Quiet Week

With the quilt show on postponement, I found several hours last week in which to sew.  I spent some time making masks for my DIL, who is a licensed social worker in the medical field.  Each day she interacts with patients.  She has been understandingly concerned.  They seemed a bit large for her, but I've yet to have a chance to make more.  Perhaps today.

 I attacked another UFO, which had been untouched for maybe 5 or 6 years.  The outer border is actually a reddish violet, lighter than it shows in the image.

 I've had a break from sewing this week, as I had surgery on Monday.  The hospital was eerily quiet, with no visitors allowed.  I came home on Tuesday, and have been keeping quiet.  Easy enough, with the prohibition on getting out and about.

It rained for several days, and now the gingko trees are pushing leaves.  Ahhh, the promise of Spring.

 And finally, my iris are putting on a show.  Love, love, love being here to enjoy them.

I have pulled out an OLD handquilting project.  It is the next easiest item on my UFO list to tackle.  I'm not to lift anything over 10 lbs, so UFO's in bins are going to have to sit idle for a while.

I do hope that you are staying safe.  It's a crazy time around the world to be sure.  I am thankful to be a quilter.  I do not expect to become bored, no matter how long this Stay at Home order stays in place.  I have more than enough to keep me busy.

Happy Quilting!

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...

One Dollar

I don't know about you, but I LOVE estate sales.  I don't know what it is about them, but maybe it's the chance to take a trip back in time.  You never know when you'll see toys you had when you were a toddler, or clothes that you wore in high school.  Other people's stuff triggers all kinds of memories.  And when some of those positive triggers are for sale?  Well, guess who grabs them up and takes them home?  That would be me.

I'm like a magpie.  When I see something I like, and the price is right?  I bring it home.  Doesn't matter if I need it like another hole in my head, I get it anyway.  I have a big house, right?  har har, not so much any more!!

Anyway, on Saturday, we swung by an estate sale.  They had all kinds of fabric items on a table in the garage.  There, in a grocery bag, were some wool blocks for a crazy quilt, all embroidered, and ready to piece together.  I flipped through them, and asked, "How much?"

Well, when she said, "$1?  For all of them, not a piece?"  I said, "Sold!"  and then found a second bag with another 5 or 6 blocks.  She threw them in for free.

They're a bit musty, so they're outside airing.

All of the fabrics are wool, with the exception of a strip of navy blue polyester put into two blocks.  I'm not sure why the maker did that...maybe she ran out of wool?

In other news, the first iris are thinking of blooming.  Stay tuned, because once one pops, the rest can not be far behind.

Not much sewing going on around here, but I have been trying to dig out a path to my sewing machine.  Goals are good, and all that!!

WOW

I hadn't realized I hadn't posted in weeks.  Sorry about that.  I've been busy.  Best of the Valley Quilt Show 2016 has come and gone, and I'm now in the week of wrap up.  It is possible that I will get back to regular posting in the near future.  Goals are good!

Penny and her Mama came to the quilt show.  Here is Penny with Grandpa.  They had a nice visit, albeit a short one.

I entered six quilts, and came away with three ribbons:  2HM and a blue.  Blackeyed Beauty did well, and was happy to preside over the MiniQuilts, Illustrated category.

And now I am home again, catching the last of the blooming iris.  They seem to peak when I'm at the show, but there are enough of them this year, that I'm getting my fill.

 I felt like Georgia O'Keefe, as I zoomed in for a close-up.

Next week, I'm aiming for needle and thread.  Goals are good!  :)

Day Dreaming

I'm sitting here printing out rough drafts of narratives for the quilt show.  My eyes keep drifting out the window, to the gorgeous spring garden.  ooh!  aah!

oops!  Out of paper.  Again.  Gotta run!

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!

More Rain, Please

And so it begins...