Blogging

It has been a while. The funny thing is that as I re-read my own blog I think: what a cool blogger! why did she quit?

I do know why, too many things going on at the same time. Specially inside my head. At some level blogging was good to clear up my mind, however, there was a point when I realized that I was having trouble not saying what was really on my mind. On one side I did not have a wish to publish that to my imaginary readership and on the other it got boring to look for topics to write about that did not involve what really mattered.

So where am I now?

I quit my good-paying-high responsibility job, I have a empty nest, I am on my way to being a long distance grandmother (sniff), I have a struggling online fabric business (Artemia) and have not solved half of the knots I have in my soul.

As I look back I see a few forks in the road that could have lead to different places. I always insist to myself that you cannot regret what you have decided to do. Meaning that you never know how things will work out. Regrets are for the decisions that you were afraid of taking.

I guess I am very privileged because every day I see options, roads ahead and choices to make. The bad thing is that they bring along anxiety and this anxiety ties those knots of my soul tighter.

My life today is solid. Friends, family, professional accomplishments, a house by the ocean, health (except for the aching joints, I am way to young to write that). I feel loved by the people I most care about. The only one that fails me is myself. There are reasons why I give myself failing grades over and over again. I should quit doing that.

As a young adult I was successful at getting away from the source of that bad energy but I went back to the light as a moth to the lightbulb. I am writing in riddles, if I keep doing this I will probably quit this blog again before I even start.

Forget it. I am cool, I am 50, I am loved and having a fulfilling happy life.

What is next?  Who knows,

Jelly Roll Race, un ejemplo, one example

1600 Jelly Roll Race Quilt Top, originally uploaded by jenniferworthen.

Ya que no puse fotos en mi publicación del dia recojo esta de flickr que es un ejemplo de la técnica.

Se llama está hecho con telas Moda y esta comentado en su blog.

Since I did not add a picture in my previous post I picked up an example of the technique of the super fast jelly roll quilt. Blogged

Recetas para guardar Stuff worth saving.

Si pones jelly roll race en el buscador de google saltan un lote de sitios dedicados a hacer este quilt. Parece sencillo y divertido. No creo que sea saludable tratar de terminarlo en 45 minutos como proponen pero está buena la idea como para guardarla. Soledad lo estaba haciendo este fin de semana, sin entrar en la carrera parece relajante.

If you google "jelly roll race" you will find a bunch of people racing to make this quilt. If not getting all crazy to win the race to make it in 45 minutes it seems fun and relaxing. Worth saving for a rainy afternoon.

Esta es una receta que también es para guardar, la copié de un blog brasilero pero no recuerdo cual fue:
This is another recipie worth saving, I copied it form a Brazilian blog,. cannot remember which: 

2 tanjerinas lavadas tangerines washed

2 T de azúcar (capaz recortar esto un poquito), sugar 2 cups

3/4 T de aceite , oil cups

3 huevos eggs

3 T de harina flour cups

1 cta. de polvo de hornear baking powder teaspoons

  

Almíbar:  Syrup                            

1/2 T de azúcar more sugar

1 T de jugo de tanjarina 1 cup of juice.

Cortar las tangerinas  y retirar las semillas. Licuar con su cáscara.
Mezclar los bien con los demas ingredientes. 
Hornear  45 minutos en un molde de budin inglés  enmantecado y enharinadoo .
Hacer el almibar, con el jugo de mandarina (o naranja) y el azúcar en una cacerola dejando hervir unos 5 min. Pinchar el budín horneado con un palito fino s y verter el almibar caliente .Esperar unos minutos para que el almibar se absorba y desmoldar

Blend the tangerines without peeling, just take care of removing the seeds. Mix all the other ingredients. Bake on a bread pan for 45 minutes. Make syrup with juice and sugar and pour over cake when still hot. Enjoy.

Fotos de la colcha terminada - Finished quilt

Estas son fotos de la colcha de Tadeo teminada.  El diseño está inspirado en este quilt de film in the Fridge. En la foto se ve que hubo un margen de interpretación en el diseño de los bloques entre las tres costureras. La parte de atras es un trozo de tela de sábana y usamos sus colores para darle unidad al proyecto. El sesgo también fue cortado de la misma tela de atrás. El capitoneado es "free motion".  Los bloques miden 12 pulgadas, osea 30 cm. El tamaño final es 90 x 120 cm.

These are the pictures of Tadeo´s blanket, all finished with quilting and binding. The idea came from this quilt from Film in the Fridge. In the top picture you can see that there was some margin of interpretation on the block design between the three friends that put it together. The back and binding are from a bed sheet. THe quilting is free motion. Each block is 12 inches so the finished size is 36 x 48 inches.

Manta para un bebé - A quilt for a baby

Con otras dos amigas nos pusimos de acuerdo apra hacer una colcha para el bebe de Paula. El modelo está inspirado en una manta de Film in the Fridge,. Seleccionamos primero la tela de atrás de tela de sábana con lunares coloridos. Luego el deber era hacer cuadros inspirados en esos colores y evitar las telas floreadas para que la manta fuera disfrutable para un varón.

Como se me acabó el  pegamento en aerosol probe un método nuevo para fijar las capas. Tengo muchos problemas con los alfileres de gancho, simplemente no logro que las capas me queden lisas.  El método lo vi en la www, lamentablemente no anoté el sitio. Se trata de enrollar las dos capas de telas en tablas de madera. Luego se coloca el relleno en el medio y se van desenrollando por secciones. Se trabaja hilvanando solo la parte que está desenrollada de manera que es fácil controlar que todo esté alineado y lisito. Sólo tuve problemas en los bordes y las esquinas, para la próxima vez cuidaré de hilvanar esa parte más denso asi no se mueven las telas durante el quilteado. 

El capitoneado lo hice con free motion pero no tengo una foto de como quedó terminado.

 With two friends we put together a quilt for Paula and her soon to be born baby boy . It was inspired by one posted in Film in the Fridge, I will look for the link later. 
We selected the back first, big colorful polka dots, then the assignment was to make the blocks matching the colors of the back. The other rule was to avoid flowers to make it as boyish as we could. 
I run out of the spray glue for basting. Since I have trouble with pins, I decided to try something I saw somewhere on the web. I rolled the top and the back of the quilt neatly on two wood boards. I put the bottom then the batting and the top ... on top. I gradually unrolled sections of the quilt and with needle and thread basted the quilt. It worked very well except that I had trouble quilting the edges and the corners. Next time I will do that part more dense so that the fabric layers do not shift so much. 
I free motion quilted with white thread but I did not take a picture of the finished quilt. For the bias I used the same fabric that the back. 

Patchwork prism quilt along

Termine la parte de arriba del quilt del Quilt Along. Ahora va a ser mas dificil conseguir buena tela para la parte de atras. 

I finished the top of the prism patchwork quilt along.  I made less "spots" that the original design. Partly because here in Uruguay I have no access to quality cotton fabric. 

Miguelete

Regresamos a Colonia Miguelete para presentar el libro de las Mantas Traperas junto con las Señoras de la Liga Femenina de la Iglesia Valdense. La actividad la organizó el Centro Mec de Colonia Miguelete. Ellas hicieron una demostración de sus técncias y como yapa hubo demostración de hilado y otras costuras. Lindo ambiente, charla, recuerdos de ir a la escuela a caballo, de desgranar mazorcas y llevar el grano al molino para hacer la harina de maíz. Mucho amor por la vida por la gente y por el trabajo. 

 We returned to Colonia Miguelete to present the book we published last year about Country Quilts. We had interviewed the ladies of the Valdense Church and had been planning to come and visit for months. The ladies gave a presentation of their particular technique to use old clothing to make quilts and as a bonus a few ladies from town showed and shared their work. The lady of the picture receives the fleece and spins it her century old machine. I cannot find the translation for rueca...

Ultimamente no he estado llendo al gimnasio. Eso no es bueno apra mi humor especialmente ahora que los dias se están acortando. Asi fue que me meti en un QAL. Revisando encontré una colección de batiks que junté hace tiempo. Esas telas en algun momento dejaron de gustarme pero, entre el clima y el hecho de estar usando mucha tela blanca en los últimos tiempos, las vi, me encantaron y empecé a cortar.

I have not been going to the gym lately. It is not good for my mood so instead I decided to join a quilt along. I used the batiks I bought long time ago. I use to love them. Then I lost that love. But lately I have been working with lighter fabrics and with the shorter gray days of the winter coming somehow those bright colors fit perfectly. 

La cosa es que fui armando las telas en el piso y terminé ocupando toda la superficie caminable. Entonces decidí apurarme a coserlo porque la altenativa era recoger todas las noches. Terminé de cortar y armar en dos fines de semana mas algunas horas que pude ponerle durante la semana despues de trabajar. Tengo la guata y me falta la parte de atras. Quedó de dos plazas asi que el acolchado va a ser un poco cansador.

The thing is that as I lay the fabric on the floor I ended taking over the room. That meant that I had to get busy and start sewing. There was no way I would pick everything up at night. So from start to end it took two weekends and some afterwork hours on the weekdays. The top is about 70 inches square. I do not have a decent fabric for the back. But the good news is that I do have batting, and living in Uruguay that is good news indeed.