Blogging Anniversary

 My goodness!! How did this sneak up on me? I started blogging exactly 7 years ago today. I have published 525 blog posts. I have met countless quilters around the world. I have chronicled pretty much all the quilts I have ever started and those I have finished. I started a lot more than I finished. What a journey!

I am taking part, once again, on Friday Night With Friends. We each do our quilty thing at home and post about it then visit all the other quilters out there in blog land. I am continuing the hand applique on a few Ella blocks. My sister left for her home in Pakistan last night and I plan to reorganize my quilt room and tables and stuff to prepare for my daughter and her family moving in here next week. I have quilty ideas. We started a quilt together using my GO dies about 8 years ago. That has been sitting in a box for far too long. I think I will pull it out and put it up on the big design all and see where our inspiration will take us. 

Blessings,

Chris

September OMG Goal

I am starting a new mentoring group later this month and we will start off talking about goal setting. What do I know about setting goals? I set goals all the time. Do I follow through on them to completion? Sometimes. Not always. I could learn a few things. 

I usually set quilting goals for Patty's OMG. But quilting is not the only thing I do. Sometimes, but not often, I do housework or pay bills or clean out the car. Most bills are set to be paid automatically on our credit card or on-line banking and my Sweetie writes the checks for the rest. I just make sure there are lots of checks and envelopes and stamps.  One of my goals this past week was to buy more stamps. I bought envelopes last month. Probably should order more checks soon. I bought new pens this week. I ordered some notebooks on Amazon and then they offered me my favourite all-time pens at half price so I bought 4 packs of them. I tried to get more but that was the limit. I tried on another order but they were on to me. Okay. Where was I? Goals. Right. I usually set quilting goals every month. Sometimes they are reasonable and other times they are a fantasy. 

I have been limiting my quilting to the 3030 Quilt and Ella.  The Ella blocks for this month are a few more doozy applique ones.  Not sure that I will make all of them since I plan to only make 50 altogether and not all 85 like the original. 

My September OMG will be to complete a few Ella blocks. Not promising any more than that. Non-quilting goals will be to complete one more of my courses.

blessings,

Chris 

linking with: slow-sunday-stitching.  design-wall-monday- link-party-patchwork-quilts-  one-monthly-goal-september-link-up.

needleandthreadnetwork. midweek-makers-  wednesday-wait-loss  myquiltinfatuation.  wendysquiltsandmore.

August OMG Completion

 I love doing the monthly OMG. It is one thing I try to accomplish each month. I do not always succeed, but that is usually because I stop trying to meet it. Let's face it, we all have 744 hours in this month of August to do what we do. I often spend at least 100 of those hours playing games and at least 90 hours napping. And there is eating. I do a lot of that. And sleeping. I usually get at least 200 hours a month. Then there is talking. The number of times someone walks into my quilt room/office and engages me in conversation. Hours each day.  One time I had stopped playing games for several months and turned off the computer for part of the day. I got a lot of stitching done that month. A lot. I have been working on a couple of courses this past month. I am trying to get the course work complete before the end of the year. However, family has been taking up much of my time. We are having a Christmas dinner here this weekend. Some of the family will be here for the fresh turkey on Sat. Others will come for leftovers on Sunday. 

I am taking part in a Virtual Wrirtring retreat this weekend also. Well, today. There is a turkey to cook up tomorrow after I remember to thaw it and chop up the celery and bread. I will have help for that part. I think we will be eating outside. There are thunderstorms in the forecast for the morning. But if not, I will have to find room for 17 people in here. 

My goal for August was to complete 3 blocks and possibly more. I did complete one and stitched on a few others. So without further ado, here are my completed blocks for August:

Blessings,

Chris

linking with midweek-makers-  wednesday-wait-loss-

Emily's Quilt

My sister Emily has been here since Easter. She lives and works in Pakistan as a teacher and has been sheltering or in lockdown or whatever you want to call that she could not go home. She taught her grade two kids on zoom here at midnight for a couple of months and now she is gearing up to teach her grade one class for five hours a day on zoom. What did we ever do before computers and zoom? She found a pattern then she rummaged through my fabric until she found colours she liked. Finding enough was a bit of a challenge, but she did that. She decided on the scale she wanted the proceeded to cut out about 2000 two-inch squares. Eventually, I put a new blade in the cutter for her. 

She started out on the small design wall, but that was not going to be big enough.

so she moved it all over to the big design wall. She had a bit of help from the girls. 

Then she started to sew up units. Two opposite corners. Then the center.

It became a bit of a challenge to make all the units fit together,  

but she did it.

Then auditioning borders.

And the quilting. It is crazy timing, but the girl that did my longarm quilting last winter just happened to send me an email the day we were talking about her and wondering where her contact info was. 

She did an amazing job and quickly. And, she also did the binding. 

So Emily had the daily progress visible as the backdrop for her class zoom meetings involving her class. Now she is using leftover squares to make cushions that each of my grandkids designed. I wonder what she will do when she comes back to visit next year? 

Blessings,

Chris

linking with: midweek-makers-  needle-and-thread-thursday-  wendysquiltsandmore.

frombolttobeauty.

To-Do Tuesday

 Last week's list:

1. Be productive for 7 whole days in a row with no children. I ended up resting and watched  The Crown on Netflix because the remote was not lost or being used or being fought over. 
2. Two more lessons on Healing Power. nope
3. Find a new internet provider. yup will be installed tomorrow
4. Continue clearing inbox. a work in progress
5. Hand applique because I love doing it again. yes
6. Write one page for SMOWJ. nope
7. Write another page. nada
8. Make jam. the day is not over yet
9. Make corn relish. done
10. Stop reading blogs for at least 3 days. the problem with not reading blogs every day is I missed the Friday Night with Friends last week. 

This week's list:

1. Complete this 3030 block for my OMG goal for August. 
2. Turkey dinner on Sat. I will have help.
3. Complete one Ella Block. Any block. 
4. Write up a blog post for OMG. 
5. Get my teeth cleaned.
6. Two more lessons for the small group I lead at church. It is the first in-person group since lockdown in March. We are live streaming from one room of in-person people to another room where the on-line people are zooming in. It is interesting. We have an amazing techie just graduated from college with all the qualifications to set up a mini tv studio. 
7. Participate in a virtual writing retreat Fri. I can only join in for one day since Sat we are having a family Christmas dinner and farewell party for my sister who is going home next week. 
8. Write up a blog post about her finished quilt. 

That's enough for this week. I don't think I will do this every week, but it has been interesting. 

Blessings,

Chris

linking with: to-do-tuesday  needleandthreadnetwork.  wednesday-wait-loss-  midweek-makers-  needle-and-thread-thursday-

Really Slow Stitching

 Linking with Kathy at Slow Sunday Stitching. and Cynthia at quiltingismorefunthanhousework.

To Do Tuesday

I hadn't posted a to-do list for a long time until last week. This is how I did:

1. Listen to the rest of the 8 lectures for my current course and do the test. done
2. Hand applique while listening. done
3. Change the throat plate on the Bernina so we can do some zig-zag stitching. done
4. Bring the step stool in from the trampoline so I can put Serendipity on the design wall. done
5. Take the step stool back out to the trampoline. oops
6. Clear out my inbox. A work in progress since I have about 1500 unopened emails
7. Pre-wash more background fabric for the 3030 Quilt center. done
8. Draw the design onto the BACK of the 27-inch center medallion for back basting. drew it on the front instead since I have decided to do this by machine applique and fusible
9. Begin to prep a few of the applique shapes.  turns out I have to trace the shapes backwards in order to get the design on the top frontwards. I can do this
10. Make jam. 
11. Make relish. my son made some green tomato relish but still want to make corn relish
12. Finish this Ella block. done  
    

This week's list:

1. Be productive for 7 whole days in a row with no children. 
2. Two more lessons on Healing Power.
3. Find a new internet provider.
4. Continue clearing inbox.
5. Hand applique because I love doing it again. 
6. Write one page for SMOWJ. 
7. Write another page. 
8. Make jam.
9. Make corn relish.
10. Stop reading blogs for at least 3 days. 

The girls are learning to whistle. I heard Jingle Bells tweeting out in the kitchen as the 8-year old was drying supper dishes the other night. The 7-year-old has finally figured out how to get that first tweet out and that is all we hear from her right now. All. The. Time. I love it! 

Blessings,

Chris