Site refreshed and grateful!

 I was hacked as many of you have probably discovered. I have absolutely NO idea how it had happened. 

What a time for it!  I am eternally grateful for my daughter's intervention and searching of my site to get it rectified and then approved for release of  " dangerous site" label. Hooray!

What a relief that she was able to take care of it.  Funny thing, she used ChatGBT for help with diagnostic work on the site.  Technology is amazing and sometimes scary.

So since I have been " absent"  what has been going on in my life. 

Firstly I had a retreat where I had unadulterated sewing time.

And the biggest completion was this quilt top  which only finished at 73 inches square.  It has been an ongoing project for several years and started out as a Rainbow Scrap Challenge making the curved log cabins. 

Before and after photos.

Since then I have been working on since 2021, not as far back as I thought! 

So now I am painfully assembling the border.  It is a Judy Martin design which I started on an even earlier quilt and I still CAN'T find the dang book. But a friend kindly sent photos of the appropriate pages. 

18 sections completed out of 28 plus  the additional corners.

Additionally, I did assemble 2 of Lori Holt's project bags.  With all the quilting, it took longer than I had hoped. 

And I started a quilted jacket using a sweatshirt. It is currently waiting its turn. No photos, sorry.

But I also made a few of the Little America quilt blocks. Yeah, those 3 inch little buggers that are paper pieced. 

And I caught a lovely head cold which put me out of commission for a week more or less. All I did was cross stitch and sleep. 

Better now and as good as my blog site.  Hooray!

HACKED

 I have been hacked and flagged by Google.

I am awaiting intervention from my tech guys. ( My kids)  or a hired helper. 

Time ...time....time....  Out of my control

Little blocks and more little blocks

 As part of my New Year's goals I am working on Dear Jane blocks.  I even purchased a 2nd edition of the Brenda Papadakis book.  (Block drawings are the same; photos are a little blurry.)  

Here are this week's 5 inch blocks:  

Easy one

Tricky one which required some patience. First I made plastic templates. Then I  traced the template outline on the block pieces.  The combination worked. 

Secondly, I had not started any of my Little America blocks from Sentimental Stitches in Michigan which sends a weekly paper pieced  pattern.  I finally made 2 of the 3 inch blocks.

Showing also first botched attempt, cutting on the sewing line .Ugh!

Another UFO bites the dust!

Several years ago (2022) I had purchased at a resale table 9 block kits from Quilts Plus which was a quilt store in northern Indianapolis.  ( My first quilt shop way back in 1978.)  Each block had 5 different pieces of fabric and the pattern to make the blocks. I love, love, love to make a block in a couple of hours. ( like for my Stash Bee, or the BOM at guild, or even the Blockheads or Sewcialites. ( FYI the new one starts tomorrow on Fat Quarter Shop.)

So I made the reproduction blocks and devised a setting and found a reproduction border print. 

I layered it and quilted the outlines of the blocks and lattice. And it SAT and SAT for for years! 

I pulled it off my pile and started my quilted  to finish it.  I first did some straight line quilting in the pieced blocks. And then I even added more. 

I needed a plan for the solid alternating blocks. I searched for a stencil template as I didn't want to do my circular feathers again. I ordered it from Linda's Electric needle and it came.  I then marked and quilted it all in one night. Fortunately, I had a great water soluble marker that worked very well. ( Getting it out is another story.)

But it is gorgeous and DONE!

Close ups of some stitching:

48 inches square!

Here comes the sun!

 And the big reveal: I have completed finished this wall quilt!   

And I love it, even more after it has been quilted by my long armer. 

The pattern is from a book by Karen K Stone whom I also took a workshop with after I had finished the top.  It was great to meet her in person and see some of her new creations. 

My objective was to use 5 colors for each block: red, gold, tan, background and black. I did use paper piecing for the border arcs as well as the pieced arcs. The rest was just pieced by machine using traditional methods. 

I started it in January of 2021 as an online challenge. It was abandoned for a time, and finished piecing last year.  My quilter returned it recently as I did not need it until my guild's show in March. She did a custom job. 

And maybe you can find my mistake that I did not recognize until I got it back. I just had to laugh!  

"Here comes the sun!" is my title.

And the Games begin!

 I love watching the Olympics...and have for decades. I can even remember Peggy Fleming spinning away decades ago.  I loved the ice skating then, and still do.  I had dreams of skating away myself.  I could maybe go backwards on the ponds in the park. Not very athletic am I.

But while watching all the amazing athletes and different winter sports or learning about Italian history and culture, it is great to do hand sewing or cross stitching in front of the television. I do have a binding to finish for my latest wall quilt.  I can't wait to show you. 

In the meantime, I have my last blocks for Baltimore Bliss completed.  As they are only fused on, I have lots of stitching ahead before I assemble them and then get it quilted. But it is great to get the 12 blocks completed.

Additionally, I have finished a few more Dear Jane blocks. I have been able to keep up with the group on facebook and even add a few more of the geometric simpler blocks. The online group has been focusing on the center blocks.  And that is good as I have done most of the top 2 rows and am now working on the bottom one. I have no intention of completing the intricate triangles in the border,. So I will need to create my own setting.  ( a long ways off)

I have also completed a Valentine cross stitch for a bowl filler. 

And 2 Stash Bee blocks for February: 12 inch blocks

Quilting day with friends

I have caught up with my Dear Jane blocks from the Facebook page. Man the sawtooth star in the 5 point star was a bugger: even with paper piecing. But it is out of the way and done.  Here are the blocks from the quilt along:

This one needs some tweeking in the center( They are 5 inches.)

So I have 22 blocks completed so far. 

And I have made progress on my Baltimore Bliss from Fat Cat designs. It was easy to take for a day's work. No heavy machine to carry. Very nice to share conversation and a meal with friends and get some dedicated "sewing time" in.  Mostly tracing and cutting of the appliques. 

Another is cut out and ready to assemble and a fourth is in the process. 

Which leaves me with the cross stitch progress to share. I am liking the Lugana fabric to stitch in. This is Primrose Cottage Winter Quaker pattern

Project boards and more

 I have been trying to organize a little.  ( And then I get quilting and the fabric piles up.) But I found some foam core board I had previously cut.  I found a video on how to use glue stick and your sewing machine. This is the link I used: it was a very information video I found on Youtube: Project boards: no hot glue   

It worked very well: I used flannel on the front,  forgetting I had a peel off sticking surface on the back.  No matter.  Just glad to have them and want to make more. Used up some jelly roll strips, too.   

What was nice about this was that you measured the edges on both the front and back so that when it was finally sewn on the machine it came out perfect. And instead of using hot glue, you used glue stick or I actually used Elmer's School Glue.  

My finished size was 10 inches.  I think I will make more. 

And on another front, I did finish my row around the center block for the Stay at Home Round Robin using a LOT of quarter square triangles. 

To Indy and back home

 It was a quick trip to see my MOM and stay with my sister and brother in law. I was fortunate to have some good experiences with Mom as she is slowly slowing down. But she is ever the trooper and glad to have visitors.

  Her care nurses are absolutely great. We are so lucky! And the unit supervisor was pleased with the new baby quilt.

I really had fun with some free motion flowers in the hearts to mimic the fabric. I hemmed the binding on the trip down knowing the drive is about 5 hours. 

So all I have been able to work on after that cute baby quilt was finished has been cross stitching. But that is fun, too. 

Stay warm wherever you are! It makes for good stitching weather.

Baby quilt interlude

 I was doing so well, sewing some during the day and cross stitching at night.  Then I remembered that I needed to make the baby quilt. This is for the head of my Mom's memory care wing at her nursing home.  I had purchased the fabric in December.  And I started the blocks, Yeah.

After speaking with Mom on the phone, I realized I need to go see her.  I don't know how much longer this tough 94 year old can last. And that day she was slow to converse, but knew who I was. 

So fast forward the piecing:  

Here is the layout. It shouldn't take too long; it needs to be done before I leave on Thursday. 

I have been fiddling around with my Dear Jane blocks and finished 2 more. They are kind of fun as they are small. I did join a Dear Jane group on Facebook. This week's looks extra tricky a sawtooth star inside a 5 point star in a 5 inch square.  Wish me luck. ( Paper piecing will help.)

And I have finished the one cross stitch piece with the mittens. Now to frame it.

Here is a nice visitor in my back yard; 6 point buck! He liked the my husband's birdseed.

Hope you all are keeping up with your goals.  

Sewing and Cross stitching

 I already have detoured from my quilting goals.  I saw this really easy pattern on Sentimental Stitches, which they sold out.   So I pulled out my bin of Kansas Troubles and started cutting out 2 1/2 inch squares.  Next to cut the background strips of 1 1/2 inches The pattern is kind of an Irish Chain. I plan to have this be my leader and ender project as a side project. 

I cut up all the jelly rolls and charm squares. and found 3 mini charms. So that gives me another pile to the container. My background is leftover from a wide back of another quilt.  I have probably a yard and a half left. I will see how far it takes me. 

And I am so pleased to be making some good progress on a couple of counted cross pieces.  One I can frame for winter; the second I will save for next year. 

I hate how my phone turns it sideways. This is an old one found online.  I couldn't find the green and had to buy a new one. 

Just Santa's  hat and face to go!