Chookshed Challenge

 This is Lucy. 

Lucy and I spent some time together in March. 

Lots of time.

Lucy is teaching me about perseverance. 

About sticking to the task. 

I do not like to be told what to do. 

Some days Lucy lay in a heap on the table.

Other days we played and played. 

It is time for Lucy to take a vacation. 

Well, I am taking a vacation.

 Lucy will not be accompanying me.

And why?

Because my Sweetie and I are going to a family wedding in England.

Lucy takes too much room now that she is growing. 

Sarah Morrell wants to play this month. 

Will she join me? 

The challenge # for April is 9. 

That is Sarah Morrell's number. 

But I do not have any hand work prepped. 

Sigh. 

My to-do list for this week includes:

1. Finish emptying out anything that will move out of the living room to get ready to shampoo the carpet tomorrow. 
2. Bag up and donate the gzillion toys that were removed on the weekend. 
3. Load them into the car to drop off this afternoon.
4. Bag up the broken and discarded toys ready for garbage Friday.
5. Deal with the quatrillion ants in the SonRoom. 
6. Visit the location for our women's group retreat for June today and see just how many beds are available. There are 6 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms. I know that. And a heated swimming pool. And a fireplace. And a double curved staircase. 
7. Remember to drop off the toys.
8. Then write up a packing list for my ladies. I already have the meal signup sheets printed. 
9. Order British currency at the bank.
10. Get travel insurance. It is much more now that we are over 70. 
11. Find something to wear to the wedding. We were told we could not wear jeans. You can see the venue here 
12. Work on just 2 Morrell blocks. That should satisfy the requirements for the challenge. Progress it is called. This will be my April OMG goal. 

That should keep me busy for a few days. There is an eclipse coming on Monday and my Sweetie is going to babysit the boys this Friday and is planning to stay over until Monday. That leaves me home for the weekend on my own (insert giggles and extreme brain activity). Whatever mischief  activities could I pursue? My Mentoring Women's group is meeting here for potluck on Sat afternoon and we will be wrapping up a book study we have been doing this winter. 

Blessings,

Chris

Thoughts on Block of the Month Projects

One of the things I like about joining a block of the month group is the anticipation of a new block or 4 showing up in my inbox on that certain day every month. I wrote it on my calendar for the whole year. One year I had about 4 going at the same time so I colour coded them. Some arrived the same day. Others were spaced out. I loved printing off the pattern, making copies if needed on foundation paper, and pulling out the fabrics to pick my colours. I had all sorts of neatly labeled project boxes piled all over the place. I would spread bits and pieces all over my big tables and prep and baste and make piles of in-process blocks, sort and organize and dream and write up blog posts and put them up on the design wall and take pictures. 

I figure that if I have all the fabrics spread out in front of me, I should prep a whole bunch at the same time. And why not? It seems illogical to me to pull out everything and just prep one block and complete it and put everything away, neatly. Why would I do that when I can have a dozen half made quilts on the wall? I collected the Ella Maria Deacon blocks - 4 each month - all throughout lock down. I had the idea of making 50 blocks of the 85 offered to commemorate 50 years of marriage. Well, we celebrate 52 years this summer and the quilt is this far along. I now have countless projects in various stages of process and few completed quilts.  I love the anticipation. I love the sorting and prep work. I just don't love finishing something when I can make just one more block of something else. 

And where has Chris been for the past 2 months? That is a question I ask myself. I have not been doing much stitching. I have been reading. I have not been writing much. My Sweetie and I quietly launched a new blog called How to Stay Married for 50 Years. This has been an interesting journey as we work on writing together. He is so sweet sometimes and so doggone annoying at other times. But we continue as we have learned some new communications skills. Yup. Even after 52 years of marriage, we are learning new stuff about each other. 

I am off to the Shipshewana Quilt Retreat next week to play with my quilting friends. My tiny project box contains enough to keep me busy for 5 days. A bit of Lucy. A bit of Ella. And even a few Morrell blocks. And why not? Morrell blocks have accompanied me to Shipshewana every one of the 6 trips I have made so far. At the rate I am going, I may have to go to Shipshewana at least a dozen more times to complete it. 

I may leave  my bathing suit at home. And why? Because last time I got a horrible UTI from the hot tub. 

Blessings,

Chris

What Will My Next Impulse Project Be?

I am an impulsive type who obsesses ad nauseatum about the next project I want to work on. I see so many fun creative quilt projects and quilt-a-longs that are so tempting, but reality tells me I need to take that time and energy to finish off a few of the ones I so loved when I started and I still love them as I pull them out, put them on the design wall and drool over their beauty. Then I walk out of the room and totally forget their existence. 

So, here are a few future possibilities.

The Storyteller's Sampler Quilt.
Only 369 two and a quarter inch hexagons. Will I make them all? Of course not. But I would like to make a few. At least 7 to make one collection. But then, as I keep reading through the book, she increased the size of some of the blocks by 141% to make something bigger. Now there is an idea. 

Then there is Cadence Court. 

This was a BOM from Sassafras Lane Designs. Where did I find it? Don't remember. But thought it might be a fun Rainbow Scrap Challenge project. But then, I do not want to begin another until my Bright Jane blocks are done. Also, it is mostly foundation pieced and I have been doing FPP for quite a few blocks and am sort of tired of it. 

Then I bought Wandering Geese from Canuk Quilt. This also looks to be a RSC possibility. But then, Bright Jane might be offended. 

Whatever happened to the hand applique quilts that I so love to work on? Oh yeah. I am still working on a couple. 

And then, I was talking to a friend I hadn't seen since covid lockdown. She reminded me that we both bought Jinny Beyer's BOM from Craftsy way back when and do I want to join her in making it? Sure, since I have the patterns and she does not. but where is the kit? Wait! I bought 2 kits. They are here somewhere. This is in the most vibrant turquoise and gold and blacks. But, now that I recall, I do not like sewing with black. Alas, I will have cataract surgery in May so my opinion might change. 

I have not forgotten Windermere. I bought the book when it came out. I bought the papers back in the winter. I have most of the fabrics in one or 2 of the collection boxes. I do like the purple sashing she used, but cannot find that in any of my searches. I have another that might work. 

So as I parade my thoughts upon the page, I am reminded that Lucy is hovering nearby wanting to play and Ella is begging to go to Australia with me. And Bright Jane has quite the rejection complex. But then, March is green month and her green blocks are all done. Of course, Sarah Morrell cannot complain since she decorated the big design wall for more than a month this winter. Shades of Pemberley got some focused attention for the Dust Off a Quilt Book blog-hop. TOMDO (Think of Me Dear One a Baltimore Album Quilt) got a few hand stitches one night because pouty Lucy was in time out. 

For the first 3 months of 2023, I have pulled out and added a few stitches to 7 of  my 23ufo  quilts. Not nearly as much as I would have liked, because I have been diligently progressing on the Wedding Quilt. This is what it looked like the last time it was up on the wall. Now to get assembling those blocks and triangles. 

Not to mention that I was in Germany last week for a women's retreat with my daughter and oldest granddaughter. 

I will be off the grid for most of April having fun with my Sweetie and Scrub Stitching. I have booked a few days at a Farm Stay just because I could.  And I will have so much more room in my carry-on bag without the winter coat and boots. Three flights down and only 8 more planes to get on and off.

Blessings,

Chris 

Is it Tuesday Again Already?

 I got most of the things on last week's list done. Sort of. I did no work on the RSC blocks. And my tables are all still cluttered even though I had moved a lot of stuff. 

And what does Chris have on her tables in the Blue Room aka Quilt Room/Office?

Here is the FPP paraphernalia for the Wedding Quilt. Notice the vintage Singer Featherweight and 3 lamps 

Beside that is the 6 foot ironing board sitting atop the ends of both 8 foot tables. This is a pile of blocks that have been prepped for at least a couple of years. Some longer. I thought if I made just 1 block a day I would have noticeable progress. Did not happen.

This is the small design wall sitting on top of one of the 7 tables in the room. The Wedding Quilt blocks were up the day I took these pictures. It changes often. In front is the box of notes for the books I am writing. No progress on them either. On the floor behind are containers of photographs from the past 50 years. I have a plan for them.

Moving to the left is the big desk calendar I use to plan out and track my monthly goals. On top of that is a see through lid from butter cookies, which are quite yummy. I love using these as shallow trays to keep my hand stitching things from wandering away like onto the floor. I was working on a Morrell block.

Moving more to the left is my Morning Pages notebook. I have eased up on how often I write them. I no longer write them if I sleep in. Sleep in you say? Sure. I do that 2-3 times a week when I stay up half the night reading or playing, but seldom working. Sleeping in is getting up after 8 am. 

I keep a plant nearby to dump the left over water from my cup. It has thrived. The yellow one is plastic. What can I say? It was a gift from my Sweetie. It stays. I had been reading the Bible chronologically over the past few years and this week I finished it. Behind that are about a third of my journals. I was looking for some information from a few years back and ended up sitting up half the night a couple of times reading. I love reading my old journals! Besides having memories on a time line, I can see how far I have come over the years and how I am still writing up the same goals and to-do lists. Too bad no one else will be able to read my hand writing. It has not improved with age. 

What has in proved with age is my attitude about a lot of things. This book landed in my hands the other day and I am so excited about it! It is 40 essays written by 40 Christian women over 40 on aging, faith, beauty, and strength. It is right up my alley. I am giving serious consideration to doing a book study this summer with my Women's Small Group. It can be 40 days. Reading 1 chapter a day. 

I even have a small notebook I use to plan out my weekly To-Do Tuesday lists. This week:

1. Write 3 times. Already wrote today and taking part in a Virtual Writing Retreat later this week. 
2. Do not touch Lucy this week. I will to put her out of the way.
3. Sew one, just one Morrell block. I have had it ready for more than 4 years. It should take an hour. 
4. Sew one Bright Jane block for RSC. No point in pretending to be part of the group if I do not actually participate. One block? How hard can it be?
5. 15 Minutes a Day Sewing.
6. And my darling eldest granddaughter conned me into doing a Whole30 clean eating program with her. We started yesterday. That means no sugar, no grains, no dairy, no legumes, no additives or chemicals. Sigh. I probably will thank her for the prompts. She is trying to figure our her acne and I need to feel better. She is reading the labels and had Grampa take her shopping to buy some compliant foods. Basically meat and vegetables with a bit of fruit and plated fats. It's only 30 days. No, its only 28 more days. We can do this.

Blessings,

Chris 

linking with: myquiltinfatuation.

 quiltschmilt.to-do-tuesday-linky-party-4/

smallquiltsanddollquilts.design-wall-monday

Slow Sunday Stitching

 Progress on a Morrell block. English Paper Piecing. But how do you remove the papers after gluing them?

Linking with Kathy at Slow Sunday Stitching.

Blessings,

Chris

Morrell Revisited

I first read about the Sarah Morrell quilt in Sept 2013 then ordered the pattern Nov 2013. The pattern arrived Feb 2014. Then I bought several French General fat quarter bundles on a ridiculous sale from Craftys Nov 2014 and prewashed fabric Oct 2015. Can you tell I had been planning the thing for a while? I officially started Nov 2015 at the Shipshewana retreat and have taken blocks with me every single one of the 6 retreats I attended over the years. I actually thought I might make some progress during the 2017 challenge. 

This pattern was reproduced from a 1842 sampler quilt by the late Di Ford-Hall. 

As I look at what I have accomplished so far on these blocks, I get excited to consider continuing the journey. But, there are only 24 hours, 1440 minutes, 86,400 seconds in a day. Tara of Tazzie Quilts has the pattern and is planning to start hers. We can work on them together. 

Since my discovery of EPP, I have decided to make block #55 next. I just happened to have a thousand 3/4 inch hexie papers and I only need 19 to make it. I will do the fussy cutting thing and see how I like sewing together hexagon shapes. There are 3 radiant star blocks, but I am in no hurry to attempt  those just yet. The 3 Saw Toothed framed blocks each need to have some Broderie Perse arrangements added. There are still a lot of Broderie Perse blocks to do. I think I will do a blitz of prepping and arranging. 

But. alas, Christmas is coming and so are a lot of houseguests for my brother's wedding next week. But first, the bookkeeper is due again today and then the accountant to do the year end books for the farm. Since we sold the milk quota earlier this year, that is more complicated than most farming years. 

Freezing rain yesterday warmed up the soil in the flower beds and the rest of the tulips finally got planted. Well, all but the few I decided to give to the grandchildren to plant in pots. 

Blessings,

Chris

Goals for April 2022

 I often set lofty goals for myself. Not just in the quilt room. In every place in my life. Do I accomplish them? Sometimes. After all, this senior citizen completed a doctorate last year. But in order to do that, I had to lay aside some of the more fun things like quilting. 

My goals for this April include:

1. Complete the Biblical Blocks Ufo. I completed one back in November. I actually spend a whole 4 days finishing it. This time, I have a few more blocks to make and the center medallion is not complete. Ten years ago, I loaned the pattern book to a friend who has moved several times. I have a picture of the completed top and a lot of the hard work is already done. For example, in the class I took when I made my first one 20 years ago, she had us cut ALL the borders and setting triangles first, then we used the rest of the fabric for the blocks. I have most of the borders hand applique done and I have most of the rest of the block foundation patterns drafted up and printed off ready to start the sewing marathon. 
2. Blog my book ABCs of How to Stay Married for 50 Years. I had intended to join up with the A-Z Challenge but just realized that registrations closed last week. Oops. I guess I will just have to blog each of the 26 chapters here. It should be fun. No. It will be fun to read some of the perspectives we old folk have on a long life together. Stay tuned. Not sure just when they will begin or if they will be every day. But, HARK! I have started a brand new blog just for this. 
3. Family coming for Easter dinner at the Farm. There may be up to 25 of us. It will be simple. I like simple. The grand thing will be the outdoor garden wedding here at the Farm later in May. My responsibility is the flowers outside. I planted hundreds of bulbs back in October. But first, we have a gazillion pine cones to rake off the lawn as soon as the rains this week warm up the ground. 
4. Learn to chew again. I finally bit the bullet and got partial dentures. Actually, I bit a piece of hard bacon and a front tooth broke off. Completely. But a year before that, I foolishly tried to open a marker with my teeth. The dentist put in a new tooth, but it only lasted a year, just as we went into a 4-month lockdown. So I finally found a denturist and a new dentist who is next door to him, and last week I got the things. I have been pureeing soups and eating mush as chewing is not happening just yet. No hot drinks or hot food. No eating junk since that has to be chewed. I am down 6 lbs. Wonder why? 
5. Shipshewana Quilt Retreat. It has been 3 years since we last went. I am only taking one project box and it is packed already. It has 4 projects in it. I have taken along Bright Jane and some Morrell blocks to every one of the 5 retreats I went to in the past. Why stop now? I plan to take along the Macaron Mystery to complete also. I had all the cutting done a couple of months ago but did not get the pieces sewn together. And the whole thing packs quite compactly. There are 3 of us going. Want to make sure we have enough room. I will pack Lucy to go with us. I am thinking about taking all the small squares I cut and getting them hand-basted. That should fill in a lot of the time cracks and keep me from doing too much shopping, as well as packing very compactly. 
6. Virtual Writing Retreat. What about doing a retreat at the retreat? The Virtual Writing Retreat I often join is at the end of the month. I plan to take along my laptop and join in online. It should be easy to find a quiet spot and plug in my earbuds. I am writing the curriculum for the Mentoring at the Farm small group I will be leading this summer. It was suggested that I get it done ahead of time and publish a pdf file and print off copies instead of handing out sheets each week. I like the idea. I have it outlined already. It will be exactly 80 pages long since the summer group will run for 80 days. One page a day for homework. I like that. 

So my April OMG goal will be completing the Biblical Blocks top and booking the longarm for early May. The rest is just stuff I will be doing. I suppose I could add spring cleaning but that will be a goal for May. 

Blessings,

Chris

linking with: katiemaequilts.boms-away 

link-party-patchwork-quilts- 

smallquiltsanddollquilts.

design-wall-monday- 

myquiltinfatuation. 

sugarlane-designs.whos-up-for-fnsi-aka-ewsi.

Everyone Needs a Week at a Quilt Retreat

It is hard to believe that the Shipshewana Quilt Retreat was a whole week ago. Where does the time go?  I had taken 5 projects to work on. I worked on 4 of them. I am such a dreamer and maybe a bit lacking in time management skills but we won't go there. At least not for now.

I took Almost Amish Irish Chain an old ufo to work on. It was supposed to be simple. I thought maybe 2 days to sew it together. But on day 3, Saturday, I realized that I was short on the tone on tone white background fabric so bought something similar and cut out the strips only to realize that I need yet more strips so back to the quilt shop. When I got home and continued to work on it, I found that I had cut many of the strips 3 x 7 instead of the required 3 x 8. So, I decided the finished size would be 84 x 84 before borders instead of 84 x 108. Now to sew all those blocks together before they fall off the wall or get mixed up.

I did get a bit of hand work done on one Beyond the Cherry Trees Block. I don't know why I did not do more hand work. The fact that I went shopping 5 times, had three 3 hour naps, went to the pool 4 times and talked half the night with my roommates, has nothing to do with that. At least I don't think it does.

I have yet to complete the insides of those 3 flowers and create 2 more. They will be challenging. But then, I always liked a challenged. At least that is what I have often said.

I will be working on this block and prepping the next one as my Slow Sunday Stitching project.


I used some of the red and white bits I had cut out with the GO Baby 2 years ago for the 150 Canadian Women BOW as leaders and enders. I did get 6 Morrell blocks machine appliqued. That was easy once I found the missing presser feet and bobbins. What I did not pull out to work on is the machine applique Huguenot Friendship Quilt Blocks. Maybe next retreat.

Oh, I also wrote a couple of chapters for SMOWJ. So the retreat was quite successful after all.

Blessings,
Chris

April 2019 OMG

My April one-monthly-goal will be

• to complete the Almost Amish Irish Chain to a flimsy
• to complete 2 BTCT hand applique blocks
• to complete the machine applique on 6 Morrell blocks
• to complete at least 2 more chapters on SMOWJ

And this is not an April Fools joke. 

I will be taking all this to the Shipshewana retreat next week.

I almost added complete the machine applique on the rest of 36 Huguenot Friendship Quilt but that would be a joke. But I might get it done also. 

Now to finish packing the project boxes. I need to find some thread to machine applique the hearts and the cone of Vanilla Milkshake thread for the Morrell blocks and a seam ripper. I have several. I should be able to locate one to take along. And travel insurance and US cash. I better get busy. 

Blessings,

Chris

Spring and the Shipshewana Quilt Retreat

The quilt retreat in Shipshewana Indiana is fast approaching. It officially begins 2 weeks from tomorrow but we plan to arrive Monday April 8 in the afternoon for a whole week of time away from home responsibilities and little people. Not that I don't like spending time with little people, but this is a quilting retreat. It will be me-time for those of us going. The retreat was sold out weeks ago so it will be a full room of quilters quilting quilts. I have been considering what projects to take along and have narrowed the list down to 5.                                        

1. Beyond the Cherry Trees

I have been working on this hand applique sampler from 

sentimental stitches

on and off for nearly 5 years. It is on now. There are just 4 more of the 25 sixteen inch blocks left to complete. Then the borders. 

This is my hand applique project for this year. 

2.  Huguenot Friendship Quilt

This was an impulse purchase a year ago. All the blocks are laser cut fusible appliques that I arranged and pressed into place. I have some of them machine appliqued down but still many of the 36 blocks to go. It is on my 2019 ufo list. 

3. Morrell Sampler

There will be 60 ten inch blocks and a twenty inch center block. 

I have several more than these blocks fused and pressed onto background squares ready to machine applique in place. Hopefully I will get a few more arrangements made now that I have located some amazing chintz fabrics in my cupboard. 

4. Almost Amish Irish Chain 

This is another ufo I want to complete this year. 

I thought it would be a super simple project for the retreat since all the hard work is done and I only have to sew everything together. 

Not quite. I still have to prep the heart applique shapes and I plan to practice 

the turned-edge-with-starch method. 

5. 150 Canadian Women

This is not on my ufo list for this year but it lends itself well for a 

leader-ender project so that it will be. 

There are many of the 6 inch squares already cut out and ready for stitching just waiting for me to pay attention to it. 

 

I still have some machine quilting to do on Dear Daughter

 before we leave so I can take it for show and tell. 

I have not done much of any kind of quilting this past month. What I did do was look after  my wonderful little boy and little girl grandchildren. March Break ended up being one sick week. Literally. Seven of the 9 people here were sick with a stomach bug that lasted for 2 days each. Fortunately for me, the little children's parents were both here to tend to the details and clean ups. I remained healthy. What I did do, however, was read 7 of the 8 Anne of Green Gables books. I read the 8th one last month. I also reached level 1000 of Candy Crush. I decided to retire there. I have written several thousand words for my book SMOWJ and the research continues. Now to finish the machine quilting so I can start quilting the next one while everything is ready. Spring is here and little things are popping up in my flower beds and the lawn is beginning to look a bit green. 

Blessings, 

Chris

BTW Sun I woke up to 3 inches of snow. 

linking to

  mid week makers  BOMs Away  let's bee social  needle-and-thread-thursday  can I get a whoop-   needleandthreadnetwork    slow sunday stitching 

End of May 2018 Progress

A Heart a Day for the Month of May

I have been enjoying  hand appliqueing hearts onto these 4 inch squares.
This challenge came from Deb at Happy to be Scrappy
I missed one day but have caught up. Have no idea where this will lead,
but it has been an interesting lesson in slowing down and doing one small thing consistently.
 I decided that if I do it in the morning it is enjoyable, but, if I leave it until night, it becomes something that HAS to be done and is no longer fun. There are still 6 to stitch.
This is one of my new 6 & 6 for 2018 Challenge.

Bright Jane

This one came out to play this spring and the  superscrappy RSC  colour for May has been pink/rose.
 I am using one of my Featherweights. I have been doing foundation piecing on the blocks this past year because I have all the foundation patterns prepared and printed onto Carol Doak's special paper left over from my first Dear Jane quilt that I completed in 2014 but am still machine quilting.
And
I added sashing strips to the right side and bottoms of most of the finished blocks
in preparation to assemble the top some day.
The blocks are 4 1/2 inches. There will be 169.

I had all 60 completed blocks and the bright border flags up on the design wall and asked the little boys to take them down and put them into project boxes. They could not reach the top row even on the 3-step stool. But I have new converts to play with my blocks.
 Jonathan had walked into the quilt room and exclaimed "WOW!" when he saw them. 

David had not noticed but came and gave me hugs and kisses first.

Dear Daughter

My OMG one-monthly-goal for May was to complete the hand applique on 4 blocks and add the sashing and cornerstones. I was ahead since I made several extra donuts and 3 alternate blocks. Next month there will be a couple of flower blocks. I intend to make the easier ones and skip the more intricate if I can. But then there will be 2 bird blocks in November and I am looking forward to making them. These blocks finish at 8 inches and the sashing is 3 inches.

Huguenot Friendship Quilt

After sewing on the Dear Daughter sashing and cornerstones, I changed the thread to red silk and continued machine appliqueing these blocks with a fine straight stitch using the Bernina.
 It is really boring but this is an impulse project and I work on it between other things.
It will get exciting again when I can put the border together after
all the blocks are complete and the center assembled.
These 36 blocks will be 8 inches set on point with alternate white squares and setting triangles
with an applique border.

Antique Wedding Sampler

For some crazy reason, I pulled out the kits I purchased from Homestead Hearth 2-3 years ago and started working on just one block. Then, since I was prepping corner appliques for one, it was easy to prep them for 2 others, so I did. I had photocopied the patterns onto extra heavy freezer paper and cut out the diamonds and triangles for 3 sunflower blocks when I was in Shipshewana in April.
I stitched these together by hand using an English paper piecing technique.
 Still not decided if I like doing this or not.
These blocks are 12 inches. There will be 25 of them set on point.

Morrell

Yes. I did work on 2 more Morrell blocks. And I completed them.

All 105 pieces of the 3 Flying Geese units.
 I still have several more blocks that I had prepped ready to foundation piece
a couple of years ago. There will be 60 ten inch blocks and
a 20 inch center block.
Someday.

90 Day One Big Thing

I completed one course for my Doctorate in Christian Counseling
and submitted it. 

I continued working on another only to discover that,
where I thought I was close to the end, there were still no less than 12 more books to read
and
an entire 12 week study to work my way through.
 Sigh.
Oh well. It will be a good foundation for my dissertation.
Good thing I bought all the books when I first started it 2 years ago.
This course is about bringing healing to broken women.

And all this because I stopped playing computer games.
 Imagine that. 

Blessings,
Chris

linking to 

lovelaughquilt  main-crush-monday   mid week makers  BOMs Away  let's bee social  needle-and-thread-thursday  can I get a whoop-   needleandthreadnetwork     wips-be-gone  esther aliu's WOW  slow sunday stitching

Planning Plans to Plan for My May Plans

I have been wrestling with what my one monthly goal for May should be. It should be small and doable.

I have all the completed and in-process Dear Daughter blocks with their sashing strips and cornerstones on the small design wall. The top 8 are complete and stitched to the sashing and cornerstones. The lower 5 are in process. Since I started more than the required donuts and 2 alternate blocks, I am ahead of the game for next months blocks which will be released on Tuesday. I am hand appliqueing these. 

Dear Daughter Sampler

I was talking to a writing coach the other day and am instigating a 90-day goal for one "big" thing. You better believe quilting is not on that list of one "big" thing.  My 90-day "big" thing will be to complete the 5 doctoral courses that I have been pretending to work on for the past couple of years. After that, I will set another 90-day "big" thing goal.  It might be to complete the final 4 courses. It might be to finish writing my second book. I have pages and pages of notes in a box. I took them out to look through them one night before I left for the Shipshewana Retreat thinking naively that I could write a few more pages. Did not happen. I was having too much fun shopping and stitching and visiting. 

I have not played any computer games for 28 days in a row. Instead, I have been turning the computer off and doing other things. Even a bit of house work. But not too much. Today I put the 3 completed Dear Jane 2 blocks into a box and then put the Morrell blocks onto the big design wall. They are looking so good. Well, in my opinion. All 19 of them. But, alas, I am procrastinating yet again.  

I also have been tidying project boxes and putting them away in the cavernous quilt cupboard upstairs as well as clearing off my endless tables here in the quilt room. It is almost time to take the many geraniums outside for the summer and open the windows. The sun started shining in here recently and I cannot believe how prolific the cobs have been spinning webs this past winter.

I think I will be removing the dreadful machine quilting stitches from my first Dear Jane quilt and starting over. I found out what I had been doing wrong causing the quilt to drag instead of feed using the walking foot on no less then 2 machines. I am still waiting for the Brother to come home from servicing at the repair shop. It turns out that the feed dogs were not dropping because I was not able to turn the knob one more time to drop them. Something about arthritis and sore hands. 

Which brings me back to wrestling with what my OMG could be for May. It should be small and doable. I guess it is looking me in the face. I will finish 4 more blocks for Dear Daughter. That will give me 2 complete rows. I could sew them all together then couldn't I.  But then, I don't want to over do it. 

Blessings,

Chris

linking to 

lovelaughquilt  main-crush-monday   mid week makers  BOMs Away  let's bee social  needle-and-thread-thursday  can I get a whoop-   needleandthreadnetwork     wips-be-gone  esther aliu's WOW slow sunday stitching

Shipshewana Quilt Retreat April 2018

We left my place at 6 in the morning on Tues and arrived a bit before 3 in the afternoon. Since it was too early to check in we went shopping.

I took along 3 Antique Wedding Sampler kits in case I had extra time and wanted to do some hand work. I cut out all the little bits from extra heavy freezer paper and will do these by English Paper Piecing.

The retreat did not start until noon Wed so we went shopping. I bought a few fat quarters.

Wed night and Thurs  morning I sewed sashing strips and corner stones for Dear Daughter. I completed 2 blocks. I had stitched on the alternate block on the left last week when I was getting the oil changed in my car. I always get the oil changed before a road trip. Decided to leave the snow tires on. Good thing. We went shopping.

Thurs we went to see the musical Half Stitched. It is based on the book by Wanda Brunstetter set in Shipshewana with a quilting theme. We got
front row seats because we could. Then we went shopping.

There are so many of the most beautiful wide backs available these days. I only bought 5. Some of them are 115 inches wide. All these in anticipation of completing a few really big quilts.

Fri I worked on some yellow Bright Jane blocks.

Did I mention we went shopping? I bought a few Di Ford-Hall fat quarters and yardage.

Sat I worked on 2 Morrell blocks. I have to replace that one white piece on the end. And we went shopping.

Sunday I did some machine applique on the Huguenot Friendship Quilt using red silk thread. When the thread broke twice, I stopped.

The original Dear Daughter Quilt came out to play so I got to look really, really close at the blocks and sentimental inscriptions. It took my breath away with its simple beauty. I think I will change the green I started to use and find something softer.







I cannot understand why I did not get more sewing done in the 5 whole days we were there.

There was a severe winter (in mid April) storm in Ontario, but we left for home Mon morning and after 8 hours on the road, we arrived at the Farm where I got my car stuck in the snow.

Until next time,
Blessings,
Chris