scarf blocking 101

February 4, 2010 – 6:06 pm

While living in Japan in the late ’80s I contracted the chicken pox on vacation in China. I was 28 and it hit me hard. For an entire month I was confined to my lovely apartment in Tokyo with little to do but sleep and wait it out. I didn’t even have the energy to make anything.

During my long hours lounging under the kotatsu (it’s a heavenly piece of Japanese furniture  that looks like a coffee table with a blanket sandwiched between the legs and top but underneath there’s a heating device that keeps your lower body toasty) I began watching Japanese daytime TV. There would be segments on talk shows about the skills one should have to be a good housewife. These segments were very informative and I learned a lot from them.

One that was particularly interesting was the segment on the proper way to hand wash wool sweaters. Up to that point I had always filled up the sink with cold water and some Woolite or Ivory or something and dumped the sweaters in. I swished them around a bit, kneaded them and then rinsed them out. I would roll them in towels to gently extract the extra water and lay them out to dry on a flat surface.

According to the Japanese lady with the lacy apron, all fibers are at their most delicate when they are wet so you should always keep the desired shape of the sweater, even under water. Then she took the sweater folded up as it would have been in the drawer and plunged it underwater without unfolding it.

This made a lot of sense to me because I had on occasion had sweaters that seemed to have longer arms after a washing or sometimes more narrow sleeves than they had before the washing. The lady said that long thin parts of the sweater are especially prone to losing shape during washing.

I took her advice and began to apply those principles to blocking handknit pieces as well. Scarves in particular can be hard to shape if you just dump them in the water. Below is the step-by-step process I use for blocking scarves. It may seem like a lot of extra steps but think of all of the time you put into that scarf. One of these days I might buy those fancy interlocking blocking pieces but for now, it’s a beach towel on the dining room table.

Fold the scarf like an accordion making sure to  straighten out the rolled edges, if you have any.

Gently place the scarf under water.

While it’s under water, gently unroll the rolled edges so they lie flat.

Keeping the accordion shape in tact, drain the water and rinse the scarf. Then carefully roll it out on a large towel.

Starting at one end of the scarf, roll up the towel and scarf together like a jelly roll.

Place your hands on the roll and squeeze out the excess water.

Carefully unroll the scarf onto a dry towel on a flat surface. I like to use striped beach towels for scarves because I can align the edge of the scarf with the stripe to the scarf dries straight. Place the scarf right side up to force any curls on the underside to flatten as the scarf dries.

Leave the scarf flat on the towel while it dries.

By Weeks | Posted in design, just a thought, knitting | Comments (5)

a quilt for the boy next door

January 22, 2010 – 1:29 pm

One of the great aspects of being a grown-up is watching children you know blossom. Such has been the case for our family watching the eldest of the boys next door grow up over the past nine years. His family moved next door in 2001 and we’ve watched him find his way through middle school and high school.

We wrote letters of recommendation for him to participate in the wonderful People to People program and lent him our favorite travel gear as he traveled the world with People to People. We watched with excitement as he became the first in his family to apply to colleges and cheered him on when he got scholarships to go. He sat with us at our kitchen table to discuss his college options and his interest in foreign affairs. We could not let him leave for college without a quilt from us to go on his dorm room bed. On the label we wrote: “We’re cheering you on from Carpenter Avenue!” We gave it to him last spring when he graduated from high school and got all teary to see the pride and gratitude in his parents’ eyes.

I’m guessing that you too have some great teenager in your life that you’d like to cheer on as the graduation season approaches, so here’s a PDF of the pattern we made for our inspiring boy next door.

By Weeks | Posted in design, family, free patterns, quilting | Comments (15)

fit to be creative follow-up and music for spinning

January 22, 2010 – 1:26 pm

Guards up Deb! You’ve won the Hit-It Fitness DVD! (By the way, “guards up” is what Constance tells you to do to protect your face when you’re kickboxing even though there is no real opponent. You keep your fists up next to your face in the “ready” position.” It’s the sign that you’re ready to go!) So Deb I’m hoping that you’ll let us all know what you think. And for those of you who didn’t win, I promise that this DVD is worth every cent of your hard-earned money so jog on over to Constance’s site and buy yourself a copy.

I forgot to also tell you about the new blog of one of my favorite spin instructors. Spin instructor extraordinaire Portia has a blog with all of the fun playlists she uses for our spin class. If you have a stationary bike at home or use one at the gym, you could compile you’re own workout mix based on her playlist. Her playlists are themed and varied. Check out her blog here.

Now GET MOVING!

By Weeks | Posted in experiences, inspiration | Comments (1)

fit to be creative + free Hit It! Workout DVD giveaway

January 15, 2010 – 1:08 am

People often ask me what inspires me and where I find inspiration. I feel as though they expect me to give them the name of a book or museum but I think it’s a lot more complicated than that.

For example, I think it would be hard to be creative if you were in an unfulfilling relationship or were being swallowed up by debt. Those kinds of stresses sap your creativity. For me, I am also my most creative when I am physically fit. So eating well and exercising are really important parts of my creative life. I have more energy and focus if I’m fit. Also as a lifelong asthmatic, I exercise for an hour each day because I feel better and breathe better.

One of our secret weapons in staying fit is taking kickboxing, weight training and bootcamp fitness classes with a woman named Constance Papciak. In the picture above which was taken today after class, Constance is in the hot pink (kicking higher than the rest of us) and I’m the sweaty one in purple next to her. Bill and I have been taking classes with Constance for over two years and often leave her class looking at each other drenched in sweat and say “Satisfaction guaranteed. That’s our Constance.” No matter how tired or how much I have to do that day, I know I will feel fantastic when I’m done working out with her. I have also found that even if I start the workout feeling grumpy, cranky or hormonally imbalanced (if you know what I mean) over some stupid thing that by the end of the workout, I’m over it and can put things in a better perspective. It helps me let go of stupid things and use my energy to be creative.

So if one of your New Year’s Resolutions is to get fit, read the interview below with Constance about how to get started. Leave a comment and you’ll automatically be entered to win a FREE copy of Constance’s new DVD that features the same fantastic workout Bill and I get with her at our gym. Satisfaction guaranteed. If you haven’t exercised in a while, this will be challenging but keep at it. You will gain strength and stamina that will amaze you. I will also add that there are women in their 70s in our class and people of all body types so this isn’t just for people who are young or already fit.

W: Can you describe the workout?
CP: The Hit It!™ Kickbox workout consists of high intensity and low complexity cardio kickboxing moves. What that means is that you can expect a challenging workout without complex choreography. My video also includes some of the best music found on any video on the market. Music is one of the main motivators for participants when taking a class. I am proud to offer a product that will excite people to work out on their own!

W: So Constance, what advice do you have for someone who has not been a consistent exerciser and wants to get back in shape?
CP: My advice is to get into a routine of simply moving. Find 20 minutes in your day to be active… Dedicate two weeks to 20 minutes a day of activity and then ask yourself if you feel any different… You’ll be hooked!

W: One of the things I love about this workout and the ones that we have with you at the gym is that there’s a wide range of motion needed. It’s not like just walking or running. There’s a lot of different movements and strengthening in addition to just the cardio. Can you explain why that’s important?
CP: Cardio kickboxing is such an amazing workout because you are working everything! Upper body, lower body and especially the abdominals! Your abs are contracted for the entire time you are exercising. Every movement incorporated into the workout stems from the core. When you punch and kick not only are you engaging the abdominals but totally reshaping the arms and legs! The repetition and speed of the movements are designed to tone all areas of the body especially the arms, legs, glutes and abs. It is so important to work all areas of the body for balance and symmetry. Plus the more muscle being recruited for an activity = more calories burned!

W: This is a challenging workout. Can you advise people who are just
starting to exercise again how they can work up to doing the full workout?
CP: Well, first I would advise newbies to follow all of the appropriate lower intensity options/modifications given in the video. I also tell people to start out by only doing what they can handle. If that means 15 minutes, then you do just that. The more you do, the longer you can go and in no time an hour workout seems like nothing!

W: I have many friends who don’t exercise regularly. What do you think
motivates people to stick with a fitness routine?
CP: Honestly, what I think motivates people is the desire to feel younger and more energized. Many people do not realize how exercise can improve the quality of their lives until they actually get started. At first, motivation may be aesthetic, but once people experience the endorphin high and notice significant changes in their everyday life all because of exercise, they are motivated by that.  Exercisers are more inclined to stick with a fitness routine that is fun! For many, running on a treadmill feels like torture… that is why group exercise classes are so appealing. You have someone to hold you accountable and make the workout as fun as it can be. I always tell instructors that a class should feel like a party. You want people to walk out feeling as if they cannot wait to return.

W: Lastly, I know you’re also a dancer. Do you make things of any sort or
does all of your creativity go into choreography?
CP: I have the ability to make up choreography as I am teaching, but I much prefer to sit down and be as creative as possible when I put together a workout routine. The class flows better and participants can tell when you have invested time and effort into it. Taking the time to really think about what you are trying to deliver each and every class and putting thought into it differentiates a good instructor from a great one.

By Weeks | Posted in design, experiences, inspiration | Comments (22)

Time’s up. Put your pencils down.

January 11, 2010 – 12:25 pm

That’s the FedEx guy that I gave our manuscript to on Saturday afternoon. I asked if I could take his picture and he said, “Sorry. Bad hair day,” pointing to his cap. I replied, “There’s a year and a half of my husband’s and my life in that envelope. Your hair looks fine.”

If you’ve never written a book, it’s hard to explain how complex the emotions are when you turn it in. Especially with a new publisher. Especially in a bad economy. Although we’re relieved, there’s a certain amount of fear that goes along with finishing. We’re committed. Although we can change a few small things, this is it. Bill and I talk endlessly about how it’s going to look and if all of the work that we put into it will show. We obsessed over the structure of the book and the content for a year and a half. Bill tirelessly produced diagram after diagram, wanting to make sure that readers would know how to align seams flawlessly and that the explanation of various binding techniques was clear.

I spent eight months hand-quilting one of the quilts in the book. It was in one of four boxes we shipped to the publisher the day before Thanksgiving. When the email from our editor came that the boxes hadn’t arrived, we tried to remain calm. The safest way to send quilts, should you ever need to, is via Registered Mail by the US Postal Service. There are special packaging requirements for shipping this way. There’s a special tape you have to seal it with and every seam is stamped at the post office so any tampering with the package with be evident. Every single person who touches a Registered package has to scan it and sign a register. Jewelers send jewelry via Registered Mail and while it’s slower than other services, it’s safer. Our letter carrier told us that there are severe disciplinary actions for workers who are careless with packages sent Registered Mail. It’s serious business.

We switched to Registered Mail a few years ago after UPS delivered some boxes of quilts headed for the American Folk Art Museum in New York to the wrong address and was unwilling to retrieve them. The UPS agent said it was too much trouble to go look for them, even though they had the exact address of where they had been incorrectly delivered. “It’s easier for us just to get you the insurance check,” they said. If you’re a quiltmaker you know that in some cases no check would be big enough to cover the value of 10 quilts that are going to be published in a book.

So for 16 tense days we continued to work of the manuscript and waited to see what had happened to our quilts. The postmaster was alarmed, regional superintendents were notified and all we could do was keeping writing and illustrating. Our publisher could see that we shipped them on time but we all knew that this could be a huge loss for them as well as for us. Later three arrived and the fourth was missing. Days later the fourth box was found in a storage room in O’Hare airport. The postmaster was horrified and told us that he had uncovered serious breaches related to our boxes. Employees were being disciplined, we were told. We were grateful that they tracked them down and refunded all of our costs, but it was an exhausting episode.

We’re so aware that there are a lot of books out there and that many quilters have had to cut back on their expenditures because of the economy. So it was hard to stop working on the book. There’s always this feeling that we should re-work that paragraph on working with large-scale prints just one more time or add one more diagram on different ways of quilting a quilt.

Books also have a way of measuring the passage of time for the authors. During the writing of this book we started this blog, began to overhaul our website (still in progress), had some illnesses to deal with, completed numerous other commissions, had two quilts published in American Patchwork & Quilting, had our first products (dinner napkins) produced by Crate & Barrel, mourned the death of a friend, celebrated the engagement of another friend, submitted Bill’s application for tenure at the university where he teaches and watched our daughter grow into being able to wear my shoes. I think part of the reason that it’s so hard to stop working on the book is that we’re different people at the end of the book than we were at the beginning.

But there comes a point when the deadline has arrived. So we burned the disc, put our fabric samples in the envelope and handed it to the FedEx guy.

A few hours later we were discussing the proposal for the next book.

By Weeks | Posted in experiences, just a thought, quilting | Comments (16)