9-patch with indigo top, and lost in translation

 When you take photos throughout your week, are you thinking of your blog?  Or, when you sit down to write a post, do you just reference whatever photos you happen to have taken.  I do the latter.   This week there isn't much but here we go. 

By request I need to make some more masks to take to my kids, and in typical procrastination mode, I assembled this "leader/ender" top instead: 

I made the nine patches, and then double nine patches, while I was making David's log cabin.  I think it might be the very first time I'd deliberately had a leader/ender project.  

I've also been distracted because our college age son Tommy tested positive for COVID.  He's just finished his quarantine and is feeling OK, maybe a little tired.  He got a call from a contact tracer, can feel good about (hopefully) not infecting anyone.  Not certain how he got it.  Glad his symptoms were so mild.  Wish I wasn't so far away!  

In other news, as I mentioned last time, Japan is finally allowing permanent residents and visa holders to return to Japan.  Woo hoo!  This means I can finally go visit baby Charlotte in Austin. I'm not going to do any other travel whatsoever, sadly, but I really think that's best under the circumstances.  

Yes I am quite nervous about travel, especially for the trip back into Japan, but, will think more about that next month.   I think I'm just dealing with rising anxiety over so much.  Which leads me to plead - VOTE!  "When women vote, we win." 

David and I prepared our absentee ballots which I can mail from Texas (alternately the embassy here would mail them for us).  As overseas voters, we vote in the last place we'd registered to vote, so that's New Hampshire.  

A sort-of funny "lost in translation" story.  Every now and then we get something official looking in the mail.  David told me it was an electrical inspection and in my mind I mixed that up with the fire detector inspection, or I thought it was all the same inspection.  When the inspector arrived, I had JUST heated up a skillet on the stove to make pancakes and the skillet was piping hot.  There is a smoke detector right there on the ceiling, so, from the entryway, I motioned him into the kitchen and in my rudimentary Japanese pointed to the pan and said "hot!" and "please be careful!" and "so sorry!".  Those were the only relevant words and phrases I could think of in Japanese.  He just sort of looked at me politely but blankly, and asked me where the electrical breaker box was.  That's in the bathroom.  He spent about 30 seconds inspecting the breaker box and then gave me a piece of paper, and left.  Ha ha ha.  

I have to admit I laughed out loud just wondering what he possibly thought of the American woman randomly warning him about the hot pan on the stove, which was nowhere near the breaker box in the bathroom.  

Lastly, thank you to those of you who commented last time to share your recommendations for hand quilting!  I really do love the Mettler, but I've used Gutterman before and could go back to that, and I ordered some Aurifil to try as well.  

If you are being affected by the wildfires, my heart goes out to you! 

xo

Cynthia 

Two December finishes and looking ahead

Happy New Year fellow quilters...

December brought this finish - scrappy improv log cabin.



Oh, I loved working on this quilt.  Scrappy and for a dear friend.  We've known each other 18 years, we raised our kids together, their family took Molly our Standard Poodle when we lived in Japan and loved her as their own.  The list goes on.  But when Tona's Mom (a fellow quilter) gifted me some scraps (lots, and mostly from family clothing), I knew a quilt for Tona was in order.





It was her birthday in December so that became my deadline and I snapped this picture with daylight left, but before I could tack down the binding.



I was super happy with the casual machine quilting.... all free motion and so fun to do.  If you are NOT a perfectionist (and I'm not), machine quilting on a home machine is so fun and gratifying... and it helps get our quilts DONE!



Next came Christmas and a house full of kids including soon to be new son in law Keenan (with the long curly hair matching Noelle's long curly hair:).



Kaela was racing to finish up a T-shirt quilt for her hubby Joe.  He was a swimmer in college - lots of great t's - and his college colors worked nicely with the aqua background.

Kaela did a beautiful job and I provided a little help and lots of moral support ;).  T-shirt quilts are tough!  We backed it with minky and used high loft polyester batting, "comfortable" (comforter) style.



We even enlisted Tommy to help tie (with variegated sashiko thread)



A little slice of heaven working together on a quilt related project, around the dining room table...



Self binding, and done in time to clear off the table for an evening of games.




Looking ahead to the new year... I plan to carve out two days a week for quilting.  I'll let you know how that goes;).  Lots of the usual finishing up projects (I have at least four to finish)... and probably Barbara Brackman's new block of the month, Antebellum Album.  Barbara's blog is so fun to read and if you like history, you will love it.  She has a great sense of humor too.

And, always sashiko!  I will be teaching a beginner sashiko sampler class at Cobblestone Quilts at the end of January - can't wait!!



xo
Cynthia

Spool Quilt

I'm making a graduation quilt for my niece Alyssa, and so why not a Spool quilt as a nod to our shared love of quilting?  Scrappy, with lots of Alyssa's favorite color, maroon.  Low volume backgrounds.  Eight-inch blocks, set 8x10, no border.



For each block, cut from Spool fabric:

One 4 1/2" square
Two 2 1/2" x 8 1/2" rectangles

And from your background fabric:

Two 2 1/2"x 4 1/2" rectangles
Four 2 1/2" squares

Of course I make the blocks in batches and get set up for some chain piecing:






I place a piece of washi tape as a guide to stitching a line straight through the square.  Sew, and then trim.

Press towards the Spool fabric:

Assemble: 

I prefer to press the last two seams open:








And keep on keeping on... for 80 blocks total!