Monday, November 11, 2024

Ten Years in the Making

This time of year it seems the weeks just speed by.  We'll hit mid November by the weekend. I'm really not ready for the end of the year, which will be here before we know it.  So it's probably best to concentrate on the now and look at what's getting done.  

Chocolate Marshmallows (Seabreeze Quilts) became an assembled quilt top last Wednesday. 



The blocks were started in 2014. It only took me 10 years to figure out how to set them!  I'm happy with how it came together and now it goes into the "to be quilted" closet.  

I started the year with 4 sets of quilt blocks that needed to be assembled. Of those one is a finished quilt, two are finished quilt tops and the third is in the process of being assembled. 





Squared Away (So Scrappy) was started in 2018.  Another project where the blocks have been finished for years and I just couldn't figure out how to set it.  The black sashing and scrappy corner stones seems to be working really well.  Still a ways to go on getting it all assembled, but fingers crossed it will also make it to finished quilt top before the end of the year.  

Linking up with Monday Design Wall and Patchwork & Quilts.  

Sunday, November 10, 2024

Stitching Stuff: Week 45 of 2024



It's been a weird November.  Oklahoma has already broken the record for monthly rainfall.  We got over 3" just yesterday. That's on top of the over 2" we got last weekend.  It's sunny today, but the ground is still really soggy.  All the rain has meant lots of time in the sewing room this last week.  

  • 15 minute days/week = 7/7 days
  • 15 minute days/Nov = 9/9 days
  • 15 minute days/2024 = 314/314 days
  • Success rate = 100%

I'm still surprised that I've kept up with the stitching time this year. It has paid off in lots of progress on many projects this year.  Definitely worth the effort.  

There was some good progress on the fabric pressing project last week. 


The last few fabrics in the to be pressed bin from the last refill in August were pressed, folded and added to the fabric closet.  When I went to reload the "to be pressed bin", there were only 4 fabrics left from the pile on top of the wire rack. 


Those were also pressed, folded and added to the fabric closet. That takes care of all the prewashed fabrics that were piled on top of the wire rack in the fabric closet. So all this fabric is pressed, folded and sorted into the fabric closet.



That's three and probably an eighth bins of fabric that's been sorted into the rest of the stash.  Now to start on the fabric that hasn't been prewashed.  There's a lot of that too.  But first I have to figure out a strategy on how to tackle that yardage.  

Next week we'll be half way through November (yes already). How are you doing on getting in some stitching time and meeting your reorganization goals?  

Saturday, November 9, 2024

Week 128 Photo Challenge: Compassion

We all thought last week's challenge was hard. This week's was even harder.  How do you photograph something like this?




We all have photos. Do they meet the challenge?  Maybe, maybe not. So it's a good thing we make up the rules! 

My plans for getting a photo were rained out (mainly because I tend to wait till the day before to figure it all out). Here's my effort for the week.  


Kate: Words of Compassion


Google came to my rescue at about 5 PM yesterday.  Thankfully I remembered where the Scrabble game was (we've not played in ages). I was vastly disappointed at the lack of "p" squares in the game. Maybe we've lost some?  Not an original idea, but I do like how the photo came out. 

You'll need to read the stories that go along with the photos to see how My Guy's and Grad Girl's photos tie into compassion.

 

My Guy: Tufted Titmouse


My Guy was out on a bike ride and came across this Tufted Titmouse sitting in the middle of the road. My Guy stopped and spoke to him. The bird just looked at him.  The bird's legs were folded under him, like he was hurt.  My Guy decided to at least get him out of the road, not only because of vehicular traffic, there was also a Red-shouldered hawk and a murder of Crows nearby.  He was clearly exposed sitting there in the middle of the road.  My Guy got a stick and put it under the bird to lift him up. He was surprised when the Titmouse perched on the stick easily.  As My Guy was moving the bird to the side of the road, the Titmouse suddenly remembered he could fly and flew into a nearby tree.  It's hard to photograph an act of compassion when your the one being compassionate.  But I think this photo works.  

Grad Girl has had a rough few weeks, this fall hasn't been easy for her on several fronts. 


Grad Girl: Compassion Kitty

So she has been very thankful for her furry companion, Queenie. When Grad Girl was sick the week before her big exam, Queenie took up watch either from the end of the couch or from her cat tree.  She was very concerned her person wasn't feeling very well. After a bad day in the lab, Queenie always greets her at the door, excited to see her.  This kitty is deathly afraid of running water, but she always keeps watch when Grad Girl showers and checks on her after the water is off to see if she survived. Queenie usually knows when Grad Girl needs extra cuddles to start her day. Note that Queenie is not the cuddliest of cats, she is the opposite of a cuddle bug. So it's quite an honor to be granted morning cuddle time. Can a cat be compassionate?  Sometimes it certainly seems this one can be.    

So did we hit the mark this week?  None of us are sure about that, but at least we took photos so can move on to a new challenge.  




We all sighed with relief when this card was drawn.  Definitely an easier subject, the challenge is going to be getting an interesting photo. 

Wednesday, November 6, 2024

October 2024 PHD Report

It's been a very weird autumn. October was cooler than September, but not by much.  My sewing room was my preferred location for most of the month. That means I have lots to blog about for the October PHD Report posted over at P Designs USA.  




One more finish in October brings my total to 5.  Not too shabby for me. I'm hoping for at least one more finish before the end of the year.  It won't be my best year ever for finishes, but definitely better than I've done the previous 3 years.  




Diatom (Dancing Lights) (Quilting Jetgirl) was my finish for October.  This quilt was started in 2023 and was on my "to be finished list" for this year.  It's a wedding gift for some of Grad Girl's good friends. I'm thrilled with how it came out.  It was hard to part with, but it's going to a good home. It was gifted last weekend and she was assured they would definitely use it to cuddle under this winter (assuming it's going to get below 80 at some point in south Texas).   

In addition to the finish, there was good progress on several other projects this month. Chocolate Marshmallows (Seabreeze Quilts) was started in 2014. It's on my "quilts to assemble" list for this year.  I finally decided on a setting for the blocks and got started on assembly.  At the end of October, all the sashing was made. Since then the rows have all been sewn together and I've started on the borders.    




Squared Away (So Scrappy) is another project on my "quilts to assemble" list. This project was started in 2018.  After dithering about the setting for years, I finally took a good look through the fabric closet, found a couple of fabrics that would work with the blocks. That pretty much decided the setting.  The sashing, corner stones and border strips were cut for our Girl's weekend.  I've since worked out the block layout but haven't started sashing the blocks yet.  





There was just one orange block left to complete for Wild and Goosey (Bonnie Hunter) at the end of the month.  I started back on the red blocks and will probably work on those till the end of the year.  




There was some progress on the leaders and enders project, the Simply Sensational Summer Scrap quilt (Kevin the Quilter).  Another set of 10 blue 4-patch blocks were finished and another set of yellow 4-patches are under construction. This one has been slow going, but that's what happens with leaders and enders.   




Grad Girl asked if I had a quilt she could give to her group's departing Post Doc.  She looked over what quilt tops I had done and picked out String Lights (Meadow Mist Designs) as a good option. But she thought it needed to be a bit bigger and really needed borders. The borders were added, the backing made and both pieces prepped for quilting.  It's been packaged up and shipped out for quilting.  This will probably be my last finish for 2024.  
 




The October block for the Guild BOM was finished pretty early in the month. The November clue covers one of the pieced borders. 





October's clue for the Marble Mystery (Meadow Mist Designs) was also finished pretty early in the month.  So I'm ready for November's clue when it comes out tomorrow.  For some reason my digital camera has a hard time capturing purple accurately. The photo on the right is closer to the actual color of the fabrics than the one on the left.  



By the end of October I had made progress on each one of the projects on my 2024 quilt plan. 





Not all the projects show a change in status in my bar graph, but that's OK, I can see progress in my photos. It's been a good year so far and there are 2 months left in 2024. Well, maybe just a month and a half with all the holidays.  Even so, there is still time to make some progress on several projects before year's end.   

Tuesday, November 5, 2024

To Do List for the Week of 11/5/2024

It's been nice to be home for a stretch.  I was able to get some chores done last week that really needed to get done.  It's easier to wander off to the sewing room if the house is at least reasonably in order.  The sewing room time has been paying off, there was good progress on last week's to do list. 


To Do List for 10/29/2024

1. String Lights: Package and mail out for quilting ✔

2. Chocolate Marshmallows: Continue assembly 

3. Wild and Goosey: Continue making blocks 

4. Sensational Summer Scrap Quilt: Continue as leaders/enders 


Last week's list was pretty simple. Simple seems to be working for me, so this week's list will be just about the same.   


To Do List for 11/05/2024

1.  Chocolate Marshmallows (Seabreeze Quilts): Work on borders




I like nested borders and this quilt will have 4 total.  The first one is done and the second is started.  Hopefully I can finish all of them this week or at least get close.  

2. Squared Away (So Scrappy): Start sashing blocks




It was hard to come up with a layout for all the blocks.  I played with the blocks over the weekend and finally ended up on the phone with Grad Girl for some brainstorming.  I think this is pretty close to a final setting. I might move a block or too before I get serious about adding the sashing.  This is another quilt where I didn't really give any thought about how all the blocks would go together.  It's scrappy, anything works. Right? 

3. Guild BOM: Start pieced borders

The quilt has a flying geese borders on the top and bottom.  That means something like 28 flying geese.  That may take a couple of weeks.  

4.  Wild and Goosey (Bonnie Hunter): Continue to work on red blocks




More triangles were cut from the scrap bins.  I don't have a very large variety of reds, hopefully there is enough so not all the blocks look the same.  

5.  Simply Sensational Summer Scrap Quilt (Kevin the Quilter): Continue as leaders and enders. 

I need 200 plus blue 4-patches and more than 100 yellow 4-patches for my version of this quilt.  Lots more to make. It's slow going, but slow is still progress.

That's my list for the week. Linking up with the Quilt Schmilt for To Do Tuesday.   

Monday, November 4, 2024

A Bit of This and That

Have you adjusted to time change yet?  It's nice to have the sunlight in the morning, but it's not fun for it to be dark by the time My Guy gets home at night.  For some reason, it's harder for me to go back to the sewing room after dinner once the sun is down.  Not sure what is up with that, but that's been the case for a while.  I'll have to get myself going to the sewing room earlier in the afternoon for the next few months.    

Most of my focus this week has been getting Chocolate Marshmallows  (Seabreeze Quilts) assembled.  




I'm happy with how it's coming together and like the setting I chose.  The colors look muddy in the photograph, the pink is much brighter then shows in the photo. Now I'm on to adding the borders.  I should have one more finished quilt top added to the closet before the end of the month.

The other thing I did this weekend was some serious fabric closet diving to find fabrics for this year's Bonnie Hunter mystery, Old Town.  




My thought was to use light and dark teal as the red and coral.  But my stash didn't support that color choice. I decided to keep the teal print and pair that with light and dark brown that would work with off white odds and ends in the stash for a semi-scrappy background.  The browns looked muddy, but there was a red that was in the stash that worked well.  The gold fabric is new as I didn't have anything else in the stash that seemed to work.  This isn't a color palette I've used before and I'm excited to get started. Are you doing the Bonnie Hunter mystery this year?   

Linking with Design Wall Monday and Patchwork & Quilts.  

Sunday, November 3, 2024

Stitching Stuff: Week 44 of 2024


Is it really November?  October seemed to just speed by.  With the holidays coming up, I'm sure it will be January before any of us are ready.  Even so, I'm hoping to get a bit more done on my projects before the end of the year.   


  • 15 minute days/week = 7/7 days
  • 15 minute days/Oct = 31/31 days
  • 15 minute days/Nov = 2/2 days
  • 15 minute days/2024 = 307/307 days
  • Success rate = 100%

Keeping my stitching streak going into November has been a lot of fun. I'm hoping I can manage to keep it up in November. Things get dicey in December.  Even so it's been such a good year on the making time to stitch front.  

Progress on the stash reorganization has been a bit here and there the last few months. I did manage to get a bit more fabric pressed and refolded.  



There are just 4 yardage pieces left to press in the bin.  I should be able to empty the bin next weekend and then refill it with whatever prewashed yardage remains from the top of the wire rack in the fabric closet.  The progress on the stash reorganization has been really good this year. Still lots to do, but there has been a lot of progress. 

So how are you doing as we start the next to last month of 2024?  Have you met your goals or have you just decided what's not done can just be added to your 2025 goals?  
 

1. Gretchen
2. Julie in GA
3. maggie f
4. Karen
5. DonnaleeQ
6. Jennifer in Indy
7. Quilting Gail
8. Andrée at Quilting & Learning
9. Bonnie in Va
10. Amanda
11. Carol @ Quilt Schmilt

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Saturday, November 2, 2024

Week 127 Photo Challenge: Smoke

It's been 5 weeks since my last photo challenge post.  The main reason the challenge was on hiatus was Grad Girl's big exam that required a lot of effort to get ready for. Now That she's past that and a lot of our travel is done for a bit, we were all ready to get back to getting photos for the last challenge. 




This one was harder than we expected.  To be honest, I struggled the most.  I didn't get my photos till last night and it took some set up and patience.


Kate: Just Smoke


It took me several attempts at generating smoke before I found one that worked. But all the effort paid off, I ended up with several shots that were interesting.  This one was my favorite. 

My Guy captured this shot on his way out of town to photograph the comet.  


My Guy: Distant Fires

 

It's been incredibly dry here. We'd not had any rain for two to three months. We did finally get some rain on Wednesday and the forecast is for a rainy weekend.  It's definitely needed. There were grass fires one county over from us that required evacuations last Tuesday. I think the firefighters were able to prevent any homes from burning, but it was definitely scary for the residents.  

Grad Girl as usual found something from her experiments. 


Grad Girl: Toxic Orange Smoke


It may be a little hard to see, but there is a definite cloud of orange smoke (technically it's a vapor) in the flask.  This is red fuming nitric acid, which is very concentrated nitric acid and a very dangerous inhalation hazard. It's one the reagents Grad Girl uses in her lab work.  If you were to buy a bottle of nitric acid for general lab use, the concentration of that nitric acid is about 68% (the rest is water). Red fuming nitric acid is 86% nitric acid. Definitely a liquid that has to be handled in a well functioning fume hood.  

My Guy and I thought this challenge was hard. He pulled the card for this week's challenge.  It's harder. 



    

I actually have an idea. We'll have to see how that pans out. Should be another interesting week of photos.  

Tuesday, October 29, 2024

To Do List for the Week of 10/29/2024

It was so nice to be home all weekend. The sewing room got a bit of a clean up and I got my project boxes reorganized.  My to do list for the week was pretty short and simple. But some weeks you just need that.  


To Do List for 10/22/2024 

1. String Lights: Finish borders, cut and piece backing ✔

2. Chocolate Marshmallows: Start assembly 

3. Wild and Goosey: Continue making blocks 

4. Sensational Summer Scrap Quilt: Continue as leaders/enders 


So 4 out 4 this week. It's been awhile since I've been able to check off all my to do items.  I did keep the list simple and that helps a lot.  I'm going to stick with simple for this week's to do list.  


To Do List for 10/29/2024

1. String Lights (Meadow Mist Designs): Package and mail out for quilting




The top is now pressed and de-threaded.  Those dark threads do show through the light background, so they had to go.  As much as I hate prepping quilts for quilting, String Lights needs to be finished up quickly. I need it before Christmas. Fingers crossed if it goes out this week, it should be back in time for me to finish it.  

2.  Chocolate Marshmallows (Seabreeze Quilts): Continue Assembly



Not much change from yesterday's post.  Getting String Lights ready to ship out slowed down my progress on this project. The plan is to get enough done this week to be able to start the borders by next week. 

3. Wild and Goosey (Bonnie Hunter): Continue making blocks




The orange blocks are almost done, just a few scraps needed to finish the last one.  I'm considering how to assemble this project. It would work well if I start with the center yellow blocks and then add the others as borders, like a medallion quilt.  Not my normal assembly method, but it might make sense for this project. I'm thinking once I have a color completed to start sashing those blocks.   

4. Simply Sensational Summer Scrap Quilt (Kevin the Quilter): Continue as leaders and enders. 

I'm working on the next set of 10 yellow blocks. Still lots more 4-patches to make for this scrappy quilt. 

Linking up with the Quilt Schmilt for To Do Tuesday.  Good luck with your to do list this week.  

Monday, October 28, 2024

Following the Quilt Plan

The 2 year anniversary of my retirement was last Friday.  Has it really been that long?  I've enjoyed most of it, I've had some health challenges over that time that made me very glad I wasn't working.  But some days I do miss the fun technical stuff from the job, but most definitely don't miss the politics.  Looking back, last year really was about getting my back issues under control and just figuring out how to navigate not going to an outside job every day. This year has really been about navigating my sewing room.  I've been making a quilt plan for 8 years.  This is the first year I've made progress on all the projects on the plan.  So it's been a good year on that front.  

There were three projects on the plan that I hadn't touched at the beginning of October.  One of those was String Lights (Meadow Mist Designs). 
  


 
The pattern as written didn't have borders, but Grad Girl asked if I had any quilts close to finished that she could gift to the post doc who works in their group.  He's been a great mentor to Grad Girl. He's leaving at the end of December. She liked this one, but thought it needed a frame, plus it needed to be a bit bigger, so I added borders. We both liked it better with the addition of the borders. 

The backing is pieced and prepped for quilting.  




I'm pulling my backings from stash and this teal polka dot works well with the colors in the top. I'm in the process of de-threading and pressing the top, about half way done with that. String Lights should go out to Trudy for quilting sometime this week.  

Chocolate Marshmallows (Seabreeze Quilts) is another project from the quilt plan with visible progress.  




That sashing is slow going as it has so many strips, but I really like how it's going together.  Chocolate Marshmallows was on my first quilt plan back in 2016.  It's definitely time it was moved along!  

The last project for my 2024 quilt plan that saw some progress was Squared Away (So Scrappy).  This project was on my 2019 quilt plan as needing assembly. It only took 5 years to figure out the setting.





The sashing and border strips were cut before our girl's weekend. I was overly optimistic on how much sewing would happen during that trip. But it is at least kitted up ready to start on once Chocolate Marshmallows is assembled. 

Linking up with Design Wall Monday and Patchwork & Quilts.  

Sunday, October 27, 2024

Stitching Stuff: Week 43 of 2024


 

This is the first weekend I've been home for the entire weekend since mid-September.  Our girl's weekend was lots of fun, the drive home from it wasn't.  That's the only day I struggled to get in my 15 minutes, but I still managed to make that happen before I went to bed after our long drive back. 


  • 15 minute days/week = 7/7 days
  • 15 minute days/Oct = 26/26 days
  • 15 minute days/2024 = 300/300 days
  • Success rate = 100%

At the beginning of the year there is no way I would have believed I could find time to make progress on my quilty projects each day of the year through most of October.  The effort has really paid off in moving all of the projects on my 2024 quilt plan closer to finished or actually finished.  Can I repeat such success in 2025, probably not.  But I learned a few things this year about how to stack my projects to make good progress on multiple fronts. 

There was a bit of progress on the great fabric reorganization.  




I managed to press about 7 to 8 yards of various fabrics. The bin doesn't look any emptier, but it is.  Since I'll be home for a few weekends, hopefully I can back on track with the fabric organization and the scrap processing. 

How are doing with your end of the year stitching goals and clean up projects?  


1. Gretchen
2. Julie in GA
3. maggie f
4. Deb in Canada
5. DonnaleeQ
6. Andrée at Quilting & Learning
7. Quilting Gail
8. Elana
9. Bonnie in Va
10. Frédérique

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Thursday, October 24, 2024

Photo Play: September Summary

With all the traveling lately, I'm way behind on looking at my photos. I definitely have not been as engaged with my photo play activities lately.  When I opened my photo files to look at what was there, I wasn't sure they'd be much of anything in them. But I found a few interesting shots to share.  

Photos were taken with either a Canon 70D DLSR or my I-Phone 12.  The DSLR shots used either a Tamron 18-400 telephoto or a Sigma 105 mm macro lens. 

We stayed in a loft in downtown Independence, Mo when we attended My Guy's sister's wedding. This sunset was just spectacular. Downtown Independence has lots and lots of churches. You can see the spires from several in this shot. (I-Phone 12) 



 

The loft we were staying at had some interesting decor.  I was playing around with my aperture settings when I took this shot. I liked the light reflecting off the gold and the contrast with the very dark background.(Canon 70D, Tamron 18-400 Telephoto)




The roses were still blooming at the end of September.  The early morning sun really brings out the pink of the petals.  Maybe not a knock out of a photo, but it's hard not to include at least one flower in my post. (Canon 70D, Tamron 18-400 telephoto)




We were in Eureka Springs, AR for the last few days of September. It was a fun trip and the camera came out to play a few times.  The rental we were staying in had these fascinating lace curtains. (Canon 70D, Sigma 105 mm macro)



 

It's been dry in both Oklahoma and Arkansas, so the leaves have mostly been turning brown and falling off. Typically we don't see peak fall colors till the end of October. But there were some leaves in the process of changing colors.  You can see the full range from green to brown in this shot.  (Canon 70D, Tamron 18-400 telephoto)




We ate lunch at the Mud Street Cafe on our first day in Eureka Springs. Our table was made of beer bottle caps. I thought it was a fun way to recycle the caps. (I-Phone 12)




My favorite photos from last month are the abstract gold and black photo of reflections and the close up of the lace curtains.  I think those are the most interesting of the set. 

I'm definitely not doing as much photography as I did at the beginning of the year. But at least I stuck with it longer than I did last year.  So that's something anyway.  I need to get back to my book learning part of photography, but it seems I so much rather spend time in the sewing room. There has been good progress there this year.  Even in retirement, you can't do everything.  

If you've read this far, thank you for hanging out for a non-quilty post.  Feedback is always welcome.  Is there one photo that strikes your fancy or one that you think maybe shouldn't have made the cut?  

Wednesday, October 23, 2024

Our Girl's Weekend

My sister and I left Oklahoma for Texas on Thursday and got back home Monday night.  That left us Friday, Saturday and Sunday for lots of crafty stuff.  I found a great rental to use for our retreat.  



 

The dining room table was big enough for 3 sewing machines. Just mine and my sister's are set up in the photo.  We were able to use the center island for cutting and pressing.  It was a very user friendly set up.  

Grad Girl had stuff going on for most of Friday, so she wasn't able to take off as she'd planned. But she joined us by early evening with a new to her sewing machine. 




It's a Singer Start.  It's pretty basic, but that's pretty much what she wanted, basic.  Grad Girl had never wound a bobbin or threaded a machine.  We started with those basics.  Learning to control the speed with the foot pedal was probably the hardest thing for her to get used to.  That's a practice makes perfect thing.  

She really wanted to make a pin cushion. I have a pattern that I really wanted to make, Meadow Mist Design's Cathedral Window Pincushions. So we went to Joann's bought some fabric and made a couple of pin cushions. 




This probably wasn't the easiest pattern to start Grad Girl off with, but she really enjoyed it and liked the challenge. Learning to top stitch while trying to master the foot pedal was challenging, but she got better as we went along.  Neither pin cushion is perfect, but that's OK, we had a blast making them. I had once thought to make a quilt using Cathedral Window blocks. Making one block may be enough to fulfill that need.   

I found a rental that allowed cats, so Queenie came to spend the weekend with us.  



 

She's not had the chance to be a sewing room kitty and decided that anything hanging off the ironing board was a toy.  She especially liked my yellow measuring tape when I was measuring borders for String Lights.  

I delivered Grad Girl's  quilt and she got a photo of both her Shadow Demons. 




Both Grad Girl and Queenie tested out the "nap on the couch" worthiness of the quilt. I think it passed that test.  

That was our girl's weekend. It was a lot of fun and we decided we definitely need to do another one in the next year or two.  Linking up with Monday Design Wall (just a little late).