Exhausting Days

3 weeks ago this coming Monday we got news from our landlord that he's planning on selling the house we've been living in for the last 14 years.  BAM.  Totally threw my world into a spin which hasn't fully stopped yet.

We've been scrapping together some funds for a down payment, to buy a place instead of renting since rentals around here are more than a mortgage payment would be.  Even with a minimal down payment, moving costs (and possible home improvement costs) are blowing my mind.  Still unsure of where we will be living in the next few months... and business has been slow this year too, so that just adds to the stress.

Then yesterday my husband and I woke up to see our baby Rita Dog all ready "to go".  She was 15 and a half and had been hurting and medicated for a while with 4 fused vertebra.  The last month or so she deteriorated to the point where we were carrying her everywhere, but she still seemed like she wanted to be with us... and then she stopped eating.  If you've ever owned a dog through old age, you know how they tell you when it's time...?  well, we heard her.

We called a vet who came to the house and so lovingly helped us say goodbye to our little beloved beast.  Rita let the vet do her thing without moving and my husband held her through the entire process.  Many tears later, we are happy we were able to share the love of a wonderful rescued dog and have a life together that will live on in our memories forever.

I'm very happy the sun is out today, I need it to clear the stress and sadness away.

Getting Busy!

There is an eminent move in my family's near future, but I'm ready.  Before packing I need to finish up all my current sewing projects.  I spent some time yesterday and I almost have this quilt finished:

It's the mini quilt I started in the Luke Haynes class a few weeks back ~ I added some quilting and a key!  I'm working on the binding today, so that's one thing off my list.

I finished this block for the NEON fabric block challenge ~ it's so totally eighty's.  I like it, but I've seen some blocks from other members that blow me away!

Started another quilt too... it's going to be a baby quilt for a friend who had her baby 3 months ago.  Finally getting to it!

And I've started quilting my Spring String Quilt and adding the binding.  I wanted to get ALL of this done plus PMQG BOM before the meeting tomorrow night... who knows... I still have some time ;)

Quilt Documentation Day

I was super lucky to be able to go to a Quilt Documentation Day that the PMQG hosted recently.  I've never been to anything like that... plus I was able to get my Dragon Quilt documented, and eventually it will be listed this Quilt Index.  The Oregon Quilt Project has forms and information if you are interested in the process.

The day was spent looking at old and new quilts alike, measuring them, describing the patterns, fabrics, battings, quilting details, and bindings.  You really get a feel for what is important in a quilt when you start looking at the quality of the work.  This quilt was a great drunkards path that was all hand quilted ~ and while it has definitely aged, it had a very modern feel

Here is the first "modern" quilt to be documented (it's a PMQG group quilt) - which is so cool!

This is Susan's Modern Crosses Quilt which is just so beautiful when you see it in person:

These two quilts were made by the same person... and I really fell in love with the more traditional quilt with the blooming nine patch pattern

AND... I finally got a great photo of my Wood Dragon Hexie Quilt!!

I heard that the PMQG plans to host more documentation days in the future, I hope I can make it to all of them.  It's a great place to learn a lot about the history of quilts and other quilting goodness.  Plus it was really fun just hanging out with others who love these things.

Proud Mama

YAY!  I just got the first photo of my daughter and her friend at Sakura-Con!  They have been diligently working on these costumes for 8 weeks on their days off and weekends.  It wasn't easy, they had to adjust an existing pattern for the dresses and they made their own patterns for the hats and bloomers.  They didn't let me help at all!!!  I added a pic of Luki and Noki to show who they were dressing as.  It's hard to make a real-life costume from a graphic novel, but I think they did a great job!

I know that she is an adult now... but I will always have these moments of pride when I see her learn something new.  Sewing is something that she used to avoid, so it's great to see her jump in and make something fun that she is proud of.

Now that I have my sewing room again... it's time to get back to quilting!!

Karma soothes the soul...

I am beside myself in awe of how things work out sometimes.  Let me tell you about my day yesterday to illustrate:

First of all, Luke Haynes came to our guild on Thursday night and showed some of his quilts, and I found out he was teaching a class on Saturday.  I wanted to go, then another friend of mine said she was going and so I REALLY wanted to go.  However, I have to be "good" right now with the money because of some big tax bills, so I decided not to take the class.

Friday night I received a phone call from another friend who also really wanted to go to that class.  She suffers from PTSD and other anxiety issues (which I can TOTALLY relate with) and didn't want to go to the class alone, so she offered me a ticket if I would go with her.  I took her up on it knowing I can return the favor somehow later in the year.

So I was able to take a class I was truly interested in with good friends, and got to hang out and sew with Luke all day in a gorgeous light-filled studio.  It was fabulous.  We learned a fun technique of piecing together an interesting top from old clothing to serve as a background for some imagery that will be appliqued on top before quilting.  Working with Luke and getting his perspective on quilting was so fun and super inspiring! Here's a picture of him at work... thanks to Brandy for the photo.

Luke Haynes Teaching at Modern Domestic

 

 Here is the piece I made... and the sun shining on it -can't explain enough how we love the sun here in Portland.  I love how it came out so far:

To finish my story...  I had a blast spending the day with my new friends!!  For lunch three of us went to a great little lunch spot called Helsers and I had smoked salmon hash... it was super tasty, but I couldn't finish it.  So I put it in a to go box and was carrying it back to Modern Domestic thinking to myself "I can't bring this smelly salmon into that gorgeous sewing studio" and just as I was thinking it, a homeless woman asked us for spare change.  I had just spent the rest of my cash, so I didn't... but asked her if she was hungry.  She said the only thing she was hungry for was salmon and potatoes!!!!    We could hardly believe it.

Then later that night when I was home and sleeping, a drunk homeless man came to our door and was ringing the doorbell at 4:30am.  My husband went down and instead of getting angry about being awakened, he gave the man a blanket when he asked for one.

I know it's not a huge deal to most, but since I can't do much financially at times ~ it makes me feel so good when we can help someone in need!!  Especially when others are so kind in sharing with me. 

What to do... what to do?

Last night the PMQG held their 3 year anniversary party with the guild meeting, and it was great in so many ways!

First off, Michael Miller sent our guild some neon fabrics for a quilt challenge.  I'm not immediately attracted to neon, however, I do love a challenge... and using neon in anything I do will be a BIG challenge.  I've been looking at this all day trying to find my inspiration chanting "what to do?"

Here are the fat eighths we were given (so super generous:  thanks MM and PMQG!!) The neon solids are oversaturated with dye so they are very stiff.  I'm curious how they will wash, they absolutely need pre-washing!!  I'm still just thinking on this one... all that comes to mind is a side ponytail scrunchy and matching layered skirt... I don't know *yet* how this will translate into: QUILT.

Another fun thing about the meeting last night was hearing about QuiltCon, and finding out 4 of our members won awards for their quilts in the show!!  Congratulations to Heather, Katie, Monica, and Pétra... for representing for the PMQG so beautifully! 

My favorite last night was show and tell... Luke Haynes came down from Seattle to share some of his quilts with us!  He uses found fabrics to create a traditional background, then photographs a subject, uses the clothes they actually wore in the photo and creates a portrait in those fabrics in applique on top of the background quilt.  They are truly amazing and he was super friendly too.

Seeing all my quilty friends at these meetings is something I look forward to all month ~ I love it when the meetings exceed my expectations!

New Stuff...

Since I finished my Dragon Quilt, I've been feeling a little lost... I really miss having my hand sewing project to grab anytime.  Plus I feel like my machine sewing is pretty average.

Started a new quilt ~ YAY!  Here it is so far on my design board:

It's a basic string quilt with a few twists.  I've never made one before ~ they are supposed to be made of scrap fabrics, but honestly, I hardly have any scrap fabrics.  So for this quilt I'm using a bunch of fat quarters I've collected.  I had to really work on my color choices as I really don't want to have to buy more fabric.  Sacrilege, I know... but we are on a super frugal budget for the next few months as we were hit hard by the IRS this year, so I can't be spending any more than I absolutely have to.  It makes quilting much more of a challenge... but I'm up for it!

I feel like my machine sewing is pretty average... so I am working on some important skills: 

• perfecting the 1/4" seam allowance on my machine
• fabric choices so that my quilts are more dynamic with true negative space
• squaring up my blocks accurately
• smoother free-motion quilting with a more even stitch-length on my domestic Singer

I still have a ways to go on all these goals, but it's good to have them.  I haven't been able to sew as much as I'd like to right now anyway... my daughter and her friend have been using my machine to sew their Cosplay Costumes for Sakura Con this year.  My daughter has never used a sewing machine before, so I'm a pretty proud mama that she can make these fully lined, fitted dresses all by herself:

   .... AND work with fake fur!!  When the costumes are complete, I'll take a model shot.  These girls are pretty darn cute in costume!