JT2 Serendipity

 I took time yesterday to lay out all the blocks that I have completed so far on this Just Takes 2 BOM from 2012 so I could boast about them on the Just Takes 2 facebook group. Got some interesting discussion going. I will get it done . . . one day. . . but not right now. 

In the meantime, since it was so nicely laid out in order, I thought I would take the time today to connect all the blocks that I could and then went the extra step and completed section A

and most of section B. It is laid out on the back of a quilt so I can see the colours with out distraction. I still have to choose a few colours for the rest of the blocks and the Jinny Beyer Pallet only has 1 yellow. There are lots of greens and purple for sure. Some of these are colours I have avoided over the years in my quilting journey.

It is folded nicely and back in the box for now. I had taken the Bernina sewing machine up to the white room to work on a project that requires zigzag stitching. I had to go downstairs to the quilt room several times to get thread, bobbins, heat up my tea, then back down to square up 2 blocks and and find an extension cord to plug in the machine and light. So, I got lots of exercise as well. I babysit our 8 month old granddaughter here at the farm 3 days a week and last week she so generously shared a head cold throat thing and this week she shared a stomach bug. It is a fast way to lose 5 lbs but I do not recommend it.
Blessings,
Chris

School

Reality has set in and I have finally decided that if I am ever going to complete this degree, then I had better actually get doing the homework. When I became an empty-nester at 45 some years ago, I impulsively decided to go back to school and pursue a bachelor's degree in counseling studies. I thought I would start out slowly, to see if I could handle the academic work after being out of school for more than 26 years.

I had not realized how much of my time and energy was taken up in parenting even though I seldom spent much time with my almost adult children at the time. My daughter married and moved about an hour away and entered university studies. My son worked steady nights and I only saw him if I happened to be in the kitchen when he came down and left the house. I had driven my kids to school for so many years and used to stop at the grocery store on the way home most days and then, even the grocery store closed for rebuilding and I suddenly found I had a HUGE hole in my daily routine. So, I thought, what am I going to do for the rest of  my life?

I started with a distance ed course at a Bible College in Old Testament survey and aced it so I felt pretty confident to continue and entered a program. The fact that I had been studying and teach Old Testament studies for 17 years is beside the point. It was interesting trying to find my high school transcripts from a school that had closed years earlier, but I did. It turns out that I was not that great a student in high school. I proved that it was easy to get a high school diploma by showing up regularly. I had done a year of college majoring in home economics before marrying my farmer sweet heart.  I was granted some transcript credits and proceeded to invest the next 10 years of my life going to school part time, after getting up before 5 every morning to milk cows then driving into the city an hour away 2 days a week. I eventually graduated with  a Bachelor of Religious Education in Counseling Studies. I did my internship at a pregnancy and resource center.

Within a month of graduating, I found myself in seminary pursuing a Master of Theological Studies. I jumped right in and took 3 summer course and discovered what work really is. I was used to taking 3 courses a year not 3 courses in 2  months. The first research paper I had to do radically changed my life. I was a part time student, did not yet have a student card, had never been to that university library, was working full time that week, did not have a topic and only had 3  hours to do research. I work well under that kind of pressure. I found my way to the 6th floor of Mills Library at McMaster University and as I was walking among the stacks, a whole shelf of books just "lit up" as I was silently crying out to God to give me a topic for this Christianity in a Pluralistic Society in the First Century course. Even though the prof thought it was a mediocre paper, that topic has become the passion of my heart and my life as I travel to India often to encourage women as I teach and preach on "How Jesus Changed the Role of Women". So, for the next 4 years every course, every paper, every trip to India, kept drawing me to conceptualizing my studies and my research into the daily life of uneducated, tribal Dalit, Untouchable and Outcaste women in remote rural villages of Southeast India.

I submitted my application for an on-line doctorate in Christian Counseling on graduation day. I am counting down 11/12 courses to go. There are no deadlines. It is self paced. Not the best scenario for a 60 something woman who recently realized she operates out of an ADHD mindset. So, I quilt. My next scheduled ministry trip to India will be November 2014 where we will be doing a women's conference on the campus of Harvest India. Its going to be fan-ta-bulous. And, yes, I DO hand write all my papers. I find it far more efficient.
And, I WILL complete this course.
Blessings,
Chris 

Machine Applique

Back to Square One

I thought I knew a thing or two about machine applique.

 After all, I took a course 11 years ago, bought the book, needles, thread

 and even used it on a couple of quilts over the years. 

Yeah . . . Right . . .  

So, I am back to square one and re-reading the book. 

Interesting that I often pull it out to check how to adjust my machine thread tension. 

I find that all so confusing. 

Well, so does Harriet Hargrave and that is why she goes to great lengths in her books to teach us how to prepare and adjust our machines correctly and

 how to choose the appropriate tools to do the job we want to do. 

 

I want to machine applique the Ben Biggs Quilt and failed miserably in my first attempt because I was in too big a hurry. 

So, it is on the design wall until next month's block is released and we shall see what happens then. 

 In the  mean time, I am working on 2 large raw edged applique quilts that I have cut out the shapes from my collection of GO dies and want to stitch up by machine. 

I have been hunting all over the internet for insights only to find 

that I had the book here all the time 

checking how to adjust

 my tension. 

Enough said.

Blessings,

Chris

Amaryllis

My amaryllis have bloomed. They do get top heavy and the one on the left left its perch on the glass shelf on the window and toppled to the floor before my husband could jump up and catch it. So, he put the broken blooms in a glass container and we enjoy it at the table. Yes that is snow outside. After all, it is winter here in Canada. Nice view outside through the new windows. Do I need to get blinds?

So Far in 2014

We are just 7 days into 2014 and I have worked on no less than 7 projects so far. Nothing is finished and only 1 new start. I am working on CCCQ #15 and #16. Two of these are for block swaps. 
AND,

I started the Just Takes 2 Benjamin Biggs Wedding Quilt and machine appliqued it in place. I might rethink how I am doing this for the next block.
SO,

I pulled out one of the oldest and yet most almost complete UFO's and gave it a press getting it ready to practice my machine quilting skills.
BUT,

I had to first move the  two 8 foot tables and the Brother sewing machine into machine quilting position and just happened to find the bundle of  1930's squares I had cut out last summer to make a disappearing 9 patch so, I had to start sewing them together until I found I was one 5" white square short.
THEN,

as I was looking for some more of the Kona white, I made the mistake of peaking into one of the project boxes in my upstairs cupboard and guess what I found? Yes, another UFO in the most delicious blues and greens. Rosemary Makhan's Rose Sampler Supreme that is one of my all time ever favourite patterns. I took time to look over what is done so far and glued under some of the shapes because almost all the blocks have been cut out with freezer paper backing ready for machine applique. I started this May 2009 and thought I should be able to do a block a day and get the thing done in a month. I told one of my friends that and she laughed and laughed. I put in into a box and took a summer course on anger and anxiety, went to India for 3 weeks  where, among other things, I taught a workshop on anger at a women pastor's conference and dedicated our school, then returned home to 2 weeks of house guests and our son's wedding, started the fall semester at school
AND,

I started  the Dear Jane project here with 6 of my quilting friends. To date I have 169/169 squares complete and sewn together and now to complete the triangles. I want to finish 2 more triangles and the top left corner kite before our Q@F retreat here later this month. Sounds doable . . . 3 blocks in 3 weeks.
HOWEVER,

what I really wanted to work on this week was the Red and Green applique sampler that I cut out using my Go cutter and dies. No pictures as no blocks are prepped yet. I was trying to figure out how to iron on the fused appliques after laying them out on the background squares and centering them on the glass top table I bought to use as a light table. Great light table but not sure I should iron anything on it. So, I have tracked down one of those portable ironing pads from June Taylor. I used to have one but took it to the cottage once and gave it to my daughter.
So, all in all, I got a lot of work done, but nothing completed this week.
Blessings,
Chris

Ben Biggs #1

Apple Pie Ridge Star

This is the first block for the  Just Takes 2 Block of the Month from Dear Jane and Sentimental Stitches.
An interesting block. I have never seen this pattern before. Right now I never want to see it again. I had decided to machine applique this project because I have several large projects on the go and one of them is hand appliqued. This is the first time I am using the Floriani stitch and wash fusible wash away stabilizer. I have lots to learn if I am going to use it again.
I did a button hole stitch around the raw edge using a smoke coloured polyester invisible thread  with a light gray bobbin thread. My Bernina machine is the only one of 11 machines that I own that does a zig-zag stitch and I am seriously thinking I should go find another machine.  I have some of the green bits stitched down but am having trouble with the tension. It keeps changing and then the bobbin thread is showing. I might start again and use a red thread in both the top and bobbin and see if that makes any difference.
The sun is finally shining brightly here in Southern Ontario after several days of cloud and snow. It is a quiet -27C. Our daughter and her husband flew home last night and I changed the Christmas music in the CD player in the quilt room.
Blessings,
Chris

2014 New Years Day

My New Years Resolution is to complete . . . ONE . . . at least . . . quilt.
But which one? I am working on several REALLY BIG projects that seem to have no end in sight in the near future. So . . . I looked back through my note book that has a list of every quilt start and finish from the very beginning. The list tells me I have started 70 quilts. This does not include crib quilts because I have forgotten how many and to whom I gave them. I have completed 30 quilts . . .  some by hand quilting, some by machine and others were tied. Not to become too too obsessive, but I still have 40 to complete and a new quilt start happening today. . . can hardly wait . . . the Benjamin Biggs 1854 wedding quilt from Just Takes 2.

SO . . . I pulled out THE LIST and have decided to go back to the oldest UFO and finish the thing . . . for starters. The oldest unfinished quilt is a lap size  . . . one of those quick things that took a couple of days to cut out and sew up. I had intended to machine quilt it years ago, but could not find all the backing for it.  Somewhere I got the idea that the back of the quilt had to match the front. And, I felt totally insecure about machine quilting at the time because I did not know how.  Anyway, life and school came along and it is still sitting there.
Well, it appears that I have the matching backing AND the thing is already sandwiched, pinned and ready to go. It was half way down the pile in the closet under the stairs awaiting my insecurities to get out of the way. As soon as I give it a nice pressing, I can slip it onto my Brother machine and . . . well . . . just do it. . .
THEN . . . I think I will locate the most nearly complete UFO and see what happens.
BTY . . . cleaning out the stairs closet is on the bucket list.
New Year's Blessings,
Chris