Starting A New One

 

I started out on making a new quilt for the BAMQ display at the San Mateo County Fair by piecing together the backing out of some FQs that I know I'll never use and a few scraps. I also pieced the batting too. Approaching the quilt making endeavor by fooling around with the basically non-creative part of the process is sometimes how I actually manage to get myself going. The title of our display is From Modern Art to Modern Quilt. We are using the inspiration of modern art to inspire us to make a modern quilt. I don't think the quilt I'm making is strictly a "modern quilt", but hopefully that's okay.

I've decided to try and do a quilt that is inspired by the works of California painter, Richard Diebenkorn, specifically his Ocean Park series. I first did a sketch to work from, 

And now I've started choosing and cutting some of the fabrics that I'll be using.Mostly using my own hand-dyed cottons, along with several layers of sheers. Still casting about for a title.

Earthset via Artemis II

An Earthset, captured by the Artemis II crew from the Orion Integrity spacecraft during Monday’s flyby. Photo credit-NASA

Credit...I am deeply, powerfully moved by this image, shared from the crew of Artemis II just before they lost  communications while passing around the Moon's dark side. Earth Day came a little early this year.

The crew members observed a solar eclipse as they emerged from the other side of the moon.Credit...NASA

This solar eclipse picture is almost too much to comprehend really. That's the Moon blocking out the Sun in a way that we never get to experience on Earth. And yes, they still had to wear their cardboard eclipse glasses!

But to me, even more important, is what one of the astronauts said in their first words sent back to Houston Control when they regained communications with Houston Control:

 "We will always choose Earth," Christina Koch, a mission specialist on Artemis II, said once the crew members regained communications. "We will always choose each other."

Could there be a greater, more cosmically measured distance between those beautiful, inspiring words of humanity than those offered up almost simultaneously by our deranged madman president threatening that "a whole civilization will die tonight"? Here's hoping...and all prayers and good thoughts offered up that the Earth that the Artemis II crew eventually returns to does not include the aftermath of such a catastrophic event.

Flowers for Monday

 

I got my Covid booster shot today, and then went to the gym, so no sewing today. But I spent some time in the garden this morning. The very out of hand Wisteria is blooming so nicely it's hard to be mad about it.

The old reliable Peace Rose bush is blooming like crazy. All the remaining pictures are of different roses on the one bush.

Seems like a good time for a bunch of Peace to break out and show itself once again.

I love the variation in each flower's colors. 

And the colors change as they age too.

And one last super yellow one.

More Mosaic

During Sew Day, I made some more blocks for my 1-2-3 Mosaic class project. I think it's heading towards being a table runner size project.

We got to have a little on-site field trip break to see inside the sanctuary at the church that we hold our Sew Days. The beautiful display of rainbow origami butterflies was being hung up.

And our guild member, Mary C. made this gorgeous banner that hangs in the entryway. 

Kawandi Finish

 

Since I got back from LA, I've been continuing to stitch the kawandii quilt. My goal was to finish in time for the BAMGQ UFO Challenge which is due on our Sew Day (which is today).

As I got closer and closer to the center I had to finalize it, added two last pieces into the mix, right before the stitching reached that area of the quilt.

I found the stitching got harder and harder to do as I got into the center. 

The pieces got smaller so there were a lot more edges to contend with and that meant more layers of silk to stitch through.

It has been a fun and challenging project and I’ve really enjoyed learning a new way to make a quilt. I started working on this project in a SBMQG class with Sujata Shah back in 2021

Here it is, all finished! 

I ended my last stitching line with an X just because, "x marks the spot" has always made sense to me.

The corners got a little ravel-y, but they're still looking nice. As Sujata said in class, "the Kawandi looks "naked" without a fula in each of the four corners."

And that's #2 on my BAMQ UFO Challenge list completed just in time to show at Sew Day.

Creative Play 2 Done

Back to work on the Creative Play piece I was working on. I left the next step all set up for myself on my worktable. This is the second one that I've gotten to work on, I think there's only two going, but maybe not.

So I got this finished up in time to pass it on to someone else at Sew Day on Saturday. Can't wait to see how it all turns out in the end.

April To-Do

Here's how my design wall is looking at the beginning of April. The Patchwork Palooza quilt top is folded over on itself on the left. Snake in the Garden is up so I can see how much more stitching I need to do. The blocks I've made so far for the BAMQ BOM is the middle. The second BAMQ Creative Play piece is done. And the small blocks from the Mosaic Improv class are on the right.

Note: the use of 🥏👽  by a project name indicates that it's on the 2026 UFO Finishes challenge list of six projects that I committed to finishing at the beginning of the year (more on that list later). Note, this is not the same list as the UFO Challenge for BAMQ, that UFO will have this next to it on the list:🌀🌐

QUILTS

Design & Begin

Design and make a quilt for the BAMQ Challenge Modern Art to Modern Quilt display at the SMCF - No picture yet

Design and make a quilt for the BAMQ library display for The Wizard of Oz - No picture yet

Work on and finish my addition to the Creative Play for BAMQ before Sew Day so I can pass it on.

Pantone Project - work on an overall design, either in EQ8 or up on the design wall.

Lupine & Laughter Mystery Quilt - keep making units following the clue instructions

BAMQ BOM - make monthly blocks of varying sizes through the year.

Continue Assembly

Patchwork Palooza - Decide on borders, make backing & binding

Keep working on Sour Grass Grace from Jane Sassaman class.

Old Town Mystery Quilt - make a backing & binding, decide on whether to have it quilted

AG Stamp Quilt - continue to make more blocks using the final group of fussy-cut stamp block centers from Tula Pink fabrics.

Continue the piecing of Selvedge Candy (maybe the name) quilt originally designed for the 2025 MQG challenge.

🥏👽 Sew the last 6 columns and sashing together of the 2023  Temperature Quilt together to make the quilt top.

🥏👽 Bohemian Wife -  Sandwich this and start quilting it

                                      

Quilting

leaving this category right here so I don't forget to use it next time

Final Steps 

HANDWORK/BAG/CLOTHING PROJECTS 

Make a Cotton Candy pouch for myself.

Make a Charlie's Aunt wool purse for myself, first felt the wool from Pendleton Mill.

Toned-Down Circle Sampler - now that I have the appropriately sized grey background felt, arrange and appliqué the circles, start embroidering.

Y.E.S. Coat - continue making pieces/blocks. assemble on foundation, cut out lining pieces from the fabric that I dyed

Snake In The Garden - Finish hand stitching 🌀🌐

Kawandii - Finish hand stitching/assembly🌀🌐 trying to finish this by Sew Day as it's my #2 

Hey! This Is All Finished!

Nothing this time!

So...no actual finishing happened, after two months in a row. feels like I've lost a little finishing mojo, but I'm so close to moving several of these projects along in April.

Aprillian April

The  new month arrives, and I'm awash in flowers around here. A lot earlier than usual because of the unusually high temperatures we had for a lot of March. Aprillian is an actual word, one that I don't think I've ever encountered, it's quite old, from the mid 1600's. It means "Of or characteristic of April." Not amazing, but it works well as April is such a transitional month between seasons and around here that means flowers. The lilacs have already come and gone thanks to a bit of rain on the last day of March. 

The monthly marker is a combination of two photos, manipulated in the apps percolator and snapseed. First I took this picture from the Mosaic Improv class of the blocks I made in class, 

and put it through Percolator.

Then I overlaid that result with a picture of Marcel Duchamp's rotoreliefs that I was fascinated with at the MOCA in Los Angeles. I really like the final combination of the circular designs ghosted over the circular Percolatorized squares of the quilt blocks.

Here's my One Second Every Day video for March

Monthly I-Did List for March

1. I worked on the pink flying geese from the Lupine Mystery clue #2 and finished them
2. I did a lot of stitching on the Snake in the Garden quilt
3. I sewed 26 HSTs for a Community Giving quilt
4. I worked on the first BAMQ Creative Play piece that got handed to me
5. Together with other BAMQ people we sewed an entire Community Giving quilt top
6. I made a Sawtooth Star for the BAMQ BOM with a Snail's Trail center
7. I took an Improv Mosaic class and made a bunch of blocks
8. I sewed a whole lot more on my Kawandii.
9. I refurbished a "vintage" SF Giants yard flag in time for opening day.
10. I gifted DH the City Sampler for our 36th anniversary.
11. I worked on the second BAMQ Creative Play piece that got handed to me.

A lot of traveling in March (as expected), one last time for me going up and back to Spokane for the medical study and then almost a week in Los Angeles with DH, including a stop-off on the way home at the Getty Museum. Hiking has been replaced with going to the gym that we re-joined in February, we need to work on balancing that out, as I do miss hiking and really need to do it when it isn't super hot outside. I guess this month's hike was attending the No Kings demonstration as we were walking around our town for two straight hours. I went to BAMQ Sew Day, as well as an in-person class. I was a bit less active on social media, posted here on le blogue 26 times,...over on BlueSky 25 times, on Flashes 7 times, and on Instagram times. 

March Cornucopia

March has marched on past us, just as expected. Let me guess, blustery cold days, maybe some rain, and lots of sun and flowers everywhere. And of course, as a result of all the time I've spent online, I have a cornucopia post here, filled with links to many of the things I've enjoyed or think relevant or worth passing on to you.

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I really love Tartan plaids, and this new one created to honor the women (mostly) persecuted under the Scottish Witchcraft act is beautiful and meaningful too.

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Also related to tartan plaids (kinda), an artist archives and makes work with her grandmother's massive collection of wool skirts.

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I really enjoy the EQ8 newsletter, because they have a feature about one block, and show examples of how to use it, and then challenge users to design quilts using the block, super fun. I love this Crossroads block.

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I'm so excited to get to go see this exhibit myself in person at FIDM LA (which is now somehow run by ASU?) Obsessed: Fashion and Nostalgia in the 90's, hello Vivienne Westwood (speaking of plaids)

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Okay, this is awesome, Levi Strauss is launching a how-to repair effort to teach the current generation wearing their clothing how to fix their jeans. Woot!

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The YLI thread newsletter continues to have great tips, including this educational post on matching your thread size to your needle size and why it matters which type of needle you use when you quilt.

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Pineapple blocks have always been so appealing to me but they intimidate me. I think this video from Libs Elliot makes it look pretty do-able. And this one about inset circles is very encouraging as well.

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I am definitely trying this triple zig-zag machine stitched quilt binding technique.

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Friend Jaye told me about the tutorials on Kokka Fabrics, and I think I'm going to try this one for a really interesting looking head band (crossed top hair turban).

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No Kings 3 in Boulder Creek

 

Yesterday we spent a few hours downtown in our little mountain community. There was a great turnout again for a No Kings demonstration., around 410 people by official count. Across the street from us was a marathon Jazzercise class going on for two straight hours. Very impressive and entertaining too. As people walked by they would join in dancing for part of a song.

Here's DH, along with a big crowd along the street in front of our fire station. The whole age range was represented from young to old, lots of dogs (some with costumes or signs included), people on crutches and mobility scooters.

A selfie on the bridge that heads into town, my sign says NO KINGS SINCE 1776. It was a lovely spot in the shade over the river. We were happy to have so many positive responses from drivers, people honking and waving, thumbs up, etc. We took note of the work vans with business names that honked.

This was the image on the other side of the sign I'm holding, an illustration from one of my favorite political comic artists, Tom Tomorrow.

Over the whole country, 8,000,000 - 9,000,000 of us were out there protesting at over 3,300 separate events. There were at least ten within a half hour's drive for us to choose from! There were also international events, at least one on every continent, even Antartica!