Wartime Kitchen and Garden

The BBC did a series about how people in England cooked and gardened and lived during World War II.   It's a well done piece.  It's hard to find but it pops up from time to time on YouTube and it is there right now.  I can't recommend it enough.  It's great watching for quilting on a dark day.

Wartime Kitchen Series

The robot who lurks in the basement across the street

The mad tile lady across the street made a tile robot.  She was inspired by some of the existing piping and brackets.  Isn't he fun?

Working on my new quilt

I really am inspired by Beth Aten's big stitch quilting.  I felt that thrill and KNEW it was for me.  The first part of a trial project always stymies me because I have to use my precious fabric.   I like the process of figuring out how I am going to construct something but I fear wasting my precious fabric while I am figuring it out.

The colors are better than they look in the photo but my reluctance to use the most precious fabric interferes with the color choices (as in can't use that, I love it too much).  But I did use that one red that I love too much and, yes, it was difficult for me.   Sigh...


The quilt is small, about 12 inches square.   I decided to use my old favorite the nine patch design.   I figured out a construction process that works for me.   Not too fussy.  No jibber jabber.

I am especially enjoying the big stitch quilting with perle cotton size 8 with a size seven needle.  I don't use a hoop (dislike them).  This quilting feels good to do and I like how it looks.  I can do it in fairly low light which means I can quilt while we watch videos.  This type of quilting really is for me.  Hooray!

Incandescent light

Natural light on cloudy day

Mount Hood looking fiery

 This is quite a photo of Mount Hood.

source

Wanda's Quilt

I hand quilted a small quilt for my friend Wanda.  I like to hand quilt but I don't do enough of it to have really good stitches.  I hope she is satisfied.  I don't think my quilting is nearly as precise as her piecing.

The Queen of Versailles

I have another documentary to recommend.  It's called the Queen of Versailles.

The Economist called it "an uncomfortably intimate glimpse of a couple’s struggle with a harsh new reality," concluding that "the film’s great achievement is that it invites both compassion and Schadenfreude. What could have been merely a silly send-up manages to be a meditation on marriage and a metaphor for the fragility of fortunes, big and small.

Gum Trees

My friends Dave and Nancy just went on a little (for them) bike tour.   They saw these marvelous gum trees.

I love this tunnel of trees.