We made a decision to head south for a few weeks to our 'other' home and enjoy some sunshine, friendship and fresh oranges and grapefruit.
The weather here is typical winter temperatures and of course, some days of rain but it is nicer than being at home in the Pacific Northwest and certainly not as cold or as snowy and wet.
I love being here for lots of reasons but one great thing is our little library and I had new to me authors I wanted to check out and got lucky with quite a few of them so reading time while sitting in the afternoon sunshine feels like I am on a vacation.
Once the rain and cooler temperatures came, no outside time for reading or tennis so time to head into my sewing room. Before I left home, I had made some Rainbow scrap challenge string blocks using my bright greens and also got my Patterns by Jen January block done. On the ironing board is my Patterns by Jen blocks for 2023 and on the design wall is my Meadowland mystery January steps completed.
I also made a quilt for a special person in my life who is fighting breast cancer. I used some really well aged fabric that was Quilt for a Cure and was happy that I had those in my stash. The positive side of a well stocked fabric cupboard.
A closer look at the center of the mystery quilt from Meadowland. I made a mistake in the outer border and use the wrong fabric so a little frog stitching was done and it was corrected.
This was the view just before we left... a taste of what was going to come that we missed.
My Heartstrings group chose fat quarters for the January challenge and I decided to pull out the fat quarters that I had set aside for either 16 patch blocks or another pattern and they were perfect to use as a leaders and enders project while I worked on other projects. Crazy assortment of fabrics but will make a colourful quilt for a donation to one of the many organizations I donate to.
Patterns by Jen January blocks. Two blocks made with reversed lights and darks.
While in my sewing room here in the valley of the sun, I pulled out some fabrics that are at least 1 yard in length and used a 3 yard pattern called Connections from Fabric Cafe. The brown and blue are both dark and probably should have found a medium fabric for one of them, but the blocks are made and the top is assembled.
Since green is the RSC colour for January, I pulled out all my green scraps that I have here and made a variety of blocks. I may have got carried away but still have another couple of ideas that could also be made each month in the chosen colour. These are garlic knot blocks.
And, some L shaped blocks. This is a good block to make as two strips of fabric, one background and one green, make two blocks with very little waste.
A lesson learned from making these blocks. I saw the block being made at one of our modern guild Saturday Sew ins and Debbie pointed me in the direction of a video called Bundles and Bows. I should have watched the video again as I made a mistake in piecing some of the blocks. I was carefully matching up the points heading out from the center and then realized, after looking at the picture, the points are supposed to float. Oh well... blocks are made and I will remember for next month and do them correctly. It would really help to have my 3.5" ruler for the cutting involved in the first and second step and will dig out mine when I am back at the other home.
These rail fence blocks will get used in Meadowland's newest pattern Wharf Street. I probably made too many blocks (34) but was good to use up all kinds of 2.5" strips. I may make some 3 colour quilts instead of all twelve months of colours ... which would give me 4 quilts from the rail fence blocks.
As I went down a rabbit hole yesterday, looking at ideas and following links posted by quilters in their blogs, I saw this idea for a Criss Cross star and copied the directions and then made some 12" size. I will need 30 blocks for a finished quilt so 2 or 3 blocks each month will give me all the colours in my finished quilt top. Another great block for using up those small chunks of leftover fabrics.
You now know what I have been doing when it rains in Arizona. If I have a cup of tea, a good book and my fabric stash plus loads of ideas and inspiration, being bored isn't an option. There is still a week left in this month so may go back to working on 3 yard quilt tops for donation. And, in case you think I am on vacation, let me assure you that there are still meals to shop for and prepare, toilets and floors that need cleaning and laundry is constantly calling my name. Our house here is small and it is easy to get the housework done quickly although all the windows are calling out to me to be cleaned - one day.
