Sunday, May 01, 2022

Slow Sunday Stitching, Busy, Busy, Busy, It's Been a Year

I have gotten exactly no sewing done this week at all.  No sewing machine was used this week.  What I will be doing this week for Slow Sunday Stitching is work on my friend Jandra's Boho Bag.  I haven't worked on it in weeks.  I think the last thing I did was cut the clip on the back of the crown, which previously was an earring, and put it on Minnie's head.  



I'll be linking up to  Kathy's Quilts for Slow Sunday Stitching.  Be sure and head over and check out what everyone is up to.

Last week was our guild's quilt show which I worked at two days.  Then Saturday was our neighborhood garage sale.  My daughter's came and helped.  I was able to sell John's table saw, a paint sprayer, a kiln and after working all week on it, my dollhouse John had built for me.  I repainted it.  I have not worked on it for years and it was just collecting dust, so I decided it had to go.  I was able to make a bit of cash and that was a good thing!   After all that last week, I was pooped and just didn't feel like doing anything on Sunday.  

This week, I spent cleaning up two rooms I had messed up getting ready for the garage.  Because I had gotten the kiln off a shelf in the garage, I was able reorganize my laundry room, and put my gardening tools and fertilizers and such on that shelf in the garage.  I also made a trip to Goodwill and ReNew, an nonprofit thrift store that helps women and children in abusive relationships.  

I also worked in the garden quite a bit this week, and repotted a bunch of my begonias.  At our last begonia meeting I brought home quite a bit of cuttings.  I decided I needed some plant stands for the house, and ordered 3 from Amazon and assembled them when they got here.



I also repotted several of my orchids that were not doing too well, or needed repotting.  I love this pot I found at one of the nurseries.  "I'm One Plant Short of Crazy, Crazy Plant Lady"


Saturday this week was our neighborhood "Get Rid of Junk Day" at the park across the street from my house.  I filled up my car with some stuff from the garage.  It was supposed to start at 9.  I arrived at 8:45 and there was already two lines formed.   It took awhile to get up front.  When I got to the dumpster, looking across the street is my house.  

After I got through with that, I loaded up the car with some old paint, and some  fluid John used to fiberglass his boat and took them out to the landfill where you can dispose of toxic materials.  

I have been working on clearing out the garage of things I don't need, and cleaning up the sawdust.  Some parts of the garage have not seen the light of day in years.  Our garage has been totally filled up with stuff for years, at least 80% filled out.  I am making some progress.  Today it looks like this.  



There are some positions at our guild they are seeking new people to work on.  Last week I volunteered to be the co-chair of our Community Service group.  It will involve several hours a week, and the lady that is currently doing it is retiring from the position in July.  She keeps supplies, batting, containers full of fabric for backings etc in her spare bedroom and garage on metal shelves.  So I need to get things organized in my garage so I can set up metal shelves to store stuff on before July.  

A year ago, April 29th, my dear husband, love of my life passed away.  On Wednesday this week, my doorbell range, and this gorgeous flower arrangement was on my doorstep.  



I opened the card, and it was from my blogging friend Kim @Sarah Lizzies.  It brought tears to my eyes that she would think to do this for me, I am so blessed with my friends and family!  Thanks again Kim, I have them in my living room and they smell so, so lovely!  

Our daughter Katie spent the day with me on Friday.  We went to brunch, and a trip to the nursery.    She put this post on Instagram on  Friday.

Dad you have been gone a year now today. I miss you every day. You would play this song on your guitar The Animals House of the Rising Sun. Some parts your voice would crack. I miss walking into your house and saying Your Favorite Person is Here. You would laugh and tell me Hey! Do you feel the same that you aren't here anymore? Do you look down and see us moving on with life? Can you see me crying now? I feel like you always got me we are alike and look the same. I have your nose and your temper and probably your teeth. You were so understanding, my person, and now you are gone. I didn't cry all day but waited until now. Thank you for always telling me that I did a great job on my watercolor paintings you were my biggest fan. I love you Dad. I miss you and wish I could give you a hug. Thank you for being such a good dad. You were not a burden I know you were worried about that. I hope you are with Grammy and Grampy and Uncle James. Hopefully your sister isn't there....no offense. Say hi to Carm and Lou if you see them. I always enjoyed sailing with you even though there were some kerfuffles 😆. You were such a great carpenter and you were so happy to build your boats. I think it is hilarious that you're testing the dingy in the dirty pool. We could always find something to joke about and laugh about. When I was in highschool I was so lonely and you and mom always still invited me to go with you. I remember we went to the Bay and got moon pies and clam chowder that was a good day. Thank you for believing in me always and seeing the good in what I do. I love you always and forever dad. 💜⛵

Our daughter Kristen wrote this:   

It has been a year since my dad passed away and we all still miss him very much.

My dad loved boats. He came from a Navy father and learned pretty early how to sail.

When I was a little girl my dad built his own wooden sailboat and later built a two masted sailboat. Growing up my house was known for being on the corner with a 27 foot sailboat on the trailer. My parents belonged to a sailboat club, and by far were the youngest members as everyone else was retired. We would go with them and my sister and I would hob nob with the members at their monthly meetings. We were the same age the grandchildren of the members.

As part of the sailing club, we would meet up at various bodies of water around the California. There would be a meet up point and we would potluck. My dads sailboat had a berth so that we could stay overnight.

I remember sailing at Folsom Lake, Clearlake, Donner Lake, Delta, etc. There were all sorts of shenanigans that went on these trips, like, for example, when the boat would catch the wind and lean so far over I would think it would tip and dad would tell us to sit on the other side to counterbalance it. He would always say, Woah, woah, woah and laugh. Or when our anchor did not take when mooring and the boat started drifting away with my parents on it. Katie was frantic that we needed to swim to the boat and I grabbed her to pull her back and told that we could stay on the beach as they would come back for us-which they did. Or I was sick with a cold and felt terrible. My parents made with a hot chocolate with a little bit of peppermint schnapps.

When we were sailing, I remember Katie primarily being with my parents. I, on the other hand, always had my place on the left hand side of the bow as far as I could go. I would fall asleep in the sunshine and listen to the water, feel the sunshine on my skin and splashes of the bow smacking against the wake of a speedboat.

When the masts and sails were up, people would stop and talk to my dad about his boat and he was always so proud of it. Thinking of you today dad, John Paul Hurd, and listening to Sailing by Christopher Cross in your memory.









John built all of our boats.  He always looked happiest when we were sailing.  I miss him so much.  This has been a hard week, for us all.  Katie didn't think she would be able to work without crying.  Kristen thought she would be able to work, but then as she was writing her Facebook post, she was crying and all the way to work.  

I won't be checking in for the next couple of weeks.  I will be flying with Kristen and Jeff back to  see granddaughter Kyleigh graduate from nursing school and flying back on Mother's Day.  Then the next week Kristen and I will be flying to NM to drive grandson Jaeger back from college with his stuff.  

Thanks for stopping by.  

Wednesday, April 27, 2022

One Monthly Goal, April

 

It's time to link up One Monthly Goals @ Elm Street Quilts

I actually completed my goal this month, and want to link up before I forget about it.  I stated my goal here in this post.   In February, our guild was handing out matched baggies of fabric to make items for our guild's boutique, walker bags, dialysis quilts, whatever struck your fancy.  We are showing our items at May's guild meeting.  

This was my second baggie that I made items out of.  These were the fabrics I received.  They looked Fall to me.   That bottom is yellow, but its a poor photograph because of the lighting in the house that day.  



I made a quilt for a dialysis patient, and a table runner with my baggie of fabric.



I will be linking up One Monthly Goal for April @Elm Street Quilts.   Many thanks to Patty and all she does for this monthly motivation.  I find it very helpful!  

Thanks for stopping by!


Wednesday, April 20, 2022

Wonderful World of Color Blog Hop, My Day

 


Welcome to my day of the Wonderful World of Color Blog Hop hosted by the fabulous Joan @Moosestash Quilting.   There have been some great projects the past few days, my mind is swirling with colors!  Thanks Joan for another wonderful blog hop, this has been so much fun!

When my youngest daughter was 3-5 she loved rainbows, and she would wear every color of the rainbow, all at once.  I looked but have no pictures of this, it was 38+ years ago.  She did this until she got shamed at school in kindergarten and so then everything she wore had to be perfectly matched.  But for a time she was the rainbow girl.  

In my project, I used the tumbler die from my Accuquilt and made a quilt with every color.  I found some rainbow colored fabric on the free table at quilt guild for the border, and a colorful back.  




I showed it to Kristen, my other daughter, and she told me "That looks just like Katie"!  This quilt will be one of my Hands2Help comfort quilts.  

The entire schedule is below, so you can visit all these fantastic bloggers, if you haven't had a chance to yet already.  

Monday April 18

Creatin' in the Sticks

Ms P Designs USA

Samelia’s Mum

Kathleen McMusing

That Fabric Feeling

Scrapdash


 Tuesday April 19

Just Let Me Quilt

BeaQuilter

Songbird Designs

Elizabeth Coughlin Designs

Purring Cottage 

Stitchin at Home

Time4Stitchn


Wednesday April 20

Patchouli Moon Studio

Quilting Gail

Quilt Schmilt

Words & Stitches

Quilted Delights

Lynn's Blog

Homespun Hannah's Blog


 Thursday April 21

Just Sew Quilter

Days Filled With Joy

Selina Quilts

Karrin's Crazy World

The Darling Dogwood

Beckys Adventures in Quilting and Travel


 Friday April 22

Kathys Kwilts and More

Pieceful Thoughts

Karen's Korner

Inflorescence

Crafts and Math

MooseStashQuilting


Thanks for stopping by!  

Sunday, April 17, 2022

Wonderful World of Color Blog Hop Starts Today

 


The Wonderful World of Color Blog Hop starts today hosted by the fabulous Joan @Moosestash Quilting.  Can't wait to see what everyone is working on!  My day is on Thursday.

Monday April 18

Creatin' in the Sticks

Ms P Designs USA

Samelia’s Mum

Kathleen McMusing

That Fabric Feeling

Scrapdash


 Tuesday April 19

Just Let Me Quilt

BeaQuilter

Songbird Designs

Elizabeth Coughlin Designs

Purring Cottage 

Stitchin at Home

Time4Stitchn


Wednesday April 20

Patchouli Moon Studio

Quilting Gail

Quilt Schmilt

Words & Stitches

Quilted Delights

Lynn's Blog

Homespun Hannah's Blog


 Thursday April 21

Just Sew Quilter

Days Filled With Joy

Selina Quilts

Karrin's Crazy World

The Darling Dogwood

Beckys Adventures in Quilting and Travel


 Friday April 22

Kathys Kwilts and More

Pieceful Thoughts

Karen's Korner

Inflorescence

Crafts and Math

MooseStashQuilting

Happy Blessed Easter, Slow Sunday Stitching, Long Post

 


Happy Easter everyone, hope you have a blessed Easter!   We are going to have dinner at daughter Kristen's house.  I will be making cheesy potatoes and deviled eggs to go with the ham.  I look forward to seeing everyone.

For Slow Sunday Stitching this week, again I will be working on this Kathy Schmitz stitching.  Last week, I got caught up in getting my quilt guild entries ready, sewing sleeves on the back of a couple of quilts, and sewing the paper name tags on.  

Head on over to Kathy's Quilts and see what everyone is working on!  

Saturday evening as I was looking through the TV to find something to watch, I came across Camelot.  When I was 13, for Christmas I got a record player and my father got me the soundtrack to Camelot, Sound of Music and South Pacific.    So when I put on Camelot, it was like old home week.  I now the lyrics to every song!  It has been so wonderful to hear these tunes again, although I forgot how sad it was.

Off and on this week we have had some much needed rain.  But I did get out and was able to get one of my garden beds weeded, plus it was time to cut my Naked Lady vegetation back as it was dying back.  I almost completely filled up my green garbage can.  




I was able to clear things out so the foxgloves have room to grow now.  

This week I was also able to put together the blue and yellow 5" blocks my guild passed out at the last meeting in our support for Ukraine.  


I also quilted this guild quilt.  I decided to leave it as it was, and quilted it and bound it.  So it is ready for the May meeting.  


I also pieced this quilt top.  It will be one of my contributions of the Hands2Help this year.  

Daughter Kristen asked if I had any more Star Wars fabric leftover.  She requested I make a mug rug SIL Jeff.  I just had bits and pieces and this is what I came up with, pretty simplistic.  




Daughter Katie asked that I make Klara a bowl cozy of her own.  She is the one that uses it the most in her house.   So I made this.  She loves purple.  


I also pieced this small quilt top for Hands2Help.  I made sure the parts were in the proper place this time.  


This week on Facebook, I discovered my name had been chosen by two of my long time Crazy Quilting to have their CQ block embellished by them.  I just needed to piece a block.  So I got out my CQ fabrics and made a big mess in my sewing room.  These are the two blocks I pieced.  



I have been keeping busy this week, to keep from reflecting on this time a year ago, when I brought John home from the hospital.  Kristen asked me this week to send her some pictures of John on the boats he built, and our boating adventures.   Every time I look  through old pictures I keep coming across this one of John back in the 70's.   Whenever we went to a hospital function and they had dancing, John would be out on the floor dancing.  All the women wanted to dance with him as he was really good and I was a crappy dancer.  My mother told me I had no rhythm, and I took her words to heart.  But anyway this picture was John at one of the functions our hospital had, out dancing away.  I had this picture in my mind the other day while I was sewing, and a Bee Gees tune came on my Pandora playlist just at that moment.  That was generally what he was dancing to back in the early 70s, Saturday Night Fever.   Sometimes I think John is messing with me.  


This week coming up is a busy one.  Our guild is having its show this weekend.  I am helping people check in their quilts on Thursday night, and am working several hours on Friday.  Then Saturday is our neighborhood garage sale, so I need to get my items together, and priced.  I am going through the house and downsizing a lot.  Plus we have stuff in the garage we unloaded from our motor home that I no longer need.  It is doubtful I will get much sewing, other than hand sewing this week.  

Thanks for stopping by!  

                                                                 

Sunday, April 10, 2022

Slow Sunday Stitching

This has been another busy week.  I spent the first part of the week working on my yard.  I was finally able to get the weeds controlled on my brick patio.  It took me 4 days to get it cut back, plus I was able to mow the back lawn and side yard weeds. I still have some flower beds to weed, but it is in much better shape.  




I was even able to get the weeds off the brick pathway going down the side of the house.  This is where I have a lot of my succulents and Cymbidium orchids, and a few herbs.  If I plant dill or cilantro in the ground the snails munch them up.  So I have them in pots up high!  



This week my irises have bloomed , and I think it is a Japanese lilac.  



Last Tuesday was John's BD so all my family that is in town, including 2 daughters and SIL's, 3 of the grandchildren went to John's favorite Mexican restaurant and enjoyed a great meal, with may stories of John being told.




Wednesday was quilt guild meeting and it was nice, and Friday I got together with my mini group.  

This week I took that challenge baggie of fabrics I received from the guild to make items from.  I cut out a simple quilt that will be going to someone undergoing dialysis in our area.  


I showed the people in my guild a picture of the top.  When I got home looking at it again, I realized that I had put this together wrong.  Those brown rectangles should all be on the right side.  


I also made a table runner, which I plan to applique some leaves and maybe pumpkins scattered across it.  


I am participating in the Hands2Help Comfort Quilt Challenge again this year.  I cut out several small quilts for this.  One of them is with the tumbler die from Accuquilt.  

My daughter reminded me that our hairdresser's BD is coming up this month.  Muna has been my hairdresser since she graduated from beauty college and Katie was 6 months old.  Muna loves flamingos, so I made her a Flamingo mug rug.  


This week for Slow Sunday Stitching this week, I will be ripping out part of that quilt top that is put together wrong.  I will also be finishing up this Kathy Schmitz stitchery.  


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

I came across this in Facebook this week.  



Thanks for stopping by!

Sunday, April 03, 2022

Slow Sunday Stitching

This week was a free week for me, I really had no plans.  I began by cleaning out my fabric closet.  I was looking for fabrics for my brother's lighthouse quilt.  My next round is going to be Storm at Sea blocks.  I wanted to check my closet for fabrics I had in a quantity for the blocks, before I went  out and bought fabric.  I have been trying to work from my stash as much as  possible.  I ended up going through all the fabrics and straightening them up.  They have a tendency to dump over.  I put some cardboard in between some of the rows to keep them straight.  These fabrics are rows , so if I really want to look for something I have to take the first row out.  


While I was doing this, I sorted out fabrics I no longer want, to put on the free table at the quilt guild meeting next week.  

While I was in the midst of this an email came through from the quilt guild asking for blue and yellow fabrics for a project for the guild.  We are going to make blocks to support Ukraine.  They are giving out baggies next week with cut up fabric for us to make a block.  One of the ladies in charge of this lives down the block from me, so I walked some blue and yellow fabrics down to her.   Alice told me about fifth Wednesday community service day for the guild.  They meet a church and work on community service quilts.  They had 7 bins of small quilts to be quilted.  You just need to bring a sewing machine and get to work.   So I went and worked on a quilt, which I finished up at home.  By the time we left, there were only 2 bins of unquilted quilts, and the head of the group was thrilled.  


This is what I worked on.   I have the binding to work on for this week for Slow Sunday Stitching.   I also have binding on some mug rugs to work on.  I will be linking up at Kathy's Quilts for Slow Sunday Stitching.    Head on over and check out what everyone is up to!




They were handing out baggies a couple of months ago with fabric we were supposed to make things out of.  It could be a bowl cozy, a small quilt, a walker bag, or anything we can sell in our boutique.  This week I worked on my projects.  I am going to save showing them for the Foodie Blog Hop coming up because they are appropriate.  

While I was down at Alice's house the other day, she said that she brought 3 baggies home that were left.  Since I had my project almost done, I offered to take another baggie of fabric.  I have them in the wash right now, but I think I will make a small dialysis quilt with these.  


This week I also made a spring gnome.  It was supposed to be a bunny gnome.  I had bought a kit, and I didn't find instructions for the bunny gnome but one of their other gnomes.  Anyway I used the other instructions, and had already glued the hat on, and I wasn't able to do the bunny ears.  


The two bunnies in my header were dolls I made years ago.  I was attending a doll making class and our teacher mentioned that Hallmark had Crayola bunnies.  So we inserted the doll heads and hands into the Crayola bunny bodies.  

March 31st daughter Katie and John and Klara came over for dinner to spend with me.  We ordered some Chinese and had a great dinner.  This was the day I took John to the hospital last year for the last time.  On April 5th we will  all be celebrating John's BD at Carmelita's our favorite Mexican restaurant.   Last year he was in the hospital.  Katie and I went through old pictures and spent a couple of hours reminiscing.  

This week, I also got the Storm at Sea blocks cut out for brother Bill's lighthouse quilt.  I got one put together and it went together wonderfully with the Accuquilt die.  


Back in the early 2000's I started a lighthouse quilt for my own bed.  It started out as a wall hanging, then I had some sailboat blocks made by some online quilting friends.  Our group used to make blocks for each other's BD's.  You provided the fabric and the block you desired.  I got this far, and then I was going to put on Storm at Sea blocks on next.  

This is the quilt.




I started making Storm at Sea blocks, rotary cut, and they were coming out horribly.  This is one of them.  Anyway the project has been in a plastic bag for years.  


I would really like to finish my quilt.  I have never made a quilt for my bed.   All of the bed sized quilts I have given to family.   So I am thrilled that the Accuquilt die is going to help in piecing accuracy.  

This orchid continues to make me happy.  It is so beautifully reblooming.


Thanks for stopping by!

Saturday, April 02, 2022

One Monthly Goal, April

 


It's time to link up One Monthly Goal @Elm Street Quilts for April.   I missed being able to link up March's goal, which was to make item/items out of a bunch of fabric I received from my quilt guild to make for our boutique, or a quilt for dialysis, or bowl cozies.  I made my items, but I will wait to show them because they will be appropriate for the Foodie Blog Hop coming up.

Last week I took on a second baggie to help out, and this will be my One Monthly Goal for April.  I am going to make a small quilt for a dialysis patient.  This is my group of fabrics this time.  



They look like more Fall fabrics, gold, orange and green.   I'll be linking up with One Monthly Goal at Elm Street Quilts.  Many thanks to Patty for keeping this monthly motivation going!  

Thanks for stopping by!