STAY AT HOME

Well, what better hobby/obsession to have than to be a quilter?  How long have you personally been looking for some extra quilting time?  Looks like we all have it, whether we want it or not, that is if you live in California.

I spent the first part of the week sending out notifications that Best of the Valley Quilt Show, originally scheduled for April, has been rescheduled for October 9-11.  The response has been very positive.  It does my heart good to know that people did NOT want it to be cancelled altogether.  We have a LOT of support from the quilting community.  Thank you!!

After finishing the bulk of the notifications, I took a few hours on Wednesday and Thursday to work on a UFO.  It's been hanging in my closet for over a year.  It required about 2 hours of quilting and then binding to finish it up.  And here you go, my first COVID19 UFO finish:

I still have 38 UFO's on my list.  That is more than enough to keep me busy for a long, long time.

This particular quilt was put together with one set of blocks from a two-block mystery quilt.  The blocks were made sometime in the 90's.  When I sewed them together, the result was hideous.  I took them all apart, and separated the blocks.  I believe this is the third quilt I've made from that particular project.

hmmm.  I wonder if I have digital pictures of the first two?  hmmm.  Seems not.  Maybe scanning more old-school photographs is something I can do if I find that I have idle hands as we wait out this emergency.

Last Friday, I probably went to the last local estate sale for a long time.  I bought 200 skeins of DMC perle cotton.  There were no duplicates in the bunch.  When there were two of one color, there was one skein of size 3, one skein of size 5.

 Finally, the pandemic has had no effect on my iris garden.  The buds are beginning to pop, and their beauty is enough to calm the most frantic heart beat.

Be wise, be safe, stay healthy...

And get some quilting done!  :D

Happy Easter!

In preparation for Easter, I made a couple of eggs for my granddaughters. 

 I also made one for my housekeeper, that I gave away before I took a picture, and this one, for my faraway kids in Missouri.  It's been AGES since we've dyed eggs.  I think sewing them is a lot more fun.

 The garden is beginning its best blooming month of the year.  Each iris is more gorgeous than the last.

 I saw this little embroidery in a book, and thought it was hilarious.  I want to make one for my wall...then again, where would I put it?  hahahaha!!

And that's about it for now.  I hope that if you live anywhere near the Central Valley of CA that you're planning to head to Best of the Valley Quilt Show April 13-15.  Details can be found here. 

Have a Blessed Easter!

RAIN!

We've got rain and thunder.  Whosh, here comes a downpour!!  Good thing I took some pictures of my garden BEFORE the rains came down!

 And here's a sure sign of Spring:  The Gingkoes are beginning to push itty bitty leafies.

The only quiltie thing I have to show for the past week, other than piles of quilt show paperwork is this $5 gem from another estate sale.

The mom looked at it, and at her daughter.  Her daughter scowled, pointed to the raw edge, and said, "It's not even finished!"  wow.  Hand pieced and OLD fabrics.  A friend thinks it's mid to late 1800's.  I'll be stopping by the Appraiser at BOTV to see what she has to say about my find!

See me smile!!

It's Springing!

It's Spring-ing!

 I love it when the flowers begin opening around the yard.  I only had a single daffodil this year, and two narcissus, but the iris?  They're promising a riot of color, and the tulips?  They're doing their part.

 Spring is in the yard!  That means that Best of the Valley Quilt Show is right around the corner.

 In the foreground is the first red-violet iris of the season.  In the background, is my van, already loaded with pvc pipe and drape for displaying quilts.  The clock is ticking, as show time will be here before you know it.  April 7-9, 2017, McDermont Field House, in Lindsay - that's where I'm going to be.

No sewing going on to speak of, other than a single quilted card, that was sent before I remembered that I should have taken photo documentation.  Oh well.  I know I made it, and I guess that's good enough for now.

Gotta run.  The quilt show prep continues to beckon...

Happy Things

I don't think I've ever had so many tulips bloom in a single year. 

 Apparently, tulips make me almost as happy as iris do.

 Even the cat with the attitude makes me happy, sometimes.  ;)

And then there are the iris.  They are beginning their season of beauty.

 They can be apricot, or orange,

 or blue violet

 or pale yellow

or red violet

 or two-toned, it doesn't matter.  They all have me reaching for my camera in an attempt to capture some of their beauty.

And then there are quilt shows.  They make me happy.  And the quilts in the shows make me even happier.  Here is a picture of my favorite quilt from this weekend's SJVQG show in Fresno.

There now.  I hope you are smiling, too!

Around the House

 After years of drought, my yard welcomes the rain.  We haven't planted anything new, and I think we've only watered once since November.  The garden is in celebration mode.  The tulips have never been this lovely.

 The miniature roses have begun to bloom, and the Johnny jump-ups?  Well, they're out of control, which is just how I like them.

 I've never been a fan of azaleas, but they're doing their best to sway me into their camp.

The outside of my house looks fabulous.  The interior?  Looks like I've been playing with a 4 year old for 6 weeks.  She's now home with her parents, and I'm here focusing on the quilt show.  One step at a time.  Yesterday's step?  Pipe washing.

 On Monday, I loaded them into my van.  Ooh, look!  Reminds me of honeycomb!

And with that, I have a quilt show of typing to do.  Best get started...

A Piecing Fool

I've finished putting together the baby quilt top that was on the wall in my last post, and sewn together another 20 orphaned stars to make a fourth top.  Apparently I need to put "basting" on my calendar this week.  I'm ready and rarin' to go!  Let's finish something!

But first, I would like to finish the project begun in Susan Brubaker Knapp's class, at Empty Spools.  On Saturday evening, I picked out some knotty quilting, and am just looking for the time to re-quilt it and finish.  Goals are good, doncha know?  :)

Yesterday was Mother's Day, and the faraway kids sent flowers.  ooh!  aah!  I felt special!  :)

 My daughter sent peonies, which rapidly EXPLODED into a celebration of petals.

 I've never seen them up close and personal.  Each one is distinct and beautiful.  I took LOTS of pictures.

 My son's flowers arrived when I was out back, enjoying a glass of water, my iPad kindle, and the weather.  (Note the dirt in the backyard.  You now know why my house has been painted such a happy color.)

And, hmmm.  I think that's about it.  I made a list yesterday, of the things that are of high priority this week.  uh oh.  I still have three major quilt show wrap-up tasks, as well as six big quilting goals.  None of them involve baby quilts.  I suppose if they're already late, a few more weeks won't make that much difference, will it?

And on that note, I'd better get to work.  Happy quilting!!