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something different to get tired of

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looking at the calendar this morning, i realize that the Contemporary Woven Boro is almost coming to a close.  had to choose what i need most help with in the remaining time left, and it's daughter Jenny's cover.  will begin trying things out tomorrow.  maybe the tapestry weave for that central piece, but then what to do with all of the flannel blanket around it????? 

tea dyed the central piece.  need to tea dye the blanket too.  will do that tonight so i am ready tomorrow to begin experimenting.

spent all first half of day putting the blown down fence back up (with neighbor kids)….had to set 3 new 4×4 posts in cement.  that sort of mending.  then…oh tra la, the computer mouse died.  so off to town to get another which is temporarily working but not the right kind.  i think i want nothing else to fall down or break apart for a little while.

any suggestions/ideas about how to approach this blanket/cover will be very welcome.  please.

 

 

 

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32 responses to “something different to get tired of”

  1. deanna7trees Avatar
    deanna7trees

    i didn’t realize you would have all that white flannel around the edges. i was looking at the laced piece as the whole thing. do you really want to make it that big? that’s a whole lot of space to cover.

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  2. grace Forrest Maestas Avatar
    grace Forrest Maestas

    yes. i really do. need to.
    she needs to take it to her New Place when she goes.
    am waiting for the giant tea batch to boil. i also have a piece
    of something, cotton again, really nice feel to it*. old. will
    tea dye that also. that i will use for the woven strips that will
    cover the parts of the flannel blanket that are not covered by that
    central design. have been starring at the mosaic lesson.
    and THANK YOU, deanna for responding so quickly about the tapestry
    weave question.
    *what jude once referred to as “household cloth”. i love that term.
    feels good everytime i think it.
    Jenny is creating an entire life there. may have nothing there
    to arrive to…depends on what she ends up being able to buy.
    might just be land. if so, fencing for the goats would come first.
    she would maybe even live in a
    tent.
    again, after her big bird quilt fell apart when she was in middle
    school, i promised year after year i’d make her one someday.
    my somedays seem to have run out. about this, but also in general.
    seems as if some day has arrived. i’ve never made a quilt before.
    so,
    yes.

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  3. deanna7trees Avatar
    deanna7trees

    it might be easier if you cut the edges of the flannel backing (the part outside the central piece), worked them separately and then stitched them back together. if i think of anything else, i’ll let you know.

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  4. grace Forrest Maestas Avatar
    grace Forrest Maestas

    i had not thought of that at all. like panels.
    i think this might be a great idea.
    flannel is in the tea bath at this moment. will go out on
    the clothes line to spend the night with Wind and stars.

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  5. Herm Avatar
    Herm

    My idea is to cover the blank spaces of the blanket with woven pieces you might have around, just like Jude is doing with the Star that she is showing us! Make the center of the Star the “dancing goat” piece, don’t cut anything yet! Hope this help you!

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  6. grace Forrest Maestas Avatar
    grace Forrest Maestas

    ok..won’t cut anything. it’s wet anyway. steaming, actually.
    waiting to cool off so i can wring it out and put on the line.
    if it were for me, i could easily do as you suggest. but she
    is more uhhhh, well, conservative than i am. it needs to be
    quieter.
    forgot to click Reply. this is Reply to Herm

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  7. Herm Avatar
    Herm

    I think if she is conservative, she still would love it, if you make those woven pieces in a “quiet” color — hope Jude comes with an idea!!!

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  8. Linda Avatar
    Linda

    grace, i agree that taking it as small sections would be more manageable. I have never made a quilt either, but think that it would help me. i would be too overwhelmed by the whole thing. if you do them all in subtle colors they will not be so outrageous.
    you are wonderful to give her something so practical for her new space. she will curl up knowing you love her.

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  9. deanna7trees Avatar
    deanna7trees

    your idea is a good one but jude was working with a small manageable piece. this piece is 40″x40″ and it’s hard to sit and handstitch on a piece that large in the beginning stages. we’ll see what jude says. she always comes up with something great.

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  10. judy keathley Avatar
    judy keathley

    yeah—-don’t cut yet.
    this is just beginning –& oh so clearly important—theres really no rush. we still have 2 full wks. —
    by then i can almost guarantee you will have had many loving suggestions—& your heart & mind will have sifted thru them —& you will know . this gift will by then have a life of its own.
    no effort.
    & of course herm is right –she will love it . LOVE it.

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  11. Marti Avatar
    Marti

    Very much like the softness of the flannel dyed in tea as a backdrop grace, it is quiet and lets whatever you decide to use to frame the center piece, as well as the center piece, come forth. I’m assuming that some of the tea cloth will show, that not all of the flannel will be covered by other cloth? When I think of this quilt, I see simple shapes framing the center; you have so many wonderful pieces of cloth, I would let the colors and markings frame the center; maybe do some rows of weaving right around the center. Are you going to hand stitch or machine stitch? Either way, I can see beyond the possible weaving to frame the center, just simple large blocks of cloth moving from the weaving out to the edges, seems like larger pieces would be easier to stitch.
    What I really am thinking about is this: This quilt, a gift for Jenny’s new beginning, her new life, her dream coming to fruition is a personal story quilt. In the center, the beautiful frolicking goat, symbol of this journey. Could you stitch a story of what the new land holds, the new trees, grasses made with fringes, a few rocks, a bird in the sky, sun, moon, all serving to tell the story of how it will be, her goat farm in a new place; and because I believe in ritual, is it possible to create a tiny Big Bird? I’m sure that as a child, Jenny had many dreams wrapped in her Big Bird quilt. Now, she will have this special quilt, her woman quilt made by her mother’s hands, and my heart says that this quilt could have a tiny Big Bird, shyly peeking from a tree, the Big Bird from her child quilt, sending love to the grown Jenny.

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  12. jude hill Avatar
    jude hill

    well i love that i keep losing my comments here. a big one just went poof. i would leave it as a big piece. i feel that it has already become a large story somehow. but work outward in securing it. it is easy to roll one side up at this point to get at the center. work on the center a bit, maybe work outward. this way the center always seems like the heart to me. it is quite easy to coat a large area cloth with woven components. you have a series of square rings here, i think they can be a series of approaches.

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  13. grace Forrest Maestas Avatar
    grace Forrest Maestas

    am going to take these thoughts with me…have to go to
    work.
    and what i thought reading the above too is that what i
    need to do in the immediate sense is get the weavings all
    in place. secured. then mosaic as much as i can
    before she goes. i can do more when i get there.
    ok…hey ho…off to work

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  14. Shishi Avatar
    Shishi

    Oh, Grace…..this will be wonderful. I’m thinking about it and will check in later……..Shi

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  15. Suzanna Klein Avatar
    Suzanna Klein

    Grace, yesterday I visited the man to whom I gave the farm cloth I made…at first I thought it should be big, but I realized that time-wise, a smaller size would be something I could actually finish in his lifetime, so it came out about 42″ square. Since then, he’s repeatedly mentioned that the size is perfect as lap size…it doesn’t get caught in the mechanics of his chair etc. and it keeps his legs warm (backed with flannel) which is where he feels the cold most. This is just a thought to add to the mix…no matter what size you decide on, and it does sound like you want it to be larger, it’s going to be beautiful and she’ll love it.

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  16. Cristina Ortega Avatar
    Cristina Ortega

    Grace,
    i also say, keep it big. during c2c uno, remember Leona’s quilt(?) well
    it was so large i had to roll the edges in order to stitch.
    And now. thought you might be interested in “The Spider’s
    Market – A Fiber Arts Sale” March 25th and 26th. You may have
    heard about it already… at the Albuquerque Garden Center
    10120 Lomas Blvd. i think this means at the State Fair Grounds.
    It is sponsored by Las Arañas Spinners and Weavers Guild.
    yes, i plan to go have a lookie see!

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  17. grace Forrest Maestas Avatar
    grace Forrest Maestas

    Cristina…no. i hadn’t heard of this. i will write it on the
    calendar. as it nears, lets try to coordinate so we can meet????
    i don’t think it’s the same as the fairgrounds…maybe…
    but will find out for sure. THANK YOU!!!!
    AND
    yes.
    yes i DO remember Leona’s quilt. i remember it very very well.
    i remember it hanging in the sun. rolling edges.
    Bueno, then.
    Keep it Big.
    tomorrow i wil anchor it with string to rocks.
    new mouse, will post pics.
    xoxoxo

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  18. Herm Avatar
    Herm

    grace, when you anchor it to the rocks, you can then “audition” with pins some woven blocks or fabric pieces around and that would be easy for you to see what you want on it, just an idea!

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  19. jude hill Avatar
    jude hill

    audition. cloth theatre…i will bring the popcorn

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  20. Herm Avatar
    Herm

    “audition” as in try out!!!!

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  21. Cristina Ortega Avatar
    Cristina Ortega

    oh yes, that would be great…
    a meet and greet!

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  22. grace Forrest Maestas Avatar
    grace Forrest Maestas

    welll….hmmm. right now i am just doing the big outside
    with the weaving. enough for the moment.

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  23. grace Forrest Maestas Avatar
    grace Forrest Maestas

    what she will know is that i finally made something for
    HER.

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  24. grace Forrest Maestas Avatar
    grace Forrest Maestas

    2 wks is short plus, there is SO much needing to be done
    outside with the raised beds etc.

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  25. grace Forrest Maestas Avatar
    grace Forrest Maestas

    a tiny Big Bird. i smile.
    no machine. all hand stitching. am committed.

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  26. grace Forrest Maestas Avatar
    grace Forrest Maestas

    good. need all the checking in i can get….

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  27. grace Forrest Maestas Avatar
    grace Forrest Maestas

    the Whole size has been a certain kind of request for
    YEARS. now’ the time.

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  28. grace Forrest Maestas Avatar
    grace Forrest Maestas

    yes. since i’ve never done anything like this before,
    i need to SEE the whole thing to have any idea at all
    about what to do.

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  29. grace Forrest Maestas Avatar
    grace Forrest Maestas

    knew we could count on you

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  30. Suzanna Klein Avatar
    Suzanna Klein

    Yes…now I see the latest picture I understand the vision better and I am impressed by it. Size can be bigger when there are lots of years…Alex is 97 and so I felt I must pare down the size. Oh glory, what a world!

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  31. grace Forrest Maestas Avatar
    grace Forrest Maestas

    Suzanna…i love, LOVE, this comment…
    “Size can be bigger when there are lots of years…”
    Size is an odd thing.
    Alex at 97’s lap might be really HUGE, though we may not
    feel it to be that way and so, you were so astute in
    making him a perfect size cloth…not to get caught in
    stuff.
    Jenny need a cloth as big as we are, as big as all that
    has come before is/all that is envisioned/all that will
    be/all that needs “correction”. Jenny needs a BIG cloth.
    and the part that made me feel so good and LAUGH
    is
    OH glory!
    YES, and you can say That again!!!!!!
    love to you…….!

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  32. Linda Avatar
    Linda

    oh wish i were close and could meet you two and have tea..

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