{Post 1,753} What Did Today Hold??

 

If you are a loyal reader, you know today was my first day “off”. My husband and his father left for VA this AM right before I got up. I didn’t hear them, but found out later that they left 15 minutes before I woke up. 

I had a few little things on the back burner for a while. So I started with them first. I read somewhere to do the things you don’t want to do first, so I did.

First up was a little thing (they are all little, but took a-l-l day...it’s after midnight as I type this). Do you have things at your house that bother you, but you keep putting them off? Please tell me you do. The clear caulking around my kitchen sink was dirty and small bits of black ick were growing behind the sink where water gets splashed frequently. I removed all the caulking and replaced it with new when-it-dries-it-will-be-clear caulk. It was freshly applied in the picture, so it is white. It’s dry now, and it’s clear.

Next up was painting the paneling on the back of my hutch topper. I have a new color I am incorporating slowly into the kitchen and living room. I was aiming for a color that would pick up on those other accents. The first try was too light, the second (slightly darker) one was too bright. So I went to Lowe’s (only 5 minutes away) and bought a moose mousse color glaze (antiquing glaze). I didn’t like it at first, but it’s growing on my now. Here is a before and after comparison. The first picture is before the glaze was applied.

I had made a snap bag for my pastor’s wife at least 6 years ago. We had lunch together last week, and she pulled it out. I noticed that the measuring tape in the top was wearing through the top of the bag. She said it was because she always has it in her purse. So I came up with a slightly easier pattern (and I am proud to say that I wrote it all down in my bullet journal so I can reproduce it). I decided to make two. There is a friend I have been wanting to make a little something for, and I decided this would be it. I filled them with Hersey Hugs.

But wait—there’s more...if you buy before midnight tonight... Just kidding. Who remembers the Ginsu knife commercials??

Next I wanted to chill out and watch a movie. So I designed a quilting template and hand quilted the borders of this little number while I watched the movie. I see that it needs spritzed with more water. The Mark-B-Gone marker does not B gone.

The first sewing I’m doing tomorrow is getting the binding on this. It seems like I’m dragging it everywhere to work on it. I just want it finished. I will quilt the border on the summer one, too, and bind it. I need to find a place in my house to display them. I have an idea. Here is the summer one. I have my plastic template for marking it, so it won’t take long.

I also ate four meals today. That is a big deal to me. Usually, when I’m home alone, I don’t eat much at all.

Lastly for sewing/quilting, I found some extra blocks from my son’s wedding quilt. He was married this year on April 24. His in-laws have a round table for four (yes, I asked...I can be very clandestine). So I took 4 of the blocks and put this together tonight. I had to make a cream background one, but it only took a few minutes because I had the units in my spare parts drawer. It measures about 26” square. I will quilt it this week. My son and new DIL are coming to our house a week from today and staying overnight. I will have it ready for her to take back.

It has been a seriously busy and productive day. Tomorrow (well, today, since it’s 12:30) we have our every other week extra choir practice after church, but I do plan to sew after I get home. Since I got so much accomplished today, I decided I better post about it before I forgot what happened (LOL).

 

{Post 1,752} Review of Quilt Bullet Journal

 

I have relayed several times how much I am enjoying my bullet journal. I make it a point to write in it every night, recording any sewing or prep for sewing (fabric selection, cutting for current project, pressing, trimming, etc.). I keep it simple, which is why I can keep up with it. Tonight I was thinking that a lot of the items that were UFOs are gone from my house. I was curious to tally up what I’ve completed this year. Some projects were fresh starts, so if I have the center done (waiting for borders), I consider that a lot. Most of my quilts are at least twin size. Many are queen-sized.

Buckle in. Here’s my list:

Quilts started from scratch AND already finished and delivered ~ 7

Quilts that were pieced when I started the journal that are completely finished ~ 5

Quilts whose centers are pieced...borders not on ~ 3

Antique quilts that need to be checked for repair needs and then quilted ~ 5

Customer quilts machine quilted ~ 17 (this surprised me)

Tops of mine that are ready to quilt ~ 9

Quilts that need bound ~ 4 (all are seasonal pillows)

Quilts that are in miscellaneous levels of completion but are not tops yet ~ 10

I finished the top and back of my next wedding gift quilt today. I am soooo happy with how they turned out. I rarely (OK I don’t ever remember doing this) make sample blocks for my quilts. I usually cut and make about half of one, then cut the remaining units once I see what colors I should add or not use any more of (I nearly always make scrappy quilts). For some reason, I cut 6 extra Friendship star blocks for the wedding quilt. I decided to use two different creams for the back with the stars in a row between them. I had to make 3 more blocks and add a little strip of muslin to make it wide enough. I wrote right on the muslin for a label so I wouldn’t have to add one later. Here are the blocks on my design wall.

I did two hours’ total of yard work today. About 45 minutes in the AM and then 75 minutes in the evening. I also did a small paint job that has been put off again and again. So my sewing time was interrupted off and on. I didn’t get a pic of the whole quilt top once it was finished. I sew a 1/8” line around the edge of it has lots of seams, and this sure did!

Here is a small part of the back and some of the top as they hang on my quilt frame (so they don’t have to be pressed again tomorrow).

The colors in this quilt are refreshing. Not too bold, but enough color to make themselves known.

My FIL is coming tomorrow to stay overnight, then he and hubby are taking a trip to Jamestown, VA to do some sight seeing. Undoubtedly, I’ll stay up way too late as I always do when I’m here alone.

Have a great night!

{Post 1,751} Hubby Surprise

 

My husband moved his office from in our finished basement (actually, out in the garage, but in a finished area) to the room right beside my sewing room. We both are facing the same wall, and he talks quite loudly on the phone! He had all his furniture arranged, then rearranged. Shortly thereafter, he came into my sewing room with a sheepish look on his face. “Can I use one of our quilts for the wall?” Then he proceeded to ask me what it would take to put up his favorite quilt on the wall behind his computer. I finally have him trained. We have quilts on our walls where I guess most people have pictures. So I sewed a sleeve onto his favorite and proceeded to help him get it up on the wall. Bonus? It muffles the sound of his screaming—I mean talking—on the phone a little. Here’s a before and after!

Now for an update on the wedding quilt. I am not posting on FB about it anymore. Although my future niece-in-law picked out the pattern and colors, I want the finished product to be a surprise to her. I visited at my MIL’s this past weekend (It’s 6 hours away, but my husband had committed to working on a house project with our daughter who is 3 hours on the way. I dropped him off and headed over by myself.). I sewed, then cut the squares into quarters diagonally, and she pressed them all open. Once I got home I trimmed all of them and started piecing. The pattern has a cool, time-saving way to make all those HST. A color square and a neutral are put RST, then stitched 1/4” all around the outside, then cut diagonally both ways, then ironed open and trimmed. Here are some self explanatory pictures. I had cut all the shirt squares before I went to the cabin.

I get lots of questions about using shirts for quilting. I got started by reading Bonnie Hunter’s Quiltville blog about it. Here is my collection (all the wire baskets and the top drawer of the plastic drawers). Then one drawer pulled out so you can see how full they are. I keep them sorted by colors and all the neutrals are together.

{Post 1,750} Wedding Quilt Started

 

My oldest nephew is getting married in August. I reached out to his fiancée (whom I have never met in person) to see if she wanted a quilt. It’s better to ask! Within about 10 minutes, she had decided on colors, size, and pattern. That was unparalleled. So I got started right away.

Here is a picture from the pattern I’m making. It’s Round and Round. It finishes at 68” x 72”—just what she wanted.

Here’s my progress. I was able to cut all 56 five-inch squares from shirts in a very short time. I spent this past weekend with my MIL (pics to follow). Here are a couple pictures from the piecing process. The blocks are 23” square, but there are only 7 of them! She wanted to help with construction, so she cut the HSTs apart and ironed them open. I did all the stitching. We made a good team. By the time I left for home, we had all of the sets of 4 matching HSTs pinned together and ready for piecing. These were cut from men’s shirts with cream muslin for the background.

My MIL lives in a lakeside cabin. Although we spent very little time outside, the view was so relaxing and serene.

The living room...

A picture of the sunset. Beyond the trees is the lake (notice the docks on both sides of the picture).

 

{Post 1,749} Sew Many Quilts Finished!

 

This has been such a busy month. I had more customer quilt tops than ever to quilt. Had what I thought was going to be a first-time, one-time experience...I quilted a double knit quilt. No sooner did I finish it than I got THREE more double knit tops to machine quilt for customers. They turn out beautiful, but I personally had enough double knit in the ‘70s. Here are some customer quilts that I did since my last post.

Next up are two I Spy quilts I made for two of my children for their children. One was for four boys and the other for two girls. 

This is the back of the boys’ quilt (the second one with the triangles)...

I made some quilts and a hard candy bag to give away...

I quilted some tops I had made in the past to sell. There is a brick and mortar store that sells my quilts on commission.

I had 6 small (3”) churn dash blocks left over when I quilted an antique top for a customer. One end of the quilt was damaged, so I had to remove the whole row. These 6 blocks were still in decent shape. I made two myself and then hand-quilted this little runner for the top of my grandmother’s treadle sewing machine that I am fortunate to have. 

Today is my husband’s birthday. I am baking him a loaf of his favorite bread and a pound cake tomorrow. Too much going on today to do that. We went to a Longhorns restaurant for supper. The meal was perfect in every way. I said he did not look happy in the picture. He normally has a great smile. He said he was just too relaxed...and too full of good food.

 

{Post 1,748} Then and Now

 

I have always been a paper girl. Now that electronics and Alexa run our lives, I STILL prefer pen and paper. I made a list of our freezer contents this AM. I will check items off as I use them. I list them by category (mostly meat, fruit, and veggies). If I have more than one of the item, I put that many open circles after it. I put an X through the circle when I use it up. It saves on a lot of waste. I haven’t done it in (ahem) a while. I threw a couple bags of frozen veggies that were over 3 years expired. Can you say FREEZER BURN?? But in my defense, one was a bag of peas that we use as an ice pack. We kept the last one so many years that all the print came off the bag onto my son’s face when he had his wisdom teeth out. That was pretty funny. I thought it was bruising because I didn’t know he got “the bag”. Then I saw that his check said “farm fresh” in mirror image...good times at the Parkers!!

I unexpectedly had an opportunity to help some friends last night, so I’ve been fully engaged and otherwise connected to a 4 and 6-year-old until a little while ago. The family is moving to NYC to do missionary work and got a place to rent much more quickly than they expected. They had been on the road, but shot home to pack up and move as much as they can before heading up there to sign a lease. I watched the kids and kept them overnight so they could get more done faster.

Now I’m off to mail a completed customer quilt and then back to start machine quilting the next one. 

I am enjoying my bullet journal so much. It is keeping my time in line and showing me baby steps of progress. I was recording some progress recently. It was the labeling, binding, and washing of a finished quilt. I was thinking, “I’ll miss working on you, #38.” Here is a sample page from my journal. The numbers circled in pink ink correspond to my list at the beginning of the journal which is just the list of UFOs.

For those who are fellow plant lovers...may I re-introduce my lemon button fern...

What are YOU working on?? Until we meet again...

{Post 1,747} Where Am I and What Am I Doing Here?

It’s been a long time since I’ve posted. So much is going on in my life. My quilting business has been going great guns, and I’ve never advertised or even looked for work. I guess it’s one of those things that is somewhat unusual. So when someone is pleased and hears about another person looking for someone to machine quilt or them, they naturally tell them about my service. I thought things would slow down after the holidays, but it’s the opposite. Three new customers (heretofore complete strangers) have given me 7 quilts to machine quilt and some to do finishing sewing on. Plus, I have at least 7 quilt tops of my own to quilt. 

In the meantime, my daughter’s in-laws have both had coronavirus and been hospitalized recently. Her FIL is still in the hospital. So my SIL went to care for them and will be back Wednesday. They asked me to come be with my daughter while he is gone. So I’ve pulled up stakes in one day and have been here for three days now. 

When I travel, I usually take a handwork project. I didn’t have much time to plan, so I brought this UFO that I started in 2008. I wish it was a bit bigger, and that is why (I think) I’ve never been excited about finishing it. Plus I don’t have a room where I’m dying to use it anymore. I can find a place for it in our home though. So I have spent a few hours on this. Mostly I’ve tried to be available for whatever my daughter needs and to visit with her when she wants. Here is my project. The border is completely unquilted. You can see the texture from the hand quilting in the photo.. The arrow is pointing to a red row with green on both sides...all three rows are unquilted.

Here are two of the reasons I’m here...to take care of the mama of these two little ones (20 months and 2 months). Don’t be taken in by the cuteness—they run the place!

Have I told you about my freezer meal ministry? I’ll have to go back to read and check. One of my friends that lives here near my daughter fell and broke her hip and wrist and has had surgery on both. Whew! Talk about big changes in a day! Her family has dietary restrictions (no dairy or gluten), so I had to be selective about meals. Today I assembled Easy Sausage Gumbo, Easy Chicken Taco Soup, Chicken Pot Pie, White Chicken Chili, and Crock Pot Chicken Teriyaki. They are assembled into a gallon-sized freezer bags and laid flat to freeze. When one wants to cook them, they go into the frig the day before to soften up a bit, then cook in a slow cooker for varying times. The meals taste fresh because they are all fresh ingredients and freshly cooked. The nice thing is that the recipient can decide when they want to make them,, and they take up minimal space in the freezer until then. I will be assembling some for my daughter before I go as well.

That’s about it for now. I am awful about taking pictures.