When things go wrong, don't go with them - The Debt Ceiling Quilt part 2

I first wrote about this quilt on August 2, 2011. I had been working on it and watching the debt ceiling controversy unfold on TV (hence the quilt name).  I went back to this quilt after I got lost about how to put it together, put it up on my design wall and figured out how to make it into something.  Surprise, an original design was the result.

My quilting buddies loved it when we got together. So, I spent the next two weeks quilting it.  When Grace saw it draped over a chair in my sewing room she matter-of-factly informed me that it was her quilt and asked if I were going to put a princess on it! So, now, it is most certainly her Christmas gift.  The jury is still out on the princess. Maybe I can work one into the label :-)

The moral to this quilt project came from a fortune cookie munched earlier this month: "When things go wrong, don't go with them."  It worked for this quilt and works well in life generally.

When things go wrong....The Debt Crisis Quilt part 1

This quilt-in-progress is the unveiled "mystery" quilt from the workshop with Janice Jamieson last Friday.  She put it up on the flannel wall to show us how to lay out the blocks.  This is a very interesting quilt to build.  We all took pictures, notes and asked questions.  Laying out blocks that are not square or rectangular was going to be a challenge.  I was ready. With this picture, the layout diagram that Janice provided and all of my blocks completed, I went home for a weekend of sewing and watching the debt crisis coverage on MSNBC and other networks.

At some point in the crisis, I lost my way laying out this quilt.  I sewed half of my blocks into rows on the diagonal at home on Friday night.  After the Republicans passed John Boehner's bill that night, I put the rows away for more work on Saturday. Rising early, I sewed the rows together with a plan to fill in the other half of the blocks to create the layout in the picture. Legislators were still haggling in Washington and analysts were still prognosticating on TV.  I learned that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid was working on a plan.  Later, I heard that Senate Minority Leader McConnell refused to meet with Reid and went directly to the President to negotiate a plan.  Mr. Reid prepared to introduce his bill in the Senate.  Meanwhile, the House voted down his bill before it even reached the House.  With all of this going on, I discovered too late that my plan for sewing the blocks into rows was flawed.  I went for a walk.

To be continued....

"Interlocked Squares" for Kathryn

I wanted to make a green quilt, not too traditional, for Bobby's friend Kathryn.  I think she is the love of his life. Green is her favorite color. So I am so pleased with this quilt from the pattern "Interlocked Squares" by Brenda Henning for Hoffman Bali Pops.

Using the "Green Tea" collection, I removed the yellows and substituted a few other batiks found at Aardvark in Morris Plains and a gentle Asian flower print from Fabric Inspirations in Englishtown.  My friends at the Cozy Quilt Shoppe in Maywood were the arbiters of the final border arrangement.  Their good advice is always appreciated.

 I quilted it in sections.  It was challenging and rewarding to make. At 69" by 78.5" it is a very big throw suitable for reading or napping on the couch.

Next, it goes into the wash on a gentle cycle with cold water and then into a gift box for Christmas.  I have enough fabric to make a big matching pillow.  Hmmmm, perhaps this afternoon....

Please Look after Mom by Kyung-Sook Shin

Please Look After Mom by Kyung-Sook Shin

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Motherhood, a complex topic, is beautifully framed in this best-selling novel from South Korea. I agree with the publisher's review that after reading it, you will never view your own mother in the same way as before. 

When Park So-nyo fails to follow her husband onto the train, her oldest son, husband and daughters lives are changed forever.  As they search for her, they search their own memories of her and wonder if she was happy, if they were good in her eyes, and if they will ever find her.  As the voices telling the story shift from one to another, the reader learns so much about love, family,the Korean culture and the universality of "family."

A great story very well told....



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The Whole Truth by David Baldacci

The Whole Truth by David Baldacci

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Not a new book by Baldacci, "The Whole Truth" has a great plot.  It is James Bondish, but longer and without the technology.  Also, the villains are more complex.  Money, here, is definitely the root of the evils Baldacci describes so well.

I finished the audio book in the car this afternoon road tripping with my sister to Cracker Barrel at exit 5 and then quilt shops in Burlington and Pennington.  Good company.



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