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