This year...

Several quilt blogs that I follow do a summary for the year. I don't have my photos in a collage so will just copy them in without comment beginning with this small window hanging. They are in no particular order. The first 24 are a mix of small quilts to hang in the window, table toppers, up to queen-size bed quilts. Eleven of them were for refugees who became fast friends. The last four are tops only, given to a charity group to sandwich and quilt. I know, I cannot believe I did all this. It has been a hectic year besides.

Nearly ready to quilt it...

With full days and many interruptions, time to quilt is often way to short. However, I'm whacking away at blue scraps (again) and it appears this one will soon be ready to put on the longarm. The photo happened then I put another bit on the right side and have three more seams and maybe a border. It is about 56" square, but a border would be a good addition to make it a better lap size.

I love doing these. No plan at all, just make blocks with what is in the scrap bin, adding from stash if necessary, tossing in a few coordinating bits and pieces. It is total fun for me. No name for this one yet. I've another that is ready to quilt also, and also mostly blue scraps. Where they all came from is a bit of a mystery to me -- like who keeps sneaking into my sewing room and putting blue scraps in that bin? or what?

Merry Christmas to all -- in case I don't get back here for a few days.

Slower but Steadier

It seems to take me a long time to get a finish. Procrastination. Lazy. Too much else on my plate. Whatever the excuse, I finished three since the last post. 

These two are for refugees, the same family as three recently posted. They are a mom/dad and their adult children -- two young men and two young women. Beautiful people. They show their quilts off to every visitor! These two are similar. Both guys sent a picture of what they liked, and one of the pictures had a beautiful woman in it. 

That helped me work faster because this guy is a big tease and I could hardly wait to tease him... told him I was sorry that I could give only the quilt to him as I couldn't find that gal anywhere, no matter how hard I looked. He was laughing so hard, and especially because I found out he told another person that the woman in the photo was his girlfriend back where he had been living. He made that up, but I knew because I used it on Google search to see if there was a pattern for it so I could get an idea of how much fabric I'd need. I discovered that photo came off an add for a bedspread! What fun to out-do this guy and his crazy humor! 

 

The third one is a table runner Christmas gift for a DIL so cannot post it in case she peeks. Lots of other things on the go, like two improv quilts using blue scraps. I am still certain that scraps multiply in the dark or at least are related to rabbits.

Also have many other projects in various stages, mostly go-together fabrics in a box, some with a pattern or at least an idea. Having the five done/gifted is helping me get over that procrastination.

Much needed vacation

 Our daughter and hubby recently moved to a different city in a different state. They bought an older house that needs work but when they first walked into it, they "felt happy" and I now know why. This is their view out the living room window and off the patio. I may never go home!

Also while here, daughter gave me an older i-pad that she is not using. I'm now considering a Mac desktop as I discovered that Mac designers think a lot more like I do than the people at 'you know where' and my mind seems relieved. Time will tell. It could be relieved just from the views out each window in this house. Until then, we are enjoying 100 foot trees in fall colors and the peace and quiet of hearing only the occasional 'ping' off the 18th tee.

The to-do list and UFOs seem far, far away...

So Much Fun

This week demanded a break from making big quilts that match up with photos people sent me, so decided to hit the blue scrap box. Picked blue because the quilt on the roster was mostly blue and had leftovers. Dug out some orphans, noted that the scrap bin had a few little blocks in it too, ranging from 1.5" up to about 12" plus lots of pieces and strings. After sorting and making a few more odd shapes, they went on my design wall, got moved around and shuffled and sewn together. So far, this is the result. Any white showing still needs something stuck in there and I can see a couple of needed moves that would add rather than be a distraction.

Doing this is like playing... so much fun. I am hooked and forget to eat some days. Improv takes many forms, but for a person with a mind that thinks like a jazz jam session, this works for me. I don't add from the stash, at least not yet, just use the bits and pieces. Also discovered that I can throw other colors into the mix, any other colors, as long as they are used in at least three places. What a joyful discovery. 

It also works with the blocks... put in a few that are the same block, different sizes and colors but it hold this mess together, at least in my mind. The title of this one was easy: I'm calling it Bye Bye Blues... but saying bye to all of them is not quite true. From the looks of things, I might just have enough unused scraps to make another one.

Two Done, Two more in Progress

A refugee family of six arrived the first part of the month. They are super people. One of our friends described them as "pure gold." So mom and dad's quilt is done and two for their daughters. The top for one son is done and I'm cutting out pieces for the other son. All these are in their 20s so these are full size.They are designed according to photos they sent me, sort of. I took liberties with their choices. They do like bright colors however both these photos are not right. The gold/green one is actually brighter and the blue one is not this bright. Go figure?

I'm also working on scrap quilts. Pinterest has several layouts for orphan and scrap blocks so will try one of them soon. 

 

 Also, my bruises are almost all gone. Most came  with no pain but those still on my legs hurt to touch. I'm thanking God for surviving such a tumble. My daughter keeps saying, "Why didn't you break something?" as if it were a given for someone my age. We just rejoice that this turned out the way it has. I went to a specialist today, and he just shook his head and told me to carry on!

September starts and stops

The start for this month: I finished a little fall quilt to hang in my window. It was easy and a temptation to do some free-motion practice, but maybe later. I had other things happening...

One was a quilt for a refugee that is now on the longarm. Picture later. It is coming along fine, but I'm off my feet a bit, but not fully stopped because of this other thing that happened...

Our youngest son got married on Friday, the first of September. We prayed for good weather -- it rained Thursday and the smoke from wildfires in BC was so bad Saturday that people were advised to stay inside. The wedding was outside on Friday and the weather was PERFECT! Thank You, Lord. Our kids were all here and the wedding was lovely. The bride > stunning. The photographer is going to try and get her on a magazine cover. Then we drove from the botanical gardens to downtown, and my hubby dropped me at the restaurant where the reception would be. The foyer was dark, the curved staircase long and when I stepped off to go down, I stepped into thin air.

Headfirst. I thought instantly to turn sideways and roll rather than go head over heels, so stopped about halfway and could not move for a long moment. Then, with a little help, got up and walked to the banquet room and sat down. Ice packs, concerns, but the good Lord had me focused on the wedding and the guests, even though they were not there yet. I had bruises on my arms, but they vanished before the meal was over. 

Then I slept all night, and was feeling okay next day except for two places: left foot and right shoulder. The foot was soon black. The shoulder bruise came up today, six days after getting battered on those metal-edged risers. However, I'm not broken and not sore all over, just bruises everywhere. Our oldest son remarked that he thinks I must be moonlighting as a stunt woman. 😄

So if anyone reading this wonders about guardian angels, wonder no more. Thank you God, for not only protecting me from far worse, but also giving me peace and joy so I didn't whine and feel sorry for myself and put a damper on an incredibly lovely day. 

Now, back to that quilt...