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.