Thursday, March 7, 2024

Links to Enjoy #21

I found some interesting posts about books, nature/weather, a quilt, Daylight Saving Time, and some tapestries.  Maybe one or two will be of interest to you.

I've always loved all kinds of paper and books, even when I was a child, so of course, this video about Sophia Bogle, book restorer, appealed to me.  Her work is amazing.  You can read more about her here but I think this video is better.



Here's another book highlight, this time about a library of handmade miniature books.  Read a post about Tomas Mayer here

How cold the temperature must have been for these geyser spouts to freeze when hitting the air!

Here's an interesting quilt post from a quilt restorer:  A Tale of Two Victorian Crazy Quilts - and a Fabric Mystery

How do you feel about Daylight Saving Time?  I'm one who intensely dislikes it.  Why Daylight Saving Time Messes with Your Brain is an interesting post citing research of its effects.  

The tapestries at this post, Communal Art-Making Is at the Core of Sanaa Gateja’s Monumental Paper Bead Tapestries, look like fiber to me.  Who knew paper beads were still a thing?

Enjoy!
--Nancy.

Friday, March 1, 2024

Bramble Blooms Again and Spring Green

Note: In real life, the browns and tans are lighter than in this photo.  (Which probably means that the other colors are also lighter.)
Bramble Blooms 1 center and first border
The center and first border of Bramble Blooms 1 are stitched and finished (though I often include the disclaimer to any quilt in progress, "unless I change my mind"). I don't think I will for this quilt, though. I would have to see some really big problem to decide to unstitch, recreate or create new, and then restitch.

I switched out the solid blue/grey fabric of the flying bird to a tiny, tiny gingham in blue and teal which I thought lightened the bird just enough to make me happy, and didn't change the color too much.  (See the previous blue here if you're interested to compare.)
I thought the blue/grey was just a tad too dark and I'm satisfied with this fabric for the large bird.  I left the smaller bird on the fence as it was, with the solid blue/grey fabric.

This is the tan/light brown fabric I used for the arcs.  I love that it has both red and blue in it.  It was the inspiration to use a blue for the birds.
One odd thing about the half-square-triangle corners at the bottom is that they are not the same. 
I made the one on the left first by cutting a rectangle background, then cutting it diagonally two ways.  For some reason it didn't occur to me that the resulting X would be more like an X and less like a + turned 90 degrees.  I now know that a rectangle will not create a quarter-square-triangle block.  I used a square background piece for the block on the right and decided the two were close enough to use them as they were.  It is an improv quilt, after all!

Audrey will probably post the next prompt in coming weeks.  I try to imagine what it might be:  blocks of our choice, or blocks she suggests?  Another border with appliqued letters?  Or ...?  Will she recommend a color from the ones we've used, or a new color?  We'll see soon enough.  For now, I'll take a little break from Bramble Blooms.

The exciting spring green around here is this ice cream carton of Sweet Woodruff.  Actually, there are two cartons!
In October or November I put several small Sweet Woodruff plants into two large ceramic pots, then dropped one as I moved it.  The best I could come up with to hold the plants and soil were two plastic ice cream cartons with some rocks in the bottom.  I honestly didn't think they would make it through the winter.  Part of the time they were outside but I brought them into our breezeway when it got really cold.  The plants in all three pots looked dead two weeks ago.  Not one to give up, I put them outside to get some sun and fresh air when the warm weather arrived, and left them.  And then it rained, and then it snowed.  I thought, I hope the snow insulates and protects them.  When the snow melted, the pots were waterlogged but there were bright green sprouts coming up in the two plastic pots.  Hooray!  Sadly, the plants in the ceramic pot look like they didn't make it.  This spring I need to just do it:  dig some holes and plant these little ones.  I'm just so pleased to see all that green.  The little pot I have inside is also growing well so that can get planted outside, too.

I'm linking this post to
> Finished (or not) Friday at Alycia Quilts
> Can I Get a Whoop Whoop? at Confessions of a Fabric Addict
Thank you for hosting, ladies.

I hope you have a have a great weekend.
--Nancy.

Saturday, February 24, 2024

Well, I Don't Know....

Here's my Bramble Blooms so far.  The birds are not appliqued yet because I'm still adjusting the placement of the larger bird.  I think the birds' color is okay but I wish I had a print fabric in a similar shade/tone to give a little more interest and depth.  (Or maybe the bird should be grey?)
Bramble Blooms 1
I don't know....  I never know about fabric choices until things are stitched down, at which point it's a little late to make changes (unless I want to devote hours and hours to unstitching and restitching again). 

At first I thought about green pickets but when I got ready to sew them, they just seemed wrong.  So I went with the cream/tan/pink print ones.
Bramble Blooms 1 fabric consideration
I'm looking at this as a learning experience.  If I were to remake this quilt, what changes and improvements would I make?
Bramble Blooms 1
If I make another version/variation, how would it be different?  Would I change colors, or motifs, or placements?

I'm learning how unbrave (cowardly?) I am with color.  I tend to go for "safe" colors.  Maybe that makes for a boring quilt?

In the photos above, the lighter browns in the middle photo are more accurate to the in-person browns.

As always, I'm thrilled to read your comments, thoughts, and observations about this part of Bramble Blooms (or any other quilts I'm working on and post about).  I always appreciate that readers see and notice things I don't.  Thank you.

It shouldn't take me long to stitch the birds when I finally begin.  At least I'm mostly caught up for the next prompt when Audrey posts about it in coming weeks.

Two weeks ago it seemed like spring was coming along nicely, and then that Friday we had a wonderful snowstorm.  It took a few days to melt and we had spring weather again. This morning I awoke to several inches of snow.  Even with the snows, it seems like Phil's prediction of an early spring might be more accurate than not.  The prediction for several days next week is in the 60s and for 71 degrees on March 4. 

I hope you're having a good weekend!
--Nancy.

Thursday, February 22, 2024

Links to Enjoy #20

I've included just four links this time.  I've been busy with Bramble Blooms and having the flu and not spending much time doing other things.

I love this video of Ken Burns, documentarian extraordinaire, sharing his quilt collection at his barn.



You can also watch a video of his quilt exhibit at the International Quilt Museum in Nebraska here.  

Anna DevĂ­s and Daniel Rueda take such fun photographs.  Always a twist on people and the environment.  I love the photo of the lady in a red skirt, pulled wide into the shape of a mouth, standing below two arched windows.  Suddenly, the wall is smiling!

Welcome to Monowi, Nebraska: population 1.  The post at the link was written a few years ago.  Elsie Eiler, now 90, is the sole the resident or Monowi and serves as mayor, librarian, tavern owner, and more. 

It's about mindset and movement:  My Mother Got on a Bike.  It Changed Her life.  (If you can't read the article at that link, go here and click the link to read it.)

This chart, right, goes along with the concept of mindset from the above article. 

If you're new to this concept and want to learn more, read Carol S. Dweck's book, Mindset:  The New Psychology of Success.  Or watch one of her youtube presentations or interviews.  I thought this one was good (though it's a little long at 47 minutes), but there are others, too.

Enjoy!
--Nancy.

Wednesday, February 7, 2024

More Scrappy Stars and Bramble Blooms

I'm making more scrappy stars because...
red Scrappy Ohio Star on light background
I have a container and a stack of small scraps.  What a mess!  The yellow box on the left is filled with triangles of all colors and sizes.
I'm sorting the triangles by warm colors (reds, yellows, oranges, and the purples that lean toward red), cool colors (blues, greens, and the purples that lean toward blue), and pale/pastel/natural colors.   

This is leader/ender sewing but I have to keep cutting to have enough triangles to sew.  I'm working on the warm colors first.  Red stars on white, as in the first photo, or white stars on red?  I have a lot of triangles to sew together before I have to make a decision.
white Scrappy Ohio Star on red background
I'm also cutting 1½" squares for the Tiny Nine-Patch blocks from the pile of scraps on the right in the second photo.  I hope to keep up with those to finish with the sew-along.  The triangles will be a longer-term project.

And then there's Bramble Blooms.  I finally finished stitching the brown borders on Monday.  I got up Tuesday morning with the intention of cutting the arcs from tan/light brown fabric so I could begin stitching them but my indecision got the better of me.  (Or maybe the quilt's not talking to me?)  What fabric/color should those arcs be? 

I tried red arcs and they disappeared against the brown.  I tried green and the same thing happened.  I pulled out some blues-leaning-to-teal but they looked awful.  I finally decided the tan arcs would work after all, so I cut and prepared two.  And they're also awful!  Maybe it's the wrong tan, or maybe that color range is wrong (but which would be right)?  Or maybe they're too big?  Too high?  Too wide?  Or maybe the "legs" of the arcs are too wide?  Or...?  (For perspective, the top and side borders are 8" wide and the bottom border is 9".)
Bramble Blooms in progress
My daughter suggested gold but that wasn't quite right.  And then I thought, since I've used white paper to get an idea for placement, maybe I should try the background fabrics behind the flowers.
Bramble Blooms in progress
Nope, that's not right, either.  Maybe I need to change the applique but I don't have any good ideas....

So this is where I am with Bramble Blooms.  And after I finally decide the color/fabric for the arcs, I'll probably need to reconsider the fabric/colors for the "pickets."  Or maybe small arcs all the way around.  Or...?
Bramble Blooms in progress
I was grateful to read in Audrey's recent post that it will be at least a few more weeks before she announces the next prompt.  Maybe—I hope—I will be ready!

We've had a week of sunny days and warmer temperatures.  It's been wonderful!  It almost makes me think Punxsutawney Phil could have been right this year and we'll have an early spring. 

I'm linking this post to Oh Scrap! at Quilting is more fun than Housework.  Thank you for hosting, Cynthia.

Thanks for reading and thank you for any comments.

--Nancy.

Wednesday, January 31, 2024

Nine-Patches, Bramble Blooms, Weather

I declared my interest in participating in Taryn's Tiny Four Patch sew-along but I haven't signed in to Facebook to see what's going on.  She's also hosting this on Instagram. 
I already had some 1½" squares in autumn colors that I'd been sewing into four-patches.  They are really scrappy, as you can see.  (Maybe I'll start making some less scrappy ones....)  I'd been trying to decide what to do with them and when I saw this sew-along it seemed like just the thing for these squares.  The blocks in the original quilt finish at 1½"--teeny tiny--compared to my 3" blocks--small.   But Taryn's open to participants sewing any small size.
The setting of the original quilt has the blocks on point with white between.  How would these blocks look with a gold print between, or some other autumn color, do you think?  Or cream, always a favorite.  I'll need to make over two hundred nine-patches so there's no hurry for a decision.  I'm aiming for 10/week which equals 40/month, so in about 5 months I should have enough for a bed-size quilt.  We'll see how it goes.  (I just calculated that 200 9-patches will require 1800 squares!  I might not have enough scraps!)

I'm still dithering about Bramble Blooms decisions.  I cut and sewed the teal border and that's it so far.  (No excuses here but my daughter and her kitties were here and my husband has been using the kitchen table where I cut large pieces.  It's not that I've been putting it off.)
I'm stumped on the borders without the arcs.  I only ever thought they would go on the right side and bottom.  But what to do about the other side and the top?  I thought about stripes, similar to but not like above.  Like a fence, maybe?  And on the other side are brambles?  I really can't think that those arcs/arches all the way around would be a good idea.  Another thought just occurred to me:  move the upper "pickets" on on the left to the bottom beside the bramble arc and leave maybe three pickets up the left side.  But that still leaves me with an empty upper border.   Leaves?  Birds?  What?

And then there's the question of that brown border.   Will I be able to recover from so much darkness in the next border?  Maybe I should go with a light border.  Oh, how I don't know what I'm doing.

Of course, I still need to decide what color and fabric the arcs and anything else I add will be.  But those decisions will depend on the border fabric....

Most of the quilts I make are made one step at a time, not knowing the end at the beginning, and I decide the next part of the quilt as I go along, but most of my quilts are made of blocks.  And I can always take as much time as I want to make decisions. 

But wait, I really am having fun.  A challenge can be fun, right?  I'm enjoying the challenges, just not the pressure of a time constraint.

On a different topic.  Do you cut away the fabric behind an applique?  I know one or two people who do and another one or two who don't. 
What about you?  I always have for several reasons.  First, because it's easier to hand quilt one less layer of fabric and, second, because I see that great expanse of usable fabric and think how it's going to waste.  What's your opinion and experience?  Leave it or cut it away?

The weather hasn't helped my energy—physical, mental, or creative—this week and last.  We haven't seen the sun since Monday, the 22nd.  No matter the time of day, from dawn to dusk, it has been grey or greyer and sometimes foggy.  It is beautiful.  It also makes me feel like sleeping for a few hours in the afternoon.  The weather forecast tells me tomorrow will be only partly cloudy.  I'm looking forward to seeing the sun!
I love winter when it snows.  There's still a chance for it this year.
I hope you're happy, healthy, safe, and enjoying whatever you're doing.

--Nancy.

Tuesday, January 30, 2024

Links to Enjoy #19

Here are just a few links (with too many words to introduce them).  I hope you'll enjoy one or more of them.

Snowflakes fascinate me and with snow swirling around the Northern Hemisphere, this seemed like the perfect time to post a brief video explaining the history and science of snowflakes.  I found Professor Brian Cox's voice, with it's British accent, delightful. 




I enjoyed 15 Lessons I've Learned in 15 Years of Diary of a Quilter posted by Amy Smart a few weeks ago.  I particularly liked #11.

When you can't take a walk in the woods, Tree might be a good substitute.  There you can (hopefully) hear the sounds of many different forests throughout the world.  I was able to hear the first few forests' sounds but then there was a disconnect on either their end or mine.  (I included the link because of the beautiful forest photographs and because it might work for you.)  I scouted around and discovered the sounds at Tree came from Sounds of the Forest where there is a world map with pinpoints where forest sounds have been recorded.  You can choose a location, click, and listen. Amazing!

Another post about trees....  Do you know about Pando?  It is an enormous forest of genetically identical aspen trees in Utah which are all connected to the same root.  It is one of the world's largest living organisms and may also be one of the oldest.  How am I just now learning about this?!

Some of the beautiful photos of rural America in Brendon Burton Captures Intimate Portraits of North America’s Metamorphosing Rural Landscapes include abandoned homes.  They brought to mind Sophie Blackall's children's book, Farmhouse.  Blackall bought property in New York State on which sat an old, falling down farmhouse.  She salvaged some things from inside, learned about the people who'd lived there, then, in loose rhyme, told and illustrated a story about the house and the family.  What a delightful book!

And back to snow again.  Snowball fights are the subject of this post.which is a collection of paintings from various locations and different centuries. 

Below is an 1885 painting by Gerhard Munthe entitled "Sneballkasting."  It caught my eye because it brought back the childhood memory of making snowmen by trying to roll snow into big balls.  Instead, the snow seemed to roll into a shape more like toilet paper on a tube, exactly what's happening in this painting.
At the link above, scroll down about a third of the way to see the paintings.  Click any one of them and it will enlarge.  Enlarge them more by using the plus and minus signs in the upper right.  Click the arrows on either side of the paintings to see the others. 

Enjoy!
--Nancy.

Monday, January 29, 2024

One Monthly Goal Finish for January

My monthly goal for January was to finish hand quilting one more row of fan on Everyday Patchwork. 
This is the end of that row.  (I quilt fans from right to left.)  I think I calculated/estimated how many more rows I have to quilt but I can't remember.  I just know I need to pick up the speed or the amount of time quilting so I can finish this quilt sooner than later!

I'm linking this post to January One Monthly Goal Finish at Stories from the Sewing Room.

Thanks for hosting, Anne-Marie.

--Nancy.
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