Sew Organized for the Busy Girl

It's a cold, dreary Autumn day here in country Australia. I have two sick kids sitting in front of a movie, a baby asleep, and I have hidden myself away in my sewing room with a coffee and Easter egg to have another flick through Heidi Staples' new book, "Sew Organized for the Busy Girl" before I sit at the computer to write this blog post. Am I allowed to say it? I'm in heaven.

I'm so glad to be part of Heidi's Busy Girl Sews Tour. Partly because I really like this girl and I'm honoured to support her in this way, but also because reading her book has been like taking a deep breath.

I love to collect sewing books. I love the feel of curling up in a corner of the sofa to read with a coffee. They're much softer than laptops, more tactile than phones. And what I love especially about Sew Organized is that Heidi has taken a different route to the usual sewing how-to introduction which precede the collection of projects. Her arguement for taking up sewing, even in today's busy lifestyles, and her gentle and firm approach to organising a sewing area for maximum creativity and efficiency, has felt a little like Heidi's been over at my place, seen my mess, and has graciously given me some tools to make the whole thing run smoother.

In my stage of life, I often feel like I have to choose between tidying up and sewing, between sewing with a baby hurricane let loose, or not sewing at all. So I've appreciated the reminder that there might be some simple things I can tweak (like buying a playpen, maybe?) that will make for more making and less stress.

The project from the book that drew me first was Heidi's Mini Starlet. It struck me as a great two-three colour block, but also well suited to colour-play or scraps. I pulled out four colours' worth of fabrics in different shades, and then settled on purple and teal with the golden highlights. Oh, I would love to make a whole quilt from this block! I do love how a simple change in colour placement gives a completely different look. I finished the quilt in a day, picking the colours in the morning while the light was good, and then coming to it in fits and starts, as is my usual routine, and completing it in the evening after the kids were in bed. If there's one thing that makes sewing really work for me, it's that I have a permanent set up for my machine. I'm sure I would never sew (or we would never eat dinner) if I had to use the dining room table, and pack up regularly!

Be sure to order Heidi's new book here! and follow along the rest of the blog tour. There are lots of simple, yet beautiful and practical projects to inspire you!

March 30 - Lynne of Lily's Quilts (Tour Kickoff & Book Giveaway!)
April 6 - Jodi of Tales of Cloth & Angela of Cut to Pieces
April 13 - Lindsay of Craft Buds & Debbie of A Quilter's Table
April 20 - Leanne of She Can Quilt
April 27 - Fat Quarter Shop
May 4 - Erin of Why Not Sew?
May 11 - Jennifer of Ellison Lane Quilts
May 18 - Svetlana of SOTAK Handmade
May 25 - Lucy of Charm About You
June 1 - Maureen of Maureen Cracknell Handmade
June 8 - Becca of Bryan House Quilts
June 15 - Beth of Plum & June
June 22 - Jessica of Quilty Habit
June 29 - Caroline of Sew Can She
July 6 - Heidi of Fabric Mutt (Tour Wrap!)

Red Sky at Night - Crown of Thorns.

When God told the Ancient Israelites to remember his words by fixing them to their hands and wearing them on their foreheads, I wonder if the American version of stitching these stories into quilts was exactly the kind of thing he had in mind.

"Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up." (Deut 11:18)

Quilt blocks inspired by the old stories found in the Bible were common in the nineteenth and early twentieth century. Tales of hope, faithfulness, miracles and sacrifice were represented in quilt blocks and the quilts given as gifts with prayers of protection and blessing, maybe even to the point of superstition. 

So I couldn't go past Easter, without making a Crown of Thorns block. And I couldn't make the block without talking of it's inspiration. 

There are actually several blocks named the Crown of Thorns, the other most common, a variation of the New York Beauty. And this particular version has been known by several names, including a Single Wedding Ring, Memory Wreath, and Georgetown Circle. All of these first appear in publications after 1920.

Yesterday morning, to mark Good Friday, I sat with the kids and we read together the first part of the Easter Story from the Children's Story Book Bible. I was struck anew by the way Jesus stilled the arguement about who would have the dreaded job of washing feet for passover by volunteering himself. He hosts the passover dinner, despite being overwhelmed by dread and grief of what he knows will come. He heals the guard's ear, cut off by his friends trying to protect him. He asks his friend to care for his mother after he's gone. The Crown of Thorns is on his head to mock him, to make fun, make him appear small and ridiculous. But no matter what one might think of who this man was, or what he achieved, you have to agree, he was so kind. He was so courageous and patient. 

I wonder if a quilt made of these blocks would remind me to be brave and kind when I am going to bed and getting up. I think I might have to add it to my list.

CROWN OF THORNS BLOCK TUTORIAL 

What you will need:

From the red and white, cut one 4.5" strip. From those strips cut:

Red: Four 4.5" squares, four 2.5" x 4.5" rectangles.

White: Five 4.5" squares, four 2.5" x 4.5" rectangles.

1. I learned a new trick this week from Heidi Staples' new book Sew Organized for the Busy Girl. This will make our half square triangles go faster! Set aside one 4.5" square for the centre. Sew the red and white squares to each other, around all sides, as below.

2. Cut through the squares diagonally. And then cut in half again.

 

 
3. Press seams flat and trim to 2.5" square.

 4. Lay out the block as below. Can you spot the nine patch? Sew the rectangles together.

5. Then sew the triangles together. Sew these squares together in rows and the rows together.

 Isn't Autumn beautiful? It's always felt a bit funny to me to not have Easter in Spring on this side of the world. But these fallen leaves are a sweet reminder that there can be beauty even in death, and that new life is on the way.

May the courage and kindness of the Crown of Thorns bless your home this Easter.

Jodi. xx

Red Sky at Night Quilt - Weathervane

I just got home from a weekend in Melbourne with my brother. We were there for work, but in our spare time, we had a little stroll around the old city, where I made him take photos for this week's Red Sky at Night block. This is Weathervane. And it had nothing, really to do with urban living, but everything to do with one very industrious woman.

Last week I finally branched out and bought Barbara Brackman's Encyclopedia Of Pieced Quilt Patterns. I'd been trying to do a lot of my research online, like I used to for my History degree (though I could, back then, access the University Journal Database). I'm learning a lot about quilt historiography in this project. Quilt historians write books, quilt museums don't tell stories unless you take a tour, and a whole century's worth of a whole nation's newspapers and magazines and their quilt block patterns are sitting in libraries around the United States on Microfiche rather than on the internet. (why? WHY?) I'm starting to think a visit to America is in order. Can I stay at yours?

So this week, I bought a book. And I'm excited again. Because it helped me put some big puzzle pieces together. Brackman writes about her interest in collecting old patterns, which then turned into a career as a quilt historian. She talks about the history of published quilt block patterns in America. Newspapers and journals advertised patterns available by mail order. Pop a coin in an envelope and receive the templates! Even as I read that, I got that same buzzy feeling I get while waiting for a fabric order to arrive. I'm so glad for Paypal, but things haven't changed that much, really!

While blocks were mostly shared in periodicals, quilt block names changed by region, but then a few quilting legends started to publish books, and more and more names became canonised. Enter Ruby Short McKim, a creative and clever business woman with a supportive husband, who together, built a business around her artistic ability and needlework. She first started a quilting column in the Kansas City Star in 1916, and by 1931, she was so recognised and enjoyed that she published her first book, 101 Patchwork Patterns, which includes the first known pattern and mention of the Weathervane. It's available through the above link for free!  She writes, however, that the block, "dates back to the time when great-grandmother used that commodity to “calc’late a change,” instead of listening to a scientific forecast on the radio."
Did she just guess the block had been around forever? Or did she know of quilts made from her childhood? I think I need lunch with Barbara. 

WEATHERVANE TUTORIAL

You will need:

Red: One 4.5" sqaure, four 2.5" squares, eight 3" squares cut in half to make half square triangles.

White: Four 4.5" x 2.5" rectangles, four 2.5" squares, eight 3" squares cut in half to make half square triangles.

1. Start by sewing the red triangles to the white triangles, press and trim to 2.5"

2. Lay out as below.

3. Around the outside row, you'll find the red triangles facing each other. Sew these together first. Press.

4. Sew the white rectangles to the now bigger red triangles.

5. In the corners, take the half square triangle and sew it to the next-door square. The sew those two pieces together.

5. Now you have a Nine Patch! Sew the squares together in rows.

6. And sew the rows together.

I love old weathervanes (especially the ones with roosters!). And I love this block. But what I love most is how this block speaks of hard work, making opportunities, and family support. So maybe it was absolutely fitting to take photos of my block on a work trip in Melbourne while Tim stayed home with the kids!

Quilts and other Colours.

Tonight we had a meal with friends over sunset. Tully asked if he could set up a picnic at our community barbeque area, and laid out all the quilts I would let him take outside. Then I, realising how cold it is now in the afternoons, dug out this winter coat that I'd made for Evie years ago and it fit Finlay perfectly. 

Our next door neighbours have new lambs, born to older mothers who can't keep up with twins, or younger sheep who abandon one of triplets. I feel a little sad for these new, happy things when we hear them cry out for food and company. But not too sad. Having a little farm twenty yards from my door, for which I'm not responsible, is pretty wonderful.

The sunsets here are quite beautiful, but what I love most are the reds and pinks that move across the hill outside my front door. Especially when children are willing to model recently finished quilts!

I was surprised when I finished this quilt a couple of weeks ago. Inspired by Rachel's Clambake Quilt-along, I followed her quilt-as-you-go tutorial. I decided on a single bed size because a customer had expressed an interest, and the first few lines of pressing and basting made me think I'd be here till September. But this quilt made the perfect project for movie nights on my own while Tim was away for his Masters, and to work away at quietly while my kids kept me company in my sewing room. I usually basted several lines at a time because I felt on a roll, and I'm not sure it helped me be neater or keep my lines straighter, but before I knew it, the quilt top was sewn, basted, quilted all in one go, and I was trimming the edges ready for binding! Just don't look too closely at those edges!
I used my free motion quilting foot which was messy and uneven, but more fun than wrangling my quilt around in curves. By the time I was done, I was so unsure of my work, but so besotted by the colours, that when I checked in with the customer and she regretfully turned down the offer, I was a little relieved! It's been on our spare bed ever since, and then tonight, because her quilt was damp from our picnic, Evie asked if she could have a turn. A single bed size is unusual for me, but it's oh, so useful! And I think I'm sold. I love having it in our home.

I asked some of our picnic guests if they could hold up the quilt for me, but the setting sun made it difficult to show off the exact tones of my clamshell quilt. But I'm sure you get the idea. The colours here are wonderful.

Squash Blossom - Red Sky at Night Quilt

We had our homeschool registration last week. The NSW government requires that parents of homeschooled children prove in an annual or biannual inspection how we are fulfilling the state syllabus. That's all easy enough if you want to follow the state syllabus. But when you'd actually prefer to read Little House on the Prairie, take a gentle approach to reading and allow a lot more time for climbing trees and learning to sew, you've got to use your imagination. I spent hours writing about how our everyday life covered the early primary criteria, and then sat for an hour and a half with a very kind and gentle inspector, showing him the quilt Tully and I made together, and the books we've read, and the conversations they inspire. It was, in the end, very encouraging, to have all the things we do together in our day written down like that, affirming the job I'm doing, and that it's all very worthwhile. As a mum, it's so easy to experience the days sink through that hourglass, marked with tired kids and mess and a complete lack of inspiration for dinner. But at the end of our time together, the inspector told me I'd not only fulfilled the criteria for Kindergarten, but my plan covered years 1 and 2 also!

 
I think I've mentioned before that reading the Little House books fills me with nostalgic longing. I love their almost complete self sustainability, their joyful posture, their competence and simplicity. I love that Laura had a corn cob wrapped in a handkerchief before she was old enough to have a doll, I love that for Christmas one year, they were so excited and grateful to receive their own tin cups from Santa Claus. And I find great peace in the apparent lack of worry about how the girls will 'turn out'. They play together, make patchwork, do their chores, live miles from anyone, and there's never any mention about 'socialisation' or 'syllabus criteria'.

I didn't intend to get on my 'high horse' while writing about the Squash Blossom, but all in a whirl this week, I've had on my mind, our longing and freedom to live life a certain way, according to our values and personality. And then this wonderful block, which in some ways looks nothing like a squash blossom (just like a pumpkin flower) and in other ways you can see the inspiration or connection exactly. It's so beautiful and individual, far more abstract than many of the other nature blocks, and I think that's what I like most about it.

In The Farmer's Wife Quilt book, the squash blossom and the churn dash, two old blocks inspired by everyday domestic life in the country, happen to share a page. The letter published along side the blocks speaks of 'finding herself' in the country, of enjoying work on the farm because it felt necessary and appreciated, creative and skilled. And I think the blocks that come out of that era reflect that skill. I admire their design sense, their intelligence and adventurous spirit (especially Laura's mother!). And I've been buoyed this week with the reminder that even though I enjoy many modern conveniences and I would like to perform a serious cull on the amount of toys we own, I still share some of their skill for creative interpretation!

SQUASH BLOSSOM BLOCK TUTORIAL

What you'll need:

Red: Eight 3" squares cut in half to make half-square triangles, four 2.5" squares, two 4.5" x 2.5" rectangles.

White: Eight 3" squares cut in half to make half-square triangles, four 2.5" squares, four 4.5" x 2.5" rectangles.

1. Sew the red triangles to the white triangles. Press and trim to 2.5"

2. Lay out as above. Sew the pieces together in rows.

3. Sew the rows together in sets of two.

4. Sew the last three sets together and celebrate your skill and creativity!

Now, if I could just get that dirt to grow something...!

Pray, Love, Remember.

Today was Finlay's birthday. And yesterday I finished my Gran's quilt. My Gran is 97. And my little girl is one.
It's hard to believe in this everyday life of rescuing glasses from coffee tables, and Finlay from the marble collection, of squashed banana underfoot and kissy smudges on windows, that a year ago I was holding a tiny bundle on my breast, trying not to fall asleep from the morphene, glad she was finally here. Two years ago we were grieving the loss of the little unexpected one we never met. Three years ago, I was done. Two toddlers felt like twenty. I'll have my body back now thank you.
And time rolls ever forward, bringing surprises and change and grief and joy. In the end, we decided on this one more, and I felt both peaceful and terrified. Would she be the one to break me? Would there be any me left?

About 70 years ago today, my gran had a little girl. Her name was Rosemary. She was Gran's first child, and at the age of six, she died of cancer. Her second child was 'born asleep' in the days when still born babies were whisked away and mothers told to move on without a moment to stop and grieve and feel. These babies did break her. And in many ways she never recovered.
In Hamlet, Ophelia says, "There's rosemary, that's for remembrance. Pray, love, remember."
I've been thinking about that today. Not that I wanted the day to be sombre, but I did want to mark the occasion, to recognise the fragility of life, the fragility of our own goals and plans, to be right here, to hold her when she let me, look her in the eye, blow raspberries, splash the bath water, eat cake, laugh. It is my way of saying, "I don't know what life will bring, but right now, you bring me joy," and also, "Even in all your mess and noise and complete lack of routine, you bring me joy."

This little girl has been our delight this year. It hasn't been the long slog my other babies were. Partly that's because she is actually incredibly easy, but it's also because in a way that has been surpising and wonderful, she has broken me. Broken my old expectations and rules, broken some of my impatience when I don't get my own way. She has chipped away at my need for control, for unbroken sleep, for doing things as planned, to have it all figured out before jumping in. She has brought out something in me I was afraid never existed.

I made this quilt for my Gran, because I have felt for some time, that even though I don't really know her old broken mind anymore, even though she lives in care, and can hardly see, I wanted to acknowledge that she is still here, still precious, still loved. I chose these 1930s reproduction prints in the hope that they would feel familiar to her, and this Ohio Star design because I love traditional, repetitive quilts which remind me of lovely old ladies and cosy homes. I used stippling for the quilting for the first time because quilts for grans are the best kind of quilts to practice new quilting techniques!
I showed the beginning of this quilt at the last Sew the Library link up, and finished it just in time for the link up today, hosted right here! I was inspired by the beautiful Ohio Stars in my favourite quilt book, Country Quilts.

So today our family and friends celebrated this little light. We watched her face as she tried her cake, and as she searched the house for the big kids and squealed when she found them, and as she wondered what on earth was that thing Grandma tied to her head.
And I thought of my lovely gran, and I felt glad for quilts and birthday cake, for moments of extravagance and beauty and fun even though they won't always be remembered. It made me feel that life really is very precious.

An InLinkz Link-up