Packing, cleaning, and more

This afternoon I'll be packing for our trip.  I have lots of stuff gathered or thought about and just have to fold them neatly to get into suitcases and tote bags.  I don't like to do it too early in the day in case I change my mind or take too much that I never use.  I'm not looking forward to three days' drive, but I do like to have our car with us.  When we're going for a while somewhere, I like to take food, coffee, things to do (knitting, reading, etc.), chargers, and guidebooks.  Paper towels and disinfecting wipes come in handy on the road.

This morning, I made my RSC blocks for the month.  The color for March is red and I have already made a bunch of red log cabin blocks.  I just had to make a couple of red Traffic Jam blocks.

I had to cut some more 2" and 3.5" squares of red this time.  I have a box of 2" squares that makes this the perfect block for the RSC most months.  I hope the next color will be purple or orange.  At the end of the year I'll make some brown/beige/black ones to fit here and there.

I put away all of the Wensleydale blocks just to keep them together.  I have more pieces cut for when we get home.  It's fairly easy once I get the rhythm of cutting and paper piecing.  I may even finish before summer if I keep at it.  I hope there are a few quilt shops on our trip as I need a small transfusion of holiday fabrics.  If not, I'll order some when I get home.

Chris and Marad are coming by this afternoon, no doubt to find out if we have any last minute requests for watching the house.  I hope they will fill our windshield washer fluid for me.  I need to clean the inside car windows, too, as well as the headlights and rear windshield.  As usual, we will be hoping for a little rain to wash the rest of the winter dirt away.  

Pixilated

Yesterday I made a push to finish my Pixilated Holland piece.  I'm not sure what I'll do with it, so I have put it in time out in the closet.

I put extra strips on the sides but only squared up the top and bottom.  I am thinking of quilting this piece and then again putting it into time out as I make borders to go around it.  I was considering tulips and windmills, but I also have some Dutch prints that might be fun to add.  And do I want to branch out into some other colors?  And do I want a throw or a bed-sized quilt?  Too many questions!

I doubt if I will ever make another piece like this although I bought the "Vermont" pattern before I got this one.  This version of Holland (by Karen Abrahamovich) used strips that are 1.5" wide.   I feel it looks somewhat out of proportion, but that may just be my faulty memory.  I think the Vermont pattern I have uses wider strips, maybe 2" or 2.5".   I had a lot of difficulty with the angled pieces, particularly the islands in the northwest corner.  But they look OK in the picture taken at a distance, which is a relief.

After finishing Holland I started making green log cabin blocks as part of the Rainbow Scrap Challenge and ended up making 10 8" blocks.  Today I cut out some scraps for some Traffic Jam blocks.  Then it was time for yoga, so I probably won't get those made until tomorrow.  I am happy that the color of the month is green, though, because I have almost as many green scraps as I do blue. 

Finishing stuff!

Thursday I drove over to the quilt shop to pick up the black/orange throw Marie had quilted and to give her the blue and white snowflake rail fence throw to quilt.  I love the way the black/orange sampler turned out and will put a black binding on it soon.  I have one more top to take to Marie whenever the back arrives from Connecting Threads.  It's the blue and white speckled Triple Barn Star top that ended up being 72" x 72".  It's waiting in the closet for its back.

I got last year's block of the month Optimism top out of the closet and decided to make two borders for the sides so that it would end up about twin sized.  This was a pattern designed by Aby Dolinger whose BOMs I've followed for the last several years.  Her instructions are always spot on, and, being a sampler maven, I've enjoyed them.  

The question for me last week was whether or not to participate in Aby's 2026 BOM, and I guess not because I couldn't get up the energy to gather the fabric even though I have a very nice background all set aside.  I have too many other quilts I'd like to work on this year.  I'll use that background in one of them.

I made the two borders for Optimism and then pieced a back.  I bought another batt Thursday and started quilted that sampler myself.  Before I got to that, I made a couple of blue Traffic Jam blocks (a Pat Sloan pattern) using my box of 2" squares and cutting a few more blue squares.  This will be another monthly project for me this year.  I need to reduce my collection of blues and greens in particular.  I will most likely use a thin neutral to sash the blocks when I get sick of making them this year.

Besides finishing sandwiching, pin basting, and quilting today, I'll spend a little time with Louise Penny's latest mystery, The Black Wolf. "Everyone" else has finished it and I'm still about 1/3 of the way through.   Louise sure knows how to build suspense, though!   

I also have to write up the Friends of the Library meeting minutes and do a few other little things online.  The sun is shining but it's quite icy out, so I doubt if I'll get a chance to take a walk.   And then there are still a few Christmas decorations I need to take down...