Year End 2021

Our family Christmas celebration occurred December 28, the first day Julia and our grandsons could gather and it also coincided with hubby’s birthday.  It was a lovely day that included presents, a huge lunch featuring hubby’s favorite menu of roast beef and mashed potatoes and a card game called Exploding Kittens.  Thankfully, the game is not as gruesome as the title makes it sound! 

A friend recently donated fabric to the Tuesday sewing group that I have been a part of for 14 years.  On impulse, I glommed onto it and made potholders to attach to the baggies of cookies I made for the neighborhood.  

There was so much fabric left over that I’m still making them for our Guild’s quilt show boutique in 2023.  What doesn’t get finished before New Year’s Day will be set aside for possible construction later.  I’m ready for some fun stitching.

The Tuesday group also had a Christmas brunch.  It was pretty much a last-minute effort, but the organizers found a small restaurant that opened especially for us.  One member provided these cute little boxes at each setting filled with homemade yummies.

The gathering took place just before the latest COVID surge.  Everyone in our group of 8 was vaccinated and boosted, and fortunately no one got sick.  I missed this week’s gathering due to our family celebration and given the current situation, I am debating about whether to sit out January.  It’s a hard decision because this group is very dear to me but as hubby and I are in the high-risk group we have to give a lot of thought about which risks are acceptable.

Also occurring, since I last posted, was our 44^th wedding anniversary.  There MAY have been a stop at One Quilt Place in Fredericksburg.  

And I MAY have contributed to the local economy.

It always seems like the winter holidays are filled with good days and hard days.  This year’s season began with a family funeral followed by a flare of decades-old family angst.  I'm reminded that a universal human challenge is to savor the joy amidst the pain.

And then, some of us take nothing seriously and just like to nap between the beds.

Finally my last 2021 quote is a goal worthy of a lifetime's pursuit.

Live -- My 2021 Word

...for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.  I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty.  I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation....--Philippians 4:12

Top Finished

Hubby and one of his brothers have headed west for a hunting trip.  The other brother who was with us Thanksgiving and his wife have headed south.  They’re all from Wisconsin, so I understand.  That left me with a few days to catch my breath and actually do some quilt related things.

 

If I were to name this quilt, I would probably call it “Sanity.”  Not only was it a Covid handwork project, it saw me through the Tour de France, Vuelta a Espana, lots of golf and a fair amount of football.  If you’re picking up the vibe that the person with the remote control in his hand has a slightly different taste in television than I do, you’re right. The colors in this photograph are definitely off.  The top is much more in the teal and pink family.

 

The clamshell pattern is one that I have wanted to make for a long time and it grew out of a virtual workshop with Irene Blanck.  Except for the borders, it is entirely hand pieced.

 

Another birthday has come and gone, and with all the out-of-town company in the area, we seemed to celebrate more than usual this year. I received two very nice floral gifts. 

 

The amaryllis bulbs I showed last month have sent up fresh bloom stalks and are still putting on a show.

 

The poinsettia I received for my birthday in 2020 has survived so far and is gradually getting its Christmas colors.

 

Bob and his brother return tomorrow.  Today’s goal is to get some serious housecleaning done.

 

Live -- My 2021 Word

In life, it’s important to know when to stop arguing with people, and simply let them be wrong. --Unknown

 

Time to Check In

I can't count the number of times I've started composing a blog post in my head only for it to evaporate before I get to the keyboard.  I had hoped to have a completed quilt to post, but discovered last week that the batting I had purchased was too small.  By the time the batting arrived, I was mired in other projects and unable to get the top sandwiched.

My clamshell quilt is progressing well even though the fabric I had purchased for borders, ended up being all wrong.  Fortunately, a quilty friend came to the rescue with something from her stash.  There will be more pictures when the borders are on.

Wanda at Exuberant Color recently had a pop-up store that included some paper piecing patterns. 

The original design called for four blocks, but I opted to keep it at three when I saw how much of an outlier the fourth block turned out.  It just did not blend with the others.

There was one oops in their construction, but fortunately I was able to correct it.  This piece is also waiting for borders.  It’s very frustrating to get this close on so many projects and yet be unable to bring any of them to completion.

I received some happy mail from Nanette.  I gave her the color wheel pattern I did earlier this year along with some fabric and she reciprocated with these two quilt books.  There’s lots of eye candy here to enjoy and dream about. 

Our outgoing Guild president hosted a brunch for those of us who served on the board this year.  She gifted each of us with these gorgeous amaryllis plants!  I’m glad my term of office is winding down.  It’s been a good experience but after two years I’m ready step back and let some of the new talent in our group take over.

The busyness of the season has definitely taken hold.  Starting today, our time will be entirely devoted to family events beginning with a nephew’s funeral this weekend, progressing through the Thanksgiving feast next week, and continuing through most of the following week with out-of-town company.  The sewing room will be reconfigured to accommodate air mattresses and the cutting table has been stowed.  Very little sewing will be done for a while. 

It's been a long time since I hosted a Thanksgiving feast.  I’ve been making lists, revising lists, losing lists and recreating lists.  Most of the shopping is done, and I think we’re ready.

 

Live -- My 2021 Word

The secret to living well and longer is:  eat half, walk double, laugh triple and love without measure. – Tibetan Proverb

Patriotic Wall Quilt is a Finish

I finished putting the label on this patriotic wall quilt last night.  It was a kit I had been given that I took to retreat.  I quilted it both on my domestic machine and my sit-down quilter.  I still find some things, like stitching in the ditch, are easier on my domestic machine using a walking foot provided it’s a small piece.  Other things like meanders and border work go faster of my Handi Quilter.   … Glad it’s done and I can check another one off my list.

 

In other news, I’m trying to make friends with a new computer.  I had to search out a source for Picasa3, the photo editing ap I prefer.  It is old software that is being phased out for Google users.  I like it though, and have several albums and collections set up using it.  So, I’ll stick with it for a while longer.  I think most of my files and contacts have been transferred and it’s just a matter of getting settled in.

 

Our community is experiencing a surge of coyote activity.  We hear them singing regularly and actually observed one on the golf course behind our house.  Several deer have been killed in recent weeks.  This evening we discovered a fawn carcass outside our fence.  Some of us are worrying that our pets might be at risk as well.  I understand city officials are looking at various options for dealing with the issue. 

Live -- My 2021 Word

 Healing doesn't mean the damage never existed.  It means the damage no longer controls our lives.--MyPositiveOutlooks.com

 

Another Project Bound, Labeled, Done

The color wheel, one of the small projects I pieced at my recent quilt retreat, is now finished.  I used invisible thread on the color wheel and a matching thread for the background.  Mostly I used a medium meander on the background, but if you look very closely there’s a note-to-self quilted into the into it that says “Be brave, and use all the colors.”

 Even before the pandemic began, my quilting mojo had slowed.  I thought that with all the lockdowns and cancelations I would be more productive, but that did not happen.  Lately, though, it seems to be coming back.  I hope the trend lasts.

 We had one-half inch rain last night.  It was very welcome as one of the driest Septembers on record draws to an end.  Predictions are we could have even more this week.

 

Live -- My 2021 Word

 The only disability in life is a bad attitude—Scott Hamilton

 

 

Hubby’s Quilt, Bound Labeled, Done

All quilts have a story.  One day, while hubby was patiently waiting in the husband’s corner of a favorite quilt shop while I browsed, he noticed the pattern for this quilt and really liked the panel in the illustration.  It’s not the first time I made him a quilt, but it is the first time he ever asked me to make a specific quilt.

 

The shop had the border pattern but not that panel.  I was able to purchase it online and soon we were back at the shop to get the pattern and choose fabrics.

This is the result.  This is one of three unexpected new projects I mentioned earlier this summer.  The first was my grandson’s Aggie quilt. 

I'm not catching up on projects, though.  I purchased a paper piecing pattern from a blogger friend's pop up shop yesterday.  

Live -- My 2021 Word

 Life is ten percent what happens to you and ninety percent how you respond to it. -- George Bernard Shaw

 

Retreat Projects

As it turned out, August was a fairly productive month.  I needed some instant gratification and turned my attention to two small projects in my UFO stash.

 

The first was this patriotic wall quilt.  This kit was given to me by a neighbor who was reducing the size of her stash. 

 

The second was a color wheel kit I had been wanting to make for more than a year. 

 

As you can tell from the second picture, I was really tickled when it was taken.  Both these projects were done at a Guild retreat late in August.  I am relieved to report that 10 days after my return, neither my husband nor I show any signs of Covid.  We had been urged to isolate as much as possible the days leading up to the trip and to avoid any unnecessary side trips during the three-hour drive to get there.  All went well, and it was a wonderful time of working on projects, silliness, eating someone else’s cooking and generally enjoying good company with friends. 

 

I knew this was risky behavior and was extremely fortunate. When I returned, I learned that a friend who attended a different retreat a few days before mine developed a breakthrough Covid infection.  She is recovering, but said there were several days where she felt absolutely miserable.  Five of the nine participants at that retreat were infected.  Apparently, one of the attendees had been exposed prior to the retreat, but thought she was okay since she didn’t feel sick.

 

Live -- My 2021 Word

 Enjoy every moment of your life...

Life is too short to waste on grudges..

Laugh when you can,

Apologize when you should...

and let go of what you can't change..

---found online  

 

Bound, Labeled, Done

It’s been more than a month since I sat down at the keyboard to prepare a blog post.  I have no excuses, good or bad, but I have been working on my projects.  In fact, in the last month I have added three projects to the queue and completed one of them.

 

I’ll talk about the other two in later posts, but this quilt is the one that is bound, labeled, done.  It is most definitely out of my wheelhouse.  It’s big, chunky and wonky by design.  And most of all, it’s so Aggie!  Now, don’t get me wrong.  Although my blood runs Texas Longhorn burnt orange, I really like the Aggies…with the exception of one day a year and that depends on the final score. 

 

Grandson Aidan is a freshman at Texas A&M and a member of the Corps.  Half way into this project, we learned that he could not use it in his dorm room.   He is required to use standard issue bed coverings in the Corps dorm.  In fact, we were told many of the young men in the Corps opt to use sleeping bags on the floor rather than having to make their beds military style every morning.  I also learned they are only allowed to have three things on their desks at any one time.  One of those is the computer he is required to have, so I guess that leaves a pen and piece of paper.

 

But, I digress.  Since I wanted him to have the quilt in time for his birthday, I had a friend quilt it for me, and it is now on his bed at home.  I’m told both he and his dog, Gus, approve.

Finally....

I was so proud last week.  I had Esther’s Bloomers on the design wall ready to call it a finished top.  Well, you know what is said about pride going before a fall.  I had taken my picture…

 

 When I noticed something was not right with the border.  One side was not like the other three.

 

It took several days before I felt like I could trust myself with a seam ripper.

 

NOW it’s a finished top.

 

 

Live -- My 2021 Word

 Falling down is part of life.  Getting back up is living – Jose N. Harris

 

A Finished Top

The quilt I’m calling Covid Blues is finally a complete top.  The design is by Tara Lynn Baisden and appeared in the April 2019 issue of American Patchwork and Quilting.  I made my version rectangular instead of square and slightly smaller.  Now, it goes into the waiting to be quilted stage.

 

Since my last post, we made our first out-of-town trip.  We spent a week in Galveston to get some beach time.  We are not sea swimmers or sun bathers, which is good, since it rained every day but one.  No complaints, though.  Our unit had a covered balcony facing the shore and we were able to enjoy the salt air while we read.  Also, I am happy to report that there was NO rain in the quilt shop we visited.  Several friends had mentioned this store and it did not disappoint.

 

Here is my contribution to the local economy.  I haven't decided how I will use these fabrics.

 

Our area is no longer in drought, the good news.  However, yards are still recovering from the extraordinarily harsh weather we had in February.  Many trees were lost, and some like this one on the golf course, are struggling to come back.  It looks like our own trees survived, but one is definitely not as healthy as in previous years. 

 

Our Guild will have its first regular meeting at the church since Covid next week.  I missed last month’s first in-person meeting in the park because of our trip.  It will be so good to see everyone again!

 

Live -- My 2021 Word

 

May you have the courage to change the patterns in your life that are no longer serving you. – Becoming Minimalist

It Was A Very Happy Mother's Day

Mother’s Day was particularly special this year.  Not only was I gifted a lavish bag of goodies, but Julia and youngest grandson, Aidan, spent several hours with us helping with household chores. 

As a result, we now have an oven with working lights, new batteries in the smoke detectors, clean windows and …

My design wall panels have finally been anchored to the wall of my sewing room.  I got the idea on how to go about mounting it from Vivian at Bronx Quilter.  The quilt on it is my Covid Blues quilt that got sidelined some months ago.  It’s time to make it a priority again. 

 

Live -- My 2021 Word

 

Sometimes you have to give up on what you thought life would be like and learn to find the joy in the story you are actually living.  – Rachel Marie Martin

Some Progress

I delayed writing this post because just showing more petals being appliqued wasn’t very newsworthy, but it’s time to document that I am still working on Esther’s Bloomers and gradually making progress. 

 

The center has grown, and two of the applique borders are ready to be attached.

 

I had a small diversion when a neighbor asked me to hem a dust ruffle.  The quilt was made by an aunt, and the dust ruffle added by her daughter so it could serve as a bedspread.  I stitched the hem when we could see just how much fabric we had to work with. 

 

Our area is rated as being in moderate drought, so we were very happy when we had four inches of rain last weekend.   I love sitting at one of my vintage machines while it rains.

Now that hubby and I are fully vaccinated, life has loosened up just a bit.  We are still being cautious, but I have had a haircut (yippee) and we even joined our neighbors for a backyard barbeque Sunday night.  

 

Live -- My 2021 Word

 

We choose our life every day.  We don’t necessarily choose our circumstances every day, but we do choose the person we are going to be. —Becoming Minimalist

 

Applique, Applique, Applique...

The sewing part of my week has mostly been consumed by trying to finish the applique on Esther’s Bloomers.  Progress is slow, but at least it is happening.  One more set of half circles needs to be stitched and petals are beginning to happen.

 

During those times when I just want a break from handwork, I’ve resumed making anti-ouch pouches for breast surgery patients.  I’ve let this project slip during the pandemic, but there will be a guild pick-up for finished pouches next week and I want to have something to contribute.

 

One of my Christmas cacti is making a show.  The blooms are always pointed downwards and I was curious to see how they look.  I turned on the selfie mode of my phone camera and even though the focus is bad, I think the result is interesting.

 

For three years this mud nest was built and occupied by swallows.  Some other kind of bird is using it this spring and they are adding lots of straw to the mud base.  I only thought it couldn’t get messier.

 

 

 

Live -- My 2021 Word

 

Life is from the inside out.  When you shift on the inside, life shits on the outside. – Kamal Ravikant

This and That

The final borders for Esther’s Bloomers are coming along.  After I finish appliqueing the half circles to the remaining two strips, I will need to add 180 leaves.  Also, not shown is a fourth pieced strip.

The latest fabric splurge arrived last week.  I think it will work as a border fabric on a blue/green/neutral top I began last year.

Julia kindly gifted me with pink flamingoes on my birthday last November.  I’ve decided to continue with the pink theme in my patio plantings.

These little violets are pretty right now, but are so invasive, I’ll be fussing about them later this spring.  As a young woman, I was perplexed when my mother asked for a grubbing hoe for Christmas.  Now that it’s a lot harder for me to get up and down, I’ve come to appreciate a hoe when weeding flower beds.

We finally decided that it is warm enough for Maddie to be groomed.  Believe it or not, this is the same dog.  Who would have thought she had ears?  She does clean up rather well.

And finally, following the lead set by Wanda at Exuberant Color and Julie at Me and My Quilts, here’s what hair that hasn’t seen a stylist in 13 months looks like.  Never ever have I had hair this long.  I had my second Covid shot this week.  So, I’ll be thinking about a hair cut in two weeks or so.

Live -- My 2021 Word            

Decide to live your life. Stop comparing yourself to others. You were not born to live their life. There is no sense in wasting yours being jealous of theirs. Instead, you were born to live your life – determine today to be good at it. After all, you only get one shot. – Joshua Becker

 

Okay, I cratered...

Several years ago, a friend opened a quilt shop on her ranch.  She only opened it to shoppers one day a month and specialized in reproduction fabrics.  She also operated an attached retreat house.  Several years and a pandemic later, she is closing her doors to both.  Since I have two works in progress made primarily from fabric purchased at her store, I decided to stop by (fully masked and socially distanced) last weekend when she marked all her fabric down by 40%.  

 

Here is what came home with me.  Even though I took one of my tops with me, I’m uncertain if I will be able to use one of the reds as a border.  Since I’m a long way from completing my project, I have plenty of time to decide.

While we were gathered, several quilters showed off some of their projects.  I could not get any photos, but take my word for it, they were definitely quilt show worthy.  I left feeling just a little let down.  Then I happened on this 2017 quote from Barbara Black’s blog.  It was a very timely reminder: 

Make the quilts you love for the people you love and celebrate the accolades and prizes of others. Don't be discouraged at quilt shows when you see quilts you know you could never make. Just love the ones you do get to make. We are making "gifts for generations yet unborn".   Barbara Black – 10/12/17

While taking a walk last week, I spotted my first bluebonnets of 2021 just beginning to open. 

 

Live -- My 2021 Word

Just when I think I have learned the way to live, life changes. -- Hugh Prather

 

Just Checking In

I delayed this post in the hopes that I would have something to report other than just cutting and prepping for Unit 6 of Esther’s Bloomers.  Alas, I’m still chugging along in that early stage.  After I finally finish turning the edges on the 180 leaves, I will still need to prep 60 small, medium and large half circles for applique.  I may have to put is aside for a day or two just so I can get some machine stitching therapy in.

 

We have definitely thawed out and the highs this week have been in the mid and high 70s.  Trees are beginning to bud, and our live oaks are dropping leaves like crazy.  They are great trees, but messy this time of year.

 

I received my first Covid vaccine last Saturday and was pleased that I had a very mild reaction.  The second shot may be more potent, or maybe not. 

 

My grandson gave me a gift card for my birthday and I decided to celebrate the thaw with an indulgence.  It was wonderful.

 

And, I guess possession truly is 9/10 of the law, sigh.

 

Live -- My 2021 Word

 The whole point is to live life and be - to use all the colors in the crayon box.--RuPaul