Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Wednesday on Whidbey

One of the gems of the central island, the Captain Whidbey Inn.  It's been in operation since being built from native Madrona logs in 1907, nestled on the waterfront among the trees. The inn has nicer, more comfortable accommodations in other buildings on the grounds, but the lovely old lady still has an active restaurant & bar inside.  It's always reassuring to see her all alight on a cold winter night--they leave the festive lights on many months of the year to lift our hearts.

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

It Seemed Like a Good Idea...

Too soon to post about the latest round robin projects--execpt to confess the challenge I got myself into for a border addition!

35 little pinwheels (i.e. 1 1/2" squares) didn't seem like a lot--but then two sides of a border made that into 70 pinwheels.
 O-kay...
the garbage pail of cut-offs...
And then each
2 1/2" square pinwheel needs four half-square triangles, and--wha-la-- suddenly you find yourself making 280 half-square triangles!

Kept me out of trouble for awhile...






In general, I'm not a fan of red & white quilts--which this project is--but I can be persuaded. And I certainly admire & respect great work, even if it's not my cup of tea.
When I was looking around for red & white themes I came across this upcoming March exhibit notice for the American Folk Art Museum in New York. I found this photo mesmerizing!
Hats off to the exhibit magicians! Let me know if you happen to get there to see red--650 times! I'll be green with envy...

Friday, February 18, 2011

Those Sneaky UFO's

Perhaps I spoke too boldly when I was patting myself on the back about my year-end UFO (unfinished objects) accomplishments.       *sigh*
First of all, the fact that I'm finishing the 2011 UFO list in mid-February is not a good sign (just in time to turn in my list & my fabric for this year's guild challenge!). I still feel great about getting nineteen items crossed off the list last year, but oddly--magically--fifteen items got added back for this year.
Yup--that's right.
Count 'em!
Fifteen great new ideas that jumped into my path during 2010 and were not completed. I gotta stop shopping & daydreaming--these new projects just appear with little encouragement & start leering at me from over in the corner!
At this point, I've looked under most every fabric stack and behind every pile of project boxes--and as far as I can tell there is only one project remaining that I've not added to this year's list (& that project is just too weird & woolly to think about this year--trust me!). So the sad but good news is: it's taken me four tries (as in, four annual lists) to finally empty the drawers & hide-away places of the treasures they've hidden. (And lest you chuckle too much, when was the last time that you honestly made an inventory of your project back log?!  8-)  Try it sometime, it's a very humbling experience...)
As predicted, I dropped some items & gave a little eulogy on their behalf--but in the end that was only four items.  Three were the final installments in my 2009 monthly challenge.  Given that this is 2011, It was time. I still applaud the discipline & discovery in a daily, or weekly, or monthly study but this one served it's purpose for me & I'm ready to come up with a different plan.
Later!
So--the 2011 list is now official.
31 items.
That translates to about two & a half projects a month--or, more plainly today, five that should be finished by the end of the month. OMG! How can I be this far behind already! Time to stop posting & get to work!!  (Look for a summer update...)

Thursday, February 17, 2011

The Other Job...

Just in case you may have been thinking that I've done very little thread taming these last couple of months, I thought I would share some little projects that have gone to work as samples.  Remember the table runner samples that were made for the holidays?  Well here are the next iterations of those same patterns (ones I planned & put together for the shop). After the holidays came & went it was time for some new options in different fabric.
The coffee one has been particularly popular--think it goes with the rainy, grey winter & our need to caffeine up!

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Wednesday on Whidbey

aahhh...the hint that maybe spring will actually come!

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Just Had to Share...

...the valentine I'm enjoying from my valentine!

Monday, February 14, 2011

Happy Hearts...

Happy Valentine's Day--a day to celebrate love & it's incredible power. 
A day to treat yourself (and others) well. 
Hugs & warm wishes near & far.
(Aren't these hearts cute?! Wish I could take any credit, but they are notably Hmong in origin. 

Sunday, February 13, 2011

Learn vs.Teach

When we last left our fledgling faculty member, she had finished her first quarter with a scrumptious looking holiday break ahead.  Fast forward almost two months:  break is long since over & mid-quarter evals start next week. Wowie, zowie--that went fast! The joys of a quarter system!
At the end of last quarter I learned that I would be changing dance cards--moving to the RN-to-be class.  They started in the middle of fall quarter & I'd not met any of them--or truthfully, paid much attention to their course-work to date.  That suddenly became much more interesting over the break when I knew I'd be hitting the ground running as soon as New Year's was over!  Just to add a little wrinkle of interest, we're a bit short staffed this quarter so the lion-share of this quarter's work has been clinical rather than classroom. I miss time in the classroom (and I miss my students from last quarter, too!)--but if forced to choose, I'd opt for the clinical time, at least for now.  My full-timers are doing two eight-hour sessions a week in the small, community hospital setting, & the part-timers have two six hour campus labs every other week--until next week when they, too, start eight hour shifts at the hospital.  That translates to about twenty advisees.

Likes:

  • fostering being a 'generalist' nurse--when the prime directive of the student is to think 'specialist' 
  • having students 'farmed out' in nine different settings or work areas--lots to see, do, remember!
  • getting to a 10,000 step day without too much extra efforts when I get around to all of those areas!
  • making a difference for many patients & getting to work with lots of different staff (who are actually very welcoming to motivated students)
  • getting better at organizing my day & planning ahead for the 'teaching moments' that present themselves
  • being back at the bedside with a variety of patients & families
  • working evenings--that was always my favorite shift in a hospital setting (right, Julie?)

Challenges:

  • having students 'farmed out' in nine different settings or work areas--what are you doing? and when are you doing it? and why, exactly?!
  • much less time in the classroom--I miss it--and it's important to keep up with their current thread of content 
  • being in the right place at the right time to offer support with the next big 'reality check'--you know, people don't always get better, endings we see are not always happy...
  • trying to find the best way to help the beginner see: yes, the right answer to this situation is recognizing that you really don't know all the answers...
  • refraining from acting like a mother bear when some staff are just having a bad day & feel better when they make a student have a bad day, too...

It's humbling, thrilling, scary, satisfying, puzzling, joyful, & sad. It's human. Humane. A journey. What a zany roller-coaster to be on! I'm loving the ride...  every day...

Saturday, February 12, 2011

Next Round Robin Update

Whew!
I've got alot of catching up to do! Striking the balance between projects underway, home life, and finessing two jobs has not left much 'posting time' since the holidays came & went--and noted by the poor orphan Wednesday on Whidbey posts.  I'll try to correct that in the next week--starting with this quilting post.
Projects have continued, but certainly not at my previous pace! Even though the number of hours worked a week are far less than the previous 'job-that-ate-my-life' schedule, I often find myself happy to read, watch a movie or sleep when I finish the day--rather than fire up my studio space.  The sleep part has been a surprise--I still like to get more than I've been accustomed in recent years--go figure! Several have said that starting a new job had that effect on them--so maybe it's only temporary. Occasionally still hear the 'lazy' message rattling about my brain....

Anyway, one project worth noting is the ongoing Round Robin with my group of special friends.  When I last posted, I had finished three, and today I'm offering up three more.  Even though they aren't particularly large, they can be taxing:  you want to be creative, not make mistakes, & contribute something that you think your buddy will like.  This group of twelve projects is very diverse--that's good but also challenging the old brain cells & technical capabilities. Here are the recent three that have gone on their way (and remember you can click on photos to make them larger):


This one is going to be quite elegant & lovely.  Mary is an outstanding embroiderer as noted by her center block (the beige section).  Even though several of us have contributed it still remains fairly small & will be a batik beauty when it's finished.


I added an asymmetrical border--something I'm trying not to do too often, as I've been told by those that follow me that my asymmetry is not always appreciated! 8-)  I've been intrigued lately with tessellations & all the possibilities.  This is not the best example, but it is a tessellation none the less.  I'm hoping that it's not too bright--pastels are not my forte. It will be fun to see how this one progresses.

The next one is also lovely & will likely be fairly large when it's completed.  Sally started out with the center block of four 'fireworks' blocks in Asian fabrics--always so striking to look at--as a tribute to our friend Andrea that passed away last year.  One of the challenges to each other with this project has been to add things other than just another fabric border--i.e. embellishments of all sorts.  That can be tricky as you are 'adding on' to someone else's work as opposed to having only your own work at risk. No chance for a 'Mulligan'. 

The outer triangles from the previous person were begging for something to be added & I had a great applique idea that unfortunately didn't come off very well.  Too late, I realized that there was not enough contrast with the background--it should have been added on a black background to stand out.  Since I couldn't 'undo' I needed to brighten it up--so added paint & thread to help.  Alas, I think not enough...
Andrea was always in love with anything gingko so the Asian appliques included some of those, plus some maple.  Here are some sorry attempts to show some detail...

The third one is shaping up nicely & is intended to be a tribute to the Pacific Northwest--earth, sea, sky, mountains, animals...   When I received the blue & brown themed piece you could easily consider it finished as is.  It looked self contained--except that it was wider than tall.  So I decided to add two borders; one top, one bottom with a hint of sky on top & ground on the bottom.  There was a nice inner border around the center block with three-dimensional triangles.  
I mirrored that pattern in a larger version, using some of the required fabrics provided--and added several of my own, again three dimensional.  This one will be fairly large when it's finished & will be cozy! It already has cool embellishments: beads, stitching, and some origami flowers among the ferns.
So, there we are!  Three more--or half way through. Hopefully more soon...

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Wednesday on Whidbey

Penn Cove--with the rafts for the famous Penn Cove Mussels! Yum!!
And the Mussel Festival is just around the corner--always many people, great treats, and much fun--even if it's the worst spring weather imagined!

Thursday, February 3, 2011

Wednesday on Whidbey

Wednesday on Whidbey on Thursday...sorry!
I love Madrona tree bark (and the color too!)