monkey hands

North Hills Quilt Guild, Green Giveway

Pittsburgh, PA's North Hills Quilt Guild has outdone themselves with beautiful blocks--nearly enough for two quilts! (I lived in Pittsburgh from the late summer of 1985 to the early summer of 1993--three of my four children were born there.) I have begun pressing and trimming, and I will start sewing tonight! 

Meanwhile, my slow slog through my studio continues, and the theme today is "green."  Green, like birds and bulbs in yesterday's post, is to me a hopeful symbol, a sign of renewal, growth and life. This next giveaway will be on my sister-in-law's birthday, December 20th. You know the drill. Leave a comment before noon EST, I'll chose at random, ask for a mailing address, and send the fabric out pronto, anywhere in the world. Why not? It's fun to share, and it's good to send fabric I like, but am unlikley to use, off to a good home!

some yards, half-yards, fat and long quarters, a smaller piece or two--all new

Moving On, Birds

I drove through Connecticut this past Saturday morning, where I lived for nearly 10 years (in Westport and New Haven, between the late winter of 1974 and the late summer of 1983), on my way to have lunch with my 90 year old mother-in-law in Manhattan.  Signs and billboards along the highway had been changed or newly errected to honor those slain the day before. 

I have not watched the news on television, it is not my habit, nor have I done much reading of actual or virtual papers. I felt compelled, however, to watch the memorial service when I found it on Sunday night.  Words of prayer, comfort and hope were offered, from Jews, Muslims, Christians of several denominations, Bai'hi, Buddhists, and maybe others I missed as I muted the sound to try and absorb the words I'd heard, and the images of grief-striken families, with and without children, I was seeing.

There is more to do, of course, and action is required. For now, in my own tiny little world of rural New Hampshire right now, folks every where are saddened, children are frightened, and, well, life goes on. To be continued, of course...

These are the birds I took to my mother-in-law. She has several, before these, and she likes putting them around her apartment in predictable and unlikely places. One was peeking out at me from behind a towel as I went into the bathroom.  These were made in China, and have been seen here before.  They seemed as good a transition as any, in this blog, between commenting on the tragic loss of lives in Sandy Hook and starting to move on. But not forgetting, not ever. 

Sandy Quilt One

Fuzzy pic--sorry--husband was standing on a chair with the quilt in his upheld arms, urging me to "hurry up" and take the picture. 

Made with beautiful blocks donated by quilters across the country--see this post for names/places. This top is now on its way to Phyllis Dewey at Quilter's Pantry in Tennessee. Phyllis is the amazingly generous longarm quilter who has volunteered to do the quilting! Look for pictures of the finished quilt here and on the Quilter's Pantry website. 

More blocks are arriving each day from all over the country and beyond, some from as far as Israel and Australia! I'm pressing and trimming blocks as they arrive. The next quilt, Sandy Quilt II, will be made from lovely blocks made by Sally in Los Angeles, Christine in Jerusalem, Bonita in PonpanoBeach, FL, Carol in Boynton Beach, FL, Ruth in Alma MI, and Carol in Centreville, Va. Thanks to everyone!  Look for pictures here soon!

Blocks Galore

Strips of blocks for the Sandy Quilt effort

I signed up to be a "team leader" and put together some quilts to bring warmth and cheer to some of the people worst impacted by Hurricane Sandy (see this link and/or click on the cute dog in the box at the top for more info).  Beautiful long cabin blocks have started arriving, and I have been spending my days starching, pressing, trimming and sewing.  Blocks for the first quilt (sewn into strips, above) arrived from Stacey and Gyll, Sharon, Cathy, Gladys, and Lisa in Carmel, CA, Sugarland TX, Springfield, MO, Kent, OH and Porter, OK, respectively. Wow--42 blocks will make a 72" x 84" quilt. I'll try to get borders on some of them so they're big enough for double beds.  

Longarm quilter Phyllis Dewey of Quilter's Pantry in Tennesse has quilted many of my quilts, and she's most generously offered to quilt some of these once I get them put together--what an amazing, generous gesture, especially at this time of year when longarm quilters are so busy! Thank  you, Phyllis, and thanks to all of you who have made (or will make) blocks and quilts!

 

Small World: Quilt Drive for Hurricane Sandy Relief

I'm in Beijing now, and I recently visited my online quilting friend Etty's site about her quilting group in Israel, Zahava Quilters  ( I found Etty through another online quilting buddy/fellow world traveler Carol of Quiltfever). At random, I clicked on one of Etty's links and found my way to My Imperfect LIfe in the U.K. Up came a post about a  Quilt Drive for Sandy Relief  which led me to Imperfect Mom where I got more information about the drive for quilts being organized by Quilt Gallery in order to donate 700 quilts to those most in need through Bumble Beans Quilts, a great organization where I have donated quilts before

.   

It's a bit ironic, I guess, but also a sad commentary on climate change and global warming, that just a couple months after my two year China stint began in January 2011 I was making comfort quilts to send to Japan after the triple disaster, and now, just short of the end of my "China years," I'm making quilts to send to New York.  

You can find out more about how to donate--blocks for the group effort,  as a team leader who will sash, back, quilt and bind the blocks for one to five quilts, and/or where to send a quilt of your own design and making--by clicking the link at the top or the links embedded in this post.

Note: Sorry the links are so pale--I haven't figured out how to fix that yet. 

Hand Work for Mongolia

As the storm rages along the U.S. east coast, I am leaving for the airport to head to Ulaanbaatar. My thoughts are with my family, and yours, and everyone affected. I'm glad I have a serious distraction to keep me busy now, though of course my children and other family members will be in my constant thoughts.

After cutting boiled wool birds to take to Ulaanbaatar for the workshop this week, I noticed the scraps were fish-shaped.

and perfect for the over-the-ocean-back-to-China phase of the diary cloth I'm making as part of Jude Hill's Spirit Diary Cloth online course at Spirit Cloth. Jude's an inspiring teacher, and her classes and the communities that develop are nurturing as well as challenging. I'n not sure if big fish will make it onto the cloth--looks more like a whale to me, but maybe that's okay. Once I get stitching, the needle seems to take over and guide the way. The moon in the corner is a "Glennis moon," indigo dyed by the famous Shibori Girl herself. 

I've been adding some kantha style stitching to the cacti and wings--it was hard to leave family and that incredible sunny big Southwest sky.

Beijing Floods

 

It's still raining here in our usually arid area, and new flood warnings were once again issued this morning.  

Thank you to all who have emailed and/or called to check on things. 77 people died in the city last week after the worst flooding in 60 years. There have been landslides and more deaths outside the city area as well.  Here's a link to pictures posted by the BBC:  pictures 

I was marginally affected as it took me two days to get on a flight to Kunming in the south (about 3 and 1/2 hours flight from Beijing) where I was going to teach for a week. Once I boarded after multiple delays, it took another eight hours or so until landing around 5:30am Monday morning. Nothing, really, compared to the loss of lives, the millions of people who lost homes and everything in them (including their life savings), and the 80,000 people still stranded at Beijing International Airport, many for days, sleeping on the floor and making do with few resources (money, food, options).

Beautiful Beijing

I'm back in Beijing, jet-lagged and loopy, but wonder of wonders, the air has cleared upon my return, with big blue skies and floating white clouds. What a welcome change from the typical smoggy gray sky and thick, dirty air I'm used to seeing and breathing here. The times, it seems, they just may be a'changing here in the capitol. 

In another reminder that progress is possible here, U-Tube is unblocked, at least for the moment. Proof is in this picture of Jude Hill's hands showing a "paperless piecing" technique. It's a terrific method for piecing, especially for  squares and rectangles. See her blog, Spirit Cloth, for inspiration and online courses.

Blogger and Wordpress are also fully accessible (at least for now), complete with pictures and the ability to comment. My virtual world in China has grown exponentially!

Meanwhile, because life is a mixed bag no matter what, construction on the block-sized mega builting continues below the apartment windows, and it's rising daily, getting closer and closer, bringing noise and dust 24/7. 

It's amazing to watch the techniques and progress, especially at night when workers toil at welding stations, fusing rusty steel rebar at welding stations, and moving back and forth in unison like a well choreographed dance. 

Photos taken at dawn during a rare quiet lull between night and day shifts.

A lone tenacious tree hangs on between newly erected construction site buildings. 

I have several projects in mind, so tomorrow, after some rest, I shall return to the sewing table with focus and renewed zest. Just putting out that positive intention in the hopes it comes to pass.

Wool Faces Quilt

The seams in this medium-weight wool needed to be firmly pressed and also stitched to stay flat, so I've been hand-stitching away. It's rather mindless, meditative sewing--quite relaxing at the end of the day when I want to keep my hands busy, and when my brain wants to slow down.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The next step is to add a border or to start quilting without a border in order to make the size and weight more manageable. If I proceed with the second option, I will quilt the "body" and then add front and back borders. 

It's not quite this wonky--pinning it on the design wall has distorted and started to stretch the wool. I didn't leave it there long! The colors in the photos aren't true (they're richer, deeper), but I'm not sure how to remedy that problem. I seem to get either over or underexposed images no matter what I do.

Spring temperatures are here, with highs in the low forties now, but the air quality has been quite bad. Click on the U.S. Embassy's AQI image, below, to read the warning for this "Hazardous" level of pollutants. When it gets like this, as it often does, visability is so poor that flights are delayed or cancelled and highways closed. School children stay inside during recess and phys ed, as does everyone else who can possibly manage to avoid the air. Many people, millions here in Beijing alone, especially the so-called "migrant workers" -- Chinese citizens born in other areas of China who lack official relocation papers from the government--must work outside all day, six or seven days a week, in spite of poor air quality and serious health consequences.

 

Lunar New Year in China

Parade and Temple Fair in Ditan Park, Beijing, on Monday, January 23. 

Greetings from Beijing ~ Happy Year of the Dragon