Pride Goes Before the Fall

How many times are we warned in scriptures not to lean to our own understanding. How many times are we warned to not to be puffed up in Pride. How many philosophies warn against being being too sure of ones self. How many times have we been told that pride goes before the fall. I have heard these many time in both my spiritual and intellectual training. Yet like so many others I have fallen.

In my haste to finish this quilt I didn't pay close attention to the directions. After all I have already just made one.  So this should be no problem, right. I know what I am doing.  There are 48 blocks in this quilt, so the lay out should be 6 x 8, right? Wrong!  The blocks are rectangles not square.  The lay out is 8 x 6.  

I was making pretty good progress, I managed to sew all but one day this week and finished the center of the quilt. It looked a little wrong but I dismissed it. I measured for the inner border and it seemed wrong but again I dismissed it. I got the inner border sewn on and pressed and still it bothered me but again I would have dismissed it.  Then I was showing the pattern to one of my kids' friends and I noticed the measurements listed for the finished size. I immediately knew what I had done wrong. 

Now I am in the process of tearing out the stitching for the inner border. Then I need to take off the bottom two rows. Once I have the rows removed I need to take them apart.  I will then make two columns of six and sew them onto the end of the rows. It is not an ideal fix but it will work. 

I just hate that now I am even farther behind in completing the quilt. I will have to mail it at a later date and hope it makes it in time for Christmas.  This is so frustrating for me. I hate that it will be rushed. I also hate that I made such a stupid mistake. Quilting under pressure is proving to be a bad idea. 

Hopefully this week I will be able to work on it every night.  But I still need to purchase some gifts to mail this week as well as finish shopping for those ones who live here.  It will be a busy week. But it is that time of year.

I hope you all are having better luck at finishing your projects in time for Christmas.  

Finished is Better Than Perfect

I was about half way through piecing the second ribbon dance quilt when my son pointed out a mistake. I had the top draped over the rollers of my long arm machine and he saw a break in the pattern.  I calmly pointed out the blocks, still not seeing what he saw. Then I really looked at it and sure enough I had made the same mistake several times in both quilts.

The picture on the top shows how the pattern is supposed to look. The colored pieces or ribbons flow across the top of the first block down across the bottom of the second block thus creating the look of twisted ribbons. This effect is created by the white of the center strip of the blocks all going in the same direction across the row. Unfortunately when I was piecing the blocks I didn't notice that little detail in the pattern. In some of my blocks the center strip goes in the opposite direction. That would have been okay if all the block in that row were going in that direction. But when the blocks that are going in opposite directions are joined, you get a chevron effect as is shown in the bottom picture. Which is okay but not as dramatic as the the proper placement.

What really bugs me about this is I am better than that. I've taught my daughters to pay close attention to pattern directions. I was taught this by my mother. And yet I got cocky and thought I knew what I was doing and didn't read the pattern thoroughly enough to do it right. I am just a little disappointed in myself with this one. But not disappointed enough to rip it all apart and correct it.

Jenny Doan of Missouri Star Quilt Company has said many times that finished is better than perfect. I have to agree with her. Any one looking at and criticizing a quilt that is a gift, doesn't deserve the quilt. These quilts are for my granddaughters who are ages 3 1/3 years and 6 months. By the time they are old enough to see my mistakes, they will have been sleeping under these quilts for a long time.  Plus I know their mother will teach them about the love and time that went into the quilts. I would much rather get these quilts done and have my grand babies asleep under them keeping warm. The alternative is to rip them out and start over.  No one would have any of my quilts if I did that every time.

So Finished is Better than Perfect.  I will still strive for perfection but I am not going to beat myself up over this mistake. My granddaughters will still have warm quilts and I will still have my sanity.

Has this happened to you? What did you do?

Holidays Approaching = Panicked Rush

Here it is a third of the way through November and I am already panicking about finishing projects.  The thing is I only need to finish the second ribbon dance quilt so why I am I feeling the pressure. It may be because this is peanut season and work is really busy. Or the fact we had a hurricane and our lines are running seven days a week to catch up. It could be that I am really tired due to this asthma flare kicking up with every weather change. Or the fact that I want my house ready for company and don't have all the time I want to clean it. I just know that I am feeling panicked.

So to put things in perspective, I decided to evaluate my progress on my goals.

1. Three quilts for family - when I get these two ribbon dance quilts done that will be complete.
2. Complete three UFO or NSY - I have one done, one needing binding and labeling and the third ready to quilt. Should be no problem to have it done by the end of the year.
3. Work on something 20-30 minutes a day. - I always start out really good on this and then it slowly fades to the wayside and I am back to quilting on the weekends. Usually because things have gone to pot at work or I am sick.
4. Use what I have and only buy fabric to finish projects - I only partially achieved it. But I have spent way less on fabric this year than in years past. And the fabric I have bought is designated for quilts and not just building a stash.
5. Document Quilts - Still not started this but I expect I will take the time after Christmas when I have time scheduled off from work.
6. Read the technical part of the Thread Waggle quilt blog. - I did this once. I think I will start to focus more on the Quilt Path manual.
7. Try paper piecing - haven't yet. Maybe after Christmas.
8. Do an easy project now and then - working on one with Rorie.  Plus I think I will do up a couple of jelly roll quilts just to do them. I have 2 rolls to do a stack and flip quilt. After the new year of course.
9. Clean up after each project - I am actually doing pretty good at this one. I do like to have a clean space to start the next project. Of course that doesn't mean others using my studio are doing it. But that is okay. My friend Kerri Lynn used to say the first step of every project is to clean up and the last step to every project is to clean up. I think I need to make a sign with that on it for the studio.

So I still feel panicked about finishing the one quilt but I am in pretty good shape with my goals. I am hoping to carve out some time in my life to quilt more and work fewer hours. Maybe after the holidays, things at work will slow down. Who am I kidding, it won't slow down until after the Super Bowl. I just need to push myself to have a better work life balance. That may be my number one goal this next year.

Oh and I have one row of the second ribbon dance quilt put together. So just seven more to go.

Are your holiday projects coming together?

Some Progress and My Little Helper.

I don't know about everyone else but for me time seems to be disappearing.  I am having trouble managing it.  Maybe I am trying to do to much. Maybe I am being unrealistic about how much time I need to do things.  Honestly I think I am just getting older and have less energy. I just can't seem to get things done as fast as I used to.

That being said it has been a rough week for me.  I am still struggling with this asthma flare.  I am feeling better but not well. I ended up coming home from work early one day last week and then stayed home the next day as well. Unfortunately all I did was sleep during that time off. Having trouble breathing makes one very tired. This week is not boding well either.  May boss is at his other plant this week so I have to be at work.

Progress for this week was minimal. I managed to get all the squares for the second ribbon quilt

trimmed and I will start chain piecing the blocks tonight. It is starting to feel as though I may get this project finished. I would really like to get it done by Thanksgiving. But that is only about 19 days away so I am not terribly optimistic.

This is the first time I have done the Easy Eight Method for half square triangles.  I have done the two at a time method and do a fairly decent job. The thing is I am not always as accurate as I need to be. (Usually when I am rushing a project or getting bored with it). With the two at a time method, if you mess up, you end up with one block that is too small and one that can be cut down. So you may lose one block. With the Easy Eight method you may lose 4 blocks. It can be a little frustrating to see that pile of blocks start to diminish.

I think I know where I went wrong though.  When marking the layer cake, I drew diagonal lines, then drew lines 1/4 inch on either side of the diagonal lines.  The thing is my 1/4 inch ruler wasn't long enough and well I probably didn't get things lined up correctly.  Also my stitching my not have been as accurate as it should have been. I used my regular presser foot and stitched on the lines. 

Next time I think I will only draw the diagonal lines and use my 1/4 inch presser foot. I am definitely going to do this method again.  Just need to take my time doing it.

This past week I told my husband that I may have my two year old grandson, Emerson, organize my studio. That way I will know where everything is. He is a great little helper and has some very strong ideas on organization.  I have a very long level for my Millie.  It is hanging in one part of the studio.  At the other end, I have a couple of yard sticks hanging on the wall. I kept finding my level (which has markings on the side for measuring) over by my yard sticks. It finally dawned us that He was putting all of the measuring things together. 

Emerson loves to be in the studio with me. He loves machines and tools. He is very good about picking up and putting things away. Unfortunately it isn't always where I put them.  I have been looking for my Fiskars rotary cutter for about a month.  Some time ago I picked up a Omni-Grid rotary cutter on clearance at my local Walmart. This is the one I have been using for the last month. It is taking some getting used to.  This rotary cutter doesn't have a button or slide for opening the blade. You just press and cut. It is probably a good tool to use when you have little ones around. Especially if you are like me and tend to forget to close the blade when you set the rotary cutter down. I am starting to get used to it.

The other day I was working with Emerson's sister Aurora on a project. I heard their mother say "Emerson what are you doing?" He calmly replied "I helping". He had found a bag of 4 inch squares and had them spread out on the studio floor (fortunately it had just been mopped) and was "pressing" them with my (unplugged) steam iron.  He was getting them ready for me to quilt.  I love that kid. I should mention that he had carefully sprayed each block with what he thought was starch (in reality water) and was spreading them out to dry after pressing each one.  I helped him move the blocks up to my long arm table and when they were dry we stacked them very carefully. Later I put them back into the bag I was storing them in. 

Another thing he did to help was he clipped some blocks together with my wonder clips. Which gave me an idea. If you look at the picture of the blocks at the top, you will see that I have them clipped together.  I didn't have enough random clips sitting around the house so when we were at the flea market I picked up a couple of packs.  These will help me keep sets of blocks and rows of blocks straight until I can revamp my design wall. I was really pleased with Emerson coming up with that idea.  I think I will try and keep him engaged in the whole quilting process. He may help me improve my process in other ways.

What progress have you made this week? Who is helping you in your work space?

Three Weeks Gone

I can't believe it's been almost three weeks since I last posted.  Time is moving much faster than I am these days.  Hurricane Michael came and went leaving a swath of destruction in it's path.  I was fortunate to have minimal damage on my property. The plant where I was worked was not as fortunate and frankly we were luckier than most.

Work was shut down for a week.  I was able to go back a little earlier than some.  My boss kept me out of the major cleaning because of my asthma.  I did go back after five days to do all the environmental swabbing and other testing that needed done before we could start up.  The blanch line started up after 8 days. Dry roasted line took 10 days to get going. Peanut butter line took 13 days. We have been running all out since then.  We need to get caught up on orders.

As I said, home only had minor damage. Some slight roof damage and siding damage. The insurance adjuster will be here on November 3rd around noon. They are that busy trying to get things appraised etc.  He was very apologetic about how long it was going to take.

The real hardship for us was not having power for a week.  No power equals no water since we are on a well. Also no air conditioning, which makes sleeping very difficult in 90 degree heat with 90% humidity.  We were more fortunate than most. My daughter,TK, had power so we moved our freezers to her place as well as our washer and dryer. We lost some food from the fridge but we could have lost so much more.

I have done very little in the way of quilting these past 3 weeks. I did get the half square triangle blocks cut apart and pressed but that was about it.  I turned the binding on the two quilts but haven't stitched it down yet. It was way too hot to sit with a quilt on my lap when I was off. Then I have been so busy at work working 10-14 hours that I haven't felt like it when I was home. Plus we have a lot of clean up to do in the house. On top of that I am in an asthma flare. Which is good and bad.  My pulmonologist had not seen me in a flare and I had an appointment scheduled. So that finally happened, which is good.  The bad is I have no energy to do anything. Everything takes so much energy when you aren't breathing well.

But I am feeling much better and am getting back to work on quilts.  I am behind on my goals this year but I am still working on things and that is what counts.

How are your goals coming?

Quilting with Grand Children

In my continued effort to live a balanced life, I am trying to put down my quilting and spend more time doing things with my children and grand children. Also I am trying to spend less time at work and more time doing the things I love to do.

Currently I am sitting at home in the middle of the week waiting for Hurricane Michael to pass. Right now I have power so I am trying to make hay while the sun shines.

These past two weeks I managed to get all the 10 inch squares stitched for the second ribbon dance quilt.  I will start cutting them apart once I finish this blog.  I figured I would blog while I still had power.

The bigger accomplishment was setting aside the quilt I wanted to work on and return to working with Rorie on her quilt.  We stitched each print square to a neutral square. Rorie is too small to run the sewing machine so I had her putting the block together and handing them to me. We discussed right side and wrong side of the fabric. After a little while she got bored. But Emerson, who is almost 2 jumped into her spot.  He handed me blocks and was fascinated with how the sewing machine worked.

Rorie came back once it was time to press the blocks open though. She and Emerson took turns running the iron and Grandma worked hard to keep her fingers from getting burned. A couple of times it was a very close call.  Rorie just wanted to iron the same block until it flat and stiff.  I had to really work on pressing instead of ironing with her. Emerson was much more the get it done and move onto the next one type. He seemed to understand press and lift the iron much better than Rorie.

With all the blocks pressed open it was time to lay out the quilt. My design wall's flaws have rendered it useless until we figure out a better way to support it. So I reverted to my stand by design wall. Namely my bed. I let Rorie lay out the blocks how she wanted them to be. Once again she got distracted and started laying the blocks out into roads. She created her own little village using the blocks. I just let her play until she got bored. Then when she ran off to do something else, I laid them out the way I needed them to be. I had turn the block so that they were facing the same way. Then I made sure the colors and shades were spread out somewhat evenly.  When that was done I called her back in to approve the changes. She was disappointed that I had ruined her village but accepted the fact that I was going to have to ruin it before going to bed that night any way and that the next time she came we could sew so more.

Emerson was eager to help his sister but she was doing it herself. He decided she was taking too long so he started jumping on the bed.  I had to distract him several times while she was laying out her village.  When she left to do other things, Emerson hung out with me for a little bit, helping rearrange things. He just wants to help with everything.



I managed to get the blocks stacked up in rows and set aside until they come again to sew with grandma. The next day their Mom and I were going to visit one of her friends that had a baby. While waiting for me to get home, Emerson decided he was going to help me sew some more.  His mom sent me this picture of him. You will notice he is at my sewing desk, sitting in my chair, wearing my reading glasses and trying to thread the machine. He is too smart for his own good sometimes. My son Killian describes him as the embodiment of Joy.

As I said I am sitting home in the middle of the work week, waiting for the Hurricane to pass.  But I didn't want to just sit around. I got the binding attached to the first Ribbon Dance quilt and the Christmas Lemonade Quilt as well. Should the power go out I can turn the binding and stitch it down by candle light.  It has been a productive day and it's only 1:00 pm. Of course I could really use a nap right about now. But that comes from getting up at 5:30 am, after staying up until 11:30 for several days straight.  Add to that I haven't had caffeine in a week.

Well I better close since the storm is ramping up and we will lose power anytime now.  Keep safe and warm and Happy Quilting.

A Balanced Life?

I am taking a personal finance class that is being offered through my church's Self Reliance program.  (For those of you who don't know I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. And we are very big on being self reliant) I decided to take this 12 week course because I figure I will never have my quilt shop if I don't get my personal finances under control. Once I get them under control I can start look at taking the starting and growing a small business class.  

This class is spiritually based as well as temporally based. In other words we also deal with the spiritual side of finances.  Not just handling money but setting priorities.  There is a gospel foundation principle every week. One week it was counseling with the Lord about our finances. Another week it was paying tithes and offerings. This week's foundation principle is Living a Balanced Life.  In other words getting your priorities straight. Not all work and not all play. Time with Family.

What a challenge to get right as peanut season is starting up.  Top that off with kicking off another segment of my project and I am one busy lady at work.  I haven't worked less than 9 hours in the past 2 weeks, except for the 2 days I had to leave early due to my asthma.  I definitely don't feel like I am living a balanced life. 

Part of the weekly challenge is picking things to work on to live the principle. I have long felt that I never have enough time to do what I love (quilt, sew and craft). It would have been really easy to go that route. Carve out time for myself. But after a little reflection I came to believe that was not truly a good priority. So I re-evaluated.  I chose to spend time with the grand children. By that I mean doing something meaningful, not just letting them entertain themselves.  Another one I chose was to spend time with my kids and not hole up in my room.

Now the tricky part was going to be how to do that and still get some quilting in. Yesterday, I started involving Rorie in quilting. Rorie is 3 years old and pretty smart for her age. We decided her baby doll needed a quilt. I have a bunch of 4 inch squares that I have gathered over the years.  I let Rorie go through them and pick out the ones she liked. After going through them, she chose all of them, I needed to redirect her. Since her favorite color is pink, we went through the blocks again and started pulling out the ones with pink in them. Then Rorie sprayed them with starch and I pressed them. it was a bit of a sticky mess. We have 61 pink print blocks and 61 neutral print blocks ready to start sewing.  Later this week, (when I get home from work and she is here) we will start sewing pink blocks to neutral blocks. Rorie is really excited about this project and by doing it in bites, she will stay engaged in it. 

As for my other quilting projects, I am currently marking the layer cake for the second Ribbon Dance Quilt.  I ended up buying a new ruler to do it.  This ruler is 3 inches by 18 inches. It is long enough to go diagonally across the layer cake. It is short enough to make it easier to handle in tight spaces. I had one but I can't find it.  Emerson has been rearranging my studio again.  I just need him to understand my organizational style. Then maybe him putting things away will not be so traumatic for me. He likes to put things up but not where I want them. He tends to move things around in my studio to suit his likes. So I am missing some things. I need to clean up the studio again anyway, so I am sure I will find them.

That is about it for this week.  I have some homework to do for my class and I am behind.  I need to get on top of it.  Are you living a balanced life? What can you do to bring more balance to your life?