Raccoon Skirmishes

We have a raccoon problem here and they are set on destroying my summer potted flowers. I came down the stairs this morning to look out the front door at THREE of my pretty red geraniums uprooted and potting soil everywhere.

The fact that raccoons reside in the wilderness surrounding our house is no surprise. We have seen them for several years, and I know they eat all birdseed in the feeders every night. They also have been known to raid the garage if we forget to close the door, and they destroyed a few potted flowers last summer.

I worked really hard several days last week to prepare some pretty pots. I mostly stayed with geraniums, pansies, snapdragons, and coleus. I have probably close to two dozen pots set out all around the house and garage. The arrangement above is by our front door. I worked too hard and spent too much money to have it vandalized every night by raccoons.

I have talked about trapping them, but have never followed through on the acquiring of traps and all that entails. After this morning's discovery, I began thinking guns and poison! Militant action! However, I calmed down, and now have two traps borrowed from friends who had a family of raccoons in their attic a couple summers back.

I will keep you updated on future skirmishes.

It's the last day of May! That means it's time for my May wrap up. What good stuff did I accomplish? Here are my 9 selections:

The top row shows my early Ohio Star blocks for the Dreamy Stars quilt, an item from my 2020 goals list. The bird feeder shows a woodpecker on the left (a regular visitor) and a rose-breasted grosbeak on the right (a rare visitor). Then the window picture is from my cleaning and making new curtains for our bedroom. The curtains are made from drop cloths bought on Amazon from the hardware department.

In the middle row, after such success with the bedroom windows, I decided to use leftover curtain fabric to make valances for the sewing room. The middle picture shows me (in the visor) with my card-playing friends, Mindy, Cheryl, Dorothy, and Rhonda. We are wearing our pink for one of our group who is currently in treatment for breast cancer. Since the Komen Race for the Cure was canceled this year, we did our own race at a local park. We took pictures and videos to send to Sally to cheer her as she fights this ugly disease. Then there is the finished Dreamy Stars - quilted, bound and covering our bed! Made from start to finish in about 2 weeks! Wow.

The bottom row begins with several old flower pots that I spruced up with black spray paint. I have so many mismatched pots from over the years, and rather than buy more, I painted them for continuity. I was pleased with the results. Bottom center is that front door picture from above, with 3 of the new-black pots. And the last picture is my Larkspur Stars quilt top. I finished it up today, and took it out to the yard for a picture. I will share more about it in an upcoming post.

Wonder what June will bring? I need to get a plan in place. Perhaps that will comprise an upcoming post, as well.

Here's to June!
Happy Quilting, Friends!

Larkspur Stars

Sewing with Sharon yesterday was productive!

We agreed several weeks ago to assign June as our month to work with our Larkspur stashes. It's just such a shame to keep gorgeous fabric locked up in bins.

From the looks of things, we will have to make a new assignment for June, because both of us have a good head start and are on a course for finishing our quilt tops very soon.

For my Larkspur Stars quilt, I have made 15 setting blocks and 8 stars. My current plan is to make 7 more stars, then see what fabrics I have remaining. Should there be enough to do one more row, I will do that for sure. Actually, my concern is the variety of the remaining fabric, not the amount. I am pretty sure that plenty will be available, but I doubt there will be nothing but yellow and coral left. So, we shall see.

Sharon is making 9-patch blocks which she intends to set in strippy columns. I love strippy quilts, and the colors along with the various florals of Larkspur will be beautiful set this way. I have no pictures of Sharon's blocks, but I have made some strippy quilts, which I can show you to get an idea. I will do a better job of taking some pictures of her work next week.

9-Patch Strippy from 2017

Antique 9-Patch from 2012

Using our Larkspur collections has been lots of fun. We are sharing as needed to help each other out when we are lacking in a particular color-range. Sharon suggested that I look at other 3Sisters fabrics for possible substitutes. Good idea! I am using some of the red from Roman Holiday. What a fun addition to my quilt!

It's Friday! Are you all finding that you are returning to "normal" as we approach June? My group of card-playing friends met last night and did an adequate job of socially distancing. We didn't have enough to play cards, so we sat on the screened porch and talked until almost midnight. We had a lot of catching up to do.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Larkspur Progress

I use the word 'progress' in the title, yet evidence of that has been of the s-l-o-w variety. With our Ohio weather finally acting like it should - sunshine and warmth! - I have been focusing on flowers and yards and porches and all other manner of outdoor endeavors.

I have tried to make myself do 2 blocks per day this week - not entirely successful with that goal, but at least it's an effort. So far I have these 9 blocks made and two more that aren't in the picture. My original plan was to make a bed-sized quilt, but I am wary of committing to that due to lack of fabric variety, so I will work toward a lap-quilt and then re-assess the situation.

Sharon is coming later today. I hope to be able to share a good bit more progress after a full day of stitching.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Memorial Day and Lake Effect Update

The debt we owe our fallen heroes is immense. I am reflecting on their ultimate sacrifices.

I worked briefly over the weekend on Lake Effect, which I have not touched during the entire pandemic. I am eager to get back to it.

The vines are done and now leaves are on the menu for the next day or two. But first, we are heading out for a walk before it gets too hot.

Have a great day, dear readers!
Linking up with Kathy for her Slow Sunday Stitching party.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Quarantine Over!

With the amount of socializing I've done this week, I do believe my personal quarantine is over.

On Tuesday I went to Terry's as she hosted a sewing day. On Thursday, Sharon came here for our regular sewing day, and yesterday, the Frankfort Girls met for the first time since early March.

And for what it's worth, with these girls I have not been especially cognizant of social distancing.

Now, what have we made in our long, long quarantine? There were several items to share, so let's take a look.

I will begin with yesterday's reunion of the Frankfort girls. I continue to play around with Canva and have created this logo for our little group.

We met at Jan's and had an absolutely fantastic spread of goodies - we have come to expect her over-the-top hospitality. They are lucky to get a muffin at my house!

Sheryll shared several UFOs that she finished up during her quarantine. She has a penchant for wool applique and does spectacular work.

Plus, she had one pieced item to share. I just love this, and might feel compelled to duplicate it for myself!

Terry also had a share yesterday - she was stitching the binding on this cute barn quilt. Look at the sheep! The quilt is so happy in Corey Yoder fabrics.

On Thursday, Sharon brought her Edyta Sitar quilt for its photoshoot. All the fabrics are by Sitar, and Sharon made up the pattern by attaching rows of varying widths around the center floral.

And back on Tuesday, we had some additional shares. First, Helen shared a newly quilted finish and a quilt top.

Terry quilted the sampler quilt, so now Helen is ready for binding. The patterns for each block came in a supscription box from Fat Quarter Shop. Helen has been very diligent about making the blocks each month and the resulting quilt is just as happy as can be.

And for the final share, Sharon O. is binding this UFO she made several years ago. It is a huge quilt, and was actually quite heavy as we held it up for the picture. Won't this be pretty for fall decorating?

That concludes my little quilt show for today. The friends have made good use of their Covid time. And while I failed to take a picture (should have, darn it!), Jan has made close to 700 masks! 700!! I cannot even imagine. I was pained to make 90. She is selling them for $5 at her golf club. Many are made with sports-themed fabric.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Goals Check

Having finished Dreamy Stars as quickly as I did has made me revisit my 2020 goals list to see how I am doing. I will take you all along for the check up. I mentioned in a previous post that Sharon and I have decided to work with our Larkspur stashes in June; this plays right into my goals as it is item 11 on the list! Hooray! I have already begun to play around with some blocks of this gorgeous (older) line of fabric from 3 Sisters/Moda. I feel like I might be doing pretty good at maintaining my focus on the goals.

Each January I post a list of quilting goals I hope to accomplish in the new year. I probably have never completed every item on any list, but the exercise of posting each list does keep me focused and occupied on projects that I want finished. Here's 2020 goals post.

I pulled the list to use here so that I can reference each item.

Then I played around with a photo-editing program and marked the list with symbols.

Now for an explanation of those symbols - I think I might have gotten carried away.

Green checks - Finished; the gifts have been delivered or I am using here at home.
Pink checks - Quilt top finished; needs to be quilted.
Purple boxes - Ongoing; sometimes referred to as WIPs (works in progress).
Blue arrows - Goals that are suffering from neglect. I need to refocus on these.
Red arrow - Current project.
Blue stars - Still very eager to begin these. In due time, right?

Two items are not marked: numbers 13 and 14. Guess what? Both of those are UFOs. Begun many years ago and found to contain mistakes (mine) or difficult sections, I just quit and put them away. Maybe I will get in the mood to work on those yet this year. I sure hope so.

Sharon is coming shortly for a day of sewing. I have begun the Larkspur project, and will share it in a day or two. Tomorrow the every-other-Friday morning get togethers of the Frankfort Girls will resume! Yay! I sure look forward to that!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Bound and Beautiful

I missed my goal of posting this yesterday, but here I am first thing this morning to share the final phase of my Dreamy Stars quilt. I did attach the binding on Monday as planned, but posting yesterday took a backseat to some fun I was having with the Frankfort Girls. We had a sewing day at Terry's. More about that another time.

Dreamy stars is now ready for use! There's a very good chance that this is going straight onto our bed. Those colors are so calming and restful, don't you think?

The binding is a part of the quilt-making process that some quilters detest. I would not be one of those, however. I rather enjoy this part, and I enjoy it even more now that I know to use a walking foot. I always used to have such awful problems with puckering. The culprit was my using the wrong presser foot. I also have gotten better at machine stitching the binding, and while I know it doesn't look all that consistent from the back, it looks fine on the front, and for most of my quilts I am perfectly satisfied. If I were making something really special, I would allow the extra time to stitch it down by hand for a more polished, pristine look on both the front and back.

The polka dot backing looks great with the two colors on the front. It is almost as if I planned for that gold star fabric to go with this backing. I did not however; it was a happy accident.

I could point out a few flaws with my new finish, but I don't think I will. I am more satisfied with all the goodness in this finish than I am disappointed in those minor flaws. I rarely make a quilt that is intended for contests or judging or competitions. I make them mostly for me. I take great joy in the making process; I anticipate the elation of finishing; most of all, I love feasting my eyes on those gorgeous end results. Flaws come with the process, and I am fine working with them, mostly.

One more look at Dreamy Stars on the bed; lovely, just lovely. I am so thrilled with this layout of the stars, and I have my friend Sharon to thank for it. In the very beginning, I could not decide how I wanted this to go together, so I sent her pictures and collages of different options under consideration. I sent this layout almost as more of an afterthought, actually. I was surprised when she said she liked it best; what a good decision! It is the perfect setting for the blocks. Thank you for your valuable input, Sweet Sharon!!

Speaking of Sharon, do you remember the sign board she gave me for Christmas? I hung it in the longarm room; here's a link to the post. Well, I changed out the saying. This will serve to inspire me for a month or two.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Dreamy Stars Reveal

You'd best brace yourselves, readers, as I am revealing a totally finished quilt that took less than 3 weeks to construct. Feast your eyes on this beauty.

I shared the two fabrics in this post from April 30. I began making stars on May 1. Saturday afternoon, May 16, I finished the top construction, went straight to the ironing board for pressing and then - gasp - proceeded to the long arm machine. The photo above shows the pretty quilt top awaiting quilting.

Say, what?

Yes, I decided that I would just see what it feels like to finish a quilt in the same year as it was begun. *grin* I quilted it yesterday afternoon and evening. Today I will attach the binding.

I spread it out on the bed for some pics and I just love the look. I knew I liked these two prints together, and they came together beautifully in this simple, straight-set Ohio Star design.

The blocks finish at 10 inches. I have 8 blocks horizontally and 9 blocks vertically, for a total of 72 block. I opted for no borders, so it finishes at roughly 80 x 90 inches.

The backing is this sweet pin dot from Henry Glass & Co. I have an entire bolt of this backing, so many more quilts will be wearing it. The neutral will lend itself to many of the quilts I make, and I can't get over how easy it was to just roll out the needed amount, unfold it on the frame and load it in. I am going to be really glad to have this backing as my go-to.

I will use the blue from the quilt top as my binding. And as I said, I will do that today. I will share the backing and binding pics tomorrow.

Could this be the beginning of a new chapter in my quilting evolution? I'd like to think that I will get into the habit of moving from quilt top to quilted top with no lag-time. Gosh. What a goal.

It would be good for me to spend more time at the long arm. I get so rusty with my free-motion moves; if I were to spend extended time quilting, then my quilting would be more pleasing.

Still learning. Gosh.

Hope you are having an awesome Monday! Have a great week!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Sewing With Sharon

Sewing sessions with Sharon have resumed! Yeah! Thursday of last week and Wednesday of this week, we spent long days in the sewing room catching up with each other, and catching up on our stitching. Let's take a look at what Sharon has been making.

A week ago, she came in with the small start of a gorgeous floral quilt - not full size, but more in the wall-hanging or lap quilt range. She wanted to feature the wonderful center panel and then build other coordinating fabrics around it. These are all Laundry Basket fabrics by Edyta Sitar.

It soon became apparent that this would end up being quite a bit bigger than a lap quilt. She continued adding row upon row of varying widths until she had this. And since this picture was taken, she has added more. I will take a picture next week with it pressed and pretty on the bed. For now, these hastily-taken snapshots will have to do.

This week, Sharon said she was just playing in the Kaffe's - those bold, bright and happy fabrics of Kaffe Fassett.

These are 2-inch strips left over from previous projects, and she is turning them into 9-patch blocks.

The eventual quilt these will make is from the KF book called Quilts in America (2018); this one is called Kites. All the fabrics in this quilt have circles or dots, even the setting squares. Sharon says this is a very long-term project, but I can see this coming together faster than she might think. It will be gorgeous!

Typical for us: we make a plan to do something together. Our idea is to use our vast collections of Larkspur fabric, a pretty 3Sisters line from several years ago. She has a lot and I have a lot. We have dedicated June for making Larkspur quilts; we will use whatever patterns we want. I am thinking some sort of star for me. I put making a quilt with my Larkspur fabric on the goals list for 2020, so I will be happy to get a big item ticked off my list. I will post more on this plan in coming weeks.

Happy Quilting, Friends!