Doom Scrolling

I have been doom scrolling. Yes that is a thing my granddaughters tell me. I stopped playing games a year and a half ago because that caused too much pain in my hands. But doom scrolling. It is so easy to get sucked in. And what has been showing up? ADHD. 

I have to chuckle. I was in my 60s when it was brought to my attention that I was a bit ADHD. Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. But it is not a disorder. It is more like a delusional delicious desire to dive deep into  neurodivergent distractions that delay deadlines. . .  In other words, rabbit trails. Sigh. 

There were so many different reels with similar symptoms. We hate to brush our teeth. We hate to shower. Too many decisions like do I need to? Which shampoo? There are 6 options.  Trying to wrangle 17 thoughts at the same time about what to eat when I peak into the refrigerator or on my desk with its many projects spread out. What colour do I use to make this block? Interrupting all the time so we don't forget what we want to say. We actually have to start doing the thing before the motivation starts. Then we cannot let it go. 

The one that has me is getting disrupted when I finally get into that rare zone of deep focus by someone walking in and engaging me in conversation or requesting me to do something not on my radar. They have no idea how long it takes to get back in the zone after having to start from scratch. 

And the ubiquious to-do list. These make perfect sense to normal people. But we are not normal. We love making to-do lists and doing anything else but what is on them. We  have notes-to-self all over the house as reminders for something but not remember to actually do them. That is why I write morning pages. 

And we have loving humans telling us we need to behave like normal people when what is normal for us is not normal for them. And don't we go and marry someone totally not like us and trying to change us.  

Okay. Rant is over. Maybe.

It's nearing the end of June and what have I accomplished? I have not progressed my book writing much. Nope. But, I have been sewing. I went to that 3 day quilt retreat 4 weeks ago and took along bits for 5 projects. I worked on OMIGOSH bits until I realized that I had not taken a regular presser foot. I had the one with the seam guide but after a while I realized that the guide was pushing the tiny bit of fabric over just enough to distort the corners of the tiny 4-patch blocks that finish at a mere half inch. Then I realized that I had the same problem with the foundation paper piecing. I had thought about taking the Featherweight for that, but did not. So, I switched to another project. And that is why we take several different kinds of sewing to quilt retreats. 

I have been trying to work on the OMIGOSH units daily. There are a lot of steps! But progress is happening. I have been trying to get caught up on the green and orange blocks. I got the windows in the sunroom washed and that was an all day venture. In order for that to happen, had to move a lot of plants outside and take out a table and move things around. But the job is done. I got a cortizone shot in, of all places, my right shoulder for the hand pain? Still trying to figure that one out. I have been taking glucosamine-condroitin-MSM suppliments for the past few weeks at my chiropractor's recommendation. I think something is beginning to work. How do I know? I can bend over and pull weeds again. Okay. Lots and lots of rain has been helpful.

I finally pulled out the Wreath of Roses and worked on positioning the flower petals and leaves. I am a bit frustrated with the whole process. In order to reduce bulk, I am thinking about stitching the inner petals together then cutting out some of the back before joining that to the larger big flower. Oh, why did I decide to do this by machine when I could have done the whole thing by hand years ago before my hands stopped being able to push a needle sideways? But I am determined to follow through and get this quilt made. It has taken me only 29 years to get this far. I am calling it done for my OMG goal for June. I will do more next month. The Forgotten Quilt Book Challenge goes until Oct 1 so I still have 3 months. 

Come to think of it, I have been working on my book project. I spend countless hours going through boxes of old photos. Remember those before digital cameras? I am looking for 26 pictures that sum up our 50 years together for our book How We Stayed Married for 50 Years and even enjoyed a few.  Reading about some common characteristics in women with ADHD has given me lots of insights about why it is so hard to do the things that I obsess about all the time. I actually was up in the middle of the night writing a couple of times. So, I guess I have made progress. 

Blessings,

Chris

Linking with alyciaquilts-finished-or-not-friday. 

Wreath of Roses

This is the Forgotten Quilt Book Challenge project for 2026. I will post monthly about my progress. 

My plan for the leaves is to run the fused green fabric through the custom dies GO cutter. That is why I got them made back in 2013. I do like to plan ahead. The next thing to figure out was what to use for the background. It had to be white. And it had to be all from the same bolt. I had several options. Some Kona Snow and some Kona White. But the background squares were to be cut an odd 24 by 26. And that would take the cut right through the center crease that all new fabric has. 

How to get around that? I had purchased a wide back but where, oh, where had it gone to?  I finally made a decision. I chose the Kona White. 

If the fusible stuff shows, no one will notice.

I cut them square. They will be 20 inches finished. 

The plan always was to machine applique and then machine quilt. I thought quilt-as-you-go would be the thing. So, I needed to learn how to do that. I had not yet learned how to do needle turn hand applique. And besides, all the stuff was missing for years. But it is all sitting here now, ready to play. 

My OMG goal for June will be to have one block prepped and ready to begin the machine applique. I did purchase matching thread way back when, but I fear not having enough once I get started. Oh. Decisions. Decisions. I do have lots of that Aurifil 30 thread I won here 5 years ago. Lots of it. 36 spools with 1000 yards each. Should the thread match or contrast? Which stitch or stitches should I use? I will figure it out.

 

I am off to a quilt retreat this weekend. Well, Sun-Tues. I have packed a few containers of OMIGOSH bits to trim and sew into 4 1/2 inch Shoo Fly blocks. I have the RSC blues, reds, greens and oranges. That shoud keep me busy. I also am taking 2 Morrell blocks. Some of those have accompanied me on every quilt retreat in the past 11 years so why stop now. Stonefields is planning to come along hoping I will play. There are no less than 4 containers of those bits and pieces in various stages. 

But what I am trying to finish up this week is Bricks and Mortar. This is a flannel kit I bought about 30 years ago. I am so close.  

blessings,

Chris

Linking with: alyciaquilts.finished

ninamariesayre./off-wall-friday_

smallquiltsanddollquilts.design-wall-monday- 

Forgotten Quilt Book Challenge 2026

 

Challenge Livres oubliés 2026 / Forgotten Quilt Books Challenge 📚

Frederique has offered a challenge to dust off and rediscover some old quilt books and magazines and make something inspired from them. I have been waiting for this. And since the Chookshed Challenge number for May is 1, I get to start a new quilt with a clear conscience. 

This bag  has been sitting around in various places over the years

 waiting for me to pay attention to it.

I bought the magazine in 1997. I was going to 

learn how to do maching applique. The directions are all there. I read it over many times and dreamed. Fabricland had a half price sale so I bought several shades of peachy-pinks and a solid dark green. And I found matching thread. The thread had to match. That was back in 2012. But then, I was going to do the raw edge machine applique so had to learn how to do that also. 

But in true Chris fashion, the magazine went hiding for many years. 

And the center pull-out pattern got separated from the magazine. 

So, one day I bought the book with pictures of the original quilt designed and made by Marie Webster. And after a lot of years, all the pieces came together into that one bag after we had one of those major declutters. The kind where my daughter makes me sit and she brings everything to me and I have to make the instant decision to keep, give away, or throw away. No pausing to think or tell stories. It is exhausting for me but exhilarating for her.   

So, I made a plan. I pre-washed the fabrics. I traced the flower and leaf units onto paper then made a master page to copy  onto wash away fusible stuff. How did we ever quilt without photo copiers and computers? 

I pressed the fusible sheets onto the fabrics and packed them along with several pairs of sharp scissors and took them to India with me. I knew there would be lots of spare hours when we would be just hanging out waiting for the next thing. I invited my friends to help cut out every single one of those flower units. I was unable to do any hand stitching.

Now to get busy.

Blessings,

Chris

Linnking with alyciaquilts.blogspot.

Quilting and Other Thoughts

Random thought - Does your hot beverage taste better if you slurp it? Loudly? 

Although Stonefields, designed by Susan Smith, has not been far from my thoughts in recent months, I have not done anything on it since completing all the hexie flowers for the border back in January. So, here I am. I got the big ironing board out. The cutting mat nearby. I prewashed more of the fabric I chose for the outside border. This will have to satisfy the Chookshed Challenge for this month. Number 10 on my list was to prewash fabric for a new quilt start, but I realized that my next few quilt starts will not require the fabrics to be prewashed. I will be using pre-cuts for those. I have thought about, obssessed about, talked about, planned and dreamed about doing this. I even laid out three rows of hexi flowers onto one of the 4 outside borders. Then put them away. Again.

The thing is, I fear messing it all up and making mistakes. As if I haven't made mistakes before. Like cutting the outside borders too narrow the first time. At least I still have 4-5 yards of the chosen fabric. 

Easter had us hosting family and clearing all the tables and spaces in the SonRoom. Had to clear away everything again for the accountant who finally showed up after changing the dates 3 times. We filed our taxes and both of us get refunds. He gets $20 and I get $15. I had to have the tables cleared again before my Writing Group filled the space on Sat. 

I picked up a rake to start clearing the flowerbeds now that spring is really here. I lasted about 5 minutes. The pain in my hands has resurfaced and I had difficulty grasping and dragging the rake. I got 2 slivers. There had been crocuses popping up in the lawn and tulip leaves emerging through the now frostless dirt. And now daffodils everywhere. I love the smell of the dirt in the spring. So inspiring. And its been raining off and on. Love the spring rains. You don't have to shovel rain. It soaks into the ground. The grass has been cut twice so far and the tractors are out doing tractor in the spring stuff. New little pigs arrived last week and new beef animals arrived this week. All that should keep my Sweetie occupied. 

I've been reading again. Lots of books. And Bricks and Mortar is on the table again this week. Haven't done anything on that either. 

A good friend, who has been attending our small group and was part of my writing group, passed away unexpectedly after major heart surgery earlier this month. She was 63. She did not get her book written. Her very life was an open book. She affected countless lives in her family and friends and others with her joy and total acceptance of broken people. She had received incredible heart healing from a difficult life and years of addictions. Her story is a ripple effect of how allowing the forgivenss of Jesus Christ and Holy Spirit into our hearts transforms us from the inside. She sat here a few days before her surgery, explaning the proceedure to come and hugged everyone before she left saying, "God loves you and I love you. The world is a better place because you are in it," Yes. The world is a better place because she was in it.  

blessings,

Chris

Spring Has Arrived

 So what has Chris been doing for the past month? 

My Sweetie and I went to India for 2 weeks. That was a lot of fun. Long flights and lots of hot food. We visited our school and got to speak at 2 pastor's conferences about how we stayed married for 54 years. 

I have been working on the book and getting closer. I hired a Canadian editor and have received back more than half of the chapters with comments and recommendations. I have a lot of work to do. Now to figure out how to save the applied changes. Steep learning curve for this Gramma. 

And guess what?? I had to give up yet another pair of scissors! You would think I would learn. They actually made it through 2 airports in my carry on. But not the third. Dang. That was the same ariport last time. They were not really good ones. The scissors not the airports. 

The RSC colour for March was red. I pulled out lots of reproduction red scraps and cut and cut and cut. Then I sewed and sewed and sewed.  There is a lot more work to these tiny blocks than meets the eye. I joined the Chookshed a couple of times to zoom with friends, but this is as far as I got for OMIGOSH. The Chookshed Challenge number for April is  10 so I get to prewash fabric for a New Quilt. I can handle that. 

April's RSC colour is pink so I got started with that by pulling out some scraps. Now to cut and cut some more. 

We are doing year end books and getting ready to file our taxes next week. That means I had to go through my inbox and delete 3600 unopened emails in the hunt for the few invoices I missed through the year. I hope I got them all. 

We have booked the Alaskan Cruise for end of summer with Elly and Devan. And the flights to Vancouver. The girls are mentally packing their bags. Only 5 months to go. Elly asked if there will be a washing machine available. This girl is addicted to doing her laundry. And they have been told it is carry on only including winter coats and hats. Yes, we will be swimming on the cruise ship. Not in the icy glacier waters. She knows how to do her laundry by hand. 

My men have collaborated, not only on doing the books, but prepping the barns for new baby pigs (arriving today), but also ordering baby beef animals.  

Easter is coming and so are my relatives for dinner on Sat. My neice the massage therapist arrives tomorrow!  But first, tonight, we have our church Small Group meeting here so I had to pack away all my quilting toys for another day.  

Blessings,

Chris

Stonefields

I started this quilt back in June along with Gretchen and Rebecca. We are all working at our own pace.  

Stonefields was designed by Susan Smith.                                                                                   

I am using soft colours that I collected more than 20 years ago. 

September I had this much done. Enough to fill the small design wall. It helped me to keep track of how many blocks, hexie flowers and flying geese units I was making and it was easy to store this way. My goal that month was to fill the wall.      

This is what I had completed last time I had it up on the big design wall in October. 

 I cut out 4 ouside borders at 10 inches wide by mistake. So it sat for most of the winter. 

Now to cut 4 more borders that are 13 inches wide. Good thing I have lots of the designated fabric. Otherwise it may wait a couple  more years to get back on track. I do want to have 3 rows of the hexie flowers because to me, that is what makes it so special. 

After that, I cut out a lot of hexies and took them on a cruise where I spent time daily glue basting them as well as more Lucy honeycombs.

After we got home, I sewed up each of the 4 flying geese borders and lined up 9 of the 6 inch blocks to see how it was going to look since I plan to make it smaller than the original. I am in love. 

I sewed the rest of the hexie flowers together by machine. Then everything got put in a box.  Sigh.

Because for the Chookeshed Challenge in January, I started OMIGOSH.

And for February, I pulled out an old ufo Bricks and Mortar. Then I hired an editor and flew off to India.

Now we are doing taxes.

So here I am. 

blessings,

Chris

OMIGOSH Progress

 

Green has been the RSC for Feb.

I had a lot of fun revisiting many of the reproduction greens I had collected over the years. I did not realize how many there were until I started cutting strips and pieces for the Shoo Fly blocks and then the 9-Patches. I also had lots more shirting fabrics to use for backgrounds. Some have a white ground. Some have cream and some have gray? Where did I ever find gray? I have a layer cake in one of my future  project boxes and borrowed a few. Now that I have a few blocks made, I can see what it is going to look like. I am not sure I want to make all those Double 9-Patches all green. I might just mix up all the colours for those. Something to think about. And, yes, there is an oops block. I have enough bits prepped to make another 7-8 green Shoo Fly blocks. 

It took me a couple of days to get into the rythym of making these. I have so many takeout containers filled with each different size and shape and colour. My organizing skills had quite the work out. This was a lot of fun but I had to force myself to stop because I have other things to do, like pack my bags for a trip to India with my Sweetie. We leave tomorrow for 2 weeks. The colour for March is red. That will have to wait a few weeks.

I have some hand applique ready to work on, a couple of journals, a new novel, and a fancy gel cushion to sit on during the 15 hour flights. But before that, I had my writing group in today for an all day writing retreat and Thursday some women came to sew. It was their idea to start an ourtreach to women and I said I would host and hover but I no longer teach quilting or sewing and I am not organizing it this time. 

The Chookshed Challenge number for March is 2 so that means I get to work on an old quilt. That is an easy decision. I will continue working on Bricks and Mortar.   

I have hired an editor. We have communicated back and forth a bit and I finally submitted several chapters of my book on how we stayed married for 50 years. There are lots of edits to apply. Now to proof the rest of the chapters and send her the next bunch. Publishing blog posts and publishing a real book are not the same thing. 

blessings,

Chris