol, raising chickens.) I always wanted to write fiction. From my early teens that consideration never wavered. I proclaim that because this post is about enjoying things I hadn't previously pondered, hoped for, pined over. These things are very different. Like quilting, lol. And of course those chicks, who conveniently posed in a makeshift group yesterday afternoon for my husband. Owning chickens was NOT on my list of Wanna Do's, let me make that perfectly clear. Owl in the forefront, Camilla to the left behind her, the rest of the pullets poking about the grass. But the sewing, oh my goodness! I can't fathom my life without that treat, as dear to me as crafting novels. Initially I started sewing by machine, then came English paper piecing, and now Kawandi-inspired projects. Like treasure from heaven are these methods of fashioning various items...

27 January 2018; two patches already applied by machine. Yet the interior remains untouched, albeit compromised. Amid reading aloud Straight to the Heart: The Hawk Book Three , I did a little photographic research to discuss my latest quilt finish. To my surprise, I found I've had this quilt, pictured above in January of 2018, since the previous summer. That's eight years, my goodness! Where has the time gone? The quilt was already in need of repair when I received it. Yet to cloak the gorgeous stitching took time for me to admit. (Future Me was probably rolling her eyes, fully aware of what awaited this quilt, lol!) Yet this post isn't about time's fickleness, lol. It's about a beautiful English paper-pieced quilt made by a woman named Dorothy, her last name starting with S, inked on the back of the quilt in two places. She deserved such recognition because this diamond star pattern is GORGEOUS. Well, it was gorgeous. Now it remains as one snippet of what has beco...

Not the heart quilt but what I worked on last night for my medallion quilt also known as Alexandria. Pics of heart quilt coming soon! Kind of like life without grandkids around, or being on the other side of the solstice. It's an emptiness or loss that you knew couldn't be avoided. Eventually one quilt top is completed, and even if you make the pattern again, different fabrics proffer an altered vibe. And IF the same fabrics in exactly the same placement were used, the manner of application cannot be duplicated. Life isn't static. Everything changes. Yesterday after lunch our daughter and her crew departed for their home. Items were left behind, nothing essential, merely a way to remind us that a return trip is desired, or how I interpret it, lol. I threw some things in the wash, collected scattered toys and scraps of paper from art projects off the floor. I still need to toss their milk, as we drink lactose free and have no use for regular two percent. Last night as I sat ...

I attended our local April 5th Hands Off protest this afternoon, an AMAZING turnout on a beautifully sunny and warm day. My knee cooperated, especially as I kept moving, saying howdy to those I've met at previous rallies, also noting that I hoped to not run into them again. Their knowing smiles spoke the same. During this Lenten season, I've been able to maintain my PMA via prayer, reading, meditation on said texts, revising Brave the Skies for a Monday release and of course sewing. Lots of sewing on loads of projects, lol. I wonder if my copious collection of both EPP and Kawandi-style items makes up for scattered thoughts, probably. I've fashioned a few coasters with orphan English paper pieced blocks; they come together easily, actually more quickly than I thought they would. I like having timely finishes, makes me feel like I'm accomplishing something. Protesting relieves my heart, but for now, not much emerges from it other than personal peace. Small and large bloc...

How can I NOT finish this quilt? Mandolin musings.... So a couple days ago, probably right after I wrote the previous entry, I considered using six-point diamond papers from my Mandolin pattern for Alexandria, which is in desperate need of diamonds. I've been pondering the Mandolin EPP quilt-in-progress, as well as the Myrtle design, Lavender, Ice Cream Soda, ummm... Lots of English paper piecing WIPs, and sometimes I rob Peter to pay Paul, so to speak, to keep them all supplied as I don't have exact kits for each. The Mandolin quilt, blocks pictured above, is my second version of this pattern, and the first one I actually use the proper kit to construct, lol. Why not steal some diamonds for Alexandria, then get to work on that, I blithely considered. Until I found I had finished eight Mandolin blocks! I thought I had maybe five, six tops. But eight, out of the dozen I had planned, wow! Slight guilt crept over me as I examined them, all made from autumnal Art Gallery fabrics, ...

The last Lucy Boston block DONE! The inner honeycombs are from the Maine fabric store, some not bad fussy cutting if I do say so myself, hehehe. Sometimes things you don't think you're going to finish get completed. Quilts, books, um.... Well, for me quilts and books are what I enjoy most as pastimes, and washing dishes and doing laundry are in a constant cycle of gathering, then getting sorted, so books and quilts it is. Okay, rainy weather too. We have had HEAPS and GOBS of rain this month, which is already on the twenty-third day, how the heck did that happen? Where has March gone, or is going, and am I actually going to put thirty Lucy Boston blocks to use and close that quilty-EPP chapter of my life? Yes, I believe I am. Dang, that's a weird, unpredicted aspect of this year! Okay, just a little bit of backstory on my Lucy Boston experience. In 2018, when I started English paper piecing, I bought 1.5" Dritz hexagons from Joann, stiff and easy to baste but a bear to...

I'm going to publish a novel tonight, I think. Book Three of The Enran Chronicles is formatted, cover made, blurbs written.... All I need to do is upload it all onto Smashwords , then by morning it will be featured on their home page, lol. Since merging with Draft2 Digital, I have found it takes HOURS for a novel to appear in the Smashwords store. Might as well make time work for me overnight, then find a pleasant surprise tomorrow when I wake. In the meantime, I have been moved to stitch Lucy Boston blocks, of which I have over twenty-five done. That project was one of my first EPP thrills, but the honeycombs are small (one inch per side), and the papers from Paper Pieces are somewhat stiff. I had tucked away all the finished blocks, but pulled them out today, trying to size up a Kawandi-version and I think it will work. This will definitely be a quilt of grace, because only by God's grace will I get it sorted, LOL! I have four blocks left to make for a total of thirty, and h...

I'm a Christian. I don't talk much about my faith directly, though I allude to it. Yet it's the core of my being, and maybe it might be perceived as weak faith from my discretion, but in following the edict of my soul, I don't blare it on this blog. Today, I'm going to share first what I finished last night, some EPP/Kawandi sewing that I'll use in the kitchen by the kettle. Granite countertops that we didn't install are a nightmare with nice teacups, so I keep the counter covered and my mugs protected with placemat-sized linens. The English paper piecing on this one is some of the first EPP I crafted going on seven years ago. For two years I've been meaning to turn it into something, and a couple of days ago I did just that, finding that once the backing for a Kawandi project is made, that's how big whatever is emerging is going to be. This will be fine for a few cups, keeping nice dishes chip-free and giving me something to hand-sew besides the EPP...

Star in a Star block from Jodi Godfrey's Red Sky at Night quilt. The last few days since beginning another Kawandi-inspired quilt, I have been in THE ZONE. Not only with that project, but Alexandria, which has been a mild relief as well as a joy. Stitching blocks for that EPP behemoth, I wasn't sure if my colour choices were apt. I think they'll do nicely.  But let's gab about my Red Sky at Night hand-sewn I don't know what else to call it quilt. It's Kawandi only in starting from the back and going inwards. It was strange, but liberating, to first make the back, not worry about a binding, then finding a mostly appropriate batting scrap to wedge under the back's pressed perimeter. A few bare spaces were filled in with less than an inch wide (but several inches long depending where I needed filler) strips of batting, some of which were displaced as my husband helped move the back and batting onto my office work table. Carefully I measured where the center C...

Last night I worked on a Red Sky at Night block. Small pieces are a little futzy, as well as making sure the perimeter shapes are correctly basted so I don't find myself removing stitches when pressing it flat. One of the differences with this kind of EPP, that will be incorporated into a machine-pieced quilt, is seam allowances can't remain tucked around papers, or shapes once papers are removed. Plenty to consider as many minutes turn into accumulated hand-sewing. I was pondering other things last night, amid the Golden State Warriors/LA Lakers game that caught my husband's attention. We're grateful for the near-return of basketball, as another lengthy season winds down; the election will have occurred in three weeks, and I am SO READY for that, although I don't anticipate a winner announced immediately. I miss the British manner of elections, where the Prime Minister simply calls for one, and within weeks it's DONE. This summer kind of felt that way when Kam...

Family is visiting this coming week, looking very much forward to that! The son of a dear friend has been diagnosed with cancer, which totally sucks. I'm pleased for how Book 3 of The Enran Chronicles survived an edit. And I came up with a great plot point for much further down that series' road. I'm trying to maintain a safe distance from my country's upcoming election, but at times find it hard to not fret. And about that, I may post a bit, just a heads-up that this blog could sport some political entries. I had pizza last night, made with a gluten-free crust, yet today I'm feeling some effects as though the crust wasn't quite gluten-free. The Eden quilt might take more time than I considered, as I'm not happy with the plethora of blocks made with gray borders. I'm digging those pictured above, and may adjust the borders on a bunch of stars still in need of perimeters. It's nearly October; where has September gone??? Not that our weather has chan...

Such a joy and relief to have a book released; Life Stories has already made its way to Apple Books , Barnes & Noble , Everand (formerly Scribd), and Kobo , pretty cool! Meanwhile, I've formatted the first novel for The Hawk , will probably release that tale in early December. More about that as autumn ticks past, although a few days of summer officially remain. It's a foggy morning here, definitely feeling like a new season has arrived. Autumnal hues in this Mandolin block probably add to my sense of seasonal alteration. Maybe that sensation is due to having published a novel, time for summer to give way to more indoorsy pastimes. I've been busy with hand-sewing, completing a Mandolin block (pictured above) this morning, as well as next week's Red Sky at Night block, lol. Bridal Bouquet (pictured below) was a bit fuzty to baste, making sure the directional papers were all going the right way as well as basted so the perimeter pieces fold outwards. The sewing of ...