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!!

 

New Neighbors

 We will have neighbors! We have had 5 male Eastern Bluebirds (more?) show up scoping out the housing for their prospective women. Apparently it's a common occurrence with bluebirds and a few other species. We are used to seeing male Robins in our yard very early. When we lived in SC, and here in FL they are just passing through. This year our robins came through in early February. They definitely got some bad advice as to when to head north with all of the cold and snowy weather the east coast has seen! 

Back to the bluebirds: We received a bluebird house as a Christmas gift this year. The Mister bought another and recently put them up in our yard. He was very thoughtful, putting them in locations that I can see from my sewing room. The past few days have been very entertaining with the 5 males. The congregate around one birdhouse, taking turns perching on top. One will flutter down from its vantage point and check out the interior, then another male will swoop over to sit on top of the house. There's not as much aggression as we thought there'd be. Maybe when the females return that will change. 

The fence in this picture is about 5 feet from the birdhouse. The birds line up on the fence, looking for their opportunity to oust the one that is sitting on top. I can't tell the birds apart, so I can't tell if it is always the same male that has claimed the house. 

The Mister was considering moving the house, until he saw the birds. He thought it might be too close to the fence as far as predators are concerned. The other house is in the open. I haven't seen any interest for that one from the birds. I'm thinking that maybe they like the fence being nearby!

Of course, now that I want to post about the birds, there are none to be seen! 

Inch by Inch

Inch by inch, row by row

Gonna make this pretty quilt grow

All it takes is a needle to sew

And the pattern that I found

My apologies to Dave Mallett who wrote "The Garden Song" in 1975, which begins in the manner! But, inch by inch and row by row is such an apt description of putting a quilt together!

I started working on this quilt just over a week ago. I wouldn't say it is my new obsession....but I have spent a good deal of time with it. Each time I finish a section I want to move on with the next section just to see how it will work. 

Here is a link to the post I put up on Feb. 21 that shows my first step in piecing the quilt. And, here is what the pieces look like now:

I think one of the greater challenges will come when I have to sew the 8 sections together. But, I still have a way to go before I get to that stage! 

Released

I had my last visit at the orthopedic surgeon's office on Friday. Unless I have some sort of problem, I need not visit again. 

After being taken into an exam room, the next thing that happens is that an x-ray tech arrives to take me to the x-ray room. I enjoy stopping in for an x-ray because one of the technicians always decorates the room for the season. The last time I visited the room was decked out for the Chinese New Year. As you can see, the x-ray department is ready for spring (as are many, many of my friends living in the snow zone!)

The ceiling even has butterflies all over! 

The PA checked out my latest x-ray. Everything is where it is supposed to be. He showed me the initial x-ray and explained that the white areas indicate arthritis. There was a ton of arthritic material surrounding the base of the thumb joint. There was a bone chip, extra bone growth in other areas and there was no cartilage. The surgeon removed the trapezium and cleaned up yucky stuff around the base of the thumb. I have full mobility of my thumb, amazingly! Instead of the trapezium there is now tendon that forms some sort of hammock, or support for the thumb. All is well. My left thumb is also a candidate for surgery. I do experience pain from it, but it isn't as bad as my right hand was, and it isn't my dominant hand, so I'll let it be for now. 

At least I know of an orthopedic surgeon that apparently did a great job, and I know they have a welcoming x-ray department. What more could a gal ask for?!!!

A Quilt for my Brother and his Wife

Since I posted quilts I have gifted to my sister, I decided I must post something about my brother so you don't think I'm playing favorites! Here is a reprint of a post I published on 9/3/2020. I made this quilt for my brother and for his lovely wife.  They were not expecting a quilt, and loved it. I'm not certain I would care to do this quilt again, but I did love the birds!  - Dreaming, 2/28/2026

My obsession was started by my BFF. She attended a workshop by Lynne Tyler, and raved about Lynne's "Liberated Birds".  I checked out Lynne's "Patchwork Menagerie" and I was hooked! I adored her simple bird design. I decided that I wanted to make a quilt with her birds.

This was just the beginning...

---of my flock!

I made a bird here... and there. I discovered that each bird had his/her own personality. They became good friends. They "talked" to me!

I positioned my birds on my flannel wall. I tried them this way... and that! I rearranged one side, and changed birds top and bottom. I swapped this guy for that guy. I worked at varying colors and patterns. I stared at my wall, and swapped one bird for another for days! I tried to balance so many variables: color, direction bird is facing, fabric patterns, size, leg color... it just about drove me crazy!

Then came the challenge of putting it all together. Measure twice, cut once... oops! Try again! It was tedious at best, and involved a lot of muttering to myself!

My quilt began with a "charm pack". A charm pack is an assortment of 42 fabrics from a designer's collection. I purchased the pack years ago, and when I saw the birds, decided it met my needs. However, needs were greater than I anticipated. First I had to order more white, Then I needed more dark blue prints. Then I needed more, more, more. As I neared the completion of my birdies I worked on a pieced backing for my quilt with the leftover fabrics. 

Finally the piecing was finished; top and bottom! Hooray - celebration #1!

Next, I very carefully loaded the backing (I needed to keep it straight) and the top on my long arm quilting machine. I quilted some of the birdie wings with swirls or feathers, or added details to their chests. The white fabric was quilted with a meandering leaf design. 

I pulled my quilt off of the long arm machine. Celebration #2: not only was it finished but the backing was perfectly square! Woohoo! The quilt was bound, and sent off to my brother and his wife. He previously shared pictures of their new "cabin" in Idaho. They had tiles with birds on their backsplash. I think this quilt belongs to them! But, to be honest... I am going to miss my little birdies!

Quilts for my Sis

I am the baby of the family. My brother and sister are only 18 months apart. I came along a little later. Judging from the looks on my siblings' faces, I'm not sure I was welcome!

In my previous post I mentioned that my sister suffered a brain injury and must live in an assisted living facility. We are about as far apart in the US as one can be, living in Florida and Seattle. I do get out to see her on occasion. My brother lives a bit closer to her, so he gets to visit a bit more often.

I have made her two quilts. The first was very early on in my quilting 'career' - being made in 2016. Someone hung the quilt up in her tiny apartment. 

For a while my sister lived near Santa Fe, NM. She loves the southwest, and when I saw the fabric, and when I happened upon the embroidery patterns, I was inspired to make this quilt. 

I used 'stack and whack' to create the colorful blocks. I didn't have enough fabric to do more than 4 pieces for each block, but it worked out. 

I used an appliqué machine embroidery pattern for four of the blocks. 

I fell in love with the mottled red fabric. It reminded me of some of the pottery I've seen on our travels. 

I designed some SW Indian-looking motifs and embroidered them using my domestic machine.

Even now I look at this and I'm in awe of what I managed to do.

In 2021 I completed this bright quilt and sent it to her. 

She keeps it on the back of her couch.

She has always loved bright colors!

The last time I visited she was wearing a jacket that my mother quilted. 

Just by chance, I was wearing one I had made....

the first quilted object that I ever made!

(It was made using a quilt-as-you-go technique on a deconstructed sweatshirt.)