Next in the Que for Quilting: Everyday Patchwork

Don't quilters always have ques?  The quilts we want to make.  The quilts in progress to be finished.  The tops to be quilted, the tops to be bound....  We always have some quilt in the works at one stage or another.  Maybe not you, but I do!

Now that I'm sewing the binding on Flowers, it's time to get another top ready to quilt.  Since I have backing for my version of Cheri Payne's Everyday Patchwork, I'm getting that ready to layer and baste.

This is a bright, busy quilt.  I especially notice this when I contrast it with Flowers, which has large blocks with plain backgrounds.  Both are wonderful, just different.

I need to wash the backing fabric, which you can see at the bottom of the quilt in the photo above, then cut and sew it, press, and tape to the floor.  I like printed fabric for the back of a quilt but because this front is so busy, I thought a solid would be fine (especially because it was on sale at a really great price.)  The color is not exact to any that are in the top but close enough to work on the back.

I also need to cut out the fabric behind the appliques.  That's always stressful and requires great care so I don't cut into the fabric on the front.  Yikes!  I've done it before but not on a finished top.

This applique technique is not how I usually stitch, but is overhand stitching through the turned edges of the applique pieces.   (Sorry there's no photo of the front.)  I saw that Cheri stitched hers this way.  I don't know how well it will hold up to regular use including washing and drying.  I may end up having to restitch the appliques.  But I like the look of it for a more primitive quilt so decided it was worth a try.

My One Monthly Goal is to get this quilt layered and basted.  I'll be using Hobbs 80/20 cotton/poly batting for the first time.  So many others use and like it.  I hope I will, too.  That shouldn't take too long so I should include beginning to quilt as part of the goal.  I don't have a guess how to quilt it.  (Sometimes I don't know until the quilt is in the hoop and my needle is threaded, but I would rather make a decision before then.)  My go-to is often free-hand Baptist Fans but I'm not sure what fans might do for this quilt.  Diagonal lines?  Straight lines?  A different pattern for each block?  Ideas, anyone?

I'm linking this post to August One Monthly Goal Link-up at Elm Street Quilts.  Thanks for hosting, Patty and Anne-Marie.

On the AireGirl front
We finally chose the name Nona, pronounced with a long o.  I was concerned it might be confusing to her if I use "No" as a command, but so far there hasn't been a problem, maybe because there are very few times that I have to tell her "no."

She's still not a fan of the camera.  When she's sitting near me and I call her name, she looks, but when she sees the camera she looks away.

If I call her again, she looks even further away.  Any other little thing is so very interesting when someone has a camera pointed in her direction.

On the other hand, if she's investigating somewhere and I call her name, she comes racing.  Dear girl.

The weather has been hot and humid--too hot for paws on pavement, so few walks for Nona till the weather's cooler.

I'm grateful for central air that makes it comfortable to have a quilt over my lap while I stitch a binding.  I'm not yet halfway finished.

Thanks for visiting.  I hope you have a good weekend.
--Nancy.

Red Circles on Green, Palace Theater, AireGirl Again

This top is finished, unless I decide to add a border.  I began sewing red circles on green after seeing masses of roses blooming in pots at a garden market many years ago.  There was no particular plan for the blocks.  I just sewed circles thinking of them as roses.
I think the two rows of blocks with dark backgrounds around the outside are enough of a border and the binding will be a good finish, but I could change my mind.

When it came time to sew the blocks together I realized that the quilt would be too small for a bed unless I sewed more circles or used sashing.  I didn't have any more of the medium greens in the center so decided to use 3/4" sashing and cornerstones.  I found a shot cotton and cut and sewed and cut and sewed etc....  At some point in that process I realized that I probably could have cut the 50+ squares and circles and appliqued them in less time that it took to cut and sew the sashing and cornerstones.  But I didn't and the quilt is what it is.

It's different than I thought it might be when I began but I like it.  I think it's much better in person than in photos. Some of the reds just pop against the green backgrounds, which delights me.

Outside in the shade.  I think the above photo captures the colors better.

Last weekend we toured the Palace Theater.  It was built in 1926 as a vaudeville theater but when vaudeville died out a few years later, it became a movie theater.  It is not as large or grand as the Ohio Theater but I think it is just as beautiful.  This tour included the whole theater, not just the public areas.  Backstage and the lower levels were a warren of halls and doors.

This is the main part of the theater looking from the stage toward the back.  They tour guide told us the acoustics are exceptional.
Looking toward the stage--well, looking sideways toward the stage--from a side aisle on the balcony.
Backstage, it was fun to see the "posters" of performances painted on the walls.  
And lastly, our AireGirl is settling in and starting to feel more comfortable, though still refuses to look at the camera. I'm having trouble finding her name.  We try out a different one every few days.  I think Pippa would be the perfect name but one of my daughter's cats is Pippa and it would be just too confusing for them to have the same name. 

She still likes to be near me but she's beginning to feel more confident and interested in exploring.  She was Miss Sobersides when she came--I've never known such a serious Airedale--but we're beginning to see a change.  She's added tuckbuttruns, playbows, and the occasional smile to her behaviors.  And oh, the greetings to welcome us home!

I'm linking this post to
> Finished (or not) Friday at Alycia Quilts
> Peacock Party at Wendy's Quilts and More
> Oh Scrap! at Quilting is more fun than Housework
Thanks for hosting, ladies.

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

This and That--Quilt, Bird, Theater, AireGirl

I'm up to my elbows in green.  I think I'm slow because this quilt seems to go on and on with more and more and more sewing.  And interruptions slow my the progress, too.  Maybe by the end of the month I'll have it sewn into a top.  Maybe....

I've had these blocks laid out on the floor in the living room and see them when I pass by.  I'm generally delighted with what I see.  The whole is red and green but there are bits of white in some of the red circles.  I'm glad I added those fabrics.

One day last week when I went into the breezeway on my way to the car to run an errand, there on the sidewalk was this little tyke.  Oh my goodness, how cute!

I could just see the beginning of his crest and a touch of blue on the tips of his wing feathers.  I hesitated to open the door because I didn't want to frighten him.  I was surprised that he stayed even after he saw me.  Then I saw the shadow of one of his parents flying around just above him.  After a few minutes he flew, just above the ground, to a pine tree in our neighbor's back yard.  I breathed a sigh of relief that he was able to fly and made it to the tree.

Later in the afternoon I heard a ruckus from the adult blue jays and wondered what was going on.  They were at the pine tree, squawking and flapping their wings.  I walked over to see what the commotion was about.  It took me a few minutes to spot the cat in the weeds and branches under the tree.  We made eye contact and the cat ran off.  The jays calmed down after that.  I hope the little fellow in the photo was not harmed.

On July 1st, my daughter and I took a tour of the Ohio Theater, the State Theater of Ohio.  These first two photos are the foyer.

The theater was built in 1928 and was set to be demolished in 1969.  A group of people raised funds and saved it.  My photos hardly do justice to its beauty.  The idea when it was built was for people to be able to leave their troubles behind and spend the day at the theater.  Almost everything is original, including the curtains. 

In the theater proper there is a chandelier hanging from the center of a star on the ceiling.  We were surprised to learn that it is 20' tall and weights several tons.  One of the people giving the tour had photos of it lowered and people cleaning it.  For me, the bigger the building, the more I underestimate the size of something.

And this is the Mighty Morton organ.  It is original to the theater and sits on a platform that raises and lowers, low enough that it completely disappears.  The organist gave us a "tour" of the organ's capabilities, including many sounds that would have been used during the silent film era.  Its pipes are at the front and side of the stage, hidden behind structural details.

The tour did not include the stage or back stage.  A video here has better photos and shows backstage.  This Saturday we're planning to tour the Palace Theater.

The best part of the last two weeks is this Airegirl who came to live with us at the end of June.  (She's not keen on being photographed--at least not yet--something I hope to change with exposure.)

She was owned by a breeder and is a retired mama.   She's very sweet and gentle, walks well on a lead, and is respectful of humans and cats.  She is somewhat un-Airedale-like with her calm demeanor and is a little hesitant and uncertain--ears to the side and tail down.  I'm waiting for her sense of humor to appear and to see her smile.  I suspect her freedom was fairly restricted.  I think we can give her a happy life.  I would tell you her name but we haven't chosen it yet.  (You know, new home and life, new name.)

Our weather has been mostly hot and humid with high dew points, but yesterday was only in the mid-80s with a wonderful breeze.  I sat outside with AireGirl for a bit and read while she sniffed around and investigated the yard.

I hope things are good for you!
--Nancy.