End of May and June first tomorrow.

 I am looking forward to the month of June.  There will be Father's day, birthdays (including me) and graduation activities (granddaughter) and other end of school year, beginning of summer days which means longer days, shorter nights.  I am not happy with daylight at 4am but only for a month and then it will begin getting darker earlier and getting daylight later. 

It was a good month for me with quilting activities, projects completed, guild meetings, gardening and tennis three times a week with two immuno-therapy appointments for my husband (which also means blood tests and oncology appointments).  

I did my regular Wednesday pick up and drop off at our local long arm quilter's home who has guild members come in and quilt donation tops which then need to be bound.  I do the binding as my way of contributing to their efforts and I think they are quite happy to see a quilt leave and come back labeled and bound and ready for distributions to a variety of local organizations with people in need of warmth and a quilted hug. This is the only one I remembered to take a picture of. 

 I got all my critter quilts quilted, labeled and bound. These will hopefully be chosen by kids who love snakes, spiders, owls, and frogs.  The pattern is Lindy by Running Doe (Villa Rosa) and I made 5 smaller quilts rather than one large one.  It was the challenge for March. 

I had pulled out some green fabrics for binding and my closet shelves were looking very messy and untidy so I brought all the fabrics out to the ironing board and organized them.  I really like to handle my fabrics once a year to remind myself of what might be a hidden gem.  There is a such a variety of green fabrics: yellow green, dark, light, blue-green and bright greens. 

 

I was working on finishing April and May Running Doe quilt tops and I get Turnkey blocks made and BoBevelynn blocks completed.  Both are now quilted and bound so am completely up to date. 

Two of the quilt tops handed into me for Quilts of Valour from North Vancouver quilters got labeled and bound and a big thank you to the Wednesday quilters at Leon's for their time and effort. 

One more of these quilts is also finished after I quilted, labeled and bound... it was the only one not done by a professional quilter but it is finished and ready to wrap around an injured Canadian armed forces member. 

 This is a cute project bag that I purchased at the last quilt show I attended... a kit from Troll Brothers and it was quick and easy to make with everything included in the package. 

 

I copied this idea from another quilter.  I thought it was quite brilliant.  She uses dry erase markers to write on her sewing machine.  I don't need the "unplug" the iron because I have a more foolproof method but I like the idea of putting the date on there when you service your machine including changing the needle.  I have my iron and a string of lights plugged into a power bar below my ironing board and when I leave the room, can see at a glance if I have turned it off  before I head upstairs.  Works better on a dark evening but I always look over before I head up the stairs.  An easy way to see that everyone is on or off. 

My granddaughter was here with her high school rugby team to play in the provincial tournament which was held in our city.  They traveled a long distance (near the Rocky Mountains) to get here and were excited to play as well as visit the ocean and spend time in a large shopping center.  

 

And a picture of my adorable great granddaughter... so sweet!  

I am very pleased with my new hummingbird feeder... the last one leaked and our deck was constantly covered in a sticky mess.  The birds love this one and we are entertained by the hummingbird wars where they zoom and fly at each other, not realizing that there is enough spots for four of them to drink at once.  

The last day of May and it is a Sunday.  The upstairs housework is done and now time to work on the dust, threads, and messy spaces downstairs. A good time to write out my list of projects I would to accomplish this month, as well as trying to reduce the amount of fabric stash on hand.  Lots of ideas but seems like the days go quickly... too fast to accomplish what I think I should get done.  I have decided that is a sign of aging which is happening to everyone! 

Mid May and chugging along with home, garden and quilting tasks.

 I feel like I am still trying to catch up after my lost time in March with vertigo (vestibular neurosis) but yesterday I took the time to sit and consolidate all the lists I had floating around in so many spaces and places.  That felt good and I am on track to accomplish a few things by the end of May. 

Our weather was hot in the Pacific Northwest for a few weeks and I was having to include watering on my daily list of routine tasks.  Now that we have a holiday weekend, we also had torrential rain from Thursday until Saturday.  Thankfully, we are back to clouds mixed with sun which is perfect for transplanting veggies and pulling out the weeds. 

I did finish stitching the blocks together on the flannel quilt that the blocks were made for but before I did that, I asked the person I was making it for to check and rearrange blocks so it was as she wanted it. 

I have also continued to pick up quilts from our long arm donation group for trimming and binding and have had some fun quilts under the sewing machine needle. I don't always remember to take a picture of the finished quilts but these are from last week.  We donate to a variety of organizations and need quilts for all ages, especially the moms and their children escaping abusive situations in transition houses. 

 

Sadly, our eldest daughter was in an accident, up north (McLeod Lake) in BC while riding her quad and had a serious head injury.  From the accident site until she reached Vancouver General Hospital, too much elapsed and her brain was badly injured.  We are sad that she died but, I will remember her from one of the last pictures she sent me, enjoying the warmer, spring weather. Please have your family use a helmet while riding on these all terrain vehicle... it will save their brain if they have an accident. 

 Sewing projects are progressing but very slowly.  I managed to get the critter quilts from the Running Doe March challenge layered with flannelette on the back and all are ready for quilting and binding. 

 My Keyhole quilt, using the April pattern challenge from Running Doe quilts is put together and waiting to be pressed, quilted and bound.  I have this on my list for quilting during the final week of the month. 

Blocks before I got them stitched together.  I used fabrics with a Canadian theme because this will be a Quilt of Valour. 

My "new rule" for myself is that if I purchase anything at a quilt show this year, it must be completed immediately.  I bought a kit for this zipper pouch and the tote bag at our quilt show in April.   

I bought a cute fabric book at our quilt show last month and stitched it for my great granddaughter. 

 

For our May guild meeting, I turned in two blocks using the theme Mother's Day and I thought flowers were appropriate along with the birds that are busy this time of year building their nests.   

 

Quilts of Valour has a new way of using the hug blocks made by quilters across Canada.  Previously, they were all sent to one location and sorted so that each quilt contained blocks from across our country.  The new way is for the rep to collect the blocks from her area and for every 20 blocks, a panel with sashing and border fabrics will get sent and the quilts can be made locally and stay in our area.  The one rule for these blocks is that they must be made from Oh Canada fabric which comes from Northcott.  I had some blocks on hand turned in by our guild members so requested a panel and I put the top together for show and tell this week and hoping it will inspire them to make more blocks. 

I also had a number of quilt tops handed in to me at our quilt show in April from quilters who live a distance from where we are and brought them to donate to Quilts of Valour.  I spent time cutting backing and battings and took them to our guild meeting hoping to find some quilters who would be happy to finish them.  I will label and bind them as they get returned to me.  

I am continuing to use this block from Bonnie Hunter as my leaders and enders while sewing other projects.  Every time I get 10 made, I take them off the design wall and clip them together so it is easy to keep count of how I have.  They are 8" finished so 72 are needed for a decent size quilt top.  I will keep making blocks until I am bored with it or run out of 2½" strips that are the correct length. 

Finally!  I have started on the Running Doe blocks for May.  These finish at 12" so I need 30 to get a quilt 60 x 72" and again, using Canadian themed fabric for a Quilt of Valour.  

I worked on samples of hug blocks using the Northcott Oh Canada fabrics to show guild members some of the variety of blocks that can be made.   

I will be spending my quilting time alternating between making blocks and getting critter quilts from March quilted and bound.  There will be appointments this week for my husband but, if I am organized,  it is easy to pop downstairs and sew for a bit and accomplish an hour or so of stitching.  

Almost May and missed March and April

My last post was March 1st and then I somehow had a viral infection in my ear... vestibular neuritis which  had me living in a world with brutal spinning and it wouldn't stop.  After a week of being unable to move much and going through some brutal episodes, I did call our nurses' hot line and she connected me with a doctor who urged me to head to the ER.  That was a good decision and I was there for a few days while they ran many tests to rule out heart attack, a stroke, anything affecting my brain and the final test was the worst with a neuro surgeon having me do things with my eyes and head that had me vomiting and begging him to stop but he assured me it was necessary for an accurate diagnosis.  Apparently, prednisone was the solution  with massive doses for the first few days and then a gradual tapering off along with anti nausea medication.  

I still have moments of dizziness but they pass quickly though I always have Gravol (better than no name brand) and my other meds handy.  I am doing balance exercises through physio which I assume are helping though doing anything with  my eyes closed causes great wobbling.  

Since beginning of March, my lists got ignored for what I wanted to accomplish in my world of quilting... but, I am my own 'boss' so was free to change what I was working on. I did get Stashbuster annual challenge block done with green fabrics but still two months of colours waiting to be made. 

I kept working on my churn dash blocks using gray and red with Canadian themed fabric in the center.  The blocks didn't look great when I put them all together so added in sashing on two sides with a small corner block of red.  

This was the final preemie quilt I made using the leftover blocks from the small quilts made in February.  Totally orphan blocks but very pink and will hopefully brighten up the NICU.  

I managed to get a few March decor items out after getting home from hospital.  

Our dear, darling great granddaughter came with her mum and dad for a visit.  That is my grandson and it is amazing how much she looks like her daddy when he was her age.   
 

One project I did complete was my bunny runner bought from Quilt Nut Creations... a lovely small shop in a cute cottage behind their home in Chilliwack, BC.  

Our Wednesday group is going to make some happy blocks using cat/dog fabrics so we can donate to the SPCA. We aren't sure of what they can use but hoping to make some quilts they can raffle or use as door prizes.  I had a lot of fun fabrics when I dug them out.  

In Vancouver BC, the trees were glorious during blossom time.  Our weather cooperated and the trees were stunning. 

I am listing some furniture on Facebook marketplace because after my vertigo, it would have been nice to have a sofa bed in this location so I could be in bed, quiet and calm, without having to deal with stairs.  It would also be better for my husband who was trekking up and down to check on me.  Good news is that it sold... now onto more furniture.  As I approach 80, it feels important to reduce what we have and enjoy life with fewer possessions. 

I have also been pampering our front yard this spring and I did get it sprayed to prevent chafer beetles from laying eggs which grow grubs that attract the raccoons.  

Our hedges got trimmed thanks to our neighbour and my husband, after a blood transfusion and an iron infusion at the beginning of April, has been getting gardens ready for planting some vegetables.  Another good friend and her husband delivered us a load of manure which is being places in all his 'growing' holes.  

Great Nana with her adorable wee baby.  

While I was digging out cat and dog fabric for some SPCA projects, I also found bug, critter, frog fabrics... even some snakes and spiders.  I have a niece and a grandson who would have been thrilled with these fabrics.  I totally missed the Running Doe quilt challenge for March. The pattern is called Lindy but I decided that I would just make a lot of blocks and then start making quilt tops with them.  

The blocks are 12" wide and 7" deep so I played with arrangements and came up with this idea.  So far have 3 tops made.  

Another piece of furniture, a sideboard from our farmhouse, moved here 16 years ago and never used upstairs... it is living in the basement and really hope someone would love to give it a new home. 

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This was one of the quilts I sold at our quilt show earlier this month.  

I also sold this one as well... one of my favorite patterns  - Kimberly by GE designs 

At the quilt show I bought 3 projects... but told myself that if I buy, I need to make asap.  So this cute little zip pouch got made.  

I also made the kit for the tote bag purchased at the show. 

 This fabric book was the third kit I purchased and it is stitched up into a silly book for great granddaughter to enjoy. 

One more picture of my great grand.  

I spent some time yesterday tidying up a couple of drawers and also treated my mats to some cleaning and scrubbing.  I like to use vinegar water sprayed on them and then let them dry after I have scrubbed.  All neat and tidy and read to tackle making more cat/dog blocks and April's Running Doe Turnkey. 

Catching up on some other projects.  I had finished this village table topper in February but decided I needed to quilt it some more... so stippled in all the gray areas.  This was a project from Missouri Star advent box in 2024.

I made this red/brown quilt using my Triple log cabin block and fabrics came from a bag tossed in my direction at a quilt meeting plus some from my stash.  It is for quilts of Valour.  

This is the back of the quilt which adds a bit of a Canadian theme to the finished project. 

This was the quilts of Valour display at our quilt show.  A huge thank you to Carla who set it up for me since climbing on ladders is not something I can do while still having a possible attack of vertigo.  She did a great job.  

This is the finished churn dash and glad I added the black sashings to it.  

I missed the session at the March guild meeting where they made these cute buckets so am determined to get one made... they were created using orphan blocks as the inspiration.  

This last picture is an ongoing project.  I made yellow brick road blocks for a friend but am waiting for her to play with the layout before I stitch the blocks together into a quilt top.  Really cute fabrics but she had less fabrics to play with so there are multiples of the fat quarters and I seem to get dizzy every time I start playing with them.  

So, ending April with some finished and a new month begins in a few days.  I have all my critter blocks into tops that now need to be layered, quilted and bound which might happen though this is the week for blood test, oncologist appointment and immunotherapy infusion for my husband so my time is limited in my studio.