Racing Lane

Thanks, Kate for the name of the Jelly Roll Race pattern.  That certainly simplified the process.  It was much more organized than I originally suspected.  But, I had a couple of hidden agenda items that meant I couldn't follow it exactly. 

My top priority was to move out some scraps, starting with a drawer full of 1.5" strings. 

This is my 1.5" string bin.  After I made the quilt.  So, you can see I failed miserably and imagine how jam packed it was with strings.  And, this isn't all the leftovers.  There are plenty that got tossed into a pile because they needed further trimming.  I guess at some point, I started tossing in everything that was less than 2" without trimming it down to1.5.  Eh, honestly, I'm not sure I'll ever sew up all my saved scraps, so a little laziness is okay.

Using what I learned from the pattern, and knowing I wanted a finished size of 48x72, and knowing my strips were going to finish at 1" wide, I needed 3,456" of 1.5" strips.  So, I started sewing strips and I sewed strips and I sewed strips.  3456" is 98 yards and I know the distance from the tip of my nose to the end of my extended fingers is about a yard, so that was as exact as my measurements got.  I decided I didn't want to mix lights and darks, but rather to make light strips and dark strips.  And, I wanted the light ones evenly spaced, every other row at first, but as I saw burned through light strips quickly, I started to hope for every 4 or 5 rows.  I pieced all the light strips out of the bin and measured and got about 33 yards.  I only had to cut one piece off yardage to add to the end to make it that long.  Later, as I dug, I found enough light strips I could have actually gotten the extra length out of the drawer, but you never know the end until you get past the beginning, right? 

Anyway, then I pieced two dark strips of about 33 yards long.  And, I sewed all those together into one triple strip set.  It was obvious as I pieced strings into strips that not all strings were created equal, and I needed some way to handle that, so I made sure one edge was straight and lined up and let the other edge do whatever it needed to.  Then, I matched the good edges and instead of measuring my seam allowance from the right, I measured it as the finished width of the strips, 1.25" including the second seam allowance.  I taped a ruler to my machine 1.25" to the left of the needle and used that as a fence to sew strips together.  This worked for sewing two rows together, but to add the third row, I did have to trim the wonky edge.  It is what it is.  And, I'm pretty sure it was easier to do as one long strip than it would have been to trim each scrap individually. 

I couldn't just fold it in half and maintain the pattern of a light strip every third row, so I'd fold it in half and cut it, then take match the ends up so the pattern would be right and sew that long seam.  And, I did that until I had 48 rows sewn together.  I did not end up with 72x48.  I ended with 74x46.5  That's absolutely close enough for me!

This morning, I pin basted it.

And, because I couldn't help myself, I delayed scrubbing the kitchen to start quilting it. 

In the ditch.  Down every line. 

The highest praise I can give a quilt is when I want to keep it.  And, this is one I want to keep.  So, it's going to make a great Linus quilt. 

Would I make it again?  NO!  But, I will definitely make one from wider strips.  I might even make one that's made of strips of different widths, like 1", 2" and 3" finished.  But, working with 48 1" wide strips was just tooooooooooooo fiddly.  Good thing was that I burned through a whole lot of stress from last week, just patiently working things out...and succeeding.  That was the most satisfying part; following a simple plan, executing it well, and having it work out right.  Last week at work, I did the first two several times.  But, that third thing in the list was very elusive. 

Oddly, the more I've worked on this, the more inspired I've been to work on the star quilt.  I knew it would be that way.

Lane

A weird quilting mood

I finished the 5th Westering Women block from Barbara Brackman.  It's named Platte River and is in the lower right corner. 

Having a little trouble feeling this one.  I just can't seem to hit my stride choosing fabrics.  And, the more I do, the less excited I am.  It doesn't seem worth starting over.  And, I'm too far in to stop. 

This isn't the only quilt I'm feeling this way about.  I finally ordered the thread to finish the star quilt.  I don't have any ideas what I'm quilting, but the thread will be here any day.  I can't get my "sea legs" under me on that one.  I want to work on the Double Wedding Ring, but it's such a busy time that I just can't seem to get excited about that one either.  We still haven't ordered the batting.  Actually, I do get excited about it, but it's usually at a time I should be doing something else, and it happens in spits and spurts. 

I have this thing I do when I feel like this about quilting.  And, it's a great time for it.  I sew for Linus.  Linus quilts have no rules.  They can be messy and crazy and even ugly.  And, they can be freeing, and expressive, and even motivating.  And, they are ALL something done for someone else.  And, that speaks to me louder than any show quilts or prize winners. 

So, next week, while Sydney is living in my sewing room, I'm going to be sewing strips together in my first...I can't remember the name, but something about a race, where you sew all your strips together in one long strip, then cut it to length and sew those strips into a quilt top.  Fast.  Peaceful.  Easy.  No rules.  Just me and fabric and thread and color and a sewing machine. 

Everybody have a great Friday and a great weekend.  Three days off is going to be wonderful.  And, next Friday is graduation.  And, Syd and I need to open her first checking account. 

Holy Moly.  Everything is moving so fast.  And, fortunately, my quilting is taking a backseat to some of the other, more important things going on. 

We had a real "come to Jesus" talk this week about chores and gratitude and responsibility and expectations.  I was cool and calm and straightforward.  I set it all on the line.  And, I got real emotion back.  She let me behind the cloak of independence that she wears to keep people at a distance.  And, last night, I got a thank you.  First one in a LONG time.

Lane

A finish and a start

I finished the little 30's repro apple core quilt.  I do love this little quilt. 

It's 24x24.  The quilting is very simple, just some echo work.  I did all the quilting free-motion and attached the front of the binding on the two spool treadle machine from the late 19th century.  It took a lot of getting used to.  At some point, I was able to completely forget my feet, but they were working in perfect harmony with my hands, faster and slower, depending on what I was doing.  I was using a foot I made from a paper clip because there's no hopping foot for griest machines that I've ever seen...tho I bet I could make a small fortune if I could figure it out and mass produce them. 

I picked this quilt intentionally to practice on that particular treadle.  I wanted something I was going to love, no matter how it came out.  And, I knew I was going to feel that way about this one.  I could never make the machine quilt while moving the fabric toward me.  The hook just wouldn't engage the loop in that direction.  But, it did great moving the fabric away and to the left, and for the most part, to the right (as long as it was directionally more in a 4:30 direction than an exact 3 o'clock).  Given that directional challenge, I needed something very simple.  I put the quilting in the border, but it was a mess.  There were multiple things wrong.  I attached the binding and hand sewed it down while we watched TV on Saturday night (a horrible movie, so I was really able to focus on my sewing) and by the time I was done, I knew I wanted to re-quilt the border.  So, out came the seam ripper and before you know it, I was done pulling (and the movie was over).  Sunday morning, I gave myself the reward of re-quilting it before I started chores. 

My Mom is home from the hospital.  She is on the mend, according to her and my Dad.  She still has a long way to go, but at least the journey to healing is begun.  I plan to visit soon as I can after graduation. 

The diabetic cat is doing better.  I think we've finally found the magic amount of insulin. 

It's Mother in law minus 8 around here.  She is coming for graduation.  The house is starting to sparkle.  I have never entertained a more grateful houseguest.  Always a pleasure.

I've started something new.  Because I can't help myself. 

You may have to click on it to see the pattern.  It's second in a series of hand quilted small batik quilts.  This one has a sheaf of wheat and a very tightly filled border.  Rob had the idea of taking several of these in various sizes and joining them into a larger piece.  And, that worked perfect with what I was thinking.  I have a whole set of patterns in various sizes from 8x8 to 24x27.  While I was pulling fabric, I pulled pieces for a couple more of these, all in a gold and olive theme. 

I've run into a problem tho.  When I was quilting the Dresden Plate quilt, I gave myself tennis elbow in my right arm from pushing up with a constant pressure with my middle finger on the bottom of the quilt.  I wore a brace for a couple months and it went away.  I quilted the one on the left in the picture above wearing that brace and never had any trouble.  I started the one on the right and my tennis elbow came back.  Just barely, but I don't intend to let that get worse.  I don't mind quilting in the brace. 

Everybody have a great Tuesday.  Things are finally starting to slow a bit at the office.  That's a welcome relief.  I know it's only temporary.  I volunteered to be on the planning committee for a meeting with my peers.  I don't know what came over me.  But, it's time for me to be more involved.  I've been reading a book titled Quiet.  It's about introverts and how they are undervalued in a work environment that is team based.  It's certainly made me feel more "normal".  And, that makes it easier to participate in group activities.

Lane

What's on my mind...

Work is taking a toll.  I'm in the middle of several complex projects and I'm taking on even more responsibilities. 

The grammar project has gone well.  I've managed to rewrite a lot of badly written text and get it approved.  And, keep people entertained.  The rest of the team started to play a game lately where they give me the most complex and badly written sentence to rewrite..."oh, Lane can take care of that part...let us know what you come up with..."  It's okay.  It's very challenging to communicate complex ideas in simple ways.  And, I'm the one with the vested interest in the final document, so I can be fun during the process, if it moves things along. 

Recently, I've been tasked with heading up our response to sudden changes in weather.  I'm taking over for a friend who has done great work over the years and leaves me with a good, simple process.  But, with the changes in weather over the last couple years, you can imagine that management has a special interest in the weather and our ability to respond quickly and efficiently.  And, when they asked if I'd take over the team (and be the face of bad weather), this introvert said yes.  Cause I'm a idiot!  I've been in more meetings about rainfall in the last ten days.  But, I've had to quickly learn a boatload about weather forecasting. 

I have a crick on my neck.  At first, I thought it was just from sleeping wrong.  But, it's not going away.  Today, I need to start doing something about that.  For one thing, get my butt out of my desk chair.  Yesterday, I got out of my chair a couple times to go to the bathroom and once to warm up lunch.  And, the rest of the day, I worked.  That was the third day in a row.  And, that's where that pain is coming from.  Walk.  Stretch.  Break up the day.  That's the solution. 

I've spoken here about the one legged homeless man that I do my best to help.  But, I haven't spoken of him in a while.  I don't know what happened, but he's not the one legged homeless man anymore.  He lost his other leg.  And, he's panhandling in a wheelchair.  He works on a traffic island and I've only been able to give him money if I'm one of the first three cars stopped at the light.  And, that was good enough for me, when he was one legged.  You'd be surprised how frequently I was one of the first three cars.  Enough that I learned his name and we would chat.  Now that he's in a chair, I don't think it's enough to help when I'm one of the first three cars.  So, I've been devising ways I can get him money, without having to bring the car to a stop in traffic...people don't like that, no matter how noble the cause.   So, I've taken zip top baggies and put a handful of change in each one.  They have weight, and if they land right, they have a handle that he can reach over the edge of his chair and pick up.  And, if they don't land right, he can use his sign and roll them over.  I can add cash if I want at the last minute.  And, the plan is to drop a baggie as I drive by.  I got my first chance yesterday.  I drove by, and just before I passed him, I dropped my baggie.  I heard it hit the ground and saw it slide along the ground and stop right under his chair.  Perfect, right?  Not so much.  I also saw the look on his face when I reached out of the window and threw something at him.  I never thought of that...people abuse the homeless.  And, they throw things at them.  Not many.  But, some.  Fortunately, at the last second, he recognized me as I called his name and I saw him relax and he gave me a wave as I drove by.   But, next time, I'll slow down more so it looks less like I'm tossing a rock at him.  Who cares if somebody behind me honks.

The diabetic cat is sick.  We were able to wean her off insulin in January.  But, last month, we had to put her back on.  And, now we're trying to regulate the amount.  And, that's trial and error.  And, trips to the vet.  And, I don't have time for trips to the vet right now.  But, I'm doing my best and using what I learned about feline diabetes last year.  And, we're managing.  Sort of.  Trial.  Error.  Trial.  Error. 

My Mom has been sick.  Very sick.  It's hard to get information from them.  But, she's been in the hospital for a few days.  Keep her in your thoughts.  I'm going to call today.  Hopefully she's back home now.  I know she'll be glad to be released. 

Sydney graduates in two weeks.  For graduation, I'm sending her to driving school.  It's as much a gift for us as it is for her.  We are tired of taking her back and forth to work.  We held that as a carrot to get her to turn in her homework.  And, she never would.  So, we never pursued it.  And, she was good doing without.  Dang her, but she'll do without just about anything to get to be "in charge" of what she does and when.  I get it.  Before she came to live with us at nine years old, she wasn't "in charge" of anything except making sure she had a place to sleep and was warm and had food.  When she came to us and didn't need to worry about those things anymore, she picked other things to be "in charge" of.  Like when she'd turn in her homework.  It could be worse. 

Everybody have a great Thursday.  It's going to storm here and I wish I didn't have to get out in it.  But, it can't be helped.  Sudden bad weather is becoming the norm. 

Did I mention that pain in my neck?

Lane

How did that take all weekend?

I got the double wedding ring quilt top together.  And, I put it on the bed.  And, it was a little bit shorter than I wanted.  I just wanted a little bit more around the edges. 

I saw someone add a border to a DWR on Simply Quilts a long time ago, so I knew how to do it.  You have to applique the edge of the quilt to a strip of fabric.  So, I figured out how to cut the leftover fabric so that I'd have enough and I even planned where the seams would lie on the sides; near the center or near the end.  I made my strips.  And, I folded the edge of the quilt under, all the way around to give me a finished edge and I basted that.  Then, I pinned the quilt to the strips and basted that.  And, then I started appliqueing it down. 

I tried several machines before I found the blind hem stitch that made me happy.  And, now I'm going back and pulling out all that basting thread.  I used Harriet Hargrave's mock hand applique technique and even used invisible thread to do it.  And, even though I tried multiple ways to do something different, what she recommended was perfect. 

Later, I'll come along and scallop that edge because you really need a scalloped edge for a DWR, right?  I mean, that's like part of the charm. 

I've also been quilting on the star quilt.

First, I drew the shape I wanted and pinned it to four layers of tissue paper. 

Then, I used the sewing machine without any thread in it and I needle punched the lines into the tissue paper. 

Now, don't laugh, but I put that shape in and realized it wasn't right, so I pulled it out and drew something else. 

I cut the pieces of tissue to fit the shape and then I used the needle holes as a guide and quilted the shape into the quilt. 

Pull the paper and whamo-blamo, you have beautiful quilting. 

I put the quilt aside.  Told Rob I don't know what to do next.  He said, "quilts not talking to you?"  And, I said, "no, just the opposite.  It's screaming at me...stop quilting me!"  Really, the ditch work is all this quilt needs and I'm just adding quilting to impress a show judge. 

And, that's not the right reason to quilt. 

Pride cometh before a fall...

Lane

Some garden pics

Now is the time I most get to enjoy my garden.  I walk in it every day.  Just a few minutes of peace to start the day and a few more minutes to end the day.  This year, we've gotten lots of rain.  It's been really nice not to be out there watering.  But, with the rains come the mosquitoes.  And, that's a whole misery of its own. 

But, things like this are worth it.  A bright yellow daylily.

A green daylily.  The camera didn't do it justice.  It was actually one of the greenest blooms I'd ever seen. 

Purple mums tucked in a dark corner.  The corner gets plenty of light during the day, but when I'm in the garden, it's a dark spot.  I've started to fill those little understory spaces that have developed as my plants get larger with colorful plants to brighten them. 

Sydney gave me this for Man-mom's day a couple years ago.  I just love the purple and red leaves inserted in a quiet green spot. 

Coreopsis.  This plant and I have struggled.  This year is by far its best.  I've tried it in several spots where it should have been easy and finally, I seem to have found one it's actually happy in. 

Purple bearded iris.  Like most of my iris, this one came from Boston and it took several years to acclimate before it would bloom.  But, now it's dependable for a little show of color every year and thick, spikey, pale green all year. 

I grew up calling this "princess feather".  It is the first plant I ever remember growing, in a small corner of my Mom's flowerbed from seeds my Grandmother gave me. 

Purple salvia.  Invasive.  Comes up from seed and root.  I pull more of it as weeds than every other real weed that comes up.  I love having it.  It's about 4 feet tall and beautiful purple flowers.  I just have to keep it controlled.  Vigorously.  The little red at the bottom is a little early turk's cap.  It will thrive when the heat really sets in, shaded by the salvia that can take the heat and intense sunlight. 

Everybody have a great Thursday.  There's so much going on in my life that I can hardly think.  I feel like I'm living more by habit than by choice.  Good thing I have good habits.

For the most part. 

Lane

Prom day

And, it really took all day...if you include my recovery nap.  So, this entire day was scheduled by Syd.  We made her do that.  She found the places she wanted to go and she called and scheduled her own appointments.  It gave her a sense of ownership over the day.  And, she really did own it.  We were watching Cinderella before we left.  Prosaic.  We were at the point where the fairy godmother dresses little Cindy and makes up the coach and team.  She makes a footman out of a lizard and they call him Mr Lizard.  For the day, I was Mr Lizard. 

 

It started at 9am when we showed up at the first salon, without an appointment because we didn't decide we wanted a haircut until the last minute.  There's only one stylist there and he's outside smoking.  "He looks sketchy."  And, me, trying to be encouraging says "yes, but he could be a very talented hair stylist."  And, she sat there.  She just wasn't getting out.  So, I said, "wanna stay or go?" and she said "go" and it dropped the prius in reverse and we left sketchy guy in our rearview mirror. 

I pulled out my good clothes that morning and realized that I didn't have a dress shirt anymore, so I told her I needed to take care of that one thing for myself.  While I shopped in Goodwill (yes, I got a fantastic practically new white Arrow dress shirt for $6) she got on her phone and found another salon and called and got the price and found out she could walk in and we pushed the power button on the prius and got there before every other girl going to prom in South Austin...well, all but one, and she was getting a weave and was going to be there all day...sheesh, what must that cost???   That little accident resulted in her finding a new salon and a new permanent hairdresser.  She enjoyed the lady playing with her hair as much as the lady enjoyed playing with it and they must have hit it off cause I could hear them chatting over my earbuds...yes, this dad brought music and a book.

Next, jewelry.  One thing I learned, I can pull things out and look at them and she notices that and will come look with me.  But, don't try to show it to her because then it's the most horrible ugly thing that was ever crafted at the hand of man.  Next,  a nail salon in the same center and I read and listened to music and tried not to curl my nose up at the smell.  And, I smiled.  A LOT!  A guy did her nails and she really seemed to enjoy talking to him and he was very engaging with her, too.  Without being flirty. 

Next, a nice sandwich, and then the big salon.  You can see the name she used on her lunch order. 

We have a three hour appointment scheduled here.  We'd talked the day before and I asked what I was supposed to do...originally, I was supposed to drop off and pick up, but I asked if she wanted me to come in with her until the appointment started, or just til she was checked in...or did she just want to show me some hand signal that meant I was free to go.  But, at the last minute, she decided that no, I should stay.  And, I stayed for almost the whole two and a half hours.  Holy cow.  But, honestly, if I'd left and not seen the progress, I'm not sure I would have recognized her when I came back to get her.  She got a LOT of looks as we left the salon. 

I very carefully and gently talked her out of the tiara.  It ruined the whole effect.  It was all I saw when I looked at her.  And, when she got home and took it off, she looked perfect!

And, then we rested.  We all rested.  Because we all knew it was going to be a big night. 

nd, then, we took her to a nice restaurant downtown.  We didn't think about it in advance, but the place was packed with prom couples.  We walked in and there were three girls waiting at the door for other couples and the girls and the boys all stared when Syd walked in the room.  We saw a LOT of prom dresses that night.  And, lots of very beautiful young ladies.  And, without any prejudice, I can say Sydney looked as good as any of them.  And, she carried herself well, with elegance and grace.  But, you could tell just by looking at her that she knew how good she looked.  It was that confidence that really showed through.  And, where we saw a lot of girls that didn't know how to walk in a long dress and did it badly, Sydney knew how...well, we'd done a little coaching. 

After dinner, we took her to the venue and dropped her off.  She didn't want me to walk her in.  And, then Rob and I stopped for a celebratory cocktail and went home to change into short pants and wait.  At the stroke of midnight, the coach and footmen arrived to pick her up.  We saw her come out with her friends.  We knew she had a good time.  But, she couldn't tell us about it.  And, was kind of rude, which put me on edge, but I held onto it.  We didn't push.  And, yesterday, we just really didn't make the opportunity available for her to talk.  So, I'm expecting she's going to be bursting with stories today.  Sometimes, you just gotta wait for the good stuff. 

 

I found out on Saturday what really happened to her plans.  Girls can be so mean.  The seven invited an eighth and she decided she didn't want to go if Sydney went, so they "uninvited" Syd.  The girl said for Syd not to worry about Saturday night because the girl was going to look so much better than Syd.  We saw the girls prom photo.  First, girl, pink ain't your color.  And, you were way too wide for that ballgown.  It made you look like a big squishy hairy pink marshmallow with cheap glasses.  I won't let Syd say that, but I can.  When Syd was walking away from the car, I said, "hey, Syd?" and she looked at me over her shoulder "you're wearing the best revenge ever."  And, she said "I know" as she turned and straightened her shoulders and held her head high and walked in the place. 

And, then it was over and she had to work all day yesterday and we spent the day catching up on our own weekends.  We had lunch with our friend LD and called our mothers.  And, Rob took a LONG nap.  I did some comfort cooking. 

And, all was right with the world again.

I feel sorry for all the dads that miss this special day.  I think they'd really have a great insight into their daughters if they could just watch as they were transformed from one person to another over the course of a day.  Just getting to watch other people look at your child with admiration...the ladies in the salon that told her how beautiful she was as we hunted down a lipstick and paid and left.  To get to see her beam under that kind of compliment is wonderful. 

Everybody have a great week.  I'm still not recovered and worry that I might accidentally fall asleep during the day. 

Lane

Changed plans

First off, God bless the citizens of Fort McMurray, Al.  What a terrible and devastating situation. My thoughts go out to them and their neighbors who are assisting them.

On the home front, Sydney's prom plans all fell through at the last minute. Dang it. Sometimes I just wanna shake kids that change plans at the last minute. But I also gotta remember that this kid has trouble with friends. So we take this kind of stuff in stride.

But you know what?  We are the best dads ever and we're gonna get dressed up in our suits and ties and take the girl to a very nice restaurant downtown and then drop her off at prom. Rob ordered a corsage. And I'm going to see if she will let me escort her in to the ticket table. Maybe not. We'll see.

Tomorrow is all Sydney, all day. Haircut, jewelry, makeup, up-do on her hair (I don't know why that takes a different person than the cut but this time, I'm not asking), dress, dinner and drop her off. Then we can change into comfortable cloths to wait til the middle of the night to go pick her up.

A dads work is never done.

Everybody have a great Friday!!

I'm so proud of us. All of us.

Doing it the hard way

I love to treadle.  I know what some people think of it.  I know what they say about my vintage machines and I know what they say about my hand quilting.  Not everybody.  Not even the majority.  But some people.  I was telling someone yesterday about enjoying the challenge sometimes.  When I shop, I'm out for the bargain.  Finding a bargain is half the fun.  It's no fun to pay full price for anything.  The fact it's gotten harder to find a bargain on ebay just makes the ones I find all the more exciting. 

Quilting is the same way.  Half the fun of putting that double wedding ring quilt together was doing it on a Singer 15-91 from 1952.  She ain't perfect.  It's a challenge to sew with her.  It's fun to solve the challenges. 

And, it's the same with the treadle. 

This is the National Two Spool in a treadle cabinet.  I'm lucky enough to own two of these, one in a treadle and one converted to electric. 

This is the bobbin and bobbin case.  It's a second spool of thread.  That's where the name two spool comes from, a spool in the top and a spool in the bottom.  Because it's a spool, the bobbin case is called a spool case and a spool case is more valuable than a complete machine.  It's weird pricing.    It won't hold a modern size, so I can't buy a spool, but it has a spool winder that works wonderfully, after you practice for a few spools.  If you have one of these machines, be patient.  It will not help to be frustrated.  Just accept that your first few spools are not going to be full, and they're going to be lumpy.  But, after a few, it gets better.

I'm using a foot I made from a paper clip to free motion quilt.  It presses down on the fabric while the stitch is forming, but then the needle set screw lifts it when the needle rises, just a tiny bit so the fabric can move.  It's still a work in progress.  But, getting better.  Unfortunately, so far, I can't get it to reliably sew in a full circle.  Sometimes it will...and sometimes it skips stitches.  I checked the timing and don't think that's it.  So, I'm fiddling with the foot.  The only drawback to the machine is that the hook is huge so it can make it all the way around that big spool case.  It's at least 2.5 inches in diameter.  That means it takes a long length of thread to make that loop.  That thread bounces around in front of me when it's skipping stitches, so I've learned to watch for it.  But, it would be much better if I could make it stop. 

This is the little quilt I'm working on.  Curvy lines that I can quilt in a pretty much forward direction.  There's very little going backward, so it's worked great.  And, it's given me a chance to work on coordinating my footwork.  It's hard to start the machine with one hand, hold the quilt with both hands, and move both feet at the same time.  Best advice I can give there is don't think about it.  Soon as you can start to do it unconsciously, it all comes together.  But, while you're focused on it, it's going to be clumsy.  Just takes practice. 

This is what else I'm working on.  It's being rather frustrating.  You can imagine what that translates to in real life.  There are serious mistakes in the piecing.  And, I've never noticed them before.  But, now that I'm quilting it and focusing on spaces about three inches square, I see them.  And, it's hard to keep my focus and my desire to work on it.  I need to set it aside right now and work on something else until my motivation comes back.  Unfortunately, this one has me doing that pretty frequently.  But, I have to respect my process.  I mean, what's the point of all that therapy to understand my process if I'm not going to respect it now, right? 

Everybody have a great Tuesday.  Things are looking up around here.  And, when they're not looking up, I sit and sew.  It's the only thing to do. 

Today, I'm going to an awards ceremony for Syd.  She's earned a cord to wear with her cap and gown on graduation day. 

Lane