End of June, halfway through the year, and another year older.

All these things are today and I 'think' I am in a good place in my year, life and quilting progress.
I decorated my stairwell for Canada Day and find that as I get older and don't have young grandkids here, my decor is much simpler.

I took some time from quilting yesterday and made up the totebag, (H bag) that is our guild challenge.  We were supposed to recycle fabric to make it but I didn't go to the thrift shop to look for something.  I had contemplated cutting up some old jeans but then remembered that someone had given me a bolt of denim fabric for Quilts of Valour.  However, the fabric is too heavy for the back of quilts so cut some off the bolt and played with two small buckets and then made the tote.  I did use up some timtex as well that was kicking around from my postcard days.  So, not officially made from recycled fabric, but it prevented fabric from going to be recycled!

A few finished quilts this week.  They were quilted last week but some are still waiting for binding. First is Squared Off, a Villa Rosa pattern and it used 10" squares plus a border that I added to increase the size to make it good for donation.

Show Biz, another Villa Rosa pattern, is a UFO that has been around for a couple of years. My friend Kelly quilted it and it will go back to her for Victoria Quilts now that it is bound.  Kelly is the rep for Victoria quilts and she covers cancer patients at our local hospital with a quilt when they are going through treatment.  She provided the batting and flannel backing and the quilting is awesome!

I  pieced together more of my rainbow string challenge blocks to make a second stop and it is now in the 'waiting to be quilted' pile.  This one has been quilted and bound. Makes a really colourful quilt and a decent size for the Quilts of valour recipient.

My first two Happy Blocks quilts are finished with the binding and ready for donation to We Care through my local guild. 

All together, I have made 170 of these blocks and am now officially 'done' for awhile.  It gets a bit boring after awhile though I did make them using them as leaders and enders.  I also have 50 more that used a 5" center so they are smaller.  Here I have them in stacks of 10.

And another quilt top laid out on the design wall.

I am working on the split 9 patch challenge and just happened to have the same charm packs as the quilter running the challenge!  So I am being honest and telling you that I am also being a copy cat.
Some blocks are made and others are still in progress.

The next stack of quilts is waiting to be loaded onto the B-line and get quilted.  First up will be my Double Slice from 10" squares. The good part is that I have already finished quilting one from my stack for July.

I have two quilts waiting for binding and am working on binding the sunflower quilt.

This daisies quilt is another UFO from 2017 and it also another one quilted by Kelly for Victoria Quilts.  It will be a cheerful quilt for someone who needs a quilted hug while undergoing chemo. A big thanks to Kelly for quilting these tops.  There is one more in that stack on the chair but you will have to wait to see it finished.  One quilt at a time gets the binding stitched! 
So now, tomorrow is a new month and I will have some June projects to carry over to July and of course, a list of new ideas and ufo's to work on but it feels good to have crossed off quite a few on my June list.  Funny how some projects never seem to want to get worked on?  I will have to stop procrastinating! 
A new year for me and it is like a new beginning.  At least, that is how I view a birthday.  End of one age and the beginning of a new one!