Tuesday, February 27, 2018

Day 3 at Empty Spools with Sue Benner 02-27-18

A little warmer today, or maybe it feels that way because the wind died down.  I have been taking the jitney at night because I fear falling down, although all the paths are now paved or bricked and there are some path lights.  The problem with the jitney is that it is all open - there is a windshield, but no doors or windows on the sides or back, so it is very cold.  Add the wind and it is very, VERY cold.  But it gets me to my room.  I just take it after dark, otherwise I walk, stop to rest, walk, hold on to the banisters if there are steps, rest, walk some more....   You get the idea.  

There are ten classes this session.  For some reason I don't know perennial favorite, Jan Krentz is not here.  Hope she isn't ill.  Tonight we heard presentations by Lenore Crawford, Sue Spargo, and Kathy Doughty.  They were all interesting and showed their quilts.  Some show & tell from attendees, mostly quilts started in previous Empty Spools sessions.  I stood up and thanked everyone who has visited the bird quilt exhibit at Back Porch and searched me out to say thank you.  I have been surprised at how many have done that.  Tomorrow evening there is no program so I hope more of the ladies will make the trip to town to have a look.  It is a wonderful showing.   I have found that one of the best things about collecting is sharing with others through exhibits, programs for guilds, and other groups.  And, by-the-way, I was told tonight that there is a quilt show by local quilters at the Natural History Museum which is right across the street from Back Porch Fabrics.  So, if you are in Pacific Grove or Monterey or anywhere close by, add a stop on Central Ave to visit both exhibits.  

Today in class we put together the blocks we made yesterday.  Although we made five, we only need four for any of several arrangements, but having five to move around and turn and rearrange has been a good lesson in what works and what doesn't.  Below are my blocks and the two arrangements I came  up with.  I'm not crazy about the color selection, but that is probably because I don't care for pink.  Some of the other prints have pink in them, but the pink with the lighter bubbles is just too strong for my taste.  I remind myself again that this is an exercise to help us learn what works and what just doesn't.  The most important lesson is to cut more accurately and to keep thing centered. 




 This sort of cog like ring doesn't work and I don't think it would even if I had cut it evenly.   And that is why it became my left-behind block.  Sue is going to have us do something with these "orphan" blocks later in the week.  

  I think the purple spiny creature would work better if it was round instead of oval, which is one reason why I cut it in half.  

Here are the five blocks laid out together for a picture.  

This is the arrangement I went with.  But I changed the corner triangles on the central block to the purple w/green polka dot fabric.   Watch for it later in the week. 

This arrangement seemed more awkward to me.  

We have made our fabric selections for the nine block project and are cutting our squares.  We are also sketching flowers for better ideas about cutting the rings.  More thinking and cutting tomorrow. 
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2 comments:

Dolores said...

You are too hard on yourself, Del. Your blocks are lovely and I like them!!

Loretta said...

This is a fun, fun project...I started my project at our PALS gathering. Our instructor forgot about the two (2) squares to start with, so we only had one, which doesn't work for the project. Since your instructions of yesterday, we/I now know it's two blocks and I/we can now finish our fun project. I know you are enjoying your time. P.S. The jitney at night is the perfect vehicle to get back to your room safely. You and I first met when I took a very bad tumble many years ago when leaving Ruth's class after dark. In fact, I had to go home to visit the doc to make sure all my parts were still present! Safety is our No. 1 priority!