Good Week for Quilt Tops And Forging Ahead

Despite this only being Wednesday, this has been a productive week for completing some projects that were time-bound.


This picture is a wall hanging I finished today for the Sacramento SPCA's big fund raiser - Reigning Cats and Dogs - that is held in October. It is not a large piece, but a dog fancier may take to it and bid on it during the auction portion of the event. I am delivering this to my quilter tomorrow, so there won't be problems with getting it to the SPCA in time for the event. 


I also finished the t-shirt quilt I made for my friend's daughter. That top is quite large and is nearly reversible. It turned out to be very sweet, whimsical, and unique. I am so hoping that the young lady for whom it was made will cherish it. It was created from t-shirts given to her and her classmates when they went on field trips during her elementary school years. 


Finally, I am over the ice dance test "retry" experience of last Saturday and am now focusing on some serious practice to prepare for the ice skating competition in Las Vegas in October! It won't be long now.


Onward. 

Some Days are Diamonds, Some Days are Dust

I had one very dusty day yesterday. I did not (again) pass my Ten Fox test. I had a good, relaxed warm up, but got nervous when it was time to dance in front of the three-judge panel. 


After warm-up, I saw my freestyle coach sitting in the stands. I asked her if she saw my warm-up, she replied, "Yes." That was it; just "Yes." I knew at that moment what she thought - "No way is she going to pass this test." I asked her what she thought. Her response was "I don't know. It's the Mohawk; it's a problem." I NEVER should have had this conversation with her right before the test. Lesson learned: Don't ask a question if you can't handle the answer. Ah duh!


One judge passed me, the other two, including his wife, gave me the big "Retry." I'm not surprised. I knew the minute I got off the ice that I had not passed the test.


Here's what I got from the test:

• I skated *clean*, meaning no falls or major mistakes, like missing steps, falling out of pattern, etc.
• I certainly got judges' feedback (read BIG criticism) that I wanted. To wit: "No expression," "Edges too shallow," "Walking steps, not running." Oddly, no comments about the outside Mohawk and drop three-turns, although as my friend Janet said, "It was probably the whole picture that they were looking at" (or something like that.)
• I did get to dance with a drop-dead stunning *fab* ice dancer, great human being and friend in Coach Chris. He was amazing yesterday. So supportive, stayed with me the entire time from when he arrived until I got the results, tried to keep me calm. Coach C, you get very high marks for being there for me!
• I did get to listen to "Slow Boat to China" for the last time. I will never use this music again for anything.
• I know what I need to work on, but don't know if I will ever be able to accomplish what the judges are looking for. I will never ice dance like a 40 year-old. Just isn't going to happen, I fear. 

Here's what I didn't get from the test:

• Being able to recognize that not passing is not a metaphor for my life. Going to have to work on this one. I'm feeling pretty down right now about this result. So much hard work (not to mention money) for a less than positive outcome is hard to accept. 

I am spending the day at home licking my wounds from yet another "Retry" and working on a quilt for a silent auction for Sacramento SPCA's big fundraiser in October.

Onward through life. 

A Long Haul

Today is the culmination of what seems like a very long, arduous journey to retry an ice dance that I had tested two years ago. 


After receiving an "Invitation to Retry" the Ten Fox when I tested in San Jose so long ago, I've been working toward taking USFS up on that offer. 


As the expression goes, "Be careful what you ask for!" when you do things like submit an application to re-test thinking to yourself, "The Club will not be able to find three dance judges in August in the Sacramento area who want to spend a Saturday afternoon watching, among others, a mature, adult ice dancer try once more to pass a Bronze level dance. Come on - certainly these folks have others things to do during the dog days of summer, like watching their zucchini grow or watching paint dry."


Apparently that is not the case because at about 2:30 today I will take the ice, with some shred of pride that I am even testing this dance again, knowing that at least I will be dancing with a drop-dead stunning young man who is a *fab* ice dancer and great human being/friend. Sidebar: Thank you, Coach Chris, for getting me to this point. You've been THE best about all of the travails associated with getting to test day.


What do I want from this test? Not in this order, here's the long answer (there is no short one, I'm afraid):

• I want 2 of 3 (although 3 would be totally-over-the-top cool) judges to mark the "Pass" box so I can put this dance behind me. 
• I'd like Coach Chris (and Coach Jayne) to be proud of the job I do.
• I don't care about overs, but I do care about getting feedback (read 'criticism') to improve my dance skills. 
• I never want to hear "Slow Boat to China" again (and I picked that song "Why?").
• I want to skate a clean dance, put out the best performance I can, and leave the ice with my head held high. 
• I want to accept that if I get another "Retry," it doesn't mean that I'm not a great wife, good dog Mom, loyal friend, and/or decent quilter. In short, not passing this test is not a metaphor for my life; it is a point-in-time event over which I have little control given the highly subjective nature of judging (maybe the judges will hate having to listen to "Slow Boat to China" and mark me down because of that - who knows? could happen!)

That's it in a nutshell. So, onward through a day that, like any other day, is 24 hours, during which less than two minutes will be spent taking this test. Nameste.

Work-in-Progress

I am not a fan of quilts with millions of small pieces; in fact, I manage to avoid them at all cost, but when it was time to decide on a Christmas quilt for our living room, I plunged into the fray, purchased a Thimbleberries pattern (top photo) and am now firmly ensconced in this sweet Village Patchwork design.


Yesterday I constructed the first row (bottom photo). I've been working on this top for what seems like an eternity. You can't really tell from the picture, but there are probably 30-40 pieces - maybe more - in each house and star block.


I started on the tree blocks and have made 17 of the needed 60 branch pieces to construct these. That translates into 60-1 1/2 inch x 4 1/2 inch rectangles and 120-1 1/2 inch squares. I have half of the sections (30) either sewn or pinned and ready to sew. This afternoon, I will work on the other half. 


This top isn't so difficult to make as it is tedious and unforgiving. You can't squeak by making small mistakes the way you can when working with large pieces. I've re-made a number of block sections, but the work paid off when I made the first row and everything fit together perfectly. "Whoopee!" she cried. 


I am also working on a t-shirt quilt for a dear friend's daughter. Today, I go to my long arm quilter's home for the second of private lessons in how to make one of these tops. We are designing it together and it is quite an enjoyable experience. I have all the interfacing fused to the back of the t-shirts, so today we'll probably get out the design wall and put up the pieces to see what we have. The creative process in action!


Tomorrow I have a dance lesson with Coach Chris. Only one more lesson left (after tomorrow) before I test the Ten Fox on August 21. Passing this test is a roll-of-the-dice. Given what has happened to my best skating buddy with her last two dance tests (completely unfair judging) I am going into this test with a good deal of trepidation. But testing with a Hollywood good looks, Gold-level ice dancer helps a lot! 


Onward in quilt land. 

Let Sleeping Dogs Lie

Merlin, 11.5 years old

DeeDee, 8 years old

These pictures are too adorable not to post.


The left *pic* is our "old gentleman" curled up in his doughnut bed, enjoying every moment of his nap. I think this bed is really too small for him (he is a big boy at 65 pounds), but he seems to think it is just fine for him.


By way of contrast, DeeDee is showing her most ignoble pose as she snoozes away in one of her favorite places, up against the wall. We refer to this as her "upside-down-pretzel-dog" position. I think she has her best REM periods in this position. 


You gotta love dogs, right? 


Expenses:

• Photos by Dear Husband, our resident pet photographer: One Skinny Cow Ice Cream Bar.
• Adorable doggies: Priceless.

I'm Still Here

I have not been a very faithful blogger lately due to other pressing matters requiring my attention. Here is an update on what's happening at our end of the pond:

1. The Big Kitchen Dig at O'Brien Manor is over. Thank goodness! Dear Husband could not be happier. He did a fantastic job designing the space. Taking down the elevated breakfast bar was a fantastic idea; it really opened up the room tremendously (see picture above). Everything is so beautiful and functional too.

2. Quilting continues. I now have a number of projects going at the same time. After teaching myself how to hand applique by watching a YouTube video, I am so enjoying spending time with my needle and thread tacking down the pieces I applique via fusible web (love this method). I am working on a quilt top (it will be called "Seasons of Sicily") for a class, am making a t-shirt quilt for a friend's daughter, and am hard at work on a Christmas quilt for our living room. Then there is the dog-theme quilt I am making for the SPCA benefit in October. 

3. Toying with learning to make jewelry. I am dabbling in jewelry making, with the ultimate objective to make vintage-style jewelry for gifts. Just getting started with this so it is too soon to tell whether I will like this hobby and stick with it, as I have quilting.

4. The "skate" goes on. Still preparing for the October competition and working on Free Dance 5 test. I am not skating nearly as much as I 'should' but life gets in the way and the schedules for ice time at the rink have been changed numerous time due to summer camps for kids. That said, I had a good run through of my "Fallen Embers" (Bronze Open) program last week. Coach even looked happy with it and that's saying something!

5. Doggies are hot. While it is true that our dogs are primarily indoor pups, they like to go outside and also have to. It's too darn hot for Collies right now. We got DeeDee an adorable little summer cut (not shaved; just trimmed her skirt, tummy and feathers) so she is no longer dragging in entire rose bushes when she comes in from the backyard. She seems to be happy with her new "do" and we think she looks cute as can be. Definitely planning on leaving her this way. Our old boy, Merlin, is hanging in, but continues to slow down. Can't write about that now. Just makes me too sad. We love them both very much and are honored to give them their forever home.

6. Migraines are . . . well, still migraines. I've been to the UCSF Headache Clinic and will be starting a new treatment regimen there on August 19th. After a few weeks relative peace, I'm back in a bad patch getting four major migraines in the last 9 days. Such a drag!

Onward with hope, optimism and a wish that the heat would end soon. But then again, I say this every summer, so what else is new?

The Big Kitchen Dig

Things are moving along with the kitchen remodel! We now have the granite slabs on the counter tops, the new sink and fixtures and the appliances installed (but not all functional). Woo-hoo!

Dear Husband did a fab job of picking out the granite. The fireplace (left in background) is still in progress. The fascia (granite) has been affixed, but not the mantel, which will perhaps be done next week.

Still left to be completed is the back splash, lighting, plumbing and clean-up (ugh!). There is not one drawer or cabinet that isn't filled with some building material. Then, there is the matter of putting everything back in its proper place.

All things being equal - which of course they rarely are - we should be done by the end of next week. Could this be true? Dear Husband says this process has been more painful for him than the master bath suite remodel. No way, DH! Nine weeks sharing a small bathroom was torture for me. O.K., that's a little dramatic, I admit it.

Congrats to DH for being the designer extraordinaire. I didn't renew my interior design license after the disaster with the first attempt to "upgrade" the master bath that resulted in the major remodel in that room. I'll stick to something I can actually do marginally well - like quilting.

"Grilling" is the word for this July 4th. DH's famous veggie potato salad, BBQ chicken, grilled veggies and perhaps some homemade cobbler for the finishing touch. 2,000 calories on a plate.

Happy July 4th, Dear Readers.

Onward, happy to be almost finished with the kitchen dig.

Thought for the Day and A Little More

“Let us be grateful to people who make us happy. They are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.”

—Marcel Proust

After visiting my little veggie patch this morning - as I do each morning - I stumbled on this quote. What a simple and beautiful thought to hold as we cherish this day we've been given. Just wanted to share it with Dear Readers in the hope it will make you smile. 

Off to skate today and practice the footwork that Coach C conjured up to torture me. I'm certain I will, by the end of two hours, feel much more comfortable with it than I did on Wednesday. 

Big Dig in the kitchen is moving along nicely. Think we will actually have some parts of the kitchen back and in usable condition by this holiday weekend. It's getting a bit old using the laundry room as a place to prepare food, feed the dogs, wash clothes, etc., etc. Don't think it's very hygienic either. :(

Going to do some hand applique for a bit while I have morning coffee and spend some quiet time with the doggies, who having had their breakfast at 5:00 am are peacefully sleeping. Not so probably for the neighbors they woke with their barking when I let them out after eating. Oops! 

Happy 4th to one and all. At O'Brien Manor, we treasure our freedom and honor the lives lost and changed in the protection of it. 

Humbling At Best, Public Humiliation at Worst (And It's A Long One)

Yesterday was one of those days when I came face-to-face with reality. Not a pleasant experience, if one is in the "Perhaps-I'm-getting-a-little-better-at-this-ice-skating-stuff" mode. Let me explain.

I went to a rink 65 miles away from my home to have a 'marathon' lesson with Coach Chris. The objective was to finish setting my ISI Free Dance 5 program so I can attempt to test (read "Pass") this level to compete with Coach C in Las Vegas.

The drive was nice, listening to Beethoven all the way down, with my venti soy decaf sugar-free vanilla latte. I made great time and had a little extra to visit the Ross for Less store at the Vacaville outlets.

The rink makes me appreciate even more my home rink, Skatetown in Roseville, CA. The Vacaville venue is this strange, rather other-worldly combo that looks like it doesn't know what it wants to be. Is it an ice rink, a gymnastic facility, or huge cave for general sitting around activity? Weird. I always feel a little strange going to another rink; one doesn't know the "local secret rules" - like how you can play your music on the overhead speakers, who gets to do what, which coaches you want to avoid, etc., etc. It's all part of this sport called figure skating.

I won't go into my lengthy list of complaints I instantly voiced to Coach C, such as "This ice is wavy," "It's too hot in here," etc., etc. Of course, these were all distractions to avoid the getting-down-to-business part. He might not have recognized my ability to delay the inevitable, for which I was paying. Go figure! I was excited, but a tad nervous too. After all, he is an exceptional skater (and did I mention, as you can see from the pic above, his Hollywood good looks?) and I the lowly "mature adult skater" (yuck, I hate thinking of myself in those terms). But, Coach is always very gracious to me and so we launched in.

First item of business that sprung from Coach's mouth: "I changed the beginning." I'm thinking, "O.K., I'm fine with that." Then he asks, "Can you do toe steps?" I'm now nearly quaking, as he has chosen one of about ten things in skating that I really don't like; anything having to do with toe picks scare the living jelly beans out of me. But, like the big faker I am, I say, "Sure." He demonstrates, I copy. The result: BIG SPLAT and we aren't even a minute into the 120 minute lesson. First big hit to my pride. I was so humiliated that I wanted the ice monster to appear and drag me to his lair and take me away from all this. Coach inquires, "Are you alright?" I'm thinking, "Wait, if all my body parts of still attached, I must be alright." Up I stand, brush off the ice, and onward we go. I'm musing to myself, "This poor young man, he has 119 more minutes to put up with. Boy, he doesn't make nearly enough money!"

We move on to the dance spin, which we agree is stupid. It's 3 revolutions in a camel position, then 3 in arabesque position. Coach thought this would be the most difficult part of the program. Surprise! We hadn't gotten to the footwork yet. Alright, now it's about 37 seconds into the required two minutes. I'm wondering whether they serve adult beverages in this rink; a Cosmo sounded like a great idea at this point, even though I haven't had even one ounce of hard liquor since I was in college. No kidding. My wonderful friend Mary - my Cosmo expert and sophisticate extraordinaire who takes me to Neiman Marcus to drink champagne while trying on furs, which she knows all about - would have encouraged me to "make it a double." I'm musing, "Still haven't broken anything. Good sign!"

We peregrinated through much of the program. I took a very ungraceful fall on a change edge spiral (give me credit, Coach; you did make a left turn without telling me), but again, nothing more than my pride is suffering at this point. However, mind you, we were still on a public session, which was sparsely populated anyway. I really enjoyed what Coach had done with the dance lifts. He is a brilliant choreographer with a real sense for how things should flow. I'm really liking what he has included.

We get off the ice for the cut, before the 1:30 FS session. I must mention that I was happy to find a lack of pre-teen/teen skaters staring at me like, "Oh, are you pulling your daughter's skate bag? How nice of you." I always want to yell, "I am not the skating Mom. I'm the skater!" By-and-large, most of the skaters just ignored me, although the hero worship for Coach C was evident and even greater than at Skatetown. I'm sure some of those girls thought, "Oh poor Coach Chris having to skate with that older woman." Unlike my home rink, the "eye rolling" was minimal, even when I accidentally cut off a teen skater who was probably going to execute a triple salchow, double loop - or something else incredibly impressive. She just veered the other way.

Then it was truly time to walk the figurative plank; it was time to focus on footwork. How to describe this? Oh, I know, "The wheels totally came off." Not only could I not remember anything, I could not get into my head directions, elements, or how to do things (like a twizzle), which I had just shown him. The footwork is cool, but hard for me right now. Rather, I should note that parts of it are difficult. But, I like this aspect because it is challenging, a growth-opportunity, and terrifying - all wrapped up in 11 steps. Doesn't seem like much to some, I know, but it's Mount Everest to me.

At one point, when we had worked for 15 minutes on maybe 5 steps, Coach put his hands over his eyes. I skated over to him and said, "Oh God, please don't do that." He looked so incredibly frustrated. He most likely wanted to flee the jurisdiction - or at least find a way to get far from me. Being a very kind, caring person, he asked if I was tired. I was beyond tired, I had moved into the next galaxy of exhaustion. My mind was mush, I was starving, and I was embarrassed. Public humiliation is not my favorite experience. Here I was at Coach's home rink, among his colleagues and students and I'm skating something akin to a first year skater. Ugh!

I drove home with a blazing headache, but thinking that this is a beautiful program, to the theme from "Legends of the Fall" complements of my best skating buddy. The program is set, so now it's practice, practice, practice to get ready to test in a month, maybe six weeks if we're lucky. I don't know if I can do this, but I am certainly going to try. I love Free Dance skating and do feel rejuvenated in my skating pursuing this discipline.

Anything that's new for me is always difficult. As I explained to Coach C, "You will have to show and or tell me something a thousand times, but once I 'get' it, I will take it to my grave." This is how I learn.

Despite all this humor, self-deprecating, wry content, it was a wonderful two hours spent with a fabulous ice dance coach. I'm on a new path and the journey will be an interesting, challenging one. Now, if anyone has any patience they'd like to sell me, money is no object!

Onward we go!

Sunday in the Park

It was with some measure of pride that Dear Husband and I hung my most recently completed quilt, "Sunday in the Park." This is the most difficult top I have made. As some readers may recall, this fabric reflects my favorite painting by George Seurat. 

While I did the piecing which required learning new techniques, it was quilted by my friend and long arm quilter, Jenine Brothers, owner of The Meandering Needle. As always, she did a masterful job, adding so much to the beauty of this piece.

This quilt will be displayed in our living room (as shown on the left) until the fall, when it will be replaced by another top, Florence Regal. In the meantime, we can enjoy the fantastic design, colors, and the feeling that the fabric depicts - a beautiful summer day in Paris.

There is not much I take credit for, but I am quite happy with the way this top turned out. It represents my best quilting effort yet. Of course, while I can always find some "flaws" (which I refuse to point out to any Dear Readers), all-in-all, it looks nice to me. And - most important - Dear Husband likes it. A real compliment! 

Shown below is a close-up of a section of one block. This fabric is magnificent in every way imaginable. Summer has arrived in Loomis, CA, not only in fact (it will be close to 100 degrees today), but in the scenes of this lovely representation of a spectacular painting. 

As you can see from the picture, our Collie, DeeDee, is also happy to have a new quilt above one of her favorite places to nap - the living room sofa. It's good to be a doggie in our home. 

Onward to quilt land with a sense of accomplishment. 

A New Neighbor

One of the wonderful benefits of living in the country is sights like this. Meet our new neighbor - a baby donkey who is about a month old. He is so adorable. As you can tell, he is enjoying the shade and being with his Mama. Whenever I drive to the grocery store in Loomis, I pass the field where these donkeys reside, so it's a treat to see them. Sometimes they are off grazing and out of sight, but frequently they are right at the fence by the road, as they are in this great picture, taken by Dear Husband.

Donkeys certainly don't get any cuter than this guy. What is really adorable about him is that his head and ears are very large in proportion to the rest of his body. He has some growing to do to "even" things out, but this makes him even more precious. He also has black spots, just like Mom.

I can't help but get a big smile on my face when I see him. Ah, country living at its finest! We are taking great pleasure in watching him grow. When one of us sees him, we almost always call the other person and say, "Hey, guess who I just saw? The baby donkey!"

Onward in animal land. Hee-haw!

Inspiration on the Ice

At long last! I am finally, finally, finally truly and absolutely inspired to get my "bum" out on the ice to do something completely and utterly fun - and without any fear involved. This surge of enthusiasm is the result of my lesson Thursday with Coach J.

I went to the rink knowing that I would be skating on a "half sheet, no music allowed" freestyle. There is a kids' skating camp all week, so the FS sessions have been scarce. Oh, what an ice elitist I've become!

Coach J and I plunged into ISI Free Dance. We worked through all the elements through FD5, at which point Coach announced there isn't anything in these levels that I cannot do. So-o-o-o-o, we set the goal of testing through Free Dance 5 by July 15. The kicker is that we need Coach Chris to test Free Dance 5 with me, which comprises skating a 2 minute FD program, which includes all the FD5 elements. Music is picked ("Adagio in G Minor") so that's one thing that is done.

I will test the individual elements of each of the first four levels with Coach J. It is NOT necessary to skate these in the context of a program, just to demonstrate to the judge (our Skating Director) that one has competence in these. I felt as though I could have probably done that yesterday, but the Skating Director was teaching so we couldn't interrupt her. Besides which, you have to test all the levels on the same day or else you actually have to skate a program for each of the levels. "No thank you!"

Coach J and I had a wonderful, inspiring time checking each element off the list, with high-5s all around for all the things I could do without batting an eye. She was very happy with my ability to pick up the required footwork sequences quite quickly.

My dress for the FD5 program should arrive this weekend. Can't wait to see it. I am SO excited about this program. I feel that skating Free Dance is the second best thing I've done in skating, after skating pairs. There is a lot of work to do between now and July 15 with Coach Chris, who is going to have to set the Free Dance 5 program and we'll have to nail it in testing. That gives me three weeks to learn the program and gain competence enough to pass the test. Lots of work, but the good kind.

Also worked on my jump sequence for Bronze Open program. Now a half-lutz, r-inside three, toe tap, salchow, toe loop. Finally got the entrance and exit down. Coach was happy with progress on this too. This program is coming along really well.

Coach J and I had a great time working on the Free Dance elements. I could tell she enjoyed it nearly as much as I did. It was a real partnership activity. There is simply nothing like skating with a partner to inspire one to improve and work hard.

Onward with optimism and inspiration!

Simple Pleasures and Setting the Record Straight

It really is the simple things in life that often bring great joy. Thus is the case with my little veggie and herb garden. No one who knows me would ever think that I would grow anything other than a flower bed here and there. But, this year, I decided to dive into planting tomatoes and some herbs for Dear Husband (aka Chef Ken) to use in his cooking.

I bought all the starter plants at our local Raley's store in Loomis, CA. They were quite small when I purchased them a little over six weeks ago. As you can see (I hope) in the top picture, I have - with great pride - actually grown a plant that is now starting to bear fruit (or in this instance, tomatoes). This is the first tomato I have ever grown! Imagine my glee when I walked out one morning to spy these tiny green circles on the plants. I was so happy! Such a simple thing, but this speaks to the pure joy we find in something so small from nature.

Yesterday, I transplanted the tomatoes from their original pots (which were too small) to these larger pots. They survived the adventure and this morning look even better than before. We (well, maybe just I) are very excited about having fresh tomatoes for salads and pastas. Now, how do I tell when they are ripe? Note to self: Must Google this and find out before picking.

Now, a quick note on skating. First of all, I am thrilled to report that Coach Chris and I agreed that I would work on a Free Dance program for the ISI Adult competition in Vegas. We will be skating to "Adagio in G Minor." I will be in a beautiful robin's egg blue, floaty dress, perfect for the music. Now I must test up through ISI Free Dance 5 and have two months in which to accomplish this feat. Yikes!

Finally, let's set the record straight about my attempts at an axel. On Friday, because Coach J had, without realizing it, thrown down the challenge a few weeks ago by telling me that some people just aren't ever going to do an axel (read: "Karen, you are never going to do an axel"), I announced to her that I had obtained the harness and we were going to work on an axel. At first, she balked at this idea, but after doing some waltz jumps and loops, I all but demanded that we start to work on my axel. Let's get something clear: I did not execute an axel. . . what I did was to jump off two feet, try a 360 degree rotation in the air, and come down on two feet. None of this went very well, but at least I got the feeling of the rotation. So, that is "All the news that's fit to print" on the axel. No one should be impressed by this effort. I doubt that I will ever actually execute one (Coach J says it is very, very rare for anyone over 50 to do so), but at least I proved my point to Coach.

Onward to the dentist. Ugh.

Serves Me Right

Never again will I publicly participate in self-congratulatory comments! After posting my great success with the Florence Regal top, I decided it was time to switch gears and work on a BOM quilt for a while. Supposed to have nearly seven blocks completed; I have three completed. Oops!

This one block (shown here) took me three hours to complete. It was near torture. Problem being that I first had to deconstruct another block I had already done (incorrectly, I must add) to use the frame pieces for the new block. Then - having not worked on applique for a while - I had to re-read the directions for fusible web applique.

After this prep, I was ready to sew. At last! It took what seemed like forever to make the block (before the applique was applied). I ripped out seams because I was really unhappy with the bulk of some of the joining seams (BTW, I still am unhappy about these, even after trying every which way to resolve the problem).

Finally, the block complete, I was going to applique. Ms. Perfectionist here had to take over an hour just placing the pieces of the flower on the block. Also had to confer with Dear Husband to get his opinion before I fused the design. OMG, I am so neurotic about these things.

So, you can see the picture - and remember, this is before sewing around the applique, which I have yet to even try on any of my blocks.

Note to self: Quilting is supposed to be fun, not finding a cure for world hunger (although that would certainly be nice to do, wouldn't it?). Must relax, breathe, and enjoy.

Onward, without any pats on the back.

Florence Regal Quilt Top

It is a shame that I am a poor photographer using Dear Husband's iPhone (or any other picture taking device, truth-be-told). If I weren't completely lacking in necessary skill, one could actually grasp the true beauty of this quilt's design and the absolutely fabulous colors in the fabric.

All of this aside, I am posting these two pictures of this magnificent top. The image on the top is a close-up of the medallion blocks, with the sashing on either side of the center; the one below is the first four (of a total of eight) rows (two sashing rows and two block rows).

Now for the self-congratulatory part of this post - something I rarely, if ever, do. I'm truly my own worst critic in everything I do. I can certainly tell that I have made good progress in my cutting and piecing skills. There hasn't been one seam that hasn't fit as it should. The opposing seams are actually opposing, in contrast to having to re-press a seam to make the seams oppose. The cornerstone pieces measure exactly 4 1/2 inches, as they are supposed to. I did have to correct two tips that were a millimeter off, but that I would have always known were there even though no one else could tell, but even this effort produced a positive outcome.

Lesson learned again: Taking my time when I work on quilt tops is so important. I have to keep reminding myself to slow down, take my time, and enjoy the process.

We start another "Big Dig" at our house when our contractor starts remodeling our kitchen. Ugh! Another 6 weeks of chaos. I hope the dogs aren't too put out by this. Remodeling the master bath was pretty easy on them because it was upstairs. They live nearly completely down stairs, so we will have to figure out how to keep them happy and not totally upset with the change in their routine. Like us, they are creatures of habit. But, they are also incredibly adaptable, so I am certain everything will work out just fine.

Onward feeling good about my skills as a quilter.

Paws-itively Exhausting

Here is my quilting assistant - asleep on the job! DeeDee, our 8 year old Collie, loves being in my sewing room when I'm quilting. Today, I am working on my Florence Regal top. As you can see, DeeDee decided it was break time! She clearly finds all this quilting activity too tiring. Isn't she just too adorable for words?

This top is coming along very well. The picture shows the row with the large medallions. Later today, I will finished sewing four rows together and will post another picture (sans DeeDee), so Dear Readers can get an idea of the concept. It is a very beautiful design, the fabric is rich and does so remind me of Florence. Perfect for our Tuscan-style home.

Skating news! I am going to start working on testing ISI Free Dance in the hopes of competing with Coach Chris in Las Vegas in October at the Free Dance 4 (or maybe 5) level. Free Dance combines the thrills and creativity of pairs with the beauty and structure of ice dancing - without the risk of pairs skating. I am looking forward to getting started with Coach Chris this Friday during my dance lesson. I will have to test each level up to 4 or 5 before August 1st, but am confident I can do this with no problem. Assuming I pass at least through Level 4, we can be working simultaneously on our Free Dance competition program.

Here, then, is the line up for me for Adult ISI in Las Vegas:

1. Bronze Open (free skate program set and going quite well)
2. Ice dance with Coach Chris (Bronze-level dance; this is tentative still as Coach C and I have not finalized)
3. Ensemble (with 7 other skaters)
4. Free Dance with Coach Chris

Lots to work on. Loads of fun and challenges. Onward with enthusiasm and optimism in quilting and skating!

Latest Quilting Projects

Dear Readers (quilters and all others):

Sometimes one falls in love with a pattern and/or fabric because you are literally drawn into it. So it is with one of three quilting projects I am now working on, but the one that - I must note - is absolutely my favorite. As "they" say in Hollywood, here's the back story on this one . . .

I now think ahead (to the best of my ability) when planning my quilt art for our home. Because "Sunday in the Park" (the fabulous representation of the famous George Seurat painting) is soon to hang in our living room for the summer months, I wanted to have something ready to replace it the very moment we've said "So long!" to 100+ temperatures here in the Sacramento Valley.

I found this fabric online and knew I had to have it for a quilt for autumn. I spent an arm-and-a-leg (apologies to Dear Husband, my banker) on the Timeless Treasures fabric (Florence Regal). Alright, it wasn't really an arm-and-a-leg . . . only an arm. The fabric arrived last week, but having been in the throws of three migraines (yuck!), it went immediately into my stash for storage. That and the fact that I was terrified to cut into this gorgeous material.

Over the last two days, I screwed up my courage, got out the pattern (free online from RJR Fabrics) and slowly and carefully began cutting. The black center sections (the picture above shows) were cut individually (there are 12 of these). This afternoon, I started sewing! Here is the first of 12 - 12 1/2" blocks. It is made with four half-square triangles (the cream and gold fabric), sewed to the center square, then trimmed to size.

The pattern directions are excellent, although not really detailed. These are easy to follow and the pattern is repetitive across the horizontal plane. The sashing, two borders and great cornerstones really add to the beauty of the design. This is going to be an absolutely show-stopper of a quilt. I can't wait for Jenine, owner of The Meandering Needle, long-arm quilter, and friend to get her hands on this one. I know I'll use some kind of scroll design for the quilting.

I am thrilled at how beautiful this block turned out and excited about working on the quilt top. And, Dear Husband really likes it. This is quite important as he subsidizes my quilting habit and never complains about the expense. What a great guy.

The other big project in the works is the applique Block-of-the-Month done in French country fabrics. This is going to be a birthday present for a friend. I've enjoyed the applique work, but it is tedious and painstakingly slow. Doesn't exactly fulfill my need for instant gratification, but I like the end product.

I didn't skate last week (and even missed ensemble practice on Friday) due to headaches. Went to the rink today for an hour, but plan to skate on Thursday for two hours and then on Friday morning. And while I'm on the subject, I finally have a confirmed appointment at the University of California San Francisco Medical Center Headache Clinic. I have to wait until July, but hey, I've waited over 5 months already, so what's another few months and more migraines? Dear Husband has got the drill down when one strikes and is the best caregiver I could ask for. I don't know what I would do without him during these cluster periods.

Onward in quilting, skating, and other important matters. Isn't life a pip?

Something to Celebrate

We have a new addition to our family. No, it's not a grandchild or new dog. It's my new sewing table. Probably won't get too many Dear Readers as happy as I am, but they are likely not quilters and/or seamstresses.

I bought this table online from JoAnn.com. Originally listed at $229.00 (I would not have paid this much for the unit, that's for certain), I purchased it for $114.00. With tax and shipping, a total of $135.00. It arrived quickly. Dear Husband - bless his heart - spent about 5 hours putting it together (something I could not have accomplished). He was meticulous in his work, as I know he wanted it done very well. So sweet of him.

Here is a picture of it in my sewing room. At last, I have a place to cut out fabric, eliminating the need to use the kitchen counter when DH (our household's executive chef) is preparing meals. The top is also large enough to provide a place for fabric when I'm working on a large quilt top. What an improvement over the narrow sofa table I was using.

Like new parents, I feel as though we've welcomed a new member into our family. DeeDee is really checking it out. I'm sure she will figure out a way to sleep under/around it.

Onward, with a great new quilting tool. I'm so thrilled! Off to skate.

The Moral of the Story and Other Matters

Here I sit on my bed with my laptop and one leg folded up and one (the right) extended with an ice pack resting on my knee. This position can only suggest one thing - skating injury. Well, injury is really too dramatic a word to use, but it does suggest how I came to find myself here.

As I can't skate this Tuesday due to a dental appointment, I had my lesson with Coach Jayne today instead. This also gave our newly formed ensemble group the opportunity to practice as a number of us were going to be at the rink today. The session was crowded for a Monday and my lesson started out with work on the change foot spin. Coach really is pushing me on this FS3 element. That went fine; some progress with Coach feeling confident I will get this down before test time in August. Then, we moved on to the dance step sequence, with the ever-dreaded outside Mohawk. Clicked blades twice, but stayed upright.

Then, I made the mistake of telling Coach how I had this dream last night that I executed a PERFECT waltz/loop/loop jump combo. This was my first mistake. Her response: "Want to try one?" "Of course," I boldly replied, knowing I had not done this in over 5 years probably, well before my skating accident. Thus emerged my second mistake - trying this jump at all. We didn't even move over to the boards, just stayed on open ice. The first attempt I bailed completely! Smart move. Second time I nailed one. Amazing and purely accidental, I'm certain. Coach said, "And again," in that understated way that leaves no room for "Not really." Third time around the first loop after the waltz jump was good, but then the wheels came off and down I went, right on the little bone that protrudes slightly to the right (or left) of one's kneecap. Went down in a blaze of something far from glory and got the wind knocked right out of me.

After Coach had ascertained that nothing was broken and there were just a few minutes left in my lesson, I suggested that it was time for me to meet with my ensemble partners and press on with that practice. This was the ONLY way I was going to be able to get away from executing any other jumps, I feared. I am very happy that nothing is broken and I can ice it tonight, feeling quite certain that tomorrow I will be back to normal.

The moral of this story: Dreams don't always come true. Isn't that ever the truth!

I have switched music for my FS3 technical competition program to "Fallen Embers" by Enya. My BSB and cherished friend had this music cut for her own use. She decided not to use it and gave it to me. It is absolutely spectacular music; soft, lilting, sad but very meaningful, with the most beautiful lyrics. I decided to use this music for competition as a tribute to her. She saw me skate the program for the first time last Friday. It is VERY rough now as it was the first time I had tried it with this music, but I hope she understood how much it means to me to be using this piece.

One of my dear skating buddies was at the rink today. She had her 4th place medal for her Light Entertainment program at Adult Nationals. She competed in a field of eight Masters-level skaters. Mind you, this is - as the name indicates - a national competition. She was still all aglow over her experience at the competition and you could tell she was very proud (as she should be) of her results.

Our ensemble group had our first "official" practice with Jill Shipstad Thomas last Friday. She arrived with the music she cut for us - Tango! She did a *fab* job and everyone in the group loves it. As always, Jill was a joy to work with. We perhaps got through less than 20 seconds of the music during Friday's session. We all need to develop that sharp, crisp Tango movement. This is going to take some very hard work indeed. We are 8 skaters strong which puts us in the "Production Number" category for ISI competition. This means if we want to compete in that category, we have to keep more than 7 skaters and add one more minute to the music to put it at 4 minutes. That is a LONG, LONG time for adult skaters. Come to think of it, that's a long time for anyone to skate! We'll have to see what happens but for right now we are going to leave our music at 3 minutes and assume we'll still be in the "Ensemble" category due to attrition. Last year we lost one of our skaters to a broken knee cap and another skater had to step in to take her place.

Today, there were 5 ensemble members at our casual (without Jill or any coach) practice. I am very glad we did this, even with members missing because we were able to identify problem areas and develop solutions on our own. This is very important to keep coaching fees manageable. I think we did a fairly decent job of remembering what Jill had taught us on Friday. Hopefully, we can arrange for Jill to return on April 30 to work with us again. It will likely take a good two months to have the program set.

I've not really felt much like quilting lately, even though I have a number of projects that need attention. I did go to a quilt show with my good buddy Lori last weekend. It was absolutely amazing to see the endless array of creativity. I was so impressed at the infinite possibilities involved in this craft. I bought a pattern for a small autumn door hanging. The center medallion is embroidery embellished. I am nearly 2/3 of the way finished with the needlework which is astounding as I have not done embroidery in over 15 years. Had to brush up on my technique, but the cute little squirrel painting the "Welcome" sign is looking very sweet; I think the little guy is winning even Dear Husband's heart. I spent two hours last night listening to my Anne Perry novel and doing my needlework. What a productive luxury that was.

I promised myself that this week for certain I would add the first border to "Sunday in the Park." No matter what, I am going to accomplish this, as there are 5 borders (I may only add 3) and I want to have this up in time for summer. Then, I must work on the baby quilt and the applique blocks for the BOM I am doing with a quilting friend. So many projects, not enough time.

Onward through life!

"Sunday in the Park" Progress

Easter Sunday. A wonderful day for peaceful reflection and the meditative state I get into when I am quilting. And so it was yesterday as I worked diligently and pleasantly on "Sunday in the Park."

I made considerable progress on the piece, as one can see from the picture. It is coming along really well, although I have some concerns about squaring it up when it is time to cut the sides, top and bottom. Think I will have to visit my friend Jenine - a master quilter - when that times comes.

A quiet, lovely day was spent with Dear Husband reading, doggies sleeping, and me enjoying the soothing sound of a sewing machine and pieces actually fitting together as they should. No frustration (o.k., maybe some with one part of the sashing that did not fit as well as I'd like), just happiness at my ability to create art for our home.

Onward with joy.