Stream of (un)consciousness

I'll be bouncing around here a bit today, because, frankly, I'm bouncing around a bit in real life lately, so why should this be any different?  First, I want to thank you, thank you, thank you all for the comments left at my last post.  I thought I'd probably hear from 4 or 5 Chicagoans, but the response in comments (and emails) from residents and ex-pats has been overwhelming.  I'm still trying to answer them all, while maintaining ongoing correspondence with those I've gotten back to already.  Both M and I are so touched by your offers, as well as your concern about our marriage.  (Sorry about that...I couldn't resist having some fun with the news.)  Honestly, Tuesday morning I woke up feeling like I had a hangover.  Sort of, 'Huh. I read it on the blog so I guess we must really be doing this!'

Original magazine photo of whirling star quilt  (Click)

I've had lots of inquiries about the whirling star block so I scanned in the magazine shot of the antique quilt from which I got the block idea.  Here's the original pattern page.  Some scoffed when I said I was looking for a quicker way to piece this and although it is a little fussy (requires templates,) my solution was to add an extra 1/4" along the outer edge of the background pieces and a bit extra to the inside edge of the fanblade template so that I wouldn't need to be too matchy when sewing, especially since these all have a bias edge somewhere. 

Here's the basic breakdown of the block pieces.  The templates all have the seam allowances added plus the extra 1/4" outer edge noted by the broken lines.

The resulting blocks have some edge unevenness which I'm not worrying about because of that added 1/4".  When I'm ready to assemble the top, I'll square them up, saving me lots of fiddling now during block piecing.

I know there are still knitters around so I have a question for you...how's Sandy these days?  (Dare I try to insert a link?)  Recently, when I click the Blogline version of Sandy's Knitting post to bring up her webpage, my computer goes bonkers!  It repeatedly loads the page, ad finitum, until I stop and reboot the computer.  At first I thought, Wow, I'm a winner! but I had to face reality when no check arrived.  Sandy, I love you, but this is getting tiresome.  Anyone know what's going on here? 

I had more to write today, but keep getting interrupted so it will have to wait.  I think my lazy days of drifting from whim to whim are behind me for a while, but the excitement of change will be worth it.  I've been living in black and white the last few months but I feel the color coming back.  We're heading to the city for a few days so I got a good haircut yesterday because I was starting to look the hermit of the heartland.  Well, I think it's good...with curly hair, it always takes a few days to render a final verdict.  Let's say, 'improved.'

And am I the only one who didn't realize we're starting daylight savings time three weeks earlier this year?  As in *this weekend*?  I have to get up at 4:30 tomorrow morning for the drive north with M.  I sure hate the thought of losing that extra hour of sleep Saturday.

Comments

[margene]

Sandy's fine and her blog is still there. Maybe this link will work for you. http://www.sandysknitting.com/
It always makes me sad to see comiing morning light disappear again. Not sure I like this DST change so early in the year!

[Carole]

I'll like the longer afternoons but I'm not sure about the darker mornings!

[JudyC]

Yes Ms. Jan you will be getting up at 3:30 AM!! After you hit the sack when 2 AM arrives it will move to 3AM and you will lose that hour! Have a great trip looking all around!

[sandy]

Huh. This happens EVERY time you try to go to my blog? this is not good. I wonder....I wish I were a computer geek.
Sigh.
I HATE DST. I will feel jet lagged for 2 weeks.
I LOVE your quilt!
Let me know if the problem still exists. Huh.

[Anita]

I'm surprised at the lack of press in the earlier time change. But my husband is in the computer industry and they are working hard to make sure it doesn't mess up their computers. Ours? Well, if we've downloaded all the updates, it should be fine. I hate loosing that hour too!

[Chris]

Heh, they're calling the DST change "the mini-Y2K" because of the effect it has on computer systems. It's miserable!

[Kathie]

I have to say I like DST. I love the longer evening. Bring it on!

Did I tell you I LOVE that Whirling Star block? And I like your alteration of it. I'm definitely going to file this one away for future reference. The antique-y colors are great but your bright and snappy fabric choices are even better.

[Jo]

It's been a very long time since I commented (sorry!) I just wanted to let you know I am still reading and WOW on the big changes ahead for you guys, I hope it all goes as smoothly as possible. And thanks for posting that template. Your blog is one of the only ones I still manage to read (semi) regularly and every time I see the quilts you are working on I remember why!

[susan]

aha haaaa haa haa! my favorite line for the entire week is in your blog -
"hermit of the heartland".
and that quilt is quite stunning! have fun my dear, the adventure is beginning! wheeeee!

[gray la gran]

don't you just love a new haircut? isn't it crazy how a change like that changes which lipstick you choose, or clothing to wear?! ... well, that's what it does to me :)
i bookmarked this page, as i really like this quilt block.
i also picked out the colors for my *next* (second) quilt, but kinda chickened out on the colors for the flowers, ... so i must wait about 2 weeks until i can make it back down to the fabric store. (my background is kinda dark, with blues/teals/lavenders ... and my stems/leaves are ____ greenish/goldish & bluish, with metallic or "frosting", and i want my flowers to be shades of purples/lavenders ... like dusk ... when everything has a bluish cast, colors are harder to discern, and yet they glow under the rising moon.)
ps. i had no clue as to the time change until my mom broke the news to me today. good thing i don't have anywhere to be sunday where timeliness matters.

[Lily]

Jan wow love how you recreated the pattern to make it easier but stay true to the original. I am slowly learning to cut a bit extra and then trim to fit later :)

Good luck with your forthcoming move - so glad it excites you!

[Cindra]

I can see why that quilt caught your eye! It really is beautiful.
I want you to know your last entry had such an impact on me you were actually in my dream last night. I was walking through a little downtown area of a Chicago suburb and I asked where we were and thought, I need to tell Jan about this area. It really is quite quaint. LOL! I think it was called Remington and I have no idea if it really exists. Have good time this weekend and good luck!

[marsha]

What a wonderful quilt block!!! I can't wait to see your finished object!! I just happened to your blog after reading a little at Mason Dixon..I clicked on your link at their site. It brings up a very sore point. There just aren't enough hours in the day or maybe it's just me. I have a job, realtor. BUT I love to do so many things. Knit, sew a little, paint, mosaic, garden, cook. None great, but loved just the same. I started a quilt abut 8 months ago and it is going well. But I put it up and am knitting quite a bit in my spare time. Have the itch to paint again..YIKES. I was wondering if I could make a deal with you. I'll finish my quilt..oh, let's say in the next 30 days, (just the top) and send you a photo. That's it...nothing else, just someone I've told I'd finish!! The reason why I say just the top is that I've never made a quilt and I've no clue how to bind, quilt and finish. We'll get to that!!

[julie brunner]

These floating blocks are the best. They look like you've been working on precision, but, really you just square them up. I'm working on diamond in the rough, another floating block with no matching points!

fun fun fun...smile

[Monica]

great thank you!! It's a really great block because it lends itself to so many colour combinations...

[Kelli]

This would be the wrong time to mention that Arizona doesn't have daylight savings time and probably never will. We don't need MORE daylight.

[Dale Anne]

LOVE the look of that block! GREAT JOB!!!

[Kay]

Hi Jan! I'm just catching up! This is stupendous news.

May it all go smoothly and we'll see get you hooked up with all the knitters in Chicago. Which is a lot of knitters.

xox Kay

[Felicia]

That whirling star quilt looks like its going to be fabulous.

[weirdbunny]

I love the colours your using for your quilt. Can't wait to see the end result.