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!!

And, It's September

 Talk about the days rolling by with no signage.  It's hard to know which day of the week it is, let along which month.  I don't know about you, but I seem to have hit a bit of a malaise.  Without deadlines, it's hard to stay motivated to do anything.  sigh.  I've been reading a lot, not sewing much.

This past month, I've finished a few cards.  Unfortunately, I neglected to take pictures of all of them.  Here are some of the highlights:

They are all birthday cards, for friends and family.  I like the palm tree on the last one.  It was carved from a coconut shell.

I've also made a few postcards:

This is the only one finished and sent.

Yesterday, I made some masks.  It turns out that the first masks that I made were defective.  I used the elastic I had on hand, and it recently lost its stretch.  I guess it's good that it lasted this long.  Who would have thought we'd still be wearing them?

Other than that?  I've been doing a lot of babysitting, and not much else.  I am hopeful that I will post more, because I will have more to post.  But for now?  Who wants a selfie of me reading?

Hopefully, you have all been more productive than I!

Happy Quilting!

It's Been a While

 huh.  In the past month since I've posted, apparently Blogger completely revamped itself.  I hope I know what I'm doing.  It's so strange to look at.  I feel a bit lost.

Let's see, what has happened in the last month?  We went to Cambria again, and delighted in the cooler weather.  I wish I could go back today, since it's predicted to hit 105.  It's just a prelude to a week of 109.  ugh.

When at home, I watch my grandson every Wednesday.  He's a very busy boy, and playing in the dirt is one of his favorite things.

This past week, I've also been watching my granddaughter.  Her birthday is next week.  She's a real sweetie.

My husband has been tending his vegetable garden.  We've been delighting in the abundance of fresh bell peppers and tomatoes, as well as cucumbers, cantaloupe, and eggplant.

I found a great recipe for Mediterranean stuffed peppers, which I've been making fairly regularly.

I've continued to work on my handquilting project.  Well, I was, until August hit.  I need to get back to it.  I haven't done much sewing at all this month.

Yesterday, I made a birthday card, but I'm thinking I should wait until after the birthday before sharing it here.

And I guess that's it for the update. 

I hope that you all are staying safe and finding time to create.  Creativity is good for the soul.

Until next time...

P.S.  In looking at the preview, I see that only portions of my photos show up.  I hope that you can see the full shot if you click on them.  Obviously this upgrade is going to take some getting used to.

Where do the days go?

I can't believe it is mid-July and has been WEEKS since I last posted.  How is that even possible?  In June, I guess we tried to make up for what we'd missed out on in March, April, and May.  Now that it's July?  We're back under wraps.  ugh.

Back in June, we celebrated our 39th wedding anniversary in Cambria.  What a lovely weekend!!  We ate in restaurants and stayed in a hotel and had a fabulous time!

 We walked up and down three different beaches, and had a delightful time in the 66 degrees.  At home, it was 107.

 We drove north of San Simeon to see the elephant seals.  Do these guys know how to snooze or what?  No social distancing here!!

 A nose only a mother could love. 

It took all month, but I finally finished some postcards that were begun in May.

 I mailed them out in June, but to date?  I've only heard from 3 people that they were received.  odd.  One arrived yesterday.  wow.  Almost 2 weeks from CA to CO.  What's with that?

 I also took the time to bake a few blackberry cobblers.  I got the recipe from the Pioneer Woman.  Simple and delicious.  Or simply delicious.

Finally, I continue to work on my hand quilting project.  Quilt, quilt, quilt.  I'm not yet halfway through, though I try to quilt each day.  So far, July has been less than productive.  Oh well.  I've posted today, so that's something, right?

Stay healthy and enjoy life!!
Until next time.

Birthday Weekend

 We spent the weekend celebrating, before the world turned upside down.  It began with a day out, which was SO nice after the months of staying home.  We visited an estate sale, then an antique mall, and ended up near the entrance to Sequoia National Park for lunch.

 We sat riverside and watched the Kaweah flow by.  It is much lower than I've seen before, but it could be time of year.  It was hot - 91 - and a bit muggy, but, still, getting out to eat was a treat.

 They had a unique avian scavenger, in addition to the usual sparrows.  This one waddled onto the deck, just as we were getting ready to leave.

On Saturday morning, I went to the Farmers Market.  It was a shadow of its former self, but I came away with fresh flowers, eggs, strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, apricots and fresh tomatoes.  I hope that they are there again on Saturday, because I want to make it a habit to shop there.

My sister came to visit for the weekend, bringing a cake made from scratch.  She'd asked what my favorite cake was, then found that none of her bakeries were offering lemon cakes in their limited inventories.  She baked the cake layers, made lemon cream cheese frosting, and homemade lemon curd.  Oh, yum!!

Our sons and their families came for dinner on Saturday.  Two of them came back for breakfast on Sunday.  They gifted me with these beautiful flowers.

 My sister thought I needed some succulents in my house.

 Can one have too many plants?  I don't think so.

 Yesterday was my actual birthday.  The day was quiet, spent at home, listening with horror to the reports coming in from around the country.  So much can change, literally overnight.  I remain hopeful that good will triumph over evil.  God is in control of all things.  Perhaps we should look to Habbakuk:

Look among the nations! Observe!
Be astonished! Wonder!
Because I am doing something in your days—
You would not believe if you were told.

He always has a plan, whether we can see it or not.

And with that, I will leave you with my birthday picture, taken before the world turned upside down.

May God have mercy on us all.

This n That

Are you still locked down?  Still in quarantine?  Our County Board of Supervisors voted to open our county last week.  Even though I've gone nowhere but the grocery store, I feel different.  It's odd how much a proclamation can do to change things, even if it's only words.  Perhaps this week I will go out and about, to see if anything really is different.

I haven't made any masks recently, but two were called into service last week, when one of the grands needed to visit the doctor.

My daughters-in-law have both been called back to work, so that is exciting.  I'm hopeful that other places of business will also lift their restrictions.

In the meantime, I'm still sewing daily.  I made a few more cards, though I haven't sent them all.

 These were made for a mother/daughter duo.  I found a beautiful dresser linen that looked like someone took a bite from the middle.  I couldn't pass it by, since I knew parts could still be useful.

 That pretty purple reminds me of a flower picture my husband sent.  It is the flower of an eggplant.  Isn't it cute?

Here is another card, that I made with trims from the Covid Mystery quilt top I made last month.

 I found the flamingo at an estate sale sometime last year.  I thought this was the perfect place for him to hang out.

 I've also gone back to doing some collage work, with fabric scraps.  This was inspired by my garden.  Each time I look at it, I smile.

And, last, but not least, I continue to hand quilt 3 hours each day.  I've taken a few days off, when my fingers just can't continue, but I'm making good progress.  I hope to finish this quilt before we hit July.  Goals are good!

And that's all I've got for now.  Be safe, but don't be scared.  Go outside, take a big breath of fresh air.  Summer is almost here, and the days are looking brighter.

Happy Quilting!

Simple Sewing

A couple of days ago, we decided to take our chances and invite the kids to breakfast on Sunday.  We left it up to them, as to whether or not they feel safe in our presence.  All of them accepted, so it was time to put two more leaves in the table, as well as dig up a few more chairs.  Once that was done, I went on a hunt for a tablecloth.  Interesting.  The only tablecloths I have of this size are Christmas.  That just won't do.

I then went on a hunt for YARDAGE in my stash.  Turns out I needed 6 yards, and then some.  After digging into the back of beyond, I tracked down a suitable candidate.

 I cut it into two 120" pieces, then cut two 12" strips from one of them.  Here is a closer view of the fabric.  I picked it up from Joann's, when they moved locations.  I think I paid about $2/yard.

 I stitched them together with French seams, then topstitched them to keep them flat/in place.  I then hemmed it, and put it on the table.  Just two seams, but, wow.  It took 3 hours, from beginning to end.

 I also made 4 more masks.  These are reversible, with batik on both sides, instead of flannel.  I hope that it will not tickle my nose the way the flannel does.  I also hope they will be cooler.

We've finished the update of the bathroom lighting.  I wanted a shelf on top, to display some of my shell collection.  I am quite pleased with the results.

Other than that?  I am continuing to hand quilt 3 hours/day.  IQA has extended the entry deadline for Houston until June 4.  I doubt I will have finished my quilt by then, but who knows?  I have plenty of time to try!

Stay safe, and Happy Quilting!

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!

This n That

The past few days have been spent working on guild charity quilts and mask making.  I haven't finished binding the quilts, but the binding is cut and waiting for me.  I'm binding by machine, not by hand, so it's a lot faster.

 The past two days have included some mask making, I've 11 more to add to my total.

These are all lined with flannel.  The next batch will be made from two batiks.  I'm hoping they will be cooler in the warmer weather we've been experiencing.  The flannel tickles my nose and overheats me, so I'm ready to try something new.

Speaking of trying something new, there is a video out there somewhere, which shows how to use a seam ripper to create the pleats.  This is SO much easier than trying to iron them in place before stitching.  Just be sure to use a large seam ripper.  I first used a small one, and the resulting pleat was barely there.

My biggest news is that I've begun quilting the quilt I started in a David Taylor class back in 2014.  I finished the top last year, but I've been putting off the quilting, worried that I wasn't warmed up.  Well, after finishing that long-time UFO, my hand quilting is as warm as it's ever going to be.  I've been at it for three days, and so far?  So good!!  I am loving the project, but I am limiting myself to 3 hours of quilting a day.  After that?  My hands begin cramping and the stitches start to suffer.

Yesterday, I was bummed to find out that the Spring Quiltfest in Greenville, SC has been cancelled.  They must have decided yesterday, because on Monday, they reiterated that they were still taking entries.  I asked for a refund, rather than keep the quilts entered in a show scheduled for 2021.  That's just too far in the future for that kind of commitment.

If you are having quilt show withdrawals the way I am having quilt show withdrawals, I recommend you look up Quilt Fever.  It's a 16 minute documentary about Paducah.  I have to admit that it shouldn't have been a tearjerker, but midway through?  I found my eyes leaking as I contemplated the overwhelming loss to the quilt community that the inability to gather together like this has been.  I've been trying to push off reality, in denial, saying, "Surely we will be able to get together again soon!"  Now?  I'm not so sure.  One day at a time.

In the meantime, if you're having quilt show withdrawals, here is the link for Quilt Fever on Amazon.  Enjoy!!!  And keep on quilting!  I can't wait to see your show and tell!