I forgot

Class went well last night, but I forgot how tired school makes me! I took a good nap today. I think the fatigue comes in part from driving half hour there and half hour home, but probably also from how hard I have to work to pay attention! As it was, I was more fidgety than a flock of finches. I know I could "fix" the attention and fidgets by taking my Adderall, but frankly, I would rather sleep and have to work to pay attention than take meds that brings insomnia and a racing, skipping heart.

I made an apron tonight. I added it to my pile of things for the PIFF. 25 days!!! If I sold everything I have made thus far, I should bring home $200. I would be happy with that, but I want to make more and hopefully increase the likelihood of bringing home more money, at least enough to make a student loan payment. That would be nice, especially since they are technically "deferred" while I work on my MFA, but we have been paying when we can afford it anyway. So, to make my own payment from the little things I make for fun would be AWESOME!!!!

So, what to make next? Probably some more pie wrappers... I want to make extras if I have time because I think they would be cool Christmas gifts for some of my relatives!

Eek!

Another semester of graduate school starts tomorrow... I am really glad that I am only taking one class this semester since the rest of our lives are in limbo. Moving won't be as big of a deal, nor will any other catastrophes/celebrations/etc.

It is still strange to be starting my second semester tomorrow, though. I am really looking forward to this poetry class, but at the same time the self-doubt keeps trying to claw its way up. Must ignore negativity from within!!! This class is also kind of a barometer for future success in poetry, since it will be my first graduate level course. If I can make it through this, then I should be able to pursue my creative goal of melding my poetry and my sewing.

As far as sewing goes, today was less productive than most (at least so far). I made a pie wrap. It should be relatively simple to crank out 5 more for the Pay It Forward Festival. If I can do that, combined with the 27 reusable sleeves I already have made, I should definitely turn a profit and be able to donate an additional amount to the festival. I'm trying to figure out what one other item I can make (or make more of). Simple, quick, cheap, but some level of Wow-factor... hmm. TIme to ponder. Good thing I don't have much to do! And, hopefully what homework I get won't be too intense!

Beautiful Day

It was the perfect day for the art festival in the Wellfield Gardens!!!! The flowers all looked amazing, and the art was interesting, and the food was delicious.  If I could have changed one thing, I would have made the temperature a little cooler-- by the time we left, it was toasty!

I came home and got to work on finishing Tim's Xmas present top....

DONE!

I got it done! YAY! And, best of all, after shopping my stash, I found this green and had just enough to do the background! YAY!!!!

You can see the Contrary Wives better in this one.

Now to figure out backing, and perhaps negotiate long arm quilting from someone who actually has the setup to do this one justice. I would hate to ruin my work by trying to do this one on our teeny tiny table with no frame with which to maneuver the quilt.

But hooray for getting this much done!!! YAY! I have earned a night of rest, though we all know I won't stay completely away from fabric... I will probably end up planning the next project, or working on stuff for the PIFF craft show coming up.

Ta-da!

The silver has been sewn on now, too... now to find a background fabric!

Hooray! All three panels are done! I have attached those silver pieces, too-- the shorter panels have them running vertically along each side, while the middle one has them horizontally along the top and bottom.

Contrary Wife block... It seemed fitting!

And here is one of the blocks that will be along the edge above and below the shorter panels. There are 12 total, so three on each edge.

I have been enjoying this project so far. As much as I would love to finish it all by myself, I think I will actually have someone else do the quilting... I simply do not have the set-up to handle a project like this!

However, I did find a quilting frame for a standard machine on Craigslist! I am debating emailing them and asking if it will work with my Viking Emerald 203 machine (I'm guessing yes). Then I would at least be able to do FMQ a little easier.

For now, it's off to the art show in the Wellfield Botanical Gardens!!! Hooray for flowers and art on a beautiful day!

Maybe I'll take my new tote bag....

UGH!

Tim's back at work, so I have time to work on his Xmas present. HOWEVER, it is kind of difficult to finish a quilt top if you forget to get the background fabric when you go to the craft store!!! ARGH! Hmm... looks like I'll be heading back there (AGAIN). However, I am now up to 17 finished sleeves that I have earmarked for the Pay It Forward Festival in September.... yay!!! My goal is to donate 5% of my proceeds to the charity that the festival is honoring-- The organizers want to put a play area in the park in memory of a little girl who lost her battle with brain cancer last year. If I make a decent profit, I will probably double that. Cancer sucks, plain and simple. It was one thing to lose my dad to it after 10 years of fighting last October, but I cannot imagine losing a such a little girl.

On a happier note, I discovered a great book today-- The Civil War Diary Quilt. It has 121 blocks inspired by several women's diaries during the Civil War. I actually got emotional reading some of the diary entries (perhaps because Tim's deployment is still fresh enough I can remember the anxiety of not knowing how your loved one is doing... or maybe I've just gotten soft, which is ok). I am pondering projects using some of the blocks, like maybe a hanging organizer, or a table runner, or something... whatever I do, I have some green, cream, and burgundy fabrics that would play nicely together.

Brief moment of panic

I broke a needle in my machine! EEEK! I thought I was going to have to cut the bag I was working on free, but thankfully I was able to take the broken needle out and then assess the damage, which seems to be none other than one snapped needle. PHEW!
That was enough excitement for me, though... I stopped sewing early for the night, got all the day's dishes washed, and took a shower. Now I'm debating doing some scrap trimming, but I really don't have much energy, and it's all reruns on tv. Sigh.
I think I was over-productive earlier, having finished the third panel, and then all but the front half of the last seam of that darn bag. Maybe I'll just veg. Hmm...
I'm so glad my machine is ok!!!

Progression from idea to actuality

Busse knives.

This is the inspiration for my husband's Christmas present. Yesterday, I bought the fabric for it and then spent 2 hours meticulously cutting 2" strips from 15 half-yard pieces.

Three half-yards have been cut at this point... I really wish I had a table!!!

Tim is back at work, so I have the house to myself. I'm going to try to keep the actual progression of the quilt secret (he doesn't read this blog.. not that anything is secret in here except his present!!!) So, this morning I got up an went to work. I finished cutting the last three fabrics that I was too tired to do last night. Then the sewing began, followed by more cutting, pressing, and more sewing.

Ta-da!

The end result! Panel number one!! It's my artistic interpretation of the knife on the far right in the top photo. Considering this was my first attempt at a bargello quilt, I'm pretty pleased with it. Ok, I'm ECSTATIC. I love when a vision starts to come together.

Really, that is what my quilting is about-- getting the pictures in my head made into fabric. I want others to smile at the colors, the textures, the feel of a warm quilt that just happens to be beautiful. While this present for Tim is not my typical color scheme (I prefer COLOR over neutrals), it still makes me want to do a little dance just having gotten panel #1 done. I love it.

As I look at the knives in the picture, I think the knife on the far left is going to be the hardest to get right. If I can get the other two done by Tuesday, I can safely hide them from Tim's prying eyes... why do guys like ruining surprises so much? I also need to get it done because my brother is brining me another project Labor Day weekend. I promised him I would turn his T-Shirts into a quilt for his Christmas present. He's the original surprise-ruiner, so it makes it easy to do the t-shirt quilt for him.

Back to sewing! I think I've got about an hour of productivity left, so maybe I'll finish the binding of a project from last week... maybe!