String Piece Hexagon Progress

I’ve been doing a lot of string piecing since the pandemic started back in March. I love that I can do a lot of sewing without having to make many decisions. It keeps my fingers busy but doesn’t tax my brain. It’s just what I have been needing for these weird times. First, I made a quilt’s worth of rectangle strips seen below. I don’t have a final plan for how these will be put together yet so they are all in a pile waiting.

After making the rectangle strips I started making hexagons. You can see more of them here.

I’m in a “use what I have” frame of mind so am using this pretty gold Peppered Cotton for the setting triangles.. I hope I measured correctly and that I will have enough for the binding too.

It appears that I never blogged about that quilt on the design wall either. That was an improv experiment that I had fun with. I shared some progress shots on Instagram earlier in the summer.

Looking at those tiny bits on the design wall has me itching to do some more tiny piecing again

Red and White Delight

I’m still cleaning up the home sewing room. I found this small quilt that I made a few years ago. It was basted and I had already done the “in the ditch” stitching along the edge of the red. I’m adding some feathered vines up the muslin sections.

Dahlias

I have been thoroughly enjoying my dahlias this summer. They were slow to get started but I am now able to cut a few fresh flowers each day. The variety pictured above, Melody Dora, is one of my favorites.

The first day I cut an entire bouquet was pretty exciting.

This Cafe au Lait Rose was as big as my grandson’s head and made a fun place for a little green frog to hide.

These flowers have really been a highlight of my summer and I enjoy going out to the garden every morning to clip new flowers and then again each evening to see the growth progress of the day.

Cleaning up the Slow Way

In another effort to clean my sewing room I started making string hexie blocks last week. I didn’t make much of a dent in the piles of scraps but I did fill my design wall. These will finish at 6” across.

How’s your week going?

Emerging

I feel a bit like this butterfly, like I’m finally emerging from a chrysalis.

About 6 weeks ago, my computer had a fatal crash. No, really, I knocked it over with my foot and it died. The hard disc is not operable. I took it to the computer doctor in town and after a couple of days he said he recovered “an ungodly number of photos.” Yes, thank you. I’ve been blogging for 13 years. I take a lot of photos.

I put the photos onto my new computer only about half of them will open. So, the hard disc is back with the computer doctor. He is running a different program to see if they can be fully recovered. My fingers and toes are crossed that they can.

My remote teaching plans have been put on hold but I’m hoping to get back on track with teaching prep soon. I am excited about the classes I’ll be able to bring into your home.

Social Justice Sewing Academy

I attended an excellent Community Quilt workshop by Sara Trail of Social Justice Sewing Academy with the Portland Modern Quilt Guild on Sunday. I am so impressed with the work they are doing. She shared the curriculum they use with the youth artists as well as many of the powerful blocks and artist statements made in the program. At the end of the workshop we had a short time to design and make a block of our own. As someone who can overthink things I found it a little stressful to have such a quick turnaround but in the end I kinda liked working fast. The blocks will next be sent to volunteer embroiderers for stitching before they will be joined into a quilt.

I live in a mostly white (96%) rural town in the midwest. Four years ago our town had its first Pride event that consisted of 5 people. Each year the Pride march has gotten bigger. We had our first Black Lives Matter rally a few weeks ago and they are continuing each week with a march and open mic time after.

I am hopeful for our future but it is also disheartening to see so much push back to the idea that everyone should have the right to breathe, be their true selves, and live in peace. To make real progress we need to address the changes needed to healthcare, economics, housing, voting, and policing.

And on that note, go register to vote!!! And if you already are, go check it again!!

Lies - domestic abuse quilt # 18

Lies 16” x 16”

An abuser often Lies to gain control. They tell lies to and about their target. They lie about things they themselves have done and things the target's family members have done. They are careful to craft their stories so that they are believable and say them enough times that the target often incorporates those lies into their own memories and repeats them as though they were true. The person experiencing the abuse becomes less able to see the situation for what it is. 

Family members often hear things about themselves that never happened and can become difficult for family and friends to communicate with their loved one who believes a different reality based on the repeated lies of the abuser. 

Here are some of the "everyday" or non specific lies that are repeatedly told to help gain control.

1. I love you,
2. I’ve never felt this way about anyone before,
3. I’ll go to counseling,
4. I promise,
5. I’m sorry,
6. It’s your fault,
7. No one else would ever want you,
8. If you leave, I’ll kill myself and it’ll be your fault,
9. You’re so lazy,10. You can’t do anything right,
11. Well, you’re not getting it from me so you must be getting it from someone else,
12. I’ve changed,
13. I never said that (Or, “You’re remembering it wrong”),|
14. You’re so selfish,
15. You’re crazy! You must be off your meds again.

Breaking the Silence

here are a few more not included in the list above

"You can't take care of yourself.”
"You can't do that."
"You don't work hard enough."
"You don't make enough money."

If you have a friend or family member who is experiencing abuse here are some things you can do to help. The most important thing to remember is that the choice to leave or not is theirs. You can't make them leave a bad situation but you can be supportive and helpful in their choice. They will need someone they can count on when/if they do decide to end or leave the abusive relationship.

Domestic Violence knows no boundaries when it comes to race/gender/sexuality/age/socioeconomic status/geographic location/culture.

Remember, domestic abuse affects ten million people in the US every year. If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic abuse, please know that the folks at the National Domestic Violence Hotline (1 800 799 SAFE or thehotline.org) are ready to listen and support you, as well as refer you to a local program or organization. If you observe someone being abused, you can also call the hotline. A good samaritan call can save a life!

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All of the quilts in the Domestic Abuse series so far can be viewed here.

Evening Stitching

I’ve been knitting in the evenings lately. I finished a pair of socks I started in November and started a new pair from some stash yarn that looks a bit like faded denim.

My mending pile has also gotten a lot smaller.

What have you been working on?

Thoughts from a Walk

This quilt, Stardust, is always a crowd favorite when I give trunk shows or talks. It is comprised of hundreds of 2" star blocks. People often ask how long it took me to make it and if I got tired of the work. I don't know how long it took because I didn't time myself. I didn't get tired of it because I was working on other projects at the same time. I worked a little bit each day and it was sewing that I wanted to be doing. Gradually I could see the piles growing and I started sewing the blocks together to make bigger ones.  And then eventually I had enough blocks to complete a queen sized quilt.

Yesterday while walking, I thought about how we can make big changes in the world. And I think it's like making this quilt. We show up each day and do what we can and when we all do a little bit, over time we can make something big, even world changing!

Quarantine Sewing

Miss P has been enjoying some extra time at home during our COVID-19 quarantine and has been spending a fair amount of it sewing. Her biggest project so far has been this blouse.

We’ve been in a “use what we have” mindset and she chose some fabric that I had thrifted several years ago. I don’t know anything about the fabric but it was enough to make this cute blouse. She made a few adjustments to a pattern that was originally my mother-in-law’s.

She has been watching videos by Bernadette Banner and wanted to try hand stitching the entire blouse. She spent many hours stitching the seams, whipping the seam edges, top stitching, and making button holes. I think she did a beautiful job.

She said that was enough hand stitching for a while so machine stitched her next project.

She wanted to make a new backpack out of some grey canvas I had on hand. She drafted out a pattern but then found there was not enough of the canvas. She then, scaled everything down and made a lunch bag of the same design. Again, she did great work.

She is now working on a bag from Betz White’s book, Present Perfect.