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.