Paulina's Quilt Finished! and batting woes

I finished Paulina's BOLD purple quilt this week and mailed it to her in Boston (Three trips to the post office when all was said and done.  There is a new system).  Feels great to have my first finish of 2021! 

About the batting: 

I used a very light 100% cotton Mountain Mist Cream Rose batting, which was a total DREAM to quilt, really great.  I made sure to quilt no further apart than the 6" recommended spacing.   The reason I used this batt instead of my go-to Dream Cotton, is that I worried about the package exceeding the 2 kg weight limit, or that with the loftier batting, the quilt wouldn't fit into the box (largest size allowed).  I'd tested with a similarly sized finished quilt, and it was almost 2 kg.... so out of caution I chose the very lightest batting I had. 

So, it was great to work with, but, the quilt came out of the washer/dryer really quite wrinkled up and *too* puckered.   It could partly be our small washer/dryer combo which can sort of mangle things sometimes.  For the first time ever, I regret washing a quilt before I gift it!  But at least now I know and if I use that batting again, I will quilt much more densely and evenly, and know what to expect. 

More boring batting talk: 

In my stash of batting, I have one more Cream Rose batt, and a Dream Cotton batt (my usual go-to, in both Select and Request lofts).  Meanwhile I've ordered several other "new to me" Dream battings - 80/20, 70/30, and wool. It will be a year of experimentation with battings.  I sort of have a collection growing on the floor of my closet!  Off cuts are perfect for minis and other little projects. 

Meanwhile... the state of emergency has been extended into March.  Every day, I'm thankful we are healthy and that our loved ones in the US and Ireland are too.   Our parents (David's folks and my step mother) have all had their first vaccines.  Hallelujah! 

xo gratefully 

Cynthia 

FUN quilty beginning to 2021 (and Covid realities)

Happy New Year fellow quilters.   

David and I had a quiet Christmas and New Year's.  FaceTiming with our children all together was a highlight.  Hopefully they will be able to visit us here sometime in 2021?  So far, the borders are still  closed to tourists, even dependents (like college aged children) of "permanent residents" (that's us).  It's not the best feeling that Tommy can't come "home" to Tokyo.  Every day I'm thankful he has each of his older sisters a flight away, and great friends and extended family near him in Utah at school.  We live by texting, phone calls, and FaceTime.  David has yet to meet baby Charlotte and she will be seven month in a couple days.  Sigh.  

It looks like because of the spike in cases in Tokyo, we are on the brink of another state of emergency.  In practical terms it may just mean shops and restaurants are asked to close in the early evening - nothing as strict as last spring.  However, they are mentioning further tightening border restrictions, and the word "collapse" is being used to describe the hospital situation.  

We just have to live wisely and hope the vaccine reaches us as soon as possible in 2021.  My heart goes out to folks starting a new year in a state of grieving, or in a state of ill health due to COVID, or crushing financial difficulty, or crushing emotional isolation.  What a time.  We have to cherish what we have and help each other out. 

I say it so often... but what would I be doing with myself, in this little Tokyo apartment, with David working from home just down the hall, without quilting??  I am so grateful for it in my life!  I'm grateful to you for reading, for other blogs, and for the friendships made across the miles, through our blogs and emails. In some ways it feels like a virtual quilt guild.  Or awesome pen pals!

I'm starting off my quilting year with FUN.  I really do love making these improv log cabins. 

This one is for a very special young family friend, Paulina.  You know how some of your kids' friends end up feeling like family?  I have been thinking I'd like to make her a quilty hug.  So why not now.  

The brief is UNSTRUCTURED (yay!), BOLD (ok!) with lots of DEEP PURPLE (time to shop!).  

The time difference worked out so we texted back and forth to make quick fabric decisions in real time while I shopped at Tomato.  It was so energizing!  

And I discovered that Paulina likes red almost as much as purple. 

We thought we were done, and then I rounded the corner to.....  Kaffe Fassett -   

 Perfect backing fabric: 

Random logs, big blocks, so easy to trim up with my 12.5" square ruler.  These blocks are such a pleasure to make.  Making them feels like some great combination of play and meditation.  

What else in '21?  Are you like me?  Do you over commit to BOMs, swaps, challenges??   There are always a lot of sew alongs happening.  I thought about Kathleen Tracy's Schoolgirl Sampler (72 simple 4" blocks) which looks sweet and I have the book.  I also thought about Cecile's curved piecing challenge at Patchwork Inspirations.  

In the end I'm just going to bite off this much -- the following two BOMs:  

Poppy's Polka Dot Garden (free downloads for two blocks, around the first of every month - from Sentimental Stitches,  for 2021-2022).  This started a few months ago.  I am REALLY enjoying this appliqué.  Anyone else?  Someone started #poppyspolkadotgarden on Instagram.  I think there are just two of us so far.   

Barbara Brackman's 2021 pieced BOM, Hands All Around.  Second Wednesdays.  Louisa May Alcott, simple blocks, variations on Sawtooth Stars, need I say more?  Barbara's posts are always so interesting if you like quilt history, and she has a great sense of humor too.  (by the way Santa brought me the new edition of her encyclopedia - it's beautiful).   

And, as much as possible but with no pressure: 

Monthly minis with Wendy at The Constant Quilter 

Hoping to keep my quilting life balanced and fun this year - thank you for being part of it! 

x gratefully 

Cynthia 

Soft Quilt Finished... election sigh of relief ... hexie update

 

Ahhhhh the election is over, and wow, what a slog that was. 
David and I are so happy with this outcome.  A decent human being in the Oval Office again, with Kamala Harris by his side!  Empathy, science, social justice, inclusion, cooperation, and did I mention decency.   And, hopefully a return to greater respect for the U.S. around the world? 

In the weeks leading up to the election, I got serious about finishing the hand quilting on my "Soft Quilt for Hard Times".  I put the last stitches in on Saturday.  And Sunday morning middle of the night (our time in Japan) we awoke to the good news.  

My whole point with this quilt was to make something easy and straightforward - a "spring palette" log cabin variation - a quilt I've made many times.   I guess the challenge with this was staying engaged and finishing it!  Lots of news, and Netflix.  I can recommend the limited series "The Queen's Gambit" - it was excellent.  

I'm not sure this quilt feels like "mine" (is it the lack of indigo?) - I will tuck it away and decide that later. 

Meanwhile, I am going gangbusters on my ongoing handwork project - Liberty Hexies.  These are large, two-inch hexies.  It is so fun to sew them into flowers.  I'm trying to include a lot of green and aqua.  Super scrappy. 

Two, almost three rows finished: 

This is (usually) my TV watching spot: 

Can I just say.... what would I do without quilting???  I am so grateful for it!!  

xo

Cynthia 

Soft Quilt sort-of finish...

Reached the next level of my Soft Quilt for Hard Times. 

I piece a large quilt this way - in four sections, then two, then one:

I used Dream Cotton Request (lowest loft) batting.  Stitched in the ditch just around the blocks. 

I had some of this soft pink/cream left over from another quilt - I love a striped binding: 

I'm tacking back the binding now.  Then I will add some simple hand quilting to each block.  Eighty blocks.  Two blocks per day, forty days?  I can try.  I am certainly home.... a lot. 

I love binding a quilt early - so that I can use and enjoy it while I finish the quilting. 

Rainy gray day in Tokyo.  Sometimes I get a hankering for these yummy nutty chocolate chip cookie bars, so easy and simple: 

Combine in a bowl with a wooden spoon:

1 stick butter (113 grams) melted
3/4 C brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 C flour
1/2 C oats (I use quick cooking)
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 C chocolate chips - I use a little less
1 C chopped pecans - I use a little more

Spread into an 8"x8" pan lined with parchment paper.

Bake at 350 about 20 min.  (160 degrees C in my little Japanese convection oven).
Let cool in pan.  Remove, cut into bars, and try to make them last;).

x

Cynthia 

Progress on "A Soft Quilt for Hard Times"

I'm almost finished making these simple blocks.  Inspired by Fun with Barb's "soft quilt for hard times" concept.

Lots of rainy days lately....

I cut the logs to size.  It's easy piecing, four blocks at a time. 

This will be a "Spring/summer" version of a quilt I've made over and over, it seems.  I wrote about it here on my old blog.  Square in square,  raw edge appliquéd.   Combination of machine and hand quilting. 

Very improvisational, casual and scrappy, fall/winter.  The blocks are 8 or 9 inch square.  Over time, wabi sabi for sure.

The first one I made, in 2003,  has seen lots of very hard use.... and I've repaired it a lot through the years - just layering patches on very casually by machine.

This time, I'm going for a cool and smooth look.  That's why I'm piecing it in a traditional way, log cabin style, no raw edges. 

All the while, trying to keep positive.  Daily FaceTime with little Charlotte is a treat.  (When will Japan open its borders..... and when would I feel OK about traveling to the U.S.?)

What else these past couple weeks?  Masks masks and more masks...

A visit to the ever whimsical and refreshing Blue and White - limited hours these days:

My little needle books still on offer:

AND.... lastly.... I can recommend this breath-of-fresh-air animated musical series - Central Park - all star cast, a lot of heart, big laughs, catchy music. 

Quilters - "we gotta do it while we can"! 

xo

Cynthia 

a "soft quilt for hard times" and.... notebooks

More about these notebooks at the end of this post. 

I'm starting a "soft quilt for hard times" - a concept I read on Barb Vedder's blog (Fun with Barb).  Just something easy and comforting.  This is turning out to be my year for log cabins.  

Courthouse steps, really square-in-square.   

My sister in law Dottie sent me some fabrics and I pulled things from my stash too: 

The white is white-white but that's what I have and I'm using some in every block.  

So I'm just piecing along, a few a day, meditative and easy.  Listening to Spotify, watching Netflix, and listening to books on Audible.  

From my safe and cozy apartment in Tokyo, so far away from the chaos in the U.S. but it's always on my mind. 

The times keep getting tougher.... especially for some folks.  I am currently listening to "How to be an Anti-Racist" by Ibram X. Kendi on Audible. 

A couple weeks ago I listened to Jacqueline Woodson's beautiful memoir in poem form, read by the author, and I can still hear her voice in my mind : 

I think it's a time for listening and learning.  White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo is next on my list.  

So, my quilting notebook....  I started it in January and it is very casual.  I'm using a Rollbahn notebook. The pages are thick enough and lightly gridded.  The cover is very rigid cardboard.  Love the spiral bound for a notebook like this.  

This is purely a "process" notebook, bullet journal style.  When I start a new notebook, I number all the pages (on front side only, making for a two-page spread per page number) and leave two pages for an index up front.  

The good the bad and the ugly.  

I usually make a fresh page at the start of the month, listing all my projects.  But I haven't done that since February... which melded into March.... mmmmm.... 

In true bullet journal form, everything is chronological.  I just indicate where an idea or project picks up again, like this with the page numbers: 

Other notebooks:  For my regular bullet journals (calendar, to dos, lists, notes of all kinds, an occasional "tracker" for something) I have used Moleskine, and currently I use Leuchtturm1917 notebooks.   They are fantastic - I love them. They hold up well, have a good pocket in the back, and like the Rollbahn, an elastic strap. 

And, and we haven't even talked about PENS!  ha ha).   

xo

Cynthia 

March mini...

I finished this little mini from extra 1.5 inch logs from Kaela's baby girl log cabin quilt.  The borders are... log cabin variation.  This could be a doll quilt or hung on the nursery wall!

And that's the only photo I have!  I was FaceTiming with Kaela as I added a few more lines of stitching, and I packaged it up with the baby quilt, etc. while we were still talking.  The best kind of distraction!  Will link up with Wendy when she posts our minis on her blog The Constant Quilter.  Thanks Wendy for inspiring us all;).

The governor of Tokyo has asked everyone to stay indoors Saturday and Sunday.  Naturally this request sent people into panic buying mode.

We have plenty of food in the apartment.  Planning for a quiet weekend truly staying inside the apartment the whole time.  Ohhhhhh you can bet I miss my past houses with their yards and trees all around.

On the topic of stress relief, taking home baths in Japan is so nice.  The whole shower/bath room functions like one big shower, with a bathtub to the side. 

The tub fills automatically with the press of a button, either from near the bathtub, or, naturally, from the kitchen (!).

The bath fills on its own and then maintains the temperature for four hours.  When the water is ready, we hear a little announcement and classical tune.

You either shower next to the tub or sit on a low stool and use water from the spigot (and from the tub), to get completely clean.  There's a low shelf for soap, shampoo etc.

Typical items for bathing and rinsing before getting into the tub:

So, the bath water is just for soaking and considered clean enough for family members to share the same bath water, in turns.  I know that sounds weird, but here it's normal!

These bath salts are very popular.  The colors are kind of wild, ha ha.  I read that you are supposed to soak for 20 minutes.

Sometimes I add a scoop of epsom salts too:

Honestly this seems so trivial, in light of COVID-19 and all the stress around that. We are bracing for a longer social-isolation/shelter-in-place period, but nothing like that has been announced yet.

xo
Cynthia