Moving Along

My red and white project is finally quilted and ready for a trim and binding.  Yea! 

 Also, I’m closing in on completing the hand applique for this unit of my block of the month.  

Three of four borders are done.  There have been many days you could find me at the kitchen table working on this while listening to audio books.  My most recent “listen” was Eleanor by David Michaelis.  It was a fascinating look into the life of Eleanor Roosevelt.  I’m learning that she was a very complex, and not very happy person who totally gave herself for others.  I hope the next unit in this BOM has more machine piecing and less handwork.

 

Hubby gave me an early Christmas gift this week, a Roomba!  I’ve always been fascinated by these things, but it was not until our daughter got one that he showed any interest.  I love what it does, but I think he has had the most fun mapping and programming it.  It’s first pass through our house took eight hours.  Hopefully, future runs will be quicker now that it has learned its way around.

The red oak in our front yard put on a good show this year.

And here are my studio supervisors enjoying a sunny spot.  

Not a Typical Day

 

Yesterday I celebrated one of those “decade” birthdays.  The day included a visit from our daughter and grandson, flamingos, a tiara, and a drive-by by neighbors and friends.  It was fun and all a surprise, the stinkers!  

There was no mistaking what was going on.

The rain did not spoil the fun.

Chocolate was involved.

Meanwhile, progressing slowly on applique for my current project.  After trying to figure out where to store some more of my growing quilt inventory, I decided I am not in a race and can take my time.

 

Lots of Handwork in my Future

Unit 3 of Esther’s Bloomers has lots of applique.  As I was stitching the background and prepping the applique, it occurred to me that the geese were flying and the leaves were falling indoors as well as out.  There are 84 leaves plus large and small semi-circles to be appliqued to rows of flying geese in this unit. 

 

Thankfully, all the prep work is done.  I continued using the Appliquick products for prepping the leaves.  The semi-circles which are applied in two layers would have been too thick using that method, especially since they are partially stitched in the seam line.  I returned to my old method of forming them around no-melt templates using starch.   I have plenty of handwork to occupy me during the evenings.

 

My machine stitching these days mostly focuses on a a red and white project on my quilter.  I knew I would need red thread for the bobbin when I got to the border.  I prefer using Bottom Line and went online to place my order.  I only needed and wanted a single spool as I probably have enough thread in my stash to circle the globe, just not red for my bobbin.  I appreciated the prompt shipment, but found the packaging to be a bit much for one spool.

A call went out to guild members requesting donations of precut batting for use in the cryotherapy mitts we make for certain types of chemo.  I happily thinned out some of my smaller batting scraps.

  

 We have finally reached that time of year where the weather is glorious.  Fresh air, sunshine and mild temperatures make taking a walk or ride in the golf cart pure joy.

Unit 2 is Done

Unit 2 of Kim Diehl’s Esther’s Bloomers block of the month is finally done.  Four more units to go.  I was relieved to see that my piecing was accurate enough for the borders to fit with no problem.  The pattern calls for several more pieced borders. 

 The owner of the quilt shop where I purchased this kit announced she is retiring.  It’s too early to know how she will clear out her inventory.  I would say her shop is another victim of the pandemic, but I know this is only one part of a much bigger plan she and her hubby are launching.  I really miss the pre-pandemic gatherings we used to have at her shop on Second Saturdays.

In order to get an acceptable image at the beginning of this post, I had to fiddle with fill light settings in Picasa 3.  I would love to find portable, and not too pricy, lighting for when I photograph quilts.  None of our windows illuminate my design wall evenly and our ceiling lights are too dim.  A blogger I follow suggested using the ring lights that are made for selfies.  If anyone has suggestions, please let me know. I have one of "those" birthdays coming up next month.  Since parties, our annual birthday-anniversary trip to San Antonio, and even shopping sprees are not going to happen, maybe I can order some new lighting?  Just a thought.

Back to Regularly Scheduled Stitching...I hope

September was gone before it got here.  How can time pass so quickly when so much has been cancelled or postponed?  Now that October has arrived we are enjoying cooler temperatures.  I keep telling my friends that this is why we live in Central Texas.  Actually, I live in Central Texas because that’s where my heart is, but summers are really a bear. 

 

I finished my part of the guild group applique project, and very happily handed it off to the project coordinator.  I was flattered that they asked me to participate, but could not believe how challenged I felt.  My hand applique skills were really rusty. 

 

I was recently given the name of a new neighbor who happens to be a quilter.  I called to chat with her and learned she was about to deliver some of her excess fabric to one of the local thrift stores.  I snagged the tub which was so heavy it took two of us to load it in the back of my car. 

 

The contents were mostly quilter’s cotton that she just didn’t want any more, perfect for anti-ouch pouches which require a half yard each.  There were also a couple of unopened kits that will probably be donated to the guild’s boutique, assuming our quilt show goes on as scheduled in February 2022.  Smaller remnants can be used in our other two cancer support projects.  We make kangaroo aprons which are used to hold the drain apparatus and hoses after breast surgery.  Our newest project is cryotherapy mitts which are helpful for patients undergoing some types of chemotherapy.   As it so happened, today was the scheduled collection date for kits we completed in September.  I had 10 completed pouches and a lot of fabric to pass along, and it was wonderful to see some of my quilting friends (socially distanced and masked up, of course).

 

I’m looking forward to resuming work on the projects that had to be set aside while I worked on the group project.  Esther’s Bloomers block of the month by Kim Diehl is the one I'm most anxious to work on.  I’m in the middle to unit 2 of 6 and hope to really focus on it now.

 

We had some rain in September and I spotted a rainbow.  I have always loved seeing them.

What I've Been Up To

I did not want August to end without a blog post.  After all, my blog celebrated its 10^th anniversary this month. 

 

This project has been complete several days, but it took a while for me to get it back on the design wall and photographed.  Those half square triangles were paper pieced and finish at 1 inch.  It’s a portion of a Sue Garman pattern that I am very happy to say is bound, labeled, done. 

 

Distribution of the next two units of my block of the month, Kim Diehl’s Esther’s Bloomers, were delayed due to the pandemic.  When the opportunity to purchase all remaining units presented itself, I happily snatched them up.  This pandemic certainly does require work-arounds. 

 

Here is unit 2 in the cutting stage.  After that, I had to draw diagonal lines across most of those 1 ½ inch squares.  At least there is no applique this time, but unit 3 has a lot of handwork.

  

I also delivered 29 anti-ouch pouches in August and began handwork on a group project which will take over most of my time due to an October deadline.  It has been a couple of years since I worked on applique this intricate, and I am out of practice. 

When I checked the temperature around 6:30 yesterday morning, it was 81 degrees with a feels-like temperature of 86…a very good day to stay in and stitch.  Whenever I find myself trying to slip into the pandemic doldrums, I remind myself that I would be mostly sheltering in place during these hot days, anyway.

Progress and Mind Changes

I’ve largely stopped naming my quilts, but whenever I look at this project I think “Quarantine Blues.”  I’ve reluctantly decided to add a pieced border.  Actually, I had a fabric remnant that would have made a great border, but sadly not enough.  After spending way too much time trying to find it on-line, I reminded myself that this is supposed to be a scrappy, stash-only project, hence my change of mind.

This project has been languishing for months only lacking quilting in the borders.  This is a Sue Garman pattern that actually called for additional pieced borders.  I just could not bring myself to add more.  It made several trips to Guild retreats and was a source of much teasing.  I think the word “insanity” was frequently applied.

A friend once told me that only a fool never changes her mind.  She was a lady of great wisdom.

New Project

I should be receiving my next block of the month installment soon, so I’ve been trying to complete the first month’s assignment.  I wanted attempt a fancier project and this one will certainly provide that challenge.  It is a design by Kim Diehl called Esther’s Bloomers.

 

Here is the center block.  It was not difficult.

 

The smaller blocks that will eventually surround it will take longer.  There are 36 small leaves that need to be appliqued.

 

This is my first attempt at using Apliquick tools and a glue stick for prepping the units.  It took many false starts before I was happy with the results, but this method is much easier on my hands than molding each piece around a heat-resistant template with starch as I have done in the past.  Fortunately, You Tube videos helped me learn the technique.  I am curious to see if the glue presents a problem when doing the hand stitching.  

 

A group of us gathered in a parking lot Tuesday to drop off completed anti-ouch pouches and pick up supplies for more.  I had 33 pouches to hand in.  We wore our masks and social distanced as much as possible.  Somehow we managed to not exchange our usual hugs.  As one of our number said, we are hug hungry.

We expect to hit triple digit temperatures today.  I'm most grateful for a working air conditioner.

It Only Took 7 Years

I’ve been working on knitting dishcloths during television time.  They are not nearly as bulky and much easier to set aside when a dog lands in my lap than my other handwork projects.  I bought this cone of cotton yarn for $1 at the library thrift store 7 years ago thinking I would never use it up.  I have no idea how many dishcloths it produced, but it is finally gone.  Tonight, I’ll weave in the loose ends.  As soon as I finish prepping, I’ll start working on hand applique from my block of the month.

Our crepe myrtles are blooming now.  The white sky is partially due to clouds and partially due to dust.

 

Sunset courtesy of Saharan dust.

Progress on Blue Blocks and First New Blogger Post Attempt

I have completed 48 of these blocks, which I think of as my quarantine project.  The blocks will finish at 8 inches square, so I think I have enough for a lap quilt if I add borders.  I also have two baggies of extra paired units. 

For the moment I am setting them aside so I can begin work on the first installment of a block of the month project. The pandemic delayed the launch of this program by a local quilt shop, but the owner recently arranged a means of quick pick-up or even a mail service.

This post is my first attempt at using the new Blogger.  I have seen comments about how hard it is to find the button to click for a new post (turns out it is near the bottom of the screen).  Then I had to search for the way to change the photo size.  This will definitely take some getting used to, but so far it has not been as difficult as I feared.

What I've Been Working On

If I’m counting correctly, we are now in our 10^th week of Covid-19 quarantine.  My, how life has changed!  It seems like Texas is on the national news every day as the governor moves us through the reopening phases.  We live in an area with lots of retirees and our particular community continues to be more cautious than others; for which I’m grateful. 

Since my last post, I have completed 37 anti-ouch pouches with 9 more cut and ready for stitching.  I’ve done enough of these over the past several years that they qualify as mindless sewing, and I’m grateful to have them to turn to when I need hypnotic stitching.  These cushions benefit breast cancer patients. 

A house quilt has been on my want-to-do list for a while.  When I saw this free pattern for a 9-inch pot holder at Laugh Yourself Into Stitches I decided to give it a try.  It’s a fun little project, and I intend to make several for my gift basket. Now that my test block is done, I want to be a bit more adventurous in my fabric selection.

This is my pandemic quilt project.  I had pulled the pattern from the American Patchwork and Quilting April 2019 magazine.  Debbie at Stitchin' Therapy also posted about this block.  

I decided to do my blocks in blues, greens and neutrals, a combination I find very soothing.  It sure involves a lot of scrap cutting, but my collection of blocks is gradually growing while my scrap stash refuses to shrink.

One way I’m coping with missing my friends is by participating in various e-mail chains.  I was quite surprised when my participation “earned” me this pin made by one of our members.  It will be added to my guild name tag and worn with pride when we finally meet again.

The wildflowers have mostly gone to seed now, but here is another shot from a neighbor’s wildflower bed that I took a couple of weeks ago.

The cacti care still in bloom.

Still Quilting...

It was never my intention to abandon my blog for many months, nor do I intend to give it up.  It has been a helpful diary of my projects, and a bridge connecting me to others who love to quilt. My silence also does not mean I have stopped quilting.  For whatever reason, I just have had neither the discipline nor energy to hit the keyboard.

Since my last post, I completed this flimsy made up of leftovers from an earlier red and neutral project.  I like my leftover quilt better than its predecessor.

Leftovers Quilt Top

Early this year I made up my mind to touch every quilting book I own and decide which would be donated to the Bits and Pieces booth at our guild quilt show.  We were most fortunate that our show fell in the first half of February before we knew what the Corona Virus meant and lockdowns were put in place.  Since then, of course, all regular guild activities have come to a halt, except for email and text chains that help me stay sane.

Donated Books

Also saving my life right now is Ollie, who has a lot of puppy left in him and who definitely claims me as his human.  Walks are helping too, as are audio books and mindless facemask and anti-ouch pouch stitching.  Anything that calms me down and makes me feel productive is good. 

Faithful Stitching Pal

Speaking of anti-ouch pouches (for breast surgery patients), I don’t have the opportunity to pick up kits at guild meetings.  So, one of my goals during quarantine is to touch every piece of yardage in my stash and decide what I will donate to that cause, then cut and sew it.  As a result, I already have a respectable stack of fabric laundered, pressed and ready to cut. But my storage shelves are a hot mess.

A neighbor works with stained glass and gave me this lovely suncatcher.  I love butterflies.

Suncatcher

And a scene from that same neighbor’s wildflower bed.

Patricia's Garden

Some Quilty Setbacks and a Reprieve

See this sweet, innocent face?

Ollie has learned not to get on the beds, until our backs are turned, that is.  That little rascal continues to unmake them.

And now he’s discovered my design wall. 

My red scrappy quilt is taking longer than I anticipated.  I discovered that I will have to add yet another row so that the design ends and begins at the same point top and bottom. 

So, more rail fence and nine-patch blocks are in the works.  Unfortunately, I looks like I will have to do some more cutting too.  I’m learning to love my die cutter.

The reprieve came in the form of a delayed start to a block of the month.  Not sure why I signed up, but I’m committed now (or perhaps I should be committed).