More art

THis is more art we bought at our art show. Just wanted others to get to see it...The pictures do not do them justice.

The large one is a beautiful scene of a waterfall. The light causes the highlights to really stand out.

THe two other ones are done by an artist who lives in Sevierville TN. THey look great in our bathroom.

kitchen table

Just some pictures of our new table cloth. I really like the way it turned out in the kitchen. Plus it goes with our new art. I got the napkin rings to make the kitchen more festive...thanks to the encouragement of my sister-in-law. :)

The finished quilt top!

OK, so here are some shots of the finished top to the quilt. BAsically, stage one is complete.
I had some difficulty with the edge pieces, as I had accidently cut them wrong. You have to always be thinking when it comes to quilts!!

I am now trying to decide what to use as a backing. I have a large cream colored sheet that matches the stripe in the blue fabric. But I am not loving the combination. It matches yes, but does not speak to me, if you know what I mean. A nice light green that matches some of the other details would be ideal, but this will be an added expense. If I find a good deal at JoAnn's next week when I go, I will consider it. Otherwise, it is the old sheet. I hate to pair something that is only "SO-So" with something that took so much time and effort. So maybe I will wait and save up for a nice matching back.

The other debate is whether to get a backing and an internal batting to make it warm, or to use a fleece back which saves a step. I have made some nice quilts with the fleece backing--they are warm and soft. But I think I may go with the regular backing.

Also, I know a lady who does machine quilting and binding of the edges. I have never tried this method of finishing a quilt, but would like to. Maybe this is my chance. It would cost, but I'd like to see it finished this way.

Anyway, hope you like the top of this one. It took some time, but was worth the effort. Now for the hard part of finishing it! :)

Art spot

Honest opinions? what do you think of the fox. I am not done with the details. It is my impressioninstic attempt to capture the feeling we got when we kept seeing this one little fox near our house. He was so cute, and we would see him after our workout session most nights. That is until one day when Ashok saw that he had been hit by a car. It was very sad.

The lighthouse is not my work. It is a picture we bought from our friend who does the art show. It is currently on display in my art room, but will soon be a Christmas gift for my boss...the symbol for our company is a lighthouse, so it really fits.

Finally, my messy art space. Mom, I thought that maybe when you are in Altoona you could show it to Grandmom so she could see my painting zone. Note her art box on the side.

I did not have any pictures of the kitchen before our remodeling began, but I thought you may be interested in seeing what we did. The after photos are below. We love how it turned out. The only thing we still need to work on is sealing the sink into place.
We re-did the counters, backspash, and knobs and handles.

Aaah, cold weather is on the way....

And that sort of causes one to turn ones mind back to the nice warm quilt just waiting to be finished off. Just like quilting, my blogging comes and goes. But it is time that I updated my progress on the cat quilt. Since May, I put the quilt down for a while, then worked on it in two intense weekends, then put it away again for a while. But before I pick it up again, it is time for an update.

First, I need to feature the one who does all the REAL work on this quilt...my sewing machine. It is a simple, trusty machine that I got for Christmas many years ago. It needs oiled every now and again, but otherwise it is good to go. It has made numerous quilts, pencil endge my wedding veil, not to mention the skirts for my bridesmaids, and has stiched numerous other items. I felt like I was remiss in not showing this important peice of the quilting process.

Anyway, as you can see, I have gotten a good ways on peicing the quilt together. You can see above how I take the blocks and lay them out. As I get a line ready to go, I take it to my trusty machine, sew it, and then connect it to the body of the quilt. Sorry about having another foot shot. I swore I would avoid getting them in the shot, but was not careful enough.

It was a lot more time consuming of a pattern than I thought it would be, so I decided to make the section with the squares smaller and add a dark blue edge. This is a great way to make a quilt just a bit bigger. My husband specifically requested that this one be long enough to cover both his feet and neck . He says he does not like the small ones that leave parts sticking out!

I think the pattern itself turned out very neat. You can see how the pattern on the blue fabric lends to the chained pattern of the quilt itself, making it look more like a backdrop for the green fabric. It is very different. I don't know if I would like it with other fabrics, but with these it really turned out.

Hope fully I will have this done before Christmas and can post another update. Although, I am now starting to think about other projects to give as gifts. It is too easy to get distracted. But I love when I get a chance to work on these quilts.

hope you find this post interesting.

Mom's quilts

I have made a few quilts for my mom over the years. She is often cold, so she is really able to appreciate being able to wrap up in a warm blanket. In this post I will show you two of those I have made for her.

The first is one that we designed together...actually one day when mom was staying with me I woke up early, though of course not as early as mom did. When I got to the table with my cup of coffee, mom had a sketch for me. It was a quilt design that she wanted me to make for her.

As you can see, it is a long robe like quilt with a keyhole cut out at the top for your neck. This way, the blanket will wrap around your neck and keep warm air from escaping out the top! :)

Then at the bottom it is a big pocket for your feet to keep them toasty too. And a pocket sewed in the middle to hold a book or pen so that if you have to get up and go to another room, you can keep all your stuff with you.

I definitly recommend getting a big peice of fleece for this in a pattern that you like. These are great for wrapping up in. I like to call them the "Sophisticated Buffalo Robe". Remember, on this one, warmpth is key!!!

The second quilt pictured is one of the first I made for mom. A definite example of

falling in love with fabrics. I loved all these fabrics and had fun putting the peices together.

There is something so great about finding a fabric that is beautiful and soft and cozy. That is the key to a good "working" quilt...beauty and comfort. There are lots of wonderful "show" quilts out there, but I personally only like to make the kind of quilt that I am going to be able to use. I don't even mind it when small seams tear. This just shows that whoever has the quilt is using it...wrapping up in it, letting their dog lay on it sometimes :), having picnics on it, sleeping under it, throwing it in the washing machine, etc. It is functional. A quilt it a work of art that you can use.

The first stages of the quilt

OK, just wanted to start a kind of step by step plan for making a quilt. This is step one of the newest quilt I have been working on. As you can see to the right, I am showing the fabrics I have chosen. I thought that all three of these fabrics would go together, but now I am not sure of the butterfly print on the left. It does not go with the pattern I have chosen. Below is a close up of the main fabric.



OK, so once you have the fabrics, you have to plan and cut. There are a lot of possible patterns to be found on the internet. GO explore and find an easy one you like (especially when you are first starting out). Go for squares. All other shapes are HARD to manage. Definitely start with squares. And they look neat no matter how you put them together.

Then start cutting. I am using big squares and little squares on this one. For the small squares, I sewed strips together and then will cut them into strips the other direction in order to make the sewing part easier.

You can see below how it looks when I cut the strips apart and then start peicing them together into a checkerboard pattern. When I was young, I would take graphing paper and color in the lines with every other block colored in with alternating colors, just like a quilt. And now I love sewing these checkerboards together.


OK, so as I start, I alternate the cutting and the sewing, just to keep it interesting. I get to bored just doing all the cutting then all the sewing. Also, if I am watching TV, I can cut during the show and go to the other room to sew during the commercial.

You can see below how I am starting to peice this quilt together. It is a modified Irish Chain design. I am using the smaller squares for one part part and the larger squares for the other. THen these squares will make a larger pattern of chaining.


I hope you will see as I go and make additional posts what it is like to take these peices and connect them until you all of the suddan have this large whole that makes sense.


I so love doing this and the process of putting things together.

OK, now, this is a retro quilt with a different sort of pattern and cats on it. I need ideas for who should recieve this as a Christmas present, because the best part of finishing a quilt is seeing someone curl up under it. I have had the joy of seeing both my mother and my mother in law open a quilt from me, take it out, and then immediately wrap up in it. That is the best.


OK, more to come, keep watching!!

The call of fabric

This weekend I found someone else who has heard fabric call out to her saying "Make me into something". This new friend was kind enough to share some of this fabric with me, and now I am sharing it with you.

This was just a cool experience because I love when people are excited about a creation they are making. And I just happened to love the fabrics she had chosen for what she was making. We talked about some ideas for what she was making. This gave me some ideas for what to do with the peices she gave me. So there will be more to come regarding what I plan to make. But special thanks to Brittany. YOU ROCK!! And when your project is done, I will add a picture of that, too.

I had a few very interesting experiences in the past few weeks that I wanted to share.

First, some background. I work as a subcontractor for the state as a part of the Department of Mental Retardation Services. We work with people diagnosed with "Mental Retardation". As part of the paperwork of all the people I work with, it states that they are mentally retarded. This is standard language and standard procedure and not in any way intended to be derogatory. It is meant to be explanatory.

But I had this concept challenged the other day. I had a client who was very upset when I arrived at his home. Apparently that week someone had made a comment that upset him. HE asked to talk to me about this and we went walking outside where we could talk privately. This client stated to me that his staff had called him "stupid, dumb, idiot, mentally challenged" I of course recognized to him that this is not right, but I asked him to clarify what exactly his staff said. He replied "She said I am mentally challenged". She used a label...one that is not totally inappropriate. Mentally challenged, Mental retardation, developmentally disabled...this is what we are instructed to call people with diminished mental capacity.

I tried to explain this to my client. He is very smart, regardless of his diagnosis. I tried to explain that we work for the department of mental retardation and that this label is part of his paperwork. He looked at me and loudly stated, "I am not retarded...I am not a retard! I DO NOT want to be called that. THey can't call me that!" He did not want this label that he was given. He understood all the connotations that this label holds.
This experience really made me think about how quick we in the mental health field are to label people in an attempt to understand them, regardless of how we may be boxing them in. People read the labels and think people are less capable, dangerous, scary, disgusting, etc. before they even get a chance to meet them.

I had another experience later this same week of a different client showing me pictures she had taken of large and beautiful brick homes in our town. She flipped through them, pointing out different points of interest. Then she came to a special picture. She held it out to me and said, "THis house is empty...I want to live there!" SHe had a dream. A dream of living independantly in her own beautiful home. She had a very normal dream, but this is not an option for her. I did not try to explain that, however. Her dream was too beautiful to shatter. I want that dream to come true for her.

I learned a lot between these two instances about my clients. What they want and who they want to be. Don't be quick to judge people. This is one of the best things about my job...seeing people with potential and helping them find ways of reaching that potential.

And, of course, learning from my clients. They have a lot to teach, and it is a wonderful and humbling way to learn. Sometimes, after certain sessions, I think they have helped me more than I have helped them.


Check out this site for more info on this topic.
http://www.disabilityisnatural.com/peoplefirstlanguage.htm

April post

Whew, well it has been almost a month since my last pitiful post. CAn't believe it. I haven't had time to work on any quilts lately, although I have one half made waiting on my desk to be finished. I've also been planning to make one for my husband's aunt who has been sick. But there is so little time to do the things we most want to.

Speaking of that, I have been trying to lose weight for two years. The result is that I have gained 15 pounds. Why does it work that way? So we finally decided to get professional help. I just was not successful on my own, so it seemed like the last option. We are going to start working with a fitness trainer. I will keep everyone posted on how it goes.

When I saw my body fat percentage, I almost croaked. But I am hopeful that this will change. I am learning that if I am going to make these kinds of changes I have to prioritize things other than work. And to make that possible, I am going to have to change the way we spend our money. Everything in life is interconnected when it comes to this stuff. Just like the trainer said about our bodies. All the systems are interconnected. If you improve one area, it will affect all the others.

Well, last thing. Anyone who hasn't check Zorro out, please go to http://www.letters-and-surveys.blogspot.com/ There are some awesome vidoes on there!!

Blog at ya soon!

I think of posts on the way to work

But by the time I get home, I totally forget what I wanted to write. But in case people think I have abandoned my blog, I will post about the old abandoned train depot on my way to work.
See, the road I live on used to be a railroad track. There was a train that would go up and down. I don't really know what it carried. Maybe some of the farmers goods would be loaded on it. I know that one of my neighbors remembers the times when she would carry milk and live chickens to the old country store where they would be sold and taken to feed the people of the nearest towns. But I don't know about the railroad.

Anyway, on my way to work I pass this old Depot. It is yellow and green and covered in ivy in the summer. Right now the ivy is dead, so it looks sadder than ever. It is beginning to crumble and fall apart, a memorial to an age completely gone by.

And what is even sadder is what is inside. The depot, according to the story that I heard, is filled with all the belongings of a woman who died years ago in a car accident. Her mother owns the old depot and refuses to sell or remove the items. All her daughters things just sit there, probably unmoved since the time that her life was ended and disassembled.

A sad story, yes, but what gets me thinking on my way back and forth from the daily grind is the question of what we are holding onto and what we are letting go of. A mother holding onto a daughter that is far beyond her grasp, letting go slowly of the life that was. I think and wonder about what I am holding too tightly to. What mouldering items I have packed away in my own personal crumbling depot; things that used to have value before I let them rot away in my heart.

And this one is for The Lions Den, but what about our churches? How have they become old creaky depots by which hundreds of cars pass every day, but no trains run to anymore. See a train depot that does not change itself to something else gets left behind in a world that runs on gasoline. Our churches are stuck in an old mindset, wearing a suit and tie, and opening and closing its doors. But the trains are not coming any more. Until our churches start changing their approach, opening up to a world that runs on something different, we won't see a vibrant place of life and growth. We will see the old depot filled with moldy baggage, going no where.


Well enough rambling for now. These are just my observations, and to show that I have not given up on my blog. I also have a new quilt in the making, so if I can find some time I will track its progress for you.

Our bodies as a capitalistic market

This winter I have observed a phenomenon that has really blown my mind.

Well, I guess it started in the fall. They started playing commercials that went something like, "Did you know that you could get cervical cancer from a virus? I didn't know" "A virus?" "Tell someone you love, tell all the women in your life." Etc., etc., on and on. I noticed these commercials as they SEEMED to be public service announcements. No product was mentioned, but no association was mentioned either. Odd. And the commercials seemed confusing to me...like they were saying that you could catch a virus that caused cervical cancer just like you could catch the common cold. Like, "Ooops, I got sneezed on at school, caught this pesky virus and now I have cancer. Who knew?" It seemed like partial info to me, but since it was not marketing anything, I had no reason to suspect any wrongdoing. It seemed to be just commonplace ignorance.

But as many of you have now heard, there is a new vaccine out on the market. And funny enough, somewhere about December, the PSAs about this virus morphed into commercials for the new wonder drug, Guardisil. Don't you want to be "One less" by taking our vaccine? It protects some people for one of the possible causes of cervical cancer, namely HPV or the Human papiloma virus.

What upsets me is not that a vaccine would be developed for HPV. Disease prevention is very important and very good. What irks me is the deception clothed in half truths. The commercials pretend to be educating woman about a health concern. Instead, they are setting women up to think that a specific drug or shot is the only way to avoid a potentially deadly disease.

THis disease is primarily, although not solely, transmitted sexually. All one need to say to be truely educational is, "If you don't have sex outside of a monogomous marriage to another virgin, you have almost no chance of getting this disease." This way people can truely understand how you get the disease, how to prevent the disease, and whether or not they should get the vaccine.

You know one of my biggest fears on this one? THat they will find in 10 years that this vaccine prevents HPV while increasing the risk of some other dread disease. Or that girls will increase risky behavior due to not fully understanding the risks that still are associated with premarital sex.

We need good information, not half truths, in order to really help our kids. If you want to be "one less" blind fool, get your own information and then talk to your kids and other important women in your life about the truth. And let your politicians know that we want one or two less drug companies being allowed to buy the right to decieve!!

OK, I have already have one person who disagrees with my passion on this point. Am I wrong? Let me know....

On being spit on at work

Have you ever been spit on at work? I mean literally. Actual spit, with a little bit of lunch in it. It has happened to me. A few times actually. But I wasn't mad. I did want to take a shower ASAP. You see, when you work with fragile people, people who were not blessed with full control of their bodies and minds, you can forgive them for not following the normal social order. And this particular person wanted something...something he couldn't have right then. So he thought he knew how he could get it.

And maybe there will come a day, when I am old and a little senial, when I will get to spit on someone else. It is a great way to get what one wants. I mean, no one likes being spit on. So one day when I am in "the home" and I really want a chocolate bar, I will just start spitting my applesause on people until I get one. Yeah, I deserve it.

Ptooey


Anyone care to share any unique or crazy stuff that has happened at your work?

A woman of the 2000s and the issue of children

Dear mom,

OK, so you want me to have children. I get it. But have you thought about what it is like for a modern feminist in the 2000s? You always told me I could be anything...ANYTHING! And guess what I became. A man...well, almost, that is. OK, OK, don't get scared. No sex change or hormones here. Well, in all honestly what I mean is no male hormones. Some female hormones are involved in this issue.

OK, so we are a non-traditional family. A bi-racial marriage to start. But you know what I have realized? Every marriage is bi-cultural, even if the players look alike. We each come into things with our own beliefs about what life should be. But I have been blessed, I am married to a good man who feels God's call in his life. He is brave enough and humble enough to follow this call. Brave, in that he stepped out on faith to do what it took to follow God's call. He is humble too, because he was willing to let his wife make more money and be the "bread winner" of this family.

So here is the thing. I got the job, the one that provided a big income for us so he could give himself to the youth ministry in this area. And I started to go to work, every day. I began to worry about the bills and my paycheck. He began doing the cooking and cleaning. And I began to love it! I would come home and he would have a hot meal ready for me. This is awesome! No wonder men did not want to give up the good thing they had going. And he even tolerated me the day I came home to a messy house and told him he was not being as "effective" as he used to be. What woman would have taken that comment so well.

So, now, many people are asking when I am going to have children. Not if I am, but when. Because it is still assumed that as a woman, I will. But the problem is, I am the breadwinner, the provider. I have to be ready to leave the cave, kill something, and drag it home. I can't do this if I am pregnant or raising children. That is why, when we really lived in caves, men went out with their great strength, while women stayed home. But now, I go.

And, I like to go. I like to be the one with the paycheck. And I like uninterrupted sleep. And I don't like snot. And I always hated babysitting.

So I am left with this. I don't want children. Not now. Maybe not ever, I don't know. I am being what it is I want to be, so this is my life right now. You got the young feminist you wanted, but maybe not the grandkids. Sorry about that. :)

Anyway, I love you very much, and am lucky that you wanted to be both the feminist and the mom. I hope someday to be more like you.

XOXOX
Cadh 8

Rag quilt

A few Saturdays ago, I attended a rag quilting class. It was wonderful, so I thought I would share. There were about 7 of us at class, and it was quite a wide range of people attending. There was one girl about 10 years, all the way up to two older ladies who had a machine that looked like it was maybe made in the 1960s. One of the ladies did her sewing by hand.

We starting by picking our fabrics. I was late...as usual, and so there were few choices left. I got lucky, though, because I loved the fabric I got. I had three colors, which created a nice look.

To create the quilt, we started by taking two 6.5 in squares of fabric and sewing them together with a 5.5 in sqare of batting in between. We then sewed an X from corner to corner on each sqare. There were a total of 108 squares in the quilt I made.

After you get all the squares sewed together (which takes a long time!), you are ready to start peicing the quilt into your final pattern. It is important to do this carefully and to take your time. It is easy to get "off" and to put the wrong side out or in, etc. Match things up and pin the squares. One side will be smooth on all seams; on the other side, all seams will be out or showing.

I recommend doing a row at a time and then sewing the rows together as you go. make sure you carefully lay seams dowing in the same direction as you go row to row. Hard to give too many details here, but you'll figure it out!! Once you get the quilt sewn together, it is time to make it RAGGY! Take your scissors and snip little cuts into the showing seams.

Once you snip the seams, and be sure you have got them ALL, you wash the quilt. No I was advised that it is worth the money to take the quilt to the Wishy Washy to wash the first time, simply due to all the strings that come off. After washing mine in my own washer, I agree with this assessment. Add a teaspoon or so of salt the first time you wash it to keep the color in. Then get ready to pick off a bunch off your shirt the first few times you cuddle under it. But otherwise it is ver warm and cozy. Below you can see pictures of the one I made.

This is the smooth side.

Raggy side...

And Duke loves this quilt too. He finds it very cozy. :)

An inconvenient poop

Did you know that Al Gore uses more energy in his 10,000 square foot home in one month (like almost double) than the average family uses in one YEAR. And yes, his average usage has actually increased since the release of his movie.

Now we know how he really feels about the cute little polar bears who can't find any ice!

I have a great plan for my own video entitled "An inconvenient poop". At my home, with 4 dogs, we have lots of inconvenient poop.

Oh Al. Tsk.

Cadh 8

My first blog--Loving quilts

I was struggling to decide what to talk about for my first blog entry. Of course I put some pictures of my dogs on first, because every one knows that a woman of my age without children needs something to sublimate any stray motherly feelings onto. (Mom, that was for you. My treatise on feminism and the choice to remain childless may be the next entry to follow.)

Anyway, back to the point. I had to start somewhere, and since the name of my blog already lets you know that I have an interest in quilting, I thought I would share my passion a bit.

I love quilting. I love the planning, the process, and the end product. It taps both the creative and logical sides of the brain. You cannot create a good quilt with only one or the other. Both form and function are key.

This Irish chain quilt is my very first quilt. I started it completely by hand. What a process! I was in college and simply cut and stitched in my spare time. When I went home for the summer, I was exposed to the use of the sowing machine, and I have been spoiled ever since. It is so wonderful how fast and straight you can sow with the machine. It is literally a thing of beauty.

The Irish chain is a simple pattern, but quite pleasing to the eye, especially if you choose the right fabric. That is my favorite part of the whole process, I think. The fabric is where I get the inspiration. I could wander for hours in Jo Ann's. When I look at a piece of fabric and fabric combinations, it is like I can see the quilt that could be made with it. It is exciting to find the patterns that speak loudest to you, saying "Take us, form us, make us into the pattern that will wrap around you on a cold night and warm you". Once you find the pieces, it is almost impossible to say no.

This quilt was inspired in just such a way. It is hard to tell from this picture, which Duke was nice enough to help with, but both patterns look like bubbles or small stones. The blue looked like water and the other looked like river stones. I created a ripple effect like ripples on a stream or waves on the shore. This effect was much harder than it looked, because it is hard to sew a curved line as opposed to a straight line. I really love how this one came out, but at this time, it is being used as a dog bed, unfortunately. We are trying to wean little Duke out of our bed, so we offered him a nice place to sleep to try to temp him to sleep there. He has been falling asleep on this pretty quilt on the floor, but in the middle of the night, once he thinks we are sleeping, he jumps up on the bed for a more comfortable sleep.

Here is another one of my quilts. Cherries on the fabric. I loved the pink and red, especially together. These fabrics were "meant" to go together...That is, they were marketed to match. I usually like making my own combinations, but in this case, I couldn't resist.

Once a quilt is complete, it is so much fun to share your creation, either as a gift, or just as a warm blanket to offer a guest while watching a movie. Most people think they couldn't make a quilt, or that it is really hard. In fact, it can be as easy or as difficult as you feel inspired to make it. I have really simplified the process. I choose easy to use fabrics and try to keep the number of steps to completion down. But the great thing is that you can split the steps to creating a quilt into multiple sessions spread over time. I sometimes work for months on a quilt, but at other times I will go from choosing fabrics to completion in only a few weeks, depending on how much time I have.

Well, maybe I will create a quilting "how to" blog at some point. I definitely have more to say about quilting, so there will be more to come. I really enjoyed sharing some of my favorite quilts with anyone reading this.

Little snowstorm for a little pup

Pure happiness