The Embroidery Challenge

Working on The Splendid Sampler mystery quilt challenge is an interesting undertaking.  I'm trying to stay true to the quilters who have designed and donated patterns for this year-long project.  So that means tackling techniques that are unfamiliar and/or daunting to me.  It is also bringing out the part of me that likes to do things in a linear fashion.  Blocks are released twice a week and it I am finding it difficult to do them out of sequence.

However, I did give myself a bit of breathing room with block #11, Crocheted Thoughts by Alyssa Thomas of penguin & fish.  I have not done much embroidery.  I've enjoyed needlepoint, weaving, cross-stitch, knitting, and quilting.  I've made needlepoint pillows where the design was painted on the canvass already (New Mexico inspired, Ca[e Cod/Martha's Vineyard map, iris).  And I've followed a pattern in a book and counted my way through the pattern (Noah's Ark).

(mostly) my pillows. Heather made the left NM one.

Love my counted Noah's Ark!

But I've not tackled embroidery in any serious manner.  I think, in part, because in my mind, I would never be as good as my Mom and others who worked on the dais cloth before the tour of 1980 or 1984.  The embroidered edge of that cloth will always be the standard by which I judge all else.  And there is no way that I am going to measure up.  I'm not putting myself down, just being realistic.  That art form doesn't attract me enough to make me want to practice and practice and practice some more.  So I've avoided it, mostly.  Until this quilting block challenge.

Dais cloth in the Hall.

I think this was Mom's section.

The lady slipper has always been my favorite.

Heather made these apple blossoms.

Block #4 had a few moments of embroidery -- stems for flowers that were pretty easy.

Block "Happy, Happy"

Then Block #7 got a bit more serious.  I procrastinated on that for a while until I found part of my stash of floss and pearl cottons.  The whole block consisted of back stitch and some knots.  That seemed do-able.  Hmm. I must have taken this picture before realizing that I forgot to add the boy's feet at the end of the blanket and I have since added them on.

Block "Snug as a Bug"

And then came Block #11.  Oh my. A complex pattern that wasn't easily traceable on the glass slider and it required the chain stitch.  I dithered a bit before I started.  I even took a block out of order and made #12, Checkerboard.  I actually made three of them because they were fun and, why not?

Checkerboard three ways

I love the scrappy version!

I didn't want to be a quitter 1/10 of the way into the challenge.  So I set my inferiority complex aside and got to it.  I ordered a soluble sticky transfer paper.  I printed out the pattern and stuck it to my block.  I bought new variegated thread in pretty blues.  I bought reader glasses because I couldn't thread the needle and I couldn't see the pattern very well.  My arms aren't long enough or something because I couldn't find a focus point.  And after all that,  I got to it.

With the printed pattern still stuck on.

My stitches aren't perfect.  Using a soft cotton might not have been the best choice...but I'm happy that I made the block and that I can now move onto blocks 13-16 and keep my sense of order.

Washed and ironed block

With the thread and my new magnifying glasses.

Quilt Guild

On Saturday, the Seacoast Modern Quilt Guild held their monthly meeting.  Nedim was involved with some activity that wasn't conducive to being parent on duty, so I brought Selim with me.  The meeting took place at the Newburyport Public Library and I figured that was an OK place for him to hang out for two hours.  He had his ipod and headphones and a decent attitude about tagging along.

I don't remember going to Newburyport before.  That seems silly since it is so close.  It is a very picturesque, old New England, maritime town.  I discovered that it has lots of one-way streets that I didn't know about when I was looking on my map.  Good thing the downtown area is fairly small and I had factored in a few extra minutes for the getting lost portion of the drive.  We pulled into the municipal lot with eight minutes to spare.

I think I'm going to like this group of ladies.  Their is a wide age range which I appreciate.  I was inspired by the show and tell part of the meeting.  I saw a quilt up close and personal that I had only seen up on a blog.  Fun!  These women are creating really interesting things.  One had fabric stretched like canvas on a frame and had done tiny applique.  Stunning.  It got my juices going and made me want to finish something, anything!

Five minutes into the meeting, Selim's ipod died.  He came over to sit beside me and he was so attentive and non-disruptive.  I felt badly for him...I offered to go out into the library and find the kid section, but he wanted to stay put.  During the hands on activity, I gave him one of the hexagon paper pieces and he basted around the edges.  His is the blue and teal leaf print.

Hexagon handwork

I have a hexagon project going that I started in Thousand Islands last summer.  I didn't bring my sewing machine with me on vacation, so I picked up a pack of hexagons and a fat quarter bundle and basted the hexagons in the evening.   I don't think I have touched the project since getting backbexcept to add more potential fabric.  This little demonstration made me realize that I can sew them together and that I should get on it. I have pulled some other fabric patterns to go along with the pack that I started with...we'll see if they add any value, or not.

Trying out color groupings

Sunday morning after our chocolate chip and blueberry pancake extravaganza, I went  down to my sewing room and made block #6 from The Splendid Sampler.  I love this block.  I dug around my scrap bag a bit and found more blues that I am very pleased with. This dark blue is darker than any other blue that I have used so far, but I needed the contrast.  I will be adding darker gray and maybe a deeper pink later on. The blue/yellow batik print that I used today I found in the bag, pre-cut to the necessary 1 1/5 inch width.  Score!

This is block #6 Focal Point by Natalia Bonner.

Focal Point

And here are blocks 1-6.  They look a little washed out from the direct sun on the deck.

Blocks 1-6

I've made a few extra blocks and I think they look nice all together.

Nine blocks total

Block #7 which came out Sunday is all embroidery.  I spent more time going through boxes hunting for my thread.  I didn't find the box with the green lid, but in my left over knitting tub, I found a few things of floss, some wool, and fine pearl cotton.  I think I can use the wool for the block.

This sampler thing has been interesting for me.  I'm really enjoying the online community and seeing the pictures of blocks from all the other quilters.  The blocks finish at 6 inches square -- ergo the more detail and complex, the smaller the pieces seem to be.  That has been a challenge.  And so have the two blocks with applique.  I have yet to finish the two blocks with embroidery.  I'll get there this week.

It is so interesting to see the interpretation of the same pattern by other quilters.  There seem to be three camps: those that follow the pattern as it was written, those that make slight modifications, and those that see the pattern and do something akin, but really different using the same technique.  I'm trying to stay as true to the designer's original pattern as I can.  In part, I think my skills will develop if I try new techniques.  And these designers are giving away their patterns and I'm not at the point where I want to take complete liberty with them.  Part of that is personality as well -- one test had me in the army because of my belief that if there are rules, they should be followed.  That being said, I'm in awe at some of the wild interpretations that these patterns spark in other quilters.

So may be part of the journey for me might be loosening up a bit.  Block #7 is embroidery in the vein of Japanese pen and ink -- very minimalist and linear.  I love it.  Selim did some of that in art class earlier in the year.  At the same time, I'm seeing online all these other quilters who made itsy-bitsy patchwork, filling in the lines.  Who knows, maybe I'll rekindle my love on needlework and make more than one of these blocks: one like the pattern and one with more embellishment.

I'm also trying really hard not to be obsessive about finishing the blocks the days they drop, Sunday and Thursday.  It is OK if I don't keep up or if I end up making them in a different order.  That's what I keep saying.  But it is hard.  I didn't get to Thursday's block until this the weekend.  Life happens.  This is supposed to be fun and no stress. I'm enjoying the online community and encouragement that everybody gives.  I noticed today that others are just starting.  So my three days late doesn't seem so big a deal after all.  And now I have until Thursday to figure out the embroidery thing.

Salisbury Beach

Saturday after the Seacoast Modern Quilt Guild meeting, Selim and I headed up Route 1A to the Salisbury State Beach.  I'm not sure if I have ever been there before.  I might have been there after Hurricane Bob in 1991 to look at the coastal damage.  I can't remember.  Anyway, after sitting in the library meeting room for two hours, I was ready to stretch my legs.

We lucked out in that the wind wasn't too bad.  At first, Selim wasn't too thrilled to be there.  He stayed near the car while I walked down to the surf.  After seeing me climb on the rocks of the jetty, he decided to come down as well.  He found some sticks to play with and that was all it took to turn his mood around.

Finding sticks

Being goofy with sticks and daring me to take the picture.

He wasn't interested in taking pictures with me, but I am tenacious and got a few anyway.

On our way back to the car, we walked a top of the beach wall.  Selim noticed the sand patterns.

Crouching down for a better view.

We weren't sure if they were wind blown or high tide deposited.  But we did learn that they weren't made up of all sand.  It was just a fine layer upon a pile of snow.

Deeper and snowier than expected.

That broke the proverbial ice -- his feet and legs were covered in snow up to his thigh and now the real play began.  The wall had contained the blowing snow and made big drift piles as high as six and as low as two feet high, or so.  I had reservations about him jumping from the wall into the snow because I didn't know if there were rocks down below or if it was just sand.  As we aired our disagreement over the safety of jumping, a family with two really small kids arrived.  As soon as they got to the top of the wall, their dad yelled, "JUMP" and the did.  Selim looked at me; I shrugged my shoulders and gave him the nod.

He jumped and jumped and jumped and jumped.

Getting back up to the wall.

Making a seat.

"Mom!  Look!"

He rolled in the snow, got stuck up to his waist, and loved every minute.

My feet are dry, his are not.

I sat on a bench and watched him and the sea gulls, and tried to decipher the language of the group next to me.

Well, hello there.

When his feet were numb and he pants soaked, he cuddled with me on the bench.  A man walked by with his dog on a very long leash.  The man walked slowly and carefully.  Every now and then the dog would bark and look back, telling his man to speed up.  The group of four continued their lively discussion. As we sat on the bench, I tried to figure out what language they spoke.  It wasn't French, Spanish, or Turkish.  It wasn't guttural enough to be German.  Their words had soft sounds -- Portuguese?  When we walked past them on our way out, I asked. "Polish!  Polish power! We are speaking Polish!"  So cute.

I can see why people go to that beach in the summer.  We might have to do that once it warms up just a bit.

Two favorites: the beach and quilting

Today has been a great day as I got to combine two of my favorite things: a beach walk and quilting.  When it is 52 degrees in February, I have to take advantage and get to the ocean.

Ships waiting to go up the river.

In the morning I spent time in the garage trying to find my embroidery floss so that I could finish up Block #4 in the Splendid Sampler project.  I appreciate the designers and that these patterns are free.  And I'm learning that applique is really not the kind of sewing that gives me much pleasure.  This block had 9 tiny circle applique flowers. I found myself talking my way through it, as in, one down only eight more to go.  Woot!  I'm too stubborn to alter the pattern to make it easier.  I want the challenge, but I don't always enjoy it.  While I didn't find my floss, I found some of the pink and gray 2 1/2 inch squares from my 1990ish place mats.

Fabric squares have held up over 25 years.

Turns out those squares were just right for today's new pattern.  Block # 5 was called Simple Simon by Celine Perkins, and it was based on a nine-patch that used 2 1/2 inch squares.  All I had to do was cut the sashing.  But why make only one block when you have at least two other color combinations that are calling your name?   And this was my kind of block -- bigger pieces, no applique, and cutting the block and adding sashing to get more interest.  I really enjoyed it.  Two out of the three blocks came out a bit wonky, but I think they are cute none the less.

Pink version of Simple Simon.

While the twice a week six-inch blocks are fun, sometimes I feel the urge to work with bigger pieces of fabric.  So I turned to another on-line sampler series, The Sugar Block Club that is a monthly block project, using 12 inch squares.  I'm using the same fabric as the 6-inch and will probably mix and match to make two quilts.  The blocks that I really like making, I am not stopping at one.  I loved the February SBC block, her take on the Log Cabin and made it twice.  And I made three Simple Simon blocks this morning.

January & February SBC blocks

I still have to go back and embroider the stems on the flowers for Block #4.  Sigh.

Six and twelve inch blocks. Need to trim top right flowers and add stems.

After I finished sewing this morning, I pried Selim away from his electronic devices and took him to the beach.  We were due for some outdoor time and picture taking.  We decided on Wallis Sands.  It doesn't have the really long walk that you can get at Jenness, but that was OK.  This was the first time that I have ever seen horses on the beach.

Horses, really?

The sign says no dogs, but doesn't say anything about horses, so I guess they are allowed?

We moved over to the other side of the rock jetty and took a walk.  Selim found great skipping stones and had success with a few.  Some were too heavy and just sank.  Others didn't catch the waves just right and got swallowed up.  We watched the ships waiting for their turn to go up the river into Portsmouth.  It was warm; we felt the sand; we laughed and enjoyed each other's company.

The one shot I got as the waves were coming in.

And I made him take pictures.

And some more.

When we got home, Nedim had returned and I insisted on a family photo as well.  Tomorrow Selim heads back to school and my week of vacation hours come to an end as well.