Bramble Blooms II QAL

Habitually creative people are prepared to be lucky.

~E.B. White

Quilting

Remember all those months ago when we divided our fabric into three stacks? It's been a while since I looked at the others and I couldn't quite recall everything in them. Last time I was inspired by the white fabric with pastel circles on it. This time I'm driven to use this little bird print remnant from our darling sister who passed away almost a decada ago.  

There is so little that centering the design in each block isn't possible. Also, the shortest length is 5.25" so that will be the size of the squares.  I managed to cut seven squares and one is a bit funky. 

Audrey used X blocks for her center but there are loads of those on my outer border. I skipped four patches so that seems a better place for me to start. There's a shoebox of squares that have been aging on the shelf. I mixed some of those with some stash. Despite wanting to make 4 or 16-patches, these will have to be nine-patches. But there's no reason to make them match. Here they are set as "semi" four-patches.  And it's not working. 

Thinking it needed cooler colors, I tried again with blue and green squares but didn't like it much better. 

Finally, the penny dropped. It needed the darker colors to be O's instead of X's. I added an outer round with cream alternate blocks. 

Success. And fun. Of course, there's now a bunch of orange squares in that shoebox. Somehow it never empties. 

Reading

In Tokyo, an enigmatic librarian researches just the right books to resolve the problems of each patron. Plus she gifts each person with an hand-felted ornament that relates to their issues. Charming story and another look at modern Japanese society.

Enjoy the day, Ann

Final Border for Bramble Blooms 1

Life, though it is a gift, is not a privilege.

~Ross Gay

Quilting

Audrey's linkup encouraged me to push on BB1 but it's still not complete. Here's the second round, a pink zig zag. All those points took way too much time and didn't all turn out as well as my usual work. But I'm pressing on.

These are leftover Crossroads blocks from a class with Sujata Shah. {There are still more. Sheesh.} I love them as a border but it may be too bright. 

So I made a few more. {And this is how I end up with miscellaneous piles of leftover blocks.} Some haven't been trimmed because the border needs some coping. 

And this is where it sits today. 

Mostly I've been working in the yard. The zinnias are coming along.

I found a solar fountain sprinkler and created a temporary water feature with an old melamine bowl. The basin needs to be wider so I'll keep looking.

My son helped put the new glider chairs together. Acutally, he did the work and I helped hold a few things. Now we have a place to sit and enjoy the flowers and pollinators. 

Enjoy the day, Ann

That's it for the Red and Yellow Squares

For what it's worth... it's never too late, or in my case too early, to be whoever you want to be. 

There's no time limit. Start whenever you want. You can change or stay the same. There are no rules to this thing. We can make the best or the worst of it. I hope you make the best of it. I hope you see things that startle you. I hope you feel things you've never felt before. I hope you meet people who have a different point of view. I hope you live a life you're proud of, and if you're not, I hope you have the courage to start over again.

~F. Scott Fitzgerald

Quilting

These are the last of the red and yellow six-inch squares. They were cut {and carefully stored} so long ago that I can't remember the reason. So Sujata's freehand hourglass block from Cultural Fusion Quilts seemed like a great way to quickly use them up... and again attempt to rebuild a stash of baby quilts. 

My old rotary cutter no longer holds the blade firmly. The nut and bolt unscrew with each swipe. It's time to purchase a new one. Meanwhile my pair of very sharp Kai scissors works well to cut the diagonal lines. {Of course, the blocks are squared up later with the rotary tools.}

With my usual insouciance I cut all of them before determining how many were really needed. And there were way too many for the first toddler quilt. In fact, there's enough for seconds but I'm ready for a new layout. This time all the hourglasses point the same direction.

Did I mention I started putting slabs in scrap bag in addition to strings? That's where the oranges came from as well as the remnants from last year's aloha shirt. Not sure how I like that but at least they were available despite being the "wrong" size when I started. And I didn't have to find yet another bag or box to store them.

The shading between orange and red isn't great but I love the way the orange foreground blends into the yellow background. There's always something fun to discover working with scraps. 

Since the blocks were sewn a couple of weeks ago, sewing the top went much faster but it needed a border. I drove myself nuts pulling out almost every blue in the stash.  These...

and these.

I wanted to like the carrots because of the bits of orange. You can see I laid the horizontally and vertically but neither seemed to work. And I love the blue and black plaid but it clashes with the stripe that will be the binding. {It's too good an opportunity to pass up using it to bind and that's where the idea for a blue border came.}

Eventually and oddly I chose the darkest blue. It's almost a reproduction wide stripe. Not sure why it works but it does.

The finished quilt bound and ready. 

Improv Hourglass toddler quilt in red and yellow

The orange fabric was purchased for a different quilt that has yet to be started so I'm using it here. Of course, there wasn't quite enough for the back so a few remaining hourglasses and border strips fill in.

Back of Improv Hourglass quilt

The binding looks great. I love striped binding and frequently purchase random stripes that then molder in my stash. What joy to realize this one works so well with the blocks.

Detail of Improv Hourglass quilt

A final view of the front and back of the quilt.

Folded Improv Hourglass quilt

It's now in the quilt stash waiting for an older sibling who needs some attention. 

Quilt Specifics

Size: 57" x 57"

Design: Improv Hourglass

Batting: Mountain Mist Cream Rose cotton

Thread: Gutermann multi-yellow cotton thread

Quilting: Walking foot parallel lines

Approximate yardage: 6 yds

Reading

I've been eagerly waiting to read the second of Becky Chambers' Wayfarer's series. A Closed and Common Orbit picks up with the transfer of AI system Lovelace to a human-looking body. Pepper, a human who escaped from a factory where  genetically engineered girls recycle trash, invites her to her home and tries to help her fit into this new reality. The novel explores sentience, autonomy, and purpose. 

I've learned the hard way to space out reading new series. Reading them back-to-back usually results in burnout. Now I'm counting the days till the next one. 

Enjoy the day, Ann

Improv Hourglass Quilted

Things get bad for all of us, almost continually, 

and what we do under the constant stress reveals who/what we are.

~Charles Bukowski

Quilting

Inner borders benefit from SID (stitch-in-the-ditch) to keep them straight and that's what I did first here. But what to do next? The improvisationally cut hourglasses don't lend themselves to diagonal stitching although straight lines could run vertically. That's one of my default quilting designs. 

Then I recalled the quilting design on kawandis. It's a simple squared-off spiral from the outside in. And usually hand quilted. Starting at the outside meant the back needed to be carefully basted because there's no way to smooth bumps out as quilting progresses. And yes, there was extra at times. Fortunately, those fit between the rounds. Since no stitching crossed any other, there were no pleats.

The inner border was filled with free motion loops in dark brown and the outer border returned to the squared-off spirals. Feathers and Baptist fans didn't seem like they would show against the strong fan pattern of the print.   

The back started with a yard of an alphabet print purchased {a couple of years ago} for use on a baby quilt. It's enlarged with a tone-on-tone beige and a tiny green remnant. That green was wider but part was trimmed once the quilt was finished.

The binding is a wonderful multi-color stripe that looks hand painted. It has every color in the quilt: red, yellow, white, brown, and green.

Quilt Specifics

Size: 52" x 52"

Design: Improv Hourglass

Batting: Mountain Mist Cream Rose cotton

Thread: Superior brown and Gutermann multi-yellow cotton thread

Quilting: Walking foot spiraling squares and FMQ loops

Approximate yardage: 5.75 yds

Previous post: Improvising the scraps

Monthly FUR (Fabric Use Rate) 

Two quilts finished this month. Most excited that the Wheel quilt is finally a finish and it looks beautiful. Plus this small one has gone to a new baby. March = 24.75 yds. YTD =  42.625 yards.

Reading

Somehow I quit reading Clare O'Donohue's Someday Quilts mysteries but I'm making up for lost time. This week I finished The Devil's Puzzle where a skeleton is uncovered in Eleanor's backyard. It's been buried for thirty to forty years so there's not much chance of discovering who it is or who murdered him. There are only two more books in this series and I hope to finish it by year end.  

EDIT: Clare was a producer for Alex Anderson on Simply Quilts.

Enjoy the day, Ann

Improvising My Scraps

Community does not necessarily mean living face-to-face with others; 

rather, it means never losing awareness that we are connected to each other.

~Parker Palmer

Quilting

Cleaning out every corner of my house has been a salutary lesson. For some reason there are stacks of squares neatly packaged in different shoe boxes. Six-inch, 5.5", 2.5", and 2". Who knows why now. And why in the world are these blocks half an inch different in size? I tried to simply toss the larger ones into the scrap bag but instead pulled out chunks from the bag and cut them into six-inch blocks to make Hatchet blocks. 

There were so many that I sorted them by color later... after they were cut. Sigh. When I tired of Hatchets I switched to this improv hourglass blocks from Cultural Fusion Quilts. Generally these fabrics run analogously from red to orange to yellow although many of these yellows look more like cheddar.  

Here they are laid on the rug. A bit too small and there is not enough red or yellow yardage for a border. Then this cheddar-orange from my stash and the dark brownish-black from the scrap bag magically called. {I think I like putting these larger pieces in the bag. Finding them inspires different designs than strings do.} 

Improv hourglass blocks 

Four red blocks could create simple border corners but there were still some squares of yellow left, too.  Here's the top sewn.  And yes, I know one block is sideways. It will stay that way.

Improv hourglass quilt top

That strong border shows off the blocks beautifully. It's not fall here but the colors certainly reflect autumn. Next week I'll quilt it... as soon as I figure out the back.

After the freeze, most of our plants died back. I trimmed the ferns and hostas to the ground and am watching them sprout new growth. Most of the jasmine leafed out but some hedges may need to be replaced. I planted all my pots with flowers or ferns and am on a mission to get the ground cover going between the flagstones so hopefully weeding won't be a daily activity in a few years.  We still need the landscapers to grind a tree stump and replant. Privacy and shade are goals, too.

Reading

The Baby Ganesh Detective Agency series by Vaseem Khan delightfully draws us into Mumbai and its varied districts. In this first book, The Unexpected Inheritance of Inspector Chopra, the poor mother of a drowned boy challenges the police to discover what happened but Chopra's superiors don't want the death investigated and it's his last day of work. Then  his uncle sends him a gift of a baby elephant who is "not what he seems." Well written, engaging, and fun to read about another part of our world. It reminds me of The Number 1 Ladies' Detective Agency. 

Enjoy the day, Ann

Rosie Lee Tompkins

"Taxes are what we pay for a civilized society."

~Oliver Wendell Holmes

We had a three month delay in paying taxes here in the US. The new deadline is July 15. Tomorrow.

Chinese Coins

With so many little projects around the house there wasn't much time for quilting this week. Someone asked how to decide on the widths of Chinese Coin columns recently and here's what I wrote:

1. I plan the overall size (LxW) of the finished quilt because it helps me determine when I have enough columns and when to stop sewing onto a column. Believe me, column length is difficult to eyeball. I put pins on my design wall but you could masking tape your carpet or use floor tiles as a guide. Just something concrete to refer to.

2. Decide on a range (say 4-8") or pair of ranges (very narrow and very wide) as a guide because it helps determine how many columns you are shooting for. {50" wide/6" = 8 columns while 50" wide/ (8+2") = 5 PAIRS of columns. Only three 14" wide columns could fit in the same 50 inches.} You might still need extra columns in the end but this gives you an idea to aim for.

3. Sew the widest column(s) you want first because you will run out of strings. Just look at your outlined quilt size and consider what width looks "right" remembering you will trim and seam about an inch off the column. 

4. When that/those columns are finished, look at the strings that remain to figure your next column width.

5. There are usually enough tiny bits left at the end for one or two very narrow columns.

There are many examples on my blog because it must be my favorite scrap quilt idea. Just search for Chinese Coins or use this link where I did it for you.

Quilting

Despite all the issues of the pandemic, I did manage to see the Rosie Lee Tompkins quilt exhibit at BAMPFA. Just not in person. You can see it, too... until December 20. The exhibit opened just as California locked down for the pandemic so the museum kindly made a video tour. It's over an hour long so get your coffee ready first. The museum site includes a slideshow and links to their catalog but the video itself is also available on YouTube. Among the benefits of video {as opposed to in person visiting} are the ability to rewind and tour a site as many times as you wish.

Rosie is the pseudonym of Effie Mae Howard who lived in Richmond CA where Eli Leon met her. He purchased many of her quilts over the years and curated several shows that included her work. I have catalogs of three of the shows but believe there were at least eight including several, such as the 2016 exhibit at the Museum of California, that didn't have catalogs.

Catalogs of African-American quilt shows by Eli Leon

Upon his death, Eli donated most of his collection of 3,000 African-American quilts to the UC Berkeley museum including 500 by Ms. Tompkins alone. 

Projects Around the House

Still scanning and shredding. As previously mentioned the compost bin limits how much can be done each week. There is nowhere else to put the stuff. Currently six of twelve drawers completed. Halfway through although the tougher files are still ahead. More of these will need to be retained. Still, it's good to review what is in the files and put misfiled papers into their correct section. 

Covid

As we watch Covid ravage the US and see other countries actually dampen their outbreaks I realize part of the problem is the politicization of the pandemic. For the first time, politicians have pushed health care professionals out of the way as they rush to get their face before the electorate. They are not trained in public health and conflate their own agenda with medical facts. It has encouraged people to think the virus votes. I am appalled by the thoughtless actions of my neighbors and fellow citizens who somehow think it's a hoax/ they won't get it/ it's not too deadly. Read this short article if you find a 1% death rate acceptable.  

If nothing else consider the rate of infection among health care workers. It takes years of training to become either a nurse or a doctor. As they die off, who will be there to provide your healthcare?

Who else recalls one of America's major problems of WWII was that  malnutrition during the preceding decade of the Great Depression left many of our citizens unfit to serve? Are we really ready to write off another generation of working-age citizens? Do you want yourself or your family to be one of these people? And support them with all the extra care they will need over the years ahead? 

Voting

Our national election scheduled for November 3 is 112 days away. Help someone register and encourage everyone to vote. Vote 411 is a wonderful resource. Democracy requires the participation of ALL citizens. 

Enjoy the day, Ann

One Improv Hourglass Quilt Finished

"It has been said that patriotism is not a frenzied burst of emotion, rather the quiet and steady dedication of a lifetime." 

~ George H.W. Bush

Quilting

After three weeks this "quick and simple" baby quilt is finally done. Wow, that's too long but it turned out well.

Improv Hourglass quilt 

Since my machine with the working walking foot was in for repairs I had to use FMQ only. No SID around the sashing. I tried using a ruler to make straight lines a quarter-inch inside the sashing with mediocre success. The lines wobble but worse is the way the fabric pulls without an even feed foot. It doesn't pull with other FMQ designs so I'm not sure what caused it. My solution was to go back and FMQ a simple sine wave down the sashing. It won't win an award but looks much better. More stitching usually hides irregularities.

The rest of the center alternates spirals with wishbones although none of it is visible.

I used a design from Angela Walters FMQ challenge on the pink part of the outer border then sewed parallel lines on the blue and black sections.

Detail of quilting and binding of Improv Hourglass quilt 1

There wasn't a large enough of any pink for the back so these peach fabrics filled in. I'm not sure why I didn't look for any blues. Some days... The quilting doesn't show much on these busy prints either.

Detail of quilting and back of Improv Hourglass quilt 1

There was just enough of a black-and-white print for binding which blends well with the outer border.

Another view of the front, back, and binding. The dots are the same size which help the odd pink and peach combination work. The white gives needed contrast and the black ties it all together.

Detail of front, back and binding
on Improv Hourglass quilt 1

I thought this would go on the stack but it was a grandchild asked for it as it came out of the dryer. Isn't it fun when they are old enough to have opinions?

Quilt Specifics

Size: 42"x42"

Design: Hourglass

Batting: Mountain Mist Cream Rose cotton

Thread: Gutermann 50 wt light blue, pink, and white cotton

Quilting: FMQ spirals, SID, parallel lines

Approximate yardage: 5 yd

Previous Posts

1. Choosing fabric
2. Working the border

Reading

I just finished Finding Chika by Mitch Alborn who also wrote Tuesdays with Morrie. Mitch directs the Finding Faith Haiti Mission and Orphanage where Chika was brought after her mother's death. Two years later doctors found she had an inoperable brain tumor so Mitch and his wife brought her to the US for treatment.


Enjoy the day, Ann

Working the Border

"Far and away the best prize that life has to offer is the chance to work hard a work worth doing."

~Theodore Roosevelt

Quilting

Last week the black border didn't add anything to the conversation but the quilt still needed more contrast. I pieced more hourglasses with some black added to the pink and blues for the border then spent a while laying them out. This arrangement makes a striking zig zag but is much too strong for the weak center. {I'll have to remember it for another time.}

Zig zag border arrangement

Black to the outside and pink inside makes a much better border but the corners need to be resolved. Removing some hourglasses to add the sashing means there's almost enough for a second quilt if they aren't used in the corners. This notion prompted another search through the stash for possible corners.
Even though the other colors in that floral are pink and blue, it reads orange. Not a solution. However, the blue choices might work.

Trying different corners

I settled on the gingham because it contrasts with all the florals and polka dots. Some might remember it as the binding on the Rose quilt.

What an improvement from last week!

Once this quilt is finished, the second should go together easily and will finish off those polka dots. But there's a slight hitch - the machine must have a tune up. I've been told the BSR software needs an update, too. I have a second machine but it doesn't have a walking foot.

Reading

I just finished Celestial Bodies by Omani author Jokha Alharthi and translated by Marilyn Booth which won the Man-Booker prize last year. {The Man-Booker is given to the best book translated into English and published in England as opposed to the Booker is for the best fiction first published in England.} Written in various viewpoints with many flashbacks, it tells the story of a large family including three sisters, their father, and one daughter as well as other people from their ancestral village as Oman transitions from slavery to an oil-producing state.

Interesting note: One woman sewed on a Singer with a butterfly decal. I've never seen one like that. Was is a treadle {most likely} or a featherweight?

Simplicity half apron pattern 

Gifting
While sorting I found a vintage apron pattern and would be happy to pass it on to someone who would use it. Let me know in the comments.

Enjoy the day, Ann

The Square Deal and the Venice Canals

While the outer border is not as blue as I want, it seems to be done. There are enough extra blocks to make one or two toddler quilts. It seems silly to continue making "slightly better" blocks and I'm out of that light blue that looks so good to me. Time to sew it up.

The Square Deal quilt in progress: working on the outer border

Before the wildfires, business took DH to LA and I tagged along for fun. The first day was spent wandering through the Venice Canal neighborhood. Built in 1905 to mimic the waterways of its European namesake, it originally included gondoliers singing in Italian for the tourists. However, most of the canals were filled in by the 1920s (voted by the city but costs paid by the neighboring homeowners) to allow cars. The few remaining blocks were saved because there weren't enough houses to cover the costs of infilling.

No gondolas now. It's all privately owned with one narrow street paralleling the beach that allows autos. Only a block from the beach and so, so quiet.

Here are views of the canals and their bridges. I especially enjoy the variety of homes spanning the past hundred years.

Venice Canals, Venice Beach CA

A few detail shots. Look at the wavy panes in the windows. And the balcony railing would be a good quilt border. Most of the homes had a small yard in front that included a dining room. How lovely to eat al fresco daily. There must not be many mosquitos; no screens.

Details of the Venice Canals

There's a charming fountain in the lower right photo. Loved the casual design with upside down flower pot base and copper spigot mouth. It made such a relaxing sound, too.

History of the Venice Canals can be found on this website.

Sorry this post makes the area appear pristine and perfect. Venice is about 20 miles from Malibu where lives and property have been lost in the Woolsey Fire. The worst fire in California is the Camp fire near Paradise. So many people have lost everything. Photos of the devastation frighten me more than hurricanes. Absolutely nothing left.

Enjoy the day, Ann

Back to the Scientific Pinwheels

I'm home for a couple of weeks for some rest and recuperation. At least I thought it would be that. DH mentions the scientific baby quilt several times a week and it is time to finish it up.

Home has a design wall so the first thing was to lay it out again.

Scientific Pinwheel baby quilt in progress

I wasn't happy with the pinwheels as the inner border and thought the quilt could use a quiet area. Then I quickly added more pinwheels in dark to balance the inside and outside. Good enough.

Next was to make some quick Chinese Coins for the inner border. Driven by the design wall, it seemed they should be soft and light. Like this.

Building an inner border of Chinese Coins
for Scientific Pinwheel baby quilt

And just as I was congratulating myself on an "original" design, I read Audrey's post at Quilty Folk. Look. Almost the same quilt. Nothing new under the sun; just variations on a theme.


Enjoy the day, Ann

African Boxes and Eichler Homes

Words on Quilts

As I mentioned several times, I'm probably the last person to add words to quilts. Bad to be so far behind the curve. Good that there are so many excellent examples to spark ideas. One of my favorite quilters is Lynne at Patchery Menagerie. Her work is beautifully executed and usually humorous. For example, take her Chicken quilt. Here are the results of a Chicken search on her site. Taking the time to read through these posts will enlighten you on her process and certainly generate ideas of your own. Thanks, Lynne, for sharing so generously.


African Boxes

This quilt started from a photo sent by Sujata with a casual challenge to make a quilt from it. That was back in 2015. I had an immediate response to the structure and red color. By happenstance I was already making sets of long skinny triangles. It struck me these could easily substitute for the red boxes.

It's been finished since last year but I kept it to put in our quilt show this spring. I finally had the opportunity to personally give it to the recipient.

African Boxes

I stitched in the ditch down each side of the "strings" as well as the triangles. Then I casually echo stitched the piecing with a walking foot.

African Boxes, detail

The back is also muslin. This is one of the softest quilts ever. That muslin makes it so comfortable to snuggle in.

Detail of stitching from the back, African Boxes

Construction details.

Quilt Details
Size: 63" x 71"
Design: Original based on antique Ghanaian textile
Batting: Mountain Mist Cream Rose 100%cotton
Thread: Gutterman 50/2 white cotton and YLI invisible nylon monofilament
Quilting: Walking foot 

Eichler Homes Exhibit

I saw this intimate exhibit at the Los Altos History Museum last week. Joe built open occupancy, post-war subdivisions in northern California with wide streets, parks, and community centers that are still treasured today. Open occupancy meant all races and cultures were welcome. In fact, he resigned from the National Association of Home Builders because they would not support this standard.

They are mainly one story homes with walls of windows on the back or side and frequently included an atrium. Perfect for California.

The museum had several current and vintage photos of Eichler homes...

Photo of an Eichler home in the 1960s

Photos of Eichler homes today by Marika Reed

floor plans {I always love these because they're like maps.}...

Eichler home floor plan

Eichler home floor plan

and accessories from the 50s and 60s.

Home accessories from the 1960s

Enjoy the day, Ann

AHIQ 24: Pieced and Appliqued Words

Wasn't the solar eclipse exciting? I hope you had a good view of it, too. If not in person then at least on the news. NASA had an entire series of telescopes set up to view the live event as it crossed the US. Here's a feed from Madras, Oregon.

This is the second month of #AHIQwords invitation.  Part of improvisation is trying new techniques even if we must push ourselves. I may be the last quilter to add lettering to a quilt but it's something I always wanted to try. This is the time for me to check it off my list. The thing is: it's so much fun I can't wait to start another! Who'd a thought?


Baseball Quilt

The blocks are pieced and sewn with sashing. After realizing blue would dissolve the hat and red the shoes, I chose a white-and-blue stripe combined with red-and-white make a wide sashing. The quilt is getting livelier by the day. In baseball, the team name is on the front while the player's name and number is on the back. I could put numbers on each player or simply a "P" but haven't decided yet. {In part because FO hasn't sent me a list of his favorite players.}

Phillies baseball team with sashing

Words on Quilts

This is as good a place as any to add words to a quilt. My first idea was to freely piece words around the borders until I realized the Phillies name is usually red in an upright cursive.  That's a machine applique job. After many attempts, my script finally looks similar to theirs. 

I traced Phillies onto red fabric then prepped the entire 8"x 25" rectangle using Lara's method in Crafted Applique. Years ago, Cindy England told me the best way to make sure a word is straight is to cut it out after it's laid on the background. And Audrey at Quilty Folk keeps writing that she appliques before sewing the border to the quilt. Isn't it helpful to have such smarties around? It's certainly made the job easier.

After lining the word up with the edge of the border, I pinned it, pressed it, then machined sewed along the pencilled lines. Then, taking a very deep breath, I cut about an eighth-inch away to remove the extra. 

Starting to cut away the applique

Mel at Piece, Love & Happiness loves Havel snips for this. I tried hers a few times but couldn't get enough control. Fortunately, Havel has another pair that remind me of nail scissors. The curved blades made cutting around the curves a snap; I simply turned the scissors back and forth in my hand to match the seam. Thanks, Mel!

With some relaxing music while sitting at a sturdy table with good light, I finished in about an hour. 

Continuing to cut away the applique with Havel scissors

The FO's name and graduation year need a location - border or back.

They won the World Series in 1980 and 2008. Their mascot, Phillie Phanatic, is considered the best in baseball.  Features of their ballpark include:

• The Angle
• Ashburn Alley
• Liberty Bell {lights up for home runs}
• Veterans Memorial
• Memory Lane
• Rooftop bleacher seats

Also under consideration are these sayings by Phillies players and announcers:

• Moon Shot.
• Ya gotta believe.
• Swing and a long drive. That ball is outta here.
• When it is time to go out on the field, we all go out through the same door.
• For who? My teammates. For what? To win.
• Half of this game is ninety percent mental.
• Root, root, root for the Phillies

Looking at this increasingly long list, piecing them on the back might be the best plan. It seems very hard to keep creating this wide, even cursive. Besides, I've been itching to try free-piecing letters.

What words have you found for your project? How are you planning to add them to your quilt? Kaja and I created a new Pinterest board, Alphabet, with a variety of pieced and appliqued words and letters. It's a good starting point to spark your own ideas.

Just in case you're still working on with Chinese Coins, take a look at Patricia's quilt for Nora combining Coins with words. Wish I'd thought of that.

Eli Leon, African American Quilt Collector

A friend forwarded this article about Eli Leon. In the 1970s Eli began collecting African American quilts in Berkeley CA. After winning a Guggenheim fellowship, he travelled across the South to research and purchase more of this art. Eli posited, "There were African survivals and enduring African influences in African-American quilts, and that quilts made by African-Americans reflected the survival of a cultural identify under siege." He mounted several local and national exhibits from his extensive collection. Sherri Lynn Wood wrote more about him here and here.

Enjoy the day, Ann

InLinkz removed because it was hacked.