Saturday, December 31, 2022

 Happy New Year! 2023 is here. The best part of this year is that it is not an election year so we don't have to wade through the sludge for a while, although the George Santos saga doesn't seem to be letting up. I found it funny that the news reported that he probably wouldn't be assigned to the Financial Services committee since so many of his lies involved financial services. That never stopped the House from placing dimwits on the Intelligence committee.

I tried to get my act together to replicate the painting that I described previously but I didn't like how it was working out so I put that project on a back burner for a while. It isn't really a UFO since I didn't make any object yet, just doodled a picture on paper. What I am working on is another adaptation of some very old designs. Years ago I got some block patterns at Gentler Times in Salt Lake City, a store that doesn't exist any more. Anyway, I was thinking about what to do when I put three different quilt patterns together, sort of, and started working from those.

The late Sue Garman designed many quilts and the company she started to sell her designs is still online, but the patterns I am working with pre-date that company for the most part. I am combining "angel quilt" blocks with "postcards from the past" and "folk art wedding" blocks. So far it looks pretty good. Once I get a little further there will be photos.

Monday, December 12, 2022

 Turns out that this quilt spans the seasons in more ways than one. I started it just before the autumn equinox and I finished today just before the winter solstice. That's fitting given the various design elements on the top. 


This is just as completed, neither rinsed nor washed but slightly damp from spraying with the water baking soda mix that is how to quickly get rid of the blue ink. This was both fun and frustrating but ultimately I like the finished product. I did like the design that Gerri Kimmel-Carr published but all those depressing dull colors would have bothered me.

The lesson is to make any project your own. A long time ago I read an article in a quilting magazine that advised people to look at their own closets to see what colors and patterns appeal to them. That wouldn't work well for me since so many of my clothes are either black or grey. So for me I have to look at my art or my curtains or even my socks which are all far more colorful than my normal mode of dressing.

 

Saturday, December 10, 2022

 I am sewing the binding on the folk art quilt. I usually do a double French binding with mitered corners which means going around twice. With that in mind, I have finished the front side and have attached about 12 inches to the backside. This project started because I was leafing through some older quilting books and saw all of those heraldic angels. Some of the angels are blowing trumpets and some are singing in a choir. The original name of this design was The BOM quilt as the designers were planning it as a bom project. BOM is not a good name for a quilt even if it's a good name for how the quilt was intended to be made.

Given that objection, my current name for the quilt is Choirs of Angels but that is probably because it is nearly Christmas. My version is not in Christmas colors nor was the original, but both have a variety of Christmas themed elements. What I hope anyone who reads this blog sees is that any quilt can be made your own by changing the colors. I know from personal experience that newer quilters, and some who are more experienced, still have trouble choosing fabric and colors. Learning that there is no right or wrong about how fabrics blend together is an important step for anyone.

With any luck at all the last week will have put an end to Trump even if it hasn't put an end to the destructive power of Trumpism. Hooray and farewell. All of y'all yahoos should consider a contemplative retreat to ponder the error of your ways. You are not right, you have never been right, and you have created generations of mistrust. Apologize.

Thursday, December 8, 2022

 Nearing the finish of the quilting on the folk art quilt. In straight inches I have about two feet of the outside two borders left but that includes some feathered wreath and some small scale cross hatching so it isn't as if it's just a two foot line of stitching. I will have pictures very soon.

My next project will be a strong departure from my norm. I was leafing through an old copy of Antiques and Fine Art magazine (which doesn't really exist anymore) and saw a painting that I thought would be interesting worked as a quilt. I sent the artist a request to use her work as a starting point for a small wall quilt and she was quite enthusiastic. It turns out that her grandmother was a quilter and she always admired the craft. It also turned out that she lives and works only a few miles from my house so she wants to stay in touch through the project. That shouldn't be a problem.

I know the distance to the town where she lives because my husband and I walked home from there two days ago. We had gone downtown to try to get our train passes renewed but were not able to do so. But we decided to go to the closest local Japanese grocery store which is in the town where the artist resides. Since the rush hour was already over, the next train wasn't due for about an hour and I just didn't feel like hanging out. The weather was damp but not that cold so we got wet over the distance of three miles.

 

Saturday, December 3, 2022

 It looks as though someone is losing control:

“Do you throw the Presidential Election Results of 2020 OUT and declare the RIGHTFUL WINNER, or do you have a NEW ELECTION? A Massive Fraud of this type and magnitude allows for the termination of all rules, regulations, and articles, even those found in the Constitution,” Trump wrote in a post on the social network Truth Social and accused “Big Tech” of working closely with Democrats. “Our great ‘Founders’ did not want, and would not condone, False & Fraudulent Elections!” So says Donald John Trump.

That is former President DJT calling for the destruction of the Constitution because he didn't like the results of the 2020 election.

Now, really, all you Trumpettes out there, if there are any of you left, do you really want to vote for someone who wants to be a dictator? That's what throwing out the Constitution means after all. We all know Trump doesn't drink so this explosive tirade isn't alcohol fueled.   

Unfortunately, simply getting rid of Trump, which after this latest tirade is more likely than not, doesn't remove the stains of autocracy and bigotry that Trump let loose. Everyone can argue about economic strategy, about foreign policy, about multitude federal mandates, but no one sane should countenance destruction of the rule of law or respect for the the rules and norms that pertained before the fat fart rode down the elevator.

Is he hearing footsteps?