Musings from Utah

Lots of things on my mind today...
As you can see by the tittle I'm over here in Utah again.
I've been spending my time getting caught up on some podcasts I subscribe to.
Though I have a long way to go...
maybe I subscribe to too many?
Nawwwwwww.
I just need to keep still and listen;
it's the one complaint I have with my IPOD,
it will play continously through the song list,
but not the podcasts.
I have to tell it to start them each individually.
So I can't really listen to them while I drive,
can't take the time to change from the finished one to the next.
Apple and ITUNEs listen up...
We need to be able to play the podcsts on a continuous loop.
OK,
enough of that.
I have also discovered through the podcasts,
that I missed a whole lot of stuff going on here in Utah.
Annie Smith was here as were several others from the quilting community...
Oh well.
There is a quilt show going on out here in Eagle Mountain
in conjunction with the pioneer days celebrations going on this week.
I've been meaning to look up on the internet other events
in the Salt Lake City area
as well as here in the Utah county just south of Salt Lake City.
I came down here to spend some time with hubby...
He gave me tickets to the 360 tour with The Fray and U2.
That was a lot of fun.
I must admit that I'm a little bit country and a little bit rock and roll.
Actually more on the rock and roll side.
Loved U2...
The Fray aren't too bad either.

I did finish the first applique block
in my current traveling quilt project.
Actually, I do still need to embroider the center of the eye on the bird.
(pictured below)

It's from the pattern "My Whimsical Quilt Garden" by Becky Goldsmith & Linda Jenkins.
From Piece O' Cake designs.
Not the first quilt pattern I've purchased,
but,
The first one I've actually started working on.
It's the whole road thing.
I did buy it here in Utah. (Broadbent's in Lehi)
While I was at home in Idaho,
I also finished a shirt
(pictured below)
One of the projects I had on my New Years resolution list of unfinished things to do.
I had promised I'd finish 6 things this year.
This now makes 2 items I can check off.
It is from a Butterick Pattern (B5538).
Which was a multi sized pattern,
and was supposed to be easy to adjust to fit.
I did the 3/4 length sleeve for more versatility,
I think it turned out pretty cute.
But...................................................
It has reminded me of why I don't like to do fashion sewing anymore.
Maybe I didn't follow the instructions closely enough,
but the shirt doesn't fit me right.
It will need some altering before I will be comfortable wearing it.
The sleeves are too tight around the upper arms.
and too loose and baggy around the bust under arm area.
I need to take the side seam in and let out the arm seam.
So I won't be able to wear it until those alterations are made.

Anyway,
While I was listening to the podcasts...
Annie Smith (Quilting Stash) in particular.
I was thinking about my own sewing experiences.
I'm referring to podcasts number 200 & 201.
In 200 she talked about her grandmother's and learning to sew,
and in 201 she was talking to Jenny Wilding Cardin (sp?)
about repurposing used things by sewing them into new things.
I don't know if my grandmother's sewed.
I'm sorry that I don't know more about them than I do.
I lived close to one, but not the other.
The one close by did beautiful crochet work,
don't know what the other one did.
I'm going to have to ask my mom about her.
I''ve often been a little bitter about the one who did the crochet work.
I did not ever get anything hand made from her,
there's a wall hanging in her church of "The Last Supper"
that she had crocheted.
My brother's ex-wife somehow got all of her crocheted items from the house
when she passed away.
They have all vanished from the face of the earth.
No one knows where they've gone.
This is what I'm a little upset about.
I would have cherished the items...
Now they're lost to the family.

I learned to sew from my mother,
I remember learning how to make doll clothes.
I also learned from her to keep all of the scraps of fabric from any project
to use someday in a quilt (or doll clothes, ha ha ha)
I did take sewing in school,
I did a lot of fashion sewing for myself as I grew up.
I made my own wedding dress.
Then the kids came along (6 of them)
and I did a lot of sewing for them.
I took a class when the first 2 were babies,
and the instructor showed us how to use old clothing and things
to remake into clothes for the small children.
(Annies podcast #201 -reminded me of that)
I had a lot of fun doing that.
A friend saw some of the things I had made,
and shipped me a big box full of old clothes they didn't use anymore.
Some of the things I sent on to the thrift store
I just couldn't see making clothes for little boys
out of dry clean only stuff.
But other than that I had well dressed boys.

I did make a few quilts when they were babies,
but they were the whole cloth kind that you lay out and tie with yarn.
There came a time several years ago,
can't tell you the exact date...
When sewing wasn't fun anymore.
It wasn't pushing any of my creative buttons.
I found quilting shows on TV,
and quilting magazines in the stores...
I took a quilting class.
And I discovered that I could fill that creative itch in me.
I've been quilting ever since.
One more thing I want to mention here...
From the time I was a small child.
I wanted to be an artist...
I took art classes all through school,
including a few in College...
I came to the conclusion that I would never be any good at art.
I am not good enough nor driven enough to be any good...
But I believe I've found a place in quilting
to pour out all my creativity
and claim the tittle of Artist.
Even if my family and friends are the only ones who ever see it.

Quilted Calendar Holder

Well,
the time just keeps moving on
doesn't it?
I don't know where it all goes.
Sometimes it surprizes me
that so much has passed.
I had not gotten much quilting done for a while,
but recently I was able to finish a couple of things.
I have finished the calendar holder...
whoopee!!
I use a tension rod
to hold it up between two door frames in my kitchen.
the calendar holder has added
a nice quilted touch to the kitchen.
I know that I've mentioned the
plan to have a different square for the 4 seasons.
the first is of course the spring season
with my humingbird square.
Also the inspiration for the entire project.
I have now finished the 2nd season
summer...
I did a lot of thinking about what summer means to me.
I could have done a simple picnic type thing...
you know
the watermellon, the kite flying, the running in the sprinklers.
Any of those would have looked summery.
But my most favorite memories of summers,
were the family camp outs in the mountains.
So I did a simple sketch of a tent in the woods.
You have to have a camp fire in the camp.
My grandson thought I needed to have water nearby
for fishing of course.
My granddaughter thought there should
be snow on the mountain tops.
And
we all thought
(grandson, granddaughter, and me)
that it needed to be night time under the stars.
I found this great tie dyed purple that
I thought looked like snowy mountain peaks in the dark.
the trees close by needed to be a little brighter in the firelight,
as did the front of the tent.
and there needed to be a reflection of the moon
on the calm lake in the background.
I used the same silver thread that I
used for the braces on the girl,
to make the french knot stars in the sky.
They sparkle just a little...
I used the sketch as an idea only,
and free cut the mountains
to fit the dyed purple fabric.
And did the same with the trees
and the flames in the fire.
which was another piece of tie died fabric I found in my scrap box.
The moon was done using a penny,
and a slip stitch drawing the fabric taut around it.
I pressed it well,
then clips the thread to remove the penny.
then I pressed it again.
The penny was a little thick for this proccess
-so it the moon is not exactly round,
that's my excuse
and I'm sticking to it.
I am quite pleased over all with how it turned out.
My granddaughter is already
planning out the next two squares
for autumn and winter.
I decided to sew three buttons across the top
of the calendar holder...
and 3 pieces of ribbon sewn into the binding
across the top of the square to hook over the three buttons.