November in the sunny south

We are now in our 'other' home and, finally, after 9 days, got my sewing machine set up and dug out a UFO to work on.  Am a member of a yahoo group that deals with our UFO's and my name is coming up fast so I need to get one finished.
I found these blocks in a ziploc bag and I have no idea of how old they are or where I got them.  I assume they were from a swap and I can pick out the ones I made by recognizing the fabric.
Am in the process of making more blocks, but with reversed colours, to add to the final size of the quilt and make it something suitable for Quilts of Valour.

These are 9" finished blocks so not really quite large enough to be a lap quilt or twin size.  It will be when I am finished!

End of October, already!

Wonder why I always feel like I am 'behind?'  Probably because I have set my expectations too high for what I want to accomplish.

At the modern quilt guild meeting, this is a doorprize I won.  Thank you to Gail for making it and donating it to the prize table.

The modern guild has a charm exchange but, we cut our own charms and package, using fabric from our stash.  Fun and different! 

I have my modern guild challenge finished and ready for display in November.

My hexagon baby quilt is finished!

My geranium wallhanging is NOT finished but it is ready and waiting for me to machine applique and quilt in the spring.  I have a perfect location to hang it when it is time for geraniums to once again bloom. 

My southwestern wallhanging is almost finished but I cannot find the binding so it must be at my other house.  This will be one of my first projects when I am there.  Find the binding and get it attached!

 

We have been busy cleaning up our flower gardens, getting them winterized.  The sun this past week has been perfect for being outside and working away at the gardening chores. Pots are being emptied as tomatoes finish ripening and flowering bushes pruned back. 

 

 

I haven't been very productive but have a few finishes and a couple more UFO's to add to the pile!

Monday and a finish!

I have been working on a few projects at once and have finished making these pillowcases as Xmas gifts for a couple of friends. They can sleep with a macho fireman for Christmas!

And, my Fifty Shades of Grey is quilted and bound!  Yippeee.  It will go to Arizona with me as that is where the challenge originated. 

 

 

Now I have two more quilts to get quilted and bound in the next few days.  But the sun is shining and calling my name outside in the garden to do fall cleanup. 



Slowly, very slowy, returning to my 'real' life.

I endured a long three weeks of looking after grandchildren as well as worrying about our daughter who has an antibiotic resistant staph infection and our other daughter who decided that taking her meds for schizophrenia wasn't working for her.  Just watched a segment on 60 Minutes on the mentally ill and our daughter fits the profiles perfectly.  So sad but there just isn't a solution but at least she gets good care in the community she lives in and has a social worker who keeps an eye on her.
My grandchildren have relocated to a new community and am hoping that they will have a really good home to live in and two relatives who are willing to be awesome parents.  Those kids deserve a good life. 

 

This was taken after a pj day at daycare and then haircuts.  Hard to get a decent picture of these two! 

 

I have got my hexagon kid's quilt put together. 

 

 

 

And today I worked on my modern quilt guild challenge.  We had six fat quarters to work with but I discarded one that was very linen like as it didn't feel right for a quilt. This is what I was left with.

Since I need to get this challenge pieced, quilted and bound in the next couple of weeks, I went ahead with a super simple idea using a method for hst's that I demonstrated at the Abbotsford guild meeting a few weeks ago. 
This is what is now on my design wall.

So, need to join my blocks, get it layered... decide on a quilting method and finish it up! 

The binding is done.

No sewing happening here.  I have been living in another community all last week, looking after two of my grandchildren.  One daughter, the one with custody of these kids, has been in hospital with a staph infection that is antibiotic resistant and very ill though now, finally, she is starting to recover.  Her kidneys have the infection attached to them (maybe just one kidney?) and she has sores on her head that have to be dressed every few hours. 
The other daughter... she is back in the pysch ward because she hasn't been taking her meds for her schizophrenia. 
So no sewing for Mom/Grandma.  I did get a break this weekend and was able to come home and relax a bit, turn on my sewing machine and generally regroup.  Tomorrow, the duties of Grandma resumes.... should be easier since I ran around town last week getting the kid's medical issues dealt with.  School needs an epi pen and asthma meds in their medical room.  My granddaughter has excema and needed to attend an appointment and of course, various trips to the drugstore to fill prescriptions, buy school supplies and generally get their life organized. 
Hopefully, things will be sorted by next weekend or sooner if I get lucky and my life will resume as I know it.
Can't wait to get to my house in AZ!  Counting the days.  Love to help out but my kids live a completely disorganized life and I like order and logic to my days. 

UFO's - three finished!

I still have more projects to bind but I do have three UFO's finished which is a good thing because my group that I belong to has crowned me Queen and I have until Thursday to post a finish. 

The first is a lovely, soft quilt that was a kit from Hamel's here in BC and has been hiding in my UFO bin for at least three years and I am thinking maybe even five or six years? 

This table runner was a class/demonstration that I did last October so quite a year to get it quilted and bound.

Then there is this flannel panel that I also have had in my UFO bin for many years.  Again, not sure just how long but at least 5 years.  It is now quilted and bound and ready for me to decide where to donate it.

I also dug out three sets of jelly rolls and looked at lots of ideas and finally settled on playing with this technique.  The top is done but not sure when it will get quilted.

My second jelly roll is kid's prints and I bought a new ruler, the Hex and More so have been playing with the ideas that came with it. And again, have been looking at pictures on Julie Herman's
 blog as to how to use the ruler. 

Two different guild meetings this week and tomorrow I am demonstrating some of my favourite ways to make half square triangles. 

Fallish Friday

The weather this week is putting me in the mood for autumn and while it officially doesn't start for another 17 days I must admit I have been putting away tank tops, shorts and replacing them with longer pants and long sleeve shirts in my closet.

I also made a massive pile of tshirts for the eventual t-shirt quilt I want to make.  Anything that was too large for me, was really old and had a quilting or sewing theme went into the pile for a future quilt.

In the meantime, wallhangings and table runners are being changed from summer to autumn.  I can't help it, the rain is making me do it along with the darker mornings and the light, bright summer weather gone earlier in the evening. 

My current work in progress is this funky quilt made from a jelly roll and some white/cream fabric that I think was given to me via Bonnie?

 

 

 And I made a name tag for my Modern Quilt guild meetings.

 

 

 

This is a quilt that was a top given to me by Myra and I have quilted and bound it for a donation to Quilts of Valour.