End of February

I did not get my Simple Simon top quilted for 
omg-one-monthly-goal.

I did get some major house cleaning done 

for the open house book signing party. That was fun. 

I have been waiting for some helps to sandwich three tops to quilt. They are coming on Monday night.

I did cut and prepare the binding. Hope there will be enough since I have no more of this fabric. 

If not,  could add some other colour. 

Maybe.We shall see. If there is enough. 

I got one Bright Jane block done for the RSC challenge. 

It's the top left one. foundation pieced.

But then, that's all I had promised to do. 

These are all the aqua/turquoise blocks made so far.

 I sewed up the twelfth block for the Civil War blue $10 quilt. 

Today I am connecting all the blocks together with a border print. 

For the 17-ufos-in-2017/.

 I sewed the binding on to the Brown Crazy Patch.

Now what are the chances of finding the exact correct left over fabric 20 years after making the thing? 

I hadn't seen it for years then when I went to the fabric cupboard 

the other day to get something else, it was just laying there. 

On top of something. 

Right there.

 I switched to some hand embroidery for the BTCT blocks.

 I had forgotten how simple and relaxing embroidery can be.

  Must do more of it. Mostly outline and back stitch.

 Devan decided that this block needed some extra grapes

and glued them on last night when I turned my back while babysitting.

That's about it for now. 

We had a record setting 18C yesterday 
so I took Ava out for ice cream.

Just because we could. 

Blessings,

Chris

Cobwebs and Quilting

My daughter came by for a couple of days last week with the boys. They are so amazing and so cute. Both slept through the same night so she finally got some good sleep. Yay for sleep for mother's of babies. The reason she made the long drive here was to help her mom, me, do some serious dusting and seek and remove cobwebs galore. She commented how bright the rooms looked after she was done. I figure, if I can't see them, they do not exist. Well they did exist but not anymore.

And why was it so important to get rid of them in mid February? Isn't that what  most people do in the spring? I am not like most people. We are having a Book Signing open house here at the Farm next Sat Feb 18 to promote and sell signed copies of Denine: One mother's journey with a profoundly handicapped child.  I have three cases of soft cover books in the corner in the living room and several pens ready to write my name and a few encouraging words in them.

I bought some bubble envelopes yesterday and mailed off a few today to the US and BC. I could not believe how much it cost per book!!! I guess when amazon prices shipping and handling at $6.49, it is a bargain.

I finished the quilting on the Brown Crazy Patch so another 17 ufos for 2017 is moved forward. Now to find some suitable fabric for binding.

The weather forecast for the next couple of weeks shows lots of sunshine and plus numbers. The sap will be running. I wonder if the grand kiddies are ready to learn about making maple syrup? None of them especially like it. And I vowed never to re-paper the kitchen again after last time. Can't recall how long ago that was. More than twenty years at least. But I digress.

The plumbers were in this morning clearing the clogged bathroom sink. I will have to sell at least a hundred books to pay them. They had to remove and replace some of the 1950s drain pipes, so I got them to put new taps on the laundry tub. They did that for free.

If taking 20 years to make and complete the Brown Crazy patch is not slow stitching, then I do not know what is. Linking up with 

Sunday Slow Stitchin, 
17 ufos for 2017 
 needle and thread network.
confessions of a fabric addict 
needle-and-thread-thursday. 
let's bee social 
quilting readers garden. 

Blessings,
Chris

What I Am Doing This Week

The RSC for February is aqua - turquoise. I have pulled some fabrics for 8 Bright Jane blocks. No promise how many I will get done. I will start with one.

 I started teaching nine year old Ava to do embroidery. She learned to put on the hoop, separate the floss  and thread a needle. She got stuck at making a knot. Not that I use knots when I do embroidery, but I thought it was time she learned how.

 I finished the wreath on this BTCT block this week bring my total completed blocks to  14.

For the life of me, I have no idea why I called this 17-ufos-in-2017 quilt a  Log Cabin. I did once make a brown Log Cabin quilt, but have no idea if I ever finished it or gave it away. 

I decided to do simple diagonal curvy lines using some left over King Tut thread. Once I found the thread, it was easy peasy to get it started. However, what should have taken me a day to do has stretched into several days. Something about grand children and babysitting. 

Why do they call this yellow stuff "Frog Tape?" It is neither sticky nor croaks.

 Linking   slow sunday stitching

Blessings,
Chris