Test – Quilty Pleasure

13 July 2021

She Came in Like a Wrecking Ball…..

2020 saw it’s fair share of challenges, something we thought we would and could handle, and for the most part Australia was no different. We began with a great deal of our country suffering crippling drought and monster wildfires which devastated homes and wildlife habitats, including the wildlife themselves. From there we had been exposed to the Pandemic – taking hold of the population by fear, and losing some of our most vulnerable members of our society. Tragedy followed, and so far 2021 hasn’t been much different. While some places are still in drought, we also had some massive floods and now a large rural disaster is unfolding in the shape of a mouse plague. Life here, whilst hard, breeds tough, resilient and tenacious people.

Aussies pick themselves up, dust off the dirt, put our big girl undies on, and deal with whatever life throws our way, so when others are finding it tough, we always get stuck in and help out, give as much of ourselves as we can, even if it’s our very last resources.

As Covid-19 ravages the world over, wiping the earth with an insidiousness, Aussies stopped. We lost a lot of jobs, but faith in ourselves and our abilities grew as we paused. We worked to help keep ourselves and others the world over safer.

While my job was considered “essential”, I remained working as well as making masks for my fellow workmates, and a beautiful nurse friend of mine in the USA, where they were only allowed ONE paper mask per week! To fight off a pandemic, only having access to LIMITED PPE to help keep THEM safe, was just absolutely plain LUDICROUS! Whilst my country paused, theirs continued to forge ahead, not worrying about the devastating loss it would encounter along the way. So, I got stuck in here, and belted out 55 masks in a weekend and posted those off to my friend for herself and her work mates – and then followed again with another 26. By this time, she was set, and so was her family and all her co-workers. Then Imade them for myself and my family and all those I held dear, and then for MY work colleagues and their families. A few of us at work were making them.

With all these masks, came a ton of tiny scraps. So.. what to do with those? Well, into a ziplock bag they went because most were approx 2” wide. Scrappy for sure, but what do you do with those?

On my stash busting mission, I decided to use an old register receipt roll I was given, and began sewing all those little scraps to it – making one V E R Y long strip. I cut 1 metre strips of paper and then sewed all the scraps together. After almost emptying the bag of scraps, I then cut another strip of white to add to the cross section edge of my paper strip, leaving the paper intact so as to keep the fabric from stretching out of place. Now comes the fun bit. 🙂

Paper piano keys sewn to white homespun strips, paper removed afterward.

Once the strip was joined, I began pulling out the papers. Laying this flat on my cutting board, I took my 60° ruler and began cutting wedge shaped pieces. I was going to create a hexagon of colour with either a white centre, or with a small coloured hexagon, and a lot of white surrounding it.

Measuring wedge shapes with a 60° ruler.

Wedge shapes cut from assembled strips of white and coloured piano key paper strips.

Having the pieces cut, I continued until I had enough for my quilt top. I then began to assemble the “wedge” pieces to make half a hexie shape. These later on, will be put together with some single white wedge shaped pieces of fabric.

One fun thing I had to keep in my mind a LOT when I began sewing was to be very careful NOT to stretch the fabric. Being cut on a bias made that naughty stretch entirely possible, even though I didn’t want it to happen. However, I managed it quite well – so far so good. 🙂

*Half Hexie with white outside, and small coloured inner hexagon.*

Sewing these together in a strip with a white triangle, made for the easiest assemblage of the pieces. And so, I repeated this and added my borders and voila.. a finished quilt top. I love this top so much, and have called it “Group Hugs in Isolation”. It was a reminder of all those people that I have helped to keep safe, some I knew, others I didn’t.

The charity of helping others is what we should strive for in our daily doings and beings. It’s a “pay it forward” opportunity, or a feel good moment. Like carrying someone’s groceries to their car when they’re struggling or checking on elderly neighbours. All the things you can help with during a pandemic that make life tolerable. That small amount of human touch to one another without actually coming into close contact. Sending messages and pictures of love and hope to another who is far away, or just smiling at someone walking towards you. Gifting without rewards, donating to charities that help others and getting the vaccination against Covid to protect yourself AND your communities.

So, 2020 AND 2021 came in like a wrecking ball, but we don’t have to allow it to destroy our sense of belonging or closeness. We just have to be mindful, thoughtful, and build our relationships on totally new levels.

~ Rails.

27 June 2021

HOT as HELL

For the last few days the west coast of the US has been suffering through a blistering heat wave. It is predicted to last at least 10 days. I dashed to the coast and boondocked for a few days and was quite blissfully delirious to wake up chilled and shivering!

Cool as Heaven

Alas, I had a few appointments so had to come back and deal.

I’m “between” projects right now. Have done a zillion hexies for a commissioned quilt, but it’s stalled out pending working out the actual design. And my Paper Lantern’s is too big to work on comfortably anywhere right now. If I’m able to escape to the coast again, i’m seriously considering bringing it along anyways. There’s only 1.5 corners to complete and then insert. Then I’ll have to decide how to finish it!! I’ve got a few all cotton sheets that might well work as the backing. The thought of putting ANY batting in it at the moment is enough to make me faint.

Raelene convinced me (took about 2 seconds, after I convinced her) to get a Ghastlie’s panel, and, currently, scouting out a way to make it into a quilt is about all I’m up to for now! It’s got the most adorable grouchy bat as a square and it reminds me of my oldest grandbaby when she was just a wee little beastie and would furrow her brow and look suspicious.

little grouchy bat is from the Alexander Henry Ghastlies line...

So if anyone has any suggestions for an adorably ghastlie quilt, lemme know!

Raelene, send me some of your cold weather, please!

12 December 202013 December 2020

Ebb and Flow

The past few weeks, have been completely crazy. With the lead up to Christmas being generally chaotic in retail, my personal life has been equally filled with pressing engagements – Christmas shopping, projects to finish, and a surprise family visit.

My brother, in between mining jobs, went traveling. He works, then travels, then comes home and works again. Only this time, he got caught overseas, and couldn’t find his way home due to locked borders, and no flights and an invisible foe! This foe, (aka Covid~19) has turned the whole world upon its head, and made life crazy for a lot of people. For us in Australia, it has been testing, but nowhere near as hard as some others have had it. (My sincere condolences for those of you who have lost loved ones, my strength to all of you, to keep carrying on in spite of the virus). But, returning to my brother, he was stuck landlocked, in a small country between Vietnam and Thailand. Laos was to become his new home for 7 months.

Prior to his journey, I gave him a few of my creations to photograph in different places around Australia, not knowing he was going to jump on a jet, and head OS! But off he went – flung through the air in a tin can! The first I knew he was overseas, is when he sent me a pic of the two Faeries I sent on adventures!

After 7 months abroad, he came home, Faeries in tow, and I met up with him again this week, gladdened by his being home, and being safe.

We toured the local National Park and had a walk along the beaches and rocks, and it gave me another idea, as often creative people get inspirations from the environment around them.

With a rostered day off, I decided to get making a Christmas card photograph, and began by crafting a tiny driftwood Christmas tree. Inspiration from the waves, I added a few tiny seashells I had, as decorations on my little tree. All set, I grabbed my big camera, my Faerie Mermaid, and the tiny tree. Donning my Akubra Hat (Aussie brand of fine pelt iconic hats) I made my way to the beach!

I hopped out of the car to note it was rather windy, and I stood assessing the beach, and all its occupants, and the place I wanted to photograph – out of the wind – was occupied by several families. Opting for the windier unoccupied end of the beach, I watched the waves come up the sand and where they finished, and where the best place to set up my scene for my photograph happened to be. Decisions made, I made my way onto the beach, as a gust of wind flipped my hat off my head, which tumbled its way along the sand, flipping this way and that, as I giggled madly chasing it.

A thought occurred to me, that it might just be too windy, but being the persistent type, I grabbed the hat, stuffed it under my arm, and began setting up my scenery. Poking wires down into the sand to anchor my lightweight props, my scene set, I laid out a towel to prevent the sand from entering my camera. Here is where the fun began, the setting of a perfect scene, the photographs that would eventually become my cards for friends and family. I was in my element..

I lay down on my stomach, set up the shot and set the macro lens to automatic. As it focused on the Mermaid, I was just about to complete the shot, when the camera refocused.. this time, on the approaching wave! Yes, I had a split second to raise the camera and my body up, just in time to get drenched by the incoming wave! Floundering about like a sea lion in the ocean, I saved that camera from the Ebb of the Ocean! Mother Nature was trying to tell me with the prior flipping of my hat, that today was probably NOT a good day for playing with her!

Looking about, I noticed my Mermaid had returned unceremoniously to the waves, and my tree had completely disappeared! I couldn’t find it anywhere! The towel I was lying on was a balled up mess of sand and fabric, and I was becoming more a part of the beach with every movement, collecting sand like jewels both all over my clothes and within them. I was beginning to feel like a bad sandpaper commercial, with the abrasive grit between my skin and my clothes!

Bedecked in silicon glitter, I pulled myself up, checked the camera over to make sure it survived, and began looking in the returning waves for my Mermaid. Plucking her sand covered body from the water, I gave her a quick rinse. BUGGER! Her hair saturated, her soft skin drenched and dark, I flicked her about to rid her of the sand and almost called defeat. Picking up the drowned rag I found a tiny darkened Xmas tree, missing a few ‘decorations’ that the ocean claimed back, I thought.. no.. I shall not give up!

Resetting my scene a little further towards the plant matter and not the wet stuff, I started all over again. I was already drenched and covered in sand, I again lay face down and repositioned the camera and cracked off a few photographs. Watching carefully, making sure I was indeed, out of reach of the Oceans cold, watery fingertips.

As I sit here and giggle about it now, as I did on the day, wondering if anyone had witnessed the spectacle of the beached sea lion floundering about in the persistent waves, it brings me to think about the year that was 2020. The hardships, the unseen foes, the enduring spirit we all have inside us, and the golden glittery opportunities we all have, if only we choose to see them. The humility we feel at something more powerful than ourselves.. LIFE! The ever present force that keeps us moving forward, in the face of great adversity. The positivity, creativity, and above all, LOVE! The love we share with ourselves, others, and for the memories, the places we go, and the world around us. No matter where you all are, if you read to the end of this paragraph or not, I wish for you all, to find peace, happiness, and love at the close of a difficult and tumultuous year. ‘ Merry’ Christmas to you all! ~ Rails.

15 November 202016 November 2020

THE STORIES THAT QUILTS TELL

(AKA: Why do i cut up old fabric with family stories attached for grandchildren who will never meet those families?)

Long ago and far away, in distant lands, there were once neighbours – friends of my mom who lived up the street from us. I remember, she and several other friends gathered in this neighbours basement, around an old-fashioned quilt frame, and had a quilting bee . I remember this every time I watch “How to Make an American Quilt“. Vague memories surface of laying underneath the quilt and being fascinated when light from the windows made the underneath look like a stained glass window. Whether I actually laid under the quilt or not, I think that’s when my interest in quilts started. It took many years, three different countries and a dissolving marriage before that interest turned to actually starting to learn about quilting.

I’ve asked my mom about that quilt since then. She said that after that day, she remembers the neighbour asking my mom’s opinion about her mother’s quilting stitches. They weren’t as tight, as small and as straight as they used to be in her hey-day, and she thought maybe she should take them out and do them better. My Mom remembers that she suggested no, that the neighbour would always remember her mother making those stitches, when her mother was no longer be around, that it might provide some comfort to know that her mom’s hands had made those stitches, perfect or not.

My mom has a few quilts of uncertain provenance. She has a lovely butterfly quilt, blanket stitched with black thread, that is unraveling in places. The fabrics look a bit 1930’s or 40’s. She thinks her grandmother had it, but doesn’t think anyone in the family actually quilted, so it might have been bought or a gift. Regardless, it’s now family heritage, and when I one day mend it, I will use threads and fabrics that have been in my family and used in quilts I’ve made.

When quilting these days, especially for family members, I deliberately include a lot of symbolism. Some in the block patterns I use, some in the fabrics I use, and some are in the actual quilting.

My youngest granddaughter lives in Australia, while I currently live in the US. I made her older sister at least 2 quilts both before and after she was born, though I left before the younger one was even a twinkle in her parents’ eyes. So when I found out she adored unicorns (‘corns she called them), I immediately went and found material with unicorns, and pink and purple sparkly colours to match. I chose a pattern called “Family Ties” by its designer, Quiltin’ Jenny.

Though this young granddaughter and I don’t know each other well, yet, she is my family and always will be! When the top was done and it was layered, I quilted stars, and a wild-form paisley that matches the unicorn tails. She and her sister are my stars and moon, my loves, and paisley’s are symbolic of new life, new seeds – an embryonic form of the great woman she will grow up to be.

There are also parallel quilted lines in the long areas of the pattern. She, her parents and myself are all parallel, and at times interlaced, generations.

The back of the quilt reminds me of bright bloomy fireworks – grandbabies are so worthy of celebration and fireworks!

Normally, I would put material from a previous quilt, into the next or next several quilts. I can’t use any of the material from her sister’s quilts, as I don’t have it anymore, but there are bees on one of those quilts, so I can include some bee material (or an embroidered bee) on the label to connect them.

I have yet to put a label on the Unicorn quilt, so I will find a matching material to include on this one. Luckily I have a LOT of purple to chose from that was used in my recently finished “Starry Starry Night” quilt (to be featured in another post). In my mind and my creativity, it shows the continuity in life; how one generation or project continues on in the next generation or project. It has become a “thing” with my quilts this year. Possibly because 2020 has shown me how you can have someone in your life, thinking they’ll always be there, and then one day, when you don’t expect it, they’re gone. But those lives have and will continue to have ripples in lives they may never know.

There are more quilts that I either finished or started this year, but that’s for another post!

2 November 20202 November 2020

It’s beginning to look a lot like CHRISTMAS!

You either love it or loathe it. Some people go all out in joyous celebration and others focus inwardly on the year that was, and on family and faith. For me, it usually is a time of increased stress, wanting to please everyone and having a difficult time not getting disappointed. I never felt at ease with Christmas as an adult, until I was a single parent, and while I am no longer single, I find myself once again with feelings of dread as the holiday season approaches. Will I miss someone? Will I not have enough time between working to finish the projects for the day, and then – there’s the dreaded spending of approximately 6 hours traveling to various family gatherings. Leaving home as most people are sitting down to open gifts and eating breakfast, and not returning again until well after the sun has set. By then, most people are settling in for the evening and relaxing, but for me it’s a full 1.5 hour journey back home, unpacking the car, and meandering inside to greet the dog, and feed her and make sure she’s all sorted before falling into bed and then using Boxing Day (ed: for non-europeans/British, Boxing day is the day after Christmas) to recover. THEN it’s back to work the following day! It’s definitely stressful, and I’m sure I wouldn’t be alone in the shared stress of the day. However, the pre-holiday crafting is the fun part for me.

My son recently visited his grandparents and came home with a boot full of loot! Treasure that us crafty people appreciate the most! Things that my Mum, in the winter years of her life, no longer wanted, and passed them along to me. Part of this heart warming treasure, were some Nancy Halvorsen’s Art to Heart books.

As I perused the pages, flipped through instructions, and devoured the beautiful photographs, my little mind went for a stroll by itself and came up with what else I could do with one of her designs. I wanted to showcase my hand dyed fabrics! A little spark ignited to a bush fire of epic proportions within my mind. I was GOING to make a small Christmas wall hanging! Never have I done something like it before, so – here we go!

Choosing the Snowman from Nancy Halvorsen’s ‘The Night Before Christmas’ book, I set about constructing him onto Teflon type cooking paper, so I could line him up perfectly, before adding him to the backing fabric. Once this was done, I put him in place and ironed him down, and stitched him on by hand. Small stitches in blending colours using embroidery cottons was the way to go. There really is something soothing about stabbing fabric over and over, and making something of beauty at the end.

After completion of the snowman, I freehand drew a whimsical tree, made it into a pattern and then set about dyeing the fabric needed. I wanted the rolling, soft shapes that I can achieve with ice, and so I went to work, using various shades of greens, and made sure I left a few places without colour, to create the negative spaces, which became my ‘snow’ on my tree.

Once again, I used my Teflon baking paper, assembled the pattern pieces cut from my fabric and made the tree, offering the compositional piece movement, as we know that snowmen don’t move… not while you look at them anyway. ;). Having hand stitched this down, it came time to sandwich it together. I used the outline of my tree and the snowman to cut the shapes out of batting, and used spray adhesive to attach them to the reverse side, allowing it to line up inside the stitching on the back, then cut a larger piece of batting and spray basted the whole front to this and applied to the back fabric. My piece was ready to quilt!

I basted the outside edges together to prevent the sides from separating, and then simply stitched using machine, around both the tree, and the snowman. Having the extra batting behind both images made them ‘pop’ up from the fabric, giving them a little bit of life and movement. I criss-crossed along the bottom of the quilt with wavy lines and created the ‘ground’, and then came the idea to create swirling snow. I have never, in my 50+ years of life, seen snow fall!!! So I began by using a blue water soluble marker, drew lines of slow long scrolls. Julie was very encouraging that I COULD hand quilt, as it’s something I’ve never done before, and well, quite frankly was terrified of! But.. grabbing the cotton reel by the short and curlies, I got to threading that tiny needle, watched a YouTube tutorial, and began! Quite frankly.. after I had finished them all, I was HOOKED! (I even added another swirl just because!) And then I was finished! Binding completed, I then stood back and looked at what needed to be done.

Life is not complete without some form of Bling! And there is no better bling than Swarovski! I love it, and so for every curling swirl, I added a bead for the snowflake. Glass beads for the berries of the holly, and a wooden snowflake with Swarovski for the top of the tree, but it definitely still didn’t look ‘grounded’. I had a bit of loosely woven craft silk, so I pulled and shredded this, and lay a small piece of tulle across it, and laid it on the ground beneath the snowman and the tree.

So now he’s done and I will have to find another project to work on. Luckily I never run out of ideas. However, it would help if I could just shut the gate on my wondering mind for a moment, while I pinned one down! What holiday projects are you working on? Are you running out of time? It’s beginning to look a lot like…. Christmas!

25 May 202015 September 2020

Chocolate… Gimme!

The Top 20 Reasons Chocolate is Better than Sex

1. First of all, you can actually get chocolate.
2. With chocolate, “if you really love me, you’ll swallow”
finaly, finally makes some sense.
3. Chocolate can keep on satisfying you — even after
it’s gone all soft.
4. You can legally enjoy chocolate while driving.
5. Chocolate can be as dark and hard — and last as long —
as you want it to.
6. You and a friend can have chocolate on your kitchen
table right in front of your own Mother.
7. You like to nibble the nuts? Chocolate ain’t complaining.
8. Two or more consenting adults of any gender and ethnicity
can have chocolate together right there in Church without
raising a single eyebrow.
9. Chocolate isn’t scared off by the idea of commitment. It just
wants you to be happy.
10. You can have chocolate at work, right there on your desk in
front of all your co-workers, without causing even a
whiff of scandal.
11. You can walk right up to any stranger on the street and ask
for chocolate without getting arrested for solicitation.
12. Chocolate doesn’t leave annoying hairs between your teeth.
13. There’s absolutely no need to fake it, not with chocolate.
14. Chocolate won’t get you pregnant and then leave you for
another dessert.
15. You can have chocolate no matter time of the month it is —
and at any hour, too.
16. Everywhere you go, it’s really easy to find incredible chocolate.
17. You can have as much chocolate as you can handle and as
many different kinds.
18. You’re never too young —or too old— to have some chocolate.
19. If you wake up in the middle of the night and have a whole
bunch of steamy hot chocolate, you won’t wake the neighbors.
20. Size… it really doesn’t matter with chocolate.