Report on cultural activities

So yesterday evening, Rafi and Mintzy picked us up and we went downtown for dinner and theatre. The Chinese restaurant was fine -- we ordered a few dishes, some meat, some veggie -- not amazing but tasty and filling.

"The Arab-Israeli Cookbook" was an interesting play. It was based on interviews with people in Israel, both Jewish and Arab, the West Bank and Gaza. The common denominator was food. The six actors played a variety of parts, cooking on stage as they did. It wasn't a brilliant play but the premise was interesting and it certainly was thought-provoking.

And a little too long in uncomfortable chairs. The four of us came out kvetching (complaining) about aches and pains as a result of the seating. Either the seats really were bad or we're just getting older and crankier.

I am declaring a moratorium on "culture" for a while. Mindless TV at home will have to suffice.

I came home from work and re-arranged my studio. I haven't finished yet but the major bits are moved and I just have to organize the mess on the tables. I pull out the beads and threads and trims but don't put them right back into their "homes". Result -- mess. So I will attempt to straighten that out before I start stitching.

Also, the bathroom remodel is finished and I have to do some heavy-duty cleaning in there and while I'm at it, the other upstairs rooms.

I've been looking for silk ribbon for SRE and there's less and less of it available in town. I either have to go back to the place I went last weekend, north of Highway 7, or go downtown to Queen Street to Mokuba. I'm thinging maybe Mokuba because then I can hit Arton beads, the trim stores, Chinatown, etc. But then I'm thinking maybe north is better because then I can't hit Arton beads, the trim stores, Chinatown, etc....

Anyways, I have an idea for using ultrasuede on my class block. I'm thinking of a papercut design and I have to figure out how to cut it and how to attach it. My challenge for this evening. I'll let you know if it works out.

Birthday Flowers

These are the flowers I mentioned in my previous post.

Today we received another surprise -- not for my birthday. A gift certificate to Positano's restaurant here in Toronto. So another event for the usually stay at home Erezes.

This evening we're going to see a play "The Arab-Israeli Cookbook" with Rafi and Mintzy. We're starting off at a Chinese restaurant downtown.

I'm dizzy from so much culture and activity.

The new cq lesson was posted online and the photos are delicious. I think this weekend I will rearrange my studio so I face the natural light. And then I'm gonna stitch like mad. If I can find silk ribbon. My colour and width variety is very limited. I'll see what I can find.

Birthday surprises

So yesterday was my birthday. A low-key day because after a certain age, you don't celebrate as loudly as before. I went to work, came home, and in the evening, we went to dinner with my mother. Did I mention that all three of my children called me from Israel?
When I got home, there was a message on my phone. On Sunday we were at an Arts Festival for the Heschel School and I bought a raffle ticket. Turns out I won something!! I think a doll but I'm not sure. I asked my brother to pick it up. I never win anything. This is a good sign.
Then this morning, I came into work and there's a huge floral arrangement from my children. Lovely tulips. I cried. If I remember, and there's juice in the camera battery, I will post a photo.
And today, there's a new cq lesson on-line. So life is good.

Bit the bullet

Ok. It's International Women's Day today (and my birthday) so there's nothing I can't do!!
I started working on the original course block. Que sera sera.

I am taking the bullion embroidery book to work today and time permitting, will make a sampler of bullion stitches.

B-day plans? Not yet. Maybe after work. Speaking of which, I'm out the door now. Talk later.

Update

So this morning I posted a photo of where I am, course block-wise. I have received positive feedback which is always nice. Also, by posting the block, I can "see" it differently than when it's lying on the table in front of me. Still can't see any paths, but...

I was just at the library and borrowed three books: Elegant Tatting Patterns by Janet Carroll, Embroidered Treasures for Silk Ribbon by Helen Dafter, and Bullion Stitch Embroidery by Jenny Bradford.

I am determined to learn tatting. I would prefer to have someone show me but I have a shuttle and may just try it myself. I can crochet and maybe I'll just practise getting better at that.

The embroidery books look interesting. I'm hesitant to purchase any books until I'm sure it's a good book I will refer to often. There's so much stuff on the internet but that means doing my needlework in front of a computer screen.

Anyways, no stitching this evening. We're babysitting for Alon.

Progress

In the meantime

So this is where I am with my class project. I started with the squiggly line at the right centre. It kind of overpowers the whole thing. But I just started on my silk ribbon embroidery and hope that when the spray are done, they will balance out the picture a little. The purple silk ribbon laying across the hoop isn't attached and there's another thing of SR lying on top yet to be used. My mantra in life is "the big picture" and I'm hoping that it will turn out alright in the end.

Menachem is finishing up the painting in the upstairs bathroom. Once that's done, the new tiles have to be sealed, the sink drain replaced, a new shower curtain purchased and hopefully, we will be able to stop running two flights downstairs to shower.

When Menachem finished painting, we're going to an art exhibit at the Adath Israel synagogue, a benefit for Alanna, Jeremy, Michelle's and Noam's school. I doubt if I'll be doing any heavy duty purchasing but Alanna has a table selling beaded jewellry she made and I'd like to support her efforts. I'd also like to get to Chapters to buy books for Noam and Jeremy's birthdays. And I might even buy myself a cq or embroidery book.

Yesterday afternoon, we popped up to a the thread store north of Hwy 7. The place does mostly needlepoint -- they sell printed needlepoint canvas, wools, threads, etc. I went specifically for silk ribbon but didn't like what they had so I bought some DMC cottons and velvet threads. All, of course, in pinks and purples. I guess I'm kind of stuck in a colour warp. I may introduce some blues and yellows, but I'm not sure yet. It was a stretch for me to use the greens.

Last night, we went with Miriam L. to see a Hebrew play called "Wife, Husband, Home" at the Bloor JCC. I initially purchased the tickets to support the efforts of a friend (Tami, Elliot B.'s wife) who brought the play from Montreal to Toronto. I wasn't expecting a lot becauses the actors were amateur and the budget low key. However, most of the acting was very good and the play itself was excellent. Many layered and the kind of play you keep thinking about after it's over.

On Thursday evening, we're going with Rafi and Mintzy to see another play, this time in English, called "The Israeli-Arabic Cookbook". So much Culture in such a short period of time... When we moved from the farm to the city, I swore we'd be able to chose the plays and concerts we went to (on the farm, we went to see whatever the local municipality brought in). Ha ha. In the Canadian winter, culture shmulture -- we prefer to stay home in front of the TV.

So, I had to go downtown

So I had to go downtown today to legalize some documents at the Official Documents Services office. Usually this is done for documents which need to be used in a foreign country. The lawyer signs an affidavit that the document is true to the original. The lawyer's signature and seal are verified by the ODS office which affixes its own seal to the bundle. Then the foreign country either accepts it as valid or not. None of this may interest you but I had 36 documents to have verified meaning it was going to take them a while. So I left the documents there and went out to kill an hour and a half.

First I went to get my driver's licence renewed. I haven't driven for about 18 years but since Canada has no official ID card, the driver's licence is it. Note to self -- always go downtown to renew it. There are hardly any lineups if you visit during the regular work day, not before work, during lunch, or after work.

Then I would have preferred visiting a bookstore but it was too far to walk since the temperatures were quite cold with a high wind chill factor. So I went to the nearest shopping establishment, College Park. College Park has a Winners store, mostly clothing at quite reasonable prices. Carmit swears by it. I swear at it. The racks are stuffed, there's very little rhyme or reason to where stuff is. But I wasn't looking to buy clothes -- I was seeing them through the eyes of a cq'er. Oh, those sequins, those beads, that scarf. Cut up, stitches picked -- I could see the possibilities. But reasonable as the prices may have been, they were still too dear for a cq chop-shop adventure.

I spent the next to last bit of killing time at the Dollarama. I love the dollar stores but wasn't enamoured with any of their crafting/fabric/buttons/trims. Not even at those prices.

Popped into a sandwich store, had a quick bite, back to the ODS, picked up my files and returned to the office. Finished a title search and came home.

This morning before work, I picked out some stitches and sequins on my class project and did some beading. This evening I did a little embroidery. Tomorrow, I hope to make greater progress. And if the winds have died down I may just walk to the thread/wool store near the house (just north of highway 7). I need the exercise and doing it will make me feel virtuous enough to justify spending money...

Paths, shmaths

I am taking an online crazy-quilt course. I was quite excited about it but seem to have lost steam. After being unhappy with the freehand blocks I made, I made a templated one which I have chosen to embellish.
From a design perspective, I am supposed to be able to see a path/paths in the block and embellish accordingly. It's a little like that book "magic eye" where you look at a page and it's supposed to have a hidden picture in it. I could never find them either.
I think it boils down to those who see the whole picture in advance and those who plod on until it comes together. I am, apparently, one of the latter.
So because I don't see the path/paths, I'm not sure where to and how much to embroider.
When I start doubting me, that's not a good thing. And perhaps that's why I'm not enjoying the class as much as I thought I would. But, forever the optimist, it could just be a temporary doubting.

Productive/non-productive time

Yesterday, I did absolutely nothing. Well, not really. I cleaned two vacuum cleaners and did a load of laundry. I did absolutely nothing creatively. I did not even go into my studio. The muse just wasn't there. And since there are no homework deadlines, I'm not bothered.

Today, I started on the embroidery. On the pink and white square. (Because I don't want to run out to buy supplies and I have stuff which will go with the pink and white.) I did a row of beaded wavy chain stitch and will branch out from there. And I want to do a seam with two rows of feather stitch intertwined, if I can figure it out.

I'm not quite sure where this is going, so perhaps I will wait for the rest of the lessons so I have a clearer picture of how to put it all together.

Someone (Ro) said something about what good is his education -- he hasn't learned anything useful. I think it's more about what you learn about yourself than the content of the lessons.

And on that philosophical note, back to the studio.

Stuff

Yesterday, I was so excited about the course blocks that I forgot to mention the stuff (professional term) for things my sister gave me. She gave me a belt which had semi-precious stones in greens, blacks, browns and burnt orange hues. The stone were attached to the belt with wires passing through them so I can use them like beads. She also gave me silver, and neon pink and green sequins from ballet costumes she's worn, as well as some red and white synthetic lace-type ribbons and emerald green stoned buttons. And an assortment of pearls from broken bracelets, lost earring pairs, chainless pendants, tie pins, etc. The photo doesn't quite catch the colours and brightness but you get the idea.

And after viewing lesson 2 of the cq class, I mentioned to her that I will "need" threads of varying thicknesses. She's going to check her stash and give me the bits and pieces she can't use. Since she was/is a prolific knitter and needlepointer, I can't wait to see what goodies she brings.

I am embracing the suggestion Sharon B. made of making stitch samplers using varying thicknesses of threads. If I frame the samplers and hang them on the wall in my studio, they will serve both as art and as visual aids.

But after another sleepless night, I'm too tired to stitch anything this evening and will defer active creativity until the weekend.

Course blocks

Last night I decided to revisit my abandonned brown square. I finished it because it looked so forlorn half done. I found some nice black and brownish red lace which I put over another piece of the brownish red duppioni to the "west" of the five-sider. It doesn't show in the photo but it's nice. I still am not happy with the proportions, particularly the orange and brown pieces just "north" of the five-sider, but, self, I said, get over it. Each of the pieces has a texture -- duppioni silks, nubbed linens, brocade, lace, moire, cotton suede -- so the square is interesting as is. I can't wait to start work on it.

Before I finished the brown, I made this whites and pinks using a template. It is special because almost all of the fabrics are from family sources worn at family occasions. I placed the embellishments I mentioned yesterday randomly on the square so you could see what I was talking about. Now to try to post at the on-line classroom... Oh, I also signed up for on-line tatting instructions so I'm hoping I'll have something new to add to my repertoire.

Course cq block

Well, I wish I was a little less anal but I'm not. So I took a cq template and made it. Pinks and whites. I feel comfortable with it and at my age, I try to do what I feel comfortable with.

I did try to design my own square on paper but didn't quite get what I liked. I do not intend to totally abandon the idea of making my own designs or for that matter, assembling blocks freehand. I just have to do it at my own pace. Look at it and think about it until something clicks. Or not.

I am going through a pink and white phase. Mostly because those are the colours of the family fabrics in my stash. I also have embellishments which complement them.

And apropos embellishments, I went to the Corporations Branch for work again today and on the way back passed by this store. I bought three pairs of earrings -- one silver interlinked hearts, one pink sort of sequins with holes at the top of each sequin, and the third pink shells in various shapes and hues. I know that yesterday I said I was going on a stash diet. But I had a craving.

I'll try to post photos.

Frustration

The baby shower was very nice. It was held in Nafisa's mother's condo. She lives in one of the new condos just north of the 401 and east of Yonge. The building is very impressive. We had a bit of a walk from where we parked to the front door and it was bitterly cold but inside it was lovely. The party room is spacious, elegant and finely appointed. The building has the regular amenities and -- get this -- a four lane bowling alley. I still can't figure out why, but hey, I don't have to pay the condo fees.

When we came home, I decided to give the course cq block another stab. I didn't even finish it because it just didn't look right. I haven't grasped yet the concept of how to estimate what size and shape the pieces should be. I can often figure things out myself but this appears to be beyond my grasp so it's very frustrating.

I didn't sleep well last night. Not because I couldn't figure it out. Menopause, I assume. I was up from about 1 a.m. to 4 a.m. So I was not the happiest camper today.

Nevertheless, I decided that I will piece the cq using a template so at least I know how it will turn out, piecewise. I left my comfort zone to try freehand piecing. Didn't enjoy it so I am now returning to my comfort zone. I am also going to do this block white on white because I have lots of white fabric, I won't feel constricted in my embellishment colour choices and I won't have to make any purchases because I am on a fabric/trim/thread diet for a while.

So on that whiny note, I'm off to watch TV and have an early night.

Not much doing

It's Sunday and I had the whole day to stitch but it's already 2 p.m. and not a stitch. At 4 p.m. we have a baby shower. So I think the day is shot as far as sewing goes. So I'm going surfing instead.

I asked Carmit to 'splain me how to link to sites from within the posts. She emailed me instructions but being written-instruction- challenged, I didn't understand them. But now I see there's a green thingy at the top of this frame which says "link" and lo and behold, it does. Yay!!

So if I find anything interesting, I'll share.

Course Block

The photo of the cq block I'm making for the encrusted cq course I'm taking just disappeared. I hope it returns when I publish this post.

I am not happy with the square. I like the colours. I don't like the shapes and proportions of the pieces. Perhaps I have to make several pieces freehand to understand the process, but I think I prefer making the naked squares using predetermined templates. I feel I have more control that way.

I will try another freehand pieced square using white on white -- the proportions should be less bothersome to my eye. I will also retry the same colour combination in a templated square and see how I feel about that.

I spent the whole day stitching and time just flew. I'll see how much I can get done tomorrow before we go to the baby shower.

Here it is.

So you can see that I used not so many different stitches because I don't know that many and wasn't sure how wide they should be over the seams. I also used quite a bit of crocheted ribbon which turned out nicely. And after a few blocks, I figured out that I could stray from the seams and do curved embellishments. I've had fun so far and that's the main thing. I am hoping that the course I am taking will broaden my repertoire. BTW, I have cut my first piece so I'm well on my way.

Oprah's Debt Diet

I got home yesterday in time to watch Oprah. She is advocating a Debt Diet so people who are snowed under can get out from their debt. I have a hard time sympathising with those "poor" people who earn $80,000 U.S. a year and can't make ends meet. But the reason I'm mentioning this here is because the woman in one of the three couples is a crafts freak and is spending a small fortune on fabrics/beads/yarns.

I can hardly compare myself to her but have recently fought the urge to buy more before I use up what I have. And that's one of the reasons I'm having trouble piecing my course block. I want to use what I have but still have it visually appealing, at least to me.

Can you guess that I'm still procrastinating...

Auf simchas first pass finished!

I put the final stitches on the first pass of Auf Simchas. I have now pinned it to the wall a) to take pictures of and post later on, and b) to see which seams need reinforcement, design-wise, where to put buttons, motifs, etc.

I am at the computer briefly because I was looking for a felt finger puppet pattern. We have a baby shower tomorrow for our next door neighbours to whom I already gave the baby fish quilt, but not wanting to go empty-handed, I thought of quickly making finger puppets. My kids used to love the eye doctor's finger puppets. I still don't know how to link in the blog itself to other sites so I'll just tell you that I found a pattern at www.geocities.com/mystorytime/chickenpuppet.htm which I hope to make a little later on today.

I also am tackling the ironing. You know, the men's shirts which have been unironed for months. I tell myself I am doing this because it's time to get the house in order, when in fact, I know that I am stalling on starting the course crazy square.

I am trying to go outside my comfort zone so far as colour choice is concerned. Also, doing the piecing free-hand instead of with a pattern template is outside my comfort zone. And I tend to work as I go along and the course instructions require me to sort of plan and design ahead. So I am stalling. I have cut out the muslin foundations piece and cut, not seriously, my finger on the rotary blade -- not while rolling it but while wiping off the fluff. Note to self -- use a brush to remove the fluff.

Ok. Off to iron. And hopefully piece the course block.

Sorry, no time to chat, gotta study...

I started my cq class today.

Initially, when I downloaded lesson 1 (41 pages), I was somewhat dismayed. I'm not very good at following written instructions -- too impatient. Just show me how. But the browsing looks promising so I will start reading shortly. It looks like an interesting group -- about 50 participants from all over the world!

I still have two cq squares to finish on Auf Simchas and I want to get a little bit done this evening so I'll have more time to work on the lesson project on the weekend.

Got an email from Kate that she got my breast cancer block and funds (there's a nominal fee which goes towards the cost of assembling the quilts, etc.). Since I didn't have exact change,
she's going to give me raffle tickets for a finished quilt. So, not only do I feel good about doing good, I may get something out of it.

I am thinking about making a small cq piece to donate for a fundraiser that my nieces' and nephews' school is having. Maybe actually using the lesson project for that.

Last night at the Pomegranate Guild we made beaded bookmarks. I wasn't crazy about the colour choice of materials, but I have my own bead stash and think I will make a few.

OK. Final note. My daughter, Inbal, took part in a charity cycling event last year to benefit the Alyn Hospital in Jerusalem. This facility deals in rehabilitation for children with physical challenges. She is planning to participate in the next ride in October 2006 and I hope to be able to support her efforts (each rider is required to raise a minimum of $2,000 US to participate) by making and selling textile works. So if you want or need anything that I can make, let me know.

Only three cq squares left!

Before I tell you what I did today, let me start by telling you that Carmit turned 31 today. Although I no longer think I'm 18, it's still hard to believe that she's 31. And she's the middle child...

I got a lot done today. Finished a few more squares, repaired a few and now have only three left!! Hopefully with a little stitching each morning and a little each evening I'll be finished by the end of the week. Or at least finished the first pass. Afterwards, I have buttons, silk ribbon embroidery and perhaps motifs to add. I say perhaps motifs because I'm not overly enamoured with the ready-made lace type motifs I have, I'm not overly impressed with the quality of the crochet motifs I've been attempting to make and I kind of like the way the exposed fabric looks. And I don't have to "fill the whole page" if I decide not to. (When we lived on kibbutz, I was an ECE assistant to the main metapelet [ECE teacher]. She used to give the kids paper to draw on or glue stuff onto. One girl took a gum wrapper and stuck it on the paper and said she was finished. The metapelet said "fill the whole page". Since then, "fill the whole page" has become a catch phrase Menachem and I use for overdoing things.)

Menachem finished another wall of the bathtub tiling. The room already looks better. Hopefully tomorrow he'll make headway on the final wall -- the one with the taps and shower thing, the one where cutouts have to be made in the tiles and it takes longer. Also, the bottom rows of tiles he has to do kneeling and with his bad knees it's difficult. So he isn't pushing it and contrary to what he says, I'm not pushing him either. At least not in that regard... Once the tiling is done, we'll have to rethink the medicine chest. Actually, I've already rethought it. It's old, the silver of the mirror edges is flaking and the chrome hinges are rusting. We have new mirror tiles, Carmit's detritis... I think, with a nicer light fixture, it will give the bathroom a new lease on life. I know he's not enamoured of the idea of putting up drywall and plastering over it, but if we're already fixing, we might as well go all the way, no?

After today's tiling, we were going to visit my mother who we haven't seen for a few weeks because she was in Florida and only got back Wednesday. We were going to go yesterday but Bat & Sandy were there so we figured we'd go today, spread out the visits. I called her but there was no answer from noon on. I called Yunkie to check if he knew where she was and he said something about her going to a concert.

So when Alissa invited us over for coffee and a shmooze, and she still wasn't answering, we went. Menachem tried to help Matty with a computer problem, unfortunately unsuccessfully. And then Alissa, Mel and we had our shmooze. I called my mom from there too and still no answer. I wasn't worried because my mother has a busy social life.

When we got home, there was a phone call. Turns out my mom took Ethel to a mandolin concert and then had a visit at Ethel's with Shloimeh and Zena. She got home five minutes before we did. So we'll try to get together during the week one day after work. Maybe Wednesday because I have a Pomegranate Guild meeting near her house anyways.

And that's about all for today.

Cutting Down on TV Time

One of the positive effects of my stitching is that there is no TV in my studio. (We have two pairs of eyes, but 5 TV sets...) I have put a radio in my studio/sanctuary where I stitch to a background of classical music. I used to listen mainly to 96.3FM which plays classical but includes the theme song from Star Wars in its repertoire.

Last week I switched to the CBC (Canadian Broadcast Company) for the Mozart extravaganzas. I was not disappointed. But I also discovered and rediscovered a few other programs on the CBC. Stuart McLean's "Vinyl Cafe" is wonderful. I had read one of his books, compliments of Carmit, our family bookworm. To hear him read his stories and intersperse it with live music is great. Then there was a program today about a musician/songwriter who received (posthumously) a grammy award for his blues music. Can't remember the person's name and can't find it online right now but he had a profound influence on many musician/songwriters after him. There was an hour (I think, because time flies when I'm busy stitching) of his original recordings and recordings of his music that others have done over the years. A thoroughly enlightening and enjoyable program.

And then Saturday afternoons is "Live from the Met" and today was "La Traviatta", one of my most favourite operas. I stitched and cried, partly because the opera is so emotional and partly because it reminded me of my Aunt Elsie who used to listen to Live from the Met.

And between acts, there is such interesting behind the scenes opera tidbits. It was lovely. Next week is "Aida". I am looking forward to it.

And I got quite a bit done on Auf Simchas today. May still do another seam before I go to bed this evening.

And a final postscript. A few weeks ago, I mentioned that I had started stair climbing at work. I haven't mentioned it since and I didn't want anyone to think that I had given it up. I haven't. Five days a week, up the twenty-odd storeys and back down again to the ground floor. I didn't say I enjoy it but I'm toughing it out and hoping for nicer weather so I can expand my repertoire of activities.

Cancer Research Block Mailed Out

Last night, after agonizing attempt after attempt, embroidery, beads, straight stitching, to sign my block, I gave up. Put a little flower in the gap near the bottom and called it a day. If anyone's really curious whose block it is, they'll ask.
Today I got it out in the mail. Hopefully, it will arrive unharmed in due course.
This morning, before work, I did a little stitching on Auf Simchas which I immediately ripped because I had done it without using a hoop and the fabric scrunched up too much.
This evening, I guess I will be redoing the embroidery...

Cancer Research Block

So I finished the block. I like it and hope it fits in with the other blocks. I usually don't like anything too busy and my colour choices are definitely conservative. I tried crocheting flowers -- didn't like how they turned out. So this evening, I'm going to embroider initials and get it ready to send out. Tomorrow back to Auf Simchas.

Breast Cancer Block

Got off to a rocky start. Experienced cq'ers know how to piece. I piece the same as for machine sane quilting. I copy the design onto freezer paper, cut out the pattern pieces, iron onto the fabric, then cut out adding quarter inch seam allowances. I sew together pieces 1,2, & 3 before I remember that it's not sane and I should be using the muslim foundation. So I carefully mark the back of the muslin foundation, machine flip and sew and -- absolutely no correlation between the foundation and the top.

Do I let this discourage me? No. I simply mark another piece of muslim and pin the block, with the off kilter foundation to the new piece of muslim. So I have finished, more or less all the seams. Compared to other blocks I have seen, I am the queen of conservative. The pieces are all white and off-white (all but one from my sisters', my cousin's and my wedding dresses). The embellishment colours are greens, purples, mauves and pinks. I think it looks sort of nice but I'll defer judgment until I finish it. I'd like to try some crocheted motifs, probably flowers, but I'm not sure yet. And I have to figure out how to sign it.

So, being totally absorbed in that today, I didn't touch Auf Simchas. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing. I'm now off to read a bit.

Progress Report

The weather here is strange. It has been such a mild winter. The weather report called for a huge snowstorm. It started snowing late afternoon Saturday. But it was very wet rain. When I went to visit my neighbour Rachel for coffee, there was about an inch of slush on the sidewalk and roads. Then the snowstorm was "downgraded" to heavy rain. With temperatures hovering at the zero mark overnight, who knows if we'll find everything covered in a sheet of ice in the morning or just water?
So with weather that miserable, we nest. Stay home, read, watch TV or in my case, stitch. Auf simchas is coming along nicely. I am using the new beads and trying out new stitches and the results, for the most part are pleasing to me.

I got started on my breast cancer block last night mostly by figuring out the size instructions. I have an aversion to reading instructions -- don't know why. But these instructions were very clear. I mapped them out on paper first so I'd have a better idea about what size the block should be. This morning, I will piece it and then figure out how to embellish. I may even take it to the office to work on since there's a bit of a lull there at the moment. It's just that shlepping so many embroidery flosses, ribbons, beads, etc. takes away from the pleasure of doing. I'll have to see.

No great plans for today, Sunday. More stitching, listening to the radio and reading. If the blogger is up (I was unable to blog last night), I'll try to provide another progress report.

Beads and buttons and books, oh my

I haven't done much creatively in the past few days. Not sleeping well at night, too tired to stitch. I make a point, however, of going into the studio and either looking at books, sorting beads and ribbon and keeping in touch with my stuff.

Today I had to go downtown for work. I rarely go downtown in the winter unless absolutely necessary, partly because I had my fill of winter-time public transit or rather standing at bus stops in 20 below temperatures during the eight years I took night classes at U of T (Toronto) to get my BA. Also, when you're bundled up for the 20 below and then go into a heated store, then out again to the cold, back into the heat -- you sweat, then freeze. And with menopause upon me, who needs the added hot-cold routine?

So after I finished with work, I headed out to Queen Street West, one of the new hip areas of Toronto. I wasn't looking for hip, just the bead store, button store, ribbon store and fabric stores. I started in the bead store and bought about twelve different colours and sizes/shapes, mostly in purples, mauves and pinks. I went into the button store to breath in inspiration and they do have lovely stuff but I'm trying to use what I have and find cheaper sources for buttons (i.e. garage sales, thrift stores). The ribbon store I went into was more along the lines of sewing ribbons for lining clothes type stuff. There is a fantastic ribbon store, Mokuba, on Queen Street somewhere but they've moved since the last time I was there and the hot/cold was starting to irk me and I was really only looking for silk ribbon for silk ribbon embroidery so I passed and headed back to the burbs. But on the way, I stopped off at the library, took out "Little Earthquakes" by Jennifer Weiner, the "new" Work of Our Hands and an embroidery stitch book -- the authors' names escape me at the moment and I'm too lazy to go look at the books right now.

While I was standing at the streetcar stop, I had a thought how to use the beads on some of my embroidered already seams so tomorrow morning, I shall hopefully be more in a creative mode.

Did I mention that I am making a cq square for the Crazy Quilt Benevolent Society? The squares are then made into quilts for breast cancer research/awareness fundraising and/or scholarships for the cq society classes.

Anywho, off to watch Sex and the City and Coronation Street.

So this is where I am, embellishment wise. It's a little hard to see but I'm quite happy with some areas, less with others, but still have lots of time to work on it, tweak until I'm happy.

I am so excited!!

I just registered for Sharon Boggon's "Encrusted Crazy Quilting" on-line course. Sharon has an amazing website inaminuteago.com where there is such a wealth of information about fabric arts in general and crazy quilting in particular. Although I am working away on my crazy quilt, I think a foundations course would be beneficial. Right now, I'm winging it, not too badly but I would like to be able to say "so that's how it should be done!"

In the meantime, I am moving along on my cq piece. I have decided that instead of calling it my "cq thing" to name it "Auf Simchas" which has a double meaning, for me at least. In the Ashkenazi Jewish tradition, at funerals or shivas, participants say to one another on parting "nor auf simchas". This Yiddish phrase means [we should meet] "only on happy occasions", those happy occasions being joyous life cycle events -- births, bar/bat-mitzvas, weddings. "Auf simchas" in this case is a collage of memories in the form of a crazy quilt using fabrics, jewellry, and embellishments of family members, some who have passed away, which were worn or used on happier occasions.

So as "auf simchas" progresses, I can already see the improvements in my stitching, ideas, and daring. And with each stitch I think about the possibilities of doing this thing that I love for others. People who are loath to get rid of clothing or costume jewellry because they holds memories. I could translate their memories into pillows or wall hangings.

On the up the down staircase front, I have climbed the [22 storey]stairwell four times this week. My climbing partner was too busy on Friday. I should have just done it on my own but didn't. I'll try to make up for it by taking a long walk this weekend. The temperature is rising and it's sunny out so maybe this afternoon.

Right now Menachem is working on removing the final drywall screws from the upstairs bathroom and then I'll give him a hand with the new cement board to be installed. After that, I'd like to get out to buy some suitably coloured beads and embroidery floss which I'm running low on.

I hope to finish block 10 of 20 today and post some photos. And while I'm at it, I'd like to post a picture of the ketuba that my daughter Inbal made for her cousin's wedding.

Anyways, if I don't return to stitching, I won't move forward.

Mission accomplished

So, productive weekend.

I worked on the cq thing. I removed a row of four blocks. The overall proportion of the piece looks better this way. (five rows of four blocks) Maybe I'll do something else with the extra blocks. The embellishing is coming along. I have "finished" seven. "Finished" because I'm sure once I've done all of the blocks, I will revisit them and make adjustments until I'm happy with the overall picture. out.

It was 2 p.m. and I hadn't done anything on the baby fish quilt so I dropped everything and set to work. I joined two pieces of batting. Just butted up the edges and zig-zagged. It looks and works fine. Then I sandwiched and spray basted the quilt. I'm using a flannel backing this time (because that's what I had). So I met my weekend sewing goals.

I find the sandwiching process quite frustrating and aggravating. And that's with baby blanket size quilts. So I am thinking more and more that I will not quilt my lap quilt by myself but rather get someone to quilt it for me. I thoroughly enjoyed making the top, the results are lovely, and I don't want to spoil it by either doing the quilting less well or remembering the quilting experience by the aggravation and frustration attached to finishing it. It may just cause me to rethink the whole sane quilting thing. But this is today and who knows how I'll feel about it tomorrow.

I am invited to Mintzy and Rafi's for dinner and am gearing myself up mentally for the walk there. I'm taking this getting fit thing seriously so am going to walk over instead of being picked up. It's only about a twenty minute walk but that's twenty minutes more than I usually walk. And yesterday I went up and down the stairs in my house. Gotta keep the momentum going.

Menachem returns tomorrow so I'm excited about that. It's nice to be on your own and with your own thoughts, but it's nicer knowing that it's only temporary.

Winter wonderland

I'm looking out the window and it's gorgeous. Everything is coated with a dusting of snow. If it's snowing, it means the temperature is hovering around zero so that's good. I may go out for a walk a little later. Since I've started the exercise thing, I don't want to lose momentum. And it's so easy for me to get lazy. I did the stair climbing at work on Friday too. Still huffing and puffing but getting to a higher floor before it starts...

I just ripped some stitching on the cq thing. It was a shell pattern crochet seam embellishment. It just didn't look right. I replaced it with some crocheted ribbon, not silk ribbon, the regular kind. Actually just a chain of crochet. The texture is lovely. I have been embellishing square by square but I think I will do all my ribbons, then my embroidery and beading and then buttons. Once the ribbons and crocheted cotton is down, it will give me a better idea where and what to embellish with embroidery and beads, I hope.

I also want to do some quilting today and tomorrow. I know that's what I said last weekend but I did get the baby fish quilt top done last weekend and maybe I can quilt it this weekend. I also have my swirly quilt to finish. I should just bite the bullet and get started on it. At least sandwiching it so it's ready for quilting.

My brother is doing the Haftorah at shul today. Since it isn't his or one of his kids' Bar/Bat Mitzvah's, I didn't really feel the need to attend. Also, I don't own clothes appropriate for synagogue services. The last time I purchased any shul appropriate clothing (i.e. a skirt or dress) was for my nephew's Bar-Mitzvah about three years ago. It's also the last time I wore a skirt. Another nephew has a Bar-Mitzvah in May. And then I have Sari's wedding in July. So I will have to shop. Or maybe I'll just buy some material that I would like to use in a quilt, sew a skirt for the occasions and afterwards cut it up for quilt squares. An interesting thought...

The past few weekends, I have stayed at home, just listening to the radio, sewing, reading, watching TV and I'm thoroughly enjoying it. I don't know if it's the winter, my age, or what but I often prefer staying home to going out.

When we moved to Toronto I thought that I would do all the things I didn't do on a regular basis when we lived on the moshav -- go to the theatre, concerts, museums. Ha ha. I've heard maybe two-three concerts, visited one or two museums and seen very little theatre (in 18 years!) Not that I feel that deprived, but perhaps I should make more of an effort.

Enough musings for now. I'm off to sew and hit the snow.

Up and down the staircase

Do my muscles ache from yesterday's first stair climb? Why, yes they do.
Did I tackle the 22 flights up and 12 flights down again today? Why, yes I did. And it took less time. Yay me!!

Machon Lemadrichei Chutz L'aretz

or in English, the Institute for Youth Leaders from Abroad.

In 1968, I was very fortunate to spend a year-long study-work program in Israel. There were about 110 participants in the program that year. Over the years, I had lost touch with most of them, but about half a year ago, I got an email from the Machon that our group was reconnecting in cyberspace. In a relatively short period, from the original 20 or so whose whereabouts were known, we have managed to track down most of the group through the miracle of googling and emailing.

A website is in the works, people have been reconnecting with long lost friends and catching up. And a reunion is being planned for 2008 -- 40 years after our original stay in Jerusalem. And 2008 really isn't all that far away.

I just finished a lovely Skype conversation with Mo in England. I am starting to get quite excited about seeing these people. And to figure out how to plan the reunion so the plans meet everyone's expectations, we have plenty of opportunities to talk and reconnect one on one, and everyone gets their money's worth.

Let me rethink that new year's resolution...

A few days ago, a colleague at work asked if anyone would be interested in stair climbing at work. I figured, sure, why not. Today we started. After climbing up 22 flights of stairs and down 12, I'm not so sure. I'm doing it to get fit, burn calories. So I'm thinking -- if going down stairs only burns half of what going up does, why not just go down twice?... I hope that Gwen, who does the annual CN Tower climb, is right when she says it will get easier as I get into better shape.
And bless her for her patience. She can do the office stairs in about 6 minutes but she went along with me at my pace, stopping so I could gasp for air, and it took us considerably longer. I'm hoping I'll be able to stop less often and too embarrassed to quit...

Slip sliding Away

Yesterday we had freezing rain. For those who haven't experienced this, every surface is covered with ice. And yesterday I had a dentist's appointment after work and took the bus home instead of getting a lift with my DS and DBIL (I don't know if those are recognized initials but figure it out). When I got off the bus, I started sliding backwards towards the bus. Anticipating this, the bus driver waited until I had advanced a safe distance before continuing to drive. The one minute walk from the bus to my house took a lot longer as I shuffled along gingerly. And then when I finally reached the approach to the house, an incline. An uphill battle on an icy surface -- not a pretty picture. Fortunately, I made it to the door without any mishaps.

And as consolation, in the mailbox there was a catalogue from Keepsake Quilting! Not that I've every purchased anything from them but I enjoy looking at the colours, combinations, gadgets and get inspired.

Sunday I made another baby fish quilt top. I was going to finish the whole thing, including piecing the batting, but got sidetracked. I did a few more seams on the cq. And since Sunday, I haven't done a stitch (pun intended). Not to say that I haven't been busy creatively -- I had downloaded embroidery stitch diagrams to use and have decided to make a "stitch book" where I keep all of them so I can refer to them from my work table and not have to run to the computer room to consult the on-line diagrams. So I've been cutting and pasting in the non-computer sense.

I also joined the French crazy quilt list. I'd love to go to the exhibit in La Bourboule in the fall. Maybe on the way to Israel. I would love to put forward an entry to the exhibit but I'm not sure my stuff fits their criteria for showing or if it's good enough. But I will not be timid and will look into it. The worst they can say is "no". I'll be crushed but I'll get over it.

Off to work. Hopefully today I'll get back to stitching.

The sun is shining.

So when the sun shines so brightly, one must be optimistic. I won't mention that it's also minus six degrees...

Yesterday it was so cold and windy outside that even though I had wanted to go buy some beads and get out, I decided that the house was too cozy and stayed put. I sorted my current stash of beads -- the container they were in got all the colours jumbled. I put my buttons in the former bead container and am thinking about getting those clock maker's containers for the beads. And something for the ribbons. I guess I do need a shelf on the wall over my work table in the studio. I just have to figure out where to put it so I can easily access it and return stuff to it. Anyways, I worked away on my cq embroidery and embellishment. I must say that I'm getting bolder (and I hope better) with each seam.

I wish I could show photos but my camera is in Israel. It was supposed to be taking pictures of the wedding and email them to me so I could "take part" from afar as soon as they returned from the festivities. Several family members have digital cameras but none of them took their cameras to the wedding. I wasn't going to say anything in keeping with my efforts to keep the blog positive but it's been several days since the wedding and I'm still annoyed. There. I've said it and hopefully now I can get over it and move on.

Today I feel lazy. I was up at 6:30 a.m. but decided to put on the classical radio station and return to bed. And I slept until almost 9 a.m. -- and for me that's quite unusual. I have plans to continue embroidering and maybe finally do another baby quilt top. I didn't rush right into it because I don't have a single piece of batting big enough for the entire thing. My friends on one of my needlework lists answered my question about how to join pieces together and now, armed with this information, I'm off to battle.

Just checking in

Just checking in, in case anyone's following.

I wish I could say that I've been stitching up a storm and haven't had time to write. Well, not exactly. I have made a little progess, a very little. Yesterday, I decided to go through some magazines, tear out the relevant pages and throw out the rest. Today I may go through some other paperwork. I review the things which caught my eye in the past and maybe get some inspiration to do so something new.

Did I mention that I bought some more fabric? I went to buy a printer cartridge for the office and Fabricland, the fabric store, is in the same mini mall. They were having a sale -- it seems they're always having a sale -- so I bought two more yards of the fish fabric at 25% off (because it is so adorable and when next I need it, it may not be available). I also bought two yards of bright yellow pique fabric because it really was on sale ($5/meter). Maybe I'll whip up another baby quilt this weekend. I already have the squares cuts from the previous one which I dropped off to Nafisa and Eddy for their baby son whose name is pronounced phonetically "eye-den", no clue how to spell it. Haven't received any feedback yet.

Today's is Rachel and Yannai's wedding. After 12 years of being together, they have decided they're compatible and are tying the knot. Did I mention that the wedding is in Israel and that my DH went for the wedding? I am waiting anxiously for photos. My DD, Inbal, made the ktuba which I heard is beautiful and I'm waiting for an emailed picture of that too.

Off to the salt mines.

Lazy Sunday

Today was a very relaxing day. And very quiet. I know that people go to retreats where they do not speak for days. Well it's only been one day since Menachem left for Israel and there was one incoming phone call. But other than that it was just me, classical music on the radio and the stuff inside my head.

And the sun was out so I made sure to sit in front of a window, embroider and bask. I got some embellishing done. And removed some which I wasn't happy with, mostly on seams between the crazy squares. And then it dawned on me that I don't have to do the same seam treatment the entire length of the square but can break it into smaller bites. Alas, no photos. The camera is on vacation in Israel.

And I did some housework and cooking. OK, pick yourself up off the floor. The shmutz was calling my name. I usually ignore it but today, with the sound of silence, heard it... And the veggies were either going into a vegetarian stew today while still edible or into the compost on Tuesday...

So all in all a productive day. Now I'm going to do something mindless like watch TV before I go to sleep.

Time flies

I can't believe it's already Saturday night.
I didn't get much done creatively today -- Menachem is flying to Israel in a few hours and we had last minute shopping and laundry to do.
We went to Walmart to get presents for the great-nephews. Nothing too special but just something so they'll know we were thinking of them. Hope we chose well. It's so hard to know what to get when we only see them once a year.
Actually, that's all we went to buy. But they were having a sale on some clear plastic containers and I needed (i.e. wanted) some for my studio. I bought eight which fit neatly under one of the tables. Now that I'm embellishing, I also wanted something to house the various threads, ribbons, findings, etc.so that I can gather them up quickly if I feel like doing some quilting or something else which requires a clear working surface. I found a three drawer clear plastic container, the drawers come out for easy access, but also can be quickly returned to their place and the whole unit taken off the table. I'm still thinking about how to house the ribbons for easy access. In the meantime, I have taken a hanger, cut it open on one end, put the ribbon rolls on it, twisted the neck and fit the neck over the table but I'm still not pleased with the result and am still looking for a better solution -- maybe something suspended from the ceiling. hmmm. I also bought a tatting shuttle and hope I can make sense of the instructions so I can teach myself to tat.
Anyways, while we were there, Menachem bought a few shirts, I got some salsa and peanut butter and we got some wool for Rotem. Then we went to Staples to get Carmit some labels and I went into BouClair looking for "tiger tape" so that I can use it to get my embroider stitches more evenly spaced. I only found 1/4" quilters tape but I will try using that and make my own markings on it.
We came home, I did a few loads of laundry, Menachem packed and I organized my studio.
Tomorrow, my plan is to continue embellishing. And maybe start another baby quilt.
Or maybe just veg. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

Embellishing cont'd

As much as I enjoy the embellishing phase, it is not all enjoyment. I look at other people's work for inspiration and ideas and often end up being discouraged that my effort isn't up to par.
I'm trying to have the seam embellishments as varied as possible. I'm never quite sure what to do or how to do it, but if I get a seam or two done a day, weekdays, I'm happy. I did one this morning before I left for work. It is a crocheted mesh with ribbon pulled through. It's a tiny bit short. Should I redo it or try to add on at the ends to elongate it? I'll revisit it when I get home.
I am finding others' websites with stitch directions, especially Rissa's Pieces, very helpful.
And yesterday on one of the web lists I read, there was mention of a site of Victorian embroidery and crafts. The internet is such a wonderful resource.

And with that, I'm off to surf.

Embellishing Started

Yesterday was a very nice day. I had the whole day to dabble in embellishment and got a nice start. I did a little embroidery -- it's not my strong point, but I did some ribbon placement and incorporated some of the jewellery. I'm just waiting for the sky to brighten a bit so I can sit with natural light to work. I have the whole day ahead of me so I can work at a leisurely pace. Maybe this evening, I'll post a photo of what I've done so far.
Yesterday evening, ner shmini, last candle of Chanuka, we had a family get-together at my mother's house. It was very relaxed. The only "non-family" person was Charles, a former pupil of my father's. I say non-family lightly because since my father's death, he has been a godsend to my mother, visiting her often and helping her around the house. Charles is an artist and lives out of town. So he will often come into the city to visit art galleries, etc. and stay over at my mom's.
Charles is a real character. He is teaching himself Hebrew with such dedication, not to mention Jewish customs and culture. When he said to me last night "Siz shver tzu zayn a Yid", I knew we had to give him a Hebrew name. After much family debate, we dubbed him "Chaim".
I would like to make a quilt of one of his pieces of art, but I'm leaving that til later.
Off to embellish.

Happy New Year!!

I celebrated by falling asleep at about 9 p.m. I figure the ball will drop whether I'm awake to see it or not. And I was right. Happy New Year. Don't quite know where 2005 went but I am looking forward to 2006.
I like new years, whether Jewish, Gregorian, school, whatever. Just like I like a new day -- I'm an optimist for the most part so there's always hope for a better day, year, life...

The logical next step is New Year's Resolutions. Not too many -- to try to do something creative each day, to let my loved ones know they're loved, to minimize negativity, to take better care of myself. Nothing concrete like climbing Mount Everest, well maybe to sell something I've made (as a means of validating myself) So maybe I should add getting rid of the need to validate myself...

Anyways, as part of the something creative each day, I think I finally figured out what to do with the white expanses of Sari and David's chuppah. The flowers at the bottom of the white panels are in purple and lilac. I bought purple and lilac tulle yesterday at Michaels. If I attach the tulle at the top and just above the flowers and then in between, but make tulle pieces longer than the silk, then when the chuppah is suspended overhead, there will be soft draping of tulle. If I stagger the middle attachments between the purple and lilac, it should be a lovely effect. And if I randomly bead the tulle, it might be even nicer. A few chamsot and/or birds here and there and I can see it coming together. And with deep purple ribbon between the panels and maybe on the edges, it should be rather striking. Now to see if theory translates into practice.

Baby fish quilt

Last post for today, I promise. Here is the baby fish quilt. The top corners are a little crooked but appear more so in the photos because I'm standing behind it holding them.
I hope you can see the stitching. And the yellow batik backing.
I'm all tuckered out from downloading/uploading. Time for a nap.

Two projects, one finished, one not yet

Here is my first quilt. Obviously not finished. The pieced top -- it really is more brown than orange. And the black backing with beige,brown and gold fabrics.
And I threw in my contribution to the Pomegranate Summer Challenge, a banner with the word "mishpacha" (family) and each letter embellished felt "family" members.

Crazy quilt ready for embellishing

Ok. So I am now ready to embellish. Here are some photos of the finished naked cq piece and some closeups of the fabrics in the cq. Not necessarily in that order since I haven't quite gotten the idea of how to upload pictures in order.

Welcome to my studio

Just as I said. The wall unit with books/supplies/etc. On the right is a drying rack which I bought today so when I'm choosing materials, I can drape them over the metal strands and have them all in one place. This is my work table, with my cutting surface, sewing machine and serger. And the final picture is the room ready, after a trip this morning to Michael's, for embellishing the cq.
Perhaps I should have included my bed because many of my ideas come to me while I'm lying awake during bouts of insomnia...

Every little bit helps

I am trying to do at least a little bit of creative work each day. I was going to hand sew a few needed stitches into the baby quilt but this would require being extremely focussed and by the time I got home from work today, I was just too tired for it.

So instead, I finished sewing together all the rows of the crazy quilt. I now have a quilt four 6" squares by six 6" squares. And no excuses not to start embellishing. It's a good thing it's again a long weekend.

On the way home from work, I stopped into the dollar store and bought some clothing dye. I have a bunch of white and off-white fabric motifs which are a bit too stark and I am going to try dyeing them in varying shades of purple. I don't know what material they are so let's hope it's not something synthetic which won't take the dye. I shall, of course, report on the results.

I also found some crocheted motif instructions on the net and will try them out as well. Tomorrow, when I'm awake.

Binding the baby quilt

So I decided to jump in and machine sew the binding. After about a linear foot of straight stitch, I didn't like it. I switched to zig-zag and because of the variegated thread, it turned out pretty nicely. Of course it's not perfect but neither am I so I will do minor repairs by hand using, I hope, invisible stitches and that's that. I am quite pleased with myself. Photo to follow when DH returns.

Now I shall return to the cq squares, finish sewing blocks into rows and go from there.

Off to my day job. I like it, but on cold, damp, drizzling, dreary days like today, I wish I worked from home.

Baby fish quilt

I finished the wave quilting. What I did was freehand drew two rows of waves onto freezer paper, cut out along the wave lines, ironed the cut out freezer paper onto the quilt and straight sewed along the edges of the freezer paper. After reironing the same freezer paper waves, I had to add pins to hold them in place. Pricked my finger on the pin, got blood on the quilt, panicked, washed out the blood (no traces, thank goodness), decided not to be stingy about using the freezer paper and cut out enough wave strips to use each once only. By the time I did my final waves, I was pretty good at manoeuvering the quilt. And the end result is quite nice.

Now I have to do the binding. I am doing double binding and figured out how to do the strips but am hesitant about starting because, lazy me, I would prefer to do machine binding and am still looking for easy understandable instructions. I may just look for a seasoned quilter to show me how. I'm not very good with following written instructions, hence don't know how to program VCR, DVD, remotes, etc. The VCR, DVD and remotes don't bother me but I would like to learn how to use the digital camera which was originally purchased for my fabric "business" (yet to materialize, excuse the pun) and how to upload the photos. When "my guy" returns from winter camp with the camera, I shall attempt to learn.

I would like to make a label for the back in the form of a fish, maybe freezer paper applique it. I'll see.

So, for Sari and David's chuppah. I was initially quite thrown by the idea of not doing the family fabric crazy quilt. But I already had three previously made panels, the centre panel with the birds in the tree, and two side panels which are white duppioni silk with felt appliqued flowers with the Hebrew letters for the words "mazal" (luck) and "bracha" (blessing) appliqued in the centre of each flower. I had taken the panels apart because I wasn't quite happy with how they were joined. They're very pretty together but there is a large expanse of white fabric on the top two-thirds of the two side panels and I can hear Ruzka's voice saying "fill the page"... I had a thought about maybe beading there but I'm not sure whether on the silk itself or on another fabric overlay, or whether randomly or in a pattern. Like most of my ideas, it has to simmer until I'm (almost) sure I know what I'm doing. And maybe I'll crochet some lace to embellish the two seams between the three panels. So I'm back on track as far as the chuppah goes and will keep you posted.

What I did today

I started by ripping the cq squares. Instead of two rows of 9, I now have four rows of four and enough unattached squares for two more rows of four. I think I will make one pieces 4 squares X 4 squares and another 2 squares X 4 squares. After embellishment, I will donate the larger one for a charity auction and give the smaller one to the bride as a wall hanging.

Then I attacked the baby quilt. The instructions for sandwiching the quilt said "tape the backing face down to the floor. Lay the batting on top of the backing. Lay the top face up on top of the batting." So I meticulously tape, layer and layer. Then comes the part where the instructions say "if you're using fabric adhesive spray, first put a large sheet down on the floor (to catch the adhesive overspray) before you put down the backing." Thanks for telling me in advance. Oh, and also "said sheet should be ironed and wrinkle free". I'm already not happy. But do I iron the sheet? Not me, too lazy. I pin the three layers I've already put one on top of the other, lift the quilt, put down the the sheet, smoothing it with my hands, reposition the quilt, remove the pins and start spraying as per instructions, first one half, then the other. The top is great, the bottom, not so much. So I fuss and smooth and it's OK. Then I do the second half. Same process, same results. I am already royally aggravated. I mean, the designing and cutting and piecing and sewing was fun. This part is not. I finally get the thing more or less wrinkle free. Next one (see, I'm forever the optimist and know I will do this again), I will get end-of-the-roll unprinted newsprint (which doesn't require ironing) to tape down to the floor before the quilt layers. The paper can later be recycled.

Back upstairs to sew. I have a lovely variegated yellow/gold thread. I put on the walking foot, cover the feed plates. Do a few practice free-motion rows of stitching. Looking good. Feed in the fabric sandwich, do a row of free-motion meandering. It looks chalushus (sickly in Yiddish). Rip it out. Do over. Not much better. After the third rip, I decide enough for today.

Tomorrow, I go to plan B. I will cut out a template of a gentle wavy line and use the regular foot to do straight line sewing following the waves (apt because of the fish pattern, no?).

It's getting me to rethink the whole machine quilting finishing thing. I know it takes practice but I never learned to play a musical instrument properly because I didn't have patience to practise. I think my penchant for finding shortcuts has something to do with my lack of patience.

So I kind of ran out of steam earlier than I had intended but fear not, the long weekend still has one more day. Of course I'm going in to work tomorrow for a few hours, but when I return, I shall machine quilt.

Bumps in the Road

Life is full of the unexpected. Bumps in the road. So when the bride called yesterday morning to ask me not to use the family fabrics in her chuppah, I was thrown for a loop. I won't go into her reasons for it out of respect for her privacy. She is the bride, it is her chuppah and her decision. And there is plenty of time to change things to accommodate her wishes. So I have no anger towards her.

My dilemma now is what to do with the naked cq squares. Because of the family fabrics used, I don't want to use them in someone else's chuppah but I think that if I make a wall-hanging type quilt for charity, it will honour those whose fabrics I have used. And since it looks damn good and will probably be even better when embellished, that is probably what I will do.

Her call came in the morning, and it put a crimp into my plans for the day because I had planned to work on the chuppah all day. Instead, I got busy on the baby quilt. I got the top cut, most of it sewn. The fish fabric is directional and I made an error in the piecing. When I "righted" the fabric, the plain coloured squares were no longer in the order I had originally planned, but I was too lazy for ripping so if anyone is looking for a pattern other than alternating fish, colour, fish, colour, you won't find it. It's not too obvious and again, I have something against ripping. Whenever my husband is dissatisfied with some handiwork he's done, my motto is "the big picture". In the big picture, it won't be that noticeable.

In the evening, Devorah picked me up and we went to Shloimeh and Zena's for a Chanuka party. It was very nice. Growing up, we were very close with my maternal first cousins -- Alissa, Brochy, and Leah. Probably because we were very close in age. Between my sister Bat-Sheva and Alissa is half a year, Alissa and me nine months, me and Brochy about a year (I think), Brochy and Devora about three years, and then Devora and Leah are also either a few months or a year. And our extended family "entertainment" involved visiting one another. I have younger siblings but they were born later on and Shloimeh and Zena's son was born when I was already 17.

Brochy, one of Shloimeh and Zena's daughter's, was in with her husband, Vernon. They live in Chicago so we don't see them all that often. And their oldest daughter, Hadassa and new husband, Chaim, are visiting from Israel. So it was very nice to meet him and renew the family connection. And when we left, big snow flakes were falling, the trees were lightly dusted and it was magical. Except for the slush...

Today, I am again homebound, of design, and will shortly commence work on the baby quilt, finish sewing the top, choose a backing fabric from my stash -- it feels good to be able to say that -- sandwich and maybe even quilt it. I will then bite the bullet and rip the cq from the chuppah. I may even be brave enough to sandwich my own quilt. If I machine meander quilt the baby quilt, it will be good practice for quilting mine.

Day one of long weekend

So, very productive day. I got all the cq squares sewn. And figured out how to do piecing, ironing, sewing efficiently by reconfiguring my "studio" (fancy name for bedroom no longer in use).
My studio is about 10 ft. by 10 ft. I will try to post photos soon. My central work area is three work tables (fancy name for kids' old 4 ft. long by 2 ft. deep desks) two tables back to back and the third at the end giving me a 6 ft. long by 4 ft. deep surface. I also have a fabric/book/supply station (fancy name for wall unit inherited from brother-in-law's mother's estate), an ironing board and iron (acquired when my daughter moved home and subsquently moved to Israel leaving them behind), I think you get the picture -- I'm a firm believer in recycling and making do with what I already have (a fancy term for cheap). I have one of those clear plastic drawers on wheels units which believe it or not was purchased new. One of the back to back desks is my sewing table, the other back to back is my serger table (for the serger I thought I needed and rarely use because I'm too lazy to thread it) and the end table is my cutting table.
I took my (16 year old Singer plain stitch) sewing machine off the sewing table and placed it on a small wooden tv dinner type table beside my chair on the right-hand side. This freed up my sewing table for putting an ironing pad and iron on the right hand side, the cq template in the middle and the cq cut squares on the left.
Once again, I assembly-lined the process -- sew piece, iron, sew next piece, iron, etc. The only thing I didn't do assembly-line was trimming the squares. I was in constant fear that with the pulling and straightening of squares they would be less than 8 inches. I was close a few times but all met the minimum.
After I finished sewing them, I took them and the central panel downstairs to lay out on the dining room table and decide placement. But the table wasn't long enough without extra leaves which I didn't feel like getting, and I was tuckered out so I'll do the placement tomorrow morning.
I also got the baby quilt fabric washed and will iron it tomorrow.
And did I mention the lovely background choral music on the classical station this time of year?
All in all, a good day.
Chaya

Long weekend. Yay!!

I can't say that I'm unhappy about the four day weekend ahead of us. I have several projects to work on and since Menachem will be away at winter camp, I'll probaby stay home, sew and relax.
In order to prepare for the sewing bit, I went to Fabricland to buy some 505 spray which my quilting guru swears by for basting quilt layers. I want to get the layers basted, start and maybe even finish the machine quilting.
While at the store, I saw a lovely fish fabric, black with neon yellow, pink, green, turquoise, etc. fish. Quite a departure from usually staid and conservative colour choices. So I bought a meter of it and three meters of other coordinating colours. I probably wouldn't have made the purchase if fabric wasn't on sale, because I'm trying to be a "fiscally responsible" quilter. Oxymoron? Probably. Anyways, my next door neighbours are expecting their first child and all the IJQ postings about "whipping up" baby quilts have inspired me. It will be a crib quilt with an uncomplicated design.
Or maybe we'll just buy our standard baby gift -- large box of diapers with a bow on top -- and stash the fabric...
I also bought some ribbon for my cq blocks and picked up an idea for crochet embellishments from something I saw. I have also found some lovely internet sites with embellishing designs which I shall shamelessly appropriate.
Sunday evening, we have an "extended" family Chanuka get-together at Shloimeh and Zena's. Brochy and Vernon and family are in town. However, from my family, Menachem will be away, Bat and Sandy are in Cornwall, Penina and family are off either in St. Martin or skiing, Yunkie and family have a prior commitment, so it's just Mom, Devora and Noam. Alissa and Mel should be there with Ethel. Maybe Sari and David, Joanna and Matty. So Noam will be the only child. Kind of a sad Chanuka gathering with only one child and not ours and no soufganiyot but that's life. Menachem made a small batch last night but probably won't make any more this year. Unless we do something when he returns from winter camp, but I doubt it.
Unless there are kids, there's not too much point. Everyone else is counting calories and cholesterol...

Cutting all done

As soon as I came home from work yesterday, I went straight to my studio and finished cutting the templates. They are now neatly piled beside the sewing machine and waiting patiently for the weekend when I can sew uninterrupted.

Last night I went to a meeting of the Pomegranate Guild. Arlette and Melanie showed some of the felted materials and vessels they had made and then demonstrated how to felt. I thought that I had ruined a sweater once. Turns out I just felted it.

Almost as soon as they started "carding", I started itching and turned red. I can't wear wool because it irritates my skin but this was worse. Funny, when we raised sheep their wool didn't bother me...

I doubt if I will ever do felting, but it got me thinking about all the techniques I have learned and how my exposure to other types of needle arts through the guild have influenced my own work and creative process. So even when the temperatures are below zero, the snow is blowing and I'd much rather crawl into bed with a good book and a cup of cocoa, I usually make the effort to go to guild meetings. Except next month's meeting when the topic will be knitting, a skill I do not have nor do I intend to acquire. But I do crochet and there may be yarn for my stash. Hmmm....

Industrializing -- part two

So, I tried assembly lining the cq's. It went surprisingly well, even though there were a few glitches. The spray glue sprays farther than expected but I had moved stuff out of the way so nothing got sticky, the spray glue was old so a little globby. It took me about an hour to get everything set up: gluing template squares to freezer paper, cutting template pieces, and laying them out by block. I have a rotary cutter which I use for paper only so my concerns about ruining my good rotary cutter were not relevant. I let everything dry overnight. This morning, between 5:30 a.m. (insomnia) and 7:00 a.m., I got all but 5 of the 16 cq fabric squares cut. I will do the remainder this evening or tomorrow morning.
Actually, the part that takes the most time is deciding on which fabric to place where. Because I am using specific fabrics, I can't quite put them down randomly and have to alternate so as not to have identical squares. I suppose if I really wanted to assembly line a project, I would use something like the "Stack a Deck" method. Maybe I'll give it a try once I finish this one.
Anyways, it goes well! I should be able to sew them up on the weekend and start embellishing.
Yay!!
Chaya

How to industrialize cq square making

I am inherently lazy so I am always looking for ways to make things easier and do things quicker. It doesn't always work but often I get lucky.
I am using four different template designs to make 24 cq squares.
This is how the process has evolved so far:
Template #1 -- I enlarged one of the templates to the size I wanted, then traced it onto freezer paper, cut the the freezer paper pieces, ironed them onto the materials, trimmed the pieces to size and sewed the finished naked square.
Repeat process on templates 2,3 and 4.
OK. That's four squares.
How can I streamline the process? Why not do the preparation process at the same time for each template (i.e. piece and cut all four) and then sew all four at the same time? Big time saver.
OK. Now I have eight squares.
What would have if I photocopied extra copies of each template, spray glued them to the freezer paper, and finished the prep for the remaining 16 squares at once and then sewed the 16 squares at once?
I don't know but I'll let you know how it turns out.

How to be a Perfect Stranger

Our neighbour across the street has been battling cancer for the past year and is apparently losing her battle. Her husband told us Saturday that they have stopped treatments and that she is now at a palliative care facility.
These neighbours have lived across the street from us for several years -- I don't know how many -- and we have exchanged pleasantries over the years. The awful thing is, I don't even know their names. I'm sure they told us but we've always just politely asked how ia your husband/wife, how are the children, using generic family member wording.
So I did a reverse 411.ca lookup and found a name. Is it his name or hers? They have talked about "back home" but have never mentioned exactly where "back home" is, although I could venture a guess. I don't know their ethnic or religious background. And in politically correct Canada, that is a question that one does just not ask.
I am expecting a funeral in the near future. So even if I had "How To Be a Perfect Stranger", a book which explains proper etiquette for various cultures' and religions' lifecycle events (births, weddings, funerals), I don't know which group they belong to. When the time comes, I can only hope that my actions will not offend and not add to the family's sorrow.

Sari and David's chuppah.

The photos got put in in the incorrect order, but the tree is the central panel. The tree itself is loosely based on designs by Baillie Scott (c,1896) and Godfrey Blount (c1898). It is felt applique on duppioni silk. The saying underneath the leaves is from the Song of Songs, as is that on the tree trunk -- I know, the lettering on the trunk is not terribly visible.

Here are also my first four "naked" crazy-quilt squares. I envy those who can do CQ freehand -- I am using four different templates. The fabrics are "family" fabrics. The colours don't come out terribly true but there are pieces of my aunt Elsie's, the bride's grandmother, dress (purple and gold and purple lace), a dress (fuschia) of Alissa's, the bride's mother, my sister Bat-Sheva's wedding gown (white with lace trim), my sister Devora's wedding gown (white duppioni silk -- btw, she made her own wedding gown!), two bridesmaid dresses (pink) from my sister, Penina, my cousin Ruthie's wedding gown (white with embroidered silver rimmed flowers) and pieces of my wedding dress (white lacy type fabric).

I intend to "frame" the central panel with the CQ squares, still not sure how yet, and then mount the whole thing onto organza. I also have to figure out how to use the other aunts' gloves but I'm getting excited. Once the naked squres are done, the fun part starts -- decorating them with "family" buttons, beads, jewellery, etc. So any comments or suggestions will be appreciated and considered.

We're going to Mintzy and Rafi's for lunch -- last week they had our leftovers, this week we're having theirs... So I'll sign off now and maybe get one or two squares done before we go.

Chaya

Ouch. Double Ouch.

Today was not the best day for me. It started out with periodontal surgery. Not painful during or even after, except for the pain in my pocket...
I didn't go into work after the surgery because I expected the pain to hit in the afternoon - surprisingly, other than being exhausted (one of my neighbours was hammering away at 3 a.m. so I didn't sleep that well.
I decided to make a naked crazy quilt square a day. I made one yesterday which turned out great. I made one this afternoon which was a total dud -- too small, doesn't lie flat. I've put it away to use for scraps for other projects.
Tomorrow is another day. I hope tomorrow's square will be more successful.
Big snowstorm forecast for tomorrow. Ah, the joys of winter in Canada.

First Chuppah

Finally got the photo posted! But without commentary, so here goes:
This was my first major project. I wanted to make a chuppah for my children that would encompass both personal elements and Judaic themes.
I am jealous of those who see the finished product in their head before they start working. My creative process such: I have an idea and start and see where it takes me.
I had decided on the format of squares and rectangles, mostly because I was afraid that if I did one large fabric canvas, I couldn't manage it and I wouldn't finish it. By "dividing and conquering" into smaller units, I would have the satisfaction of completing them, and then assemble them into the larger unit.
I knew I wanted to use my wedding "gown" --I got married in the late 60's on kibbutz so there wasn't a lot of fabric. It was a mini dress made from material purchased from a remnant bin in a Ramat Gan store... (Background fabric for chamsa). I also wanted to use something of my mother's. My mother, Charna, got married in Toronto in a backyard wedding. Her wedding attire was a pale blue suit, because to buy a white dress for one use was impractical and the suit she could wear more than once. But she had totally impractical lace fingerless gloves. They are the chuppah in the central panel. Some of you may recognize the central panel as being a well-known work by Obican. My Uncle Chaim had purchased a framed copy of a calendar page of it for $2 at the local Pioneer Women's or Hadassah bazaar. I loved the images in the picture -- the chuppah and the klezmerim so I used it. The bride is wearing pearls from a bracelet my sister Penina gave me as a bridesmaid's gift at her wedding. The bride's shoes and the groom's shoes are made from my Aunty Nechama's glove collection. The klezmerim are done in my "specialty" -- embellished felt applique. Above them is sheet music of a klezmer tune printed onto silk. My late father, Abe Galper, was a well-known clarinetist and published a collection of klezmer tunes, including several wedding tunes. The one I used is "Far der chuppah". The candlesticks, although a universal Judaic theme, also have a family twist. They are a replicate of my candlesticks which were my great grandmother's. Also a story. My mother had them gathering dust in her basement. I asked for them, took them home, shined them up and used them proudly. My mother's entire family came to Canada in the early twenties so this was a real heirloom -- or so I thought. Turns out my mother bought them for a few bucks at Woolworth's as a mother's day present for her bobbeh...The background fabric for the "ani ledodi" is from my cousin Ruthie's wedding dress. The "kol simcha etc." panels have actual bells so the chuppah makes music when it's in use. The top left hand corner is my homage to Moshav Sadot where my children were born. It is white crazy quilt with green trim (Sadot was actually "sadot yerukim" -- green fields). the tassels hang down when the chuppah is in use. As do the zodiac signs embossed on velvet (not terribly successfully) in the lower right hand corner.
A few other symbols, wedding rings, pomegranates, love birds, etc. round it out.
My subsequent work is perhaps technically more polished, but this one got me more involved in needlework in general and Judaic needlework in particular, so it will always be special to me.
And if my children eventually use it, I will be ecstatic.

DF

 
 

Stash-itis

I have heard about other people's stashes. I have seen some pretty impressive stashes. And until now, I have resisted creating my own. Today, however, I went to the Quiltmaker's (LQS) going out of business sale. Prices were drastically reduced: $6 CDN/meter (more than a yard) or $5/meter if you finished off a bolt. I bought about 10 meters of fabric. I know, I know -- big deal 10 meters. But for me, it's a big deal! I don't have anything planned for it so it was just buying fabric for fabric's sake.
I am still quite conservative in my colour tastes so almost everything I bought was burgundy purplish small prints or designs. I also bought some thick pink thread for the crazy-quilt chuppah I'm making. And some variegated gold-brown thread for quilting my "red onion" quilt (which is actually black, gold, brown, reddish brown). And some black and white fabric for my "housecoat" baby carriage quilts.
The sale is on until Tuesday at those prices and then Wednesday, the sale's final day, is "make me an offer" day. I may just go back and see if there's anything left to buy at ridiculous prices. If I can buy really cheap, I may go a little wild in my colour choices buying stuff I would never buy otherwise.
You only live once.
We also stopped by at my mom's to visit and I raided her button supply and relieved her of all and any mother of pearl buttons.
I really must bite the bullet and make the first cuts for the cq chuppah. I am always so reluctant before I make my first cut. After that, I usually get going and work non-stop til I'm done.
And I want to use the weekend and December holiday days off to make serious progress in all three planned projects.
I guess I lied yesterday when I said I would post pictures. But soon, I promise!

Encouraging words

The weekend is once again upon us and once again, busy.

I got up early to clean the house a bit before we hosted the Hashomer Hatzair board of directors meeting. Menachem cooked a big pot of vegetable barley soup, a big pot of majadra, a big platter of raw vegetables and dip, and also his famous hazelnut cake. The meeting was called for 11 a.m.

Dee, my quilting guru (and also board chairperson, came early to help me with my quilting. It is my first quilt and Dee has been there with me every step of the way with encouraging words. The top turned out great which I view more as a fluke than talent. And because it turned out so well, I am hesitant to ruin it by quilting it myself. Dee said "pshaw", showed me how to sandwich it, gave me a few tips about machine quilting it and now I just have to buy variegated thread, jump right in and do it!
I also showed her the fabrics I have collected for the three baby carriage quilts I plan to make -- one for each of my children. Nuff said on that subject. I also showed her the fabrics and stuff I've assembled for the crazy quilt chuppah. Hopefully tomorrow I will stop showing and start sewing...

But I also hope tomorrow to get down to a LQS, Quiltmakers, for their final going out of business sale. I will try to keep myself from going crazy buying stash stuff, but I'm not promising anything. We'll see how much self-control I have.

And hopefully tomorrow I'll finally get some photos up.
The board meeting was very productive and enjoyable. Everyone raved about the food but as usual, we made too much and are left with a ton of leftovers so I invited Mintzy and Rafi to come for dinner.

And that's all for now.

Canadian winters

My attempts to photgraph my work have been hampered by winter. Although I have a cathedral window in my living room, but when I leave for work at 8:30 a.m., it's still not bright enough for photography. And by 4:30 - 5:00 p.m. when I return, it's already too dark. Coupled with a windowless cubicle at work, I see very little sunlight during the day and by evening am just feeling too blah to do much of anything. I can hack the cold weather and even the chilling winds. It's the lack of sunlight which does me in.

Yesterday I left work early (2:30 p.m.). Menachem picked me up and dropped me off to pay a shiva visit at a friend from the Pomegranate Guild who's mother had died. Ruth was introducing me to her friends as "an amazing artist" and I was very flattered. I do nice work but don't consider myself anything near an artist. Ruth had some beautiful artwork in her place and I was itching to come home and do something "artistic".

Especially since Menachem had gone to pick up my sewing machine from servicing while I was visiting. I read somewhere on the internet that I should have my sewing machine serviced annually because if it was my car, I'd take it for regular servicing. And I have had the same machine for 16 years without servicing it. Again, by the time we got home, I just put it in my sewing room and left it at that.

Maybe today, ha ha.

Busy weekend

We've had a fairly busy weekend so far.
It started Friday night with dinner at Itai and Inbal's. Inbal is an excellent cook and the meal was delish. Saul and Miriam were also there until Saul left for a hockey game. In our after dinner conversation, I mentioned quilting and it turns out that Miriam quilts (quilted) and we're going to get together to quilt/needlework together. We were there until after 11 p.m. and anyone who knows me knows that that's about three hours later than I usually go to sleep...And then when we got home I couldn't fall asleep and can never sleep in, so I was working on only a few hours of sleep.
Last week, Menachem (the Mr.) fixed the parquet flooring in the living room. It had lifted due to water damage from overwatering the plants. (We have a cathedral ceiling in the south facing living room so there are ideal light conditions for growing plants. It is a veritable jungle.) Fixing the flooring involved removing the tiles which had lifted, replacing them, sanding and varnishing. The sanding covered everything -- curtains, furniture, plants, floors, pictures, etc. -- with a thin coat of dust.
Yesterday, we started tackling dust removal.
This meant taking down the curtains and washing them. Not easy because Menachem had to get up on the extension ladder on each side of the window several times and with his knee problems, it was both painful and difficult. We also had to move all of the plants to the kitchen so we could manoeuver. We started at about 10 a.m. and haven't finished yet because we also had a few errands to run.
I took my sewing machine in to get it serviced. I've had it for about 16 years and it has served me well. I'm trying to learn machine quilting (stippling, meandering) and can't get my stitch tension right. I'm not sure if it's me or the machine so I took it in.
The machine repair person has a place in mid-town Toronto and we're up in Thornhill (about a 30 minute drive). Why shlepp so far, you ask? Because he's really good and knowledgeable. We bought a serger from him a few years ago. Not that it was the smartest purchase because threading it is complicated and I don't really do that much serging. He showed me a quilting model machine but I resisted. I'm on my first quilt. I don't think I need a machine will all the bells and whistles just yet.
After we dropped of the machine -- it should be ready mid-week -- we popped in at my mother's for a short visit. She doesn't sleep well at night so she was a bit groggy from napping during the day. Devora has ordered internet for her which she should get this week. It will be interesting to see whether she uses it...
We had a call from Alissa (my first cousin who is mother of Sari, the bride for whom the crazy quilt chuppah is being made). Her son is buying a computer and wanted advice from Menachem who is a maven. At the same time, we made a dinner date for last night. We came home and continued hanging the curtains. It took a long time because again, up and down the ladder, and since they're loosely draped over the curtain rod, getting the folds to hang properly.
We went out with Alissa and Mel to Anton's, an Israeli-Russian restaurant at Bathurst and Steeles. We ordered a large combination salad plate -- three types of eggplants, beets, carrots, mushrooms -- and Menachem and Alissa and Mel had lamb shishlik. The salads were enough for me because we hadn't eaten lunch until 3 p.m. and I wasn't all that hungry. After dinner, we went back to their place for coffee and conversation. And then tiredness from Friday's outing kicked in. But I did have a good night's sleep last night and will tackle the rest of the living room/dining room/kitchen today. And maybe start cutting the fabrics for Sari's chuppah.
I also hope to get some photos posted so keep posted!