MLVI

In February 2020 I attended a quilt show in Venice, FL. I recall stopping by a vendor booth where the shop owner was working on "hexies". Hexies are made using a hexagonal piece of card stock paper and a scrap of cloth. I picked up a package of hexie papers and a recommended fabric glue pen before leaving the show, and before COVID shut the world down. 

Here are a few of my hexies. The sides of my hexies are 1" in length, to give you some perspective. The fabric is either basted around the paper, or the edges are glued on the back of the paper. I tried both methods, finding the glue to be a bit faster. Then, the edges are sewn together, by hand, connecting hexies in whatever pattern desired. 

When I began, I was just playing around. I had no plan. I used my scraps to make "scrappy flowers". I created a number of them. Slowly, my ideas gelled and I decided to make a small quilt with a field of flowers. 

I saw a picture of a quilt in a magazine that had interesting swirls,  using heavier thread. The designs stuck in my head. (If you zoom in you can see what I am talking about)

In 2022 the hexie flowers had multiplied. I put them up on my quilt wall to see how they might look as a "field" of flowers. This would do!

Also in 2022, when we were traveling again after Covid released its ugly, threatening hold over us, I visited a quilt shop.... in Rock Springs, WY! The shop had two darling prints with bees on them. Suddenly I thought I could incorporate the bees in my hexie quilt. The bees plus the swirly quilting design for their 'contrails' could make a fun quilt and a unique design.

Here are some hexies, front and back view, and a close-up view of the bees.

 I began interspersing bees among the flowers, and the quilt began to take shape.  

The 'field' is an ivory white in color. Some of the hexies look like they are gray. That's because they were made using card stock from mailers I received from companies advertising their service or products. I have a die that I can use to cut the papers and fabric to make the hexies. 

Now flash forward (a 6-year 'flash') and the quilt is finally constructed!

Earlier this week I removed the papers that had not already fallen out. Whenever I worked on the quilt, some papers would end up on the floor, along with threads! 

Will you look at that pile of papers?! Wow! There were a lot. 

Just how many? The quilt, which is roughly 50" x 55", 

used 1056 hexies!

That would be MLVI in Roman numerals!

So...now it's time to do some machine quilting to stabilize the quilt,  and then hand quilting the swirlies. 

But wait.... that's not all! 

In 2023 we stopped in Frankenmuth, MI. There was a huge bead shop that we wandered through. I saw some beads and thought to myself, "self, wouldn't those beads look pretty sewn into the center of the flowers on that quilt I will eventually finish?" Sew.... I picked some up and who knows?! maybe they will embellish the quilt - some day!

Resurrection

 Have you heard of Resurrection Ferns? We had them in SC and we have plenty here as well. They are epiphytic plants that grown on trees and rocks. In periods of drought the ferns whither and dry, looking as if they are on their last legs. 

These are some resurrection ferns growing on an oak on our front yard. 

Three days later, after two rainstorms, this is the same tree

with the ferns looking totally resurrected!

I have seen a few signs of some of our other garden plants coming back from the roots. I'm sure I'll see more as spring advances. 

Lantana

I can't remember what this plant was! 

Chinese Hat plant

A Rose by Any Other Name

In Romeo and Juliet, Juliet states, "A rose by any other name would smell as sweet". Thanks to the Mister, we have roses! He picked up a few here....and there....then took me to the nursery where we picked up a few more, and now they are in my front garden, waiting to be planted!

You can see a few roses that I plunked down in their pots, 

testing whether this is where they need to be planted, 

or not.

I now have a few more.

(And doesn't the front porch look more inviting without it being hidden by shrubs?)

We had a lovely, sunny, warm day. So many folks came out to the nursery. I heard a lot of conversations about replacing plants that suffered from our 2 weeks of arctic weather. I am still waiting to see if some of my plants will come back from the roots. 

Here are a few shots from Anson Nursery....everything looks beautiful!

This group of plants were adopted by us, and came home to our yard.

We tried to avoid tropical plants that might struggle if we get freezing temperatures next winter. But, now the big problem is getting everything planted...and then, making sure that everything gets watered.

There is much to be done. Both to deal with plants that might have survived the freeze, and in planting and caring for our new plants. We will be busy!

I managed to plant the roses and a few bedding plants. 

The pots on the right contain flowers that made it through the winter,

but would probably prefer a new home with more appropriate light conditions.

Does Size Matter?

The Mister loves "Big Boy Toys".  He had the opportunity to use this excavator to remove some shrubs. It's not a very big excavator. It's called a "plumber's" excavator because it can dig trenches and get into tight spaces.  But it does/did the job!

Then, Al came by to do some work around our yard, removing concrete and grading the area around the new garage building.  He had the "BIG" toy! 

But wait, does size really matter?

This is my grandson with his "excavator"...

(Several years ago)

...and this is what he accomplished! 

I'm thinking that size has nothing to do with what is accomplished! 

This is like the "Little Engine that Could,"

It's the size of the heart and the drive that matters. 

Whilst in the Mood to Clean

 I decided I better give Millie a good cleaning. The nook assembly area collects lint from the fabric and batting when I sew the quilts. It's recommended that you clean it out after every 2 or 3 quilts. Oops....

Well, she's clean now.

She got WD-40 bath, took a spin to spread the WD-40 around, and I collected the drips of WD-40 and bits of flotsam and jetsam that came out. 

I used a microfiber cloth to wipe all around the hook assembly area, and even took the thread plate off to clean WD-40 off of the underside of it. 

I replenished the oil, and ran the machine without thread to spread the oil around, and then wiped off the excess.

She should be a happy camper stitcher now!

It's My Fault

 On Thursday I ventured out of my playroom (aka sewing room) to get my hair cut, lest I be mistaken for a vagrant. We have an unbelievable hair cuttery near my house. It's a busy place - always!

This salon has at least 8 stylists, although they all might not be in house at one time. They offer cuts for men, women and children - for $10! If you want a shampoo, that's $2 extra. I feel like I have gone through some sort of time warp when I step up to the register to pay. I have had my hair cut by 5 of the stylists. I have never been disappointed by any of the cuts, but then again, I am not all that particular. So, if you are coming to visit me and need a haircut, be sure to call ahead and get an appointment - walk-in spots fill up quickly and by early afternoon, there's little chance of being fit into the schedule. 

From there I turned south. There's a carwash there. I hadn't washed my car in .... well, it hadn't had a bath since .... maybe since I had it serviced, a long time ago?! I pulled in to the car wash. What?! $15!!! (and how much more than my hair cut was that?!) But, I said, my car is half the size of that SUV ahead of me....The attendant smiles and replies, "yeah, but we still use the same amount of soap and water!" (Good answer!)

So my car is dragged through the car wash and gets the soap, the rinse and the drying. Then we are out and I pull into the vacuum area. At $15 I am going to make sure I take advantage of the "free" vacuum, multi-use cleaner and towels. 

I cleaned everything. Even the drink cups were wiped out. 

I vacuumed the nest of leaves that were under the hood.

Then I was off to WalMart to pick up a few items.

As I was shopping, I began to hear the drumming sound of rain on the roof. 

Crap!

It's all my fault!

I was the one who had her car washed!

But...we are so far into drought that I welcome the rain.

Maybe I should make a habit of getting my car washed 

so that we can have continued rain!

Milt

Yesterday was Quilt Guild day. I got to solicit, appeal, whine, wheedle and cajole members to participate in the annual CHALLENGE! I wanted to make a "Big Book" and read it to the ladies as if they were in Kindergarten (because that's how some of them behaved last month!) But I lacked the resources to craft such a thing - large paper (a trip to Hobby Lobby would have solved that) and the art skills (no amount of practice would've helped me out there!) 

Sew.....what's a gal to do? This self-proclaimed PowerPoint Queen of yesteryear stepped up to the plate and opened Apple's equivalent, Keynote, and turned my Big Book idea into a slide show. 

This was the beginning of my Keynote presentation:

Here's the text of the "book":

I am Milt, I am built!

I am Milt and I like to quilt.   

I like to quilt while wearing a kilt,

And I buy fabric and have no guilt.

 

I can make quilts here and there,

I can make them in my underwear!

I can sew blocks as singles, or pairs,

But how ‘bout you? 

Do you dare?

Step up to the plate, take this challenge to heart.

Show us your talent, show us your art. 

Draw a state’s name from out of the hat,

And make some sort of quilt about that.

Showcase that particular state,

And make a quilt that can’t equate.

A quilt like no-one else will sew,

A quilt that makes folks gawk and say, “Whoa”!

A quilt that such extraordinary emotions evoke,

A quilt that is worthy of any show!

Oh, come on now, and join the fun!

Your joy in this challenge has just begun.

Pull a slip from out of the hat,

And make a quilt using that. 

How can you miss this chance for some fun?

This is the State Challenge….and the fun has just begun!

I used images from the Internet to illustrate the presentation, and doctored a few of them to fit my needs!

I closed the presentation with the rules for the challenge, and included this slide:

That is a real quilt covering a minivan. A friend from my the quilt guild I belonged to before I moved made this 'quilt' to advertise that guild's quilt show. She asked members to bring in 'orphan blocks' and she put them together, with some help from other guild members, and made this cover. The quilt would adorn her car whenever guild members were selling tickets for the show. 

The women enjoyed the presentation, and a few more signed up to participate. I know not everyone will do it. Some folks don't care for challenges of any sort (definitely not me!) Others have a lot on their plates already. 

I have picked the state for my challenge quilt. I won't say what it is here, just in case any of the guild members stumble on my post. I have my plan for what I'm going to do. I worked on designs using EQ8 to play with options, and think I've settled on one that I like. I've collected some fabrics; I picked up some in Berkeley on my recent trip. I found another piece I might use in a town just north of where I live. I ordered something on eBay, too. And, a blog reader, Barbara, suggested some fabrics and is sending me one. How exciting is that?!

Can you tell that I love challenges?! Here's a little secret: If you want me to accomplish anything....just present it as a challenge. Just say, "I bet you can't....." and fill in the blank!!