Just Too Nice

Who's with me in finding it difficult to believe it is September already? Right on cue, we have weather feeling more like fall than summer, nights so much cooler (even some frost warnings!) and days in lovely comfortable low 70's which I deem just about perfect. The smoke even cleared several days and I was prompted to grab my architecture sketchbook so I could take a break part way through my walk to sit in the sun and capture a few views. The simple shelters at the dog park have caught my attention since they first went up; I'm a sucker for roof angles. I left a lot of fence detail out which not only would take a lot of time but clutter the focus of my drawing. I paid more attention to placement so the two things I wanted to include - the shelter and the tree with its seating surround - did not run off the page. Since I'm not good at drawing people and pets, I generally leave them out, but this time a single man and his dog stayed pretty much still so I almost felt obligated to include them, even if rudimentary. Helps tell the story that this scene is part of a dog park.

And I also couldn't resist spending time on the deck reading when otherwise I might be in the studio. Thus not a lot of progress on my book project. The covers did get cut to size and gessoed, the signatures folded and weighted, the tissue paper pressed. I'm feeling intimidated again with the next step of gluing the tissue paper to the covers. I could find another cereal box if I botched it but I don't have enough tissue paper for a second go. I'll get over it - I always do, with a big breath and a plunge. In the meantime, I finished reading a book and returned it to the library, picking up the next in the series, and let my eyes linger over the new books shelves. I know better than to do this with a 600 page book in hand, and lately there haven't been any new books I was interested in taking home. Not so this time and I ended up with three more books to check out: a thin collection of poems by David Whyte (who I have followed for awhile now and am about to take the 3rd of his recent series of zoom talks), one that is more eye candy than reading, and one that is about mining from a miner's perspective (of interest because it has chapters devoted to two of the mines my dad worked in). Have to hope that those lovely afternoons hold because I have plenty of reading suitable for doing while sitting on the deck.

Another Sketch, Another Book

We've had a pretty glorious week of temps in the 70's and several good rains that have helped clear smoke from the air and dampen down some nearby forest fires. I've been back on the deck reading in the afternoons and enjoying some walks including one down at city beach. I really wish I'd thought to bring my swim suit - it would have been perfect for a dip in the lake! Today was just too good not to grab a sketchbook so I could stay outside a little longer as I walked around McNearney Park. I certainly need more practice, once again running out of room for the entire building here and wishing I'd turned the sketchbook sideways so I could have gotten it all in. I will post this anyway on the Urban Sketchers Facebook page, remembering what Angela Walters reminds us: "Comparison is the thief of joy." I'm certainly not as good as many of the posters, but as I sat in the sun and sketched away while children and adults alike enjoyed the pump track, I certainly felt joy and no need to compare my sketch to others.

I'm gearing up to make another french link book, using cardboard from a cereal box covered in that cat tissue paper. I nearly tossed or gave it away since I am not a cat person. But then I remembered someone who very much is who I had planned to make a book for some day. That day is here. I wasn't going to use cereal boxes again as covers because of some issues I had, but I'm telling myself I will be more careful about applying the glue and weighting. As you can see, the ribbon I'll be sewing over is narrower than what I used on the first book and has a light and a dark version depending on which side of the ribbon you decide to have showing. And you can also see that I will have a choice to make - the blue (there are bits of blue here and there in the print) or the pink (which shows up in dark bits as well as the light background). I hope I don't end up spending too much time making up my mind. Maybe I'll use both!

5 Day Fabric Journal Finished!

When last I wrote I was mulling which color thread to use for stitching my book together. Those of us leaning toward the black thread were right! This binding is best sewn lying flat. It includes kettle stitches, link stitches and long stitches.

And here it is all sewn together. I have a slight spring in the front cover which is not uncommon, but a little manipulation and more time under weights solves the issue. That batik I used to make the bookcloth for the cover looks so fantastic. I am very pleased.

I'm happy enough with my stamped endpapers, if for no other reason than the ink color  is a perfect match with the batik. And really, you could make this book in 5 days easily, as many who took the challenge did. Don't let my dilly dallying convince you otherwise!

If I do another book with lined paper, I'm already thinking of how I would do it differently, altering the pdf I used or coming up with my own. There are signatures where the center is a plain page, and others like this one that are lined all the way across. In my mind, this would be better with a break at the center, like conventional book pages that have a "gutter".

And here is an example of the alternating plain and lined pages. Again, it bothers me that the lines run all the way to the center rather than having a margin like on the fore edge. But live and learn. This won't be the last book I make. This also shows how the book lies flat when open and the unavoidable gap between signatures. The heavier the thread (and sometimes the weight of the paper too) the wider the gap may be  This is not a feature that bothers me.

Here's a closeup of those 3 stitches we used. From left to right, the kettle stitch (which is essentially a knot to increase the stability of the book at top and bottom), the link stitch (sometimes called a coptic stitch which is an attractive stitch you want to show off - it makes me think of my crocheting days), and the long stitch (versatile, utilitarian, quick, and can be gussied up with beads, weaving, gathering and even French linking it - yes, I want to try them all).

What Presented Itself

After getting the boards cut for my 5 day fabric journal challenge, I mentioned that I hadn't found anything suitable for end papers, and I couldn't (or shouldn't) glue the bookcloth to the boards until I did. But I was sure a solution would present itself and it did. I remembered the teacher saying somewhere that you could always use the same paper as the signatures, and I had plenty of it. It's just that it is white, and plain, and I wished I at least had something that was off-white, but, better yet, patterned. And then while musing outside the studio, I realized that the drawing paper was a good weight for stenciling or stamping, and lord knows, I have plenty of stamps and stencils to choose from. I could easily make my own prettily patterned end paper. I settled on a recently bought foam stamp that I thought would relate a bit to the design of the bookcloth, and a reddish brown stamp pad. Very pleased with this.

Now there was nothing holding me back from covering those boards . . . except my own foot dragging. I suddenly found myself intimidated by the process, even though I've covered boards several times in the course of working on books in the club. Read and reread the directions I'd printed out. Watched the instruction video to refresh my memory. Got out my glue brushes. Cleaned out my small jar to place the PVA glue in. Played with where to place the board on the cloth. Not all on the same day of course - I can procrastinate for days with the best of them! But finally I just had to do it, and it all went perfectly smoothly. While the covers dried under weights, I got out my punching cradle and got the signature sewing holes punched in. Today I got the holes in the cover punched. I'm ready to sew, once I decide on which thread to use - the 4-ply black linen thread or the slightly thinner handspun tan hemp thread. Any thoughts? The thread will be a feature on the spine and I'm leaning toward black.

A "Quick" Project

You know me - I can take any quick project and turn it into a major endeavor. But this time, things were speeded up when I uncovered a near perfectly sized painted and stenciled piece of Kraft Tex I'd totally forgotten about. See these posts to learn more about it: Working With Kraft Tex and Getting Comfortable With Layering. My Kraft Tex off the roll does not lie flat until it has had time to relax or gets weighted under books. When I started moving books to get to the signatures for that 5 day Fabric Journal Challenge, well, there it was partway down the stack. I quickly measured to see if it was big enough for the Midori-style traveler's notebook I wanted to make and it was. Just a little trimming and I was set to go, not having to stencil a new piece that I'd already cut. You just don't know how much time that saved me! And you just can't imagine how exciting it was to find a use for this leftover that I feared was too small for anything.

I'd originally thought to make this of leather because of the instructional video I'd found, but it turns out that the leather I had on hand was too thin and floppy. That's when I hit on the idea of using Kraft Tex, that faux leather product. The video gives dimensions for 3 different sizes, one of which is for Field Notes which is what I was looking for, and regardless of size, the basic instructions are the same. Can't tell you how many times I've tried to figure out how to neatly  add elastic for a booklet to slide under without being able to wrap my mind around it even though it really is quite simple. It's quite alright to have two pieces of elastic running along the center, one that will show in the middle of the book and one with knot trimmed hiding underneath. As you can see, I had plenty of color options to choose from and went with green. Only about a 1/2 inch shows along the top and bottom on the outside of the spine but you know how we like to color coordinate when we can. It's suggested to snug up the elastic until the cover bows slightly to make sure there is good tension when the booklet is inserted but I'm not sure that was necessary with this Kraft Tex.

It is suggested that rounding the corners makes for a nice touch and I agree. Plus it gave me an opportunity to use this corner cutter I'd gotten enticed into buying when I was playing more with paper projects. Actually I purchased 3 different sizes because, well, you never know what size you will need - bane of my shopping existence. 😏 It wasn't particularly pleased with clipping through the Kraft Tex - I really had to exert some pressure to get through it. If I'd been working with leather, I'd be making short cuts with an exacto knife using a small metal washer as a guide.

Here you can see the Field Notes slipped under the elastic. I was very intrigued to find these particular field notes made from a yupo paper in order to be able to write on a damp day. Several types of pens are recommended because not all work well on this non-paper paper. I treated the Kraft Tex with a water repellent spray to match those wet day features.

The video also shows how to add a bookmark, which I've done with a narrow black braid I had on hand, and found a bead in my collection with a hole large enough for it to slide through. Knots on either side of the bead hold it in place and I think it is a nice touch. The closure is more of the green elastic, ends knotted together to anchor the loop on the inside where it goes through a center hole on the spine. So simple but I admit, those last two bits of threading through holes and finding the right thing for the bookmark caused me to finish this up the next morning. Yes, quick projects just laugh at me! But I like this form and can see making more - more quickly now that I've worked out the kinks on this one.

A Five Day Challenge

Fabric left over from making a mask now bookcloth!

While casting about for something to work on during the week between my two July remembrance days early in the month, a week I often spend working on something I think my late husband would approve of or that brings certain memories of him, my Handmade Book Club offered a "Five Day Fabric Journal Challenge" happening that very week. I know, I know - this is a finish year, not a start new things year. But I erroneously thought the structure of the challenge - small specific tasks posted each of the 5 days - would keep me on track to actually finish making the book over those five days. Plus the exposed binding was different and a new way to make bookcloth would be covered. With nothing else calling out, I decided I was in! I didn't even dither long over choosing the fabric for my covers and I quickly finished day one's assignment - fabric fused to a paper backing rather than attaching it with wheat paste. I normally don't use Heat and Bond but have had this sitting in my fusible drawer for a very long time. As I did the fusing, I couldn't remember just why I'd decided that I didn't like it.

On to day two and this went relatively quickly as well, familiar territory the making of signatures. Plus it gave me a chance to try out a paper cutter I'd picked up on the cheap thanks to a great sale price and some earned credits. I've been wanting one of these for a long time and felt I'd been avoiding some of the bookmaking because I found the hand cutting of paper for signatures tedious. Must be all those years I was a school secretary, because the first time I brought down the blade and heard that distinctive snick it made, I was smiling from ear to ear. I didn't have much to trim off my paper but especially with the markings to help line up the paper, it certainly speeded up the process.

I've been thinking about adding lined pages to my books and decided this was the time to make it happen. With the help of a pdf provided by the Handbook Club's leader, I printed lines on one side of my papers only, so that when they are nested, a lined page will face a blank page. Not sure how I will use this book but one thought is to sketch or collage on the blank side and journal on the lined side. Click on the photo above for a larger view and squint to see those lines and how they work in the signature.

Collated and folded, my signatures now went under a heavy stack of books. It really is amazing how much flatter a signature becomes after time under the weights. Then the fore edge can be trimmed away, that unavoidable creep of the inner pages past the edge of the outer page. And that is as far as I got before I got sidetracked by something else (can't even remember what now). Day three was to be the cutting of the cover boards, a process I truly dislike. I printed off directions, watched the video, and stubbornly refused to deal with it. That is until today, when I finally carved out some time before July totally got away from me. I'd recently read additional suggestions of how to make this cutting go more easily, and one of the suggestions did help, but it still takes many passes of your knife of choice to get through the 2mm board. This is so vexing to even experience bookmakers that they buy pre-cut boards or take them to a print shop that has the machinery to cut board to your specifications. So it's not just me.

Just like in quilting, measuring, marking the dimensions of the covers and cutting must be precise and square, and my first one was. My second one was not. It was an eighth inch narrower at the bottom than at the top. And quilters know that even a tiny eighth of an inch can throw things out of kilter. Ok, try again. But I was having increasing difficulty with the metal ruler slipping, even though it has grippy cork on the back. The third one was off not just along the bottom but along one side as well, but this time it was angled slivers extending beyond the desired measurement so trimmable. But how to get everything square, mark the cutting line and make those laborious cuts with the Stanley knife? Not the first time I've grabbed a quilting ruler to square things  up in my bookmaking, and it was so obvious what needed to be trimmed away. But I can't use a knife with my quilting ruler. My big rotary cutter was lying not far off to the side, seeming to taunt me. Come on, it seemed to say, use me - I bet I can get through that board. And with three quick cuts, it did! Now yes, I know that kind of cutting will dull it, and yes, rotary blades are a little pricey, but to be honest, I don't use that really big one very much and I'd already spent so much time trying to make the Stanley knife cut through it. I more than reduced the time in half that trimming with the "proper" tool would have taken, and ended up with two boards that were the right dimensions and perfectly matched. A worthwhile tradeoff, and the next time I'm faced with cutting board, I'll try the rotary cutter again.

I also got my signatures out from under the books and trimmed away that fore edge creep - with a quilting ruler and small rotary cutter designated for paper - so they are ready to have sewing holes punched in them. But the next step is not that, but gluing that bookcloth to those covers and adding end papers. I'm a bit stumped about what to use for the end papers - possible candidates so far have not been big enough. Something will come to mind . . .  

My Bee Flowers

First I want to thank those of you who left such lovely comments on my two remembrance posts. Definitely warmed my heart, especially the ones noting that they too had celebrated 50 years of marriage. I had a feeling I had readers who had made that milestone. Congratulations! Here - have some flowers, or at least pictures of flowers, which is my second thing. These winter over in their planter on my back deck and I think this is the third summer I've enjoyed these blooms. The first summer there were only two blooms, but now look how the plant has grown and has sent up multiple blooms.

I don't know what it is called because it came out of a packet of mixed seeds meant to produce plants that bees would be drawn to. The blooms unfurl ever so slowly over weeks . . .

But each bloom sticks around for weeks as well.

Although it looks like the stems all originate from the same basic plant, there are two different styles of blooms: one with a single layer of petals round the center and one with several layers of petals.

And several different distinct colorations. All delight me.

They DO draw the bees. Look at all the pollen covering this one. Does anyone know the name of this flower?

Another Day to Remember

  

On this day in 1975, I married the man I'd met and fell in love with (with quite a bit of pushing from him!) my junior year in college. My parents didn't have a lot of excess money lying around and my dad in particular frowned on credit, so some choices had to be made. For instance, I could either have a professional engagement photo taken which would be used with our wedding announcement in the newspapers and our invitations, or I could have a professional wedding photographer at the big day. I opted for the former and one of my brothers offered to take the wedding photos using a fairly good camera (and we were very pleased with the job he did).

This photo did not age well - my dress really was white

I'd been making my own and my mother's clothes for years so it was a no brainer that I would make my wedding gown and her mother-of-the-bride dress. I'd seen a Renaissance painting that included a women in an interesting dress - at the elbow and the high waistline was a second layer of fabric that split to reveal the sleeve and skirt underneath. With arms bent, the outer sleeve would hang down. When walking, the outer skirt would part and be pulled back. I found a pattern that was close, reshaped the neckline to match that in the painting, and figured out how to add those outer pieces of fabric on the sleeve and skirt. And because this was the 70's, the veil was a nod to Romeo and Juliet. Yes, I was very much a romantic.

As for my bridesmaids, they too knew how to sew, so I purchased the pattern and fabric for their dresses and veils and sent it off to them. The groom and his groomsmen all but one owned their own tuxes because of the various music groups they played in. All they had to do was rent those ruffled tux shirts in blue to match the bridesmaids dresses. It was definitely a wedding on the cheap.

Probably the biggest expense was renting the Waikiki Retreat House for the event and as I look up a link, I see it is no longer called that and also does not allow wedding ceremonies anymore. But here's a link with a photo and a little history. There was a bit of a kerfuffle when not too far in advance of the wedding, we were informed that there was an extra fee for chairs which my father refused to pay. Lots of hand wringing on the part of my mother and tears on my part until my in-laws stepped in to cover it. Our college jazz band had played at an event there and I decided on the spot I'd much rather be married there in its garden than in my little church back home. (Another kerfuffle as my mom had her heart set on the home-town church. I countered with using the minister and inviting the church ladies to help with the reception. Grumbling ensued but I won out.) Another musician friend played classical music on his guitar as we processed in and out, and during the reception too. It really was a fairy tale setting, at least for me. Never mind that it rained and lightninged all morning, and we feared we'd have to have the ceremony inside. The storm spent itself about 15 minutes before we were to begin, just enough time to get those rented chairs set up and everyone seated.

And when my dad and I stepped from the mansion to walk up the aisle, the sun came out! Talk about timing. My dad had the best time that day, and reportedly leaned over to my mother after the service to say "I forgot to smooch her!"

Here is probably our favorite photo from that day. As we readied to cut the cake, that musician on the guitar did a little strum like a drum roll. We'd both been working for the college food service and our boss who also owned a catering business presented us with the cake as a wedding gift. Since the wedding was on a Sunday and in those days, florists did not deliver on Sunday, he also stored the flowers and the cake in the college cafeteria's cooler so we would have access to them on the day.

The reception was fun for everyone I think, and I was dragging my feet about leaving. but our time slot was nearly up so I changed into my "getaway dress" (which I did NOT make surprisingly), and said our goodbyes before getting into a borrowed car for the quick trip downtown where we had reservations for a several day stay at the historic Davenport Hotel. Remember, we were recently graduated broke college students with not a lot of money for a honeymoon and a campus job to get back to.

That honeymoon suite did not disappoint! And they were quick to arrive with complimentary champagne. What a treat . . . 

Waine & Anna Whitlock married 4/28/1906 at her family home

So we almost made it to 25 years, and had every intention of making it to 50. We were decedents of strong long-lasting marriages that served as role models for staying together. My maternal grandparents made it to 50 in 1956 and were given a brass clock with the event engraved on it.

Leone & Floyd Mahanke married 8/12/1938

I inherited the clock and made sure my parents info was engraved on it as well when they celebrated their 50th in 1988. Family story goes that they crossed state lines from South Dakota into Wyoming because Wyoming had no waiting period, and as my mother said, when your dad makes up his mind about something, you don't argue, you just go! They found a church to be married in. No doubt what mom was thinking about when her little girl was planning her own wedding.

Frank and Carol Barnes

Allen's own parents made it to 50 I believe, although I don't seem to have any pictures of their celebration. Here's one taken in 1979; they were married in the early 1950's.                                                               

Once Allen died, I passed the clock onto my oldest living brother, telling him that if he and his wife made it to 50 years, he had to promise me he'd have their info engraved on it. The clock is like the one in the photo above so you can see how there are 4 panels on the top for engraving.

Joe & Jackie Mahanke married in 1969

And they did indeed celebrate their 50th in 2019 and have the clock engraved. Bravo! And I have little doubt that my other brother with a long-lived marriage will reach year 50 and have his info engraved on the last panel of the clock.

Thanks for indulging me and my memories. I've had a pleasant day going through our wedding album and scrapbook, and sharing the story.

Finishing The Blank Book Journal

I was a bit disappointed that I got so close to finishing this blank journal yet didn't get those final steps done before eye surgery compromised my vision. I'm still not able to see sharply nor focus on small details without the help of a magnifying glass, but I'm only a little over a week out from full healing and hopefully getting fitted for glasses that will give my, as the eye doctor said, best vision. Can't wait. But there has been progress and I decided that surely I could thread up a big needle with perle cotton and stick it through the pre-punched holes. Well, it was more difficult than I thought it would be, so now I definitely know my limits in the studio! But I persevered, got those signatures sewn in and a button/elastic loop closure added. I'm very pleased with the results.

Here you can see better some of the quilting which just follows random texture of the hand-dyed fabric which I think came from friend Susan. It didn't strike me as anything floral until I was done, and then the spiky blooms were quite plain. The button is an old one from my mother's/grandmother's collection and the colors in it match those of the fabric perfectly. I have 2 more of these button in a smaller size and have used at least one more of the set someplace else. I've always wondered what piece of clothing these came off of, as that was definitely a thing to save pretty buttons off clothing that was worn out.

I just sew the signatures in with a simple long stitch, copying Michele who made me my first such blank journal, and using perle cotton, although sometimes I can find a different kind of strong but decorative thread to match the fabric. It holds the signatures well enough for how I use the book.

Usually the fabric I choose is a little heavier than quilting cotton but this time not, so after some dithering, I decided to cut another slightly smaller piece of the hand-dye and fuse it to the inside of the cover (a bit like end papers) before sewing in the signatures, just to give it a little more stability. I've already started writing in it and it is working perfectly, such a feeling of satisfaction when I pick it up to use.

Quiet Day of Remembrance

A quick trip to visit my parents pre-proper gear

The years tick by, leaving my loved one frozen in time, forever 46 when he died on this day in 2000, while I continue to age with fond memories of our time together - 25 years of marriage and a few preceding that of courting. Motorcycles defined much of our lives together, and I loved every minute spent riding behind him. Well, maybe not every minute. Some of the motorcycle vacations we took had very long days on the bike, leaving us stiff and sore, sometimes getting caught in downpours, soaked and cold, before we invested in rain gear, other times baking in the hot sun. In fact there were many uncomfortable rides on bikes not meant for long 2-up treks and without proper gear.

But we eventually moved up to a Harley decked out in proper "luggage" bags and decked ourselves out in proper leathers as well. It was a wonderful way to explore new countryside and look for fun photo ops when we moved to Wisconsin.

So my day will be remembering my guy, his foibles as well as his strengths, the things he enjoyed doing and his love for me. Miss you and those rides . . .

That Idaho Beauty Block

Clockwise from upper left: Idaho Beauty, Washington Star, Wisconsin, California Snowflake

A few posts back, Sylvia mentioned that she was not familiar with the Idaho Beauty block, and to be honest, I don't think that in the many years I've been using it as my signature block and part of my e-mail address I've run into a single quilter who had heard of it. Like many quilt blocks, this design goes by several names, sometimes dependent on fabric and/or value placement, and according to Barbara Brackman's Encyclopedia of Pieced Quilt Patterns (which my mother-in-law gave me in 1993), six in this case. I'm guessing that Devil's Claws is the most familiar name for it, but I can thank Clara Stone's 1906 Practical Needlework: Quilt Patterns for adding Idaho Beauty as a name for this block.  This wasn't the only block with Idaho in its name but it was the one I liked the most. And I can thank Barbara's book for leading me to the other 3 state blocks that I incorporated into the above quilt called Personal Geography: States I Have Lived In.

Close-up of hand quilting boldly done with blue thread

I made this quilt for a contest in 1994 for a sampler quilt contest sponsored by the now defunct Northwest Fabrics & Crafts store. I'd moved to Wisconsin with no plans to go back into the workforce, but instead to devote my time to really learning how to make quilts and about the history behind them, and this hometown store provided my first quilting fabrics. Once I'd gained some confidence and perfected some skills, I scoured the ads in the several quilting magazines I subscribed to for information on contests I could enter, both block contests and quilt contests. Yes, this was before you could find this sort of information on the internet and also before digital cameras and learning the finer points of taking evenly lit and square-on photos to submit with entry forms. (Click on any photo for a larger view.)

This photo shows a little of how the border was pieced

To my disappointment, it didn't get accepted into that contest, nor into several others I tried being held in other parts of the country, but it did get into several including ones in Florida and Asheville NC that included judging sheets with the returned quilt. I got surprisingly good marks for such a novice, but one judge did ding me on my not so mitered corners on the binding. After successfully overcoming several how-do-I-construct-this-idea-I-have challenges of the sashing and border, I could not figure out how to turn those binding corners which ended up somewhat rounded with tiny gathers. I convinced myself that I liked that look and decided to bravely go with it, but no judges were fooled. I now know there IS a way to make rounded corners and bind them and that wasn't it!

This was also before the availability of quilting software for designing, and I worked out my setting and borders on graph paper probably colored with felt pens or markers, and drew full size templates for the sashing and border pieces on newsprint (I still often do this). The idea for the compass sashing came to me, like so many other quilting solutions, while I was trying to fall asleep. As you can see in the photo above, I "auditioned" a striped border as well as the one I eventually used which seemed to echo the lines of the center compass. My husband noted that "your quilt is exploding, little pieces scattering everywhere", and I picked up on that idea in the description I submitted with my entries, saying "The octagonal border accentuates the feeling that the design is expanding, just as my horizons expand with each move." Marketing, I swear, it's all about marketing! The finishing touch was to ink with permanent pen all the addresses where I'd lived on the back of the quilt, matching them with the proper state block.

How do I know all this after all these years? Is my memory that good? I know all this because of the documentation file I filled out and placed in a binder with the other quilt documentation files I'd been keeping. I'd been doing a little of this, mostly notes on the back of photos, but at some point someone in one of those magazines I'd been reading talked about the importance of documenting your quilts and had pre-printed manila envelopes covering all the pertinent information you should note and giving you a place to store additional information, photos, patterns, judging sheets. Well, I'd been a secretary for so long that this was right up my alley, an aid to organization and filing. I ordered up a set and I was off. I soon devised a revised version of this original one, changing some of the categories to reflect better the sort of information I felt important. I've especially appreciated added fabric swatches as often the camera doesn't get the colors quite right. I've faithfully filled out these documentation files to this very day and am so happy I've taken the time. Where I once thought I'd never forget the details of each quilt I made, I now sometimes struggle just to remember their names. But with these files, here is the entire history of each quilt along with my thought processes and feelings as I worked through each. You can click on the photo above and below and know pretty much the full details and history of this quilt.

I often continue writing on the back

Before you ask, I think I've used this block in only one other quilt, just a single big block with a wide border. I've made a stamp of it though, to use on the back of framed pieces along with my information, and it shows up on my business cards and as my avatar on some sites. However, once I did get some quilt designing software, I mocked up a full-size quilt with just this block, in white and teal, with teal sashing and borders and star block cornerstones. Even have fabric set aside, but I've never gotten around to making it. Perhaps still some day . . .