Bipolar 4: Connection {an art quilt series} finished!

If you've been following my blog for a while, you know that I have Bipolar Disorder and that I've been trying to work through the emotions and problems of the disease. An art quilt series seemed appropriate for the task, so I started one back in May or June. Because I decided to hand quilt the first couple of quilts and machine quilt others, I am finishing them in a bipolar sort of order. Well, what did anyone expect?

This is number four, Connection, in the series. As I go along I'm researching ways to overcome the many challenges of Bipolar 1. It's not easy to keep up with them all. But this is giving me time to think, pray and meditate about living with a disease that will never be cured. One of the reasons that it's become such a big issue is that since I've retired, I begun sharing this information with others.

My family has known for a few years. I told Richard the day that I received the diagnosis. But I. I have always known that there is something different in my system. I figured out part of the puzzle when I finally saw a doctor and began taking antidepressants. But even the meds didn't "fix" everything.

Eventually I got the diagnosis and received medicine specifically suited for BD. I've researched the symptoms, the medicines, therapies, and so on. Even so, everyday seems to bring something new. 

Now I'm trying to include some of the strategies that have worked for others. That's how I've gotten here. And hopefully it will lead me forward.   

Look for other quilts in the series here:

Bipolar  {an art quilt series} 

Bipolar 1: Creative 

Bipolar 2: Structure 

Bipolar 3: Balance 

Bipolar 4: Connection 

And, visit the Bloggers Quilt Festival at Amy's Creative Side to post your own quilt finish--but hurry because it ends tomorrow. Want some inspiration? There are over 150 blogs posted thus far! 

Pin It Weekly #173

That's what I've been pinning lately, but there are many others who are pinning, too. For example, Miki Orengo has been pinning inspirational quotes:

Brenda Gossett has a board titled "Sew u say?" that has all manner of stitches, patterns and ideas.

Renee Smith has a quilt board with 144 pins. 

What have you been pinning lately? 

More studio cleaning

You know how yesterday I wrote about my messy worktable? Well, I returned to the clean-up today and advanced a little bit.

The small project on the left is an organizer for Dusti's car. I cut it out from the leftover fabric that we used when we updated her sun visors so it will match. I intend to put a strap on it so that she can hang it on the back of the seat.  I'll use Velcro as a fastener so she will have some choices in where and how she uses it.

In another spot I had two tops that needed altering for a friend. They were advanced to the front of the line and are now complete. In fact, I put them in the car to return on Tuesday. I just needed to shorten the bottoms and sleeves.  Done and done.

Wow! I should have gotten to this cleaning business sooner! Somehow it all ran smoothly and quickly. So I folded some fat quarters and put those away. Tomorrow I plan to tackle the big pieces of fabric that I'd pulled for the last few quilt projects. That will take more time, but then I'll be able to see across to the other side of the table. I haven't able to do that in a while!

Finally I'll figure out what to do with those items that don't really have a home. That's always a difficult decision for me. My studio is full, so finding a space for new stuff is not easy. Plus, I tend to forget where I've put things, so I need to reason through the process.  

And then I'll be ready to get that big quilt finished! Wasn't that the goal at the beginning?

I'm linking up some of my recent finishes with Crazy Mom Quilts. Now that Amanda Jean is back from her 
mini-vacay, there will be lots of blogs to catch up with.

On Sun Visors and Granddaughters ~~ an odd finish!

Dusti: Grandmay, can you please sew my sun visor?
Me: What?
Dusti: Sew my sun visor on my car.
Me: What?
Dusti: We are fixing my car and Dad took the visor off. And I want to cover it with fabric, but I need you to sew it.
Me: When? What? Now? 
Dusti: Dad is leaving to go to work and he's going to put the visors back on the car tonight.
Me: Really? Now? 
Dusti: But Grandmay, it's going to be so pretty. I got really pretty fabric, but I need you to sew it.
Me: Tonight? Now? Oh, come on. This is crazy. Come on.

visors in up position

visors in down position

So now it's 9 p.m. and I've just sent them on their way, two newly recovered sun visors done and supper included.  So, yes, we paid them for the pleasure of doing them a crazy favor.  Is it any wonder that they come up with this kind of insanity?  Well, honestly, Pinterest does not help my cause.

view showing the door panels and visors (with mirrors open and lit)

Will (dad) removed the visors and took them apart. Then I used one visor as a pattern cutting around the visor with a good inch extra to fold over. 

Once the fabric was cut out, Will and I pinned it around the visors to hold it in place. I had to sew the part that was cut out for the mirror first. There's also a bar that hooks to a plastic piece on the ceiling so the visor will stay in place. The visor has another hole for this bar, so I sewed around that section. 

the door panels on the driver's side

The fabric covers cardboard, and I sewed around the outside of the cardboard so the fabric would stay in place and be easier to handle. Then Will put all the parts back together: the bar that holds the visor in place and the lighted mirror plus its wires. The fabric covered cardboard folds around these parts, and I sewed another seam to keep it closed. 

Check out that happy smile! Actually, I wasn't as cranky as I felt, and the job wasn't as difficult as I expected. And now I'll admit that it was interesting to see how it would work. 

UPDATE 8-17-16: A couple of people asked for directions, so look in my response to Preeti for a breakdown of the steps. Now I wish I'd taken photos of the process!
All photos taken inside the car are from Will (Dusti's dad).

One more project for the Ford Escape--see it here.

Linking up with these blogs--go visit and see what others are working on / finishing up.

My Quilt Infatuation

Quilting is more fun than housework

Sew Fresh Quilts

Pretty Maids All in a Row ~~ Finished!

One of the kits that I put together to sew while we were on vacation is this set of pink bricks. It was easy, straight-forward sewing with no thinking necessary: sew two together until all the pairs were done; then sew up the pairs and so on until all the columns were finished. Press and sew the columns together and in no time I had a quilt top folded and put away in my "sewing room" cubby in the camper. 

I think I enjoyed sewing this quilt top precisely because it was so easy. Who wants to work on a difficult quilt while unwinding, right? I think that there are enough variety that I didn't worry about whether the same fabrics were close to each other. 

 The quilt is very pink, perfect for a girly, girl, so I quilted it with an all over feather motif. Where the feathers didn't quite meet, I added some pebbles. And that's it!

Kept it very simple and easy. Can you see the feathers? They are pretty big, but I wanted to cover lots of space so that the quilt will be soft and cuddly. 

 A couple of new teachers at work are expecting babies or just had a baby! So I thought I'd replenish the pile of baby quilts that I've already begun to give away. 

	Quilt Stats
Name	Pretty Maids All in a Row
Size	41" x 42"
Fabrics	Scrap fabrics—pinks (entirely from scraps/stash)
Backing	Stash fabrics in gray
Binding	Moda light pink from stash
Pattern	2½  X 5 bricks
Quilting	Free motion feathers with pebbling  between feathers
Completed	June 2016

Linking up with

Needle and Thread Thursday at My Quilt Infatuation

Amanda Jean at Crazy Mom Quilts
Can I Get a Whoop Whoop at Confessions of a Fabric Addict
Sew Cute Tuesday at Blossom Heart Quilts

Pin It Weekly #134

It's almost January--when we try to up our game on cleaning and organizing.  Already I've been thinking about some of the stuff that needs attention.  Namely scraps of fabric, bits of ribbon, bobs of thread, you name it!  If there's a bit, no matter how bitty, I tend to want to hang on to it.  So, I've been pinning ways to store those itsy bitsy, teeny tiny, bits and bobs.  Here are just a few.  

Scrap storage ~~ 

This one is the storage system I use.
Read about it here.

Scrap usage ~~