It's June!

Five months down in 2023 already! It boggles the mind to think how fast time flies. And, honestly, the older I get, the faster it flies!

Typically, I love May and hate to see it end, but this past month has been so very odd for us! We - mostly me - have dealt with being under the weather. I had the C-virus for about 10 days, and am still dealing with lingering head congestion. Then I got a serious stomach virus followed by a milder version for DH. At least he avoided coming down with the virus. We've had to avoid family functions as well as other friends' events, since we've all learned to be more mindful of the spread of germs and disease.

So now May is behind us and we hope the 'punies' are, too!

Despite the sickness, we do have some May highlights, so let's take a look.

TOP ROW: Our sweet Cate is now sitting up and beginning to experience solid foods. Doing this in just a diaper proves the easiest clean-up for the parents. Next, I spent a day with the twins helping them with sewing projects - a skirt for Mary Jean and a dress for Anna Rose. And in the very little sewing I managed, I stitched the quilt top from my William Morris economy blocks.

MIDDLE ROW: We had the screened porch enclosed with proper windows and doors, making us very happy homeowners. The front porch has a festive splash of color from geraniums bought at a local greenhouse. And, just for good measure, we'll have another smile from our dear granddaughter. Isn't she beautiful?

 BOTTOM ROW: I found a day late in the month to long arm a months-overdue baby quilt. It is now ready to be gifted. Our sweet girl, her parents, her Auntie Em, and her great-grandma Jeannie (my mom) came for Sunday lunch; a long-overdue nap later in the day found her dreaming sweet dreams on her pink 9-patch quilt. And finally, Sharon and I drove over to Dayton yesterday to visit our dear Frenzie Kay. We took Graeter's Ice Cream - one of Kay's very favorite things!

 

That snapshot of the front porch geraniums prompts me to share these additional pictures of that space. I have had a vintage Ralph Lauren sheet for over a year, all along meaning for it to become cushion covers for the front porch settee. Rather than cut into a perfectly good sheet, I just wrapped the cushions in the sheet, and I think it looks mighty nice, if I do say so myself.

One additional task I hope to complete soon is making a cushion for this brown wicker chair. I've saved foam padding from earlier projects, so my thought is to join those pieces by wrapping batting around them. Then using some pretty floral fabric to cover it. Hopefully, I'll find something suitable in the stash.

The front door is just out of view to the left in that final photo. If you were to come out of that door, to the other side would be the settee and tables that you see in those few earlier pictures.

Now I need to think of what quilting goals to set for myself this month. I really do hope to make long-arming a major part of my June endeavors.

Happy June, Friends! And Happy Quilting, too!

It's June!

As hard as it is to believe, June is upon us. The productivity for me in the sewing room might drop off a bit this month. We are going to be away for about half of it. Traveling! Seeing this great country! Stopping at some bucket list attractions! 

I will share as often as possible here, but I don't look to be as regular at posting as I was in May. And speaking of May, let's have a look at the highlights of the month.

TOP ROW: This first quilt represents several I quilted on the long arm this past month, and two of those were for a bona fide customer! The picture of the piano is to remind me that after 30 years, it has gone to live at someone else's house. All our kids had lessons using this piano, but for the past 10-15 years, it has just gathered dust. Time to move it out and on to someone who'll use it! After the piano was removed, the real dirty work began - pulling up 30-year-old carpet. We will be having wood-like flooring installed as soon as we get home from our vacation, so this dirty job had to be done prior to leaving.

MIDDLE ROW:  My Stepping Stones quilt was a totally fun quilt to make and I just love the results. I made up everything about it and used fabrics already on hand. Center stage are the 4 long applique panels for my Lake Effect quilt. This is the ONLY sewing project to come with me on vacation, so I hope to report some progress soon. Leftovers from my Stepping Stones quilt resulted in this smaller version. 

BOTTOM ROW: The Pinwheel baby quilt was another totally made up quilt that also delights me. What fun those pinwheels are! The final two pictures are patriotic finishes that I was spurred to do before the Memorial Day weekend. Patriotic Dreams is a table topper I made last summer, and quilted in May. Stars and Stripes pillow is a one-day project I did on the 30th.

Here's hoping for a memorable June!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Hello June!

 

My gosh, it certainly seems impossible that nearly half the 'new year' is already behind us. How does time seem to fly by so fast? Since I certainly will never be able to answer the question adequately, let's just get on with greeting June and making the most of her!

Big plans for this month? Well, I did make a list, and several quilting projects rank pretty high on that list. And I continue to add new things to that list, so I might have a impossibly long set of goals, but - hey - one can aspire!

First, let's look back at the May collage. I found that vacationing took up quite a bit of my 9 entries into the collage. Not a bad thing, and it will likely continue now that the lock down for Covid is lifting around the US.

Top Row: First, another glimpse of the flimsy finish for Scrappy 4-Patch. I love how my made-up pattern and quilt turned out. Next is the little mantle runner I made using positive/negative Ohio Star blocks. Third, a quilted finish - Seth's very late wedding quilt, quilted by me on the Tin Lizzie.

Middle Row: First, I spent a day refreshing three pillows on our bed; the pieced one shown is so much nicer looking than its predecessor. We had a guest for about 10 days - Erin's cat Rocky; looking quite ferocious here, always loved coming to enjoy the wide-open space of our home in the country. The passport shown in the next picture illustrates our first "official" US National Parks visit; while touring the low country, we hiked in Congaree National Park near Columbia, SC. We are looking forward to seeing more US National Parks on future vacations.

Bottom Row: An evening walk around Savannah, GA, was delightful; the mansion shown is just one of a gazillion pictures I took there. On our way home, we drove on a portion of the Blue Ridge Parkway and stopped at some look-out points for vistas like the middle picture. And, finally, back home, I began another quilt, which you read about in my last post.

So, those quilting goals for this month...some of the same ones I've had in previous months. 

First, finish the Spring Dreams Sew Along that my friends and I have been enjoying. I have hopes of quilting at least one of mine, and of course, finishing the current one to the flimsy stage.

Other goals (not all!) include finishing the red/white stars I began earlier this year. Reminder pic below; it's been ignored for awhile, so you may have forgotten it. In order to finish, I have to make 9 more blocks with the dark red star in the center. Then, just sew the blocks together. I'm close! I just need to re-establish my focus.

I need to be returning to that Kaffe Fassett quilt with the blue stars. Gosh. It was really high on my priority list back in January and here I am in June with only 4 trial blocks done. Again, focus, is the key word here.

As for new quilts I've added to the long list of quilts I want/need to make, first, the Frankfort Girls are planning not just one, but two fun little projects. One is long-term - 9" Ohio Star blocks that we will exchange at Christmas time. The other is a Halloween quilt with pumpkins. My details are currently sketchy, but I will certainly get it all straight soon.

A new baby is expected in September for my nephew and his wife, so a baby quilt will be rushed into production.

Of course, there's more, and I will share them if I start them. 

Have you got a big, long list of things you want to accomplish this month? I tell ya, putting the plans 'out there' for people to see helps in holding one accountable! *smile*

Have a great month!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Hello June!

Here we are welcoming a new month - June.

Already. Seems like it has arrived quickly.

 

I have spent a lot of today pondering what projects I will tackle this month. It's a bit of a quandary, for when I have way too many options I have a hard time deciding. *woe is me!*

My biggest focus will be using the long arm to get some quilt tops quilted. My goal as the year began was to do two per month and I am not keeping up. Before I get any further behind, I must address this goal this month. Below are a couple that are likely candidates.

Dusty Trails from 2017

Memoire A Paris from 2019

I considered which quilts I would work on and made a list of some and they fall into two categories:  quilts needed for gift-giving (secret!) and quilts I really loved and would like to have for personal use (see photos above). You will surely see all that transpires as the month moves on.

My 2020 goals included one UFO which I have found myself thinking about quite a lot lately. That must be a sign that I need to get to working on it. The quilt, Meadow Lily, was begun about 14 years ago and I made mistakes on several units (bottom of next photo) that require "unsewing." I am ready to tackle it at last. This quilt is a Thimbleberries/Lynette Jensen quilt; over the years, I have made dozens of quilts from this designer.

I will continue to work on Lake Effect. I will continue to stay caught up with the monthly sew-along that we Frankfort girls are doing together. And I will attempt to make some more Blockheads blocks after taking about 2 months off from that sew-along. Gracious. So much to do! And I love that I have so many options as well as time to devote to them.

Have a great month, dear readers!
Happy Quilting, Friends!