Rest in peace

My high school class included 618 people.  Many served in the Vietnam War and came back scarred, if at all.  Most are now retired.  We have had regular reunions since our 10th, and we now have a Facebook page.  I attended four different schools before moving to Rockville, MD, in 8th grade, but I like keeping in touch with these people.  One special person kept us connected to each other, helping to organize reunions, keeping a contact list up to date, and generally making us individually feel a part of the "family."

Marianne (who always called herself "The Other Marianne" when speaking to me) passed away this week, and she will be sorely missed by her classmates.  I know she struggled with health issues for many years and underwent dialysis several times a week for a long time.  When I heard about this, I sent her a quilt and was so pleased when she called to say she used it while watching soaps and napping in the afternoons.  I'm so glad I did that.   She quietly dropped off of Facebook during the summer and, when I realized that, I knew something was not right.  Not wanting to intrude with a phone call, I sent her a card to let her know I was thinking of her.  I hope she got lots of them.  I wish I had sent a Christmas card, too.

I've been thinking a lot about how "life" gets in the way of keeping in touch with special people in our lives.  How we find excuses not to call or write  - there's always another meeting to attend, another quilt to work on, another book to finish, another meal to make.  We all need to reach out more and be mindful of the ups and downs in the lives that touch ours.

Wool applique

I love wool applique because you don't have to turn the edges under, but it always begs for additional embroidery which I'm not confidant about doing.  Nonetheless, I did finally finish this wallhanging the other day.

Those French knots weren't so hard once I got started working on them, and there are also little cross-stitches and flowers scattered here and there.  I outline quilted the flowers and vase and then echo quilted the center.   I worried about quilting around the red buttons, but they weren't a problem at all.  It measures about 14" x 20".   I will probably make another wool appliqued piece soon, although I'm really focusing on finishing UFOs this year.  A clean(ish) slate would be nice.

The pattern for this quilt came from my new favorite magazine, Primitive Quilts.  It includes ideas for punch needle and patchwork projects as well.  I have stopped getting most quilting magazines except that and American Patchwork and Quilting.  They are all pretty repetitious and very focused on selling particular lines of fabric.

The vase applique will line my suitcase along with a few other wallhangings and zipper bags when we go to the Netherlands in April.  We will see my four cousins, a sister and a brother, and my mother's cousin along with their various families.   I can't make something for everyone, but will have a few things on hand for gifting.  I'll run out to a sugar shack and get some maple candy to share at a gathering that my cousins are planning in early May.  Wow!  Just two months to go!

"Another one bites the dust..."

That's a line from a song by Queen, although I think the expression is one that has been used years before.  We saw the movie Bohemian Rhapsody the other night.  It had a very typical show biz biography plot, but it was still engaging, perhaps because of the music?  Anyway, I don't think it was the best picture of 2018, but I really liked it.

Meanwhile, I started quilting this year's Bonnie Hunter "Good Fortune" mystery quilt on Sunday, and this morning, I finished stitching the binding down.  I decided that, because the top was a little bumpy and lumpy and because of the slight wave in the border, I would go with simple grids - 2.75" wide in the center and about 2" in the last border.  That worked well, and I like the tea-dyed muslin back for its softness.

The binding is one of those neutrals that I have used in a lot of quilts; I think I finally am down to just a few scraps left.  It was given to me by a quilting friend who was destashing when she moved.   As you can see, the outside border isn't like Bonnie's.  I thought the colors went together better this way, and the arrangement helped me quilt the border grid easily.

It feels so good to cross another thing off the list of UFOs!

Another snow day

We had about 6" of snow overnight but it's still falling.  Schools are closed, and everyone seems to be staying in (unless they have to go to work).  I think it will stop fairly soon because it's already winding down.  Today my biggest decisions will be whether to read (I'm very far into the first Vera Stanhope mystery, The Crow Trap by Ann Cleeves) or to sew (I have a few more blocks to put together for the guild mystery quilt).  Guess I'll do both!  We are planning on bacon and blueberry whole wheat pancakes for lunch and leftover chicken casserole for dinner.  I love snow days!

Slow and steady

I've been quilting the bookshelf quilt for the last few days, and enjoying myself immensely.  I'm doing mostly in-the-ditch quilting between books and along the "wood" so far.   The Boundless blender I got on sale is working well for the back.  I love its soft "hand."

I'll change the top thread to black when I get to the background on the shelves but will leave the bobbin thread cream.  I must confess that sometimes my stitching runs over the ditch onto the black, but I have a black pigma pen handy to coverup the oopsies.

In between quilting sessions, I've been doing things around the house and reading.  Our friend Manny is working on an article for a historical journal, so I've been proofreading/editing that when I can.  I finished The Patchwork Bride by Sandra Dallas yesterday and enjoyed it, not as much as some of her books, but it's hard to top The Persian Pickle Club and Prayers for Sale.  I do love Dallas descriptions of life in old Colorado ranches and mining towns.

Today's agenda includes banking and making a Wacky Cake for a pot luck supper tonight.  I'll make some followup phone calls for the Friends of the Library auction in March and, I hope, an appointment for a long-overdue oil change.  Have a great day!

Samplers

I love making sampler quilts, probably because I don't get bored.  The first bed-sized quilt I made took 14 years to finish.  In those days, before rotary cutters, we made cardboard templates that we traced around and cut with scissors.  That was truly tiring, especially since all the fabric was cotton/poly blend.  I did use a machine to put it together, but I hand quilted it also.  Tough on the hands.  I still have it, but it is stained.  Polyester holds a stain well.  That quilt has now achieved souvenir status!

I have mentioned making a Splendid Sampler quilt this year to commemorate my 70th birthday and in honor of my dear friend Yve who passed away last January.   It is amazing how often I think of her.  She was fun and also a true leftie when it came to politics.   She protested against the Vietnam War, for civil rights, and for equal rights for women.  Talking with her was always interesting.

Before the book came out in the fall, Pat Sloan and Jane Davidson would post a free pattern each week.  I got the book as well as the previous one and started making blocks in July.  Every month, I make 11 6" blocks from book 1 or 2, or Moda Blockheads, or made up.  The 12th block is made from a set of dishtowels thrift-shop-loving Yve gave me a few years ago.   (She gave us quite a few cashmere sweaters picked up at thrift shops, too.  Most of them didn't fit so I turned several into scarves for me and my sister Jenny.)

The backgrounds are all "low volume," mostly shirtings in different colors, and the sashing is a dark beige.  I am quilting this in sections, and when the year is finished in June I'll put the sections together.

The recent Bonnie Hunter mystery with its identical blocks made over and over just about killed me with its dullness.   I look forward to quilting it, getting it done, and giving it away.   I am looking forward to starting something else but am trying hard to work on UFOs at the same time.

I really like Jen Kingwell's quilts and have just ordered her My Small World pattern.  It's a sampler but more jumbled up than The Splendid Sampler.   It will be a project for summer, so between now and then I'll gather fabrics for it.  I especially love the pieced sky in this wallhanging.

Snow!

Our across the street neighbor took this from her front door looking toward our driveway and garage yesterday.  Just a little snow fell from Saturday to Monday!   The roads looked like those I remember in Wisconsin where my family moved when I was in college.   You could go pretty fast on those icy, snow-covered roads because it was flat.  Here, going up and down hills gets pretty tricky when there's a lot of snow with temperatures below zero.  I headed down to the library after dinner last night to attend a Friends meeting and ended up going about 15 mph most of the way.  The way home was a little easier as it was uphill all the way.   It will likely pack down a bit in the next few days, but I hope we don't get any more for a while.