Hurrah!!!

Okay, it's ... not done! I know! But what were you expecting, a miracle? It's been TEN FREAKIN' MONTHS so get with the program. It's not done.

But this much is.....

Many, many thanks to Big Brain and Little Brain for providing their arms and legs and patience in the photographing of this quilt (kiss, kiss). And to Xena and her merry band of Warriorettes for their patience, too!

Now we begin the second phase -- the back and label, the layering up, the quilting, the trimming, the binding.... pant pant. Do you get it? We're not out of the woods yet! But I do see a glimmer of daylight, waaaaaaay over .... waaay over there!

Keep the faith!

Time flies when you're having fun.

(Sigh) I know, I know... these posts need to be put up more frequently so that people will be reassured that things are still moving along. Well, they are. I just haven't had a chance to take a picture. However, I've gotten far enough to start showing the quilt top around town to interested viewers. Comments so far are glowing, except for one flat "Oh, yes, that's a mistake." But I already knew that. So there.

Don't worry. Pictures to follow. Keep the faith!

It's not over til it's over

With the friendship panels completed, it's time to move on to the border. I have a variety of photos that were taken on an October road trip (thanks, Karen!). Taking a number of them and chaining them together for impact seemed like a good idea at the time. Here's the photo:


Great! Looks fabulous, right? Then I measured the quilt and found that it would be six feet long and about three feet tall.

Uh, no.

So the panel had to be pulled apart (remember? "the seam ripper is your friend...."). After a long afternoon, this was the result:


Will it remain as pictured? Hmmmmm.... only time will tell!

For the time being, though, enjoy.

Progress in the Temple of Spools

Here's the amazing truth about any large project: eventually you make progress. With all the thrashing and moaning, I'm thinking "this will never be done!" Then I stitch a few more stitches and do a little pressing and, VOILA!!

That's right. A little here, a little there. Lay the thing out and look at it. Cut fabric. Arrange the bits and see if it pleases the eye. Change the combo, look again, fire up the Bernina and sew a seam (and sometimes rip it out!).

Press.
Consider.
Rearrange. Reorganize. Rethink. Remember, "the seam ripper is your friend!"

My previous post was pretty standard for me in the throes of a large project: Woe is me! I've become distracted by other Pressing Matters of Life! And then it's : Okay, fine, you got distracted, NOW what are you going to DO about it? Huh? That emotional hurdle cleared, the week's effort brought us to this:

We're moving in the sashing portion of the project, and oh how sweet it is. Click on the snaps to get a full screen image. And yes, Molly, your portion has been edited:

(the seam ripper is my friend... and again, and again, and again)

AND, for the overscheduled "I don't know what to write!!!" participants (you know who you are):

Last but not least, because I promised, a photo by special request. The hour was advanced and the makeup was long gone, but what the hey. Princess Warrior wanted to see the new specs, so here they are:

Comments welcomed, especially effusive praise. Critics begone. You know I love you, but I've got work to do....

-- susi

(sigh) It's not the mileage, it's the octane...

Oh, dear...

And right when things seemed to be clicking along so nicely. What is it that sends a creative effort off the rails? Lack of time? Competing commitments? Or the creeping sensation that, when this is done, you might NEVER think of something good to do again?

Hmmm.... a serious pep talk would seem to be in order. Clever Jane (aka Super Talented Seamster) must wrest herself from the glowing video, climb the stairs to the Temple of Spools, consume cookies along the way, and shove a tape into the VCR. That, and the soothing hum of the beloved Bernina, will soon have her in tip-top, clickety-clack, sewing motion.

Okay. And with that tomfoolery written, I'm off....

-- susi

No Blog post is complete without a picture.
Little Feisty, above, is wearing the scarf I knitted
for Aunt Sharon last August.
Problem is, I don't think I ever sent it to her.
Rats!

Hey, Molly, check these out!

And now, fans, for close-ups of some of the demanding piecework that's been going on in The Lair. Note the insouciant, carefree fabric choices set against the precision piecing. What a tour de force! (We all know it's because she rubs the Bernina down each night with silk flannel and keeps it warmed with its own tiny electric blanket, but let's just keep that our little secret, shall we?)


Once we have all the people in these photos identified, we'll be able to figure out just where they're supposed to be on the quilt!

March Madness at last!

March 18, 2007: It's only been a few weeks since Intrepid Quilter's (aka Clever Jane) last post, but an update appears to be in order. This is to ensure that Interested Parties are kept up to date, and can do their paid/interesting/fulfilling work with less fretting. So, without further fanfare, here (drum roll, please) are the "bits" laid out on the guest/snoring room coverlet, as of March 17, 2007:

If you look carefully, you'll see a line of smaller images to the left and at the top. IQ is thinking that these will provide a frame for the insanity in the body of the quilt:

and again:


And, of course, we musn't ignore the need to feature various Gorgeous Girls:


And, as was said so clevely in the movie "Amadeus,"

"Well. There you have it."
Happy viewing, ladeez. Be sure to post your (effusive) comments.

The Madness Marches On

For those who are following the BethQuilt, here are a couple of new photos to help keep you informed:

These blocks, partially assembled, keep me on the right track.
If I remind myself of what I've done, I won't repeat myself too often,
or stray into unwelcome territory.

Erica's quote block below:

My trusty Bernina in action (I just don't happen to be sitting there at the moment):

Keep those good thoughts coming! And for those who wonder how I've manged to get this far, all I can tell you is, "I have no freakin' idea. All I do is look at the stuff in front of me and hope that when I put my hand out, I'm making the right choice."

That, and keeping the seam ripper close at hand helps. A lot.

Not March Madness (yet)

Well, whadda ya know? I'd sworn off quilting, said I'd never do it again, gave away my quilting fabrics (to XenaPrincessWarrior), and set my sights on higher accomplishments.

Yeah, right. And pigs fly. Here are some photos of my latest trip to quilting madness as it reigns in the spare bedroom:


Above, a full-on view of the mess. Below, the right side of insanity.


How I spent my summer vacation...(cough, cough). Okay, seriously -- I dedicated the week of mid-winter break from my high-school library job (may it be forever blessed) to jump-starting the project I call the BethQuilt. This opus, begun with great enthusiasm in August of 2006, took a major detour into never-gonna-be-made territory by October: the inkjet fabric I'd bought for the photo transfers gave, shall we say, less than optimal results.

November saw me at the quilt store, clutching packets of EQ's Printed Treasures. December and I were not friends, as I fretted and fumed over this commitment. January passed with still more kvetching and worry. Nothing, it seemed, would budge the feeble attempts I'd made in the fall. And the thought of reprinting all those photos was sooooo depressing... ayah! as BigBrain would say (we don't know what it means, but we take it as a friendly and sympathetic exclamation).

February, I knew, would be the do or die month. Either it would be started in earnest this week or it never will be. So, after several days of putzing around on the computer with photos and fabric, and chasing a fourth star in the KnittersReview forums, I've gotten this far:

Above is the left of (I like to call it organized) insanity.
Below is a closeup of one of the blocks.

What made this fun at this particular point in time (aside from resigning from a national quilting organization's Board of Directors - yipee!)? Tossing out the carefully prepared graph I mocked up during the summer, and allowing myself to have fun. Plus, Country Quilter is having a 25% off sale through Sunday, and I'm intrigued by the pinkness of the world I'm living in just now....

The hat for Little Brain

Here's the hat promised for Little Brain, made from the leftover yarn from Big Brain's momentous request for a hat. Now, understanding that Little Brain doesn't need a hat, it's safe to bet that this is throwing twenty dollars worth of yarn into a pit. Not to mention the hours of toil and hope as we do and re-do the decreases to achieve the perfect bowl effect for the crown (much better than BigBrain's slightly peaky tip). For it is known to the community at large, that Little Brain is distinctly unable to keep his mitts on his own property, unless it is of immeasurable value to him. As in, perhaps, the new issue of Make magazine.

Oh dear. And to think that all this lovely yarn and effort will be wasted on an unworthy freshman English major, who will find it -- abandoned, unloved -- at Bartleby Library one chilly March afternoon. Even if he does play the sax. And is destined for greatness, wearing the toils of my fingers on his irregularly shaped bean. He also probably sports a baldy haircut.

No matter. I'll sit in the dark. At least I have the photos.

The dude needs a hat...

How often am I asked to knit something for Dearheart? Like, NEVER. My knit-for-the-dude-in-my-life history is rather mixed: one Fair Isle vest which only took three years (he called it the Great American Sweater) and one gorgeous cabled vest that I managed to ruin when removing a stain.

So, you can imagine my surprise and delight when he (offhandedly) said one evening, "You know, when you get to a break in your busy knitting schedule, I could use a hat."

My fingertips fluttered to my collar in ladylike amazement. "Do tell."

"Well, the thicket's getting kind of thin up there," (motioning to his beautifully shaped head which has, in truth, gone rather bald) "and my ears get cold."

After he hastened to assure me that he didn't want anything fancy, just your average basic hat, I began to ponder to importance of such a request. Just a hat, you say? Bah! This man asks for NOTHING -- he is a self-winding clock, deeply intellectual, insanely busy, often preoccupied, and yet generous in helping to keep the home fires burning. And he doesn't ask for things. Just a hat? No -- this is a momentous request!

I had intended, the day before Valentine's day, to visit a Tarrytown (NY) yarn shop for supplies for a big project (visit my Other Blog at: www.enchantedKAL.blogspot.com), and thought I'd find something for the Big Brain's noggin at the same time. But delay and dismay, a random car accident (I'm fine), and an impending snowstorm forced that plan to the side. On that other hand, Katonah Yarn was open late on Tuesdays, on my way home, and the snow hadn't started yet. Twenty minutes later and a lot poorer, I ran out the door with two skeins of Blue Sky Alpaca Worsted in my hot little hands (do those sheep get royalties for their wool? inquiring minds want to know).

You see the result of my efforts above. This included several days of knit..rip..knit..rip..knit.. temper tantrum..knit.. And Dearheart's comment, "I know you'll get there, somewhere between picky and perfect." The extra yarn will be enough for a matching cap for the Little Brain, young Big-Man-On-Campus at Binghamton University. Who will lose it before the winter is over, when it will be found, examined and worn by an undeserving (but very cold) freshman. An English major. Maybe he plays the sax. And the hat will become his trademark.

And who will someday be bald, hat long gone, and wishing for something basic and warm, like the hat he found in college so many years ago. Which must have been knitted by a very nice woman with lots of love for someone very special.

ACK! Attack of the yarn!

A crazed trip to a going-out-of-business sales netted me 15,120 feet of yarn yes, we did the math)! Yikes -- I'd sworn off stash, had GIVEN AWAY my quilting stash, agonized over my dressmaking stash, continue to swoon over my silk ribbon stash, and now I have yarn stash! Pictures to follow...

How I returned to an early love...

No, not my first boyfriend! Eeeww! And besides, this is a FIBER blog. Got it?

After our first, sadly neurotic cat went to the big litter box in the sky, our family had to decide on our future in the pet-owning world. I, for one, was happy not to be in charge of feeding and cleaning up after a pet. But others professed themselves "lonely" (like I'm not good enough company? thanks!) So, on a chilly October Saturday, we all trooped down to PetSmart and cased a Sound Shore Animal League adoption fair.

Feisty and More Feisty have been in charge of the house for three years now, and no needle or thread known to man is safe. My glorious Bernina lay unused. No fabric project was safe from fiddly claws. I felt a distinct anger at the enforced fiber-withdrawal. And a need to reassert my creative urges -- but, Clever Jane here knew I needed a project that could be "bagged" and safe from prying eyes (and claws).

Soooo....out came the pointy sticks and some yarn that had been bought but never knit up. That netted me a trip through Elizabeth Zimmerman's Tomten jacket (which I'd only wanted to make for about 16 years). Then, the Windy City scarf for young PrincessWarrior and another for her cousin.

Then came the sock class.....

Oh dear, socks are addictive. And fun. And there's two of them. And they're portable. And you get to wear them, so the mistakes are hidden in your shoes. Wow! Many socks later, I have flourished those nifty turned heels and grafted toes all over town.

So -- the yarn gets admired and petted and worked with and put away where the little claws can't get to it. Victory! An early love reclaimed.