One done, five to go . . .

What? It is February already? Well, I have a good excuse. We traveled in January. In AZ, rainy weather greened up the desert and ruined golfing, so my dear hubby took me for a shop hop. Could not buy more than a few fat quarters (suitcase full already) but did get a few patterns and lots of inspiration, plus great conversations with shop owners and customers. The best one? The Quilter's Oasis in Mesa. I'd have been happy with any yardage in the store. Wonderful fabrics, exquisite quality and just yummy. Next time I will take an extra empty suitcase!

Then we went to SC to spend a week with our daughter and son-in-law. The weather was crappy but the fun made up for it. We ate, shopped, toured, and made three 1000 piece puzzles in three days -- hard ones. Now we are experts. Laughed much and just enjoyed being together.

My daughter had a love poster on a door and another one outside on a hanging rod -- to celebrate Valentines Day and February. So I came home and made this in one afternoon. It is in our dining room window so everyone who goes by can see it. Our daughter is a sweetie, a wonderful hostess and very thoughtful. I want to be like her when I grow up.

Now I am working on a larger project. It is for a refugee couple who arrive in Canada soon with their children and the grandmother. All will get a quilt, so this is the beginning one. I've made only four blocks thus far. A dear friend from our bee group offered to make one of the other quilts, so that might mean all five will be finished before their plane lands. 

Sorry for no posts this past while. We have been buried in to-do lists since getting home. I'll try harder, if I'm not sewing like a mad woman.

Happy New Year... never more heartfelt this new year as we have been through many challenges and could use lots of bright spots. 

I'm quilting that "ugly" quilt and having fun with it. We traveled south for nearly three weeks in November/December. I found a neat quilt shop in the hills northeast of San Diego and bought some fabric... went in there looking for a really tiny thimble. Oh well, it was for a planned quilt so not as guilt-creating as just randomly "I like this so much" with no plan at all.

The covid tests made the trip a strain, but we managed. We also had a week of fun and games with two of our adult children who had us laughing most of the time, then a week in SD area and a few days in San Francisco to visit a relative who will be 104 in three days. That was special. He likes to talk about big topics and is bored without friends with common interests.

I have no pictures to post. Too busy trying to catch up with life and enjoying time with family and friends. Next time. 

Getting there...

This charity quilt top is finished. I had several 2.5" x 8" pieces left and decided to join them for the binding. A bit of extra stitching and pressing, but I like it. The picture shows the binding pinned around it. I measured and when I did this, it was about 4' short. So much for my math skills. 

After taking the photo I thought another border done this way would look cool, but shook my head. It is already about 74" x 80" and supposed to be a large cuddle quilt, so it is big enough and my body is protesting the piecing marathon of the last few days. I'll gather batting and cut the backing tomorrow. 

My thought is white for the quilting and I'll use a panto. But white? Boring. If i had time, I'd go look for a variegated with white and those colors. Why do I keep thinking of more work to do!! LOL.

We just came home from two weeks on Vancouver Island. I was afraid I'd be bored, wanting to quilt, etc. but it was a wonderfully relaxing time. Took lots of pictures (more inspiration) and visited friends. Nice to be home yet didn't realize how badly I needed a holiday. We stayed in a lovely suite in a two-story walkout with full kitchen, etc. but I didn't cook once!