Not a lot of sewing

In spite of the above, I've done very little sewing in the last few days, but it's been fun anyway.  Sunday, we picked up Paul's brother Jim at the airport, and we've been busy "entertaining."  Monday we drove to Windsor, VT, a little over an hour south, for lunch with their sister Carole and her husband John at the Harpoon Brewery.  The weather couldn't have been much better, and after lunch we sat outside to chat.

Yesterday, we visited the Vermont Granite Museum here in town.   Jim is a geologist and wore is "Easily distracted by rocks t-shirt.   The exhibits tell the story of Barre's granite industry, and there was a sculptor working on several impressive, large pieces.  Afterwards, we stopped at Studio Place Arts to look at the gallery's annual "stone" show.  It wasn't open on Tuesdays, but the director saw us peeking in the window and opened up anyway.  The many sculptures from a variety of stone were very interesting.  Outside the gallery, Jim was able to see "the world's largest zipper" made of granite by the same sculptor who was working at the museum.

Lunch was at a restaurant that goes overboard decorating for Halloween, and on the way home we stopped to buy Jim a bag of apples to take home.  He says they just don't taste as good in Alabama.  We'll take him back to the airport this morning and get ourselves back to "normal" later.  The one thing we didn't do was get a maple "creemee" (Vermont-ese for soft serve ice cream).  Next time.

Sunny fall days

A long time ago, a library customer moved to Arizona but returned after a year or so, telling me that "it was just too sunny there."  I wonder what he would think now that we've had at least a month of almost constant sunshine?  I like it.  The mornings are crisp at around 40, and the afternoons are warmish, around 70 degrees.  It's been nice for leaf peeping.  

Tomorrow Pat has an appointment in Morrisville, so we're looking forward to driving up that way, especially through Stowe and then by Lake Elmore where it's usually very pretty.  The foliage may have already gone by but it will still be nice.   

We took a walk around the neighborhood this morning and saw a lot of the leaves have already fallen.  But there's still plenty of color in this post-peak time.  After all these years in Vermont (almost 50), you'd think I wouldn't get excited about the fall colors.  But every fall is a little different, and I do love driving around our beautiful state.  (These photos came from the state's Lake Elmore State Park website)

Adding to my stash

 Even though I am still sewing in the basement, two floors from my stash, I can't seem to stop adding fabric to my "collection."  Guess I'm more of a fabric collector these days, but I do plan to spend a lot of time in my sewing room this winter, using some up.  I bought a bundle of nice Riley Blake half yards on sale recently, and the other day a friend, Robin, gave me two tubs of mostly cottons to take to the free table at guild after taking some myself.  There were some bigger pieces I can use for quilts for "Bags of Love" and some blues that would be good for a few projects I've been thinking of.

Saturday, I took an online class on curved piecing with Beth Ann Williams.  I have wanted to try working on a scrappy quilt with arcs as well as the Blue Onion pattern.  Beth Ann is a great teacher - this is the third class I've taken from her this year!  Everything is clear and concise, and I now feel very confident to tackle Blue Onion.  That's what all of Robin's blues will be used for.

Beth Ann showed how she cut her fabrics and sewed the blocks together.  There's a bit of flipping, shuffling and trimming involved that I didn't quite understand from reading the pattern.  It's somewhat improvisational which I was hoping for.  

I'll set that aside for now as I have two projects nearly to finished.  First, I'm about halfway through hand sewing the binding down on Double Date.  And I'm days away from finishing a blue Christmas tree skirt with "Snowflake" Bentley fabric for my friend Pauline.  I have four snowflake blocks to machine applique, and then it will be ready to bind as well.  I will sew that binding on completely by machine as there's always a lot of binding needed for tree skirts.   Not my favorite step in the process but definitely needed.   I chose this holiday project to finish before a few others so that I would know how much of that special panel I have left to use.  I now have enough for at least one table runner for the library's Light Up the Library raffle.

Why is it taking me so long to accomplish sewing projects lately?  I've gotten distracted reading a few good books (Britt-Marie was Here, Silent in the Sanctuary, and Dreaming Spies), but mostly we've been running around the countryside looking at fall foliage.  We take advantage of nice weather now before winter keeps us closer to home.  Tomorrow we're heading up through Stowe to Morrisville on an errand with a stop at Thompson's Flour Shop which makes great sandwiches and amazing take-and-bake pies.  Early next week, Paul's brother Jim is coming for a few days when we'll do a little more leaf peeping.  Busy days here!

Exciting news

 

In 2021, I took an online class from Ricky Tims on what he called "gridified quilts."  Everyone worked on their own project over several weeks, and I chose to make a small wallhanging I called "Memories of Kinderdijk."  It was to commemorate a river cruise Paul and I took through the Netherlands and Belgium in 2019.  During the cruise we saw the beautiful bulb fields in bloom for the first time in my life, and we also visited the UN World Heritage Site, Kinderdijk, with its many antique, but still occupied, windmills.  

During the class we each made our own paper pieced patterns and incorporated traditional blocks.  If you look closely at my quilt, you will see several traditional blocks in the sky, water and landscape.  I started out with one windmill, but Ricky recommended I include a few more.  The final quilt is really a fantasy, and I love it.  Ricky was incredibly helpful, working with each student to make our quilts unique and interesting.  I highly recommend his class which repeats in December this year.

The good news is that there will be a book to go along with the class.  Ricky is finally planning to publish the book he wanted to publish after the 2021 class.  He asked for photos from his students and received 83 submissions.  I didn't think my photo was good enough, so I didn't send it in until he asked me personally a few weeks ago.  I was honored to learn that he chose my quilt to be one of the 45 included in the book!  Can't wait to see it in person!

Row K is finished!

 

It's been a busy week, but I managed to peck away at Row K for Dear Jane here and there.  I'll continue to do the same on the next two rows, but I think this weekend I'll work on binding Double Date which I picked up from Marie the quilter.  She did a wonderful job, and I can't wait to finish it.

I missed the first Heart of Vermont guild meeting of the year, but response to my email to the guild about a round robin activity has been good.  There are now six of us planning to join in.  I don't know two of the people, but that will make it all the more fun.  I enjoy meeting people in smaller groups, especially because that guild has 60 members.  It's hard to get acquainted just at meetings.

We had a very nice time with my brother Rob and his wife Linda early in the week.   We took a guided tour of the Vermont State House, visited a sugar shack for maple ice cream, visited the Vermont Granite Museum, and took several nice walks in the sunshine.  Of course, meals out together and a lunch at home were fun, too.  Rob is totally immersed in changing his house over to solar power and driving his new-to-them electric vehicle.  The learning curve appears steep, and I'm not sure I could deal with it all.

Vermont is experiencing a drought, and our plants are all in need of soaking rain.  The foliage is changing color rapidly, but I don't think it will be as vibrant as usual.  Still, the visitors are beginning to come, including the tour buses.  That's our "bread and butter"!

Aging and the aged

This week we were busy helping friends who are just a few years older than we are.  One is in a nursing home after breaking a hip.  He'd like to come home, but after taking him and his wife (who is fine) out for lunch, we realized that he can't go home.  His physical and mental faculties have declined.  Is the latter due to being in the nursing home with very little stimulation?  Perhaps it's due to his declining hearing? 

A few days later, we had lunch with a friend who passed out at the restaurant, requiring an ambulance to the hospital.  We stayed with her in the ER until it was decided to insert a pacemaker at the university hospital in Burlington, about 45 minutes away.  Paul drove her car to our house, and two days later, we picked her up and took her home, along with her cute yellow car.  She was very perky by that time, but now we hear she has had another episode.  Perhaps the problem is more complex than the need for a pacemaker?

It all makes me very glad that I am still walking, talking, writing, reading, sewing!   My A1c and weight are both down, and the doctor has reduced my diabetes med.  She promised that it may be removed all together if I continue on this downward trajectory.  My visiting sister-in-law noticed the difference which is nice to hear.   She and my brother are visiting from New Jersey - early leaf peepers!  The fall colors are beginning, but it will be a few more weeks until peak foliage.  Still, visitors, including busloads, are arriving.

All this activity has slowed down my sewing, but I did manage to make a few blocks for Row K of Dear Jane.  Just two more full rows after that, and the center will be done.  I'm now thinking about a modern border instead of the triangles.  What would Jane have done?

I finished a sweet little burgundy hat for "Bags of Love," which makes three for kids going into foster care.  The picot edge on that hat will look cute on a little girl.  I have some variegated green yarn to make another hat, but it will have to wait.  I just started a striped sweater for myself.  Not sure i like the yarn, but if not, I'll make a few scarves and more hats.

Busy week ahead

We are heading to Burlington this morning for Paul's regular Retina Center visit.  I'm packing my Kindle and saving my New York Times puzzles for their always chilly waiting room.  Tomorrow I have a pedicure scheduled, Thursday and Friday we're meeting various friends for lunch, and Sunday my brother and his wife are coming for a few days' visit.  Fall foliage season is beginning!  We play catch up with old friends and host visitors.  Back in our B&B days, I took two weeks off to help Paul make up beds, do laundry, clean the house, and cook breakfasts.  It was a whirlwind time, but now it's just fun before the snow falls!

Over the weekend I started on Row K of Dear Jane.  This row has quite a few paper pieced blocks which can be tricky.  Yesterday I made a 36 patch block (K-2?) which turned out so small that I had to add coping strips all around.  What a sense of accomplishment one gets upon finishing each little block.

Here are most of the blocks in Row J.  That empty space, J-11, was a work in progress so didn't get into the photo.  I had to add that I cut some corners on J-9 and J-11, eliminating some fussy little melon appliques.  I decided to add them with quilting.

I watched Ricky Tims' unveiling of his new quilt, The Visitation, yesterday afternoon, and all I can say is "Wow!"  I wish he still sold his hand-dyed fabrics.  It's on You Tube if you want to watch.