Monday, June 17, 2024

I settled in to work in my sewing room this morning and realized I have several projects ready for the next step.

I have a couple of birthday cards that need to get finished up. I have one trimmed to size and another one that needs a bit of hand stitching to finish the top. Then they have to be sandwiched and quilted.

I need practice on making yo-yos before I start my temperature quilt so I cut some squares this morning. I’m going to do my practicing on a yo-yo wreath for the back door. I have a sewing date with Gail on Friday and we’re going to be making yo-yos.

I have birthday gift that requires more work. I cut out the fabric I need for it but I think I’m going to have to piece batting. Hopefully I have enough batting to finish it. If not, I’ll have to arrange to purchase more.

Although it didn’t take any effort I have my Tuesday sewing project packed and ready to go for tomorrow. I’m hoping to walk if the weather cooperates and I’ll try out my new-to-me fabric shopping cart. I’m ready to start a new colour on my Manx blocks.

I’ve made a start on this month’s UFO – quilting my Farmhouse quilt. It is slow going with a lot of thread changes and there are still a lot of spots that I haven’t a clue how to quilt. Hopefully as I move along I will be inspired.

I have two other projects sitting on my cutting table – another chicken project and fabric for making the covers for Elizabeth’s screen (one that Dad made). She picked out the fabric when we were in Calgary. I have to keep track of how I do it (step by step) because Kathryn wants to make one for her screen.

Lately I’ve been hooked on hand stitching – my Sashiko project and my chickens. I’m almost halfway done on my Sashiko panel; I have no idea where I’ll put it when it is done but it is mindless work for the evenings. I have my fifth chicken block almost finished – one more to go before figuring out how to put it together. I need to get them finished before I start on the temperature quilt which will mainly be done by hand.

May 28, 2024

This stitch-along came out in 2022 and I made a start at it fairly quickly. It was close to being finished when I started thinking about Asher’s grad gift. I originally intended to do a different project but it didn’t go well so I decided I’d finish this one. There were a few things about what I had already done that I was satisfied with; when I thought I was keeping it for myself I wasn’t going to change it. But since it was a gift I started taking out the sections I didn’t like and the sections that didn’t line up exactly. I had Kathryn send me extra floss as with so much green I was concerned about running out.

When it was finally finished we started thinking about the framing. Pat suggested that it would be easier to transport to Calgary if I had it framed there. We found a shop and although they couldn’t promise to have the framing done in time for the ceremony they said they would try. We chose a very simple mat and frame and everything they needed was in stock. They promised to have it completed by the close of day on graduation day. That morning though they called to say it was ready and we were able to pick it up in time to present to Asher when we were at his celebration dinner.

Friday, June 14, 2024

I got up early this morning and was looking forward to finishing my book while I had my first cup of coffee. I filled the container with water, picked out my pod and hit the brew button. Just a minute later I turned around and my coffee was spilling everywhere – I had forgotten to put the cup under. My note of alarm (or my nasty language) got Pat running to the rescue. By the time it was cleaned up the little bit of coffee I managed to get in my cup was cold. I finished the few pages in my book before getting on with my day.

I ran a bath after breakfast and Pat made me another cup of coffee; I reminded him to remember the cup. I started an e-book (Game of Thrones) while we were in AB and SK but while waiting for the ferry home I spotted books on a shelf in the waiting room. I decided to pick one of them up and started reading. I would normally read only one book at a time but I had barely started the e-book so I made the new book my current read. 

When I finished it this morning I decided to break one of my rules and give up on the Game. I only downloaded it because I knew I had the paper copy at home. It was part of a purchase at a yard sale. I checked the small collection of books we have on the shelf here on Texada and found one of Deloise’s. I’m pretty sure Stacia had also read it because there was a note inside in her handwriting. When I pulled it all the way out I noticed it was written by the same author as the one I had just finished.

I went off to have a bath and Pat decided on a second cup of coffee. While he waited for it to brew he did the dishes. When he was finished and went to get his coffee he had a huge mess – he too had forgotten the cup. He had a bigger mess than I had because at least I caught mine before it all overflowed.

Fortunately we were able to have a good laugh about it all.

Saturday, June 8, 2024

I have been interested in a temperature quilt since I saw photos from the latest Saskatoon quilt show. A temperature quilt uses blocks that incorporate the high and low temperatures of any particular day. My first thought was to do the quilt to represent the high temperatures for 2023; that was a leap year and I thought that would be fun. And my interest in yo-yos worked into that same project because the high temperatures would be done with a yo-yo on a neutral background.

I found a source for all the historical temperatures of 2023 so I was set. Stacia sent me a gizmo that made making the yo-yos a breeze. So I started experimenting. I wasn’t too pleased with the results in the one on the left so I made another and added a button to cover the gap in the gathering. I was still skeptical.

The more I thought about the project I thought I’d rather have a circle in the centre. I purchased a set of Perfect Circles and attempted to create a circle that could be placed on the background. Immediately I realized that wasn’t going to work. Stacia advised me that I wasn’t using the perfect circle tool in the right way but another test didn’t work out so well either. I really wanted this to be a hand-stitching project so I ruled out machine appliqué even though that would have given me the near-perfect circle I was looking for. So why don’t I try using an English Paper Pieced hexagon for the centre? I was happy with how that test turned out.

The more I thought about the project I decided I should also incorporate the low temperatures for the day. So the hexagon would be the high temperature for the day and the background colour would be the low temperature. And wouldn’t it be more fun to do a year of temperatures based on my first year of life (September 20, 1950 to September 19, 1951). I was able to find a site that listed those temperatures in the Saskatoon area; close enough to Elrose temperatures.

I decided on my temperature ranges (-40 to 36) and picked my colours. I didn’t want to purchase any fabric. I had a line of fabric that I had originally planned for a Tumbling Blocks quilt that I’ve now decided not to make. I recorded all the colours I would need for each day but on closer examination of the charts I realized that on several days the highs and lows were within the same temperature range.

For those particular days the background fabric and the hexagon would be the same colour and wouldn’t stand out very well. So why don’t I go back to the yo-yo idea in order to make each block more 3-D so when the colours were the same they would stand out a bit from one another. But this time I’ll use the flat side as the “good” side.

Next thing I had to do was to ensure I had enough fabric for each colour. I counted how many yo-yos I needed for the high ranges as well as how many background blocks I needed for the low ranges. Provided I’ve done the math right I’ll be fine.

So I’ve come full circle (pun not intended) and I’ll satisfy my yo-yo and temperature quilt urges in one project.