Be*mused

A River Runs Through It

That would be my basement, Friday night.  Again.  As my neighbor put it, the second *once in a hundred years* storm in less than three weeks.  This time the sump pumps worked fine, despite 20 hours with no electricity.  The river of water flowed in through the vent (closed) in one of our glass block windows when the window wells filled with over 10 " of water around 3:00 am.  Officially somewhere between 7"-9" of rain fell in several hours.  It was some night, but luckily I hadn't returned anything to the basement yet and had just gotten estimates last week to restore the walls and flooring.  Still, it was wearying.  My sister & BIL visited this week and initially thought it was the city's annual free furniture pick-up week when they noted street after street lined with curbside couches, carpeting and heaps of toys, boxes and other furniture.  "No, that would be flood aftermath..."

It's been a little slow here at Be*mused this summer but I can't blame it on weather events, trips or out-of-town company (more this weekend!).  I've been in a bit of a rut.  When I was thinking about it last week, I realized that I am drowning in handwork projects and really missed my time puttering in the sewing room.  Instead of starting something new, I decided to revisit some of my 'marinating' projects, blocks that had been put aside at some point for varying reasons.  When I came upon these long forgotten cake blocks, I knew they were just the ticket.

Although I've been busy the last few weeks, there are always a few minutes here or there to cut a few swatches and play with some new combinations.  The cake theme is a lot of fun, trying to come up with pastry-like fabrics from the stash and making them work with choices for tablecloths and background/wallpaper.  Auditioning.  This has always been my favorite part of making quilts. 

 

So while I'm making progress on appliquéd borders and hexagon blocks when I sit down in the evening, I'm having fun with this project during the day.  Not wanting to get ahead of myself, I'm trying not to think about sashing and borders yet but I have a few ideas.  And fervently hoping this won't get put back in the drawer.  It feels great to return to an in-progress project with enthusiasm.

Jennifer knows this feeling.  Isn't her medallion quilt project, left for quite a while, looking great this week?!!  When Anita started this quilt-along, I had too many other things going to consider it, but once more I'm sorely tempted.  For this week, I think I'll just have my cake...and piece it, too.  

Bring on the blossoms!

 

I haven't literally taken the process pledge, but I do support it wholeheartedly and have always tried to share what I'm doing, not just finished products.  (Otherwise, I'd be posting 3 or 4 times a year!)  Sometimes I hesitate to write about something that may be what everyone's doing anyhow, but invariably, someone comments that it was helpful and that always makes me happy that I went ahead a wrote about it.  Like today.

When I started making GFG blocks, I'd prepare my hexagons, thread my needle and assemble them willy-nilly, stitching until my thread ran out.  Up, down, left and right, there was no regular sequencing, which made it difficult to pick something out if necessary because it was impossible to figure out where the threads started or ended.  
 

Click for closer view

Looking for some border inspiration, I was recently thumbing through an old issue of Quilts Japan that was dedicated to Grandmother's Flower Garden quilts and came across this piecing diagram.  Brilliant!  I've since used this sequencing and highly recommend it.  Basically, you sew the 6 hexagons to the center piece in a continuous line.  Then you go back and sew the side seams, one by one.  Continue the next row the same way...attach the hexagons around the center flower-ette in a continuous line of stitching, then go back and sew those side seams one by one. 

Three more this week

One thing I particularly like about this method is that it makes it a much easier project to 'pick up and go' with.  Preparing multiple blooms by attaching the hexes around the center, you can take each block as a single unit, throw a needle and matching thread in your bag and sew those side seams while traveling or out & about.  Much less fuss than packing baggies of hexes and working out assembly sequences away from your favorite workspot.  Is this how you do it?  Am I the last one to the party?

 

Some of you have asked about our new yard so here are before and after photos.  The previous owner of our home had been a serious gardener but had spent several of her last summers here vacationing in Wisconsin.  Bushes were overgrown, plants were badly in need of thinning and invasive vines with tenacious, woody roots, entangled everything.  M & I naively planned to reclaim the yard space little by little but this spring threw in the towel after days of doing backbreaking, sweaty battle with it all. 

First, we had the tree people come in and remove 7 wild yews and trim up the large silver maples.  Then the landscapers arrived, cleaning out everything and setting aside over 60 hostas and some lilies for replanting.  A mere two days later....

Voila!  Although some areas look almost a little bare to us, I can't tell you how much stress was relieved by biting the bullet and having someone else take care of this for us.  Now that the bushes are gone, there are sunny spots for a cutting garden next summer.  And bulbs...I'll be planting lots of those this fall, too.  Though we're enjoying the luscious greens out there, now we need some color!!    

Cue the crickets

Chirp, chirp..................chirp, chirp.....................chirp, chirp. 

It's been quiet here, I know.  Not intentionally, just not much to write about lately.  We've had the hazy and we've had the crazy but where, oh where, are the lazy days of summer?  Actually, I think they arrived this morning.  And I'm insisting that they stay for a while! 

  

I have been chugging along on the hex flowers, a perfect summertime project.  The more I make, the more I want to add.  I have them laid here on an old print from the stash, a perfect choice for the path between, but unfortunately, a too- small piece to use for this project.  It's a Debbie Mumm, black with randomly sprinkled tan dots, probably from as far back as the 80's.  None of you long-time quilters have any of this in your stashes, do you?  Longshot, I know.  I haven't been able to find anything I like as well.  Holly Holderman has two prints in her upcoming Fun Flowers group which have gray dots or ditsy prints on black and they might work.  They're grid designs though, not the loose, random dots I like so much in the Mumm fabric.  I may have to compromise if nothing pops up in the meantime.

Exciting day.  I'm waiting for the plumber to arrive (he's here!) and then I have a few things to do before I can claim some sewing room time.  Things have been piling up around here and among other things, I have a big wash to do.

*wink*

And to the reader who asked when I posted about whoopie pies if I knew of any old Maine recipes for the Mounds bar-type coconut candy that has potato in it?  I told you I did have one *somewhere* and just came across it this week when I was looking for something else.  Now that it's in hand, I can't find your email!  Leave me a comment and I'd be happy to send it to you.

The bright side

 

The last week has been consumed with basement flood-related activity, when I've not been busy with new yard maintenance.  The irony of trying to dry one out while keeping the other wet has not been lost on me.  For something that you'd prefer not to ever experience, there have been some bright spots.  Although we lost a few sentimental items, most of what was ruined consisted of furniture that was perfectly good but we couldn't use in this house...stuck downstairs until we decided what to do with it...and boxes of things that should have been discarded anyhow.  Our excellent insurance coverage (and attentive insurance company!) will take care of restoring the finished room, so what remains for me is to line up estimates and schedule the work.  A major nuisance, but in a month or so, we'll be better off than we were before.  Some consolation. 

 

I'm more than a little embarrassed to mention that while weeding through things, I came across an unmarked box that I assumed belonged to one of the kids.  Thankfully untouched by any dampness, it was full of kimono and parts thereof which I had brought back from my first visit to Japan about 15 years ago.  Some pieces were purchased at flea markets in Nagoya and Kyoto, while several were gifts of the quilters whose hospitality I enjoyed during my stay.
 
 

Almost all were intended to be taken apart and used for other projects, some already missing sleeves or showing some damage in a particular area.  The firefly fabric, however, is part of a yukata (cotton summer kimono) which I bought new because I fell in love with the fabric.  I don't think I've opened this box since we lived in Cleveland, probably assuming through our moves that it belonged with the kids' stored things.  All week I've been thinking about them, and how I might put them to use. 

 

It's crossed my mind that if I had someone to slide me meals under the door, I could be locked in my sewing room for the rest of my life and probably never get to use all of the wonderful materials I've accumulated.  At first, I envisioned this scenario as a punishment, but the more I think about it, the better it sounds! 

 

While folding up my yukata today, I was thinking about sitting out on summer nights as a kid and watching the fireflies.  This reminded me of the butterfly lantern project I shared in an early post, before many of you found me.  Here's a link to my tutorial that you might find fun to use with your kids or grandkids this summer.  They look so pretty hung in the trees around a patio on a summer's night!