Oak Leaves and Reel

Isn't this cool fabric?  Yup, it's fabric...printed to look like appliqué and half square triangles.  This is my current work in progress.  Formerly a resident in the UFO box, this project was purchased in December of 2007 with the thought that it would be a quick gift.  I do not measure time as some would measure time...lol.

"Oak Leaves & Reel" by Terry Clothier Thompson is a "convenience" quilt produced by Moda.  When finished it will measure 86x86.   

First off let me say that "convenience" might be the wrong word for this project.  Yes, countless hours of hand work were avoided.  The center and outer border are giant faux appliqué.   With another twenty years I might be able to produce a replica of it, ....maybe.  However, the notion that this quilt is somehow easier is probably wrong.  There is a whole other set of skills required here.  Have you every fussy cut something?  You need an engineering degree and nerves of steel.

Over the weekend, in a turkey induced euphoria, Gilbert and I decided it would be a fun project to do for the dogs.  Yup, you read it right.  We thought we would whip it together in an afternoon, free motion quilt it on the Gammell the next day, and have it on the couch by Monday.  (Have I told you that we are not engineers?)

The dogs like the couch in the library.  It is their room, a.k.a. formal dinning room turned book depository.  We got a new couch and moved the old one in there thinking that it would be a nice place to curl up and read.  

Gilbert doesn't like the dogs on the couch.  He boobie traps the room, placing obstacles between the dogs and the precious leather cushions.  He says their claws will ruin it.  I do wonder how a 80 pound dog is going to ruin the hide of a bull, but I respect my fella so I'm not going to argue about it.  I leave the obstacles in place even though it makes the cozy reading room uninhabitable.

Enter me with a bright idea.....not so very as it turns out.  If we covered the couch the dogs wouldn't hurt the leather.  Look, we could make this convenient quilt just for them.  I could practice free motion quilting it.  The dogs won't care how it looks.

The center of the quit is a giant nine patch of faux appliqué. The were ten blocks in the pannel.  While my engineer was busy fussy cutting I played with some free motion quilting. 

Oak leaf before...

Oak leaf after...

I thought that twitch had gone away.  

There is no way I can do this with the grace and efficiency that Waldorff does.  Even if I frog it and start over the quilting won't follow the lines exactly and I know the dogs don't care.  I think in this case we need some more quiltng to destract the eyes, create some faux appliqué puffiness, and secure the quilt from dog claw damage.

This is where I left my sample.   In it's next life it is going to be a big pillow.

Note to self: Base you expectations on an achievable goal.  Accept the limitations of the tool you are using and use it to your advantage.  Human tool = imperfection in repeted patterns, tallent for adhoc fly by the seat of your pants measured chaos.  Computerized tool = stunning symetry. 

Take a Hike!

This is what I spent the day doing. It doesn't look like much here, but it got better. I think the photo was effected by my morning fog.

It looked much better after I sewed the blocks together, and better still once I quilted it.

The fabrics reminded me of summer time and the plaid shirts that my Dad used to wear.

I know, we're getting read to celebrate Mother's Day. My Mom is one of my very best friends. I'm a zillion percent grateful for all that she has done for me over the years. We have a lot of fun together going on shop hops and retreats, generally just hanging out. So this isn't a comment about her. Today I just missed my Daddy. I couldn't help thinking about him.

Daddy was trained as a landscape architect. He spent his career designing camps for both the Boy Scouts of America, and The Girl Scouts. He visited all of the great vacation spots across the country. Consequently, he had an uncanny ability to know just the spot that mattered most to someone. He'd been there. When I introduced him to my friends from college, he described their home towns, or the lakes where they spent summers with their families. When I introduced him to Gilbert, he described the house his parents lived in. Dad had driven past it a hundred times on his way into the Sierra National Forests in California. Unfortunately, Dad was not home much, but he loved his job, and he loved to share it with us.

This mini is made from 16, 4.5" Drunkards Path blocks. There a about a million and two different ways they can be arranged. I auditioned many before I settled on this arrangement. In the end I was reminded of a path cut through the woods. A path needs to be marked, and pebbles are perfect to keep the mud down, so I quilted them in.

This isn't my usual approach, I'm more of a let the computer do it kind of gal. I tried to get my computer to stitch pebbles. In the end it was easier to do it myself. I had to laugh - Dad would have liked the free motion better. Let's just say computers and Daddy were not friends.

While I was quilting I left him a message. It isn't very obvious, but I know it's there.

I picked my backing material because it coordinated with the rest, and it had words on it. Who can resist the printed word! I didn't actually read it until I was ironing. LOL! I didn't realize that it had attitude.

This is my favorite bit.