Slow Stitch Book Takes Shape

After some pondering, I am not going to make a new cover for my slow stitch fabric book.  

Instead I added a Dori Patrick sticker on the front to cover up the not-so-pretty butterfly appliqué.

I've also spent some time planning out a bit more about the book's overall layout.

This is page one (so far) with a snippet of lace brought back from my collegiate summer in Finland.

Pages two and three are finished (previously shared).

Page four (left) is finished - the button is old and from one of my foremother's button boxes.

Page five (right) will feature this flower snipped from trim used on the empire waist of a junior bridesmaid dress that I wore when I was thirteen - along with the fragment of crochet trim at the top of the page.

Pages six and seven will feature these snippets of quilting fabric.

Page eight (left) is finished, I think.  The mother of pearl button is another oldie.

Page nine (right) echoes the text prints from pages six and seven.

Pages ten and eleven will be anchored by this band of lace that has been in my stash for ages.

Page twelve will feature this darker MOP button, again from a foremother's stash.

This is the outside back cover - no plans to change it.

Clearly there is a LOT of slow stitching yet to be done, but having these anchors on each page leaves me free to stitch with abandon.

I also discovered quite by chance that coffee filters are terrific for containing thread scraps on the go and are easy to crumple up and throw away after each stitching session.

This is the lidded shoe box I'm using to transport the project (PT is going well for younger son - time will tell how many more waiting room sessions I'll have before I do the rest of the stitching here at home).

Not visible is a 4" x 6" photo storage box under the book for my snips, needles, needle threader, thimble, etc.

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Looking ahead, Grandparents' Day at Little Man's school is Tuesday morning - he'll be coming home with us for an overnight since there is no school on Wednesday (the administrators clearly realize that lots of families travel for the long Thanksgiving weekend).

If I don't post again before Thursday, here's wishing each of you a Thanksgiving full of all things good.

Quiltdivajulie

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"We must find the time to stop and thank the people who make a difference in our lives."

John Fitzgerald Kennedy

So much . . .

I didn't take this photo ~ it's a photo from my desk calendar . . . but the image speaks volumes about how things are just now.

"Rain is grace; rain is the sky condescending to the earth; without rain, there would be no life." (John Updike)

We've had so many gray, overcast, misty-moisty days . . .

"For after all, the best thing one can do when it's raining is to let it rain." (Henry Wadsworth Longfellow)

Last night, for the first time in too many weeks, DH spent time in his workshop . . . this elegant little bowl needs a few more rubbings with oil finish, but it serves as a tangible marker on the journey back from where we've been.

I did some hand piecing last evening while I listened to the first session of my online class . . . there's a vague idea in my head of how this might evolve, but I desperately want and need to allow the stitching to lead me where IT wants to go. Gari used the word muse in her post today . . . and Fiona at Planting Words touched on much of what I'm feeling about my class . . .

There are several new-to-me books waiting beside my chair ~ With Sacred Threads, The Creative Call, Zen Therapy, Finding Your Way Home, The Artist's Way at Work (Riding the Dragon), No Enemies Within, I Will Not Die an Unlived Life, and Spirited Threads ~ among others.

So much to absorb and consider and ponder . . .

Quiltdivajulie
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"It is quite true what Philosophy says: that Life must be understood backwards. But that makes one forget the other saying: that it must be lived forwards. The more one ponders this, the more it comes to mean that life in the temporal existence never becomes quite intelligible, precisely because at no moment can I find complete quiet to take the backward-looking position.” (Soren Kierkegaard)

Progress Comes in Many Forms

Lauren's Asian Odyssey quilt is now "officially"on hold until she returns at the end of September ~ we talked about it and she's going to see what other bits and pieces she can find on this year's trip. A week or so ago I found this book at our local B&N store ~ I won't be making all of these blocks, but I do plan to use several of them when piecing begins in earnest later this fall. Like so many of my quilts, what I first saw in my head was beyond my reach so I settled for ordinary which wasn't working (hence the long delay) and now, voila, I have a plan that feels right. Time will tell ~ I hope my quilty guardian angel stays close by for this one!

And another of my slow cloth projects is finally out of the project box! I need 56 of these scrappy paper-pieced arcs for Pass the Pickles Please. There will (eventually) be 7 rows of 8 blocks . . . as you can see, I have enough arcs pieced for just over 3 rows. There's a lot more cutting out and piecing ahead. (In a good evening, I can do three of these arcs. Most evenings I manage one, or none . . . )

Quiltdivajulie

Ice Cream Roses

At long last, Ice Cream Roses is finished! 

This slow cloth project began nearly a year ago when I bought the fabrics.  Instead of machine stitching the flowers in the French Roses pattern, I hand stitched them in place.  Once I had the top assembled, Chris worked her longarm magic with some beautiful custom quilting.

This one will be a third wedding anniversary gift for our son and daughter-in-law in June. 

Quiltdivajulie
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"When words escape, flowers speak." (Bruce W. Currie)

Breakthrough ~

Those of you who have been with me a while know all about my slow cloth French Roses project ~ and how it both delights and annoys me.

Out of nowhere this morning, it hit me like the proverbial "ton of bricks" (maybe it had something to do with Mrs. G's Let's Talk Tuesday question about buyer's remorse??) ~ I don't HAVE to keep doing what I've been doing ~ I can change the plan . . .

So ~ there will now be two ice cream quilts instead of one.

The first will feature the 12 already-completed rose blocks, set in a 3 x 4 arrangement with a narrow inner and 6" outer borders. This romantic lap quilt (Ice Cream and Roses) will be a surprise third anniversary gift for DS and his wife in June (shhh, don't tell them).

And, since the roses used only 1/2 of each fat quarter in the 25-piece Posh bundle, and I'll have loads of leftover border/backing fabrics ~ I will make myself a subtle, scrappy on-point Yellow Brick Road quilt (Ice Cream Social).

. . . I feel the most wonderful mixture of liberated exhilaration and heady relief . . .

Quiltdivajulie
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"Happiness is like a butterfly which, when pursued, is always beyond our grasp, but, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you." (Nathaniel Hawthorne)

Roses Amongst Willow Oak Leaves

Early this morning, I took these blocks outside and tried to get a photo (still dark enough that the flash was necessary, not quite the effect I was hoping for).

I needed to see them randomly spread out ~ instead of always in a pile (as below).

Only a few more of these slow cloth blocks to soft-edge applique before I can begin the layout process for real. I have sketched several variations, but if my own history is any indicator, the quilt top will end up looking completely different from my drawings.

While I've been working a-little-along on these (often at the front desk at work when I take my turn answering the phones), those who walk by stop and sigh, "those are such pretty colors" ~ which is a good thing, because I keep doubting my plan with this project. One day I'm certain it will be wonderful and a week later I'm ready to pack it up and put it away as a lost cause.

I genuinely love the fuzzy, frayed edges of the roses; the textural contrast of the hand stitching; the warm, gently-vanilla tones in the background's paisley; the melted ice cream colors . . . and the large scale companion fabrics for the outer borders and backing are simply gorgeous ~ but this was the last of the coordinated groupings of fabrics that I purchased and, under it all, I have come to understand that I need to create my own combinations. That newly-understood disconnect is, I suspect, the real source of my underlying discomfort.

Ice Cream Social has become a very tangible marker for the not-so-gentle transition that has been playing itself out for months now; a visible mixture of my old ways and my newer thinking ~

And so, the journey will continue . . .

Quiltdivajulie

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“If we're growing,

we're always going to be out of our comfort zone.”

(John Maxwell)

Progress Update

Remember my Ice Cream Social roses? At this point, there are 7 fully completed blocks (like the one above) and 4 more that are stitched and ready to fray. That leaves 14 yet to be worked on. This is truly a slow cloth project . . .

This week is a time for contemplation and taking inventory ~ for reassessing the many projects on my list ~ for cleaning up my studio and updating my quilt journal ~ for so many tasks that come with the ending of one year and the beginning of a new one . . . all of which are good things (clearing away mental clutter in order to make a fresh start).

It was a muggy 78 this afternoon and very, very windy ~ now it is raining and storming as a cold front moves through. One more day to get things done here at home before the coming 3-day work week begins.

Quiltdivajulie

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"What we plant in the soil of contemplation, we shall reap in the harvest of action." (Meister Eckhart)

Antidote for a Gray, Rainy Day ~

First, there is a beautifully lined "gift bag" with embellished cording and a patch from one of the schools where Lauren spent time in Hong Kong...

Then there is this incredible "shoe bag" ~ exquisite...

Lavender silk from a factory in Beijing... with a back nearly as gorgeous as the front... soft, supple, sublime...

A grouping with another patch, an embellished cell phone pouch, an embroidered "bottle bag" with a wonderful fastener, a ramie patchwork coaster, and a printed placemat with fringed ends...

Closeup of the blue silk from Beijing and it's beautiful reverse side...

And, finally, this marvelous embroidery on creamy silk.

And so, you wonder, what will I do with this marvelous pieces?

First, I plan to carefully unstitch the seams so that I can use as much as possible from each piece.

Then, I will ponder and contemplate to create a unique wallhanging ~ a "journey quilt" ~ as a keepsake for Lauren...

My inspiration for this project comes from the blog Musings of a Textile Itinerant and her traveler's blanket (a "finished" photo is featured in this post and some of her "story" is shared here). Lauren was as captivated with the idea as I was... and so we shall see what comes of this effort. I'm certain my piece will look nothing like Dijanne's ~ I don't want to "copy" ... There will also be considerable inspiration from the incredible work done by Jude and her Spirit Cloth blog...

This will not be a quick project... instead these pieces and I are now part of what shall be a determined, slow cloth effort...

Quiltdivajulie
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"For some time I’ve been beating the drum for more thoughtful and challenging projects in the quilt world. While “quick, fast, easy” has it’s place, I fear that we are dumbing down our quilting universe by encouraging mindless sewing to the exclusion of anything else. Yes, I love the small projects, they are the appetizers of cloth. But nothing will replace the pleasure of working on a project that challenges me, engages me and, when completed, is a source of deep pride." (quoted from the January 2, 2008 post by Beth Ferrier on her blog Pieces of a Quilter's Life) [for those interested in slow cloth, a Google search will lead you to a number of well-written and interesting discussions on the topic]