Earth and Sky

My husband and I retired six months ago and relocated to Boise, Idaho.  We have spent the last several months getting settled and getting used to colder weather after enjoying nearly 17 years in Honolulu.

In the move, I left behind my quilting machine and frame that Scott built for me.  It went to the home of one of my quilting buddies.  I am hopeful that I will replace it with a mid/long-arm machine in the near future.  With the colder weather, it was very apparent that my own bed now needed it's own quilt!  So I got busy.

In October, I was able to take a class learning to use a Gammill quilting machine.  A local quilt store, Quilt Expressions, has 5 machines available for rent, but users have to take the class first. Quilt Expressions, by the way, was featured in the Spring/Summer 2013 edition of Better Homes and Gardens Quilt Sampler magazine.  

My Christmas present to me was purchasing rental time on one of these machines.  

Several days ago, I got this one quilted, using one of the 26-inch Gammills.  I took advantage of the store's "valet" service where their staff loaded my quilt on the machine and set up the pantograph for me.  All I had to do was turn on the machine and start quilting.  This quilt  was about 102 inches square and took me about 4 hours to complete.

 

Things I learned: 

1) Don't stand too close to the back of the machine because my jeans zipper kept getting caught in the machine's carriage! 

2) Pay attention to the batting (got a wrinkle in it and couldn't take it apart to fix it.  Thankfully, it's not too bad.), 

3) Pay attention to the right direction. On the first row, I got mixed up and doubled back on part of it. It took me about 4 hours 

to pick out that part when I got home.

4) That machine is too darned big! Standing in the back of it, I could not hear the beeper telling me the bobbin was empty (4 times!!). And 

5) My feet hurt from standing that long! I'm too old or need better shoes.

In all, though, it was a fun day.  I had a terrific time and learned a great deal about the process. — 

Catching Up

My life has greatly changed since my last post.  In the last several months, both my husband and I have retired, sold our home in Honolulu, moved to Idaho and have spent the last several weeks getting settled in our new home, especially my sewing room!

A week ago, the local quilt guild (Boise Basin Quilters) held their annual quilt show.  I have joined the guild and will meet several of the ladies tomorrow at a new member coffee hour.  I've also signed up to take a long-arm quilting class that I'm really excited about.  Below are several of the quilt show entries that caught my eye. 

I am looking forward to getting back into quilting as I have really missed it.

Cogwheels

This is my most recent quilt, Cogwheels, and was a kit I found in Kalispel, Montana, last summer.  The dark centers and the stripes are a handpainted batik.  I gave it to my son's girlfriend, Jenna.

This is the last quilt I will be making for a time.  My husband and I have recently retired and are in the process of relocating to Idaho.  I have sold my Janome 1600 and the quilt frame my husband built.  It is going to a good home.  One of my quilting buddies, Laurie, is the proud new owner.  She has been part of the same group of quilters taking classes at the Calico Cat for the past several years.

It is my hope that once we get settled into our new home, I will upgrade to an 18" ABM Innova.  Santa says I've been a good girl this year, so we'll see.

Aloha!

Hole In The Wall

Several weeks ago, Sandy Corbin was back in town.  So our regular group took her class, Hole In The Wall by Eleanor Burns.  I had a bundle of fat quarters in Asian fabrics so this is the result.  I plan to gift it to another coworker, Elaine Jow, who is originally from Taiwan.

 
I have one more quilt to finish in the next couple of weeks. Then I plan to sell my quilting machine and frame and eventually upgrade to a longarm setup.

My husband retired a couple of months ago and I have only another 6 weeks before I also retire.  Our plans are to leave the islands and return to the mainland.  And we have 16 years of "stuff" to sort through and pack, list and sell the house, and buy a different one.  There are lots of changes just around the corner.

We have made so many good friends and had so many great experiences here.  I do not look forward to leaving Hawaii.  Part of my heart will always remain in the islands.

Kinetic Energy

Today, I finally finished the Kinetic Energy kit that was a gift from my Aunt Karen.  This one was fun to do.  Because the strips are different widths and different numbers of these strips, the hardest part was trying to figure out which strips to sew together in order to get strata that were between 8.5 and 10 inches wide.

 

This one is destined for a coworker of mine.  She is part of what we call the "Lunch Bunch," a group of us who often gather for lunch and celebrate birthdays, retirements, etc.  Colleen is the last one to get her quilt and has been anxiously waiting for it.  I hope she likes it!

 

Kinetic Energy

My Aunt Karen found this kit in a quilt store in Deer Lodge, Montana.  It's called "Kinetic Energy" and is a modified log cabin.  This one is in batiks and is in my favorite color, blue.  This pattern finishes a quilt that is 60" x 68" and takes about 270 strips of varying widths.  It took me 3 days to come up with a spreadsheet listing all the widths that would sew together 29 strata no less that 8.5 inches wide.  Drove me nuts!  But I think it turned out pretty well.

I had to take down my quilt frame to make room for the Christmas tree.  But as soon as the holidays were over, that frame went back up and I was happily quilting away when this happened:

I must have tried to sew through a really thick intersection that bent the needle.  It popped the little plastic stabilizer out of the presser foot and I quilted it into the quilt, not once, but twice!!!  So off to Ed, the repair guy.  He laughed and told me that was probably why this particular foot is no longer available.  There is another one that has a metal stabilizer. 

Now I need to hurry up and finish this quilt.  My friend, Colleen, is waiting for it!

Pineapple and Puzzle Box

I have been busy the last several months, but very lazy in posting to this blog.  This past week, I gifted both the Pineapple and Puzzle Box quilts to two very special friends of mine, Debbie Oyadomori and Val Takata.  Judging from the smiles on their faces, I think they liked them!