Unsettled

The last month has been very unsettled for us and I found I had little time for stitching and no urge to blog.  While I can’t say things are more settled, I am returning to my quilting/stitching activities.  Primarily I’ve wanted to do mindless type machine work.  So, this week I delivered 11 anti-ouch pouches to the guild meeting and have begun quilting this top with a simple meander.  

Back to the Stash

I dove back into my stash and found some fabrics to replace two of my least favorite blocks in my red and white project.  I’m liking it better now.  I’ll let it remain on the design wall a while so I can think about it some more.

Time to Start Tweaking

I think this is enough red and white blocks for a small throw quilt, and I’ve begun playing with layouts.  This is not the final and there are still a couple of blocks I may want to replace with different fabrics, but I will sleep on it tonight.  It's amazing how looking at a photograph of a quilt makes trouble areas easier to spot.

I found this red and white print that may work for a border.

We had three hard freezes at the beginning of the week.  The high today was 40 plus degrees warmer than the highs Monday and Tuesday.  The wildflowers should be okay despite the freezes, but it remains to be seen if the peach crop will survive.  During an outing last week, we saw many orchards already in bloom.  

More Red and White Blocks

Several more red and white blocks have been added to my design wall.  More are needed and some of these may not make the final cut, but I feel like I am closing in on this project. There is one bright block in the very center that bothers me.

My Tuesday sewing friends and I finished kitting up all four tubs of fabric that we had been given for anti-ouch pouches.  Last Wednesday, 509 kits were delivered to the project coordinator at the guild meeting.  Once packaged with sewing instructions, they can be distributed to the membership for construction.

I was recently reminded that it has been a while since I explained what anti-ouch pouches are.  They are a small cushion with adjustable straps that hang from the shoulder and provide protection to the surgical site for patients who have undergone breast surgeries or biopsies.  Working on this project gives me great joy because we hear from the recipients and know they are used and appreciated.  The web address for the pattern is listed on my sidebar. 

The average last freeze date for this area is February 23^rd.  It will be interesting to see if that’s the case this year.  We are already seeing a lot of plants in bloom and I spotted some baby geese while driving home today.

Anti-Ouch Pouches

The anti-ouch pouch project coordinator for our local guild recently asked for help in taking “raw” fabric and turning it into kits for the membership.  My Tuesday friends and I volunteered to help in this effort.  

It’s fortunate that this is being tackled on a team basis.  We received four filled-to-the-rim tubs of fabric which had to be ironed, cut, and folded.  The first tub yielded 121 kits.  Each kit requires just under one-half yard of fabric.  That's a lot of fabric processed and we're only one-fourth of the way through.

Out with the old, in with the new.

That project has really cut into my machine time, but I did manage to empty a cone of thread, and then stitched two more red and white blocks.  

Unfortunately, I discovered one of the blocks I made last week has the color layout wrong.  I’ve set it aside until I’m ready to re-do it.

After last week’s marvelous spring-like weather, we’ve had a cool down.  It’s certainly not the ordeal being faced by many, just cold, damp, and dreary days that beg for an afternoon nap.  Maddie doesn’t mind, though.  More nap time just means more lap time.

Red and White Blocks and a Win

A few more red and white blocks have been added to my design wall.  I haven’t decided how many I will want for the top, but I doubt I am half way through yet.

Last Tuesday I was able to join my sewing pals for a full day.  A friend let me go through some of her remnants and I captured these reds and neutrals for my hexagon quilt.  Unfortunately, the cuts are not quite large enough to incorporate in the quilt shown above.

Also waiting for me at our gathering spot was a basket I won at a neighboring guild’s quilt show.  It was loaded with all kinds of goodies including a kitted Be Attitudes quilt.  I’m not sure if I want to incorporate these new blocks in my WIP or perhaps gift it away.  I need to pull out the one I have started and see if the finishing kit might work.

I know many of my readers continue to struggle with absolutely horrific winter weather while we experience a much warmer than normal first week of February.  I hope it doesn’t offend anyone that I’ve included two pictures from my walk today.

February 4, 2019 Rose

Blue Heron looking for a meal.

The rose (the only one on a mostly dormant bush) was a real surprise, but the heron is a year-round regular in our area.

Red and White Blocks

Last week was chopped up by numerous appointments, most of which were out of town.  Consequently, I had very limited machine stitching time.  I did manage to add five new blocks to my red quilt, though, and that made me happy. 

We had a perfectly lovely day today, but a front has already blown in this evening.  We won’t experience anything like the frigid weather expected to the north.  Stay warm, everyone!