QFK Twist

It seems sewing regularly is impossible these days--not a stitch happened from Wednesday to today.  Aware it was getting close to the requested six week return date for the Quilts for Kids kit I received in June, that project rose to the surface.  Last time I altered the basic quilt design of the kit by adding triangles to the corners of the focus fabric squares to make snowball blocks: shown here. This time I played with pencil and paper to completely change the layout, using only the provided pieces.

As you can see, I placed a focus fabric square in the middle and then lined the rest of the focus squares side by side, filling in with the four patches. 

Pretty purple beach themed focus fabric with coordinating print/solids and then a gingham backing.

After stitching together the provided strips to cut the sections from for the four patches, I saved two sections out and then sewed the top together in columns, placing the two extra sections above and below the center square.  The rest were sewn into four patches as the pattern instructs.  Since this photo I've got the rows all sewn together.  What do you think of my design? 

Tuesday's Orts on Thursday

Tuesday's Orts--scraps and bits of thoughts and events that float around and land here semi-regularly.

• Notes from a waiting room:  No one seems to know how to hem a pair of pants.  I saw them folded up, rolled, dragging, and puddling, on males and females.
• My mom called me yesterday to tell me she found my favorite cola drink, Pepsi One, which had been discontinued in May, at the Smart & Final store.  She picked up a bunch for me.  Grant said he was sure I'd drink it fast enough to beat the "Best by" dates.
• Traffic Rant:  Young drivers who tailgate you on a city street when there is another lane, then zoom around you in a show-off, in-your-face way. (This one is from my mom.)
• The monthly Bunco game is at my house tonight.  Looking forward to lots of laughter and fun when the 12 of us gather together--once I get this disaster area cleaned up!
• The house is quiet again now that Erica has gone and her friends are not stopping by. I was even able to get some laundry done.

Mini kept the basket warm while I was in the garage starting the machines.

Working Away

Surprisingly, I am still working at Dr. P's, even though he is seeing patients elsewhere.  I'm trying to finish up all the packing, labeling, and various and assorted tasks for closing down the office.  My mom and DD Elaine helped on Monday morning and we piled a lot of disassembled charts into the shred bins.  Elaine volunteered to climb up into the bins and jump up and down, but paper does not compact very well so the pile was not pushed down too far.  We should have gotten a photo!  At any rate, the file room shelves are emptied and the building is lonely.  We also finally started getting payments from Medicare, which we had been trying to do for six months.  This is a big load off our minds! 

On other fronts, DD Erica is leaving for Arizona today so I worked the last two evenings to get the placemats done for her.

We both preferred this asymmetrical setting.  I did all of the quilting with my walking foot.

I guess it's true I like Oriental prints because the backing had the word Geisha in it, which of course I didn't know when I first saw the fabric on the bolt :)  Someday I'll have to make some placemats for my own table--the quilt-as-you-go way sounds good.  Anyone have another favorite way?

Design Wall Monday--July 23, 2012

On my design surface today are three cutting jobs for ongoing projects.  First up, the backing for this month's UFO, Cheddar and Cinnamon--getting a late start, aren't I?

Trying to use up stash and scraps, I pulled this green background berry print Thimbleberries yardage from stash, and will make up the rest of the backing with leftovers from the quilt top.  The cheddar will also be the binding. 

After that, pieces and parts for a couple of placemats for DD Erica, who is here until Wednesday before she heads back to Arizona.  Guess these better be first on the list to sew :)

Last, after Shay's suggestion of a mustard for the giant Shoo Fly quilt, I found this lovely print at JoAnn's.  I like how the white berries break up the mustard and tie in with the other lights in the quilt.  It's a good thing I'm working on this early, given my track record for last minute finishes--the wedding is still a couple of months off so I should be able to get this done in plenty of time (famous last words, right?).  See more design walls on Judy's new and improved Patchwork Times.

Sorrows and Joys

The long week finally ended with a very long day on Friday.  I stayed home from work to be with Grant and drive him around.  Our first stop was the towing yard where we had to sign a release to have the car moved to our insurance company's preferred yard.  It was very sobering to see our Acura TL.

Thank goodness this well-made vehicle protected my precious DH!  The tow yard guy echoed our thoughts that this doesn't really look repairable and we might not want to drive it if repaired--it will never be the same.  We await the verdict from the insurance company, but the guy who took Grant's statement told him he probably should start looking for another car right away.  Meanwhile, Grant has a rental.

Following this sorrowful sight of the car we have only owned for six months, Grant had to be seen at the Workers' Comp clinic as arranged by the employer's insurance company.  We arrived shortly before noon and that was extremely poor timing on our part, as Grant did not get called back until the xray tech came back from lunch over an hour later.  They would not let me go back with him at that point so I sat another hour plus in the over-air conditioned room, until Grant texted me that he was done with xrays and was waiting for the doc before they could let me come in.  I left the clinic to grab a very late lunch at home and then returned.  The doc soon fetched me from the waiting room and let me know that there was "nothing bad" to report.  All told, Grant was there for five hours, and left with a bunch of "swag" including a cervical pillow, thumb splint, rib belt, ice pack, and medications.  Good thing we didn't have to pay for all of that!

Luckily our guests were able to delay their departure from town a bit so that we could say goodbye.

Here is darling Alica (pronounced Ah-Lisa) with her bow and arrow from Pixar's new Brave movie--which she got to see here in the U.S. for her 5th birthday in early July.  Earlier in the day she was wearing a red wig like the heroine, Merida, and admiring the curls coming down over her eyes.   

All energetic after her nap, Alica was ready to get on the road but consented to a photo in the car.  She blew lots of kisses from the window as they left our neighborhood, which I made sure to catch and return.  It was marvelous to have a charming 5 year old to be smitten with this past week, and wonderful to see our old friend Mike and his lovely wife Lara.  We were happy they felt comfortable in our home and were able to enjoy some family time before they returned to Arizona and then home again to Russia.  Safe trip, friends!

Some semblance of normalcy finally returned Saturday, though we did have an annual block party going on and then another overnight guest, as Erica's friend was in town to see her.  I did spend a bunch of time burying thread tails on the Caramel Blues I wanted to enter into the County Fair, but there was no way I could get the remaining quilting plus the binding done in time for the deadline today, so I switched to the mini quilt above.  I tied it with embroidery thread and bound it with the same fabric as the narrow border, finishing and heading out the door in the last hour they were accepting entries.  I entered four quilted projects in the Clothing and Textiles department and will be excited to see my quilts on display in early August.  

What A Week

We'd been having quite a week here at the Orts Compound, enjoying our guests and trying to keep up with the normal chores and work duties.  Yesterday morning I left the house early to pick up DD Erica at the airport.  Her plane came in early but so was I and we were soon on our way north toward home.  After a stop for breakfast and a visit to JoAnn's fabric store, we were back on the road and nearly home when my cellphone rang.  It was Grant, saying words I have dreaded hearing all our married lives, since he has always had a job where he is constantly on the road:  "I was in a car accident.  I'm in the ambulance."  Luckily he was mostly banged up and dazed from the seatbelt and the airbags going off in the impact, but it took four hours at the ER until he was finally released with some muscle relaxer and anti-inflammatory meds.  I played patient advocate a few times, trying to get us more attention, but it was a really busy Wednesday in that ER.  Meanwhile, Grant continued working--spreading out his laptop on the hospital bed and phone to his ear, taking customer orders.  Unbelievable--son Nick even took a photo of him and sent it to his sisters. 

Suffice it to say, the rest of the world faded into the background for the afternoon and evening.  Very, very thankful he was not badly hurt. The older lady who hit him suffered a broken leg and he is worried about her.  They were taken in the same ambulance to the ER but of course we don't know what happened to her after that.  Hope she is okay.  So now we are on to the exciting next round of insurance claims, workers' comp claims, car rentals, and finding out if the car we bought six months ago is salvageable.  But that is a much better list than doctor's office, surgeon, and physical therapy!

Gratuitous photo of DD Elaine's quilt.  Just because fabric helps soothe my worries!

Design Wall Monday--July 16, 2012

On my design floor today is the newest project in my sewing room.  Not that I don't have lots of other projects ahead of it, but excitement pushed it forward.

The JoAnn's flyer is there for size comparison.  These giant 24" blocks were a blast to put together.  Three more and I'll have a quilt center--a border will make it throw sized.  The wedding they are intended for as a gift is in early October so there is no rush, but I was eager to see how these fabric choices from stash worked together.  I think they do!  Other colors to join these may be a very dark brown print, a multicolor print with some of the same colors, and maybe an orangey yellow, I don't know.  Any other color ideas for these modern shoo fly blocks?  See more design walls on Judy's Patchwork Times.