Marty's Fiber Musings

A 16-Patch ~

The temperature has cooled this week and has me energized. A 16-patch quilt has been on my to-do list and now I can strike that one off. It was a good time pulling from my left over fabric scraps to get 35 16-patches completed in just about no time. That's when it seemed a need to be a bit larger and since there was plenty of fabric, I made more blocks to get a 48" x 64" quilt top. Without any ado or over-thinking I lined up all the blocks on the design wall and stitched in rows.

The beauty is that there were a few blocks that perhaps the purest quiltmaker would have re-placed but I'm loving that green block against green block and the blocks without high contrast. While it was my goal to line up dark corner to light corner, that wasn't always accomplished as in 6th row, blocks 5 and 6. But who's complaining. Certainly not I. My heart is jumping with pure joy at this little 16-patch quilt top.

Marty

Haiku Poetry No. 12

Body, soul and heart

weave, entwine, interact, touch

the wind blowing grass.

Marty Mason

.....there's always a story ~

Yes, a story is always in the making and now it's time to share this one. Those of you who follow my slow down-sizing path know that I've been doing this for more than a year. THIS being selling books and patterns and quilts and quilt tops and more. I've tried selling locally and on FB, Instagram, Etsy and Ebay and with hard work and tenacity have had goodly success. There's still a lot to be done!

Anyway, I'm making this story longer than it perhaps should be. There's one book I've tried to sell several times without success....probably because of the high cost of postage and this being heavy with glossy pages and cover. I've even tried giving it away to our local library, but with the pandemic, they aren't taking books now for their annual fund-raising book sale. "Quilts From The Indiana Amish" is an 88 page picture book with a story and it is a delight to gaze upon the quilt collection dating 1875-1940.

....and the story continues. While doing some research for another hand quilting project, I pulled out the Indiana Amish book and lo and behold, look what I found. My eyes locked onto this quilt...."Railroad Crossing" pictured on the left. The more I looked, the more I liked and in a frenzy began pulling and sewing strings - forgetting about my original project which I'll come back to later.

Yes, the book "Quilts from the Indiana Amish" is still for sale as is the quilt top inspired from page 67. My quilt top was finished yesterday and it measures 55" x 90" - a generous twin size.

If the book doesn't sell, I won't worry. That just means I'll have a chance to be inspired by another quilt made somewhere in Amish country by a dedicated quilt maker. I'll also not despair it the quilt top doesn't sell. I'll just pick it up one day and get it quilted. Oh, yes, there's always a story and my stories are usually inspired by a quilt.

Have a happy ~

.....and the good news continues ~

Bucket hats and more:

There's no stopping me now...and then there were six! Bucket hats all made from thrift store linen and jersey and denim and more!

and other good news....the one I called "Meadows' sold today. The one made using a Kathy Doughty, Material Obsession, quilt pattern. I'm delighted that it's on the way to St. Petersburg, Florida.

Not bored.....no, not for a minute ~

I'm simply not the kind of person to be bored. When there's some free time, I'll grab a book or paper and paint or the camera. But more times than not, I'll just grab some fabric then find a pattern (or not) and start cutting and sewing.

The thrill of not knowing the outcome but forging ahead anyway doesn't give me the least bit of angst. What? It's only my time and a little bit of recycled fabric and thread. Okay, add sewing machine needle and oil! Anyway, I digress.

This little bucket hat jewel started yesterday and was very quickly finished this morning right after breakfast and just before lunch. That means it finished quite quickly thanks to a bit of tutoring by Crispina French who first turned me onto this free bucket hat pattern.

Pssst.....it's a free bucket hat pattern at Merchant & Mills. Sign in and the free pattern will be emailed right to your gadget to print and stitch up.

Filled w/Joy

Flowers are in full bloom~ even if not in my garden ~ I stopped in my photo albums just to get a glimpse and a sniff this morning.

and my buckets are filled to the brim ~

Happy Friday one and all:

Wait~

Still going drawer by drawer, shelf by shelf, closet by closet, room by room.

I stacked those zippers aside to pack up for my next haul to the thrift store. But wait!

Stopping to break for fresh air, and while happily zipping through my instagram favorites one of which is Bookhou, I discovered that I most definitely had a use for those zippers......all 14 of them.

My first one for the test drive and modifications if needed:

With just a few scraps and a few zippers: there you have it, little nothing pouches to donate to children in need. Whether they hold nothing or something very special, matching zipper to fabric then stitching them up, sure gave me a feel good feeling.

Five completed, 14 more lined up and soon to be on the move.

Don't wait on me ~

Delighted: Thank You ~

I'm delighted to tell you that some of them are selling! I'm a prolific quilt maker and have absolutely, overwhelmingly, without a doubt, in tears and screaming out loud run out of space to store them. Yes, it hurts to be able to never see one again, but what's hurting more right now is that until some are out of the house, there can be no more.

This one sold quickly ~ The one called "Improv Triangles" was so fun to make so I do hope it gives the recipient as much pleasure as it did me.

It's hard work at best to get pictures, measure, describe, price then find a place to market finished quilts. Once a buyer is found, the paperwork has to be done, then transfer of money, then wholly Toledo, the packing and shipping. I'm exhausted but must persevere.

I donated 13 quilts to CASA for children who may be hurting and sold 4 this week. Now, doesn't that deserve a pat on my back?

But I can't stop now and have several more that I would love to see gone this week. Here's one - patchwork blocks surrounded by calming neutrals in white, cream, gray ~

and another patchwork with dominant indigo.

Moving on, moving forward....moving quilts. Find me and more at Marty Mason Facebook.

Improv Houses ~

Houses - improv - what a hoot? I've been in the Freddy Moran quilters' fan club for many a year and seem never to tire of her spontaneity. What fascinates me most is her unlikely fabric selection for each of her house quilts, yet each house lives beautifully in its neighborhood.

So, having a bit of time and a lot of scraps, I set about emulating a neighborhood in an improvisational style. House by house and tree by tree, until construction was complete. It's perfectly sized at 50" x 60" or so.

Houses surrounded by trees.....how refreshing is that?

Boro Inspired ~

What fun! Started in February, 2021, in the virtual QuiltCon workshop presented by Blair Stocker of Wise Craft Handmade - Boro Inspired! A patchwork quilt with lots of hand stitching.

Derived from the Japanese boroboro, meaning something tattered or repaired, boro refers to the practice of reworking and repairing textiles (often clothes or bedding) through piecing, patching and stitching, in order to extend their use.

I cut into a thrift shop linen blouse.....a slither of a t-shirt.....a feed sack....an aqua linen skirt plus one of my cut apart acid green floral silk skirts to add just the right patches stitched down, adorned and quilted using multiple stitches to maintain stability for continued use of this quilt.

This is a must-do-again way to design and finish a quilt: inspired by Japanese patchwork.

Haiku Poetry No. 11 ~

''A tear was shed and

the river ran on and on

At Granny Matlock's on Little Buffalo River, Arkansas

the way mother did"

Marty Mason

May your day be filled.....with tears of joy.

Haiku Poetry #10 ~

''A bird soaring high.

Temporary, a life is

light as a feather."

Marty Mason

There's a feather at the end of my upward soaring arrow surrounded by stars

See Haiku Poetry 1-9 at Reflections Unfurling ~

Sage Advice ~

Many years ago the teenage daughter of a close friend had broken up with her 'boy' friend and was really down in the dumps because she felt dumped. Her mother's now darling, this and now darling that did nothing to uplift the spirits of the downtrodden daughter.

When the teen's father came home, he very quickly tired of the moaning and groaning and just said to his precious daughter, "Enough, Wendy - GET HAPPY." And she did!

raw-edges

I think of this story told to me oh so many years ago and must admit that I've told myself to GET HAPPY on many occasions. How easy is it? To get happy, one must think happy and look happy and live happy. To get happy means I cannot dwell on the unhappy or the things outside my control. It means that I must be more accepting of the choices others make for their lives. It means I have a choice of either happiness or sadness regardless of your choice. I'm happier when I choose happiness and must admit that I'm not very empathetic to those who continue to choose other moods. I'll listen for a while, but then my mind keeps coming back to that dad's sage advice - "GET HAPPY."

It's a Sunday Morning in May ~

And a happy Sunday morning it is - a happy Mother's Day here in the U.S. While I've never had children, I am certainly enjoying the day.

To celebrate the day, I spoke with my sisters about their beautiful children and afterward reminisced about some of our mother's antics when she was here with us.

I made a doll quilt for community service...there's always a child out there who plays mother to her dearest baby doll.

From orphan blocks and fabric - a doll quilt - 18" x 20"

Lucky for me I had two orphan blocks given to me ages ago and also a half yard or so of handed down unwanted fabric with smiling lizards that made me smile. I first cut the blue and red block in half to spread the color, so to speak, then centered the stick girl for the perfectly sized quilt for a little one's doll.

Those smiling lizard eyes with oh, so much expression is enough to make for a Happy Mother's Day.

It's just how I flow ~

When I'm sad, I quilt and when I'm happy, I quilt. It's just how I flow.

A sad conversation with a friend about a friend left me listless last night so this morning I finished a little quilt top for a community service child in need. My mind just can't wrap around someone giving up on living. My hope is that this quilt will put a smile on a child's face and give them something to hold on to through a hard time. I allow this thought to make me happy ...as does this quilt top with pieced scraps and leftovers all set on point.

I don't know what's around the corner for me physically or mentally, but I will continue to push my limit for as long as possible......and continue to quilt in the meantime.

A view into my garden on a clear, cool morning - hosta and garden art.

.....and for the past two months

I've been busily enjoying myself, my husband, my home and garden.....but especially my time in the stillness of hand stitching.

Confession time: I have a problem. The problem is not necessarily a good one nor a bad one. It's just a problem I have of needing to finish what I start - whether a movie, a book or a quilt! I've learned through the years to walk out of theaters when the movie isn't giving me pleasure. I can even shut a book and return it to the library unfinished. Yet, I haven't been able to give in to having an unfinished quilt.

So, what started out in my mind to be a grueling task, turned into a joyous adventure. Two wool applique quilts finished in no time....an hour here, an hour there.

A quilt pattern....A Cottage Garden

Quilt pattern.....How Does Your Garden Grow

Add to that my newest wool applique table runner....a kit purchased years ago at a quilt show in Little Rock, Arkansas that was a bust for vendors. I stopped and chatted with one vendor who had not made a sale in her two days there. My heart went out to her and while I didn't embroider, I purchased the kit. Lucky me!

And still a work in progress that I had initially intended to finish with machine decorative stitch embroidery, but now might just do all the edging with hand stitches. Inspired by a painting I saw somewhere???