Valentines Day is coming!

 Since Mom has moved to Indianapolis/Carmel last fall, I have made a goal of making a wall hanging either for Mom's door to her room or her room.  It was the least thing I could do from a distance using my skills. I have made so many things over the years for her. I have done 3 mini wall hangings already: her birthday cake, a Christmas tree and then an embroidered snowman with wording for January.

So now I have finished a cute Valentine one and made a spare for my sister who lives close to Mom.  I thought I would do something for her since she does so much for Mom. 

The newest edition of American Patchwork and Quilting magazine had a pattern for one.  I felt it was perfect for this situation but reduced the blocks from 3 inch to 2 inch making my wall hanging 16 inches square.  I had a good time digging through my assorted reds and white prints with red to make it. 

Here was the webbing of rows:

And here are the finished quilts.  The lighting makes them look dingy, but you can see in the photo above that they are in did crayon red and bright white with a lovely light coral for the lettering.

The quilting was done in red, because I ran out of white thread.  Oh no!

In between sewing, I am starting to clean and organize some of my supplies.  Today, I cleaned behind my cutting table. My scrap basket is overflowing. That despite just using up a lot of it in my 9 patch wonder. Today I sorted through my patterns and filled a plastic shopping bag to donate to the guild's quilt show in March. I have been slowly going through my pile of magazines. My how much we accumulate over the years. 

In addition, I have been sorting a few UFO's and trying to get them moving along to a finish. 

I added the borders to this quilt top. I had made the blocks 2 years ago from small packets of fabric and instructions from a quilt store at 2 dollars a block. I had found them at a rummage table of a quilt show. I purchased the setting blocks and borders to go with them. I love the reproduction colors. 

Now to  assemble the layers and quilt it.  I even found a stencil for the between/setting  blocks

( So much for starting new projects; this feels good to get things done. )

A BIG Christmas Finish

 I was so excited to finish my 9 patch pretties.   So I dropped it off at my long armer. And at the same time, I picked up the 2 quilts which had been finished.  It was delayed several times due to health issues on her end, my trip to Louisiana and then my long lasting cold.  But here is the first binding finish. 

So I have been sewing like crazy trying to get the binding on. My big finish is the Sewcialites Christmas.  This was a block of the week by Fat Quarter Shop, a free pattern which I made in 9 inch blocks. I enjoy doing these kind of projects and have 2 still needed to be put together. The setting is also a design from them, although I don't know if it was for this series or a previous one.  It is  a slight variation of theirs. 

Center blocks up close

This is a large quilt ending up at 100 inches squared. Which means I spent 3 nights watching football playoff games hand sewing the binding on. ( And the Packers lost in a very exciting game. They were not favored. ) 

Beautiful edge to edge quilt in swirly design with holly leaves and berries. The backing was a wide back thatched fabric by Robin Pickens in Scarlet. 

The binding as leftover strips from many of the  Christmas fabrics in the quilt alternating colors. 

A very big finish.  I am so happy!

Just needs the rod pocket and label.

I can breathe again.

 Today, Thursday, is the first day I slept without numerous cold/cough medications. And I can breathe without the stuffiness in my nasal passages.  There are still some residual effects, but such a welcome difference. 

So I am trying to get back to my New Year's goals. 

Great News!!!!!! I have finished my 9 Patch Pretties!  All borders are on and all the papers are removed.  

Hooray!     Hip Hip Hooray!    Hip Hip Hooray!

Sorry only indoor photos without an assistant.

And I get a cold!

 Sidelined,  literally.....

I pushed myself to do tooo much on Monday, Jan. 8. It was a busy day with 2 meetings and I squeezed extra errands on top.  It was so good to get so much done. My New Year's Goals were finally starting.  But after a long day, I felt tired. I even pushed myself to undecorate the Christmas tree. We had done the outside and various other adornments. I sat on the couch all night, and deteriorated slowly. Even my husband noticed after he came home from his concert. 

I have been sleeping, drinking lots of fluids and just doing nothing....DARN COLD.        For 4 days. 

Today is the first time I am actually thinking about things.  So I have been going through my stack of magazines to select patterns I still want to make. And making a pile to DONATE.  This is part of my decluttering...Yes!

And rethinking my ambitious goals.    I think I am dropping my crazy patch cats. It just isn't speaking to me.

It is now the next week Jan 15. And we have SNOW, and  more SNOW.  15 inches of it.  And it is beautiful!  I have never seen it stick to the woods for such a long period of time.  So pretty and magical when the sun shines.

We are talking 15 inches. And I don't shovel.  My husband is a God send.  Even 3 times in one day with the snow blower. I have been in this house 25 years and this is the MOST ever. And here it is Wednesday and it is still stuck to the trees. And this has branches falling everywhere impacting power lines. And it is VERY cold. We are up to single digits with chill factor added. 

OK Now it is a week.  I have cut out 2 valentine blocks for my Mom and sister. This is an adaptation of the American Patchwork and Quilting for this month.  I have reduced the blocks from 3 inches to 2 inches. 

 And I have attached my pieced border to my 9 patch pretties. with the last borders as well. 

Slow progress....especially removing half of the paper pieces. 

And so the year begins

 So glad to be home in my own surroundings and starting a new year.

I am trying to set goals for getting things organized and decluttering the STUFF of the many years past.

So far, I am just getting Christmas put away and returning gifts that didn't work out. Plus a few meetings and such.  I had a very long day yesterday, but felt good about ticking things off my list. 

Unfortunately, I have also come down with a doozy of a cold. It may be a couch day, although those quilt projects do beckon me. And I can't get far away from my new friend, the kleenex box.

On the sewing front, I did rejoin Stash Bee this year. I really liked the first block and made 2 only to find out I switched positions of the medium and dark blocks.  So after some frogging I remade them.  Now to send them off to New Zealand. 

I am also pumped to finish a few WIP projects.  I will see how long that lasts. This is my 9 patch pretties.

Planning for the new year

 January always brings a flurry of activity AFTER the bustle of the busy Christmas season  and this year's trip to see the grandboys. And this year will be no different. 

I ONLY have 3 new projects to get started on: 

1) Corinne et Cecile  Quilt Along (A  French online group on facebook) Here is the announcement for the new year's theme:   Corrinne et Cecile Quilt along    The theme is   ANIMALS.    Yes! , I found a pattern to do a crazy quilt with little cats in corners. This will be for my grandson.  8 weeks of blocks, and then assembly and quilting by May 1. 

I have  participated in several of their quilt alongs each January : 1) stars ( in process of quilting), 2) flowers, 3) circles/curves which is still not pieced as I had started a New York Beauty,  4) 9 patch which was my first and favorite and 5) applique and piecing which is my Christmas gnome quilt I just finished from this 2022.  So this will be my 6th year WOW! 

2) Fatcat Designs of a beautiful filigree kind of applique. I just got the pattern and am still choosing colors.  A friend of mine was working on it at retreat, and I fell in love with it.  It is a free pattern called Southern Gentlemen.  Email Sindy at sindy@fatcatpatterns.com if you are interested in the pattern. There is also a closed group on facebook to see the incredible different colors and blocks. 

I bought a gorgeous pale blue background for it and need to assemble some batiks to go with it. 

This is a photo of block 1 in black and white

3)  And I fell in love with Crinkly Quilts latest quilt which is version of a wedding ring quilt that I saw on instagram. She is hosting a sew along and I have already received her pattern and templates.  I had a 3 yard quilt backing that did not match a recent quilt just sitting. So I found some grunge bright fabrics to add to it. 

There is a scrappy version that I will be making from THESE fabric:

             

And I really want to take a cue from Maggie Fellows at Making a Lather who this year made of goal of only working on UFOs and picked 5 each month to work on a little at a time.  Wow,  did she make a dent completing I think 30 quilts this year.  So impressed with her dedication and focus as well as her finishes. 

Need more inspiration.....                            Always being tempted by the many projects you do!

End of the year RECAP

 2023 has been quite a year for me. 

The biggest impact this year has been the traveling to visit either my mother and her husband in Canada or my daughter in law in Louisiana.  Both are miles and miles away. And both have been due to health issues. 

In Canada my "stepfather" had a breathing issue and COPD that turned into needing a pacemaker and 4 months rehabilitation. Unable to gain his independence back, he then chose to go to a nursing home this fall. It is so difficult to watch and understand the process. And then we moved Mom to be nearer to us in the US. 

Secondly, my daughter in law received a double transplant of kidney and pancreas Memorial Day weekend. And that didn't go well. Pancreas removed after week and then after months of very minimal improvement, her body began to reject the kidney this fall. I did take care of the boys for June and July. We travel to see them this weekend.

Family is everything, and their issues impact us even when we don't travel. But we love them no matter what. And I treasure each one of them and my time with them.

But I did sew this year and that is why I blog: to record the process I so enjoy. According to my own spreadsheet, I have finished 14 projects this year. 

Several small wallhangings,   3 baby quilts, and a partridge in a pear tree.

No not really, I don't think I want any birds. 

But several major quilts  or rather quilt tops completed: 

My beautiful Ocean Waves:   which is Totally finished!

    The rest of these are tops which have all been major projects: 

Over the River ( only 7 years in production and quilting left to redo)

Quilted by now border is frogged.

Sewcialites 2  a block of the week from Fat Quarter Shop started in October of 2022 in Christmas colors, also at the quilters,    This is 100 inches square made of 9 inch blocks

 Merry Merry Snowmen , at the quilters,  Wool snowmen on cotton fabrics and lots of machine applique details with embroidery embellishments. Buttons to be added upon quilting for eyes, tips of hats, hearts, etc. Bunny Hill pattern

9 patch:   needing the pieced border and outer border attached. All those little squares are 1 inch big, or should I say "little".  This was originally an  American Patchwork and Quilting pattern modified sashing placed instead for borders. The inspiration was from Gretchen"s Little Corner. 

That leaves several already on the Spreadsheet for the new year. 

Big plans ahead and a New Year ready to map out!  

ONWARD!

Mini goals

 Lots of sewing going on for small things: 

20, actually 21    Orange Peels blocks: 5 inches square:   DONE

60     Churn Dashes   3 inch :    DONE

28     Paper pieced flying geese  3 by 9 inches  3 more to go.  I hope to finish them this week.   DONE!  

And I have been frogging the quilting on my border on my Over the River quilt.  I just didn't think it matched the rest of the quilting nor the theme of the quilt.  I put so many hours of stitching into the embroidery. I love this quilt.  I really like my quilter and what she has done on previous major quilts of mine.  I just don't think this is her style.  

All frogging done in 2 nights.  Next: steaming to hopefully reduce holes in batiks.

She has had 2 other tops  of mine to be done since October.  But she just had a heart attack  a few weeks ago.   ( Merry Merry Snowmen and my Sewcialites 2 quilt)    No rush to get them done especially now that she is recovering. 

Short visit with MOM

 I took a quick 2 day trip to Indianapolis to visit my mom and sister.

Her 92nd birthday is today. 

She is doing quite well considering her hip fracture two weeks ago. She will be transferred back to the memory wing of the nursing home tomorrow where she has a community and staff for support. 

She looks so much better and is in good spirits than when she was in Canada.  I am so grateful we were able to transfer. But mostly, I am grateful for the staff and the nursing home to make her life more fulfilling.

What a treasure to see her smile!    (Purple roses were from my brother.)

I had made a banner for her door.!

On another note, here is the percussion section from Sunday's Christmas concert. My husband and daughter are in this section.  It may be her last concert if she moves to Detroit this summer😥

December, already?

 Where have I been???

Needless to say... A simple Thanksgiving for 2.   Another round in the hospital for my daughter in law rejecting her kidney transplant.   Two fractures for my Mom : hip and arm from falling out of bed.  No surgery.  But painful and now immobile.   No trips for me , but lots of prayers and conversations across the miles.

I don't know what normal is anymore. But I do know that we are going to Louisiana after Christmas to see the boys and that is wonderful. 

So this month is my 7th year blog-iversary.  I still enjoy keeping track of my sewing and projects and getting positives from other quilters/friends over the miles.  

Onto better things: I just returned from my winter quilt retreat with some needed rest and relaxation and focused time on quilting with friends.

Projects I was able to accomplish. 

This was started for a Quilt along with Corrine and Cecile in January. But I changed my mind and only included 6 of the 8 gnomes. Each is appliqued and hand embroidered. This is destined for my daughter in law. 

This is my Moda Blockheads 5 fall session of blocks.  I have the setting blocks cut out , but need to attach and then get it quilted. My daughter requested teals and having a seasonal quilt. 

My Mother's birthday is next week and this is for her door in the nursing home. 

She will be 92 years old.  

I made this masculine table runner for my daughter's new beau for Christmas.

I am just going to quilt it on the sashing with a thin brown binding.

I am hoping he will like it. 

And lastly, here are 2 stockings for the same gentleman and my daughter. 

I had purchased the knitted stockings and added the braid around the edges

 as well as hand embroidered initials on red wool mittens. 

Catching up!

 It is so nice to be home.  After a while gathering my thoughts and catching up on news and such, I got into a mood to clean. And it feels good to do those things that I have put off for some time. So each day I have made a list to accomplish a few tasks. Some are easy tasks like baking cookies; others are not so much fun like washing windows that I never got around to this summer.   But all in all, things are getting accomplished. And it keeps inspiring me to do a little more.  

I wish I could say I have been on the sewing train to finish up a few of those oh, so close projects. 

I did make a door hanger for Mom for Christmas for her new place.   And I hope to do a monthly one as the calendar progresses.   12 by 23 inches I think in my stash fabrics. Buttons and hanging ribbon to be attached.

This is a new pattern I found at Quilts Plus in Lebanon, Indiana.  They were my first quilt store in Indianapolis at the time on 86th street way back in 1978. 

Other progress on projects:   borders of flying geese finished    14 out of 28

Cornerstone square in a square blocks:   Also paper pieced all 28 DONE!

    

HOME again!

 It feels so so good to be back home: to sleep in my own bed and watch my shows on tv and eat out of my fridge.  The simple things in life. 

After an 1800 mile trip from here to Canada to Indianapolis and back home, I am tired. But the moving of Mom went much better than expected.  She smiled on the trip and in her new home being busy and active.  She does say she doesn't like being ordered around and that is normal.  But meals are really good and the care givers are always helpful. We are so very happy that this has closed the chapter and that we can see her frequently. Thank the Lord!

And as expected, I only did some hand sewing in the car.  4 1/2 inch blocks