May's Window Quilt

With all the time spent at the sewing machine, I should have more to report, but this past week has been full. Wednesday morning, a dear cousin passed away, unexpectedly. She was a wonderful gal and I will miss her. This has affected my week.

That evening was a Guild meeting (I'm on the executive) and late getting home. The next day I led a prayer group at our church for a few hours. Friday brought a financial deal that is too much to explain. 

Saturday we drove two hours to visit our oldest and his wife, then stopped and my brother's on the way home. Sunday, a special ordination at our church for a young pastor who is the best preacher ever. In the afternoon, more tying up that financial deal. 

Monday was a Guild Sew Day, but I stayed only long enough to gather fabric/patterns/kits to make my contribution. (Do I need more projects?) That night was our small group Bible study. (Also another hockey game with our home team in the first series battle for the Stanley Cup that we had to tape and watch.) 

Yesterday, I put a large twin top on the longarm and started the edge to edge quilting with a pantograph. 

Today, we drove an hour one way to the funeral, attended by 800-1000 people. We visited with family and friends until most others had left. Tonight is a Guild executive meeting on ZOOM.

However, during all that I finished this window hanging for May. Our dining room faces the street and I'm making monthly small quilts to wave at the people who walk by. It is 18" x 31" and cheerful. This Pot of Tulips was fairly simple to construct with scraps and fusible, minimal quilting. Still, I'm a tad tired.

On the window... and in the 'finished' pile...

Here is the April quilt in my dining room window. It is close to a street/sidewalk where many walk by so my way of saying hello. This occurs to me to be a good way to practice new techniques, so I'm now on the lookout for ideas to try.

This quilt is for a refugee couple. They sent the smaller picture and I've assumed that the color is more important than the pattern. It was a challenge, as all bigger quilts are starting to become heavier. I am not as strong as I used to be and manipulating lots of fabric takes muscle!

Anyway, I'm now doing an improve with a panel and it is so much fun. Back later with photos.

Finally able to deliver her quilt

I made a quick trip to Vancouver Friday, home Saturday to deliver granddaughter's quilt. It fits her home, her locale, and in no time she was curled up on her sofa under it, sound asleep. Success! Except she woke up before I thought to grab a camera. So her roomie will take a picture and send it.

The latest refugee quilt is on the machine and about one third quilted. I'm using a pantograph pattern so far untried. It is 10" so goes fast and I picked it because I could center it and the motifs will form a bit of a border down the sides. The border there is plain so it works well instead of doing a freehand design to fill that space. I'm basically lazy.

Vancouver is lovely in spring. The Japanese cherry trees are starting to bloom and there are spring bulbs flowing all over the place. It was rainy Friday, sunny Saturday. We went to the aquarium and it was a surprise for me. If ever in that city, be sure to go. The fish and other indoor exhibits are wonderful, but so are the outdoor ponds with penguins, otters, seals, and other water-loving creatures. Since it was Saturday, the place was full of children and watching the little ones watching the critters was almost as much fun as seeing the thousands of examples of God's imagination swimming and chasing each other through coral and other colored under-sea life. This tank is plain, but most of them look as if you are deep-sea diving and the sun is shining through the water. Lovely!