Carolina Chain

 I didn't know the name of the quilt I was making, but I later found its name:  Carolina Chain.  It's a variation of a block with the same name by Bonnie Hunter.   My blocks finish at 8" and hers are smaller (of course!  She's the queen of tiny pieced scrappies).  I cut out enough 2.5" strips to make two baby quilts and still had some strips left over.  Those all got cut into 2.5" squares and set aside for some future use.  

The smaller of the two quilts is going to Bags of Love; the other is for my niece Susan in the Netherlands.  She is expecting her second baby in 2027.  Because she had such a hard time bringing young Finn into the world (lots of miscarriages, surgeries, and IVF), we are all excited by this development.  I quilted both on my Elna in a plain square grid.  The quilt for Susan is a rectangle, 4 blocks by 5 blocks, and I used a dark blue fabric for the border.  I will mail it soon even though the baby isn't due until some time in 2027.  I am very upset that the USPS is raising the rates for packages during the holidays.  That just seems wrong - Scrooge-ish actually,  Just another reason to vote blue IMHO.

I didn't get any sewing done Saturday as I was at the state quilt guild meeting in Randolph.  I left home at 8 am for the half hour drive south amid snow showers.  Ugh!  The roads were wet and not slippery, even though I went through an area that used to have a sign reading Highest Point on Interstate.  The highway department took that sign down, but everyone that was here back in the day misses it.

Yesterday, I finished quilting Susan's quilt and will bind it today.  I made an apple crisp for dessert, along with some macaroni and cheese.  We had Paul's sister Pat over for dinner as she is leaving for her Florida home today.  We'll miss having her right across the street.  This morning the cleaners are coming and I'll zoom with state library friends from around the country in the afternoon.  In between, I'll add that binding and, I hope, do a little yard work.  The whole week is supposed to be pretty and not too cold - just perfect!