A Stack O' Magazines (Weekend Reads)

So much talking, a lot of visiting, a whole bunch of driving, some attempts at surfing, campfires and sleeping bags, and a glorious stack of magazines.

I had grand plans for this stack. Some beach time, during naps in the car, quiet mornings in the woods. Beach time involved cheering on the girls at surf lessons and my own half-assed (or should I say double assed?) attempts while keeping the Garbage Truck from eating too much sand or discarded mussel shells. Naps in the car were great, but the roads in British Columbia are very, very windy and not conducive to reading. Quiet mornings in the woods? Nope, not at all when camping with 3 kids.

But I did get one afternoon by the fire on a lazy day and a straight stretch of a main highway in the day light.

Quilty - so many fun quilts in this issue. Lots of inspiration.
Cake &Whiskey - inspiring stuff for any of us working, running businesses, and living a life beyond school pick ups.
Uppercase - wildly rich in visuals and ideas.

Sometime next year I will read another magazine.

Friday Favourite: Le Tour

(image from The Guardian)

Confession: I still watch The Tour De France and I still love it.

Yes, I know about all the doping and the disgrace of many of the sports' stars. Yes, I know that nearly every rider plays that same game. But I can't help myself. I get sucked in by those helicopter images, the frenzy of the crowds on the mountain stages, the banter between Paul Sherwen and Phil Liggeett, Bobke, and sheer strain on the cyclists. Doping or not, those guys are still working their muscular butts off.

I can also remember what quilts I was working on every year during Le Tour. Which ones I basted while we watched, which ones were under debate as the mountain stages loomed. Talk about memory by association!


So, every year, come July, my Hubby and I settle in for 21 nights to watch Le Tour. It's usually hot out so we drink beer and chat throughout the 3 or so hours we watch. It is about the only TV we agree on. And in July we probably talk about life more than at any other point in the year, because we are sitting together. I love it all.

Pretty Distractions

Just. Couldn't. Resist.

I'm still hand stitching the binding on my king sized beast. It's been too hot to sit under a heavy quilt mot evenings, so the work is going slowly. That did not stop me from playing just a little bit. Some mindless play. All caught up in these ridiculously feminine fabrics and the feel of silk in my hands as I sew. Just random patchwork coming together now that I've finally finished cutting nearly 400 voile triangles.

In my defense, this isn't a new project. I had this one on my initial and updated WIP list. That means I'm making progress on something instead of starting something new.

I think there are samples from nearly every voile line that's come out in the past few years. I started collecting, just because. There is a bit of Anna Maria Horner, Denyse Schmidt, Tula Pink, Valorie Wells, Amy Butler, and Joel Dewberry in here. I do wish there were more geometrics among all the florals, but the texture of the fabric is so ridiculously feminine, so I understand why.

My poor husband. Why? Because this is another planned king sized quilt for our bed...

Just One Slab - Midpoint Collection Update

276!!


In just two weeks of email this is the stack of slabs you awesome folks have sent in. 276 slabs as of this morning, before this week's mail delivery starts.

It is impossible for me right now to email everyone to say your slab has arrived. I apologize for that, but  almost 100 envelopes have arrived. I take each parcel, open it with my girls, then fill out my big spreadsheet with names and addresses so proper a thank you can eventually be made.

I'm blown away by the generosity of many. 36 blocks made from hand dyed scraps!? So many simply gorgeous blocks made with love by all of you.

Considering that each quilt will be made with 20 or 25 blocks, we are well on our way to over a dozen quilts. And with more volunteers emerging here in Calgary to assemble and long arm the quilts I am thrilled to know so much love will be available come delivery time in September. And with the news that temporary housing for folks still displaced is delayed this makes the project even more important.

I should also acknowledge the quilt tops and finished quilts coming in. Last count had 6 complete quilts and over 30 quilt tops sent in to me for donation. Those have all been taken to the local shops coordinating the big effort.

Can't wait to see what arrives in the mail this week. My awesome mailman has taken to delivering our mail last on his route, so he can come in his car!

**** Please make sure you send me at email to get a mailing address.**** 

mamaark AT gmail DOT com 

I cannot respond to all comments here, especially if you are set to be a no-reply commenter.

The Importance of Storytelling (Weekend Reads)

It's been slow on the reading front the last few months, for two reasons. One, I've been moving full speed ahead and barely have the energy to fall into bed for a few hours of sleep each night, let alone read. And two, the last two books I picked were a little heady. It made reading them a bit of a challenge.

Both books were quite good, but slogs to get through at times.

Fall on Your Knees by Ann-Marie MacDonald was actually painful to read at times. Incredibly well written, wry, and full of great storytelling, it was also full of not a single likeable character. I spent the first half of the book alternating between cringing and wanting to reach into the pages to slap someone. But the details, the rich descriptions, and the subtle but incredible turns in the writing kept me going. Bad writing and mediocre storytelling would have had me toss the book early on, simply because of the characters.

It's a story that follows a family through their rural Cape Breton Island life, with a stint in New York City, that captures young love, abuse, racism, ugly marriages, music, evil, obsession, strength, and light. Not a single character is flawless and it isn't until the end that sympathy actually grows. And that's my experience. I wonder if a reader with a different perspective of many of these issues feels the sympathy differently? As the story unfolds and history is clarified your heart takes leaps and plunges. Without good story telling this is just a book about an family's ugly history.

As I've grown older I've realized that good storytelling is what appeals to me more than anything in a novel. So many novels are character driven. And that's fine, but the storytelling has to be there too. If not, I'm happy to put the book aside and move on to something else more interesting.

I nearly did that with The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery. Very much character driven and rather pretentious through the first half of the book, I came very close to moving on. But I'd been warned that this might be my response. So I forged ahead, helped by the short chapters. A few pages a night and progression through the book was what I needed before bed, that's all. Then I came to this passage:

"Personally I think that grammar is a way to attain beauty. When you speak, or read, or write, you can tell if you've said or read or written a fine sentence. You can recognize a well-turned phrase or an elegant style. But when you are applying the rules of grammar skillfully, you ascend to another level of the beauty of language... I get completely carried away just knowing there are words of all different natures, and that you have to know them in order to be able to infer their potential usage and compatibility."

And it goes on. I literally sat up in bed and read this passage over and over again. It explained so much for me as a reader and a writer. And it made me pay more attention to rest of the book, caught up in the stories of the characters now.

Words make stories, but in the hand of a good writer - someone who can ascend through language - they make beauty, even when the stories are ugly. That's what good storytelling is and I will always pursue that.

Friday Favourite: Easy Thread Sewing Needles

With a million threads to bury on that beast of a quilt I pulled out these needles. They were part of some swag in the Denyse Schmidt Improv class from QuiltCon and they originally come from Purl Soho. I put them aside after trying them for binding. (Not a good use there - it cut the thread sometimes and was thick for getting through the small edge of the binding.) But I find them absolutely perfect for burying threads.

I must admit, I never used to bury my threads. I just stitched once or twice where I started then cut flush. Frankly, I was lazy. But the finished look was nowhere near as neat. So now I spend the evening burying threads and am much happier with the finished results. I do tend to wait until I'm done all the quilting so it can add up to a fair amount of work, but I find it easier and it doesn't break with my machine quilting rhythm.

I do exactly the same technique as Amanda. And these easy thread needles are perfect for it. They save you trying to thread two threads into the eye of the needle, and having sit awkwardly in order to use your eye, at eye height, to thread what are likely to be short threads attached to a heavy quilt.

Oh, and in case you were wondering about the intensity of that quilting, here is my thread. Can you see it? That's 1000 meters of thread per spool! I used one whole spool and then some.

Been Quilting

All three seasons of Downton Abbey. Almost all the Ted Med lectures, plus a few others. About a dozen beers. And one very sore set of shoulders later and I am done quilting this beast! (Yes, that's a king sized bed up there with a deep mattress.)

No, that's not an earthquake, that's me jumping up and down.

Now, just to bury a million threads, square it up, bind and wash it. Thanks for all the cheerleading along the way!

That's our original wedding quilt underneath.

Snippets on Dates

For the last two or three years I've kept this bin of fabrics scraps by my side while I sew. It sits next to one of my big glass jars full of seemingly useless snippets of scraps. Tiny pieces, big pieces, odd pieces. They all live together in the hopes of becoming something more.

Slowly, slowly, they are indeed doing that.

As I sew, particularly improv sewing, I use these little bits as leaders and enders. That is, instead of having dangling threads on every single seam I often grab two snippets and sew them together. At the end of a moment of sewing I have a new collection of pairs.

Some pairs are small, some a bit larger, and some teeny tiny. Eventually, they will all get sewn together into some kind of crazy, hot, scrappy mess. And I will love it. For now, however, they are still sitting in pairs, like some sort of speed dating event.

On the weekend I wasn't in the mood to sit while we watched UFC and Le Tour at the end of the night. So I set up my iron and finally tackled the pressing of these lonely dates longing to be part of the crowd. And three hours later I wasn't quite done, but I made a good dent.

Now it is time to create a new set, by sewing these piles together. And so on, and so on... It really is going to be chaotic when done, but I'm pretty sure I'll love it. How can I not, when I have these little precious combos littered throughout?

Keep these leaders and enders in mind when you're making your slabs. Makes the process faster and neater.

Just One Slab Deadline

Wow!

Slabs are already pouring in. I had to warn my mail man about the packages when he delivered 6 the other day. I even had a highway pick-up that felt slightly illicit, but way more fun. I'm blown away by everyone's enthusiasm.

To answer a few questions:

DEADLINE - July 30, 2013.

I plan on assembling the blocks, with the help of some local friends, in early August. And Andrea has offered to long arm the quilts. Then, I assume a big binding party will happen!

Once you've squared up your block it is helpful to sew a stay stitch around the edge of the block. Just a regular stitch, about 1/8'' of an inch from the edge of the block. It helps prevent seams splitting when the block is going to get handled repeatedly before final assembly.

If you would like to donate quilt tops, completed quilts, backing, or batting I will take those donations as well and make sure they get to the organizations that will be finishing and distributing quilts here.

Thank you so much!

Decisions, decisions...

Just a bit left to quilt on that giant beast of a quilt. I was at a fabric store the other day and couldn't resist pulling a few new selections for binding choices. Of course, I didn't have the quilt with me, but I think I did okay for what I had in my head.

Contrast or blending?

The entire quilt is red, pink, and orange, with those white Xs. You can see the backing fabric below. That's where the blue/navy came from.

I had a navy binding in my head but couldn't find what I wanted. But maybe one of these works? Or maybe I need to go shopping again? Thoughts?

In Their Eyes

Bone marrow tired. A smell tattooed to the membrane of your memory. Smiles from gracious and suffering homeowners. Overwhelming pride of community. Kindness and giggles. 

I took the kids down to a flood zone yesterday. We walked the streets handing out fruit and cookies and a welcome ear to clean up crews and homeowners. The girls were wildly entertained by toilets on the street and friendly with the firefighters. They gagged at the smell of each pile filling someone's lawn. Each pile filled with drywall and insulation, not to mention the childrens' toys and books, the clothes, the treasures, the furniture, the lives of people lived. They giggled as their boots got stuck in the muck. They happily gave away their favourite cookies and told people they wanted to help because we were lucky. And they took these pictures (except the last few, those were mine).

(This is the girls' favourite restaurant, Wurst. The lower floor and kitchen were horribly flooded and we were entertained by the restoration company who told us about the complete pig they had to haul out that day.)

(Cable for a suspension bridge that was ripped down and almost washed away.)

Thank you so much for the response, already to the Just One Slab drive and the quilt donations.

Just One Slab

Just a slab. One slab. Grab some scraps of fabric and sew them together.

I'm putting out a call to all my quilty friends out there. Maybe you can't spare the fabric or time or postage to send a whole quilt as we try to recover in Calgary and Southern Alberta. That's okay. But I bet you can make just one block. And the more of you that can make and send just one block, the more quilts we'll be able to donate. I will put all the blocks I get together into quilts. With an army of local long armers lined up to donate their time we will get some beds and hearts covered in no time.

Here are the basics:

Make a slab 15.5'' square. You can insert the white bit or not, that's your choice. Just aim to make your block in a single colour. Make as many as you like.

Our inspiration for these quilts is The Missing U quilt from Sunday Morning Quilts.

How do you make a slab? If you have the book, refer to the directions on pages 48-49. If you don't have the book let me summarize how to make a slab:

Take two pieces of fabric and sew them together. Do that a few more times. Then start sewing more pieces to those first pairs. Sew groups together. Add additional pieces of fabric as necessary to get up to your finished size. Start with small bits or big ones, it doesn't matter. Raid your scrap bins and go with what you've got.

Feel free to grab that top image and share it on your blogs/web-sites. Tell the world about how you made your slab. Link back to this post if you do.

When your block is done and you're ready to post it, send me a note and I will gladly send you my snail mail.

Thank-you so much for continuing to think of us here in Southern Alberta. Now that the emergency situation is behind us it is time to think about recovery. Quilts go a long way towards that.

*If you are interested in donating complete quilts or tops, make sure you check out this information.*

All Safe

Well, that was awfully silly of me. I should have told you all that we are safe and dry in my last update about the flood here in Calgary. We live well away from the rivers and our power stayed on, which meant our sump pump was able to do its thing. So no repeat of our 2005 flood at home. Phew.

It really is quite insane here in Calgary. Even far away from the flood zones the roads are quiet. So many businesses shut down because their staff are directly affected. And our incredibly awesome mayor tells us to do things and we listen. So when he tells us to stay home, we do. When he tells us to restrict water, we happily skip laundry, and when he tells you stay off the water, all but one canoe listens.

I've had emails about quilts for evacuees and those who have lost everything. Of course there are quilt drives! Here are two I know of so far:

Quilting For Calgary
My Sewing Room (Hell or High Water Quilt Initiative)

UPDATE: The groups have merged into one, Quilting For Calgary.

If you know of others, please let me know and I will share the details (I have a collection of my own stuff ready to go.)

Also, note that this flooding is not exclusive to Calgary. There are numerous communities around Southern Alberta affected, some so devastatingly so. An event like this in unparalleled in our city's history though and has most of the city in shock. But we're also resilient (we are Prairie folks, after all). The sense of community reaching across the community is incredible. From the city's numerous food trucks and restaurants coming together to feed evacuees, first responders, volunteers, and media to strangers offering their homes to strangers who may lose theirs. This isn't my home city, but I'm incredibly proud to call it my home now.

Oh Canada! Pattern Update

Thank you so much for the response to my Oh Canada! pattern. And thanks for all the orders. Your support is greatly appreciated and I'm thrilled that you all like the pattern.

Now for the sad news. If you ordered a printed pattern there will be a delay in delivery. Our city is being flooded right now thanks to a lot of rain and a ridiculous amount of spring run off in the nearby mountains. And my printer is in an evacuation zone. No word on any damages for them, but all my patterns were waiting for me to pick up this morning.

Thank you for your patience, I will contact all the people who ordered directly as well.

Think good thoughts, send prayers, and keep all of Southern Alberta (and British Columbia) in your hearts as we deal with the immediate waters and the devastating aftermath sure to come.

Oh Canada Pattern Release

Here it is folks: The Oh Canada! Pattern.

Designed in perfect proportions to the original flag, Oh, Canada! pays patchwork homage to this symbol of Canadian spirit and drive. Make one block or make a dozen. Piece the fabric together from scraps to echo the diverse nature of Canada, or make it solid to showcase the fabric. 

Available as a download (Thank-you Etsy for making this an automatic feature now) and a printed option. Also available for wholesale orders if you are a quilt or sewing shop. Email me for those details.

I'm so excited to share this incredible quilt with you. I'm looking forward to seeing your own versions because no two scrap quilts are the same!

Thank-you so much to Jessica at Blue Jay Graphic Design for her work in making this come together.

PS Just a reminder that I am teaching this block as a class on Thursday, June 20 at Traditional Pastimes here in Calgary.

Friday Favourite - The Monster

If it wasn't for the arrival of this amazing creature seven years ago I wouldn't be here at all. I mean, literally here in this space on the internet. That's because her arrival in my life forced me to see who I really was. In order to be the best mother, the best potential role model for the tiny creature placed in my arms after months of stress, I needed to be true to myself. That meant embracing my creative side and putting them out into the world. If it wasn't for her arrival I would never have started writing again, I never would have met all of you, I never would have been honestly happy with myself.

Besides all that, she has the best giggle in the entire world, she is empathetic beyond her years, her brain works in the most awesomely logical way, her contemplative nature fights with her energy daily, her fashion sense is to be admired but not necessarily copied, and she loves people in a way that has no boundaries.

His Room - Before

Because his room has been nothing but a crib and a dumping ground for hand-me-downs.
Because he deserves a brighter place to play.
Because we emptied a bunch of stuff out of the closet to move it into our new one in the basement.
Because Hubby was away.
Because I needed a break from quilting.

Last week I took it upon myself to redo The Garbage Truck's room. (Have I mentioned that is what the girls call their baby brother?).  Time to make it just his, and not the repository for our socks and underwear, quilting books, the girl's keepsakes, and other detritus of our lives. It isn't quite done yet, but close. I'll share the after photos next week, as long as you promise not to look too closely at my painting. I'll never win awards or write a book on that!

The Sirens' Song

Still working on that giant beast.

And new temptations are doing just that, tempting me. They sit on my cutting table, like Sirens singing their song. "cut me... sew me... tralalala..." Like Odysseus I am chained, only to the sewing machine instead of a boat, so that I can hear their song but not be lulled to the dangers near the shore.

 - Edges by Laura Gunn
 - Studio Stash by Jennifer Sampou

I believe these two lines will both play well together and I have a concept in mind. Alas, it must wait. I must not break free of my chains. Soon, soon...

Piles of Books (Not a Weekend Reads)

No such thing as too many books, right?

My husband and I are on opposite sides of that answer. but one of us is a reader, the other is not. You don't hear me complaining about too many Top Gear magazines filling the house.

I am rather impatiently waiting the arrival of the built-in bookshelf for my studio space. So, for now, these books pile around me on the floor. Until the other day they were in my son's room/house dumping ground but I went on a spree and did up his room this past week. So now the books are piling up on the floor in my room. And that's not counting all my non-sewing related books (novels, bios, non-fiction, etc.) piling up on the floor of the bedroom. Also not counting the boxes of books stored away, hoping for a glimpse of the light.

It's no lie, I've dreamt of a home library for years. Just like Lord Grantham with his red couches, impressive writing desk, and a tray of crystal and hard liquor. Or perhaps a slightly more modern version. A girl has to dream right? Because libraries are exactly what the architects of these 50s tract houses had in mind when designing boxes to inhabit.

Any suggestions or pin boards on book displays/storage for a mid-century girl?

Ten Tips for Machine Quilting Large Quilts

Still quilting...

Yes, I'm working on a king sized quilt on my home machine. Some of you expressed surprise at that, some wished me luck in that kind of evil way where you don't actually believe I can do it. Or at least it seems so incredulous that it comes across that way. I get that, I totally get that. But I'm here to tell you that it is totally doable. You just need a few tricks up your sleeve.

1. Have support.
Not the kind that stands behind you and cheers you on as another row of stitching goes in, although that is indeed helpful. Rather, make sure your quilt if physically supported by a table, your body, the wall, etc. You don't want your quilt hanging off the table and pulling as you try maneuver it through the machine. For this one I've kept my table against the wall instead of the middle of the room to make sure the quilt doesn't fall off the edge.

2. Break it down into smaller sections.
It is daunting to stare at a large quilt and even think about quilting it. Break it into sections, even if it is only mentally, to make it seem more manageable. Perspective is everything. And just like when you are trying to lose weight and you reward yourself as you reach 10 pounds of the 40 you need to lose, give yourself a treat as you finish a section.

It also helps to approach the quilting in sections so that you can roll, fold, and position the quilt for each section. This makes supporting and moving the quilt easier.

3. Have a beer.
Or a glass of wine or even a stiff scotch. People often say that having a bit of a tipple helps loosen you up for free motion quilting. Even if you are doing straightline stitching on a large quilt, being a little loose helps. And having to stop and move your arms in another direction is a very good thing. If water or tea is your preference, keep something by the machine. Quilting is thirsty work.

4. Take breaks.
Big quilts are heavy, very heavy. It takes a lot out of your shoulders, neck, and upper back to quilt these beasts. I can do about an hour at a time before I feel the tightness creep in. Then I have to get up, stretch, do a load of laundry, or actually attend to the kids. I feel like I accomplish a lot when I get a solid hour in but my body feels it.

5. Prewind bobbins.
Having a bobbin run out is inevitable. And while the bobbin change is a good time to stretch and take a break, it can seriously disrupt your rhythm if you are in the groove. I wind 4-5 at a time on these large quilts. It's just nice to be able to grab and go when a change is needed.

6. Keep clean and sharp.
Every time you change your bobbin clean out any lint from the bobbin casing or around the needle. And speaking of the needle, you will definitely need more than one on a large quilt. I tend to change mine every 6 hours of quilting or so. I want a sharp needle and clean machine. It means less headaches while quilting and better results.

7. Raise it up.
It is a lot easier to quilt on a large flat surface. I have a special plexiglass table that is made for my machine that gives me a large surface to quilt on. If you can get one for your machine, definitely do it. Or if your machine drops into a table, great! (Just make sure the table is big enough to support the quilt, or add side table while quilting.)

8. Sit higher.
Without 1-2 pillows underneath my butt while quilting I find that I am too low to be comfortable, especially once I've put my quilting surface on the machine. But raised up a little saves my neck and stops me from hunching horribly. If you are getting really sore, try sitting up higher.

9. White noise.
Yes, the sewing machine is noisy but I need more noise while I'm quilting. Music is great (and oh so necessary for piecing) but I prefer TV while quilting. Not TV I need to really pay attention to because that is too distracting. Movies or shows I've seen are best - like a friend keeping you company. For example, I've had Downton Abbey on while working on this beast. A third of the way through the quilting and down Season 1 and a few episodes of Season 2.

10. Don't forget to breathe.
Seems obvious, I know. But I am not immune to the tendency to hold your breath as you do a pass with the machine. Push the pedal down, hold breath. Release the pedal, breathe. It's a bad habit and one that is necessary to break. Even breaths as your sew keeps your mind and muscles working well.

Don't let the size of a quilt scare you from quilting. You can do it!