Author Archives: Colleen Kole

Do you ever wonder?

     There are no pretty pictures of what I have finished. There are no cheery thoughts today. I only have questions-deep burning questions that are bothering me to the core of my being. I am a physical therapist by profession and loved helping others. I was always gratified by my job-sure tired and frustrated by paperwork but always rewarded by the joy that comes with helping others. I feel a little selfish right now with only doing things that make me happy. And this was before I  heard Eric speak this morning.

Eric is a minister who came to speak at my kids school this morning. He just got back from Haiti. He has been going there for 20 years to serve in various ways. He went to help with intrepretation for a medical response team. As tears ran down my cheeks after seeing the pictures and hearing the stories I am asking myself:

Could I sleep in a tent? I don’t know.
Could I eat tuna fish and crackers three meals a day? Could I live without a shower for long periods of time?
Could I not wash my uniform for days on end?
Could I help move a stretcher-yes
Could I help bandage a wound-yes
Could I do it if the patient didn’t have any pain meds?
Could I debride a wound? it’s been a long time
Could I give a bottle of water to a thirsty child?
Could I  teach someone how to use crutches or to wrap a stump? When will there be crutches? are there Ace wraps?
Could I stand their pain? Could I hear their stories?

Could I be used in any way-here or there? I don’t know but I need to ask myself some serious questions and pray about how I can use what I know and what my hands can do. I know it’s more than just dropping some money off. And it doesn’t involve adopting a child. They need to be in their country for now. They have had enough trauma.

I will sew today. But I am not sure it will be happy sewing. What would you do for another?

A Play Day

 
  I had a day which was completely empty. Including having leftovers for dinner-good leftovers so I knew there would be no complaining. I just started opening up drawers and my favorite little treasure box.

     Sparkly things which just need to be tried on. As part of my quilt.
.

A little light I think…

A little better but just not right yet…

So easily distracted. Thank you Natasha-all I needed was an “s” for my Etsy link-ok at least -I told you even though I am embarassed. Must go to put some binding on,

Happy Sewing, my friends.


A Month of Red

     I know that January did not exactly look like a productive month if  I am just looking at my quilt production. I set a yearly goal of finishing three pieces each month. Doesn’t matter the size but just finished. So close on two pieces but so close doesn’t count.

     I have achieved a few things this month and for me they seem huge. I have taken pictures of all pieces and priced them. So many times, I have people interested but never know what I would sell them for.  Secondly, I have set up an Etsy shop . That with my limited computer skills is another huge event off my list. I know Etsy is huge and easy to get lost in. But , even if I don’t sell anything there initially, it is a visual place where people can do some window shopping.

     I have had two people ask me-just what are you doing with all this? I Why are you blogging? Why are you selling? And the answers continue to be 1. to journal my progress 2. to offer what I make to others for purchase(what will I do with all of them?) 3. to keep in touch with friends I have made . So that’s a start to the answer. I’ll let you know where else I would like to go as I figure it out. Oh -to enter some shows eventually- I have never even submitted anything to my local guild show!

#1

  So to pop the champagne -over the store- I have cut into some of my precious hand dyed fabrics. To sell here to see if you might be interested on a larger scale. And to celebrate the beginning of Februrary, they are red. and gorguous. They measure approx 18×24.  Email me if you are interested in them. Don’t know if I will sell them on a routine basis on Etsy yet. They are a pretty candy apple red and bubblegum pink. I have double washed them in Synthrapol but I would wash them again -just because we all know how red is.

1. 5 pieces- 18×24 3 red, 2 pink-25$
2. 6 pieces-18×24  3 reds 3 pink-30$

I will pay shipping. So why didn’t I put them in my Etsy shop? I can’t figure out how to link the badge on my blog to the shop….despite help from several computer savvy friends….I have to bring my computer in today-maybe I’ll ask my computer guy… The shop is set up -just can’t link it…seems silly to tell you about it today but I wanted to offer these fabrics to you in time for Valentine’s Day.

#2

I love reds and pinks. Off to solve my issues. But first I will sew.

Happy Sewing, my friends.

Little Things

     I love little things that make my job easier. And I always learn something at a workshop that I can apply to what I am doing. This little scissors is perfect for ripping out tight seams. It’s actually a suture scissors.  I bought one from Deb Kurasik at my workshop on Wednesday. The stitch length she recommended for paper piecing was 1.5-tiny -so ripping out was not fun. They really helped .

    

     Also, I remembered some table extensions that we had used in a fabric dyeing class last spring that put the table at just the right heighth for working in a standing position. When I asked Betsy, my friend who is in charge of organizing the programs where they came from she smiled and went and got me a set of four from the closet.

 PVC tubing that had been cut! This thirty dollar table is now the perfect heighth  for cutting and standing. And I thought it was another gadget to be purchased. Why don’t I think of things like that? (yes, it’s ready for binding 🙂

     I must move with my day. I am Mr. mom this weekend-dad and mom rolled into one as Marc is skiing in VT with his friends. I am tempted to begin something with this beautiful blue linen I dyed this summer, velvet and a drawer full of silk scraps I pick up along my way. I have a show I entered and must have a piece for in three weeks. Fun-remind me I feel no pressure!

Happy Sewing ,my friends!

Something New

     I am a member of the West Michigan Guild which meets every other month and sponsors a nationally known teacher to come for workshops and a lecture. It’s a guild of several hundred so not easy to get to know others. At first. But since I always jump in to the opportunity to take a local class I have met some fun sewing friends. I really had no intention of attending  this month since it was not a technique I could see myself using. But a quick posting of an invitation of Facebook on Tues night led me to go. Paper piecing? Mmmm…I couldn’t imagine how I would do as I was driving there. Where would that fit in to what I am doing now? But I needed social contact with other humans who sew and would actually talk back to me. I hoped.

      Well, the teacher was Deb Kurasik and she would teach us paper piecing using a pattern called Look Ma No Curves. Deb was a great teacher and made everything seem easy. I brought my hand dyes and picked really bright colors to start an intricate pattern of pointy triangles.

  

It was so out of my realm-I haven’t used a pattern in three years maybe-that I was grateful for a great teacher sitting next to me as well-Betsy. I enjoyed chatting her ear off for five hours and one thing about quilters-they are always fun to get to know. And nice.  The pattern is on the back and you sew each piece on to the paper foundation.  Took me awhile to wrap my head around that concept again. With Betsy’s patience, I finally did it and enjoyed something entirely different. Great pieces to use in some project. No, I will not make that quilt. I admire those who have the patience and expertise to do this but not me….

     Five hours of work and I only made two pieces. Wow. But I did sell a piece of my hand dyed fabric to a quilter who needed just the right color. Recouped some of my spending , met a great teacher and got to know another great precision perfect quilter who is funny, too. Thanks Betsy for the invite.

    I have seriously digressed from the jeans quilt. Must focus today.

Happy sewing, my friends!

fussing isn’t usually me

   It really isn’t. I apologize for fussing about that silly quilt. I learned the hard lesson of not having a plan but having a vision. I should have had the quilt sketched out and planned out  in a SKETCHBOOK. Oh yah that’s what this month is about. It is being quilted and it’s doable to have it done this week-just big 60×90 and heavy.


I went down the basement yesterday and found two half yards of fabric in a bucket of soda ash water. I had forgotten about it from when I did snow dyeing about two weeks ago. And I found a little bit of dye left in my bottle. So I thought I would try it even though the water actually felt cold.  A surprising result. A pretty sunshine yellow that reminded me of daffodils.

That was worth trying!

So my lesson of the day for myself is after all my fussing….just do what feels right  when I want to

and not worry about what everyone else thinks about my

.

 🙂 that’s cheesy, I know. better go. Happy sewing, my friends.

Sunday Night Special

     I never blog on the weekend but wanted to come and enjoy the fire down by my family. And I knew I couldn’t sew any more tonight! I know you were wondering where I was on Friday. I was in the process of being rescued by my good friend Lynne. From what- you ask?
     I was pleasantly working on my barn quilt with my sewing machine facing my design wall. And as I was making great progress,  I had a sick feeling in my stomach. The sinking feeling when you know it’s not right, but you just don’t want to face it. Now, I could have taken the hint. No comments were left on the day when I posted it. And then, another not so subtle hint from my family-it’s ok.- glad you are almost done- was the sentiment. I had to face the truth-the jeans quilt was really bad. The color of the print I used for the feet background didn’t look right. And the feet were going nowhere. The dimensions weren’t working for me either.
     Now, I felt absolutely sick after sleeping on this decision. The feet were sewn on after I ironed them on with wonder under. I was stuck with that. After talking to Lynne, she suggested a few things and I took her up on adding a sun above the feet. Of course, that meant piecing together a whole new section for the sun to lay on. And three different trips to get the right color yellow. And then sewing the wrong color on. And then sewing the rays way too big. And needing to peel them back,

scrape the wonder under off(thank goodness that worked because I would resign as a quilter and become a knitter if I had to start this sucker over). And then holding the piece up and my family each having negative comments….They were all right. So, I modified the sun, added some more pieces and finally got it right. Not right, but just improved from the bad spot I was in. I breathed a little tonight but know I have yet to start the quilting. And I wasn’t a bit relieved when the next comment was-this is the biggest thing you have worked on in a long time.

     Clearly, I needed an intervention at some point this weekend. Or maybe my family needed an intervention from me and my auction quilt. It’s a bit like a bad dream …My goal is to have it done by next weekend. It’s taking way too long for something that is going to be,at it’s best, not so great.

     I am going to sit by the fire and work on stars in the sky. I love this little hand project. It calms me.

    And to reward you for listening to me complain , I want to share with you a link to a giveaway for a beautiful  leather bound journal. (Thank you Paula for sharing!)   Check out Teo . You need to register by Jan 27th.

Also, if you want to take a look at an artist who puts a verb to her art quilts, check out Lauren Camp.

Happy Sewing, my friends!

     

Building of a Barn:Part 2

      Yes, I am lacking on content this week. And driven by a few items that need to be wrapped up. I did see some new things that might help my design of the barn.

I see the barn -love this hand dyed-good thing I made a few yards of this color:

I see sunshine through the trees and over the barn:

And I see trees covered with snow….

Now I must make it all come together.  It’s turning out not at all like I planned but sometimes spontaneous is good. My husband says I cook the same way so why should I make a quilt any other way? A little of this and a little of that…

Happy Sewing, my friends!

The Building of the Barn

     Always wanted to do a quilt representing a barn-the architecture is so neat-I see lines in the each of the boards-the windows-the doors-the roofline. I started to work on this late morning and didn’t make it too far. But I now have a little bit more of a vision of what needs to be done. I did, as promised to myself, start with a drawing. I just ended up re-drawing the photo. That was no help. Then, I saw those things I love- the lines. And lines are strip sets to me. As much as I don’t want it to look like a barn , this first in my series might indeed look like a barn.

 I spent the morning taking pictures of all my quilts for my records and also to be able to list a few of them on Etsy. Only to find that my image size was too large. So….I took them again….I really should just stop when I can’t make something that is computer or camera related work. But I much prefer to bang my head into a wall and try it 30-40 times only to realize, it doesn’t work:).Sometimes being determined is a real detriment to one’s health.

Happy Sewing, my friends!

Progress made



      I sewed yesterday until I could sew no more. I finished stitching around all thirty feet for my little auction quilt. I am not sure when I have been so happy- I was just dreading it. Now I must go to get the backing fabric. I will use batting too-someone asked me if I would and after checking with others who have used recycled jeans they have said it does work. I am worried about the bulk…but not dreading it as much as the tedious stitching around each foot-now done!

      If you take away the feet, the background is really cool.

     I also started sewing my strip sets for my next project. A good day to be inside and sew. Although some clean snow might be nice. That or a vacation somewhere warm!

     Everyone’s foot was so different!
Happy Sewing, my friends!