A Quandary

When Bonnie Hunter published her pattern Maymont, I fell in love with the picture, and bought the pattern.  I still love the picture with its riot of colorful scraps and on-point setting.  When I began work on it, my one criterion was to only choose fabrics which felt “happy.”  I also decided to use a single fabric for the sashing.  However, as I’ve completed blocks and randomly put them on the design wall, my enthusiasm has lagged. 

 

On a whim, I decided to pin one high contrast color fabric in the small squares in the sashing, adding another touch of design uniformity.  I like it better, but I’m still not happy.  I even took a magnifying glass to the pattern picture and determined that my blocks are no more random than Bonnie’s.

 

I think I will leave this up on the design wall a bit longer before deciding whether or not to move forward, and if so, how.  I’ve made 40 blocks and would hate to move it to UFO status.  On the other hand, right now I have little enthusiasm for continuing, and I’ve caught myself browsing the Web for new project ideas.  Perhaps, I simply need a break.

 

One of those weeks

Since my post last week…

Two dental appointments to deal with a broken tooth.  There will be a new crown in my future.

Family visiting, and the house cleaning chores in preparation.

Wicked hail storm.  There will be new roof in our future too.  Grateful for home owners insurance.

AND, an unexpected visit to the quilt store in Fredericksburg where it's possible some retail therapy may have happened.

 

Otherwise, no quilting or stitching related activities to report.  I'll try to do better this coming week.                                                                       

It Got Dark

Our afternoon has been very cloudy, but fortunately there were a few, brief breaks in the clouds so we could glimpse the eclipse’s totality and see the corona.  We had totality for about 4 minutes and 20 seconds.  The viewing was a little disappointing, but much better than we feared it would be.  Perhaps because of the weather forecast, the expected crush of visitors to our area has not been as problematic as predicted.

On a whim, I dug through various drawers and gathered some of the quilting related enamel pins I have accumulated since 2007.  I decided to display them for a while on this banner in my sewing room.  I found a number of tutorials for banners by doing an internet search and this is what I came up with, again using well aged fabric from my stash.

South end of a north-bound armadillo.

This little critter has become a regular visitor to our yard after dark and is the explanation for my flower beds being so churned up.  He was not interested in posing for me and it was hard juggling a flash light and cell phone.  I am just happy he is not a skunk.  Those have been known to visit our yard too, and dogs never learn.

Bluebonnets are well past their peak, but you can still spot some fresh-looking ones.

I spotted this mail box planting on a recent neighborhood walk.  These blooms are very short-lived but sure are pretty.

More Red and White

I’ve been fussy cutting some of the new fabrics I found on our trip to South Texas, and another row is ready to be added to my red and white thimble/tumbler project. 

 

While I was sewing with my Tuesday group, I spied this remnant in the scrap bin next to the cutting table.  Of course, I had to pick it up as well.  The motif is too large for my templates, but the colors are right so I don’t have to do any fussy cutting.  I guess you could say I have no shame.

 The big news in our part of the world is the eclipse Monday.  Our area will have 4 plus minutes of totality.  For weeks we have been urged to fill our gas tanks by Wednesday this week, stockpile several days of meals, and expect interruptions in cell and internet service.  Our hotels and camping sites have been booked up for months and local authorities are warning about traffic jams.  Schools will be closed.  Now they tell us the weather forecast is for clouds and possibly thunder storms.  It will be interesting to see how all this plays out.

 

A Small Finish and Wildflowers

This afternoon I finished a quilt carrier.  I had admired a similar carrier that a friend made and decided I had to have one too.  I used batting and fabric that had been “maturing” in my stash for years.  The batting is not my preferred type for quilts and I really wanted to use it up.  As I considered the fabric and batting to be “sunk” costs, the only expense in this project was for the dowel that was cut into two lengths for the handles, less than $4.  Maybe I’ve satisfied the bag-making bug for a while and can resume work on my quilting projects.

 

We took a country drive today in order to see the wildflowers.  While the El Nino weather system this year has resulted in more moisture in the ground and more blooms, it has not been robust enough to recharge our aquifers and lakes.  But right now, the countryside is especially pretty.  The pictures below came from our excursion.

 

And, happy Easter.

Happy to be Home...Ahhh...Chooo!

 

Last week was our annual trip to visit with family in South Texas.  It was a good visit, except for both of us coming home with colds.  I expect to be laying low this week so as not to share it with others.  I did test negative for Covid.  

Unlike previous years, I did not take my machine for hotel stitching.  Instead, I only took handwork and managed to baste 100+ tumblers for my red and white quilt.

 

There was also a brand-new H*L* close to the hotel, so a little retail therapy happened both there and at a vendor’s booth at the Don-Wes Flea Market in Donna. 

 

My loot included a coffee mug, thread catcher for the chair I use while watching TV, a project box and several cuts of novelty fabrics for inclusion in my tumbler quilt.  After I got home, I realized that the red print was a duplicate I had purchased a previous year, sigh.

Yesterday we received a very welcome 1/2 inch of rain and today is breezy and cool.  I made an absolutely unavoidable quick trip to the grocery store this morning and am settling in to work on projects between sneezes.

National Quilting Day

March 16 is National Quilting Day and I thought it would be a good time to share a picture of the completed group project I participated in last summer.  Kits for the guild’s donation quilt blocks were distributed in June.  Some were for applique blocks and the others were foundation paper pieced.  I chose the latter because I thought it would be the quicker finish since I had just completed paper piecing my log cabin project.  Per usual, it didn’t quite work out the way I expected, but I did finish it and turn it in.  The post about that adventure appeared June 12, 2023.

 

Here is a picture of the completed quilt.  I think the block I made may be third block down on the left side.  I can’t be sure, however, because the committee handed out duplicate kits just to be sure they had all they needed by the deadline.  Those not included in the donation quilt were incorporated into smaller projects that will be offered for sale at the next guild quilt show. 

Since it’s National Quilting Day, I wanted to share the following response to the “Why do you quilt?” prompt from day 5 of Instagram’s annual IGquiltfest hosted by Amy Ellis.  The quote is taken from Elaine Poplin’s post and used with permission.

Day 5 of #igquiltfest2024 is “Why do you quilt?” So many reasons.

I quilt to silence the noise inside my head.

I quilt to silence the noise outside.

I quilt to process my feelings.

I quilt to respond to the world.

I quilt to pray.

I quilt to celebrate.

I quilt to grieve.

I quilt to remember.

I quilt to ask questions.

I quilt to answer questions.

I quilt to play.

I quilt to challenge myself.

I quilt to explore.

I quilt to amuse myself.

I quilt to find hope.

I quilt to express what I see.

I quilt so that the anger and frustration swirling inside has somewhere constructive to go.

I quilt so I don’t implode.

I quilt so I don’t explode.

I quilt to breathe.

I quilt because it’s important.

I quilt because I need to.

#messygoatsews