This, That, and the Other

Aren't these guys the cutest?   They are about half an inch high and were sitting on a shelf at a local store.

Toys a child left behind?  Part of a display or advertisement, though there wasn't anything around that seemed to be associated with little ducks.  I wanted to bring them home but there was no price tag.  I have a collection of little things and these would fit right in.

June has flown by.  For me it might as well be over since a total knee replacement surgery is scheduled for this coming Tuesday.  Preparation for surgery (making food, getting the house ready for a walker, making sure I have all the equipment I'll need, etc.) has taken a lot of time.  Hence, little progress on the quilting front.  Sadly Bramble Blooms I and II are both on hold indefinitely, at least as far as physical progress goes.  I haven't written them off or decided not to participate, though.  I plan to come back to them when I'm more mobile and my mind isn't focused on other things.  Maybe a spark of creativity during this surgery and recovery process will push me toward some decisions?  Or not.

What I have been sewing are several simple, lightweight cotton, summer dresses, similar to these.  I can cut and sew a pattern well enough but adjusting and fitting a pattern are the problem, and patterns nearly always need adjusting.  I'm not a standard size.  I'm on pins and needles cutting and sewing until I know the garment will fit.  The first of the two dresses fits and is comfortable; I hope the second one will be, too.  

You may remember this post from almost exactly a year ago about my rose-print fabrics and the challenge I set for myself to use them in a quilt.
The fabrics sat around for nearly a year.  I finally decided to cut squares and make a one-patch.  My reasoning was that I have enough fabric to make several quilts, so why not start with a one-patch.  The squares are 4½", placed in no particular order.  I'm imagining a calm, quiet quilt.

Maybe the criteria of roses isn't enough to unify a quilt?  I may edit out some of the darker prints or place them carefully.  I may also add some applique to the finished top, or add some pieced blocks, either 4" or 8" finished.  I have 200 of the needed 300 squares cut.  I've never made a one-patch quilt before and am wondering how one chooses a layout.  Do you know?

I finished this quilt I call Center Light in 2013 and have slept under it every winter night for 11 years as well as some spring and autumn nights.

I felt a spot near the top of the quilt getting thin and recently noticed this casualty of use.

I'll repair it, of course, but how?  It's a  utility quilt and part of me says to just make a patch that covers the hole, the binding, and the back, and stitch it down.  The perfectionist in me says to unstitch the binding, unquilt the section that needs repair, add new batting and fabric, then requilt and sew on new binding.  There's another colored block that is torn, also.  Huh!  I never expected it to be an heirloom quilt but I did think it would last longer than 11 years!  Except for this spot and the binding along almost all of this edge, the rest of the quilt is in good shape.  How would you repair it?

This is happening along the country roads not far from us. I believe it's winter wheat.  It was sprouting green in March so I guessed it was planted last fall.

We saw many fields, some that were acres and acres larger than this one.  It brought to mind the phrase "Oh, beautiful for spacious skies, for amber waves of grain" from the song "America."

The weather has been hot and humid, from the high 80s to the high 90s, with "feels like" temperatures in the low 100s some days.  Heat warnings or advisories and air quality alerts have been in effect all week and are still in effect now.  I went to the store yesterday and when I stepped onto the pavement I wanted to move the heat away as if it were a curtain brushing against me, it was so dense and heavy.  I'm grateful for air conditioning.  Even inside it feels oppressive but at least it's cool enough to breathe.  I feel sorry for people and animals who have to be outside.  Whatever did my farming ancestors do?!

About that knee replacement surgery on Tuesday.  (Well, first, did you know that the knee is the biggest joint in the body and one of the most complex?  That was news to me.)  I'm good with the surgery itself but I'm not looking forward to the days and weeks after.  The more I learn, the more grueling it sounds.  Infection and blood clots are the biggest post-surgery concerns for the doctor and nurses but they're also concerned about exercise, since that's what will give me my mobility.  My biggest concerns are whether I'll actually be able to do all that they expect and require, and whether I can prevent constipation.  (TMI?  Sorry.)  The expectations post-surgery are to

• use ice on top and behind my knee to keep the swelling down, because swelling can cause blood clots
• wear TED stockings:  very tight compression stockings which can be really hard to get on and are uncomfortable to wear (so I'm told)
  
• keep my knee elevated above the level of my heart
  
• use a CPM (or continual passive motion) machine for 6 hours/day to keep my knee moving which, I guess, is part of the exercise, and possibly also for swelling
• exercise hourly; the exercises take about 20 minutes; also walk for about 15 minutes every hour
  
• eat high protein and lots of fiber
• take medications, watch diet, prevent constipation (if that's possible with narcotic pain killers)
  

Just when you feel your worst after a major surgery and most want to rest, the doctors want you to keep moving.  I'll get through this and, hopefully, will be more mobile.  

That's it from me for at least a week, maybe more.  I hope you stay cool and comfortable or, if you're from the southern hemisphere, I hope you stay warm and toasty.

--Nancy.

A Rose-Print Fabric Quilt Challenge for Me

The roses I love are not the real flowers but fabric with roses printed on it.  All kinds and styles of roses, whether realistic, stylized, folk-style, modern, vintage...  I love most all of them. 

Some of these I bought at fabric stores, some were given to me, some are from clothing, some I have no idea how I came to have them.  But I like every one of these fabrics.  Since they all have roses on them, I've set myself the challenge to use them--some, many, all?-- in a quilt.  Obviously, it will be a mostly low-volume quilt, but if I use the reds and fabrics with a dark background, there will be pops of color, too.

The challenge of using these fabrics together, for me, is that I have a condition called aphantasia, which means I have no mind's eye.  I'm unable to visualize the possibilities, the quilt blocks, the arrangement of blocks, or how the fabrics and colors will be used.  I will be able to see them only after I've created them.  Essentially, when I make something I can see it, and then I can remember it, but I still can't see it in my mind.  It's an interesting challenge for someone who's trying create quilts.

I know this quilt will be a calm quilt because so many of the fabrics are light, but I don't know how those fabrics will evolve into quilt blocks.  At first I thought just squares and strips to make 9" blocks, but then thought a variety of blocks might make it more interesting.  Some block possibilities include  Ohio Star, Economy, 9-patch, Snowball, Hourglass, Flying Geese, Dresden Plate, Sawtooth Star, and Quarter Cabin blocks.  Maybe not all of those blocks or maybe other blocks too or instead.

For sizes I thought perhaps I could base the blocks on a 9" square which could include 1", 1½", 3", 6", 4½", and 9" blocks or strips of those sizes, in various combinations. 

Some of the fabrics have larger prints that I'd rather not cut those into small pieces that would make the roses unrecognizable, especially since there are plenty of fabrics that do have small prints that could be cut into small pieces and the roses wouldn't be lost.

I decided to group like colors together and photograph them.  Perhaps some will be eliminated.

The lights.
The darks:  browns, greys, tans.
The reds and darker pinks.
The pinks.
The greens.
The blues.
The peaches.
The pinks in solids, stripes, or plaid.
And all the fabrics together, again.
Past experience tells me that many of these fabrics can work together, but I just can't envision how a quilt with these will look--blocks, color placement, etc.  I guess there's lots of play in the near future for me!  If you have thoughts to share about making a quilt from these fabrics, I'd love read them.

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
>  Monday Musings at Songbird Designs

Thanks so much for visiting.
--Nancy.