Changes

Thanks so much for all the comments on my quilts. I enjoy making quilts and it was nice to finally be able to get pictures of them. One note of clarification, that's not my sewing room. It's going to our new family room. As of yet, no furniture or t.v. so the empty space is perfect for photos.

The title refers to the yarnshop in Randallstown. There's been a slight name change: It's now Colours: The Yarn Gallery. The winter hours are Tuesday, Thursday - Saturday 10- 5. Mondays 10 -7. Closed Sunday and Wednesday.

But the biggest change? I'll be teaching a Basic Finishing Class, December 12, noon - 2. The offer to teach came out of the blue and I'm ecstatic! If you're interested contact the shop for details and to register. 410-701-8686.

End of Commercial

There's not a lot going on around here, except cleaning and purging. How do two people collect so much stuff??? It's past time for a good clean. In 2007 I had the transplant, a second surgery and my father died. Last year I spent the last 6 months with a broken ankle. This year we've had construction. So I'm cleaning windows, washing curtains, baseboards and anything else I can. I considered hiring it out (and still may do so!) but in a strange way I'm enjoying it. So we'll see.

As infrequently as I post this will be my last one before Thanksgiving. We'll be in Myrtle Beach with family for the holiday. Happy Thanksgiving to each of you. Be careful and enjoy your day with family andfriends. When I count my blessings, I'll be thanking God for each of you. Thanks so much for stopping by, I read each and every one of your comments. They make me smile for days!!

Thanks again,

Melodye

My Quilts - Part 2

Ok, this is the last of them. At least those that have made it to the completed top stage. The only true UFOs I have are quilts. One day I’ll get brave enough to take stock.

This first one was made for DD#1 as a wedding gift. Unfortunately the marriage didn’t last. This almost a queen sized top. I think I’m going to send it out to have it machine quilted. I want feathers in the light sections and I’m not accomplished enough to do it, but I most definitely would be in the end. Now that the renos are complete, I’ll get my sewing room cleaned. I may have enough room to do it on a regular machine, but it’s going to be a bear.






This one belongs to DH because he said, “You haven’t made me a quilt.” When I saw the original pattern, it reminded me of piano keys, so… I titled, it “Harolds’ Melody”. This is huge, if I remember correctly it’s larger than king size! You’ve seen the size of my quilt fabric stash. With the exception of the music note border for this quilt all of the fabric for this one and DD#1s’ wedding quilt all the fabric came from my stash. The pictures you saw were taken after these were finished.



























I graduated from college 29 ½ years after I finished high school. To celebrate I bought myself an embroidery machine. This quilt was made not too long after I bought the machine. When I got to the final border I ran out of fabric. Then I looked through my stash again. A co-worker cleaned out her stash and gave it to me. In her stash was the same fabric but a different dye lot. If you look close you can see the difference.





























I don’t normally make wall quilts. I make quilts to be used and truthfully I don’t have a lot of wall space. But I have made these. This first one was from a pattern I saw years ago and thought I’d try. My machine piecing was atrocious, but I did finish it. The hexagonal one was from a group exchange. I’ve lost contact with those women, but whenever I see this quilt it brings warm memories.

























So there you have it, my quilts. I’d really like to get these finished, but as I’ve said before I need an extra set of hands and a couple of extra days a week. I really do suffer from fiber ADHD. I’ve never been able to settle down to just one pursuit, but I’m having fun and no one’s ever gone hungry!

Oh DD#2 does have a quilt, but it's on her bed in her apartment and she's not giving it up! If I remember, I'll ask her to get a picture of it and I'll post it.


TTYL

My Quilts - Part I

Awhile ago I promised that I would show you my quilts. My earliest memory of quilting is being home with the measles or mumps and wanting to quilt. I asked my mother for some scraps, a needle and some thread and she gave them to me. I have no recollection of what happened to that first one, but here are some that I’ve made and kept track of. Most of these are tops that NEED TO BE QUILTED!!

This is the first quilt I completed. Anyone else remember Holly Hobby? As best I can remember I started quilting in 1980 or 1981. I know for sure that I only had one child. DD#2 was born in 1982 and I was quilting a lot then.



This belongs to DD#1 and is the first bed sized quilt I finished. It’s for a twin bed and has been loved to death. She asked me to fix it, but it’s really beyond repair. It’s a sampler quilt from a class I took at the Fort Meade Recreation center with Barbara Schafer. With the exception of the borders and binding this quilt was machine pieced and quilted. The second picture is of the back.


















Grandmothers’ Flower Garden was the first bed-quilt I started. I've worked on this quilt for years and it’s still not finished. Pieces of the colored blocks were cut and placed in baggies with their paper cores. It’s easy to piece as each hexagon is basted to a paper center. Then the hexagons are stitched together to form the larger hexagons. Then individual hexagons are stitched to muslin hexagons. Sounds way more complicated than it is. As with most things worked on over time, this holds a lot of memories for me. I would cut a bunch of blocks and carry them with me where ever I went. I stitched in doctor’s offices, dance lessons, basketball games, you name it. The most poignant memory is working on this with my mother and sister (niether of whom quilted), in a hospital waiting room waiting to see if another sister was going to live. She did, so there are no bad memories associated with this one. I’ve started hand quilting this one, but it’s been put away for awhile. Maybe I’ll work on it over the winter.















This one has the most pathetic story attached to it. I only worked on this on New Years’ Eve night for several years. As a single mother, even before my divorce, I never went out. One year I decided that I’d start a quilt and only work on it on New Years' Eve. The first year, I selected the fabric and cut the strip sets. The following year I made the blocks and so on. On what I though was going to be the last year, I selected the final border fabric and sewed it on, only to discover that I sewn the final border on upside down! The next year I fixed the final piece of the border. By the next year I’d met Harold and while we normally don’t go out, I’m not alone either! I’ve got mixed emotions about this one. Every time I pull it out to finish, the memory of those years surface and I put it away again. Maybe I’ll finish it one day, maybe I won’t.



So this post doesn’t end on a somber note, here’s a class sample. Years ago I taught Beginning Quilting workshops. One of the biggest thrills I’ve ever had in my life was to attend a quilt show and see a student’s completed full sized quilt. She gave me credit for teaching her the block and said how much she enjoyed the class!



As you can see, I normally make large quilts. Until now, I haven’t had a space large enough to display them for photos. I can do it now because, THE RENOVATIONS ARE FINISHED!!! We’ve lived here for eleven years and it’s taken us til now. But it’s done and paid for so we’re both happy campers!



TTYL

Thanks!

I love this blog. I know it's mine but it helps me think through things. I'm going to rip out the baby sweater. I don't like it. Why would I give someone something I don't like?

Titles are hard!

I assure you, I have not fallen off of the face of the earth. I’m still here doing whatever it is that I do.

First though, thank you all for your comments on my dress. Still haven’t worn it tho and not for lack of trying. Lately, it seems that DH and I are rarely in the same place at the same time. He’s gotten into photography and has been working on weekends or babysitting. But, Miss Ginny, I promise I am going to make an occasion.

And for those of you who visited Colours, thank you so much. Thelma was tickled pink. I’m just sorry I missed you, maybe next time.



So what have I been up to? I believe I told you I ordered the Click N’ Sew software from Wild Ginger. I’m working on a sheath (sound familiar??). Once I get it finished I’ll do review of it and the software, but right now you’d just be looking at muslins gain.

The basement remodel is well under way. There’s been one major disappointment, but I’ll live. We’re looking at a mid-October finish, so DH will be able to watch the Ravens in style. Once it’s finished, there will be a major purge. I’ve been holding onto stuff for years waiting until the basement is finished.



I’ve been knitting. I finished the shawl for my friend; it just needs to be blocked. But I’ve got to find a space large enough to do it.



I’m also working on a baby sweater for friends from church. I’m using the sock yarn I bought from Colours. I’m not really in love with the yarn or the pattern and I’m not sure why. I’ve invested too much time to quit and I’ll be finished by the weekend. As I type this I think it may be because there’s nothing babyish about it. It looks like a miniature adult cardigan, not a baby sweater. Next I’ll make a vintage pattern that I made for my kids. I absolutely love it and have made it several times. If I have time, I’ll try to get one more done. When I drop them off, I’ll also drop off a meal. When I had my youngest, some friends dropped off a complete meal and it was the best gift.

AND, I’ve been spinning. I’m getting consistent singles and will begin plying once I get another bobbin full. I’m going to have to find patterns for all this yarn I’m spinning. I’m also considering another wheel. There’s a spinning group in Catonsville and I’d love to go, but this wheel isn’t portable. I work from home most Fridays so leaving it in a parked car isn’t an issue, but setting it up and taking it down is.



AND I bought a Singer 15-91. From the Craigslist post, I wasn’t sure of the model and said I’d only buy it if it was a 201. I was only fooling myself. The machine itself is gorgeous. The cabinet needed work and I didn’t feel like doing it so it went to the Salvation Army. These old machines are workhorses and virtually indestructible. It only does a straight stitch, but it’s a beautiful stitch. I’ve got the manual and accessories. These old machines speak to me in a way that newer ones don’t. I'm thinking of giving individual sewing lessons and this machine will be ideal. You can't mess it up!



I’m an amateur historian and women’s history is tied up in the machines we use, be it sewing machines or spinning wheels. There was work involved in the machines but it was so much less than doing it completely by hand. Think about this for a minute. Prior to machines, every item of clothing and household linen was made by hand. We know that there were domesticated sheep in ancient times. The sheep were shorn; the wool cleaned, carded and spun using a drop spindle and then woven manually. Think about the Nativity Scene. Mary, Joseph, Jesus, 3 Wise men and a couple of shepherds. Someone made each of those outfits from scratch, by hand. My head hurts thinking about it. It gives new meaning to the phrase, “woman’s work is never done”. I reread Proverbs 31 yesterday. A virtuous woman, indeed.





TTYL,

Melodye

Working

I made a dress last week. I don't know if I want to wear it. Or even if I'll get the chance. It's this one.






It's comfortable. We just don't go places to wear it. It's casual enough but at the same time it's too dressy. I think I'll call it "Conundrum". I make clothes for the life I wish I lived rather than the one I do. I was originally going to make the tunic, remember? I still have enough left to make the shorter tunic.

I finished the Irish Hiking scarf.



As with most scarves, I reached a point where it seemed as if it would never end. I tried cabling without a needle on part of this. I'm not sure I like it well enough to do it all the time, but it's nice having it in my repertoire. I'm still working on the scarf for my friend, but it's not take-along knitting. I'm using size 19 needles and they get caught on everything! Unfortunately, I don't sit enough at home to get it done.

For take along knitting, I'm working on a couple of baby sweaters for a couple at church, who are expecting their first child. They are such a sweet couple. I may have a shower for them as well.

The bathroom is finally complete. The tub apparently came from Siberia. Once it arrived the contractor finished in two weeks. I absolutely love it. There was only 1 small hiccup. I selected the wrong color paint and he had to repaint. Didn't even complain. I actually kept the house looking as if real people actually live here. I like it this way. DH had better watch out!

I realized something recently. I've known for a while that I tend to be a "black and white" person. I hadn't realized that that rigidness carried over into my sewing. I've got a skirt pattern that I can work with, a darn good pants pattern. I could have been sewing pants and skirts all summer and picking up tops and twin sets. But I didn't, I obsessed on the fact that I can't get that dress to fit and used it as a reason not to do anything else. I have no more excuses for not sewing. I have a heck of a commute, so do lots of others. My kids are gone, DH can be pretty self-sufficient. Maybe now that I've realized it, I can get past it.

August was rough. Friends of ours 25 year old daughter died. She was a college graduate, professional musician, and a middle school music teacher; just a good kid. No drugs or alcohol, no life threatening disease. Just a dumb, stupid accident. She fell and hit the back of her head. Her father was maybe 10 feet from her. There was nothing he could have done. They are just devastated. Hug your kids and tell them you love them every chance you get.

TTYL,

Melodye

Yarn In Randallstown

Anonymous asked for more details:


Colours: The Yarn Haven is located inside the Kings Point Square Shopping Center, 9956 Liberty Road, Randallstown, MD 21133. The phone number is 410.701.8686. The shopping center is located on the right hand side coming from Baltimore City traveling to Randallstown. Pass Tiverton Road and look for Marriottsville Road also on the right. The shopping center has Food Lion on the right, which is the first building on the at Kings Point Square Shopping Center. Colours is located inside Kings Point Square Shopping Center; turn into the parking lot.

Coming from Carroll County, after crossing the Liberty dams, pass Deer Park Road on the left, Kings Point Square Shopping Center is located on the left hand side. Turn left into the parking. Colours: The Yarn Haven is located inside of the shopping center.

The shop is open 10-6 except Sunday and Wednesday, when it is closed. Open til 8 on Mondays.

TTYL

Melodye