Captain Midnight & Beyond

I have heard stories from quilters about their proclivity for practicing this craft at all hours of the night and day. I had not fallen prey to this phenomenon until yesterday - or rather last night.

After a wonderful evening spent with dear friends who came over to celebrate a milestone birthday (age to remain secret), I wasn't tired at all. Must have been the spectacular sunset we had as we sat in our backyard, watching the Canadian geese flying overhead and taking in the true beauty of nature. Dear Husband had produced another great dinner, although truth-be-told, most of it was pre-made (like the gourmet pizzas from Whole Foods in Roseville, CA).

As it was a "school night" for DH, the evening wrapped up around 8:30 or so. DH trundled off to bed. I was going to watch yet another "Law and Order" re-run, but decided to go into my sewing room and look at a pattern I should be working on as it is a Christmas gift and I feel the press of time to get it started. Then I saw the fabric for the Christmas block exchange I'm participating in. I told myself, I will only make one block. Right! One block turned into a production line and four hours later, DH appeared at the door and said, "Friends don't let friends quilt at 1:00 in the morning. What are you doing?"

Darn. Caught in the act. I told him I wasn't tired after dinner and had just fallen into the rhythm of quilting. What I didn't tell him was that I desperately need to get these blocks done, so I can continue to work on other holiday gifts. And, 34 blocks are a lot of cutting, sewing, squaring, etc.

I did learn a number of lessons from this midnight romp with my machine and fabric:

1. The wee hours of the night/morning are quiet and perfect for getting fully into the zen of quilting.
2. You have to pay really close attention to what you are doing, particularly after two or three hours at it. I trashed a couple of pieces I incorrectly cut after making half-square triangle squares.
3. A production process is absolutely key when you have to make what seems like an endless number of half-square triangles. I found mine. Mark, sew, cut, press, measure, square - and execute these en masse. So chain sewing really comes in handy and is the best way to produce a large number of the same pieces.
4. Perfection is a problem when making volumes of pieces. By this I mean, one cannot spend 20 minutes measuring each HST to make certain it is exactly 4 1/2 inches. At some point, having a system of quality control (like measuring every fifth piece) has to suffice, or else the pieces are never going to get made. I have to learn to trust my skills more and let go of my obsessive nature more. At the rate I was going before last night, it will be 2020 before these blocks are done!
5. Having your doggies sleeping in your quilting room while you are working is wonderful. And so mine were, quietly snoring and making cute doggy slumber sounds. This is opposed to right now - they are speeding across the back lawn barking loudly at every thing and person who moves, walks by, is within a hundred mile radius. However, our late night did result in a late morning for them. When DH arose at 6:00 am, there wasn't a peep out of either of them. Quite a change from the normal 4:15-4:30 am wake-up call from Merlin.

The weather is expected to cool this week and it does feel as though fall could be right around the corner. Thank goodness. I am so tired of the sizzling summer for which the Sacramento area is so well known. I will spend as much time as I can today working on the block exchange pieces, until I must shift gears and work on the Japanese puzzle celestial quilt.

Tired, but content. Onward.

September Block of the Month

I just completed the Cabin Fever BOM for September and here it is. Compared to last month's block, this was a "walk in the park." I enjoyed cutting out the fabric yesterday at 4:30 am, then sewing it today.

Helping my friend who is leaving tomorrow for her new residence in CO was grueling. It was 103 degrees as we were carrying her possessions out to the trucks. Besides which, she has more things than anyone I have ever known, despite her cleaning out her house, having an estate sale, and giving things to charity. I survived, but decided to spend today close to home to regain my lost energy. I will never help anyone move again, I swear - at least not at the end of September (almost October, in fact).

Will skate again on Wednesday. Onward we go!

Christmas Quilt, Skating Fun

At right is a picture of my latest quilt, which has now become Dear Husband's favorite of all the quilts I have made. The fabrics really sparkle and the photo doesn't do justice to the fabric. Note to self: must get better camera to take these pics.

This pattern is a Fons and Porter called "Pina Colada." The pattern shows the piece made in bright batiks, but I liked the star concept and felt it would be perfect for Christmas. It will hang in our living room, replacing the "Wine Styles" hanging which is there now.

Must finish the Cabin Fever BOM this weekend as the session is next week. Yikes, but get rolling on this one.

Big news on the skating front - my new boots are ready. Just waiting for the blades which should arrive next week. So in two weeks I will go down to San Francisco for the fitting. Then for the break-in period. Not looking forward to that, but hopefully it won't take too long.

Spent nearly two hours yesterday on private ice - and I do mean PRIVATE. I was the only skater on the ice. What a luxury it was. I did nothing but ice dance, just putting on my dance music on the PA system. It was great fun. My best skating buddy came over (she was on the other rink) to say "bye." I asked her if she wanted to see my Paso. What was I thinking? She is a wonderful ice dancer and were it not for a lack of dance judges would have been testing the Ten Fox and European Waltz today. It wasn't like I was bragging by asking her to watch. I just wanted her to see that I am trying very hard to get over this problem with backward skating. As the Paso has some challenging footwork going backwards, it is a great dance to work on to overcome this problem of mine. J, if you are reading this, please know that I wasn't holding my Paso up as anything coming close to "good" or "right."

Today I am helping a friend who is moving to Colorado. Oh what fun!

A Thing of Beauty & Great Skate

I spent the majority of last weekend - including a stint that began at 4:15 am - cleaning and organizing my sewing room (aka, my previous office). What a complete, utter, total feeling of elation to now have a wonderful place in which to make quilts.

After acquiring some furniture at amazing prices from an estate sale, I now have two wonderful cabinets, one absolutely ideal for my fabric (which is organized by color) with three glass shelves on top and two wood shelves below, with lovely glass and wood doors. A great piece. The other is the home for my skating and friends/family pictures. This one is right next to my sewing machine, which now looks out on to our patio. This placement allows me to also hear the fountain in the front of the house. It is just delightful. I even bought a lovely wall clock that actually makes a "tick-tock" sound. Very soothing. I could not be happier with my efforts.

The pictures are of my closet, of which I am the most proud, I think. It was a mess before. I couldn't find anything in it, which frustrated me tremendously. Now all is organized, neat and tidy, just the way I like it.

I went through every scrap of fabric I had, sorting by colors, type (novelty, batik, etc) and putting the scraps into boxes with index labels. Dear Husband suggested this was a bit obsessive. Hey, you can take the girl out of the obession, but you can't . . . well, Dear Reader, you can figure out the rest.

As for skating, I had a wonderful day Wednesday. My friend, Maddie (who roomed with me at Worlds and was my Skating Mom for the week) and I are doing the Paso Doble (in mirror image format) at our local rink's annual Holiday Show. We started working on it yesterday. Coach J thought we would have to slow the music down for us "mature skaters" but I said, "No way!" As it turns out, after four attempts we were able to keep up with the music and handle the pattern. A good start. Much work but we have time to practice since the show isn't until just before Christmas. Coach said it was so nice to see me smile when I was doing the Paso.

I had totally private ice from 9:45 until 10:30 when Maddie showed up. I just put on dance music and did all the dances I could do by myself (please recall I am not a solo ice dancer). When the music came to the Swing Dance, I thought, I am going to try this alone. Since my accident, I try to avoid backward skating as much as I can. Half of the SD is going backwards. Earlier I had watched my best skating buddy (who is testing the Ten Fox and European Waltz solo this weekend) drilling her dances. She absolutely inspired me to give the Swing Dance a try. I'd be lying if I didn't say that I was a little scared, but once I got the hang of it (two full patterns were pretty pathetic) I felt more at ease. When Coach J arrived on the ice, I was so excited I insisted that after my lesson (focused on the footwork in the Paso), I show her I could solo the Swing Dance. She was just as happy as I was. In fact, my attempt resulted in an "Awesome!" from Coach; first ever in all the years I've been skating.

Tomorrow I skate in the morning, then home to quilt. Will focus entirely on dance and Silver Moves. Can't wait!

Jumping for Joy

One of the wonderful aspects of skating is the element of surprise. And, thus this element grabbed Coach J and me during yesterday's lesson (at the end after we worked on Silver Moves) doing freestyle.

We started with some waltz jumps. I haven't jumped at all (I mean not one jump, I believe) since Worlds at the end of July. The first jump was pretty good (at least I thought it was), but Coach said she really wanted to see more glide going into the jump. O.K., I got it - more glide. Well, "Shut my mouth!" as some say in the southern part of our great nation, when I executed a near perfect waltz jump, replete with long glide and significant height.

I thought Coach was going to jump out of her boots. She looked at me with this wonderful look of pride and said, "That was great, Karen. That's exactly how this jump should be done." I teased her and said, "Well, if you had just told me this years ago, I would have done that." Of course, the reality is that she has told me this at least a thousand times, but yesterday I understood exactly what she was looking for and could execute it. Yay! The jump felt amazing, truly like flying. Coach then asked me to try it again. Bingo, same thing. A strong jump, well done. Ha! We were beyond "coincidence" status but certainly not into "pattern" land. Coach then requested two in a row. Yep, there they were. Lovely, flying, big (for a mature adult skater) jumps. Coach and I had these looks of complete glee on our faces. Then, there were high 5's all around.

O.K., now try to apply this to a salchow. First one - off the charts for me. OMG, I was so excited. Then we hit a small snag, but nothing I can't correct. On to a loop. Could it be that I could actually do the jump? Oh yes. Coach figured we should take advantage of the momentum and said, "Let's see your flip." I requested a half-flip first (which I thought was pretty darn good, if I do say so myself, as did Coach, who mentioned this being my best jump, except for my newly found correct waltz jumps). The jumping luck ended with the flip, so we drilled it, particularly the entry three-turn.

Time was now short as my dance lesson with Coach Chris was upon us. Coach requested a one foot spin. Did the first one; Coach was happy, so was I. Tried another, not quite as good as the first, but a respectable spin for me, as I am so not a spinner.

As Coach Chris came up to us, I said, "Perhaps this is what happens when you don't skate for 10 days." It was, all-in-all, a great lesson. The trick will be retaining the glide concept and continue to apply it to other jumps as appropriate. I believe I will be able to do this.

Then, on to dance. Had a productive, fun dance lesson. Focused entirely (except 7 minutes at the end) on the Ten Fox. We have now gotten over the "pause" problem before the outside Mohawk on the end pattern, which is definitely progress. Coach Chris told me to just relax, saying, "After all, it's the Ten Fox." On the last pattern, I did exactly that and had a good dance. It felt great.

Drilled the European three's for the EW. Coach C was happy with the turns, but asked me to envision that there was a million dollar bill between my thighs that I certainly would not want to lose it. This little trick helped greatly. He showed me the difference between my turns before and after his suggestion. The feet are definitely closer and much closer to the proper position.

Next weekend, my best skating buddy is testing her Ten Fox and European Waltz. I absolutely cannot wait to see her dances! I know she is going to pass without any doubt.

Lastly, the great thing about skating is just when you think you might be falling out of love with it, something happens that brings you back and you appreciate that you are making progress while having a glorious time. But I'm frustrated that I don't have my new boots and blades by now (it's been two months) which isn't helping any. I want to have time to break them in before the holiday show when the ensemble ladies are going to do our number. I am so hoping that my friends J and S will do solo performances for the show, although I think they should do the European Waltz in mirror image format. Would be so cool and they both do this dance beautifully.

Can't wait to get back to the rink next week and practice what I learned on Friday! Onward we skate.

Quick Update for Interested Parties

Of all things, an unexpected case of pink eye has kept me from skating so far this week. I went to the doc and was given antibiotic drops for my poor red eyes, but I did look like something from a Halloween 19 movie! Not very attractive and quite itchy. Of course, the first thing you are directed to do is toss any eye makeup you were using prior to "the pink" attack, so this required me to purchase new make up. This is probably a good thing as I think mine was years old!

I am well enough today, however, to go to a Japanese quilting class sponsored by the Roseville guild. Looking forward to being with these ladies and making the celestial quilt for Dear Husband.

I had lunch on the day I discovered my pink eye with some great friends from a company where we all worked some time ago. It was wonderful getting together with them and swapping stories (and some much-needed girl gossip - MEOW!). Must be a real sign of maturity that I went without any eye makeup at all. This is a first for me - that being, going out in public this way, let alone getting together with friends. I'm sure I looked a sight, but they were kind enough not to stare at me in horror.

Finally, tomorrow is a BIG skate day. Have a 9:30 lesson with Coach J, then my dance lesson with Coach C. I couldn't go to the rink on Wednesday for my regular lesson due to my eye condition, so I am happy I can go tomorrow, complete with eye make up I hope.

Onward we go. Hope everyone is having a good week. I am SO ready for the fall season, but hear it is going to 100 degrees next Monday. Just when you think the season is really changing, you are treated to another Sacramento summer day. Ugh. Hopefully, this will be the last heat wave for us.

Christmas in September & Some Quilting Frustration

Before the huge rush begins to make multiple quilts for Christmas gifts, I decided to make one (pictured at left; still a work in progress) for our home. It's going to be quite large (a little bigger than twin size) and will be a wallhanging for our living room. This quilt - it turns out - is Dear Husband's favorite of all the quilts I have made. The borders are gold and white half-square triangle squares. I wish this picture was better (and in-focus might have been good too!) because it doesn't show the sparkles in the fabric very well. I will finish it up today. It was a blast to make, didn't take much time because of the large pieces, but it did present one challenge which I solved myself, so it was a good learning experience.

I am also working on my 34 blocks for the block exchange in which I am participating. I ran into a BIG SNAG yesterday because the directions indicate you need to make 6-4 1/2" inch non-pieced squares and 10-4 7/8" pieced half-square triangle squares. Alright, call me an idiot (I fear some will) but these pieces are NOT going to fit together, unless the half-square triangle pieces are trimmed to fit the 4 1/2 inch pieces. But the directions don't indicate this. So I wrote to a quilter who provided the fabric and my mentor, Lori, for this quilting project, for clarification.

Again, I had a learning opportunity making these blocks; that being, an easy and precise way to make half-square triangle pieces using a much better and more accurate technique. I like the end result, so I will make these pieces in this manner from now on. Takes a little more fabric, but the pieces turn out much nicer than if you have to piece two half-squares together in the more 'beginner's' fashion.

This week I am taking a class being held by the quilters guild of Roseville. It's a Japanese puzzle class. I am so excited about making another piece using this technique! I will cut the fabric out today for this quilt top.

I am also picking up my quilt for the silent auction for our Crush party this weekend. I hope someone does buy this piece or it will become a gift for someone who likes wine and olives.

It is raining here. I am content that the Fall season is nearly upon us. I remember during the last few months of my father's life, he would ask me all the time, "Is it ever going to rain again, Sis?" He loved the rain. I walked the dogs this morning in an early morning drizzle, thought about my father and how happy he would have been that it is raining again, just as I promised him it would. Had a good cry over this as we walked around our neighborhood loop. The doggies got wet, so the house smells a bit like damp pups right now, despite a good drying with a towel and nice brush. Get out the Fabreeze!

Skating Wednesday and Friday this week, with an ice dance lesson with Coach Chris on Friday.

Onward.

We Will Never Forget

On this day, let us never allow the remembrance to leave us of those who lost their lives so many years ago.

Back on the Ice

I approached going back to skating after nearly 10 days of "rest" (read 'forced separation') with some trepidation. This always happens when I haven't skated for even 3 or 4 days. It's the fear thing.

I was so pleased to see my best skating buddy out on the ice, working on two of her dances, the Ten Fox and European Waltz, which she will be testing this month. Most impressive indeed. She is a lovely ice dancer, with great posture, expression and presence on the ice.

Gingerly, I put my blades on the ice, wondering if I am ever going to get my new boots and blades. Another month I have to wait. Total bummer! Anyway, I am working hard on improving my posture, so I started with slow stroking, holding the proper ice dance stroking position for one length down the ice on each foot. This is not easy, BTW, except for some people. I am getting the feel of the position, which pleases me. Then, worked on drop 3-turns for the European Waltz until Coach J showed up for my lesson. I announced we were going to work on - in this order - the Ten Fox, European Waltz and Paso. She came back with a suggestion that we work on the Fox Trot, EW, and Paso. Good idea. Why take time with Coach J doing the TF when I am working on this with Coach C?

We started with the Fox Trot, the steps for which I had completely forgotten. Had a good bit of difficulty remembering them, but once I did, I really enjoyed the dance. Then, on to the European Waltz. Coach asked me to start by showing her some random drop-three turns. I immediately did the end pattern (four consecutive drop-3s) and she looked genuinely surprised. I received nice comments on this attempt, with mention of the fact that I looked "very balanced" (I felt very balanced also). Then, I attempted doing the dance solo and we agreed that with the alternating 3s, my skill and form wasn't as good as on the end pattern. Much work needed here.

But the real fun began when we worked on the Paso. For some reason, I could not get the end pattern of the dance. So strange. Coach J finally drew the pattern on the ice. Once she did, "No problem!" Ah, it all fell into place at that point. Yay! When my lesson was over, I put on some music for the Paso and worked on the end pattern over-and-over until I felt very comfortable and could even do the end and right-side patterns in time to the music. Very cool, but not patting myself on the back too much. The left side pattern is difficult for me, but I am determined to learn this dance and do it properly. Most of this work was done solo, not in partner position with Coach. Note to self: It is very important that I spend more time working on the dances alone!

And the end of the session, I had skated two hours and was feeling really good. No pain in the hip and it felt wonderful to be on the ice. Onward we go!

A Near-Perfect Heart

At long last, I have learned the value of sewing a scant 1/4 inch seam. To wit, pictured here is a practically perfect 12 1/2 inch block, made from some fabric I have in my stash. I am such a sucker for these Batiks and had this fabric left over from a quilt I made for my best skating buddy. I absolutely adore the colors.

I have been trying very hard on the current project to stick to a "scant" rather than "full" 1/4 inch seam allowance - and it is working. To "scant" or "not to scant" has probably been debated by quilters forever, but I am now convinced of the value of a "scant" allowance.

I picked this fabric from my stash because my physician, who will be the recipient of this project, recently started her own online gem business. I wanted colors that reflect those of colored gem stones.

The nice part of this block is that I had made an Ohio Star for the wall-hanging. I didn't like it - and it turned out to be too large because I was using a seam allowance even less than scant. This block came out of a book we are using for the Cabin Fever BOM. I made it thinking it would work well for this sampler piece. Voila! It's ideal and looks beautiful with the other three blocks.

As I am not skating this week, I will finish this piece and start on the "Raider Nation" quilt I am making for one of my very dearest friend's 9 year-old son. Should be lots of fun. I have acquired all the fabric and even Dear Husband thinks it will be very nice (I used him as the acid test about the "guy" nature of the fabric; he gave all a big thumbs up).

Off to read, perchance to nap. Blogging is so tiring. :)

The Wait is Over, The News is Good

Just got off the phone from the doc's office . . . no fractures, no broken bones. YAY! I had this impression as my hip has been improving slowly but surely, as the expression goes.

Even better news. There is no negative change in my spine/hip condition, meaning Reclast is doing its job. This is great and allows me to skate with more confidence. Not ignoring the obvious - that my risk is greater than without this dang osteoporosis - but clearly I am having no further denigration of bone density due to this illness. What a relief!

I finally confessed to Dear Husband that I bought new boots (SPTerri) and blades (MK Professional) when I was in San Jose. I had not told him, but who can keep a secret like that from one's spouse? Certainly not me. He was a stand-up guy about it; he ribbed me a bit, but it's hard to be mad at someone who confesses that she made a complete impulse purchase. Not that I didn't need new boots, mind you. My last pair of Klingbeil skates never fit properly and I was continually adjusting them, without success. But I hadn't exactly planned on this purchase. The heat of the moment and all that just swept me away, the SPTerri booth was right there and everything was just so easy. Yikes, you'd think I'd know better. However, I am really looking forward to getting my new skates in the next three weeks.

Onward I go, grateful to be on the road to recovery and able to return to skating next week!