Catch Up Post

I unintentionally took a blog break.  Life has been very busy over the last few weeks, mostly stuff outside my control.  I suspect posting may continue to be sporadic for a while.

For better or worse, my part of the guild challenge is finished.  Done is way better than perfect.  I don’t think I’m breaking any rules by showing it now, and I don’t think anyone in my guild is a regular reader.  If I had to name it, it might be "Princes in Wating."

 

This was my messy work station while sewing with the Tuesday group this week.  Good thing I had a lot of space.

 

April has been unusually wet (a good thing) and we’ve had some pretty stout winds.  This tree near our house lost a big limb.

 

Our blackberry bushes are now loaded with fruit.  Hopefully enough to give Bob a cobbler.

 And our palm trees, problematic at all times, were beginning a decline.  The time had come to clear them out.  I was surprised to find out how high-maintenance they are.  The ones in our yard had sharp spikes along their frond centers making them dangerous to groom, even when the trees are short.  At least once a year, tree specialists with tall ladders had to come in and remove dead fronds.  I hate to lose any trees, but these are the exception. 

 

This little deer dropped by for a visit.  

 

My miniature rose bush is producing blooms.

 

Here are some other neighborhood yard pics…

 

Puzzle therapy underway.

When I took the dogs out shortly after 6 a.m., the temperature was 78 degrees and the humidity was 91%.  Totally miserable and unhealthy.  Relief may come later today.  A cold front is expected to trigger some showers.

 

Just Checking In

Somehow during the last two plus weeks, I just never managed to sit at the keyboard, gather my thoughts and write a post.

During that time, I delivered 15 completed anti-ouch pouches to the Guild meeting and picked up kits for another 15.  Fourteen of which are complete.

Homage to Mutti has grown some, too.  Most progress was made during my weekly gathering on Tuesdays and my once-a-month JABS meeting.  JABS stands for Just Ask Berta Society.  Berta left us when she moved out of state, but her influence remains!

And, I’m still trying to decide what to do on the Guild President’s challenge.  Time is running out and I need to get started.

In other news, I completed this jigsaw puzzle and started another.  I love unwinding at the end of the day with an audible book and puzzle.  It helps distract me from all the bad news we’re getting and allows me get sleepy.  If I don’t have an audible book, I stream classical music.

 

Seen on a recent ride...

Progress on Mutti and an Unexpected Project

Homage to Mutti has grown. 

 

Even if the dogs aren’t in my lap, I’ve found these small pieces hard to manipulate in my usual television-watching chair.  So, I’ve set up a station that provides better posture and still lets me watch Netflix programs on a computer screen as I work. 

 

Much to my dismay, our Guild president intercepted me as I was leaving last month’s meeting and talked me into participating in her President’s Challenge.  I spent some time this week drafting a foundation piecing template for a modified log cabin block and grabbed some random scraps to make a test block.  I'm still not satisfied but it is a start.

 

 

Here is a look at the fabrics in the kit.  According to the rules, I can add two to four additional fabrics, but must use all of these as well.  My favorite piece, the one with a red background and yellow flowers, is only a two-inch strip.

 

Today our temperature has reached the mid-90s and a dry front is bringing strong wind gusts.  Our lows for the next two nights may fall to the 30s.  I will be moving my patio plants to a more sheltered area in case it freezes.  It’s not supposed to, but you never know. 

 

Quilting Life Somewhat Interrupted

Before I could get a post written last week, four days filled with houseguests arrived and I did not darken the door of my studio all week.  So, all I have to write about occurred two weeks ago! 

 

I finished 15 Anti-Ouch Pouches for the Guild Service Project.  These are the tools I have collected specifically for making these pouches.  It has really helped having a dedicated kit for those times I work on them away from home.

 

I don’t expect this year’s crop of Bluebonnets to be very showy, at least in our area.  But they are weeds and can manage to survive in unexpected places.  This one is growing next to the street curb and has avoided the mower.

 

This has been a very good year for Mountain Laurels.  I managed (barely) to catch a butterfly on one of our trees.

 

I thoroughly enjoyed the company I had last week.  Julia and I binge watched Netflix and visited multiple thrift stores.  Bob’s brother, Dave, also popped in briefly.  Family trumps quilting but, hopefully, I can get more stitching done this week.

 

New Technique

Last Thursday I participated in a Guild sponsored workshop led by Sue Heinz of Kismet Quilting.  At her presentation to the guild on Wednesday, she talked about how Elmer (of Elmer’s Glue fame) could be used in a variety of ways while piecing.  During the workshop she elaborated on how to use it when making a Drunkard’s Path block.

 

At the conclusion of the workshop, we taped our blocks on the windows for everyone to see.  Almost everyone was able to complete 16 blocks using her method.  Someone said mine reminded them of the old Pac-Man game from the 1980s.  I guess that's a clue to our group's demographics since everyone knew what she was talking about.

 

I finished the binding on it this afternoon while Ollie snuggled up next to me in the chair and Maddie napped at my feet.

 

Our porch thermometer registered 93 degrees this afternoon.   

Homage to Mutti

It’s been a while since I showed my progress on Homage to Mutti.  Lately the dogs have laid claim to my lap whenever I get in my comfy chair and the only time I can work on it is during my Tuesday group gatherings. 

 

I won’t be able to join the group today.  We are going to New Braunfels to have lunch with Julia and the pieces are much too fiddly for me to even consider working on them in the car. 

 

I’m sure we will have more cold days, but right now our highs are reaching the 80s and I’ve noticed a few things trying to bud.  We got .53 inches of rain last week, and, as always, we are hoping for more so the wildflowers will bloom.  It probably won’t be that great a year for Bluebonnets.  At least I haven’t noticed many plants, but we’ll see.

15

This was a more productive week in the studio.  I finished the 15 Anti-Ouch Pouches I committed to make for the Quilt Guild in February.  I’ve made so many, they have become a favorite form of mindless sewing.  It takes between 45 minutes and an hour to make each one.  Now I can resume my other projects with a clear conscience.

 

I forgot to include this picture in last week’s post.  It was taken through a window, so is not as sharp as I would like.  The deer population in our community has grown, and this group was outside our fence one afternoon.  You can see ice patches were still on the ground.  The deer in this part of Texas are small, but plentiful.  This weekend we have had temperature highs in the 80s.