I thought I'd create a diary for my whining and to share my quilts. So here's a whine: Well, I can't think of anything right now, but, don't worry, you'll all get sick of it. Here's a quilt. It's a scrappy quilt, which is where you take all the scraps left over from other quilts, or just random fabric you have in your stash (a stash is fabric that you HAVE to buy but don't have a use in mind) and put it all together.
So, teach me about quilting. How long did that one take you? How do you lay out the designs? Are those colorful patches on top of a continuous pad of fabric? Each one of the individual patches look like that are mini-quilts themselves.
Beautiful quilt, Jan. I have some very old quilts that my grandma made. And speaking of fabric stash, my MIL recently died and she was quite the seamstress. Her "stash" is more like a warehouse... stacks of fabric and at least 4 expensive sewing/surging machines.
My wife is also a quilter @Jan Ahlmann. She just finished our youngest son's "graduation quilt" 10 years too late. She has been making wedding and grandchild quilts since then though, so she has been busy. How do you quilt your art? Do you have a long arm machine, hire someone, do it by hand...?
I put things that I could easily sell on Craigslist for free so someone who needs the money can take it and sell it. Latest item, three people say they will pick it up and others are interested, I put "pending" on the listing, three people screw me, repost, no one replies, now I have to pay the city to pick it up or drag it back into my house to take it apart to throw it in the dumpsters or take it apart outside in the cold. Second time I've been screwed over like this. God knows I'm no saint, but I honestly try to help people when I can. I help more elderly than me neighbors. They know my family situation and that I'm alone, yet none ever invite me over for their holidays or even for a cup of coffee. I get attacked by a crazy man for feeding the birds which I have done for over 36 years and it is one of the few things that brightens my days. I don't tell anyone my family situation any more because in person or online they pretend to empathize but then throw it in my face to hurt me when it suits their purposes. New Year's Resolutions: Screw the crazy man and feed the birds No more helping anyone Throw anything I don't want into the dumpsters, don't even bother taking it to Goodwill Isolate myself even further Now I'm outta here for awhile. You all seem like very nice, happy people. God bless you all.
That has usually been what happens with me when I have listed something free on Craigslist, too, @Jan Ahlmann . People immediately respond (in droves usually), but then the no-shows and delays start, and then the ones whose car just broke down, the neighbor can’t bring them, and they need the item desperately……can I please deliver it to them ? If you have facebook, you can try Facebook Marketplace, and try charging a small price, which will stop at least some of the Looky-loos. I have another suggestion for you. My friend , Ina, made blankets with a large weaving loom, and then rehomed those. After her husband passed away , she started volunteering at the local VA veterans home in Houston, and she discovered that many of those veterans who were in the home had no family to visit them and were beyond happy when she brought them one of her hand-made blankets. Since you have the military background, this might be something that would work for you also. If not the VA, then a local nursing home, or anyplace where the elderly and disabled live and need a friendly face to come and chat with them. Daisy might be able to come along, and they would love seeing her, too. Most of us will be here over the Christmas holiday, so don’t stay away too long, please.
Put your location online or in the paper and you have no idea who that possible nut job is coming to your door.
I couldn’t stay away too long. At least I’m right about something, you are nice people! My next door neighbor came over yesterday with her seven year old daughter and brought some gifts and stayed and talked for a while. That was nice. I gave them a card with money and a note that it was for family time to do something fun and to send me a picture. They’re nice. The police called me the day after the crazy man tore down my bird feeders and said they’re referring him for charges. I meet with the DA on the 10th. The police aren’t happy that no one has reported him before. They kinda like to know if dangerous crazy people are in the city. Apparently, he was home yesterday from the hospital, for all the good it did. Like any city, we hear cars go by with the loud, booming music, and that’s what I thought it was at about 2PM, but it went on for several minutes . So I opened my door, and, yep, it was coming from crazy’s condo. It looked like he had his upstairs window open with the speaker in it, blaring one of those vulgar rap songs. Not sure why the people in his building let it go on for so long as stuff must have been falling off their walls. Eventually, it stopped. I’ll tell the DA about it. Why do people put up with that crap? Someone did come by Saturday night and took the exercise bike, so that’s over with. Again, thank you for your kindness!
If I had made it from start to finish all at once, maybe 20 or 30 hours. I always have several quilts in different stages going at once, so it’s never start to finish all at once, particularly scrappy quilts. Those I pick out two or three patterns and then work on them as my scrap basket fills up. I use patterns made by someone else. There are a lot of free ones on the internet. I think this was one of those. No, the white fabric as well as the color pieces are all cut up then sewn back together. It’s called a pieced quilt. Appliqué quilts are ones where you have a solid piece of fabric and you hand or machine sew other fabric on top. I have a few of those, but it’s not my favorite. Quilting only looks hard. As long as you can sew a straight line, you can quilt. Thank you for asking.
When I started in 1994, I hand quilted most everything and sometimes, with smaller pieces, would do just a crosshatch with the regular sewing machine. I could never get the hang of free motion quilting on a regular machine. You must be married to a quilter to know what a longarm is? Does your wife have one? I bought myself one when I retired. People always ask if I sell them, which I don’t. I give them away or keep them. A lot of them I donate to the local VA hospital.
Thank you. Someone finally came and picked it up. Yes, I’ve had all those things happen, too. This time it just got to me. My neighbor works for the VA hospital and I make a lot of quilts to donate there. I also make small pillow that they use to cushion the arms of wheelchairs. I buy the pillow forms then make two removable, washable covers for each. You reminded me I haven’t done that in a few months and will now get back to it.