A lot has been going on in the studio this week: quilting some custom orders, binding those orders; tiny 5”x7” tractor quilts, fabric washing, binding making, pattern matching, t-shirt prep and hand sewing. I spent quite a bit of time hand sewing for the How to Make An American Quilt project. I almost have all of the “Community” blocks finished, which I had hoped to finish in August, but those blocks have 37 pieces that are needle-turn applique, and between the cutting out of the pieces and the sewing, the block takes hours to finish. I really have not timed myself (Because that exercise is never fun!) to see how long one block takes, but I think I might time the last two blocks…I’ll let you know! I think I will do an update next week for that project anyway…you might like to see all of my hard work.

I also spent a little bit of time, 10-20 minutes, each day sketching. I took a quick free Medieval marginalia dragon drawing class, and now I am imagining what all could be drawn in the margin of things…you know borders and sashing. I also love to sketch quilting patterns, and I have a new feather book that I am looking forward to drawing from for sketching and quilting ideas.

Orders are progressing, and this weekend, I am going to experiment with using a projector to scale my hand drawn quilt designs…I am really becoming quite high tech, even while I am hand sewing everyday! I wanted a vintage opaque projector (I used them early in my teaching career!), but we already have the modern, fancy projector, thus…I will adapt. I actually used a projector in the last few years of my teaching career, so I think I can manage!

Quilting and a tiny peek at a tractor tire from the tiny little quilts I have been working on.

I hope you have had a productive and fulfilling week! Have a brilliant three day weekend!

Sending Quilty Comfort,

Ginger

Reading Now: I am so close to finishing Middlemarch…that will happen during my lunch reading session! I am halfway through Mozart’s Starling, and I have many plans for my next reads. A new version of East of Eden by Steinbeck is coming out this month, so I may have to reread that…I absolutey loved it the first time I read it, but that was a long time ago! What are you reading?

The world is a very scary place and our democracy feels porous and vulnerable. Listen to NPR for the best most unbiased news.

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