Far too long but busy days mean less computer time

 I will admit that one of the hardest things about getting older is that it seems to take me longer to accomplish what I used to be able to do quickly and in a short time.  My lists look longer because I am slower to cross off tasks.  I have the greatest of plans and fall short at the end of the day.  Oh well... accepting this is hard but I cannot slow down the aging process.

It seems that a lot of the yard work is now in my hands and while I don't mind weeding and cutting grass, at times it is frustrating to take care of the outside 'stuff'.  I continue to play tennis between 2 and 3 times a week which is good for my fitness but takes me away from my home duties.  

Towards the end of September, a good friend and her partner drove from Mesa to here with ALL OF MY MESA STUFF.  There was a mix of suitcases, boxes and vacuum sealed heavy plastic bags and in total 14 of them containing quilting items, clothing, pictures, and other odds and ends that I had indicated that we either needed or wanted.  Included in that were prescription glasses that my husband had safely tucked away in his top dresser drawer in Mesa as well as family pictures that it is nice to have back.  Everything was piled up  and I managed to tackle the biggest of the items fairly quickly but all the quilting fabric, rulers, and bits and pieces took me forever to find new homes for them.  

A great picture of friends from Mesa.  One couple drove from Vernon to chat with our visiting friends because the woman that delivered our belongings was also our realtor and they wanted to confer with her in person.  The weather was lovely and 10 days later, the highways heading east and north were covered in snow - winter arrived but after we had our visit. 

One awesome item that arrived was my tennis bag!  Love this bag - am a Vera Bradley fan.

 I had worked really hard all summer to get our green grass back to being healthy and happy with no grubs but, I failed and the products I used were not successful.  After waking up to this one morning in September, I was feeling defeated but a neighbour out walking came to the rescue.  He had a gardening company coming to treat his lawn with chemicals and sent them over to my house.  The grass got sprayed and since then we have seen a couple of small holes but apparently, if the grubs were alive, they would be awful tasting so the raccoons have moved on (to my next door neighbour's back yard).  

I continued to work on half square triangles using  white with black print fabrics with bright colours for the other half of the block.  I was going by a picture so just made this by guessing and pulling out scraps. 

Running Doe's quilt of the month for September was Stargazer and I decided to pull out lots of reds with creams. 

In the meantime, I have been busy picking up quilts from our local long armer's home where a group work on quilting donated tops and I have been binding them.  Lots of binding!  

I cut a stack of odd fat quarters that sort of went together and made a quilt top using the Carolyn block. 

Stargazer had to be put up on the design wall because you make all the parts first and then figure out how they all go together.  This isn't my favourite way of assembling a quilt but there was no way to avoid stitching the rows together (slowly, checking for errors).  

I made a couple of googly eyes for a block lotto for the modern guild October meeting.  I was really happy to not win!   But the eyes have gone with all the others.  

I did get some autumn decor done but now, it is time for Halloween!!  

A friend in our Wednesday quilting group discovered two large bags which contained a lot of smaller snack bags, each filled with 16 2.5" squares and judging by some of the names on the bags, they are from a very long time ago.  We divided some of them up and I ended up with a lot of blue and green packages which I took my time sewing together into 16 patches.  This was my first idea but when I laid them out, it was far too busy so onto plan B which you will see further down. 

I managed to finish up Bonnie Hunter's leader and ender challenge and got the blocks put together.  I decided it would be good for Quilts of Valour so put a panel on the back of the quilt to make it a little more Canadian. 

The bright triangles from scraps got finished and will also be a Quilt of Valour. 

These are rainbow strip challenge blocks from the past few years and am working on getting the blocks that have accumulated into quilt tops.  This will also be for Quilts of Valour and again, used a panel on the back to make it a little more Canadian. 

The assorted fat quarters that are now put together into a finished quilt.  I love this block for using a bunch of fabric that you aren't quite sure what to do with but when put together, they seem to work.  

At our modern guild quilt meeting, we draw for doorprizes that some of us contribute and I won these fabulous cookies decorated for Halloween.  

Fresh snow on Mount Baker.  Winter is coming. 

The next group of quilts are NOT ones I have made but are the ones I have put the binding onto for the longarm group who quilt donated tops and then donate to various charities in our city.  

Flutterby is the Running Doe pattern for October and I chose to use more Canadian themed prints (that I had cut for the blue/green sixteen patches but they didn't work) and then a red/black combination for the short pieces.  This is close to being ready to stitch together but another pattern that has to be done in columns which is slower and less efficient that my usual way of putting blocks together. 

One more of the group of sixteen patches found in a drawer and these are reds, oranges, yellows and browns.  I pulled out more of the Canadian themed prints and put a border around them and now have a Quilt of Valour waiting to be pressed, quilted and bound. 

There is always more binding being made for quilts waiting to get their edges finished. 

A full bag of quilts bound and ready to leave my house. Love Ikea bags!

The worst part of my hobby is cleaning up after a quilt has been quilted and trimmed.  Some are pieces of batting and backing that can't be salvaged but a lot of the trimmings can be cut into 4 or 5 inch strips and the same with the backing fabrics.  This was an entire afternoon of sorting, cutting and folding.  All done! 

I have started another Bonnie Hunter leader and ender and so far have been tackling my bin of green scraps.  

This is another picture of the red/brown sixteen patch blocks, STILL waiting to be pressed.  That is not a favourite activity and usually wait until I get a phone call that know will be long. 

Tidying is happening.  I still have loads of small bags full of fabric pieces from my Arizona sewing room and will eventually go through them all, but, in the meantime, it is a little tidier and more contained.  

My very favourite ruler rack came home from Mesa.  It mounts on the wall and is on a bit of an angle so rulers are easily accessible.  I mounted it in front of my white board which might have been a bit of a mistake but I can work around it.  It is perfect above the cutting table and love having the rulers out of the way but easy to grab.  I bought this many years ago at a quilt show in Tucson and have never seen one since.  

This wall hanging also came home from Arizona and is now on the wall.  It is bright, cheerful and makes me smile so it is front and center! 

I do love my Janome machines but I DO NOT LOVE their dual feed ankle which holds the various feet.  I had to replace the one I had on my Janome 8200 and now, the one on my M7 is broken.  With the price you pay for these sewing machines, you would think that they could come up with a better design for this part?  Now, I need to figure out the easiest way to replace it ... checking to see who has them in stock?  I use the even feed for all the bindings I am doing - there was some quiet cursing when it happened but that was drowned out by the Blue Jays winning home run hit last night!   

Time to decorate for Halloween and get ready for my quilting spree next week (last week of the month).  I only have a couple of quilts to quilt and bind so that makes me happy though it means I didn't accomplish as much this month as I would like.  Enjoy the 31st.  Our neighbour's are having a costume party so it will be fun to sit outside and watch their guests arrive.  We are invited but these costumes will be elaborate and I am past the time in my life where I want to get creative with my appearance.  But, will be fun to watch!  We will be in New Westminster for Moh's surgery that day so a glass of wine, sitting in my driveway will be a lovely way to enjoy the evening's entertainment. 

End of August and a new September beginning

 September is always a reason to celebrate as a retired teacher.  All of my life until retirement, September meant back to school/university/ school again as a teacher.  Happy to say that I have retired 23 years ago and I still celebrate the first day of school, thinking of teachers and students back in a regular scheduled life that is run by the sound of bells or buzzers as well as clock watching. 

I am doing a happy dance because, end of August and I have my tops for the month quilted and bound!  I overheard someone snickering when I mentioned that the last week of the month is quilting week.  Once again, this system works so well for me.  A few years ago, I was feel overwhelmed by all my ideas (thanks to Pinterest), patterns on hand, show and tell inspirations as guild and I was surrounded by loads of fabric.  Yes, my fabric is organized but I felt at loose ends.  For the last few years I have participated in sew-alongs, mystery quilts, and the rainbow scrap challenge blocks and again, so many blocks, ideas and projects to make.  My saviour has been Stephanie, an Australian quilter who explained her method to me and I adopted it.  I feel so much more in control of what I am doing and get more satisfaction from finished projects. 

The system I am using is to spend the first week of the month binding the quilts from the last week of the previous month.  That includes labeling and sending the quilts off to their destinations.  I also have time in the first week to figure out my plan for the month.  In June and July, I worked on using my Aunt Gracie fabrics and made a bundle of quilts for the preemies in NICU at our local hospital.  All those fabrics are now nicely reduced and put away neatly.  The second week is working on new ideas, sew alongs, monthly mystery patterns and 'work in progress'.  The third week is generally spent getting blocks put together into quilt tops, sorting out backings and battings and getting ready for the final week of the month which is quilting.  

I have been trying to work on Row by row quilts which were popular ten years ago and shops would publish a free pattern and of course, a kit for purchase will all the needed fabrics.  I have finished most of them from 2015 but still have 2016 to work on.  I also have blocks from Rainbow scrap challenges and a few UFO's including a t-shirt quilt with the interfacing on the trimmed logos.  

Every month, I try to choose a topic or theme to keep me on track.  August was dealing with scrappy strips from the RSC plus, working on finishing quilts from Ingrid's legacy.  Ingrid was a quilting friend who died from brain cancer and our Wednesday Diva quilting group ended up with quite a few loads of her supplies that filled a van each time it arrived.  A good friend who lives close by has come to my house and we have sorted and organized fabrics so they will be easy to take to our guild free table without a mess being created.  This is the last of the containers that I happily passed onto the next person to go through. All the rest has been sorted by colour and put into bags for those wanting extra fabric or some of Ingrid's legacy can get over the next few guild meetings.  Our Wednesday group divided up many of the projects/quilts that were started but not finished and we are happy to do it for her family.  (Maybe a lesson for us quilters - always leave the pattern and plan plus necessary fabric if not scrappy with blocks that are in progress).  

 

These are two more of Ingrid's quilts that were finished.  The one with the hearts was begun a few years ago for a graduation quilt and has signatures with messages on many of the blocks.  The quilt top was together and spray basted with a backing of extra blocks. We found more extra blocks and they were put together into a baby quilt with both being delivered to the recipient at her baby shower last weekend.  

We also found some scrappy strip blocks with yellow centers.  There were some that were finished but there was also a lot of yellow squares waiting to be used.  Another member of our Wednesday Divas took on the task of finishing the blocks.  This block is made by drawing two lines, corner to corner, equidistant from each other.... 2" apart.  Those lines become the seam line of the first strips either side of center and from there, you keep adding until the yellow is covered.  And a second member took the blocks and added the black sashing and completed the top.  I quilted and bound it.  A group effort!

  

These other quilts were posted previously as we finished them for Ingrid's family.  

I also managed to get my monthly Running Doe stitch along quilt completed.  This is Phyllis, a Villa Rosa pattern by Running Doe designs. This one will be donated to Quilts of Valour.  

 

This is the first of rainbow scrap strips blocks that were leftover from the last few years. The next pictures is what I am doing with the next set of blocks from previous years.  I need 72 blocks so this will be some good stitching to do during the US Open this week. And I just noticed a block that is "wrong".... I need to fix that!  

I only need 10 more blocks for the Bonnie Hunter leader and ender challenge for this year.  I have them cut and sitting by the sewing machine.  

After tidying and organizing Ingrid's legacy, it made me realize how much 'stuff' I have in my sewing equipment stash.  I taught quilting at school and at quilt shops, and loved going to retreats (when my husband was healthier) so I have (had) a lot of duplicates.  I spent time last weekend, doing some of my own tidying and organizing.  The big bonus of that effort was that I knew where to find the glo tape for my ruler when I was trimming the strippy blocks.  The block measures 11.5" unfinished so I put the tape on the ruler and so much faster to line up the blocks and get them trimmed to size.  

 I finished this quilt that was from a kit that was in a Mystery box from Dragonfly quilting.  I didn't like the pattern that they chose so went in my own direction and had sewn these blocks at a sew in last fall but needed to put them on the wall to see how they worked and if I had enough fabric left for borders.  

A bonus harvest of zucchini and tomatoes last week

And an awesome bowl of plums from my good friend.  

Getting my binding done before the end of the first week of September gives me a few extra days to play with what I want to finish up next.  I have the rainbow strips to finish, plus the leader/ender bento boxes and I want to complete at least one row x row and there are still the ideas from earlier this year making half square triangles and Running Doe will be sending us another new pattern tomorrow for September.  

So, even though my friends roll their eyes at my 'system', it makes me happy.  I have NO quilt tops waiting for me to get quilted and when I do, they are done by the end of month they were created.  Guild starts again and I have a lovely stack of quilts to donate and that feels good.  I do need to stitch an apple block for our modern guild meeting in 10 days so that is going to be moved up the list of importance. I would love to tackle my two boxes of strips that are assorted and divided into a container of darks and one of lights.  Sounds like a perfect way to make some log cabins?  I can't get the lid on the container of darks... referred to as a muffin top.  

Enjoy our September weather.  It is getting dark far too early for me but, Mother Nature is in charge.  If anyone reading is under wildfire watch or evacuation, you have my prayers and wishes for rain to bombard the fires and help those fighting the battle to conquer the raging infernos.  And, if you are waiting for rain because you are so dry, it will come.. eventually.  If you are suffering from hot temperatures, I really hope you have a/c or a cool basement.  Again, we are at the mercy of Mother Nature and she appears to be a little cranky at the moment.