Circles, Hexagons, Granola and Book Journal

I worked on prepping more circle blocks today.  I knew there was a reason I held onto that old fusible interfacing even though I no longer sew garments!  My favorite cup serves as the template.

I continue working on more red hexagons.  By the time I finish, I may not have any red scraps left.

 I also made a batch of granola today.  This is sweetened with maple syrup and is loaded with nutmeg and cinnamon.  Oh, does the house ever smell good.

While working on these and other projects this week, I finished In Plain Sight by C. J. Box.  It was my first “listen” to this author and I enjoyed it enough to download another to my cell phone.  Sadly, my library does not have his complete collection (this was number 6 in a series) in their selection of audio books, so I am having to figure out the characters mid-stream.  Nonetheless, I am very grateful to be able to have access to a library with this free service.  

Do you journal?  This blog is my quilting journal.  I also maintain a small planner as well as a diary.  This little notebook was gifted to me at Christmas 2000 by a dear friend in Alabama.  It used to have a cute little fleece cover that she made, but it eventually became so stretched and distorted I could no longer use it. Ever since receiving it, I have used it as a log of books I either read or listen to during the year.  A spreadsheet would be more practical, because I could sort by date, author or title, but I am so fond of this little book that I don't intend to change.

Moving Along on Good Golly!

This week I was able to sew at the Club House an extra day.  I continued working on triangle square strips and I think I now have enough to complete the 11 remaining blocks I need for the center of Sue Garman’s Good Golly quilt.  I made a few extra to cover the ones I have already discovered with mistakes.

Playing With Scraps

I tried to do some catch-up Sunday.  These bow ties were added to the mix and I started prepping some more Quilty 365 blocks.  I still need to do more work on the circle blocks, but I got an unexpected help with them. 

A retiring quilter donated her scrap stash to the Guild and we had a mountainous pile to delve into at our meeting last week.  My friends, aka the “enablers,” quickly started finding bits and pieces for me.  It was fun to play with someone else’s leftovers.

Another One

Last night I needed to unwind to some mindless stitching, so while I listened to Bonnie Hunter’s Quilt-Cam I resurrected work on my mini bow tie blocks.  

These are tiny little blocks that will finish at 2 inches and require a lot of concentration to feed through the machine efficiently.  Once you hit your rhythm making them, however, they go fairly quickly.  So, I guess I am joining the mini bow tie challenge at  Marcia's Crafty Sewing & Quilting.  If you read my post January 11, you understand why I say that makes me 100 percent insane.  However, as this is the resumption of a project and not an altogether new one, maybe I remain at 50 percent. At least it is another freebie from the stash.

First Anti-Ouch Pouches for 2016

This weekend I decided to take a break from circles, hexagons and paper piecing triangle strips to making anti-ouch pouches.  These are one my Guild’s community service projects.  They are small cushions that hang from the shoulder and protect the surgical site of patients who have undergone breast surgery.  Our Guild tries to donate 100 a month and we receive numerous thank you notes from recipients during the year.  Although I’ve posted about these many times, I still occasionally get requests for more information, so I’ve added information about where to find out more in my side-bar.  These are the first 15 I made for 2016!

Here are my first cacti blooms of 2016.

I'm Insane and I Know It

With all the unfinished projects I have going, starting not just one, but possibly two new ones is 100% insane.  But they just sounded like fun and are totally stash projects.  And, I decided to play by my rules, which translates to do them as long as I like with no pressure to keep up.

Project #1 – Quilty 365.  I like this one for its immediate gratification.  I’m a Mary-come-lately to the party and will make my first link-up to Audrey's blog when she has her next linky party February 1.  Essentially, participants make one little circle block a day.  Since I don’t need any more bed size quilts, if I miss some days, I don’t feel compelled to keep up.  I will probably stop before year end and decide what to do with the blocks.  These blocks are prepped, but not stitched down.  Once stitched, I will trim them to 4 1/2 inch blocks.  I may decide to change the way I prep because these circle edges look a little bumpy to me.

Project #2? – If I decide to really make the plunge, I’ll post about it later.  Maybe I’m only 50% insane.

This Quilty Life Interrupted

…not my favorite chore, but I’m definitely not complaining.  After losing some weight last year, my daughter generously delved into her closet and gifted me with some lovely bluejeans, capris and dress slacks.  They all had a flattering fit except for one minor detail.  She is 3 inches taller than I am and wears a size long.  So, no it’s not a chore I enjoy, but I am so grateful to be doing it.  These are much nicer than ones I would have purchased.

During Quiltcam last night I worked on more paper piecing for Sue Garman’s Good Golly quilt.  I have one chore in town today and then hope to spend more time at the machine.  This is our last warm day (expected high of 69 degrees) before a front comes in so a walk is in the plans too.

And Then There Were 37

I had a very productive weekend.  This morning I stopped to stake stock of where I stand with the triangle square blocks that comprise the center of Sue Garman’s Good Golly quilt.  I now have 37 of 48 finished.  The end of this step is in sight! 

I’ve also been busy doing a lot of this….

…so I can start building the borders of my hexagon quilt.  I saw this tip somewhere in blogland.  Use safety pins to position hexagons so that when you take the top off the design wall you can remember which piece goes where.

I will only be able to sew with my friends a short time today, so I intend to take some handwork.  Hopefully, I can join them for a longer stretch tomorrow.

Over the holidays we had to replace our washing machine and my computer.  It’s taking me a while to become comfortable with both of them, especially the computer.  Programs have to be reinstalled or, in the case of Office, replaced with newer versions.  Many of the things I did on auto pilot have to be relearned.  That’s okay.  The new system is proving to be much more reliable than the one we retired.

2016 Has Arrived

We celebrated yesterday by going to see the 10:30 a.m. showing of the new Star Wars movie and then spending a quiet evening at home watching (of course) football. That gave me ample opportunity to finish stitching the rosettes together on my hexagon project. Now I will continue adding red hexagons to the outer edges until I think it’s big enough to be serviceable as a throw quilt.  As a point of reference, my design wall is 48 inches wide. 

I’ve already begun basting the outer hexies, but will need quite a few more. 

My triangle strips and blocks for Sue Garman’s Good Golly quilt are coming along nicely.  I’ve finally hit on a system I like.  I work on paper piecing the days I sew with my friends and I de-paper and join the rows on my machine at home.  This makes it possible for me to keep my travelling work packed and always ready for a quick getaway, and all my quarter inch seams are done on the same machine.  

This system paid off this week as I was able to make it to the Club House twice with very little time spent packing anything other than lunch.

My word for 2015 was “Enough” and it served me well.  By keeping it on my mind I was able to divest myself of a lot of stuff that I no longer need or will use.  It’s a process, and I have a ways to go, but I did make progress. This year I have a two-word phrase:  “Trust God.”  It just called to me as I became ever more anxious in 2015 watching world events unfold.

There will be more football to watch today and ham and black eyed peas for dinner tonight (an old family tradition).  I’ll also try to spend a little time at the machine and maybe take a walk.  After all, what you do on New Year’s day is supposed to be what you end up doing all year.