Home battered and badly bruised but alive and well!!

DH had a very bad accident toward the end of  his trip...  He was crossing a foot bridge over some rapids in a nature preserve in Croatia.  Unfortunately there were no handrails.  He lost his footing and  fell into the rapids of a river which carried him down into a lake..  He kept his arms around his head to protect it  but the rest of him was badly beaten by the rocks.  He had all his clothes on (including a  jacket and sweatshirt) and had great difficulty swimming ashore where someone helped him out. They took him to the hospital to be checked over.....  Luckily nothing was broken but he is very badly bruised from the rocks...  And also unfortunately he lost both  his hearing aids and his glasses..

So he is convalesing with Morris's help and in this photo trying to read the paper with Morris sitting on it. We all feel lucky.....

A Easy Journal Cover - My Pet Project

"A Easy Journal Cover - My Pet Project" or "What to do while you wait 2 hours while your brakes are being fixed"  I ALWAYS keep a cheap old aluminum TV tray in the trunk of my car for when I want to stitch in waiting areas and that is where this project was finished..

Susie W. had gifted me with this lovely  journal with graph paper to record seams... I had wanted to make a cover for it and guess who is the "cover boy"?  And I was sorting and cleaning up laces from the Suffrage quilt...

I thought it was serendipity that Susan Elliott posted about embellished book covers as I was working on this...This was an easy project and I will share my clever secrets with you for making it even easier.








First start with something retangle.  It doesn't have to be a correct size....just wider so any extra hangs out top and bottom  and longer so you can have flaps to fold back..  You could even combine two (or more) pieces to make the rectange...  I started with a rectangle doily about the size of a placemat....

I added all my bits and pieces before I folded the flaps back.

Now the big secret....when it was all embellished ..I laced it top and bottom with gold, elastic gift wrap cording.... just a little snug... The when slipped onto the journal it fit just perfect and the elastic keeps it tight and from slipping about plus it gathers the excess lace just a bit....

When I added the elastic cording I started in the middle (both top and bottom) and went across one way going through the flap and then turned and went ALL the way across through the other flap and back to the middle... Then I could knot the ends and leave a little hanging for adjustment...  Now it is gussied up and ready for Carole Samples class in Wichita...I may add a few beads and a button or two to it yet... And doesn't Morris look sooooooo handsome!!!!

Now don't forget to comment here to get into the Nov. 3 drawing for the BoHo bag kit...

Giveaway - BoHo Bag Kit.....

I finished my tutorial a couple weeks ago and forgot to post about it.... To celebrate I'm doing a giveaway for one of my BoHo bag kits.  Just leave a comment on this post and the drawing will be November 3rd....

This kit includes a  piece of high quality, home-decor focal fabric approx. 18 x 30"   plus:

•  12 coordinating pieces of   fabric large enough for 2-4 patches each and a variety of textures, sheens, colors, and patterns.
•   Various lengths of coordinating gimps and cording.
•   4 lengths of various fringes suitable for use on pocket or flap might including  2 chainettes, 1 tasseled, and 1 bullion

•   1 piece of fancy beaded fringe suitable for use on pocket or flap.
•   1 long piece of coordinating fabric suitable for a handle or for extra pieces.
•   AND a surprise piece of lace or two  .

Not only did I finish the tutorial for my kind of bag but Pat Winter just published her book on BoHo Fever...which is available in print or digital version at http://www.magcloud.com/browse/issue/288760/follow 

And I have about 1/2 dozen kits available on my Esty site... http://www.etsy.com/shop/olderrose

Mystery block is solved....

 Had the following comment from Sharon Boggon this morning so now we know who the mystery stitcher was of a block I found on an internet bulletin board... She made it from a kit in 2007 and even sent along a link to read about it!!  Thanks Sharon...made my day!


"The stitcher unknown is me ! Thanks for selecting me. I am tickled Here are some more close ups of the block too
http://www.pintangle.com/journal/2007/3/6/bliss-bag-block-complete.html "
Deb suggested I talk about some of the "best" blocks on Block Talk and tell why I picked them...  I thought that  was a great idea and will start soon...

CQ at its best and what now????

(image to left by Jo Newsham.)
In August I spent hours and hours going through hundreds of CQ images from sources on the Internet  looking for the best of the best...  Not only was I interested in the very best, I was looking for diversity in style.

Once I had narrowed it down to several hundred I started sifting and sorting to end up with a little over 100 examples of stellar crazy quilting from all over the world...

When we do have occasion to see blocks it's always at a distance and the wonderful detail is lost to us.  It was my vision to compile these images and show them on a large screen at the retreat... expecting oooooooohs and aaaaaaaaaaaaaahs at the beauty of seeing them  larger than life.

(image at left by Laurie Burgesser.)

Well of course as so often happens to the best laid plans  if anything could go wrong it did...  But the worst was the fact the facility had windows 20 feet tall and absolutely no way to darken the room nor anywhere to put a screen that it would show the images..

We ended up putting it in the kitchen which had the least amount of glare but the ceiling was so low that the screen wouldn't open completely and people had to sit in the dining room looking over the bar..... And due to the location of the outlet it also necessitated me to stand with my back to the audience to operate the computer.  I was devastated.

(left: Sharon Boggon) The second set of images were RR images and we did that at night.. But the best of the best were lost..  Can you just imagine how beautiful this block would have been on a seven foot screen?

(left: by Maire Courtney) So here I am trying to decide what to do with the results of my efforts.. So after the first of the year I will put the word out that I will go to any meeting in town to show these images for no charge....  Rotarian's, quilters, seniors, ditchdiggers ....anywhere.

(left: by Cathy Kizerian.) And I will start with the asking the local embroidery guild to let me show them at one of their quarterly meetings...  And as many times as I have gone through these images I never tire of looking at them... They are just joyous... Have screen  ....

Faux Gold or Fool's Gold

I've been fascinated with goldwork for a long time...  The very first time I played around with it was on a fan for Bonnie in a FanRR. years ago.. I used a lot of my cheap Christmas cordings and braids and loved doing it. 

My next attempt was on a block for Leslie. I again got to use lots of my cheap cheap Christmas gold cords, braids and beads using gold work techniques...

Goldwork is usually done with actual gold threads and is very expensive.  About a year or so ago I posted a Goldwork RR and it quickly filled.  I was thinking I would use my cheap trims but people began talking about using real gold and I dropped out immediately as I didn't want to have others spend a lot of money on real gold when I couldn't afford it.

So after I get back from Wichita I'd like to try again and  post a "Fool's Gold" RR for just using goldwork techniques with faux gold materials.  I know Kerry was interested at one time and Janet said she would be interested.  I'd like to know if anyone else is interested..

If I can get enough people I will send out a baggie of stuff from my really cool gold stash to each entrant to get them started and now is the time to look for it in the thrift stores with the Christmas stuff and the markdown bins at hobby shops.

People always think of goldwork in connection with religious vestments or holiday work but it lends itself to everything, especially insects and anything floral.

  I really like using the colored  Edmar threads to couch the gold braid and cording...  But before I post a RR I want to make sure others are interested and it is understood at the beginning that it is faux gold being used... Comment or send me a note if you might be interested.

 

On the home front I have been eating healthy but a little weird... yogurt, granola and fruit in the morning and just a sandwich late afternoon...  But today I am going to fix a "proper" meal...  I am baking some brown rice in the oven and am thawing out some shrimp to saute with baby squash and fresh tomatoes... Unfortunately my euphoric "clink, clink" turned out to be a large rock so I am back to digging... DH will be home in 8 days...  I will probably take his suitcase and hand him the shovel.. Welcome Home Honey!!!!!

Clink, Clink!

What a lovely sound...  It means that I am down far enough and have located the pipe.  At least I can stop digging all around the pump and now concentrate on one area and get the hole big enough for a man to get in there and fix it.  The weather forecast for the next 3 days is good with no rain and little wind so I should be able to get it done.. Every night  is near freezing now.   

I loved Susan's comment...."Where there's no Will, there is a way."  Honestly I'd rather be stitching...  When done I may have to celebrate with a day of thrift store shopping with my best friend..

Every woman.....

At one point I was making suffragette dolls and began gathering bios and photos of famous suffragettes in this country and the British Isles. When I first started thinking about a quilt I was going to use those women but there were soooooo many that it was impossible to choose just 18-20 women...  So I shifted my focus to the "woman on the street" so to speak.. Even still I was continually shifting and reshifting my choices and then finding another photo... But yesterday was the final day and the final choices.  I printed them on fabric, backed them with fusible tricot...  In the end my final choices were to include all ages and across the economic spectrum... Here are just a few of the final 20 photos...

There was NEVER a moment of doubt about this photo....having women and girls together was so special....Look at those tires...

There were so many women who had access to power and influence that were able to make things happen at that level... Some of them marched and paraded but many worked behind the scenes providing money and support... This matron with her hat, gloves, purse and tailored outfit could not be more proud wearing that banner....

This was a local woman who lived just 60 miles south of my city...  She was a farmer's wife with five children and in her overalls was ever bit as proud to wear her homemade banner...  You'll be seeing them all as I go along...  I've grown to love everyone of them....

First and Last

I worked on the photos yesterday for the suffrage quilt and will print them today... As I sat down   this morning to do a little stitching, I realized that this will be my first and last large CQ piece...  As committed as I am to the theme and love the fabrics, trims, etc I am tired of looking at it and yearn for color .. Sometime I think it's my age that I want to do as many different things as possible in the time I have left and sometimes I think it's a major character flaw that I cannot commit to a long term project.

But for whatever reason I started thinking about the block I made last February using Allie's "Chunk Method" which she said was inspired by Martha Green.. I was going to work on it in Sharon Boggon's class but I wasn't used to so many small patches in a block..... I wrote about it last February.  Since I NEVER waste a block once made, I've decided to take it to Carole Samples class next month to use for geometric seams...

And just so you know that it is not ALL fun and games while DH is gone I do have the "HOLE"...  This water pump by the pasture is leaking and cannot be repaired due to it's age....  It needs to be dug out...  I had planned to hire Will to do it but he is working two jobs and the ground could be frozen before DH gets home...soooooooooooooooo...  It will probably be about 4 feet down...  I started one day and a friend helped me another and I will dig on it some each day that it's not raining... It's   now  too deep to shovel..  it is the post hole digger the rest of the way...

Two fun things in one day....

When DH left I put a leaf in  the table so it would be large enough to lay out my suffrage squares to see if there were any problem patches...  There were just a couple. 

Then I printed off all the images on paper except the posters and pinned them to the quilt..  I'm putting the trims on the last square tonight and then I can put the images on and finally start on fancy seams , beads and buttons.  I intend to allow time at the end of each day to work on this...  I would love to have all the squares finished to take to Wichita and get input from Allie....

It will be so nice to be able to leave it all spread out as I work for the next 2 weeks...  Notice in the lower right corner some yummy vintage brown velvet ribbon I ordered from Belgium on Ebay...  I've already set up two additional card tables to hold the overflow as I work...  I downloaded 4 Maeve Binchy books to listen to as I stitch this week.

The main fun thing I did today is spend most of the day on my tractor.  The sun was shining, it was 60 degrees, no wind and we'd had enough rain that there was no dust...  I groomed the mile-long trail through my woods which takes about 2 hours with the tiller in low gear... It will be perfect for walking this winter and spring and I moved a bunch of stuff with the bucket...  The dogs ran along and it goes so slow that they could run circles around it... VERY fun day...

Now I can clean it up and put in the antifreeze and park it in it's little shed for the winter.... My Deere John.  I've written about my tractor before .  This will be the first time in years that I haven't used it to stack bales in the barn... I always believed if they ever had a competition for old ladies stacking bales I would win a medal for sure...

Tutorial almost finished

 The tutorial   is almost finished and you can access the page   http://olderrose.blogspot.com/p/boho-bag-tutorial.html  I have about 6-8 more photos to add and the text for adding flap...  I hope to have it done, spell checked and edited by the weekend.

 It has been a struggle as my old computer is so slow and I am constantly having to shut it down and reboot it when it freezes up, the blogger page editor is giving me fits adding photos, and my ISP is having problems.  I feel like I'm in labor and giving birth to this tutorial.  Susie has sent great text and photos which I included...

Finished Klee with Glee

Hideko's artist Paul Klee was the last in my rotation for the the artist round robin...  On a whim I typed Paul Klee and bird into Google and up popped this painting of a bird of in a forest...  So I was delighted to use it as my inspiration

So here is my Paul Klee bird for Hideko.... CQ style and it can go into the mail tomorrow. ..only a day late. 

Of course being a crazy quilter my bird has a lot of bling.  The body is satin and the breast is all sequins and beads.  The wing is a piece of beaded leaf trim I bought for the suffrage quilt and the tail is a button and a bit of a treasured vintage beaded trim....very old..















This has REALLY been an interesting round robin.  two favorites were Gayle's Georgia O'Keeffe and Ritva's nature artist.

But my VERY favorite was the block I did for Margreet's Mondrian... Not many positive comments on it so I guess you had to be a kindergarten teacher to appreciate the whimsy...  I love young children's art ...it is simplistic and direct and done with great confidence...  As I watched them draw purple dogs and huge cows and chickens with aplomb I always wondered how many of them went on to be artists when they grew up...  I tried to imagine Mondrian as a child in one of my classes... 

The List

At the moment finishing the BoHo bag tutorial and Hideko's block are at the TOP of my indoor list... and then I can start showing some of the latest acquisitions and inspirations... including some lovely dyed thread I got from Laurie B.. and packages of goodies in the mail....  soon!

Unfortunately because it is October and the weather can change at any moment the outdoor list take precedence.. so posts will be sporadic at best. Had hoped to hire Will to help but he is working two jobs...  Good for him...bad for me.