Two Quilts for 2 Brothers 1 month old and 55 months old

Quilters gotta quilt

Especially when there is a new grandson! This is for Robin Gabriel Brunner-Bourne. He was born August 27th, 2021. My daughter wants the quilt so they can take his one month old photo. So, I've got to get busy.

My 2021 routine, work outs and quilting

 My life has changed so much now.  I'm waiting on the vaccine that seems to be taking forever to get in the state of Oklahoma.  My husband, Bob is a Cherokee and in Oklahoma that means a lot.  He's had wonderful medical care and has already gotten the Covid 19 vaccine.  He got the Pfizer vaccine which, I guess is the best.  I, however am on hold with the rest of the world.  After filling out my information to possibly receive one, I am told that I am in Phase 4, which means the last to get it.  Kindergarteners and up and teachers will start to receive theirs on Monday, February 22nd.  My daughter, Chelsea, is also a Cherokee and was able to get her vaccine.  She is pregnant and I am hopeful that is okay. But, she's a teacher too and in class will be taking effect in March, so she really needed the shot.  

I spend my days mediating for 10 minutes.  I find a wide variety of programs for mediation on Youtube.  I like to read with an actual book in my hand for 45 minutes or so, while drinking a cup of hot water with a squeeze of lemon and a cup of hot nettle, dandelion, or fennel tea.  Books I have read or am currently readying: Atomic Habits, the Four Tendencies; and 31 Day Food Revolution.  I think I might like to start a tiny garden, because of the last book.  

Next I exercise for at least 30 minutes.  I like to watch a Youtube video workout called Eldergym Fit in 30 Days.  I've actually finished the 30 days and am now looking for something a little more strenuous and am trying working out with Tonya, who does fitness for Seniors videos.  

Then I eat a healthy breakfast.  I'm following Gillian Mckeith, who speaks on being a pescatarian, which means, vegetables and fish and chicken.  She has a lot of clean eating recipes with beans and veg.  I love her soups that are cooked and then placed in a blender, I think that's my favorite way to eat soup.  Her breakfasts are usually a smoothy or some type of oats in porridge.  

Then I like to go into my sewing room and work on a quilt.  My 2 I am currently working on are the Farm Girl Vintage and The Tattoo Quilt.  

Atomic Habits as applied to quilting

Atomic Habits by James Clear is an amazing book that opens up avenues for actually getting things done.  Like Moses with the ten commandments this lays it all out in a step by step way.  It inspires all kinds of things I can get done...clutter-no more...over eating-no more...for me, it has been a revelation.  I've from time to time maybe thought about applying some sort of these ideas, but it's good to see them laid out in order.   

So, with my new found knowledge, my goal is to try to apply thing to my quilting life.  I've been a quilter for over 30 years at this point.  I've probably finished well over a hundred quilts in that time, but the list of projects I can only dream of finishing has grown too long for this gal to finish without an intervention.  With the help of this book, I am going to adapt new habits for quilting. 

The first thing to know is it is not about the goal at all it is about making the process enjoyable.  I used to be a triathlete and I really enjoyed training.  I would go to different trails to run, swim in lakes or pools, and ride and ride and ride my bike around the lovely Kentucky countryside.  So the process of training was always enjoyable.  

Quilting is a solitary craft, for the most part.  We recently moved and downsized into a sewing room for me that was maybe a third the size I had in Kentucky.  I have learned to adapt and it's been too bad.  For the first time in my life, I actually have paid to have someone quilt some quilts for me.  I can still manage small quilts and wall hangings, but it is easier to "quilt with my credit card" now. 

Atomic Habits as applied to quilting:

Happy Sew Lucky Sew Along
Tattoo Quilt paper pieced Block of the Month

                      Tula Pink Fabric-hosted by Pink Door Fabrics

Make it obvious.  I have chosen 3 projects to knock off my list. When I walk in my studio they are right up front on my design wall, so I'm reminded what I need to do.  

Farm Girl Vintage
I'm using my fabric stash 
48 blocks when done

Yoda for Paul

Original collage quilt by me 

 

The next way to enjoy the process of quilting more is, Make it Easy. 

When I walk in the Studio, the work is on the design wall.  So I know where I left off.  I try to make 2 blocks from the FGV everyday.  The Tattoo quilt is a BOM so I have to wait for it monthly.  When I finish my 2 blocks, I cut out the next days blocks, so it's easy for me to set down and finish a block.

Make it Satisfying.  I have devised a visual cue that is enjoyable for me.  I have a large collection of costume jewelry.  I put 48 pieces of the costume jewelry in a jar and every time I complete a block, I remove a piece of jewelry from the jar.  In time the jar will be come empty.  

I've also made a commitment to myself to work in my sewing room for at least an hour.  It's cliche but, time flies when you are having fun, and it seems true for me.  We are hopefully soon, at the end of the Covid 2020/21 scare.  We've been hunkered down for over a year now.  We were one of the early ones that took it seriously.  

Reward myself is another habit of the process that I have developed.  I finished the Yoda quilt and I treated myself with a new Creative Grids Ruler.  

My list is long, my desire is great, my hope is to bust a few of these projects out this year.  The only fabric I plan to buy this year is the Tulsa Pink Curiouser and Curiouser quilt kit that is called the Mad Hatter Tea Party.  It is offered by a new quilt shop in Cattoosa, Oklahoma called Southern Comforts.  

Swimming Is My Thing..right now...smile

I have always enjoyed swimming.  As a young girl my mom would use the town swimming pool as a babysitter of sorts. We'd sell empty pop bottles at the grocery store and I’d spend all day there, showing up famished for dinner.  Because, nothing burns calories better or makes me more hungry than swimming.  

Here are some things that make this exercise worth while for me.

It's about the swim suit, first and foremost.  I like a racing suit, it criss crosses across your back. I don't want to be in the zone and listening to my jams and having to watch my strap slide off my shoulders.  Clean and care of your suit will make it last longer.  After a workout of an hour in the pool, I like to rinse out my suit in fresh water and then run it through a spinning force dryer.

When I was younger I got swimmer's ear a lot.  It's a very painful ear infection, I guess they all are, but, this happened frequently.   As an older swimmer, I learned to use earplugs.  I like these jelly type.  You can get them at the pharmacy in Walmart for about 3.00.  I also like these Finis Swimp3 headphones.  They sit along the bones near the ear.  It's a great sound.  I count at least 6 songs before I start to look at my Series 4 Apple Watch.  It count's laps very well.  I also get a kick out of completing that circle in the Activity read out.  

Last but not least at all, is the recovery effort.  I cool down and stretch in the water, legs and arms.  Then I shower, rinse suit and spin dry it.  When I get home, this is the first thing I do, drink a glass or two of chocolate milk.  Back when I was running a lot, this was recommended for a better repair of the muscles.  I don't know if this is true, but, I like it and it does seem to make a difference.  I also take 2 Ibuprophens before I go to bed to help with recovery too.  

So this post is for me.  I just turned 60 years old this year.  When I get in the old folks home and decide I'd like to swim again, and I've forgotten how I did it, this is to remind me. 

#swimforyourlife#swimmingismything

My 2 Quilt Worlds...They both have their own jargon.

I belong to 2 quilt groups, one is traditional and the other is modern.  They are represented on this wall.  Traditional hand applique using a warm pallet on the left and my modern, japanese and other fabrics on the right.  

PUP is the acronym for Poor Unfinished Project on the left.
QAL is the acronym for Quilt A Long on the right.  This is an internet supported, for lack of a better word, Quilt A Long, using the hashtag:  #2019gypsywifeqal

My PUP is due on the February 12th meeting of the Collinsville, Ok, Patchworkers.  The pattern is The Raven, by Blackbird designs.  I use the "Quilt in a Day" method of applique.  This group is an older group of ladies with little interest in the internet support for their projects.  

My QAL is with the Tulsa Modern Quilt Guild.  The pattern is the Gypsy Wife, by Jen Kingwell.  This pattern is not for the faint of quilting heart.  It runs for several months. 

For both of these patterns, I can use my stash up, which is what I need to do.  I really enjoy using what I've purchased, especially if I can see some old quilts I've made in the scraps.  It's like visiting old friends.  

One of my quilting bucket list items can now be check off!

We lived in Kentucky for 20 years.  Out of those 20 years I probably attended the Paducah Quilt show, at least 10 or more of those years.  The first stop was the Bob Cherry Convention Center, where at the back was always on display the Hoffman Challenge.  The Hoffman fabric company makes some very nice quilter's cotton.  For the last 30 years, the company has been choosing a fabric to challenge people to make quilts using it.  This year I entered the competition and was accepted to travel the country.  I didn't win anything, the competition was fierce and those that won definitely should have.   
   

 Even though it was pretty wrinkled I still got a kick seeing it in person.  The lovely ladies from the quilt guild that had the foresight to snag one of the trunks of the Hoffman Challenge thought it kind on cool that I drove 2.5 hours to their quilt show to see my quilt.  Little did they know...smile. 

   One minor thing is I sure would have hated it if my quilt had been draped over a rocking chair.  I guess space was limited, for the mini show within their show in Cassville, Mo.  The quilts were judged and displayed by the Ozark Country Quilters.   
  

Intarsia-the method I use for making a horse quilt.

I've made this same pattern, perhaps a dozen times.  It never gets old for me.  I really enjoy giving the horses life and movement.  Art is all about creating something that was never there before.  Creating is therapy and maybe a god complex of sorts.  We can't control things in our lives, but we can put fabric together and create things just the way we like them to be.  

I saw a new term at the the American Folk Art Museum in NYC.  I think it perfectly describes the method for making these quilts.  I took this photo of the description of the process.

Intarsia-is a method of butting fabrics up to each other to create something.  

When I make my horse quilts with the intarsia method, I butt the fabric next to each other and use a blanket stitch to carefully attach the pieces together.  The horse quilt above uses wool, cotton, and silks in the piece.  

It is going to be auctioned at a benefit for the Broken Arrow Baseball team.  In Kentucky, I donated a couple to the Mom's Closet for a benefit which was sold during the Kentucky Derby festivities.  #quiltersdoinggood

Mystery Quilt Obstacle Course! Are you Quilter enough????

In the wee small hours of the morning, the course is set.  Back and forth the quilter traverses, bin after exciting bin of holy stash fabric, that's rarely touched or has seen the light of day.  Like the treasure of the Sierra Madra dancing miner she bops and weaves and sings her maddening song as she tries to decide the fate of the fabric.  Oh worra, worra, worra, will this be a great quilt or a drag around quilt?  Attacking the first hurdle of the Mystery Quilt obstacle course, she must choose a Sofi's Choice: A, B, C, D, E and F of tiny 2 inch pieces of fabric attached to boxes that will determine the fate of her beloved fabric that she has, like the proverbial squirrel, stored for the WINTER IS HERE!  It's a commitment!!  She's turning it in and throws fabric stash caution to the wind...BWAHAHAHAHAH!

James Bond Quilt

 Quilting can be cute and traditional or edgy and modern, or completely original like this James Bond Quilt.  I made it for my brother, Don Blanchard, Jr.  In the best of worlds, quilting is relaxing and hobby that can be beneficial for your mental well being.  Art is therapy.  That is what I believe.  A pot of tea and a chance to work in my studio is, to me, like Radiohead and butter, oh so good when you need a boost of flavor in your head or your mouth.  Using your hands to create this or any work of art is also some soul food for your mind.  

Twenty Years on the Shelf! They Never Go Bad...smile

This is a project I started over 20 years ago.  Thank goodness, fabric does not have an expiration date.  I guess maybe if you are shop owner, you cringe at that statement, as moving out fabric means selling fabric.  But, thankfully for us quilters, who are closet ADD folks, we can always circle back around and pluck it off the shelf and start again, right where we left off!

This is a pattern called Radiance, by Judy Curtis.  The pattern came out in 1985.  I was working at the world"s greatest quilt shop at the time, called Creatively Sew.  It was in Old Town Spring, north of Houston.  This was a wildly successful quilt shop.  When I worked there we sold a lot of material.  Of course, this was before the internet, and Houston has a few million people living there, so that helped.  

BINDING LESSON:  

I chose the dark blue to be the frame for this wallhanging.  Whatever color you choose, especially for a wallhanging, it pops out the color on the quilt.  I also wanted to emphasize the contrast.  I would be a shame to work on such a difficult piece and not be able to see the design, because you didn't choose a good contrasting material.  

BJ Designs at the Tulsa Quilt Show!!!

     I have been making this horse quilt pattern, "Race the Wind", for several years now.  I get a charge out of making it every time.  It's so much fun to put a new spin on the pattern.  This is one I made for my oh so awesome nephew, Kole.  He got married last weekend and he has always liked the quilt that is not really similar, but sort of, that is hung over my fireplace
     Like all patterns, I make them my own.  When I teach classes I tell my students that patterns are only guidelines to bend at your will.  Sometimes they take this instruction a little too far, but, you know, it's kind of good they embrace the idea...smile.

Thank you BJ for giving me years of pleasure with your wonderful pattern designs!!

Bucket List Items Grow...smile

We have been sidetracked from our fun for sometime now.  But, that's got to stop!  Now we want to start working on the bucket list again.

I want to go to Yellowstone and ride snow mobiles.  We went for 2 weeks when the girls were little during the summer.  It was spectacular.  The animals and the crowds were large.  So, I'm thinking maybe the winter it will be less?  http://www.togwoteelodge.com/play/winter/snowmobiling/yellowstone-tours.aspx?cct_info=1%7C15832%7C9798656323%7C50177394%7C1796093034%7Cb%7C17559783354%7Ctc%7C%7Cg%7C%7C%7C&cct_ver=3&cct_bk=yellowstone%20snowmobile%20tour&mkwid=svRPhhtGL&crid=17559783354&mp_kw=yellowstone%20snowmobile%20tour&mp_mt=b&gclid=CJzMsvSF5LgCFdFDMgodAQUAcw

I wan to go to Cancun and scuba dive to see the underwater museum.  http://www.aquaworld.com.mx/underwatermuseum.html

These are 2 I'm really interested at the moment.  Maybe we can get them done within the next 2 years?  

Boy...life...go figure

Yes, I'm back.  It's been so long since I've wrote anything here.  I've been dealing with some family stuff and it's starting to be something good...I hope...I think...I'm afraid to say...

Like Cher and Nicholas Cage on the movie, Moonlight, it is now time to snap out of it.  Juggling so many balls is going to have to be a way of life and I've got to deal with it.  It doesn't do me any good to try to eat my feelings.  I've put on 33 pounds since my last family crisis.  That doesn't do anyone any good, least of all me.  So it's time to be true to myself and get back to the things I love.  I'm beginning to use the My Fitness Pal app to track my food and exercise.  I'll be getting back to volunteering for my 2 favorite causes, WFPK and the public radio partnership and my church.  Hmmmm you say?  Well, I'm of the thought that what's wrong with a little conversation?  Can't we agree to disagree?  I don't agree with everything my church is about and I don't agree with everything my favorite radio station is about.  When I don't like something, I can turn it off, or look ahead to the sermon series and decide if that's something I want to hear or not.     

Besides volunteering, my husband, Bob and I are SLOWLY trying to downsize.  We've done the upstairs of the house and now we are almost done with the first floor of our house.  We have painted every room and packed up all the house, except for our kitchen and master bedroom.  We just don't need this big of a house and this big of a yard, 1 1/4 acre.  I'm not a great house cleaner, but, we still have to mow and that kills half a day or more on the weekend.  

My training for triathlons is going to have to take a back seat.  As much as I love, love, love, swimming, biking and running, it's got to wait.  I still see women older than me out there, so I can hold.  

Well, there you have it.  I'll be uploading the progress of all these things.  The family business is still fluid and working itself out.  Children are the joy and loves our lives and so you do what you have to do.  

My one man crew...smile

I was reading over some old posts on my FSQ blog and I ran across one in 2008 where I noticed the Iron Man was in town.  I'm wondering if this was some sort of seed that was planted for my triathlon dreams.  It sure has been a journey for me and my husband, Bob, over the past year.  Since September of 2011, he's gotten up early for me to race all over the country.  What a lucky woman I am.  I wish he was interested in participating with me, but, he's got arthritis in his feet and can't.  In all we've raced 6 triathlons, the last being in NYC which was an Olympic distance triathlon.  All because I watched Sanjay Gupta report about it on TV.  It's funny what motivates us.  This last race was in July 2012.  Since then, I've kidnapped my daughter from Oregon.  Helped her move in with my folks and get her scans which she has needed for over 2 years, but, I can understand the dread of knowing.  She is currently cancer free!!!  Maybe the triathlons were getting me in shape for the ordeal to come.  Because boy it was some kind of ordeal.  I've had to quit being the leader of the best quilt guild in the world, Northeast Quilting Friends.  This was hard to do, but, I was gone from Kentucky too much.  Now we have the best leader for a quilt guild, Linda.  

My one man crew has given so much to our family.  I am a lucky girl, I'll say again.  Now as we look to retirement in the near future, I think he's tired of me racing practically every other weekend.  Because besides the 6 triathlons, I ran 10 foot races, 5K's, 10K's a 15K at the Biltmore estate, and a half marathon, which I would say was the most difficult of all the races for me.  Life really is full of seasons.  I'd like to think I have another season of triathlons to do, but, he's not down with it, so, it's going to have to go on the back burner for a while.  We need to downsize our house and prepare for the future.   

It's Training Time Again...smile

Yep, the weather is warming and the pony tails are bobbing.  Such is the scene of those that are the back of the pack runners...smile.  I get out there and run in the sun when I can.  The treadmill has become my friend lately as it tells me how fast I am running.  I can't/won't/don't want to run fast, hmmm which is it.  I think if I wanted to be first in my age group, I should spend the money and invest in a coach.  But, you know, making quilts and being at the back of pack is where I'm happiest.

Cliche's and Landsharks, Oh my...smile

What are the goals for the new year?  How can one decide?  I've had so many over the years.  The same cliche's apply, lose weight, eat healthy.  When will it finally click.  I certainly did go on an exercise bonanza, running 14 races, of which 6 were triathlons and one half marathon.  The rest were 10 miles, 10K and a variety of 5k's.  That was a huge boon for me.  I've always been into sports.  Growing up in my small town in Oklahoma, only 85 were in our graduating class.  I went all 12 years at the school, and the last were spent as one of about 10 of us that rotated and played every sport for the school.  Volleyball, softball, track and basketball are all represented on my letter jacket.  

Now what.  Well, first up, I'll be making a T-shirt quilt using the shirts from my races.  I guess they don't expect someone to make that many races, and to be a collector of so many t-shirts.  But, here I am with enough for 2 quilts.  I've come up with a most ingenious way to border my quilt, I'll have to show that later. 

Right now, I'm enjoying hanging out with some pretty neat people I've come to know through my exercising.  There really is a whole community of support out there for people willing to put in the effort to participate.  These folks are the Landsharks.  It's a triathlete club here in Louisville.  I joined so I could do an open water swim for my NYC Olympic distance triathlon, July 8th, 2012.  For a few months I was swimming in a lake in Indiana with them.  They are very accomplished athletes, many being in the top 10 if not top leader of their age group.  But, they take time to encourage and pull me along, sometimes a bit reluctantly.  But, a lot of them are single and it's a bit easier to go out and socialize when you don't have anyone at home that you also enjoy spending time with...smile.

Sweaty Sheep 5K for the Homeless.

http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2012312220066

We made the paper!  What a fun day with friends exercising on the Waterfront in Louisville, Ky.  This town has a fabulous waterfront development.  You can listen to great music and watch fireworks while watching the lazy river move boats along.  We are blessed in Louisville. 

My friend Patti and I ran in our Santa suits.  We brought potluck to the event.  My sugar cookies were a hit!  Patti's macaroni and cheese mysteriously disappeared.  I suspect someone wanted a treat all to themselves!!

NYC Triathlon

They say that endurance runners are running from something.  Maybe it's old age?  Are we resisting the  years that are sure to bring the layers of life we don't want.  Could it be the layers we've already run up, like stairs to some magic window?  I think a part of me loves my quality time with myself, where I can talk to God or just run and cry and no one knows but me, myself and I.  Maybe I cry because I am happy and in my own way, whether I win a race or not, it's just the fact that I got to the starting line is all that matters. 

 My white Vita Wildcat didn't make the whole race with me.  I had a flat tire on the back of my bike.  Luckily a nice New Yorker felt she couldn't finish the race and loaned me her bike.  It was way too small, but, I finished the race on a hybrid.  I'd done 5 triathlons up to this point on my Specialized Vita Hybrid bike.  I was hoping to finish on it, but, instead, I chose to swap bikes on the road.  

 I love a wet suit!! It makes me so buoyant and really do float somewhat.  But, it's still a workout to swim for .9 miles in the Hudson river in NYC.  You have to dodge a lot of people and try to stay away from the rocks!!