a few (very few) finishes

Two over-sized bottles of nail polish -- a wall hanging & a pillow cover, both gifts for friends.

And a quilt I will be entering for consideration to hang in a display of modern quilts at the Texas Quilt Museum. I call it "Off The Grid".

When I'm gone

Recently, Joe Cunningham wrote a post about being asked by the husband of a quilting friend to come help deal with things in her quilting studio. The friend had not died, but was in nursing care with Alzheimer's disease & would never again make a quilt. Very sad in itself, but really, truthfully, there will come a time when each of us will be physically or mentally unable to continue doing our passion. The hard fact is: that's Life. In the comments, many offered sympathy for the disappearance of his friend, ideas for how to deal with her things & commiseration on all our eventualities when the contents of our quilting rooms would need to be dispersed. But the thing I found so sad was among the comments: one woman said she now only made quilts that she thought her children & grandchildren would like to inherit, not "following her muse" & it had taken the joy from her quilt-making. Now that is just tragic!

Shug & I have 3 nieces & a nephew, all sweet fans of their Aunt's quilts. In a way, this simplifies things for me -- that is, I don't expect my quilts to be absorbed by them. I'm sure they will each take some -- to use, to display, just for sentiment -- but I'm certain some will end up being sold & scattered to the winds.

I'm OK with that! Because I am also certain there will be someone like myself who will happen upon one of my quilts & it will speak to them: "This would make great dog bedding." "This would be useful to keep in the car for emergencies." "This would make a cute picnic blanket." "This would go perfectly in the guest room." "This would look beautiful on the family room wall." *Someone* will love & adopt my quilts like I love & adopt quilts. They will never know who made it, maybe wonder about me, but my quilt will be at home in their home.

To whit, my latest adoption: this sweet, simple log cabin. I would guess it dates to the late 40s to early 50s. There are a few feed sack fabrics, a flannel, a pique & quite a few woven plaids & stripes. It is hand-quilted, has a grass-green backing. I can't tell what's in the middle of this quilt sandwich, not batting, maybe flannel, maybe nothing (though the weight suggests something).
I really could not love it more.

Not all who wander are lost

I'm sure you've been losing sleep over my slow quilting start this year.
NO!?!?!
:-D

Neither have I, but I have been giving it quite a bit of thought. What I have come to realize is -- last year was an anomaly, not the standard I need to maintain. 2014 was strange -- I felt so compelled to sew & make! Things have slowed down considerably -- one finished quilt (no photos yet) & two finished minis to gift -- a pillow & a hanging (photos soon).

I've been sewing & sewing, but somehow it feels directionless. The rote assembly of parts is making me happy right now. And, boy, do I have parts to assemble! The shirting flying geese continue to amass (a gaggle of geese). I've made a quilt's worth of spools (what does one call a group of spools? a tangle?) -- 20 spools (actually, 21, oops, one for the back). The next-to-the-last pale, scrappy plus (an addition of pluses? sorry, I'll stop now) is on the design door. And! I now have one more than the original 4 pluses made with my parents' shirts!

As I sew, I've been thinking about where I am quilt-making-wise & where I want to go. I really want to diminish my UFOs & WIPs & I *really* want to Sew! My! Stash! I have SO MUCH fabric, so much BEAUTIFUL fabric. When I poke through it, I find wonderful things I had forgotten I had -- I want to sew & enjoy these fabrics while I can sew & enjoy them! Quilts to keep, quilts to give, quilts, quilts, QUILTS!

To that end, I pulled out a layer cake of Mary Engelbreit fabrics & am having fun with a new-to-me method -- the disappearing 4-patch.