Anna Scott Graham's Blog, page 17

Sleep, eat, breathe, quilt (etcetera)

 

The weather was gorgeous, so out on the line went the finished quilt top!

A quilt deadline next Tuesday afternoon has kept me BUSY! I thought I might have the rest of the month; instead I'll be spending my weekend hand-quilting, a little machine quilting thrown in for speed. Today I finished the backing, tomorrow I'll get to the basting and making the binding. As I sew, I've listened to tunes that are shaping the next novel. While I haven't started writing, lol, I have given HEAPS of thought toward said book, which might not be the exact next story in my current series, but then this series didn't start off in a streamlined manner.

I'm not (overly) bothered by this notion, in that I've not felt certain about the exact timeline or what happens to the characters. Yet music is once again clearing my head, feeding my creative soul, and proffering plot lines. When I start to feel tunefully inspired, WOO HOO!

While I had (loosely) planned to start writing this week, I'm grateful for a quilt muscling onto the docket. Perhaps finishing this quilt will be an impetus so I can start crafting a first draft! And where this draft fits into the series scheme.... I can't ponder that deeply. What matters most is WANTING TO WRITE. The book's eventual destination needs to be ignored.

In the meantime, more plot details can gather in my gray matter as stitches accumulate. I'm thankful for creative outlets, as well as unexpected projects, which keep life fresh. Now to enjoy some Red Sky at Night EPP this evening. The next few nights will be quilt-deadline related, also US Open Tennis-filled. Maybe more about that in a future post....

Cliffhangers, rotary cutters, etc...

 

Current state of the design wall.

My BFF spent the holiday weekend with us; she's a treasure and we had a marvelous time. Went to lunch, a fabric store (she's also a crafter, hehehe), enjoyed frozen yogurt as well as soft serve ice cream, but not on the same day, LOL! Many long chats were interspersed with some Ted Lasso and the Bell Riots episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, as this was the weekend for "Past Tense Parts 1 & 2". She's not a big Trek fan, but enjoyed it, as well as finding TL charming. A lovely interlude spent with a dearheart, and I'm exceeding grateful for her in my life.

Revisions move forward and fast; this weekend I completed what will be Book #8 of The Hawk while the BFF caught up on necessary sleep. And again this morning I plowed through four more chapters, reaching an important moment for the protagonist couple. I put Eric and Lynne together, because the novel is teeming with twosomes, easier to note that much occurs for both Snyders than to solely label Eric or Lynne as the main character. I hashed out what this tale means to me with my dearheart, who has followed my authorial journey with much love. Her listening ears gave my hubby a break, and now the story edges toward the conclusion, at least in reaching the last twenty percent of it. I still don't know when I'll release the first installment; the beginning of 2025 feels like the right time, though my goodness that looks odd in print! 2025, wow. Where has this year (or the century for that matter) gone?

We talked about time's swift passage as well, truly hard to fathom how long we've known each other, over forty years. She admires my ability with EPP and I marvel over her mastery of embroidery machines, receiving a couple new dishcloths from what she calls her sweatshop. While she took inventory of college football scores, I tried out a passel of recently purchased rotary blades for my 45 mm cutters; a pack of fifteen resulted in twelve sharp blades, can't complain too much about that, especially after the two-pack of Olfa blades I bought at the fabric store was a split decision, one good, one mediocre. She asked how often I go through a blade, and I hemmed and hawed, then said maybe I change them out every eight months, but I have two 45 mm cutters, as well as a 60 mm cutter, so there's definitely a rotation. Lots of cutting within Red Sky at Night, so new blades were a must!

There are lots within this life that can be brushed aside or piled on the sewing table for later. Yet vital elements of our existences require care and consideration, like friendships, tool maintenance, manuscript attention. I've spent this afternoon making sure one rotary cutter was up to speed, prepping fabrics for the next block in RSAN, Goose Tracks. I hadn't envisioned making yellow a main fabric, but it's two for two so far. The QAL starts in a little over a week, but yes, I'm getting a head start. I didn't plan on this project taking over my sewing brain, but now that the holiday weekend is nearly over, I'm also considering writing. Yes, starting a new book. Huh. I'm mentioning that in this post, is like that making the commitment? Maybe. Possibly. Wow. Suppose I should wrap this up, sew a row of the quilt on the wall, then find my notes and, well....

Writing is the etcetera. Sounds ominous. It's probably not. I guess tomorrow we'll see what happens.

Surprise autumn sewing

 

Paper pieces in the box along with all the fabrics, etc. Going to be so much fun!

Okay, it's not a total surprise because for the last few posts I've been going on about the Red Sky at Night sampler quilt. I've received the papers for the this project, have already started sewing an EPP block, lol! I'm super excited about making some version of Jodi's pattern; definitely a mix of machine and hand-sewn blocks, but no idea how many of each. The surprise I'm referring to is how suddenly the next few/several months will be full of traditional blocks that previously I had no desire to stitch.

Not that I had some grand plan for fall in the quilt department, in fact I'm busy with another quilt that will fit itself into the schedule. But after a VERY QUIET MACHINE SEWING SUMMER, autumn is looking to be chock-full of me seated at my machine, even if I'm finding how my tinnitus isn't really keen on all that noise.

(I wear earplugs and noise-cancelling headphones when I use my machine, and still my ears are buzzing, sigh....)

I have decided that for the most part, machine-quilting is my past, other than attaching bindings, or one side of bindings. Embracing English paper piecing even more than before will help with ringing ears. Maybe sewing slowly so the sound is quieter will help. Or using my machine every few days. I will definitely experiment with it, because as I type this post, my hearing is compromised. I never should have cranked my headphones to 11 when I was younger.

One of the RSAN blocks, which I began last night.

Anyway.... So yeah, I'm pretty stoked about making this beautiful design! This process reminds me of sewing The Seedlings Quilt, another Jodi sampler, which I completed in spring of 2020, having started it the previous fall. It's nice to be among others working on the same pattern, but RSAN permits far more freedom; blocks can be placed wherever one pleases, blocks can be a mix of machine sewing or EPP, and the size is up to the crafter. I still don't know how little or large my quilt will be; more important is falling in love with half-square triangles, etc, as well as delving into small paper shapes. Perhaps the best part is how unlike my usual sewing this project is. Kind of like how my current novel series has all this sci-fi rolling around the plot, hehehe.

Mixing up the routine is a great way to keep life fresh. And I'm especially pleased that trying something new isn't beyond my wheelhouse. Maybe this quilt will give me the confidence to start writing Book 5 of The Enran Chronicles; that installment will be steeped in science fictional elements. If I can eagerly sew HSTs, many other notions are certainly possible!

Pieces that make up the bigger picture

 

Small, futzy blocks aren't usually my speed, but the units above have been rockin' my world since receiving Jodi Godfrey's pattern for Red Sky at Night.

From top left going clockwise we have Square in a Square, Hourglass, House, Flying Geese, Pinwheel, and Half-Square Triangles. These are not blocks in themselves; Jodi refers to them as units. I capitalized them because, well, at three and a half inches square, with the exception of the Geese, measuring 3.5" X 2", these units have stretched my machine sewing muscles like no others. The Honeycomb Squares quilt was a lotta work, but nothing compared to what RSAN will be.

Previously if I wanted complicated, English paper piecing sufficed. It still does, and certainly will with this pattern because some of the paper pieces are pretty dang little. My idea of enjoyable futziness is basting papers, then sewing them by hand; give me all the angles you want, lol! Using my machine, and loads of scant-quarter-inch seams, DUDE! A little mind blowing initially, now more like skill-expanding. And that's GREAT. Really. I wouldn't have finished the Pinwheel if I wasn't having fun.

Having said that, I won't make another pinwheel, in part that while I had cut and sewn enough pieces for two practice units, when trimming them I messed up one, leaving three 2" half-square triangles without the necessary fourth for the pinwheel. And while it would be nice to have another pinwheel, going to all the trouble isn't worth the effort. There are forty-eight machine blocks in this quilt, another thirteen EPP blocks. I'd have to make four pinwheels if I wanted to truly go the pinwheel block route, but a Double Windmill block only requires a single pinwheel, and I won't even make a new one, merely use the practice unit. I know, lots of details in this post that probably don't matter much to anyone but me. But this quilt is for myself, and in writing all this here, I am recalling how much of a noob I am at this kind of sewing, and that despite being twenty-nine times two, I can still wrap my head around something previously avoided like the plague.

Insert laughing emoji RIGHT HERE! Or maybe a facepalm; again EPP is my go-to when I'm in the mood for concentrating hard. And I have pondered the possibility that I'll enjoy the machine sewing aspect of Red Sky at Night more than the EPP if the pieces are as small as they seem, according to the pattern. Now, that's a pretty unlikely scenario, but I won't discount anything because I am having so much fun making HSTs and the rest of the units. Okay, I'm not keen on the Flying Geese. They're hard to trim and require a lot of steps and the notion of making an entire quilt out of them.... Uggg, not my cuppa tea. Yet I'm sure lots of folks who sew might consider my obsession with hand-stitching equally bizarre. Good to keep perspective at a time of great leaps of faith.

In the meantime, above is a block I fashioned on my own yesterday, an alternative from one needing House units. I swapped out the corner solid blocks for HSTs and made a definitive X, hah! Below is the actual block.

I adore the swans, courtesy of Anna Maria Horner. Center block is Kaffe Fassett. Houses are a print from Joann Fabrics that while extremely pretty, the actual fabric is stiff and not conducive to hand-sewing. However it's great under a presser foot, and handy when I needed something bright upon which to learn the necessary techniques. Still much to learn, but in trying new things, not only do I weed out what is more work than they're worth, but I embrace what previously made me cringe and now elicits deep satisfaction and the desire to make more. Future Me smiles while Past Me smirks. It's okay, I tell Past Me: One day you'll LOVE it.

More sewing joy

 

My eldest called it the sunflower quilt, maybe that name will stick.

I meant to write about this quilt top yesterday, but those HSTs muscled their way to the top of my brain. Yet, this quilt-in-the-making needs some blog love.

I started it ages ago, slapping it on the design wall back in April, whoa! That was before summer started, before I got Covid, before, well, before. Sometimes before is recent and sometimes it's ages ago. Right now it feels like far longer than April, maybe for all that's happened in the last four months, not only Covid but twenty-nine times two and a Red Sky at Night, and oh yeah, those half-square triangles which I am ACHING to return to, but first I need to finish this post. Because completing that little quilt top, quite bright and a wee bit busy, has been the catalyst for me returning to sewing.

Not that I haven't been stitching; loads of hand-sewing has occurred, including hand-quilting placemats that I assumed I would run under my machine's presser foot. Instead I'm tackling one every other night, three left to go. But my machine had remained under cover even after I felt better, as well as after the grandsons left. It was considering Red Sky at Night (RSAN) that made me remove the cover, dust off the machine, but first I HAD TO FINISH this bright quilt, what I'm currently calling my Covid quilt, mostly because I don't have a better name for it. It languished because I had Covid, but it's now alight with shimmery goodness, having had its moment in the laundry-line sun.

Now, it's not DONE. Still needs a backing, binding, basting, then.... Not sure if I'll machine or hand quilt it. Once the RSAN papers arrive, I'll be up to my armpits in choosing fabrics, basting papers, stitching various quilt blocks. The Covid quilt might live on the design wall, along with emerging machine-pieced sampler blocks. Yet, the rows of the Covid quilt no longer hang over my drying rack or take up space in my heart. They are attached, if not part of a quilt sandwich, which truly gives me peace of mind.

Shoo Fly block, which I had to include because the HSTs would kick my backside if they didn't receive more attention, lol!

Peace of mind.... How precious is that? Pretty damned important and necessary and meaningful. Peace of mind is one reason I sew and write, allowing myself these moments of creative spark that end up as novels and comforters. The books are quiet, but the quilts are flashy, especially this one, made with some of my current favourite fabrics. I can't even remember why I made it, although I could cheat and read the corresponding post, but there are half-square triangles screaming in the background for my attention. So despite writing yesterday, here's another entry. I love blogging too, lol, but there are only so many hours in one's day....

Wrangling HST's

HST stands for half-square triangles, which in my decade of sewing have remain conspicuously absent from the routine. I don't like sewing triangles; I can't control them. They have their own agendas and.... Anyway, in Jodi Godfrey's latest delightful pattern, HSTs and other angular manners of machine sewing figure heavily. I was reading over the clearly written instructions yesterday, when suddenly I found myself cutting squares, drawing a line down the centers of the light fabrics, then....

Well, those pictured above are what I curated before it was time to eat dinner. I spent a good while rummaging through my stash for appropriately unbusy low volume fabrics, of which I don't have many. Then it was a matter of choosing darker prints, then chain-piecing, pressing, and finally trimming to size. The trimming was the biggest hassle, well, right after finding low volume scraps. A few times I nearly walked away, then I'd gaze at my monitor, where the pattern waited, teased, inspired! Yes, I could sew triangles, they're not scary, nor are they so unwieldy I can't tame them. I'll make a few blocks where points aren't required to be precise, allowing for a blurring of edges that in the long run no one will notice but me.

Isn't it funny what bugs each of us? Triangles literately are the bane of my sewing existence, unless they are EPP'ed, in which case I'll hand-stitch angles all day long, or until my shoulder hollers uncle. Improv triangles are fine, floating around a design that doesn't care if corners meet correctly. Last year I bought into an online class wholly concerned with sewing triangles. I collected each lesson, filed them away, then acted as though another part of myself had considered such a ridiculous notion. I don't even know what to call that element of myself; Wishful Thinking Me. Wishful Thinking Me really wanted to learn how to master sewing triangles. The rest of me said, "NO THANKS!"

Both Future and Past Me chortle. I'm not going to analyze their humor, merely give thanks that some brave portion of my soul has decided to stop being a freaking chicken about this. Triangles are just, well, three-sided shapes. A Churn Dash or Greek Cross block is highly possible, likely even? A Shoo Fly block maybe.... So many machine-pieced, triangle-happy vintage blocks make up Jodi's gorgeous design, and while five are triangle-free, maybe I'll add a few more to my interpretation. Perhaps I'll find the small papers in the EPP blocks too diminutive for my liking. Until I receive the papers, all I can do is play around with the machine-pieced blocks, and, well....

Triangles aren't my best friends, but at least now they're not so overwhelming. Thanks be to God for that, amen!

Sitting at my sewing machine

 

Stacked on many sewing projects (as well as a ruler) are these rows which I am FINALLY stitching together, whew!

So today I used my machine. I had to dust it off; despite the cover, two months is long enough for particles to accumulate. It needed to be threaded, and to my slight horror and acute embarrassment, I had to look up which way the bobbin thread needed to go. I also oiled it after sewing two rows together, a strange noise that maybe is how it does sound, or perhaps I need to get it properly cleaned. I pressed open seams while the oil seeped into crevices, then still felt like the clunking remained. We'll see if I take it to a local shop for cleaning.

I had started this quilt a few months back, sewing squares into rows because someone was visiting, maybe the grandsons back in March? Now it's mid-August, but I'm not going to ask where has the time gone. I've also cracked open Book 2 of The Enran Chronicles, getting through eleven chapters in the last couple of days, finding a few typos, clearing out some deadwood. There's always change to affect, just the nature of the revising a novel beast.

With these pastimes underway, I'm starting to feel like I'm back in the routine, although not being sure which way the bobbin was supposed to go was unnerving. How long has it been since I last machine-sewed something? Weeks yes, but jeez Louise! I've ordered Jodi Godfrey's latest design, and while waiting for the paper pieces to arrive, I'm studying the pattern, a mix of EPP and machine sewn blocks adding up to what I think will be a beautiful sampler quilt. Called Red Sky at Night, mine will be various primary-type colours, with Kona Snow for the sashing, the light hues still to be decided.

And this morning I completed revisions for Book 7 of The Hawk, finding I'd left the end as a cliffhanger, HAH! Thank goodness I can read more tomorrow, hehehe. Months ago I broke the entire story into installments, so I truly had no idea how that section would conclude.

Meanwhile the San Francisco Giants are struggling to stay above .500, praying for a miracle so they can reach the playoffs. I have no illusions about them, ahem, but in the evenings it's nice to listen to announcers call the games, hoping beyond near hope for further baseball adventures in October. Next week is the start of the US Open Tennis tournament, and I will listen to evening matches as I stitch. We're not watching the Democratic National Convention because, well, our votes are already aligned to Kamala Harris and Tim Walz.

It's Tuesday, the twentieth of August, 2024. That's about all the news fit to print.

What will happen to Callie Mac?

 

Folders I kept.

The last few days I've been steeped in novels I wrote over eleven years ago. I'd been listening to the playlist connected to these stories, and well.... Pulling up 2007-2013 in the books not currently under construction folder, I clicked on Forever of One Heart Part 1, scrolled through the manuscript, then began to read. I didn't read anything else until I reached the end of Part 2, which happened last night. Then I went to bed.

After breakfast this morning I got dressed, wearing warm-ish clothes because we're actually receiving rain today. Then I breathed deeply, and from the closet I retrieved a box where I store notes from previous books. The big question was if I had purged the folder for Forever of One Heart a few years back when I did a massive clear-out of that box and another, fully aware I didn't need to keep information for drafts I had no plan to revise and release. Apparently Forever fell into that category, because to my chagrin, no folder with that title waits in the box.

Huh. Hmmm. Fascinating, spoken in a flat Mr. Spock tone. Yet, the stories remain, tucked safely in my computer, laptop, and several flash drives. Other drafts do too, but this one tickled my fancy, and to my surprise, was in decent shape despite not having been edited. I wrote it a few months before I started The Hawk, which signifies that by spring of 2013, I kinda knew what I was doing prose-wise.

Yet, the story isn't complete, a cliffhanger at the end of Book 2 in desperate need of resolution. So: Will there be a Book 3? What is going to happen to Callie Lathrop and Evan McCandliss? He calls her Callie Mac, high school sweethearts with one break-up in their past, but far more waits under the surface. Evan struggles with gender dysphoria, while Callie's parents are fundamentalist Christians. Evan's family are Christian too, liberal Lutherans. Faith is as relevant in this tale as gender dysphoria, set in 1989. Yeah, lots going on in these novels.

If asked at this moment would I write a third book.... Past Me shudders; she's stuck in the middle of crafting The Hawk, praying for strength to conclude that behemoth. Future Me smiles, but gives no indication of counsel. That leaves Present Me with much to consider. Currently I'm revising the seventh book of The Hawk, three left to go. Then there's the fifth installment to write of my current series, as well as prep the second book for release. Where in the world am I supposed to fit in writing/revising yet another series???

And will I weed these poor amaryllises?

But that's not the real query. Because it's not about how or when, but to merely close my eyes and pray. Or leave eyes open and pray. But prayer comes first about the writing, sewing, lack of gardening, ahem. I write books that contain elements of faith because I have faith and it's through that faith I manage anything at all. Or I don't get around to it, in the case of my poor iris bed and amaryllises. The Naked Ladies, as amaryllises are colloquially called around here, are usually well weeded before they emerge, however ours are cloaked in dead foliage and aggressive blackberry vines. If I can't get to clearing that mess, how in the heck am I supposed to....

"Stop right there," Future Me huffs. "It's not about you."

I grimace, then nod. "I know that but...."

"No buts," she smirks. "Exactly how have you written all those books, huh?"

"Not in my own strength," I softly say.

"No shit," she glowers.

"Hey, watch the language," Past Me interjects.

I smile while Future Me smirks again. "Yeah, okay," she grunts to Past Me. Then to Present Me she shoots a wicked grin. "As for you, don't worry about it now. There's laundry to do and two chapters of The Hawk to read and...."

"What, why's she reading The Hawk?" Past Me blurts. "Oh my goodness, don't tell me you actually finished it!"

Future Me squirms. "Uh, well, maybe," she says, coughing hard.

Meanwhile Present Me again breathes deeply, aware at the very least what will happen to Callie Mac isn't what I had originally envisioned over a decade ago, if only because those notes are long gone. If Callie and Evan's world goes anywhere, it's through the eyes of who I have become in the last eleven years, both as a person and author (and quilter and mediocre gardener, lol). Which doesn't really answer today's title, but fleshes out me a little more as well as giving myself perhaps one more thing to do....

Seeing clearly through the fog

 

[image error] One of three EPP blocks I finished yesterday after the kids left, hehehe.

Weather along California's North Coast is wholly unpredictable. Meteorologists might provide an outline of temps and conditions, but truthfully living here joyfully means embracing the alterations that can slip away in less time than it takes to enjoy a cuppa.

This morning is one such example; about half an hour ago the fog erased the nearby treeline, obscuring the roadway by our home. Within minutes, the fog began to lift, and while the mountains are still shrouded, I can see the treeline and street. I wouldn't hazard to guess if sunshine will make an appearance, but it might. Life is full of surprises you know.

#2....

The grandsons left yesterday, the week full of trampolining, trail hikes, books, art, card and board games, a wee bit of Bluey, and other pleasant pastimes. Before they departed, a momma possum trotted through the yard, at least four babies on her back! None of us had ever seen that, although a possum pranced around our property last year, no idea if it was the same one. While I miss my family, I am grateful for the quiet, lol. They know they are always welcome, and another visit might occur before the end of the year.

Three years ago my husband and I moved permanently to Humboldt County. I say permanently because we'd bought this house the previous year, with no intents of leaving Silicon Valley immediately. Yet happy circumstances colluded to expedite his retirement, which was reinforced by a death in the family that reminded us life's length is precarious. The move was sort of sudden, and the house remains a work in progress, yet life along the rugged and unpredictable California coastline is.... A gift. It's indeed a precious treasure to call this place home, as well as my beloved no longer spending his days tethered to a computer or office cubicle. It's a treat to wake to fog, mist, clouds, or sometimes even a bit of sun, hahaha. Yes it's a drag to live far from family, but this is sometimes the way of life. Sometimes parents carry their offspring on their backs, but eventually those babies find their own paths.

#3; maybe it's time to count how many blocks I have accumulated!

An hour ago I considered pulling fabrics from my stash to make a vibrant new quilt top, not that there's any room on my work table for such an endeavor or that I have nothing else to do, HAH! Yet after breakfast, once a load of guest bedding is in the washer, perhaps I'll clear off that table, then choose some pretty prints, spreading them out, then placing them appropriately. I feel like a flag, or something flag-shaped, needs to be fashioned to celebrate the fog, all those possums, and this treasure. Life is a gift, and I want to embrace it with all manners available.

Early morning revisions

 

Speckled fabric by Rashida Coleman-Hale: I LOVE this!

Years ago I spent the pre-dawn hours seated at my computer working on revisions. I used those moments to slowly grasp a new day as well as fit in necessary edits that allowed me to casually embrace writing without overtaxing my brain.

Those were days before I was into English paper piecing, before I became a grandmother. Those were years when I thought I needed to squeeze activity into every spare minute to justify being a stay-at-home spouse even if the most of the kids were out of the house.

I still don't like being idle. I'm terrible at meditating, or even watching TV as a relaxing pastime. My oldest grandson finds that hard to comprehend, lol, but I explained that as a kid we only got three channels and television never seemed the be-all end-all.

In the last few days, I have returned to those early morning screen hours, but not spent in the office. Instead I'm seated in the living room where the laptop lives, heavily invested in The Hawk. I don't turn on the lights, using the laptop's bright glow to make notes in my journal, where I describe the shrinking word count and any pertinent details on that day's edits. Thankfully the sky brightens up around, well, six a.m., and I'm not having to squint more than is necessary. I might still have the gray matter to read early in the day, but my eyesight isn't what it used to be.

Yet.... The desire to immerse myself in the world of noveling remains keen! Perhaps it's enhanced by a need to do something for me, when the rest of the day is spent enjoying the company of youngsters. I've even manged a wee bit of hand-sewing, in part to repair my eldest grandson's jacket, as well as a dabble in EPP, making a simple six-point star with some gorgeous Speckled in sorbet by Rashida Coleman-Hale. It will be for my Flock of Stars quilt, but was fashioned to see how easily Speckled fabrics lend themselves to hand-stitching, as I'm seriously considering Jodi Godfrey's Red Sky at Night sampler quilt. Not that I need another project, but....

But I do need time for me to do things that feed my soul. Not sure when I'll post this; my youngest grandson just came downstairs, ready to start his day. Off I go to make breakfast for him, and I'll post this as soon as the youngsters allow.

Pre-post update: It's 1.27 p.m. and my youngest grandson just laid down for quiet time. I'm glad I wrote this earlier, as blogging also feeds my soul, hehehe.