The Plan, Should There Happen To Be One,

is to make a new lap quilt. The old one is dated 1984, and it’s getting a little grubby.

This is the fabric I’m using:



Most of it is a collection of quarter yards purchased in a bundle at Schoolhouse Fabrics in Floyd, Virginia, in 2002. Yep. This is fabric in its prime.

Since I can’t decide on one block, er, am flexible in my choices, er, prefer to be spontaneous, er, like variety, er, am a Crackpot, er, don’t have a plan, it will be a sampler quilt.

I haven’t done any serious piecing in a while so I decided to go back to the old standby–Marsha McCloskey’s Block Party. This means that however many blocks get done will be nine-inch blocks. To make it easy to get started, I decided to group my fabric into sets of three, with varying colors and values. Then I looked for blocks that used just three colors. I eliminated all the blocks that called for measurements of 1/16 inch (indicated in the book as +) because my rulers don’t have that marking.

My first block was Ohio Star, and here it is:



The second block was Perpetual Motion, and here it is:



My third block is Weather Vane, and here it is:



So now you can see the three light pieces of “background” fabric I have. They’re not extremely light, and the value differences within this set of fabrics is somewhat limited. Because of that and because each fabric has either more than one color or a variety of values, the divisions between the pieces in each block don’t stand out. I like it that way. It’s mellow.

Now, what shall I make for the next one? Get out your Block Party book (I know you have one) and make some suggestions.

Thoughts on the Universal Sewing Machine Needle

A long time ago in a land far away, someone developed the universal needle. It was not really sharp like those old fashioned sharp needles. It was not really rounded like those formerly new-fangled ball point needles. The universal needle would sew anything. Anything at all. Woven fabric, knit fabric, stretch fabric. Anything.

And it did. Except that it didn't do quite as good a job as a sharp needle on finely or tightly woven fabric. And it didn't do quite as good a job as a ball point needle on fine knits.

Once I learned that sewing machine needles actually wear out by blamming themselves against the fabric at 100 miles per hour, I started to rethink my approach. I could change the needle before it broke. (What a shock! Sometimes back in the previous millennium, my needles lasted a long, long, long time before they broke. They probably lasted years, and I sewed nearly every day.) I found out I could hear the difference as the right needle went through the cloth. I started to get picky. And then JoAnn's started having periodic sales with 50% off the notions wall. It was downhill from there. I became a sewing machine needle snob.

The reason I wanted to use a universal needle for the project in the previous post was to make it easier to put the woven zipper in the knit fabric. Plus the only ball point needles I had were 9s. I needed a heavier needle with the Windbloc barrier between the two layers of fleece.

NOTE: If a universal needle works for you, go for it. They usually do a good job. As a point of information, I usually use quilting needles on my machine, unless there's a specific need for something else. I also use topstitching needles, embroidery needles, microtex needles, needles for metal thread, and twin needles. I have never used a wing needle or a leather needle. I'm not proud to be a needle snob, but I've sewn through my fingers enough that I won't apologize.

The Reversible, Windbloc, Polar Fleece Jacket

I was freezing! Standing outside at the soccer game, with the wind blowing right through my Gore-Tex jacket and my Polar Fleece pullover. It was clear that I needed something more to keep me warm. A Windbloc Polar Fleece jacket would be just the thing, and if it were reversible, then it would (no doubt) be twice as effective.

I found some reversible, Windbloc, Polar Fleece at our locally-owned fabric store. And on sale, no less. So I bought it and a reversible zipper* to make the jacket.

This was one of those projects where the engineering is more interesting than the sewing. Sort of like conceptual art. Other than the pattern for the basic jacket (front, back and sleeves), there was no pattern and no instructions. I made it up myself. This is how the blue side looks.



And this is how the black side looks.



I wanted both sides of the jacket to be finished, so I could wear it either as a blue jacket or a black jacket. Since Polar Fleece doesn't fray, I decided to lap the seams and then trim off the excess. On the black side, you can see little bits of blue accents along the seams and vice versa for the blue side. I set in the sleeves as usual, using the black as the right side. Then I trimmed off the sleeve seam allowance close to the stitching, and topstitched the body of the jacket over the sleeves, from the black side. Then I trimmed off the excess jacket seam allowance close to the stitching. I faced the neck and the bottom hem and the sleeve hems, sewing the black side of the facing to the blue side of the jacket. Then I trimmed the seams, turned the facing to the black side along the seam line, topstitched it, and trimmed the facing close to the stitching. On the blue side at the hems and armscyes, all you see is the stitching and on the black side you see the facing with the little blue accent line. This is what the overlapped seams look like up close.



I wanted zipper pockets, too. I made secret zipper pockets with polyester lining material, and attached those to patch pockets. Now I have a patch pocket on the outside for gloves and a secret pocket inside the patch pocket for, well, secret things. I didn't want too much bulk, so I only put pockets on the left side of each front.



Making this jacket was easier because I got to use one of my newest toys--Gingher duck-billed applique scissors. I got them at the JoAnn's Black Friday sale--50% off plus another 10% off with coupon. Still not cheap, but I love them. They are sharp! I'm amazed at how dull all my other scissors must be, compared to the new ones.



Hints:
*Reversible zipper--The slider has a pull that can flip over the top so you can pull it from either side.
I used both blue and black thread, changing the bobbin and the thread on the top so it would match what I was sewing. Most often I used one color in the top and the other color in the bobbin.
I am not crazy about universal needles, but I used one on this jacket. It worked well.
I lengthened my stitch to 3.5, instead of the 2.5 default on my machine.

In The Garden At Midnight - December 2010 BJP

Who knows what happens in the garden at midnight? I don't. But I can imagine. And I imagine that during the time of the longest nights of the year, some irrepressible flowers just have to show themselves, but only to the lucky few who are watching. And if it is too dark and too cold and too snowy for the flowers to come above ground, they remember what it was like to bloom during the bright, warm, sunny days, and they dream of blooming again. Perennials have strong spirits, and they use the dark, cold, snowy time to build strength and to look toward the future.

In December 2008, I did another dark, sparkly piece. You can see it below. I enjoyed working with these dark beads so much that I decided to do another one. I deliberately did not look at the older piece before starting this one, and now I find they look quite different from each other. This year's page above is darker than the earlier one below, and it's even darker than the photo shows. Perhaps I acquired some (ahem...) more dark beads. This year's page seems to have a simpler, more unified design. And of course, there are the larger flower and leaf beads on the new one.

Here is the December 2008 page:



Technical Details:

The foundation is Lacy's Stiff Stuff painted with Dye-na-Flow Azure Blue with a little black mixed in.

In addition to the larger leaves and gold flowers, there are three very cool 30 mm (1 3/8 inch) bugle beads. There are 5/0 triangles, rounds in 8/0, 11/0, and 15/0, some 10/0 rounded triangles, 11/0 pointy triangles, hexes, Charlottes, cubes, cylinder beads, fire-polished round beads, and some 3 mm bugles. A large majority of the beads are dark blue or black with an AB finish.

The backstitch dominated (again!) but I did use the stop stitch and the lazy stitch in a few places.

The piece is 2.5 inches by 3.5 inches.

I used both Nymo navy size B thread and C-Lon black size D thread.

What I Was Thinking:

I really enjoyed working with these dark beads again. After November's page, which seemed to take forever, this page went fast. I started after Christmas and finished it on New Year's Day. I didn't finish it in 2010, which bothered me somewhat. but I could have. I just couldn't manage to stay up till midnight to keep beading (and to look at the garden). As I was working on it on New Year's Eve (We know how to celebrate!), this page was my glamour. It was a perfect complement to my LLBean flannel-lined jeans, sneakers, and fleece top.

Issues That Came Up:

I did not enjoy using the C-lon size D thread. It really seemed to drag through the Stiff Stuff. I think I'll save it for fringe.

It really did bother me that I didn't finish by the end of the year. I know that makes no difference to anyone else, so I'll try to get over it.

Now on to BJP 2011! I'm ready to start!

The Perfect Way to Start the New Year

is by wearing a pair of custom made socks, hand knit by my favorite knitter, She Who Shall Not Be Named. They were my Christmas present. They fit perfectly and are in my super most favorite colors. I love them!

Sometimes It's Just Too Much! November BJP

Sometimes it's just too much. Too much to do. Too many meetings. Too many social events. Too many newsletters to publish. Too much food to cook. Too much food to eat. Too much to clean up. Just too much.

Late October through early December were just too much. Not that I'm complaining. I volunteered for (or at least agreed to) all this stuff. And for the most part, I enjoyed it.

But I felt as if I were being pulled in too many directions all at once. It was hard to focus and concentrate. I had voluntary, self-induced ADHD.

These feelings came out in my November BJP. But I ripped some of them out. My original intent in this page was to revisit Abundance, a concept I pondered in November 2008's BJP. In this year's page, Abundance became Just Too Much.

I started with golden yellow beads, creamy yellow beads, and some light brown beads. But the light brown beads were just too much. Too much contrast, too much busyness, too much distraction, too much lack of focus. So I ripped out the brown beads. And I finally finished the page last week.

Technical Details:

The foundation is Lacy's Stiff Stuff, painted with yellow and orange Memories Mist spray.

The beads are the usual suspects--15/0s, 11/0s, 8/0s, with some hexes, Delicas, and triangles. In this piece I also used some larger beads--6/0s and some even larger than that, whose size I don't know.

In addition to the backstitch, I used the stop stitch, some fringe, some ruffles, a twisted stitch, the moss stitch, and the picot stitch.

The page is 2.5 inches by 3.5 inches.

I used yellow C-Lon thread.

What I Was Thinking:

It was interesting to think about how Abundance moves to Just Too Much. How do we know when we have enough, when we have an abundance, when we have too much? And what does that mean when we think about those who do not have enough? Beyond that, I spent a certain amount of time thinking that I had better get this done and that I hadn't blogged in a very long time. I tried to prioritize what I had to do so I would not be overwhelmed, and the beading and the blogging ended up at the bottom of the list. I'm sure that my discomfort with the brown beads slowed me down, too.

Issues That Came Up:

I am SO much more comfortable working with a limited range of color and value. Very limited. How do I balance my comfort (artistic preference?) with the desire to challenge myself?

I had a similar reaction to working with fuchsia (still can't spell it) on my October BJP. Should I just admit my artistic preferences and forget about moving outside them for my BJP?

I've got to do a better job of organizing myself. Or perhaps of organizing my mind and exercising self-control.

And I've just got to stop spending so much time surfing around on the internet learning about Turkey and attempting to learn some Turkish. Oh, no I don't! Instead I'll spend even less time vacuuming.


My December BJP is well underway. I hope to finish it by the end of this year!

Not Pink Either! October BJP

It's not pink either. My October 2008 BJP was Not Quite Pink, and this one is Not Pink Either. It's a different color than the earlier page, but it's not pink either.

October is the Relentlessly Pink Month. I'm a survivor, and I support the cause. But I don't necessarily want to think about it while I'm buying cauliflower. So I bead in a color that is not pink.

After September's character-building experience of using fuchsia (When will I ever learn how to spell the name of that color and what is the deep psychological meaning of the misspelling?), I resolved to use a color that was more comfortable, pleasant, and soothing. In fact, this month's color was so comfortable, pleasant, and soothing that I forgot to ask its name. Dusty rose? Dark roseline? Salmon? Whatever. It's not pink either.

Technical Details:

As always, Lacy's Stiff Stuff is the foundation. I painted it with a mixture of Dye-na-Flow and Sherrill's Sorbets in a combination so secret that not even I can remember what was used.

The beads are the usual round 15/0s, 11/0s, 8/0s, and a few 6/0s. In addition, there are bugles, triangles, hexes, Delicas, and some 1.4 mm cubes.

Stitches used are the backstitch, stop stitch, lazy stitch, and a twisted stitch with an unknown name.

The page is 2.5 inches by 3.5 inches.

I used baby pink and light mauve Nymo thread.

What I Was Thinking:

Mostly I was glad to be done with the stressful, intense fuchsia. (Rats! Misspelled it again!) Whatever this not-pink-either color is, a person can breathe deeply and slowly and smile while using it. It's like yoga, only with beads.

Issues That Came Up:

Some day I'll learn not to crowd the beads so much. Until then, the more the merrier.


I actually finished this in October, but I am a little behind in posting. I had two newsletters to write, which used up about all of my enthusiasm for the computer. Plus I got quite distracted researching a trip to--Woo-Hoo!--Turkey.