What would Jennifer do?

My brother's wife died Christmas morning -- unexpectedly, quickly & much too soon.

She & I were alike in some ways -- both stubborn, opinionated & bossy -- but very different in other ways. She was boisterous, spontaneous, gregarious; she lived life turned up to 11. Me? I rarely turn it up to 6. Over the years, because of our similarities & our differences, she sometimes made me pretty mad (I'm sure I made her mad as well), but I always loved her because she was lovable. I hope she always loved me.

The 2 days she was in the hospital, being 800 miles away, all I could do was keep my phone close, worry, weep & regret that I was not near enough to help support my brother & say good-bye to my sister-in-law.

To keep my mind & hands occupied, I sewed. I picked up a couple of projects at hand & sewed & sewed & sewed. I sewed until I was exhausted.

I began the cake stand blocks late last year. I quickly set them together that weekend.

The other project I worked on was one using parts from a scrappy little top-let that I got at Quilt Festival -- an irregularly-shaped thing of 22 6-sided wheels made with 50s era fabrics. I had taken the wheels apart, but then what? How do I make a quilt from 22 wheels? I had decided on how I would set them together & had cut some muslin triangles to fill in the gaps. I was sewing triangles to wheels, when I nearly literally gave myself a shake.

"Why are you being so cautious!?! It's only fabric! It's only color! LET GO!! Turn it UP!!!"

So I pulled out a vintage floral & pinned the wheels to it. They seems to float about the flowers. Without much thinking, I cut triangles & strips & sewed it all together.

Neither is finished, but each was a lesson in spontaneous sewing using my new motto: What would Jennifer do?

eBay -- part 1

I don't have The Right Stuff for eBay auctions. They require patience, determination & a skill that I just don't have. I have a won few auctions, but mostly they go like this:

• I see a newly listed item I like. I bid the seller's minimum, put in my maximum & wait.
•  In the next few days, I am the only bidder. I start congratulating myself for being a smart eBay buyer -- not only will get this thing, but I will get it for a bargain price!
• A few more days & I am still the only bidder. I convince myself that I am the only person who wants this thing. I also convince myself that I want this thing more than anything in the world.
• At the last minute -- & I mean The. Very. Last. Minute. -- someone sweeps in & out-bids me. *My* beloved treasure will be going to live with someone else. I am heartbroken.

So, as a rule, I stay away from eBay. But sometimes I need to look at quilts & eBay is a good place to see a wide spectrum of quilts. Recently, I was scrolling through the listings & came across one that really grabbed me: a simple double 4-patch top set with a variety of solids. It was nearing the end of its auction period & no one had bid on it. So I did, but with little expectations. In the remaining days, no one else did bid, so I actually won it! A few days later, it arrived in the mail.

I am delighted! It is so charming! I would guess it to have been made in the late 20s to early 30s. Such a variety of prints, plaids, stripes & solids! As usual, I wish it could tell me its story. In those days when money was so tight, why didn't the maker finish it? Some of the tiny 4-patch squares are pieced! And where did the maker get all those different fabrics? A garment factory that sold scraps, maybe? Anyway, it is keeping its secrets & I am left to wonder & fall in love.

Plaids with Pepper

I tried before to get into a class taught by Pepper Cory, but failed. So when the class schedule arrived for Quilt Festival 2016 & there was another Pepper class, quick like a bunny, I signed up. If she were teaching lawn mower repair, I would try to enroll, but very luckily, this class was about using plaids & solids in quilts.

Pepper Cory is a lovely person. She knows her fabric & quilt history; she is a talented & creative needlewoman; she is a gracious & giving teacher. I had a great day in her class. Her handouts for the class would make us a sampler quilt using our plaids. In the morning, we all made her Florida House block. It is a block she drafted from a vintage quilt she owns that has Florida provenance (hence the name). I did not care much for my block (middle row, far left), but really liked the look of all the houses together -- I filed this away in my Quilt Ideas folder.

Early this year, I was rooting through my stash, looking for something -- I don't remember what it was or whether I found it -- when I found this stack of about 40 pastel plaid fat quarters. The colors reminded me of the beach houses we saw when Shug & I drove down Galveston Island.

In my mind, Pepper's Florida house block connected with the beach houses which connected to these pretty plaids

It isn't a hard block to make, but there are 13 pieces in each block, & except for the sky pieces on either side of the chimney & those on either side of the roof, no 2 are the same size. They sew together pretty quickly, but cutting requires focus & attention. My first house was a tear-down -- kind of boring & drab. I needed to add some something to keep my houses interesting. I found a batik, some dots, some calicos (besides the kitten above) & a long-hoarded large-scale tropical.
This is a neighborhood I would like to live in!

Where did the time go?

I don't know what to say.
I don't know how I let more than 5 months slip by since I last sat & chatted with you.
I got busy, events occurred, blah, blah, blah.
But when things settled down, I was out of the habit of blogging. When some time opened up, I would think, "oh, what's another day? another week? another month?"
I am sorry. Let me try to quickly catch you up on the last 5 months.

There was the Quilt Festival -- my 26th! The high points were that I got to meet an internet friend, a virtual friend became an in-real-life friend! And I took a class from Pepper Cory! I will tell you more about that later.

The week before Christmas, I was out walking, stumbled & fell. I made a one-point landing on my right eyebrow. A trip to the emergency room got me quite a few stitches but I had no broken bones, no soft tissue damage & no concussion -- so really not that bad. I have a rocking scar now.

At Christmas, we had a family tragedy -- I will tell you more about that later.

In the New Year, I had a milestone birthday. It did not occur to me to make myself a quilt. But I've thought of it now & in the process making myself a quilt (or 2). I will tell you more about that later.

I've finished 2 quilts this year. I've made photos & will tell you more about them later.

Over the holidays, I did a little making. My grand-niece has a December birthday, so I thought I would whip up something quick. I cut a bunch of 1.5 inch strips, thinking I would make some sort of quarter log cabin-type thing. But when I wasn't paying attention, the log cabins turned into checkerboards -- simple enough, it was just a LOT of sewing. I boxed it & shipped it before I got a photo, all I have this snap of it on my design door. The Birthday Girl loved it.





On Instagram, people were making these fabric-covered ornaments, so, of course, I had to make some too. It was my first experience with ModPodge, kind of fun, & they added a bit of cheer to our Christmas tree.



So, I've promised you at least 5 more blog posts. You can hold me to that.