Three Steps Forward...

Assembly is simple mathematics...or, at least it should be.
*Note: I have life long history of hating math. 

Frame + broken parts = Wait × Frustration

Encoders - weak springs = Fiddling × Frustration 

Carriage ÷ wheels that don't touch = Tweaking × Frustration 

Motor × belts = Cursing × Frustration 

Are you seeing the common denominator in the equations?

Oh Pfaff Math... Go solve your own problems.

Been a long, hairy week. Four jam-packed 12 hour days that rival the schedule hair stylists expect a couple weeks before Christmas have kicked me in the teeth. I'm whooped. But, Mr. PurpleBoots was able to help build the robot tonight and I couldn't pass the opportunity to have a partner. Together we were able to get things moving along in the assembly department: the frame has belts, a motor and a machine. Putting the machine up there was pretty exciting I must say!

...the heart of the robot...

Next up, handles, power and a brain.

But now, I need sleep.

And in 5 short hours I will need copious amounts of brown holy water... and possibly whiskey in my oatmeal. 

MMQG Blog Hop

I am a new blogger in relation to the other gals so this is a new thing for me. So many things are new to me here in blogland...linky parties, blog hops, quilt-a-longs...oh my! Life was so simple before quilting took over.  I have no idea how these things play out but I'm not one to be left behind, so I joined in anyway. I'm still figuring out all the ins and outs of all these festivities and wondering why we party so much but never crack a bottle of Jack; wrong kind of party I guess.

Anyway, maybe you're interested in meeting some of the cool kids that share my quilty passion? Go ahead, drop in on them & see what they're  up to these days. The list below will let you know who's who and when....

Monday, May 4 - Introductory blog post on Maritime Modern Quilt Guild   

Tuesday, May 5 - Jenn @ A Quarter Inch from the Edge

Wednesday, May 6 - Adrienne @ Chezzetcook Modern Quilts

Thursday, May 7 - Tracy @ Quilting on the Dark Side

Friday, May 8 - Anja @ Anja Quilts

Saturday, May 9 - Val @ Purple Boots and Pigtails

Sunday, May 10 -  Linda @ Scrapmaster

Monday, May 11 - Jeanette @ Stamp Stitch Create

Tuesday, May 12 - Dominique @ The Running Thimble

Wednesday, May 13 - Aimee @ Candy Coated Quilts

C'mon back here on the 9th, it'll be Saturday so therefore I'll be looking for some fun! Pour yourself a cuppa whatever pleases you and visit a while...just don't call the Quilt Police! It's no coincidence the powers that be gave me the Saturday, clearly they've figured out my partying ways!

Stay Tuned...

Finally.
It arrived.

The phone call came on Thursday...did you feel the bump in the universe? So Friday we loaded up the truck and lugged all the bits and pieces home for the Giant Wiggler. The robot has landed! Yippee!

Starting to look like something...

Assembly has begun...the month late arrival means that Mr. PurpleBoots is busy with lobster season again so Not-So-Little PurpleBoots and I have tackled the build thus far. The instructions are fairly clear so minimal profanity has escaped my smiling face...even still, the boy reminds me to "Please stop swearing." I just can't get anything past this Virgo child of mine. It's right or wrong with him, there is no fine line of grey where you might plead your frustration filled case for profanity exemption...nope...leaves me to wonder if he'll always be so good? Ha! At about 4:00 I sent a text to Mr. PurpleBoots that stated, "Bring home chocolate and no one gets hurt".

Quilty Pleasures

Kicked my day off with a scoot to Avonport Discount Fabrics in the Valley to pick up the remaining colours of Kona Kandy for The Gravity Project. I also picked up a spool of Aurifil thread, my pal Linda over at Scrapmaster would be proud! She swears by this brand and I typically cheap out & stock up on the 40% off Gutermann sales at Fabricville for piecing thread. From there we bumped and bounced our way along the pot holed back road to Elmsdale where we stopped at Withrow's Meat Market...yes, bacon in 3 delicious formats followed me home, and lastly to It's Sew Time for a few more quilty pleasures. I got my very own Super Sidekick ruler (because I had to borrow Ellies for the Gravity Project) and the invisible zipper foot for my Pfaff 4.2 that impressed me so when Linda and I did that class last month. There's no way in hell you'll catch me making buttonholes, but throw pillows with invisible zippers are on the list of projects Sister PurpleBoots has in mind. All this Saturday fun and more: there has been a bbq, a splash of red wine and some chocolate.

What a great day! Saw lots of motorcycles on the road today. It's still a bit chilly for me but I can't lie, I'm getting antsy to feel the wind in my pigtails. The Fatboy is singing, but I'm trying my best to ignore him...the robot needs me now.

So stay tuned, The Giant Wiggler is coming soon to a screen near you!

Gravity Project: Constellation

These blocks aren't exactly key players in Ursa Major nor is there any section of the heavens occupied by a grouping of blocks like these but they are nonetheless a constellation.

A constellation by definition can be identified as above for astronomy purposes: "any of various groups of stars to which definite names have been given". This makes Gravity a constellation in itself...but why stop there? A constellation is also defined as "any brilliant, outstanding group or assemblage" or "a group or configuration of ideas, feelings, characteristics, objects, etc., that are related in some way." Looking beyond definitions into the depth of this big word Old Man Webster of dictionary fame tells me that synonyms of constellation include: gathering, company, circle.

Block 2: Constellation 

Let me further focus the quilty telescope for you by using the word in a couple of sentences that we know to be true:
A constellation of quilters have joined forces to build Gravity.
The pattern requires the quilter to possess a constellation of qualities that make her particularly suited to the task at hand.

Now then, if these fine latter points don't lead down the Quilty Milky Way I don't know what will. Folks...we have ourselves a Constellation!

So go ahead, set your sights on Gravity and shoot! This quilt looks more complicated than it is, Jaybird Quilts did an excellent job with the instructions. When you break it down it's actually rather simple and it's not too late to jump in!

Linking up with Busy Hands Quilts for the Gravity Quilt-A-Long!

Tomorrow Is Thursday

I'm still playing the waiting game.
As much as I hate the fact that I'm playing, I'm in the game.
She's got the ball, she wants to play it but team coaches are calling the shots.
So I wait.

Tomorrow will mark the beginning of the 6th week. Today 5 weeks will have passed by nights end; exactly 4 more weeks more than I bargained for. I'm told tomorrow is the day, but pardon me if my hopes don't rise to the occasion.

Maybe. Maybe the stars will align and UPS drivers everywhere in their brown shorts will hold their tongues just right and the universe will allow a certain someone to make a phone call that will not devastate me...again.

If I were holding my breath I'd almost certainly be blue. Well, I am already blue to certain extent for that matter... but anyway, you know what I mean.

I wonder if the zebras have anything to do with this?

It's Not Thursday

I know it's not Thursday.
But I'm "throwing back" anyway.

Nothing new to chat about really...
Still waiting for my robot to arrive, the frame is clearly walking here from Utah. Had a hairy week in the shoppe so didn't get in much stitching but... I did get my taxes done and filed with a little prodding from The Enabler. Hung out with my guild mates yesterday for the April Sew In where I may or may not have jumped ahead of the Quilt-A-Long with the Gravity project...nothing to see here, nope.

So a throw back...yes ma'am.

Jen over at A Quarter Inch From The Edge inspired me the other day to share some of my older pre-blog projects. Given that I have only blogged now for 4 months that leaves a lot of great projects to write about and makes chosing one a bit difficult. My all time favourite is my Purple Cow so I guess I should start there.

Brainstorm.
A sketch seemed as good a place to start as any.

I have loved cows all my life. I got my first cow in the late 70's when I was 3 or 4 years old and although it sported wheels and a Fisher-Price stamp I loved and cared for it like it was the real deal. The Purple Cow quilt was inspired by my mother who used to recite the poem to me when I was a little girl, because her grandfather used to read it to her.

This is where I learned the hard way that two mediums = mush.
The yellow should have been stronger, the message in the sky is
lost and often missed by the viewer. Contrast matters. A Lot.

The poem is a real oldie. Written in 1895 by Gelette Burgess, it goes like this:

I never saw a purple cow,

I never hope to see one. 

But I can tell you anyhow, 

I'd rather see than be one.

Off to a good start!

This was a free pieced adventure; no pattern, no plan, no rules. After a month of collecting bits and pieces of various small purple prints I started my building with her head, first the eyes and then her face. I used some scraps of satin and some blingy taffeta around her eyes...cause she's a fancy girl...and every bovine beauty should have velvet kissy lips too! Ears came next. Then a body, a neck, some udders that ended up in the garbage.

Her tail (that was a small feat of engineering!) and legs we're up next. I scratched my head a long time trying to figure out how to get this gal up and standing; so long in fact that she spent an entire summer laying legless in her pasture. But determination trumped avoidance and 4 legs eventually materialized. I had briefly imagined this gal standing in purple pumps or boots but totally chickened out after attempting a free pieced purple stiletto that quickly joined those udders in the trash can. 

When it came time to piece in all the background chunks to fit the wonky, free pieced body parts things got pretty interesting. Given that this was only my second ever attempt at free piecing and I was learning as I went it took a lot of time. Figuring it out as I went along meant some of the seam lines were tricky and some ended up better than others, but as long as the flimsy stayed flat and the piecing, how ever wonky, had integrity enough to withstand use and washing of a "real quilt" I was happy. I wanted this quilt to be able to be used and loved...this was never to be an art quilt or a pretty hanging. 

To make her into a bed size blanket I stacked up some fat quarters and sliced up some crazy flowers. A strip down either side and a mitered border finished it up around 85" inches square.

Hanging upside down after her first turn on the frame.

I quilted it in free motion on the Wee Wiggler; a challenge in itself. I wanted the borders quilted directional so I had to turn the quilt 3 times on the frame to achieve this. The quilting on the cow itself was SEW much fun. I did all her little bits differently...I felt like I was tattooing her!

I love purple. Purple is the colour of grooviness!
And if I do say so myself this is one groovy cow!

(Oh, and in case you wondered...I still have that Fisher-Price cow. In fact, I gave it to my son when he was about that same age...and, like his momma, he loved her too! More, he received his first plush purple cow when he was born as a gift from my sister, Judy, who found it in Vancouver.)

On The Horizon

I am still in avoidance mode...paperwork is nothing to be rushed into people! I still have 8 days to putter toward a tax return.  So, because I've got nothing but time, I sliced and diced my way thru the first 12 of the 114 Konas in the Gravity Quilt this afternoon. Block 1, called Horizon, was made up of 16  3.5" diamonds cut with the Super Sidekick ruler. I stacked up my fabrics to speed up the cutting process, cutting several diamonds at a time...only paperwork runs at idle around here.

Got them all laid out and started sewing them up. It took only about an hour or so to finish both blocks in the 2 colour ways, not terrible for a fairly simple first block. I'm not one to cut the tips off, nor am I typically one to press seams open. I didn't prewash, or spray starch either. What can I say? I'm living on the edge and taking chances. I run with scissors too.

I wasn't going to join in the Quilt A Long hosted by Busy Hands Quilts but it seemed a good way to avoid doing a little bit of paperwork and add little something extra to my blog. I haven't played along in anything like this before so I figured since I'd be making blocks and would probably end up blogging about them anyway I might as well join the cool kids in their linky party!

Stay tuned for Block 2...coming soon to a blog near you!

Linking up with The Gravity QUILT-A-LONG over at Busy Hands Quilts!