A Quilt's Story

First of all, I can take almost zero credit for this beautiful creation. The story of this little quilt is just too good not to tell though.

My daughter used to do amazing embroidery needle work.  (Maybe having a 3 1/2 year old, a 2 year old, and a 7 month old have something to do with why she has less time for intricate embroidery any more.)

She'd done this fabulous Mother Goose piece several years ago and decided to try to make a quilt to put on the back.  She hadn't done that before... the blocks were kind of unmeasured... the tension on her sewing machine was all messed up... there was no batting so the quilt showed through... There were many places where the seams didn't take leaving holes in the seams... Basically it was a ruined mess. She was so sad that she'd messed it up that she just put it in a bag and put it out of sight.

She'll be getting a sweet new niece in a few weeks, (Yes! 6 grandbabies in 4 years for me! Yay!) so I asked if she had another embroidered quilt for her.  She brought out the bag.  I asked her if I could take it and see what I could do to fix it.

First I took a picture so I could put it all back together in the right way.

After I took the front and back apart, I discovered that it was indeed a mess.

Then one row at a time and careful to keep them in order, my ripper and I disassembled the pieces.

Next every piece had to come apart.  

A good shot of steam from the iron on every piece flattened them out.

If you wonder why my "helper" is not in these photos, it's because could not keep from rolling on the pieces. I had to keep them in their perfect order for putting them back together.

Once the patches were all put back together and I got some batting, I was at a loss as to how to move forward. It was too beautiful not to do right.

Sooooo.... 

Who ya' gonna call?  STASH Busters!

That's the group of quilters who meet at my church each Wednesday morning.

I thought that if I showed up, someone might help me with the next step.

Oh... my....

They were amazing!  They were like doctors in an emergency room!  They all dropped what they had brought, moved a couple of tables, and jumped into action.  I just sort of stood back and watched in awe.  They had a language and common knowledge and roles to  play. 

    "We need to get this sandwiched first."  

    "It will need to be basted all over."

    "I'll get some needles and thread one for each of us."

I just... okay... ummm... can I... "What? Oh, sure, get her a needle and thread too." I did one measly basting line. They discussed how beautiful it was going to be and how it should be quilted.  I don't have access to a quilter-quilter (with a long arm thing) and planned to tack it.  I could tell they were disappointed, but they rallied on with the next best plan.

Then I was given homework... each lady giving her two cents... to each other and to me."

    "She'll need to tack it all over." 

    "She should probably use white so it won't show."

    "Use embroidery string instead of thread."

    "You'll need to get binding material to go around the edges."

    "Let me calculate exactly how much you'll need."

    "Cut it in 2 1/2 inch strips."

    "It could be any of the colors... pink? orange? green? black?

I tacked it.

I took out the basting.

I walked into Hobby Lobby to find something to bind it with, and would you believe it... The exact material as one of the squares was right there!!! And on sale!!!

I cut the strips.

I ironed them.

I returned the next Wednesday morning.

They were ready for action.

    "I'll start cutting it down."

    "I'll show her how to fold and sew the strips."

    "I'll go to the store room to get the iron and ironing board."

    "I'll set up the machine."

    "I'll help her get started attaching the binding."

I left with my next assignment, to hand sew the other side of the binding.

I didn't do my next assignment at home.

I went back the next Wednesday to work on it and enjoy their company as they worked on their various quilting projects and needlework.

I sat beside a lady who is 98 years old and was hand quilting her project.  "I see 'Eaton' on the side of your bag.  Are you kin to Amanda?" Yes, she's my daughter. This is her project I'm working on. "Oh, I kept her in the nursery.  I remember her. I thought you looked familiar."  Well, I probably look a little different.  I think I had brown hair back when you saw me every week."  Sigh... how special that she'd have such a memory!

My fingertips are so sore, but the binding is on.

Her project is beautiful.

I can't wait until she sees.

Each part deserves a closer look.

Baby Margo is going to be lucky that this will be hers when she arrives!

Garden Harvests (October 1-15)

And that's a wrap for the garden 2022.  The temperatures will drop below freezing tomorrow, so everything that was left was picked today.
Good job, little garden, good job.

Hopefully these will all ripen inside this fancy little greenhouse clear plastic container that some crescent rolls came in.

 

Teddy Bear

It might just look like a plain old painting of a teddy bear, but there's something special about it. This is my very first ever watercolor painting.  Now, it's also very possible that it will be my only watercolor painting ever. We'll see.

I never ever... (Just to be crystal clear, let me add a couple more.) ever, ever, ever imagined I'd give watercolor painting a try.  I was certain that it was not for me and that there was no reason I should even attempt it.

The afternoon before my Life Book 2023 - Taster Session class began, I literally had this conversation with my husband.  "I need to go to Hobby Lobby.  I want to get some sort of little art journal booklet to keep up with whatever I do for this class.  I'm going to make myself not be a snob and do every single one of the lessons.  And, I'm making a choice to have a good attitude about every one of them no matter... how dumb I think it's going to be.  I should probably get a set of watercolors too.  From the preview note, it looks like I'll need to have a set for some of the lessons.  I'll just see what's the cheapest set they have and get that."

Wow... how about that fine attitude! 

I had no idea what creative spaces I was about to head into.

And, now... Well, my thinking has been altered... a lot.... I did a watercolor painting!

My weekly-ish art challenge (that I was given before nearly three weeks ago) was "In the Nursery. I think this little teddy bear would be very sweet in some little one's nursery.

**Thanks to Yong Chen Art for a the great YouTube tutorial that helped me through this teddy bear painting.

Watercolor painting on 9"x 12" Watercolor Paper.

It will probably be for sale at some point. I'll have to figure out how to do that with a watercolor piece.  Contact me if you're interested.

Life Book 2023 - Taster Session (31-42 )

I finished all 14 days of Life Book 2023 - Taster sessions!  

Although it was all on-line and no one would have known whether I did anything or not, I did the sessions of all 30 teachers and 12 of their bonus sessions.  

In how many of those 42 lessons did I feel comfortable or confident... 0!!

In how many did I thoroughly enjoy and learned from... 42!!

Click HERE if you missed the first 15 or HERE for the second 15.

Enjoy scrolling through #31-#42!.

I put each one into a page of a little purple art journal.  

It took every single page, and the book is very... very full!

I am so proud of this little book!

Now I wonder... How will I be changed as an artist moving forward... Hmmm...

Life Book 2023 - Taster Sessions (16-30)

I'm still working hard at playing with art! It's a worldwide on-line group with 30 different teachers from many different countries.  It's called Life Book 2023 - Taster Sessions... because you get a taste of all the different styles.

It's Day 9 of my two week plunge into every kind of art that is neither my style nor in my comfort zone.  But I've learned so much and have thoroughly enjoyed each one. Click HERE if you missed the first 15.

Enjoy scrolling through #16-#30!.

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