Sunday, June 26, 2022

Slow Sunday Stitching

Another busy week has passed by.  Monday, Kyleigh and her boyfriend Andrew took me and Andrew's grandmother out to lunch.  It was a really nice lunch and nice to get out and see Jandra again.  By the time I got home from lunch, brother Bill and SIL Char were back from Oregon.  They have been scoping out places to live once they retire in 3 years.  Bill was also able to get some rare woods and the finish he likes to use for his wooden bowls and platters.

My daughters requested a family dinner on Tuesday night and Char and I spent most of the day preparing dinner.  


Char and I, sister of my heart


My daughters, Char and my brother Bill


The grandkids were acting silly, had a hard time getting them to cooperate.

While Char was in Oregon she was able to finish her cross stitch.  



Wednesday was our last guild workday at Joann's house, the former co-chair of Community Service.  These workdays we usually cut backings and battings and bindings for the quilt tops we receive.  

After that workday, we moved the rest of the stuff to my garage.  So next Wednesday will be a workday at a local church where we will quilt small quilts for about 4 hours.   I will have to pack up the quilts we have pin-basted, plus rulers etc. to the church.  Joann is going to come and help me know what I need to take with me.  

Several days ago I was pulling out of my driveway and the turkeys were walking across one end.  There were 2 mothers and about 9 babies.  




This week, after my company left on Wednesday morning, in my free time I have been working on Bill and Char's lighthouse quilt, in particular the Storm at Sea blocks.  I had not cut all the pieces out for the 22 blocks.  It took me 2 days to get everything straightened out.  I decided to lay everything out on the table so I could make sure that they had all the components for the blocks.  I have now gotten up to 12 blocks done, 10 more to go. I scrounged up just enough background for all the blocks. 



Saturday I decided to wash a skirt I love, and wore the other day.  Instructions said to hang to dry.  It was so hot here, I hung it in the garage, and it was dry within 1/2 hour!  


Long, long ago, in 2014, a crazy quilt friend and I exchanged blocks to embellish for one another.  Life happened for both of us, and the blocks got set aside for many years.  In 2019 I decided to finish up her block and sent it off.  In 202 she got to my block, but COVID  happened and she was not been able to get it out of Turkey. Her husband has recently traveled to Scotland, and was able to send it to the US from there, and it arrived today. I am totally humbled and amazed at the beautiful piece of art she has sent back to me.



I also got back another of my blocks I had sent to a CQ friend in Texas who offered to embellish for a list of people she drew names for. Another beautiful block!



What I will be working on this week for Slow Sunday Stitching is another Ella Maria Deacon block, and/or July's stitch-along from Kathy Schmitz' from her Gathered Blessings panel.






I'll be linking up with Kathy's Quilts for Slow Sunday Stitching.  Head on over and check out what everyone has been up to.

Thanks for stopping by!






Tuesday, June 21, 2022

Here Comes the Sun Blog Hop, My Day

                                                                


The Here Comes the Sun Blog Hop hosted by the fabulous Carol @Just Let Me Quilt started on Monday.  There have been some wonderful projects being shared.  

Carol challenged us to "Sew something that has a summer theme like: sunglasses, beach items, sunny skies, and/or yellow colors. It can be a quilt, a bag, a toy, or whatever you want it to be."   

The entire schedule is posted below.

When I think of Here Comes the Sun, my immediate thought goes to the beach and all the things I love.  

My immediate thought of what to do for this hop was to finish my brother's lighthouse quilt.  Brother Bill and Char replaced my kitchen floor last year, and this was the payment he requested.   I love the ocean, and lighthouses, beaches, as do Bill and Char.  I thought I would be able to finish the top of this king sized quilt before they got here on June 11th, in time for the blog hop, but unfortunately I was not able to complete my project in time due to other activities I needed to get completed.

The lighthouses were from a BOM I purchased a LONG TIME AGO, along with the center lighthouse panel some of the other blocks from the BOM.  The corners had motifs cut out with my Accuquilt, crabs. seashells, seahorse and starfish.

I got this far on the top.  My next round is going to be Storm at Sea blocks.  






I thought I had cut out all the components for 22 Storm at Sea Blocks on the Accquilt, but I apparently miscalculated.  I made all the center blocks, all the rest of the components were short.   I did find more of the background with the anchors on it, but I am having to substitute some of the dark blue fabric for something else.  




I love the ocean so much, that much of my house has a nautical or beach decor.  My dear husband commissioned someone to make me a stained glass window of a whale, another of my favorites.  I picked up the mermaid on a beach vacation in Southern California.  








Be sure and check out the other bloggers below.  
                                                        

Sunday, June 19, 2022

Slow Sunday Stitching

Another whirlwind week has passed.  I had a great weekend with brother Bill and SIL Char.  Bill did a couple of things on my to-do list.  He installed a new shop light for the garage, and actually rewired my garage and put in outlets for the garage lights so that they were not connected by extension cords wrapped around the rafters and going across the garage to one of the few outlets out there.   This week part of the Community Service shelves and stash were moved to my house.  The rest will be moved in another week after our workday at Joanne's house, the outgoing co-chair of Community Service for our guild.


Bill also redid my dryer vent so I have a device that catches my lint instead of dumping into the garage.  I am very excited about this.  My brother is so good to me!  

He also attached my cast iron trellis to the gate going into my side yard.  This area has always been undeveloped as it was where John built his boats.  But I am thinking about a secret garden.  It will take awhile but I am excited it is attached instead of free-standing like it has always been.    I didn't think of taking the picture until the sun went down.



This week at the guild meeting I was the Quilter of The Month.  I am not used to talking in front of people, but I guess I did OK.  

This week I have been trying to work on my back garden area.  It was neglected while I worked on the garage and things got away from me.  I found that my hollyhocks that bloomed for the first time this year, and were almost 5 feet tall had something infecting their leaves, that had all fallen off.   The leaves looked like they had pox.  Apparently I had some sort of rust.  The nursery recommended I cut everything back and spray with copper fungicide.  The new leaves are looking OK so far.  

I also cut back part of my foxgloves that were almost laying on the ground, and the hydrangeas have been gloriously beautiful!  Since we had been having 90-100 degree weather last week, I decided to bring a bunch inside to enjoy before they became crispy critters inside.  These past few days we have been in the high 70's but today, Sunday we are heading back up into the 90's.  



Char and I actually did spend a Slow Sunday Stitching last Sunday.  Char was working on this cross stitch.



She had gotten this far by Sunday night.



I finished this Ella Maria Deacon block



I also got this far on the CQ boho bag front.  This is also what I will be working on for this week's Slow Sunday Stitching.  


I'll be linking up to Kathy's Quilts for Slow Sunday Stitching.  Head on over and check out what other's are working on.  

Bill and Char left for Oregon last week to look for their forever home.  They will head back this Monday to stay a few days on the way back home to Southern California.  Tuesday we have planned a family dinner, for which I needed to pick up my quilting stuff in the kitchen and dining room.

Today, on Father's Day we will be thinking of our loved ones and wishing them a Heavenly Happy Father's Day.









 I found this on Facebook recently:



Thanks for stopping by and  hope you have a great week!

Saturday, June 18, 2022

Here Comes the Sun Blog Hop Starting Monday June 20, 2022

                                        


The Here Comes the Sun Blog Hop starts on Monday, June 20, hosted by the fabulous Carol @Just Let Me Quilt.  We have been challenged in Carol's words to:  "Sew something that has a summer theme like: sunglasses, beach items, sunny skies, and/or yellow colors. It can be a quilt, a bag, a toy, or whatever you want it to be."  I can't wait to see what everyone is working on.  

The tentative schedule right now is:

                                                                      

Sunday, June 12, 2022

Hand Quilt Along, Slow Sunday Stitching

Another three weeks have passed since the last check-in for the Hand Quilt Along.  I haven't really done much in the way of handwork in the past three weeks.  

I have been working on clearing out/cleaning up the garage as I have accepted the position as co-chair of the Community Service in my quilt guild.  This will involve storing bins of fabric and supplies that we use to make community service quilts.  

The garage was my husband's workshop for probably 35 years.  I have been slowly selling/getting rid of tools, wood, etc. When John passed away last year, the garage was filled 3/4 full with all his stuff, and sawdust was in the corners just like he left it.  I have some tools for my personal use, but not the big heavy woodworking tools.  Last Saturday I had pretty much taken care of everything so I blew out the rafters of sawdust and cobwebs.  I had purchased a mat to go across part of the garage.  The floor is filled with dried glue blobs and paint when he made his projects.  So the mat covers the part the Community Service supplies will go on.  The guild has metal shelves that will come over to my house too.  When I accepted the position, I said I would be finished by the end of July.  Since I am done, Joanne whose position I am taking wants to move the stuff over in two weeks after the next workday at her house.  So I am ready.  Here is my cleaned out garage. 


One hand sewing project was the binding on Cali's graduation quilt.  She is my grandson Jaeger's girlfriend.  I attended the graduation party at her house last Saturday with her friends and family.  I met her great-grandmother who is a delightful character.  

This was the quilt I made Cali and the label.  She loves elephants and I found an elephant panel.





I had quite a busy week last week, with the guild board meeting, a workday at the library right across the street from my home.  We pin baste community service quilts so they will be ready to pass out the guild meeting next week, or the work day at the end of the month.  

Friday I had my mini quilt group where we do handwork and chat, a lot!   I worked on one of my Ella Maria Deacon blocks.  This will be what I will be hand stitching this week.



Check out the other Hand Quilt Along Links below.

Hand Quilt Along Links

This Hand Quilt Along is an opportunity for hand quilters and piecers to share and motivate one another. We post every three weeks, to show our progress and encourage one another.  If you have a hand quilting project and would like to join our group contact Kathy at the link below.

KathyMargaretDebNanetteSharonKarrinDaisy and Tracy

I will also be linking up for Slow Sunday Stitching at Kathy's Quilts.  Head on over there and check out what others are up to!  

My brother Bill and SIL Char are here for a few days, on their way to Oregon, and they came bearing gifts.  My brother took John's lathe, which started him off on his woodturning adventure.  He has been making beautifully turned bowls, platters, and other items.  He is up to over 100 pieces.  

Bill made this platter for me and Char decorated it with this gnome, and created cute little hats for every month of the year.  They are held on by magnets.  She also created the little gnome out of a mushroom bought at the dollar store.


This little bowl had defects in the wood, but I think it gives it character.  Bill has such beautiful finishes to all his wood pieces, you just keep wanting to run your hands over them.



When Char and I took apart John's last boat last year, Char took home several of the portholes and said she was going to create something out of them.  It took several of them to put together this piece.  She wrapped it all with twine, and inserted a picture of us sailing.  






Thanks for stopping by!