Weekly update: the challenge, a flimsy,. something new + reading

 

I was able to walk in the state park on Thursday, between storms.  Here along the Lake Michigan shoreline we only got 3" of snow , though areas just a few miles west got a lot more. I was among the frozen chosen who made it to church this morning. Today was beautifully sunny but very, very cold with the high of zero.

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I'm making good progress on the MQG challenge mini quilt.  

Neckties are made on the bias so they have to be stabilized before the fabric can be sewn into anything.  I scrounged what I could from a box of interfacing left over from garment sewing but that wasn't enough. I ordered a bolt of featherweight fusible from Joann's that arrived late Saturday afternoon.  

When I 'processed' ties (disassemble, wash, iron) I folded them neatly, but once in the storage box the tidy little rolls magically unroll and tangle up.   I also discovered that at some point I just tossed the washed ties in the box.  Thus I've done a considerable amount of untangling and pressing.   The immediate project requires a lot of dark blue so I pulled out many of those. 

While I was at it I pulled out the mostly-reds.   There may be more necktie projects in the near future.

Meanwhile, here's a new flimsy!  

Last summer I made a batch of zipper blocks.   As I wrote in this post I oriented the contrast one way in some and the other way in the others.   I made a quilt from the "one way" blocks and put the "other way" blocks in a box.  It turned out there were 19 other way blocks. I made 41 more and set them horizontally, The blocks finish at 6 x 9 so this is 54 x 60.  

Speaking of boxes, I put all the blocks and units and instructions for Indigo Way in a box.  I will probably make two quilts, one with Block A and one with Block B.  I've reintegrated the greens and the light blues into the stash and want to get the neutrals and dark blues put back this coming week.

I've started some double four patch blocks as the upstairs (living room ) sewing.  

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I finished two books this week and recommend them both.  

What a treat! Molly Gray is back. She's now the Head Maid at the Regency Grand Hotel where she and her team ensure that every room is cleaned to a State of Perfection. Best-selling mystery novelist J. D. Grimthorpe is a guest. Also staying at the Regency Grand are Grimthorpe's groupies, a bunch of fanatical women who hang onto every word that the man writes or speaks. But then, just as he is about to make a major pronouncement, he drops dead. It turns out that Molly and her beloved Gran had a long-ago encounter with the odious celebrity. But who would kill him? Molly and Police Detective Stark find out.

I suggest reading Molly's first book, The Maid, to better understand Molly's way of understanding the world.  

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So often costume collections and exhibitions showcase clothing worn by famous women (First Ladies, movie stars, socialites) or made by well-known designers (Chanel, Dior, Worth). One of the reasons is that those clothes were worn for special occasions or by women who had extensive wardrobes. Those clothes were carefully preserved.

Instead, the Smith College collection is devoted to what women in the 19th and 20th centuries wore (and wore and wore) every day. Chapters differentiate what women wore at home and in public; accessories (underwear, hats), uniforms (waitresses, maids, nurses, military), rites of passage (mourning, maternity, quinceneara), and suits. Photographs show the full-0n garments and closeups. Advertisements and other commentary add context to the entries.

It's a wonderful history. I'd love to tour the collection.

Linking up with Oh Scrap!  Sew and Tell   Design Wall Monday  Thanks for the Sew and Tell shout out, Melva!