...Go, Going, (Almost) Gone

Here is the progress I have made since the last post.  My mom has allowed me to use the fusible webbing that she has so I have made significant progress.  Anytime I have stopped I have taken a picture of the quilt.  I had originally thought I might give this away as a gift but I have since grown too attached to it.  Not only did I have the idea for several years before I actually started to make it but I have spent a lot of time on creating this quilt.  I think it will look very good as a bedroom quilt.  Just means I need to make a smaller traditional gift sized quilted picture for a gift.

This is after I had finished the sky.  I really liked the way it turned out.  I was trying to think how I could do it like the Ecuador Sunrise but then I found I could offset each color and it turned out much better.

After the sky I added the mountains.  What is the interesting thing about this quilt is it is one mountain range spanning across the four seasons.

The lake was then added next.  The lake consists of several layers of wavy water color fabrics.

Hills were then added between the mountains and the lake.  It is just two hills but like the mountain range the hills span through the four seasons currently making then seem like more than two hills.  Also added were evergreen trees between the mountains and the hills.

A reflection was added in the lake along with the near side bank of the lake.

After I had fused all the pieces on I then added 1/2" strips of brown to create the window.  However, I found that the mid line would cut through the trees so I moved the mid line up and cut a small strip from the bottom so that the top and the bottom would be equal in length.

This is how it looks without the strip hanging out near the bottom.  I also added a shear white piece over the winter portion of the lake to act as ice.  My brother is the one who asked if I was going to have the lake iced over for the winter.  At first I thought no but then decided it looked good with it.

I have now gotten the window frame added to the quilt and am ready to quilt parts of the inside.  After that I will put a backing on it and it will be ready to be a wall quilt.  I may or may not add some trees or something to the different seasons but it depends on how much time I have left to spend on it.  It might just be done as it is.

I will visit Tuft's on Tuesday, have my last day of work on Friday, and then leave Saturday to go back to Houghton.  I may or may not get to spay a cat before I leave.  I was supposed to last Thursday but the cat had escaped the trap.  It seems like Dr. Tighe really wants me to spay a cat before I leave.  If I don't then I can probably look forward to doing one when I am done with my undergrad years in December.

3, 2, 1...

Progress!  I have finally cut a piece of white muslin to the size I want it with a 1/4" seam allowance.  On it I drew approximately what will be on it so I have some idea of how far certain fabrics need to go.  Seen around it are the various pieces of fabric I have bought from the sale room of Keepsake Quilters on my way home from the orthodontist in North Conway.  Missing are some of the whites I got as well as the many fabrics I have access to from my school collection and my mom's collection.  Hopefully I have enough fusible webbing to start putting it together tonight but if not I will just have to wait.  I just have to have it done by August 31st before I head back to school on September 1st.  This will be my last semester of undergrad.  I also plan to submit my applications before heading back as well.  Back to the grind I go.

A Vet Quilts?

Well, I am not a vet yet but I am starting the application process.  I have one application fits most and every school has their own supplemental so it is a lot to fill out.  I have until October though.  While I gradually fill the applications out I have my usual summer job at Hannaford keeping me busy as well as spending time at Plymouth Animal Hospital.  Not only do I see what goes on in surgeries and office visits but I also go out in the truck on the farm calls.  It is a lot of fun and I look forward to veterinary school and learning even more about the workings of a veterinarian.  Today I saw a spay (I feel like I could do one I see so many), a bandage change on a large dog that had had surgery to correct its patella, an ultrasound on a large dog, vaccinations for four horses and a mule, trying to help a goat give birth (but having to put her down because it just wasn't going to happen), ultrasound on two horses, and taking a look at a filly that was just a few days old.  As you can see I get a lot out of a day and am enjoying every bit of it just like I did last summer and the summer before.

In my spare time between work and the animal hospital I do other things like keep up with quilting.  Recently I did this small piece (5" x 7") for Ashley and Stephen (I worked with them during Mayterm) who are getting married this Saturday.  Both of them had gone to Ecuador so I took a picture that they had taken and imagined it during a sunrise.  This is the final product that I stuck in a picture frame for them to decorate their living space with.

The Original Photo

The Re-imagined Ecuador Sunrise

I have another project in the works.  I have had the idea for this newer project for at least the past two years and am just now getting around to starting (and hopefully finishing) this summer.  I think it has helped that every time I go to the orthodontist I stop by a quilt shop and get some sale fabrics specifically for this project.  If you want to know what this project is you'll just have to wait until I have some progress to show. I will say this the Ecuador Sunrise piece gave me a little practice for part of this project I have in mind. Until then TTFN.

Research and Summer

Well it's been a while.  I just got home from Houghton on Friday and have already been back to work.

Mayterm Research
I spent an extra month in Houghton doing research with Dr. Pelletier and some other students during Mayterm.  Jon and I started out doing research on adult stem cells.  Adult stem cells are not the stem cells that have controversial debates surrounding them but are the stem cells most people wish scientists would use.  Dr. Pelletier had worked with Corning during the spring semester while on sabbatical to try and get these stem cells to differentiate on a specialty surface.  Normally to get stem cells to differentiate you have to grow them in the growth media for the type of cell you want.  What we were trying to do was use a stem cell growth media while the surface that the cells adhered to decided what kind of cell they would become.  However, Corning did not send the supplies we needed until the very last week of Mayterm so during the third week of Mayterm I ended up switching research projects.  Jon however, stayed on the stem cell project as he is continuing the research with the summer research institute.

The last two weeks of Mayterm I spent with Ashley and Stephen doing a genetic study with the Amish in the area.  This was an interesting project and I was able to get to know some of the Amish in the area and learn about their ways.  Propionic acidemia (PA) is a inherited recessive metabolic disorder.  It is caused by an enzyme (propionyl-CoA carboxylase) not working properly and can lead to a build up of propionic acid in the brain and heart.  This can cause seizures and serious heart problems.  In the state of NY newborn screening for PA did happen until 10 years ago.  This means that there can be people with PA who don't know they have it.  It was our hope that we would be able to identify some individuals who did not know they had PA.  We spent lots of hours in the lab after we had DNA samples donated but it was still a good time.

Summer
I am now home working at Hannaford like I have every summer.  I will also end up going to the animal hospital whenever I can.  I have many little projects that I want to do this summer.  Some even include quilting so keep an eye out for what is going on here this summer.

Caramel Corn and Quilts

Every year around Christmas my family makes caramel corn to eat and give away to family and friends.  Starting last year my dad made some batches with me right next to him and then he told me I knew how to make it so I could make all the caramel corn from now on.  Well I have done just that this year.  Except for the few batches he made for Zan's DECA club (which the club requested for their bake sale) I have made seven batches and counting.

I continued caramel corn making even here at college.  I had originally made a couple batches to bring back with me from Thanksgiving break.  I ended up studying at Gillette's (largest girl's dorm) front desk with a container of caramel corn out and people kept trying it.  A couple of the RA's tried it and looked at each other saying that this would be something they could give their girls and could they have the recipe.  I said yes and even volunteered to help them make it.  I had a great time showing four ladies how to make caramel corn.  Overall we made 3 batches.

This Saturday I was particularly busy not only with making two more batches of caramel corn by having a caramel corn making party with my friends but also with making three quilted ornaments.  The idea first came because my floor was doing secret santa and I didn't know what to get my person.  The next logical idea was of course, well I will just have to make one of those quilted ornaments I did with my mom.  The beginning of  the week we were back from break realized if I made one I could just as easily make two because I thought my organic chemistry friend should get one too.  Then near the end of the week as I started being one of many secret santas for my RA I thought two is easily three, I can make another one for my RA.  So Saturday morning I spent creating the following ornaments and the afternoon I spent finishing them up as I made caramel corn.

This one I made for my organic chemistry friend who I have spent many hours doing all sorts of organic work with and have gotten to know really well.  I call this one Mountain Snow.  I usually sew around the edges with a sewing machine but as I did not have one I had to make do with hand sewing all along the edges.  For the stars I relearned how to do a French knot which I had done in my African quilt.

This is the one I made as my secret santa gift.  It is just simply Snowman.  Unfortunately I did not have many shades of white to work with so the snowman blends in a little to the snow drifts.

For above ornaments they were presented to the recipients in a different way then just plain wrapping them.  This is the image of one side of the paper container I created and then placed the ornaments in.  I then placed the Cracker Jacks prize wrapped inside a container of the caramel corn I had just made that day.  Of course I had to include a note to them to let them know that this caramel corn was similar to Cracker Jacks because there was a prize inside.  Needless to say the caramel corn doesn't usually last long and it wasn't long before I was informed that they loved their gifts.

This last one I made for my RA.  It is Christmas Tree.  Although she didn't officially have a secret santa, (because she matched us all up) she managed to have three or four within the course of the week.  For my part I waited until she left her room and then with the help of a someone on my floor plastered her door with about nine Calvin and Hobbes winter/Christmas comics (her room is right across from mine).  I then got asked by her whether I knew who had done it (my door is almost always open) and all I said was a friend and I had spent a while reading them.  The next day I sent her a typed note with another comic on the back.  At the gift giving party I wrapped this up for her.  She had given everyone two guesses for their secret santa so after she guessed twice I let her know that I had been behind the comics and this ornament.  It is currently hanging up with the comics on her door.

I have enjoyed sharing the knowledge of making caramel corn with people on campus as well as the actual caramel corn.  I have also enjoyed being crafty in more ways than one this week as I snuck around putting up things for my secret santa person and making the ornaments.  This week I have finals but I go home for Christmas Tuesday and take my last final from home.  Maybe I will get more crafty while home. TTFN.

Quilted Creations

Well it has been a long time since I have posted.  As the school year wraps up and only a few days of finals are left I find myself sitting in a triple that is almost empty.  This past semester one of my roommates spent the semester in Tanzania with the Houghton in Tanzania program.  My other roommate left this morning.  So with neither of them here I find I have a triple to myself which is both a nice thing but also an odd thing.

Since the end of last semester I have been busy creating quilted things.  I find that mainly I have been working on small pieces that do not take too long to make.  I have also been turning photos into quilt pieces.  The following pieces are all 4 inches by 6 inches.  All except the first one are based on photos.  Overall these take anywhere from 2 - 6 hours or more to make depending on how detailed I feel like being as well as how creative.  The hardest part is deciding what colors to use and how to design the photo from fabric.  Once that is done and I have the idea in mind it is only a matter of getting the fabrics in the right place.  All of them have been gifts.

This is a piece I based of an abstract work of my mom's that she has only partially finished.  It was a gift to my best friend who is getting married this summer.

Castle on a Cliff

This is based off a picture from one of my friends who went to London.  I ended up working with a limited amount of grays so it didn't end up quite as I intended.  I find that both my mom and I very rarely use browns or grays so we tend not to have many of either.

The actual picture I based it off of.

Mountain View

This was for a friend who loves the mountains and lives in them.

The actual mountain view.

The Boathouse

This was made for a friend who loves Maine summers and lakes.

The actual boathouse.

The Way out of the Killing Fields

This was for a friend who loves Cambodia and went there.  Since then he has a soft spot for Cambodia and would love to go back on a missions trip.

The actual picture.

The Wintry Woods

This was made for a friend who loves peaceful settings and the woods in winter are that.

Wintry woods in reality.

The View from Stari Most

This is a 16th century Ottoman bridge in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina.  I along with my EMW friends visited this last May.  I made this for a friends who appreciated the outdoors and enjoys spending lots of time outside.

The actual picture of the place I have been.

As you can see I have been very busy and my summer will be quite busy although maybe not in a quilting sense.  I have two weddings to go to this summer, I am working at Hannaford, and I will be at the Plymouth Animal Hospital to observe and gain experience.  I am also going to try and get a trip into Maine to visit my roommate who was in Tanzania.  I hope to do a better job of keeping things up-to-date on here this summer.

TTFN

October Break

Today begins my October Break. I am one of a few or, as some of us are saying, one of the cool people who has stayed on campus for the break. It is a few day of quiet relaxation. I know of only one person on my floor who is here for the break and may have heard sounds of another person but I do not know. Last night I was the only one in my triple. I turned out the lights and was climbing into bed when I heard the crinkle of paper behind my back. I reached behind me and used my iPod as a light source. I had thought that maybe Bethany or I had somehow lost a piece of homework in my bed and I was just now finding out but it wasn't. Instead it was a lovely note from my wonderful roommates :)

When I awoke this morning there was considerably more sun than there is now and there is expected to be for the rest of the break. In fact I woke up thinking the tree out the window was on fire. The light had hit the tree just right to make the orange and red colors of the leaves appear like fire. It was really neat to see.

Being alone in the triple doesn't have the same empty feeling to it that it did when I came a week before school started and there wasn't much in it but there is still a sense of something missing. Must be due to all the time I spend with my roommates. Not much planned for break but I will think of something to do. I know at some point Stephen, Ben, and I will play Carcassonne but that is all I know for certain that I will do this break.

Time to get back to thinking of things to do. TTFN.