I finished the inside border and the sashing on the quilt.  I did a type of flower and leaf design. 

It starts with the flower in the corner (cornerstone square) then goes out with a leaf vine to end with a flower at half way to the next corner.

I move to the next corner and work out from it to meet the previous flower vine. 

I took an order for two clothing memory quilts to make.   I'm doing these in exchange for some work on my house.  It will work for both of us.  I'm to have them finished by the first week of June. 

I have a lot going on and there's no time like right now to get started.

Just thinking

My house is located along the flight path of airplanes leaving our airport.  I woke in the middle of the night to the sound of what sounded like a very low flying airplane going over the house.  How odd it sounded.  Either it was a very slow moving plane or there was more than one of them leaving back to back.  After getting up, I realized it was just the wind.  Really strong wind!  We had dodged the snow and ice but we were getting lots of wind.  I went back to bed hoping to  get some sleep despite the sounds.

I also had a thought on my mind and don't know where it came from.  Probably my frugal mind working over time looking for more ways to save money.  My thoughts might have something to do with what I heard on the news a few days ago..  The news story was about someone suing YUM brands over saying their Taco Bell beef was beef when it really contained lots of fillers and extenders.

Anyway, while laying there listening to the wind and doing my best to go back to sleep.....it occurred to me.... if a person buys one of those 1/3 pound fast food angus burgers and pays 5.99 for it; then that means they are paying $18 a pound for the ground beef.  Hmm... how's that for a great reason to make your own burgers at home? 

Would I even consider paying $18 a pound for ground beef at the grocery?  No way!  Would you?  I cringe just knowing I'm paying more than double the amount I paid for ground beef a couple of years ago.  I was used to getting ground beef for 99 cents a pound, or less when it was on sale, but now days the best I've been able to do is $2.49 a pound from the discount bin every now and then.

Give it some thought next time you go the fast food route..... how much beef is really in that burger?  Is the beef full of fillers and extenders?  Take a look at that $1 burger you can buy from the dollar menu.  It probably contains one ounce of ground beef plus extenders.  Well, suppose it doesn't have any fillers and extenders; you're still paying somewhere about $16 a pound for that dollar menu burger.  I don't want to pay that much money for something that will leave me feeling hungry again in about 30 minutes. 

Sunshine!

I've been working on the current quilt.  It barely fits on the machine.  I've gotten it stabilized and I have the outside border almost finished.  I'm doing a weaving feather design on it in two colors.   I'm using these four colors on this quilt just to make it different from my usual quilting techniques.  The weaving feather is done using the two colors on the left. 

The colors are a subtle change to the look of the fabric without overwhelming it. 

It may be hard to see the changing of the colors in the photo.  Here's another look from a different angle. 

Many machine quilters (me included) hesitate about using color that does not match the fabric because it shows up every flaw of the quilting.  Especially on a light color backing.  With practice comes confidence.  I practice a lot!  I'm hoping to have this quilt finished by the weekend.  So, now I'm going to put something in the crock pot and warm up the machine for a full day's work. 

Life is never dull

I'm the neighborhood Nanny because I'm the one person who rarely leaves home.  I take in kids getting off the school bus when parents are late getting home.  I accept packages from UPS and USPS when no one is home to accept it.  I go feed fur kids when someones away on a trip.  I get phone calls in the middle of the night when someones house alarm is going off so I can go turn it off.  It happened last night at 2:30 am.  A neighbor's alarm was going off and the alarm company asked me if I would go turn it off or should they call the police?  Aww, come on now, use some common sense.  You're the alarm company, what are you supposed to do?  I'm not about to go see if a burglar is in that house by myself!  Hmm... maybe I can scare the crap out of them....  the way I look when awaken from a good dream..... with a scowl on my face, hair a mess, in raggedy pjs, big puffy coat, fuzzy slippers, and carrying a rotary ruler to smack a burglar with.  Ya think that would work? 

On a different note....

A couple of days ago Ladybug wanted to show NaNa her tooth gap.  This is not normal.  Her teeth are normally straight and even.  She has a bad habit of a thumb or finger constantly in her mouth.  It was so bad she was causing the skin to come off.  Not just her thumb but all of her fingers.  When one got too sore she switched to another.  Well the Mommie had the dentist put in a device to stop the habit.  It was tightened up twice a day until there was a gap in the teeth. 

It looks like this.  It's designed to make it very uncomfortable to have a finger in the mouth.  The device remains there until the habit is broken.  The Mommie was told it might take 3 to 6 months to break the habit.  Then it can be removed and the teeth will go back to normal.  Ladybug keeps saying.... take it out NaNa.  She looks so pitiful.  Now she's figured out she can put a finger into the side of her mouth next to her cheek instead of the center. 

A couple of days ago a package was delivered to my house.  I thought it was for a neighbor until I looked at the mailing label to see who.  It was for me.  Hmm.... I wasn't expecting anything.  Well, just look who came to live with me.  Isn't he cute?  He's a pin cushion.  A customer in SC sent it to me. 

It looks like it was made from a vintage embroidery and crochet piece.  It's one of a kind and is signed.   

I have the current quilt stabilized and ready to start quilting today.  The police figured out the burglar alarm went off for no apparent reason and has been reset.  I down loaded the ebook for my online class and got the right software updates I need.  Today I'll read through the book a little to get familiar with what I'll be learning.   I'm going to do as suggested and make lots of notes I can refer back to if I need it.  Margaret also told me she has a policy that once a person takes the class they are welcome to come back for a refresher course anytime at no charge.  It's right there on her blog and I missed it somehow.  If I get some free time this weekend I'll go check out her free quilting patterns on her other site. 

Time to get my day started.  Make bread first.

Portraits in fabric

I had some time for a ME project so I loaded this cheater panel on the machine yesterday.  It was given to me in a bunch of fabric a couple of years ago.  It's now ready to become a charity quilt for next Christmas. 

A simple feather around the outside.

Meandering stars in the background.

Color threads on the back.

This is the next quilt to go on the machine.  It will just barely fit and has several issues.  The most visual issue is the friendly borders.  You can see in the bottom of the photo that one side is larger than the other.  This is from not measuring and cutting the borders before putting them on.  I do so many quilts like this that it's no longer a problem.  It's just something I must work with carefully to make the quilt come out square.  When this one is finished I'm going to put it on my helpful hints blog as a step by step tutorial.  I already have one or two posts about friendly borders but one more won't hurt.

Anyone who has been reading my blog for a long while will know how much I want to be a portrait artist.  I don't really care if I ever, ever earn money from it.  I simply want to fulfill a lifelong dream of learning how to do people.  For me, art is more about the creation than about the selling.  Learning to do realistic people is on my bucket list.

  I've bought DVDs and taken classes but I still am not doing what I want to do.  I've written about my desire several times but I can't find those posts right now to make links.  I've taken classes at an art school but I wasn't able to continue.  It cost more than I could afford.

About four or five years ago I saw some portraits done with fabric.  Fantastic!  I wouldn't have to learn to draw people.  I could use the computer to help me create portraits using what I have in my stash.  I bought books of several different artists trying to learn the techniques.  I bought DVDs too but found both books and DVDs didn't teach what I needed to know.   

I bought photoshop element software and tried my best to learn it.  I have difficulty with comprehension and remembering.  I often have to do things backward just to learn.  I remember how things are done by repeatedly doing the steps over and over again.  When I stop doing those steps, I forget.  I buy DVDs so that when my memory fades I need only to rewatch them to remember.  With books I can go back and read again.

I took a class at a local fabric store to learn to do a portrait with fabric.  I had to leave before the class was over because I didn't want to be riding a bus home after dark in my neighborhood.  It was a class about using the fabric but not about creating the pattern.  I've long since forgotten what I did learn in that class. 

Then I found Margaret Bucklew of Chiseled in Cloth.  Check out her site.  She's fantastic!  Anyway, she had online classes.  I tried to sign up only to find out my computer couldn't handle the videos.  So I waited until I could get the right stuff for my computer and tried signing up again.  Oops!  Before I could click the "pay" button to confirm.... the empty class suddenly filled up.  A guild someplace had signed up as a group.  I was just seconds away from being in the class.  They clicked pay before I did.  So, I waited again.  Several months.  I tried signing up again and found it full once more.  I waited a few more months.  Next time I wanted to sign up, Margaret was taking a teaching break.  I waited a few more months. 

Well, I finally got signed up for a class yesterday.  It's only taken a little over three years.  What's great about Margaret's class is that she teaches how to create the pattern as well as use the fabric.  This is what I need to learn if I'm going to create grand kid portraits.  The class starts February 5th providing there are two more people to join the class.  If the class is not full she won't teach it.  I'm praying someone signs up because I'm not sure I will try again.  It may be something that will never happen and be time to let go of that dream.

What I'm worried about is.... will I be able to remember what I learn if I'm not able to create portraits regularly.  Will I have a problem remembering how to create the patterns a few weeks, months, or years from now?  As I said, I only remember how to do things by continually doing them over and over again.  I worry that problems such as dealing with my mother or a busy quilting schedule will prevent me from creating regular enough to remember the steps.  I keep asking Margaret if she will be selling the classes on DVD but so far she's not planning on it. 

I guess if I actually do forget the steps later; then, it would be the time finally to let go of that dream..... sigh.  

Even if you aren't interested in doing portraits or want to take a class please go check out Margaret's site.  She has free stuff for quilters and pantograph designs too.  She has really nice video poetry on her site.   The poetry will bring tears to your eyes and provoke you to deep thoughts.  I especially loved a video poem about old falling down barns. 

Ok, time to get started on that quilt.  It's going to take several days to finish it.