Just puttering along

I decided to devote my machine sewing time to Dear Jane this week, so I got right onto Row F.  So far, seven blocks are done, and I forgot that I had already done F-6, so now I have two.  I'll pick the one I like best and put the other one on the back or use it in a mug rug.   

One of the blocks (F-8) had 30 pieces - for a 4.5" block!  It's paper pieced which means I used about twice the fabric a pieced block would take.  This photo is from the website HobbyStash where one can find paper piecing patterns for most of the blocks.  Mine is a bright teal green on a black and white background.

There are three more blocks to go, one of which is hand appliqued.  It feels odd to be doing fusible applique on some of the blocks, but that is really more accurate this time around.   F-13 has fairly large pieces that I can handle.  I'll post a photo of the whole role when done.

I also started cutting out sashing this week.  I have several yards of charcoal grunge for this quilt and will put a few of the rows together now.  I want to machine quilt it myself in sections when my Elna returns (I'm hoping it can be repaired - it is frozen at the moment and seems hopeless.).  Meanwhile, the new Brother is working fine, especially with paper piecing.  

Today being Easter, we have plans to meet Chris and a friend at the Asian Gourmet for lunch.  We started doing this last Easter and really enjoyed ourselves.  It's a new tradition but fun.   This morning we'll go around town and hang posters for the April library booksale.  I drive while Paul posts.  Happy Easter!

Last round robin

 

Due to yesterday's snow (we got about 12"), I made good headway on Renee's round robin, and today I finished.  I was initially dismayed because I don't really like brown, but this turned out pretty nice.  I hope she likes it.  At about 44" square, it could be a big wallhanging.  If she wants to add another border, it will be a nice lap quilt.  It's so big that I couldn't really get a good picture, but I hope this gives some idea of how it looks.  The scrappy Jacob's Ladder blocks I added are 6" finished.

I enjoy doing these round robins because they challenge my creativity.  It's fun to work with someone else's color and style choices, too.  I have never made a blue and brown quilt and probably never will.   

There are quite a few newbies in the guild, and I hope we can persuade some to try joining a round robin next year. Our group this year had six members, two of whom I didn't know, so it has been fun getting acquainted through their fabric.   

Snow day

We're having a late winter snow day today, with accumulations of about a foot expected.  Almost everything is closed so it's quiet outside, except for the occasional roar of the snowplows.  

It's only about 20 degrees, which is good, because that means it's a soft, light snow and we probably won't lose power.  I've got laundry going and just finished baking a batch of Snickerdoodle Squares.   They are soft and yummy, tasting like cinnamon toast.  Yes, I just "had" to try one, and it's only 9:30 in the morning!

Yesterday was a busy day, starting with a haircut.  This was my second time with Hollie, and she did a great job.  On the way home, I stopped at Quality Market for necessities, "just in case" - bread and milk - ahead of the snow.  

The ladies of the neighborhood get together for lunch once a month at a restaurant downtown, so I joined them for a salad.  Quite a few neighbors are off traveling or dealing with family issues, so there were only nine of us.  It's always fun to get together.  

I came home and goofed off for a while before Paul and I headed over to Montpelier for dinner with our friends Pauline and Bob, who was celebrating a birthday at our favorite Italian restaurant.   We started with drinks, bread, and a shared antipasto plate before our entrees.  Bob had cake for dessert, and Pauline had a yummy coffee with Kahlua and whipped cream.  Paul and I decided we'd had enough.  But it was all delish, and we even carried some pasta home for today's lunch.

Later, I'll move upstairs to the quilting room and work on Renee's round robin quilt some more.  I like to get the rounds done and put away right after I receive the quilts so that I don't get sloppy waiting til the last minute.  I like to take my time with someone else's quilt.  We'll reveal our group's six "flimsies" at the May meeting, finish the quilts over the summer, and show the finished ones at the September guild meeting.  Tammy has very kindly offered to long arm quilt any round robin quilts for us.  I will definitely take her up on it.

March Barn Star blocks

 

Yesterday morning, after I finished the February blocks of the month, I worked on the March ones since I had the purple box out.  One set of two was fairly easy and the other set turned out to be problematic.  I would not have made the Lemoyne Stars (the book gives them another name) that way, and I know I'll end up nipping off the points.  But they are done and put away with the other blocks until April.

Most of our afternoon was spent at the Retina Center in Burlington, a 45 minute drive away.  Paul goes every four months for a check up, and I sit in the waiting room with a good book.  During the pandemic I couldn't come in, so had to either wait outside in the car, go shopping, or sit on a lawn chair by the parking lot.  Now we all still have to wear masks, but I don't really mind that.

I'm reading The Boy Who Cried Bear by Kelley Armstrong, the latest in a series set in a remote town in the Yukon.  Casey and her partner Eric run a town for people who need to disappear from the "outside" world for safety, such as criminals, victims of violence, etc.  They know the forest surrounding the town well, but every now and then some stranger will appear.  And it's always the humans that are more dangerous than the animals, of course.  There's food for thought along with the adventure.

Tonight I have quilt guild and will take the collage and Disney quilts for show and tell.  I hope to go through my stash a bit to glean a few things for the free table.  I tend to take more than I bring in, and I really need to reverse that trend!

Catching up... slowly

Saturday was our semi-annual Green Mountain Quilters Guild board meeting which I had arranged to be at the public library.  Because of being exposed to COVID a few days before, I did wear a mask even though I had no symptoms and tested negative.  I'm still negative, thank goodness.  

We had a great meeting followed by a nice lunch at a restaurant across the street from the library.   It's a really nice group of people who work hard to keep the state guild alive.  The state guild only meets twice a year, so we were planning the May meeting.  

Everyone went home with assignments, and mine was to arrange for an inspiring speaker for the morning program.  I asked one of our most creative members, Chris, via email, and she enthusiastically agreed!  Arranging a speaker isn't always that easy, but I guess I caught her at just the right time.  I think we'll attract quite a few people who have enjoyed her very creative quilts over the years.  Here's her "Hiding My Stash" wallhanging. 

In between errands and meetings, I've been pecking away at the purple Barn Star quilt blocks of the month and have finished all the blocks for February.   I'm making progress!  This block was 24" square, and the following ones are 8".  

My purple box is still bursting at the seams, so I'm happy to proceed with the March blocks this week.  It's going to be a pretty quilt.  This BOM has been organized by Abigail Dolinger whose annual BOMs I almost always follow because her directions are very clear and the pace is perfect for me.  I do sometimes get behind due vacation or whatever, but I generally manage to catch up.

Yesterday, I resolved to finish the purple Wave Scarf I've been knitting for a few months.  I still have the loose ends to weave in but will post a photo in the next few days.  I may save it for my brother in Wisconsin who likes purple because it's regal.  I usually work on knitted things for kids going into foster care, but my next project will be another scarf with an unusual pattern.  These projects keep my hands busy (and sometimes my mind!) when I want to take a break and watch TV during the day.

Brother!

As I was finishing the binding on the Disney quilt, my Elna started making an odd noise, very similar to the one it made before I took it in for service last summer.  It has had an average amount use since it came back from service.  I opened it up and did a thorough cleaning.  Sunday I cut out pieces for one of my blocks of the month - I'm behind a month and wanted to spend the day catching up.  When I started sewing, the metal-on-metal grinding noise became more and more excruciating, and I just couldn't continue.   I'll take it to my local quilt shop where a guy from "up north" will pick it up eventually and repair it (I hope).  This will be a different person from the last repair.

I sewed 12 flying geese by hand, thinking all the while about what to do next.   I gave my old backup machine to my niece, so how would I endure 4-6 weeks without a machine?  Clearly, I couldn't.  So I started hunting around for lighter, less expensive machines, both new and used, and settled on a new Brother from Walmart.   I didn't even have to go to the store; it could be delivered free to my house.

Although I would have preferred a mechanical machine like a Featherweight, this SQ9825 is computerized and comes with quilting feet and the ability to drop the feed dogs.  The harp is teensy but will be fine for smaller projects or quilt as you go.  I ordered it Monday, and it came on Tuesday.  It was easy to set up, and there were quite a few online videos about it.  It is light enough to carry to classes.

Today I put Brother through its paces, finishing the 24" block of the Barn Star Sampler, the first block of February's five.  There's no automatic thread cutter, but I coped.  It has an automatic threader, but I can't figure it out yet - I never could on my Elna either.  Getting a scant 1/4" seam required a piece of tape that I've been using on the Elna now and then.  And the machine sews smoothly, quietly and in a straight line which is most important to me.  The LED light is almost useless, but I have good extra lighting.

The Disney quilt

Early this week, I made 16 log cabin blocks and mailed 12 off to the other people in the swap.  Then I turned my attention to a baby quilt for my cousin's daughter (in the Netherlands, she is considered my niece) and her husband.  Susan and Arjan are crazy about all things Disney and even went to Disney World for their honeymoon several years ago.  Over the years I've sent little things I've made with Disney fabric.  Now I'm thrilled to be sending them a baby quilt.

When I double-checked on the baby room's decor, Susan said "Disney, of course!"  I thought so!  I ordered some Disney-themed charm squares on etsy.com and made disappearing nine patch blocks.  The back is a soft red polka dotted flannel.   It's almost embarrassing how quickly this all went together, but I love the way it turned out.

What a nice change from the two neutral baby quilts that were requested last year!  The postscript to that story is that for the quilt for my new greatnephew, Daley, I made a colorful scrappy back.  And his mother seems to prefer that side for tummy time.  I'm so glad!

This afternoon I'm heading to my monthly hand sewing group, the Calico County Quilters.  I have a sashiko piece and some hexies to work on and will bring the Disney quilt along for show and tell.  

I belonged to this group before my son was born 42 years ago but took about 30 years off for one reason or another.  I enjoy the members very much.  Everyone works on her own project; we learn so much from each other.  Of course, we talk about non-quilting things, too, which makes for a very pleasant afternoon.

Inventorying WIPs

Now that winter is waning (but not gone by a long shot), I find it necessary to assess what I have to work on before I start anything new.   Here's what I'm thinking about.

Job 1:  Susan and Arjan's baby quilt.  The baby is due June 6 and will take up to 6 weeks to get to the Netherlands.  Top is ready for sandwiching and quilting.  I have pre-washed some lovely red polka dotted flannel for the back.

2.  Dear Jane - I'm ready to start Row F or put blocks together to begin quilting Rows A-E QAYG style.  Decisions, decisions!    I have some charcoal grunge for sashing.  Here's Row E.

3.  Log cabin swap - I have all the pieces for 16 8.5" blocks cut and can start putting them all together.   I decided to use the 9 Manx blocks I have for the center of the quilt and surround them with the blocks I receive in the swap.

4.  Purple Barn Star quilt along - I am behind a month but hope to catch up soon.

5.  Knitted wave scarf - It's getting long and looking good.  It's almost time to change color combinations again.  I knit while watching TV on gloomy days (which we seem to have a lot of lately).

6.  Sweet Tea and Green Beans (Jen Kingwell) - I finished the 8 orange peel blocks on vacation and now have the hexies to put together into a block.  This is portable so I'll take it to guild on Saturday.  I have a long way to go on this quilt, but I'm enjoying the variety so far.

7.  There are several other projects on the back burner, including two quilt tops finished last year and the guild blocks of the month I won in January.   Should these become four table runners for gifts?  Stay tuned!

Seen while reading numerous blogs

 I've been trying to catch up on my blog reading after 3 weeks away and saw this at QuiltingGail...

This Quilty Ode was on posted on Facebook by Fons and Porter. It was written by Eileen Fowler, the editor of Quiltmaker and Quick + Easy Quilts.

We're home!

We arrived back in Barre a little before 3 pm yesterday (Saturday) after a rainy ride from Wilkes-Barre, PA, where we often stay on trips south.  It feels good to be home although there's a mountain of laundry, a bunch of obligations, and some grocery shopping to be done.  On the way home, we stopped at a Panera in Glens Falls, NY, for lunch and also bought a loaf of their Rustic Bread.  Our Panera closed during the pandemic, and I miss that bread.  We had tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches for dinner - yum!  Lunch lady meals can be very comforting now and then.

We wish we could move our house to Fairhope, Alabama, right by Mobile Bay although we know it would be extremely hot in summer.  Our bungalow there was small and a little funky, but it was right across the street from the Bay where we could watch the sunset almost every night.  We enjoyed nine straight days of sun, and only the last day was cloudy and humid.  Not bad!   On our last day, we returned to the library for a book review program, followed by lunch at our favorite Lebanese restaurant and a little shopping downtown.

Fairhope feels like the Cadillac of towns with helpful amenities everywhere.  Some of the drinking fountains offer bowls for people and for the many dogs that are walked along the Bay.  We enjoyed meeting the dog lovers and offering pets to many of their companions.  Vicarious living for us, now long dog-less. 

The park by the Bay held a nice monthly Saturday market with crafters, food vendors, and more.  There was a musical event Friday afternoon which also attracted a crowd.   A favorite restaurant on the pier is still under construction after last year's hurricane.  I missed their fried green tomatoes this time.

The library has a great auditorium for programs with a pass-through kitchen for refreshments.    The Friends have a wonderful, bright used bookstore, and they also have carts full of free books outside the store which is open a few days a week.    The library also offers a charging station for visitors' devices with various plugs visible.

We don't know if we'll ever return to Fairhope, alas, as the four day drive, especially around busy cities, is very tiring.  We were on the road 34 hours and covered close to 2,000 miles!  Next year we are thinking of flying somewhere as we did years ago when we visited Charleston.  On that trip, we flew in, took a taxi downtown, and walked everywhere for a week.  

Meanwhile, it's back to reality today with lots of loose ends to pick up as well as check ins with family and friends.  Have a great Sunday!