Welcome November!

 Goodness gracious!! I have no idea how we arrived in November already. Whoa! Slow down time!

I'm off to a morning with the Frankfort Girls! Maybe they will motivate me to get back into the swing of quilting. I sure need something to get me back on track. They are always reliable motivators, that's for sure.

In the coming days, I will share my October collage along with more from my ongoing efforts in the "Purge and Organize Initiative" which continues over here. I sure hope I see the end of this madness in the coming month. I'm ready to be done.

I'm gonna' just pledge right now to have an awesome November and get a few things accomplished in the quilting room. Hope you will, too!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Jayne

Welcome November

It's been a whirlwind few days around here, let me tell you! As life settles down for we new grandparents, it seems a good idea to get back to some semblance of normal with regard to blogging. 

October 2022 was so extra special that you are gonna' get two collages for the month. One will be devoted to the normal monthly highlights, and one will be devoted to Catherine, the brand new member of our family. 

The nine pictures featured here are all from Cate's first 2-3 days of life. Babies don't stay super-tiny like this for long, so we are soaking up as much of it as possible.

TOP ROW: Aunt Emma met Cate on Sunday afternoon and appears to be totally thrilled with her new role; Cate asleep in her father's arms; Gramma Jayne holds Cate in the hospital.

MIDDLE ROW: Cate yawning; Cate's first pic on my phone; she's just 3 hours old and look at how alert she seems! And, a very precious pic of Cate gazing adoringly at her mother, and her mother returning the gaze right back at Cate. 

BOTTOM ROW: Dad Jeff holds his new daughter; Cate and her full head of dark hair; Grampa Kevin holds Cate in the hospital.

Yes, she is the best part of October, hands down. 

Now let's return to our regular programming - quilting and such. The collage for October contains a wide variety of fun and adventure.

TOP ROW: First up, a rerun from the first collage. Next, the enlarged snowball quilt that I've named Autumn Green. It was fun to make, and I fully expect that I will make more like this in the next few years. The last pic in the top row is Rocky Fork Lake in neighboring Highland County. We had a lovely evening on the lake with friends on one of the last pleasantly warm days.

MIDDLE ROW: A little grouping of gifts for Erin and Cate. A quilt, a onesie, and a stack of burp cloths all from Gramma Jayne. The center photo is of the copy cat quilt I made for Cate. The last photo features the new-to-me buffet for our dining room. We found it at a second-hand shop in Greenfield. It fills the space left open after we removed the piano which had sat in this spot for 25-30 years. 

BOTTOM ROW: I am glad to continue hand quilting on Fall Foliage. I got it out for History Day at the beginning of the month and I have stayed with it, quilting a bit each day - mostly in the evenings. I couldn't say farewell to October without giving a nod to the Guardians; what a fun season we had watching them surprise everyone except themselves. Next season will be so much fun; I'm already excited for it! Finally, we took a 5-day trip to Pennsylvania and New York to see fall color; from the Alleghenies to the Adirondacks, it was a goal successfully met.

Now, what will I work on in November? I have a few plans, and I will bring those to you in my next post. 

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Welcome November!

A day late, but greetings to a new month! The first of this month came on a Monday, and our list was long of things needed doing. Posting had to take a back seat to a myriad of other tasks - defrosting a freezer and restocking it, then, with a side of beef we just had butchered. We will be well-fed this next year!

But now I can get back to the subject at hand - welcoming a new month. With the turn of the calendar from October to November, it feels as though the holiday season begins. Instagram is full of Christmas - trees, tunes, and tinsel everywhere!

I am content to enjoy fall and Thanksgiving a bit more fully before diving into Christmas. Each holiday to its season! And before I go very much further into November, I want to do an October wrap-up, just to remind myself of the highlights of the past month.

TOP ROW: The month was unusually warm and sunny and glorious. The first picture is taken from our front porch, looking out across the lawn. The second picture represents the 8 kittens we have enjoyed. I will provide a complete story on that later. And the third picture is of my sweet mom on her 85th birthday. A few of my siblings took her to breakfast which she enjoyed thoroughly.

MIDDLE ROW: One finish quilt is a throwback to my grandmother. She made the blocks but never completed the quilt, so I came up with this. In the center is our house - I just couldn't get enough of those aforementioned glorious fall days, and took plenty of pictures to look at come the gray days of winter. The birdhouse in the third picture is a souvenir purchase from our New Hampshire trip in September. We erected it in the woods behind our house, and I can see it from the kitchen window.

BOTTOM ROW: I quilted a lap quilt from several years ago, with great success. I may find myself coming to a better, more productive relationship with the long arm! In the center, another nature picture. All the warm, sunny weather provided us with some magnificent sunsets! And finally, after I changed out the quilts on our bed, I made new pillow cases and shams to reflect a more fall-like vibe.

It seems as though I didn't do nearly as much sewing as I normally do, but I felt busy all month long. Part of that "busy business" stemmed from the cat situation in which we found ourselves. 

In early August, we noticed a stray cat hanging around our place. We are very rural, and frequently see critters coming and going out here, but this poor thing stayed and stayed, and was so desperately starving. After a couple of days, we gave in and fed the poor thing. She looked quite young, and had obviously been someone's pet - I could tell she had been loved on. She wanted in the house every time we opened the door - no, she remained outdoors. We reached out to many neighbors to see if anyone was missing their pet. No luck.

After a couple of days' of regular eating she filled out quite a bit, and I began to suspicion that she was pregnant. Yes. She was. Good grief. I began calling cat rescue facilities to see if I could find her a home. Then, at the end of August, while I was at a 3-day quilt retreat, and DH was at his brother's, she had her kittens in our garage.

We fed her and allowed her to use the garage as her nursery. After about 3 weeks, DH went searching for the kittens - she'd had them in a far-back corner behind lots of stuff. He announced that he thought there were 6. A week or so later after another check, he amended his count - there were 8. Yes, 8. All healthy, and all adorable.

 We moved them into a box to keep them contained. That worked for about a week, and then the antics began. At about 6 weeks old, kittens become quite rambunctious! Goodness gracious, the activity! They outgrew the box, and found all manner of places to sleep - the tool shelf, the top of a wreath, the lawn mower seat - the entire garage was their world. Romper room for kitties. It was totally entertaining to watch them play.

Now they are 10 weeks old. We have managed to adopt two out. The rest will be going to a cat adoption facility in Columbus on November 11. The mother has been spayed at our expense. The kittens have all been examined by a vet, given shots, flea treatments, and other general meds that cats get, also at our expense. 

And the cat food and kitty litter! We are buying both in large quantities. I do love watching these little darlings, but I will be glad to have them in someone else's care! 

Our indoor kitty, Gracie, has been a champ about the activity on the other side of the door. She knows that something is out there, and is not happy when she sees them through the porch door, but basically she ignores the ruckus.

I went on a bit long there with our cat saga, but we  have had that stray momma cat for far longer than I ever intended. We have tried to be good cat stewards; hopefully their forever homes will work out happily.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Welcome November

November! Let the Christmas music begin! No, no, I jest! In my humble opinion, the holiday tunes can wait until the day after Thanksgiving. 

Okay, with that settled, let's get back to welcoming a new month. What a blustery first day of November we are having here in Ohio! Sounds like winter is gearing up and blowing cold temps our way.

 

I am half afraid to make goals for this month. I have been pretty lousy about completing those previously established goals, so I may or may not add new ones. Perhaps I'd better just focus on the existing ones.

 

Here is my October collage - I like reviewing the month just past to see all the fun things that went on.

Top Row: We began the month with my mother's birthday. That celebration brought all the siblings together for the first time since the shut-down. I captured a pretty sunset picture over a nearby farm while driving into town one evening. A quick trip to my DH's home town meant we had a chance to do breakfast with his brother Mike and sister Kellie.

Middle Row: One finish was a 14-year-old UFO called Meadow Lily. I actually had to finish it twice, as I discovered a misplaced flower part that I ripped out and fixed. Our annual Hocking Hills weekend was a fun success. The daughters and I all showed up to the cabin wearing nearly identical clothes - totally unplanned! The cabin is nestled in those trees in the final pic of the middle row.

Bottom Row: I will include Sharon's Kites quilt in this month's highlights, as it has been so much fun watching this quilt take shape. I do believe that she will have a finished flimsy this coming week! Next is my 5-inch churn dash quilt. I will have it to the flimsy stage this week. Finally, yesterday, on the last day of October, DH and I took a 3-mile walk on the bike path - it was a magnificent day! Look at that sky!

We watched the Buckeyes last night defeat Penn State. Instead of wasting time on my phone while the game was on I pulled out an embroidery project I'd been saving back. I will share that with you tomorrow, as I plan to work on it more today while we watch the Browns. (I'm so glad football is back!)

Happy November!

And Happy Quilting, Friends!

 

Welcome November!

Goodness Gracious! I was an absentee most of the past month and now here we are at November! While my presence here on the blog was rather MIA, I have been trying to keep as busy as possible on quilting-related endeavors. You all know that I moved the long arm machine upstairs out of the basement, and that continues to fill spare time. With the help of DH, I have it successfully leveled. I have a quilt loaded onto it. Yay!

Hold on. Don't celebrate too soon. Skipped stitches. I called my go-to technician, Terry, over at McArthur Quilt Shop. Over the phone he diagnosed a probable issue - the stitches going left and right seem fine, while the stitches going front and back are long. And then, after a time, the machine just stops. He thinks that the contact points on the encoders need to be looked at - something he will do for me in his shop while I wait. I am almost quilting!! It IS gonna' happen!

So I will dismantle the quilt on the frame, take off the sewing machine, and take it to McArthur next week - Thursday after class, most likely. My week is full-up and getting fuller!

In other news, I have made a good bit of progress on the Roman Holiday table topper that I have been big-stitch quilting. Click here to see it. And while doing that, I have listened to another book about the Kentucky pack horse librarians.

I feel quite well informed now on the topic. While both books (previous one) deal with the librarians, the main characters come from very different circumstances. This Moyes book is the less gritty of the two, and has somewhat of a happily-ever-after ending. I believe I have heard that this is being made into a movie, and a quick check of IMDb leads me to believe that a movie is a ways off - no cast listed, and sparse details beyond director.

We have had quite the week of weather here in southern Ohio. Monday and Tuesday were sunny and warm - pleasant enough to wear shirtsleeves. The picture above was taken Monday morning, and later that day we took care of clearing out all the flower pots and storing yard items in the shed. Wednesday and Thursday were rain- rain-rainy. Torrential, at times, but still relatively warm. Yesterday, after the rain stopped, the wind picked up and temperatures plummeted. Last night we had our first hard freeze, and today very definitely had a wintry feel to it. While sunny, the temps never got out of the 40s.

Tomorrow I will post my October highlights collage and maybe some more on the long arm room decorating.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

November!

Can you believe it?!?

November already. Like Snoopy and Woodstock, I'm rather excited for the month, as lots of fun is scheduled.

Before I go into all of that, however, allow me to share my October collage. As I wrote on Instagram, this was a month of very little sewing but a lot of memories. I had some totally special moments.

Of the 9 pictures in the collage, just four represent sewing -- Chock Full O' Charm with Rachel Remembered fabric; the baby quilt for Wendy; the Roman Holiday basket quilt, and the Roman Holiday HST topper. I plan to update soon on how some of those have progressed this past week or so.

The non-sewing pictures are the true memory-makers. A day with dear friends Sharon and Dee; a weekend with our daughters and their guys in Hocking Hills; our son coming home from a summer in Oregon; a hawk chilling on the chaise lounge chair in the front yard; and the euchre tournament hosted by my sister and brother-in-law in their barn loft. Gosh. All very special in their own ways.

I'm thinking about making some goals for November, but to be honest, my only goal ought to be a significant deep-cleaning of this house! We are moving some things around, and before one thing can go to another place the place for that needs to be tidied or rearranged. It all gets very complicated. I will try to make some sense of it.

Have a wonderful November!
Happy Quilting, Friends!

Welcome November!

We really are marching right on through 2017, aren't we? Incredible to think that it's November already. Wow.

No doubt I have mentioned before how I love the Peanuts gang. The cartoons were a staple of my growing up. Books, comic strips and television specials - my siblings and I devoured all things Charlie Brown and Snoopy.

With the relief of having the October UFO finished, I treated myself to some scrappy stars this morning. The parts for 6 stars have been cut and stacked near my machine for over two weeks--they were my reward for when my UFO was done. Finally! I could work on something else! I see that I was in a bit of a rush and a few intersections are somewhat off. I may do some "unsewing" later on and redo them properly.

Here are my six newly made stars. It looks like I was digging in the red and blue remnant tub, doesn't it? I hadn't realized how similar my color choices were until seeing them lined up like this. Added with the previously made stars, though, the colors do become distributed a bit more. Below are the 24 Scrappy Stars made to date.

I generally do a quick look-back at the accomplishments of the month just ended. I can't brag on too many this month, that's for sure! Having over two weeks of respiratory infections really slows a gal's ability to do much of anything! I missed birthdays (Mom's, hubby's, twins', and friend's), card club, quilting, History Day, and class. Our son-in-law was very ill during the time we were sick, even hospitalized for five days, and we couldn't get to Columbus to see him because we were contagious. What a month! (S-I-L is fine now, thank you.) When I finally did bounce back, I found that I needed to spend more time on my two classes than I normally do, therefore sewing time was at a premium, to say the least.

My collage for October includes a few stars made prior to getting sick; a fun night with Frienzies; fabric bought on a shopping trip to West Virginia; cool weather which prompted using the fireplace; a lunch date with daughter Emma; spools of thread from Grandma's sewing kit; a gorgeous fall sunset; the American Jane Jolly Bar I won on Instagram; and the October UFO.

Now about that UFO. It was a quilt-along I joined in 2014 called Tell It To The Stars. I stopped late in the year when I realized that the borders were extremely involved and - gah! - pieced! In working toward a finish this month, I decided to make two skinny inner borders into a single thick border. The mottled navy that you see is the result. 

Another change is that lighter narrow border outside the pieced section. It was supposed to be of the same background fabric that I'd been using throughout, but I had used it all! I needed to substitute. More than likely, I could have tried a bit harder to find a better match, but you know what? I just didn't really care, so I found a suitable neutral in the stash - I refused to obsess about finding just the right shade of neutral. It's no big deal.

A final difference is the addition of corner blocks in the outermost borders. I might try putting together a brief tutorial on how I did those last two borders and the corner blocks. You can't see that corner in the photo above, but it does show in a picture from yesterday's post. And get this - with all this time and a few changes, the size came out almost perfectly to the measurements given on the instructions - 91" x 79". Now how about that?

So there's my month, in a nutshell. I don't have any really firm plans for November. I will find out which UFO is up next when we Frankfort Girls meet on Friday morning. I have some other WIPs (works in progress) that will likely be tended to. And do I dare consider starting something new?? Oh, how I would love to!! 

I hope your November is productive!

I have linked up with Let's Bee Social at Sew Fresh Quilts. Click on over there to have a look around!

Happy Quilting, Friends!