Still home, still stitching

 Thanks for all your kind words.  My sister's surgery went well and she is recovering the best she can.  I leave NEXT Monday for assisting her. The sister in law has been holding on, doing ok and has moved from hospice to have her final days at home. 

So winter has taken hold of me. We have been lucky enough to have sun and lots of birds in the backyard. But I dislike hate this cold forlorn weather between seasons without any new growth and temperatures in the 40s. Ugh.  My mood is affected; yucky me. I should not complain; I am lucky for my life.

Anyway to happier, more fun things,  I finished a baby quilt for my daughter to give to her hopefully future sister and brother in law.   It is not your typical baby quilt; I was given a photo of a crochet blanket for inspiration.  I really would have done any color or theme. And I found some Bonnie Sullivan flannels that were perfect for it and the shop owner showed me an easy pattern resembling it.

Hooray for easy finishes. And since she really didn't know the difference between crocheted blankets and quilt, I just stitched in the ditch for the design. Simple. DONE!

And as I always have something to do in my evenings:  I am hand embroidering on paper punching holes for the design.  ( found on Pinterest, of course)

These are for the book sale for my PEO group. 

And then I finally tackled putting my center together for my Blockheads quilt. It wasn't too hard, just took some patience.  Slow stitching on my bias edges  But my piecing turned out accurate on almost all the half square triangle sections.  20 inches! 

Small finishes

 I had checked on my Instagram account and realized I hadn't posted anything in a good long while.  

So I checked my blog, and sure enough, I have been quilting and stitching lots of things. But I have had few finishes in the last several months. 

I need to get on that.  Several quilts are in the near top stage. Forward/ Onward.  Just March!!!

So I pushed to at least finish the little projects I have been working on:

1)   Got  the Easter door quilt for Mom finished.  It is good to work with bright happy colors.

2) Finished the inch square mini project, binding and all.

3)  Added half square triangles to the leftover 16 patch squares. 

I may not be quilting on the sewing machine much the next couple of weeks.  My sister is having an elbow surgery to repair all the broken bones from a fall.   Her husband will be going to Texas to be with his sister who is going in hospice. Too much at once for them.  So I am happy to help out. 

And Happy St. Patrick's Day.  I even made corned beef over the weekend in the crockpot. Yummm.

Back in the saddle.

 It was my turn to host a small gathering at my house, so I ( with expertise help from my dear husband)  have cleaned and organized.  I always feel so bad, because my sewing is scattered all the open room next to the kitchen.  It makes me feel guilty.

Spring is arriving  slowly and very gradually in Wisconsin. I have not seen the robins, but others have. And on our drive, I definitely could tell the willow trees have yellowing branches. 

And on the way to Madison to see the international fair of ethnic dancing, music and crafts, my dear husband and I stopped at Sun Prairie for a fabric at J J's Stitches.  And ended up getting fabric for a baby quilt gift and an applique quilt.    So excited...

On Friday, I finally felt like sewing and created a door quilt for my mom for Easter. All that is left is the binding, eyes for the chick and a few details. 

Then I saw a real simple small quilt and started cutting 1 and 1/2 inch strips. Fun to create!  

I just need to embroider a winding border and add some tiny flower buttons.   Well and quilt it, of course. 

And then I had extra pieces, so I started some new blocks which then got me down another rabbit hole:

I am trying to make them spring-like colors, but use more of my reproduction fabrics. 

It sure is fun to create.

Cold season

 My dear spouse brought back a cold from vacation. He really struggled with him which is so atypical.  He even went to a doctor after a week or so.  And now, a week after that he is still coughing. 

And wouldn't you know, he so kindly gave it to me. I NEED naps and have gone into hibernation from the world trying to recover and not spread it further. I have taken to placing a cough lozenge in my mouth while I sleep to abate the coughing. 

So I have done more handwork than sewing this week. 

I did make 2 blocks for Stash Bee.

I finished another mini St. Patrick's cross stitch.

I cut out my setting square pieces for my sampler quilt with one more block made. This whole quilt has been made with what I have on hand.  I did order sashing fabric, as my piece was not enough for all 25 blocks.

And I have been working on my miniature quilt for the guild's show at the end of March.

Yes, I admit it; I like small piecing. Not everyone else's favorite.