On my machine

I got back the signature wedding quilt last week and spent a few minutes loading it on the long arm.  It looks great!

My first idea was to outline quilt the signature blocks and stitch in a small vine on the colored pieces.  This obviously didn't work as I'd hoped.  I can't seem to make a straight line and the vine, well, it leaves much to be desired.

So I'm working on a plan B.  By that I mean I may not use actually use Plan B. Thanks to Pinterest, I was able to find lots of quilting ideas.  I like some of them very much and like parts of others.  So I decided to make my own using some of the motifs that I like.  Of course, that meant making other changes so lines would connect better for me, but now I think I have it.  

Tomorrow I will scan and print the three sheets of paper so that I can make one long print then use it like a pantograph on the machine. (Maybe)  I need to enlarge the pattern because it is rather narrow and feels crowded.  I expected that though.  

I can trace very well and can draw freehand but I seem to do my best work on a small scale.  The larger I try to draw a motif, the more I struggle and no matter what, it's just not as good.  So, I keep it small and manageable and enlarge after.

I've taken photos of my finished drawing, but the photos are taking forever to upload.  I'll add them tomorrow after scanning.

Happy quilting,
Mary

Sunday Quilt Inspiration: A Little More Patience

Here are the final photos of the Patience Quilters' Show.  I feel that I need to get them in now because next week we will have the Cotton Quilters' Show and there will be more photos.  

I loved this darling little Sunbonnet.  I wish my photos could do her justice.  She is so pretty and dainty.

Aren't the colors in these quilts just stunning?  

 This next quilt has a nice folk-art appeal to it.  It also happened to be very well made.  I was impressed with the applique and use of color and fabric choices.  It didn't win any awards, but if I had been a judge, I think things may have gone differently.

Happy Quilting,
Mary

Getting Ready for the Cotton Quilters Guild Show

Richard dropped off two quilts for the Cotton Quilters Show.  It's set for next weekend and I'm a bit excited about having these two quilts in the show.  One is the barn quilt I made in the summer.

The second one is a smaller triptych, each panel with one butterfly silhouette.  I forgot to get a photo before it left, so when I get it back I'll have to take a few.

Pin It Wednesday #36

You know, it's been a while since we visited castles.  Let's do that, shall we?  I'd love to wander the halls, touch the stones, look out the turrets (although I terrified of heights), and find the hidden places.  Here are just a few, but there are many more on my "castle, home" board.

Mary

Things do fall apart in class

My English II class is almost finished reading Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart.  I've enjoyed reading the book again and even enjoyed teaching it. However it's been a huge battle regardless of the students' reading levels.  Now that we are getting ready to write an essay based on the book, I'm really getting nervous. 

It's not that the writing is any more difficult; it's that the students don't like the book and are tired of it.  They've really struggled to get past the cultural confusion and have complained more about this one book than I think I've ever encountered.

I, on the other hand, have loved the book. Of course, it's my fourth reading, at least, and I have the advantage of having done some research and having a little higher reading ability.

I'd love the opportunity to read Arrow of God and Anthills of the Savannah.  Our priest is originally from the Ibo tribe of Nigeria and has told me that he prefers Anthills.  I wish I could express his excitement while we talked about Achebe, Nigeria and the book. 

  

 I am very happy to have the chance to speak to Father Ibe.  He has answered so many questions about Nigeria and helped me to understand the civility of some of the Ibo customs.  For example, he explained the idea of a bride price, or paying for the honor of marrying a girl.  The price is set not to show what the girl is worth, but to show how honored she is...thus, the higher the price, the more the honor.  

Explaining it to 15-year-olds has been a little difficult.  It's easy to understand a custom while Father is excitedly talking and animating the explanation.  Remembering and reiterating the answer while blank, bored faces are staring at me is not.  Ahh, if only Father would come and do the explaining and the animating.  He's tall and lanky so, when his arms start flying around and he's excited to the point of jumping up to show what he's trying to say, he's fun and loud and funny.  Add his first hand knowledge, and you have a spectacle. There's no doubt that he would get something more than the blank, bored stares.

Sunday Quilt Inspiration: Patience Quilters

The beautiful quilts that I saw yesterday were so pretty that I thought I'd include a few more pictures today as part of our Sunday Quilt Inspiration.

Don't you agree that they are beautiful and inspiring?  I don't know if I can choose a favorite.  I do know that I could not be a judge!
Happy Quilting,
Mary