Midweek: photos finished, quilted and bound, skirting the issue + reading

It was foggy all day yesterday.  I went out after supper and snapped this photo of the sun breaking through the clouds. 

My friend Renee and I spent the afternoon working on the picture collages for Saturday's funeral.  We'll finish the job today. 

The background for each is a piece of homespun plaid, an homage to the plaid shirts Stevens wore.   

You've seen all the stages of this year's Stay at Home Round Robin.  Barb-the-quilter did a beautiful job quilting it. I put on the binding Monday evening.

UPDATE:   I won one of the SAHRR sponsor prizes and it came today -- a set of four spools of Aurifil!  Neutral colors that will be very useful.  

I had a fabric adventure last week.  I wanted a navy skirt to wear at the funeral.  I still have tissue paper patterns and a fashion fabric stash.  I was excited to find wool yardage, but it turned out to be black.  I went to one Joann's--very little left, let alone anything resembling skirt-weight wool (poly would have done).  So I drove to Vogue Fabrics in Evanston.  They downsized and moved several years ago and I had not been to the new store.  But, whew, they still had bolts and bolts of suiting wools including a navy that was just right.  $29.95/yard, but I only needed one yard.  

Oh, yes, Vogue has quilting cotton....and I bought some. But not very much.   

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I've enjoyed reading books set in Maine since before I met Stevens.  I admit that this one is not "Down East quaint charm." Nor is it Stephen King.  More like The Beans of Egypt, Maine, set in a mill town (Waterville) with Franco-Americans and drugs.  It's also about heritage, pride, and love of family no matter what.  Well-written but definitely not cheerful.

Linking up with Wednesday Wait Loss

Weekly update: changes ahead + quilting progress

The crocuses under the dryer vent are the first to bloom   

 On Wednesday Stevens' condition took a sharp decline.  He wasn't able to get out of his armchair to use the walker to go back to his bathroom and bedroom.  Our friend Curt came (at 9:45 p.m.) to help me move him.  Thursday began all right--I went to Rotary, came home to get him up, and promptly had to call our part-time caregiver for help.  She came right over.  We began a new routine.  V now comes every morning and every evening.  He's sitting in the transport chair (wheelchair with small back wheels).  There are other adjustments which are TMI, but I am very knowledgeable about adult diapers....   I am so appreciative of her!  Even so, I've had to call the paramedics three times to come to lift him up.  

I'd begun paperwork for to enroll him for a two-week respite care stay at a nearby assisted living facility* for when I'm traveling at the end of April.  I called the representative and asked if I could cancel respite care and sign him up as a resident.  So we have a lease (as of 3/31) and I've even seen the unit (440 sq foot 'open studio').  This week brings more paperwork and, importantly, an admissions evaluation.  April will turn out very differently than planned.  

* I've been working with a care consultant about assisted living options. I don't know what questions to ask (any salesperson puts on a good spin).  This facility is one that she recommended.  I toured it and another facility.  The cost for assisted living varies with the level of care but it is less expensive than 24-hour in-home care. (Plus we don't have room in our house for a live-in attendant.) 

Whew!

 As you know, sewing is a great stress-reliever.

I made 10 daisy mug rugs for my P.E.O. chapter's ongoing project. I have several pieced backgrounds for the next batch.

The March guild BOM is at the lower center with the previous seven blocks.

The yellow Ohio Stars (March RSC) are a flimsy.

And . . . . 

After a lot of ripping and pressing and measuring I solved the problem of the bowed borders for the SAHRR (here).

I inserted a small piece of turquoise (upper right 'log cabin' border).  I inserted a multi-fabric piece in the center of each outer border.  It all measures up to 60" square. 

I thought about adding a narrow (1-1/2"?) outer border to stabilize the edge but I couldn't find any batik that I had enough of in the right color (which I think should be green).

Because it's still a flimsy my SAHRR won't be in the grand finale parade, but I am MOST relieved to have gotten it this far!  

Linking up with Oh Scrap!  Design Wall Monday SAHRR Parade

Friday check in: best in show but some editing required

 The annual GFWC-IL Tenth District Art Show was Wednesday.   They have used the same categories for years ranging from painting (subcategories by medium) to floral arranging to holiday decor, sculpture, paper crafts, photography, knitting/crochet -- and "wall hanging" and "embroidery, quilting, tatting."  Categories are subject to interpretation.  This year sculpture included a fused-glass panel (beautiful)  and a fabric/quilted covered flower pot (artificial flowers.  Well, I didn't make the rules.  I just followed them -- and I won!   Full confession:  I entered the only wall hanging and there two quilts and a quilted tote bag (no tatting).  But I got Best in Show. 

Nancy Z is a GFWC friend and P.E.O. sister who won the knitting/crochet category.  

Our housekeeper/caregiver looked after S (and cleaned the house) while I was gone.  

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SAHRR Round 6 called for kites or a block beginning with K.  I don't have the Studio 180 Corner Beam ruler but I do have the 30-Something ruler. However, 30-Something makes 3" or 4" units.  Sure, I could have drafted a template or paper pieced.  But I didn't want to.  

K is for kaleidoscope.  I bought the large and small Kaleido-rulers from Marti Michell's retirement clearance sale last summer.  Time to try them out.   I was mightily impressed!  Easy to use and accurate results.  

I sewed and sewed until I had 56 4" blocks.  I made rows and attached them.  They fit!  Remember that I'm sewing upstairs in the living room these days, away from the studio (basement) design wall and cutting table so I can't easily spread my work out to measure.  Afterwards, when I pinned the flimsy to the design wall -- oops.  It bows.   I have some calculating and adjusting to do.

I think I'll add a skinny green border to stabilize the outer edges (once I've corrected the bowing).

Linking up with Finished or Not Friday  Brag About Your Beauties  OMG February

Friday check in: SAHRR, a bag created, and a bag rescued

 

I've had a productive day and a half!

This is month #7 for the guild BOM.  The February house block is in the center with its predecessors around it. 

SAHRR with round #5, quarter log cabins.  They fit!  I am very pleased with the way this is turning out.  

I posted this photo on Monday. I intended to make wheelchair quilt (36 x 45).  I finished the quilting--just an easy swirl, no sweat.  When I trimmed the edges I trimmed one long side TOO much and it looked.....not right.   I could have bound it "not right" and given it away; who would know?  I would.  I could have kept it as a UFO muttering at me.  I didn't do either of those things.  

Ta da!  I made a large tote bag to take quilts or flimsies to guild meetings (and other things to other places).  I trimmed two edges and used those pieces for the handles. 

That was my downstairs studio sewing today.  (Remember that I've set up a sewing station in the living room so that Stevens doesn't have to go downstairs when we watch TV together in the evening.)  My upstairs sewing was a bunch more sliced batik blocks (continuing the sliced blocks from SAHRR round 4).  I found a ziploc back with batik split rectangles that are scraps from a long-ago project.   I sewed them all up.   Trimming can wait until Friday evening.

We're going to have an adventure tomorrow.  Come back on Monday for the report.  

Linking up with Finished or Not Friday   SAHRR Round 5 RSC Saturday

Midweek: round 5 underway + dust off a book decision

 

SAHRR Round 5 so far.  I've made all the quarter-log cabin units (3" finished).  I hope to have all four borders sewn on by Friday. 

I'm participating in Bea's (BeaQuilter) Dust Off a Book blog hop next month.  I'm perusing quilt books, dusty or not, to choose a project to make. 

I do not lack choices. (There are more quilt books than these.)

Linking up with Wednesday Wait Loss -- thanks for the shout out today, Jennifer. 

Midweek: SAHRR surprise

Looking out the front door at 10 a.m.  The storm has been predicted for three days.  3"? 6"? 8"?  I'm glad we don't have to go anywhere today.  

Old Town awaits the outer border. I am hoping that the little checkerboards didn't stretch out on the edges . . .

BUT!

I did not have any units on hand for this week's Stay at Home Round Robin prompt for "slashed/sliced" blocks.  I had to resort to sewing but that was no hardship. They were easy to make and,  miraculously, they fit perfectly. 

Linking up at Wednesday Wait Loss

Weekly update: SAHRR, Old Town, and reading

How nice to get this FB message first thing on Saturday! 

This is the quilt that she won.  (Working title: "Go Scrappy or Go Home.")   

The weather cooperated Saturday morning for the spaghetti dinner delivery.  All our "customers" (neighbors mostly) were appreciative.  We had two of the dinners ourselves -- tasty!  

Saturday afternoon I went to the last hours of an estate sale.  The advertised German nutcrackers were long gone by the time I got there but I got a nice office chair on wheels for $7.00.   The seat-lifter on the Steelcase chair I've had at my sewing machine for 15+ yrs has quit working.  I moved the Steelcase chair in my home office to the studio. This estate sale chair will go in the home office. [Yes, Steelcase furniture can be repaired but that would be more than $7.00.]

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This week's prompt for the Stay at Home Round Robin is "stars." Conveniently I had a stack of 4-1/2" (unfinished) variable stars in the batik box. 

More progress:  

I assembled the Old Town blocks and added the inner border.  

Here are the checkerboard inner borders. You can see my living-room set up with Stevens in the background (Superbowl playing).

On the design floor:   I bought both sizes of Drunkard's Path templates from Marti Michell's retirement sale.  Her method and instructions make them almost easy.  The tedious but necessary part is pinning.

I cleared the DPs away to show another RSC blue project:  9" Ohio Stars. 

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An interesting look at the dynamic of one family.

"No one will love you more or hurt you more than a sister." (p. 258) 

Olivia "Ollie" Shred is a beautiful, talented athlete.  She's also selfish and manipulative -- and, as it turns out, mentally ill.   Younger sister Amy is studious, socially awkward, and caught up in Ollie's orbit even as she is repelled by it.  Their mother is determined to show the world only a perfect family while their father loses himself in his successful business.  

 Ollie has inpatient treatment but runs away, establishing a pattern for the next twenty years. She returns home to be bailed out yet again, and disappears overnight.  Eventually she makes her way to Hollywood where, being Ollie, she charms a studio producer.  Amy puts all of her efforts and energy into academics (biochemistry at Columbia).  When she loses her research grant she switches to publishing where she finds success as an editor though she is less successful in love.  It's not a happy story, but it ends with a glint of hope.  

Linking up with  Design Wall Monday  Oh Scrap! Sew and Tell  SAHRR Monday Musings

Friday check in: January report

 

"Smile for your fan club!" 

Sunshine and temperatures in the upper 30's and lower 40's were conducive to walking this week.  It was good to stretch my legs!

This is pack ice, covered in sand.

I saw four of the ornaments I hung along one of the paths in mid-December.  This one had a few remnants of its red paint.

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I had a satisfying and productive month in the studio. 

The Stay at Home Round Robin (SAHRR) prompt this week was half-square triangles. I have a box of batik HSTs on hand so this was an easy step.  

The RSC pink Ohio Star quilt is finished.  

Earlier this month:  I quilted the 2024 guild round robin, made the Amelia flimsy for the "topalong" I've joined, and made/quilted Cat's Cradle. 

Blue is the RSC color for February.   I made the 8 nine patch blocks for my year-long RSC project.  

I found 10 blue hourglass blocks in the parts department and used eight of them for a placemat.

This latest placemat joined the others for a photo shoot.  20 so far!   

The Stash Report for January:

Fabric IN:   88-3/4 yards, $51.50, average .58 (fifty-eight cents) per yard.   I wasn't going to acquire any fabric this month but there were irresistible bargains.  The final episode of Barb M's estate sale, a great find at Salvation Army, a set of new cotton sheets at Treasure Hunt (the Amazon returns store) . . .

Fabric OUT:  95-1/2 yards.  That included yardage sent to other quiltmakers for their charity projects.  I also parted with a big stack of Heartstrings blocks and five (!!) flimsies. 

Net REDUCTION:   6-3/4 yards.

Linking up with Finished or Not Friday  Stories From the Sewing Room

Friday check in: catching up with a finish, BOM, SAHRR and more

 On the home front:   Thirty birthday cards arrived this week.  THANK YOU! 

The dishwasher repairman came late Monday.  He pried off the lower panel, plugged a gizmo into a gauge or something, and got a readout that said the dishwasher had run 1,586 cycles since installation.  That was interesting.  He then replaced a water intake valve.  Here's the important part. He said he guessed that I used the economy cycle (51 min.).  He was right. It turns out that's wrong and I should use the normal cycle. That pushes more water through the valve and keeps it running.   So, if you're being economical and using the light cycle perhaps you should not.  (He said he runs his dishwasher on the extra-heavy cycle.)

I finished the annual report of the Zion Woman's Club activity for GFWC-Illinois.  I spent more time worrying about it than it took to actually compile the statistics, fill out the form, and write the narrative. (It's due on February 1, The state board says its goal is to get reports from 75% of the clubs in Illinois so apparently not every club does it. But we do!)  

A couple of months ago the church women had a speaker who specializes in senior care and placement. I called her for advice. She came yesterday.  Stevens was cordial to her though characteristically when he decided he was tired of conversing he told her, "Good-bye!" (He does the same when Curt, the parish visitor, comes to visit.)  Debra will provide recommendations but right now she advises using V (our housekeeper who can do day care) more frequently, since V is willing and able and Stevens knows and likes her.  I will!  

# # # # #  In the studio:  

SAHRR round one.  The instructions were to use a block with your initial.  Nine patch was an obvious choice for N. I have a box of 3.5" mixed-batik 9ps on hand.  At first the green batik seemed too blotchy but now I like it.  

I hope the subsequent rounds will allow me to use what I have in the parts department. 

    

Cat's Cradle is quilted and bound. 

I did not have to piece the backing because it was a full 45" wide.  Remember when that was the standard width? 

Here is the sixth block of the guild BOM with its five predecessors.

Seven placemats are ready to layer and quilt. 

Nine pink Ohio Stars are on the design wall. I've cut pieces for 11 more. 

The five (!!) pink flowers of the Apple Blossom amaryllis have faded but look at the new leaves! 

Linking up at Finished or Not Friday  Scrap Happy Saturday

Weekly update: RSC pink + SAHRR

 

The weather hasn't been conducive to walks . . . hope I can get out this week.  Meanwhile, in the studio: 

My 52 Placemats project is underway with these two in pink.   

I came across a design for my 2025 RSC project.  Eight 6-1/2" 9Ps each month.

I started a batch of Ohio Stars just because. 

(I am avoiding dealing with Old Town.) 

I'm determined to stick with the Stay at Home Round Robin this year.   Here's my starter block.  It was the starter block for the guild 2018 round robin that I switched up (see how it began and ended in this post).  

Linking up with Sew and Tell  Design Wall Monday  Oh Scrap! as well as SAHRR 2025