Catching up, ruling out and playing along

I've been very sluggish about posting lately, but I do have a few things to share. My "Practice What I Preach" top from Pam's workshop has been fully assembled for about a week. (No, I didn't notice that my hourglass blocks weren't all going the right way until I had it completely assembled. I am NOT going to fix them!)

 It does lay flat, I just didn't smooth it out well on the design wall before taking photos. Now I need to "quilt as desired", whatever that will be. I'm thinking I may get some good feather practice in on this.

I've had people ask me about doing ruler work with my sit-down HQ Sweet 16 quilting machine. It is doable. Definitely a different process from doing it with a longarm, and I find that putting loops of good quality masking tape on the back (cheap stuff leaves residue) helps hold them in place as I work. This photo is from the clamshell quilting I did on my version of Lori's Pink Lemonade--see the tape? I posted about it here.

Still on the ruler theme, lately I have become enamored with the curved cross-hatching I've seen on many of the FMQ blogs I follow. When Linda Hrcka finished the quilting on Pam's Settler's Puzzle quilt, she posted a link to the Jamie Wallen rulers she used. Jamie has a great video tutorial on how to create the curved cross-hatching--and I was sold! It was foolish brave of me to splurge just before going to retreat, but I did it. I kept thinking about this purchase when the temptation to spend lots of money at retreat would get strong. : )

My ruler set was waiting for me when I got home.

Though I watched Jamie's tutorial twice, I still failed to mark my registration lines when I played with the rulers, so I got the feel for them, but didn't get precise results. However, I believe the potential is there. I had quite a booboo as I was starting out (see bottom of photo), but then things seemed to settle down.

At the top of the photo I was playing with a wavy ruler Santa put in my stocking, and after making the design with it I decided to fill it with feathers, just for fun.

When I determined that this was the Year of the UFO, I told myself that I could not start new large projects, and my only minis had to be for seasonal decor or gifts--with one exception. I knew I would need to do Lori's new SAL. Hence, here is my progress on Midwinter Blues (and I love that name so much I don't know that I will rename this one).

 Most of the fabrics for these blocks came from contributions to my stash by very generous blog friends--thanks Karen and Carole! Lori just posted part 2 of this SAL today--not too late to join!

And I did allow myself one BOM for this year. You have to have at least one of those going, don't you?  I was happy to see that Barbara Brackman's new Threads Of Memory SAL was a monthly block instead of weekly. I can't keep up with those weekly things. Here is my version of block #1--Portsmouth Star.

I want to tell you about two of my heros before I close. If you have followed me for a while you know that DD#2 has a young son with Dravet Syndrome, a rare, intractable form of epilepsy. Last week he set a personal record of 19 seizures within 12 hours. His poor little, exhausted body was wobbly for days. DD#2 copes with courage and faith that astounds me. And I see that same courage and faith exhibited in DD#1 as she received a diagnosis of MS last week. She is gathering information and doing her best to stay positive and do what she can as she awaits an appointment with a specialist. These young women are putting their trust in the Lord that He will give them the strength to deal with whatever the future holds. They both constantly leave me in awe. I am privileged to be their Mom. My thanks to all who have been privy to these situations and have offered their prayers, encouragement, and insight.

Until next time,
Janet O.