Brick House, etc.

For this year's Rainbow Scrap Challenge, I'll continue making scrappy 6" pineapple blocks each month with the hope that I can have enough blocks by the end of the year to make a decently sized quilt.  I took a month off in December, but I'm looking forward to getting back to these blocks in the new year.

I'm also determined to make a quilt featuring a variety of house blocks.  I have several patterns and books to choose from and a whole lot of scraps.  The first block of the year is called Brick House and I found it on the Fat Quarter Shop's website.  I don't know what the RSC color for January will be yet, but I thought I'd make one in green to see if I like the pattern.  And I do!  It measures 12" x 13".

I'll use a variety of backgrounds and try to make this a stash buster.  I will probably vary the orientation of the houses now and then to keep it interesting.

I also started working on Bonnie Hunter's Unity medallion quilt yesterday.  It's going to be a section a month sew along with some members of my local guild.  I have changed the colors a little, removing red and adding a bright yellow to navy blue and light blue.  Hoping to bust a little more stash with this one.   Feeling energized!

Suddenly, sun!

This morning we received a call from our next door neighbor (so lucky to have them!), telling us there were covid test kits being given out from a pick up truck at the mall.  We hopped in the car, drove around the parking lot at the mall, and didn't see said truck.  Paul went inside and, sure enough, there were some kits being given away at the vaccination clinic there.   They told him they were going fast, but he managed to snag a couple of kits.  We feel more prepared now.

When we got home, the sun decided to shine, just for a little bit.  Enough so I could go out into the snowy backyard while Paul stood on the porch with the quilts.  Here's Harriet's Journey.   Because it measures 78" x 78", it was too large for his "wingspan," but you get the idea.  The blocks were 6", mostly made of Moda's Moody Bloom fabrics.  I love the soft colors which fit the Jennifer Chiaverini pattern so well.

Here's a closeup.

We also managed to get some pictures of the Scrappy Big Block Sampler, which measures 74" x 74".  I don't have a preference for square quilts.  These just turned out that way.

And a few closeups.

It's a happy quilt which will probably go to "Bags of Love" for kids in foster care.

Down to the wire

With year's end approaching, I did finish two more quilts in the last few days - Harriet's Journey and the scrappy big block sampler.  Both turned out great.  Harriet's Journey was long arm quilted by my friend Marie in a floral pattern, and I quilted the other sampler myself in sections using my trusty Elna.  Both bindings were sewn by machine.  

Unfortunately, it's been too gloomy to take pictures.  We've had the living room lights on for days.  And there is no sun in the forecast!  It's been warmer here lately which usually is a sign that it's going to snow.  Luckily, we haven't had a whole lot, but the weekend sounds a bit promising (or ominous, depending on your point of view).   If the sun ever comes out, I'll get Paul to hold the quilts while I stand in the snow to take some pictures.

Meanwhile, what to do next?  I made some miscellaneous blocks the other day but think I'll start working on the Bonnie Hunter Unity quilt which I'm doing as a quilt along with my friend Joanne.

This is Laurie's quilt in greens, blue and yellow.  It inspired us to organize the quilt along with other guild members.  We'll do a section every month.

The original is red, dark blue and aqua.  I have chosen bright yellow, navy, and light blue with scrappy background fabrics.  I'm anxious to start because the center looks intimidating with all those chevrons.  The last time I made a quilt using chevrons - for another Hunter mystery - I made them too small and had to make 100 more to fit!  I will try not to repeat that mistake again.

I'll be making a special, Indonesian dinner for New Year's Eve, and hope to Zoom with Mom and sister Jenny over the weekend.  Best wishes for a very happy New Year!  

Winter's beauty

 

This was the view from our garage yesterday at 7:00 am, when it was about two degrees out.   Today's the first official day of winter, but here in Vermont we've been having winter since at least Thanksgiving.  The bird feeders have been out since Dec. 1 because the bears are asleep (we hope).  The second quilt on the bed keeps us cozy.    

"The most wonderful time of the year"

I spent much of the weekend baking, and now we have a mountain of cookies waiting to be enjoyed and/or given away.

Karen's ginger cookies are a must in our household each year, and I also tried new recipes for shortbread and congo squares.  I have had Mary's congo squares quite a bit and love them.  The ones I made are a little softer than hers (perhaps because I used butter?), but still delish.  

The shortbread... not so much.  While they taste fine, they all flattened out as I baked them.  My friend Diane stopped by with some cookies for us, and she said the same thing happened to one of her batches.  It's nice to get a little sympathy!

Saturday it started snowing around 2 pm, and by the time we woke up Sunday, we'd had 6" of fluffy stuff.   True to Vermont form, the roads were cleaned up by lunchtime, enough so we could walk over to Mary and Manny's for a visit in the afternoon.   Their Christmas tree is very pretty, and I noticed a star ornament I made them a year or so ago.  

This morning, the temperature was 1.6 degrees.  I doubt if we'll walk anywhere today.  The roads need a little warmth and sun to dry out.  That's OK - I still have one section of the sampler quilt to add as well as borders.  

Steadily working

 

Wish I could say I have finished something in the last few days, but nope!  Not happening!   It's been a busy week.  Tuesday, I made two batches of Chex Mix which I divided for gifts (kept just a little for me and Paul).   I did a bit of reading in between stirring every 15 minutes while it all baked.  I'll bake some cookies over the weekend and will put some in the freezer for after the holidays.

Wednesday, I helped set up and clean up a luncheon for the library staff.  Everyone seemed to enjoy it, including the bowl cozies and soup mix in a jar I'd made them.  One person reminded me that one year I gave everyone Christmas socks - she had just worn hers the previous day.  I am glad the Friends of the Library can do something like this each year for the staff who have been working super hard to keep service going.

In between holiday stuff, I've been putting the quilted blocks of the "big block sampler" (for lack of a decent name) together.  After I quilted each of the four strips, I have been putting them together, one at a time, hand sewing the back seams and then machine quilting the sashing between the sections.  Fitting the sections together is a bit tricky but looks good in the end.  Cornerstones are essential to keeping it all square.

Above is my favorite block in the quilt because it used so many 2.5" squares and some of my stash of half-square triangles, too.   I enjoyed quilting each block separately, even the appliqued one.  Each block finishes at 16".  It feels good to end the year with a very scrappy quilt.  After I get the sections together and cream borders on, I'll decide about a final border - scrappy, strings, plain?  I'll wait and let the quilt "talk" to me about what it wants.

Unity quilt along

Joanne and I are running a quilt along in 2022 using Bonnie Hunter's "Unity" medallion quilt pattern for our local guild.   We both missed making it last winter and were re-inspired when we saw another guild member's finished quilt this fall.  I love scrappy medallion quilts.  I have been gathering fabric for this quilt this month.  The original colors are red, blue, and aqua, but I'm using bright yellow, dark blue, and light blue since I have a lot of blues in my stash and want to use more yellow in my quilts.   I have a full project box of neutrals collected, too.  

I can't wait to begin work on those dreaded chevrons in the center, so I probably will get a head start in a week or so, after I finish quilting the big block quilt (which needs a name!) and binding Harriet's Journey.  For 2022, I plan to continue making four 6" pineapple blocks each month, making some 12" blocks in the Rainbow Scrap Challenge, and making the guild blocks of the month.  I hope to finish a little quilt with elephant blocks on a black background, too.   

Meanwhile, this week has been a busy one and the coming week promises more of the same.  This week we've had two sets of guests visit for lunch, and today there will a third.  The extra leaf is out on the dining room table.  Wednesday I'll be helping set up and take down a luncheon for the library staff put on by the Friends of the Library.  Due to COVID, we won't be having our traditional holiday gathering, but we don't want the year to go by without recognizing all they are doing.  

Creepy Santa

 

I've had this Santa since I was five or six.  When new, it had a light inside, but that is long gone.  We get him out every year despite his rather creepy appearance.  Sometimes he sits on a shelf; sometimes on the mantle; sometimes on the back of the toilet; and now it resides at the top of our Christmas "tree." 

A few years ago, Chris made a "tree" to hold the Christmas village we've had since he was a baby.  My parents sent the first two houses and then sent one or two every year for a while.  We had outgrown the small table and then the window seat that we had it on, and I was tired of putting up the conventional tree.  This new set up works well for us.   We can still put presents underneath, it has lights to brighten our evenings, there are no needles to drop, and I could actually buy a few more houses on eBay.  A total win!

Chris brought it up from the basement on Wednesday, and we set up the houses.  He used to scatter small Star Wars figures throughout, but this year only Yoda is visible (I haven't found him yet).

 This picture is rather dark because the village is set up in front of our double glass doors.  I have a few plants on a table behind it, including an orchid that, miraculously, keeps blooming.  We enjoy having more light in the late afternoon and early evening these days.  Paul reminded me that the days won't start getting longer again until after the 21st.  It sometimes gets dark enough to turn on the living room lights at 3 pm these days, yet there is a nice reflection from the snow on sunny days.

I finished sending out Christmas letters yesterday, have wrapped everything that needs it, and am cleaning the oven today in preparation for a bake-a-thon.  Actually, I don't bake a lot for Christmas, but I do like a few sweets and a lot of Chex Mix.  Much of it goes out the door, though.

Today I'll finish putting the 16" blocks together in strips for quilting and hope to start quilting the first section.  While I'm quilting, I'll think about whether it needs a border and what one might look like.  Right now, with 1.5" sashing and borders, it will measure 71", getting close to twin size.