Side Effects of Marriage (and quilting)

We had a fight!!!

Scraps

He got angry ( I am sure I provoked the saint of a man.)
And said things that were hurtful.  ( I am sure I deserved it.)
And then he stormed out of the house. (What else could he do?)

Where is the broom?

Needless to say, I went to my sewing machine while tears streamed down my cheeks and sobs convulsed my body.

What a mess!

What shall I work on, I tried to think.

Design Wall to the Rescue

There are bags and baskets to make.  About three dozen of them are still unfinished.

Basketful of Pouches

I could quilt any one of the four quilt tops.  I believe they look at me with such neediness as the cat begging for a sliver of turkey lunchmeat.

Completed KISS flimsy (from Craftsy Blog Hop)

There are at least five new quilts that have to be made for specific recipients - my brother, my friend in India, my high school friend also in India, one of my teachers in India, one of my sister's friends, and her sister-in-law.

Blue Strips for a Future Quilt

No. No. No.
Look at yourself.  You are more pathetic than a pile of ugly scraps.
Sobbing and Crying - you will just ruin fabric and thread.

Some order from chaos

So, I did the only sane thing I could do.  I opened my bag of scraps and went to town.
Who cares if I ruin them, I thought, still sobbing.

I am liking this!!!

Being married, fighting with your spouse is inevitable, in my opinion.
As a quilter, it is inevitable that you will have scraps.

Three Columns of Blocks

So when one side effect threatened to ruin my day, I turned to another.

Finished Flimsy

So will I cook for Paul?
Sure, if he asks nicely, I will.  He still has not.
Guess that means I have more time to myself :-D

So bright and cheerful

Now, that is a good side effect (time for quilting) of a bad side effect (fighting).
Trust me to always see the bright side of things.
And speaking of bright side, this flimsy is not too shabby either.

Scraptastic

What do you think?  I am going got call this one Side Effects :-D

Now, that adds another flimsy to my to-be quilted list.  Shall I add this to my one monthly goal?
Why not?

Not sure it will get done.
Because, now that Paul and I have made up, I am feeling sane enough to dive into a new project.

Here is a sneak peek at the auditioned fabrics.

For Angel's quilt

I will be linking with Scraptastic Tuesday and One Monthly Goal, along with all my other favorite linky parties.

And please, please share your thoughts about fighting, coping and making-up too!!!

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Oh, I almost forgot to tell you that Craftsy is having a 50% off sale on their top classes.

And while I was browsing, I could not but notice that this very yummy Free Spirit by Tula Pink fabric was a whopping 40% off.  No, that is not sale. That is a steal!!!

Free Spirit by Tula Pink

This blogpost contains affiliate links.

Unnamed but Not Unloved

I made a quilt with no name...

Yes, it is unlike me.

The focus fabric - pink and brown floral - was in random pieces, left abandoned at the free table on the guild meeting.
I knew it had potential.

I picked them up and brought them home.

Trying to make the best of the random pieces, I cut them into 6.5" squares.  Some squares had to be pieced.

Found some pinks, yellows and browns to match.

Decided on  large Disappearing Nine Patch.

Felt unsure about the green border but admonished myself - Do not overthink. Finish it.

But I did not have to think too hard about the backing.  This lovely pink fabric just jumped out at me.

Quilted simply with a decorative stitch, using my walking foot, this was a quick and a gratifying finish.

This will go to charity.  I won't put my formal label on it.  I will put a simple handmade label.

I hope that the recipient will choose a name.

At this time, I am busy working on a quilt for my Mom.  Cannot share it with you. Not yet.

But I can share with you this fabulous sale from Craftsy.

Craftsy is continuing its birthday festivities with 50% off member-favorite classes. Grab a class before the deal expires on Saturday!

There are over one hundred classes on sale right now.  It is difficult to pick one.

Here are my recommendations

Debbie Caffrey's class is a must for all quilters.  Learn her efficient techniques for using a rotary cutter and streamlining your cutting process.  And it is half off right now!!!

There are two reasons that I recommend this class.

1. Jacquie is an excellent teacher.  2. There are very few good classes that teach you Modern Quilting. That it is one sale is just an added benefit.

Elizabeth Hartmann is a an accomplished quilter and designer.  I like her because she is very methodical.  Her techniques are precise. That is very valuable to me because it simplifies Modern Quilt Making.  

If you are unsure of this class, I HIGHLY recommend you try her free class - Creative Quilt Backs.

What is your favorite class on Craftsy? And why?  As usual, your comments brighten my day.

I will be linking with all my favorite linky parties.

This blogpost contains affiliate links.

How to become an Honorary Indian + A Dozen Finishes

Usually, I plan my blogposts.
Normally, I write about one project at a time - the entire process, from start to finish.
I believe that keeps the entire project in one place.  Easy to locate, without having to go through several posts.

Card from Sandra

But there is nothing NORMAL (or usual) about this post. It is not planned. It discusses something that is not even my work.  Therefore, I have divided this post into two parts - GUSHES and FINISHES.

Let me GUSH first.  I have to write this post to get it out of my system.

Fabric FQs from Sandra

A few weeks ago I (along with a few other quilters) participated in a Blog Hop. Several emails were exchanged about the schedule, the order of things, the correct links and so on.  At the end of the blog hop, Sandra (Musings of a Menopausal Melon) and Julie (Pink Doxies) sent to all the participants a small carefully put together fabric goodies bag - hand dyed fabric, 5" squares and a few other things.

Knowing her love for all things Indian, I sent to Sandra a bar of sandalwood soap, four spools of variegated thread and a mug rug made from left over and discarded strips from the Sun City.
It filled a small greeting card box.

My Thank you to Sandra (Picture from her blog)

My Thank you to Julie (Picture from her Instagram)

They organized.
I participated.
They sent the goodies.
I thanked them for the goodies.
Normally, you'd think that the process is over.

But then Sandra did this. EXTRAORDINARY!!!

OM Mini Mini

Love the colors, the star, the OM in the quilting, the bright pop of green and the off-center placement creates so much interest.  It is an art quilt. In a miniature form!!!

You can read about the creative process of making this mini mini quilt on Sandra's blog, including how she agonized over 1/16".

Bright Orange Star, with OM quilting

So much precision in a tiny piece

 ॐ 

That is OM written in Hindi/Sanskrit.  And Sandra not only knows this, she replicated it beautifully WITH Quilting. I cannot stop gushing!!!

Radiating Quilting Lines

for me!!!

Metallic Thread - It shines and shimmers

The dark binding brings everything together

I love this mini mini for so many reasons!!!
1. Just last week, I was gushing about the color orange.  I love orange.
2. Blue is the opposite color on the color wheel - maximum contrast. I love contrast. I hated it when there was not enough contrast in American Hustle.
3. The OM in the quilting - Left me speechless.
4. The off-center placement - So much interest.

OM Mini, Card and the Stripes FQs - So much Love in one envelope!!!

When something is very pithy, we Indians have a saying for it - "Like an ocean in the pitcher."
That is what Sandra did in making this mini. She captured the universe in a small circle of fabric!!!

This is so me and I did not even know it till I got it. We have not met. Yet, she knows EXACTLY what I want???

You, Sandra, just became an honorary Indian!!!


Speaking of honorary Indian, let me share with you a short story about how Paul, my very American husband, became an honorary Indian.

With Paul (in his Indian outfit) at the temple near Toronto, 2010

I keep in our house, at the main altar, a coconut. (A coconut placed over a copper pot with water absorbs negative energies). When the water in the coconut dries (I check it every other week), it should be discarded (in a river/ocean) and replaced with a new coconut with water.

This incident dates back to January 2012.  Paul's car had died the previous week. We needed a new car.  I knew that the credit check, test drive, bank loan, insurance, registration etc. would take most of the day.  So I took the day off to buy the car and take care of the paperwork etc.

It was almost 10:00 in the morning.  Paul was slowly tying his shoelaces as I was impatiently fidgeting at the door, with the keys and all the papers etc. I remembered that the coconut had to be discarded too.

Impatient Me: Let's go to the dealership first.  It is going to take all day.  Please hurry up.  And we can discard the coconut on our way back.

Calm, Cool & Collected Paul: Should we not get rid of the negativity before bringing a new object into the house?

He was right!!! And I was stunned.
With that one statement, he had made it absolutely clear to me, that he got it.
He understood the whole concept of auspiciousness.

Normally, I would argue and try to prove my point. This time, I did not have a leg to stand on.  Because an American man had just taught his very Indian wife the Indian way to do things.

And that is EXTRAORDINARY and ABNORMAL!!!

Well, normal is boring. So here I am - Saluting the very extraordinary and honorary Indians in my life.

Congratulations, Sandra! To say that I love my OM mini is an understatement.
There is only one problem - how shall I use it?

I considered putting it on the altar under the copper pot with coconut. Although that would be perfectly appropriate, it would cover the beauty. And I have the NEED to see it everyday.

I decided to place it just over the smaller altar in my office, where I can look at it every morning when I meditate.
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Now that I am done GUSHING, I am ready to talk about FINISHES!!!

Do I have a finish? How about a dozen plus finishes?

Zippered Pouches

Yes, I have been making zippered pouches between quilts. Small flat ones in the picture above, and larger with boxy bottoms in the pictures below.

This pattern for the bags below came from Connecting Threads.

Jeanie's Bags

Jeanie requested three bags - one for each of her two daughters and one for herself. I was only too happy to make them!!!

Yellow, Red & Orange = Brightness

Bright Green Lining

Spacious & Pretty

The following zippered pouches are about 6" by 10" and even though they seem flat and small are large enough to fit my iPad mini.

Whales that smile

Blue Dots Lining

Princess & the Castle

 This is the fabric left over from  "Fit for a Princess" quilt. Perfect use.

Red Chevron Lining

 And all the fabrics that are just blah, can find purpose in the bag linings.

Monsters, with light purple lining

 Not all zippered pouches were made for kids. My grandma may like this one with roses!!!

Granny's Choice

More Roses

Orange Lining

If you make these small pouches, I suggest that you make two at a time. If one takes 45 minutes, adding a second on will only take an extra 15 minutes.  I make the quilt sandwich for two bags together and then cut in half.

And two more larger ones (Connecting Threads pattern) in pretty fall colors.  The bright orange-green-yellow-black fabric is left over from the border of the Curry Favor quilt.

Fabric left over from Curry Favor

Two must be better than one

One green and one yellow zipper

And they are large enough to fit six small zippered pouches each!!!

We are so stuffed :-)

Figured I could make a few for the Boutique at the Quilt Show.  Some of them will get to the boutique but I am sure others will be claimed by friends and family.
That is fine. I can always make more :-)

OK, I was saving the best ones for the last.  This Kaffe fabric was in a pathetic state, abandoned at the free table at our Guild meeting.

BEFORE

I picked up the long, oddly cut strips and almost nursed it back to health. Ironed with starch, cut it into usable sections, made panels using the dark blue solid and then used SF101 interfacing to give it some body before it could be fashioned into these two pouches.

AFTER

Look at the BEFORE and AFTER pictures. I wish the person who abandoned this fabric could see the potential in it.
I am afraid that I like these two so much that I won't be able to part with them.

My favorite zippered pouches!!!

Which one is your favorite? I'd love to hear from you.
Linking up with Fort Worth Fabrics, Crazy Mom Quilts, Monday Making, Design Wall Monday, Blossom Heart Quilts, Sew Fresh Quilts, Needle and Thread Thursday, and Oh Scrap! among others. See the full Linky Party list on the sidebar.