Valerean

Thanks to playing with my Fabscrap fabrics I'm almost 100% sure I want to make a Dresden fan quilt now; it's a fun way to use lots of different fabrics to produce pretty patchwork. Right now I'm still making practice pieces to figure out the exact design. I've never worked much with wovens or plaid, so this one was fun to make. I'm learning, too -- using prints for the background fabric means it shows through lighter fabrics, as you see here with the stripey linen I used, so some strategic trimming is needed. I like using feather stitch embroidery rather than straight hand-quilted stitches on the blades of the fans, too. I'm still not sure how I want to finish the base of the fans. I like the lace and the yo-yos more than the usual fabric wedge, probably because they're easier and look better. I have one more to make, and then I'll probably commit to a quilt. All of these fabrics in the Dresden fan practice pieces would have ended up in

Since I wanted to try making some garments this month I decided to tackle mending this black and white flannel sample shirt I got from Fabscrap. Sample garments are unfinished pieces that can have some issues, although from the front this one looked really nice. The real issue was the big gap in the back. I didn't have any kind of flannel scraps large enough to patch the gap, unfortunately. The shape of the hole reminded me of NYC skyscrapers, however, and in the white scrap pack I had a graphic knit piece I thought would work well as a patch. I needed something to cover the raw edges of the gap, and tried a couple of bias scraps I had on hand (always save your bias scraps; you never know when you'll need them!) Another possibility. Plain black seemed to be the way to go. The next step was to baste the patch in place for sewing on the machine. Mixing knit with flannel can create some headaches, as one is stretchy and the other isn't, but if you&

My big sewing project this month was to make a new cover for Kat's bird cage. Every night since she left I've been draping it with this piece of fleece to block out the light so the birds can sleep. It's too thick to let air circulate well, though, and keeps falling off. Here's my solution. I made it out of thin black broadcloth (leftover from MegaCon 2014, believe it or not) and fitted it to the top, front and sides. I didn't use a pattern, but just eyeballed it. The back of the cage remains uncovered, and combined with the thin fabric allows plenty of air to get into the cage while blocking light. The birdies seem to approve; with the new cover they didn't make a peep all night. :)

In my latest order from Fabscrap I bought a white scrap pack. I use white a lot with my quilting, and I love it as a textile art background. I was not disappointed by the lovely variety of white fabrics that came in my order, either. There were several really nice big pieces, including some embroidered and eyelet lace. That NYC logo might end up becoming the patch for the back of my mendable flannel shirt. I have a low volume quilt planned for next year, and the white scraps will definitely help me with than project. So far my favorite scrap pack is still the Multi Cotton, as I get a lot of cool fabrics in those. This time I got one leg of a pair of jeans, which also tickles me. :)

I decided to be brave and try to make some garments this month, but not from scratch. Fabscrap sells "mendable garments" which are samples which are unfinished, have some issues or otherwise need finishing. It seemed like the perfect thing for me, so in my latest order I bought a pound of tops for $5.00, and got two mendales. The first top is a beautiful men's flannel shirt from a very nice name brand label. I checked their web site, and they retain these shirts for $59.00. I paid $2.50 for mine. It looked totally wearable to me, and since I like to wear men's flannel shirts as jackets, and I love black and white, it was perfect for me. There's really only one problem with the garment. Yep. Big hole in the back. :) It definitely needs some creative mending. The other mendable top I received had no label, and needs a good amount of TLC, but it's also doable. The fabric pattern is totally awesome. I could see Kat wearing something like thi

One reason why I make so many practice pieces with my quilting is because I like to see what challenges I'm going to face before I commit to a big project. Making this one Dresden fan block taught me a lot, too. Lessons learned: I thought the patchwork would be simple to make (nope.) The points would not be a problem for me because I could use my turner to poke them into place (only the seams fold over and bulge.) Using a ruler and strict seams would prevent me from making a cutting mistake (still made several.) Attaching them to the background fabric would be easy (nothing in piecing is ever easy for me.) A fan would allow me to use different kinds of fabric (yes, but I should avoid the see-through whites.) I might make a few more before I commit.

Happy Thanskgiving from Valerean.

Hurricane Nicole didn't cause as much tree damage as Ian did, but there was a lot of little stuff to pick up -- one of the downsides to having a lot of trees around us. At sunset on the day after the storm the sky began to turn beautiful colors. I didn't mind the work involved in cleaning up. Everyone has to deal with some kind of recurring weather extreme where they live -- snow, tornadoes, wind spreading wildfires -- and (aside from the years I spent in the military) hurricanes have always been part of my life. I'd much rather spend a day picking up tree debris than six months shovelling snow, or run to a storm cellar during a tornado, or evacuate in the face of a wildfire. Actually we have wildfires here, too, and one year we almost had to run from one. Anyway, it's not that hurricanes are less destructive. Sometimes, as with mini-tornado that hit us during Irma, they can be terrifying. But more often than not they are just a day or two of wind an

I've started playing wih some ideas and my Fabscrap materials for a quilt design. Dresden fan is one of the quilts on my bucket list, and would make good use of most of the fabric. I really can't sew straight, but creating the wedges isn't super difficult, and I can use a lot of different colors in one quilt.

My storm project during Hurricane Nicole was to make a swatch journal book out of these Fabscrap flannel and stretch denim remnants. I want to preserve the more interesting labeled swatches I find in my orders. I kept this very simple by hand stitching the cover and embroidering it with a little vintage perle cotton. The wrap around ribbon is hand-dyed seam binding left over from another project. The bead and button are also vintage. I used the two smaller pieces of light blue flannel to make inside pockets. I need to find a mini ring binder to fit the inside in order to turn the fabric into pages (this so they can be removed), but in the meantime I'm using a clip to hold the interesting swatches inside together.

With embroidery I always struggled with lettering, and I'm not a big fan of tracing paper or iron-on lettering. So over the last year I've learned a little hack that allows me to letter almost anything in any style I want. First I print out my lettering on bond paper in the font size I want, and then cut it up and arrange it on the project to see where I want each word. I then use a razor knife to turn the printouts into stencils. Once the stencils are cut out, I pin them to the project and use a disappearing marker to trace the letters I'll be embroidering. As you can see the results are pretty nice.

Flexed mine this week when I planned three different series in a new universe, and outlined five novels of the first one. I think after long experience outlining series and books becomes automatic, but I didn't realize I'd finally got to that point. Also, got approval for all three series, which means I will be happily writing books until at least the middle of 2024 (knocking on everything made of wood around me.)

My skin treatment to remove all the precancerous patches on my face was successful, and much improved how I look, too. I'm being diligent about taking care of my skin, and will have a follow-up in January, but all the worry there is gone. Considering all I had to deal with were a few days of discomfort (and an aftermath that was basically just an ugly sunburn) I'm impressed with how well the blue light treatment works and how quickly I healed. I am not a quick healer these days. I've also met with my new diabetes doc, who feels pretty optimistic about how I'm doing while back on the meds. My numbers have dropped consistently, and I'm being absolutely faithful to my diet. Since I refuse to take painkillers of any kind she wants me to try yoga to deal with my chronic neck pain. I do have an odd little wound on my right ankle that refuses to heal, and as feet are big issues for diabetics I'm having an ultrasound on the foot to see if there's a problem.

I watched the Japanese movie Tapestry because it featured two actors I really like: Masaki Suda, who is brilliant no matter what role he plays, and Nana Komatsu, whose subtle skills and luminous presence put her in a class of her own. I don't often enjoy Japanese dramas, but for once I was pleasantly surprised. This is a lovely film about a romance that spans eighteen years. Masaki plays Ren Takahashi, who by literally an accident meets Aoi Sonoda (played by Komatsu) during a fireworks show. Both are 13 years old and have grand ambitions for their lives, but instantly fall for each other. Aoi comes from a very troubled home, however, and ends up abruptly moving. After learning she's being regularly beaten by her mother's lover, Ren runs away with her for a night, after which the police find and separate them. Their lives continue on different paths but they meet again at mutual friends' wedding at age 21. Although it's obvious that they still have feeling

I often say that I'm inspired by my materials. While going through my Fabscrap stash the colors of these three pieces made me think of winter skies, snow and trees. Here's how those fabrics became the elements to express my thoughts. Now I add embroidery stitches that bring out the fine details. Feather stitching over the tree shape suggests a trunk and branches.

In my Fabscrap orders I received a lot of lightweight cotton striped pieces that are probably scraps from shirts. Stripes are sometimes hard to incorporate in quilting projects because of the directional pattern, but I happen to love them for another reason. Striped fabric is wonderful for embroidery and hand-quilting practice. After I practiced on this piece I used it to make a gift bag for the holidays. Since I didn't have a matching piece for the back I used some leftover backing fabric from the Happiness quilt, and stitched a design in threads to match the colors on the practice piece. The handles are made from leftover binding scraps. These also make great project bags.