Busy, Busy

 I don't know about you, but I am currently challenged to keep track of the days.  I know when it's Wednesday, because I babysit my grandson.  I know when it's Sunday, because of church.  Other than that?  I have to check my phone.  And the date?  Why is it even important any more?

Oh!  Dates are important, because birthdays are celebrated on them.  September we have three birthdays, so we're in the middle of celebrating. I've made a few cards, but, as usual, have fallen behind.  I feel like most of my time is spent with grandchildren.  With 4 locals, aged 2 and under, well, I need to pay attention when they are here.  No doubt about it!!

I've made more masks, for Fall.

And I made my first potholders, as a gift.

I quilted some Komforters for Kids, our guild philanthropy.

I baked baklava.

My husband's garden keeps producing, which keeps me busy making Mediterranean stuffed bell peppers and ratatouille.

And, finally, we had our first shake of walnuts.  If you've ever wondered what a good year looks like, take a gander of all those nuts!!  I've never seen so many before.  Outstanding!

As you can see, there has been plenty to occupy my time, though nothing overly exciting.  I guess the biggest news is that my hand quilting project is 19/25 of the way complete.  I've got about 6 square feet of hand quilting left to finish.  I've been quilting on this project since April, so I am excited to think that I might actually have another finish before the end of the year.  Goals are good!!

Komforters for Kids

Back in March, I pieced two tops for our Komforters for Kids guild project.  KFK's purpose is to make and distribute quilts to children in distress.  These are kept in the back of patrol cars, as well as given to CPS.  Back in March, they put out a call for quilters to help make more quilts for distribution.  The KFK committee helps by supplying us with "kits" made from of 6" fabric squares.

 When I let them know I'd finished two tops, I offered to quilt some for them as well.  Within hours a bag appeared on my doorstep, with five quilts needing quilting.  I finished quilting them last week.

 This week, I bound them, by machine, something I've never done before.  But back to the quilting.  Some of the quilts were in need of something to make them more special.  This was one of them.  I quilted the fruits of the Spirit into the solid-colored squares.  Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, self-control.  I thought they would be a good reminder for anyone interacting with a child wrapped with this quilt.

 This little flannel quilt just called for "woof!" quilted in the empty squares.

 Here is the cute fabric I chose to bind this tropical quilt.  I love the result.  As you can see, by the time I hit the 5th quilt, the binding was looking pretty good.  I now feel confident with this new skill, at least enough to not worry about binding any more KFKs.  Easy peasy.

Other than this, I've been spending an average of 3 hours/day hand quilting.  My latest project is moving right along, and I am excited to see the textures created, bringing it to life.  I don't know how long it will take, but I am not going to hurry.  This is a quilt that deserves all the time in the world.  What better time to have it in front of me as my primary quilt project, right?

In other good news, there are rumors that some of the restrictions might be relaxing in California.  Wouldn't that be wonderful?!!  I still will likely keep a reduced activity list, because I'm a bit wary.  They say asthmatics are compromised.  I don't know.  So far, I am thankful to have stayed healthy and avoided the virus.  I hope and trust that the rest of you can say the same.

Stay safe, and keep quilting!

Lots of Studio Time

Sorry my resolution to "post more!" kind of bit the dust so quickly.  I meant to write, really I did, but I was too busy sewing to tell you about it!

I finished my granddaughter's quilt, finally.  It was only 3.5 months late, so I guess that's not too awful.

 She seems to like it.  This was the first time she saw it.  Her hand is a bit of a blur, as she was trying to grab at it.

 Have you tried those red clips for binding?  I LOVE them.  I kept poking holes in my finger tip, and when I dug around in my bag of tricks, I discovered this unused tin of Poke a Dots.  I love them, too!  The rest of the binding went on without any more holes in my finger.

This year I am in charge of our guild's Block of the Month.  For January, I passed out patterns for a "Garden" Rail Fence block.  The response was quite invigorating, making me excited about the months to come.

 For February, we're making the Perkiomen Valley Block, being distributed by the Ventura Modern Quilt Guild.  They are collecting blocks for the fire/mudslide victims.  Our guild members have been asked to make one block for the victims for each block they make for the drawing.  It's a very speedy 12.5" block, and will make some wonderful comforters for hurting people.  I told my guild to "make it with HAPPY fabric."  I can't wait to see what they come up with.

Our primary philanthropic project is Komforters for Kids.  We supply police/sheriff's patrol cars (and other groups) with comforters for children in distress.  I usually make a number of tops or finish the quilts each year, but in 2017?  I did nothing.  In an effort to seek redemption, I made five tops this weekend, which I will turn in next month.

 This morning as I drove by the Farmer's Market, I saw the truck for the scissors sharpening man parked on the premises.  I went home and got three pairs of scissors which have been out of commission for a LONG time.  For $8/pair, I have what seem like new scissors.  Totally worth it, to have them working again.  yay!!  Can't wait to put them into action.

And that's what I've been up to this week.  I was so busy sewing, I missed our Blog Anniversary yesterday.  On January 12, this blog turned TEN.  wow.  I should go back and see what I was doing ten years ago.  I am certain that my life is very different today.

And I guess that's going to wrap it up for now.  I have three projects lined up for finishing, but I have no idea which one I will tackle first.  The goal is to tackle something.  And we all know that goals are good!

Happy Quilting!!

Touching Base

When all has been said and done, I may have gotten a bit carried away when shopping at Festival.  But it's all such good stuff!  Each bag holds a new squeal of delight when I discover the treasure it contains.  It's like Christmas every day, Quiltie Christmas, that is.

I also brought home a number of exciting ideas for new quilts, that I'm really looking forward to working on.  But in the meantime, my studio is filled with things half-done.  Two such projects have been moved to the forefront, because I know they will be show-worthy, if I ever get around to finishing them.  Goals are good.

I've spent a couple of days sewing through barriers like this one, that keep quilting from being pure pleasure.  These are four Komforters for Kids quilt tops, ready for sandwiching and tying.  I'll turn them in at next week's guild meeting.

 We've had a couple of good drenchings of rain.  Pixel is ready for the next storm.  Bring it on!  :)

 Yesterday, the dogs were a bit excited.  When I looked to see what they wanted, I found a water trail leading from the pool into the house.

 It wasn't from either dog, so I told Pixel, "Find the kitty!"  She did.  He was only half wet, so he must have stepped in right at the step.  He wasn't very happy about the experience.  Silly kitty!  Save swimming for summer time.  And never swim alone!!

And with that, I'm off to finish packing for retreat.  I have SO many ideas, it will be impossible to sew them all out.  However, I am hopeful that I will make noticeable progress on at least one or two projects.  Goals are good!

Busy Doing Nothing

Where are the weeks going?  I can't believe it's been so long since I've blogged.  It's hot and blah right now, so there's not a lot to blog about.  This morning I thought, "I'll take my camera out to the walnuts!"  Then I hopped in the car and drove off...without the camera, of course.  My brain just doesn't function when it's overheated.

I have spent a lot of time admiring my house.  The color has really grown on me.  My favorite sight is this back door, to the pool bathroom.

I had it painted one shade darker than the house.  You can only see the difference when it is in shadow, but it's enough.  It makes me smile, every time.  :)

Last week was my husband's birthday.  Usually I'm at a loss to buy him anything, but this time?  He said he wanted "a new pair of TopSiders."  wow.  His "old" pair was a 30 year old pair of hand-me-downs from my younger brother!  Well, they're more than 30, since my brother wore them for who-knows-how-long before he gave them to husband 30 years ago!

Shock of shocks, he's wearing the new shoes.  yay!!!

The fact that I took a picture of them might indicate how rare an occurrence it is for me to pick a "winner" of a gift for him.

I'm trying to prep for a personal quilt retreat, but can't seem to get my thoughts organized.  As I consider taking along this project or that, I'm sewing my way through snippets on my table.  Over the weekend, I pieced some tops for Komforters for Kids, our guild's community outreach program.  (Finished quilts are placed in police cars and fire trucks and with CPS, to be given to children in distress.)  The fabric was donated and pre-cut.  I just sewed it together.

I made some snippets leftover from Penny's Christmas quilt into postcards:

and finished up a potential birthday card that I started a while back

I also made some postcards from some Halloween selvedges, gifted to me by a friend.

And I think that's about it.  Not much to crow about, really, but I missed you guys, and thought I ought to check in.

Moving Forward

Oh, how happy I am!  The carpet has been replaced, and I can happy dance day and night with that monkey off my back.  Best part?  I have yet to see/find a snag.  On the old carpet, I found dozens on the first day.  I do believe this carpet will hold up to the promised minimum of 20 years of wear and tear.  A girl can dream. 

The good news is that the Studio is back in business.  The bad news is that half of its contents are not in it.  They are in the spare bedroom.  As the carpet fellows moved the things, I realized that the reason moving everything was relatively easy was because so much remained boxed from the first go-around.  The room that was difficult was the Studio, because it was the one room I had unpacked and proceeded to live in.

Hopefully this time I will find a place for everything, and take the time to put everything in its place.  :)

In between moving things back into the Studio, I've been doing some quilting.  High time I got back into gear!  I finished 4 Komforters for Kids (guild project) that had been begun by another guild member.  They're in the bag, and ready to be given to kids in distress.  Check that off the list.  yay!

Doesn't that bare table look wonderful?  I've moved on to working on a quilt-for-hire.  I hope to finish it this week, before moving anything back onto the table.  I also have a Log Cabin of my own, that could quilt up quickly on such a nice work space.

The design wall also came down, so it was blank.  No time like the present to take those glam shots of my latest quilts as promised.

 "Inspired by Sara"

Suzanne Kistler 2013

 detail

"Iris Garden"

 

 Suzanne Kistler April 2013

detail

This week's goal is to finish the current quilt-for-hire.  Once it is complete, I will focus on returning the Studio to a state of...usefulness.  Sure, it's useful right now, as I'm getting a lot done, but it would be ideal to have everything at my fingertips, instead of in bins and totebags and boxes, stashed on the bed and floor of the room next door.  Goals are good!