To-Do-Tuesday: March 30, 2021

 

It's To-Do-Tuesday and time to write up a list of things we hope to accomplish!  I have to remember to post at Chris Knits (also a great source of inspiration).  Last week I forgot to link up and I forgot to really list my goals for the week.  The truth is my head is already in the garden and I did get to do a little work last Saturday!  Because of gardening my goals will be minimal until I get the early spring chores done:  weeding, laying down new soaker hoses, mulching.  The weeding is taking long enough because though my knee continues to improve, crawling around in the garden is still not an option. 😒

Last week I finished my SARR top.  I ran out of steam on this one and it's bigger than I wanted.  I may still take the green border off.  It's on the "think about" pile for now.

I wanted to do something with these HST four patches last week.

I decided to put a coordinating alternate block in them.  This is probably going to be a donation quilt and I'm half done with the piecing already.  Here's the layout I chose:

My only goals for the next week are to finish this top and cut fabric for Kairle Oaks' Sew Along.  The Double Dip quilt has me jazzed and I may do two of these this year.  For now, I'm going to cut the fabric.  I have a lot of rust fabric in my stash (I'm not sure why I even bought this color--I think I ordered one color but it was the wrong number).  Anyway, I'll use up the fabric for my first quilt.  You can see Kairle's quilt here.

Have a safe and happy day and enjoy the spring weather!

I Like Thursdays: March 25, 2021

 Good Morning!  It's "I like Thursday" and time to fill the internet with happy thoughts!  For more delightful posts, visit Lee Anna to see all the participating bloggers!

Brad and I got our first vaccine on Saturday!  We drove an hour to the Poconos and was happy to do so.  Everything went smoothly.  It was a drive through vaccination site and we were done (including our 15 minute wait to see if we had a reaction) in 45 minutes.  I loved the sign they had hung up:

The days are getting warmer and we expect today to be in the 70s.  What's not to like about that?

Vaccines and sunshine are really the story around here.  Scout and I are beginning to take short walks and all through the neighborhood people were out and greeting each other after a long dark winter.  Everywhere you could hear people asking "did you get vaccinated yet?"  Affirmative answers even if folks only got their appointment seem to fill our area with hope.

I hope you are doing well and have a wonderful weekend!

To-Do-Tuesday: March 23, 2021

It's To-Do-Tuesday and I've to little to show this week.  Today I'm taking Jenny's  quilt to Terri's--my machine quilter.  

Last week's goals:  Use up two charm packs for a baby quilt:  

Blocks are finished!  I wanted to donate some baby quilts for my friend who is collecting baby quilts for her church.  Turns out I had some finished that I could give her.  I still finished all my HST blocks but then didn't like the size or lack of color so I ordered coordinating fabric to put in alternating blocks.  I'm thinking this would make a better picnic quilt.

The applique quilt:  Still working on it.  I thought I had this one all ready to go but now I'm back to the design board.  I found more poodle fabric (gee, what a surprise) and want to finish more blocks up.

Have you ever felt overwhelmed by scraps?  Although I've been doing some scrap quilts, I couldn't fit all the scraps in the scrap drawer 😟  Over the weekend I found this free quilt pattern for "Floating Beads" at Jordan Fabrics and thought I would make one of these quilts to donate.  I had a box of strips that wouldn't fit in the drawer.  I got the scraps cut (and yippee all the scraps fit in the drawer now) and still have to cut the alternating white fabric.

It's a busy week because my husband is home and we always have projects we need to do while he is home.  Not sure how much I'll get sewn but hopefully some progress!

Have a safe and happy day!

I Like Thursdays: March 18, 2021

 It's "I Like Thursdays" and time to fill the internet with positive thoughts and things we like.  For more positive posts, visit our friend Lee Anna at Not Afraid of Color!

I took Scout to the Dog Park yesterday.  I'm starting to take small walks with Scout but she needed more exercise.  It was a good experience for her!  Of course she first had to flirt with the young men that were there.  She's such a hussy and loves men.

These were her favorite dog friends:

 Back to flirting with one of the young guys again!

We have a neighbor that fell in love with poodles because of Scout.  His own dog always ignored him and gravitated to his wife.  Not Scout, she thinks he is great and leans on him to get petted.  

This past weekend I stepped outside and found a gift bag at my doorstep!  Kathie had left this lovely towel for me.  I adore it!  Hubby's coming home and has dowels some place and we will hang it.  I love all these flowers and the colors are so spring-y!  The note touched me most of all.  Kathie said my blogs have been brightening her world during this tough winter.  That's the nicest compliment any writer can recieve!  Thank YOU Kathie!

 I ordered this from Amazon.  It is a fabric panel with swatches of all the colors of Kona cotton.  I'm still trying to use up my fabric but often I find I don't have enough complimentary colors for the fabric in my stash.  This is the tool I needed and now I can compare colors and make appropriate choices!

Lastly, I'm grateful that my husband and I are getting our first vaccines on Saturday!  Arranging things took a bit of time.  Yes it was a long wait on the phone.  But I also had to call Brad's boss and get him released from his job in Missouri a day early so he can drive home to be here on time.  It took some finagling and apparently I used my "mother voice" when I called Brad's boss.

Brad's boss called Brad and said, "I'm getting you out of there because your wife scares the crap out of me!"😂😂😂  Actually Brad was supposed to be home already but as usual, they asked if he could stay until the end of the week.  I know it's only a matter of time before they send him to a state without mask restrictions and I'm determined to keep him safe!

Brad is on his way home (it's a two day drive) and I'll be happy to see him again.  I've only seen him 9 days so far in 2021!

Have a safe and happy week!

To-Do-Tuesday

 

It's To-Do-Tuesday!

It's the day that many bloggers like to post their goals and then we share them over at Chris Knits here.  Why not visit or join in?

I accomplished both my goals for last week.  I continued on my applique and have nearly all my blocks done.  I have to pace myself until I can see the hand doctor.  But I'm happy on my progression so far.  

I finished Jenny's top!  I had asked her mother for ideas on the colors she likes and was told she likes neutrals.  I've never done a low volume quilt but this is how neutral I get:

I've used this pattern once before.  It's called "Ebb and Flow" and was free on a fabric company's website.  Many years ago I did another batik quilt for a cousin's son when he got married using this pattern.  Jenny's is ready to go off to the quilter now!  I even had backing that works with it:

For the upcoming week, I would like to work on another aspect of my applique quilt which is pieced.  

Another goal is to finish my SAHRR wall hanging.

Finally, I want to use up two charm packs I have and mabe make a HST top.  I am thinking that maybe it would be nice as a baby quilt...but we'll see.

Have a safe and happy day!

I like Thursdays: March 11, 2021

 Happy Thursday and welcome to "I like Thursdays" a day when we post positive things to brighten the internet.  Check Lee Anna's blog for more positive bloggers!

We still have some snow out there.  

But the daffodils are starting to surface in the garden!

I'm hoping more snow will melt today.  It's supposed to go up to 70!  Still, our forecasters today are all aghast about the snowfall that Colorado could get!  Thoughts going out to Diann (Little Penguin Quilts) and our friends in Colorado!

Have you seen this video?  The Yeti Blanket vs. Grandma's Quilt!  I think it is great!  In case I didn't upload this right, the link is here:  https://youtu.be/yOtZx1dqcgY

I've been working on my circles applique but last night my hand ached so I'll have to slow down :(  It's a shame because I'm enjoying these:

I'm not even sure what I'm going to do with these blocks yet but for now, I've been resting my knee while I sew.  Time to rest the hand now :(

Miss Kerry is going to get spayed tomorrow.  Scout will miss her during the coming week.  Not really sure what I will do to substitute their frequent visits with each other.

I finished Jenny's quilt earlier this week and that made me happy!  This is one of two quilts I want to give her.  This is the Christmas scrap quilt and I'm now working on her batik lap quilt.

This is my favorite fabric from this scrap quilt!  The sweet dancing ice skaters!

I hope you have a safe and happy day!

To-Do-Tuesday: March 9, 2021

No snow this week which is a wonderful thing!  Today is To-Do-Tuesday and time to post goals.  We share these goals over at Chris Knits and you should visit here for inspiration and ideas!

Last week's goals:

Work on applique and bind Jenny's Christmas quilt.  I finished Jenny's quilt and spent the weekend on applique.  I'm just doing circles right now because it's been a long time (decades) since I've appliqued.  It's a helpful task to do as I rest my knee.

Next week's goals:

Continue on applique--my work is getting a bit better as I continue to practice but I understand now why I gave this up years ago.  I was hand quilting at that time as well and it was just too hard on my hands to do both.  These days, I'm taking a break when necessary.

The other goal is to finish cutting fabric for Jenny's batik quilt.  She is a favorite of mine in the family and I thought I would do a holiday themed lap quilt and one she could use throughout the year.  

Hope you are having a happy week!  Stay safe!

I Like Thursdays: March 4, 2021

 I'm so happy that March is giving us a bit of a thaw!  We still have plenty of snow out there but the sunshine has been marvelous!

Today is "I Like Thursday" and we share happy thoughts to fill the world with positive energy.  You can see more posts at Lee Anna's blog, Not Afraid of Color!

My niece Christina continues to craft through the pandemic.  I love the new sweater she made!

My husband got home and then he got sent out again.  At least we got the taxes organized and sent to the accountant.  That is always a good thing!

I'm very slowly picking off the spring cleaning.  I do a little every day so I don't mess up my knee!

I miss walking but I'm grateful that Kerry gives Scout a good work out!  Here is a rare moment of peace between them.  Scout is working on Kerry's bone and she's a bit miffed.  The only way that we can get Kerry to calm down when Scout's around is to put her on a leash.  Otherwise she wants to take running leaps and jump onto Scout.  Kerry is already a big puppy (37 lbs at 6 months!!) so we have to be careful.

Over at my Pennsylvania Piecemaker blog, I'm celebrating Scout and Milo's birthday month with photos of folks' dogs and cats and animal themed textiles.  Check it out if you want to participate!

Have a safe and happy day!

To-Do-Tuesday: March 2, 2021

 Yeah it's finally March!  Today is To-Do-Tuesday and time to post our weekly goals.  Our hostess right now is Chris at ChrisKnits and you can check out all our goals and work at her blog.

Last week's goals:

What's black and white and read all over?  My new quilt top which I did finish last week!

I found the newspaper print when I was looking for something else.  It had fallen in the back of the cupboard but what a great find!  I hadn't done a star quilt in years...maybe a decade or two so this was fun!

I've been trying new things this year and used Allison's tutorial over at Cluck Cluck Sew.  I liked that her No Point Stars tutorial really kept the star floating!  You can find the tutorial here.

Last week I cut out pieces of fabric for my applique play and hope to begin working on that today.  I'm also binding a quilt for my cousin who is getting married in December.  Those are my two primary goals for the week!

Over at my Pennsylvania Piecemaker blog, we are celebrating our constant companions this month--our pets!  It's Scout (and Milo's) birthday month and we are encouraging friends and followers to send in photos of their feathered and furry friends OR quilts they have done celebrating animals.

Many of you may not realize that Lee Anna over at Not Afraid of Color is the proud Mommy of our Scout's brother.  She was the impetus for us adopting Scout.  Thanks Lee Anna!  

Look at our kids when they were babies:

Have a safe and happy day!