Scooby-Dooby-Do, Where Are You?

I'm still here, just incredibly busy.  Don't tell anyone, but I do a lot of my blogging at work when things are slow but, due to continual problems with our new computer system, I have been swamped.  Time at home has been filled with holiday preparations and working on several Christmas gifts.  There won't be any Christmas gatherings at my house this year so I'm taking advantage of the chance to change up my decorating a little.  For the first time, I have a full-size tree in my sewing/crafting room and I am using only hand-made ornaments.

In the process, I have discovered a new obsession:  origami.  I frequently have lunch at the Chinese buffet near my office, and one of the ladies who works there makes and displays incredibly intricate origami creations, and they inspired me to give it a shot.  Here are my VERY beginner-level creations.

Origami "bows" . . .

and snowflakes . . .

and stars . . .

and wreaths . . .

that convert to "ninja stars".

I've also made paper-pieced Santas, folded fabric Christmas trees . . .

and a Charlie Brown tree skirt.

Today we are at Mitch's for a belated Thanksgiving celebration.  I'm not a fan of Black Friday shopping, but we did make a couple stops late in the day, after the crowds had thinned, and purchased a couple gifts.  We'll return home tomorrow and, hopefully, l'll find time to finish making Christmas gifts and still meet you here for a chat.

How are your Christmas preparations going?

Planes, Trains and Automobiles . . .

The plan was for our daughter, Amanda, to travel from her new home in New Mexico to Manhattan, Kansas to surprise her brother to celebrate his 24th birthday. She would board Amtrak at noon on Wednesday and arrive in Topeka at 5:00 a.m. on Thursday.  One of her best friends would meet the train and they would get some quality time before I came to pick her up on Friday.  Saturday was the big birthday surprise and she would depart from Kansas City on Sunday to fly back to Albuquerque.  That seems like a pretty straight forward plan . . . Oh, how wrong we were!

We start on the train.  The Amtrak Southwest Chief left Albuquerque at noon.  At about midnight, Amanda texted that she had just passed through Syracuse, Kansas, where we used to live - right on schedule.   At 1:01 a.m. she called - in tears of frustration.  A Burlington-Northern train had derailed near Hutchinson, KS, blocking the track and keeping Amtrak from reaching it's next few stops - including Topeka.  The train would have to detour south, into Oklahoma, and back north to Kansas City.  An additional eight hours on the train and ending up in the wrong city were not making for a happy woman. Fast forward an hour or two and multiple calls to Amtrak Customer Service (who, btw, were angels!)  - and a new plan was formed. 

While I was chatting with Amtrak concerning our options, Amanda made her own plan.  A 17-year-old girl had also boarded the train at Albuquerque, on her way to Salina, KS to visit a friend she met at camp.  The friend and her mother were driving to pick her up.  Since the train could not get to their intended meeting place, they were driving on to Hutchinson.  As you can imagine, the poor girl was terrified of waiting alone.  She asked Amanda to stay with her while she waited for her ride and they would give Amanda a ride as far as Salina -- about 100 miles from Topeka.  Deal!  Amanda's wonderful BFF left Topeka at 3:30 a.m. and was waiting in Salina when she arrived - and the plan was back on track.

Until Sunday . . .
Her flight left Kansas City at 11:45 - so we subtracted driving time, plus the usual hour pre-flight check-in and determined we needed to leave at 9:00 a.m.  Wrong.  We needed to leave by 8:30 or possibly 8:00.  We realized the math error about halfway to the airport and Dave did his best impersonation of a NASCAR driver, but we arrived 25 minutes before departure and they refused to let her on the plane.  I understood their point that the luggage had already been loaded, so I offered to keep her bag (she'll be home again in 2 weeks) if they would just put her on the plane.  No dice.  Even though we could see the plane still sitting at the gate, a rule is a rule no matter how stupid, so we booked her on a flight out the next morning and took her home.  She and Dave left at 3:00 a.m. to make sure she made this flight - which she did with an hour to spare.  And once again the plan is  moving smoothly.  

Until Houston . . .

She landed in Houston with a short layover to change planes - - - but the new plane had no pilot.  They couldn't find him?  Or maybe he arrived for HIS connecting flight 5 minutes too late.  Whatever the reason, the waited 40 minutes for him to be located.  Then there was a "mechanical issue" with the plane.  Considering the timing, we had to wonder of "mechanical issue" is code for giving the pilot time to sober up.  Whatever the case, she took off an hour and a half late.  


Alls well that ends well, right?  We got to have a wonderful weekend with the kids, and have a story to tell and re-tell.   Mitched enjoyed his birthday - - Amanda arrived home in time for her job interview - - - and the saga of planes, trains and automobiles was over. 

Until Wednesday, when Amanda blew a tire on her car.  

The Quilt of Life

On Saturday, I wrote a post about giving up on quilting.  I won't bother to recap it here - if you are interested, you can find it here.  Basically, it's about doing what I enjoy rather than what I think I should be doing. 

Diane from DianeLoves2Quilt left a beautiful comment.  As often happens, Diane's comment was better than my post.  Here is what she wrote:

What's in a name? What is a quilter? Yes, it is someone who makes quilts, but how do you define quilt? It is much more than a large bed sized combination of fabric layers that is harder to push though the harp space of a domestic sewing machine than it is for a camel to go through the eye of a needle. There are small landscape wall hangings, there are place mats, there are vests, aprons, table runners ,etc. that still fit the classical definition of a small quilt.

And then there is the non-classic, but equally valid definition of quilting ... the piecing together of different aspects of life. I love your book reviews, your Zentangle posts, your points of view on life under construction. If this is not the patchwork of life, then what is?

We all have projects we do not like. Maybe they are a requested color palette for someone else that we ourselves do not care for. Maybe it is a technique that is just not our preference. I love the look of paper piecing and have tried it but it does not float my boat to do it. There are so many worthy books out there that I have given my self permission to not finish those that I have given a fair chance and still hold no appeal to me. You are not quitting because you are not a quitter. You are making a wise choice based on getting to know yourself better. So, by your tight definition, you say you are not a quilter. If you define quilter that way then maybe in your mind you are not. Well change that "l" to a "t" and you are not a quitter, either.

Well said, Diane!  You made me rethink my definition of a quilter.   Dictionary.com defines the verb "quilt" as "to stitch together, usually in an ornamental pattern."  That definition covers a much wider variety of projects than just a bed cover.  And though I doubt I ever make a large quilt after the two I have in progress, many of the projects I make are a form or derivative of quilting.  

There is a quote, which I have used before but can no longer remember the source, that says "Love what you love without apology."  That quote wraps up the joy of living in the second half.  I" am not limited by anyone else's opinion of what I read or listen to or create.  I will "piece together the aspects of my life" into a pattern that pleases me - and that's enough.

Throwing in the Towel . . . or the Quilt Block

One of the up sides to life in the "second half", is self-awareness.  I've had 50+ years to get to know myself - what I like, what I can do, what I want to do . . .  And sometimes that includes knowing when and what to give up. 

I began quilting in 2002 - starting by hand piecing and quilting a small wall-hanging from a kit.  There was a stretch in there, when I was working at the library and had kids in high school, that I didn't sew a stitch for five years.  I picked it back up about three years ago. I have made a dozen lap-size quilts, a couple doll quilts, and a bargello wall hanging that I adore.  I have my first full-size (queen size) quilt in progress and actually nearing completion of the top, if I would find time to work on it.

I've posted lately about making the "world's wildest quilt" from fabric my daughter selected.  The body of the quilt top is finally assembled - but not easily.  I have sewn and "un-sewn" the blocks so many times that some of the seams were coming loose along the edges, requiring some re-stitching.  Even with my most cautious seam ripping, some edges began to fray, keeping points from lining up precisely.  By the time I got it assembled this afternoon, my frustration level was high and I wasn't doing my best work.  I just wanted it done!  And that's when it hit me . . .   This is not my thing.  

Don't misunderstand, I love to sew.  And I enjoy cutting and piecing the occasional quilt block.  But I do not enjoy assembling intricate blocks and I do not enjoy the repetition of making dozens and dozens of the same block.   And I really, strenuously* do not enjoy juggling yards of fabric through my trusty Kenmore machine.  I much prefer smaller projects that I can finish and move on.

Why did it take me all those years to figure it out?  Because I wanted to BE a quilter.  I wanted to be part of the quilt-iverse; to speak the lingo and visit the wonderful shops and buy beautiful fabrics.   I wanted to be in the Quilter Club with these women and their beautiful creations.  

But today I realized how silly that is, so . . . I quit.  I am focusing on sewing small projects and having fun.  I will no long try to deceive myself - or anyone else - that I am a "quilter".  But here's the best part - - I'm ok with that. I can still appreciate the quilts others make, and maybe adapt their ideas into smaller versions.  I can still spend hours browsing through a quilt shop.  I can still buy beautiful fabrics and make beautiful creations.  And if I stick to creating things I enjoy, I can do it well.  

Footnotes:

* This is a reference to a line from the movie A Few Good Men - Demi Moore's character "strenuously objects" during one of the courtroom scenes.  It's a favorite phrase at our house.

This is the wild quilt top so far.  I'll post more about it when it's done - including a close-up of the fabrics.  The magenta fabric (in the top left block) has elephants on it, and the orange-ish looking fabric is actually magenta  with neon yellow squares.  The border and backing are two more wild fabrics.  And yes, the arrangement of blocks isn't exactly what I intended, but by the time I noticed it I would rather have set fire to it than take it apart one more time.  

Ho-Ho-Ho-Readathon

The Ho-Ho-Ho-Readathon has begun!  A week of fun with other Christmas-loving book lovers.  My goal for the week is to read at least three Christmas-themed books.  In my sign-up post I posted a picture of nine un-read Christmas books I found on my own bookcases.  From that stack, I have selected "O Little Town" by Don Reid (member of the Statler Brothers) and "Murder Under the Mistletoe" by Jennifer Jordan.  


I also have a Christmas-themed book club selection to read during November, so that is the third book on my goal list - "Christmas Crimes" by Anne Perry ("A Christmas Homecoming" and "A Christmas Garland")  On a side note - this book is actually two of Ms. Perry's earlier novels, repackaged and sold to suckers like me who don't read the fine print - one of my biggest book-peeves.  But oh well, the price for the Nook Book version was very good for two complete novels.  


The Ho-Ho-Ho-Readathon features seven challenges which are open throughout the week.  One of them, The Purr-fect Holiday Reading List Challenge, is hosted by Melissa @ Mocha, Mysteries and Meows.  Melissa asks us to share our all-time favorite Christmas books.  That's not as easy as it sounds because it's a long list, but these three are on my shelves and have been re-read at least once - sure signs of a favorite book.

Shepherd's Abiding is the Christmas volume from Jan Karon's Mitford series.  I adore the entire series, but of course the Christmas story is my favorite.  Skipping Christmas by John Grisham is a top-pick book that has become a top-pick movie; and Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol is, of course, a classic and a story that has been a fav with me since I listened to the audio version (then on a 33 1/3 LP) repeatedly as a child.  I try to fit in a re-read every December.

I can't wait to get started reading, but before I head to the couch with some hot chocolate and the first book, let me tell you how you can join in the fun.  Visit our hostesses,  Jennifer @ The Book Shelfery and Kimberly @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer.  Visit their blogs to sign up and read along.  

Not-so-NeedleworkTuesday

When I sat out to write a Needlework Tuesday post, it pointed out two things:  

•  I didn't stitch anything this week.
•  I'm slipping back into bad blogging habits - no posts for a week.

I hope to rectify both of those things in the coming week.

Just because I don't have any sewing to report doesn't mean I wasn't in  my sewing room.  I was there for hours - but most of it was spent "un-sewing".  

I started with trying to make a Halloween costume.  Friends of ours host a costume bash every year, and I'm always the party-pooper who refuses to dress up.  This year I decided to try, so I searched Pinterest and found one costume that I thought would be original, pretty and minimally embarrassing  - a peacock.  (Stop laughing.)  I purchased 40 yards of peacock blue tulle (because it was cheaper by the bolt than by the yard) and 100 peacock feathers (which were much smaller than I envisioned).  

Reader's Digest Version:  It didn't work as planned, I looked like an idiot, I "un-sewed" it and sold the entire bolt of tulle to another crafter.  (I kept the feathers - I'll find a use for them some day.)

Remember the World's Wildest Quilt I've been making for Amanda?  It was my first attempt at machine quilting each block individually and then assembling.  I finished four blocks and put them together just to see what I thought.  I thought I liked the design but hated the process.   I forced myself to trudge on and quilt two more blocks, then it sat in stacks on my cutting table - getting in the way of every other project I worked on - just to remind me that I need to get moving.  She'll be home December 10th.

After several weeks of staring at it, I made the decision to "un-sew" it.  As awful as undoing 6 blocks sounded, completing 18 more sounded even worse.  It really wasn't as difficult as I expected, and I got all six done in one evening.  Now I'm going to assemble the blocks in the traditional manner, add the borders and then figure out a new plan for finishing it before 12/10.

Yes, I have a stack of 14" backing fabric and batting squares, but they'll be just the thing I need for some project down the road.

In craft-related news.  A friend of Dave's bought a commercial building that has been sitting, unused, for years.  At one point, there was a second-hand store of some sort in a portion of the building.  We could see through the windows that there were shelves and shelves of books, so Dave got permission for us to see if anything was salvageable before they do a mass clean-up.  As we figured, dust, water and mice had destroyed most of the books, and many of what remained were Harlequin romances.  We did go home with a couple boxes of books, a basket, a couple hand tools, a Burger King toy from mid-90's -still sealed in the package (turns out to be worth about $4), and a promise from the new owner that we get dibs on the sewing machines we spotted, but couldn't get to without unstacking heaps of other junk.  Plus - a copy of Do-It-Yourself magazine from 1959.  The contents are mostly about jewelry making, nothing I could really use, so I framed it and it will hang in my sewing room - just as soon as I figure out how to hang things on concrete walls.

If you have been stitching (or un-stitching) anything this week, visit Heather at Books & Quilts  and link up.  

Needlework Tuesday: Run Run Runners

Last week I showed you the fabric and table runner pattern I got as part of my Shop Hop bounty.  This week, I have the finished project!  I love the colors and the curvy design.  It was easy to make, once I caught on to making my own bias tape, and it fits perfectly on my coffee table.  I did the quilting on my machine - following the curved line on the maroon side and contrasting with straight lines on the gray side. 

The first one was so much fun, I decided to make another using some of Asian panels and coordinates that I also picked up at the Shop Hop.  Since I only bought a fat quarter of each of the coordinates, the first hurdle was making a 36" strip from a fat quarter.  It took a bit to figure out, but I'm pretty proud of how well the pattern lines up at the seam.

The next question was the trim along the curve. Bias strips of the batik coordinate made the first trim, but I like the look of the two trims on the first runner (gray strip plus black rick-rack).  I auditioned a blue batik that matches the blue in the butterflies, and then a green that matches the flowers at the bottom. Neither one looked quite right.  

It needs a touch of gold.  If you look closely (doesn't show well in the pictures) there are shiny gold highlights on the butterflies and flowers.  I have some glittery gold fabric that was in a box of Christmas stuff that belonged to my mother-in-law.  I have no clue what it's made of.  It's looks gorgeous with the other fabrics, but it is awful to work with and melts instantly if touched with a hot iron.  So I'm holding off finishing it until I can get somewhere to look for gold trim.

Here's what it looks like so far.  If you have other ideas for a second row of trim, feel free to throw your ideas out there.

Needlework Tuesday is hosted by Heather at Quilts and Books. Visit her blog to link up your own sewing/crafting post, and to see what everyone else is stitching.